Yes a cat stand I say,
one that won’t buck nor sway,
that’s not sore to the eyes
and is not in the way.

It’s not from PetSmart,
and it’s not from PETCO,
it’s furniture art,
it’s the sure way to go.

There’s no better time,
you have to invest
in a cat tree that’s real
in the one that’s the best!

Come check it out; Custom Cat Stands.
www.customcatstands.com

Custom Cat Stands

Fast forward. There’s ship builders and there cat stand builders.  I’ve decided to be a cat stand man. Come check em’ out – and pass the word!

http://www.customcatstands.com

The Town:
http://www.lytletx.org/

The Organization:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ShelterKat78052

The Video:

Dave spent over nine months trying to get United to pay for damages caused by baggage handlers to his custom Taylor guitar.

During his final exchange with the United Customer Relations Manager, he stated that he was left with no choice other than to create a music video for YouTube exposing their lack of cooperation.  The Manager responded “Good luck with that one, pal”.

So he posted a retaliatory video on YouTube.  The video has since received over 9.5 million hits.  United Airlines contacted the

musician and attempted settlement in exchange for pulling the video.  Naturally his response was “Good luck with that one, pal”.

Taylor Guitars has since sent the musician two new custom guitars in appreciation for the product recognition from the video that has led to a sharp increase in orders.

Download Google Chrome BETA @ http://www.google.com/landing/chrome/beta/
Try out Google Body Browser: http://bodybrowser.googlelabs.com/body.html

Google Body Browser

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2374462,00.asp
http://mashable.com/2010/12/16/google-body-browser/

Jay Braden Austin Landscape Artwork for the City of Austin, TX Visitor's Center

Jay Braden Artwork for City of Austin Visitor's Center

Where to buy: http://jaybraden.net/acvb-items.html

The 2011 calendar is now available; more information at http://jaybraden.net/covers-preview-2011.html

The pictures for the calendar have also made there way to mugs & tiles. More @ http://www.austinallaround.com/

The Story of Cosmetics

The Story of Bottled Water

The Story of Cap & Trade

The Story of Stuff

My appreciation goes to all that put their efforts into creating this; thank you.

Preamble
Throughout our nation’s history, Americans have found the courage to do right by our children’s future. Deep down, every American knows we face a moment of truth once again. We cannot play games or put off hard choices any longer. Without regard to party, we have a patriotic duty to keep the promise of America to give our children and grandchildren a better life.

Our challenge is clear and inescapable: America cannot be great if we go broke. Our businesses will not be able to grow and create jobs, and our workers will not be able to compete successfully for the jobs of the future without a plan to get this crushing debt burden off our backs.

Ever since the economic downturn, families across the country have huddled around kitchen tables, making tough choices about what they hold most dear and what they can learn to live without. They expect and deserve their leaders to do the same. The American people are counting on us to put politics aside, pull together not pull apart, and agree on a plan to live within our means and make America strong for the long haul.

As members of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, we spent the past eight months studying the same cold, hard facts. Together, we have reached these unavoidable conclusions: The problem is real. The solution will be painful. There is no easy way out. Everything must be on the table. And Washington must lead.

We come from different backgrounds, represent different regions, and belong to different parties, but we share a common belief that America’s long-term fiscal gap is unsustainable and, if left unchecked, will see our children and grandchildren living in a poorer, weaker nation. In the words of Senator Tom Coburn, “We keep kicking the can down the road, and splashing the soup all over our grandchildren.” Every modest sacrifice we refuse to make today only forces far greater sacrifices of hope and opportunity upon the next generation.

Over the course of our deliberations, the urgency of our mission has become all the more apparent. The contagion of debt that began in Greece and continues to sweep through Europe shows us clearly that no economy will be immune. If the U.S. does not put its house in order, the reckoning will be sure and the devastation severe.

