Cats On Parade

Cats on Parade could follow the very successful Cows on parade events, but using cats. This could be a great public art exhibit, an excellent tourist attraction, and a great way to  raise funds for Cats.

For a year Sarasota could host Cats On Parade. Businesses and individuals could create or obtain a very large (or very small) cat statue, decorate it, and mount it on the sidewalk or store window

Cats would include life size lions, tigers, jaguars, cougars, and leopards, as well as house cats. The sculptures could include cartoon characters such as the cowardly lion and the pink panther, and cats from the musical "Cats".

This could be a fun and engaging exhibit, that could become an annual or periodic event.

 Mountain Lion in Sheridan, Wyoming

If you are interested in working on this send me an email and we will discuss.  craighullinger@gmail.com

California's Water Problem - Possible Solutions

I don't know a great deal about the water supply issues in California, but as you know I never let ignorance of a subject influence my willingness to offer my opinion.

In general the following could be done to reduce water usage and/or increase supply.

1. Conservation - Increase water costs substantially in order to get people to conserve and to raise the capital for future major investments.

2. Shift away from water intensive landscaping - more arid landscaping.
3. Change golf courses to desert courses.

4. Shift away from very high water use crops and livestock - almonds use a great deal of water.

5. Recycle sewage water. Clean it up and use it again.

6. Encourage retirees to move elsewhere. (added benefit is to control the cost of housing).
__________

Increase supply - choose the most cost effective, paid for with the new additional revenues from higher water charges.

1. Desalination - unlimited supply of seawater

2. Build a pipe and/or canal from the Pacific Northwest

3. Build a pipe and/or canal from the Mighty Mississippi

4. Bring water by the train or barge load

5. Tow in some icebergs
___________

California can do a lot of this on their own without Federal help or leadership. But the American way is to try to get OGM (Other Governments Money). No reason not to, everyone does. If I were in their shoes I would be trying to get substantial Federal help.

Artificial Floating Island to Improve Water Quality

This artificial island is established in a detention pond.  The plants will filter and improve water quality.  The island is already providing quality habitat for birds and one itinerant alligator.

Search Results

Water quality improvement with artificial floating islands - ScienceDirect

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925857414005849

ScienceDirect

by HL Lu - ‎2015 - ‎Cited by 2 - ‎Related articles

As the natural purification of the traditional artificial floating island is very slow, the purpose of this research is to explore the efficiency of the green e.

Artificial islands help clean up the Serpentine - Landscape Institute

www.landscapeinstitute.org/.../Artificial-islands-help-clean-up-the-...

Landscape Institute

Aug 15, 2014 - Royal Parks improve Serpentine water quality with an artificial island. The artificial island is designed to to clean the lake's water naturally.

[PDF]Artificial Floating Islands: Creating artificial ecosystems for habitat ...

https://www.nsta.org/.../201507Bhattacharya.pd...

National Science Teachers Association

other organisms; breaking waves; and landscape improvement. Image showing absorption of ...Artificial islands mimic nature's way of cleansing water— ... Students investigate the biodiversity andwater quality of the habitat where AFIs.

Cleaning Up Urban Waterways With Manmade Islands - CityLab

www.citylab.com/design/2014/11/cleaning...waterways...manmade-islands/382820/

Nov 18, 2014 - The brains behind Scotland's Biomatrix Water use flotillas of plants to ... on floating wetlands reports significant improvement in water quality, ...

[PDF]floating island international - University of Colorado Denver

www.ucdenver.edu/.../Floating%20Island%20Internati...

University of Colorado Denver

by M McNally - ‎Cited by 1 - ‎Related articles

Floating Island International (FII) explores the challenges faced by a Montana entrepreneur ..... ofartificial floating islands as a water quality technology. In fact ...

Floating island - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_island

Wikipedia

Jump to Artificial islands - Floating artificial islands are generally made of bundled reeds, ... and catchment managers to improve water quality at source, ...

Floating islands to help improve Lake Crystal water quality | Local ...

www.mankatofreepress.com/...islands...improve...water-quality/article_...

The Free Press

Jun 19, 2015 - Floating islands to help improve Lake Crystal water quality ... The small artificial islands were launched during the town's annual Duck Days ...

Royal Parks Improve Serpentine Water Quality With An Artificial Island ...

prolandscapermagazine.com/royal-parks-improve-serpentine-water-quality-artificial-i...

Aug 21, 2014 - As part of a programme of wildlife habitat improvements in the Royal Parks, Salix Bioengineering have built a large artificial 'island' on the ...

Solar Powered Artificial Floating Island for Landscape Ecology and ...

https://www.researchgate.net/.../259668474_Solar_Powered_Artificial_Flo...

