Help ideas for tornado victims

 Sometimes bad, unimaginable things happen to good people. If you want to help the people of Oklahoma that this happened to this week, here are some links for things you can do. (This information is taken straight from an NBC news site. I just took out the ads.)
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How to help Oklahoma tornado victims

By Suzanne Choney, Contributing Writer, NBC News,
Ben Popken and Devin Coldewey also contributed to this report.

The loss of life and stunning devastation in Oklahoma City suburbs after a monster tornado ripped through the area are heart-wrenching. "The streets are just gone. The signs are just gone," said Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, after she toured the area by helicopter Tuesday. And many, many relief organizations are getting the message out on how to help.

American Red Cross
The Red Cross has set up shelters in various communities. You can donate to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund here, and the organization also suggests giving blood at your local hospital or blood bank. Fundraising efforts were buoyed Tuesday by a $1 million pledge from Kevin Durant, of the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team, via his family foundation.

If you're searching for a missing relative, check Red Cross Safe & Well's site. And please register if you're within the disaster region. The site is designed to make communication easier after a tragedy like this.

If you want to send a $10 donation to the Disaster Relief fund via text message, you can do so by texting the word REDCROSS to 90999. As in the case with other donations via mobile, the donation will show up on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your balance if you have a prepaid phone. You need to be 18 or older, or have parental permission, to donate this way. (If you change your mind, text the word STOP to 90999.)

The Red Cross also accepts frequent flier miles as donations. Delta, United Airlines and US Airways partner with the Red Cross throughout the year, which uses miles to help get volunteers and staff to key locations during disasters. (Note: The donation is not tax-deductible as the IRS considers it a gift.) For Delta, email: delta.bids@delta-air.com with your SkyMiles number, the number of miles you want to donate, and specify the Red Cross as the charity. You can donate miles online at United Airlines Donate Your Miles and US Airways Dividend Miles.

Phone: 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767); for Spanish speakers, 1-800-257-7575; for TDD, 1-800-220-4095.

OK Strong Disaster Relief Fund
The state of Oklahoma, coordinating with the United Way of Central Oklahoma, on Tuesday established the OK Strong Disaster Relief Fund to help "with the long-term medical, emotional and educational needs of victims of the May 20 tornado in Moore and the May 19 tornado near Shawnee."

Donations can be made online at UnitedWayOKC.org.

Phone: 1-405-236-8441.

Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, working with the Oklahoma Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, is seeking monetary donations. To donate, visit the regional food bank's website, or give $10 by texting the word FOOD to 32333.

Phone: 1-405-972-1111

Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief
This organization says donations will "go straight to help those in need providing tree removal services, laundry services and meals to victims of disasters."
It is requesting monetary donations (It says clothing is NOT needed). For more information, and to donate, visit Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief's website.
You can send checks to: BGCO, Attn: Disaster Relief, 3800 N. May Ave., Oklahoma City, OK., 73112.

Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is organizing disaster response units to serve hard-hit areas in central Oklahoma, including Moore, where it is sending mobile kitchens that can serve meals to 2,500 people a day, and to South Oklahoma City.
 
In Little Axe, Okla., the organization said, the army's Central Oklahoma Area Command Disaster Service Unit was busy feeding breakfast, lunch and dinner to people, "even as one of our Salvation Army family member's home was destroyed."
Supporters can donate online via the organization's website, SalvationArmyUSA.org. You can also text the word STORM to 80888 to make a $10 donation via cellphone.
If you want to send a check, the Salvation Army asks that you put the words "Oklahoma Tornado Relief" on the check, and mail it to: The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 12600, Oklahoma City, OK., 73157.
Phone:  1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769).

Feed the Children
Feed the Children has set up five locations in Oklahoma City to accept donations to help victims of the Moore tornado. The organization is accepting items including diapers, canned goods, non-perishable food, snack items, water and sports drinks. The organization is also supporting mobile canteens in partnership with the Salvation Army and the Red Cross.
You can donate online, or make a $10 donation by texting the word DISASTER to 80888.
Phone:  1-800-627-4556

United Way of Central Oklahoma

 A disaster relief fund is being activated as of May 21 so that individuals can specifically donate to tornado relief-and-recovery efforts, the organization says on its site.

"Financial contributions are the best way to help unless otherwise requested." Donations can be made online at United Way of Central Oklahoma’s Disaster Relief Fund is open.  Donations may be made online here. Checks, with a notation of "May Tornado Relief" can also be sent to the United Way of Central Oklahoma, P.O. Box 837, Oklahoma City, OK , 73101.

