Jayne Blog on volunteerism/volunteering, nonprofits, ngos, aid & development, women's empowerment, communications & random thoughts

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22:17, 9 September 2009

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In Portland, Oregon but still hard-to-reach

22:16, 9 August 2009

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After two weeks on the road, seeing several amazing  parts of these United States for the first time and enjoying nine different camp sites (two with wi-fi!), we've finally arrived in Portland.

We're now in find-a-place-to-live mode and, therefore, I'll continue to be hard to reach for a while. If you think you can help, contact me for more details.

Subscribe to the blog you are reading now via RSS or subscribe to my email newsletter, Tech4Impact, for updates on my availability.

Simultaneously while trying to find a place to live, I'm looking to find a permanent, full-time position in Portland, Eugene, Salem, or some other community here in Oregon or Washington state. I would most like to do the following (and have the qualifications for such):

• manage/direct a program at a nonprofit, university or government agency. The dream job would be one that is focused on women, the environment, international development, mass transit, or anything that helps a specific community.

or

• direct marketing and public relations activities for a major project or program at a nonprofit, university or government agency. Again, the dream job would be one that is related to any of these aforementioned subjects.

Among the jobs I've applied for recently, to give you an idea of what I'm looking for:

• public information officer for a liberal arts college with several international programs
  
• marketing director for the continuing education/adult education program at a university
• coordinator of a nonprofit-focused program at a state's attorney general's office
• chief communications officer for a division of a large international foundation
• senior writer for program development at a large, international health institute
• directing a program that places media professionals in the developing world to train new journalists
• public affairs specialist at a federal office that manages several international programs
• director of communications in North America for an American university abroad
• public information officer for a conservation district

I've also really enjoyed teaching parts of courses for universities in Texas, as well as presenting workshops regularly for nonprofit organizations and researchers (more information on my training activities), and would love to create or co-create an entire course as a part-time instructor at a university. I am most interested, and, I think, most qualified, to teach courses relating to:

• media writing and media relations
• public relations (basic public relations functions, outreach to particular audiences, crisis communications, how to address misinformation/misunderstandings, how to deal with public criticism, etc.)
• strategic communications (systematic planning and utilization of a variety of information flows to deliver a message and build credibility or a brand, sell more a)
• cross-platform media and electronic media (using traditional print, synchronous and asynchronous online communications, and emerging technologies effectively, and integrating the use of all information flows)
• public speaking

I have a profile at LinkedIn, as well as details on my own web site about my professional activities. I'm also happy to share my CV with you; email me with your request. If you have any specific questions about my profile, feel free to contact me as well.

Oregon bound; hard to reach for a while

13:49, 25 July 2009

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As of Monday morning (maybe Tuesday) I'll start a long, meandering road trip from Louisville, Kentucky to Portland, Oregon, where I'm relocating permanently with my family. I will check email every few days; I'll be able to check email several times a day starting around August 10. Subscribe to the blog you are reading now via RSS or subscribe to my email newsletter, Tech4Impact, for updates on my location and availability.

It's been a wonderful time in Louisville, Kentucky, getting re-acquainted with living in the USA since April of this year and getting to know a part of my native state I had mostly just driven through. If you ever have a chance to visit the area, or if you are looking for something unique to experience, I highly recommend you come to Louisville and visit the surrounding area as well (Mammoth Cave, Maker's Mark Distillery, etc.). If it weren't so hot here in the summers, we might have stayed! (We melt in Kentucky summer heat, and were thankful for the coolest July on record).

I'm still consulting, but would like to find a permanent, full-time position. I would most like to do the following (and have the qualifications for such):

• manage/direct a program at a nonprofit, university or government agency. The dream job would be one that is focused on women, the environment, international development, mass transit, or anything that helps a specific community.

or

• direct marketing and public relations activities for a major project or program at a nonprofit, university or government agency. Again, the dream job would be one that is related to any of these aforementioned subjects.

