Photo by peapodsquadmom

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has set up www.Flu.Gov, and in partnership with Google, the CDC and state and local health departments, they’ve included a flu shot locator map along with their website’s search function to list locations and resources by state. You can even check out Homeland Security’s National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza, a document dated 2005 with an introduction by our previous president. The fun never ends.

Feel like getting really paranoid? Check out the “Health Map” and you will probably discover that H1N1 is “widespread” in your state, but look a little closer and you’ll see that you can click “State Resources” in the upper left corner of your screen. Click your state to find resources for where you can get the traditional and the H1N1 vaccine, and where you can find out how to volunteer to distribute the vaccine yourself.

Photo by Y

Some locations are only offering the vaccine to the very old, the very young, pregnant women and those with a compromised immune system. Make sure to call in advance to check availability before you waste time as information from these resources is subject to change.

Perhaps the day has come when big government can help by aggregating information with small government for the greater good of all. I’m not holding my breath, though. A quick search in my home state (Kentucky) reveals two error messages, both on the H1N1 links.

In the meantime, while you may be waiting for your chance to get a flu shot (or both of them as is recommended this year), follow the advice of the Staple Singers and “put your hand on your mouth when you cough,” make sure to wash up afterwards, and stay home when you’re sick.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

For more information on keeping flu-free, navigate to Fight Flu for loads of practical information. Still unsure whether or not to get a flu-shot? Check out Vaccine Myths to help ease your mind.

Photo: inhisgrace

I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, and in my youth there were one or two days a year for “Big Trash Pickup.” The entire town put bulky items that weren’t worth holding onto out on the curb; the wilier citizens were free to comb through the discarded belongings before the garbage men picked them up.

This is how my trash picking began.

It was a family affair and I was always terrified that I would be seen with my mom or dad prowling around the front of a classmate’s house in broad daylight. I would torture myself imagining scenarios in which I was spotted by a more popular fifth grader rifling through her family’s discards and the ensuing outing in which I was teased mercilessly for being a trash-picker.

Thankfully, this never happened.

Still, it was hard not to get excited over a wooden swing in the shape of an airplane or a bag of Barbie dolls that had seen better days. Furniture, toys, obsolete electronics, records, sports equipment– the price was right. We had a huge Chevy Suburban replete with unfinished bodywork that left the sides peppered with sanded down patches of red and grey Bondo– never was there a better truck for loading with trash.

Over the years I have found so many great things. I’ve sold some, eaten some, made art out of some, furnished with some and thrown some back where they came from.

Photo: drb62

In the current economic climate, perhaps you’re thinking of making a foray into the world of trash picking and dumpster diving. It can be a rewarding activity, but it has its pitfalls. Caution is in order and it’s not for the squeamish. You want to be safe and you want not to get caught.

In certain places you could be seen as trespassing or even stealing. Chances are you won’t go to jail, but it’s an activity best done under cover of night and it might be advisable not to blast Judas Priest from the stereo speakers in your old beater to rock out while you dive.

Low key is key.

What Will You Need?

You don’t really need anything. The following items are recommended. The more stars they have, the more recommended they are.

• ***No Arrest Warrants
• ***Good Boots with a Non-Skid Sole
• ***Trash Bag
• ***Flashlight
• **Gardening Gloves (rubber fingertips grip and protect)
• **A Vehicle
• *A Co-Diver
• *Dark Clothes

How Do You Get Started?

Do drive bys or walk bys. Run reconnaissance and see where dumpsters are unlocked. You can do this during the day. Groceries throw out food and produce that are still good. Stores change stock and dump out of date merchandise. Dare to dream and have a look behind stores you wish you could shop at more.

Photo: star5112

Don’t exclude thrift stores. Sometimes really cool stuff can be found– I once found a Coach handbag in the dumpster behind a thrift store (not that that’s cool, but it fetches a nice price on e-Bay).

