Average cost of living $150,000/year? I freaking don’t believe it. Not sure I believe this, either. But it makes me all the more grateful for that freezer full of grass-fed beef. (H/T PT.) Now, this I definitely believe: Having power makes you stupid. Something actually good about Rick Santorum. I try not to lift too much from Radley Balko, since I figure a lot of the same people read his blog and mine, but this was too good: Why you can’t smoke pot. (Because there’s sooooooo much money and lobbying for the drug warriors.) “10 Rules for a Literary Feud.”…
Category: Money
Posts about being frugal, getting out of debt, staying out of debt, spending practically and splurging joyfully. This category may also contain posts about hard money and what the government is doing to all that “soft money” it creates.
Remember those strange underwater dog photos that went viral last month? Turns out the photographer is getting the success he deserves (which often doesn’t happen with ‘Net phenomena) and sharing his goodness with shelter dogs. (Tip o’ hat to F.) Unlike, for instance, killer PETA. The most over-crowded and hectically run big-city pound is better for animals than those creeps. The true prices of things. This came from S. with a one-word comment: Eeeewwwwwww. Elegant solution: post-earthquake container housing. (H/T MSJ.) One of those small, strange stories that comes along every once in a while (and makes writers want to…
From a recent comment section: Here’s advice from a guy who found himself on the receiving end of other peoples’ hurricane bug-outs. A family of six chronicles how and why they live on $28,000 per year. Its governor willing, South Dakota will join the states that have (something close to) constitutional carry. Naturally, the brave defenders of the people object. Maybe with good reason. “Quietly, Quietly, the Revolution Arrives.” I’ve been saving this up to use in a related ramble of my own. But it’s getting around and Wendy’s essay is too brilliant to neglect. Here’s the latest mini-clip from…
Real world disaster preparedness. The other day in comments, clark posted this link to a Katrina survivor’s experience and observations. Very much worth a read. I particularly liked this page that sums it all up. Simple, clever experiment reveals why we need to keep moving for health’s sake. One of the reasons, anyhow. Murphy’s Law. Your chances of a screw-up can now be calculated. Except … er … doesn’t Murphy’s Law ensure that the calculations are likely to be screwed up? “Hijacking the General Welfare Clause.” Historical research from wonderful new blogger AgoristDon. Better than a cop? Deer saves woman…
We may need eight hours of sleep, but maybe not in the way we’ve been told. Two related from NPR: The “right to be forgotten” threatens free speech and how much does the cloud know? (Tip o’ hat to PT.) An open letter to the MPAA’s Chris Dodd from Eric S. Raymond. You might save this one for when you’ve got plenty of time, but here’s a special report from ShadowStats on our prospects for hyperinflation. Yoga. And sex. About those FEMA camps … (Can anybody tell me why we’re going to need camps for “displaced citizens” now when we’ve…
“Pigeon: Impossible.” 🙂 How companies learn your secrets. The bit about the pregnant women (pages 6 & 7) is the creepiest. Hint: aside from not giving ’em any personal data (e.g. pay cash, never participate in a survey, etc.), don’t be a creature of habit. Oh, those tidy Swiss. Now they’re set to clean up outer space. How the brain responds to disaster. This specifically pertains to earthquakes, but I know from experience that it applies more broadly. (Tip o’ hat to PT.) Long feared, now here: microchips you swallow with your meds to report your body’s doings. This is…
Shy? Grieving? You sicko, you. (Tip o’ hat to P.) This came from D. with the disgruntled comment, “Most of the people I know who got medals got shot.” It’s so much tidier being in the elite. Too bad hackers had to do this. Should be standard procedure. (Tip o’ hat to M.) Remember the cop who got fired for hanging and kicking his K9 partner? Well, it seems that the firing was a problem; the hanging and pummeling were just as the trooper always claimed — yes, standard procedure. (H/T to Fred.) A 12-year-old boy saves his grandma’s house…
Did you know there’s an organization called Dogs Against Romney? And that one of its members just got stopped by a cop for doing (in effigy) what Romney once did to his family dog? A courageous colonel busts hierarchy to tell truths about Afghanistan. (Tip o’ hat to M.) “Take that, Hobbes!” “Less lethal.” Yeah. In other words — more likely to be casually fired at people who irritate the cops. Help wanted at the TSA. 🙂 Oh, what to think? It’s a crime and a shame when innocent owners have their assets seized. But can they be called “innocent”…
The recent, much touted not-actually-so-good news on jobs, gets an appropriate answer from Abbott and Costello. (H/T M.)
Cowboys, superheroes, and freedom. Intelligent dogs party down. Are the NDAA and the upcoming Enemy Expatriation Act two pieces of the same puzzle? Writers: You may want to may want to avoid self-publishing via Apple iBooks Author. The evolution of the U.S. dollar. (Tip o’ hat to D.) Yet another reason to be glad you don’t live in New York. You’ve heard about the long arm of the Feds reaching to New Zealand to shut down one of the biggest sites on the Web without due process — showing that the MPAA, the RIAA, and the fedgov hardly need SOPA.…