Among the jobs I've applied for recently, to give you an idea of what I'm looking for:

• public information officer for a liberal arts college with several international programs
  
• marketing director for the continuing education/adult education program at a university
• coordinator of a nonprofit-focused program at a state's attorney general's office
• chief communications officer for a division of a large international foundation
• senior writer for program development at a large, international health institute
• directing a program that places media professionals in the developing world to train new journalists
• public affairs specialist at a federal office that manages several international programs
• director of communications in North America for an American university abroad
• public information officer for a conservation district

I've also really enjoyed teaching parts of courses for universities in Texas, as well as presenting workshops regularly for nonprofit organizations and researchers (more information on my training activities), and would love to create or co-create an entire course as a part-time instructor at a university. I am most interested, and, I think, most qualified, to teach courses relating to:

• media writing and media relations
• public relations (basic public relations functions, outreach to particular audiences, crisis communications, how to address misinformation/misunderstandings, how to deal with public criticism, etc.)
• strategic communications (systematic planning and utilization of a variety of information flows to deliver a message and build credibility or a brand, sell more a)
• cross-platform media and electronic media (using traditional print, synchronous and asynchronous online communications, and emerging technologies effectively, and integrating the use of all information flows)
• public speaking

I have a profile at LinkedIn, as well as details on my own web site about my professional activities. I'm also happy to share my CV with you; email me with your request. If you have any specific questions about my profile, feel free to contact me as well.

See you in Portland! (we're also looking for a house to rent; if you think you can help, contact me for more details).

Leaving Louisville, Kentucky & Moving to Portland, Oregon

16:16, 12 July 2009

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It's been a fun time in Louisville and getting re-acquainted with living in the USA since April of this year, but it's time to head out to a more permanent home: I'll hit the road the last week of July to move to Portland, Oregon and spend most of August getting settled there. As I already have two consulting gigs going on, that means I'm booked solid through mid-September 2009. Subscribe to the blog you are reading now via RSS or subscribe to my email newsletter, Tech4Impact, for updates on my location and availability.

And don't forget: on July 16, I will present a two-hour workshop about online volunteering/virtual volunteering at the Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNPE) on 323 West Broadway, Ste 501 in Louisville. The presentation will begin promptly at 9 a.m. Visit the online CNPE training calendar or call 502 315-2673 to register for the class. Costs are $55.00 for members of CNPE and $75.00 for non-members (however, please note that this money goes to CNPE, not me -- I'm doing this pro bono). Space is limited. I hope people as far away as Evansville, Indiana, Cincinnati, Ohio, Nashville, Tennessee, and Bowling Green, Lexington, Frankfort and Henderson, Kentucky, will make the drive for this workshop - it will be worth it!

 

More personal ketchup

17:48, 28 June 2009

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Our adventure in Louisville continues:

Stefan went to his his first baseball game (it was also Albi's first baseball game) and his first dirt track race. Guess which he liked more? And Stefan went on his own to a motorcycle gathering for motorcycle travelers/adventure riders in Eastern Kentucky (hurrah! there are such people in the USA! He's been worried...)

We've also made trips to Mammoth Cave (took the Historic tour; Stefan liked it very much), Maker's Mark Distillery (free samples!), Lincoln's Birthplace, and various places on Bardstown Road (the Irish pubs, the Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen, and the The Falafel House, where I dazzled the staff with my SEVEN words of Arabic).

Special thanks to my friend Jennifer, who made Stefan feel extra welcomed by donning a black wig, blacking out her front teeth, and running across the parking lot of Lynn's Paradise Cafe while yelling, "Stefan! Stefan! Welcome to Kentucky." He's still recovering from that cultural experience. I spent the whole event laying on the sidewalk convulsing with laughter.

Stefan now has his green card.

I've been listening to the local public radio station, WFPL, and often, the announcer says, "This news hour is brought to you by: The Embassy of Germany. Learn more about Germany as a vacation destination or as a partner for your business..." I'm impressed! The public radio audience in Louisville is *exactly* the type of audience that Germany should be going after, no kidding. We've wondered for the last eight years how Germany advertises to Americans. Through June, we only have access to TV-by-antennae, and so far, I haven't seen any advertisements for Germany -- guess the network TV audience isn't their desired demographic.

