Saturday, June 30, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
It's the Little Differences: Garbage Day
Waste collection is privately run in SF which means that "garbage day" is different for everyone. The entire street is never full of garbage!
Posted by Ms.Smarties at 8:11 p.m. 1 comments
Labels: It's the Little Differences
Sunday, June 24, 2007
It's the Little Differences: Trust Fund Babies
Defined in the urban dictionary as a “young person whose parents are wealthy and have set up a trust for their son or daughter. The trust fund ensures that the child will be taken care of financially for life.” Paris Hilton is a prime example.
Posted by Ms.Smarties at 4:41 p.m. 0 comments
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Soon Boarding Flight to Morocco
Posted by Ms.Smarties at 4:29 p.m. 4 comments
Labels: Morocco, Sahara Desert
Why some people should not design surveys!
I came across this question tonight as I was filling out a survey for "fun". They've gotta be kidding!!!
(Ok the screenshot is too small, argh. Click on it)
On a scale of 1 to 5 where "1" is absolutely critical and "5" absolutely somewhat important, how important would you say your computer is to the daily operations of your household.
1 Absolutely critical
2
3
4
5 Absolutely somewhat important
Posted by Ms.Smarties at 9:27 a.m. 1 comments
Labels: Marketing research
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Dumber by the Dozen
Here’s a good reason to limit yourself to one child: His/her sibling(s) will not be as intelligent.
This is the kind of theory that has been around for years. Robert Zajonc, a social psychologist, is famous in many fields for his birth order theory of intelligence. Benefiting from their parents’ exclusivity, firstborns interact with adults more than any subsequent offspring. Until a sibling comes along, firstborns grow in a highly intellectual family environment. Secondborns, on the other hand, interact more with their sibling than their parents and so forth.
When I cited Zajonc as a reason why I did not want more than one child (if at all), my gynecologist laughed it off. Who’s laughing now, doctor!?!
Posted by Ms.Smarties at 6:37 p.m. 5 comments
Labels: Demography, fertility
Sunday, June 17, 2007
It's the Little Differences: Clothing Size
America's obesity problem is not just a myth. In fact, the
To cater to their costumers, stores carry larger sizes more than smaller sizes. In order words, the bell curve one finds is
I’ve had some luck at Banana Republic. Banana Republic usually carries my size and it’s often on sale because no one else wants to buy it!
Posted by Ms.Smarties at 10:34 p.m. 4 comments
Labels: It's the Little Differences, shopping, weight
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Friday, June 08, 2007
The Seven Wonders of Canada Are...
CBC's Seven Wonders of Canada
1. The Canoe
2. Niagara Falls
3. Pier 21, Halifax
4. The Rockies
5. The igloo
6. Old Quebec City
7. Prairie Skies
Hé oui, le Vieux Québec is one of them! Quebec City being my hometown, I am a little proud even though I have nothing to do with the fact that I happened to be born there. Before the big move, we visited my family and stayed at Hilton Quebec. The views from our room were spectacular (wish I hadn't forgotten my camera!).
On the right, l'Assemblé Nationale.
And on the left, le château Frontenac.
Quebec City is full of amazing restaurants but my favorite by far is Le Saint-Amour. I wish it wasn't so far!
Posted by Ms.Smarties at 3:41 p.m. 1 comments
Labels: Quebec City
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Picnic at the Golden Gate National Recreational Area
Neither of us felt like cooking tonight so we grabbed sandwiches and cheese from the local deli store and walked to the Golden Gate National Recreational Area for a picnic.
Posted by Ms.Smarties at 7:21 p.m. 0 comments
Labels: Golden Gate, San Francisco
Credit Hell
A couple of weeks ago, we needed to get cell phones (we have no landline). For each cell phone, we were asked for $1,000 deposit! It is outrageous for a piece of cheap plastic that is normally free. No credit and no social security number is apparently a bad combination. So when the husbter got a social security number, back we were at T-Mobile. The deposit was now $250 for each cell phone. It’s progress, I suppose.
Then we applied for a credit card which was promptly denied because of “Few revolving accounts opened long enough to establish credit history” along with “Not enough accounts opened long enough to establish credit history”. Even more frustrating is the fact that they don’t even look at assets or income. It’s solely based on past history.
Our solution was to get a
Posted by Ms.Smarties at 9:37 a.m. 3 comments
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Road Trip: Napa Valley, CA
We spent the day in
Posted by Ms.Smarties at 8:09 p.m. 1 comments
Labels: Napa