Friday, February 27, 2009

Good News From Mary Feb.27, 2009

Hope Flickers in Nairobi's Slums

Think you're going through tough times? Try living in a Nairobi slum.

Running water and electricity are rare; open sewage trenches are common. Many people use "flying toilets" -- waste-filled plastic bags tossed into alleys or the murky Nairobi River.

Kenyan migrants and African immigrants arrive daily looking for work and a better life. They typically find something far different.

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Dobson resigns as chair of Focus on the Family

Conservative evangelical leader James Dobson resigned as chairman of Focus on the Family but will continue to play a prominent role at the organization he founded more than three decades ago, The Associated Press has learned.

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Squeezing in a conference call between classes

The Dobie Center, a dorm complex at the University of Texas at Austin, is 27 stories tall and boasts a cafeteria, a basketball court, a movie theater, and a pool.

But for students interested in business (at UT, 150 belong to the school’s entrepreneurship club), the Dobie Center is more than a place to live. That’s because 25 years ago, a young resident of the tower decided to make and sell low-cost PCs from stock components. Michael Dell scrounged up $1,000 and turned his room into a mini assembly line, and the rest is history.

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Great Depression Cooking With Clara

How good of a cook is Clara Cannucciari, a 93-year-old great-grandmother and host of her own online cooking show?

She's so good, she claims to have gained weight during the Great Depression, according to her blog.

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'King of the Nerds' Goes Dancing

F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said that there are no second acts in American life. But that doesn't mean you can't try, especially after you've had one of the most famous first acts of your generation.

You may have read the news that Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer, has signed on to compete in this season's Dancing With the Stars. The very idea that the man once called "The King of the Nerds" would be out tripping the light fantastic in competition with professional athletes, B-list movie stars and entertainers no doubt drew a derisive chuckle. Or perhaps just a sad shake of the head: What's Woz up to now?

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