Austin Chapman was born “profoundly deaf” and says he never understood why people were so moved by music. But that changed two weeks ago, when he tried a new modern hearing device for the first time.
On the filmmaker’s blog, he wrote:
That night, a group of close friends jump-started my musical education by playing Mozart, Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Elvis, and several other popular legends of music.
Being able to hear the music for the first time ever was unreal.
Massive wildfires have blackened about a million acres in southeast Oregon, killing countless cattle and horses and leaving no grazing land for struggling ranches that remain.
But help is on the way to struggling ranchers from the business community and fellow cattlemen. A convoy of 17 donated tractor-trailer trucks loaded with 500 tons of hay left Burns, Oregon yesterday morning in route to fire-affected families and businesses.
The donated hay, worth $75,000 is enough to feed about 1,000 cattle for 30 days and was donated by a local business that wished to remain anonymous.
The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) organized the convoy when its fire relief fund received the generous donation.
The current market rate for hauling hay is $30 per ton, making the per truck donation about $900. For this one day effort the trucking community’s gift will exceed $15,000, 204 hours of volunteer work, and 5150 miles of driving.
Lightning caused the range fires, which started in early July and are still only 25 percent contained.
Charitable donations of cash or in-kind contributions (including hay, supplies, transportation, and livestock relocation options) are being accepted online, via phone, or in person at the OCA office. Contact Kay Teisl at 503-361-8941 or [email protected] or visit www.orcattle.com/make-a-donation.
Massive wildfires have blackened about a million acres in southeast Oregon, killing countless cattle and horses and leaving no grazing land for struggling ranches that remain.
But help is on the way to struggling ranchers from the business community and fellow cattlemen. A convoy of 17 donated tractor-trailer trucks loaded with 500 tons of hay left Burns, Oregon yesterday morning in route to fire-affected families and businesses.
The donated hay, worth $75,000 is enough to feed about 1,000 cattle for 30 days and was donated by a local business that wished to remain anonymous.
The blue iguana has lived on the rocky shores of Grand Cayman a couple of million years, preening like a miniature turquoise dragon as it soaked in the sun. Yet it was driven to near-extinction by dogs, cats and cars, and the species numbered less than two dozen in the wild just a decade ago.
Now, though, a breeding program on the island has become a global model of success, fostering the population — now 700 — in the only locale on earth where the bright blue creatures lives in the wild.
The U.S. economy looked more resilient Wednesday after reports showed factories produced more goods in July and homebuilders grew more confident in the housing recovery. Industrial output expanded at the fastest pace since April.
Other encouraging gains included July reports that showed consumers stepped up retail spending and employers created the most jobs since February.
Poop in, clean water out.
Bill Gates has invested more than three million dollars on behalf of the 2.6 billion people around the world who don’t have access to modern toilets. Yesterday, the three winners of his “next-generation toilet” prize were announced, showcasing innovative designs that capture and process human waste without piped water, sewer or electrical connections.
Even more impressive, the toilet prize-winners all transformed human waste into useful resources, such as energy and water, at an affordable price.
Gates announced the contest one year ago, and yesterday unveiled the three universities that will share $200,000 as winners of the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge.
“If we apply creative thinking to everyday challenges, such as dealing with human waste, we can fix some of the world’s toughest problems,” said foundation Co-chair Bill Gates.
Other projects featured at the fair include better ways to empty latrines, user-centered designs for public toilet facilities, and insect-based latrines that decompose feces faster.
Unsafe methods to capture and treat human waste result in serious health problems and death. Food and water tainted with fecal matter result in 1.5 million child deaths every year. Proper toilets can also bring substantial economic benefits. According to the World Health Organization, improved sanitation delivers up to $9 in social benefits and increased economic productivity for every $1 invested.
The foundation also announced a second round of winners in the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge totaling nearly $3.4 million. The grants were awarded to teams using a variety of tools, including microwave technology to turn waste into electricity and sand filters and ultra-violet light that sanitizes feces overnight. Four winners include:
The Foundation has committed more than $370 million to their Water, Sanitation & Hygiene initiative.
“Imagine what’s possible if we continue to collaborate, stimulate new investment in this sector, and apply our ingenuity in the years ahead,” said Gates. “Many of these innovations will not only revolutionize sanitation in the developing world, but also help transform our dependence on traditional flush toilets in wealthy nations.”
READ more on the Bill and Melinda Gates blog, Impatient Optimists, and another post from yesterday.
Poop in, clean water out.
Bill Gates has invested more than three million dollars on behalf of the 2.6 billion people around the world who don’t have access to modern toilets. Yesterday, the three winners of his “next-generation toilet” prize were announced, showcasing innovative designs that capture and process human waste without piped water, sewer or electrical connections.
