OK, every time I come across a link to this page I see that food pyramid, and I wonder, "What is that item at the top of the pyramid?" A glob of cookie dough? Seriously, I can not make it out. Help?
That aside, thanks for the info. I currently use fitday.com to track this stuff but am always on the lookout for good online tools.
- growing up in Africa between the age of eight and fifteen, feeling like a "little prince" (I was born in France)
- traveling "hobo style" sleeping by the road around Quebec at the age of nineteen with a friend, experiencing true freedom
- emancipating myself for the first time of my life by working and traveling on my own around Ireland at the age of twenty-one
- four years later, landing in Belgium after a six hours flight in the bay of a cargo airplane then taking a 1000km train trip to be with my family again, safe and alive after a one year job experience in Africa that didn't work out so well
- driving a 4OOkm gravel road up north in Quebec, during a 4 weeks/7500km roadtrip with the same old friend eight years later after our first visit to Canada
now I'm twenty-eight, a good job with good money for the first time of my life but incredibly feeling stuck and unhappy with it.
I don't know how and when but I'll figure my way out, I'm working on it. Maybe it will be something sounding like "travel" and "Canada"...
@Jay: Maybe your kids are learning a valuable lesson from doing work that isn't worth doing. Maybe I just wasn't smart enough. As an impressionable teenager, working with people who were stuck in low-wage jobs, I learned that the boss doesn't pay you as much as you're worth and so you should always slack off and stick it to the Man. Don't work too fast: if you let the Man know you can do the work in half the time, he'll give you twice as much work. It took me years to grow out of what I learned in these jobs.
dont' you EVER underestimate the value of volunteer labour.
i'm 32 now, but when i first left college way back in 1994, i could not get a job anywhere, no matter how hard i tried (i'm referring to the UK btw).
my only recourse (to get some REAL works experience), was to take up a part in voluntary work.
I initally worked for the National Trust (google them), and was expected to put in 90+ hours per week, unpaid!!!!!!
completely unrealistic.
So i ended up working for my local community news sheet for 40+ hours per week, and this got me what i needed, a fairly decent job, as whenever i went for an interview, the panel would ALWAYS ask how i was motivated, and telling them i did voluntary work always went in my favour.
I think the examples I provided (trimming branches, painging parking lot lines, hauling trash) make it clear that I'm not suggesting that menial work isn't worth doing.
But I think there is work that isn't worth doing, and plenty of it.
As just one example, I spent several hours I'll never get back at a workplace presentation on a new initiative that was supposed to improve communication between workers and managers. It was a stupid, one-size-fits-all program that had no applicability to what we did. That meeting was "work," in the sense that they paid me to show up, but it wasn't worth doing. It was a waste everyone's time.
Work isn't worth doing in the abstract. It's worth doing if it serves a purpose. It's worth doing if you think it's worth doing.
Suppose somebody set you to work counting something, and then made it clear that (except for checking to make sure that you actually did it), no use would be made of the data that you collected--they'd take your tallies and toss them in the trash. Would that be worth doing?
I've spent way too much of my life doing work that wasn't much different from that, simply because somebody was paying me to do it. It took me far too long to figure out I was making a terrible trade, taking money in exchange for work that wasn't worth doing.
I agree that the incentive systems can always be gamed. That doesn't make them all bad. Some people don't really have a "passion" for their work; an extrinsic poke can help them.
My beef is with incentive plans that reward only the "top 10%" (or similar). Wouldn't it be wonderful if *everyone* met the goal? Then you run into the economic downturns (already mentioned here), or Unexpected Success -- where management expected to pay 2 or 3 bonuses, but instead things worked so well they're faced with paying 50. They *have* the 50x, but hey, that's a lot of money! Too much!
I had four relatives that offered me $1 for every "A" I got in grade school. I picked up a dollar here and there until I figured out how to study in 5th grade and started getting straight As. One relative paid off. Once. After that, no one could afford the $6 per semester.
further to my posting yesterday.
i have more or less determined that usacamera.com has closed up
& fled as this company is not contactable.There 1800 number
does not currently exist.