Watched Sheba, Baby, a rather bad movie with the fabulous Pam Grier, on TV the other day, because it turned out to have been filmed in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1970s. My how the city has changed! Awful movie, but the city scenes, and Grier's outfits, were fun. 

Favorite thing I've heard lately: "If you really want to clean up your karma, go get my freakin' latte." From "The Big Bang Theory". It's so nice to have TV in English again, I cannot lie... I also got to enjoy the Tony Awards live for the first time since 2000. My verdict on the 2009 show: Best. Opening. EVA. And, as well, Greatest. Closing. EVA. Host Neil Patrick Harris was terrific (there wasn't enough of him actually), musical numbers were terrific, and except for Carrie Fisher's TRAIN WRECK of an outfit, everyone's dresses were terrific. Ultimate compliment is from Carmen Thornton, expert on Tony Awards and wine maven at Old Town in Louisville: "This stands up to the 1987 Tony award, which I have on tape." What more of an endorsement do you need?

I've taken "TARC", the local bus system, a few times this summer and enjoyed it immensely. The drivers were friendly and helpful, the buses were clean, and the web site is comprehensive and detailed. Only complaint: TARC doesn''t allow dogs. Highlights of my TARC trips:

A very old black gentlemen -- one of those unofficial-mayor-of-the-neighborhood types -- regaling everyone at a downtown bus stop with incredible stories of when Al Capone and various famous performers of the era would visit Louisville, where black entertainers stayed during Jim Crow, etc.

A middle-aged white good ole' boy standing in the front of the bus talking to the driver, telling her in his strong Kentucky accent, "Well, I don't want to sound sissified or nuthin', but that thar Yoga really helps me calm down. You'd think hittin' a hammer all day would really release all yer anger, but it don't like Yoga does."

A young white woman telling two different people on the bus, with no shame whatsoever, that she had spent Sunday night in jail on a suspended license and what a HUGE inconvenience it was not to be able to use her car now, adding, "I've NEVER been in no trouble before" (so, dear madam, how then do you explain that suspended license?).

Realizing why the young, large black woman looked so very, very uncomfortable in her seat in the front of the bus: the bus driver stopped at an intersection next to a hospital, even though the light was green, and honked the horn until the guy in scrubs crossing the street and wearing an MP3 player turned around to see what the noise was; the driver yelled, "Hey, come over here and help this woman over to the hospital. She's havin' a baby." When someone on the bus remarked how sad it was that the woman had had to take public transportation to the hospital to have a baby, the driver said, "Well, that's how I did it myself!"

If you had told me back in March that, by now, we would have taken our dog Albi to two bars (Molly Malone's and the Nach Bar) and a minor league baseball game, I would have said, "That's crazy! How many Hefe Weissens have you had tonight?!?" But it's true - Louisville is dog friendly. In addition, I've seen dogs with their owners at outdoor areas of many restaurants on Bardstown Road and people walking their dogs all over town. Now, if we could only take her on the city buses and it was cooler in the summer, life in Louisville would be perfect!

USA men's soccer victory over Spain in the Confederations Cup? Rapturous. It was all I could do to stop myself from honking the horn of the U-Haul wildly as I drove across Tennessee (heading back from Austin). The loss to Brazil? Heart-breaking. And I'm someone who has had her heart broken many, many times over sports...

Yes, we road tripped to Austin, to deal with various matters, since Austin was my official home while I lived in Germany. Highlights of that trip: seeing Star Trek (awesome) at the Alamo Draft House (also awesome) while eating artichoke pizza (also awesome), playing table shuffle board at Shoal Creek Saloon and the bartender donning a mullet wig, Enchiladas y Mas, and our hosts, Sharron and Ron.

Unfortunately, we're having to move again before leaving Louisville. Most of our things are in storage, but we still have enough to make it annoying to have to move again. And then we'll move again at the end of July: job or no, we hit the road at the end of July and head to Portland, Oregon (or there abouts).

I'm keeping my public calendar updated; it's quite easy to know where I am and when I'm available.

