By admin
http://www.cwhdallas.com/lot-morrow/
Lot Morrow
![Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51r99dOOXTL._SL75_.jpg) |
Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
List Price: $29.95
Sale Price: $5.00
|
|
|
Economics is not widely considered to be one of the sexier sciences. The annual Nobel Prize winner in that field never receives as much publicity as his or her compatriots in peace, literature, or physics. But if such slights are based on the notion that economics is dull, or that economists are concerned only with finance itself, Steven D. Levitt will change some minds. In Freakonomics (written with Stephen J. Dubner), Levitt argues that many apparent mysteries of everyday life don't need to be so mysterious: they could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. For example, Levitt traces the drop in violent crime rates to a drop in violent criminals and, digging further, to the Roe v. Wade decision that preempted the existence of some people who would be born to poverty and hardship. Elsewhere, by analyzing data gathered from inner-city Chicago drug-dealing gangs, Levitt outlines a corporate structure much like McDonald's, where the top bosses make great money while scores of underlings make something below minimum wage. And in a section that may alarm or relieve worried parents, Levitt argues that parenting methods don't really matter much and that a backyard swimming pool is much more dangerous than a gun. These enlightening chapters are separated by effusive passages from Dubner's 2003 profile of Levitt in The New York Times Magazine, which led to the book being written. In a book filled with bold logic, such back-patting veers Freakonomics, however briefly, away from what Levitt actually has to say. Although maybe there's a good economic reason for that too, and we're just not getting it yet. --John Moe
Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime? These may not sound like typical questions for an econo-mist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded scholar who studies the riddles of everyday life—from cheating and crime to sports and child-rearing—and whose conclusions turn conventional wisdom on its head. Freakonomics is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. They usually begin with a mountain of data and a simple question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics. Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives—how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they explore the hidden side of . . . well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The myths of campaign finance. The telltale marks of a cheating schoolteacher. The secrets of the Klu Klux Klan. What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a great deal of complexity and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and—if the right questions are asked—is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.
|
 |
How to Catch a Pig: Lots of Cool Stuff Guys Used to Know but Forgot About the Great Outdoors
List Price: $12.99
Sale Price: $2.78
|
|
|
Way back before man abandoned the woods for the cities—and traded his hunting rifle for a BlackBerry—he had to know how to do certain things to survive. He had to trap and build and grow things, using his calloused hands and valuable knowledge passed down through the generations. For most men today, these once-cherished skills are as dead as the dodo. But take heart! Now guys can reconnect with those less-complicated times, rediscover how to embrace adventure, and appreciate the outdoor life. Denis Boyles, principal author of A Man's Life, has culled a wealth of essential, nearly lost manly endeavors from U.S. government pamphlets, century-old publications, and ancient scouting manuals to help reeducate us in the fine macho arts of: Tracking a bobcat Splicing a rope Rescuing someone from drowning Sending a smoke signal Building a log cabin And much, much, much more—including, of course, how to catch a pig!
You may be an Internet whiz and gas grill gourmet, but chances are you haven't a clue about starting a fire without matches, splicing a rope, catching a pig, building a log cabin, making a canoe, sending smoke signals, or quacking like a duck. Do you need these skills? If you're going camping for the first time, maybe yes. But even if you don't require camping rations for a party of four strong men (125 pounds worth, says Denis Boyles), this compendium, culled from turn-of-the-century publications and old scouting-type manuals, is a genuine treasury of forgotten lore.
|
Solve your Decorating Challenge
Solve Your Decorating Challenge
By Vickie Morrow
You’ve moved into your new home, unpacked the boxes, arranged and rearranged the furniture, hung a few things on the walls. Hmmm. You know, or think you know how you want your rooms to feel but can’t get from the builder white walls and your old stuff to that wonderful comfy inviting look you got when you were in the model of the home you purchased?
Before you panic and true anxiety sets in know there are more easy solutions at your fingertips than ever before. There are decorator magazines, home decorating shows, web sites, retailers, great books with very good instructions. Visiting model homes again will help. “Okay, “ you say, “I see them, I buy them, I visit them, I like them, but how do I do it? I don’t know where to begin.”
Start with one room you love in a magazine or model home. We’ll call it your dream room. If you can go to the model home to feel and study the space or the room you will get the best results. Ask if you may take pictures in the models too. This will help when you get home and when you shop. Take a tape measure and a spiral notebook with you to make notes and draw sketches. I like the ones with plastic tabs and pockets inside.
Let’s start decorating by seeing what we like.
Are all the walls the same color and the ceiling too? What color(s) is the room? Write this down. Is there a chair rail or decorative molding at the ceiling, wall covering or faux painting? What is on the floor? Is there tile, wood, carpet, area rugs? What color and texture and pattern? Is the area rug braided or a Persian rug or a contemporary design diagonally placed partly under one of the chairs and sofa?
