Take this job and shove it!
A Hong Kong news station has kindly provided a re-enactment of the JetBlue incident.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Saturday, August 07, 2010
Seriously lame
I usually have high respect for the Christian Science Monitor, but I can't believe they published an article like this one. Okay, maybe I can see it -- looking for opposing opinions, and may be even a fresh take, and this is seriously one of the weirdest spins I've seen on the issue. In Gay marriage: Why Judge Walker got Proposition 8 ruling wrong, the author argues: Marriage is not about couples or lovers – it’s about the physical and moral integrity of women. When a woman’s sexuality is involved, human communities must deal with a malign force that an individual woman and her family cannot control or protect. WTF? The author then goes on to conclude, "[...] most of us who prefer to leave marriage (with all its defects) as it is are not concerned with homosexuality at all. We are merely voicing a sensible desire to preserve an institution that recognizes and protects the special status of women. If marriage becomes a legislative courtesy available to everyone, like a key to the city, it will be women who will lose."
This argument, so charmingly chauvinistic, is laughable in every way. "Special status of women"? Really? That's what this whole thing has been about? After reading this opinion, I feel like I ought to be standing on a marble pedastal or something like that, with a plaque, maybe some safety glass and someone nice to come and dust me off every now and then just in case a spec of dirt hurts me. It's an insulting argument in every way and makes no sense; we're in 2010, after all, and we women seem to have come far ahead in our abilities that three of us sit on the Supreme Court, a woman was a credible candidate for president, and one serves as Speaker of the House. Those are just the headlines. There are awesome women -- some of whom are (gasp!) single -- making extraordinary contributions every single day, seemingly unaware of their "special status". It's insulting in this day and age to read something like this. I'm surprised the CSMonitor allowed the author to get away with such a lazy argument. If you think it's okay to discriminate and create a whole second class citizenry, at least put in the time to come up with an justification that doesn't sound so atavistically patronizing.
I usually have high respect for the Christian Science Monitor, but I can't believe they published an article like this one. Okay, maybe I can see it -- looking for opposing opinions, and may be even a fresh take, and this is seriously one of the weirdest spins I've seen on the issue. In Gay marriage: Why Judge Walker got Proposition 8 ruling wrong, the author argues: Marriage is not about couples or lovers – it’s about the physical and moral integrity of women. When a woman’s sexuality is involved, human communities must deal with a malign force that an individual woman and her family cannot control or protect. WTF? The author then goes on to conclude, "[...] most of us who prefer to leave marriage (with all its defects) as it is are not concerned with homosexuality at all. We are merely voicing a sensible desire to preserve an institution that recognizes and protects the special status of women. If marriage becomes a legislative courtesy available to everyone, like a key to the city, it will be women who will lose."
This argument, so charmingly chauvinistic, is laughable in every way. "Special status of women"? Really? That's what this whole thing has been about? After reading this opinion, I feel like I ought to be standing on a marble pedastal or something like that, with a plaque, maybe some safety glass and someone nice to come and dust me off every now and then just in case a spec of dirt hurts me. It's an insulting argument in every way and makes no sense; we're in 2010, after all, and we women seem to have come far ahead in our abilities that three of us sit on the Supreme Court, a woman was a credible candidate for president, and one serves as Speaker of the House. Those are just the headlines. There are awesome women -- some of whom are (gasp!) single -- making extraordinary contributions every single day, seemingly unaware of their "special status". It's insulting in this day and age to read something like this. I'm surprised the CSMonitor allowed the author to get away with such a lazy argument. If you think it's okay to discriminate and create a whole second class citizenry, at least put in the time to come up with an justification that doesn't sound so atavistically patronizing.
Computer update
Today, we took the old computer (with J's old hard drive installed in it), the monitor, keyboard and mouse to the Salvation Army and donated it. With J's old hard drive in it now, it works -- just needs to be reformatted etc., and I figure it'll be a good machine for someone who is looking for very basic applications. We assured the Salvation Army that it was in working condition and hopefully they can find someone who can make use of it. I also thought it might be good to take apart and rebuild for a computer technology training class. Either way, it felt better to take the computer to the Salvation Army than to the electronics recycling center. It was easier to part with my old "buddy", knowing there was a possibility of another life for it out there. The electronics recycling center would have meant an inglorious end in a Chinese landfill for a trusty machine.
I've begun the slow process of transferring documents to the new computer from a collection of back-up CDs and also from the laptop, where most of my pictures from recent travels are stored. On the upside, it looks like the damage from the hard drive failure is minimal. In other words, I didn't lose as much as I thought I had and I do have documents going all the way back to 2003 saved here and there. So that's the good news. I also have some of my iTunes backed up, but not all of it. So hopefully I can pull the music off the iPod itself. As soon as I get everything situated, I'm looking forward to doing two things I haven't done in a while: writing and editing! So much easier on the desktop than the laptop, that's for sure!
Today, we took the old computer (with J's old hard drive installed in it), the monitor, keyboard and mouse to the Salvation Army and donated it. With J's old hard drive in it now, it works -- just needs to be reformatted etc., and I figure it'll be a good machine for someone who is looking for very basic applications. We assured the Salvation Army that it was in working condition and hopefully they can find someone who can make use of it. I also thought it might be good to take apart and rebuild for a computer technology training class. Either way, it felt better to take the computer to the Salvation Army than to the electronics recycling center. It was easier to part with my old "buddy", knowing there was a possibility of another life for it out there. The electronics recycling center would have meant an inglorious end in a Chinese landfill for a trusty machine.
I've begun the slow process of transferring documents to the new computer from a collection of back-up CDs and also from the laptop, where most of my pictures from recent travels are stored. On the upside, it looks like the damage from the hard drive failure is minimal. In other words, I didn't lose as much as I thought I had and I do have documents going all the way back to 2003 saved here and there. So that's the good news. I also have some of my iTunes backed up, but not all of it. So hopefully I can pull the music off the iPod itself. As soon as I get everything situated, I'm looking forward to doing two things I haven't done in a while: writing and editing! So much easier on the desktop than the laptop, that's for sure!
More on the Mosque controversy
This time from Fareed Zakaria:
If there is going to be a reformist movement in Islam, it is going to emerge from places like the proposed institute. We should be encouraging groups like the one behind this project, not demonizing them.
The entire editorial is here
Also, a history lesson for Newt over here.
This time from Fareed Zakaria:
If there is going to be a reformist movement in Islam, it is going to emerge from places like the proposed institute. We should be encouraging groups like the one behind this project, not demonizing them.
The entire editorial is here
Also, a history lesson for Newt over here.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Deep thoughts
I worry when the rights of the minority are determined by the majority. It's for that reason I'm excited that the gay marriage ban was overturned in CA today. We have to watch that slippery slope where we intentionally deprive members of our society rights on the flimsiest of premises. We can't be a free society if we are oppressing others, no matter the reason behind it. If you read the original transcript of the trial, you'll find just how weak the defendants' case truly was.
On the same topic, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is my new hero for his spirited defense of the mosque/community center two blocks away from Ground Zero. To be honest, I don't have a horse in this race. I'm not Muslim and I have no personal connection to 9/11* or NYC. What concerned me was the idea that we would act to restrict the religious freedom of a group without any real basis other than bigotry and fear and whipping up a frenzy around the issue (I'm looking at you, Gingrich, and yes, you too, Sarah Palin, and oh wait, Pat Robertson, you don't get off either). Once you say it's okay to deny a mosque that location, you say it's okay to deny any religion any location based on an abstraction. Bloomberg says it best:
Whatever you may think of the proposed mosque and community center, lost in the heat of the debate has been a basic question - should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion? That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here. This nation was founded on the principle that the government must never choose between religions, or favor one over another.
For more reading, here is a profile on the Iman behind the mosque. It's worth a read because honestly, didn't know anything about him, and when I read the profile, I thought, we keep wanting Islamic leaders to speak out against terrorism, and here's someone who is, and this is how we treat him?
The thing is, if you attempt (and succeed) to deprive people of their Constitutional rights, as was done in CA and as being advocated in NYC, you automatically make it easier -- and even justifiable -- to do it over and over again. To me, that's incredibly scary, because it's only a matter of time before it comes back to bite you in the butt.
I worry when the rights of the minority are determined by the majority. It's for that reason I'm excited that the gay marriage ban was overturned in CA today. We have to watch that slippery slope where we intentionally deprive members of our society rights on the flimsiest of premises. We can't be a free society if we are oppressing others, no matter the reason behind it. If you read the original transcript of the trial, you'll find just how weak the defendants' case truly was.
On the same topic, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is my new hero for his spirited defense of the mosque/community center two blocks away from Ground Zero. To be honest, I don't have a horse in this race. I'm not Muslim and I have no personal connection to 9/11* or NYC. What concerned me was the idea that we would act to restrict the religious freedom of a group without any real basis other than bigotry and fear and whipping up a frenzy around the issue (I'm looking at you, Gingrich, and yes, you too, Sarah Palin, and oh wait, Pat Robertson, you don't get off either). Once you say it's okay to deny a mosque that location, you say it's okay to deny any religion any location based on an abstraction. Bloomberg says it best:
Whatever you may think of the proposed mosque and community center, lost in the heat of the debate has been a basic question - should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion? That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here. This nation was founded on the principle that the government must never choose between religions, or favor one over another.
For more reading, here is a profile on the Iman behind the mosque. It's worth a read because honestly, didn't know anything about him, and when I read the profile, I thought, we keep wanting Islamic leaders to speak out against terrorism, and here's someone who is, and this is how we treat him?
The thing is, if you attempt (and succeed) to deprive people of their Constitutional rights, as was done in CA and as being advocated in NYC, you automatically make it easier -- and even justifiable -- to do it over and over again. To me, that's incredibly scary, because it's only a matter of time before it comes back to bite you in the butt.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Updating
I forgot how long it takes to get your computer exactly the way you like it, with all the files and shortcuts and bookmarks, etc. So far, I've added some of my favorite software like Mozilla, Photoshop, Dreamweaver and of course, Civilization 4, but I've yet to transfer over some of my files. I backed up irregularly so I may be missing a document here or there so I'm going back to my oldest back-up, circa 2006 (there might be one from 2004 or thereabouts, but I didn't label the CD with anything more descriptive than 'Backup'). So getting those docs transferred over will be quite the interesting task. I'm hoping that for the most part everything is here.
And for those of you wondering (or not, as the case may be), I got a Dell Studio XPS 8100. I'm starting to navigate Windows 7 Home Premium (miss me my XP; don't know if Office XP will work on Windows 7. Anyone know?). All in all, no compatibility issues yet except McAfee doesn't like ZoneAlarm. That's okay; I don't particularly like McAfee so it'll be gone as soon as my free trial is up. Avast, I found, works so much better.
I forgot how long it takes to get your computer exactly the way you like it, with all the files and shortcuts and bookmarks, etc. So far, I've added some of my favorite software like Mozilla, Photoshop, Dreamweaver and of course, Civilization 4, but I've yet to transfer over some of my files. I backed up irregularly so I may be missing a document here or there so I'm going back to my oldest back-up, circa 2006 (there might be one from 2004 or thereabouts, but I didn't label the CD with anything more descriptive than 'Backup'). So getting those docs transferred over will be quite the interesting task. I'm hoping that for the most part everything is here.
And for those of you wondering (or not, as the case may be), I got a Dell Studio XPS 8100. I'm starting to navigate Windows 7 Home Premium (miss me my XP; don't know if Office XP will work on Windows 7. Anyone know?). All in all, no compatibility issues yet except McAfee doesn't like ZoneAlarm. That's okay; I don't particularly like McAfee so it'll be gone as soon as my free trial is up. Avast, I found, works so much better.
LoTD
The NYTimes had an interesting editorial in today's edition on the current economic situation. You can read it here. I like it because it basically lays out the facts without all the wavy hand movement sky is falling prose. It's scary stuff. We went from surpluses in the Clinton era to deficits in the Bush era, which was then exacerbated by Obama. Then you have the 40% of the budget -- entitlements -- that are just impossible to deal with in a logical way, the tax cuts that decrease revenue, and the persistent joblessness that means extending unemployment. I sense tax increases in our future but don't just blame Obama. W had a lot to do with it as well.
The NYTimes had an interesting editorial in today's edition on the current economic situation. You can read it here. I like it because it basically lays out the facts without all the wavy hand movement sky is falling prose. It's scary stuff. We went from surpluses in the Clinton era to deficits in the Bush era, which was then exacerbated by Obama. Then you have the 40% of the budget -- entitlements -- that are just impossible to deal with in a logical way, the tax cuts that decrease revenue, and the persistent joblessness that means extending unemployment. I sense tax increases in our future but don't just blame Obama. W had a lot to do with it as well.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
New computer!
Typing at you from a new, awesome computer. I'm still in the process of setting it up but looking forward to zoomin' along and not plodding painfully through. It's just amazing how far computer technology has come in the last decade since I bought the previous machine. I'm pretty psyched right now.
Once I get all of my documents reloaded and software squared away, I'll start making much needed updates to my website. I know it's kind of a mess but haven't been able to do anything with it since my previous computer sadly passed away. (I'm still a bit sorrowful, btw, as I sit in my office, staring down at the carcass of the old computer and thinking of all the things we did it to coax it back to life. It was a good machine for me).
Typing at you from a new, awesome computer. I'm still in the process of setting it up but looking forward to zoomin' along and not plodding painfully through. It's just amazing how far computer technology has come in the last decade since I bought the previous machine. I'm pretty psyched right now.
Once I get all of my documents reloaded and software squared away, I'll start making much needed updates to my website. I know it's kind of a mess but haven't been able to do anything with it since my previous computer sadly passed away. (I'm still a bit sorrowful, btw, as I sit in my office, staring down at the carcass of the old computer and thinking of all the things we did it to coax it back to life. It was a good machine for me).
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Yum
Soft foods I have eaten in the last few days:
*Buttermilk
*Plain yogurt
*Vanilla ice-cream
*Cherry ice-cream
*Chocolate cake
*Crepes with Nutella
*Stuffing
*Grandmother's Soft Peanut Butter cookies (Which are NOT as soft as advertised; not recommended, btw, if you're looking for a 'soft' snack).
*Apple sauce
*Fried mozzerella cheese
I visited the dentist today and the verdict is I'm healing very nicely. Hopefully by next week, all will be back to normal.
Soft foods I have eaten in the last few days:
*Buttermilk
*Plain yogurt
*Vanilla ice-cream
*Cherry ice-cream
*Chocolate cake
*Crepes with Nutella
*Stuffing
*Grandmother's Soft Peanut Butter cookies (Which are NOT as soft as advertised; not recommended, btw, if you're looking for a 'soft' snack).
*Apple sauce
*Fried mozzerella cheese
I visited the dentist today and the verdict is I'm healing very nicely. Hopefully by next week, all will be back to normal.
Monday, July 26, 2010
LotD
The NY Times has an intriguing article in its most recent Sunday magazine that explores what the new social media means for privacy and how difficult it is becoming to control one's image online. It's a thoughtful analysis but no real solutions. Worth a read over here.
The NY Times has an intriguing article in its most recent Sunday magazine that explores what the new social media means for privacy and how difficult it is becoming to control one's image online. It's a thoughtful analysis but no real solutions. Worth a read over here.
The loss of wisdom, part 2
So far so good. Other than the fever, my worst symptom has really been itchy gums. I'm SO desperate to scratch the back of my mouth. That's not a good thing though, so I must be patient. I've been told the itchiness is a sign of healing. I guess I'd rather itch than have a dull throbbing pain in my jaw.
I also have uneven mouth opening. The right side of my mouth isn't as amiable to opening as the left side, so it creates an odd situation when it comes to eating. I have a new appreciation for soft foods.
So far so good. Other than the fever, my worst symptom has really been itchy gums. I'm SO desperate to scratch the back of my mouth. That's not a good thing though, so I must be patient. I've been told the itchiness is a sign of healing. I guess I'd rather itch than have a dull throbbing pain in my jaw.