Buyer beware!!!
I am suprised that their website is still posted on the web.
WHY DON'T WE STOP BUYING GAS AND PRODUCES FROM ONE OF THE TOP COMPANY LIKE EXXON FOR A MONTH SO THEY CAN FEEL THE NEED TO DROP PRICES. THEN NEXT MONTH SHELL AND SO ON.
The great song-writer/folk singer Charlie King has a song that catches some of the same things you're saying. Fortunately, he has a T-shirt with some words from the chorus. The back says, "Our work is more than our job," and the front says, "Our life is more than our work."
Work is worth doing. What has become worthless is people's attitude toward work. We have whole generations that think they are too good to work, that they are meant for better things, that they are elite because they are told they are perfect beings. There is no work without honor if the person doing the work does their best. I regularly thank the people around my workplace who pick up the garbage left by the elite group too indifferent to use trashcans and recycling bins...I thank them for trying to make the place look better by being up the garbage of the elite but lazy group who find themselves too special to pick up after themselves. I thank the landscapers, and I thank the staff who vacuum and dust, and I thank anyone who goes out of their way to fix something they see broken without waiting around for someone else to do it. I have no patience for this idea that work is worthless. What is worthless are the holier than thou group who think they are too special to make any effort. I don't think a person has to wait around to find a job as special as they are...what they should be working on is your attitude that they are too special to work at anything. Work done well, at any level, is something special. People too lazy and egotistical to apply themselves are a dime a dozen.
I have to differ with the opinion expressed in this thread that Americans are significantly changing their behavior when it comes to gas consumption.
The vast majority whine about the price as they fill up but actually do nothing in terms of actively reducing their driving. I don't know a single person who has suddenly started to carpool or who has even traded in their big gas guzzler for a more fuel efficient vehicle. Sure, there are some folks out there trying drive slower or make fewer trips but they are the exception not the rule.
In the larger picture it is interesting to note that even with the 24 hour a day barrage about global warming and the need for conservation Americans are subjected to we are using more energy per person today than ever before.
And despite the never ending drum beat of those pushing the environmental agenda I expect that trend to continue.
The problem is not that "work" is the wrong word, but rather that the word has been degraded just lately.
We still use the word correctly sometimes, as when we talk about a great work of art, music, or literature. But all too often we use "work" when all we're really talking about is a job.
If one of your peers sees what you've done and says, "This is some of your best work," that's one of the highest compliments you can get. If it's not--if you've got some job where that statement could only be meant ironically--you should find some work worth doing.
I encourage my kids to find work that isn't worth doing. Obviously they hate it.
Therein lies the lesson. At 16, 17 and 18, our kids are in a unique position to plan to do whatever they want to do in life. This is often the ONLY time they'll be in this position. Choose and plan wisely, and they "get to go to work" everyday. Choose poorly, and they become one of those CETA folks.
My oldest son caught on quickly. He'll be attending the US Naval Academy next year and he's thrilled. My daughter is a work-in-progress. My other two children are a little too young to start the experiment, but I'm betting they're paying attention to what their older siblings are going through.
"Work" is a poor word to use in defining what we do to provide for our families and better ourselves. The most successful folks in life (and success doesn't necessarily have to be quantified in dollars) make sure that "work" is everything but...
yo if you know what i mean runescape is pretty good now. really its pretty neat grapics the last time i played it it was bad now its pretty good try this website funorb.com also created by jagex.
gtWise is correct that inflation just redistributes wealth. In the long run however it is disastrous to the economy. Why bother doing anything productive in the economy if you can make money by buying hard assets and watch their value rise!
Real wealth is created by having a large differential between income and costs. Having a good income and being frugal helps in this respect.
