Take Action to Reform the Changes to CPSIA

The other day I posted quite a few videos on the subject of a new law that goes into effect on February 10, 2009. It will hurt many small businesses and in fact it is already making a detrimental impact to many of them. My friend Tristan provided me with links to resources where you the consumer, manufacturer, parent and concerned citizen can go to educate yourself on this issue and help the fight to get reform so that we can work together to save these small hardworking businesses.

Tristan states in an e-mail to me.

SUPER double great point – our cherished right / responsibility as citizens includes knowing who to contact and how to make our voices heard, to shape our government.

She then provided me with a ton of links for you.

Here are links to allow citizens to contact their reps in their states:
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

http://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/newleg.aspx

The following links – some where people can sign petitions.

Generals threads for anyone :
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5938698
http://www.ipetitions.com/
http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?messageID=511163411&forumID=124&x#511163411

for toy makers :
http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/
http://grecowoodcrafting.wordpress.com/

for children’s clothing, doll clothes, hair bows, and accessory makers :
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5935443
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/

Also a class action lawsuit that’s being put together – http://reformcpsia.org/2009/01/class-action-lawsuit/#usermessagea

Take some action or we could wind up with cheaply made plastic crap for the rest of our children’s lives.

They Have Ridges

They Have Ridges
Photo-A-Day #1377

While I was working on my learning Chinese for the day I was visited by this ladybug. Or rather, it fell on me and scared the crap out of me. I was really concentrating on writing my Chinese symbols that when the ladybug fell it completely broke my concentration.

But we patched things up and it hung out on my thumb while I did some more writing. It was very zen-like. Here I was working to educate myself and at the same time made a connection with this bug. I took a few shots with my DSLR but I couldn’t do very good macro work. So I put the ladybug on the book and went and got my canon SD 800is because it has decent macro. I must have been gone to long because the ladybug took off. I was surprised because it spent about 10 minutes on my thumb.

The nice thing about a DSLR and shooting on the largest size is that you can crop way in and still get a nice shot. I like how the ridges on my thumbprint contrast with the smoothness of the ladybug’s shell.