I spend a lot of time on flickr. As a parent it's one of many holy-$^*! resources the internet provides for instantaneous reference/exploration/discovery. Today, for example, my daughter and I were talking about sharks. I searched flickr and this is what I found:

America's newest security threat: Global Warming

Retired four-star General Zinni calls global warming a serious security threat

Thursday December 27th, 2007

Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a retired four-star general in the United States Marine Corps and a former Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). In 2002, he was selected to be a special envoy for the United States to Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He has been a public critic of the Bush administration and did not support the decision to go to war in Iraq. While serving as special envoy, Zinni was also an instructor in the Department of International Studies at the Virginia Military Institute. Presently, he is an instructor in the Department of Government at the College of William and Mary, a public speaker, and an author of two best-selling books on his military career and foreign affairs, most recently Battle for Peace. He also is involved in the corporate world, joining M.I.C. Industries as its president for International Operations in 2005. General Zinni also serves on the advisory boards of eight different companies, including the security testing firm, Mu Security, based in Sunnyvale, California. He will begin teaching at Duke University's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy.

Hi there! Camp Quixote, currently located at the First United Methodist Church, is in need of volunteers to staff the host table.

Volunteers sit at the host table for three hour shifts that run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The shift times are 6-9 am, 9am-noon, noon-3p, 3-6pm, 6-9pm and so on beginning every three hours.

To volunteer for a shift, just follow the easy steps listed below:

1. Go to www.fumcoly.org/
2. Scroll down. Click on "Camp Quixote host calendar".
3. Wait for calendar to load and then view open shifts.
4. Send tucocamp@gmail.com an email or call 360-888-4171 with the date and time you would like to volunteer.
5. Experience the joy of giving to others!

There are many other ways to volunteer as well! You could provide a meal for the residents, or your group, church or organization could sponsor a host shift or even be responsible for a whole day of hosting! Email us for more info, thanks again, and have a wonderful New Year!

Every year, Time Magazine exercises its privilege to name the "Person of the Year." Hitler, Stalin, the computer, Bill Clinton, and even "You" have been persons of the year. Who is your candidate for the hyperlocal person of the year? No arguments please, just names and the reason they deserve the recognition.

This is the fifth in a series of eight posts about the eight folks who want to take Doug Mah's old seat on the Olympia city council.

Ann Varpness was born in the old St. Petes, that large brick building on the Westside as you head up 5th. Other than being a life-long Olympian, something sort of rare in Olympia politics, there isn't much to say about Varpness.

She also wants to bring the city more to bear on mental health issues, but that's about it. I was about to write a axe-grinder 2.0 post, but there seems to be no particular episode Varpness is worried about, just mental health in general.

In the meat of the application packet, the questions about budget, the comprehesive plan, etc... Varpness is very thin.

Not a great applicant to the city council, but again, a great candidate for our many advisory boards.