Things I've been enjoying online: these Awkward Family Photos, this very detailed, sad-but-true history of drunks in sports, and the Worst And Saddest Of Yahoo! Answers (although it starts off with a totally geek, fun question, sums up why I gave up on YahooAnswers).

What I've learned lately: how to ride a motorcycle and the The Chewbacca Defense.

I'll end with a thought for the day, from the amateurscientist.org:

Excessive punctuation and appeals to emotion are no substitute for evidence.

Looking for a Spanish school in Spain?

08:05, 27 June 2009

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It's the weekend! Time for a personal blawg:

Back in 2002, I went to Ávila, Spain to study Spanish (or Castellano) at the Instituto Español Murallas de Avila. I had been looking for a school that would be focused on its students learning Spanish quickly, not on its students partying and hooking up. IEMA had been recommended to me by my Spanish teacher in Germany, who is from a small village near the school, and after meeting a couple of students -- colleagues from the UN -- who had gone to IEMA and loved it, I booked a place for two weeks. I came back and jumped up to the next level of language class at work, then went back two years later and jumped another level!

I highly recommend IEMA: the daily classes, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., are tiny (you will have one to four other students), very intense and a lot of fun. I recommend taking a private lesson with an instructor as well twice a week. If you are a beginner then, in just one week, you will be speaking Spanish. No kidding! If you speak some Spanish already, you will see your skills jump immediately. IEMA is excellent for preparing for the DELE (Diplomas of Spanish as a Foreign Language). They also have a special class for Spanish language teachers.

The best time to start is the first Monday of the month. I only went for two weeks, but many students go for three and four. I went to Ávila for the first time in August, and it was a great time to go -- most of the village is off on vacation (and that makes it quiet at night so you can, you know, SLEEP), and it's still very cool, temperature-wise, because you are in the mountains. And it's much better to study Spanish in Ávila than, say, Madrid or Salamanca, because in Ávila, there's NO English speakers, other than maybe your fellow students. My fellow students were from Germany, France and the USA.

I lived with a family in Avila during my stay, and it was wonderful (puppy!) -- it meant I was always learning Spanish. There was a lot to see in Ávila, and it was relatively easy to get to Madrid or Salamanca for the weekend.

Downsides? If you are over 30, then you will probably be the oldest student, and I think that can some time be intimidating (but the instructors don't care about your age and won't treat you any differently). Take earplugs because, while you may need to get to sleep before midnight in order to make it to class in the morning, the citizens of Avila stay up late late late. That's it, really.

I don't get anything for promoting IEMA -- no discount on a future class, no kickback, no nothing. I'm not sure anyone would even remember me there. I just want to recommend a really great Spanish school!

Also, I'm looking for a similar school in Mexico or Central America -- particularly one focused on preparing for the DELE and is a member of Instituto Cervantes. If you had a similar experience with a school in this hemisphere, let me know.

Medical bills part of 60% of U.S. personal bankruptcies

08:54, 6 June 2009

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It's Saturday: personal blog time:

Medical bills are behind more than 60 percent of U.S. personal bankruptcies, and more than 75 percent of these bankrupt families had health insurance but still were overwhelmed by their medical debts - this according to a report released Thursday in the American Journal of Medicine by a team at Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School and Ohio University. The researchers and some consumer advocates said the study showed the proposals under the most serious consideration right now are unlikely to help many Americans. These researchers and others are pressing for a so-called single payer plan, in which one agency, usually the government, coordinates health coverage. Read more here and here (also read the comments).

More about why the single-payer plan is what is needed in the USA from Physicians for a National Health Program.

(personal note: we're struggling to find affordable health care right now -- in fact, my husband has to continue to be covered by a European company, because he's been turned down by everyone in the USA. Scary times.)

Personal Ketchup

11:39, 31 May 2009

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The weekend is my time for personal blog entries. Here's some quickies to update you all since my move back to the USA:

• Albi is the Queen of the Highlands in Louisville. All worship and adore her here. She likes to lay out on the front porch and survey her Queendom. The postman brings her dog treats. She enjoys her frequent invites to our neighbors' house. I could not have survived three weeks without Stefan had she not been here.


