An Open Letter to Corporate America!

 This is a letter I plan to email to the CEO of every Fortune 1000 company, customized with their name, of course!

Dear CEO,

My name is Michael H. Fox and I am founder of a non-profit organization called Project Five-Star. Project Five-Star ultimately will help house, feed and train up to 1000 homeless men and women in the Raleigh NC area, providing them with the skills they need to find a permanent job in the area. Once they have that job, Project Five-Star will help them find permanent housing that will ensure that they are never homeless again.

But Project Five-Star needs your help. I have attached a book that I wrote, titled ‘Project Five-Star: the Five Points of Hope,’ in which I lay out the plan to build the project gradually, from helping 10 men and women at a time to helping hundreds and beyond.

One of the chapters under funding is called ‘$1000 from 1000 companies.’ This chapter describes how initial funding for the company will be obtained and this is where you come in. All I am asking, just to help this company get off the ground and on decent financial footing itself, is a donation in the name of your company of $1000. In exchange for that donation, the name and/or logo of your company gets prominently displayed on the Project Five-Star web site (which your funding will help to create).  Your company will get a very grateful mention in the Project Five-Star blog (http://www.projectfivestar.blogspot.com). All this advertising just for providing a very worthy cause with seed money to get it going.

Let’s get the training started right away! Go to http://pledgie.com/campaigns/15711 to make a credit card donation! You can also encourage your employees to make pledges on the same web site.

Project Five-Star can help thousands get out of the shelters and into careers that will help everyone, including your company. Give to our cause so that someday the people you help can give back to you!

Thank you for your time. If you have any questions, you may send an email to me at projectfivestarraleigh@gmail.com, or you may call me and leave a message at (919) 438-1392. I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Michael H. Fox

Founder, Project Five-Star

And here's another idea!

Okay, another random thought. Take it, leave it, run with it, just give me credit where credit is due!
I've been reading so much about how doctor's are worried about EMF's and how they potentially could harm the brains of cell phone users. It occurred to me that EMF's surround us at all times. That has been the case since the Earth formed. Maybe that radiation helped us mutate into the beings we are today.

That said, EMF's are essentially energy, and I wonder if there is a way to harness that energy and use it to charge a battery. I'm talking batteries for phones, ipods, and (and this excites me more than anything) electric cars. Imagine going from one end of the country to the next using nothing more than someone's cell phone signal? I mean, in a large city the power of the signals being sent has to be pretty enormous. What's to stop us from using a signal, that won't be used by anyone else and channeling that into energy to charge a battery?

Okay, folks, my imagination had its workout today. Are there any physicists that want to run with idea? Give me a buzz if you do!

That is all!

You’ve Been Running Through My Mind

There’s an old, bad pickup line which goes something like: “You must be exhausted. You’ve been running through my mind all day.” What follows is an example of what has been running through my mind in say, the last 24 hours. Any wonder I’m exhausted?

Writing projects: I have stories that I like to test by going through the entire story in my mind before committing it to the computer. It helps me to determine if the story has a future or not. Some of those projects that I think about every day include:
   
    The Timmons Chronicles - Like the story itself, the writing process for this book/TV series has taken many turns. I have written 11 episodes in script form, and after reviewing what I deemed to be good episodes, I have determined that I have revealed too much too fast. The pace is staggering. So I’m in the process of rewriting the series, starting slowly and trying to be like ‘Lost’ in that the most astounding elements of the plot will be revealed slowly, through flashbacks. Status: Rewrite!

    The Adventures of Mistress Chloe - This story has been running through my mind for years, it seems. I’ve only just started to commit it to the computer. It’s about an old soul that goes from body to body, and somehow retains its memories from life to life. I’m into year 4000 now. Amazing  how many lifetimes I can conjure up in such a short time. Status: Ongoing.

    New Rome - This is a book/movie project I’ve also been thinking about this for a long time, but have committed very little to computer. It’s about a Roman officer, the first Renaissance Man, a man of many talents and ambitions, who gets exiled and put on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic, somehow makes it to the New World, and then goes about teaching his new-found Native American friends all about Rome and the evil it will bring when it comes. The project is ambitious because it will span many generations. Mostly it’s on hold because of the research involved, not only of Roman times, but of Native American languages and culture.  Status: On hold for research.

    Working From Homeless - This story actually led to my creating Project Five-Star. Semi-autobiographical, it takes a look at how shelter life can drive a man to attempt suicide. Status: Ongoing.

    The Shy Boy - Also semi-autobiographical, this story is based on events from my youth where three girls teased me to no end by chanting ‘Shy Boy! Shy Boy.’ If it goes as planned, the boy in the movie creates an imaginary friend: Wile. E. Coyote.  I was a big Roadrunner fan at the time. Status: Still in the thinking process.

