Ukraine, Green Tea, Saving Young, and the Return to Live Theater
This is what I would have posted on Facebook today if I were not weening myself off Facebook. From facilitating your teenagers’ contributions to their Roth IRA’s (incredibly important if they are ever to have retirement savings) to naturally controlling high blood pressure (or not), this post has several informative nuggets you’ll be happy you consumed.
The Willow (Seamus Rooney) plus Berklee Update
Among the four Berklee Music Production grads that Seamus and I had the good fortunate to talk with (thanks Watts Hospital Hillandale Neighborhood List Serve!), the consensus is that Berklee’s pretty awesome... with these caveats…
Is Berklee Worth it? Weighing College Options for Child #2
We are still waiting for my son’s financial package from Berklee, but our online research indicates that it will cost >4 times what UNC-Asheville has offered him. We know UNC-A is a great value. This year, U.S. News & World Report ranked it the seventh-best public liberal arts university in the United States, Forbes magazine ranked it #21 in the country for "Best College Value", and the Princeton Review ranked it within the top 13% of America's four-year colleges…
Regarding Roth IRA's
If you and/or your working kids haven't contributed to your own Roth IRAs yet, you should absolutely start this year. From the start, you should see it as a retirement investment account, not just a retirement savings account. Roth IRA contributions are taxed going in but not coming out, and you can take these out at any time.
Everyday Addiction
I have been off Facebook (for personal posts) for 10 weeks now. Most interesting has been the diminishing absence of the sporadic jab of anxiety that accompanies each impulse to check my notifications or post a new thought or photo…
Regarding the County Manager's Contract and Upcoming Renewal
Below is the email I sent the Durham County Commissioners regarding the current County Manager's excessive contract. If you feel remotely inclined, please send your own concerns to your elected officials and feel free to cut and paste my letter (or any part thereof). Thanks for caring and sharing, Melissa
Durham Elementary Students to Return to In-person Learning 4 Days/Week (!)
My last post concerned the debate over whether Durham Public Schools should resume in-person learning in order to accommodate state legislation mandating a return to in-person instruction within 15 days (of the legislation's passing). Discussion on the topic has become heated and personal, which I find sad and incredibly frustrating. The simple question is this: After doing remote learning for nearly 12 months, why are we forcing teachers and staff back into classrooms mere weeks ahead of ensuring they are administered the vaccination we've all been waiting for?
The Champs, Semiconductor Stocks, and The Voice in My Head Today
… Above all, you mustn’t be sedentary. Bend down and touch the floor while you are waiting for your coffee to heat, do a yoga chair position while removing laundry from the washing machine …
Mac Miller, Shorting Stocks, and Population Growth
"You can love it, you can leave it
They'll say you're nothing without it
Don't let them keep you down"
16 Jan 2021: Weaning Off Facebook, Day 5 (Hamilton, the NRA, Aliens, and Psychedelics)
My theme song today is my 17-year-old son's favorite song from Hamilton (he likes all the Aaron Burr songs). It seems fitting as we wait for the inauguration of the new American President and its hopeful after math. In fact, it seems fitting for most days…
Why I'm Moving from Facebook to Blog
From this day forward, rather than posting my thoughts, concerns, and daily theme song on Facebook, I will now post them on my blog. My reasons are outlined below. It’s time I take back ownership of my thoughts, my history, and my “newsfeed”…
Election 2020: On Being Asked to ‘Chip In’
Every political ad imploring me to ’chip in’ pisses me off - it doesn’t matter which candidate ‘approved this message’. What a horribly dysfunctional Capitalist country we live in. At the end of the day, they don’t need our money, they need our votes…
Re: Trump paid more in taxes to foreign countries than to US
To the Trumpians who are shouting False News, as well as the ones who are proclaiming how smart Trump is, all I can say is: Time will Tell. ‘Course Trump could clear all this up by releasing his tax returns, like Romney did when Reid falsely accused him of not paying taxes…
To Amazon
Below is what I put in the 'description' box of the second Amazon Seller 'support case' I filled out after sifting through heaps of obscure help links and pages. If you have experienced similar problems with Amazon, please take the time to type up your frustrating experience and post it - if not in the comments here, then somewhere else. If we have learned anything in recent years, it's that even small predatory practices should be called out. Better late than never :-) …
Citizens Must Demand Transparency
…Jim Wise’s “Curious Eye” toward Durham County’s disappearing transparency (Durham News, Mar. 7) shouldn’t be taken lightly. The backroom dealings could set a dangerous precedent for NC, especially Triangle jurisdicSons and Jordan Lake. Let me elaborate.…
How much is enough when it comes to animal medical care?
When my son and I got home, he found Kale laying in his comfy chair behind the house. I picked him up gently and held him on his back like a baby, like we always do. A circle of hair on his lower belly had been licked clean and among the wet curlicues was an open rip in the skin. The wound was clearly deep. I could see the rippling tissue moving like a clam underneath…
Keeping it Cool in Durham
… Given the positive feedback I received regarding my previous article on family-friendly outdoor activities for Durhamites and the record temperatures we’ve already encountered this summer, I submit part two of this series: Indoor Kid-Friendly Activities for Budget-Strapped Durhamites .…
Taxes provide Practical High School Math and Sociology Assignment
An incredibly practical high-school math (and social studies) assignment would be to do the current year’s taxes based on an income of $150,000 for a family of four with a child in college. Talk about a STEM spin on Hasbro’s game of LIFE! Perhaps the resulting discussion will result in a simpler and more equitable tax system in which the rich cannot avoid paying their intended %age, though it may not happen in my lifetime ;-) …
Fun Places for Kids
… After my last column, several people requested information about places and programs for young kids in the Triangle. I could write a book on this, but given the great spring weather I’ll concentrate on outdoors..…
My Quote of the Day (well worth reading again)
…from Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman), Intro to Ozark, Season 1: Sugarwood.