I wouldn't put it like that. It's certainly easier to do the Right Thing if the infrastructure supports you in that, but really, what it does is lower the threshold for it, not enabling it. I've moved from Germany to Norway a couple of years ago. From a country that is pancake-flat and has bike paths and mild winters to a country domicated by glacial mountain ranges, harsh winters and bicycling in the road. It hasn't changed my habbits at all. I still don't own a car.
As for gas prices: Even in Europe's oil-richest country, the price for a gallon is now over 7.50 USD. 4 dollars a gallon isn't going to make anyone switch to the bike, because I know from my experience here that 7.50 isn't doing it either. I suspect that the only reason anyone takes a bike here is because it's good for them.
I really enjoyed this post, it reminded me to not be complacent.
If you write more about this topic and please do,
What if you have a boss that asks you for stuff that she never asked you about? I have a boss like that, I keep record of all the stuff she actually instructs me to do, but she regularly claims she asked me to do something that she did not.
I live in the Greater Seattle area (Everett), and I just purchased my first road bike yesterday, due to the myraid of benefits it includes (exercise, less pollution, cheaper).
With gas prices threatening to reach 4 dollars a gallon, I figured I'd rather stop using the car and instead invest the saved money into the bike.
Seattle is a great city for bikers (despite the hills), as the buses often have bike racks, and park-and-rides have lockers where bikes can be stored. There are also many sidewalks, and countless bike/walking trails.
Not only is it good exercise, it's a great alternative to using a car for transportation. If you lived in the heart of Seattle, you could bike to any destination you desired.
This ia great post, and very timely and relevant given the number of new college grads who will be hitting the workplace soon.
The one thing I would add to this list is to really get to know your boss. No, not in the we're-buddies-attached-at-the-hip kind of knowing, but being familiar with hot buttons, likes, dislikes, communication style, Myers-Briggs or DiSC profile. Watch how they've treated others in the situations you've just described (which are 5 of the biggies).
There are a couple of really practical books just entering the market right now that complement this post well. Besides my book on how to effectively manage office politics (GUST - The "Tale" Wind of Office Politics), Anita Bruzesse has a great book out called "45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy"
So if I make the trek to this burger shanty of sorts for their 6 pound burger and succeed in devouring it, do I get some sort of Wise Bread prize for doing so?
No? Fine.
But what if I mention the site as well and ask them to hang up some sort of "as featured on 'wisebread.com'" poster?
Wow that looked painful....I have done 4 treatments of laser tattoo removal and I have to say it was worth it to me, although it may not be to someone else. I have one left and I am going to see someone about the acid treatment next week, why the huge negative towards that treatment???
I found a calorie calculator online and did a quick check for you all. The 9lb burger comes in at around 13,000 calories (around 1 weeks worth of food for the average adult) and the 15lber around 20,000 calories -roughly 1 year's worth of food for the average supermodel.
they are exceptionally well made. But why are they so foul looking? C'mon guys, is it so hard to make a shoe look sweet (like the Mark Ecko sneaks I'm wearing right now...trust me, they be cool).
those are awesome, so awesome i just bought a pair... i will make sure to send you lots of pictures... thanks for the code, made them totally worth the 15$ (with shipping) there is no way i would have paid a penny more
Apart from the items already mentioned regarding ethics, representation, etc.. your story is not truly 'net positive' as you are forgetting one crucial thing.
While it is true that the seller would get more money, the buyer would get the home for cheaper and the agent gets 1/2 a percentage point higher commission than had another agent brought the offer there is one loser.
The agent. Why?
The agent in question helped the buyer:
- negotiating the buyer's position (questionably done correct given dual agency)
- dealt with the paper work on the buyer's behalf including law required filing, etc..
- helped the buyer with (possibly) arrange inspection, communication with other service providers, lawyers, etc..
