I came across something that I think is important. Probably every person who reads this blog has at one point or another has lamented the sorry state of American public education. Well, now you can do something about it, and it won't cost you a cent. Tim Ferriss, the Four-Hour Workweek guy, is tweeting up a storm, and for every new follower he gets in the next two weeks, he and another anonymous donor will give a total of $3 to DonorsChoose.org, the money to go directly to underfunded US public school classrooms. You can read about the details here (it'll only take about five minutes — really).

Given the insane bureaucratic muck that Katrina donations have gone through (much of the money is STILL being held up), my faith in the government to be able to do much of anything (non-military) has basically gone to zero. Worthwhile change in the future will most likely come from private efforts like this one. Checking in on Ferriss, he has already gotten close to 3,000 new followers, which means $9K – not too bad for 24 hours or so. Why not be one as well? Not only for the $3 that some needy classroom will get, but for the larger purpose of showing that this sort of charity can work, and encouraging similar efforts in the future.

If you're interested, click here to get more info on the Tweet to Beat.