June 12, 2009 by admin.

I recently learned of a charity that’s working with wounded veterans and their families, and did a little background search on them to find out more about their focus and their work.

I came across an article written by Mychael Urban posted on MLB.com which mentions some of the work being done by the charity Strikeouts for Troops, created in 2004 by San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito.

…Zito’s ever-expanding roster of big league contributors [to Strikeouts for Troops] is nearly 70 strong, and more than $2 million has been raised since the program’s inception, with 100 percent of the funds distributed; Zito covers the administrative costs associated with making sure the money goes where it’s supposed to go.

The money comes primarily from the participating players, who donate per strikeout, home runs or RBI or make flat donations. Among them are CC Sabathia, Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher of the Yankees, Manny Ramirez and Orlando Hudson of the Dodgers, Albert Pujols and Rick Ankiel of the Cardinals, Jake Peavy of the Padres, Dan Haren and Eric Byrnes of the D-backs, Eric Chavez of the A’s, Jermaine Dye of the White Sox, and Tim Lincecum, Brian Wilson and Matt Cain of the Giants…

This March, Zito continued his annual tradition of bringing to Spring Training a large group of wounded Marines who’ve been recovering at Balboa Naval Hospital in his hometown of San Diego…

Zito had secured for the Marines a section of seats directly behind home plate [at a pre-season game between the Dodgers and White Sox in Glendale, AZ], and when the Marine Corps Hymn was played during the fifth inning, the Marines stood at attention. The crowd followed suit with a standing ovation.

As depicted in the recent movie Taking Chance with Kevin Bacon (excellent movie!), there is a substantial cross-section of America — people of all ages and political views — who are not only ready to respond but they are looking for ways to show honor to our service men and women, to embrace their families, to pay their respects.

I was particularly impressed with excerpts from letter sent by Rick Williams of the Marine Corps League of San Diego, which Urban quoted in his article and I’ve included below.

…What happened next was detailed in a letter that Williams sent to Zito upon getting the troops back to San Diego.

When we all left the game in the seventh inning to get back to the airport, the injured Marines had to walk up, directly behind home plate, about 75 stairs to leave. Of course, it took a while because several had canes, and even more could not walk fast because the guys with the canes were at the head of the line.

As they filed up the stairs out of the stadium, in a single-file line, spontaneously the crowd again all stood up and gave the Marines [another] standing ovation until the very last one reached the top of the stairs. Had to take 3-4 minutes.

It was loud. It was crazy. The players on the field were even clapping. It was truly a proud moment for me. When the Marines got to the top of the stairs, several were crying. It was very, very emotional. Emotional for them, for me, for the crowd.

… To be taken out of the hospital, out of rehab and told “Thanks” by the very same people they are fighting for, it is truly overwhelming for them. To watch them hobble up those stairs, with 12,000 to 15,000 people cheering for them and then them having tears streaming down their cheeks, it made me very proud.

… [Barry], I want you to know that you made it possible for them to receive the recognition that they deserve. You should be very proud for what you are doing for our military and, especially, my fellow Marines.

“Baseball is my job,” Zito says, “… Strikeouts for Troops is personal. Baseball is a game, and I’m fortunate to be living my dream by playing it for a living. But would any of us be living any of our dreams if not for what our soldiers are doing and have done in the name of our country?

“No, obviously. And nobody should ever lose sight of that. Strikeouts for Troops isn’t about me. It’s about baseball showing appreciation for the men and women who put their lives on the line.”

Barry, you’re making a major-league baseball fan out of me.

To Rick and others in the Marine Corp League, that applause on the way out was for all marines, and for the people who support them. Thanks for what you’re doing!

I hope that those 12,000 to 15,000 cheering people will watch to Gratitude Campaign video (70 seconds) and help to spread the message. It only takes a few people living-it-out to start a worldwide movement.

To the ball players involved in Strikeouts for Troops, and to the behind-the-scenes donors, a salute to you.

And to all the American heroes serving here and overseas, recovering in hospitals or at home, separated from loved-ones by distance or time or injury, or back in civilian jobs taking each day at a time… we are standing and applauding you, too.