- monitored the buyer's half of the closing
- presented the home to the buyer on possession
As an agent myself I can tell you that only 1/3 of the total time spent with buyers is spent looking for houses with the remainder focused on the above points. Not only this but the agent is effectively trippling their chances of being sued due to representing the extra party (this doubles it) and the dual agency arrangement (breach of fidicuary duty).
I don't know what profession you're in but I don't think you'ld accept almost double the workload and three times the risk for the same pay.
I know I won't.
You know it's funny - people get so hung up on what they *perceive* real estate agents are making and don't realize that financially the risk is all theirs. If people paid real estate agents hourly I would imagine that the cost to transact land would probably be cut by half or more. It's the general publics greed that ends up driving the rates up. The fact is that when you use a selling or a buying agent you are not compelled to buy. The financial risk/reward is fully the on the head of the agent.
Not only that, but what people don't realize is that the expenses in this business are so monumental that when an agent decides to 'throw in' $3000 to make a deal come together that might represent half of their profit.
This usually comes *after* half of the work is done. Imagine any other job where someone implicitly agress to pay you something and then half way through the process says "oh by the way, I'll only continue if you work for half the amount"
Some things to think about. Anyway, I'll leave you with two parting thoughts:
"It's takes a true professional to make something that is difficult appear effortless"
It seems that this word Organic is being treated like a holy relic, when in fact the word has been sadly perverted by large corporations. I remember a story in The Omnivore's Dilemma in which the author wanted a true organic farmer to ship him some produce so he could try it for himself. The farmer said no, explaining that this actually goes against the principles of true organic farming. "If you want some, you'll have to come by my farm and pick some up" and so he did.
It's a fun way to drive. And one quick point I should mention...smells. Have no fear, your car will not smell like a restaurant for eternity. You may get the occasional waft of good food while you're cooking, but it's gone when you don't cook.
I was so delighted by baby carrots (the whittled down kind, not the real actual baby carrots) because they absolved me of work when I was younger. My mother used to like sliced carrots in the salad, and salad-making duties always fell to me. I would have to peel the carrots with this stupid rusty old peeler that was completely dull and impossible to use without cutting yourself.
So baby carrots were like a litle piece of heaven. Until I tried the real kind again, realizing that they didn't HAVE to be peeled. But if they were, they could also be peeled with a peeler that was manufactured sometime during the last, oh sya, 20 years.
Now that you mention it, I am in the market for my very own personal hydration unit. I was on charity bike ride this weekend and though it was supposed to be fully supported, the last rest stop packed up and left before my riding buddies and I made it there (there weren't enough amateurs in the pack apparently). One of my friends (I think of him as Mr. Safety) usually rides with a Camelbak and had plenty of water whereas my 2 water bottles ran dry.
I strive for frugality of the little f variety because I HAVE to, its not an affectation. Feeding a growing family of 5 can have some challenges for the food budget.
Anyone who has their eye on the price would know that baby carrots are not frugal. If you actually LOOK at them, and have a passing familiarity with whole carrots, you would be able to tell that they are remnants. No carrot grows this way. I grew some thumbelina carrots last year and they still had the morphology of a whole carrot (ie: the crown where the stems sprouted).
Now on the big F level, I do not see how using the scraps of gnarly carrots should be offensive to someone who would choose gnarly crooked off color organic carrots over supermodel carrots of the conventional variety.
I do not buy baby carrots because I am leary of any processed food. Baby carrots have been extensively modified and thus exposed to pathogens. To clean after that, you need to soak the poor things in "cleansers" (even if its dilute).
I also do not buy them because so often they are drying out and cracked.
One last reason to not binge on baby or any other carrots - lots of sugar.
It would be better to eat a few well chosen well grown happy hunky dorie locally grown supporting local farmers carrots than to have a binge-fest on "baby" carrots of unknown age, provenance, nutritional quality, and bland flavor.
To Alex: whipped? Yikes! You need a 12 step program to help you heal from that. Maybe force yourself to look at veggies in a more methodical and experimental way. Try to buy one new veggie and then fix it in a variety of ways until you find a prep method that makes your tastebuds sing. Then do the same with another and another. Go slow, take it easy, give yourself some slack.
