I signed up with reviewme.com to be a product reviewer.  As such, I get paid to review products, and I then donate said proceeds to Valour-IT. 

Today's product is Rubber Mulch

From the advertiser:
Rubber mats provide the perfect finishing touch for any playground area that has a loose fill surface. They are specifically designed for potentially high-impact areas such as beneath swings and slides to prevent dispersion. Playsafer Wear Mats also provide an added layer of fall protection.
Impact tested to a 3' fall height
30" x 30" x 1.5"
Made from 100% recyled tires
Durable
Affordable


From Chuck:
Anything that recycles tires is a great idea.  Rubbercycle  (http://www.rubberecycle.com/) makes their product out of recycled tires, which are a HUGE ecological problem.  The tires don't biodegrade, they hold stagnant water, and become a living space for mosquitos, snakes, and all manner of vermin.

Rubbercycle takes these tires, which would otherwise just take up landfill space, and shreds them and transforms them into a variety of products.  They make rubber mulch, which is extremely long lasting, and has the added benefit of not fading, molding, mildewing, or needing replaced every spring (a dirty job that is very time consuming and labor intensive.  With Rubbercycle's rubber mulch, you put it down and that's it--now you have time to sip mint juleps and watch the day dissolve into evening with friends and family.

Rubbercycle (http://www.rubberecycle.com/) rubber mulch is also a great alternative to sawdust, wood chips, and all the other stuff they spread around playground equipment, because it doesn't need replaced, and has the added benefit of absorbing impact, so when Jr. fall off the swing, he is less likely to shatter his tailbone.

Rubbercycle http://www.rubberecycle.com/ also makes rubber curbs to contain the rubber playground mulch, as well as rubber equestrian arena footing, so your horsies can enjoy the benefits of rubber too.

--Chuck

Labels: Paying the bills, priduct review

Update: He's alive and well and sounds all Chucktastic. Let's hope this is the last one for a while.


Six Million Dollar Man Intro
Uploaded by pezhammer. - See more comedy videos.

Today is the day they upgrade to Chuck 2.0. (Considering he's had more surgeries than birthdays, he may be well past 2.0, but we'll go with this for now.)

If you get a chance to send thoughts or prayers, I'm sure the Ziegenfi would appreciate it.

I'll update accordingly.

Labels: surgery

On June 27, 2005, Mrs. Greyhawk of The Mudville Gazette wrote a post about visiting Chuck in LMRC after being wounded.

How did he look?, you may wonder. He was in good spirits. He has a black eye. His face is scraped pretty good, but nothing a bag over the head couldn't cure, I told him in jest. He had some difficulty in hearing me, which I hope isn't permanent. He said he will need some skin graft on his legs and probably more work on his left arm. Both arms were in a cast up to his shoulders. His thumb is still up in the air (no pun intended). It looked pink to me so I know that's a good sign, but time will tell and I'm sure Chuck will when he's able to blog again. I told him a pencil between the teeth might work but He said he wasn't sure what to blog about now. I asked, "how about the healing process?" There are many that would like to know your progress. I got the feeling that, as much as he wanted to go home to his family, he was somewhat wanting to be back with his men. But if any of you have read his blog that should not suprise you.

It's like she knew what was going to happen.  She's a smart woman, that Mrs. G. (Even if she is heading the Valour-IT Air Force team.)

You don't have to be a blogger to spread the word about Valour-IT TEAM ARMY.  If you click the big green button below, you can find ways to get the word out via email, Facebook, Twitter, and a whole slew of other ways.  Click "Share this fundraiser" in the right-hand column. There are also more than a few ways to give.   (Credit where credit's due:  GiveZooks! is a pretty amazing web site.  I'm glad they're around to help us out, and I hope they're around for a long time to come.)




~~Code Monkey

Written by the TEAM ARMY Leader, Matt Burden.  (This Matt Burden)

Today, Thursday, October 28th, we will begin the annual Soldiers' Angels Valour-IT competition.

WHAT IS VALOUR-IT?
Project Valour-IT began when Captain Charles "Chuck" Ziegenfuss was wounded by an IED while serving as commander of a tank company in Iraq in June 2005.

