Jan/090
Predictions for the New Year
With all of the old media and new media hacks trying their hands at prognostication, I might as well do the same. So here is my grim prognosis for the New Year.
- Riots in China: hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers from remote villages have earned their livings in large coastal cities, most with no legal rights to live in those cities. With the cooling economy these workers are returning home. The lucky ones still have a family plot of land where they can grow enough food to live (if not to prosper). The unlucky ones have seen their land appropriated (with little compensation) by local governments and handed over to corporations. Without a major policy change by the government, these workers will become disillusioned and demand a better life for them and their families.
- Collapse of commodity prices: The steep reduction in energy costs will temporarily drive a reduced production of ethanol, freeing up corn for animal feed and reducing the price of other staples (such as barley). This should make items ranging from breakfast cereal to beer cheaper, which will be needed because of…
- Continued recession in the US: Further job loss and reduced economic output in the US through at least November of 2009.
There you go, and in twelve months we can see how I stack up to the people that get paid for this sort of stuff. The great thing about predicting doom and gloom is that you are happy to be proven wrong.
Nov/080
Where is the money going?
My employer like many has a United Way drive every year. Although I like to give, I always wonder how each charity direct their money. The cynic in me theorizes that a big portion goes to an exec that adds little value.
The people at Charity Navigator obviously had similiar concerns and more drive to do something about the matter.
Check out the good, the bad and the ugly.
Some of my favorites are First Book and the DC Central Kitchen.
Nov/080
Go Vote!
It is election day and for those of you without early balloting it is time to go out, wait in line and VOTE!
Will it be the O-Chili-Bama Burrito, or the McCain-Chilada Burrito?
Both will leave you not quite satisfied, both have more hype than substance and both are deceptively bad for your middle. However a choice must be made, and you don’t get to complain about the bloating and uncomfortableness that the next four years will bring unless you do your civic duty and vote.
Waiting in line on 11/1 to cast absentee ballots
It is hard to tell when I will have an eight hour day and when I will have a twelve hour day, so I stood in line for two hours on Saturday 11/1/08 to
Jul/073
What Did You Learn in 2nd Grade?
At lunch I was talking with a co-worker about her new room mate who is a second grade teacher, and we bother realized that we had no recollection of what we learned in second grade. I remember the time that I got smacked for talking back, and the time I got smacked with a ruler for having a friends stash of comic books in my desk. However, I have no recollection of learning anything. I think maybe we started cursive writing that year. Although if you have seen my hand writing you would be hard pressed to say whether I learned anything at all about cursive hand writing.
Poking around I found the Virginia Standards of Learning. I am not sure if this is what I learned in second grade, but it is what is being taught these days.
Nov/060
Where did that word come from?
I finally found an etymology dictionary online. Some of my favorites.
Sep/062
New Restaurant
After a very poor experience at Majestic Cafe, my old favorite spot for nice Friday dinners, I am looking for a new favorite. Any suggestions? 2941 Restaurant would be a front runner, but it is a little too pricey.
Jun/060
Stuck on the Orange Line
On the way home from Union Station yesterday, I got stranded at Metro Center Station for about 40 minutes waiting for Metro to clear a disabled train from the line near Falls Church. I could spend the whole day ranting about Metro’s design flaws, and why it takes the WMATA 40 minutes to move a disabled train less than one stop to the closest pull off area, but I won’t.
Instead I just want to say that once the trains started running again I saw Metro area residents at their best in the crowded train trying to get home. People actual talked and joked about the situation with strangers on the metro. On a normal day people don’t even make eye contact with strangers on the Metro. People did their best to let people out of the train, and let everyone get the best hand hold possible. Not that I am looking forward to the next time it takes me two hours to get home or find myself crammed into a tin tube with my 200 closest friends, but it was more pleasant than it could have been.
In good news other than having to buy a new SmartTrip Card, I forgot the other one in yesterday’s shirt’s pocket, this morning’s commute was flawless. A train waiting for me at Vienna and Metro Center gets me out to Union Station in 42 Minutes.
Dec/060
Take That Carnivores
“Frequently dismissed as cranks, their fussy eating habits tend to make them unpopular with dinner party hosts and guests alike.
But now it seems they may have the last laugh, with research showing vegetarians are more intelligent than their meat-eating friends.” –ThisIsLondon