A Practical way to Help the Homeless – Right Now

By: Motormensch

Believe me, I’m not the social conscious of Trash Vent… I think even Stiffler (our head honcho/writer) could picture me laughing at most misfortune. Yup, indeed I do. Alas, that’s what writing affords people like me – a chance to be the bastard they always wanted to be.

Truth be told, practicality is usually my mantra. When I was growing up in Los Angeles, I saw many homeless living out of their cars. I had little pity for car dwellers and had no idea that they were towed often (it was like a joke for the local constabulary – it still is). Once the vehicle was towed, the homeless became shelter-less.

When I started working at my family’s wrecking yards, several cars came in (daily) that once belonged to homeless people and homeless families. It was practical I thought: cars left unlicensed, unused and creating an eyesore are now easy revenue for the city and my family. I mean, you don’t want a nasty old van cluttering up your neighborhood – right?

This sucked and I knew it…

In time, I wore blinders to the problem and became so callus that I looked at homelessness as a plight on society. Honestly, I had no idea I could be such a cold-hearted putz. In time, and with maturity and my sweet socially conscious wife, I began to see homeless people as humans rather than objects and remembered the multitude of vehicles we crushed at my family’s business.

Those vehicles used to be people’s homes.     

My pain-in-the-ass sister-in-law did something remarkable. She began working for a group that provides mobile shelters for the homeless. This is a quick, practical solution. Basically, it’s kind of like a shopping cart that transforms into a comfortable, secure sleeping place/shelter for one person.

Think of it as a tent on wheels. There are external storage compartments and a locking system for security. Plastic windows and a door are part of this simple and elegant system. The robust skin of the EDAR tent protects the occupant in foul weather and is quite spacious.

To me, it addresses an issue immediately that others (read: fat-head politicians) would drag through the mud – slowly. This is to say that people who need help (like: right now) get something quickly. I’ve seen several mass group shelters, they are not ideal for many homeless who (for one reason or another) are transient.    

The people from EDAR (Everyone Deserves a Roof) say: “Each year, more than 3 million people experience homelessness in the United States, including 1.3 million children.” That statistic always gets me… and it is a sad truth.

This is by no means a permanent solution for the homeless in our country. Still, this is a great way to immediately make a dent into their misfortune and start the preverbal wheels turning in the right direction. Word of mouth can truly help.

So, if you have a moment, drop by the website or check out one of the links below. I think simply mentioning this idea to a few people can help. If nothing else, there’s always some pain-in-the-ass sister-in-law (or the equivalent) that one of us has who means well and wants a good cause to volunteer for. Take it from me and MY pain-in-the-ass sister-in-law; this is a damn good, practical cause.

Happy holidays!

 Photos via EDAR.org

XO Motormensch

www.edar.org

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=6549327

http://www.latimes.com/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3219562

http://www.ktla.com/pages/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3221047

With EliteXC down the toilet and being knocked out in 14 seconds by Seth Petruzelli (UFC reject) Dana White jokes that we will see him fighting next to a BBQ (possibly mixing it up for a chicken wing?). Although all signs point to this fighters 15 minutes of fame being up, there maybe some hope for him still. Kimbo is a very marketable and charismatic individual given the right people behind him he still could make a name for himself in the ever evolving world of MMA.

There has been no news published that indicates to a new stomping ground for this over night success. But Kimbos management has publicly stated that Mr Ferguson does want to fight and is currently looking for a new home.

Team Kimbo might be in for a shock when they deal with the UFC. Since Dana White is notorious for low balling fighters pay. Another option for Kimbo is to go over to Japan and fight in one of their organizations. the Japanese would most likely welcome him with open arms. It will likely be a while before we see the over night internet success rise to the top of the MMA world. But in a sport where anything is possible…it is also not all that unrealistic.

There is a lot of debate about this between ‘crackberry’ users. Some feel that since PIN is done through RIM’s own network that it is safer to talk or send privileged information from user to user. Others say that it doesn’t matter the GSM card that is attached has your pin associated to the account so anything that is said is tracked. Personally I feel that if you have information that is sensitive and you dont want anyone else to have a record of the message should be delivered in person. From the messenger to the recipient. The reality is that no matter how safe you think pin is the message is sent from your blackberry to some server and then pings your friend. So any way you slice it, there is a record of that message that has been sent.

Back in 2005 Canadian bank CIBC filed a lawsuit against Genuity Capital Markets, a Toronto-based investment management firm started by six former employees of CIBC. The bank claimed that former executives took confidential information from the company and tried to recruit others while they were still employees at the bank. Not sure exactly what happened with the lawsuit but this is proof that PIN is not completely untraceable.

