http://www.econowhiner.com From Wall Street to Main Street: Surviving and thriving in tough times. News, commentary, and advice about jobs, personal finance, spending, saving, and staying sane in a crazy economy. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:00:07 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It's time, Fellow Whiners, to bring this wonderful experience to a close. So a brief discussion of cauliflower seems to be in order. After all, it was a failed comparison-shopping hunt for that sometimes maligned and frequently overpriced vegetable, up and down the streets of the Upper West Side of Manhattan, ... http://www.econowhiner.com/2009/11/04/not-with-a-bang-but-with-a-cauliflower/ Rotting infrastructure plays a large part in all our lives these days, it seems. Bridges and roadways fail, water mains spring leaks. In our case, living in an older home in an older town makes for lots of necessary repairs. Over the last few years, we had two major repairs, one ... http://www.econowhiner.com/2009/11/01/a-tale-of-two-utilities/ It's one of those weekends for Whiner-in-Chief where there's not much spare time for fun and games. Actually, whatever happened to fun and games? W-i-C is focused on helping Offspring #2 make some headway with college applications. Shopping, bill-paying, laundry, and more of the same. Finishing an editing project (a freebie for ... http://www.econowhiner.com/2009/10/31/our-weekend-plans/ So. It started out like one of those days. Whiner-in-Chief woke up at 5:50 a.m., went to the gym, rushed off to various work-related commitments, worked like a maniac, eventually skipped out on everything to head off to what may well be (and hopefully indeed will be) her last set of ... http://www.econowhiner.com/2009/10/30/unexpected-great-moments-yes-they-happen/ Vegetables and rice, very nice.  We love to whip up a quick stir-fry when we're pressed for time, and a more elaborate version when there's time to dawdle in the kitchen. Whether we pick a bold or mild combination of flavorings and spices, the crunchiness and fast cooking time mean ... http://www.econowhiner.com/2009/10/29/cheap-eats-whats-good-about-stir-fry/ What's the worst mistake you ever made in your worklife? If you're like us, you may have a hard time selecting just one "worst" mistake. Ours fall into such broad categories as: refusing to network; turning down apparently dream jobs that probably were dream jobs; and loyalty to old jobs and ... http://www.econowhiner.com/2009/10/28/how-is-it-possible-we-never-asked-this-question-until-now/ Whiner-in-Chief, Offspring #2, and The Guru just had a great -- underline that, great -- night at the movies. And we urge you, we we beg you, to follow in our footsteps. "Where the Wild Things Are" isn't just an absolutely terrific adaptation of a timeless children's classic. It's the knock-out, ... http://www.econowhiner.com/2009/10/27/dont-miss-the-best-movie-of-the-year/ Ladies and Germs, we know that the swine flu is bad. It's here, it's nasty, and we'd better get used to it. And of course we're worried and we're reading all about it, a lot of the time -- maybe more than we should be. Yesterday we stumbled across an article ... http://www.econowhiner.com/2009/10/26/job-creation-brought-to-you-by-swine-flu/ Executive pay is under fire, and it's about time, too. First U.S. "Pay Czar" Kenneth Feinberg plans to cut compensation of the 25 highest-paid employees at seven firms that received "exceptional" TARP bailouts. And these cuts sound serious: overall compensation will be cut in half, and cash payouts by an ... http://www.econowhiner.com/2009/10/24/the-hammer-comes-down-on-executive-pay/ Whiner-in-Chief recently went shopping for a new pair of cold-weather boots. While this wasn't exactly high on her list of fun ways to spend either her spare change or her spare time, it was a complete necessity, since Offspring #2 absconded with the old pair. (Life as a high school senior ... http://www.econowhiner.com/2009/10/23/heres-one-way-we-cut-costs-what-about-you/