Dumpster diving and an enlightening film

Dumpster diving?  What does that mean to you?  Have you even heard of it before?

According to wikipedia: dumpster diving is the practice of sifting through commercial or residential trash  to find items that have been discarded by their owners, but which may be useful to the dumpster diver.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumpster_diving)

Have I ever gone dumpster diving myself?  Picked stuff out of the trash to re-use?  Well, yeah.

It only makes sense!  People make a living off this stuff even! In the US 40-50% of the food thrown away by supermarkets and restaurants is perfectly good!!  Lots of stuff goes in the garbage that could be recycled or given to someone who can use it/make something out of it/re purpose it.

I even belong to a group where you can give away stuff and get stuff people are offering up for FREE.  Yeah that's right...FREE.  www.freecycle.org

I furnished my first apartment pretty much based on what I got from freecycle.  Maybe with the exception of the bed that I came with.  I got a free sofa bed, lamps, dishes, pots, pans, hell I even got 2 free televisions.  FOR FREE.  All I had to do was drive to where the person had the item, pick it up, put it in the car, and take it home.  Done deal.

Well if anyone is wondering where this is going I will let you in on a little secret.  This blog is going to culminate in an awesome documentary that I recently watched on the topic of dumpster diving.  The two film makers moved into an apartment and then lived there for 3 months only getting all their stuff from the trash.  They ended up eating awesome well balanced meals and having more stuff than they knew what to do with just from dumpster diving.  It's a pretty sustainable lifestyle.  Re-using "trash".  They obtained 2 full wardrobes, food, furniture, appliances, and art materials all from the GARBAGE.  Perfectly good stuff someone didn't want because they probably got new stuff.  Then at the end of their "experiment" they gave all their stuff away...for FREE.

THINK ABOUT IT

Consumerism sucks.

So watch the movie and let me know what you think.  What kind of impact could you be making on the planet?
http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/i_love_trash/

I'm sure going to try harder now....


 Signing off 10:38

420??

Today is 4/20.  Seems pretty mundane, right?  Well, apparently everyone is making a big deal about it for a reason.  I mean, it WAS posted about on Facebook quite extensively today.  I had a co-worker ask me about it and thought it was funny when she didn't know.  Neither did a few other people at work today...I took an informal poll.  So after much thought and contemplation (and one google search) I decided to post info about it for all of you that are STILL clueless.   It has to do with pot....ya know, marijuana...

The Huffington Post published an article on the history behind 420 here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/19/420-history-the-story-beh_n_851136.html

The term started with the a group of high school students in California and the term 420 spread through the Grateful Dead"s network of fans and on from there. It was a code word for getting together and smoking pot which now is used across the country (apparently).  The article is chock full of interesting info!!

It even sparked it's own Snopes.com page:

http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/420.asp


And even a Wikipedia.com article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/420_%28cannabis_culture%29

So for those of you who actually care...here ya go!  You can read my blog, get stoned, and go raid the fridge!  Happy 420!!! :)

Signing off 22:11

funny story....social experiment...

I have been fighting a cold on and off for the past 2 weeks. I bought some day/night cold medicine when I first got sick not thinking anything of it and started taking it.   The other day I started feeling sick again.  Having finished up the meds that I bought 2 weeks ago I decided while I was out shopping last night to pick up some more.

So I went to rite aide and in my attempt to buy this stuff the lady asked me for my birthday (which i supplied to her because it has something to do with the new law that they passed).  Well then she claimed computer/register froze and she calls for the manager who punches some keys and then asks again for my birthday.  After entering it in the computer he informs me that I am over the allowed amount of medicine that I can buy for the month (never checked my ID or anything).  I was nice about it because I was in a good mood and said ok and left.

I then tried to figure out on my way to the car how that was possible.  I had never before been asked to give my birthday when I have purchased cold meds.  Still in need of meds for the cold I still had I decided to have some fun and see if I could buy stuff at the walgreens a block over from the rite aide.

