Archive for July, 2012

Vacations Unlimited


19 Jul

New criteria to look for next time I change jobs- unlimited vacation time. I know, you’re thinking that’s called unemployment. Or perhaps that I’m crazy. But some companies do, in fact, offer unlimited vacation time as one of their perks, including Netflix.

Staff have to coordinate their vacation with co-workers, as they likely have to depend on co-workers to get their work done while they are gone, which means that the “evil” peer pressure keeps people from abusing the system. And people end up working remotely during their vacation, but I know people who do that without unlimited vacation days.

Movie Review: 21 Jump Street


18 Jul

I wasn’t a huge fan of the original21 Jump Street, as I didn’t live somewhere that I could  watch it until after Richard Grieco left the show. (And no, I didn’t watch his spin-off Booker, but then, no one did.) But the season or two I saw, I liked.

This last weekend, we watched the new21 Jump Streetmovie. Did I like it? Not so much. The show was a drama, the movie was a comedy filled with boy humor.

The show appealed to girls. The movie was made for boys. No wonder it wasn’t a huge hit.

Eureka Series Finale


17 Jul

My senior year of high school two of my favorite shows had their series finales- Quantum Leap and Star Trek: The Next Generation. I recorded both and watched them multiple times. That final episode of Quantum Leap never fails to make me cry.

Since then, I haven’t cared much about the coming and goings of shows. I liked Buffy and Firefly, but I wasn’t attached, so to speak. Last night was the series finale ofEurekaon Syfy. I haven’t watched faithfully for the last couple of seasons, but we made sure to tune in last night to say goodbye.

50 Years


16 Jul

This weekend I attended a party for my great aunt and uncle’s 50th wedding anniversary. In addition to family, numerous old friends were there- including people who had grown up with my great aunt and gone to school with her. With so many guests, they were often in different places. They didn’t even sit at the same table when it came time to eat. When they came up to cut the cake, I joked that it was the first time I’d seen them together all afternoon, and was that the secret to 50 years. I believe my great uncle nodded.

Blog Feature: Money Crush


14 Jul

Each week as I prepare to do the blog feature, I go through past posts so that I don’t do a repeat. Sometimes, I realize with surprise that I haven’t featured someone who it really seems like I should have. That’s the case this week with Jackie and Money Crush. I had to check my list twice, just to make sure, because I thought for sure I would have featured her around Women’s Money Week, if nothing else. But no.

So here you are, Money Crush, and that tricky little question- is it easier to spend less or save more?

Your Money Friday: Money and Dating


13 Jul

Dating is one of those areas where personal finances become tricky. Should a man pay for all dates, with the woman reciprocating with homemade meals? Should it be split as close to 50/50 as possible? Does it matter if she makes a lot more than he does? Or what if they make roughly the same amount?

Many don’t discuss finances on a first date. Is it okay to alter the financial terms of the relationship (such as who pays) when you do reveal your salaries? And how would you do that without seeming like a jerk? Any thoughts are welcome.

Penny Arcade on KickStarter


12 Jul

Back in April, I wrote about micro-investing. I highlighted the Order of the Stick KickStarter project which raised over $1million, just so the guy could reprint one of his books. As loved as OotS is, it’s small potatoes. The big guns of online comics now have their own KickStarter project. Penny Arcade is raising money to make the site ad free for an entire year (and still be able to pay all their bills).

They are looking for $250k by August 15. Given that in one day they were over halfway to their goal, I’d be eyeing those stretch goals.

The Family Graveyard


11 Jul

Before property lines, deeded lands, even before the written word was common, how would you show that land belonged to you and your family? Perhaps by showing where your ancestors were buried on the property? But what happened when one family married into another and the land now belonged to both? No one wants too many bodies around, so how about taking parts from multiple bodies among the families, binding them together, mummifying them, and then burying them?

Sound too strange to be true? It’s actually one of the theories surrounding mummies in England that are composed from multiple people.

Mono Lake Does NOT Contain “Alien” Life


10 Jul

Back in December 2010, I wrote about Terrestrial Alien Life- referring to a study that claimed a specific microbe could replace phosphorous with arsenic. When we think of what is essential to life, most lay people don’t think of phosphorous, but it is one of the major chemical building blocks.

As an update to that post, two new studies have now been released that dispute the original claims. They do believe the microbe is significant for it’s ability to grow using very little phosphorous and survive in an arsenic rich environment, but it does not re-write the playbook on life.

Thunderstorm


09 Jul

Last night we had a thunderstorm inSeattle. Sudden rain is not rare, but it’s not often we get thunder accompanying it.

I grew up with thunderstorms in easternMT.They were a staple of the summer months. They often came with tornado watches and warnings, and plenty of thunder and lightening. In some ways, I miss a really good thunderstorm (though not the high winds).

Last night’s storm was not much compared to what I grew up with. I heard only one or two cracks of thunder, and don’t remember the sky being lit up by lightening at all.

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