Maimonides Update

Posted by on . No comments.

The surgery was successful and Maimonides was able to come home today, October 19th. As you can see, he has a huge scar on his leg and needs to wear a cone collar when I’m at work and asleep so he doesn’t chew off his sutures. He has a follow up appointment a week from today (October 26) to have his sutures removed.

Thank you to everyone who has shared links to these posts and helped by donating money. It really is amazing how kind people are, even complete strangers. You have no idea how grateful I am. We’ve been able to raise $550 through donations, art commissions, and web work so far. This really does help a ton.

If you would still like to donate, click here:


If you are interested in commissioning art from Jillian Logue, view the details on this post.

If you need some web work done, help out by viewing the details on this post.

Maimonides is expected to make a full recovery, and should be jumping up and around in no time. Thanks again for everyone’s support, it has been overwhelming. For those interested, here are some X-rays from pre- and post-surgery.

★ Permalink to Maimonides Update

Custom Art to Fund Cat Surgery!

Posted by on . One comment.

My roommate Jillian has been kind enough to offer custom artwork to help pay for Maimonides surgery. She is an absolutely amazing artist, so now is the time to take advantage of a great deal, and you’d be helping out a ton.

From Jillian:

My best cat-friend, Maimonides shattered his femur, and my roommate, Dann had to temporarily borrow $4000 to pay the hospital up front in order to treat him, otherwise he’d have to be euthanized. The bill may be even higher when all is done.  Maimy is one of the sweetest, smartest cats I’ve met, and one of my favorite feline friends.

In an effort to help raise the $4000-$4500 required for surgery and care, I’m offering discounted animal and human portraits for donations. 100% will go towards paying for the vet bill.

You can see some of my work at : www.jillianlogue.carbonmade.com

For a donation of…

$25 you get a 5×7″ drawing of your animal-friend on high-quality archival paper, either as a colorful, stylized portrait or a realistic pencil drawing.

-or- a random surprise abstract/non-objective mixed media drawing based on a list of words you give me as a starting point.

$50 you get a 12×16″ archival mixed media (water color, pen and ink, colored pencil, etc) stylized interpretation of your animal-friend on high-quality cotton watercolor paper, with props and symbols to express your pet-friend’s personality.

-or- a surprise non-objective mixed media drawing based on a list of words you give me as a starting point.

$150 you get a 16×20″ acrylic painting on canvas of your animal-friend with a simple background, either stylized or realistic.

$200 you get a 16×20″ acrylic on canvas human portrait (shoulders and head) with a simple background.

$500 you get a 24×36″ human portrait or couples portrait with a detailed background, either acrylic or oil on canvas.

$800 you get a painting of whatever you want, in whatever style you want, no larger than 30×40″.

The holidays are coming up, and if you want to give custom art as a gift, I could also mail you a pretty gift certificate that your loved ones can exchange for a portrait.

Send donations via paypal to [email protected], with a note that it’s for art. Or click the button below.

Or, email or message Jillian for an address to send a check.

Then email Jillian with subject line “art for Maimy” at [email protected] and we can discuss what you’d like.   If it’s a realistic portrait,  please send a good reference photo.

Thank you, kind people, for helping!

★ Permalink to Custom Art to Fund Cat Surgery!

Help: Will Work for Cat Surgery

Posted by on . No comments.

UPDATE: The reconstructive surgery was successful as of 5:45pm October 17th. He will be ready to come home tomorrow, October 19th. Thank you, again, for all your support.

Yesterday, October 16th, I arrived home from work at 8:30pm and one of my cats was not to be found. After around ten minutes of searching, I found Maimonides (my cat) curled up in my bed under the sheets (very unusual behavior). As soon as he climbed/fell out of the bed and onto the floor, I knew something was wrong. He sat there, looked at me, and let out two loud howls. He then tried to take a few steps and collapsed on the floor.

My girlfriend and I immediately located an emergency vet clinic and called a taxi. After a thorough checkup and numerous X-rays later, it seems as if Maimonides had somehow shattered the femur in his back left leg. The X-rays showed the bone broken into three or four pieces. The only option for recovery was surgery.

Maimonides is currently at the vet and is scheduled for surgery this afternoon. The doctor is extremely capable, albeit very expensive. The total bill is going to be between $4,000 – $4500.

In order for Maimonides to be admitted to the hospital, I had to pay the low estimate, $4,000, last night. I was able to borrow this money from my girlfriend for the time being, but I need to pay this money back as soon as possible.

I am not going to ask for donations for nothing, but I am going to offer an extremely discounted rate for web work in order to raise funds to pay for Maimonides’ surgery. If you’ve ever wanted a website, blog, homepage, or landing page built, now is the time to get one.

For a $150 donation I will build you a website. This is what you will get:

  • Domain name registration for 1 year ($11.99 value)
  • Hosting for 1 year ($42 value)
  • Complete WordPress install and setup to your specifications ($300+ value)
  • Search Engine Optimization and functionality enhancement with numerous plugins ($50+ value)
  • Total value over $400
If you would like a website, please send me an email at [email protected] and we can discuss the details of your specific project. Donation rates are completely negotiable, and I will definitely work with you to get you exactly what you want. References available upon request.
Examples of my work:
If you do not want any website work done but would still like to help, I can accept donations through paypal. Just click the link below.


Thank you in advance for your help.

-Dann

If you would like to donate by commissioning some custom artwork by the talented Jillian Logue, check this other post for more details.

★ Permalink to Help: Will Work for Cat Surgery

Five Things Siri Should Do

Posted by on . No comments.