The organic community has done just that, with the Organic Consumer's Association calling for a boycott of Horizon and Aurora Organic. It will get interesting before it gets over.
I would suggest even better than politics, however, is for your readers to search out local producers and forge a long term relationship in sourcing their food. We love it that many people consider us "their rancher." The actual organic certification is less important than keeping small farmers active on the land, which has a number of benefits including preservation of open space, contribution to a local economy, maintenance of families in rural communities, conservation of wildlife habitat, to name a few.
Here are a couple sites to get started: www.eatwild.com (lists producers of pasture-based protein and dairy by state) www.localharvest.com (can search by zip code and what you're interested in) http://www.foodroutes.org/localfood/ (another search by zip site)
You can also google your state name and "local food." A number of states have agriculture department supported sites that list small-scale producers in the state.
With an afternoon and some effort, you could probably source a good portion of your food. You might not save a ton of $$ buying direct from the farmer, but you would be getting a much higher quality product for about the same cost.
A long term relationship also means that the producer will let you know about bargains. For example, I buy organic peaches direct from a grower. He sells them to me at way below regular price because I will take his seconds and the peaches that will not be saleable in another few days. I can for a whole day, and we eat organic peaches all winter. I get my cherries and apples from another orchard (not organic, but minimal spray). They know us by name because we've been picking there for 15 years.
Those are some fun tricks. I'm going to try the whiskey and water trick the next time I'm out at the bars.
I wouldn't put it like that. It's certainly easier to do the Right Thing if the infrastructure supports you in that, but really, what it does is lower the threshold for it, not enabling it. I've moved from Germany to Norway a couple of years ago. From a country that is pancake-flat and has bike paths and mild winters to a country domicated by glacial mountain ranges, harsh winters and bicycling in the road. It hasn't changed my habbits at all. I still don't own a car.
As for gas prices: Even in Europe's oil-richest country, the price for a gallon is now over 7.50 USD. 4 dollars a gallon isn't going to make anyone switch to the bike, because I know from my experience here that 7.50 isn't doing it either. I suspect that the only reason anyone takes a bike here is because it's good for them.
Good article, well written and the like an it covers those uncommon things. But one thing. You're a wuss if you think eyebrow waxing hurts.
I really enjoyed this post, it reminded me to not be complacent.
If you write more about this topic and please do,
What if you have a boss that asks you for stuff that she never asked you about? I have a boss like that, I keep record of all the stuff she actually instructs me to do, but she regularly claims she asked me to do something that she did not.
I live in the Greater Seattle area (Everett), and I just purchased my first road bike yesterday, due to the myraid of benefits it includes (exercise, less pollution, cheaper).
With gas prices threatening to reach 4 dollars a gallon, I figured I'd rather stop using the car and instead invest the saved money into the bike.
Seattle is a great city for bikers (despite the hills), as the buses often have bike racks, and park-and-rides have lockers where bikes can be stored. There are also many sidewalks, and countless bike/walking trails.
Not only is it good exercise, it's a great alternative to using a car for transportation. If you lived in the heart of Seattle, you could bike to any destination you desired.
This ia great post, and very timely and relevant given the number of new college grads who will be hitting the workplace soon.
The one thing I would add to this list is to really get to know your boss. No, not in the we're-buddies-attached-at-the-hip kind of knowing, but being familiar with hot buttons, likes, dislikes, communication style, Myers-Briggs or DiSC profile. Watch how they've treated others in the situations you've just described (which are 5 of the biggies).
There are a couple of really practical books just entering the market right now that complement this post well. Besides my book on how to effectively manage office politics (GUST - The "Tale" Wind of Office Politics), Anita Bruzesse has a great book out called "45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy"
Six flags does this, when I went to day camp the counselors always got us (20+kids) free water.
