The EKG Ap

10 Sep

Erin Shanendoah |  September 10th,2012 | Healthcare, Science, Software, Technology |  Comments Off

Here in the US, if you need an EKG, you go to the doctor, it gets ordered and off you go to be hooked up to expensive equipment, at least if you have money or some kind of insurance. But what about people in developing countries where the majority of the population does not have access to advanced medical care and an EKG machine?

Enter Catherine Wong, a 17 year old from New Jersey. She recently invented an ap that will work as an EKG. Because the sad truth is, more people have access to smart phones than do hospitals.

Blog Feature: PT Money

08 Sep

Erin Shanendoah |  September 8th,2012 | blogging, Finances, Writing |  1 Comment »

This weekend I am in Denverfor FinCon12, the annual conference for financial bloggers. You can bet I’m having a great time hanging out with a number of the bloggers I have gotten to know over the last not quite 2 years. But as a blog feature, I feel it is only fair this week to highlight PT Money, the blog of the host founder of FinCon, Philip Taylor. The site is filled with practical advice, written by Philip and his contributors. I love this recent guest post 5 Financial Moves to Make Immediately After You Get a New Job.

Your Money Friday: Tranfer of Wealth Within Families

07 Sep

Erin Shanendoah |  September 7th,2012 | Finances, Relationships |  Comments Off

Here’s the dilemma- You’re doing pretty well for yourself and have some disposable income. Your parents, who sacrificed quite a bit when you were young, are still struggling, or at least living pretty close to the edge, or so it appears to you. So you, being a good kid, decide to use some of that disposable income to help out your parents- either through taking them out to nice dinners or paying a bill here and there. But then your parents turn around and financially help out a sibling whose not doing as well as you. What do you do?

Religious Artifact or Toy?

06 Sep

Erin Shanendoah |  September 6th,2012 | Science |  Comments Off

You all know I love archaeology, and find what they do fascinating. However, sometimes I cannot help but wonder what of ours future societies might find and what conclusions they will draw.

For example, in Israel, they recently found two small stone figurines at an excavation for a highway. They appear to be animal in nature, and since in the time period they are dated to (9,000-9,500 years ago), people were hunter gatherers, the assumption is that they were religious or luck symbols, to help ensure a successful hunt.

What if they were really just some kid’s toys, like Legos?

KickStarter Projects

05 Sep

Erin Shanendoah |  September 5th,2012 | Finances, Science, Technology |  Comments Off

I laughed, I cried for mercy, and now I live in fear. Okay, not really, except for the laughing. Someone with much more time than I have went through KickStarter and found 16 projects that could destroy civilization.

Some of them I’d heard of before- like the Space Elevator, I just hadn’t realized that someone was trying to get it funded through KickStarter. Others have been funded and fully realized- like Cards Against Humanity, which is actually a terrifically fun card game (with the right group of people).

We do need to beware Bond villains and their giant robot spiders.

My Fantasy Football Draft

04 Sep

Erin Shanendoah |  September 4th,2012 | Fantasy Football, Football |  Comments Off

Tonight is the draft for our fantasy football league. Very last minute, as the first game of the regular season is tomorrow night. Last year, we pretty much dominated in the “regular” season, but fell off in our league’s playoffs. This year, I want to win! (Yes, I’m strangely competitive about this.) I’ve done my research. I’ve got a draft strategy. My spreadsheets are color coded. If I can get near as lucky with my draft picks this year as last year, I should be good.

C technically is the co-owner of our team, but really, it’s all about me.

Survivorman is Back

03 Sep

Erin Shanendoah |  September 3rd,2012 | Television |  Comments Off

You know that old question- if you could be stranded on a desert island with only one other person, who would it be? My answer, unequivocally- Les Stroud, Survivorman. I am thrilled that he’s back on the air with his new show, Survivorman 10 Days, where he gets stranded somewhere, alone, for ten days. Each episode shows five days of an adventure.

He is actually alone, just him and his cameras, but he does have radio contact with his safety crew- usually only used when conditions get too dangerous for all of them- and he admits it. Welcome back, Survivorman.

Blog Feature: The Poodle (and dog) Blog

01 Sep

Erin Shanendoah |  September 1st,2012 | blogging, Dogs, Pets, Writing |  Comments Off

I love The Poodle (and dog) Blog mostly because she finds animal stories in the news and blogs about them. Since many of these items are regional, I’d never hear about them if it weren’t for her.

For example, this week there’s a post about PETA losing a lawsuit against the Happy Cows  of California (PETA claimed false advertising- no way the cows were happy) and one about a woman fired for taking good pictures of animals in the care of New York City’s animal control department. (Okay, that’s not the reason they give, but it seems to fit reality.)

Your Money Friday: Chores & Kids

31 Aug

Erin Shanendoah |  August 31st,2012 | Relationships |  Comments Off

Who does the chores at your house? This week the chore discussion didn’t focus on an equitable split between spouses but what kinds of chores we had to do as kids, and if we have kids now, what kinds of chores they have to do. At what age did we start making them do chores? How does that change as they get older? Is the goal for Mom and Dad to no longer have to do any work around the house? Or, for some people who did not give their kids chores at all, why did they make that decision?

Current Politics

30 Aug

Erin Shanendoah |  August 30th,2012 | Politics |  Comments Off

This is the place where I get to be political. And given my self imposed word limit, it keeps me from rambling. The other day, a friend asked “How can you still believe in Obama?” Has he lived up to all of our collective hopes and dreams? No, no one could have. That’s political reality, especially in this very divisive political climate.

For me, the questions are “Do I think we’d be better off with McCain?” and “Do I think Romney can do better”. The answer is no. Mostly, I think we need to focus on changing Congress right now.

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