One myth that needs to be dispelled is the thought that moderate inflation is normal. The mild inflation of the last 60 years is in fact an anomaly. If you look far back in history in the era of hard money you will see hardly any inflation. The whole century before WWII saw large increases in wealth without any inflation at all. Inflation rather comes around when governments are allowed to print money at will.
If say you look at Japan over the last 15 years, the average Japanese person has had their standards of living increased. Although incomes have stagnated, the cost of housing, rent, goods etc have fallen. Likewise if you look at the industrial revolution the prices of goods declined substantially due to increased productivity.
I remember seeing an article explaining the real wages of Americans has not advanced significantly for the last 30 years. I'm not trying to pick on the US. This is a problem with the western world. I would suggest that the mild inflation since WWII has had a distortionary effect on the western economies. Rather than focusing on productivity improvements there has been a tendency to gamble on real estate and stocks and buy consumer goods with more and more debt.
Can anyone either explain how to do in Excel or show me a link to where I can calculate an amortization schedule that includes escrow for property taxes and home owners insurance?
I am 2 years into a 20 year loan and would like to create an excel spreadsheet to track the additional principal payments I have recently started sending in, but the amount I can send every month varies. I would like to track my progress and project in "real time" so to speak.
I grew up eating Spam too; and fried bologna when I visited my grandmother. Liked both of them, although I'm not sure I'd still go for the bologna. We had a lot of baked Spam with pineapple as well as fried Spam. And nobody was fat back then, nobody--look at the black and white news from the era. My grandmother lived to be 96, both my parents into their 80's and they both smoked. Maybe it was the Spam that preserved them.
Think I'll go out tomorrow and look for some at the Dollar Store. Good post--thanks for putting yourself out there.
Well if the world ends on 12/21/2012, I will be exactly 29. It makes me wonder if this is the way my goal to be debt free by 30. I guess the only way to know is if any of us wake up 12/22/2012.
They give 250 MB of disk space and 100 GB data transfer. I am now using them for about 3 months and never seen any downtime of server problems. There is no any kind of advertising on my pages too, so I think its worth to signup.
Thanks for the promt reply! How hot must it be to distill, or would it simply take longer to distill at a lower temerature ( say room temperatue ). Any thoughts of building a solar still? Im sure it doesnt get hot enough to boil water, but it is free energy that could be used. Do you know what the cost per gallon ( or liter ) work out to be asuming 'free distilling' is used.
Ive taked with people that produce biodiesel at home but the do it for the environment not to save money. Ive also heard that people that do want to save money simply remove particulants from deep fryer oil and use it for fuel. As a mechanic Ive seen fuel system upgrades to burn oil in diesels and 'flex fuels' in gas engines ( flex fuel is a mix of up to 85% ethenol and 15% gassoline).
Something else I found interesting was the Wright Brothers first flight was on peanut oil! Also if you live in cold climates and use gas line antifreeze, look at the bottle. Most times its methonal! The only problem with that is it is a very light fuel that can cause engine damage. Some monter trucks burn 100% methonal but need to rebuild it often. It can help to produce more horse power. Ops, I dont want to get too far off topic of ( almost free booze, or fuel). Thanks again, this site has sooo much information.
All the US residents are complaining about fuel prices. Try driving the UK, where we are paying £1.20 for 1 litre of fuel ($2.40)! That would mean that a gallon of fuel in the UK is £5.40 or $10.80!
Its about time the Americans find sense that placing a V6 engine in a small hatchback and a 6 litre V8 in a saloon car will mean that its bloody expensive to use! I drive a Vauxhall Vectra (Opel/GM) 1.9 turbo diesel. On the motorway I get 62 miles per gallon!!!
I am sorry, but ew! I am all about frugal eating, but I cannot stomach the idea of spam. Or the smell of it. And it is SO not good for you in ANY way. It's a can of meat fat, sugar, salt, and preservatives! Cans of tuna are cheap too, and much better for you in general.
OK, every time I come across a link to this page I see that food pyramid, and I wonder, "What is that item at the top of the pyramid?" A glob of cookie dough? Seriously, I can not make it out. Help?