During his deployment he kept a blog (an online personal diary, opinion forum, or news analysis site-called a milblog or military weblog when written by a servicemember or about military subjects). Captivating writing, insightful stories of his experiences, and his self-deprecating humor won him many loyal readers. After he was wounded, his wife continued his blog, keeping his readers informed of his condition.

As he began to recover, CPT Ziegenfuss wanted to return to writing his blog, but serious hand injuries hampered his typing. When a loyal and generous reader gave him a copy of the Dragon Naturally Speaking Preferred software, other readers began to realize how important such software could be to CPT Ziegenfuss' fellow wounded soldiers and started cast about for a way to get it to them.

"At that time I had no use of either hand. I know how humbling it is, how humiliating it feels. And I know how much better I felt, how amazingly more functional I felt, after Soldiers' Angels provided me with a laptop and a loyal reader provided me with the software. I can't wait to do the same, to give that feeling to another soldier at Walter Reed." - Captain Chuck Ziegenfuss at TC Override (wounded in Iraq)

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss (Captain Chuck Ziegenfuss' father), provides voice-controlled software and laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand and arm injuries, amputations, eye or brain injuries, at major military medical centers. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the 'Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field without having to press a key or move a mouse.

Folks, I've witnessed several wounded soldiers set up their laptops only to email or Skype their friends and comrades in the war zone to let them know that they are okay.  Keeping them in communication with loved ones increases the possibility of a successful recovery exponentially.

THE COMPETITION
In order to fund the thousands of laptops we have distributed and need to distribute, we have an annual competition.
Valour-IT's online fundraising competition begins today! Let's see who can raise the most money to help reconnect our wounded warriors with the world!
WHAT: Friendly fundraising competition for Valour-IT.
WHEN: October 28th through Veterans Day, November 11th .
WHERE: Based in the blogosphere, spreading everywhere else.
WHY: Because giving wounded warriors with hand and arm injuries access to a computer supports their healing and puts them back in touch with the world.
HOW: Blogger teams will be divided along military branches, with civilians "up for grabs."

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
You have been a part of our community in one way or another.  THANK YOU!

We need you to simply blog and email regularly about Valour-IT and the competition with links to the Team Army donation page.  Tell your friends, family and neighbors about Valour-IT.  We'll be providing media, links, and talking points for your Tweets, Facebook posts and blog posts, etc. 

The competition is military branch specific and you've been drafted for TEAM ARMY.  If you would like to continue receiving emails regarding this competition and Team Army, hit reply (without a response) and you'll be added to a Google Group for TEAM ARMY. 

All future messages will come from: team-army---valour-it-2010@googlegroups.com .

Thanks for all of your support!

ALL THE WAY!

Matt

--
Matthew Burden
"BlackFive"

On October 26, 2010, Americans are encouraged to reaffirm their patriotism and allegiance to our flag and country, and to honor our brave men and women in uniform who are selflessly putting their lives on the line to protect and preserve our way of life. How? Think big, think small, but just…think and then do.

The first step is simply to sign the Day of the Deployed proclamation here.  Then, put those thinking muscles in motion and do something on October 26 in honor of America's service members. Join us in celebrating our deployed heroes and their families. You can download a Soldiers' Angels Day of the Deployed logo, proclamation to print (pdf), a poem to read at a special event, and a list of ideas.

Major Bryan Carroll, currently deployed to Afghanistan, explains why this is so important.  "Our brave young Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guard are in harm's way, every day, around the world. I can not even begin to tell you how much of a difference it makes when they know that they are loved and supported by their fellow citizens back at home. It could have been the worst day in the world, for any number of reasons, but that knowledge that comes from a letter, a care package, or a day like Day of the Deployed is what can make a critical difference in their spirits and morale. Thank you to all of you that participate in events like Day of the Deployed and sending care packages and letters to our brave troops."

Shelle Michaels, who led development of of this special day adds, "This is the 5th Annual Day of the Deployed that Soldiers' Angels has honored.  We encourage Americans to join with and other organizations across America to make this a day that our country stands in unison to support our deployed warriors and their families, a day to renew our commitment to support the troops all year long."

