I finalized my May Kiva loan with only two hours left in the month, but it’s done! May I present…

Mrs. Akpom is 34 years old, married and the mother of five children. She has been in rice agriculture since 2002 as a hired hand, and hopes to be able to purchase her own plot of land. As a side business, she also prepares “gari” (a food derived from the cassava root that is often eaten with beans) in order to sell in the markets or to women who come from the city to purchase it at low prices.

Mrs. Akpom is a very hard working woman who knows how to cultivate rice and this loan will be a great source of joy and allow her to improve her family’s standard of living.

I chose Amah because, first of all, my previous three Kiva loans have gone to men in Azerbaijan. I figured I would mix things up a bit and lend to a woman in a different country.

Also, I would like for Amah to become the richest woman in Mission-Tove, Togo, to demonstrate women need d-bag “husbands” like hers like fish need bicycles. Go get ‘em, Amah!

I was apparently the last $25 she needed to complete her loan, so she’s fully funded and as a result won’t be appearing in my sidebar. There are plenty of other worthy entrepreneurs out there, though, so get to lending!

I’m in class, it’s about noon. I just looked down at my feet. On my left foot is a Reef flip-flop, blue straps, Men’s size 9. On my right foot is a Teva flip-flop, orange straps, Women’s size 7.

I am totally wearing one of Mike’s shoes and one of my shoes, and it took me oh… four and a half hours to realize this.

Wow. Sleep dep FTW!

Cindy Sheehan is giving up the ghost.

“She wrote that she is disillusioned by the failure of Democratic politicians to bring the unpopular war to an end and tired of a peace movement she said ‘often puts personal egos above peace and human life.”

Wow. Pot? Kettle? Black?

As long as she maintains her son died for nothing, I won’t listen to anything else she says. I’m not a big fan of this war either, but to say her own son’s death was meaningless? To believe he didn’t touch or save or contribute, or make any kind of a difference in his life - which, by its nature as a soldiering life, ended in death - how can anyone say that? When the way one leads their life takes them to their death, I don’t believe you can separate the two when analyzing worth or meaning. Maybe that’s just me.

One way or another, peace out, Cindy Sheehan. I won’t miss you.

Was not very good. That’s really all I can say. Maybe worth the matinée price, but make sure you watch POTC 2 first (even if you’ve seen it before) or you’ll probably be a little lost.

Definitely the worst of the three, IMHO.

My experiment with Google AdSense was proving to be largely unprofitable. I was making a trickle of money off of my ads, but they annoyed me, and the cost-benefit wound up in favor of axing them.

At this point the only revenue-generating feature on my blog is the search box in the left sidebar; I don’t expect it to bring in any serious cash, but I want to have a search feature anyway, so I figured I’d leave the Google one.

Ads may return in the future in a more targeted format, i.e. a direct arrangement with a company. Google Ads were just too broad and not really appealing to my audience… Especially since I’d get the occasional Brady Campaign ad in there, and… eww. The irony was amusing, but I don’t want their blood money.

My new laptop showed up! For those of you interested in the details of AppleCare’s awesome customer service, here’s a timeline:

• Monday ~9 a.m.: I call and explain my battery is dead, and I don’t want to spend $120 to replace it when I’ve had so many problems with my laptop. Agent agrees and says it’s time for a replacement - but I have to get back to class, so I will have to call back when I have more time.

• Monday ~10 a.m.: I call back and get my replacement set up with an agent named Carly. She says the product replacement specialists will contact me within 24 business hours.
• Tuesday ~10 a.m.: Product replacement agent (Ryan) calls me to get exact details. We email information back and forth over the course of the day.
• Tuesday ~4 p.m.: I receive a pre-paid shipping label from AC (via FedEx) that I am to use to return my laptop.
• Tuesday ~9 p.m.: I drop off the iBook at the local FedEx pickup.
• Wednesday morning: I receive an email from Ryan letting me know as soon as they receive confirmation from FedEx my iBook has shipped, they will process the replacement shipment and get it in the mail.
• Wednesday ~6 p.m.: FedEx picks up my iBook.
• Thursday morning: Ryan emails me again to tell me they received notification of my shipment, and the ball is now rolling to get my MacBook to me.
• Thursday afternoon: I receive an email from FedEx saying there’s a package headed my way - overnight.
• Friday ~noon: My brand-spankin’-new MacBook was on my doorstep.

  I am absolutely thrilled with this thing. I notice a significant speed increase over my iBook - the glossy screen is awesome - I’m obsessed with the iSight - the magnetic power adapter is the best idea ever - I love the widescreen way more than I thought I would - it’s just great.

