Ponderings of a Scientist

The U.S. is in a recession, but what does this mean for me?

• Yes, my house is now worth less then I owe on my mortgage, but that won’t really matter for a few more years until we try to move into a new school district in anticipation of kindergarden;
• Yes, my husband would like a new job, but can’t really risk leaving the relative security of a University job which still has a good (relatively) health insurance plan, and still double matches his retirement savings, but (as bad as this sounds) I don’t go to work with him everyday so while I sympathize, it doesn’t affect me everyday the way it affects him and were so busy otherwise we don’t harp on it;
• Yes, our retirement/college investment accounts are down, way down, but again this doesn’t really matter for another 17 years;
• Yes I’ve heard of a few friends of friends who have lost their jobs, but again this is a bit in the abstract not having met these people;
• Yes I have a family member who thought she would lose her job and another in the auto industry, but to date (knocking on wood) they are still working;

The reality is I don’t feel the recession in my day to day life.  In fact, we have been on a bit of a spending spree - new carpet, a vacation, planning for a new bathroom….

So why am I writing this post?  Because today the recession hit a little closer to home?  I posted some baby toys for sale on Craigslist and I got a response from a woman asking me to sell them to her at a reduced price, because she has 4 children and is now layed off.  I just met the woman and her husband, when they picked up the toys, which I sold to them at a discount, and the recession has now hit home!

• Pres. Obama signs directive that promises that no (government) scientific data will not be “distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda.”
• Pre. Obama reverses G.W.’s ban on embryonic stem cells, adding that the Bush ban did the following: “Rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values,” Obama said. “In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent.
• The European Union’s Parliment voted today to ban about 2 dozen pesticides (pesticides that are used in the U.S. as in this country, rather than ban chemicals which are obviously deleterious, policies seeks to minimize exposure to these chemicals).  Each EU country now has to individually approve and implement the ban.