The 5th Annual Day of the Deployed is recognized on October 26, 2010 by Soldiers’ Angels and many local and national politicians across the nation declaring the day of honor with the following proclamation:


 
Patti Patton-Bader, Founder
 
More info here.


--Chuck

Now that the nanny state has prohibited smoking from everywhere except a single stall in a bus station men's room in Newark, Can we please divide restaurants into babies and other ill-mannered children (including unsupervised teens) and people who've raised chhildren how to act in public?

I am cruel.  I think Rachel Corrie deserved to get run over by a bulldozer. But then, I also think that way about anyone who supports the PLO.

From CJ over at A Soldiers Perspective:

Okay, so a local school just ended one of those fundraisers where they sell those delicious "World's Finest Chocolate" bars for a buck. They have the $3 off coupon to Pizza Hut on the wrapper and the money helps the school system.

Well, the fundraising coordinator contacted me saying they have a few hundred bars left over and the drive has ended. I asked him if I could try and sell them through this site and then send them all to the troops. So, that's what we're gonna do. My daughter is no longer in Girl Scouts, so my Girl Scouts to Cav Scouts needs a revamping. With the cooler weather coming up, now is the perfect time to send chocolate and not worry about it melting on the way there.

Go see how you can help out here.

What can I say, I have trust issues when it comes to my privacy.

The apps, ranked by research company Inside Network Inc. (based on monthly users), include Zynga Game Network Inc.'s FarmVille, with 59 million users, and Texas HoldEm Poker and FrontierVille. Three of the top 10 apps, including FarmVille, also have been transmitting personal information about a user's friends to outside companies. --source

~~Code Monkey

An Afghan civilian wounded by an IED being protected by US Service members from the rotor wash of the Dustoff [medevac helecopter] during a firefight. Dustoff aircraft are always targets.

I'm late to the party on this one. I saw the clip over at This ain't Hell, but wanted to add my own opinion here. First, watch the video:



Apparently, DeMint started the recession.

Perhaps Mr. Greene is just not well prepped for these events. Perhaps he doesn't want to dwell on things like high school nicknames or witchcraft. Perhaps he's a brain cell away from managed care.

Bit here's the thing... He's the democratic candidate for United States Senate from South Carolina. Did you ever wonder why, when it comes time for the election, we are forced to choose between the idiot, and the other idiot? Different versions of Beige? McCain and Obama? Candidates that no one seems to really want?

It's because although Millions vote in national elections, only a fraction vote in the primaries. Of the multiple people to choose from in your party, if you wait until the general election, odds are, the person you wanted won't be on the ballot. (Yes, you can write in a candidate--it's how I got five votes in the last Presidential election, from me and four folks at the local mortuary--but you're competing against everyone from Mickey Mouse to Zsa Zsa Gabor if you go that route.) You have to be involved in the pre-primary, and then vote, and get others to vote, in the primary. Go pound some pavement for your candidate. Just go talk to your neighbors, ask them if they believe in what you believe... and if they agree with you, ask them if they are registered to vote in the primary. If not, give them the registration forms. Ask if they need help filling it out. Offer them a ride to the polls. Get a list of "possible" (i.e. registered) voters from the campaign headquarters. Go talk to those people--call first, be polite, and ask if you can meet them for a few minutes at their leisure. Soon, if you are diligent, you could have as many as fifty people who are willing to go to the polls, and vote for your candidate. In a local election, which are often close, fifty can be a BIG deal... now you are the one who got them together, and YOU are a big deal to the campaign. Maybe you can affect some things, like making sure your candidate doesn't do stupid things like vote for a healthcare bill no one wanted, and that he hasn't even read. The campaigns know that someone who can get 50 votes in a few weeks can easily get 500 votes (or more!) in a few months, and that can REALLY swing the general election. It takes more work than bitching about politics at the water cooler.
If you are more the type who likes insurgent politics (and have a strong stomach)get your voting bloc together and register, then vote, in the other party's primary. Choose the least qualified candidate, the guy who needs someone to tie his shoes, put corks on his forks, and add straws to his applesauce. A person who'll take their bribes in creamsicles. Put that candidate up against the person you want elected, and it'll be an easy win...