I also have uneven mouth opening. The right side of my mouth isn't as amiable to opening as the left side, so it creates an odd situation when it comes to eating. I have a new appreciation for soft foods.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
The loss of wisdom
I'm a bad blogger. Finally figured out what was up with blogger and then I took off. I actually had to travel out of the country for business and the morning after I returned, I dragged my jet-lagged self to the dentist and had the thing done that I've been dreading all the years of my life: wisdom teeth extraction. All four teeth are now gone.
I ended opting for the optional sedation for I don't remember much and apparently went on a soliquoy on the merits of a new grocery store in our neighborhood. I think I felt some tugging, some smashing, but for the most part, while I was awake, I was blissfully unaware. The aftermath hasn't been as bad as I feared. Well, Saturday morning was less than fun but not for reasons I thought.
For the most part, pain has been minimal. In fact, I felt nothing on the left side of my face, prompting me to ask whether anything had been done on that side. I felt some tightness in my right side and some minor pain that radiated down the front side of my neck. My doctor prescribed an antibiotic and two pain prescriptions -- ibuprofen and Tylenol plus codeine. I took pain pills that first day and not since. The pain really hasn't been that bad -- my gums just feel really, really itchy and like there's stuff back there, pieces of peanuts or the like.
What was surprising was the fever. It started the evening of the surgery and I just figured I was cramping up after spending 10 hours the previous day on an airplane and then lying on the sofa all day. By the time Saturday early morning came around, I was absolutely miserable. I couldn't figure out if I was hot or cold, my body ached, my head was splitting, and I was woefully nauseous. My temperature registered at 101.6 at the highest.
J called the dentist at 7:30 am and he assured us that this was normal, though everything we read online seemed to imply otherwise. Around 8:30 am Saturday, my fever broke in a particularly grotesque manner that I hope won't lead to further complications (read: dry socket). I spent the rest of the day on the sofa, recovering and by early afternoon, my temperature was normal. I tried solid foods -- crepes with nutella -- for dinner and that was good, though quite the chore to chew. My right jaw just doesn't seem to want to open for me.
Today for a special family occasion, I chomped slowly through two slices of pizza (try chewing pizza only on the fronts of your teeth -- it's highly inefficient) and even eating cake was not fun. Tonight, I think I'm giving up on solid food because even though it was delicious, I don't think I'm up for making that effort again. Luckily, I have some celery and potato soup made from last week that was frozen especially for this occasion and there's plenty of ice-cream and yogurt in the refrigerator.
All in all, this experience isn't anything close to the horror stories I've heard people tell and for that, I'm grateful. I think it'll still be about a week before I can eat normally again, but I'm doing my "jaw excercises" and rinsing now with salt water so hopefully I'm speeding the recovery along nicely.
I'm a bad blogger. Finally figured out what was up with blogger and then I took off. I actually had to travel out of the country for business and the morning after I returned, I dragged my jet-lagged self to the dentist and had the thing done that I've been dreading all the years of my life: wisdom teeth extraction. All four teeth are now gone.
I ended opting for the optional sedation for I don't remember much and apparently went on a soliquoy on the merits of a new grocery store in our neighborhood. I think I felt some tugging, some smashing, but for the most part, while I was awake, I was blissfully unaware. The aftermath hasn't been as bad as I feared. Well, Saturday morning was less than fun but not for reasons I thought.
For the most part, pain has been minimal. In fact, I felt nothing on the left side of my face, prompting me to ask whether anything had been done on that side. I felt some tightness in my right side and some minor pain that radiated down the front side of my neck. My doctor prescribed an antibiotic and two pain prescriptions -- ibuprofen and Tylenol plus codeine. I took pain pills that first day and not since. The pain really hasn't been that bad -- my gums just feel really, really itchy and like there's stuff back there, pieces of peanuts or the like.
What was surprising was the fever. It started the evening of the surgery and I just figured I was cramping up after spending 10 hours the previous day on an airplane and then lying on the sofa all day. By the time Saturday early morning came around, I was absolutely miserable. I couldn't figure out if I was hot or cold, my body ached, my head was splitting, and I was woefully nauseous. My temperature registered at 101.6 at the highest.
J called the dentist at 7:30 am and he assured us that this was normal, though everything we read online seemed to imply otherwise. Around 8:30 am Saturday, my fever broke in a particularly grotesque manner that I hope won't lead to further complications (read: dry socket). I spent the rest of the day on the sofa, recovering and by early afternoon, my temperature was normal. I tried solid foods -- crepes with nutella -- for dinner and that was good, though quite the chore to chew. My right jaw just doesn't seem to want to open for me.
Today for a special family occasion, I chomped slowly through two slices of pizza (try chewing pizza only on the fronts of your teeth -- it's highly inefficient) and even eating cake was not fun. Tonight, I think I'm giving up on solid food because even though it was delicious, I don't think I'm up for making that effort again. Luckily, I have some celery and potato soup made from last week that was frozen especially for this occasion and there's plenty of ice-cream and yogurt in the refrigerator.
All in all, this experience isn't anything close to the horror stories I've heard people tell and for that, I'm grateful. I think it'll still be about a week before I can eat normally again, but I'm doing my "jaw excercises" and rinsing now with salt water so hopefully I'm speeding the recovery along nicely.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
LotD
On the Fourth of July, I wanted to post the text of the Declaration of Independence. You can read the whole thing here. I took the opportunity to read it for the first time and I'm ashamed to say that I never actually had read it before or if I had, didn't remember anything past the famous preamble. If you get it chance, read it; it's enlightening. The list of grievances are long and surprising, especially in light of today's political climate.
Parenting is apparently no fun. You can read about it here. That's not to say people don't love children, it's more than they don't enjoy the act of parenting. It's a fine distinction. On the same subject, why more women are remaining childless.
The Quiet Hell of 10 Years of Novel Writing and who do you write like? are the two writing links for this week.
On the Fourth of July, I wanted to post the text of the Declaration of Independence. You can read the whole thing here. I took the opportunity to read it for the first time and I'm ashamed to say that I never actually had read it before or if I had, didn't remember anything past the famous preamble. If you get it chance, read it; it's enlightening. The list of grievances are long and surprising, especially in light of today's political climate.
Parenting is apparently no fun. You can read about it here. That's not to say people don't love children, it's more than they don't enjoy the act of parenting. It's a fine distinction. On the same subject, why more women are remaining childless.
The Quiet Hell of 10 Years of Novel Writing and who do you write like? are the two writing links for this week.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Test, Test, part 2
I found the workaround -- it's annoying but useful. I'm posting it here in case anyone else is having the same problem with blogger. Basically, blogger keeps "loading" in the input window, which makes it impossible to type anything at all. If you're having this problem (and I was having it on two separate laptops, though running the same browser), then when you get stuck on the "loading" new post screen, hit "Save now," and then go to "Edit post." You'll be able to type just fine in the "Edit post" screen. It's only the "new posts" that don't seem to be working (at least for me).
I found the workaround -- it's annoying but useful. I'm posting it here in case anyone else is having the same problem with blogger. Basically, blogger keeps "loading" in the input window, which makes it impossible to type anything at all. If you're having this problem (and I was having it on two separate laptops, though running the same browser), then when you get stuck on the "loading" new post screen, hit "Save now," and then go to "Edit post." You'll be able to type just fine in the "Edit post" screen. It's only the "new posts" that don't seem to be working (at least for me).
Sunday, June 27, 2010
LotD 2
It's easier to find a job when you have one, the old adage goes, but for some companies, if you want to work there, you better already be employed. Check out this job posting by The People Place in Angleton, TX. I'm guessing the People Place is a staffing agency, which makes it even more crazy that they would write "Client will not consider/review anyone not currently employed regardless of the reason..." in their posting. I don't know how widespread this is, but it's definitely a cause for concern.
It's easier to find a job when you have one, the old adage goes, but for some companies, if you want to work there, you better already be employed. Check out this job posting by The People Place in Angleton, TX. I'm guessing the People Place is a staffing agency, which makes it even more crazy that they would write "Client will not consider/review anyone not currently employed regardless of the reason..." in their posting. I don't know how widespread this is, but it's definitely a cause for concern.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
LotD
Imagining a Liberal Court is a rather high-brow analysis of conservative versus progressive thinking and how it has evolved over the years. The title, I think, is misleading because it's not really imagining what a liberal court would be like; it's more a look at various landmark Supreme Court cases over the years and the contradictions between conservative and progressive thinking upon the actual case outcomes.
Today, we are moving toward a contemporary version of this debate between liberals and conservatives about what we need to fear most — an overreaching state or unconstrained market forces. The positions in this debate today are not identical to what they were three-quarters of a century ago, but there are important similarities. Progressives today view regulation as the necessary response to the market failures that led to the present economic crisis. Many conservatives fear that taking regulation too far will cripple the possibilities of economic recovery and long-term growth.
Imagining a Liberal Court is a rather high-brow analysis of conservative versus progressive thinking and how it has evolved over the years. The title, I think, is misleading because it's not really imagining what a liberal court would be like; it's more a look at various landmark Supreme Court cases over the years and the contradictions between conservative and progressive thinking upon the actual case outcomes.
Today, we are moving toward a contemporary version of this debate between liberals and conservatives about what we need to fear most — an overreaching state or unconstrained market forces. The positions in this debate today are not identical to what they were three-quarters of a century ago, but there are important similarities. Progressives today view regulation as the necessary response to the market failures that led to the present economic crisis. Many conservatives fear that taking regulation too far will cripple the possibilities of economic recovery and long-term growth.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Prep time
The last few days have been a little intense in terms of cramming. Not for an exam, but for interviews. I've been fortune to land several interviews recently and so I've spent some of my free evening time just getting ready.
Things I like to do to prep for an interview:
* Research the company by reading the website, rereading the job description, checking out recent PR, and doing a google search to see if anything comes up. I'll also checked LinkedIn to see who works at the company. If they're given any presentations or papers lately, I'll review one or two of those, maybe even print it out and take it with me to the interview so I have something to read while waiting in the lobby.
* Get my resume printed on nice paper. I usually go to Office Depot and make 5 to 10 copies on the heavier cotton paper. It's been rare that I've actually had to give an interviewer a copy of my resume, but I like to have it. Also, it's good to be able to pull it out and review it at the same time as the interviewer. Honestly, I wrote my resume, but I can't always remember off the top of my head what's on it.
* Prep my questions. My rule of thumb is always to ask three questions at every interview. I don't have a good reason for the number, it's just what I've always done and in general, has been successful. In order to have three questions to ask, I brainstorm and write down at least 10. I've found that the majority of those get answered during the actual interview, but if my list is long enough, I'll be able to get at least 3 questions in.
My go-to questions are as follows. In fact, I think I've used this list pretty consistently over the last 5-7 years, and the questions have worked pretty well. Keep in mind, these are the 'general' questions -- I like to have at least one or two questions written down ahead of time regarding the job in question.
1. What do you expect the person who is in this position to accomplish in the first three months? First six months? Nine months?
2. How do you measure success?
3. What is the toughest challenge facing the person in this position?
4. What percent of the time will this person be expected to travel?
5. What skills do you think are the most critical to be successful in this position?
6. How would you describe a typical day in this position?
7. What is the management organizational structure?
8. How many people are in the team? What groups will the person in this position be expected to interact with?
The remainder of my brainstormed 10 questions usually have to do with the job posting itself. These questions give me a good idea of the pace of the organization and how the manager works. I never ask about salary, vacation, or other benefits on the first interview. During the second interview, the benefits usually come up for discussion and I may have a question or two at that time.
Most people advise not disclosing salary information. I gave up this tactic a while ago and now I just tell the employer up front what my current salary is and what my expectations are for a switch. I've usually been in a situation where I'm switching from one job to another, so it's never been a problem. I also don't fudge the salary number or do a range; it's super easy for HR to check if you fudged your salary and it might be grounds to rescind an offer in the future.
In general, it has never hurt me to reveal my salary expectations ahead of time. Could I have done better if I didn't? Sure. But I've never been disappointed in the results. Also, because what I do has such a wide range of salary based on experience level and education, I found it best to let people know where I'm at the beginning of the process or fairly early on. It definitely has thrown me out of the running for a couple of jobs but I don't think that's a bad thing.
In general, I don't like to play games, I like to be honest and up front, and I like to be uber-prepared. So far so good. I'll keep you posted on how all this plays out.
The last few days have been a little intense in terms of cramming. Not for an exam, but for interviews. I've been fortune to land several interviews recently and so I've spent some of my free evening time just getting ready.
Things I like to do to prep for an interview:
* Research the company by reading the website, rereading the job description, checking out recent PR, and doing a google search to see if anything comes up. I'll also checked LinkedIn to see who works at the company. If they're given any presentations or papers lately, I'll review one or two of those, maybe even print it out and take it with me to the interview so I have something to read while waiting in the lobby.
* Get my resume printed on nice paper. I usually go to Office Depot and make 5 to 10 copies on the heavier cotton paper. It's been rare that I've actually had to give an interviewer a copy of my resume, but I like to have it. Also, it's good to be able to pull it out and review it at the same time as the interviewer. Honestly, I wrote my resume, but I can't always remember off the top of my head what's on it.
* Prep my questions. My rule of thumb is always to ask three questions at every interview. I don't have a good reason for the number, it's just what I've always done and in general, has been successful. In order to have three questions to ask, I brainstorm and write down at least 10. I've found that the majority of those get answered during the actual interview, but if my list is long enough, I'll be able to get at least 3 questions in.
My go-to questions are as follows. In fact, I think I've used this list pretty consistently over the last 5-7 years, and the questions have worked pretty well. Keep in mind, these are the 'general' questions -- I like to have at least one or two questions written down ahead of time regarding the job in question.
1. What do you expect the person who is in this position to accomplish in the first three months? First six months? Nine months?
2. How do you measure success?
3. What is the toughest challenge facing the person in this position?
4. What percent of the time will this person be expected to travel?
5. What skills do you think are the most critical to be successful in this position?
6. How would you describe a typical day in this position?
7. What is the management organizational structure?
8. How many people are in the team? What groups will the person in this position be expected to interact with?
The remainder of my brainstormed 10 questions usually have to do with the job posting itself. These questions give me a good idea of the pace of the organization and how the manager works. I never ask about salary, vacation, or other benefits on the first interview. During the second interview, the benefits usually come up for discussion and I may have a question or two at that time.
Most people advise not disclosing salary information. I gave up this tactic a while ago and now I just tell the employer up front what my current salary is and what my expectations are for a switch. I've usually been in a situation where I'm switching from one job to another, so it's never been a problem. I also don't fudge the salary number or do a range; it's super easy for HR to check if you fudged your salary and it might be grounds to rescind an offer in the future.
In general, it has never hurt me to reveal my salary expectations ahead of time. Could I have done better if I didn't? Sure. But I've never been disappointed in the results. Also, because what I do has such a wide range of salary based on experience level and education, I found it best to let people know where I'm at the beginning of the process or fairly early on. It definitely has thrown me out of the running for a couple of jobs but I don't think that's a bad thing.
In general, I don't like to play games, I like to be honest and up front, and I like to be uber-prepared. So far so good. I'll keep you posted on how all this plays out.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
LotD
I was googling Direct Buy "just because" and came across a bunch of sites panning the site. I have no experience with the business at all, just curiosity because they are running soooo many ads on television right now. I did find this article from Consumer Reports, which I feel is a pretty reputable source. Per Consumer Reports , you'd have to spend at least $20,000 to recoup your membership fee (which is around $5k). The other thing is, you get a one-time shot at it: show up for the open house and cough up the membership fee or you can never return. Sounds kinda dire to me. Also, Consumer Reports says it's not possible to return items, cancel orders, or even terminate your membership. Definitely sounds like a scam to me and I think I'll pass on this one.