The President and the leaders of both parties in both chambers of Congress asked us to address the nation’s fiscal challenges in this decade and beyond. We have worked to offer an aggressive, fair, balanced, and bipartisan proposal – a proposal as serious as the problems we face. None of us likes every element of our plan, and each of us had to tolerate provisions we previously or presently oppose in order to reach a principled compromise. We were willing to put our differences aside to forge a plan because our nation will certainly be lost without one.

We do not pretend to have all the answers. We offer our plan as the starting point for a serious national conversation in which every citizen has an interest and all should have a say. Our leaders have a responsibility to level with Americans about the choices we face, and to enlist the ingenuity and determination of the American people in rising to the challenge.

We believe neither party can fix this problem on its own, and both parties have a responsibility to do their part. The American people are a long way ahead of the political system in recognizing that now is the time to act. We believe that far from penalizing their leaders for making the tough choices, Americans will punish politicians for backing down – and well they should.

In the weeks and months to come, countless advocacy groups and special interests will try mightily through expensive, dramatic, and heart-wrenching media assaults to exempt themselves from shared sacrifice and common purpose. The national interest, not special interests, must prevail. We urge leaders and citizens with principled concerns about any of our recommendations to follow what we call the Becerra Rule: Don’t shoot down an idea without offering a better idea in its place.

After all the talk about debt and deficits, it is long past time for America’s leaders to put up or shut up. The era of debt denial is over, and there can be no turning back. We sign our names to this plan because we love our children, our grandchildren, and our country too much not to act while we still have the chance to secure a better future for all our fellow citizens.

Information about the creators:
Fiscal Commission > Official Site & Wiki Article

One might offer “Biodegradable or Recycled Trash Bags” as a solution.  Although biodegradable bags are much more environmentally friendly and can decompose in 10-45 days – they incur tons of overhead.  Recycled trash bags are also more environmentally friendly than non-recycled trash bags – yet they still take 100 years to decompose.

One might suggest the “empty when full” or “empty when required” or “use best judgment” method, but would then assuredly find themselves dealing with the Bureau of I’m Gonna Sue You, cause you can bet there’s someone whose going to complain that they got sick because of some banana peel that smelt bad.  Talk about a waste of time & money.

Some might go as far to say “no more trash can liners”… YUK.  Can you imagine?  Better invest in some pressure washers.

How about suggesting something like making folks get up from the cubicle and walk to a shared trash can, where right next to it are recycling bins for plastics & paper.  Sue me for that one; I dare you.  I’ll come back at you with a mean case of here’s the new company policy that states you need to get up and walk a few times a day due to the recent findings linking sitting at a computer all day to thrombosis.  Not to mention failure to comply with the “quit wasting company resources” policy that I just put into effect along with the fact that you’re in direct violation of the Formal Code of Ethics on Healthy Living and Environmental Friendliness.

I’ve worked for several large corporations and am amazed in this day in age how some still go through petroleum based plastic trash bags every day.  The global numbers would be gut wrenching.  I’d be willing to bet that on a daily basis, you could fill the world cup stadium to the brim with the amount of plastic trash bags that are tossed into landfills around the globe.  Think about it – just the company I’m at, 1 of its over 40 locations will generate at least 20-30 lbs (roughly 1 or 2 square ft.) of empty or nearly empty trash bags.  40-80 square feet for this company alone – and we’re small in comparison to the tens of thousands enterprise corporations out there.  Sickening.  Of course some critic writing for The Devil’s Advocate will come along and make nonsensical comments like “the bags weren’t compacted – there’s no way it would fill the that many square feet.”  Right on; he’s missing the point entirely.

I realize not all companies work this way and that there are in fact many who do utilize centralized locations, do have recycling available and many who even use the “empty when full” or “empty when stinky” methods.  The point here is that there are still many, many companies throughout the world that for whatever reason or policy… continue to waste millions of plastic trash bags.

So how bout it – take the cans away from the cubes and desks and make centralized departmental bins available?