Archive for March, 2013

Blog Feature: Life with Beagle


30 Mar

Can you guess what first drew me to this blog? Can you? I know it’s hard, but maybe I can give you a hint…

Yes, I’m a sucker for Beagles, mostly because of my own little Junebug. And while I may be a little biased in thinking June is perhaps the cutest of Beagles, Lulu is certainly right up there in adorableness. And it’s because she’s so adorable that I want to help Christie turn her into a bona fide internet meme. The problem is, I’m not good at pithy comments. So I’m asking you to go caption the photo.

Forcing the Rich to Pay for Their Mistakes


28 Mar

I haven’t exactly followed this case closely, but I had heard about it the adoption was originally approved.  I have to say, I am glad it has been overturned.

Basically, a millionaire drove drunk and killed a college student. During the same time period, he was in a legal battle with his ex-wife regarding his kids’ trust fund. While awaiting trial on vehicular manslaughter, he decided to pay his longtime girlfriend over 16 million to let him adopt her.

Besides the creep factor, it was just one more way that a millionaire was trying to avoid paying for his mistakes.

The Voice s4 – Blind Auditions Night 2


27 Mar

Night 2 of the blind auditions was only one hour long, but we got to see the developing “alliance” between Blake and Usher.

I really like Midas Whale, but so far, no duo has ever made it out of the battle rounds, so they’ve got a long road ahead of them.

One thing I didn’t mention yesterday, but that I am really liking is that this year, so far, they have shown us the performances of all the contestants that have been chosen by the coaches. We’ve only gotten those who were passed over in the montage. I appreciate that.

The Voice s4 – Blind Auditions Night 1


26 Mar

The Voice is back, and you know I was glued to my DVR. They put Shakira in Cee-Lo’s old seat and Usher in Christina’s. Maybe the producers were hoping that by switching things up we would not notice they replaced a black male R&B singer and a blonde Latina diva with a blonde Latina diva and a black male R&B singer. But enough about that- the only thing that really matters is the dynamic between the coaches. Blake and Adam kept up their love/hate relationship and Shakira and Usher both seemed to fit right in, each playing to their strengths.

Marriage Equality at the Supreme Court


25 Mar

Tomorrow, the US Supreme Court begins the first of two days of hearings regarding marriage equality. On Tuesday, it will be whether California’s Prop 8 is legal (there are ways to get rid of Prop 8 without deciding the issue for the rest of the country). On Wednesday, it will look at the national Defense of Marriage Act versus states’ rights (which could also be decided without deciding the national question).

While it would be nice to have marriage equality throughout the country as chosen by the voters, it is past time for someone to just say equal is equal.

Blog Feature: Eyes on the Dollar


23 Mar

What first drew me to Eyes on the Dollar was the fact that she’s an optometrist. I spent three years working for ophthalmologists, so I have a passing interest in those who care for eyes for a living. I’ve stuck around because Kim’s writing is clear, funny, and easy to read. She is a storyteller at heart, and that makes for the best kind of blogging, especially when your topic might be considered kind of boring, like personal finance. (I cannot read a blog that’s written like a text book or journal article.)

And even better, Kim does animal rescue.

Your Money Friday: Does Your Life Have Passion?


22 Mar

The big question this week was Does Your Life Have Passion? In this case, the poster felt like he was missing out on something because he doesn’t have any all consuming passion in his life- not at work (he works with scientists who still come to the lab after retiring) or in his personal life.

As always, there were arguments of definition, but it still comes down to taking control of your own life. And learning to be happy with who you are as a person. Just because there is nothing you feel passionate about doesn’t make you a failure.

Pediatricians for Equality


21 Mar

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the US Supreme Court will be hearing two different cases dealing with gay marriage. While most people think the court will decide the cases narrowly (and on a state level instead of a national level), pretty much anyone who isn’t grossed out by same sex sex is working to make sure the Supreme Court decides in favor of equality for all citizens.

This includes the American Academy of Pediatrics, who made sure to put out a statement before the cases officially go to court saying that they support gay marriage.

NFL Rule Changes


20 Mar

In football today, the NFL owners voted to get rid of the “tuck rule”. This is good news because it was nonsensical. Basically, if a quarterback was going to throw the ball, but then decided not to, and the defense knocked it out of his hands, instead of being ruled a fumble (which it obviously was), it was called an incomplete pass. Most fans had never heard of the rule until it was used (in the Patriot’s favor) during Tom Brady’s initial playoff run in a game against the Raiders. Now, it will be a fumble. Yay for common sense.

Women in STEM Careers


19 Mar

Two studies on women in STEM careers have recently come out.

The first study argues that the reason more women don’t go into STEM careers is not about ability, but choice. Women who have high math scores also tend to have really high verbal scores and have a lot of choice about what they do, career wise.

This is followed by another study that says while the gender gap has closed, academia still hires a lot more men as scientists and pays them significantly more.

Which kind of answers the question of why women with choices might not choose science.

100 Words On

topics explored in exactly 100 words