Make a Difference - Play Scrabble

When big companies make big donations to charity, they get a lot of publicity out of it. Today, I got an email from a small company that's giving back in a (relatively) big way. The company is Protiles and, as of June 1st, they are giving 10% of every sale to charity. Even though I've known about this company for a long time and think their products are fantastic, I had no idea what they were already doing for charity.

If you play Scrabble, Clabbers, or Anagrams, check out their products. They're the best Scrabble tiles available and are required use in most tournaments. I like the white injection-molded tiles myself, but they're all good. They have some funny videos too.

Here's the message from Protiles:

For several years Protiles has been selling sets of white tiles with pink letters and a pink breast cancer ribbon on the blanks.  Five dollars from every set sold is donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  

Last year Protiles donated over 240 sets of Protiles to the 2008 Players Championship in Dayton, OH. 

In the last eight months Protiles has donated more than 150 sets of Protiles to school teachers in 15 states for use in their classrooms.  Here's a typical request:  "I am interested in using letter tiles in my class next year to help teach spelling.  Unfortunately, we have no funding available.  Do you ever make donations to a class or give a great discount to teachers?  I teach first grade at Bethlehem Elementary in Taylorsville, NC."

So far Protiles has sent sets of tiles to teachers in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Kansas, Tennessee, Florida, Nebraska, Texas, Indiana, Colorado, Arizona and North Carolina.  

Protiles also would like to honor Rose Kreiswirth's memory.  Rose was an expert Scrabble® player for over 30 years and cherished the game for its educational values. An accomplished player, Rose was as well known for her sense of fairness and her congeniality as she was for her competitiveness. The Rose Award will be awarded each year at the National Scrabble Championship to a female player who, in the opinion of the judges, best exemplifies the fierce competitiveness and compassion that we remember Rose for. 

Finally, my local Starbucks store asks customers to donate the new instant coffee, VIA, to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The coffee comes in a small packet and works with both hot and cold water, perfect for a cup of coffee away from the comforts of home.  Would you buy a cup of joe for a soldier?

Beginning June 1, 2009 Protiles will donate 10% of the sales price of every set our customers order to these good causes.  We'll send sets to school teachers, we'll honor Rose, we'll support breast cancer research, and we'll send some good-tasting instant coffee to the troops.  

When you order Protiles tell us where you'd like the 10% to go.  If you choose not to choose, we'll choose for you.  Either way you'll know that we're doing something good together. 

The Day That Analog Died

A long, long time ago...
I can still remember
How that TV used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could see those people dance
And, maybe, we'd be happy for a while.

But digital made me shiver
With every DVD delivered.
Bad news in my email;
I couldn't stand another FAIL.

I can't remember if I cried
When I read about problems denied,
But something touched me deep inside
The day analog died.

So bye-bye, Miss American pie.
Took my telly to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were watchin' CSI
Singin', "this'll be the day that I die.
"this'll be the day that I die."

Why Won't Dick Cheney Shut Up?

Never before has a disgraced former Vice President spent so much time criticizing the current President, predicting and hoping for failure. As our last President suggested, if he's not with us, he must be with the terrorists.

I think Dick Cheney wants the terrorists to win. His views match Osama bin Laden perfectly. He wants more destruction. He wants another attack against the US. He wants to keep things as polarized as possible. And he doesn't want peace. It's the only way his nutty "torture is ok" and "god is on our side" views have any chance of prevailing.

Dick Cheney, please shut up.

I Almost Hit A Bicyclist

I was about to make a right turn onto a five-lane street. There wasn't much traffic, but I waited for it clear, then started my turn. Right in front of me, there was a bicyclist. Going the wrong way. In the dark. Without a helmet. Without a light. I didn't hit him, but I could have. As he bicycled off, I saw he had a red light on the back of the bike. Not much help that does when he's going the wrong way.

A long time ago, it was recommended that you should bike going against traffic. This stupid advice hasn't been given out for a long time. In fact, in Washington State, as in many states, it's illegal to ride against traffic. The King County web site has a good summary.

Here are the essentials:

• You're harder to see when you're biking the wrong way, both to vehicles in the street and to others.
• Motorists making a turn don't spend a lot of time looking the wrong way before making their turn. Pedestrians move slowly enough that they are usually spotted easily. Not so with bicyclists.
• Your speed relative to other traffic is much greater when you ride against traffic, significantly increasing the risk of an accident and the likelihood of injury in an accident.
• Assume that motorists are not looking out for you, both literally and figuratively. Do everything you can to be visible.
• Always wear a helmet, but know that it will not save your life in a major accident. Do everything you can to avoid an accident.
• Use two lights at night -- one in front and one in back. Lights that blink are a good idea. An extra light on your left leg that moves up and down for more visibility is a good idea.
• Following the law is always a good idea, but it's not enough -- in the vast majority of bicycle accidents, the bicyclists were following the law. It will not do you any good to have been in the right when you're hit.
  

Further reading

• bicyclesafe.com is an excellent, quick read with practical advice. Good to read even if you're not a bicyclist.
• Bicycling Street Smarts is book about "riding confidently, legally, and safely" which is available online.

Can We Save A Local Voice?

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is going to fold any day now and may become an online only paper. That's may become, not will become -- nothing is certain here. As P-I subscribers since we moved to the area, we're going to have to decide which paper to subscribe to -- the Seattle Times or what? I honestly don't know, but one possibility is that we'll get the New York Times instead of the Seattle Times. Which gives me an idea that I just have to toss out.

Why doesn't the P-I wrap the New York Times? By this I mean that they produce a combined paper which contains a single P-I section with local articles, local ads, local ad inserts, plus the national edition of the New York Times. The local section would contain no national news, no wire-service news, nothing but things that are of local interest. In other words, the local paper does what it does best and it combines with one of the best papers in the country (if not the best paper in the country) for everything else. The New York Times is already printed locally somewhere. That same plant could print one extra section for P-I subscribers.

Such a hybrid wouldn't save the entire P-I and it wouldn't save everybody's job, but it seems like it could retain the voice and more. It seems like a win-win for everyone.

Is there something I'm missing?

Happy Valentines Day!

Here's our valentine for this year:

Please Don't Eat The Piroshkis

There's a new piroshki restaurant in downtown Seattle that I highly recommend you avoid. It's called Piroshki on 3rd and is apparently the second restaurant in a now growing enterprise. I haven't figured out if the owners and bakers are evil or truly evil, but I think it's clear that they're bent on world domination. For once you've had one of their piroshkis, you'll have no choice but to return again and again. One person I know has already been there three times in the first four days since he learned about it and he has other trips planned already. I fear he may be a lost cause.

But you don't have to fall into this trap. Avoid the delicious, perfect, just-a-little-bit-sweet dough. Don't even think about the corned beef, mushrooms, and cheese piroshki. Don't be tempted by the smoked salmon and cream cheese. Don't stop to admire the fact that each flavor of piroshki is cleverly shaped differently to reflect its contents. And, if you're forced to go, make sure it's not around noon when everything is fresh out of the oven. Fortunately, if you get there too late, there may be a long line of people in front of you.

In fact, stay as far away from the whole area as you can. If you get too close, the smells may draw you in. Piroshki on 3rd is at 710 3rd Avenue, between Columbia and Cherry, in Seattle.