• We love our Honda Fit.


• Louisville is a terrific city. The bars and restaurants on Bardstown Road are just a few blocks from us. Lynn's Paradise Cafe is just four doors down. There are bikes everywhere. Cherokee Park is a treasure. The mass transit (TARC) is more than decent if you live close to downtown (though there needs to be more buses per hour). There's a charming, fun, funky vibe I wasn't expecting here. But, no, I'm not staying past July.


• The Homemade Ice Cream & Pie Kitchen is EVIL... because it's so freakin' good and within walking distance of our apartment.


• The German influence in this area is oh-so-apparent, from Germantown, Louisville and Schnitzelburg to the names of various businesses here.


• How did I live so long without Family Guy?


• It is beyond awesome to live next door to Todd (my friend from my university days who recommended our apartment to us) and Julie (his delightful wife who is an amazing cook and hostess), to sit on their porch with their dogs and our dog and just be groovy.


• It's also so awesome to hang out with Lisa, Tim and Carmen, friends from my university days.


• My friends Reb and Anne said recently that I'm The Red Phone. Yes, I will take that 3 a.m. call.


• My friend Jen says that I should have my own font created per the way I print.


• We've had our first German restaurant-in-American experience: The Schnitzelbank Restaurant in Jasper, Indiana. Stefan's verdict: authentic, very good but over-priced schnitzel.


• It should have taken four to seven days to get the Africa Twin back together. Stefan took a day and a half. Here is the bike before the trip. Here it is upon arrival in the USA. And after his intense day-and-a-half of work.


• Stefan liked Roman Holiday! Probably because of his Roman Holiday... But, really, there would have to be something wrong with you not to like that movie.


• Space Racism is Bad: lessons learned from Star Trek.


• I'm still looking for a job.

We're in Louisville through most of July. The adventure continues...

No text messaging while driving EVER!!!

12:37, 23 May 2009

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It's the weekend. A HOLIDAY weekend in the USA. And, so, time for a personal blog:

If you send and read text messages while driving, then let me just say, I hate you.

Text messaging has been blamed for a number of recent high profile accidents, including a train crash in the Los Angeles area last September in which 25 people were killed, and a Boston trolley crash this month in which almost 50 people were injured. According to a 2007 report by SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, text messaging while driving leads the list as the biggest distraction while driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported in 2006 that distracted drivers, including cell phone users, account for almost 80% of all crashes and 65% of near-crashes in the United States.

And as I sit at a stop light, in my beautiful new Honda Fit, the first new car I have ever owned in my life, and watch you in my rear view window about to rear end me as you read or write a text message, I wonder, if you hit me, if it will even make a difference in your driving habits.

There is NO excuse for sending and reading text messages while driving. None. Zilch. Nada. NEVER. You may have done it hundreds, even thousands of times and not yet killed or hurt someone, but you will. It's only a matter of time.

I need some HTML help (simple task for a web designers!)

08:36, 22 May 2009

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I need some HTML help with my blog. It is something that will be oh-so-simple for a web designer/web master, but difficult for me - as most of you are aware, I'm no web designer!

It's a 10 minute job. *Maybe* 30 minutes, if you add hand-holding for me. I need the person to correct some coding on my blog (yes, what you are reading now).

What I can offer in return:

• proofreading something for you
• offering advice on your CV
• offering advice on your search for a volunteering opportunity

Please contact me if you can help with this oh-so-short HTML fix-it task.

Planned Parenthood & Scarleteen have the FACTS

09:57, 16 May 2009

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It's the weekend. Time for a personal blog!:

I love Planned Parenthood. I love the Planned Parenthood web site, particularly the pages that offer dispassionate, fact-based information about birth control and the morning-after pill, the questions and answers with Vanessa Cullins, MD, MPH, MBA, a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist. It's a web site filled with detailed, excellent information to help people, including teens, make responsible, informed decisions about their sexual activities, including abstinence (yes, it's true!). Even if you think you know everything there is to know about sex, birth control, reproduction, and/or Planned Parenthood, have a look at the web site. You might be surprised! It's also a great site to encourage your teens to visit, so they know how much responsibility comes with engaging in sex (and, therefore, that they may not be ready for it).

