Yang: Having Bitten Off More Than I Planned…
Having Bitten Off More Than I Planned…I don’t understand why people complain about the “shorter” period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It matters little to me since I don’t shop for stuff or go into all-out decorative mode. I like minimalism; a couple of bare branches (with lights and a few ornaments) and pretty lights in the front yard do just fine … when I get to them. However, I do like making goodies as a “thank you” gesture for some friends and a few acquaintances. So I have been cooking and baking up a storm. In that regard, time does feel short.
I am stating these points to deliver Read More
Letter to the Editor: ‘On the Backs of Our Teachers’: Sophisticated Victimology
“On the Backs of Our Teachers”: Sophisticated VictimologyI read this latest piece of sophisticated victimology, “Education 101: On the Backs of Our Teachers”, least of all because it seemed data-driven, until it wasn’t. But to its credit, a few innocuous, throw-away lines were included that hinted at a larger situation with regards to Los Alamos County.
The seminal fact, that unlike other states, New Mexico refuses to allow local budget supplementation, was obscured. Fancy that; decades of Democrat legislative control as evidenced by an ideologically-motivated, Read More
Education 101: On the Backs of Our Teachers
Education 101: On the Backs of Our TeachersWelcome back to Education 101, the weekly column that explores K-12 public education funding. As a preface to today’s column, because it touches on school system compensation, we’d like to disclose that there are no school employees or family members of school employees involved in the development of these columns; just concerned parents and citizens.
We’d like to start by reviewing some issues outlined in previous columns.
In 2011, New Mexico ranked 33rd out of 50 states in state and local per pupil Read More
Fitness Column: Twelve Days of Christmas (Fitness)
Fitness ColumnLooking to add something seasonal to your workout routine? Try this total body workout just for fun.
On my 12th Christmas workout, my true love made me do:
- 12 minute treadmill
- 11 ab crunches
- 10 biceps curls
- 9 leg lunges
- 8 dumbbell rows
- 7 back extensions
- 6 shoulder presses
- 5 triceps dips
- 4 push ups
- 3 pull ups
- 2 minute jumping jacks
- and a 1 minute wall squat.
Happy Holidays to one and all!
Kent Pegg is a certified personal trainer and the owner of the Los Alamos Fitness Center. Direct questions about the information or exercises in this column Read More
How the Hen House Turns: A First Christmas with A First Dog
How the Hen House Turns: Routine Equals a Cure-allThe tradition goes back to the first Christmas I remember. I had just turned three years old. Early Christmas morning, my brother and I had crept into the living room to see what Santa had left in our stockings, but we got caught and told to stay in the hallway.
Pa and Ma disappeared for a moment, and then came back with funny smiles on their faces. Pa handed us a string to pull. “Gently,” he said. The string wiggled and pulled a little, then went slick. At the end of the string waddled a small brown and blond fluff ball Read More
Letter to the Editor: On Affordable Housing
By DAVID W. THOMSONOnce again the topic of affordable housing in Los Alamos is in the air, evincing what to me is a basic ignorance of economics. The COST of housing is based on the cost of its economic inputs; that is, land, labor, materials, and capital. The PRICE of housing is established in an auction market between a willing buyer and a willing seller. As the run-up and collapse of the recent housing bubble illustrate, the two are only loosely linked.
A developer analyzes the local market and attempts to find the right combination of land, labor, materials, and capital to entice buyers
Solo Traveler: The Soloists
Rocky Mountain Park scene. Photo by Momo Vuyisich
A stream in Rocky Mountain Park. Photo by Momo Vuyisich
Solo Traveler: The SoloistsI was in high school when I read Isabella Bird’s famous book A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains.
She was a 19th century British explorer who supported herself with writing. She traveled alone most of the time, and found that “pluck” was rather admired in the American West.
Most people were filled with too much admiration for her solo travel and independent spirit to do her any harm. Her adventure articles (and books) were published Read More
