5.16.2008

other ways health insurance can screw you

for: my own personal validation, and anyone with kids going to college

saw it in: BusinessWeek (05.19.08 Issue)

what it is: article criticizing the so-called "coverage" that students are required to buy for college health insurance plans, and whether it's a deal or a sham

link: article

my comments: when i went to grad school, i had to buy insurance through the school. i had chickering/aetna (mentioned in the article) and found i was rather lucky to have decent coverage for relatively normal health problems, and that treatment could almost always be recieved in the school's very expansive health center. i was lucky because i didn't have a choice in any of those matters, and i knew that if something very serious were to happen, i'd probably be in very big trouble. now, reading this (and having recently left my soul-sucking insurance employer), I'm rather disgusted to hear how lucky I really was.

proof that man are receding

for: Mom, Jess, womankind

saw it in: BusinessWeek (05.19.08 Issue)

what it is: An article about how men are impacted most by employment recession, based on the fact that they make up the majority of employees in the hardest-hit sectors of manufacturing and construction. Women are increasingly expected to be the bread-winners.

links: Article

my comments: There's nothing about this article that is necessarily new information -- it's just that I didn't really put it all together until I read this. It is an interesting concept to think that any economical recession would hit a specific gender more than another, but in this context, it does make sense.

8.06.2007

mike rowe on qvc

for: Jen, Jon, and anyone else who has an affinity of or respect for the comic brilliance and hotness that is Mike Rowe

saw it on: youtube, because i searched for him

what it is: several old clips of Mike's pre-dirty jobs days on QVC

links (in order of favoritism):
my comments: i've been in love with Mike Rowe for quite some time now. years, I'd say. it started with a simple infatuation, then turned into a sweet affection, and ultimately boiled into a raging crush of horrifying proportions. i gave myself the reality check that mike's age makes him the oldest crush i've ever had (sorry mike), which in turn reminds me that i too am aging at a not so slow pace. however, with lines like "is that a geoduck in your pocket, or are you happy sashimi?" i'm willing to overlook sordid details such as mike's proximity to my father's age. in fact, these clips make me love him even more. (mike, that is. it has no impact onmy feeligns towards my father.)

7.02.2007

cancelling your spell-checquer

for: Jen, and other recreational and professional word nerds

saw it in: mental floss blog

what it is: a smartly displayed comparison of british versus american spelling habits.

link:

my comments: i always credited myself as having british spelling tendencies. now i'm seeing this and believing i just have an overall Spelling Multiple Nationality Disorder.

7.01.2007

consuming the minds of babies

for: Jessica, Selma, Kevin, Gerardo, Erik, Nancy, Jason, Eun, Amy, Jon, Sally..., other people with or about to have babies (which is clearly like....everyone)

saw it in: BusinessWeek Magazine (07.02.07)

what it is: article reviewing a book about the impact of consumerism on babies and kids.

links:

my comments: this freaks me out a little. even baby einstein and leapfrog are cited as being mind-warpers. if i had a baby, or was about to, i'd be all up in this book. but. yeah. anyhow...

barbecue wines

for: Mom, Michael, and other people with grills

saw it in: BusinessWeek Magazine (07.02.07)

what it is: Review of high-point wines that are good with or at a barbecue

link: Parker on Wine

gorillaz and other prime mates

for: Jen

saw it in: Wired Magazine (Jul.2007)

what it is: article about Damon Albarn/Gorillaz and some chinese monkey movie.

link: article