Compass & Coffee Spoons

20 Questions, Part I

(I'm having a bitch of a time formatting this...apologies, but I can't be bothered to figure it out right now!)

Bloggity Friend Wende posted a question to readers: a request for 20 questions of any sort. See here for the original post. In the spirit of participation, I'm answering the meme in line with Wende, so I'll go wtih the first five she answered.

Would you rather eat Reese's Cups or Peppermint Patties?

Um, this is too easy. Now, I don't ever reject any candy (with the exception of the second Hershey's bar offered by my ESL student...actually NOT my ESL student anymore...awkward, hence, chocolate rejected). Anyway, Reeses. Peanut butter and chocolate trumps mint. Next. 

Would you rather never listen to music again or lose your TV?
Talk about Sophie's Choice, for Crissake.  I guess TV (I say as I watch "Snapped" on Oxygen...how could I miss such quality?) I'd probably be better off.

If you could visit any one time period in history, when would it be?

Boy,tough. Probably the 1940s so  could wear the clothes and have my hair arranged and have a torrid affair with a soldier before he was going off to war. I could also meet my grandparents as young adults and my parents as babies, which is a bit of a novelty. I could also introduce birth control surrepitiously to help our current approaching Social Security burden. The rest of the time would suck though because, well, war sucks. Guys in uniform sure don't, though.

Would you rather die peacefully, but unexpectedly in your sleep at age 60 or die at 90 after suffering for years from disease?

90. Always pick quantity over quality.

Do you think that questions such as "what's your favourite colour/ice cream/album of all time" help you get to know another person?

Yes, because you have to start somewhere. It also depends how you answer, of course. If you say "blue" and that's that, well, maybe not, but if someone says "blue, because it reminds me of blue skies, which reminds me of my childhood days looking up at clouds," well, that gets you somewhere.

That said, I have a hard time with favorites. Someone once said if you have no favorites, you don't like anything, but I don't think that's true. I have several preferred colors. I like fuschias and purples and pinks as well as teal and sort of robin's egg blue. I also love orange. My favorite ice cream, hands down, is peanut butter and chocolate. I was recently disappointed that Annapolis Ice Cream's PB&C wasn't as good as I remembered. I was first introduced to the concept by Baskin Robbins, which still does a fine job. However, I will generally eat any ice cream (see question 1 above). I had a fantastic cantaloupe gelato at the gelati place on P Street this summer...yum. Album of all time. I have a hard time with favorite music or books, and honestly, rarely listen to music as composed in albums anymore, with the advent of Itunes,but with this one, I'll go for U2's the Joshua Tree.

There you have it. Join in if you wish!!!

Walmart's Shady Economics

One of Walmart's current commercials boldly states that it saves the average American household $3,100, regardless of where they shop. If they had just said that they saved from a price comparison basis, I wouldn't have paid attention, but the "anywhere" part had my brain perked up.

As an economics practicioner, I'm no dummy when it comes to the vagaries of methodology. Sorry, in English: there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. I know better than many that you can make numbers say almost anything you want them to say; it's the analyst's responsibility to both balance the influence their own prejudices are placing on the analysis AND to clearly state the way they're going about the analysis with all of the caveats and cautions (that would be that "methodology" word).

So, let me state my caveats up front. I hate Walmart. I think it's evil and the epitome of a corporation growing at any cost. I understand why people shop there, and I feel fortunate that I can choose not to.  I would seriously rather spend twice as much on paper towels than give them a dime of my money. Some people don't have this luxury.

The claims Walmart makes in its commercial come from this document (Download 2008_Global_Insight_Price_Impa) from their web site. The report looks at how the consumer price index changed in response to there being a Walmart in the metro area. Without getting too much into this, because I don't think most of my readers care for reading my analysis of this, and because my whole point of this is not the structure of the study so much as the point that's being made by it. I think this quotation sums it up nicely:

"Wal-Mart is likely to have had a significant impact on price inflation across the MSAs largely for three main reasons. First, its sophisticated logistics and distribution innovations have increased total factor productivity, lowering its overall cost structure and allowing Wal-Mart to provide its goods at lower prices. Second, Wal-Mart's integrated purchasing system and its sheer size has led its suppliers to offer significant volume discounts, which Wal-Mart in turn has passed along to its consumers. And third, its lower prices have pressured its competitors to adopt more efficient processes and to lower their prices."

Number one goes without saying. Walmart's supply chain is one of its greatest strengths.  