That aside, thanks for the info. I currently use fitday.com to track this stuff but am always on the lookout for good online tools.
...5 happiest moments :
- growing up in Africa between the age of eight and fifteen, feeling like a "little prince" (I was born in France)
- traveling "hobo style" sleeping by the road around Quebec at the age of nineteen with a friend, experiencing true freedom
- emancipating myself for the first time of my life by working and traveling on my own around Ireland at the age of twenty-one
- four years later, landing in Belgium after a six hours flight in the bay of a cargo airplane then taking a 1000km train trip to be with my family again, safe and alive after a one year job experience in Africa that didn't work out so well
- driving a 4OOkm gravel road up north in Quebec, during a 4 weeks/7500km roadtrip with the same old friend eight years later after our first visit to Canada
now I'm twenty-eight, a good job with good money for the first time of my life but incredibly feeling stuck and unhappy with it.
I don't know how and when but I'll figure my way out, I'm working on it. Maybe it will be something sounding like "travel" and "Canada"...
Thank you Nora Dunn for your insights.
@Jay: Maybe your kids are learning a valuable lesson from doing work that isn't worth doing. Maybe I just wasn't smart enough. As an impressionable teenager, working with people who were stuck in low-wage jobs, I learned that the boss doesn't pay you as much as you're worth and so you should always slack off and stick it to the Man. Don't work too fast: if you let the Man know you can do the work in half the time, he'll give you twice as much work. It took me years to grow out of what I learned in these jobs.
@Dave:
You bet. I've written about volunteering as a path to finding your true work here:
http://www.wisebread.com/pre-career-advice
dont' you EVER underestimate the value of volunteer labour.
i'm 32 now, but when i first left college way back in 1994, i could not get a job anywhere, no matter how hard i tried (i'm referring to the UK btw).
my only recourse (to get some REAL works experience), was to take up a part in voluntary work.
I initally worked for the National Trust (google them), and was expected to put in 90+ hours per week, unpaid!!!!!!
completely unrealistic.
So i ended up working for my local community news sheet for 40+ hours per week, and this got me what i needed, a fairly decent job, as whenever i went for an interview, the panel would ALWAYS ask how i was motivated, and telling them i did voluntary work always went in my favour.
@Dianne:
I think the examples I provided (trimming branches, painging parking lot lines, hauling trash) make it clear that I'm not suggesting that menial work isn't worth doing.
But I think there is work that isn't worth doing, and plenty of it.
As just one example, I spent several hours I'll never get back at a workplace presentation on a new initiative that was supposed to improve communication between workers and managers. It was a stupid, one-size-fits-all program that had no applicability to what we did. That meeting was "work," in the sense that they paid me to show up, but it wasn't worth doing. It was a waste everyone's time.
Work isn't worth doing in the abstract. It's worth doing if it serves a purpose. It's worth doing if you think it's worth doing.
Suppose somebody set you to work counting something, and then made it clear that (except for checking to make sure that you actually did it), no use would be made of the data that you collected--they'd take your tallies and toss them in the trash. Would that be worth doing?
I've spent way too much of my life doing work that wasn't much different from that, simply because somebody was paying me to do it. It took me far too long to figure out I was making a terrible trade, taking money in exchange for work that wasn't worth doing.
I agree that the incentive systems can always be gamed. That doesn't make them all bad. Some people don't really have a "passion" for their work; an extrinsic poke can help them.
My beef is with incentive plans that reward only the "top 10%" (or similar). Wouldn't it be wonderful if *everyone* met the goal? Then you run into the economic downturns (already mentioned here), or Unexpected Success -- where management expected to pay 2 or 3 bonuses, but instead things worked so well they're faced with paying 50. They *have* the 50x, but hey, that's a lot of money! Too much!
I had four relatives that offered me $1 for every "A" I got in grade school. I picked up a dollar here and there until I figured out how to study in 5th grade and started getting straight As. One relative paid off. Once. After that, no one could afford the $6 per semester.
further to my posting yesterday.
i have more or less determined that usacamera.com has closed up
& fled as this company is not contactable.There 1800 number
does not currently exist.
