kdmurray.blog

The crossroads of life and tech

Books Books and more Books

We took some time this evening to hit the used book sale at one of our local libraries tonight. We were told to show up early because it would get busy, since the sale started at 6:00 we figured showing up at 5:30 would be plenty early… we were at the back of a very substantial line. Apparently this is quite the event for the local community. I figured I’d find a book or two, pay my $0.50, and be on my way. Boy was I wrong.

When you walk in the door to the 20×20 room with 40 other people they hand you a box — and yes, you’ll need it. There are literally thousands of books on display in the small room and people are wasting no time filling up their boxes, with dozens of volumes on every conceivable subject. I couldn’t resist. I took my empty brown box and began filling it with the ridiculously discounted tomes ( I found a book I’d bought for school earlier this year on sale for $1.00… I paid about $80).

When the dust settled 45 minutes later, the two of us had amassed a collection of 25 books and one copy of QuickBasic 4.5 that I simply couldn’t pass up (for $1.00). I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it… it’s the 5.25″ disk edition.

So if you hear about a book sale at your local library you should really check it out. The bargains are astounding.

Run for the Cure – October 1st

Those of you in the Vancouver area can participate in the fight against breast cancer by donating to and/or participating in the 2006 Run for the Cure.  Rebecca over at Miss604 is collecting donations for the run which she and her husband are participating in this Sunday.

On a related note TELUS‘ national Day of Service is tomorrow, September 30th.  The company hopes to get over 5000 of its team members and retirees nationally participating in charity events in their community.  One of the major events for 2006 has been their Tour for the Cure (currently on their media page).  This campaign wraps up with the Run for the Cure tomorrow.  I’ll be at the TELUS headquarters in Burnaby packing and stocking boxes of food and clothing.

‘Tis the season to help!

Global Warning: An Inconvenient Truth

This past May, a new documentary film premiered in Los Angeles, the film entitled An Inconvenient Truth. Though many films premiere in this town, its especially fitting that this film would premiere there as the focus of the documentary is global warming and Los Angeles has one of the most polluted airsheds in North America.

The documentary is based on a slideshow presentation that Gore used as the basis for the film. He has been evangelizing about this topic since the 1980s, and has taken an active interest in the topic since the late 1960s.

The film itself is very good. We went a couple of weeks ago and all came out of the theatre in a noticably more sombre mood than when we went in. Don’t get me wrong this isn’t a particularly depressing movie, but it demonstrated and provided scientific evidence some of which dates back over ten millenea.

Go see the movie. Go visit the website. Go find the book. Learn what’s in there, most of it isn’t rocket science and we’ve already heard it before. But we’re not listening, and it always helps to hear it again. Alright… thats enough from me. Conserve your power, drive your electric car, and use your recycled cloth shopping bag to buy your organic groceries.

Charity begins at “Start”

This past week, Fortune magazine ran a story on Warren Buffet’s recent decision to give away 85% of his net worth.  The vast majority (83%) of this donation will be given to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation to assist with their continuing work fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis worldwide.

The donation itself is tied to shares in Berkshire Hathaway, Buffets main umbrella corporation for everything from Dairy Queen to Fruit of the Loom.  Every year the charitable organization will receive a portion of shares in BH.  The contribution for 2006 amounts to more than $1.5 Billion USD.

This story is proof in and of itself that absolute power need not corrupt absolutely.  Between Gates and Buffett, the Gates’ foundation has been pledged more than $60 Billion USD over the coming years.  Its just too bad that stories like this one don’t get a bit more press.

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/AboutUs/Announcements/Announce-060625.htm

A Nostalgia Moment – RetroJunk.com

It’s amazing what will trigger a reaction in people.  I was browsing through RetroJunk.com tonight and on a whim decided to look through some old commercials.  These were all made before I reached the age of 10, and it’s amazing how many of them I remember.

What about you, are you a chlid of the ’80s?  Do you remember:

Some of these products aren’t around any more.  In each case these marketing campaigns are long over, but it shows the power that television has on young minds.  It makes me shudder to think that youngsters (and the rest of us) in 20 years are going to have memories of shows like Survivor, America’s next top Model and American (Canadian) Idol. *Shudder*