Many thanks to Donna Freedman for the giveaway she’s running around the 30 Pounds/4 Months cookbook! Go on over to Surviving and Thriving and sign up — it’s easy! And you’ll get a chance to read some of her handsomely written posts, while you’re at it.
Earlier this year I remarked on the absurd cost disparity between men’s and women’s personal grooming products. Well, “pink” pricing goes way beyond shaving cream and face lotion. Like…a $20 price hike for a child’s scooter painted pink, and a $5 gouge for a back brace labeled “for women.”
If there was ever any doubt that a certain faction in Western civilization wishes to keep women in their place, this report should remove it. That not enough to convince you? Try this one.
In the Department of Dollars, a friend of mine is trying to persuade me to put about half my retirement savings into an annuity and let him manage the rest of it. I’ve been putting him off politely, because I’m happy with the money management where I am, thank you very much, and because I don’t understand annuities in general well enough to make an informed decision. Mostly, I’m wary of the costs, which he hasn’t detailed, and I’m not happy at the prospect of having a large chunk of my money tied up in an instrument that’s difficult (if not impossible) to get out of. So I appreciated this excellent, clear description of annuity pro’s and cons.
I’m not a Yuccie, but I do covet this car! Luckily, the cravings of an eccentric 70-year-old academic are unlikely to plant the Kiss of Death on Toyota’s pride and joy. In this part of the world, you need at least a ton of metal between you and your fellow homicidal drivers. So the next Dog Chariot is likely to be a Ram 1500, since Toyota has discontinued the Venza. But…how cool IS it!
At year’s end, Revanche counts her blessings. Possibly the sub-text to this amiable post is the fact that those of us whose families have been in the US for several generations haven’t much of a clue to how good daily life really is here.
In the mood for a mystery? Here is a truly bizarre story.
And on that strange note, I’m taking myself, the dogs, and the worst cold of 2015 back to bed!