Thursday, 10 SEP 2015 :: Shelter options are changing...so are poverty programs

I am always looking for great housing ideas, and have discovered some on Facebook posts and other places.

The original article I linked to from Facebook was about 10 editor design picks for cargo containers.  It is worth the effort to go to the site and browse the designs and try to reach the original articles for each one.  I remember seeing the one about a container being made into a small swimming pool.  I was amazed, then I thought what a great idea!

10 Houses Made from Shipping Containers, by Alexa Hotz 

http://www.remodelista.com/posts/10-houses-made-from-shipping-containers

 

Something on that page led me to another site --  the main page for a company that's been designing container dwellings since before 2003, I think... not really sure.  There weren't a lot of details, but there were prices and more designs.  I think the design numbers reflect the square footage of the house, but I didn't really verify that.

http://www.cargotecture.com/index.html

For a unit under $20K, follow this link...
http://www.cargotecture.com/page3.html

I have found other low-cost housing options, including a small house made out of 100 wood pallets, and the Tiny Home movement, and the $20K House at Auburn University's Rural Studio program.  I first heard about cargo containers being used as housing when we had our soldiers living in them in the Middle East interventions.  Couples were able to be together because they were available.


Another post I followed the link to was a Fast Company article on the effects of giving poor people CASH instead of forcing them to go through programs.  It is worth the time to read... really a great idea.  I am aware of the lending programs that are growing, but this is different.
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3049642/solving-inequality/how-to-fight-poverty-its-simple-give-cash-to-poor-people?utm_source=facebook


I am glad it is the weekend, even though I have a lot to do.

I bought a really cheap little video recorder/camera thing at Walmart and I am going to try it out.  I want to learn how to make and edit and upload video to YouTube and Facebook and other online places.  I have never been able to afford a real camera system, but I recently discovered these little models when I was at their catalog pages looking for camera prices.  One of the comments at the model I planned to buy was a father saying he bought one for his son and his son loved it.  The one I bought because the other one wasn't available is more unknown, but it was at the catalog page, too. It is so inexpensive I don't consider it a dangerous investment.  :-)  I am considering this purchase an investment in education -- I will be using it to learn the process.  I still want to get a GoPro camera system or systems, and then an industry-level system for making documentaries.

All of these plans depend on how long GOD lets me live... remember that!  :-)

Enjoy your weekend... I am hoping to enter more listings at my Etsy and Fiverr shops (fiverr.com/work2gather has the video option for gigs -  that will be fun!) over the weekend and through next week.

Keep checking in to see how I do  :-)
work2gather.etsy.com
fiverr.com/work2gather

Wednesday, 9 SEP 2015 :: The lack of exercise

My pounds are creeping back up...this week.  I haven't been out and about getting exercise and the scale keeps reminding me.  In trying to fit everything in, because I keep an irregular schedule, and because it costs me too much money to go anywhere I don't walk, I tend to stay home until I have to go somewhere, then I try to do everything on that day!  Not a good plan, but the only one I have right now.

By next week, I want to decide on some way to get out of the house for exercise so I don't eat too much, and so my weight goes back down.  I am on the second month of my Christmas goal to reach 140 pounds by the end of December... with 10 pounds a month the general focus of the effort.  To keep on track, I need to go down from the 190 range to the 180 pound level.   :-)  I'm not heading in the right direction right now.

I suppose my body is doing better than it was.  I should be OK to go for a 30 minute walk somewhere... on a bus line, with the option to get home by bus if I need to.

I may try to walk somewhere I need to shop and then ride back.

I don't really know yet.

For so long, I didn't have money for the bus.  I think I am still making decisions based on those fumes... and haven't built up my resources enough yet.  Fear kills more than the actual threat...  and I hate to spend money unless it has a purpose.  I don't spend big amounts very often...  big to me would be a hundred dollars for something like an exercise bike, storage shelving, tickets to get my mail, workspace furniture, a small kiln, tools, supplies, my own place to live and work and breathe and grow...  the list is long.  I try to buy lots of little supplies first.  I am trying to save for the big purchases.

I don't think I live close enough to the stores that would provide all the things I want.  Mostly, I live by grocery options... or some other food opportunities... like donuts and McDonald's.  :-)   I might go crazy with junk foods if I leave here.  ---   Not really.  I want to go have my favorite donut once a month.  I want to go to McDonald's in the morning to read the local paper... but how often... I haven't decided.

For now, I think I will focus on my son's exercise machine... and work up my stamina.

