A year out from the start of work from home during the pandemic, I was thinking how life and expenses will change once I start going back to work every day downtown …
Less free time as I will have to commute, no opportunity to work with my hotspot and phone up in the woods
I won’t be doing my morning walks any more, although on nice days when I don’t have to dress up for work, I’ll be walking down to the express bus stop
I will once again have the cost of bus fare, which is around 54 bucks a month with my bus card
Late nights at work won’t just be from home, but instead I will have to be downtown and then waiting for the bus in the evening all sleepy eyed and hungry
I will drop my hotspot / enhanced mobile data plan on my phone, which will save around 17 or 18 a month
I will be walking down to the library or the park a few nights a week when I want to get Internet with my laptop
I won’t be able to watch videos on my phone without the enhanced plan, so I’ll have to download them on my laptop or do other activities in the evening
I will have to start packing lunches, as I won’t be able to make them by just going down to my kitchen
No more driving down to the library to get internet from the safety of my truck – I’ll be able to walk down there and work inside or on the park bench
I will spend less on electricity and heat because I won’t be home every day
Cheese is among the ultimate guilty pleasures. It’s gooey. It’s fatty. It’s delicious. It just has to be bad for you, right?
Wrong. A large body of research suggests that cheese’s reputation as a fattening, heart-imperiling food is undeserved. When it comes to weight and other key health outcomes (and setting aside the issue of lactose intolerance, with apologies), cheese is neutral at worst, and possibly even good for you. And yet that research doesn’t seem to have broken through into common knowledge. If you Google “cheese,” the top result under “people also ask” is the ungrammatical query “Why cheese is bad for you?” Now, if you’re the type of person who’s thinking, “What’s the big deal? I eat what I like, in moderation, and don’t worry about calories”—congratulations, I’m happy for you, we have lots of great articles about science and tech you might enjoy. If, on the other hand, you’re like me and worry that your diet is making you gradually fatter, keep reading.
That’s because understanding personal finance is an uphill battle for many Americans. We’re not taught about the practicalities of money in school, because the truth is many industries profit from our ignorance. While wages have hardly budged in decades, shareholders and CEOs have never been richer. The cost of living in many major cities is prohibitive to just about anyone but the super privileged, or those willing to take on a lot of debt or make enormous sacrifices. While the stock market soars, just 52% of U.S. adults actually owned stock in 2016, according to Gallup, and the wealthiest 1% of households owned 38% of all stock shares in 2013. The government is actively working against consumers to make it easier for financial institutions to prey on its citizens, and a single medical bill can send a person into debt for the rest of their lives.
Today started out super nice. Subsequently, it got more cloudy but we’ve had times of sun and it’s warm enough that I have the heat turned down, and I’m more then comfortable with a t-shirt on. I’ve been thinking about going to the library to work, but I think I’ll just stay home for now.
Derrick Jensen is an author, teacher, activist, and small farmer. He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including A Language Older Than Words, The Culture of Make Believe, and Endgame. He was named “the Poet Philosopher of the Ecological Movement” by Democracy Now! and one of Utne Reader’s “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World.” He is the co-author of the new book Bright Green Lies: How the Environmental Movement Lost Its Way and What We Can Do About It. He lives in Northern California The KunstlerCast theme music is the beautiful Two Rivers Waltz written and performed by Larry Unger.
The town of Colonie wants to sell nearly 1,000 acres of land with dense forest and a reservoir it no longer needs as a backup water supply.
The Stony Creek Reservoir is to the north, in the town of Clifton Park, about two miles west of Northway Exit 8.
The minimum price: $5.1 million.
Colonie is seeking proposals from interested buyers and won't consider breaking it up into smaller parcels. The request for proposals is available online.
The sale is intended to improve town finances.
The reservoir is off limits to the public and protected by state health department regulations. But, the state would support a request to rescind the regulations to help sell the property, according to the town's RFP.