I was googling Direct Buy "just because" and came across a bunch of sites panning the site. I have no experience with the business at all, just curiosity because they are running soooo many ads on television right now. I did find this article from Consumer Reports, which I feel is a pretty reputable source. Per Consumer Reports , you'd have to spend at least $20,000 to recoup your membership fee (which is around $5k). The other thing is, you get a one-time shot at it: show up for the open house and cough up the membership fee or you can never return. Sounds kinda dire to me. Also, Consumer Reports says it's not possible to return items, cancel orders, or even terminate your membership. Definitely sounds like a scam to me and I think I'll pass on this one.
Utopia
When I'm President of the World -- president, because it sounds more benevolent than "dictator" and I do intend to be benevolent -- I plan to enact legislation that will:
* Make it mandatory to return your shopping cart to the little shopping cart stalls in the middle of the parking lot. No more of this leaving the cart anywhere for the vissicitudes of wind to take it away and crash into someone else's car. No more leaving the cart in the middle of a perfectly good spot that makes it unable for anyone else to use. No more blocking someone else in "just because".
* The yield sign will be used correctly, that is, one will stop when one is merging into traffic. A yield sign is essentially a stop sign when moving into traffic, yet it's an oft-ignored sign. It's almost like yield means "go fast, dang it, and heck with anyone who is coming up behind me." Yield. It's the right thing to do.
* Blinkers will be used so everyone around the car in question will know where it's going. And while I'm ranting about blinkers, outlawing left turns from the right lane will be a step in the right direction (I know this last one sounds intuitive, but you'd be amazed at how many times drivers in Sweat Sock City suddenly realize they need to make this left turn while they're in the right lane and they make it, never mind that they nearly get t-boned by the people in the left lane who never saw the turn coming).
* You'll be able to select which channels you want in a cable package so you don't have to buy the whole package, just the ones you want to watch.
I'm sure I'll have other legislation to implement but this is a nice start.
When I'm President of the World -- president, because it sounds more benevolent than "dictator" and I do intend to be benevolent -- I plan to enact legislation that will:
* Make it mandatory to return your shopping cart to the little shopping cart stalls in the middle of the parking lot. No more of this leaving the cart anywhere for the vissicitudes of wind to take it away and crash into someone else's car. No more leaving the cart in the middle of a perfectly good spot that makes it unable for anyone else to use. No more blocking someone else in "just because".
* The yield sign will be used correctly, that is, one will stop when one is merging into traffic. A yield sign is essentially a stop sign when moving into traffic, yet it's an oft-ignored sign. It's almost like yield means "go fast, dang it, and heck with anyone who is coming up behind me." Yield. It's the right thing to do.
* Blinkers will be used so everyone around the car in question will know where it's going. And while I'm ranting about blinkers, outlawing left turns from the right lane will be a step in the right direction (I know this last one sounds intuitive, but you'd be amazed at how many times drivers in Sweat Sock City suddenly realize they need to make this left turn while they're in the right lane and they make it, never mind that they nearly get t-boned by the people in the left lane who never saw the turn coming).
* You'll be able to select which channels you want in a cable package so you don't have to buy the whole package, just the ones you want to watch.
I'm sure I'll have other legislation to implement but this is a nice start.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
How to write a misleading headline
Dr. Dre Loses Round In Death Row Court Battle. When I first saw this headline, I thought, "What? Dr. Dre on death row? What? How? Where? Is this another Dr. Dre?" Turns out I can step down from red alert; Death Row is the name of a record label. Some of you may have already known that. But for those of us who were unaware, definitely this headline is unclear. I'm not sure what the spacing/character count constraints were on this headline but I think "Dr. Drew loses in record label court battle" would be a more clear headline as to what's actually going on.
Dr. Dre Loses Round In Death Row Court Battle. When I first saw this headline, I thought, "What? Dr. Dre on death row? What? How? Where? Is this another Dr. Dre?" Turns out I can step down from red alert; Death Row is the name of a record label. Some of you may have already known that. But for those of us who were unaware, definitely this headline is unclear. I'm not sure what the spacing/character count constraints were on this headline but I think "Dr. Drew loses in record label court battle" would be a more clear headline as to what's actually going on.
LotD, part 2
I read a lot of HR blogs these days, looking for that magic winning formula that will propel me into my dream job at my dream company and where I'll totally be able to put my rock star moves to good use. I've recommended Ask a Manager before as a good source of advice and things not to do (or to do!) and I think it's a great blog to read. Today I found Punk Rock HR, which is chock full of good ideas and advice but rather snarky in its delivery. Which I love, because I'm all about the snark. And also, it reminds me not to take this situation too seriously (okay, so I am taking my situation seriously, but at least I'm *laughing* when I'm reading interview advice).
I read a lot of HR blogs these days, looking for that magic winning formula that will propel me into my dream job at my dream company and where I'll totally be able to put my rock star moves to good use. I've recommended Ask a Manager before as a good source of advice and things not to do (or to do!) and I think it's a great blog to read. Today I found Punk Rock HR, which is chock full of good ideas and advice but rather snarky in its delivery. Which I love, because I'm all about the snark. And also, it reminds me not to take this situation too seriously (okay, so I am taking my situation seriously, but at least I'm *laughing* when I'm reading interview advice).
LotD
You should totally apologize to BP, if you haven't already. And when you're done that, you can check out the death of the desktop computer.
You should totally apologize to BP, if you haven't already. And when you're done that, you can check out the death of the desktop computer.
Friday, June 18, 2010
LotD, double the fun edition
This analysis on what we learned from Tony and Joe amused me greatly.
And writers, what's your narrative rest stop? Mine is food, descriptions thereof, but this article says one of the more popular ones involves the barking dog in the distance.
And bonus: The cheapskate next door. I think describing pennypinchers as "heroes" is a bit much though. Okay, a lot much.
This analysis on what we learned from Tony and Joe amused me greatly.
And writers, what's your narrative rest stop? Mine is food, descriptions thereof, but this article says one of the more popular ones involves the barking dog in the distance.
And bonus: The cheapskate next door. I think describing pennypinchers as "heroes" is a bit much though. Okay, a lot much.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
LotD, BP edition
A bunch of links today. I've been meaning to weigh in on the oil spill, but haven't had a chance to do so. The always observant Dana Milbank describes what happened when Tony Haywardwent to Washington. Anne Applebaum talks about how the oil spill isn't Obama's Katrina. The NY Times talks about a five-decade old spill in Nigeria here. And Joe Barton got his "shakedown" comment from a GOP memo. Slate takes on the WSJ's review of Obama's speech here. And what would be a post about energy without Sarah Palin?
A bunch of links today. I've been meaning to weigh in on the oil spill, but haven't had a chance to do so. The always observant Dana Milbank describes what happened when Tony Haywardwent to Washington. Anne Applebaum talks about how the oil spill isn't Obama's Katrina. The NY Times talks about a five-decade old spill in Nigeria here. And Joe Barton got his "shakedown" comment from a GOP memo. Slate takes on the WSJ's review of Obama's speech here. And what would be a post about energy without Sarah Palin?
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
LotD
I found this website, Adventures in Fake Meat, which reviews a variety of meat substitutes. The writer has a good sense of humor and attitude towards trying all of these products. It was kind of fun to check out the reviews and compare them to my own perceptions. I am intrigued by the Gimme Lean sausage; another friend recently recommended it and now this site is giving it an A+, so on my next grocery trip, I'll pick it up. We definitely disagreed on the Morningstar buffalo chik'n wings though, as I really like them (though the assessment of spiciness is indeed true). Anyway, fun site for those of you who enjoy fake meat and a good pointer for those of you thinking about trying some.
I found this website, Adventures in Fake Meat, which reviews a variety of meat substitutes. The writer has a good sense of humor and attitude towards trying all of these products. It was kind of fun to check out the reviews and compare them to my own perceptions. I am intrigued by the Gimme Lean sausage; another friend recently recommended it and now this site is giving it an A+, so on my next grocery trip, I'll pick it up. We definitely disagreed on the Morningstar buffalo chik'n wings though, as I really like them (though the assessment of spiciness is indeed true). Anyway, fun site for those of you who enjoy fake meat and a good pointer for those of you thinking about trying some.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
LotD
Interesting article on Rwanada's national health care plan here. Not much offered for what $2/person/year, but what minimal services they do offer seem to be paying some dividends. Rwanda's come a long away since its genocide days.
Interesting article on Rwanada's national health care plan here. Not much offered for what $2/person/year, but what minimal services they do offer seem to be paying some dividends. Rwanda's come a long away since its genocide days.
Sweet dreams or beautiful nightmare
Lately I've been having "exam" dreams. You know, the ones when you're rushing late into a classroom on the day of a final exam or you forgot your homework and the teacher berates you in front of the class?
Last night, I dreamt that I had an assignment due and I showed up with a 3-page paper on some subject unknown but it had the random exclamation, "I'm going home!" in the middle of the text. I think there might have been charts too, but it's a bit foggy. In my dream, the teacher was collecting the papers from all my classmates and they all had these the thick piles of paper to hand in, with lots of supporting documents and evidence. They all pointed to my three-page paper and laughed. I panicked and somehow managed to find more paper in my class binder, attached it to the paper, and turned the whole mess in. I woke up then so I have no idea how this all turned out. I'd like to think I got an A.
I don't know what these dreams mean. I have been thinking about taking a class or two to hone my skills for this competitive job market, but that's a rather vague connection. My stress level is actually very low, the lowest it has been in a couple of years (aside from that whole job situation, but that's another story entirely). So I'm at a loss really as to why I'm suddenly sitting in a classroom, scrambling. One thing for sure, the dream does make me grateful though that most of my formal schooling is behind me.
Lately I've been having "exam" dreams. You know, the ones when you're rushing late into a classroom on the day of a final exam or you forgot your homework and the teacher berates you in front of the class?
Last night, I dreamt that I had an assignment due and I showed up with a 3-page paper on some subject unknown but it had the random exclamation, "I'm going home!" in the middle of the text. I think there might have been charts too, but it's a bit foggy. In my dream, the teacher was collecting the papers from all my classmates and they all had these the thick piles of paper to hand in, with lots of supporting documents and evidence. They all pointed to my three-page paper and laughed. I panicked and somehow managed to find more paper in my class binder, attached it to the paper, and turned the whole mess in. I woke up then so I have no idea how this all turned out. I'd like to think I got an A.
I don't know what these dreams mean. I have been thinking about taking a class or two to hone my skills for this competitive job market, but that's a rather vague connection. My stress level is actually very low, the lowest it has been in a couple of years (aside from that whole job situation, but that's another story entirely). So I'm at a loss really as to why I'm suddenly sitting in a classroom, scrambling. One thing for sure, the dream does make me grateful though that most of my formal schooling is behind me.
Monday, June 14, 2010
LotD
I can't remember if I've pointed y'all to I Will Teach You To Be Rich. This is a PF blog in a different vein; written by an Indian-American, Ramit Sethi, the blog focuses on defining value, negotiating skills, boosting earning power, automating finances and saving for what you want. I like this blog because it's different than most blogs about frugality or personal finance; no recipes for making your own detergent and not a big emphasis on clipping coupons. It's probably the only PF blog you'll read that makes the argument that buying a new car isn't necessarily a bad thing or if you want a $28,000 wedding, go for it. Frankly, it's a breath of fresh air.
I can't remember if I've pointed y'all to I Will Teach You To Be Rich. This is a PF blog in a different vein; written by an Indian-American, Ramit Sethi, the blog focuses on defining value, negotiating skills, boosting earning power, automating finances and saving for what you want. I like this blog because it's different than most blogs about frugality or personal finance; no recipes for making your own detergent and not a big emphasis on clipping coupons. It's probably the only PF blog you'll read that makes the argument that buying a new car isn't necessarily a bad thing or if you want a $28,000 wedding, go for it. Frankly, it's a breath of fresh air.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
LotD
The NYTimes published an interesting article, In Sweden, Men Can Have It All. This is a pro/con (mostly pro) analysis of Sweden's leave policies and their effect on the working world and gender equality. I found it fascinating (and attractive!).
Sweden had already gone further than many countries have now in relieving working mothers: Children had access to highly subsidized preschools from 12 months and grandparents were offered state-sponsored elderly care. The parent on leave got almost a full salary for a year before returning to a guaranteed job, and both could work six-hour days until children entered school. Female employment rates and birth rates had surged to be among the highest in the developed world.
The question to wrestle with is whether paying nearly 50 percent of your income in taxes to get what Sweden would be worth it. The article seems to imply that Sweden does have it together in terms of economy and productivity, but I think there would be extremely stiff resistance in the US to implement any kind of policy like this here.
The NYTimes published an interesting article, In Sweden, Men Can Have It All. This is a pro/con (mostly pro) analysis of Sweden's leave policies and their effect on the working world and gender equality. I found it fascinating (and attractive!).
Sweden had already gone further than many countries have now in relieving working mothers: Children had access to highly subsidized preschools from 12 months and grandparents were offered state-sponsored elderly care. The parent on leave got almost a full salary for a year before returning to a guaranteed job, and both could work six-hour days until children entered school. Female employment rates and birth rates had surged to be among the highest in the developed world.
The question to wrestle with is whether paying nearly 50 percent of your income in taxes to get what Sweden would be worth it. The article seems to imply that Sweden does have it together in terms of economy and productivity, but I think there would be extremely stiff resistance in the US to implement any kind of policy like this here.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Worst case
I hate looking for a job. It's mind-numbing, pedantic, and can be overwhelming, depressing, stressful, and agitating.Plus, as a job hunter these days, the power is with the employer. So that makes it even harder. The employer can let you go at-will (my state is at-will employment) and they can hire you at will.
Lately though, I've seen people who never saw it coming being let go from their jobs. To be honest, if you'd asked me if those people would be let go, I would have said no. That's why it's so important to always have a resume at ready, to constantly check what's out there -- even when you have no intention of looking for another job -- "just in case."
The best time to negotiate a new position is when you have one. We don't always have the luxury of picking our own timing, but if you have an inkling that things might not go as well as you'd like at your company, it's time to start writing/reviewing/updating the resume and sign-up for alerts at some job hunting sites like monster.com or careerbuilder.com.
The thing is, looking for a job is free (well, except for the time investment), and just because you're looking doesn't mean that a) you'll get an interview or b) you'll get an offer. And even if you get an interview, it doesn't mean you have to go and just because you get an offer, doesn't mean you have to accept (though I think if you get to this last step in the process, you should have a fairly good idea at the last interview as to whether you want to proceed or not; it's only fair to let the hiring manager know your interest level).
"Looking" is not a commitment to do anything. It's a step towards securing your own future and perhaps gaining a modicum of power. Okay, maybe not so much the last, but you get what I mean. I always feel better when I'm in action, like I'm doing *something* to make sure I'm taking care of me.
The employers have all the power now, so the only thing we can do is keep our eyes open and our ears to the ground and keep renewing our network, letting people know casually that you're looking or you have some interest in case they hear of something. Regardless, it's important to understand what the job market in your field looks like, to understand how qualifications may or may not be changing, and to just get out there the minute you hear a hint of trouble.
Easier said than done, I know. I've been floating on the longest river in Egypt for a while now just because. But time is ticking and since I very much prefer to be employed than not, it's time to get back out there.
I hate looking for a job. It's mind-numbing, pedantic, and can be overwhelming, depressing, stressful, and agitating.Plus, as a job hunter these days, the power is with the employer. So that makes it even harder. The employer can let you go at-will (my state is at-will employment) and they can hire you at will.
Lately though, I've seen people who never saw it coming being let go from their jobs. To be honest, if you'd asked me if those people would be let go, I would have said no. That's why it's so important to always have a resume at ready, to constantly check what's out there -- even when you have no intention of looking for another job -- "just in case."
The best time to negotiate a new position is when you have one. We don't always have the luxury of picking our own timing, but if you have an inkling that things might not go as well as you'd like at your company, it's time to start writing/reviewing/updating the resume and sign-up for alerts at some job hunting sites like monster.com or careerbuilder.com.
