1/20    So I want to give some money to Haiti relief funds and my employer
        is willing to match it, but I am not really that big a fan of
        The Red Cross (they take your donations and then spend them
        however they like, not neccessarily on what you gave it to them for).
        Who else is a good charity? UNICEF?
        \- I believe after some criticism the Red Cross is better about
           handling earmarked funds. That being said, at this point the big
           global agencies [Red Cross, MSF etc] are asking for unresticted
           funds because 1. they have already depleated unrestricted reserve
           in Haiti early 2. they have rec'd a lot of restricted Haiti funds
           and more is in the pipeline 3. govt are spending money there too
           etc. If you go to the RC web page, it does let you semi-earmark.
           Although not clear you can do so if you go through other channels
           you may need to for matching etc. Also I was unhappy the RC requires
           you to give them your email address. I think there is an argument
           to be made that if you find a reputable agency which goal aligned
           to your philosophy [e.g. georgraphically where do they work, what
           do they focus on ... disaster, routine medical/health, microfinance,
           literacy, infrastructure (clean water etc)] you should give
           unrestricted funds. So I think in this case with a big tide of
           money going to Haiti, it's reasoanble to refurbish say the MSF
           coffers for work in Africa ... of course this doesnt apply if
           your goal is to pipe your dollars to Haiti, as oppose to respond
           to a "shock" requiring more resources, or if it seems like down
           the road Haiti is out of the news or govt have renegged on pledges
           and oranizations you trust are making Haiti-specific appeals again.
           Anyway, without a longer detour into philosophy, consider MSF.
           Those guys stay in some really fucked up places through thick and
           thin and that buys a lot of credibility in my book.
           BTW, here is the restrict/unrestricted info for MSF:
           http://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=197&hbc=1?ref=main-menu
           (Hmm, I guess MSF requires an email too).
           Just dont donate to Wyclef Jean :-)
           \_ Don't donate to Kars 4 Kids either.  I almost donated my car to
              them, until I found out that they are actually a religious
              group that uses the donations for spreading the regigion.  I'm
              not religious but I don't mind donating to religious groups (like
              my kid's Christian school) for geunine charity work.  However,
              Kars 4 Kids is too skewed.
        \_ The American Red Cross has one of the lowest overheads among large
           charities.  For example, the overhead for Hurrican Katrina funds is
           9%.  (In comparison, the American Cancer Society overhead is 95%.)
           (Sources: Wikipedia)

1/20    can we get some double entendre Golden Globes Christina
        Hendricks discussion please?  ok tnx.
        http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=christina+hendricks
        \_ Her Golden Globes look rather small in some of her pics at
           http://www.bustyskinny.com  Odd.

1/20    http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/2010/01/20/the-4-big-myths-of-profile-pictures
        Good profile picture = date
        Bad profile picture = no date
        It's all scientific!

1/20    Food for thought: kids today are more responsible and less selfish
        than kids from 80s... the REAGAN era.
        http://news.cnet.com/8301-19518_3-10434969-238.html
        \_ As a parent of a kindergartener, I don't think so.

1/20    Watch out for these Chinese hackers!!! Project Aurora has
        infiltrated into the U.S.
        http://www.secureworks.com/research/blog/index.php/2010/01/20/operation-aurora-clues-in-the-code

1/20    SFMOMA girls, HOTT!
        http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2010/01/20/DDRV1BJRHC.DTL
        \_ No.
           \_ These women are pretty hot if you are old enough to date them.
              \_ No.  I stare at MILF's on the streets all the time, but these
                 are not one of them.  -- PP
                 \_ agreed. They're hot if you're like, 90. How old are you?
                    \_ 39.  -- PP
                 \_ I bet the one on the right is hotter than your g/f. Am I
                    right? Here is a better shot of Jessica and Sally:
                    http://7x7.com/sites/default/files/u31/Philanthropist016.jpg
                    \_ I'm sorry but you are blind, but that's fine because
                       people like you weed out the ugly ones for the rest
                       of us alpha males.
                       \_ I didn't know the captain of the football team had
                          a soda account. Welcome!
                        \_ here is something better:
                           http://curiousphotos.blogspot.com/2010/01/compilation-of-sexy-bartenders.html
                           \_ just goes to show you east coast girls are hotter
                    \_ Yeah, in this new pic they look hotter and about as hot
                       as my wife (who is not that hot anyway.)  -- PP
                    \_ How old are they? If they are pushing 50 they are
                       more attractive than some. If they are in their
                       late 30s then I'd pass.
        \_ old. not that pretty. big boobs though.

1/20    I had a chinese chicken salad yesterday, this morning
        I crapped little bits of green, EVERYWHERE.  it wasn't painful,
        just rather odd.  What am doing wrong?
        \_ What about this is wrong? It sounds like your body is working
           just fine to me.

1/20    Did Chinese come up with new way of quicksort?
        http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/technology/20cyber.html
        Joe Stewart, a malware specialist with SecureWorks, a computer
        security company based in Atlanta, said he determined the main
        program used in the attack contained a module based on an unusu
        al algorithm from a Chinese technical paper that has been
        published exclusively on Chinese-language Web sites.
        \_ I think the Chinese were paying more attention in CS60C than I
           was
           http://www.secureworks.com/research/blog/index.php/2010/01/20/operation-aurora-clues-in-the-code
           \_ RACIST!!!
              \_ Kill a commie for mommy.
        \_ What does that have to do with quicksort?