Buyer beware!!!
I am suprised that their website is still posted on the web.
Dermot
WHY DON'T WE STOP BUYING GAS AND PRODUCES FROM ONE OF THE TOP COMPANY LIKE EXXON FOR A MONTH SO THEY CAN FEEL THE NEED TO DROP PRICES. THEN NEXT MONTH SHELL AND SO ON.
The great song-writer/folk singer Charlie King has a song that catches some of the same things you're saying. Fortunately, he has a T-shirt with some words from the chorus. The back says, "Our work is more than our job," and the front says, "Our life is more than our work."
Great post, Philip, as usual.
Work is worth doing. What has become worthless is people's attitude toward work. We have whole generations that think they are too good to work, that they are meant for better things, that they are elite because they are told they are perfect beings. There is no work without honor if the person doing the work does their best. I regularly thank the people around my workplace who pick up the garbage left by the elite group too indifferent to use trashcans and recycling bins...I thank them for trying to make the place look better by being up the garbage of the elite but lazy group who find themselves too special to pick up after themselves. I thank the landscapers, and I thank the staff who vacuum and dust, and I thank anyone who goes out of their way to fix something they see broken without waiting around for someone else to do it. I have no patience for this idea that work is worthless. What is worthless are the holier than thou group who think they are too special to make any effort. I don't think a person has to wait around to find a job as special as they are...what they should be working on is your attitude that they are too special to work at anything. Work done well, at any level, is something special. People too lazy and egotistical to apply themselves are a dime a dozen.
I have to differ with the opinion expressed in this thread that Americans are significantly changing their behavior when it comes to gas consumption.
The vast majority whine about the price as they fill up but actually do nothing in terms of actively reducing their driving. I don't know a single person who has suddenly started to carpool or who has even traded in their big gas guzzler for a more fuel efficient vehicle. Sure, there are some folks out there trying drive slower or make fewer trips but they are the exception not the rule.
In the larger picture it is interesting to note that even with the 24 hour a day barrage about global warming and the need for conservation Americans are subjected to we are using more energy per person today than ever before.
And despite the never ending drum beat of those pushing the environmental agenda I expect that trend to continue.
The problem is not that "work" is the wrong word, but rather that the word has been degraded just lately.
We still use the word correctly sometimes, as when we talk about a great work of art, music, or literature. But all too often we use "work" when all we're really talking about is a job.
If one of your peers sees what you've done and says, "This is some of your best work," that's one of the highest compliments you can get. If it's not--if you've got some job where that statement could only be meant ironically--you should find some work worth doing.
I encourage my kids to find work that isn't worth doing. Obviously they hate it.
Therein lies the lesson. At 16, 17 and 18, our kids are in a unique position to plan to do whatever they want to do in life. This is often the ONLY time they'll be in this position. Choose and plan wisely, and they "get to go to work" everyday. Choose poorly, and they become one of those CETA folks.
My oldest son caught on quickly. He'll be attending the US Naval Academy next year and he's thrilled. My daughter is a work-in-progress. My other two children are a little too young to start the experiment, but I'm betting they're paying attention to what their older siblings are going through.
"Work" is a poor word to use in defining what we do to provide for our families and better ourselves. The most successful folks in life (and success doesn't necessarily have to be quantified in dollars) make sure that "work" is everything but...
JAY
yo if you know what i mean runescape is pretty good now. really its pretty neat grapics the last time i played it it was bad now its pretty good try this website funorb.com also created by jagex.
gtWise is correct that inflation just redistributes wealth. In the long run however it is disastrous to the economy. Why bother doing anything productive in the economy if you can make money by buying hard assets and watch their value rise!
Real wealth is created by having a large differential between income and costs. Having a good income and being frugal helps in this respect.
