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Republican political leaders are blaming Democratic President Joe Biden for accelerating inflation. But Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve Board, was appointed by Republican President Donald Trump — and the Fed says inflation will not be a long-term problem. Those numbers suggest that inflationary pressures are modest. Other dynamics, however, are unprecedented, reflecting deeper changes in the economy that may have accelerated with the pandemic. But at UC Berkeley, high-level economists are offering some calming advice: A measure of inflation is inevitable as the US economy comes back online, but it will likely be modest. And it will almost certainly blow over as the economy stabilizes. more »

Of the 912,000 single-family homes completed in 2020: 870,000 had air-conditioning. 90,000 had two bedrooms or less and 401,000 had four bedrooms or more. 29,000 had one and one-half bathrooms or less and 309,000 homes had three or more bathrooms. 353,000 had a heat pump. Of these, 344,000 were air-source and 9,000 were ground-source. 831,000 were framed in wood and 75,000 were framed using concrete. 306,000 had a patio and a porch, while 71,000 had no outdoor features. The median size of a completed single-family house was 2,261 square feet.  more »

Ferida Wolff writes: "I tend to talk to my herbs as I water them. I compliment them on how big they’re getting and nuzzle them so that I get whiffs of their delicious scents. It reminds me of the time my friend tried an experiment with two of the same plants. One plant she spoke to daily and smiled at as she passed it during the day. The other she merely watered but didn’t try to connect with. The spoken to plant thrived while its twin barely survived. I think all living things interact through energy. When we offer positive energy, whether to plants or people, we encourage connection. And that stimulates growth and our relationship to all around us. It opens a door to the broader sense of life and helps us to feel how important our input is in our world." more »

Other than receiving a diagnosis of a terminal illness, what’s the worst thing you can hear in a doctor’s office?  For me it’s a toss-up between, “It’s time for another colonoscopy” and “When were you born?” I am the proud owner of an impressive collection of imaginative recipes of veggies from asparagus to zucchini which I have Googled, printed and filed in a folder that I keep right next to my pristine Air Fryer and Instant Pot. They are pristine not because I am a meticulous housekeeper but because I have yet to use them. I keep hoping that simply buying each new appliance will magically transform me into Julia Child II. So far, however, the only one of her “talents” I’ve been able to emulate is dropping food on the floor and picking it up before anyone notices. more »