glowing pink for the second year!

That's me, having crossed the finish line at 12:58 AM on Saturday night.
Or should I have said Sunday morning?
(smile)
Well, I had not yet been a-bed, so it was still 'night' for me.
That photo was gleaned from the video of the race finishers.
I can be seen starting at marker 39:55 and beyond.
Of 123 participants, only 96 completed the race.
That made me 88th of the 96 finishers.

What race was this?
It was the "Glow The Mall Pink Midnight Madness 5K at Oglethorpe Mall.
This is my second year of participating in this event that benefits breast cancer charities in the Coastal Empire.
Last year was my first time - and its first time here, too.
Then, I had waited until race day to register.
This year, I was officially to be a runner by the end of July.

I admit - last year, I had thought I had completed the race.
When I had circumnavigated the course, the folks at the finishing line had waved me in, so I went.
I had been so very proud of my finisher medal!
Then, with my time of 33:32, I had won third place for my age group - woohoo!
Silly me.
I realized later that I had only completed half of the course. They had waved me in so as to not delay the start of the awards presentation.
So, this year, I was determined to finish... and I did.
(smile)

I wore the wrong pants (too knobby)
and wrong shoes (too loose) -
but I did the whole walk!
As I said, there's a video of the finishers.
Look for me at 39:55 and beyond!
I think this just may become a regular event for me.
(smile)

long live ad-free knowledge!

A few days ago, I received an email that inquired about my willingness to donate again.
The sender did not try to guilt me into doing so, but simply was asking if I might want to.
And so I did, just a few moments ago.
Justthatfast, my gift was acknowledged.
Why not check out the speed of repply for yourself?

****----****----****----****

Dear Faustina,

Thank you for your support of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation. Your contribution of $ 20.00 supports Wikipedia and helps secure the future of free knowledge for everyone.

Wikipedia is possible because of a powerful idea: that people, like you and me, can participate in building the world’s knowledge and making it freely available to everyone, everywhere.

Today, thanks to the support of millions of volunteer contributors and supporters, you can wander Wikipedia for hours. With more than 40 million Wikipedia articles and 35 million freely licensed images, Wikipedia can answer almost any question, and take you places you’ve never been.

Your donation supports the creation and sharing of free knowledge in real, practical ways. It helps us make Wikipedia fast, secure, and accessible to everyone in the world. It helps us bring free access to Wikipedia in places where high mobile data costs prevent people from going online. It helps us support people who are digitizing knowledge currently locked away in analog archives. It protects Wikipedia from threats to free knowledge and the open internet.

Your support means that you can find the information you need now, wherever you may be—to settle a bet with a friend at a dinner party, or to understand the world around us.

Donating to Wikipedia makes you the champion of a powerful idea.

Wikipedia will continue to evolve, grow, and meet new challenges. We’re excited and eager to meet these and more. Your donation will help us get there. We can’t thank you enough for your support. On behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation, thank you for investing in our future and taking this journey with us.

Katherine Maher
Executive Director, Wikimedia Foundation

provisional patent for my invention: done!

My invention is officially protected by the USPTO!
Their Filing Receipt has assigned my application the number 62/547,390.
The "62" denotes that it is a Provisional Patent, which means that they are awaiting the Utility Patent to be filed by August 18, 2018, i.e., within a year of this filing date.
I had truly hoped to have the Provisional Patent application filed by my birthday, which was May 29.
That did not occur.
However, because of one delay or another, I did have time to make an addendum to my Periodic Table for the Visually Impaired.
The original invention did not include the Transitional Elements, nor the Lanthanides and Actinides.
As of a few months ago, the Transitional Elements are reunited with the Representative Elements!
I am so happy for them... and for the future students, both blind and sighted, who will be using this educational tool.
Of course, I can include another addendum for those f-block elements, usually shown in two rows below all of the others.
Those will be useful for studying radioactive elements, for those chemistry courses which include that topic.
However, they are not even necessary then, as there are plenty of Representative Elements, including Carbon-13 and Iodine-131, for the discussion of different types of nuclear emissions.
I am so excited for future students - and the teachers, too!

