The global Freecycle phenomenon was born and raised in Tucson, and it’s founder, Deron Beal, is featured in the current issue of Time Magazine. Check it out here.

Started in 2003, they currently have 4,854 groups with 6,737,000 members across the globe.  Groups can be found from Andorra to Zambia.

If you have been living in a cave and are not aware of what the Freecycle craze is.  Their site (freecycle.org)  says, “The Freecycle Network™ is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns…When you want to find a new home for something — whether it’s a chair, a fax machine, piano, or an old door — you simply send an e-mail offering it to members of the local Freecycle group. Or, maybe you’re looking to acquire something yourself. Simply respond to a member’s offer, and you just might get it.”

When I first heard of the Freecycle group here in Tucson years ago, I didn’t quite understand it.  To test it out, I posted an offer of 50 empty used CD cases.  Within minutes I was inundated with takers.  A couple years later, my sister was living out in the boonies and would be trapped by monsoon floods.  At that time, you could post “wanted” items (they have since changed the rules).  I posted her problem and quickly was offered an old Pinto that had been converted into a type of swamp vehicle.  We didn’t take it (she moved).

According to the article, the site helps to reuse 700 tons of material a day.  The Freecycle site claims they have kept material out of landfills equal to “five times the height of Mt. Everest in the past year alone, when stacked in garbage trucks!”  That’s no small potatoes.

Are you a Freecycle enthusiast?

The Twit Crew from the Ellen DeGeneres Show stopped in Tucson on Wednesday, recorded a portion of the show and handed out 10K in prizes:  90 $100 gas cards and one $1000 gas card.

Her Twit Crew (short for Twitter crew) is traveling across the country and making surprise stops along the way.  Prizes are often gas cards, but there is a chance to win a brand new GMC Terrain.

Twitter messages are sent from Ellen, alerting followers of locations.  Early Wednesday a message was sent identifying Tucson as the next stop.  Around 1:00 p.m. another message was sent telling followers to go to the Shell gas station on Speedway & Alvernon at 4:30 p.m. with a current O Magazine (with Ellen and Oprah on the cover)  and to subscribe to the ThisIsGMC Twitter feed.  Once at the location, Ellen would give participants instructions to “do” something to win a bigger prize.

I stopped at a drug store on the east side of town and grabbed a magazine before heading to the station in central Tucson.  When the clerk saw the magazine, she simpy asked, “You going?”  “Yes,” I replied.  She closed her eyes and nodded and handed me the magazine as if it were an ancient scripture.  It was obvious she really wanted to go.

My friends and I arrived an hour early and missed out on the first 90 prizes.  A couple hundred people were already there.  I overheard a crew member say they had expected only 50ish people and they were surprised by the turnout.  I think by the end of the event, there could have been 500 people there.  Maybe they didn’t think we have Twitter in the Old Pueblo.

There was quite a bit of waiting and finally the big moment came where we became a live remote location and Ellen spoke to us.  She said hello to Tucson.  We screamed.  Then she gave the instructions: Come back in a bathing suit and cowboy hat.  The first one back would get a $1000 gas card.

Hundreds of people flocked across Speedway and Alvernon á la “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.”

They returned as requested – in bathing suits and cowboy hats.  There were even men in bikinis.  One person creatively fashioned a cowboy hat out of a silver car sunshade.

In the end, it was Frank Landino in flame swim trunks and a green cowboy hat with a light-up tiara and feathers who was awarded the $1000 gas card.

His wife, Christina Landino, says, “It was really quite an accident that he came about winning.”  They discovered the contest not via Twitter but because they live next door to the gas station and Kat had walked over to buy a soda and heard Ellen’s voice over the speakers giving the instructions.

She ran back home and told her husband to throw on a swimsuit and put on her sister-in-law’s cowboy hat.  When all was said and done, this was the result:

Winner Frank Landino on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Photo: David Tellez

His wife says, “He’s such a ball of energy anyway — this was right up his alley!”  Congratulations Frank!

Here is the message from http://twitter.com/TheEllenShow.  Sent one hour ago:

The Twit crew will be at a Shell gas station in Tucson today. If you want a prize, you need to get a copy of my O mag & follow @ThisIsGMC

They are giving away prizes such as gas cards and maybe even a a brand new GMC Terrain.  The O mag she refers to, is the current O magazine that features Ellen. Who knows, you might even appear on the show.

