Dante Ranieri's Blog (11)

"...must make a transaction in a way I've NEVER done before. Oh boy."



This was a hard exercise. As DanteTV, I frequently do barter with clients that prefer to give something rather than have the work done for them pro bono. I've given micro-loans to start-up businesses and events. Even gone as far to help set up their DNA and back-of-house.



I really couldn't think of any form of currency I haven't done over the last number of years. So I struggled with this one until I hit… Continue

Try going through a freezing winter and one of the most common problems you'll run into is hot water. You gotta wait for the tap to warm up, wasting valuable water, your time, etc.



What I propose is modifying a water bed or perhaps a section of the bottom of the bed to hold water in a confined space that could be warmed overnight by the excess body heat from the people sleeping in the bed. While it wouldn't be super hot, it would be warmer than the ice cold stuff that would come out of… Continue

In my area, we've all done it at one point or another. College kid, low on cash or recently cut off by the parents. So naturally, they look for a way to save money on food. There's a signpost up ahead, swerve to avoid it as you've just entered...



The Mr Noodle Zone.



Yes. Buy 24 packages of Mr. Noodle for some ungodly cheap price like $7.50 (ironically, 30 pieces of silver - or 30 quarters that is) and have 24 meals all set. Figure 3 per day. Or maybe, 2 per day. Yea. That's… Continue

(originally posted in Discussions, copied here on wonderfully given advice :)



Looking at the fallout from this and asking others around me, most people don't think of this as a disaster. Yet, take a look at this

appended AP report. Most of it seems like inconveniences when taken

individually. But let's look at it a different way.



One simple application on a computer fails in City X. Almost everyone has a

'plan b' or workaround to be productive so the city keeps… Continue

It was a chaos.



I had just dumped another hundred potatoes into the cooker when I heard to bang go off. People all around us were screaming, babies were crying... And Tamu sat there totally covered in potato splatter.



Some of the older folks in line started chuckling, calling Tamu the new 'Mr. Potato Head'. Yea. Even with over 300 people crowded around, the mob reorganized itself nicely. I give that to it being mostly older women in attendance, using their honed skills to calm… Continue

The biggest problems I see with the food crisis are:



1) Misinformation. People are told they need a certain amount of food on a daily basis. However, people cannot always accommodate either due to financial woes, ignorance on how to adapt, or what is really healthy for that individual. Many people do not know how to take care of their own selves, that they are terrified that anything they actually grow may kill them.



2) The 'feel happy' connection - People want to be social… Continue

"STOP THOSE MEN!"



That's what I heard shouted as I saw two young guys running towards me with duffel bags through the window. I was already aboard the train in my seat, enjoying the 'blame everyone else' mentality of the local newspaper. Far behind the guys, I could see a number of local cops with batons racing behind them.



As the two reach the door of my train compartment, the conductor tried to block their entrance. That's when I saw the passports. Both were American, both… Continue

I initially found EVOKE via the TED network. So when I was looking around for innovators to follow, I found the Pop!Tech group. I liked hearing the ideas being spoken clearly or with lots of clarification.



But imagine my surprise when I realized the annual conference was in Camden, Maine?? That's literally across the bay from here in Nova Scotia to Maine. If I am able to raise the funds or find some others going in October, I want to go as well.



I like the energy of ideas… Continue

Just a quick note. My profile pic is of the automated ticket machines at the movie theaters when they failed to work. I took it as a rare moment since 1) it wasn't something I had seen before and 2) was interesting to see how the people behind the counter dealt with the problem.

(more soon)

A few years ago, I got into a gross amount of debt and my life became a mess.



I had a decent job, made a good living. But I was being crushed by my debt. I could not get a loan to consolidate it, could not get help from the government to organize it, and I couldn't borrow from anyone.



Long and short of it, I was living off of $35/month for food, toiletries, shampoo, medicines, etc after I paid rent. I went from weighing 317 lbs to 259 lbs in three months. My skin felt… Continue

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