'Culture', News

Garage Sale

Sue and I are in the initial stage of moving to Pennsylvania. The first stage is the ritual shedding of possessions. It’s astonishing how much useless crap you can accrete. So after the initial run to Good Will and the filling of several garbage cans, we had a garage sale. This was the first one I’d participated in since the mid-80’s.

  • I hadn’t realized that the $5 bill was changed I use cards for everything and rarely work on a cash basis. Having people hand me unfamiliar bills was a bit jarring.
  • The two people you meet at garbage sales: the guy who touches everything and asks lots of questions and buys nothing; the guy who rolls up and, without a word, casually buys something you thought would never sell.
  • A tip: schedule your garage sale for the time when (a) one neighbor has been advertising one for several days; (b) your other neighbor has suddenly decided he needs to sell his furniture and puts it out in front of your garage, drawing buyers.
  • I’m one of the worst people when it comes to sentimentalizing inanimate objects. I constantly pick up, say, a cassette tape I haven’t listened to in 15 years and don’t want to throw it out because I listened to it during that wild night in Boston. I have to force myself to toss/sell things.
  • Having a cute baby around helps sell stuff. If you don’t have one, see about renting.
    • Politics, Science and Edumacation

    Debate Night Linkorama

  • A really cool look at the bridge that got rebuilt in Minneapolis.
  • The geniuses at Medicare have decided to stop paying for medical errors. Here’s why it’s a bad idea.
  • It turns out that cellulosic ethanol sucks almost as much as corn ethanol.
  • Libs are harping on Glass-Steagel as the origin of our problems. Bill Clinton says that’s garbage and he’s right.
  • A rundown of what went wrong in the mortgage meltdown. It wasn’t just the CRA, people.
  • The fiscal pictures gets even worse when you look at the states. What are we doing to our children?
  • That credit freeze? Eh, not so much.
    • 'Culture'

    Conceived

    I was struck by this line in an article on IVF:

    When will women have children if the clock has stopped ticking? If you have a small daughter, you may be happy to think of her calmly waiting for the right man and the right moment before using the youthful eggs she has wisely stored to make healthy children. But for so many women–and men–there never really is a right time; there is always another promotion to chase, a bigger house to buy, another hurdle to clear. So there’s a question for today’s youngish parents: will your grandchildren ever be born, and if they are, will you still be alive to see them?

    This was why Sue and I decide to have kids. There is no good time to have kids. There is never a moment when your life is under control. You just sort of have to have them and muddle through, like everyone else does.

    Astronomy, Sports, Mathematical Malpractice, Whatever Else Pops Into My Head