Feeding America
Through its network of more than 200 food banks, Feeding America, whose mission is to "feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks," says it will deliver truckloads of food, water and supplies to communities in need, in Oklahoma, and will also "set up additional emergency food and supply distribution sites as they are needed." You can donate online here.
Phone: 1-800-910-5524.

Operation USA
The international relief group, based in Los Angeles, says it is "readying essential material aid — emergency, shelter and cleaning supplies" to help Oklahoma's community health organizations and schools recover.
You can donate online here. You can also give a $10 donation by texting the word AID to 50555. Checks should be sent to: Operation USA, 7421 Beverly Blvd., PH, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: 1-800-678-7255.

Convoy of Hope
The Missouri-based nonprofit organization has done work in other disasters, including the Haiti earthquake, with a mission of getting food and water to those after disaster strikes. Now it's doing the same for Moore, Okla. You can donate online here. Convoy of Hope is also going the crowd-sourced route, using HopeMob, a site similar to Kickstarter but for raising money to help disaster victims and others in need, which charges no fees to the organizations that use it. Convoy of Hope's goal on the site is to raise $15,000 in seven days to help Moore.
"Why 7 days? In these first 7 days the town of Moore, OK will be consumed with clearing out destruction and accessing their needs," HopeMob says on its site. "Once those needs are known we want to be able to give them the funds to help them rebuild in the long term."
As of Tuesday, nearly $9,500 was raised.
Phone: 1-800-988-0664
Direct Relief

Direct Relief
The Santa Barbara, Calif.-based, non-profit organization provides medical assistance and personal hygiene items to those hurt in disasters, as well as in other circumstances.
"So far we have heard from health center partners responding in Oklahoma and are preparing an emergency shipment to help support the efforts there.  Direct Relief has been receiving requests for emergency supplies, personal care and protection items — including hygiene supplies, infection control products, gloves, soap, shampoo, deodorant, sanitary napkins, diapers, wipes and formula," said Kerri Murray, Direct Relief vice president, in an email.
To donate, visit DirectRelief.org.
Phone: 1-800-676-1638

AmeriCares
The Emergency Response team for AmeriCares is in Oklahoma, "coordinating deliveries of emergency aid and assessing the needs of survivors and health care organizations in the disaster area."
Since 1982, the Connecticut-based nonprofit has delivered medicine, medical supplies and aid to those in need around the world and across the United States.
You can donate online here. You can also give a $10 donation by texting the word LIVE to 25383. Checks or money orders can be mailed to: AmeriCares, 88 Hamilton Ave., Stamford, CT 06902.
Phone:  1-800-486-HELP (1-800-486-4357)

Operation Blessing International
Humanitarian organization Operation Blessing International, which last week coordinated more than 500 volunteers in Granbury, Texas, after that area was hit by a tornado, is working with The Home Depot and dispatching a construction unit, mobile command center, trucks with tools and supplies and a team of construction foremen to Moore.
Late Monday, Operation Blessing International also "loaded and deployed two tractor-trailer truckloads of food and emergency relief supplies from its warehouse in Dallas, Texas, in partnership with the humanitarian organization, Mercury One," said a Operation Blessing spokeswoman.
The Virginia Beach-based group's online link for donations is here.
Phone:  1-800-730-2537

Samaritan's Purse
The international Christian relief organization focuses on cleaning and repairing damaged homes and sent two disaster relief units from North Wilkesboro, N.C. to Oklahoma Tuesday. "The tractor-trailers are stocked with heavy-duty plastic, chainsaws, generators, and other tools and equipment. The units also will serve as command centers for the response," Samaritan's Purse says on its website.
You can donate online here. You can also give a $10 donation by texting the word SP to 80888.
Phone:  1-800-528-1980

Jewish Federations of North America
The Jewish Federations of North America is working with the Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma, which is coordinating efforts with a local food bank, Habitat for Humanity and the Red Cross. The Jewish Federations of North America has established an Oklahoma City Tornado Relief fund. Donors can contribute online here.
Checks can also be sent to the JFNA national mailbox at: The Jewish Federations of North America, Wall Street Station, P.O. Box 148, New York, NY, 10268. Please indicate "JFNA Oklahoma City Tornado Relief Fund" on all checks or in the designation box online.
DonorsChoose.orgDonorsChoose.org is creating a special online fund to collect donations for the teachers and schools of Moore, Okla., to help respond and rebuild. Donors Choose will work with the teachers of Moore to assess what they need for their classrooms and allow them to identify the real-time solutions and supplies their community and their students need: everything from clothing for their students to first-aid kits.
To donate, visit www.donorschoose.org