The thing is, looking for a job is free (well, except for the time investment), and just because you're looking doesn't mean that a) you'll get an interview or b) you'll get an offer. And even if you get an interview, it doesn't mean you have to go and just because you get an offer, doesn't mean you have to accept (though I think if you get to this last step in the process, you should have a fairly good idea at the last interview as to whether you want to proceed or not; it's only fair to let the hiring manager know your interest level).
"Looking" is not a commitment to do anything. It's a step towards securing your own future and perhaps gaining a modicum of power. Okay, maybe not so much the last, but you get what I mean. I always feel better when I'm in action, like I'm doing *something* to make sure I'm taking care of me.
The employers have all the power now, so the only thing we can do is keep our eyes open and our ears to the ground and keep renewing our network, letting people know casually that you're looking or you have some interest in case they hear of something. Regardless, it's important to understand what the job market in your field looks like, to understand how qualifications may or may not be changing, and to just get out there the minute you hear a hint of trouble.
Easier said than done, I know. I've been floating on the longest river in Egypt for a while now just because. But time is ticking and since I very much prefer to be employed than not, it's time to get back out there.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Computer update
So I froze the hard drive. Well, before I did that, I dropped it from 2 to 3 feet on to the carpet. It landed with a nice thud, which I consider payback for the downstairs party hearty folks. Unfortunately, the drop didn't jolt the motor into action so into the freezer the hard drive went. It spent a day in there, hopefully thinking about what it had done and hopefully forgiving me for hitting the power button prematurely. But alas, the freezing technique did not work either. Now there's only one thing left to do -- take the drive apart and transfer the heads into a working hard drive. Surgery will probably commence this weekend.
So I froze the hard drive. Well, before I did that, I dropped it from 2 to 3 feet on to the carpet. It landed with a nice thud, which I consider payback for the downstairs party hearty folks. Unfortunately, the drop didn't jolt the motor into action so into the freezer the hard drive went. It spent a day in there, hopefully thinking about what it had done and hopefully forgiving me for hitting the power button prematurely. But alas, the freezing technique did not work either. Now there's only one thing left to do -- take the drive apart and transfer the heads into a working hard drive. Surgery will probably commence this weekend.
Sunday, June 06, 2010
Semi good news
So far nothing has really worked to get my computer up and running. This afternoon, we headed to the local tech store and picked up an adapter for the hard drive. I removed the hard drive from my computer and hooked it up to J's laptop. Nothing. The drive did spin up but there was no recognition. Disconnected it and tried another hard drive from another desktop. That one not only spun up, the laptop also recognized it and we were able to access the files. When we tried hooking up my hard drive up again, it refused to power on. So now we're going with the last ditch resort of putting it in the freezer to see if that will help.
The upside of all of this is I did find a back-up from August of last year. I checked that disk and the good news is I did have presence of mind to back up all of my iTunes music (also available on my iPod), all of my stories, resumes, and tax information to the CD. I've probably lost some data and email, but eh. What can I do? I just need to be more dilligent about backing up, especially given the age of the computer. But the story I was worried about -- the sequel to Fugue in Blue Minor -- is indeed on my disk so WHEW! (of course, I haven't worked on it since March 2009, but at least I don't have to start on it from scratch).
Oh and it goes without saying that there will be no website updates until I figure out what to do about the software etc. I'm using J's laptop for now, but at some point, I'm going to have to get another solution.
So far nothing has really worked to get my computer up and running. This afternoon, we headed to the local tech store and picked up an adapter for the hard drive. I removed the hard drive from my computer and hooked it up to J's laptop. Nothing. The drive did spin up but there was no recognition. Disconnected it and tried another hard drive from another desktop. That one not only spun up, the laptop also recognized it and we were able to access the files. When we tried hooking up my hard drive up again, it refused to power on. So now we're going with the last ditch resort of putting it in the freezer to see if that will help.
The upside of all of this is I did find a back-up from August of last year. I checked that disk and the good news is I did have presence of mind to back up all of my iTunes music (also available on my iPod), all of my stories, resumes, and tax information to the CD. I've probably lost some data and email, but eh. What can I do? I just need to be more dilligent about backing up, especially given the age of the computer. But the story I was worried about -- the sequel to Fugue in Blue Minor -- is indeed on my disk so WHEW! (of course, I haven't worked on it since March 2009, but at least I don't have to start on it from scratch).
Oh and it goes without saying that there will be no website updates until I figure out what to do about the software etc. I'm using J's laptop for now, but at some point, I'm going to have to get another solution.
LotD
20 Worst Charities in America -- worth looking at. "Worst", however, seems kind of a harsh term though -- I'm thinking "inefficient" would probably be a better term.
Seems like everyone and their brother has a charity these days and I personally never know who's legit and who's not. I do have my favorite, but every now and then, smaller ones catch my eye for one reason or another. Luckily, none of mine are on this list.
20 Worst Charities in America -- worth looking at. "Worst", however, seems kind of a harsh term though -- I'm thinking "inefficient" would probably be a better term.
Seems like everyone and their brother has a charity these days and I personally never know who's legit and who's not. I do have my favorite, but every now and then, smaller ones catch my eye for one reason or another. Luckily, none of mine are on this list.
Saturday, June 05, 2010
RiP
So after 9 years, or more precisely, eight years and 10 months, my beloved Dell Dimension 2100 has given up the ghost (or so I think). I got impatient with the computer yesterday when it hung up uploading photos and hit the power off button. Big mistake. Now the computer refuses to boot or recognize the hard drive. I'm hoping this is just a temper tantrum, nothing serious, but if it is, I'm kind of wondering how to get my data off the hard drive. My last back-up was in August of 2009 (I know, I know), but I haven't created many new files since then. I'm most worried about my next story in the "Lines in the Sand" series and my resume/job checklist spreadsheet.
I was planning to get a new computer in August but it looks like I'll need to get one sooner rather than later. Sadness.
So after 9 years, or more precisely, eight years and 10 months, my beloved Dell Dimension 2100 has given up the ghost (or so I think). I got impatient with the computer yesterday when it hung up uploading photos and hit the power off button. Big mistake. Now the computer refuses to boot or recognize the hard drive. I'm hoping this is just a temper tantrum, nothing serious, but if it is, I'm kind of wondering how to get my data off the hard drive. My last back-up was in August of 2009 (I know, I know), but I haven't created many new files since then. I'm most worried about my next story in the "Lines in the Sand" series and my resume/job checklist spreadsheet.
I was planning to get a new computer in August but it looks like I'll need to get one sooner rather than later. Sadness.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Head's up
I'm pretty sure everyone is going to migrate to blogspot already has done so, but definitely check your old web server when you're done (if you were ftp'ing to your own site like I was). Apparently, when you migrate, blogger dumps a whole bunch of crap onto your server, and in my case, it increased the amount of server space I was using by 169 mb. Which is nutty when you think that this website, blog and fanfic together, and my mail only make up about 106 mb. Blogger's back-up caused me to go over on my space and as a result, my host is charging me for overusage. It's so annoying. I'm currently downloading the back-up files and deleting them off the server so I can avoid the extra fees in June. So, for those of you who are/have migrated, double-check your old digs. There might be a little surprise for you there (but I hope not!).
I'm pretty sure everyone is going to migrate to blogspot already has done so, but definitely check your old web server when you're done (if you were ftp'ing to your own site like I was). Apparently, when you migrate, blogger dumps a whole bunch of crap onto your server, and in my case, it increased the amount of server space I was using by 169 mb. Which is nutty when you think that this website, blog and fanfic together, and my mail only make up about 106 mb. Blogger's back-up caused me to go over on my space and as a result, my host is charging me for overusage. It's so annoying. I'm currently downloading the back-up files and deleting them off the server so I can avoid the extra fees in June. So, for those of you who are/have migrated, double-check your old digs. There might be a little surprise for you there (but I hope not!).
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
LotD
Sorry, another link of the day, but it's a good one, I promise! Answered! Life's 25 Toughest Questions. Still no answer to "why?" though.
I keep composing blog entries in my head while on the treadmill (when you're running in place for 30 minutes plus, you think of many, many things). The thing is, by the time I come home, I'm way too tired to commit words to the screen. That's the awesome thing about running, by the way -- I sleep straight through the night. So I apologize for the lack of creative and innovative content lately, but I can't promise to do better in the near future.
Sorry, another link of the day, but it's a good one, I promise! Answered! Life's 25 Toughest Questions. Still no answer to "why?" though.
I keep composing blog entries in my head while on the treadmill (when you're running in place for 30 minutes plus, you think of many, many things). The thing is, by the time I come home, I'm way too tired to commit words to the screen. That's the awesome thing about running, by the way -- I sleep straight through the night. So I apologize for the lack of creative and innovative content lately, but I can't promise to do better in the near future.
Friday, May 14, 2010
LotD
What would you cut from the federal budget? Eric Cantor gives you the opportunity to vote, "American Idol" style, at YouCut.
What would you cut from the federal budget? Eric Cantor gives you the opportunity to vote, "American Idol" style, at YouCut.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
LotD
I'm a big fan of some of the social nets provided to citizens in the EU, but even I was shocked by some of the spending in Greece. Retirement at age 40? Bonuses for showing up to work on time? For using a computer? Wowzers. Five Areas of Greece budget waste. No wonder people are protesting in the streets; these are tough perks to have to give up.
I'm a big fan of some of the social nets provided to citizens in the EU, but even I was shocked by some of the spending in Greece. Retirement at age 40? Bonuses for showing up to work on time? For using a computer? Wowzers. Five Areas of Greece budget waste. No wonder people are protesting in the streets; these are tough perks to have to give up.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Privacy, schmrivacy
FYI. A new site, spokeo.com, could be considered similar to a traditional phonebook, except that in addition to your address and phone number, it also features such personal goodies such as your approx credit score, home value, income, age, etc. It even displays pictures you may have put on Facebook or other such sites. You can remove yourself by first searching for yourself on their site to find the URL of your page, copying the URL, then going to the privacy link on the bottom of their home page to open another window with a form that will allow you to remove yourself.
FYI. A new site, spokeo.com, could be considered similar to a traditional phonebook, except that in addition to your address and phone number, it also features such personal goodies such as your approx credit score, home value, income, age, etc. It even displays pictures you may have put on Facebook or other such sites. You can remove yourself by first searching for yourself on their site to find the URL of your page, copying the URL, then going to the privacy link on the bottom of their home page to open another window with a form that will allow you to remove yourself.
Monday, May 03, 2010
Disease o' the Week
So I'm a big baby when it comes to any kind of physical discomfort. I don't like pain and I don't like when I have as much as hangnail. There are times when I think I have a great threshold for pain, such as when I'm curled up in a whimpering ball on the sofa because of migraine pain (I didn't say I was graceful about it), but let's be honest -- no one would ever describe me as stoic and quiet when it comes to suffering, no matter how minimal.
As of late, or rather as of the last 6 months, I've been experiencing what can only be called a major stomach ache. It's been occasionally debilitating and has all the nasty symptoms one might assume one might have when one is suffering a 6-month stomach ache. The worse symptom was the fact I could not eat without instan pain. Chomp food, swallow, stomach erupts into a big ball of flaming gas; it was like there was an exploding sun in my belly. But as stoic and quiet as I wasn't being, I still refused to go to the doctor. I mean, it's a STOMACH ACHE and I so have my pride; I didn't want to be known as the wimp who shuffled off to the doctor for something so... trivial.
Finally, last week the pain got to me. I had a tough time eating, the pain had traveled to my back, I felt like I was having a heart attack, and it was just miserable. After a bunch of tests, which included testing for George the Amoeba, I was diagnosed with (ta da!) gastritis. Which, by the way, is totally not sexy, but is a lot better than all the other options my doctor casually tossed my way. "You might have an infected gall bladder," he said, "or pancreatitis, and while we're in the neighborhood, we'd better check out your liver as well." He also mentioned the dreaded "U" word -- ulcer -- and the possbility of an amoeba or similar single celled organism.
So after getting all of those possible diagnoses and being totally afraid I'd have the one I can't spell (pancreatitis) or grossed out by a worm in my stomach, it was a relief to learn I simply had gastritis, which with the help of many, many pills, will eventually go away without any need for surgery or anything too crazy. The pills have their own side effects -- I'm now a burping/hiccoughing machine -- but the stomach pain and heart burn are starting to dissipate. I should start to feel better in about 4 to 8 weeks and am currently researching changes to my diet to avoid this from happening again. I never want to be on this many prescriptions (3) again if I can help it. Because of this, I'm slowly cutting back on my caffeine intake; those who know me in Real Life(tm), be afraid, be very afraid.
So I'm a big baby when it comes to any kind of physical discomfort. I don't like pain and I don't like when I have as much as hangnail. There are times when I think I have a great threshold for pain, such as when I'm curled up in a whimpering ball on the sofa because of migraine pain (I didn't say I was graceful about it), but let's be honest -- no one would ever describe me as stoic and quiet when it comes to suffering, no matter how minimal.
As of late, or rather as of the last 6 months, I've been experiencing what can only be called a major stomach ache. It's been occasionally debilitating and has all the nasty symptoms one might assume one might have when one is suffering a 6-month stomach ache. The worse symptom was the fact I could not eat without instan pain. Chomp food, swallow, stomach erupts into a big ball of flaming gas; it was like there was an exploding sun in my belly. But as stoic and quiet as I wasn't being, I still refused to go to the doctor. I mean, it's a STOMACH ACHE and I so have my pride; I didn't want to be known as the wimp who shuffled off to the doctor for something so... trivial.
Finally, last week the pain got to me. I had a tough time eating, the pain had traveled to my back, I felt like I was having a heart attack, and it was just miserable. After a bunch of tests, which included testing for George the Amoeba, I was diagnosed with (ta da!) gastritis. Which, by the way, is totally not sexy, but is a lot better than all the other options my doctor casually tossed my way. "You might have an infected gall bladder," he said, "or pancreatitis, and while we're in the neighborhood, we'd better check out your liver as well." He also mentioned the dreaded "U" word -- ulcer -- and the possbility of an amoeba or similar single celled organism.
So after getting all of those possible diagnoses and being totally afraid I'd have the one I can't spell (pancreatitis) or grossed out by a worm in my stomach, it was a relief to learn I simply had gastritis, which with the help of many, many pills, will eventually go away without any need for surgery or anything too crazy. The pills have their own side effects -- I'm now a burping/hiccoughing machine -- but the stomach pain and heart burn are starting to dissipate. I should start to feel better in about 4 to 8 weeks and am currently researching changes to my diet to avoid this from happening again. I never want to be on this many prescriptions (3) again if I can help it. Because of this, I'm slowly cutting back on my caffeine intake; those who know me in Real Life(tm), be afraid, be very afraid.
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Paper paper
So much for a paper-less world. I've got a small forest in my guest room. What's crazy is that I trashed and shredded paper back in October/November in anticipation for the move and then I did the same again back in February. What does it tell you that even after all that, I still filled two bags with paper? All this paper, btw, is the paper that came in the move, not additions in the six months since. I still haven't started shredding yet. Quite frankly, it's overwhelming.
The paper keeps coming. The new arrivals congregate on top of the dining room table, just a pure mess due to the last 6 weeks of just dumping and going. Some stuff is easy to trash -- catalogs, mail flyers, advertisements, mail for other people who used to live here -- but then there's the grey area like credit card applications and somewhat interesting information that you're not sure whether to save or trash. So it all just sits on the dining room table trusting that someday someone will come and figure out what's what. Someday has finally come and it's just kind of an unfun way to spend a lovely Sunday afternoon.
So much for a paper-less world. I've got a small forest in my guest room. What's crazy is that I trashed and shredded paper back in October/November in anticipation for the move and then I did the same again back in February. What does it tell you that even after all that, I still filled two bags with paper? All this paper, btw, is the paper that came in the move, not additions in the six months since. I still haven't started shredding yet. Quite frankly, it's overwhelming.