Unless the other side does it to you too... and you have a repeat of '08

--Chuck

I am insanely bored sitting at home and healing.

The dog has begun to ignore my attempts at conversation, and just continues typing, when he's pretending to sleep.


So I am watching the news, and figured I'd share my thoughts on the "top stories" from the networks.

Foxnews:

• There's a guy married to four ugly women with apparently no self esteem. Big, Fat, Hairy deal.
• The miners in Chile have been rescued. Hooray. Of course, there is practically NO mention of the American who actually dug the hole that got them out, but still, hooray. The key thing to note here is the role of Chile's president. He went to the site from day one. He admitted fault, culpability, and get this--legal responsibility for his government's failure to do it's job of regulation. It's almost as though he looked at our government's handling of the BP Horizon spill as a picture perfect example of what not to do in terms of leadership. The end result: he is almost universally beloved in his country, is also seen as a hero, and has vastly increased his nation's global reputation. Since he's not a natural born citizen, it's too bad we can put him up in 2012...
• Dad "uncooperative" in the hunt for his missing 10 year old daughter. Give me an hour, this guy, and my garage. I'll have her location. Dad will not be available for immediate prosecution however. It's amazing what you can do with a chair with a hole in the seat and a candle.
• A Federal judge is allowing a suit to proceed challenging the Healthcare law. I was under the impression that the US Supreme court was the court which decided the constitutionality of a law. The judge says not whether or not the complainants have a reason to sue, not if the law itself is constitutional. The Supremes are busy with a case to determine if a death-row inmate should sue one way or another. That case is over 10 years old.
• and after rooting around a bit, (apparently it isn't big news) the Taliban is apparently ready to negotiate peace. Of COURSE THEY DO. We have an administration which has repeatedly proclaimed its desire to end, not win in Afghanistan, and the Surest route to victory for the Taliban is to pursue peace, let us leave, and then take over Afghanistan again, without US interference, because we will not go back once we've left. In the Muslim world, this would be a huge victory for the Taliban, because they will remain in power and we will have gained nothing.

CNN:

• The miners may get out of the Hospital today.
• A soldier who blew the whistle on his platoon mates' crimes was beaten by his fellow soldiers, and ordered silenced by the Army.  Gee, with a headline like that, it just SCREAMS cover-up, eh?  It's possible that a) the incidents are unrelated, b) The Army told the soldier in question not to make public statements because it would impinge on the investigation they are conducting c) The platoon is a pirate crew, and their leadership well above platoon level should have been shit-canned about three promotions ago d) all of the above

 I tried, I really did, to watch CNN, but then Joy Behar started blathering about something and I just couldn't subject myself to the screech of Harpies any longer.  That is a LOT of stupid in a small (and round) place.

Continuing news:
Couple in Mexico starts taking pictures of known drug drop-off point, husband ends up dead, wife is shocked! Shocked!  (P.S.  Apparently, there has been some mention of crime, drugs, and violence on the rise in Mexico recently.  I presume this has been kept pretty close-hold, as this couple (who lived in Mexico for three years) didn't realize it.)

Many counties across the country are screwing servicemembers by not getting them their ballots in time for the ballots to be counted.  I'm not too cranky about this, because write in ballots are generally only counted if an election is really close.  This means that the votes of servicemembers are ROUTINELY ignored.  Now, in some of the counties who are failing to get ballots out in time for them to be counted, the races are going to be close--and the votes of the servesmembers in those counties will likely not be counted, either.
This has a SIMPLE fix--any servicemember who is unable to vote in their home state--like yours truly, who has not received his absentee ballot, either, shall not have to pay taxes to that state until the next election where they are able to vote.  Further, if it is a national election, they will also not have to pay federal taxes until the next election either.  Now, that solves the immediate issue, but what about long-term?  What about the policies enacted by those elected while the servicemembers were disenfranchised?  How do we make up for that?  Since the government doesn't have any money itself (it belongs to the taxpayer) a monetary settlement doesn't seem fair, except that those voters at home are the ones who should be ensuring the servicemembers votes are counted.  So, if they aren't willing to ensure the ballots of those who serve matter, then the damage to their local economy from lawsuits doesn't matter to me.

