Sunday afternoon: Cleaning and catching up . . .

1. It's been a great weekend for new readers. I would like to welcome eeknight and  valgards to this handbasket. Yay!

2. We all know that at heart, I am a dog. Yup-yup-yup. Something hound-like. But, sometimes I am a cat. I got a lot of housecleaning done yesterday, and today I am doing battle with the dishes. (I have yet to establish a beahfront). So I grab the broom to sweep, and I see one of those little plastic cat balls with the bells inside. Fine minutes later, I have taken several turns through the house, firing wrist shots at the cats and missing them repeatedly.

3. It has been windy with flurry, but no serious weather. This is good.

4. The last I heard from evilnicola was a post from the Amsterdam Airport. I expect an e-mail from MikeTheBoyfriend any time now telling me she has rendezvoused with her sister and the attack on Berlin has begun.

5. Some really excellent threads on Beer Advocate on pricing and serving sizes in several of my favorite Boston bars -- Deep Ellum, Bukowski's and Redbones. There is also some interesting new about Redbones there.

6. This afternoon's music is "Omce More With Feeling," followed by a bunch of 70s anthems. ;) 

Sunday afternoon: Not doing much . . .

1. Dinner was steak, marinated in wasabi-ginger sauce, scalloped potatoes with cheddar, and a medley of vegetables (squash, onions, carrots) in a coconut milk/curry sauce. (Well, the first two have been eaten, and the third is cooking.), And fresh Italian bread.

2. There is actual, bright snulight outside.

3. Interesting Paranormal page.

4. Thanks to wldrose!

Newsday

CAMP SALERNO, Afghanistan - A 19-year-old medic from Texas will become the first woman in Afghanistan and only the second female soldier since World War II to receive the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest medal for valor.

Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown saved the lives of fellow soldiers after a roadside bomb tore through a convoy of Humvees in the eastern Paktia province in April 2007, the military said.

After the explosion, which wounded five soldiers in her unit, Brown ran through insurgent gunfire and used her body to shield wounded comrades as mortars fell less than 100 yards away, the military said.

"I did not really think about anything except for getting the guys to a safer location and getting them taken care of and getting them out of there," Brown told The Associated Press on Saturday at a U.S. base in the eastern province of Khost.

Brown, of Lake Jackson, Texas, is scheduled to receive the Silver Star later this month. She was part of a four-vehicle convoy patrolling near Jani Kheil in the eastern province of Paktia on April 25, 2007, when a bomb struck one of the Humvees.

Organizing a fund-raiser

zarhooie asked me to give her some examples of how to pull her college campus together to take part in the Special Olympics' Polar Plunge, and I thought I would simply post it here, because there may be some interest from others in volunteer fund-raising.

I am not going to number things, because I am posting off the top of my head. Some of this will be school-specific.

Poster the place to the limit the school allows. Have all the details on there and conbtact information including e-mail.

Print up donation forms and set up a tabe at the cafeteria/student union.

When people ask about it, get their e-mail addresses.

Challenge departments, clubs, teams to out-do other departments, clubs teams.

You might be able to get someone to donate a gift or plaque.

Get to the student newspaper (and the local one) as soon as possible.

Write a press release.

Write a letter to the editor.

Call the editor.

Challenge the paper to be part of the competition among groups.

Suggest the paper have a reporter plunge, or arrange for a plunger to write a story.

Tell them you will take pictures.

Coaches sometimes like to do these things with their teams.

Mention it in class/

Go see the president/dean and get them involved.

Make a banner when it gets warmer.

Get the library staff involved.

If there are any Special Olympic events before the dive, get people to volunteer at them.