The idea of systems that evolve via avalanches is a simple, yet powerful one. A collection of elements thatinteract with one another, with each element possessing the ability to change the state of other elementswhen it undergoes a change. These other newly changed elements may affect yet more, and in this way asingle initial event can trigger a cascade of activity.I apply the ideas of non-equilibrium, avalanching models with quenched disorder to three different sys-tems. The first system is the neuronal network in in vitro rat cortex; neurons generate electrical impulsesthat travel along axons and dendrites to potentiall influence the behavior of other neurons. The second sys-tem is the deformation characteristics of nanoscale metallic pillars; increasing stress dislodges dislocationswhich interact elastically with other dislocations. The third system the random field Ising model, with thetwist of introducing long range correlations in the quenched disorder.The differing nature of the systems emphasizes the very strong utility of these models, that are verysimple, yet enable powerful statistical predictions about a wide range of systems.