Tuesday, 8 SEP 2015 :: Coupons and Sales

Today I have been busy with sorting through my goals and making lists of all the things I have been trying to get to.  It is a better idea to go through your goal lists at least once a month and have some kind of smaller lists for each day and week.  My "office" has been a mess and I am just beginning to get back into my routines to keep me on track.  :-) 

I created another file for one of my writings called "One Body" - which is about the church being a group of saved souls and not a building, with another FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP offer at the end of it.  I still have to proofread it, sort through the details and the formatting, and then upload it with a listing or two, but I decided to make an end page for more information about Working Together and an offer of some kind.

This is what I came up with for my special offer ::

Over the years I have tried so many things it is impossible to remember them all.  I think a mail-in offer for three months will be enough for right now.  It will provide a sampling of WT NEWS and include one of my planned NEW MEMBER PACKETS with samples of our products and discount savings.  (There will be a similar RENEWAL PACKET for returning members.)

I am still working out the full-year prices and PayPal links to sell online memberships.  I know what I need to charge, but have to figure out the process.  This Trial Membership will help me work out those details.

I was reminded this week of my end-of-year plans to have a Membership Drive in December every year.  I will be heading in that direction for this DECEMBER...  think about joining Working Together as either a CHRISTIAN or PUBLIC MEMBER... possibly as a LIFETIME MEMBER!


I will be posting my writings at Etsy and Fiverr as I get them done.  Here is the first cover page I worked out... (I have been watching the sales listings for designing book covers and hope to develop my own efforts in that direction as I create my PDF booklets.)

I wanted you to see the beginning text for my booklet, which I left on the first page.  My next effort might be CURIOSITY, or ONE SINNER, or REPENTANCE... I don't know yet... I have some big projects and little projects to do, and want to get some listings online as quickly as possible...so all the little ones may be done first.  :-)

See you tomorrow, GOD willing.  May our GOD bless all those who love Him, and help our loved ones to find their way to His heart and heaven.  May GOD provide what we need, and lead us to a better place before the world becomes too harsh to live in.  Amen.

Monday, 7 SEP 2015 :: Labor Day

I suppose I need to comment on the issue of work....  I added at least one lengthy comment on the $15 wage battle at Facebook...  maybe I need to copy it.  That seems to be the best option for this difficult issue.

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on a post by KVAL.com -----

"I feel like I have already commented on this post... but there seem to be quite a few about minimum wage levels these days. It seems to me that it is a cost of business... a much more important priority than it is considered... replacing employees costs a lot of money, a decent wage might keep them. More than that, workers have a right to receive a decent wage for their efforts to make a company... profitable... EVERY employee is important to the success of a company... those on the bottom of the pay scales are often a lot more important than the chief executives because they are the ones that have direct contact with the customer and deliver the products they are selling. If top levels can earn exhorbitant salaries, bonuses, and benefits... a redistribution of the labor budget is in order, starting with the bottom and working its way up to the top. How much does it cost to live in your city? in your neighborhood? in your state? The minimum wage needs to provide a full-time worker enough money to live in decent housing, buy food and clothes and other household necessities, and get to work. That isn't asking too much."

http://www.kval.com/news/local/Supporters-of-15-minimum-wage-plan-to-rally-in-Eugene-325494831.html

[The spelling error is mine... some words just never seem to stick in my memory!  :-)  --- I don't think the world will fall apart, but I didn't know if I should correct it.]
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I suppose the main issue is "How much is enough?"  What do we need to take care of our basic needs?  How much is going to provide for us, our children, our retirement, emergencies, etc... Having grown up in the area around Hollywood (CA), the idea of how much is enough came up in divorce news.  Our lifestyle choices can dictate what we think is the least amount necessary, but that doesn't mean that is the real amount it takes for an ordinary person to survive.  A Hollywood divorce standard isn't the same as the survival standards of poverty.

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While I was searching for the above quote, I found another comment I put on a post by Richard Branson  (I hope it's OK to share the photo that I was referring to.  I managed to copy the shortcut link... I think.... so you can go there yourself.)

"Sounds good, grabs everyone's attention, is repeated every year.... poverty is a reality of life and needs to be factored into our long-term plans... a pathway THROUGH poverty needs to be figured out so that every new generation has options... something that will fund itself. Maybe a special bank that loans to people in need, with flexible payments, without usury, and not requiring collateral. Maybe housing options like building teams, land shares, farm co-ops, urban buildings that act as a passage to a better future... The poor need help in the beginning, not to recycle our "programs" over and over and over and over and over...."

https://www.facebook.com/RichardBranson/photos/a.10150152138395872.292541.31325960871/10153164020280872/?type=1
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The wage battle is really the same battle against poverty.

 

I have to say that one news item I heard tonight amazed me... it seems global pressure is dictating America needs to take some of the Syrian refugees into our national life...  my first thought was our ongoing battles about immigration laws, and the Mexican refugees we keep complaining about.  Both are fleeing violence and mayhem in their home countries.

Maybe we need to find a better way to deal with these issues...