ResearchGate

Official Full-Text Publication: Solar Powered Artificial Floating Island for Landscape Ecology and Water Quality Improvement on ResearchGate, the professional ...

Cows on Parade

Click to see some nice photos of Cows on Parade which was a very successful outdoor exhibit in Chicago in 1999. There were 300 life size fiber glass cows which were hand painted by local artists. The cows were auctioned off after the event and the money was donated to different charities raising more than $3 million. The display attracted 2 million visitors to Chicago. The idea originated in Zurich, Switzerland and has spread to many cities around the world. Click the link below to see some nice photos of the Cows. But don't have a cow.

http://photos.redeyechicago.com/redeye-flashback-cows-on-parade-overtake-chicago-20130829/


Click to view my video of cows on parade with cowbells in Switzerland last fall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNTTGBiwLI4

Southeastern Guide Dog Association - Decorate Statues of Dogs

The Southeastern Guide Dog Assoc has commissioned several artists to decorate statues of dogs which will be displayed throughout the city.  Joe Palmerio has painted one of the dogs and it will be displayed throughout the summer at Dream Weaver in St. Armand's.  What makes this dog special is that Joe painted the images of actual people, most military, who have benefited from being partnered with one of the guide dogs.  Each image has a story and you can tell from the photos below that their stories are very moving. 

The dog will arrive at Dream Weaver in St. Armands by the  the end of the first week of June. Click the link below to learn more.

guidedogs.org/support/superheroes-on-parade

The Giving Pledge

The Giving Pledge is a commitment by the world's wealthiest individuals and families to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.  Quite remarkable.

http://givingpledge.org/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge 

Where Your Forebears Came From

Michael HiltzikContact ReporterThe Economy Hub

Erik Loomis at the Lawyers, Guns & Money blog points us to this amazing and instructive animated map displaying the flows of immigration into the United States, by year and country. The source is data visualizer Max Galka, who posted his handiwork at the statistics website Metrocosm.

As Galka observes, his data source is the category of "persons obtaining lawful permanent resident status" compiled by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration Statistics. That means it leaves out illegal immigration and forced immigration--or people brought to the U.S. as slaves.

Where did your forebears come from?

Click to read the full article

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-immig-20160510-snap-story.html

Four Out of Ten US Adults Are Political Independents

PRINCETON, N.J. -- In 2015, for the fifth consecutive year, at least four in 10 U.S. adults identified as political independents. The 42% identifying as independents in 2015 was down slightly from the record 43% in 2014. This elevated percentage of political independents leaves Democratic (29%) and Republican (26%) identification at or near recent low points, with the modest Democratic advantage roughly where it has been over the past five years.

Click to read the article.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/188096/democratic-republican-identification-near-historical-lows.aspx

_____________________________

Like most political independents I wait for the Republicans and Democrats to nominate their candidates and then vote for the one I think is best. Usually the Republicans and Democrats nominate good people.  But this year they have given us:

HILLADON !!

 

THE HILLADON IS A NEW YORK  DINOSAUR 
THAT IS TAKING OVER AMERICA!!!

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE !!! 

Federal Debt

U.S. federal debt held by the public as a percentage of GDP, from 1940 to 2012, and Projected to 2025

The growth of Federal Debt is worrisome and needs to be corrected. A major part of the problem is that politicians promise tax cuts and increases in spending.

But the problem is not that difficult to solve. We either must:

1. Reduce expense

               and/or

2. Increase income, ie taxes.

The article below illustrates a rather simple way to balance the budget.

http://reason.com/archives/2015/09/07/how-to-balance-the-budget-in-one-easy-st


The CIA World Factbook shows public debt by country. Their figures indicate that the US Debt is less than many affluent countries, including Japan, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, France, Singapore, and Canada.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2186rank.html

More information and graphs on: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_the_United_States

In short, this is a manageable problem if the voters would be adult enough to elect adult politicians instead of voting for people who promise to cut taxes and increase benefits. Not much sign of that unfortunately.

Or, we can shout "The Sky is Falling, the Sky is Falling!!!"

When in danger, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout. 

Will Work For Pizza

Clinton and Trump Are Historically Disliked

Click to read the article

Americans’ Distaste For Both Trump And Clinton Is Record-Breaking

			Americans’ Distaste For Both Trump And Clinton Is Recor... The Democratic primary will technically march on, but Hillary Clinton is almost certainly going to be her party’s nominee. Same with Donald Trump. And voters d...
			View on fivethirtyeight.com	Preview by Yahoo

Compare Your Wage to Wages Around The World

Interesting calculator that shows how your annual wage compares to wages around the world.





http://money.cnn.com/interactive/news/economy/davos/global-wage-calculator/