What was I just saying the other day about recession economics? Seems I’m in pretty good company on that point.
The point is that running big deficits in the face of the worst economic slump since the 1930s is actually the right thing to do. If anything, deficits should be bigger than they are because the government should be doing more than it is to create jobs.
True, there is a longer-term budget problem.
It’s taken me over three months, but my cookware adventures are winding down. Really. But I just thought I would document my little collection for the three people in the universe who might care. I started out with the premise that I was going to get rid of every piece of cookware that I didn’t like and replace them all with ones I did. I also resolved not to go broke doing it.
Cuisinart Chef’s Classic stainless. I chose this line because it’s great cookware at half the price of the Calphalon or All-clad brands. They have aluminum sandwiched inside the base for even heating, but not up the sides of the pans, which apparently makes it cost twice as much. But they’re gorgeous, solid, and can go directly into the oven at up to 550.
Lodge Logic pre-seasoned cast iron. A no-brainer, really. Everyone should have some cast iron in their kitchen. They’re very useful and very cheap and very long-lasting.
Nonstick. The stir-fry pan is pre-existing and the only cookware I’m actually keeping and not replacing. It’s lonely, though, and needs at least one more piece. I’m sticking with the Cuisinart line just for consistency.
I was thinking about picking up a good baking sheet and maybe a small set of Pyrex bakeware. You know, a lasagna pan, a loaf pan and a pie pan? That stuff is really cheap, too. Other than odds and ends like prep bowls, measuring cups and utensils, I think that about covers it for kitchen stuff. Except food. And the kitchen sink.
And another thing. I’m so sick of media reports about the dangers of the internet, computers and the digital age. They tell us our attention spans are shot, multitasking is frying our brains, the internet is isolating us and polluting our precious bodily fluids.
I’m sick of the hyperventilating. I’m sick of the alarmism. How much do you want to bet that the exact same level of fear was present at the advent of the telephone or the automobile or the television? Of course there are risks, downsides and drawbacks. But to listen to this shit you’d think it was the fucking downfall of civilization. Christ, get a grip!
I just heard an “expert” on the radio the other day telling us that we needed to be “extremely cautious” about how wired we are today. She didn’t know how or whether it was harmful, but extreme caution was warranted. You know what I’d like to exercise extreme caution about? Going off half-cocked about how the latest technology is going to destroy Our Way of Life.
And that’s not even getting into the benefits that the internet age brings us. Oh, it’s awful that some of us let our Blackberrys increase our stress level. But does anyone stop to marvel at the fact that an almost unlimited source of information is in our pockets? We’re living in the goddamned future! Surely we can find something positive about that.
You know what, fuck you. Give me your cell phone and your computer. If you think it’s all that terrible, give it up–or shut up.
Can I just say one thing? I’m sick of people bashing the president for spending the money that is right now keeping us from a second Great Depression. The government budget isn’t like a household budget. When the economy stinks, you and I tighten our belts and spend less. And that’s exactly why the government has to spend more. If they don’t take up the spending slack, more of us will lose our fucking jobs.
People are out of work, making less money, spending less… putting more people out of work, rinse, repeat. And you want the government to spend less, too? That’s exactly when the government needs to borrow and spend. At least short-term. At least some of us will keep working due to that increased demand.
And I think a lot of Republican politicians know this. Not all of them. Some of them are as dumb as a bag of hammers, but many of them do understand this. But they see political gold in telling the American people that Obama’s stimulus spending is an outrageously wrong thing to be doing at this time, when in fact, it’s precisely the right and necessary thing to do.
They raise the specter of the increasing debt. I worry about that, too. But I just want to say two things. First, the idea that modern Republicans are in any way deficit hawks is ludicrous. Second, it’s wrong to confuse short-term spending to get us out of recession with long-term deficits that threaten our financial well-being. Dick Cheney said “deficits don’t matter.” Bill Clinton ushered in the era of “pay as you go” and ran a surplus instead of a deficit. Those are facts. As much as Democrats like the idea of increasing social spending, they do have a tendency to pay for it. Republicans pay for nothing. They want tax cuts and increased spending and “deficits don’t matter.”
Next time you hear a Republican whining about the debt, ask yourself where he was when Bush implemented his entirely unpaid-for Medicare part D program. Then ask yourself how many more people would be unemployed without Obama’s stimulus spending.
Heh. Nut store in the Times. That’s a lot of nuts!
can’t tell you what it feels like to see videos on YouTube of David Ray Griffin addressing people about it — one of America’s leading theologians expressing with absolute certainty the existence of a conspiracy so ludicrous it takes your breath away.
Yes, I for one am shocked–shocked!–that a theologian would believe ludicrous things.
Enough snark. Interesting interview with a guy who wrote a book about people’s tendency to believe conspiracy theories. Check it out.
I’m notorious for ruining good steaks out on the grill, but thanks to my man Alton I’m good to go in the kitchen. After having used this technique a few times, though, I have to tell you one thing: What they don’t tell you in videos like this is that your kitchen–no, your entire home–can be filled with smoke when that meat hits the pan.
Maybe I should use peanut or safflower oil instead of the canola. I’m going to try that next time.
In any case, the steak was wonderful.
File this under “things you didn’t expect about reading a book electronically”: You can read in bed with the lights off. Like in total darkness. You might think that an electronic screen would blind you under those circumstances, and you’d be right. Except for the fact that e-readers (including the Kindle app for iPhone) allow you to switch from black text on white background to white text on black background. Perfect for reading comfortably in the dark.
Some may think this tip is a little ghetto, but I don’t care. I’ve become a huge believer in shower sprays. You know, the cleaning stuff you spray in your shower when you’re stepping out each day? I’ve been using it on my shower every day since… well, for four months. I’m happy to report that my shower sparkles. Even the shower curtain looks brand new.
Have I never scrubbed down the shower walls in all that time? Yes I have. On a couple of occasions I cursorily wiped them down with the old shower puff just before throwing it away. And not because it looked like it needed it, either. I just kind of felt like I should at least do something besides spray stuff in it every day.
Bonus tip: I don’t bother with the name-brand stuff. In my experience, store-brand is both cheap and effective.
If you love a sparkly shower but hate actually cleaning it, give this a shot.
Last night I watched Hearts in Atlantis with Anthony Hopkins. I liked it well enough to go look it up on Wikipedia, where I was surprised to discover that it was based on Stephen King stuff. I’d had no idea.
That got me thinking about reading some King–maybe the Dark Tower series, which King considers his “magnum opus.”
That got me thinking about e-readers, kindle and iPad. And how there is a Kindle application for iPhone that allows one to read ebooks on it. The app turned out to be free. The first book in the DT series turned out to be around $6.50. Done deal.
I can’t believe I’m reading a book in my phone, but the experience is surprisingly good so far. I think it’s a wise move to start with a real page-turner and not something super dense.