If you have never used Twitter, sign up at Twitter.com and go to http://twitter.com/TheEllenShow and http://twitter.com/ThisIsGMC and click the “follow” button to see the latest updates on your Twitter home page.  Watch for an announcement for a specific location.

UPDATED: Here is the tweet with the time and location from ThisIsGMC:

Ellen’s Twit Crew is headed to the Shell Gas Station at 3902 E. Speedway Blvd at 4:30! Be there with a copy of O Magazine.

Good Luck!  Make sure you have your magazine and are subscribed to ThisIsGMC

Did you grow up hearing Mexican dichos or sayings/proverbs?

Here is the 5th installment of dichos or mexican proverbs and sayings.

Dicho in Spanish:

No cuando sale el sol calienta, si no cuando va subiendo.

Dicho in English:

The sun does not heat at sunrise, but later as it rises.

This was said to someone who is impatient and wants quick results.

Does this still apply today to the majority of the public?  Oh how times have changed.  Today we want everything fast.  Fast food, fast communication, fast cars, fast results…  So many things have changed from when I was growing up, and I admit I’ve become pretty spoiled.

I can get food almost instantly from the microwave and pay taxes and car registrations online.   I haven’t had to go to the library often or call and wait for answers from the Historical Society to find answers to questions because so much can be found online at our fingertips.  This is really convenient, but is it good for us?

When I was growing up I would watch my grandma do her laundry.  She would prewash with a scrubbing board.  Then she’d put the clothes into a wringer washer and wait.  When it was done, she would put every item through the wringer.  Then she’d carry her heavy basket of wet clothes out to the clothesline where she would then hang it all up with clothespins and wait for the sun to dry them.  Now we have washers and dryers where you just have to toss the clothes in with some product.  I don’t even like to do that.  Do you?  Many of us have developed the different piles of “worn but can’t tell,” “kinda dirty,” and “radioactive pick up with tongs” laundry to cut down on the trips to the laundry room.  Grandma washed everything.  I claim I do it to save water (to make up for long showers).

Often she would start making dinner the night before.  She would sort, clean, soak beans and wait.  The next day she would put them to boil and wait.  When she made menudo, it took hours.  Even her version was “fast” as she could find pre-made nixtamal (white corn).  Her ancestors shucked and dried the corn and then soaked and boiled it with ashes or lye.  Now we can find menudo in cans.  I admit there was one time I passed off canned menudo as homemade at a Christmas gathering because I was too busy and impatient to make it the right way.  “You made this?”  “Ummm, ya.”  Well, technically I did.

Tamales.  Another all-day affair.  Along with my sister and dad, we shuck and grind corn to make them.  We turn out rare little delicacies and make wonderful memories.  We don’t do it often – it’s faster and easier to buy them already made or go to a restaurant.  Do I specifically remember any of the latter?  No.  (Well, alright, in all honesty, I do remember every single tasty morsel from both the Poca Cosa restaurants)

I remember waiting for my grandpa’s tomatoes to get ripe.  We would check the plants for ripe ones, and they were oh so good.  Tomatoes and cucumbers were the treasures of summer and they usually couldn’t be found any other time of year.  It forced us to eat with the seasons – and wait.  People had been so happy to have food come into season, festivals were dedicated to harvests.

When things take a long time, it requires you to develop other skills – like planning, routine, and organization.  Right now the only major things I have to pre-plan are the holidays and my son’s birthday party.  Sometimes even those are half gluteus maximus.  Everyone home late?  Damn, I should have put something into the crock pot.  Lets grab a $5 grab-and-go pizza – just this time.  Yea, right.

Yes, we still have to wait just as long for some things.  Babies still take nine months to bake.  Hair grows out just the same from a bad haircut. Some things take even longer.  I sometimes wait three months for a doctor appointment and hours to see the doctor from my scheduled time.

Another thing that remains the same is the mail-in prizes from cereal boxes.  My son clips the coupons and waits for the next box to be bought.  Then we have to fill out the form, stick it in an envelope, mail it snail mail and wait for it come back by the same snail  (the snail is faster now).  The prizes are no better than what he gets from kid meals, but they don’t end up kicked aside or destroyed as fast.  He enjoys the fruits of his patience and labor more.  He’ll also remember it with pride rather than the blur of the other junk.

“Where’s the Scooby Doo I bought you?”
“What Scooby Doo?”
“The three-foot Scooby?  The one you begged for in Toys R Us.  The one that kept getting in the way of everything?  The one I tripped over and almost had to go to the ER for a concussion?”
“What are you talking about?”

Hmmm, maybe if I had made him wait….

What are some other things we no longer have to wait for?

See a list of all my dicho posts here.

Do you have dichos to share?  If so, email them to comments@bjaysplace.com.

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About Bjay

This weekend I tagged along with my sister to TusCon36 touted as “The Best Little Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Convention in Arizona!”

I admit while I am a die-hard sci-fi/scary book and Star Trek fan, I have not ever attended a convention for their genres.  I will leave the details to my sister in her blog, and let you know about my experience as a total noob (newbie) to all this.  I did not know what to expect.

This little convention has a 36-year history and has usually been small with no advertising and is mostly centered on the literary arts.  It was held at the Hotel Tucson City Center (also known as InnSuites).  This year they had authors, panels and readings.  They also had artists with an art show.  There were dealers, movie screenings, anime, computer gaming, and CosPlay.  I did not see anybody dressed as Spock, but I did see Kirk (below).  However, I mostly saw costumes that were kind of western, kind of futuristic and didn’t understand why at the time.

David Lee Summers of TalesOfTheTalisman.com

A pic of my boyfriend on a game box. He couldn't make it to TusCon this year.

CosPlay is short for “costume play” or in other words dressing up with an opportunity for role play.  This year they had a CosPlay competition with a steampunk theme.  Steampunk?  What the hec is that?

While trying to figure it out, I came across these steampunk guns in the art show section.  They looked like something from a Jules Verne novel.

Steampunk art by Gary Hayes

Just then I came across the artist who made them, Gary Hayes, all 6 feet 6 inches of him, in steampunk attire.

Artist Gary Hayes in steampunk attire

Gary designed the cover of the TusCon36 program book and also did triple duty as convention security.  I almost wanted to cause trouble just to be kicked out by him and get a picture of it.

I asked him, okay, what the hec is steampunk.  He asked if I had ever read Jules Verne.  Of course!  Or seen the Wild Wild West series or movie.  Yes!  Well, that’s steampunk – futuristic western themes.  Ahhhh.  (If you have never read Jules Verne, you better get on it).

His wife, Rebecca Hayes, was on the convention staff and took us around downtown Tucson that evening for a fantastic ghost tour where we learned more about Tucson’s history and it’s architecture with some ghostly stories sprinkled in.  I’m sure my sister will share more about that with you in her blog.  Rebecca is also lovingly known as “Ghost Girl” and the two of them are quite a pair.  If you attend a TusCon in the future, look for them.  They have been a part of the convention for 14 years.  They surely enhance the experience.

Here is Rebecca at the end of the ghost tour.  I also had to take a picture of the staff she wielded – created by her husband, made from items around the house.  In this case, the base is a shower curtain rod.

Rebecca Hayes at the conclusion of the downtown Tucson ghost tour, also in steampunk.

Rebecca's staff

I am also a little bit of a computer gamer, so I have to mention what I discovered in the ballroom dedicated to gaming.  There were a couple of modified computers that were hard to miss.  They were put on display by folks from pcwormhole.com, a site that is “a gateway to bleeding edge PC’s and the innovators who build and bench them.”  In layman terms this means people who modify their computers to make them go really fast for gaming.

Some people overclock their computers or make them run at a higher clock rate or GHz than it was designed to (it goes faster).  However their efforts are limited by the temperature of the processor or some other internal components.  Cooler temps allow more speed.  Computers come with a heatsink to keep temperatures down.  However for hardcore, extreme enthusiasts, it’s not enough and they modify it.  Check it out:

A water cooled computer CPU

A CPU cooled by liquid nitrogen

This is an Nvidia video card that has had putty applied to reduce the temperature

This CPU is cooled by a modified A/C unit and tubing

These computers were using i7 processors and got to temperatures as low as -90 degrees and speeds were increased from a clock speed of 2.6 GHz to 5 GHz – making it about twice as fast.

I had heard of this, but had never seen it in action.  Very interesting.  The kids at the convention got to touch and handle some of the items, making it a pretty popular area.

I personally came away from the TusCon36 convention with a new interest in steampunk, new book sources, and a hands-on view of why some of the people in my online game go so unbelievably fast.  Checking out Star-Trek/Star Wars items and dragon art was icing on the cake.

If you didn’t get to go and would like to attend the next one, keep an eye on their websites:

http://tusconscificon.com/
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~basfa/

About Bjay

World Diabetes Day is this month and Walgreens is celebrating with November Diabetes Wellness Events.  Select Walgreens will be offering a free blood glucose and A1c test this month along with a free pharmacist consultation.  Walgreens will donate $1 to the American Diabetes Association for every test performed, up to $100,000.

The A1c (also known as HbA1c) is an invaluable tool in the control of diabetes.  It gives an idea of the average blood sugar level over the past 2-3 months.  Many diabetics (with a diabetes-friendly insurance plan) get this test performed every three months.  Unfortunately, many diabetics don’t have adequate health care or skimp on this test to save money.

A person without diabetes would have an A1c between 4-6%.  The ADA recommends people with diabetes aim for an A1c of less than 7%.  It can be a challenging goal, but being close to “normal” lowers health risks.

On my website (DiabeticMommy.com), a member’s A1c result is very important.  We reward a “dancing frog” to members who report A1c’s of less than 7% or a “tadpole” to those who have shown a marked improvement.  It’s a big deal.  We lament that our family and friends often don’t understand if we are happy about a 6% A1c or devastated by a 10% – that it’s something only other diabetics can really empathize with.  So if you are reading this, and do not have diabetes, you may not understand what the fuss is about.  However, if you know someone with diabetes, let them know about the free test.

Little birdies are telling me they are getting instant results and are not having to wait days.  Instant gratification!  (Or shock)

As of today, these are the upcoming dates and locations here in Tucson:

Wednesday, November 11
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
4685 E. Grant Rd (Grant/Swan)
(520) 326-4341

Tuesday, November 17
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
3800 W. Ina (Ina/Thornydale)
(520) 744-4708

Wednesday, November 18
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
7111 E. Golf Links (Golf Links/Kolb)
(520) 790-7734

More information:  http://www.walgreens.com/topic/promotion/diabetesawareness.jsp?ban=flh2_h_wag_diabetes_wellness

Manny Hernandez asking you to think blue on November 14.

Manny Hernandez wants to make history on November 14 which is World Diabetes Day.

Manny is originally from Venezuela and lives in Bay Area, California.  He is an engineer, a web product manager, Internet marketing specialist, a social media expert…and also  a much-loved leader in the diabetes community.

Manny was first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2002, then type 1 in 2003 and finally type 1.5 or LADA (latent autoimmune diabetes in adults) in 2007.  The first thing he did upon diagnosis?  He went online for information.

While researching and after reading a story about discrimination against diabetes in the New York Times, he felt called to use his talents for the diabetes community.

He is the founder of TuDiabetes.com, a popular online social network for people touched by diabetes.  He also offers a site called EsTuDiabetes.com in Spanish.  In addition, he writes Hola Diabetes a blog in both English and Spanish on Dlife.

Through TuDiabetes, Manny has orchestrated many online events and activities allowing his community to become interactive, express themselves, and increase diabetes awareness.  A great example is the Word in your Hand: Life with Diabetes initiative that produced a video created with help of his members that really helps to drive home what’s it is like to struggle with diabetes.

On World Diabetes Day, he is asking people with diabetes to participate in Big Blue Test Day.  Participants are asked to test their blood sugar, do 14 minutes of exercise, test again and share results on TuDiabetes and Twitter at 2 p.m. their time.  They expect to have thousands of participants and make history.

Do you have diabetes or know someone who does?  Please send them this post or tell them to go to bigbluetest.org.

You can find a video from Manny and more information on his TuDiabetes site here:
http://tudiabetes.com/forum/topics/the-big-blue-test-on-world

Stay tuned to this blog for more about Manny and TuDiabetes.

Bjay is the creator of DiabeticMommy.com.  Would you like to be alerted to new posts?  Sign up for the RSS feed for this page (to the right), sign up for my personal Twitter feed (this includes all my internet doings),  or sign up for the blog’s Facebook page.

About Bjay

Did you grow up hearing Mexican dichos or sayings/proverbs?

Today’s dicho is a piropos or a saying meant to be flirtatious, gallant, or amorous.  It is said piropos originated in Spain from the gypsies in medieval times.

Piropos are either loved or hated.  Some women claim to feel complimented while others feel they are degrading.  They can range from being poetic and funny to obscene.  They are very commonly heard in working-class areas and are expected to be ignored as women walk by. They are also used as phrases of affection for a loved one.  Many view it as a cultural art form and collecting humorous piropos is popular.

Dicho/piropos  in Spanish:

Tantas curvas y yo sin frenos.

Dicho/piropos  in English:

So many curves, and I have no brakes.

This classic one was shared by my uncle Frank who says it was popular in his youth.  I really can’t imagine him ever using it (uh-huh).

Decades ago I used to work in an office on 6th avenue here in Tucson that sat across from a mechanic shop.  Every time a pretty girl walked by, the mechanics would shout out a chorus of piropos to them in English and Spanish.  I honestly can’t say they were being artistic or gallant or that my life experience was enhanced by the show, but it was entertaining.  I wonder if those guys are still at it today in our more politically correct world.

See a list of all my dicho posts here.

Do you have dichos to share?  If so, email them to comments@bjaysplace.com.

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About Bjay

Did you grow up hearing Mexican dichos or saying/proverbs?

When I debuted my dichos posts, I shared a dicho my father shared with me.  It was one about looking for trouble, and I joked how I could see someone might say that to my dad.

In the comment section, my dad shot a dicho at me.  I’m sharing it with you now.

Dicho in Spanish:

Ahora los patos le tiran a la escopeta, Hija!!

Dicho in English:

Now the ducks are shooting at the shotgun, daughter!

That means its the parents’  job to chastise the children, not the other way around.  So I’m the duck and he’s the shot gun.  I’ll tell you what, this will be a new one I say to my son.  He is eight going on 30 and thinks he knows everything already.  I can’t get over how shocked he is when I’m right about things.  Kids.

See a list of all my dicho posts here.

Do you have dichos to share?  If so, email them to comments@bjaysplace.com.

Would you like to be alerted to new posts?  Sign up for the RSS feed for this page (to the right), sign up for my personal Twitter feed (this includes all my internet doings),  or sign up for the blog’s Facebook page.

About Bjay

Did you grow up hearing Mexican dichos or saying/proverbs?

Here is today’s Dicho:

Dicho in Spanish:

Más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo

Dicho in English:

The devil knows more because he is old, not because he is the devil

The meaning of this one is pretty obvious to those of us with some age on us.  This was often said to a youngster who was surprised an older person was capable or knowledgeable or (gasp!) “right.”

Many times in my life, I think of the truth of the phrase “youth is wasted on the young.”  If only I could go back in time with the knowledge I have now. Of course it would be nice to have advance knowledge to invest in Microsoft or to sell our house when house prices skyrocketed, but that’s not really what I’m talking about.  I mean, to have the better sense and experience I have now.

In my younger years, my thoughts and life were in a jumble.  Problems seemed worse or harder to solve because of all the noise going on in my head.  I’m thankful much of that is now sorted out.  However, it was not because I am brilliant, it’s because of experience and knowing what really matters in life (to me).  Yes, I forget things more frequently now – words, names, location of keys and car – but I still have more going for me now inside my head and heart.

It is unfortunate advertisers often see more potential profit from the youth of our nation, and they have influenced our culture into disrespect of our elders.  Elders are sometimes viewed as an inconvenience.  It is easier to disregard these slow-driving, slow-talking folks as “broken down” than to have the utmost respect and reverence for their life experience.  It reminds me of the scene from Parenthood with Steve Martin where his grandmother shares a brilliant outlook on life and then proceeds to go wait for him in the neighbor’s car, therefore losing her credibility with him.

Not too long ago, Craig Ferguson had a monologue on his talk show that summed this all up here.  It’s one of the best monologues I’ve ever seen, both hilarious and insightful.  I highly suggest you watch it.  Have a good laugh and think all at the same time.

See a list of all my dicho posts here.

Do you have dichos to share?  If so, email them to comments@bjaysplace.com.

Would you like to be alerted to new posts?  Sign up for the RSS feed for this page (to the right), sign up for my personal Twitter feed (this includes all my internet doings),  or sign up for the blog’s Facebook page.

About Bjay