a good online friend of mine had a fire in his house a couple of days ago, rendering it completely unusable.

[Shawn Powers|http://www.brainofshawn.com|en] is one of the Associate Editors of a magazine I subscribe, [Linux Journal |http://www.linuxjournal.com|en].

while they were at the church, the fire swept in and did what it does best, consumed everything, including the pet animals that were locked inside.

this is the down side of life, all you had, gone up in smoke. Shawn however says that it is just “stuff” and can be rebuilt or bought again. however the pets are permanently gone.

the up side is the community. while we Europeans have a pretty good sense of helping each other, the guys in North America, specially in the remote areas, where Shawn lives, Indian River, Michigan, are even better in helping out.

so, what is the purpose of this email?

raise your awareness for this friend in need and ask you to donate as little or as much as possibly can [here @ ChipIn|http://helpshawnpowersfamily.chipin.com/help-shawn-powers-family|en].

you can reach Shawn here:

[Facebook|http://www.facebook.com/shawnp0wers|en]

[Personal Blog|http://www.brainofshawn.com/|en]

[Natuba (for pictures)|http://www.natuba.com/shawnp0wers/|en]

[Twitter|http://twitter.com/shawnp0wers|en]

again, if you can [help out|http://helpshawnpowersfamily.chipin.com/help-shawn-powers-family|en]!

signed,

Luis Correia, a friend