Let me translate number two for you: Walmart has its suppliers by the balls. Selling to Walmart is much like selling your soul to the devil. You become beholden to them. It's obvious why someone would want their stuff sold at Walmart. Uh, duh...talk about sales! But, what is seldom thought about is that once Walmart gets your product on their shelves, they're going to push you to reduce prices. A lot. And, by this point, so much of your bottom line is dependent upon the quantitiy of sales you get at Walmart, that you have no choice but to continue and do what they say. This is not just the little guys. This is Proctor and Gamble, and other big companies.

Okay, on to number three: this is where the shit hits the fan. What is not covered in this document is the spinoff effect, of how a Walmart drives other companies out of business because of their inability to compete. This is the key data not factored into this "saving households" concept. It doesn't take into account the impact of local businesses going belly up and the spinoff effect on the economy. In short, small, local businesses' typically keep a greater percentage of their expenditures around the same area by buying from other local businesses. 

I just felt the need to point this out because essentially, Walmart is bragging out their ability to bully the rest of the business world. That is what "saving the average household $3,100" means. It's just such a joke and it makes me angry because obviously, not everyone seeing that ad knows economics.  

This $3,100 number leaves so much else out: such as how much induced spending occurs by Walmart shoppers (i.e. someone sees something there that they wouldn't have elsewhere and because the price is so good, decides to buy it...and spends more than originally intended. We've all been there!). Anyway, the point is that you can't trust advertising. And, numbers can lie. But you all knew that!

Mobile thoughts: clothes shopping

I really should have chosen a career that either allowed me to wear scrubs or jeans everyday. They don't mention how annoying shopping for career clothes can be. I'm sure Stacy London & Clinton Kelly would have problems with that, but hey, it's hard work finding clothes. I went shopping yesterday and bought a few things but they'll probably go back. I already have a pair of pants from Filene's Basement in my work bag going back. I realized on Friday when I had to dress for a client meeting that I don't have a fall/winter suit that I like. I dont have many suits period and even fewer that I actually like. You'd think that a black suit would be easy. It's not. I like to think it's because I wear a 18 w but I'm sure it would be a problem even at another size. All I want are a few comfortable outfits that make me feel good and a few pairs of comfy cute shoes. Is that too much to ask? I'll tell you what...I normally pay anywhere from $40 to $100 for pants and about the same for shoes. I'd easily be willing to pay 2-3 times that if I knew I was getting quality and fit. Problem is that half the time you're buying walmart quality made in China crap where you're paying for branding. And who knows how they'll actually fit once you start wearing them. SO frustrating!

Fat Phobia Sweeps the Nation! Story at 11!

Yeah, so it's no secret I'm obese. My BMI is above the "obese" mark. America would put a big red "O" on my dress if it weren't for the fact that conveniently, everyone already knows already. My doctor sure knows. He can barely keep it together enough to tell me anything else other than the importance of diet and exercise. I don't disagree, but what I do disagree with is the assumption that all fat people are walking time bombs and all thin people are naturally healthier. It was this assumption that led an endocrinologist I saw to suggest weight loss surgery within a few seconds of meeting me. Can you say "kickbacks"?

It is also this assumption that is leading a new trend (reported on this week) for companies to charge a higher insurance premium to its obese and overweight employees. (To be fair, they added smokers to it too...and the irony of the State of North Carolina being at the forefront of this is too good to pass up. But that is easier to hide, isn't it.) This is ridiculous for so many reasons. Why not charge people with more problems? Despite what "scientific" studies tell us (as reported by the media who we all know love nothing more than talking about how bad fat people are), not all fat people are unhealthy. Do you charge former smokers? Former fat people? People who eat fast food regularly but are not fat? Do you charge African Americans differently because they have a higher propensity for certain diseases? Or those from Mediterranean backgrounds? Or Asian? See what I mean? So MANY factors play into a complete health risk picture.

But YOU can help it, you say. To a degree, yes. If people are honest with you, though, they'd tell you they don't fully understand why certain people are fat and certain people aren't. There's no doubt that if I were absolutely "perfect" with my diet--ate 1,500 calories a day and worked out every day, I'd be smaller. I would probably NEVER be able to maintain what the CDC considers "healthy" though. I find sticking to a 1,500 calorie diet difficult even when I try really hard. Why? Because the world (and by the world, I mean the U.S.) makes it so easy to NOT do that. Foods are calorie dense and everywhere. You have to really plan to get low cal foods prepared, and if you work late or the kids are sick or whatever other reason you can't, you have some difficult choices to make. Anyone faced with food choices at, say, a hotel snack bar in the middle of a rural area can attest to that (may I recommend the peanuts?).

