Haiti

I was about to write a scalding review of a gadget I have, but current issues make it less relevant.

On January 12th, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti. As if that place didn't have enough trouble with poverty, corruption and military regimes, nature devastated what's left of the island nation.

My heart goes out to the victims - especially since I know what an earthquake feels like. California suffered a 6.5 magnitude quake 2 weeks ago - but other than some minor damage and short blackouts, no one was hurt. A week before that my house shook to a 4.1 quake. The complete loss of control, the realization that there's nothing you can do and that a force much stronger than you is in action here is humbling.

There's nothing I can do to help those people, but contribute some of my money in hope it helps even a single individual. I urge all my readers to contribute as well - even a few dollars can make a difference down the line.You can find all organizations who help Haiti in this crisis, and how to donate, on this page, edited by Google.

I gave to MercyCorps using Amazon Payments so it just used my Amazon profile to submit the donation (and by the way SHAME ON YOU Amazon, for using this donation page to try and sell some books [look at the bottom of the page] - making money off this disaster is despicable, even if you did give MercyCorps a banner on your home page).

And one last thing: at the risk of never being welcome in Venezuela: SCREW YOU Hugo Chavez. May you be stuck in the same cubicle in hell with Pat Robertson.