December 2009

Kill-the-Beaster Logic

December 30, 2009

Children are crammed like sardines into Arizona’s public school classrooms. State and county parks are closing down. The Department of Public Safety is looking at laying off hundreds of police officers. Firefighters and paramedics are being laid off across the state. The university system is imploding. The Department of Transportation, which maintains roads and administers [...]

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Exit, Stage Left: Goodbye to Arizona State University

December 29, 2009

Today I went out to the Great Desert University—which (let it be known!) is in reality Arizona State University, the center of the canker upon the Sonoran Desert known as the City of Tempe—to wrap up my 26-year existence in that place. I locked the laptop the College bought for me into a file drawer; [...]

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When DIY doesn’t save much

December 28, 2009

In theory, my pool needs to be drained and refilled. Over time, hard-water particulates and chemicals build up in pool water, especially in Arizona low desert, where hard, salty water is now piped in from the Central Arizona Project. I’ve resisted this for a year, since I’m always skeptical when someone comes up with an [...]

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Bumhood: The fruits of financial freedom

December 27, 2009

For quite some time, I’ve been threatening to interview SDXB,* my friend who retired at the age of 47 into a glorious life of what he calls “Bumhood.” He’s not an especially affluent man, nor does he live like a pauper. He chooses to live frugally, and accordingly he chooses to live off the gerbil [...]

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Moment of Fame

December 27, 2009

Funny has gotten a bit lazy about submitting posts to carnivals. It’s been a busy Christmas season…that’s my only excuse. I did send the budding crockpot scalloped potato recipe to the Make It from Scratch Carnival, which was hosted last week by Liss at Frills in the Hills. I see she included Rina’s delicious-sounding crockpot [...]

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State of Arizona Employ: Goodbye, so long, adios!

December 26, 2009

Arizona’s bumbling state legislators, faced with a budget deficit that would challenge far better men and women, approved a 5 percent cut in pay for state employees. This will more than negate the 6.2 percent increase they generously ladled out a couple of years ago. You have to understand, every raise for state employees is [...]

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