And a note of caution ...
Emotions are running high, understandably, in light of the awful news from Oklahoma. Many of us want to help in some way. But this vulnerable time is also rife with and ripe for scammers who want to prey on your emotions and wallet. They may seek you out via email, knock on your door, or even try to get you to give money via Facebook.
The Federal Trade Commission has guidelines about charity donations, including these tips:

• Donate to charities you know and trust. Be alert for charities that seem to have sprung up overnight in connection with current events, like the tornadoes.
• Ask if a caller is a paid fundraiser, who they work for, and what percentage of your donation goes to the charity and to the fundraiser. If you don’t get a clear answer — or if you don’t like the answer you get — consider donating to a different organization.
• Don’t give out personal or financial information — including your credit card or bank account number — unless you know the charity is reputable.
• Never send cash: you can’t be sure the organization will receive your donation, and you won’t have a record for tax purposes.
• Check out the charity with the Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, or GuideStar.
• Find out if the charity or fundraiser must be registered in your state by contacting the National Association of State Charity Officials.

"Zero"--a book review

This month's selection for my book club was Zero-the Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife. This is a nonfiction book that discusses the history of numbers and their place in society focusing on the ever important concept of zero and its partner infinity. Now if you're not a math person, don't stop reading yet. Seife has masters degrees in math and journalism and takes a seemingly dry subject and makes it a very interesting read. He starts in the beginning with the use of numbers to count things and goes to present day with string theory and such. 

First let me tell you what background knowledge I brought to the book, so you can put my perceptions in context. I had the basic science and math courses in college of physics, chemistry, and calculus. I didn't have any advanced courses in these areas. However, I am married to someone who reads math and physics books for fun, so if you can learn anything by osmosis, I should know a lot. I found the book an interesting read for several reasons.

I had never thought about the evolution of numbers and their use. I guess I just assumed that all of them had always been there, including zero. However, that was naive. They have evolved over time just as our scientific ideas have often hand in hand--which makes perfect sense if I'd ever taken time to think about it. Also, I had never thought about the beautiful or sinister (depending on your point of view) concepts of zero and infinity in a religious sense. There have been a lot of differing ideas of whether God created things from something or from nothing and whether there is a beginning and ending to the universe. Many men and societies survived or didn't depending on their views on this subject and what was politically correct at the time. Also, the book reads like a who's who of the big players throughout time in the science and math world. However, Seife does more than discuss their math contributions. He tells about the life they were living and how their work affected their life. It is very much a history book in all of these ways.

Zero is also a math book. As Seife describes each new concept as it was discovered, he gives very understandable examples of that concept in every day terms. He seems to have a real gift for this and I think his examples could be used in the classroom to make things clear and relevant to students.

Now after all of that praise, let me tell you the rest of the story. The book can be a quick and easy read. At least that was how it was for the math professor in our group. However, I found it a fast read if I didn't try to completely understand the examples or a tedious read when I was trying to understand them--especially toward the end when they were getting more complex.

What did the others think about Zero? Some commented that there may have been other sides to the story, especially in the religious context, than were presented by Seife. However, most of the other comments were favorable. They thought it was well written and the subject matter interesting. Out in the rest of the world, it has won awards and has gotten favorable reviews from most of the major newspapers.

Would I recommend the book? Yes, but I wouldn't call it a beach-read type book for the average person. I plan to read it again and savor all of the fascinating information it has to offer. (Especially when I have trouble sleeping.)
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But wait, there's more:

In the latter parts of the book, it talks about many things that I have heard referenced on The Big Bang Theory. I now understand better what Sheldon and Leonard are often talking about.

But wait, there's even more:

If you want to know more details about the book, read here.

Thankful Sunday--May 19, 2013

I am thankful for my library card.

Today I checked out a mystery by Martha Grimes from the library to join all of the travel books I have on New Mexico. I just returned two books on CD and a magazine, and last week I returned a movie I didn't have time to watch--but that's not a problem, I can check it out again. I have discovered new music that I like and new music that I didn't like from the library. Also I have been to gardening programs, craft programs, history programs, and book club programs at my library. And someday when I get an E reader, I will check out books for it from the library.