I picked out the same meds that I just tried to buy at the rite aide and went to the walgreens cashier.  She scanned the box and as I watched the register screen ask for a birthday she punched in a generic birthday and completed the sale.  Telling me that she hoped I felt better soon I said thanks and walked out of the store.

So much for the new law!!  I'M STILL CONFUSED AFTER READING THE INFO ON WIKIPEDIA

I contemplated why my experience was so different at the two stores.  The lady at rite aide was a middle aged woman who looked like she had been a cashier there forever.  The lady at walgreens looked to be in her mid 20's who was probably working to earn some cash while in college.

Any thoughts??

* FOR FURTHER INFO ON THE LAW SEE BELOW OR ON
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoephedrine *



The United States Congress has recognized that pseudoephedrine is used in the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine. In 2005, the Committee on Education and the Workforce heard testimony concerning education programs and state legislation designed to curb this illegal practice.
Congress passed the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 ("CMEA") as an amendment to the renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act. Signed into law by president George W. Bush on March 6, 2006, the act amended 21 U.S.C. § 830 concerning the sale of pseudoephedrine-containing products. The law mandated two phases, the first needing to be implemented by April 8, 2006 and the second phase to be completed by September 30, 2006. The first phase dealt primarily with implementing the new buying restrictions based on amount, while the second phase encompassed the requirements of storage, employee training, and record keeping.^[28] Though the law was mainly directed at pseudoephedrine products it also applies to all over the counter products containing:ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine, their salts, optical isomers, and salts of optical isomers.^[28] Pseudoephedrine was defined as a "scheduled listed chemical product" under 21 U.S.C. § 802 (45(A)). The act included the following requirements for merchants ("regulated sellers") who sell such products:

• Required a retrievable record of all purchases, identifying the name and address of each party, to be kept for two years
• Required verification of proof of identity of all purchasers
• Required protection and disclosure methods in the collection of personal information
• Required reports to the Attorney General of any suspicious payments or disappearances of the regulated products
• Required training of employees with regard to the requirements of the CMEA. Retailers must self-certify as to training and compliance.
• The non-liquid dose form of regulated products may only be sold in unit dose blister packs
• Regulated products must be stored behind the counter or in a locked cabinet in such a way as to restrict public access
• Daily sales limit—must not exceed 3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine base without regard to the number of transactions
• 30-day (not monthly) sales limit—must not exceed 7.5 grams of pseudoephedrine base if sold by mail order or "mobile retail vendor"
• 30-day purchase limit—must not exceed 9 grams of pseudoephedrine base. (A misdemeanor possession offense under 21 U.S.C. § 844a
  for the person who buys it.)

In regards to the identification that may be used by an individual buying pseudoephedrine products the following constitute acceptable forms of identification:

• US passport
• Alien registration or permanent resident card
• Unexpired foreign passport with temporary I-551 stamp
• Unexpired Employment Authorization Document
• Driver's License or Government issued identification card (including Canadian driver's license)
• School ID with picture
• Voter's Registration card
• US Military Card
• Native American tribal documents

Signing off 08:18

This is more important than anything else!

I went to a rally today in Mineola with other members of my fire department. We were there to demand that we are being listened to and to drum up support for a family and a community who has been fighting an injustice for 4 years. That injustice is that Malverne Firefighter Paul Brady's (who was tragically killed in the line of duty in 2006) name has not yet been added to the Fallen Firefighters Memorial Wall in Albany! (http://monument.fire-hero.com/)

They gave out flyers there with info about how to contact your New York State Officials about supporting the 2 bills that are being proposed in the Assembly and the Senate.

Assembly Bill #A10836-A and Senate Bill #S8450 both propose to amend section 7 of the Volunteer Firefighters Benefit Law (VFBL) by adding a new subdivision which will mandate that the name of any Line of Duty Death be honored by inscribing the Firefighters name on the wall in Albany.

Contact your Assembly rep at www.assembly.state.ny.gov
Just type in your zip code and then click on the rep that comes up for your district. When you are sent to their page click CONTACT on the left side of the page and send them an email asking them to support the assembly bill listed above and let them know WHY they should support it.