Warning to all blackberry users….be careful what you type.

Well its no news that Randy Couture will be fighting Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 November 15 2008. But there are a few things that stick out. How much sense does this fight make? Granted Lesnar is coming off a unanimous win decision from the Herring fight. He is still a long way from being a contender for the belt. Call me old school but I believe that title shots are earned and not given. Now its no secret here that the main objective for Dana and the Fertitas is money. I mean these guys throw a PPV event every 4 to 6 weeks.

Hear me out on this one. What the F*** does Randy gain by taking this fight? Credibility, Respect, Fans, Money…..the answer is NOTHING! We all saw what Lesnar did to a legitimate contender like Herring at UFC 87. Aside from the first round knockdown we saw a smoother fest with a larger man tactically out positioning a smaller opponent. Fair enough a win is a win. But to win in STYLE….that is what the fans will talk about.

A while back I wrote an article about what it would take for each fighter to pull off the win. If you have not read it you can find it here http://www.trashvent.com/randy-couture-signs-with-ufc/2008/. So I wont bore you with the same story.

The only reason Dana and Joe Silva would put this fight together is in hopes that Lesnar will be able to edge out a win and shine doubt onto the whole Fedor Vs Couture fight. We all know that Dana White has had little to no success with being able to sign the last emperor. This maybe his one chance to tell everyone that the UFC owns the biggest and baddest heavyweight in the world. I hope the natural has some gas left in the tank and pulls off the win in dramatic fashion. That way we the fans will hopefully get what we want. THE REAL SUPER FIGHT. MESSAGE to Randy Couture……WE BELIEVE!!!

A few wise words from the Wise Dalai Lama.

I came across these weird yet interesting pictures and thought I should share them.

Google’s Android mobile unveiled

Google Android

The first mobile telephone using Google’s Android software has been unveiled.

The T-Mobile G1 handset will be available in the UK in time for Christmas.

The first device to run the search giant’s operating system will feature a touch screen as well as a Qwerty keyboard.

It will be available for free on T-Mobile tariffs of over £40 a month and includes unlimited net browsing.

Other features include a three megapixel camera, a ‘one click’ contextual search and a browser that users can zoom in on by tapping the screen.

The handset will be wi-fi and 3G enabled and has built-in support for YouTube.

Users will also have access the so-called Android Market, where they will be able to download a variety of applications.

What’s a smartphone?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A smartphone is a mobile phone offering advanced capabilities beyond a typical mobile phone, often with PC-like functionality. There is no industry standard definition of a smartphone.[1][2] For some, a smartphone is a phone that runs complete operating system software providing a standardized interface and platform for application developers.[3][4] For others, a smartphone is simply a phone with advanced features like e-mail and Internet capabilities, and/or a full keyboard.

There is no agreement in the industry about what a smartphone actually is and definitions have changed over time.[2] According to David Wood, EVP at Symbian, “Smart phones differ from ordinary mobile phones in two fundamental ways: how they are built and what they can do.”[7] Other definitions put different stresses on these two factors.[citation needed]

Most devices considered smartphones today use an identifiable and open operating system, often with the ability to add applications (e.g. for enhanced data processing, connectivity or entertainment) - in contrast to regular phones which only support sandboxed applications (like Java games)[citation needed]. These smartphone applications may be developed by the manufacturer of the device, by the network operator or by any other third-party software developer, since the operating system is open.[citation needed].

Definition
In terms of features, most smartphones support full featured email capabilities with the functionality of a complete personal organizer. Other functionality might include an additional interface such as a miniature QWERTY keyboard, a touch screen or a D-pad, a built-in camera, contact management, an accelerometer, built-in navigation hardware and software, the ability to read business documents in a variety of formats such as PDF and Microsoft Office, media software for playing music, browsing photos and viewing video clips, internet browsers or even just secure access to company mail, such as is provided by a BlackBerry. One common feature to the majority of the smartphones is a contact list able to store as many contacts as the available memory permits, in contrast to regular phones that has a limit to the maximum number of contacts that can be stored.

History
The first smartphone was called Simon designed by IBM in 1992 and shown as a concept product that year at COMDEX, the computer industry trade show held in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was released to the public in 1993 and sold by BellSouth. Besides being a mobile phone, it also contained a calendar, address book, world clock, calculator, note pad, e-mail, send and receive fax, and games. It had no physical buttons to dial with. Instead customers used a touch-screen to select phone numbers with a finger or create facsimiles and memos with an optional stylus. Text was entered with a unique on-screen “predictive” keyboard. By today’s standards, the Simon would be a fairly low-end smartphone.

Here are some smartphones from by different tech companies and providers: