You know it's going to be a fun day at the jobsite when you show up and the client has one of the toys out:

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That's awesome.

I saw my first Phast system at a job site today. Client moved into the house with it, and whatever tablet was used to control it died within six months. They used switches manually, but had their electrician start changing some out for rocker switches when she had to turn one on manually 40 times before it would stay on.

Also has B&K controller in place that doesn't do much.

Good for you (not in a sarcastic way at all....really....it is great that you are giving your hard earned $$ to a good cause)!

Maybe you can indulge my curiosity. I am not sure where this trend started, but, IMHO, it is out of control. This $630,000+ could be donated graciously to the Bennet Cancer Center without anyone taking a step, right? So who on earth thought it would be a good idea to get t-shirts printed, block off some streets, and walk around for a couple of hours while you are at it? It seems to me there could have been ~$650,000+ donated if the "dog and pony show" were non-existent.

My 2 cents? Some people do not feel that they are helping unless everyone sees them helping. Donating anonymously is not good enough. They have to have proof. A shirt. Selfies on Facebook of them walking with their shirt. Making it a topic of discussion at work, at the gym, at the coffee rip off shack.

Do not take this post the wrong way. I do not mean for this to belittle any contribution anyone is making to any good cause. Just an interesting social observation is all.

Gee, how could that EVER be taken the wrong way

This is the first year in the past 3 years I didn't post about this event before it took place urging people to donate should they choose to. Outside of a few people, the majority of people just looked past it without donating. So the "dog and pony show" regardless of whether it SHOULD be necessary, works, and raises over half a million dollars per year. Whatever it takes to raise money for a worthy cause. My family, and especially my wife's family has been ripped apart by cancer, so I am MORE than happy to put on a shirt and parade around town once a year if it helps make some money to help those that are currently suffering from cancer, have previously suffered from cancer, or will soon suffer from cancer.

I get your passion for the cause. No problem there.

It is just one of those odd things to me. I understand that it is basically a marketing technique at work. Advertising publicly to people who may not know how to donate to things like this or that they even can. It acts as a catalyst to bring attention to the cause. That part makes sense.

Sort of like the car dealers who send the mailers out with the key...."Come on down and see if your key starts the car. If it does, you win it!!!!". You may not win, but you might get sweet talked into buying a new car while you are there. :)

Where does the $$$ for these events come from? Is it also donated? Or do a percentage of the donations pay for it? The logistics just seem awkward to me. Mr. Spock might say "illogical". But what does he know?

I guess this is a better tactic than sending the kids door to door with their hands out like they did when I was a kid? :)

Again, I am not being cynical or just an a-hole. I just wondered what makes things like this things. Curiosity is all it is. Thanks for the info.

Everything is essentially donated, with maybe the exception of the overtime the cops get that work the event. A local radio station is involved. A local print shop donates all the shirts. Sometimes, people will participate as a group whereas alone, they do nothing. Let's be honest, how many people donate to the Police Association when they come calling? Or any other number of charities that come knocking with their hand out? This event gets people out there, to donate their money and time, and to ask others to sponsor their team, which again, raises more money. I don't see how anyone could look at an event like this as anything but a win

Kudos to you for taking part.


I do kind of agree with the sentiment of "why the dog and pony show?" in some way. Understanding that way too many charities take a very large percentage of the raised money, many people take a dim view of all these sort of things.

Wife and I have always donated to a local group that uses 100% of money raised for the cause, so when other charities come knocking they get a "thanks but no."

My advice to others is to do some research before donating. Check how honest the charity is. Where the money is actually going.

[Link: charitywatch.org]


One I feel is the most dishonest is Wounded Warrior Project. They will NEVER get a dime from me.

I donate but I do my research to see how much money is being used for admin vs going to research/help whoever. Wounded Warrior is sadly the biggest scam ever. Many people honestly believe that when you write a check out it's going 100% to the cause. Click that link and you will be shocked and even angered at how much is used for Admin.

Alex's lemonade Stand is another culprit. They had almost 20,000,000 in donations but they have 19,500,000 in "expenses" so only ~500,000 is going to fund cancer research :( really is sad.

It becomes a machine. And a dishonest one at that! Generally I donate locally as very little goes to the admin side. Do your due diligence though and giving can be very rewarding!

Pondering this, thanks for the viewpoint!

Went to Duke Med today, as old people do, I have these doctor things all the damn time...

BP is too high, but most everything else is passable.

Does wine lower your BP?



;-)

I don't contribute much to this list but read it almost daily. I've learned so much from all of you and thank you for that.

With that said, here's my take if you really want to donate and make a difference. Get to know an inner city elementary teacher and ask what THEIR school needs. You'd be surprised, they don't even have enough pencils to make it through the year. I donate directly to the teacher so I know it's being used/dispersed properly.

Back to your regularly scheduled program.

My wife is a teacher in an urban school. More than enough of our money goes directly to the school as she buys most of the supplies to get her job done herself because the school, parents, and PTO certainly contribute next to nothing. So good call.

I had to put down one of my dogs today.
It was not easy but it was best for him.

sorry zohan. that is a tough decision to make. i still miss my first two canine homies!!!! good vibes heading your way!