(Mychael Urban is a national writer for MLB.com. Excerpted story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Used under GNU public-use license.)

Posted in media, MLB, heroes, gratitude, public policy, social ventures, philanthropy, nonprofit, military, CSR | 1 Comment »

June 7, 2009 by admin.

I’m loving the Ubiquity add-on for Firefox, a (nearly) natural-language command line interface that creates user mashups on the fly. It takes advantage of the power of language and open APIs. Brilliant!If this is their alpha, can’t wait to see the beta!

Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

Posted in techthang, usability, web 2.0, media, development, design | No Comments »

June 4, 2009 by admin.

Brainstorming responses to the Katrina disaster gave me license to research low-cost housing. I had already been musing about the possibility of opening-up and exploiting new markets, finding new ways to use this huge mortgage lending (mortgage banking) machine that was Countrywide.

Nobody around me took the idea of low-cost housing seriously. Nobody wanted to talk about mortgages in developing countries. I was uninformed, they said. “There’s no money in it.” Hmmm.

Still, I wondered about it.

Well, since that time, lo and behold – microcredit (peer-to-peer lending or P2P lending) has taken-off, and traditional financing has, well… collapsed.

So, uh… I guess I’ll bring it up again: where’s the money being made these days? What was only a “whacky idea” a few years ago now doesn’t look so crazy. (Thanks to Richard Weddle for recommending The Starfish and the Spider.)

When you’ve got a huge demand, low production costs, ample financing, job-creation, ultimate “portability” (the building system and micro-lending model can be replicated just about anywhere), you’ve got the makings of an economic boom — or a bonanza, at the very least). This is a great example of “the unstoppable power of leaderless organizations.”

Low Cost Construction Housing Affordable Building System

The man interviewed in the above video is Associate Professor Bernard Lefebvre (Domtec Company Ltd), affiliated with the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand.

Background on Habitech

Conceived at the Habitech Center of AIT the Self-Contained Housing Delivery System is an inexpensive, quickly and easily erected building system, the cost of which consistently undercuts conventional construction systems. Components have been added to create a complete modular interlocking building system especially suited for construction by unskilled labour which eliminates the need for construction equipment as the components are lightweight. The system has been disseminated in Asia since 1987 when research and development started up to 1995 when the building system was made available through private sector equipment suppliers.

The technology was demonstrated through housing projects (75) in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Nepal and Fiji, where small scale building material industries have been set-up creating employment, generating income and producing affordable housing for middle and low income groups.

As the building system spreads through Asia, the beneficial reduction in the consumption of timber products for construction will lead to a salutary effect upon the environment and help reduce the depletion of forest.

Habitech Center was awarded the Matsushita Award by the Japan Housing Association in 1994 “in recognition of excellent achievements in improving human settlements in Asian countries by promoting research and development related to technologies for low cost housing as well as providing educational programs and facilities to disseminate the results of their research efforts”.(Source: UNESCO Most Clearinghouse)

Posted in city planning, community development, urban renewal, public policy, NPR, suburban infill, infill development, microcredit, homelessness, poverty, redevelopment, social ventures, ventures, P2P, development, investing, philanthropy, politics, Linkedin, finance, jobs, shelter, affordable housing, small business, marketing | 1 Comment »

June 3, 2009 by admin.

Building sophisticated educational tools out of cheap parts, Johnny Lee demos his cool Wii Remote hacks, which turn the $40 video game controller into a digital whiteboard, a touchscreen and a head-mounted 3-D viewer.

 

About Johnny Lee

Researcher Johnny Lee became a YouTube star with his demo of Wii Remote hacks — bending the low-cost game piece to power an interactive whiteboard, a multitouch surface, a head-mounted display … Full bio and more links

Posted in media, public policy, social ventures, ventures, web 2.0, education, techthang, innovation, maker, just for fun, jobs, small business, development, nonprofit, investing, marketing, video, Linkedin, stimulus, schools, finance, design | No Comments »