In addition, another excellent web site, specifically for teens but probably helpful to adults as well, is Scarleteen, a site created and managed by volunteers working to furnish teens that with detailed facts about sex, pregnancy prevention and pregnancy. There's nothing titillating at all about the information; I think most young teens, after reading the site, would realize they are NOT ready for sex. Scarleteen treats sex very seriously, not as recreation or something that "just happens." Scarleteen and its content have been lauded by UNICEF, Planned Parenthood, The Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, Family Health International, the International Association for Adolescent Health, The Boston Women's Health Collective and more.

Information is power. Information gives a person control over his or her life. Information is good. No -- information is GREAT.

How do I get to you by bus?

13:31, 26 April 2009

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Regular readers of this blog know I have moved back to the USA after eight years of living in Germany. I arrived less than two weeks ago, and I don't yet have a car (I'm waiting for my husband; he'll be here in about a month). So I've been getting around by walking and city bus. And even after we buy our car, I would like to continue to go car-less as much as possible.

Here in Louisville, Kentucky, where I'm living through the summer, I'm stunned at how the vast majority of government offices and businesses have no information on what bus lines they are on or are nearest. There is no excuse to not have this information on your web site!

Let me repeat that:

There is no excuse not to have information about what bus line your organization is on or nearest. NONE.

Well, unless there is no bus line in your town. That would be a good excuse.

Find this information out and get it up on your web site immediately. If you can't figure it out yourself, call your local transit authority and have them help you. This information is just as important as a map that shows your organization's location, parking information, and your hours of operation!

Why exclude any potential client or customer from your organization's services because they don't have a car?

Jayne looks for a job

08:07, 18 April 2009

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I'm back in the USA, in Louisville, Kentucky for now (a really lovey city, BTW), after eight years of living abroad. What an adventure!

Consulting for the last four years has been interesting and fun, and I have two consulting jobs for the summer. However, I'm ready to give up consulting for a full-time job. My husband and I are looking to settle in or near a progressive, lively, multi-cultural city in the USA for the long haul.

What would be the perfect opportunity? I would most like to:

• manage/direct a program at a nonprofit, university or government agency. The dream job would be one that is focused on women, the environment, international development, mass transit, or anything that helps a specific community.

or

• direct marketing and public relations activities for a major project or program at a nonprofit, university or government agency. Again, the dream job would be one that is related to any of these aforementioned subjects.

Among the jobs I've applied for recently, to give you an idea of what I'm looking for:

• marketing director for the continuing education/adult education program at a university
• coordinator of a nonprofit-focused program at a state's attorney general's office
• chief communications officer for a division of a large international foundation
• senior writer for program development at a large, international health institute
• directing a program that places media professionals in the developing world to train new journalists
• public affairs specialist at a federal office that manages several international programs
• director of communications in North America for an American University abroad
• public information officer for a conservation district

I've also really enjoyed teaching parts of courses for universities in Texas, as well as presenting workshops regularly for nonprofit organizations and researchers (more information on my training activities), and would love to create or co-create an entire course as a part-time instructor at a university. I am most interested, and, I think, most qualified, to teach courses relating to:

• media writing and media relations
• public relations (basic public relations functions, outreach to particular audiences, crisis communications, how to address misinformation/misunderstandings, how to deal with public criticism, etc.)
• strategic communications (systematic planning and utilization of a variety of information flows to deliver a message and build credibility or a brand, sell more a)
• cross-platform media and electronic media (using traditional print, synchronous and asynchronous online communications, and emerging technologies effectively, and integrating the use of all information flows)
• public speaking

I have a profile at LinkedIn, as well as details on my own web site about my professional activities. I'm also happy to share my CV with you; email me with your request. If you have any specific questions about my profile, feel free to contact me as well.

