Private Mars Rocket II

A few thoughts:

1) I spend last week downstate at my parent's house. I didn't hear a single cicada. When I got back to Darien yesterday, the cicada noise was just this side of a roar.

2) The current Treasurer of the State of Illinois is strongly encouraging people to visit this website and claim money that was sent to the state and is owed to them. I did so yesterday - it was quick and easy and now I'm waiting on a check. I encourage you to give it a try. For non-Illinois residents, there's also a link to other state's sites.

3) Yesterday, my Rotary club, working with the Darien Garden Club - IL helped plant a monarch butterfly garden at Saint John's Lutheran Church in Darien. We provided funding and some labor (including me as shovel operator) - the Garden Club did the design and acquired the materials needed. It was a great community effort!

Yesterday afternoon, several of my fellow Rotarians and I helped feed people right here in DuPage County. Specifically, we worked with the West Suburban Food Pantry to help staff their community mobile pantry. This is a custom-built truck that goes out to various places in the service area, sets up and delivers free groceries to people who need it.

The specific vehicle we used was owned by the Northern Illinois Food Bank, and apparently is scheduled out to this pantry for three Mondays a month. Northern Illinois Food Bank does "food rescue" which is getting food from grocery stores and distributors which is safe and edible but not salable. For example, at the event I saw a lot of frozen boxed meals where the box had a bit of wear or tear on it. We had a skid full of oranges in bags. We had bags of very small onions. Again, it was edible but most of us wouldn't buy it in a store.

Our event was held locally, at the Hinsdale Lake Terrace Apartments. Despite the ritzy name, it's a sprawling lower-income complex in unincorporated DuPage County. There's no grocery store nearby - in fact there's very little retail of any kind nearby. Most residents have cars because they have to, but getting to a store or a pantry could be an issue.

In any event, the truck rolled in at 3:30, we set up tables and food, and residents started getting stuff at 4. The West Suburban Pantry has a go-shopping program in which clients are allowed to select what they want and need from what's available. We had a rush right at 4, then it died down enough we cut some volunteers loose at 5:15. Finally we closed up shop at 6, having fed 40+ people. It was a good event.

With apologies to the very good movie of the same name.

The Good

My Rotary club's annual fundraiser is in the bag bank. It appears like we made significantly more money than last year. I hesitate to say more as we're still waiting for final numbers.

The Bad

On CNN in the lobby this morning, I see that Trump had the entire US Senate over to the White House for a briefing on North Korea. One presumes they were told that the Norks were This Close to building atomic bombs. Interested parties should read this well-written piece on that other budding nuclear power, Iraq: Operation Desert Snipe Hunt.

The Ugly

Also on CNN and various other sources, the GOP is taking another stab at repealing Obamacare. Notable is that they exempt themselves from some of the deleterious side effects.

Last night, the Rotary Club of Darien held a Volunteer Appreciation Night at Miskatonic Brewing in Darien IL. The Darien club's signature project is "Food for Kids" which is a program to provide supplemental nutrition to 195 grade school children in Darien and Burr Ridge.

In this program, the club buys kid-friendly food (such as individual cereal boxes) in bulk. The club, working with area volunteers, break down the bulk items into one child, one weekend packets, which are discreetly distributed to needy children by the school. The Darien club wanted to recognize volunteers who went above and beyond to assist.

The following volunteers were recognized:

(Not able to attend) Nick Schanker

(L to R) Maryann Kerrins, Tom Kerrins, Rotary club coordinator Joan Wayman



(L to R) Megan Dooley, Beth Dooley, Joan Wayman



The club also announced that Megan Dooley, an incoming freshman at Hinsdale South HS, will be attending Rotary Youth Leadership Activity.

Yesterday's radio silence was brought to you by my Rotary club's annual fundraiser, A Taste of Route 66. it was held last night at Carriage Greens Country Club in Darien. We're still counting the cash and collecting expenses, but preliminary numbers are looking good.

The event was a lot of work, of course, but for the first time in a decade I wasn't in charge. It was nice not having that burden. I did help at checkout, a job I finished by 9:30. I was invited by the committee to join them at a side bar for a drink, which turned into several, so I didn't get home until midnight. As a result, my tail is dragging a bit today.

