The English words good and well are often confused by native and non-native speakers of English – this is a good lesson that will put you well on your way to understanding the difference: Good vs Well
Will divorce for food
And in news of the weird:
Chinese education officials have scrapped a job cut plan that allowed single-parent teachers with children to stay in work after it prompted a rash of divorces… 41 teachers at a single school file[d] for divorce in a week… In comparison, their town divorced a total of 34 couples in the whole of 2005.
Source: Single-parent job plan fuels divorce frenzy
What I can’t figure out is what the point was in the first place. Was it that only married teachers would be let go? Very strange way to deal with unemployment.
A History of the World in 6 Glasses
I’m reading an interesting book: A History of the World in 6 Glasses, by Tom Standage. According to the author’s extensive research, six drinks – beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and Coca Cola – have shaped the world in ways that I could never have imagined. I’m not a history buff, but somehow the retelling of previously dull facts and events through these six drinks is absolutely fascinating. For example, one drink that holds pride of place in American history – think Boston Tea Party – had a “partner” that I’d never before heard mentioned in conjunction with it. The book has a few repetitive passages here and there, but overall it’s a great read.
Smallville
Tonight is the season premiere of Smallville. Yay! I became an addict about a year ago, when I caught a couple of episodes on TV and decided to order seasons 1-4 on DVD. I watched them all just in time to catch the reruns of the first 3 episodes of season 5 on TV before I moved to Toulouse, and then had to wait for Season 5 on DVD, released a couple of weeks ago, to see what happened. And there was a great cliffhanger at the end, so I’ve been anxiously awaiting tonight’s resolution. Unfortunately, I’ll be out of town for the 2nd and 3rd episodes, so I’m hoping my brother will be able to TiVo them for me.
Happy birthday Google!
This week marks Google’s eighth birthday, and it is commemorated by yet another very clever doodle – take a close look at how many candles there are and what they spell out. 🙂
Google Blog: How long is 8 years in Internet time?
Companies Changing the World (for the better!)
A couple of years ago, when I’d finally paid off my student loans and starting building up a bit of a savings account, I thought it would be nice if my money did some good. I did a bunch of research and found Wainwright Bank, a bank in Boston with a social and environmental agenda. It may not seem like much, but I feel good knowing that my savings are being used to promote community development and a sustainable society.
And it looks like I made an even better choice than I’d realized, as Wainwright is included in SustainableBusiness.com’s list of the top 20 publicly-traded sustainable companies: The 2006 SB20: Companies Changing the World (for the better!)