April 2008

Bombs Away: Academic trench warfare revisited

April 29, 2008

A query from one of my honored students: I am wondering why the rough draft for the proposals are being graded on grammar content. I was always under the impression rough drafts do not worry about grammar content and areforgathering your thoughts together for the final draft. Nowhere in the course materials does the slightest [...]

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Moments of Fame

April 28, 2008

Lazy Man has demonstrated that “lazy” is not what he is: he’s posted a HUGE Carnival of Personal Finance. This 150th edition, which includes Funny’s remarks on a student group’s plan to make PF a required college course, features so many interesting articles I hardly know where to begin. Many links to new-to-me sites, such [...]

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Monday Household Hint: Make roses last

April 28, 2008

Many schemes to extend the life of cut flowers are out there. One of the most popular is to add Sprite or a similar clear soft drink to the water. A technique that’s free: put ice in the water. Using a sharp nipper or knife, trim rose stems on an angle. Place the trimmed flowers [...]

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Saving $$ at the pool pump

April 27, 2008

Since I can’t save at the gas pump ($51 yesterday for a Costco fill-up that recently cost $38!), maybe I can retrieve a few bucks from the swimming pool pump. The Feds say you can save as much as 60% on your pool’s electric bill simply by cutting back the number of hours you run [...]

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Life in the Academic Trenches

April 27, 2008

Today I’ve GOT to read student papers, having put it off way too long. Friday I finished the last raft at midnight, as new papers were pouring in. Yesterday I had the temerity to invite friends over, which required me to clean the shack as well as fixing an actual meal. And I made doing [...]

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Candles

April 25, 2008

One element in the Month of (not-so)Extreme Frugality involves the experiment of navigating the house after dark by candlelight. This requires me to dig up some candles and to figure out how to use them to best effect. I have a number of pillar candles. Some are scented. Personally, I dislike the odor of scented [...]

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