The short argument is this, everyone is dealt a set of cards--genetic, social, mental, emotional, and othewise. And you make the best play you can with what you've got. Some people, like in populations living in poverty-stricken areas, can't go to Whole Foods to get their organic skim milk for $4 a half gallon. They walk to the Checkers to get the 2 for 1. I am fortunate to not be in this category. But, for the "system" to pick on a category of people, in this case "the fat," without treating the underlying causes, that is just discrimination.

What is particularly awful to me is that things to cause obesity (like subsidized corn--got high fructose corn syrup anyone?--and other food industry atrocities, suburbanized development patterns that prevent walking, etc) have been institutionalized, and now the same institutions are trying to do an about face and pushing the cost to those affected by the policies.

I really didn't mean for this to be a tirade, but I guess it turned out that way. What I REALLY intended to share was this GREAT blog I found devoted to exposing some of the hype in the media about medical issues, and one of those is obesity. (http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/)  In general, I don't trust much of the "establishment" to tell me anything about anything. More often than not, there is a profit motive. Follow the money. If that makes me a radical, well, braid my hair and call me Moon Flower!

State of the Blog at 300: Blogging and Happiosity

 

This is my 300th post! I was going to post the other day, but was struck by a need to make 300 significant. Well, it isn't. I have thought a lot about blogging, the blog, and the blogger, in no particular order, as of late. Partially to do with seeing Julie and Julia last week. The question I keep grappling with is who is the blog for? Me? My readers? Is it a money making machine (that's a big no as of now!)? Is it a fame-seeking machine (Another no as of now!)? As my friend Eric said when he started his blog "I see how easily they can become self-indulgent or just a monopolizer of free time." It's the self-indulgent part that's most concerned me.

When I had my first blog, back in 2003, I was even less clear of these questions. I just felt the need to HAVE one because it was the it thing. In Accordance With the Prophecy is still on the web, but not updated. It was kind of like a journal, which was of course, the original intent of blogs, and was very self-indulgent.

Now, they're like little publications, with advertising and everything. They propel their writers/owners into quasi-fame, and have people seeking this sense of approval from number of hits or whatever. I personally shudder every time I see someone purposely promote their blog within other blog comments. It's just creepy. (Not when there's really a point, but when people are clearly just looking to get their stats up for some reason...and that's the height of self-indulgence.)

I've seen blogs explode and take on a life of their own--like Apartment Therapy. When I first started reading it, I think in 2004,  it was only in what could be called its pre-pubescence. It definitely had a readership, but was relatively small, to the point that the comments section was like a little community. Now, not nearly as much--it's turned into a different animal. Not bad, just different.

I started this blog after reading my friend Kim's and seeing that it could really cultivate a mini virtual community where you could share interests with people from near and far. (Thanks, Kim!) Since then, I also connected with many fellow Apartment Therapy readers and others...which is really fun!

I was confronted somewhat with the question of who the blog is for when I was approached by email by a company offering for me to do a giveaway. I have no doubt they sell great stuff, and probably usually have more hits than misses in customer service, but seeing as I had one less than fantastic experience with an affiliated company, I declined. It conjured up feelings of approval seeking that many bloggers face--"this means someone loves me!" "I have to do this for my readers!" I totally sympathized with the Julie character in the movie...

What is prompting this posting now, aside from it being my 300th post, is that I have hit a mini third-life crisis (assuming I live to be 99). Anyone who knows me knows I have these about every 6 weeks, so it should not cause alarm. But, I just had this moment, sitting at my work computer, doing something I don't like, thinking "What do I do in my life that I like?" Answer: not a whole heck of a lot. I don't pretend that this is anything but a first-world concern. It's only because I can decide what I do with my life that I can worry about whether what I'm doing is the right thing. I just need to increase my happiosity.

Happiosity is what my economics professor in grad school referred to as happiness, or the currency in the economics equation. Essentially, humans are always striving to increase their happiosity. Silly, but somehow, this seemed fitting to express what I am looking for--more than happiness. This boils down to a few key life areas: job, personal life, free time...I expect to try to cover these in more depth at some point in a way that does not amount to sophisticated belly button gazing. The highlights for now:

• Job--I used to actually give a care (wanted to use another non family friendly term here) about what I did. Don't get me wrong, I care about doing a good job, but my motivation now is external. The only happiosity I get is from my paycheck (the 80% of it I still get) and the motivation is not getting one or of getting approval from superiors/advancement (of which I get very little to none).

