Hello, my friends, and welcome to Thursday. No preamble today. Just a quick jump into the stories we’ve gathered for you:
Fist up is this interesting interactive inflation visualization from PerThirtySix. How has the purchasing power of $1 changed from December 1999 to July 2023? I’ll say right away that the labeling of this visualization is awful. (No, really, it’s truly terrible.) It makes it look like purchasing power has increased, when in fact it means to show the opposite. But once you parse how the info is displayed, it’s informative to play with. Food prices, for instance, have jumped 25% in last 3-1/2 years, which is crazy! And medical costs just continue their relentless climb.
“I hit my head and learned three lessons.” [ParentData] — “There’s also a broader lesson for when we are on the receiving end of expert opinion. There are times, during pregnancy and parenting and beyond, when you may have found yourself hearing advice or guidance that isn’t clear, and the reaction may be fear. It is worth asking: If I understood this better, would I feel less afraid? And if the answer is yes: ask.”
Seeking dominion of time. [The Root of All] — “Money lets you avoid spending time doing things you don’t want to do – working a job you hate, mowing the lawn, changing diapers. But as much as we want to believe otherwise, we puny mortals – both the ungodly rich and dirt poor – cannot control time…Time is not made nor saved; it marches on no matter what. Why is this distinction so important?”
That’s it for Thursday. I’ll be back tomorrow with a final batch of interesting things to take you into your weekend. See you then!