Librarian of Fortune

Alzheimer's Association rocks

I'm an Alzheimer's caregiver and today I was once again astounded by and insanely grateful for the kind, thoughtful, compassionate and insightful advice and counsel I get from the Alzheimer's Association Helpline (800.272.3900). They are open 24/7, and the counselors invariably help me problem-solve my latest AD issue.

Should you be looking for a nonprofit to support, these folks are as deserving as they get. And should you be looking for advice or support on Alzheimer's-related issues, these are the people to call.

Swine Flu Ranting

Swine flu has been found to cause agitation, worry, nervousness, fear, panic, and lots of great Google Maps mash-ups.

Let's all take a deeeeeep breath. Look up the meanings of epidemic and pandemic. An epidemic is simply when there are more cases of an infectious disease than expected within a given population in a given period of time. A pandemic is when an epidemic is geographically widespread. Period.

While the words "epidemic" and "pandemic" sound scary, they do not correlate to death rates (only 13 confirmed deaths WORLDWIDE from swine flu influenza A (H1N1)). And, as we are constantly reminded, 36,000 people in the US alone die every year from the flu. Let's put this in perspective, OK?

I'm just going to follow the commonsense rules for preventing the spread of disease in general:

• Wash your hands frequently.
• Don't touch your face without washing your hands first.
• If you're sick, stay home. If your kid is sick, keep your kid home.
• Cover your mouth when you cough.

I'm still traveling and meeting with large groups of people and staying in hotels and flying in planes. I am more concerned about getting deep-vein thrombosis when I fly than I am about  being hospitalized with the swine flu.

For non-hysterical reporting, check out the flu wiki on Wikia. IMHO, it's a great source for useful, fact-based news on the flu, full of links to organizations like the WHO and CDC.

Personal: Natl Advocates for Pregnant Women

Check this video out. It was produced by the National Association for Pregnant Women, a group that seeks to protect the rights and human dignity of all women, particularly pregnant and parenting women and those who are most vulnerable, including low income women, women of color, and drug-using women. Yeah, not exactly your standard suburban mom, but women who expect at least minimal control over their own bodies. Like not being removed from her home when she is in the middle of delivery, strapped down, and forced to have a Cesarean section, unnecessarily and against her will.

This video looks at the impact of the "personhood amendment" initiatives on women who oppose abortion but find that, because of this outrageous initiative to define life from the moment of fertilization, they have been required BY A COURT to be subjected to Cesarean sections against their will. One woman was accused of murder because she delivered a stillborn twin, and another died because a court required her to carry the pregnancy to term despite the requests of her, her husband, her family and her doctor -- the resulting surgery killed both her and the baby.

Regardless of how you feel about abortion, the "personhood amendment" initiatives that try to ascribe full human rights to a fetus have a terrible and sometimes fatal impact on women who are pregnant, even and especially those who want to carry their pregnancy to term but don't want to die because of that life-giving decision.

The way to promote a book

I knew Mary Patrick Kavanaugh years ago, back when she lost her husband and was raising a small child alone. Years later, she wrote an autobiographical novel about a young mother who discovers that her husband is a criminal lawyer in more than one sense of the word and is raising a small child in as normal way as possible. This involves "pseudonyms, fake weddings, and hidden bank accounts."

Her manuscript is foolishly rejected by publishers left and right. "Tired of dragging around dashed hopes and disappointment, the author buried that dream at an open casket funeral in Oakland on December 6, 2008, in a Chapel filled to capacity."

 

And then it gets fun. She is now self-publishing her book, Family Plots: love, death and tax evasion, and is having a ball at it. The idea of burying dead dreams and moving on resonated and she now has a web site with the Cemetery of Dead Dreams, the Ask Cemetery Mary blog, articles such as Putting the Fun Back in Funerals and, of course, a link to where you can buy her book online. I love this!

Why I love where I live

How many other places celebrate Frozen Dead Guy Days every year?

Taking a Strategic Retreat

I just posted the latest issue of my Info-Entrepreneur Tip of the Month. This one looks at how to take a strategic retreat and brainstorm through what is frustrating you. Think of this as an invitation to take a fresh start on the year, spend a day creating all the tools you need to get past the painful parts of your work or job.

Ground Zero calculator

OK, maybe I've just got a macabre sense of humor, but I learned about a site that will let you see how far away you have to go to escape the damage from a nuclear bomb (or, conveniently, an asteroid impact similar to the Chicxulub impact that caused the end of the dinosaurs). Type in a city and the kind of explosion, then click "Nuke It!" and see where you need to run to in order to avoid.

For your reference, here are the impact zones for the Little Boy bomb, a modern nuke, and an asteroid impact, should any of those land in Denver, CO.

So, if you see a very bright light, immediately go to this web site to get an idea of exactly how far away you should have been from impact.

via  AltSearchEngines

Is California running a Ponzi scheme?

It seems that there's a delay in getting tax refunds from California until the state gets some more cash in. They're taking returns in, just not sending cash out.

I wonder if I can pull that stunt on my vendors...

Inauguration Day photo

Check out this aerial photo of the crowds that gathered to watch Obama get sworn in - that's over a million happy people (by some estimates, 1.6 million) all in one place. I don't remember anything this big since the Vietnam War protests.

 

Drinking is now a capital offense in Colorado

I live in Colorado, where we have an odious "make my day" law that allows residents to use LETHAL force on anyone who attempts to break into their house. Never mind that the crime of burglary is not itself anywhere near a capital offence.

So, some poor 22-year-old got himself drunk the other night and, on his way home, wound up at the right house number but wrong street. The <insert very very bad word here> resident, upon hearing someone ring his doorbell and then pound on the back door (but not, you know, actually entering the house or anything), shot the guy dead after calling the police. Nice going, folks. Yeah, you're scared, but did it require killing someone who was knocking on your back door?

And no, I do not feel safer knowing that the random homeowner is armed to the teeth and trigger-happy.