Everyday Disasters

Month: January 2007

  • The Best Shade Tree

     If you’re new to the Community Planner Game on Abrupt Climate Change see the premise here. (You don’t need to be a Community Planner to give your ideas.) Oaks and maples seem to be very popular for municipal shade trees.  But if your community needs to be a net food exporter at some point (a…

  • Nannies are Not Maids

    You thought the caste system in India was rigid? In the 4 months between my daughter’s attendance at full-time kindergarten and the birth of my son I came up with the idiotic plan of allowing my fabulous Nanny to take the place of the maid. In my defense . .

  • Old Joke – What Would Jesus Drive?

    My daughter started her first day at a Catholic School for girls today. In surfing the web I realize that there are parts of the Bible my husband (a Jewish, motorcycle-riding, Philosophy major) & I may have neglected to explain. To help with this: Most people assume WWJD is for “What would Jesus do?” But…

  • Networking Your Way To A New Maid

    The Game Plan to Find a Body Keep your existing maid while you search for your new maid. Ask your friends if their maid has time or has a friend. Ideally you’re looking for someone whom your friends are willing to recommend with a friend that needs a job. You want to end up with…

  • Grow Corn for Food or Fuel

     The game assignment is is turn your town into a net food exporter. Could you turn the town park into a corn field? Should you? Here’s a 2004 corn yield map from the US Agricultural Dept. (2004)

  • Which Maid to Hire?

    The stellar maid who shows up on time, cleans everything, puts everything in it’s place, and does not burden you with stories of her kids acting up at school is fully booked and being paid anything she asks so that she won’t leave her current employers.  She is probably working for Bill Gates after studying…

  • Which Maid to Hire – The Family Service?

    There is another type of ‘service’. This is the enterprising immigrant who can speak English with a number of her friends who can’t. Five or more may descend upon your house and in a short period of time they’re done. One might dust, another sweep, another vacuum, another mop, one does the bathrooms and one…

  • What Kind of Maid –
    Cleaning Services?

    Cleaning services are of two types. One is for after construction where they will clean every surface in your home with special equipment for getting fine dust. This is the type of service you want. The other is for residential cleaning where they wipe some visible surfaces (generally not the wall with the chocolate on…

  • Toyota Highlander Hybrid – Safety Not in the Details – Dashboard icons

    I love the idea of my hybrid – gas station visits no longer require trips to the bank with a wheelbarrow (just small knapsacks) and if I’m sitting waiting for teenagers the electric motor means I’m not generating smog.  But is it really more important to know that maintenance is required than my daughter left…

  • How Often Do I Need A Maid?

    Budget & lifestyle determine how often you get a maid. (Did you need me to tell you that?) A single adult in a pet-free apartment on a low budget will probably want a maid every two weeks. A large house, with kids and pets, will probably need two and would be happier with three visits a…