• Personal life--I've gotten to the point in my life where I am meeting few new people, and the ones I do know and love are dropping like flies, by which I mean, they're getting caught up in other life committments. I have very good friends, that I love, but I need to continue to add to my social circles to give myself a full and happy life. This would also include the infamous "dating," though I've had never had anything in dating that approximates fun. It more closely approximates "pain" than "fun." It is just a lot harder than I think it needs to be! I'd love to have one date this year that doesn't have me wishing I were a lesbian or a gay man at the end of it. (Sure, go ahead, laugh if you want...)

• Free Time/Avocations--I spend a great portion of my free time doing stuff that is not fun or that I don't increase my happiosity doing. There are pursuits I like and care about that I don't do. Why? I don't know, but I need to get to the bottom of that. I fill up my time with unfun tasks and TV watching, which as I've covered in this blog before, amounts to nothing more than self-medication/tranquilization. 

My mind turned to my blog when I thought of what interested me...it really does contain all that which I find engaging. So, the very fact that I haven't been blogging lately is indication that I need to turn back to things that are meaningful for me.

So much for not navel gazing. I hope that this is interesting for you, my dear readers, to read as well as for me to write. This post has strayed into the "journal" a bit much, but I promise to have interesting posts that are not explicity about me, me, me, soon!

I included the above photo because sunflowers are so happy, don't you think? NPS Photo by Jim Pisarowicz, from here, which offers a plethora of wildflower info. Who knew!?

I mean, it's free...

They say there's no such thing as a free lunch, and that's true but there IS such a thing as free paint, furniture, wood, and just about anything people want rid of. Of course, scavengers and dumpster divers have always known this. But, in the digital age, fortunately for us, there's Freecycle.

Freecycle is an online place to offer and request just about anything (though no medications, illegal stuff, or pets!). It's locally based but you can find yours at Freecycle.org. It's philosophical aim is to keep stuff out of landfills.

I've mostly listed things as offers (though I have gotten stuff too...like my microwave and a Swiffer handle when mine broke). This brings me to the whole point of this post...I managed to offload a few things yesterday including makeup sponges and bug spray that I didn't need. Someone is supposed to pick up makeup today (part of a set, too dark). Small items, yes, but in a small apartment little things make a big difference!

What never ceases to amaze me, however, is how people--to whom you are giving FREE things, i.e. something for nothing, will blow you off. It's ridiculous. I have a zero tolerance policy... If someone blows me off, I give it to someone else!

Anyway I'm making a dent in my mountain of discards. I expect this weekend to see vastly more!

Bringing Back the Farm Fresh Goodness

 

The past week, I've been thinking about food and farms a lot. I saw "Food, Inc." on Saturday evening, and it's definitely one of those films that has you asking more questions than it answers for you. For those of you who haven't heard about it, it's essentially about the industrialization of our food supply chain and the detrimental effects this has on food safety, food nutrition, farmers' livelihoods, and the humane treatment of animals and humans alike. That's a lot to cover in 90 or so minutes, and the subtleties and complexities are somewhat lost. However, one thing is not lost: that we can do better...perhaps by going backwards?

The film features as its "good farm" Polyface Farms in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. They aren't a vegetarian farm refuge; they kill things to eat. But, they farm the way your grandfather may have farmed, or, how my great grandfather may have farmed. Actually, I have no idea if my great grandfather farmed like that, but there was no doubt he had a small farm.

The above picture is from my dad's mom's family's farm in Western PA a few years ago right before it was sold after my great aunt's death.  It had pretty much decayed, as many small farms have. It was kind of sad to see, knowing that my great grandfather built it after coming to this country with only about 50 cents and working in a coal mine to save money to buy it. When I was little, they still had dairy cows, which to a kid, is like the most fun thing you can have around. And, that milk was the best milk ever.

As it turns out, I can get milk in glass bottles from the corner store near me. It isn't unhomogenized, but it is pretty close--something about the glass and the cows being out in the open. The store (P&C Market) also carries beef from Polyface Farms. I'll let you know how it is.

