$1.00 a pack cigars in Jacksonville, Florida

If you're on the streets and a smoker, you'll eventually face needing discount cigars, compared to the cost of recent taxation by both Federal and State authorities over the last year.

A total of $1.60 has been felt per pack by people addicted to nicotine, but the funny thing is it hasn't 'yet' hit filtered cigars the same size.

Currently Remington flavored cigars; peach, rum, vanilla, grape, cherry, menthol, and regular; are going for $1.00 a pack in most locations that still have them.

Milder than other types such as Swisher Sweets, they flavors help smokers since cigar smoke is much harsher.

Of course smoking's bad, and there's plenty of armchair quarterbacks who'll whine about this entry...but how many of those same people aren't related to people related to providing tobacco products through at least a third degree connection?

Where are the homeless niche safety products at?

There's tons of safety products for just about any walk of life, but how many are out there for people experiencing homelessness?

Forget safety items like pepper-spray, they're confiscated at shelters.

Forget protective eye gear, they can't stand up to the amount of debris like sand, mud, and twigs hard sleepers come in contact regularly.

The rest of the like such as oil resistant non-slip footwear...can't hold up two weeks off the beaten path.

Just sayin'.

We reimagined our website so you have a reason to give us money now!

I was having a conversation the other afternoon with someone 'hard sleeping', and living the lifestyle for the most of 15 years. Clinicians call such people 'service resistant', and truth be told they've got their hands full when trying to 'coax' such from out of the cold.

They're there for a reason, and the hard thing is many clinicians fail to understand much has to do with themselves meeting the mark originally long ago to meet expectations.

It's almost like trying to tell someone in a meal line they need www.wholesaleinsurance.net, as opposed to someone living in a home...with a job...and amenities.

For each 'success story' there are millions of 'failures' that service providers in whole failed to meet expectations.

Reimagining oneself with a website doesn't change things in the real world.

Katrina and The Waves in New Orleans

Yesterday I watched a show on PBS regarding the 2005 Katrina evacuation of residents to Salt Lake City, Utah. Black residents of New Orleans dropped into the hands of a white Mormon community.

What appeared to be a military airlift of long distance movers was ironic...some people relating not knowing where they were going until the plane door closed. Many only wanting to get away from the water, others thinking they were headed towards Texas.

The show touched on the lives of two men dealing with this culture shock, both affecting their lives as well as the lives of the community. Majority embraced the changes, some didn't, some of the some reacting negatively and with immaturity...they hadn't lived with 'diversity', and this was their learning curve.

Some evacuees later returned to New Orleans to visit, others wrestled with problems that New Orleans offered more readily such as availability of crack. One many lost his family due to the addiction, ironically his wife returning to New Orleans when he found it eventually in Salt Lake City.

Good show if you can find it.

How do you know if a banana flavored condom is 'just that'?

My screen popped up information for "best under eye cream", and I was thinking...where are the best under arm deodorants at?

What about the best blankets to use outdoors when it downpours?

Then there's the best male prophylactic. Would it be flavored, non, dry, or lubricated?

What about...female prophylactics, specifically female condoms?

If people don't want homeless people to reproduce, you'd think they'd be offering a variety more than plain, vanilla, banana, and strawberry flavored 'Lifestyles' condoms. Have those people ever actually tasted them, cause I'm here to tell you....

...the banana Lifestyles don't taste half as good as Laffy Taffy!

It was taken out of the wrapper and fresh before acquiring this knowledge.

Just sayin'.

Previous experiences of homelessness don't have to be trashed

I've been having discussions with my two sons about loaning out items to their friends that don't seem to get returned by well intentioned neighbors.

The rhetorical situation of the lawnmower lent to the guy next door, in this case either a broom or electric grill. It's not that I'm a bad neighbor, I'm actually trying to teach my kids responsibility...and to let their friends be just that.

Green shopping is the same. I don't want to over time purchase 20 brooms in my life for my household, due to either loan outs not returned or handles breaking. I want one item purchased for the long haul, not having to take up space in landfills.

I told my younger son the other day if I could do that with just 20 broomsticks, what could I...and then many...people do regarding our local landfill.

Just a thought. What's yours?

Recycling Tip: Old Servers can get new homes

The last few months have been 'industrious' for me, taking bits of PCs and putting together boxes that work out of older ones that don't. A friend of mine who's involved with IT at a prominent firm locally now got me hooked on it.

I now have three computers networked in my living room I wouldn't have otherwise.

Years ago it would have required hard wiring and physical boxes to connect together a industrial computer. Now with open source communities more available, I'm able to use software solutions.

And I don't owe Microsoft anything. What's in your bag of tricks?

Professional Blogging and Homelessness: Why few succeed and many continue to fail

Everyone makes mistakes when they first begin blogging. There's the 'teeth cutting' period. I see hundreds of sites weekly that are given up by people with unique material out of discouragement.

It's the mindset that self professed professional bloggers have created that new bloggers buy in to. Dreams of leaving day jobs, of being able to work at home...when the reality of having to self educate hits hard most can't stay the course.

One web directory giving promises of high returns of visitors (sometimes with disclaimers in small print at the bottom), promises of being Paid Per Post by advertising middle men taking their cut...the simple truth is that when a person starts thinking of blogging as a business...they need to professionally evaluate if they can self manage themselves.

Everyone can be a blogger. Everyone can create online accounts.

The difference between everyone and the professionals is tenacity.

It's the same thing with people experiencing homelessness. They fall into three categories.

1.) Those that break the cycle on their own volition.
2.) Those that do by being inspired by others that have.
3.) Those that never do.

Jacksonville Homeless Speakers' Bureau: December 8th, 2009

Please join us for a real look at the Face of Homelessness among our children.
During this presentation you will hear the stories of three young adults who have aged out of foster care and found themselves experiencing homelessness at one point in their lives.

Donations of coffee are much appreciated and will benefit the St. John’s Cathedral coffee service to the homeless.

You can always check for an online auto insurance quote as well.


Date: 12/8/09 Time: 3:30-4:30pm

Taliaferro Hall
St. John’s Cathedral
256 E Church St
Jacksonville, FL 32202