Siri, the iPhone personal assistant, is available this Friday and she’s packed with a ton of great features. From checking the weather to managing your calendar and responding to texts, Siri is definitely going to make an impact on iPhone productivity. We know what Siri will be able to do at launch, but what will Siri be able to do in the future? Here are a few things we’d love to see. Some are productive, some are fun, but all take advantage of this great new technology.

Siri the Magic 8 Ball: “Siri, will you be all business and no play?” “Outlook not so good.” Phew, that’s good to hear. Siri is definitely a great tool to help you get things done, but all work and no play makes Siri a dull personal assistant. What if you could ask Siri a question and your iPhone would respond like a Magic 8 Ball? “Outlook good.” While it would not be wise to rely on your psychic Siri for important business decisions, it may be a fun way to choose between the solid or striped tie in the morning. We all know the Magic 8 Ball never lies.

Siri and the End of Boring Nights: “Siri, what should we do tonight?” “How about some mini golf?” We already know that Siri is partnering with Yelp to offer restaurant suggestions and reviews, but what about the eternal question that haunts everyone: What should you do tonight? Everyone knows exactly how it feels to be sitting around with friends, trying to decide what to do, and never arriving at a conclusion. Imagine, when you first set up Siri, you answer a few quick questions about how you spend your free time, and then Siri can suggest things to do and fun activities. You may even be able to say “What can three of us do tonight for under $50?” and get a list of suggestions. Maybe there are concerts or events going on in your area that you did not even know about. With Siri and the built in GPS, you’ll always be on top of things to do in your city.

Making Restaurant/Hotel/Airline Reservations: “Siri, make me a reservation for two at 8:00pm at Dorsia.” “8:00pm is booked, how about 8:30pm?” Yelp is already partnering with OpenTable to bring users the ability to make reservations through their iPhone app. Why not make it even easier and let Siri do the work? Just tell Siri where you want to eat and when, and Siri will make it happen. Once Apple partners with one (or more) of the numerous flight/hotel aggregator sites, booking travel will be easier than ever. Siri really will be a fully functioning personal assistant.

Calling a Taxi: “Siri, I need a taxi to bring me to my hotel.” “A taxi will arrive in thirty minutes.” Stranded somewhere new, need a ride, and have no idea what local taxi services are available? Imagine Apple partnering with iPhone apps such as Call a Taxi or Taxi Magic. All you would need to do is ask Siri for a taxi, and Siri can pull up your current location and get you a cab. If only securing a ride from a friend was that reliable.

Bus/Train Schedules: “Siri, when is the next bus going to get here?” “The B63 bus is due to arrive in 7 minutes, it is running ten minutes late.” New York City is in the process of testing and rolling out real time bus tracking in Brooklyn, so if you’re waiting for a bus, why not just ask Siri when it’s going to arrive? Siri could grab your location, know the bus stop where you’re waiting, and see where the bus is along its route. Maybe you’ve been waiting for your train a while, why not ask Siri if there are any delays? Many large cities already have an open API allowing apps access to their schedules. Let’s let Siri in on this information so you can always be in-the-know.

The Richest People in America

Posted by on . No comments.

The Forbes’ list of the 400 richest people in America is currently on the shelves. While the “99%” are camping out on Wall Street, the rich really are getting richer. While I do believe the scales would be a bit more balanced at, say, an 80/20 ratio rather than a drastic 99/1, Forbes had an interesting observations about this year’s list:

The 400 wealthiest Americans are worth a combined $1.5 trillion ($3.8 billion each, on average), up 12% from a year ago…But class warriors miss the central point: The rich list is getting more meritocratic each year. An all-time high 70% are self-made, up from 55% in 1997, as technology creates disruptive opportunities across every industry. This is the working elite.

While the gap between the rich and poor gets wider, opportunities to build and generate wealth are now available to more and more people. Newcomers to the Forbes 400 include Sean Parker, Napster cofounder and former Facebook president and Mark Pincus, founder of Zynga, the popular Facebook gaming company.

The richest people in America are building their wealth with the same technology that the general public is using to livestream the Occupy Wall Street protests. The internet provides equal information on making bombs as programming social networks. The playing field is becoming more and more equal. Soon, the only different between the rich and the poor will be how they use the tools at their disposal.

We really are on the brink of change. What will happen when a revolutionary builds the next multibillion dollar technological platform? When will a 99%-er make it onto the Forbes 400 list and incite revolutionary change? What if it’s already happening?

★ Permalink to The Richest People in America

Mending Nations

Posted by on . No comments.

I was looking through these absolutely stunning photographs from The Atlantic‘s post entitled “Japan Earthquake: Six Months Later.” I am amazed by the amount of cleanup that has been accomplished in such a short amount of time.

One photograph stood out among the rest.

A volunteer lights a candle by a damaged replica of the Statue of Liberty during an event to pay tribute to victims of both the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the March 11 earthquake in Ishinomaki, northeastern Japan, on September 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Yesterday, we mourned the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. It has taken us a decade to clear the rubble and begin the rebuilding process. There have been countless delays, contract holdups, and other drama. From lawsuits over religious decorations to numerous cases of mesothelioma from asbestos exposure to both first responders as well as those employed to clear the rubble post-collapse.

Across the nation, American offices are filled with people pretending to work. Congress votes on bills that have gone unread. Books like The 4-Hour Workweek top for best seller lists. Troops are still in Iraq despite campaign promises of a withdrawal. The list goes on. We’re trying our hardest to look busy while not doing anything at all.

So, no, I wasn’t surprised when I read that it wouldn’t even be feasible to make the Amazon Kindle in the United States. We have trouble doing much of anything these days. Watching Japan recovering so quickly only magnifies our own issues. There was a time when the United States could do anything. How can we get back there?

★ Permalink to Mending Nations