Some thoughts on 2012

I would ordinarily do a "Better Bryan 2012", but I'm thinking about doing something just a little bit different than that tired trope.


Instead, I'm considering two actions:


1: email every one of my Facebook friends and say some kindness about them or some good memory I have of them.


2: For every "non-necassary" item I purchase, either purchase the same for donation, or donate some percentage of the cost of the item. On second thought, I would just donate the money.

Hop on Mom and Pop

You hear a lot about buying local these days. Buy local food. Avoid Wal-Mart and shop at local Mom & Pop stores. In the later instance, I guess you spend a day going to 15 different stores, but whatever.

Meanwhile, over at PointofLaw.com, the site notes a story involving a guy complaining about Amazon's new push to have people post price information. The guy complains on Facebook about the policy and and says he will boycott Amazon. One assumes the guy is upset that the prices at most local stores won't beat Amazon, thus hurting those businesses.

PointofLaw notes that Facebook itself has put a couple businesses out of business (Friendster, anyone?), and couples with Gawker to put the squeeze on local newspapers.

Further, many of the localavores (at least on my Facebook) use Netflix, which essentially killed local Blockbusters, listen to music on iPods that helped kill local record stores, etc. etc. etc.

The road to hell is paved with canned goods

I'm a bit of a contrarian at heart, and I love when "common wisdom" is wrong; when doing action "A" has a perverse, unintended affect. In fact, I love unintended consequences altogether. Not that I love when they happen, only when I spot them.

Meanwhile, at this time of year, plenty of offices and groups are doing canned food drives. And plenty of people are feeling good about dropping off that can of tuna or soup.

Turns out your good deed might be done better a different way, and might actually do some harm.

All that food can overwhelm food banks. Not to mention that they now have 700,000 cans of high-sodium food to distribute to people who may have high-blood pressure, or jars of peanuts that can't be given to people with allergies. Or some godawful can of creamed something or other that no one knows what to do with.

Not to mention, apparently the food banks can buy the food cheaper than you ever could. Like $0.10 on the dollar cheaper, so it makes much more sense to simply send them a check that they can use to buy food they actually need for their clients. As the article says, eat the can of tuna and donate half its value to a food bank and you've done a much better deed.

As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

UPDATE: The original title of this post was "In a canned pickle". Like either one better?

Week 2

Week 2 without a Nanny, that is, if you count the week she was out "sick." We had a phone interview today, and face-to-face Thursday, and a couple other potential phone interviews this week, so I'm feeling better about our place.

It is amazing the number of people who will respond to an ad for a Nanny for newborn triplets who aren't comfortable caring for more than 2 kids. Are you not reading the ad? It's triplets. Are you now comfortable but haven't updated your online profile? What?

It also happens to be week 2 of the Push-Up Challenge. Day 1 went pretty well, considering I did the push ups at 10:30 p.m. It's a ladder like set up, where you do a small number, rest, do a larger number, rest, then do two more sets of a middling number, rest, and do a max. I couldn't do the max all the way, but still.

And somehow, I'm actually getting stuff done at work. Luckily we are slow during this time.

Because I don't have anything else going on

Honestly. Not like triplets are much or anything. Oh, or like our Nanny quit. Which she totally did. Or that I have Christmas shopping to do. Or 100 things to do around the house.

Anyway, because I don't have anything to do, I'm learning how to code in Javascript at Codecadamy. It is a free online site that supposedly teaches you the Javascript langauge. Here is to hoping. I think it would be neat to learn another langauge, one that would be more useful than say, Mandarin, which everyone seems to want to learn.

Also, I've restarted my 100 Pushup Challenge. Friday (tomorrow) is Day 3 of Week 2, which I started this week. I started on week 2 because I'm that freakin strong and awesome.

Back to the salt's mine

After NY and other places went on a tear and tried to ban salt, or at least reduce its use, and after years of government programs shouted from the rooftops regarding the hazards of the white crystal, it turns out that lowering your salt intake can be harmful. And these weren't crazy reductions to like 600 mg per day, these people were still eating - after the reduction - 3,800 mg, which is much much higher than the 2,000 mg the government recommends.

Meanwhile, out on the left coast Los Angeles is busy preventing new fast food chains from opening, on the premise that they locate in poor neighborhoods and make the poor fat. Ignoring the personal choice issue, it turns out that - OMG - middle class people eat more fast food and in fact, the richer you are, the more fast you eat, up to about $60,000 in income. The availability of healthy food in poor neighborhoods, and health and obesity in general in those areas, is an issue, but simplifying it down to "fast food = bad" is not the way to solve it. But it makes some people feel like they are helping, so who cares who it hurts.

Oh, and after needlessly worrying parents for the last 5 or so years, it turns out that your fat baby probably isn't going to grow up to be the blob.

I'm expected to raise my kids in this world?

Two Florida school children suspended after they were caught... doing drugs? No. Having sex? No. Vandalizing property? Again, no.

Hugging. Yes. Hugging. According to Reason.com the principle "admits it was an 'innocent' hug, but the school has zero tolerance for hugging."

Wait. "Zero tolerance for hugging"? What?

I'm generally an enthusiastic supporter and believer that the times we are living in now are better than any time in the past; and that my kids' future world will be an infinitely better place than today.

Sometimes though, I have to wonder. To the extent that things like this make our world worse, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

And be careful, next time your teen kid smiles at someone, they could end up married, pregnant and full of STDs.