Category: Opinion

1

Money Mentor

It is September 2023, and after a six week session tutoring math over the summer, I have started tutoring high school kids remotely on money-related topics. Here is my self-introduction to my students. Let me just introduce myself for a minute, and then I want to hear about each of...

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Residential Solar, part 4

My previous posts about this project are part 1, part 2, and part 3. It is August 2023. The roofers finished reinstalling the concrete tiles over the new underlayment in time for us to safely withstand the heavy rain brought by Tropical Storm Hilary. The city inspector signed off on...

Residential Solar, Part 2 0

Residential Solar, Part 2

Want to make it rain in August in Southern California? Try removing all your roof tiles. As I recounted in Residential Solar, Part 1, we decided to have our roof underlayment replaced prior to having solar panels installed. Demo Day Supplies are Delivered When the truck stopped at our end...

Residential Solar, Part 1 0

Residential Solar, Part 1

Our house in sunny Southern California was built in 1989. Prior to us buying it in 2018, it was occupied by renters. We have made many improvements inside and out. We love this home and don’t plan to move. Investing in photovoltaic to generate electricity has never been more economical....

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That Reminds Me

There you are, minding your own business. Something you hear, read, smell, see, taste, or just think about suddenly calls to mind something else, seemingly unrelated, that you haven’t thought about in years. The recalled event or situation may only have the most abstract or tenuous connection to the triggering...

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Why Do We Call Meat “Protein?”

I enjoy watching shows about wilderness survival, like Naked and Afraid, even though I consider the people who voluntarily put themselves in those positions to be crazy. I could never do that. I can’t even walk barefoot on the beach. In the show, the survivalists have to build shelter, make...

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Managing Up

When one is an employee in a typical hierarchical organization, the concept of “managing up” helps increase one’s value and align one’s priorities with those of the team. Rather than just doing one’s job description and taking orders, pay attention to what your boss should be doing. Boss may need...

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Mumble Mumble Grumble

Since I am such a lucky man, and having benefited vastly from the power of negative thinking, I seldom indulge in public grousing. Call it noblesse oblige, or, more accurately, the moral responsibility of the lucky. Today I make an exception, and vent, just a little. Grocery Bags I shop...

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Quantum Computing

It is January 2023. I have finished reading Q is for Quantum, along with an online course Introduction to Quantum Computing for Everyone, part 1. I will not try to summarize what I learned. Together, these two resources provide an accessible introduction to a field that is, according to them,...

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Why Not Just Eat the Plants?

Within the small whole food, plant-based community, fractured as it is, it is often observed that it is hard to make a profit selling the “secret” to healing many chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. As “plant-based” takes a small but growing share of the marketplace...