The paper keeps coming. The new arrivals congregate on top of the dining room table, just a pure mess due to the last 6 weeks of just dumping and going. Some stuff is easy to trash -- catalogs, mail flyers, advertisements, mail for other people who used to live here -- but then there's the grey area like credit card applications and somewhat interesting information that you're not sure whether to save or trash. So it all just sits on the dining room table trusting that someday someone will come and figure out what's what. Someday has finally come and it's just kind of an unfun way to spend a lovely Sunday afternoon.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Oh the irony
BP named finalist for pollution prevention award. BP, btw, is the company responsible for the corroded pipeline in Alaska that shutdown supply for a summer due to problems and also for the massive explosion in Texas City that killed 11 or 12 people about 5 or 6 years ago. BP's got some 'splainin' to do.
BP named finalist for pollution prevention award. BP, btw, is the company responsible for the corroded pipeline in Alaska that shutdown supply for a summer due to problems and also for the massive explosion in Texas City that killed 11 or 12 people about 5 or 6 years ago. BP's got some 'splainin' to do.
LotD
I had a little anxiety today when I read this blog about job hoppers making terrible employees. I 'fess, I'm a job hopper. I worked for Very Big Insurance Company for four years and since then, I have't held a job for more than 2 1/2 years. I move for different reasons, but if I look back over my experience, I have no regrets because I picked up a lot of new skills, experience, valuable connections, and other intangibles. I long for stability, for the job that is The One(tm), but it hasn't happened yet.
I do think my experiences bring more to the table today than it would have five years ago and that's directly attributable to my job hopping. Also the idea of "loyalty" when working is so 1960s/1970s; nearly every place I have worked except for Very Big Publishing Company have had layoffs while I was there. So don't talk to me about loyalty when I've got bills to pay. And the reason I can job hop is because I have good references and skills that people are willing to hire. When I find the right fit (hopefully soon!), I will stop. So I was very pleased to read a rebuttal to the initial blog posting here that was more in line with my perspective on the subject.
I had a little anxiety today when I read this blog about job hoppers making terrible employees. I 'fess, I'm a job hopper. I worked for Very Big Insurance Company for four years and since then, I have't held a job for more than 2 1/2 years. I move for different reasons, but if I look back over my experience, I have no regrets because I picked up a lot of new skills, experience, valuable connections, and other intangibles. I long for stability, for the job that is The One(tm), but it hasn't happened yet.
I do think my experiences bring more to the table today than it would have five years ago and that's directly attributable to my job hopping. Also the idea of "loyalty" when working is so 1960s/1970s; nearly every place I have worked except for Very Big Publishing Company have had layoffs while I was there. So don't talk to me about loyalty when I've got bills to pay. And the reason I can job hop is because I have good references and skills that people are willing to hire. When I find the right fit (hopefully soon!), I will stop. So I was very pleased to read a rebuttal to the initial blog posting here that was more in line with my perspective on the subject.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
LotD
Yum! The 50 Best Restaurants in the World. Have you eaten at any of them? Incidentally, it's kind of annoying how most news resources have sharing buttons for Twitter or Facebook or Stumbleit(?), but not for blogger. With recent Facebook changes, I'm reluctant to share any links or "like" any links because I don't know who is going to see it or how some of these organizations are going to use the information. Of course, it seems kind of funny to care about it when I'm here blogging away...
Yum! The 50 Best Restaurants in the World. Have you eaten at any of them? Incidentally, it's kind of annoying how most news resources have sharing buttons for Twitter or Facebook or Stumbleit(?), but not for blogger. With recent Facebook changes, I'm reluctant to share any links or "like" any links because I don't know who is going to see it or how some of these organizations are going to use the information. Of course, it seems kind of funny to care about it when I'm here blogging away...
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Welcome!
I gave in and followed the path of least resistance and chose to go with Blogspot. I spent the last several weeks investigating several options, including WordPress and Tumblr. I really liked Wordpress and Tumblr had some cool features, but at the end of the day, I wanted to have control/ownership over my files even if they were hosted somewhere other than my own domain. There's a good possibility when RL settles down somewhat I will migrate this blog back to my domain and blogger allows you to import/export your data. Also, I was feeling kind of lazy about learning a new interface and so going over to blogspot allowed me to keep the interface I've been using since 2001.
Please update bookmarks/links to this new addy.
I gave in and followed the path of least resistance and chose to go with Blogspot. I spent the last several weeks investigating several options, including WordPress and Tumblr. I really liked Wordpress and Tumblr had some cool features, but at the end of the day, I wanted to have control/ownership over my files even if they were hosted somewhere other than my own domain. There's a good possibility when RL settles down somewhat I will migrate this blog back to my domain and blogger allows you to import/export your data. Also, I was feeling kind of lazy about learning a new interface and so going over to blogspot allowed me to keep the interface I've been using since 2001.
Please update bookmarks/links to this new addy.
This blog has moved
This blog is now located at http://seemag1.blogspot.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.
For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://seemag1.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
LotD
The Funniest Protest Signs. There are some really good ones in here, and not all are what you might expect.
The Funniest Protest Signs. There are some really good ones in here, and not all are what you might expect.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
FB Meme
"Meme" might not be the right word for it, but there is a trend on Facebook right now where people take a particular status posting and replicate it as theirs. This usually take the form of "I appreciate my mother/daughter/father/son/goldfish/car and if you do too, post this in your status." Lately, they've become more militant with some adding, "93 percent of people won't dare to post this; will you be brave enough?" And I say, BS.
First of all, the number is arbitrary. Was there a market study done to prove that 93 percent of people truly had issues with whatever the status had to the point they didn't want to replicate it in their status? Or is it more the case that people like me aren't interested in regurgitating canned Hallmark-esque statuses? Second, the inherent dare is kind of silly; a copy and pasting into Facebook status isnt' a singular act of courage in anyway and most of these meme-thingies are inane and sacchrine enough that you're actually going to offend anyone at all (though some people are, admittedly, easily offended).
I find these types of status updates annoying because they are redundant, ineffective, and useless. Of course, you could say the same about most status updates (and I'm not excluding my own either), but these are especially conversation stoppers. There's really no response required, other than perhaps imitation, and even if there is a response, how many times can you possibly read and respond to the same status? I imagine the motivation behind such redundant statuses has everything to do with accumulating a certain level of support, but to what end? And wouldn't it be more meaningful to write your own words of appreciation rather than copying something? I'm guessing 98 percent of you aren't brave enough to answer.
"Meme" might not be the right word for it, but there is a trend on Facebook right now where people take a particular status posting and replicate it as theirs. This usually take the form of "I appreciate my mother/daughter/father/son/goldfish/car and if you do too, post this in your status." Lately, they've become more militant with some adding, "93 percent of people won't dare to post this; will you be brave enough?" And I say, BS.
First of all, the number is arbitrary. Was there a market study done to prove that 93 percent of people truly had issues with whatever the status had to the point they didn't want to replicate it in their status? Or is it more the case that people like me aren't interested in regurgitating canned Hallmark-esque statuses? Second, the inherent dare is kind of silly; a copy and pasting into Facebook status isnt' a singular act of courage in anyway and most of these meme-thingies are inane and sacchrine enough that you're actually going to offend anyone at all (though some people are, admittedly, easily offended).
I find these types of status updates annoying because they are redundant, ineffective, and useless. Of course, you could say the same about most status updates (and I'm not excluding my own either), but these are especially conversation stoppers. There's really no response required, other than perhaps imitation, and even if there is a response, how many times can you possibly read and respond to the same status? I imagine the motivation behind such redundant statuses has everything to do with accumulating a certain level of support, but to what end? And wouldn't it be more meaningful to write your own words of appreciation rather than copying something? I'm guessing 98 percent of you aren't brave enough to answer.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
LotD
Came across this site while searching for blogger alternatives: Clients from Hell. My favorite, posted on April 3, 2010:
Client: “Make the numbers in our phone number capitalized to stand out more”
Me: “That’s not possible…”
Client: “Just hold the SHIFT key and type our phone number!”
Came across this site while searching for blogger alternatives: Clients from Hell. My favorite, posted on April 3, 2010:
Client: “Make the numbers in our phone number capitalized to stand out more”
Me: “That’s not possible…”
Client: “Just hold the SHIFT key and type our phone number!”
Moving tips
Here's a post on migrating to WordPress from blogger, which is what I'm leaning towards right now. Just as an FYI, there might be an "intermediate" step before the final URL change. A lot going on in RL right now so unfortunately, this hasn't been a priority and I'm feeling curiously unmotivated to figure out how to actually do all of the things I need to do to migrate the blog prior to May 1. So my current plan is just to back-up this one and then maybe use a different service for a couple of months until I figure out what the final solution is going to be. I just need time to think!
Here's a post on migrating to WordPress from blogger, which is what I'm leaning towards right now. Just as an FYI, there might be an "intermediate" step before the final URL change. A lot going on in RL right now so unfortunately, this hasn't been a priority and I'm feeling curiously unmotivated to figure out how to actually do all of the things I need to do to migrate the blog prior to May 1. So my current plan is just to back-up this one and then maybe use a different service for a couple of months until I figure out what the final solution is going to be. I just need time to think!
Friday, April 16, 2010
I'd like to teach the world to spell
The Flawed Language of Protest; hilarious misspellings at Tea Party protests. In general, I think it's a sign of a lackadaisical attitude towards grammar and spelling. In so many different venues, I see just atrocious attitudes towards grammar, but no overwhelming attitude to impress on people that knowing the difference between then/than and you/your/you're is important nor do people seem to care to get it right.
The Flawed Language of Protest; hilarious misspellings at Tea Party protests. In general, I think it's a sign of a lackadaisical attitude towards grammar and spelling. In so many different venues, I see just atrocious attitudes towards grammar, but no overwhelming attitude to impress on people that knowing the difference between then/than and you/your/you're is important nor do people seem to care to get it right.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Dilemma
I don't typically post politics or respond to politics I disagree with on Facebook. As someone eloquently put it (you know who you are ;-)), Facebook is for fun. At the same time, I scroll by lots of non-fun posts, including some with misinformation of the "if you go to New Orleans, you'll get kidnapped and your organs harvested" type. Usually I ignore them but today I couldn't stop myself and posted a rebuttal of the snopes.com type. Now I feel all guilty, but come on people! Before linking/posting, please, please, please check snopes.com before emailing/posting.
I don't typically post politics or respond to politics I disagree with on Facebook. As someone eloquently put it (you know who you are ;-)), Facebook is for fun. At the same time, I scroll by lots of non-fun posts, including some with misinformation of the "if you go to New Orleans, you'll get kidnapped and your organs harvested" type. Usually I ignore them but today I couldn't stop myself and posted a rebuttal of the snopes.com type. Now I feel all guilty, but come on people! Before linking/posting, please, please, please check snopes.com before emailing/posting.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
LotD
I thought some of you would be amused by this - "The Most Ridiculous 'Very Special' Episodes ever"; view clips and summaries here.
I thought some of you would be amused by this - "The Most Ridiculous 'Very Special' Episodes ever"; view clips and summaries here.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
LotD
Hillary has always been my girl, but I'm increasingly impressed by Nancy Pelosi. What she has done, how she has done it, is nothing short of impressive. She knew what she wanted, she stuck by her principles, and she worked tirelessly to get it done, even when it seemed that defeat was certain.
In her way stood a series of obstacles that would give most normal people a migraine so intractable that insurance companies would deem it a pre-existing condition. There was Bart Stupak and his faction of anti-abortion Democrats. There was the equally large bloc of pro-choice lawmakers who threatened to revolt if Stupak's demands for restrictions on insurance coverage of abortions prevailed. There were the unions, livid at the idea that the House might entrench the Senate's tax on high-cost health plans. There was Dennis Kucinich. Each week seemed to bring an explanation of some obscure parliamentary manoeuvre that had been proposed and proved impossible.
Hillary has always been my girl, but I'm increasingly impressed by Nancy Pelosi. What she has done, how she has done it, is nothing short of impressive. She knew what she wanted, she stuck by her principles, and she worked tirelessly to get it done, even when it seemed that defeat was certain.
In her way stood a series of obstacles that would give most normal people a migraine so intractable that insurance companies would deem it a pre-existing condition. There was Bart Stupak and his faction of anti-abortion Democrats. There was the equally large bloc of pro-choice lawmakers who threatened to revolt if Stupak's demands for restrictions on insurance coverage of abortions prevailed. There were the unions, livid at the idea that the House might entrench the Senate's tax on high-cost health plans. There was Dennis Kucinich. Each week seemed to bring an explanation of some obscure parliamentary manoeuvre that had been proposed and proved impossible.
Monday, March 22, 2010
A subtle distinction
Communism is a political/economic system and socialism is an economic system. Here is a decent essay on the subject.
The core belief of all socialists is that human beings thrive or die depending on their social relations. As such, socialists believe that our actions are shaped by our social structures, not by an inherent human nature or individual choices. [...] The core belief of all socialists is that human beings thrive or die depending on their social relations. As such, socialists believe that our actions are shaped by our social structures, not by an inherent human nature or individual choices. [...] Communists ... advocated an all-powerful state, in which a central government wields total control over its people - the economy, the media, industry, education, etc. This is contrary to many socialists who believe that control of these things should belong to people on a de-centralized local level, rather than a centralized national level.
Communism is a political/economic system and socialism is an economic system. Here is a decent essay on the subject.
The core belief of all socialists is that human beings thrive or die depending on their social relations. As such, socialists believe that our actions are shaped by our social structures, not by an inherent human nature or individual choices. [...] The core belief of all socialists is that human beings thrive or die depending on their social relations. As such, socialists believe that our actions are shaped by our social structures, not by an inherent human nature or individual choices. [...] Communists ... advocated an all-powerful state, in which a central government wields total control over its people - the economy, the media, industry, education, etc. This is contrary to many socialists who believe that control of these things should belong to people on a de-centralized local level, rather than a centralized national level.
Oh well
It may be time to retire this machine; it's too slow for even the job hunting websites. Which makes an already unfun process that much more so. I'm curiously attached to this computer though; we've been through a lot of words together, not to mention lots of job searching. Maybe a little bit more memory could do the trick...
It may be time to retire this machine; it's too slow for even the job hunting websites. Which makes an already unfun process that much more so. I'm curiously attached to this computer though; we've been through a lot of words together, not to mention lots of job searching. Maybe a little bit more memory could do the trick...
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Verklempt
House Approves Health Overhaul. Just wow. I never thought this day would come. Unbelievable. Amazing.
House Approves Health Overhaul. Just wow. I never thought this day would come. Unbelievable. Amazing.
LotD
Should you buy or rent? -- good question given the current state of the economy and the "deals" that might exist out there.
Should you buy or rent? -- good question given the current state of the economy and the "deals" that might exist out there.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Pins and needles
I've been eagerly following the votes for the health care reform bill, scheduled to be voted on tomorrow. I've got my fingers crossed that it will pass. I'm also concerned that the move to repeal it will start on Monday. It's exciting, daunting, terrifying and while nothing will happen until 2014 at the earliest, I can't believe we're actually seeing some progress on this front. It's imperfect (I wanted a public option, but alas) but it's a step in the right direction. People with pre-existing conditions (acne to cancer) will no longer have to worry about being denied and in this age of recession, people who lose their jobs won't be burdened by COBRA payments or such high premiums that they forgo health insurance (my COBRA payment, btw, was quoted at $590/month just for me; I imagine a family of 4 would be much, much higher).
I've been eagerly following the votes for the health care reform bill, scheduled to be voted on tomorrow. I've got my fingers crossed that it will pass. I'm also concerned that the move to repeal it will start on Monday. It's exciting, daunting, terrifying and while nothing will happen until 2014 at the earliest, I can't believe we're actually seeing some progress on this front. It's imperfect (I wanted a public option, but alas) but it's a step in the right direction. People with pre-existing conditions (acne to cancer) will no longer have to worry about being denied and in this age of recession, people who lose their jobs won't be burdened by COBRA payments or such high premiums that they forgo health insurance (my COBRA payment, btw, was quoted at $590/month just for me; I imagine a family of 4 would be much, much higher).
