Money and Computing
A Family Inheritance: More Than 'Things' ... Emblems of Our Lives
Joan L. Cannon writes: Unless memories and tradition count as “things,” these concrete reminders are not just things. They’re emblems. They’re absolute reminders — souvenirs in a literal sense — of what has happened in many lives, not just our own. As such, they serve as records that are apt to endure longer than any on paper.
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Harvard Professor Brigitte Madrian Remarks on the Retirement Savings Landscape for Women
"My biggest concern for women is what happens in retirement. Women have longer life expectancies than men, and married women tend to be several years younger than their husbands, so that the average married woman reaching retirement can expect to spend several years as a widow, and the average single women reaching retirement will spend all of her retirement years that way. In the shift away from defined benefit and toward defined contribution retirement plans, the financial security of women in retirement will depend very much on how the wealth accumulated for retirement is managed." more »
Online Food Reviews Reveal Addiction Metaphors and Sensual Imagery
Stanford scholar Dan Jurafsky found that the words used in online restaurant reviews provide a surprising source of insight into human psychology. While positive reviews of expensive restaurants were rife with sensual and sexy metaphors, the good food at cheap restaurants prompted references to drugs. more »
Love Your Library
Julia Sneden writes: I was at the checkout counter of a local supermarket last Saturday, watching as a pleasant woman rang up my groceries. In the brief pause as I wrote my check, the cashier turned to the youngster who was bagging the groceries. "Hey, do you know if the library is open today?" she asked. "Nah," the bagger replied scornfully. "I don’t do libraries. I can Google anything I need to know." more »