Visakha

This post was written by Bob Aiken, CEO of Feeding America.

As a leader of a domestic hunger relief organization, I know a lot about hunger by the numbers: the 49 million people in America who face food insecurity; the 3.9 billion pounds of groceries that the Feeding America network distributes to 37 million people each year; the more than 60,000 agency locations where our clients can receive groceries.

Additionally, there are 48 million participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)–the program formerly known as food stamps–to help put food on the table for their families. The average SNAP benefit per meal amounts to just $1.50.

This last number took on great meaning for me last week when I embarked on my seven-day SNAP Challenge, during which I tried to live off of $1.50 per meal for a week. Throughout the challenge, I didn’t have a dollar to spare. The experience has made me even more committed to doing everything we can to find an end to hunger.

For those of you who love food the way I do—who believe food can help create connections to family, friends and culture—you know that it’s not just meals that a family facing hunger may miss out on. When you live on four or five dollars a day for food, you can spend all of your energy just trying to get by.

My meals were not always satisfying, and I certainly felt my body physically craving more nutrition at times. It was a tedious reality: the mental strain of sticking to a limited budget, frequently thinking about what my next meal would be and the struggle to make the hodgepodge of food left at the end of the week work as a meal. Every client that a Feeding America food bank can relieve of this burden is worth fighting for.

My heart was very heavy when I finished. My week participating in the SNAP challenge this Hunger Action Month has come to an end, but one in seven Americans continues to depend on the program. Making the lives of these individuals and families harder still, last Thursday the House passed a disappointing Farm Bill nutrition title that would cut nearly $40 billion from the SNAP program over 10 years.

Participating in the challenge is one step that can help us prevent this critical safety net from being dissembled through the attention it brings to SNAP participants’ reality. The latest bill may have been passed in the House, but we are reaching thousands of people through our SNAP Challenges with the message: Don’t take a single meal away from a family struggling with hunger.

You can help. It’s not too late to take the challenge or call your representative to speak out about these devastating cuts. I would like to thank my partners in this challenge: Ron Shaich, Panera Bread Founder, Chairman and CEO; Matt Knott, Feeding America President; Kate Maehr, Greater Chicago Food Depository CEO; Kori Reed, Vice President, Cause and Foundation at ConAgra Foods, and her family; and the many other leaders and advocates for those facing hunger. Thank you for all you do.

We all know that solar technology has the potential to revolutionize how we consume energy and power our homes. Unfortunately, the high cost of materials and construction means that traditional solar panels still aren’t practical for everyone. But a new kind of solar cell may change all that. It’s super cheap and easy to install: these solar cells are “printable!”

The technology is called dye-sensitized solar, or DSS. According to Solarfeeds.com, DSS cells work similar to an alkaline battery. The DSS cells are made of a porous layer of titanium dioxide nano particles, then covered with a molecular dye and submerged in an electrolyte solution with a platinum-based catalyst. The molecular dye absorbs sunlight, which activates the electrons. The electrons enter the titanium dioxide layer and flow towards the transparent electrode, gathering energy and finally creating power.

DSS cells are lightweight, flexible and relatively inexpensive. They can be literally painted onto all kinds of surfaces and disguised with attractive colors and designs. But applying DSS cells is still an extra step — at least, it used to be. Recently, two companies have found a way to incorporate DSS cells in raw materials. The process is being described as “printing.”

CNET reports that Australian solar developer Dyesol has partnered with manufacturer Tata Steel to coat 10-foot steel girders with a single, continuous DSS cell. Instead of painting a composite of DSS cells onto an existing girder, the coating is applied directly during the girder’s construction. “It’s the world’s largest dye-sensitized solar cell module,” writes CNET’s Candace Lombardi.

This new “printing” process will enable manufacturers like Tata to embed solar technology in a high volume of materials at low cost. Dyesol and Tata are also planning to develop “printable” solar roofs, windows and even automotive materials, and they’re not the only companies working on integrated solar. In a few years, this new technology could make solar power a default feature in new homes and buildings. “Printing” might even power the office inkjet!

I recently embarked on a clean eating adventure that involved giving up most grain/starch, dairy, and refined sugar. As a result, I’ve lost weight, gained clearer skin, and enjoyed more energy!

On the flip side, I’ve realized these ingredients are everywhere, even in “healthy foods.” Avoiding them can be difficult, especially when you’re craving a salty snack (as I always do in the late afternoon).