Friday, March 19, 2010
LotD version HCR
The healthcare bill: 10 things you need to know. This is a pretty good briefing on what is actually in the 2,700-page bill.
The healthcare bill: 10 things you need to know. This is a pretty good briefing on what is actually in the 2,700-page bill.
LotD
I should have been looking for a job but ended up spending too much time reading this blog and got exposed to things like a gigantic baby tattoo on a parental arm and a placenta shake for the first post-partum meal (REALLY? People do this????) and all sorts of craziness (mostly grammatically incorrect) related to kids (I need to know about pink poop why?), belly casts, and "push" gifts, all courtesy of Facebook.
I should have been looking for a job but ended up spending too much time reading this blog and got exposed to things like a gigantic baby tattoo on a parental arm and a placenta shake for the first post-partum meal (REALLY? People do this????) and all sorts of craziness (mostly grammatically incorrect) related to kids (I need to know about pink poop why?), belly casts, and "push" gifts, all courtesy of Facebook.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
LotD
Why you've never really heard the 'Moonlight Sonata'. This intrigued me because I played "Moonlight Sonata" at my very last piano recital and believe you me, I heard it a lot that year. I may have even had a professional tape recording of it for inspiration (yes, this was in the days BEFORE CD players). So I found this article intriguing but especially cool are the sound files that showcase the difference between modern pianos and those from the classical/romantic eras; that sound is distinctly different. I'm ashamed to admit that I prefer the more modern sounding pianos, but it could also be that's what happens when you spend six months with a piece of music.
Why you've never really heard the 'Moonlight Sonata'. This intrigued me because I played "Moonlight Sonata" at my very last piano recital and believe you me, I heard it a lot that year. I may have even had a professional tape recording of it for inspiration (yes, this was in the days BEFORE CD players). So I found this article intriguing but especially cool are the sound files that showcase the difference between modern pianos and those from the classical/romantic eras; that sound is distinctly different. I'm ashamed to admit that I prefer the more modern sounding pianos, but it could also be that's what happens when you spend six months with a piece of music.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
March Madness
I know nothing about college basketball (my university had its heyday back in the '90s and I haven't paid attention since graduating) but I decided to throw my $5 into the ring and enter a bracket in the fantasy league tournmanent. At one point I had Vermont winning over Syracuse (sentimentality over practicality) but then my competitive spirit took over and I switched it (J kindly explained to me that the #16 seed, *Vermont, this year), has never ever ever beaten the #1 seed, aka Syracuse). I've chosen Duke to win the whole thing. At one point I had Ohio State playing Duke in the national championship, but I think I've got Syracuse in that spot now. I think conventional wisdom says Kentucky is going to win the whole thing, but I kinda like the idea of Duke.
I know nothing about college basketball (my university had its heyday back in the '90s and I haven't paid attention since graduating) but I decided to throw my $5 into the ring and enter a bracket in the fantasy league tournmanent. At one point I had Vermont winning over Syracuse (sentimentality over practicality) but then my competitive spirit took over and I switched it (J kindly explained to me that the #16 seed, *Vermont, this year), has never ever ever beaten the #1 seed, aka Syracuse). I've chosen Duke to win the whole thing. At one point I had Ohio State playing Duke in the national championship, but I think I've got Syracuse in that spot now. I think conventional wisdom says Kentucky is going to win the whole thing, but I kinda like the idea of Duke.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
LotD
Bollywood soars to Hollywood. I wasn't a fan of "My Name is Khan" (*great* soundtrack, though) but "Kite" sounds pretty interesting. In general, it's awesome that Bollywood movies are becoming more accessible here.
Bollywood soars to Hollywood. I wasn't a fan of "My Name is Khan" (*great* soundtrack, though) but "Kite" sounds pretty interesting. In general, it's awesome that Bollywood movies are becoming more accessible here.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
LotD
I don't post or frequent the group any more (Real Life(tm) interference, unfortunately), but today's plug is for the good folks and good writing over at alt.startrek.creative which is where I got my start in fanfiction and where I met some good friends. So if you're a Trek fan, if you are looking for that sense of community, and want to experience the full range of creative output, this is the place for you.
On a somewhat related note, I finally have my computer up and running! Hooray! It's been in a box since in the move due to a lack of a computer desk, but after coming back to the States, a solution was found, and a couple weeks later, the computer was set up. It's SO good to have all of my files back and all of my software (including AIM! I can chat again!), and of course, rough drafts from God only knows when. Maybe something will spark...
I don't post or frequent the group any more (Real Life(tm) interference, unfortunately), but today's plug is for the good folks and good writing over at alt.startrek.creative which is where I got my start in fanfiction and where I met some good friends. So if you're a Trek fan, if you are looking for that sense of community, and want to experience the full range of creative output, this is the place for you.
On a somewhat related note, I finally have my computer up and running! Hooray! It's been in a box since in the move due to a lack of a computer desk, but after coming back to the States, a solution was found, and a couple weeks later, the computer was set up. It's SO good to have all of my files back and all of my software (including AIM! I can chat again!), and of course, rough drafts from God only knows when. Maybe something will spark...
Tofu tip
I started freezing tofu by chance; I had three blocks of tofu in my fridge back in December and as I was leaving the country for a month, I didn't want them to go bad in my absence. I put them in the freezer and crossed my fingers, hoping for the best. Fast forward more than a month and I thawed the tofu out in the fridge. The consistency had definitely changed; the tofu was a little drier, more chewy. What was interesting though is that after freezing/thawing, the tofu absorbed marinades much, much better, and as a result, became more flavorable. Also, it was easier to get the moisture out of the block and hence, it would fry up more quickly in the wok. So if you're a tofu eater, I definitely recommend trying the freezing technique and see how it works for you. The only downside is that it takes a LONG time to thaw the tofu in the fridge; a warm water bath is a good option if you need it more quickly than that.
I started freezing tofu by chance; I had three blocks of tofu in my fridge back in December and as I was leaving the country for a month, I didn't want them to go bad in my absence. I put them in the freezer and crossed my fingers, hoping for the best. Fast forward more than a month and I thawed the tofu out in the fridge. The consistency had definitely changed; the tofu was a little drier, more chewy. What was interesting though is that after freezing/thawing, the tofu absorbed marinades much, much better, and as a result, became more flavorable. Also, it was easier to get the moisture out of the block and hence, it would fry up more quickly in the wok. So if you're a tofu eater, I definitely recommend trying the freezing technique and see how it works for you. The only downside is that it takes a LONG time to thaw the tofu in the fridge; a warm water bath is a good option if you need it more quickly than that.
Bagging it
I recently started bringing my own bags to stores because a) my cupboards were overflowing with plastic bags and b) frequent trade show attendance gets you lots of high quality cloth bags. I've been wanting to use my own bags for a long time now but I always forgot to bring the bags. Sometimes I'd bring the bags and then leave them in the car.
Anyway, I found out that Target will refund you a nickle for every bag you bring. It doesn't sound like a lot but I shop at Target a lot, mayb 2-3 times a month. It probably totals about 10 bags a month and so I'd save 50 cents per month or $6/year. So far my grocery store (Safeway) doesn't refund for plastic bags but other grocery stores do. I figure I could probably save about $20/year by using my own bags, help the environment, and cut down on the plastic bag clutter in my house. It doesn't sound like a lot but with a job situation in jeopardy, every little bit helps.
I recently started bringing my own bags to stores because a) my cupboards were overflowing with plastic bags and b) frequent trade show attendance gets you lots of high quality cloth bags. I've been wanting to use my own bags for a long time now but I always forgot to bring the bags. Sometimes I'd bring the bags and then leave them in the car.
Anyway, I found out that Target will refund you a nickle for every bag you bring. It doesn't sound like a lot but I shop at Target a lot, mayb 2-3 times a month. It probably totals about 10 bags a month and so I'd save 50 cents per month or $6/year. So far my grocery store (Safeway) doesn't refund for plastic bags but other grocery stores do. I figure I could probably save about $20/year by using my own bags, help the environment, and cut down on the plastic bag clutter in my house. It doesn't sound like a lot but with a job situation in jeopardy, every little bit helps.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
LotD
Is the runaway Prius the next balloon boy hoax? I thought this story was a bit crazy when it came out because the guy refused to put his Prius in neutral when the emergency worker told him to. Plus, I just didn't see how he was able to try and unstick the accelerator pedal with his hand while driving; he'd practically have to duck below the steering wheel to do so. The story could be true, but it's really odd. All of the other sudden acceleration stories (most of which have unhappy endings) ended quite quickly. This was a 20-minute joyride. Something's rotten in Denmark, that's for sure.
Is the runaway Prius the next balloon boy hoax? I thought this story was a bit crazy when it came out because the guy refused to put his Prius in neutral when the emergency worker told him to. Plus, I just didn't see how he was able to try and unstick the accelerator pedal with his hand while driving; he'd practically have to duck below the steering wheel to do so. The story could be true, but it's really odd. All of the other sudden acceleration stories (most of which have unhappy endings) ended quite quickly. This was a 20-minute joyride. Something's rotten in Denmark, that's for sure.
Uh oh...
Blogger will be cutting off FTP access to blogs not hosted on their custom domains or blogspot on May 1 (or thereabouts). I don't want to move to their custom domain because it would mean splitting up this website and that doesn't make any sense. I'm not planning to give up the blog because while I'm inconsistent and infrequent these days, I do still enjoy having this forum. So I'm looking for a new solution. WordPress is one I'm investigating but if anyone knows of an FTP access blogging software similar to Blogger, please let me know; I'd prefer to make the transition as painlessly as possible.
Blogger will be cutting off FTP access to blogs not hosted on their custom domains or blogspot on May 1 (or thereabouts). I don't want to move to their custom domain because it would mean splitting up this website and that doesn't make any sense. I'm not planning to give up the blog because while I'm inconsistent and infrequent these days, I do still enjoy having this forum. So I'm looking for a new solution. WordPress is one I'm investigating but if anyone knows of an FTP access blogging software similar to Blogger, please let me know; I'd prefer to make the transition as painlessly as possible.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The Associate by John Grisham
I like John Grisham novels in the sense you know what you're going to get -- a story based around some aspect of the law, some kind of intrigue, thinly sketched characters, and liberal use of words like "goons". Grisham is short on details and descriptions and the suspension of disbelief is a requirement. But still, the books are quick and easy to read and that's why I come back to Grisham every now and then. I like familiarity.
However, "The Associate" is possibly one of the worst books Grisham has ever written. It starts out well. Kyle, a law student, is accosted by some "goons" (Grishma's favorite bad guy descriptor) with some incriminating evidence and blackmail him into taking an offer at a high power NYC law firm. So far so good, right? Well, the story actually falls apart right there as the evidence against Kyle is flimsy, at best, and the set-up and expectation of some moral outrage is woefully missing. However, if you buy this premise and keep reading, there are hints here and there that Something Big (tm) is coming and yet it never comes. Instead, the entire storyline collapses and it's almost as if Grisham looked up from his computer, saw his deadline was in 10 minutes and slapped "The end" on it. I actually went over to Amazon.com to read what others had to say about the ending as I thought maybe I'd missed something. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for the book, the majority found the ending wholly unsatisfying; the only way it works is if Grisham has a sequel planned. Unfortunately, Kyle and his friends are not interesting or likeable enough to follow for a second outing.
The flatness of the ending and the utter laziness surrounding it is baffling; after nearly two decades of storytelling, Grisham should know better. There's nothing more disappointing than investing hours into a book and having it turn out this way, especially when there are glimmers are excitement and suspense. In fact, his early offering, "The Firm", is a much more compelling and mature book than this one; I recommend reading that one instead.
I like John Grisham novels in the sense you know what you're going to get -- a story based around some aspect of the law, some kind of intrigue, thinly sketched characters, and liberal use of words like "goons". Grisham is short on details and descriptions and the suspension of disbelief is a requirement. But still, the books are quick and easy to read and that's why I come back to Grisham every now and then. I like familiarity.
However, "The Associate" is possibly one of the worst books Grisham has ever written. It starts out well. Kyle, a law student, is accosted by some "goons" (Grishma's favorite bad guy descriptor) with some incriminating evidence and blackmail him into taking an offer at a high power NYC law firm. So far so good, right? Well, the story actually falls apart right there as the evidence against Kyle is flimsy, at best, and the set-up and expectation of some moral outrage is woefully missing. However, if you buy this premise and keep reading, there are hints here and there that Something Big (tm) is coming and yet it never comes. Instead, the entire storyline collapses and it's almost as if Grisham looked up from his computer, saw his deadline was in 10 minutes and slapped "The end" on it. I actually went over to Amazon.com to read what others had to say about the ending as I thought maybe I'd missed something. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for the book, the majority found the ending wholly unsatisfying; the only way it works is if Grisham has a sequel planned. Unfortunately, Kyle and his friends are not interesting or likeable enough to follow for a second outing.
The flatness of the ending and the utter laziness surrounding it is baffling; after nearly two decades of storytelling, Grisham should know better. There's nothing more disappointing than investing hours into a book and having it turn out this way, especially when there are glimmers are excitement and suspense. In fact, his early offering, "The Firm", is a much more compelling and mature book than this one; I recommend reading that one instead.
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Whee
Civilization V comes out this fall. Had no idea. I'm still trying to conquer the Civ IV suite. It might be a couple of years (and a new computer) before I can graduate to V.
Civilization V comes out this fall. Had no idea. I'm still trying to conquer the Civ IV suite. It might be a couple of years (and a new computer) before I can graduate to V.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Head's up
If you have AT&T DSL, watch your bill carefully; they just upped my rate from $25 to $35 without any notice. This is doubly outrageous when you realize that their top rate for ALL packages (sans one) is $25 and the other one is $19.99. Just insane -- I've been with them since 2004 when my DSL was $14.99 and now they just willy-nilly keep raising it $5 by $5 as if I wouldn't notice. So watch out for this one and call if you see your bill go up.
If you have AT&T DSL, watch your bill carefully; they just upped my rate from $25 to $35 without any notice. This is doubly outrageous when you realize that their top rate for ALL packages (sans one) is $25 and the other one is $19.99. Just insane -- I've been with them since 2004 when my DSL was $14.99 and now they just willy-nilly keep raising it $5 by $5 as if I wouldn't notice. So watch out for this one and call if you see your bill go up.
The Seinfeld Curse
I caught the new Seinfeld vehicle, "The Marriage Ref," at the conclusion of the Olympics (wah!) and it was... not good. The situations with the couples were funny and in at least one case, ridiculously so. But then the attention turned away from the couples to the panel of judges who seemed more interesting in hanging out and laughing at each other's not-so-funny punchlines than truly rendering a verdict. And you wonder what qualifies people like Alec Baldwin or Jerry Seinfeld or Madonna to render opinions on other people's marriage foibles, given their own not-so-stellar track record; though to be fair, Seinfeld is still married, even if he started dating his wife right after she married another man but that's another tabloid story. So if you have an hour to spend on a Thursday night, don't mind watching other people trying to out-do each other with the awful and unfunny punchlines, then this the show for you. Me, I'm changing the channel.
I caught the new Seinfeld vehicle, "The Marriage Ref," at the conclusion of the Olympics (wah!) and it was... not good. The situations with the couples were funny and in at least one case, ridiculously so. But then the attention turned away from the couples to the panel of judges who seemed more interesting in hanging out and laughing at each other's not-so-funny punchlines than truly rendering a verdict. And you wonder what qualifies people like Alec Baldwin or Jerry Seinfeld or Madonna to render opinions on other people's marriage foibles, given their own not-so-stellar track record; though to be fair, Seinfeld is still married, even if he started dating his wife right after she married another man but that's another tabloid story. So if you have an hour to spend on a Thursday night, don't mind watching other people trying to out-do each other with the awful and unfunny punchlines, then this the show for you. Me, I'm changing the channel.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Prius II
So I threatened in my earlier post to compare the operating costs of three Toyota vehicles, the Matrix, Corolla and Prius. I chose those three cars because I have firsthand experience with them. I still own a '99 Corolla (102,000 miles, baby, and still going strong!) and J drives a '04 Maxtrix (90,000 miles).