We'll send you a bottle of pepto bismol and a nice pat on your back. =)
So if I make the trek to this burger shanty of sorts for their 6 pound burger and succeed in devouring it, do I get some sort of Wise Bread prize for doing so?
No? Fine.
But what if I mention the site as well and ask them to hang up some sort of "as featured on 'wisebread.com'" poster?
Still no? Seriously? Come on!
Slate.com FINALLY addressed the issue: http://www.slate.com/id/2166475?nav=ais
Wow that looked painful....I have done 4 treatments of laser tattoo removal and I have to say it was worth it to me, although it may not be to someone else. I have one left and I am going to see someone about the acid treatment next week, why the huge negative towards that treatment???
I found a calorie calculator online and did a quick check for you all. The 9lb burger comes in at around 13,000 calories (around 1 weeks worth of food for the average adult) and the 15lber around 20,000 calories -roughly 1 year's worth of food for the average supermodel.
they are exceptionally well made. But why are they so foul looking? C'mon guys, is it so hard to make a shoe look sweet (like the Mark Ecko sneaks I'm wearing right now...trust me, they be cool).
those are awesome, so awesome i just bought a pair... i will make sure to send you lots of pictures... thanks for the code, made them totally worth the 15$ (with shipping) there is no way i would have paid a penny more
Apart from the items already mentioned regarding ethics, representation, etc.. your story is not truly 'net positive' as you are forgetting one crucial thing.
While it is true that the seller would get more money, the buyer would get the home for cheaper and the agent gets 1/2 a percentage point higher commission than had another agent brought the offer there is one loser.
The agent. Why?
The agent in question helped the buyer:
- negotiating the buyer's position (questionably done correct given dual agency)
- dealt with the paper work on the buyer's behalf including law required filing, etc..
- helped the buyer with (possibly) arrange inspection, communication with other service providers, lawyers, etc..
- monitored the buyer's half of the closing
- presented the home to the buyer on possession
As an agent myself I can tell you that only 1/3 of the total time spent with buyers is spent looking for houses with the remainder focused on the above points. Not only this but the agent is effectively trippling their chances of being sued due to representing the extra party (this doubles it) and the dual agency arrangement (breach of fidicuary duty).
I don't know what profession you're in but I don't think you'ld accept almost double the workload and three times the risk for the same pay.
I know I won't.
You know it's funny - people get so hung up on what they *perceive* real estate agents are making and don't realize that financially the risk is all theirs. If people paid real estate agents hourly I would imagine that the cost to transact land would probably be cut by half or more. It's the general publics greed that ends up driving the rates up. The fact is that when you use a selling or a buying agent you are not compelled to buy. The financial risk/reward is fully the on the head of the agent.
Not only that, but what people don't realize is that the expenses in this business are so monumental that when an agent decides to 'throw in' $3000 to make a deal come together that might represent half of their profit.
This usually comes *after* half of the work is done. Imagine any other job where someone implicitly agress to pay you something and then half way through the process says "oh by the way, I'll only continue if you work for half the amount"
Some things to think about. Anyway, I'll leave you with two parting thoughts:
"It's takes a true professional to make something that is difficult appear effortless"
and
"If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys"
It seems that this word Organic is being treated like a holy relic, when in fact the word has been sadly perverted by large corporations. I remember a story in The Omnivore's Dilemma in which the author wanted a true organic farmer to ship him some produce so he could try it for himself. The farmer said no, explaining that this actually goes against the principles of true organic farming. "If you want some, you'll have to come by my farm and pick some up" and so he did.
It's a fun way to drive. And one quick point I should mention...smells. Have no fear, your car will not smell like a restaurant for eternity. You may get the occasional waft of good food while you're cooking, but it's gone when you don't cook.
I was so delighted by baby carrots (the whittled down kind, not the real actual baby carrots) because they absolved me of work when I was younger. My mother used to like sliced carrots in the salad, and salad-making duties always fell to me. I would have to peel the carrots with this stupid rusty old peeler that was completely dull and impossible to use without cutting yourself.