Even more impressive, the toilet prize-winners all transformed human waste into useful resources, such as energy and water, at an affordable price.
Gates announced the contest one year ago, and yesterday unveiled the three universities that will share $200,000 as winners of the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge.
When she was 15, Sarah Cronk set up her community’s first inclusive cheerleading squad at Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf, Iowa. Now, at 18 she is the founder of The Sparkle Effect, which helps schools around the country to include boys and girls with disabilities in their dance teams and cheerleading squads.
While Pleasant Valley’s program is now in its 6th season and includes 21 students, Sarah’s national program has raised more than $150,000 and generated 65 inclusive squads across the country.
Morphine is just about the best painkiller out there, as any doctor or any person who’s ever been in an accident will tell you. There’s just one small problem—it’s incredibly addictive. But thanks to some researchers from the University of Colorado and the University of Adelaide, we may have outsmarted that propensity for dependency.
Cole Hein, 11, has created a bucket list for his 14-year-old service dog.
He’s already checked off a few things — getting a portrait taken with the Jack Russell terrier, for instance. Now, he is asking people from around the world to join him in thanking the dog that saved his life.
Bingo is in the final stages of life and the child wants to pay him back for his life of service by feeding him eat treats from around the world.
Strangers banded together to organize an impromptu rescue yesterday after a couple, climbing Mt. Bierstadt to Mt. Evans in Colorado, found an abandoned german shepherd along a ridge connecting the two 14,000-foot mountains.
Amanda and Scott Washburn gave the dog food and water. But, suffering with bloody paws, the animal refused to be coaxed into hiking the difficult class-three boulder-filled terrain.
Official search and rescue teams were not an option, as they do not respond to animal calls, so the couple posted the story Saturday along with photos on the local climbing website, 14ers.com. A concerned team of volunteers returned that night to make the 3-hour climb to the estimated spot but after two hours could not locate her.
Substantial efforts to put together a second rescue party failed on Sunday, but early Monday morning, eight dedicated hikers and climbers – including an experienced climber named Chris O’Riley enlisted by the Colorado group, Animal Help Now – made their way up Bierstadt equipped with a large backpack, food, water and medical supplies, in the hopes of bringing her down.
Strangers banded together to organize an impromptu rescue yesterday after a couple, climbing Mt. Bierstadt to Mt. Evans in Colorado, found an abandoned german shepherd along a ridge connecting the two 14,000-foot mountains.
Amanda and Scott Washburn gave the dog food and water. But, suffering with bloody paws, the animal refused to be coaxed into hiking the difficult class-three boulder-filled terrain.
Official search and rescue teams were not an option, as they do not respond to animal calls, so the couple posted the story Saturday along with photos on the local climbing website, 14ers.com. A concerned team of volunteers returned that night to make the 3-hour climb to the estimated spot but after two hours could not locate her.
Substantial efforts to put together a second rescue party failed on Sunday, but early Monday morning, eight dedicated hikers and climbers – including an experienced climber named Chris O’Riley enlisted by the Colorado group, Animal Help Now – made their way up Bierstadt equipped with a large backpack, food, water and medical supplies, in the hopes of bringing her down.
The International Olympic Committee’s decision seven years ago to choose London has, after 17 sport-packed days, been joyously, wondrously vindicated.
The most precious and unexpected result of the London Olympics, though, is the mood of national confidence and enthusiasm they have generated. Hosting the Olympics has boosted national morale more than any single event in most people’s living memory. The capital and the country have been transformed.
A photographer living in the rainforest-rich country of Malaysia who specializes in macro photography was hiking in Selangor State Park near Kuala Lumpur when he came across a lovely green lacewing.
After photographing the insect, Hock Ping Guek posted his photos to Flickr, an online photo-sharing site.
Shaun Winterton, a senior entomologist at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, happened across the image and was struck by the black markings on the wing, which he had never seen on a lacewing before.
The Holiday Inn Shanghai – Pudong Kangqiao features a cantilevered swimming pool that hangs over the building giving swimmers a bird’s eye view onto the street more than 250 feet below.
This gives guests a delirious sense of swimming in the sky — they can see the street clearly down below while passers-by on Xiuyan Lu can see the swimmers way up above.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got her groove on in South Africa last week, dancing at a party in Johannesburg, as the crowd of attendees cheered along with the country’s foreign minister who hosted the dinner.
WATCH the video above from ITN News…
An American college graduate named Daniel decided to travel around the world using a family member’s free airline miles, but the grateful 22-year-old wanted to give back in return for his good fortune. He posted a message on the social media bulletin board, Reddit, asking strangers how he could help out.