However, the April 2010 edition of Consumer Reports* makes the comparison pretty easy for me, and actually solved the problem of what category a Prius actually falls into. Right now, Consumer Reports classifies it as a family car with a price tag of around $26,750 and a cost per mile of 47 cents. This is comparable to a Volkswagen Jetta ($23,939, 48 cents per mile). A Toyota Camry has a price tag of about $22,850 and a price per mile of 53 cents. The cost per mile, by the way, includes depreciation, fuel costs, insurance premiums, interest on financing, maintenance/repairs, etc.
The Toyota Corolla LE, which is a more upscale version of the one I own (a CE) is $16,205 with a cost per mile of 45 cents. So yes, it would be cheaper for me to own an LE by about 2 extra cents per mile, but it would be a small car comparatively and that's not what I wanted. Unfortunately, Consumer Reports didn't provide a cost per mile for the Toyota Matrix, so I can't offer you that information right now.
Overall, the Prius has one of the lowest cost per miles provided by Consumer Reports. The really high costs -- over $1/mile -- belonged to cars most of us can only dream about such as the Mercedes-Benz S550 at a whopping $1.70/mile and the Porsche 911 Carrera S at $1.53/mile. The Mercedes-Benz, btw, is the most expensive car to operate. The cheapest looks like the Honda Fit at 42 cents per mile. The most expensive small SUV is the Land Rover LR@ SE at 83 cents/mile and the most expensive mid-sized SUV is the Jeep Commander Limited (V8) at $1/mile. The car that surprised me the most was the Honda Civic, which came in at 58 cents/mile and the Dodge Charger at 71 cents/mile. I always thought of the Civic as a more economical, fuel-efficient car, so it surprises me how much more expensive it is per mile compared to the Corolla. I think a Fit might be a better value and I anticipate (though I don't know for sure) it might be a bigger car.
I would probably have to redo my cost per mile for the Prius as mine was nowhere near the $26,750 price tag listed in Consumer Reports. I suspect my cost would probably drop 2 to 3 cents as a result. I was also pleased to find out that Consumer Reports has my model -- the 2009 -- selling at $20,000 to $24,000 used, which means given what I paid for mine, I could sell it today and actually break even or come out slightly ahead.** I don't think that's a bad deal. Maybe I should take back my earlier statement about cars not being a good vehicle for investment...
*I think most of you know this, but I'm using Consumer Reports as an independent reference; no money is changing hands here -- we pay for our subscription. Second, I'm not being compensated by Toyota in any way; after 10+ years of driving Toyotas and having 5 of them in the family, I'm just a very loyal consumer.
**My Prius is not impacted by the recall as it was manufactured in Japan (vin number starting with J).
So I threatened in my earlier post to compare the operating costs of three Toyota vehicles, the Matrix, Corolla and Prius. I chose those three cars because I have firsthand experience with them. I still own a '99 Corolla (102,000 miles, baby, and still going strong!) and J drives a '04 Maxtrix (90,000 miles).
However, the April 2010 edition of Consumer Reports* makes the comparison pretty easy for me, and actually solved the problem of what category a Prius actually falls into. Right now, Consumer Reports classifies it as a family car with a price tag of around $26,750 and a cost per mile of 47 cents. This is comparable to a Volkswagen Jetta ($23,939, 48 cents per mile). A Toyota Camry has a price tag of about $22,850 and a price per mile of 53 cents. The cost per mile, by the way, includes depreciation, fuel costs, insurance premiums, interest on financing, maintenance/repairs, etc.
The Toyota Corolla LE, which is a more upscale version of the one I own (a CE) is $16,205 with a cost per mile of 45 cents. So yes, it would be cheaper for me to own an LE by about 2 extra cents per mile, but it would be a small car comparatively and that's not what I wanted. Unfortunately, Consumer Reports didn't provide a cost per mile for the Toyota Matrix, so I can't offer you that information right now.
Overall, the Prius has one of the lowest cost per miles provided by Consumer Reports. The really high costs -- over $1/mile -- belonged to cars most of us can only dream about such as the Mercedes-Benz S550 at a whopping $1.70/mile and the Porsche 911 Carrera S at $1.53/mile. The Mercedes-Benz, btw, is the most expensive car to operate. The cheapest looks like the Honda Fit at 42 cents per mile. The most expensive small SUV is the Land Rover LR@ SE at 83 cents/mile and the most expensive mid-sized SUV is the Jeep Commander Limited (V8) at $1/mile. The car that surprised me the most was the Honda Civic, which came in at 58 cents/mile and the Dodge Charger at 71 cents/mile. I always thought of the Civic as a more economical, fuel-efficient car, so it surprises me how much more expensive it is per mile compared to the Corolla. I think a Fit might be a better value and I anticipate (though I don't know for sure) it might be a bigger car.
I would probably have to redo my cost per mile for the Prius as mine was nowhere near the $26,750 price tag listed in Consumer Reports. I suspect my cost would probably drop 2 to 3 cents as a result. I was also pleased to find out that Consumer Reports has my model -- the 2009 -- selling at $20,000 to $24,000 used, which means given what I paid for mine, I could sell it today and actually break even or come out slightly ahead.** I don't think that's a bad deal. Maybe I should take back my earlier statement about cars not being a good vehicle for investment...
*I think most of you know this, but I'm using Consumer Reports as an independent reference; no money is changing hands here -- we pay for our subscription. Second, I'm not being compensated by Toyota in any way; after 10+ years of driving Toyotas and having 5 of them in the family, I'm just a very loyal consumer.
**My Prius is not impacted by the recall as it was manufactured in Japan (vin number starting with J).
LotD
I really like the reviews at The Bollywood Ticket; their review of My Name is Khan echoes what I would have written, so go there for an articulate, spot-on review of the Shah Rukh Khan/Kajol film.
I really like the reviews at The Bollywood Ticket; their review of My Name is Khan echoes what I would have written, so go there for an articulate, spot-on review of the Shah Rukh Khan/Kajol film.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Prius clarification
When people find out I drive a Prius now, the reaction generally consists of the following:
"Do you know you'll never get your money on that?"
"You have to replace the battery in two years."
I'll tackle the second question first since people focus on that. The battery in the Prius has an eight-year or 100,000 mile warranty on it so the manufacturer will cover it if it conks out before that. The dealer did tell me that they have never replaced a battery outside of the warranty period though. I know you can't generally trust a dealer, but I figure they had no reason to truly lie here. Also, I do plan to drive this car at least eight years, if not longer; after all, I did drive my Corolla for nearly 11 years, and so if battery replacement comes up after eight years, that's something to deal with then.
As for the "you'll never get your money back" statement, the first thing to emphasize is that a car is NOT an investment. Regardless of the vehicle you choose to drive, you will never get your money back; it's a depreciable asset from the moment you drive off the lot. It's just a question of how quickly your car loses value and prior to the Toyota recall brouhaha, Toyotas held their value pretty well (my 1999 Corolla, not involved in any recall, is still worth about $3500 to $4000 according to Kelly Blue Book).
Now the Prius is a wee bit different in the sense it's the one car that once sold at higher prices USED rather than new; but that was when gas prices were higher -- I don't expect that to happen now (and again, when you drive it for eight plus years, resale value becomes less and less important).
The question is whether the additional cost of a Prius is offset by its fuel savings. A lot of studies, including Consumer Reports, have said no, but most of the comparisons are made to a Civic or Corolla. I find this to be a fallacy because a Prius is NOT the same as a Civic or Corolla in terms of features and size. When I was looking for a new car last summer, one of my requirements outside of fuel efficiency and reliability was that it needed to be bigger than the Corolla I was replacing; I wanted to be able to fit four adults comfortably into the car. Given the timeline of how long I intend to own the car, I wanted something bigger that could fit in nicely with any life changes. The Prius is about the same size as a Camry inside, maybe a little smaller, but there was no way a Corolla/Civic would fit my requirement for a bigger car.
It'd probably make more sense to compare the Prius, with all of its features, to a midsize hatchback or sedan, which cost more than a Corolla/Civic. When I compared my Prius to a Camry, I came out ahead, but I also got super deals on my Prius so I wouldn't necessarily take my calculations as representative of what the truth really is; I won't get the hybrid tax credit on the Prius, but I will get to deduct my sales tax on my federal tax return this year, so that will be an additional savings that you can't count on year after year (and this savings applies to any vehicle purchased in 2009, I believe). I honestly don't believe the difference in price is that big when you compare the Prius to similarly sized cars with similar features.
In my next post on this subject, I will compare three cars -- the Corolla, the Toyota Matrix, and the Prius -- to show the operating costs of these vehicles.
When people find out I drive a Prius now, the reaction generally consists of the following:
"Do you know you'll never get your money on that?"
"You have to replace the battery in two years."
I'll tackle the second question first since people focus on that. The battery in the Prius has an eight-year or 100,000 mile warranty on it so the manufacturer will cover it if it conks out before that. The dealer did tell me that they have never replaced a battery outside of the warranty period though. I know you can't generally trust a dealer, but I figure they had no reason to truly lie here. Also, I do plan to drive this car at least eight years, if not longer; after all, I did drive my Corolla for nearly 11 years, and so if battery replacement comes up after eight years, that's something to deal with then.
As for the "you'll never get your money back" statement, the first thing to emphasize is that a car is NOT an investment. Regardless of the vehicle you choose to drive, you will never get your money back; it's a depreciable asset from the moment you drive off the lot. It's just a question of how quickly your car loses value and prior to the Toyota recall brouhaha, Toyotas held their value pretty well (my 1999 Corolla, not involved in any recall, is still worth about $3500 to $4000 according to Kelly Blue Book).
Now the Prius is a wee bit different in the sense it's the one car that once sold at higher prices USED rather than new; but that was when gas prices were higher -- I don't expect that to happen now (and again, when you drive it for eight plus years, resale value becomes less and less important).
The question is whether the additional cost of a Prius is offset by its fuel savings. A lot of studies, including Consumer Reports, have said no, but most of the comparisons are made to a Civic or Corolla. I find this to be a fallacy because a Prius is NOT the same as a Civic or Corolla in terms of features and size. When I was looking for a new car last summer, one of my requirements outside of fuel efficiency and reliability was that it needed to be bigger than the Corolla I was replacing; I wanted to be able to fit four adults comfortably into the car. Given the timeline of how long I intend to own the car, I wanted something bigger that could fit in nicely with any life changes. The Prius is about the same size as a Camry inside, maybe a little smaller, but there was no way a Corolla/Civic would fit my requirement for a bigger car.
It'd probably make more sense to compare the Prius, with all of its features, to a midsize hatchback or sedan, which cost more than a Corolla/Civic. When I compared my Prius to a Camry, I came out ahead, but I also got super deals on my Prius so I wouldn't necessarily take my calculations as representative of what the truth really is; I won't get the hybrid tax credit on the Prius, but I will get to deduct my sales tax on my federal tax return this year, so that will be an additional savings that you can't count on year after year (and this savings applies to any vehicle purchased in 2009, I believe). I honestly don't believe the difference in price is that big when you compare the Prius to similarly sized cars with similar features.
In my next post on this subject, I will compare three cars -- the Corolla, the Toyota Matrix, and the Prius -- to show the operating costs of these vehicles.
Friday, February 26, 2010
LotD
Carly Simon names who's "So Vain." I kinda wished she hadn't; part of the fun of the song was the mystery.
Carly Simon names who's "So Vain." I kinda wished she hadn't; part of the fun of the song was the mystery.
Monday, February 22, 2010
LotD II
Whoa, didn't see this coming: Scott Brown supports the new job bill. I'm guessing the GOP didn't see it coming either...
Whoa, didn't see this coming: Scott Brown supports the new job bill. I'm guessing the GOP didn't see it coming either...
LotD
Fareed Zakaria on why declaring war on Iran is a Very Bad Idea (tm).
The United States is being asked to launch a military invasion of a state that poses no imminent threat to America, without sanction from any international body and with few governments willing to publicly endorse such an action. Al-Qaeda and its ilk would present it as the third American invasion of a Muslim nation in a decade, proof positive that the United States is engaged in a war of civilizations. Moderate Arab states and Muslim governments everywhere would be on the defensive. And as Washington has surely come to realize, wars unleash forces that cannot be predicted or controlled.
Fareed Zakaria on why declaring war on Iran is a Very Bad Idea (tm).
The United States is being asked to launch a military invasion of a state that poses no imminent threat to America, without sanction from any international body and with few governments willing to publicly endorse such an action. Al-Qaeda and its ilk would present it as the third American invasion of a Muslim nation in a decade, proof positive that the United States is engaged in a war of civilizations. Moderate Arab states and Muslim governments everywhere would be on the defensive. And as Washington has surely come to realize, wars unleash forces that cannot be predicted or controlled.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
We watch so you don't have to
Saturday night, we took a break from the chills and spills of the Winter Olympics to revisit a favorite, "Battlestar Galactica." A movie came out a year or so ago called "The Plan", and so it was with anticipation we popped the DVD in. Revisiting old friends with a potential for new insight always makes for high expectations and we figured with BSG's track record, this film would finally reveal what the Cylons' grand plan was because that was never quite clear (other than annihilate humans, but perhaps there was something more than that).
"The Plan" is essentially a clip show of the first two seasons of the BSG with a few new scenes thrown in to illustrate the Cylons' POV on certain events. The pace is quick so if you missed the first two seasons, some of what takes place doesn't make sense. Heck, even if you've seen the first two seasons, some of it does't make sense. For this outing, Brother Cavil takes center stage, acting as the master behind The Plan. He manipulates and pushes the Plan forward, but is thwarted by his fellow Cylons who are curiously uncooperative and unwilling to do what he asks. There are a couple of moments that hold the clips together exceptionally well, but in other cases, the movie tries to hard to explain events that didn't necessarily need to be further exposition.
I should also warn there is copious nudity in the film, which came as a surprise and was not necessary. In fact, it was almost distracting and there were a couple of bad language moments (not "Frak, but the other word). The nudity, the language, and at least one scene of unexplained gratuitious violence, combined with the jarring pace of scenes strung together, created a kind of "huh?" watching experience. The dissonance is one thing and the occasional incoherence is another, bu the film's ultimate failing is that it's boring and adds nothing to the overall BSG experience. You'd probably do better rewatching the first two seasons and finding some quality fanfiction to supplement.
Saturday night, we took a break from the chills and spills of the Winter Olympics to revisit a favorite, "Battlestar Galactica." A movie came out a year or so ago called "The Plan", and so it was with anticipation we popped the DVD in. Revisiting old friends with a potential for new insight always makes for high expectations and we figured with BSG's track record, this film would finally reveal what the Cylons' grand plan was because that was never quite clear (other than annihilate humans, but perhaps there was something more than that).
"The Plan" is essentially a clip show of the first two seasons of the BSG with a few new scenes thrown in to illustrate the Cylons' POV on certain events. The pace is quick so if you missed the first two seasons, some of what takes place doesn't make sense. Heck, even if you've seen the first two seasons, some of it does't make sense. For this outing, Brother Cavil takes center stage, acting as the master behind The Plan. He manipulates and pushes the Plan forward, but is thwarted by his fellow Cylons who are curiously uncooperative and unwilling to do what he asks. There are a couple of moments that hold the clips together exceptionally well, but in other cases, the movie tries to hard to explain events that didn't necessarily need to be further exposition.
I should also warn there is copious nudity in the film, which came as a surprise and was not necessary. In fact, it was almost distracting and there were a couple of bad language moments (not "Frak, but the other word). The nudity, the language, and at least one scene of unexplained gratuitious violence, combined with the jarring pace of scenes strung together, created a kind of "huh?" watching experience. The dissonance is one thing and the occasional incoherence is another, bu the film's ultimate failing is that it's boring and adds nothing to the overall BSG experience. You'd probably do better rewatching the first two seasons and finding some quality fanfiction to supplement.