So baby carrots were like a litle piece of heaven. Until I tried the real kind again, realizing that they didn't HAVE to be peeled. But if they were, they could also be peeled with a peeler that was manufactured sometime during the last, oh sya, 20 years.
Now that you mention it, I am in the market for my very own personal hydration unit. I was on charity bike ride this weekend and though it was supposed to be fully supported, the last rest stop packed up and left before my riding buddies and I made it there (there weren't enough amateurs in the pack apparently). One of my friends (I think of him as Mr. Safety) usually rides with a Camelbak and had plenty of water whereas my 2 water bottles ran dry.
I strive for frugality of the little f variety because I HAVE to, its not an affectation. Feeding a growing family of 5 can have some challenges for the food budget.
Anyone who has their eye on the price would know that baby carrots are not frugal. If you actually LOOK at them, and have a passing familiarity with whole carrots, you would be able to tell that they are remnants. No carrot grows this way. I grew some thumbelina carrots last year and they still had the morphology of a whole carrot (ie: the crown where the stems sprouted).
Now on the big F level, I do not see how using the scraps of gnarly carrots should be offensive to someone who would choose gnarly crooked off color organic carrots over supermodel carrots of the conventional variety.
I do not buy baby carrots because I am leary of any processed food. Baby carrots have been extensively modified and thus exposed to pathogens. To clean after that, you need to soak the poor things in "cleansers" (even if its dilute).
I also do not buy them because so often they are drying out and cracked.
One last reason to not binge on baby or any other carrots - lots of sugar.
It would be better to eat a few well chosen well grown happy hunky dorie locally grown supporting local farmers carrots than to have a binge-fest on "baby" carrots of unknown age, provenance, nutritional quality, and bland flavor.
To Alex: whipped? Yikes! You need a 12 step program to help you heal from that. Maybe force yourself to look at veggies in a more methodical and experimental way. Try to buy one new veggie and then fix it in a variety of ways until you find a prep method that makes your tastebuds sing. Then do the same with another and another. Go slow, take it easy, give yourself some slack.
Thanks.
That was a lot of help!
Really good of you to take the time and chime in on this topic. We really appreciate it!
This has to be another one of my top favorite blog posts on Wise Bread.
So what prevents food or foil wrapped food from flying all over your engine?
See the section that Paul wrote about the foil cone test for an answer.
Also: careful driving. THAT'LL keep you from flying down the freeway at breakneck speed!
So what prevents food or foil wrapped food from flying all over your engine?
The organic community has done just that, with the Organic Consumer's Association calling for a boycott of Horizon and Aurora Organic. It will get interesting before it gets over.
I would suggest even better than politics, however, is for your readers to search out local producers and forge a long term relationship in sourcing their food. We love it that many people consider us "their rancher." The actual organic certification is less important than keeping small farmers active on the land, which has a number of benefits including preservation of open space, contribution to a local economy, maintenance of families in rural communities, conservation of wildlife habitat, to name a few.
Here are a couple sites to get started:
www.eatwild.com (lists producers of pasture-based protein and dairy by state)
www.localharvest.com (can search by zip code and what you're interested in)
http://www.foodroutes.org/localfood/ (another search by zip site)
You can also google your state name and "local food." A number of states have agriculture department supported sites that list small-scale producers in the state.
With an afternoon and some effort, you could probably source a good portion of your food. You might not save a ton of $$ buying direct from the farmer, but you would be getting a much higher quality product for about the same cost.
A long term relationship also means that the producer will let you know about bargains. For example, I buy organic peaches direct from a grower. He sells them to me at way below regular price because I will take his seconds and the peaches that will not be saleable in another few days. I can for a whole day, and we eat organic peaches all winter. I get my cherries and apples from another orchard (not organic, but minimal spray). They know us by name because we've been picking there for 15 years.