One myth that needs to be dispelled is the thought that moderate inflation is normal. The mild inflation of the last 60 years is in fact an anomaly. If you look far back in history in the era of hard money you will see hardly any inflation. The whole century before WWII saw large increases in wealth without any inflation at all. Inflation rather comes around when governments are allowed to print money at will.
If say you look at Japan over the last 15 years, the average Japanese person has had their standards of living increased. Although incomes have stagnated, the cost of housing, rent, goods etc have fallen. Likewise if you look at the industrial revolution the prices of goods declined substantially due to increased productivity.
I remember seeing an article explaining the real wages of Americans has not advanced significantly for the last 30 years. I'm not trying to pick on the US. This is a problem with the western world. I would suggest that the mild inflation since WWII has had a distortionary effect on the western economies. Rather than focusing on productivity improvements there has been a tendency to gamble on real estate and stocks and buy consumer goods with more and more debt.
Can anyone either explain how to do in Excel or show me a link to where I can calculate an amortization schedule that includes escrow for property taxes and home owners insurance?
I am 2 years into a 20 year loan and would like to create an excel spreadsheet to track the additional principal payments I have recently started sending in, but the amount I can send every month varies. I would like to track my progress and project in "real time" so to speak.
Thanks in advance.
I grew up eating Spam too; and fried bologna when I visited my grandmother. Liked both of them, although I'm not sure I'd still go for the bologna. We had a lot of baked Spam with pineapple as well as fried Spam. And nobody was fat back then, nobody--look at the black and white news from the era. My grandmother lived to be 96, both my parents into their 80's and they both smoked. Maybe it was the Spam that preserved them.
Think I'll go out tomorrow and look for some at the Dollar Store. Good post--thanks for putting yourself out there.
Well if the world ends on 12/21/2012, I will be exactly 29. It makes me wonder if this is the way my goal to be debt free by 30. I guess the only way to know is if any of us wake up 12/22/2012.
Hello everyone,
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Register here: http://www.000webhost.com/40516.html
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I have read "eats, shoots and leaves" several times. I just got sloppy this morning in my haste to spread good news. The typo is fixed.
Thanks for the promt reply! How hot must it be to distill, or would it simply take longer to distill at a lower temerature ( say room temperatue ). Any thoughts of building a solar still? Im sure it doesnt get hot enough to boil water, but it is free energy that could be used. Do you know what the cost per gallon ( or liter ) work out to be asuming 'free distilling' is used.
Ive taked with people that produce biodiesel at home but the do it for the environment not to save money. Ive also heard that people that do want to save money simply remove particulants from deep fryer oil and use it for fuel. As a mechanic Ive seen fuel system upgrades to burn oil in diesels and 'flex fuels' in gas engines ( flex fuel is a mix of up to 85% ethenol and 15% gassoline).
Something else I found interesting was the Wright Brothers first flight was on peanut oil! Also if you live in cold climates and use gas line antifreeze, look at the bottle. Most times its methonal! The only problem with that is it is a very light fuel that can cause engine damage. Some monter trucks burn 100% methonal but need to rebuild it often. It can help to produce more horse power. Ops, I dont want to get too far off topic of ( almost free booze, or fuel). Thanks again, this site has sooo much information.
All the US residents are complaining about fuel prices. Try driving the UK, where we are paying £1.20 for 1 litre of fuel ($2.40)! That would mean that a gallon of fuel in the UK is £5.40 or $10.80!
Its about time the Americans find sense that placing a V6 engine in a small hatchback and a 6 litre V8 in a saloon car will mean that its bloody expensive to use! I drive a Vauxhall Vectra (Opel/GM) 1.9 turbo diesel. On the motorway I get 62 miles per gallon!!!
I am sorry, but ew! I am all about frugal eating, but I cannot stomach the idea of spam. Or the smell of it. And it is SO not good for you in ANY way. It's a can of meat fat, sugar, salt, and preservatives! Cans of tuna are cheap too, and much better for you in general.
http://angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif
That is all.