Please don't "pimp" anything

04:15, 11 April 2009

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Saturday already? Time for a personal blawg:

I've said it before, I'll say it again: I hate the current usage of the word pimp. I loathe it. Why? Because I loathe human slavery. Rather than repeat myself, here's my blog from last year on why this word is inappropriate for anything outside of describing a slave owner. The blog also lists sites that work to stop human trafficking.

But don't just take my word for it: hear it from a pimp himself, via a free audio episode of This American Live. A former pimp tells how he and three childhood friends became pimps in the 1970s in Oakland, California. He explains all the elaborate ownership rules among pimps for the women they traffic and exploit. The violence, the humiliation, the complete control of pimps over the lives of women -- I hope it will convince you to stop using the word pimp to talk about upgrades to a web site or car or whatever. There's no reason in the world to think it's cute or hip -- it's not.

"Dog" spelled backward should be "Good"

07:29, 22 March 2009

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It's the weekend, and that means time for an entirely personal, non-professionally-focused blawg entry (at least that's how I play). This weekend's topic: dogs.

Dogs have given me love and support that has helped me survive the worst times of my life, and made every day worth getting up for. I cannot imagine giving up my dogs in hard financial times -- that's when I've needed them most!

All three of the dogs I've had in my life were adult dogs when I adopted them, and had been rejected by their original owners (and then some): one was living on the streets before I adopted him, one was on his way to the SPCA when we met, and one had been in three different animal shelters in Europe before I came along. I got my first dog when I was 24. That was almost 20 years ago. I will always have a dog or two, and my commitment to my dogs is always for life.

When you adopt a dog, you will probably hear lots of negative comments from friends and family:

"You'll never find an apartment now!"
"You'll have to give up going out after work!"
"You can't travel anymore!"
"It's going to be so expensive!"
"It's so much responsibility! It's so much work! It's such a huge commitment!"

I heard it all, and more. And now, more than 20 years after adopting my first dog, I haven't lost out on any apartment I really wanted because of my dogs, I regularly go out with friends, I travel a great deal (and even took my dogs abroad with me to Germany), and the cost of having dogs has been significantly less than therapy.

Yes, it has been a lot of responsibility and a big commitment -- but being a halfway grown up person, I really enjoy responsibility, and feel that this commitment has made me a much better person. That responsibility and "all that work" has positively affected my outlook on life, my human relationships, and my sense of "home." It's made me pay more attention to my surroundings and appreciate whatever moment I'm in. It's brought me into wonderful conversations with other people. No question: it's all been good.

Almost any problem you have with your dog can be addressed. Whether it's your dog going to the bathroom in the house, obsessive behaviors, neurotic behaviors, chewing himself, over excitability, excessive barking, whining, not obeying commands, not coming when called, running off, getting into the trash, destroying things in the house, obsessive digging, chewing the furniture, tail chasing, scratching, aggression towards other dogs, aggression towards other animals, aggression towards humans, snapping, biting, growling -- most problems with dogs can be overcome, if YOU will make the commitment and budget time regularly -- and the results will be not only a better-behaved dog, but a relationship with your dog that will be one of the most precious things you have ever experienced. Don't give up on your dog!

The Humane Society of the United States has a wonderful and much-needed campaign called "Pets for Life." The campaign features a variety of programs to empower pet caregivers to solve the problems that threaten their relationships with pets. Behavior problems top the list of reasons for sending pets to shelters -- where, in the U.S., millions of adoptable dogs and cats are put to sleep each year. Other dogs and cats are given up because of the owner's lifestyle changes, such as the birth of a child, family members with allergies or a family member with a disability. Still others are given up because their caregivers couldn't find pet-friendly rental housing, or because their owners simply had unrealistic expectations about what it meant to care for a pet. The goal of the Pets for Life campaign is to curtail the numbers of animals relinquished to shelters - or otherwise given up on - by helping people address all of the aforementioned issues, rather than giving up entirely on their pets. These resources can also help those considering the adoption of a dog or cat to better prepare for the LIFETIME experience.

If you don't own it already, buy this immediately: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Classic Training Manual for Dog Owners (Revised & Updated Edition). Then read it. And if you follow the book's advice, prepare to have a vastly different, more fulfilling relationship with your dog than you ever imagined. Your dog will love you for it. And life will become rather wonderful for you both.