I have been using the library since I was a very little girl and although my card has changed over time, I have always been thankful for it.

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions--May 17, 2013

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money. Also, I am using this public forum to encourage us to eat out less which includes better meal planning. You can follow how we are doing in this endeavor by reading True Food Confessions.

This Week's Food Waste

Food Waste=None

This Week's True Food Confessions

A few things we had to eat this week. We were lucky to have fresh asparagus and greens from Uncle Billy's garden.

I started to write my regular Friday post and got a little bored with it. It was much like last week's so you can read that if you want to get a feel for it. In the meantime, I'm going to talk about something that has interested me for a while--what you call the meals you eat every day.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper

These are the four common names that are used for the meals of the day in most English speaking countries. Dinner came from a old French word that meant to break the fast of overnight and was usually used for the main meal of the day--one at noon in a two meal system. Over the years the main meal has changed from the first one of the day to the last one of the day and use of the word dinner has followed that change. When I was growing up, we had breakfast, dinner, and supper in that order. Calling dinner the evening meal was something that I only read about in books. I think this usage reflected that I grew up in a rural farming community. However, as I made my way out into the world, I gradually adopted the naming that I had read about. I eat breakfast when I first get up in the morning. I eat lunch in the middle of the day, and I have dinner during the early evening. (Although sometimes I still have supper then. It just depends if I am channeling my roots that day.)

What do you call the meals you eat every day? Has it changed over time?

A Second Look--Birds, May 16, 2013

I love to watch birds. Not in a bird watcher kind of way like someone who has a life list of birds they've seen and hope to see. Also, not like a friend who knows every bird that comes to her feeder and gives each one of  them names according to their looks and actions. I'm not quite as serious as either one of those kind of watchers. But I love to watch birds all the same.

I know that birds have struggles like every other living thing, but to me they look joyful as they flit about. They look happy as they are looking for grubs, and they look satisfied while they are building their nests. Watching birds that have these apparent attitudes is one of the reasons I love to watch them.

My bird watching began two years ago when Ward got a bird feeder for his birthday. For the first year, most of our bird watching was really squirrel watching as we tried to keep the squirrels from eating the bird food. When that problem was solved, our bird watching began in earnest. We called excitedly to each other when we saw a bird on the feeder, and then called Aunt Martha, our bird expert, to help us identify it. 

As time went on, we learned to identify more birds by ourselves and I started taking pictures of them to share with you during my Second Looks. I'm not sure if you are aware of my bird picture taking methods, but I am shooting through my dirty kitchen windows. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. And many times the bird has moved on before I can get the camera in place. But I do it all the same. The birds have been particularly active the last few weeks as they find mates, build nests, and raise babies.  Below are pictures of some of this activity in my backyard. Many of the pictures are not of great quality (remember the dirty kitchen window thing) but I'm sharing them because they tell my story. I love bird watching.

Bluebird scoping area for nest site. It chose this box.

Inside the above box, five eggs were laid and recently hatched. It's hard to tell much about the baby birds since they are all in a big pile, but if you look carefully you can see in the last picture they are starting to develop feathers.

Bluebirds did not get to use this box because it is being used by a house sparrow. House sparrows are aggressive about nesting areas and some people remove their nest when they see it being built so the bluebirds will have a chance. I just couldn't do that. The birds have been building the nest for over a month and it has no eggs yet. The latest building material was blue jay feathers.

This is one of a pair of sparrows that has been building the above nest.

This is a house sparrow's egg shell that Ward found buried under the sparrow nesting box. A coincidence, yes. But an interesting one since that box is new to that location this year. I'm not sure where the egg came from.

Woodpeckers. We have also seen hairy and pileated woodpeckers at the feeder, but not recently.

Our woodpecker tree with a new hole for this year. I don't know if any of the above woodpeckers made it.

Cardinals. I have seen a lot of cardinal activity recently including dueling males fighting for mating rights. Sometimes the male and female show up to the feeder together and sometimes they don't.

These two house finches were eating dandelions together. The one on the left looks like a fledgling female. Notice the downy feathers on top of its head. The other one with the red head is a male.

Another finch. A gold finch.

Cat bird. This a new one for me and Aunt Martha promptly got a call.

Robin, Blue Jay, and Carolina Wren

I guess that's enough for now. And now for the disclaimer. I identified these birds to the best of my ability, but who knows if I got them all right.