I need a hobby.
--Chuck

Laproscopic Cholecystectomy hurts.

Especially when the gall bladder, which is supposed to be dissected internally, is too scarred and full of stones to chop to belly-button-sized bits for removal.  Instead, the whole swollen, diseases mass had to be taken out through the belly button.  For comparison, look at your belly button.  Now look at a tennis ball.  Imagine the ball being pulled through the belly button, whole.  A certain amount of muscle is torn in the process ( luckily, skin is pretty elastic.)

For a sprinkling of insult to injury, imagine you also have three stab wounds just under the ribs as well.

I'm healing as rapidly as possible.  Drugs are good but make me tired, nothing new there.

--Chuck

SAN ANTONIO -- A crook broke into Soldiers' Angels last Sunday, stealing half a dozen flat screen tvs and laptops carrying valuable memorabilia.

"Certificates, awards, letters, inspirational letters," says the group's co-founder, Jeff Bader. "All of these were in the display modules and it feels like the loss of a loved one. Feels like we were violated."

The thief also vandalized the charity's exhibit room with flame retardant foam, right by the Fallen Heroes memorial.

"It was totally disrespectful," adds Bader. "It's unimaginable that someone would come into a place, a non-profit, and steal from a non-profit trying to help American soldiers."

Surveillance video from businesses next door led police to the arrest of 42 year old Charles Edward White. White is now charged with burglary of a building, but News 4 WOAI found this isn't his first time behind bars.

White has been in and out of jail since the late eighties for assault, kidnapping, drugs, and burglary.

Police haven't been able to recover the stolen items. Replacing the goods could cost Soldiers' Angels thousands of dollars... money that may have to come out of what they give to soldiers.

"This is going to cost money that could have gone to help wounded soldiers, deployed soldiers," says Bader. "It could have been used for better purposes than that, so we're going to need help replacing some of these items."
http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Soldier-support-group-vandalized-calls-for-help/9zXIULf6fkW2WZ8JPEDn7g.cspx

Update:  The surgery was a success.  They're home now and Chuck's already telling bad jokes again.  I'll leave the telling of the story for him when he's back at the computer.  But it went well and the post op meds are working.

And I'm really starting to wonder if anything will ever slow him down, and that's pretty damn cool.

Here at FMPOTW, we don't have a written policy about calling out for thoughts and prayers.  Hell, we don't have a written policy about much of anything.  Chuck and I could probably drive a typical HR person to twitching and drooling with some of the conversations we have...  but I digress.

As a life member of VFW I am highly offended that the VFW PAC has apparently 'sold its soul' to far left, anti-military politicians.

VFW support for Barbara Boxer, Alcee Hastings, Barbara Lee, Steny Hoyer, Barbara Mikulsky, Chris VanHollen, John Dingell, Chuck Schumer, Pat Leahy and Patty Murray - WTF?  These politicians not only don't agree with the core values of veterans, these politicians loathe and fear veterans.

No support for highly qualified veterans such as LTC(r) Allan West? But active support for his opponent - who never served a day in uniform! This list (link below) of contains numerous vocally anti-military / anti-veteran politicians supported by the VFW.

http://www.vfwpac.org/Revised%20Endorsement%20List%20Sept%2024-1.pdf

The VFW leadership must cease such lunacy or the VFW organization will collapse as existing members resign and younger veterans refuse to join.

Unless there is a change in VFW policy I WILL cease to support the VFW.

A copy of this email has been sent to every veteran, VFW member or not, I know. I have encouraged them to forward a copy, and note of support, to their contacts.

It is time for VFW leadership and VFW PAC to return to the VFW founding values.

So tonight I had a life-changing revalation.
Come the next election for POTUS I want everyone to vote D in the primaries.
Not Just any D, but Vote for Current VP Joseph Biden.

That's right folks, the current President can go back to teaching about the constitution and organizing communities, I want Joseph Biden to run this great nation.

After all, there comes a point in every fall of civilizations when you just have to sit back, relax, and laugh at the silly clothes the Vandals are wearing while they sack the Pantheon.