For a while, I’ve wanted to start giving to charity in a more focused way. I’ve always given little bits here and there, but mostly to relatively affluent organizations, such as National Public Radio, or Macalester, the college I attended, or the Cambridge School of Weston, the private high school I attended—which, as private schools [...]
Entries from February 2009
February 21, 2009
My Hail Mary pass
Well, it’s comfortable to know I’m not the only idiot out there still investing in the stock market. According to an article in today’s WSJ, the share prices of some tiny companies have been soaring for no reason at all. Investors, desperate to make some money, have been buying risky, small-cap stocks. “One, a money-losing Internet [...]
February 20, 2009
Repairing old things, instead of buying new
We live in a culture where, when something breaks, we throw it out and buy a new one. As a result, I think, it’s hard to know what to do when you want to get something repaired. Our stereo isn’t working; who do we call to fix it? A month ago, my Ecco boots, which [...]
February 19, 2009
Budget recipe: Beef stew, two ways
I haven’t made beef stew in years, primarily because my slow cooker broke when I moved from Minneapolis to New York in 2003, and I’ve never gotten around to replacing it. But I’ve been looking for ways to cut back on carbs at lunch, so I thought I would revisit beef stew. It’s not a [...]
February 15, 2009
Saturday night at Recession Central
This weekend, we’re up in northern Massachusetts with Jon’s dad, visiting friends and family. Yesterday, we decided to head up to Nashua, New Hampshire, to go to Circuit City and check out the liquidation sale. (Nashua is about 15 minutes away from where we’re staying.) The whole strip mall was deserted. Circuit City was offering [...]