They’re not lying when they say that potato chips are addictive. You literally can’t have just one, and all that fat, salt, and empty carbohydrates are poison to our bodies.

If you find yourself reaching for a savory snack, there are lots of healthier alternatives that will soothe your cravings without undoing your diet. And, as I’ve discovered, once you eliminate these super-salty processed foods from your diet, your taste buds will reset themselves, and you’ll be satiated by far less sodium and fat

The toilet is a part of our daily lives, and thank goodness: it’s about to be freezing cold in Colorado and I’m not too keen on the idea of heading outside to do my business in an outhouse in single-digit temps.

But it’s not only human waste that ends up in the commode. There’s also toilet paper, tampons, and the occasional expired goldfish. With a wide mouth and relatively powerful drainage, it’s tempting to use the toilet like our own personal trash transporter: just dump, flush, and it’s gone forever.

There are many things that should never EVER be flushed down the toilet, however. And to send them to their death via the toilet drain is to risk significant plumbing problems as well as environmental pollution

Have you seen those Febreze commercials with the pseudo-scientific experiments in which people are blindfolded and exposed to garbage?  When the blindfolds are removed people are elated and overjoyed that they couldn’t smell the filth right below their noses.  There is no miracle odor-elimination chemical at work here—just the work of toxic chemicals.

As if spraying this stuff around the house wasn’t enough, now household garbage just got a lot more disgusting.  The Glad Products Company—the makers of Glad garbage bags—decided it wasn’t enough that people are breathing Febreze in so-called “air fresheners,” they’ve started adding it to their garbage bags as well, under the guise of “OdorShield.”  But what exactly are you breathing when you use these Febreze-infused garbage bags?  According to Proctor and Gamble—the makers of Febreze—there are three ingredients in its product.  But, according to the Environmental Working Group, an American-based non-profit that advocates for health protection, there are a whopping 89 chemicals in Febreze Air Effects.

The Glad Products Company states on its website:  “Glad is committed to doing everything we can to create a better environment for generations to come.”  You might disagree once you know about the chemicals in their Febreze-infused garbage bags.

Here is some information about 11 of the disease-causing chemicals in Febreze…and now in Glad garbage bags too

Street graffiti today represents the bold new frontier for modern artists. Its a merging of the respected renaissance art tradition of realism and artistic impact, with the often despised graffiti-fication of our city's spaces. Here we profile 10 such pieces that bring class, and renaissance flair to the approachable, democratic (and 2000 year old) tradition of street art.

Edgar Muller & Manfred Stader
The dynamic duo of Muller and Stader have won many awards for the artwork and even teach street painting at various universities. The specialise in anamorphic street painting. Below is a promotional piece they did for SMART cars.

Julian Beever
An english artist, nicknamed "The Pavement Picasso", and his sidewalk chalk drawings have been a viral hit on the internet. Julian too is a master of the anamorphic technique which he uses to full effect here in rendering this amazing rendition of a laptop.

Kurt Wenner
Kurt specialises in turning renaissance classics into street art, and aims to reinvent and revitalise classicism for the new age, and inspires others to take to both street art, and traditional painting techniques. He has invented his own pictorial geometry meant to overcome the distortion that occurs while viewing downwards onto the street. As can be seen below, it is clearly a technique that works very well.

Robert Banks
Better known as Banksy, he is one fo the most well known and respected street graffitii artists around the world, he combines traditional graffitti techniques with stencling techniques.

Rod Tyron
He has been practicing street art with chalk for more than 20 years, and loves to make images that pop out of the street. He gets a kick out of the reactions people have to his 3-D images.

Eduardo Relero
A spanish artist, who uses the anamorphic technique to bring the sidewalks of spain alive with scenes for storybooks with his illustrative and comic styles of painting.

Greg Brown
The most abstract artist on this list, Greg brown paints images that are open to interpretation, and are meant to make the passing pedestrian think. His themes include everything from construction equipment to miniature ships.

Daim
A German artist and one of the most highly sought after graffiti artists in the world, Daim creates 3D pop graffiti on walls, canvas vehicles, as well as animation and sculpture.

Eric Grohe
A professional graphic designer and illustrator. His murals appear to pop out of the walls he turns into his amazing woks of art.

Tracy Lee Stum
Tracy holds the Guiness record for the largest street painting by a single individual. A very curious and diverse artist, her themes vary from mythical to esoteric. She has been featured around the world for the sheer mastery in her work.