I'm now trying to "buy local" on much of my food. Both because of the "corporate farm machine" atrocities, but also for a much simpler reason: the food is so much damn better! I had some blueberries last week that actually tasted like blueberries! And a cucumber that was intense in its cucumberness. It was an amazing difference from the ones I got in the supermarket. This got me to thinking: if my food tasted better--like HD Food instead of normal food--might I not be satisfied on less? (Doubtful, but a girl can dream.) It kind of grosses me out thinking of the faux food we've all gotten accustomed to eating, and I'm not talking blueberries...but all that packaged junk. Do we really pay attention to how it tastes?

Anyway, to put my words into action, I went to the farmer's market this morning. Here's my bounty:

 

I got squash blossoms ($3), raisin pumpernickel bread ($5), cucumbers, green beans (about a quarter of what I got is shown) and heirloom tomatoes ($6?), a little over a pound of ground beef from a nice Amish man ($7.50), a quart of creamline milk and some Boursin-like chive and dill cheese ($7.50), cucumber mint vodka sorbet ($6), and a bunch of rosemary (didn't need it but it was being sold by a bunch of kids for $1).

I also experienced the disappointments--by the time I got there (a little before they close at noon), most of the bread was gone, as were the eggs. If they had blueberries or strawberries or raspberries, there were none left. I also experienced the problem I often have at farmers markets: distraction from a list. Boursin? Sometimes, these diversions create nice surprises, like the squash blossoms. I saw a recipe in my San Francisco Ferry Terminal Farmer's Market Cookbook and thought I'd never get to try it! I'm going to stuff them with herbed ricotta and fry in olive oil.  Anyway, since I didn't get everything I wanted, I'm going to go to Eastern Market tomorrow to finish my list off--mostly fruit.

So, my takeaway message here is to try some local food if you don't already--you'll probably be surprised at how good it is! (BTW, local means not like next door, but rather within 100 miles...most of our food comes from MUCH further. But, by all means, if you can get stuff next door, do so, so long as your neighbor allows!) :)

Dear Crazy Craigslister,

Seriously? I wonder if they'll sell this. I'm pretty sure you can buy a set of these tray tables for less.

 

Update--2 min later--well, okay, NOT $25, but definitely not $25 each! Here for $69.99 for 4...though I know I've seen these sold at places like Kmart for less!

Day Off Watch 2009: The Day Off That Wasn't

I didn't take a day off this week. I thought, instead, I'd take a few hours off Friday afternoon. That didn't happen either. I'm glad I have work, but what kept me from having time off was not necessarily so much work that I couldn't get it done, but rather: management (or lack thereof). Tell me what's wrong with this picture:

• I have been emailing a manager on one of my projects all week, wanting direction, and saying I wasn't clear on what I should be doing.

• I find out this morning that there is a conference call for this project. I ignore it because we hadn't done anything since the last conference call (with the exception of my emails).

• At 1 pm, I nail down another principal and we call the other one. He assigns me work and asks how long it will take. I say "oh, one and a half to two hours." He says "Okay, 1 1/2 hours." He tells me he wants to leave early.

• I feverishly do the work, and EXACTLY at 1 1/2 hours, he emails me to ask "Any ETA?" I was actually just about to send it to him. He then calls me with changes (not entirely insignificant) and tells me to write a memo, etc etc. He's on his way out the door. I ask him if he wants it sent out today. He says yes. I say "Well, my day was supposed to end soon." "Oh, when are you leaving?" "Well, by 3:30 at the latest." "Oh, well you can do this." (It was 2:30). Needless to say, I did NOT make it. I ended up leaving early...around 4:30 or a little after. So, not quite the super early start I'd hoped for!

Seriously, the gaul of someone to expect YOU to stay when THEY are leaving early?! What the heck?!

Do people realize this is just a magazine?

 

I never thought I'd say this, but I regret recycling my Domino magazines. Now that it's shuttering, the older issues are fetching beaucoups bucks on Ebay. I mean, $76 for one from 2005? I actually have listed the ones I had laying around--all from end of 2008 and beginning of 2009. So far, bid's up to $20.50 with a day to go. That's with free priority shipping, so I end up netting $8. Still, for something that I was going to pitch into the recycling bin? Not bad.

UPDATE 3/14--Bidding is up to $32, with 4+ hours left. I just can't believe that these were essentially going to be trash that someone's buying. I'll keep you posted!

11 pm--Sold for $32. I'm psyched w/ the $17 or so I made on a bunch of old magazines!