Also, please, spay or neuter your dog! Around 10 million adoptable cats and dogs are killed every year by governments in the USA. These are perfectly healthy, trainable animals, who have been placed in shelters ONLY because of a shortage of homes and a shortage of committed owners. 10 million. Many dogs (some say up to a quarter of dogs) are so-called "pure-breds." The only way to stop this mass annual killing is for people to spay and neuter their pets NOW. And don't let any of the Myths about Spaying and Neutering stand in your way of doing so!

Finally, enjoy these photos of my dogs and their friends.

Make a cash donation to your public library

08:46, 21 February 2009

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One of the things I love about the USA is its public library system. Such is a national treasure. The public library in my hometown of Henderson, Kentucky was my sanctuary when I was growing up - it provided a safe, stable, quiet environment to read, explore and study, something that, outside of school, I didn't have.

But now, dwindling tax dollars are forcing libraries to close branches, cut hours and end programs just as more people are turning to them for services: more adults are using free Internet services at libraries to search for jobs or apply for unemployment benefits, and more people are economizing by borrowing books, DVDs and CDs. In short, libraries have never been needed more than they are now!

Please support your local library with even a tiny cash donation. Libraries need cash to pay qualified staff, buy subscriptions to various journals, buy more books, keep collections well-maintained, keep equipment up-to-date, and pay many, many bills. 

If you are unable to make a cash donation, find out if the library has book sales to raise money and, if they do, donate your used books to the book sale, and, if your budget allows, buy a book (or more!) from the library's book sale.

And if you really love public libraries, read Public libraries in the United States of America; their history, condition, and management. It's a journal article from 1876.

Evolution weekend!

01:39, 15 February 2009

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It's Evolution Weekend, always held in conjunction with the birth date of Charles Darwin -- and extra special this year, because it's the 200th anniversary of his birth. As part of the celebration is the Clergy Letter Project: more than 10,000 clergy have signed a letter stating that evolution is sound science and poses no threat to religion, and more than 800 congregations in 50 states have scheduled events for this weekend. "Evolution Weekend makes it clear that those claiming that people must choose between religion and science are creating a false dichotomy," the letter states.

Please support "This American Life"

08:14, 7 February 2009

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Do you listen to This American Life? If so -- whether via your radio or your computer - I urge you to make a donation either to the Chicago radio station that hosts the show, or to your local radio station that broadcasts the show, so we can ensure the show continues.

Public radio in the USA is something I am particularly proud of as an American and that I enjoy sharing with people from other countries, because I think it's one of the things that's best about my own country. But public radio in the USA is going through dire times. Because of the current economic situation, sponsorship money is drying up and individual donations are severely down.

If you listen to "This American Life" via the official web site, then you are listening to the show via Chicago Public Radio, and you can support this online broadcast by going to the This American Life site and clicking on "Support Us" in the right hand column. If you listen via a local radio station, then visit that station's web site and either donate online or send a check - and be sure when you do to note that it's in support of the This American Life broadcast.

Help dogs & cats in Afghanistan -- PLEASE

04:45, 31 January 2009

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I am heart-broken at the way dogs are treated in Afghanistan, per living there myself for six months in 2007. Dogs are considered absolute filth by the population. Dogs are beneath contempt. Knowing firsthand the love and health benefits that dogs bring to any home, and knowing how dogs can change a person and society profoundly for the better, this is more than mistreatment of animals; it's denial of something that could greatly benefit Afghan society.

What can be done to help dogs and cats in Afghanistan? Short of profound, comprehensive, long-term activities to change beliefs, you can make a donation to Mayhew International, a well-established British animal welfare group working in Kabul and other places in the developing world. The Mayhew staff are doing great work -- tieing their work to local veterinary training programs, and spaying and neutering animals and then trying to find homes for them (mostly with foreigners living in the country, but they've had some success with local Afghan families).

So many times, I hear people say, "I'd like to give money, but how do I know it will really make a difference?" This is a way to REALLY make a difference.