  So yet again, despite the lemon of an iBook I had, I will assert my absolute devotion to Apple - they make great products and know how to keep their customers happy. Kudos!

So… somebody stands up to the playground bully, and she packs up her sandwiches toys and goes home.

Awesome. Sayonara!

Information courtesy of the local GOP:

The funeral for Lee Newbill will be this Friday, May 25 at 1:00 pm at the Kibbie Dome. Governor Butch Otter will attend, and there will be a large number of law enforcement officers in attendance.

On Monday, May 28th, there is the Memorial Day service at East City Park at 11:00 am, followed by free picnic (hosted by the Latah County Republicans) at about noon. In the event of rain, the event will be at the Eastside Marketplace instead. The Latah GOP will be collecting donations for Officer Lee Newbill’s family and items for care packages to go to the troops.

The Latah GOP also passed along a request for food and beverage donations for a private event for law enforcement families after the funeral on Friday, May 25th:

We are expecting upwards of 400 people and are asking members of our community to help us with food and beverages for this event. We are looking for all kinds of items, and would really appreciate any support you can give. We are trying to keep the responsibility of this gathering off of the shoulders of law enforcement and their families so that they can focus on beginning the healing process.

Please bring any offerings to the Hamilton Indoor Recreation Center, located beside the Hamilton-Lowe Aquatic Center at F Street and Mountain View, between 2:30pm-3:00pm on Friday, May 25th. Please use only disposable containers with disposable serving spoons if possible. If you have any questions, please call Angela Carpenter cell phone at (208) 669-1626. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

I just found out the Patriot Guard will be attending the memorial service. I am going to try to attend as well. An online guestbook has been set up here regarding Officer Newbill. Warning: you might want to grab the tissues, some of the comments are very touching. I got pretty emotional.

It’s coming to my attention that some media outlets are reporting what Pete Husmann (the UI student shot on Saturday night) did as simply “going out to help.” Not all are reporting that he armed himself to do so. It’s bizarre to me to be in the middle of one of these scenarios, where an armed citizen tries to do the right thing and the fact that he was carrying a firearm is ignored (intentionally or unintentionally) by media.

The Bellingham Herald has the full story here, and I urge you to check it out if you want the (apparently) most complete information about what Husmann did.

As a side note, the article mentions he’s a deer hunter. I am thereby making the assumption that he owns a rifle, so for those of you who suggested he would have been better off with one, I imagine he did have one available. That said, hearing gunshots in Moscow is strange enough, so I can completely understand why he would have assumed the shooter was armed with a handgun or could at least be subdued by one. When a shooting is already so bizarre, the idea of a criminal rifleman is even moreso.

If anybody knows of any exisiting efforts to gather donations for some sort of award/gift for Husmann or any of the involved parties, please let me know. I’d be happy to chip in where I can.

I don’t really care to re-live the 11 a.m. press conference right now, but I’ll give details later. Here is the latest news coverage, if you want the basics.

I feel weird saying this, but I’m very bothered by all of this. Moreso than when it first happened. I’m really quite upset, which is out-of-character for me. (Not to sound like a heartless bitch, but it is.) I don’t know if it’s because it happened in my little town, if it’s the police angle, the domestic abuse angle, or a combination of all of the above. I’m a freedom-loving individual, but damn if I don’t think there should be some things we lock you up for and throw away the key. Rapists, child molesters, spouse-beaters… I simply can’t believe in giving these people a second chance.

Anyway, I feel weird about it all. Heavy-hearted.

On the positive side, if you can call it that, we found out who the wounded citizen is. He is a mechanical engineering student here at UI, and when he heard gunshots he grabbed his “semi-automatic .45 pistol” and ran outside to try to help. He didn’t get a chance to return fire before he was wounded. That story alone almost brings tears to my eyes. There are many who might call him stupid, or emboldened by his firearm and a fool for putting his life in danger. I call him heroic. He had absolutely no obligation to do what he did, but as a concerned citizen he ran into danger instead of away from it. I can’t help but compare that behavior to the images we saw of cops at Virginia Tech, hiding behind cars and trees as 32 people died. Same goes for officers Newbill, Shield and Jordon, who all perceived a threat and ran to do their duty instead of worrying about their own safety.

Maybe that’s what upsets me - it’s not all sadness, it’s just a mix of emotions. In a time when the worst in society is exposed - a deranged, mentally unstable criminal who killed his own wife in cold-blood and then gunned down community members and peace officers, we also have examples of damn fine citizens going above and beyond to save lives. God bless them all, and to those of you who survived, if you ever read this: Thank you. I really have no other words.