Programming projects: Some of you may not realize it, but I have some education and skills in programming. I’ve thought about writing iPhone apps, but mostly I think about World of Warcraft Add-ons like this:

    OneofTen: This add-on/external program is a tool to aid multi-boxers in managing their characters. If you don’t know what that means, look at my youtube page. I use someone else’s add-on and external program to help me out there, but they really don’t do what I want them to do. So I’m learning how to program in both Java (Netbeans) and Lua, which is the scripting language used by Warcraft for its add-ons. The idea is to be able to control two or more characters from one screen, and my ultimate fantasy is to be able to do a 10-man raid by myself. It’s a fantasy because I’d need to buy 9 more versions of the game, and pay $15/month for each account in order to make it work, not to mention have either one blazingly fast computer or 3 or more very fast computers networked together. I have two computers, neither of which is fast in the least, and one of those is unavailable at the moment. Yet I will work on this project for my own future benefit and maybe to make some money on someday. Status: Ongoing.

Of course, my ultimate project is Project Five-Star, which I am reminded of every time someone does something stupid in the shelter. In other words, half my day is spent thinking about that. I’ve been thinking in the last day that I want to record the song: ‘The Job’s Not Done’ and try to get some sales generated for it. The words to the song appear at the beginning of my book, and also on my Facebook page. I’m currently trying to enlist a volunteer band which includes a lead singer, bass guitar, keyboard and drummer, because while I may be able to write, I can’t sing or play an instrument in the least. So if you know of any bands out there willing to record for free, I’d be willing to share profits! I’m also going to start putting together some of the video I’ve managed to record at the shelter (Hush, hush!) and record other things that I will post on Project Five-Star’s own you tube page. I’m doing what my limited social skills allow me to do to promote the project. I really need a staff!

And somewhere in my daily process, I find time to apply for jobs. I do not apply for any and every job out there. I apply for jobs where I have the skills, and where I know I’ll be comfortable. That by itself is not an easy process. Which is why I’m concentrating on either Project Five-Star, or selling my own works in order to make money.

I’ve got so much going through my mind that I find it difficult to concentrate on any one project for any length of time. If I had money I’d hire a personal assistant who would cook and clean for me, prod me to stop playing Warcraft or Civilization V and write or program or fund-raise and prod me to exercise (not necessarily in that order). Any volunteers? And can I stay with you? I’d share profits from any sales I made! Really I will!

So now you see what I think about on a daily basis. A lot of people may wonder ‘What do you do all day and why aren’t you working?’ Well, I am working. I’m not getting paid to do it, but I’m still putting in as much time every day doing the things I do as you do in your normal job. Probably more, because my thought process doesn’t end until I fall asleep at night, and even then, it’s a struggle, because my brain won’t let me! I still have things to think about!

Job Creation and Stimulus Money

Normally, I don't get very political on this blog (well, maybe a little ;-)) But after seeing parts of President Obama's suggestions to jump-start (again) the economy, I have to put my two cents in.

I've read article after article wondering where the original stimulus money went to. Billions upon billions of dollars were spent cleaning up the housing mess and getting people back to work. But really, where did the money go?

Did it go into the hands of those affected by the housing bubble? No, it went to banks, who caused the housing bubble to begin with. Did stimulus money go to people looking for jobs? Yes, in a way, but not everyone qualifies for unemployment and even if you do, it does not replace your full income. You're lucky to get half.

Did the money go toward creating jobs? This is a trick question. How exactly does anyone create a job? Well from my point of view, you create a demand for products and services and someone who provides that service hires someone to help the company provide the service.

Unfortunately, that company is out to make a profit, and too much of the stimulus money went to the company and not enough went to actually creating jobs. I've read reports of millions spent to create a hundred jobs. Let's say $100,000 per new job created, or more. Did all the money go to the employee? I doubt it. That's where the problem lies.

And now another stimulus is in the works. Are we going to make the same mistakes as we did before? Or can we try something different? Here's a suggestion: Seed money for those that want to go into business for themselves. I'm not talking about loan guarantees. Loans are hard to get for businesses starting out, you have to pay them back, you have to pay interest and all kinds of other fees that make banks money, and which takes the money out of the hands of the entrepreneur. No, how about just giving that $100,000 you're planning on spending per new job and give it to someone who will turn it into a business that will hire others. That's your job creation program.

Of course, there's this project I have in mind. I did state in the book that I didn't want government money, but if Obama wants to give it away, well who am I to say no?

That's just a suggestion. Ignore me if you must, but don't blame me the next time someone asks 'Where did the money go?'