Personal items, info and things that don’t fit into my other blog projects… including the occasional rant.
Some stories to watch:
Some links to add to your bookmarks:
Looks like Amazon has taken their wish list a step further and enabled the ability to add non-Amazon items. Smart. This makes their universal wish list the one place you can add every little thing your heart (or head) desires, making it more likely you’ll use it.
I do have an Amazon Wish List, but haven’t actively used it. This may entice me to give it a stronger presence in my little tech-lusting life. (Found via LifeClever.)
McDonald’s may end $1 cheeseburgers
ABC 13 reports that the price increases in gas, and food, is being felt by fast food too. We should all prepare to see the $1 cheeseburger disappear. Prices will go up, or changes will be made to the food, but it won’t remain the same.
And an era ends…
Starbucks is running a sale, sort of
The Houston Chronicle reports that Starbucks will begin to offer customers a $2 iced coffee drink after 2 p.m., if they show their receipt from the cup of coffee that morning. They call is a response to consumers’ requests, I call it a sale to get customers back in in the afternoon.
No money? Visit your library!
It seems that I’ve seen a rush of stories about how great the library is, especially is you’re strapped for cash. The Houston Chronicle joins the ranks of library fans with a story from the Newhouse News Service which, basically, discusses libraries’ importance all the time, and especially when economic times are hard.
Old office buildings are going green
The bizjournal’s green channel reports that San Francisco is seeing a trend where old buildings are being brought up to LEED standards for “existing building.” This is a step to make the older buildings more competitive with new, sustainable buildings.
Gates to fund new “green” campus
Again, from the bizjournal’s green channel, a story about the Gates Foundation creating a new green campus for themselves. The 900,00 square foot project is expected to cost $500 million, be built to LEEDs gold standards and will be one of “the largest energy-efficient office complexes in the state of Washington.” Very cool.
Sears gets a new image
The Associated Press reports that Sears is trying to get hip1, and catch a higher portion of the teen customer base. Why? Because, especially in today’s economy, “what’s certain, experts say, is that the chain led by financier Edward Lampert desperately needs to reinvent itself if it’s going to survive”.
An MBA or an MFA, or whatever
In a very timely post (as I continue to wrestle with the idea of going to get my Master’s Degree) Penelope Trunk, Brazen Careerist, gives us Seven reasons why graduate school is outdated:
Footnotes:
1 = Story found on the Houston Chronicle. Article may expire in a few weeks.
The Houston Chronicle’s Shannon Buggs has some great tips on being thrifty:
Early Harris County voting for primary turnout ‘unprecedented’
– Houston Chronicle2
More than 230,000 people cast ballots in Harris County during the last
11 days, capping an “unprecedented” early voting period for the
Republican and Democratic primaries.[snip]
I’m hopeful that the turnout for the primaries is an indicator to the turnouts we can expect in the next few elections. Let’s hope that the national energy continues.
Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.
I know that a lot of us are worried about keping our jobs in today’s economy. Here are five tips on how to do just that, presented by The Five O’Clock Club at HispanicAd:
Today’s NYT has an article about how peple who are overweight have a lower death rate than those who are normal. Caution, this does not include people who are obese.
Causes of Death Are Linked to a Person’s Weight
– New York Times.
About two years ago, a group of federal researchers reported that
overweight people have a lower death rate than people who are normal
weight, underweight or obese. Now, investigating further, they found
out which diseases are more likely to lead to death in each weight
group.Linking, for the first time, causes of death to specific weights, they
report that overweight people have a lower death rate because they are
much less likely to die from a grab bag of diseases that includes Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, infections and lung disease. And that lower risk is not counteracted by increased risks of dying from any other disease, including cancer, diabetes or heart disease.[snip]
As my brother’s stay in Iraq is extended, these stories remain on my radar. I am honest enough to confess that they probably wouldn’t attract my attention if I wasn’t personally impacted.
2007 is the deadliest year for U.S. soldiers in Iraq
5 U.S. soldiers killed Monday in Iraq bomb attacks
– Houston Chronicle2
The U.S. military today announced the deaths of five more soldiers, making 2007 the deadliest year for U.S. troops despite a recent downturn, according to an Associated Press count.At least 852 American military personnel have died in Iraq so far this year — the highest annual toll since the war began in March 2003, according to AP figures.
[snip]
Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks
My brother is fighting in a war.
Amazing how simple and complex that one statement is to me and those around me. Amazing what catches my attention these days.
Today’s Houston Chronicle has a story about Iran being implicated in a recent attach in Iraq which resulted in the deaths of five American troops. This is a story which, until recently, would not have made it onto my radar. My radar has expanded.
My brother is fighting in a war.
Iran implicated in attack that killed 5 U.S. troops in Iraq
– reported by the Houston Chronicle
[snip]The U.S. military accused Iran today of a direct role in a sophisticated militant attack that killed five American troops in Iraq, portraying Tehran as waging a proxy war through Shiite extremists.
[snip]
Powered by ScribeFire.