“I want to have a Reddit-powered epic summer adventure,” he wrote. “Do you want me to hand deliver a letter to someone across the country or overseas? Attempt to help you with homework? Volunteer at your organization for a day? Need an extra pair of hands to do that landscaping project you’ve been putting off for months? Know a sweet hiking spot but have no one to go with?”
The response from Reddit users was huge, with around 300 requests coming in from people all across the globe. The difficult part was paring down the number to set a feasible itinerary that he could complete in 11 weeks.
His first stops were in Asia and Australia before flying back to Canada and US cities before prematurely ending the trip, due to tooth aches and dental issues, in July.
He ended up donating money ($500) he raised on Reddit for filming costs after he managed to save so much money by living off of the hospitality of Redditers instead of paying for hostels.
His most moving moment of the trip was washing a car for “Oliver’s mom”, a parent of a boy with leukemia who doesn’t seem to have enough time for anything else but caring for her son.
His final thank you post on the website showed a list of the places he visited and activities he accomplished.
“Soon I’m going to begin talking to the airline to explore the possibility of doing something similar next summer, but on a bigger scale/actually organized. Something where you could vote on where to send me a on week to week basis. In the mean time I’m going to work on turning the footage I took this summer into something (short documentary or music video or something).”
For more info, visit Daniel’s Subreddit page, ReVenture – and see more accounts on his Facebook Page.
An American college graduate named Daniel decided to travel around the world using a family member’s free airline miles, but the grateful 22-year-old wanted to give back in return for his good fortune. He posted a message on the social media bulletin board, Reddit, asking strangers how he could help out.
“I want to have a Reddit-powered epic summer adventure,” he wrote. “Do you want me to hand deliver a letter to someone across the country or overseas? Attempt to help you with homework? Volunteer at your organization for a day? Need an extra pair of hands to do that landscaping project you’ve been putting off for months? Know a sweet hiking spot but have no one to go with?”
An 82-year-old veteran from Cary, N.C. traveling through O’hare Airport had no idea he was about to fall, literally, into a life-threatening situation involving his luggage and an escalator. A traveling salesman who happened to be in the right place at the right time potentially saved his life with a product designed to stop severe bleeding.
A few weeks ago, Albert Cinquepalma was trying to make a connection at the airport in Chicago when his bag got caught on an escalator, causing him to fall backward. The escalator ripped the skin from much of his arm as he was dragged along for several minutes. Two men nearby pulled him off the escalator, but the injuries to his arm were severe and he was losing blood quickly.
An emergency care team would take 20 minutes to arrive and the first aid kit in the airport had nothing to stop the bleeding. Coincidentally, a man named Ted Russell was also at O’Hare that day.
“This guy appeared out of nowhere and said he had some stuff that could help, and he started to wrap my whole arm with this material – and the bleeding stopped almost immediately,” Cinquepalma said.
After the bleeding stopped, Russell left to catch his flight and the EMS team arrived to take Albert to Chicago’s Resurrection Hospital. Although his arm was badly mangled, following treatment he is expected to recover fully. He would have had no way to thank his Good Samaritan, except that Russell left the QuikClot packaging behind. Albert tracked down the company and was able to eventually reach Ted to thank him for his help.
“I don’t think I’m a hero. I really just did what anyone would have done,” said Russell. “I knew I had something that would help Albert and I used it. To me Albert is the hero for his service to our country in the Korean War.”
In the Korean War Cinquepalma served in the Heavy Weapons Infantry, 7th Division, 32nd Regiment, Company D for an 81mm mortar platoon. Ironically, he was wounded in combat during the war and lost a lot of blood. Surgeons then told him he was just minutes away from dying before help arrived.
QuikClot Combat Gauze is made with a blood-clotting inert mineral known as kaolin. According to Russell, all soldiers on the battlefield carry it in case of bleeding emergencies. Different versions of QuikClot are used by law enforcement and emergency medicine.
An 82-year-old veteran from Cary, N.C. traveling through O’hare Airport had no idea he was about to fall, literally, into a life-threatening situation involving his luggage and an escalator. A traveling salesman who happened to be in the right place at the right time potentially saved his life with a product designed to stop severe bleeding.
A few weeks ago, Albert Cinquepalma was trying to make a connection at the airport in Chicago when his bag got caught on an escalator, causing him to fall backward. The escalator ripped the skin from much of his arm as he was dragged along for several minutes. Two men nearby pulled him off the escalator, but the injuries to his arm were severe and he was losing blood quickly.
An emergency care team would take 20 minutes to arrive and the first aid kit in the airport had nothing to stop the bleeding. Coincidentally, a man named Ted Russell was also at O’Hare that day.