Contact you Senate rep at www.nysenate.gov and send your rep an email asking them to support the senate bill listed above and let them know WHY they should support it.

If you need more info as to what happened to Paul I am posting some links below. Paul's name is on the NATIONAL MONUMENT in Maryland and the NASSAU COUNTY MONUMENT in Garden City. SO WHY IS HIS NAME NOT ON THE STATE WALL?

READ THIS LINK!!
http://community.fireengineering.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1219672%3ABlogPost%3A175895

What a load of rediculous nonsense!

Paul Brady: http://www.liherald.com/detail.html?sub_id=24678

Please send your reps emails! This is the only way we are going to get this passed!!

RIP Brother! We won't stop until your name is on the wall where it should be!!

Signing Off 13:05

Peace Train

Now I've been happy lately,
thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be,
something good has begun

Oh I've been smiling lately,
dreaming about the world as one
And I believe it could be,
some day it's going to come

Cause out on the edge of darkness,
there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country,
come take me home again

Now I've been smiling lately,
thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be,
something good has begun

Oh peace train sounding louder
Glide on the peace train
Come on now peace train
Yes, peace train holy roller

Everyone jump upon the peace train
Come on now peace train

Get your bags together,
go bring your good friends too
Cause it's getting nearer,
it soon will be with you

Now come and join the living,
it's not so far from you
And it's getting nearer,
soon it will all be true

Now I've been crying lately,
thinking about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating,
why can't we live in bliss

Cause out on the edge of darkness,
there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country,
come take me home again


Copyright: Cat Stevens 1971


Signing Off 00:38

'The Lazarus Effect' Film from (RED) & HBO

Signing Off 00:28

CSNY's Ohio and The Kent State Massacre

Well I seem to be on a roll now and I promised Angus that I would continue with my songs connected with history series.

So here is Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young's song OHIO and how it relates to The Kent State Massacre on May 4th 1970

For those of you who don't know what the hell I'm talking about the links will follow.....I promise!

*The photo to the left was taken by John Filo.  The young woman is Mary Ann Vecchio kneeling over the body of Jeffery Miller (who was killed in the massacre)*

According to my favorite source (www.wikipedia.com), the following is a quick summary of what happened:

"The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre or Kent-State massacre, occurred at Kent State University in the city of Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970. The guardsmen fired 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis."

"Some of the students who were shot had been protesting against the American invasion of Cambodia, which President Richard Nixon announced in a television address on April 30. Other students who were shot had been walking nearby or observing the protest from a distance."

"There was a significant national response to the shootings: hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools closed throughout the United States due to a student strike of four million students, and the event further divided the country, at an already socially contentious time, about the role of the United States in the Vietnam War."
********************************************************************************************************************************

Neil Young wrote OHIO in reaction to the incident, he saw photos in Life Magazine.  CSNY recorded it shortly after the massacre and released it that June.

I wasn't alive in 1970 but I did learn about this event in a class I took in college about the history of protests in the US. After further investigation I connected this with Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young's (CSNY) song OHIO. I actually knew the song first...around junior high school I guess....but then it was just a really kick ass song!

Interestingly enough one of the young men killed in the massacre (Jeffery Miller) had attended Plainview-Old Bethpage High School (which is about 1/2 hour from where I live).
*******************************************************************************

Here's the link for the Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings

Here is a link to the web page of one of the survivors of the massacre Alan Canfora:

http://alancanfora.com/

Here's a link to CSNY's song OHIO article on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_%28CSNY_song%29

The Wikipedia article lists about 20 artists and their songs which were inspired by the massacre...the first being CSNY's OHIO.

That being said here are two videos, the first is a tribute video that was made using pictures from the incident over CSNY singing OHIO:




The second video is a live version of CSNY singing OHIO in 1974:




Hopefully this will inspire people to be more in tune with what's going on around them and let them realize that music is used for more than enjoyment.

Rest In Peace:

Jeffrey Glenn Miller; age 20
Allison B. Krause; age 19
William Knox Schroeder; age 19
Sandra Lee Scheuer; age 20



Signing Off 21:21

Health Care Reform....

Signing Off 20:17