Tis the material and nonmaterial season

Everyone's talking about cutting back on holiday shopping, which is good for the soul. But for the economy? Not so much. In my household we're doing our best to stretch our gift dollar by doing most of our shopping at Seattle's Archie McPhee, home of the Freud Action Figure and The Cubes.

Another area where a lot of people are worried about cutbacks is gifts to charity. Philanthropic professional groups and journals are trying to reassure charities about the bad economy. The conventional wisdom is that people find a way to keep giving to charities, and some experts say giving tends to stay flat during recessions. I'm not so sure this is an accurate picture; 'surveys of the field' reflect averages. I don't see how every charity sectors can avoid reduced contributions, especially those reliant on foundations whose investment portfolios have taken it in the shorts.

Germs

November, for all the joy the presidential election brought, ended up being lost time for me. I spent much of it flat on my back with pneumonia.

Based on average incubation times, I figure the nasty little bacteria took up residence in my lungs on or about Halloween. A big reason for the lengthy recovery was that it wasn't until the second week that I stopped treating it as the flu, and got my hands on some serious antibiotics.

I spent the second week musing about how and where I picked up the bacteria. The odds were pretty low that it happened at home. Not that I'm a cleanfreak -- my partner used to be a surgical assistant and workplace OSHA supervisor. She set up some simple procedures around the house that allow us to easily avoid things like cross-contamination in the kitchen.

Must-See TV

I'm quite excited that Sea Shepherd, the anti-whaling direct action group (based up the road and a ferry ride away, in Friday Harbor, WA), is the subject of "Whale Wars," a new seven-part series on Animal Planet. Tune in starting this Friday.

Now go out and vote (Americans)!

An opportunity for cleaner water AND walkability

A victory for Puget Sound environmentalists contains possibilities for far-reaching changes in controlling stormwater, one of the main sources of Puget Sound water pollution, as well as improving conditions for pedestrians in Seattle.


The victory is a recent ruling by Washington's Pollution Control Hearings Board, regarding a suit by environmentalists on the inadequacy of the National Pollutant Discharge Emission System. Among other things, NPDES regulates municipal and industrial stormwater discharges.

Washington is one of the states which has received federal permission to self-administer NPDES.

Bye Bye, Black(faced) Sheep

Restoring the natural environment around a landmark means foodie sacrifice

Mont Saint Michel -- St. Michael's Mount in anglais -- is one of the coolest places in the world, a medieval abbey that to the eye seems to grow from a rock that juts out of the sand on the coast of France.