• On Life and Love

    Cars. With Coffee.

    Charlotte is a city cool enough to have a Cars and Coffee event monthly. As the weather gets colder, the turnout seems to be reducing, but I went this weekend and had a blast. I’m not very knowledgeable about the innards of cars, but courtesy of C&C, I’m learning. M.K. (and the friend of his I met this weekend) is more than happy to pontificate on the differences between the LS3 and LS4 engines, as well as the pros and cons of an M-series BMWs vs. the more tedious 1-series. I’m happy to absorb it all–even in the cold–with the comfort of my home-brewed coffee.

  • On Life and Love

    Showing Support: Where’s the Money?

    I find myself saying things like, “I support the alternative fuel (particularly electric) car movement. I’d love to test drive a Volt, or own a Prius. Some day, when they’re cheaper, I will.” (Or, in a variation: “No way would I pay $35k for a car, but I mos def support the move away from gasoline.”) But what’s the point of believing I support the direction of the industry (despite its flaws) if I’m not putting money into it to actually support it? It won’t go anywhere if people don’t spend money on the things. Fer skerious, though, there’s no way I’m spending $35k on a car. Not sure what…

  • On Life and Love

    Weekly Linkage: The Long Edition

    At some point in the last 2 weeks, I had 0 unread items in Google Reader. It was a short-lived, joyous experience, but this is the result of my web branching: HCG Diet Dangers: Is Fast Weight Loss Worth the Risk? – MSN Health & Fitness – Healthy Living – "But the so-called hCG diet is either a weight-loss miracle or a dangerous fraud, depending on who's talking. The plan combines drops or injections of hCG, a pregnancy hormone, with just 500 calories a day." I don't even have words for how stupid this sounds. And how unhealthy. "Yeah, I'm going to shoot up with a hormone and engage in…

  • On Life and Love

    Weekly Linkage: Stockholm Trolls

    Um… it’ll make sense as you read. Amanda Hocking’s Blog: Some Things That Need to Be Said – From a successful self-published author: "This is literally years of work you're seeing. And hours and hours of work each day. The amount of time and energy I put into marketing is exhausting. I am continuously overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do that isn't writing a book. I hardly have time to write anymore, which sucks and terrifies me." The Very Rich Indie Writer – Novelr – Making People Read – Looking at the example of Amanda Hocking's financial success, will authors of web fiction start to close…

  • On Life and Love

    Weekly Linkage: The Personal Finance Edition

    The notables in this week’s internet cruising were mostly in personal finance. Surprise, surprise. I picked up a couple of books from the library yesterday: Generation Earn by Kimberly Palmer. I’m neck deep in this one already, and really liking her approach. Less conservative than Dave Ramsey, less passionate as well, but it’s not geared at those struggling and drowning, it’s geared at those of us able to look a little longer term. The Bogleheads’ Guide to Retirement Planning (by a ton of folks). I’ve read a fair amount of their stuff on their wiki, but want to get a feel for their approach in a more sequential fashion. The…