What style is the furniture? Is it all a matching set? Do all the woods match? Maybe the sofa and club chairs are the same style and wood finish but the chairs have a patterned upholstery and the sofa is a solid or striped fabric. Write this down.
How is the furniture arranged? Does the sofa sit in the middle of the room separating the conversation area from the game table, or is all the furniture pushed up against the walls? Draw a little floor plan so you don’t forget when you get home.
The windows. Are there blinds, shutters, a valence or draperies? Are the rods large or small, wood or metal with huge finials? Make a note of it. If there are panels at each side of the window, do they go all the way to the floor? What color are they? Do they match the walls or are they the same fabric as the toss pillows on the sofa? Is it the drapery hold back that catches your eye? You will have to consider the exposure and privacy out your own windows when you make your final window treatment selection.
The pizzazz is the accessories. This is often what many people love most about the model homes or magazine pictures that inspire them. The details, the little things we all love to collect and buy when we shop. This is what pulls the room together and gives it your personality. In the room you love, what kind of lamps are there? Is there a place to store the things you will need to put away? Are there several things grouped on the coffee table? What sizes are they? Is there something pretty tall, a large round platter set on a stand and a box all grouped together? If there are photographs on the end tables, how big are they and how does the frame style work with everything else in the room?
What is on the walls? Is there one large picture over the sofa or is there an arrangement of black and white photos in different size frames? What color is the matting and how much space from the photo to the frame? Is there a special mosaic you like? Details, details, details. Draw a sketch of the picture arrangement and the sizes in your notebook.
Congratulations. You have just completed the first step to decorating your own home.
You know what you want, how it goes together and what it will look like. You don’t have to break the bank now to create your room. You probably already have the furniture pieces and accessories. You may already have the lamps and area rug as well. For more decorating tips and ideas go to www.inoutdecor.com You may just have everything you need to recreate and rearrange.
Get started. Go to the paint store and select the paint chips you think best match your dream room. Grab several samples, color can be deceiving and they can look different depending on the light. Take them back to the model home and see which ones match the best. Buy the paint and paint the room.
Your window treatment. If you copy your dream room exactly make sure you have the right privacy and exposure considerations covered. This is where a lot of people go astray. They think they like shutters and buy them. Then they don’t like them and also wonder how their dream room went wrong. Your dream room may have been more airy with a shade and drapery panels on large wood poles. The wrong blinds, shutters or draperies and hardware can be a costly mistake that you probably won’t change.
Arrange your furniture for conversation, TV watching, family fun, reading, eating or homework keeping in mind your dream room. Was all the furniture lined up on one side of the room? Your sofa may be the wrong color and your chairs may need to be redone. That doesn’t mean you have to buy all new; consider slipcovers. You can buy them or make them. Get slipcover instructions at www.inoutdecor.com Be sure your accessories are things you want around you and are of a grand enough scale for your space. Voila! You’re on your way to decorating confidence and living in the home that makes you and your family happy.
About the Author
Vickie Morrow is an exterior and interior designer and artist living and working in Scottsdale, Arizona. You can experience more of her decorating ideas, tips and how-tos at her web site: http://www.inoutdecor.com. See her tile art and mosaics at http:/www.tileartmosaic.com and swimming pool designs at http://www.vickiemorrow.com
Someone help explain to me about Warriors injuries?
Ok.. someone tell me Vladimir Radmanovic, Monta Ellis and Anthony Randolph are going to play again. ? for people who dont understand why the warriors are bad this season is because they have missed up to 282 games from injures. everyone has been injured expect for stephen curry. they dont have a power forward. and they had some many injuries they had to draft up to 5 people from the D- League. next year when hey are healthly they will get like 8th seed. cause... monta, curry, maggette, randolph, morrow, raja bell, biedrins, turiaf, azubuike, and brandan wright. thats a lot of talent. and they have a bad record because they didnt have both centers untill 2 and a half weeks ago and a lot of the injuries have been from the beginning of the season... so the season is a mess.
lol Sucks how you guys got Vladimir Radmanovic, Im surprised that Warriors are doing this bad, in the pre-season they looked great. They played very well last night vs the Lakers, they made the Lakers have 19 turnovers, plus Warriors were pretty good from 3 point range. I think Warriors will be good next season
Morrow says Lincecum might have followed shaky path
Toronto right-hander Brandon Morrow can't help but wonder that if the Mariners had picked UW's Tim Lincecum, if the hometown pick wouldn't have followed the same cockeyed career path in Seattle that Morrow did: bouncing between starter and reliever roles with the Mariners, never finding consistent success with either.
Thanks for visiting!