A few weeks ago, the science fiction editor David Hartwell died suddenly. I may have said hi to Hartwell at a con, but certainly no meeting of substance. In any event, Hartwell's wife, Kathryn Cramer, posted a request that, in lieu of flowers, people send money to the rural hospital Hartwell died in to buy the hospital a ventilator. (They didn't have one, although the lack of one was not medically significant in Hartwell's case.) Feeling generous, I sent a few bucks.

Over the weekend I got a letter from the hospital. Turns out that the reason the hospital doesn't have a ventilator is staffing, not cash to buy the machine. The hospital talked to Cramer and all of these donations are now going to support the emergency room.

In Rotary, when we do an international grant, we insist that somebody do a community needs assessment before we write the check. This sometimes feels awkward, in that the typical Third World town frequently "needs" everything. However, it's important to determine what the community needs and more importantly what they can (and will) use.

Cramer's request sits as a case in point. Fortunately, everything worked out in the end.

This week has been consumed by locusts meetings. Have a few links and a thought:

Links

1) Never underestimate the power of one man - man spends 20 years cutting road through mountain.

2) I'm not in favor of gun control, but Australia's rules seem to work. Related to this, Chris Hernandez both corrects the record as to what Obama said and points out that Obama was right - America has more mass shootings than any other industrialized country.

Thought - Women and Fights (or War, or Gunfights)

Whenever the subject of women and combat or fights come up, the argument is made that "women are smaller and so will lose the fight" or words to that effect. Well, in reality, there are multiple factors that determine who wins a fight, be it hand-to-hand, war or a gunfight. Namely:

A) Skill & Training - In hand-to-hand, this actually cuts both ways, in that sometimes martial artists get beat by bar-brawlers because the later are unpredictable and don't follow rules. Skill with a gun or a well-trained army can be a great equalizer.

B) Determination - motivated people (individual or group) fight harder and longer, and accept more damage / casualties.

C) Size - yes, size does matter. In combat, if your enemy can trade you 5 to 1 and still have troops, then you're in for a long fight. The best marksman can only do so much with a .22 short. And yes, in hand-to-hand, the bigger guy has an advantage.

In short, who wins a fight depends on a lot of factors.

I find I have some time, so you (lucky you) get some more wit and wisdom from me.

Thought The First

If a comment thread has devolved into personal barbs aimed at somebody, additional commenting is probably not worth anybody's time. See here, especially #7, #8 and #10.

Thought the Second

Utah found a brilliantly effective solution for homelessness. Money quote: Between shelters, jail stays, ambulances, and hospital visits, caring for one homeless person typically costs the government $20,000 a year. Providing one homeless person with permanent housing, however — as well as a social worker to help them transition into mainstream society — costs the state $8,000. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best.

It's officially the 4th day of spring, but here in Chicago it's snowing to beat the band, so I'm not really feeling spring-like. Traffic is a bit slow, which confuses me since the snow is not sticking to any road more trafficked than a driveway, but then many things confuse me.

At any event, have a few links:

A) A reminder, my Rotary Club's fundraiser is tomorrow. You can attend or participate online. I'm offering a special prize - a steak and wine dinner cooked by me.

B) I've never been abused, but this abuser's hustle looks shockingly like what I see Internet trolls do.

C) So, while looking for something else, I came across "the box of truth." Two gun owners, both retired and with access to a range with a liberal policy, test various guns and gun myths. You'll see a couple more posts from them, but for today:

what really happens if you shoot rock salt from a shotgun

buckshot patterns from a shotgun (hint - get closer)

shooting off a padlock ain't like you see in the movies

My Rotary club in Darien is having a fundraiser on March 24th at Carriage Greens Country Club in Darien. We're having our second annual "Taste of Route 66" event, with 13 restaurants participating. Cost is $40 per person - register at the link.

For those not in the area, we are selling raffle tickets for Hoopsmania, tied to the NCAA Final Four. Tickets are $20 each, and you could win up to $4,000. Tickets can be purchased online here.

All proceeds from both events will be used to support the charitable endeavors of the Darien Rotary Club, including our signature project - Food for Kids. We are buying and distributing food to over 100 children in Darien who don't get enough to eat on weekends. The goal of this program is to make sure that, when the children come to school on Monday, they are ready to learn.

Your donations are appreciated and tax-deductible.