Dive when the store is closed and it’s dark out. Park your car away from the dumpster and approach on foot. Be practical. Wear dark clothes and be quiet. It’s a good idea to wear gloves and jeans and heavy shoes or boots. You want to keep in mind that you could stick your hand in anything (putrid, hazardous) or step on something sharp (glass, nails, needles). Use a flashlight as needed and don’t go shining it up out of the dumpster like your own personal laser light show.

If the dumpster looks promising, go ahead and get in. Piles of trash tend to have all sorts of weird angles and slippery things that are buried. If you aren’t careful, it’s very easy to fall down. Grab the side until you’ve gotten your sea legs. Arm yourself with a trash bag and collect your finds.

When you’re done, peep out of the rim of the dumpster: if everything looks okay, pass the goods to your friend or get yourself out and pull the haul out after yourself. Nonchalantly return to your vehicle or walk away with your scores.

If you get to be a pro, you might start to learn that your favorite grocery turns over its produce on Wednesdays and the knick-knack shop you adore rotates its inventory on the third Saturday of every month. If you pull a great score one day, make a note of the day of the week and the month and see if you have time to follow up on your intuition that similar goods will be on offer the same time next week or month.

If you find that you can’t possibly use the 20 heads of arugula you found but don’t want to leave them rotting there, consider taking them to a soup kitchen. Everyone’s being hit by this downturn. Good luck.

Community Connection:

Feeling the pinch of the economic crisis but not feeling like trying dumpster diving? Read about ways the financial crisis can improve your life here. Or if you’re traveling and need to make some quick money, here are 25 ideas to get you started.

Before you go under the needle, have a look to see what the following might say about you.

Photo by Enricus

Tribal Band/Barbed Wire – Upper Arm

This tattoo proclaims you as a member of the tribe, that’s true. The sad part is that the tribe in question is the “sub-literati.”

Super Hard Neck Tattoo

The placement implies anything but hardness, no matter the subject matter. This is the mark of the young man with erectile dysfunction, or at the very least, a premature ejaculator. Can you say overcompensation? Go ahead and try again. I’m willing to be patient.

Garden Variety Butterfly Tramp Stamp

Beware the secret garden below. The butterfly belies a much more sinister truth, and though the garden is sure to be properly pruned, the implication that insect life may seek exodus from the deep cleavage below may not be so far off the mark.

Look At My Boobs Sacred Heart

Frank Zappa had it right about you Catholic girls. Too many years cooped up with the same sex have you making this desperate and permanent plea for male attention that you reiterate every time you “forget” to close those top buttons.

Photo by goodeye03

Any Placement Of A Dolphin

Bad enough on a necklace or a t-shirt, the dolphin tattoo indicates a desire to be seen as peace and earth loving. The bad news is that you were probably inspired to get it after an alcohol fueled domestic abuse disturbance that resulted in your arrest.

Nautical Star

Would you cut it out already? The closest you’ve been to the open water is happy hour near the naval base during shore leave.

Photo by haycarrieanne

Angel Wings On The Back

In your desire to be different, you committed the error of putting puny, atrophied angel wings on your back in an indelible medium. Were they suddenly to become corporeal, you’d be left with useless nubs that make getting dressed impossible. Shows severe spatial orientation issues.

Flower On The Ankle

The design you picked out gave you a familiar, warm-fuzzy feeling. It’s unfortunate that you failed to recognize it was because it resembled the packaging on your favorite feminine hygiene product. A future of daytime soaps awaits you.

Tazmanian Devil

Any Looney Tunes character pretty much says the same thing, but Taz is the mark of the beast – as in Old Milwaukee. The calling card of the unemployable, the Tazmanian Devil shows a character deficit that pretty much guarantees you will complacently be the recipient of public assistance for the rest of your life.

Low-Abdominal, Sub-Navel Tribal

Your shirt’s too short and your pants are too low and that means we can all see your belly tattoo. With or without a belly button ring, this almost definitely indicates a cavalier approach to birth control. Pretty soon, your tattoo will be ravaged by your impending and unplanned pregnancy.