faustina of tripadvisor

According to tripadvisor.com, I'm in the upper 4% of their contributors and have more than 20,000 travelers who have read my reviews.
That's amazing to me.
I've only been contributing since 2013.
So why am I writing all of that in this blog space?
This site documents the use of my time and resources to help others...
whether on the road or elsewhere.
So, just what do these badges tell you about me?
The Passport is a mark that I have been to at least twenty-five different cities. In truth, I am listed as having been to fifty-eight, but the total is actually much larger, thanks to eight years in the US Navy.
The Expert Photographer was awarded to me for having contributed fifty pictures to accompany my reviews. Honestly, the total is seventy-five at this time.
The Top Contributor was awarded upon my fiftieth review. I currently have fifty-two available on the site.
As pleased as I am to have been named a Top Contributor, I am most proud of the Helpful Reviewer Badge.
Why?
That award comes from the readers of my entries, not from the website.
Those fellow travelers who deemed my words worthy of a "thumbs up" are the ones who granted that one to me.
To this date, I have received thirty "thumbs up" notices.
Those really brighten my day!
Receiving an incredible five helpful votes was my review of The Great Magic Hall. I'll be in Kissimmee next week and look forward to going there again.
The review of my trip to the Dry Falls in NC two years ago has received four helpful votes - nice!
Another review written from that trip, of the Highland Biological Station, Nature Center, and Botanical Gardens received a "thumbs up", too!
That accounts for a whopping third of my "deemed helpful" reviews!
The trip to Las Vegas in 2013 garnered another eight for helpfulness. I have three for Gregory Popovich's Comedy Pet Theater; two each for Sin City Comedy and for "Evil Dead: The Musical"; and one for "MJ Live".
The Field of Dreams Movie Site review took home another three from travelers to the baseball diamond in the cornfield. That was one of my first reviews for tripadvisor. I do hope those folks walked the bases and stood in the corn - just like I did.
(smile)

arts at the beach

I am officially a member of the Tybee Post Theater...
again.
I had first joined them last year.
Mostly that action was predicated by two upcoming events at that venue: the Elvis tribute concert and the silent film escapade.
Membership would grant me a discount, you see.
After attending those two events, plus several this year, I recognize the value of the venue to the beach community.
We forget sometimes that tourist draws have residents year-round.
We forget sometimes that tourists bring children who need access to age-appropriate entertainment.
We forget sometimes that local artists and musicians need a place to share their craft.
We forget.
In honor of the Family Friendly Movies...
as well as the many Summer Kid Film Festival screenings...
and the participation in the 2017 Gray's Reef Film Festival...
plus the Tybee Family Feyoud...
and so many diverse musical events...
I have renewed my membership.

Want to know more?
Just click here.
Thanks!

planetariums and more!

Yesterday, I again joined the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach.
That's my my home away from home, you know.

The photo above is of the Great Blue Heron sculpture in the Sensory Garden, part of the Tuscawilla Preserve. Fashioned of driftwood, the sculpture's lovely angles allow quiet contemplation as I sit on one of the wooden benches near it.
The Planetarium is one of my favorite places. So many shows offered during the day! And guess what? They're all free with membership, so they can be enjoyed over and over, from "The Sky Tonight" to the many laser-light music shows.
I also enjoy going to the Children's Museum, with all of its hands-on science activities! That reminds me of the Savannah Science Museum, now long-gone, at which I volunteered during my senior year of high school. Such fond memories! MOAS offers special weekly programs so local and visiting youth will have plenty of fond memories of their own.
This latest visit was my first to the Root Family Museum. Why has it taken me so long to explore that part? Well, I generally try to go to the traveling exhibits, to be sure I don't miss those. The RFM is static, so... I could visit it any time... which, of course, meant I could put it off... which I did. Trust me, save a couple of hours to thoroughly enjoy the many different facets it contains, from racecars and trains to glass bottles and bears to soda fountains and quilts!

Sound like something you and your family would enjoy?
It can all be yours!
Just click here.
Your kids and parents will thank you!
(smile!)

one billion dollars around the world!

Faustina, you made #1BillionInChange!

Yesterday, Kiva crossed $1 billion in loans to students, farmers, women, refugees and so many more entrepreneurs around the world.

This milestone wouldn’t have been possible without our passionate community of lenders, volunteers, partners, staff and supporters like you. Your dedication to creating a better world and your willingness to share Kiva’s mission powered this movement from day 1 to make this moment a reality.

Here's how you helped make $1 billion in change!

9 : Loans supported

$225.00 : In impact

6 : Countries

We’re looking forward to the next billion in loans, and we’re so thankful to have you by our side on this journey.

Best wishes,
The Kiva team

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

What a fabulous email to start my day!
Woohoo!

i thank You, God, that i was able to be helpful to nine others with my small investments!