Several items in the general category of charitable activity:
- Kate is running the Con or Bust auction again this year, with proceeds going to support people of color interested in attending SFF cons, principally Wiscon. Bidding is open through Saturday at 11:59pm ET, and items up for bid include many things that may be of interest to readers of this blog, including a certain book, plus a bunch of other stuff I will put below the fold.
- I got email from the Nobel Prize committee the other day. Well, OK, the webmaster for Nobelprize.org. They have an “Ask a Nobel laureate” feature going on their YouTube channel, and the current laureate taking questions is Albert Fert, one of the Physics laureates from 2007. You can record a question for him through March 19, and they’ll record and post his answers after that.
- The favorite educational charity of ScienceBlogs, DonorsChoose is in another of these online contests to win money from major corporations, in this case the Pepsi Refresh Project. If they get enough votes, they can siphon off a tiny fraction of a percent of the money Pepsi earns selling junk to kids, and put it toward classroom and library supplies for schools. If this sounds good to you, go over there and vote.
And there’s your charity shilling for the moment. I’ll put a list of the Con or Bust items Kate thought might especially appeal to ScienceBlogs readers below the fold:
From Kate:
Custom necklace made from carbon steel retaining rings, “a true statement piece for every mad scientist”
all kinds of food, including Kate’s chocolate chip cookies
DVD box sets of Stargate SG-1, seasons 1 and 2
collectible coins (“Actual value: probably under US $15; value in enjoyment and armchair traveling: incalculable!”)
A lot of rare, signed, or collectible books, including an ARC of Cherie Priest’s sequel to Boneshaker; a French-language chapbook of John Scalzi’s story “After the Coup”, and the promise of an ARC of Lois McMaster Bujold’s next Vorkosigan book, CryoBurn
And offers that, as of yesterday, didn’t have many bids
There’s lots more stuff beyond these items, of course. But this should get you started.