Resumes can make or break you. In a world where time is of the essence, and competition intense, it has become all the more important to make your first impression a good one, and make it fast. You will be surprised how much a creative & unique resume can improve your call return rates! At the same time it is important to balance creativity with the amount of information conveyed, in order to not overwhelm the employer, or go too far out of the box. Here are some good examples of beautiful, out of the box resumes that any employer would love to receive. We hope you find some inspiration to build your very own personal resume that helps you stand out in the rat race.

1. Melissa Washin & Her Sewn Fabric Resume
“Sewing is one of my biggest passions, and I wanted to convey that somehow in my resume.” - Melissa
She printed the info onto iron-on paper, transferred it to white fabric, and sewed it to a variety of printed fabrics. The end result is something that speaks a lot about Melissa's personality without one even having to read a word on it. Being fabric instead of paper also immediately sets it apart from the rest. This resume got Melissa a job right after graduation. Very cool!

2. Benjamin Dooling & His Coffee Bag Resume
Benjamin has created a line of craft-paper bags, filled them with locally-roasted coffee and printed his resume - consisting of skills and quailificaitons on them. The coffee bags immediately advertise his artistic philosophy, and the freshly roasted bean will be much appreciated by the over worked HR department at the receiving end of this awesome resume!

3. Shakira Twigden & Her Badass Typographic Resume
“I wanted to grab someone’s attention. People take design too seriously, especially when searching for jobs. I basically wanted to say “Hey, I know that you are busy and have a team full of great people, but I can get the job done too.” - Shakira
This beautiful resume takes the stance that sometimes simple minimal words get the job done if expressed in a way that simultaneously and effortlessly communicates some of the more secondary as well as abstract concepts that surround it. And what better way to do it than with a beautiful typography, something that Shakira seems to have quite a knack for! We love it!

4. Brian Moose & His Vintage Resume Package
As they, sometimes the old ways are best. And who can deny the inexplicable charm of everything retro. Brian recently sent this beautifully packaged old school themed resume complete with faded metal inlays, straps and postal stickers to the boys at Pixar Animation, he hasnt heard back from them yet, but lets hope for the best!

5. Miguel Rato & His Milk Box Resume
This milk box resume was created by Miguel Rato in the process of applying to Wieden + Kennedy, an advertising agency in London. Its a very elegantly executed design and allows a vast amount of information to be conveyed in an interesting but familiar form factor that allows both quick browsing and reference, as well as in depth reading. Excellent use of space, thumbs up Miguel!

6. T-shirt Resume
Back in 2008, Kelly Kinney started wearing a T-shirt that read “I need a job” with her resume printed on the back. Regardless of whether she got any offers ( from hiring managers standing behind her in the queue perhaps ? ), she later turned this idea into a solid business in itself and now you too can order your very own customized T-shirt-resume!

7. Chuck D. Lay & His Old-School Newspaper Style Resume
Chuck, a graphic designer from Louisiana decided to style his resume as an old-school newspaper page. There is nothing earth-shattering about this one, but sometimes its enough to show that you can do simple things extraordinarily well, and Chuck surely accomplished that with this charming resume!

8. Joe Kelso & His Old-School Movie Poster Resume
“This resume was my secret weapon,” says Jon Kelso, presenting himself in a form of an old-school movie poster. And who doesnt love old school movie posters!

9. Jonathan Kaczynski & His Subway Map Resume
Sometimes simple is best, and charting your life out as a roadmap is probably the most intuitive thing to do when we speak of life experiences and qualifications. Jonathan has done just that in presenting his resume in a form of a subway map. Neat!

10. Sarah Odgers & Her 3D Resume
“Why hand a boring, Word-based resume to a potential employer when you can showcase your abilities and personality to create a great first impression?” Though the employer literally laughed to her face because of the resume, Sarah still got the job.

What an exciting way to take advantage of modern technologies and break out of the prison of 2 dimensions that paper imposes upon us!

http://www.funonthenet.in/articles

Even a brief look at these remarkable trees would make you say "Ouch!" and feel uncomfortable! These are some of the world's thorniest trees. Resist the urge to touch them!

 

 

What is so threatening about them that we feel subjected to a fear of pain just by looking at them? 

 

 

 

 

So admire them from a distance, and resist the urge to touch