Everest
Honestly, anyone thinking of climbing Everest should watch "Everest: Beyond the Limits." I knew it was a miserable experience where people literally go to die -- I think it's something like one out of every four people who climb the mountain die -- but this documentary really brings home just how truly terrible the experience truly is -- possibly the equivalent of having a severe migraine and associated symptoms, along with below zero temps, fierce winds, and oh yeah, that breathing thing is pretty tough too. I never wanted to climb the mountain, but I did have romantic dreams of hiking to base came (not ABC, but lower down), and holy crap. Not so much anymore. My hat's off to the people who have succeeded, especially those who ascend without bottled oxygen, but you've got to really, really want it and by that I mean want enough to lose appendages and risk death.
Honestly, anyone thinking of climbing Everest should watch "Everest: Beyond the Limits." I knew it was a miserable experience where people literally go to die -- I think it's something like one out of every four people who climb the mountain die -- but this documentary really brings home just how truly terrible the experience truly is -- possibly the equivalent of having a severe migraine and associated symptoms, along with below zero temps, fierce winds, and oh yeah, that breathing thing is pretty tough too. I never wanted to climb the mountain, but I did have romantic dreams of hiking to base came (not ABC, but lower down), and holy crap. Not so much anymore. My hat's off to the people who have succeeded, especially those who ascend without bottled oxygen, but you've got to really, really want it and by that I mean want enough to lose appendages and risk death.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
TV rec
Thanks to the magic of Netflix's on-demand queue, I was finally able to see the first two episodes of the Discovery channel's "Everest: Beyond the Limits." From a pure documentary point of view, it's pretty good -- it's got characters, drama, plotlines, angst, everything you'd possibly want. I enjoyed it, but man. I knew Everest was a miserable experience, but this documentary/show really brings that to life more than the IMAX or books ever did. So far so good, so I'm giving the series two thumbs up.
Thanks to the magic of Netflix's on-demand queue, I was finally able to see the first two episodes of the Discovery channel's "Everest: Beyond the Limits." From a pure documentary point of view, it's pretty good -- it's got characters, drama, plotlines, angst, everything you'd possibly want. I enjoyed it, but man. I knew Everest was a miserable experience, but this documentary/show really brings that to life more than the IMAX or books ever did. So far so good, so I'm giving the series two thumbs up.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Olympics
I love the Olympics, watch every minute of coverage, and while I LOVE it when Team USA wins, I really love it when ANYONE wins. Which I guess is silly as someone wins every event in the Olympics. What I meant is, I love seeing the reactions on the gold medalist's face when they realize the culmination of a life-long goal. It's awesome. Team USA is my favorite, obviously, but it was so cool to see the Canadian downhill skiier win Canada's first gold on home soil. While I was so pumped to see Evan Lysacek win the men's ice-skating because he clearly had the skate of his life, I was more pumped that trash-talking Yvegeny Plushenko had to take silver.
I definitely prefer winter Olympics to the summer, but the winter Olympics are more painful to watch. The crashes are spectacular, and in some of them, it's amazing these athletes pick themselves up and walk away. In some events, they crash and a few minutes later, they're back on the slopes/ice as if nothing happened to them. I insist on being completely pampered if I have so much as a hangnail, so I'm in awe of this ability to just shrug off these spectacular tumble. I guess that's the difference between Olympians and the rest of us.
I love the Olympics, watch every minute of coverage, and while I LOVE it when Team USA wins, I really love it when ANYONE wins. Which I guess is silly as someone wins every event in the Olympics. What I meant is, I love seeing the reactions on the gold medalist's face when they realize the culmination of a life-long goal. It's awesome. Team USA is my favorite, obviously, but it was so cool to see the Canadian downhill skiier win Canada's first gold on home soil. While I was so pumped to see Evan Lysacek win the men's ice-skating because he clearly had the skate of his life, I was more pumped that trash-talking Yvegeny Plushenko had to take silver.
I definitely prefer winter Olympics to the summer, but the winter Olympics are more painful to watch. The crashes are spectacular, and in some of them, it's amazing these athletes pick themselves up and walk away. In some events, they crash and a few minutes later, they're back on the slopes/ice as if nothing happened to them. I insist on being completely pampered if I have so much as a hangnail, so I'm in awe of this ability to just shrug off these spectacular tumble. I guess that's the difference between Olympians and the rest of us.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
LotD
A provactive article in the NY Times: How Christian were the Founders?. From my perspective, this rewriting of textbooks in public schools is super scary and while I'm a big supporter of public education, this is the first time I've wondered about private school -- provided there is such a thing as secular private school. Other than that, it means keeping a close eye on what's taught in public school and what's not and addressing appropriately. Still I find it quite alarming that people with no real educational background are dictating curriculum for the vast majority of the country.
A provactive article in the NY Times: How Christian were the Founders?. From my perspective, this rewriting of textbooks in public schools is super scary and while I'm a big supporter of public education, this is the first time I've wondered about private school -- provided there is such a thing as secular private school. Other than that, it means keeping a close eye on what's taught in public school and what's not and addressing appropriately. Still I find it quite alarming that people with no real educational background are dictating curriculum for the vast majority of the country.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Olympics!
CNN has interviewed Gillian Anderson here on her favorite places in Vancouver, where she lived while filming the first five seasons of "The X-Files." I've actually been to all the places she recommended and can heartily second all of her suggestions. The restaurants, don't know about any of them, but I do remember a cafe called "Death by Chocolate" that was just sinful and wonderful. I really enjoyed my Vancouver vacation and really hope to go back one day.
CNN has interviewed Gillian Anderson here on her favorite places in Vancouver, where she lived while filming the first five seasons of "The X-Files." I've actually been to all the places she recommended and can heartily second all of her suggestions. The restaurants, don't know about any of them, but I do remember a cafe called "Death by Chocolate" that was just sinful and wonderful. I really enjoyed my Vancouver vacation and really hope to go back one day.
LotD
Slate has an interesting article on how insurers reject you. Definitely makes you think about the need for reform, especially in light of WellPoint's 39% rate increase. I love their explanation for the rate increase:
WellPoint defends the hikes as a prudent business move. In a letter to Sebelius, Brian Sassi, head of WellPoint’s consumer business unit, said that because of the recession, healthy people are dropping insurance or opting for cheaper plans. That lowers premium revenues, reducing the amount of money available to cover claims from those who remain.
I'm not sure there are many people out there who can easily absorb a 39% rate increase and I bet some of those people who are still left are going to drop out or opt for cheaper plans, creating a vicious cycle that we'll probably see repeated with other companies over time if something isn't done to keep costs down.
Slate has an interesting article on how insurers reject you. Definitely makes you think about the need for reform, especially in light of WellPoint's 39% rate increase. I love their explanation for the rate increase:
WellPoint defends the hikes as a prudent business move. In a letter to Sebelius, Brian Sassi, head of WellPoint’s consumer business unit, said that because of the recession, healthy people are dropping insurance or opting for cheaper plans. That lowers premium revenues, reducing the amount of money available to cover claims from those who remain.
I'm not sure there are many people out there who can easily absorb a 39% rate increase and I bet some of those people who are still left are going to drop out or opt for cheaper plans, creating a vicious cycle that we'll probably see repeated with other companies over time if something isn't done to keep costs down.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
LoTD
It always drives me nuts when it gets cold or snows here in Sweat Sock City, people scoff and say, "So much for global warming" or variations on that theme. So I was happy to see this entry tackling that very subject.
It's not hard at all to get temperatures cold enough for snow in a world experiencing global warming. According to the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, the globe warmed 0.74°C (1.3°F) over the past 100 years. There will still be colder than average winters in a world that is experiencing warming, with plenty of opportunities for snow.
It always drives me nuts when it gets cold or snows here in Sweat Sock City, people scoff and say, "So much for global warming" or variations on that theme. So I was happy to see this entry tackling that very subject.
It's not hard at all to get temperatures cold enough for snow in a world experiencing global warming. According to the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, the globe warmed 0.74°C (1.3°F) over the past 100 years. There will still be colder than average winters in a world that is experiencing warming, with plenty of opportunities for snow.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Book review
I finally got a chance to read "Julie & Julia" by Julie Powell on my recent transatlantic voyages. I was really looking forward to the book because the idea is so intriguing -- one year to cook everything in volume 1 of Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" -- and even more impressive when you see what nutty things Julia wants you to cook. Honestly, I could go my entire life without needing to know what aspic is or boiling horse hooves. So I settled into my narrow coach seat with minimal leg room and started reading, totally hoping for culinary adventures that rivaled my own but with more exotic ingredients.
And this, unfortunately, is where the book derails. Maybe my expectations were too high but I was expecting something fun, lively, this idea of self-discovery through bone marrow and butter, and instead ended up with a story that had glimpses of brilliance and humor and insight, but was mostly plodding in its construction and pacing. Instead of insight or thoughts about French cooking, Powell spins stories about her friends without really giving the reader a reason to care. Why do I care about these girlfriends who flit and flirt in and out of the narrative? They don't wash dishes or cook so why oh why are pages and pages of text devoted to them when they add nothing to any plot line or character development?
Powell is whiny and can be obnoxious, such as when she is describing 9/11 families; I get that she worked day in and day out with families of the victims and there's a point at which you become numb, but please. I'm a Democrat (no surprise to readers of this blog), but even I got tired of her incessant Republican-bashing; given that there didn't seem to be a nefarious Republican plot to ban French cooking, the constant trashing talking does nothing to advance the plot or characters. And that's really the problem with the book. There are a lot of ingredients, but nothing gels, no underlying theme that really holds it together.
For a story to be successful, there needs to be some kind of change -- a character starts at point A and ends up at point B. Julie Powell just circles her kitchen (which is disgusting, btw, but mildly funny and relatable in an awkward, uncomfortable way) and never quite convinces us (or me, more precisely) that she is learning anything from her experiment. The motivation for the project is also murky. I get that at the beginning, the author feels trapped by her life and she wants something to spice life up. So why Julia Child? And what does cooking her way through this book bring to her life other than piles of dirty dishes and a penchant for finding rare and expensive ingredients? The questions are never answered. Somehow, it becomes about blogging, about finding validation externally through "bleaders", and Julia Child becomes incidental to the book (And oh yeah, there are made-up bits about Julia Child either, but some of them were cringeworthy).
I was really disappointed in this book because it could have been so much more. It should have been a light and fun read and occasionally it was. I was looking forward to reading about someone who lives a life ordinarily like so many of us, yet rising above it by taking on this crazy project. In the end, it seemed like an excercise in navel gazing instead, definitely better suited for a blog than for a book. Amazon.com reviews seem to imply the movie is much better than the book; I haven't seen the movie, but I definitely don't recommend the book.
I finally got a chance to read "Julie & Julia" by Julie Powell on my recent transatlantic voyages. I was really looking forward to the book because the idea is so intriguing -- one year to cook everything in volume 1 of Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" -- and even more impressive when you see what nutty things Julia wants you to cook. Honestly, I could go my entire life without needing to know what aspic is or boiling horse hooves. So I settled into my narrow coach seat with minimal leg room and started reading, totally hoping for culinary adventures that rivaled my own but with more exotic ingredients.
And this, unfortunately, is where the book derails. Maybe my expectations were too high but I was expecting something fun, lively, this idea of self-discovery through bone marrow and butter, and instead ended up with a story that had glimpses of brilliance and humor and insight, but was mostly plodding in its construction and pacing. Instead of insight or thoughts about French cooking, Powell spins stories about her friends without really giving the reader a reason to care. Why do I care about these girlfriends who flit and flirt in and out of the narrative? They don't wash dishes or cook so why oh why are pages and pages of text devoted to them when they add nothing to any plot line or character development?
Powell is whiny and can be obnoxious, such as when she is describing 9/11 families; I get that she worked day in and day out with families of the victims and there's a point at which you become numb, but please. I'm a Democrat (no surprise to readers of this blog), but even I got tired of her incessant Republican-bashing; given that there didn't seem to be a nefarious Republican plot to ban French cooking, the constant trashing talking does nothing to advance the plot or characters. And that's really the problem with the book. There are a lot of ingredients, but nothing gels, no underlying theme that really holds it together.
For a story to be successful, there needs to be some kind of change -- a character starts at point A and ends up at point B. Julie Powell just circles her kitchen (which is disgusting, btw, but mildly funny and relatable in an awkward, uncomfortable way) and never quite convinces us (or me, more precisely) that she is learning anything from her experiment. The motivation for the project is also murky. I get that at the beginning, the author feels trapped by her life and she wants something to spice life up. So why Julia Child? And what does cooking her way through this book bring to her life other than piles of dirty dishes and a penchant for finding rare and expensive ingredients? The questions are never answered. Somehow, it becomes about blogging, about finding validation externally through "bleaders", and Julia Child becomes incidental to the book (And oh yeah, there are made-up bits about Julia Child either, but some of them were cringeworthy).
I was really disappointed in this book because it could have been so much more. It should have been a light and fun read and occasionally it was. I was looking forward to reading about someone who lives a life ordinarily like so many of us, yet rising above it by taking on this crazy project. In the end, it seemed like an excercise in navel gazing instead, definitely better suited for a blog than for a book. Amazon.com reviews seem to imply the movie is much better than the book; I haven't seen the movie, but I definitely don't recommend the book.
Monday, February 08, 2010
ToTD
I've been having a problem with deodrant staining some of my blouses. I don't mean when you put on a blouse or dress and deodrant gets on the garment; that's easy enough to clean by dabbing a wet washcloth against the stain. I'm talking about the more insidious permanent stains that don't come out even after repeated washings. It's especially a problem with colored clothing because I can't use bleach and I hate when a nice blouse is ruined because I didn't want to be stinky at work. Anyway, I was doing some research into this very serious issue as my favorite button down blouse was so afflicted and I found a potential cure: white vinegar.
So Friday, I mixed water and vinegar in some unknown proportion and then used a washcloth to dab at the stains on the blouse (which is red, btw). Then into the washing machine it went (cold water, regular soap) and then into the dryer. When it came out, I found that some of the stains were still there but for the most part, the vinegar/water mixture had broken the stain to a point that it is now actually wearable on its own -- no need to cover it up with a jacket or sweater any more. I'm going to try the vinegar/water thing again and hopefully the stains will be gone for good. For it's worth, the blouse is cotton; I have no idea how this will work on other materials. I just figured it's a pretty cost-effective and simple solution to a vexing problem and I don't think there's a problem with a vinegar-treated clothing being in the washing machine with other clothes.
I've been having a problem with deodrant staining some of my blouses. I don't mean when you put on a blouse or dress and deodrant gets on the garment; that's easy enough to clean by dabbing a wet washcloth against the stain. I'm talking about the more insidious permanent stains that don't come out even after repeated washings. It's especially a problem with colored clothing because I can't use bleach and I hate when a nice blouse is ruined because I didn't want to be stinky at work. Anyway, I was doing some research into this very serious issue as my favorite button down blouse was so afflicted and I found a potential cure: white vinegar.
So Friday, I mixed water and vinegar in some unknown proportion and then used a washcloth to dab at the stains on the blouse (which is red, btw). Then into the washing machine it went (cold water, regular soap) and then into the dryer. When it came out, I found that some of the stains were still there but for the most part, the vinegar/water mixture had broken the stain to a point that it is now actually wearable on its own -- no need to cover it up with a jacket or sweater any more. I'm going to try the vinegar/water thing again and hopefully the stains will be gone for good. For it's worth, the blouse is cotton; I have no idea how this will work on other materials. I just figured it's a pretty cost-effective and simple solution to a vexing problem and I don't think there's a problem with a vinegar-treated clothing being in the washing machine with other clothes.
Friday, February 05, 2010
LotD
Five myths about America's credit card debt. Interesting reading, nothing more or less than that. Myths 3 and 5 were the most interesting to me.
Five myths about America's credit card debt. Interesting reading, nothing more or less than that. Myths 3 and 5 were the most interesting to me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)