Bruce
I'm a host and producer for WNPR, and creator of The Real Life Survival Guide.
ONGOING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT MODERN LIVING…
How do you stay warm?
We’re into the “meat’ of January, and I have already found it, on several occasions, difficult to stay WARM!
Is it layering? Is it physical activity? Is it one of those blankets they use to wrap hot water heaters we talked about last week?
What’s your secret? How do you stay warm?
Episode 29: Vices, Heat, and Civic Duty
Podcast: Download
Episode 29 was recorded on a busy Sunday afternoon at the incredible Modern Apizza on State Street in New Haven.
Ted, Duo, Bruce, Debby and Cristin (Photo by Cindy)
Our guest conversationalists were Debby Wan, Cristin Siebert and Ted Koppy.
Debby is a Connecticut native but has recently moved to the New Haven area. She’s a mechanical engineer by trade and is also the Vice President of the Friends of the New Haven Animal Shelter.
Cristin moved around extensively both in the U.S. and abroad before settling down in New Haven seven years ago. She is the Director of Yale Academic Programs Abroad, which means she spends her time sending undergraduates to study all over the world.
Ted Koppy served as an anchor and general assignment reporter for News 8 [in New Haven] from October 2004 until April of 2011. Prior to joining News 8, Ted was in Phoenix, Arizona, where he anchored KPHO’s morning and noon newscasts. Ted is currently a financial advisor at Waddell & Reed.
We talked about this week’s featured questions – conquering vices, exercise, winter power outages, tax documents, heating costs and civic duty – while munching on a few of Modern’s truly amazing pies…
What is our “civic duty”?
This is a big question to me. I pay taxes. I vote. I will hopefully remember my jury duty next month. But what do I / we really owe our society?
(Questions like these are unavoidable when you think about how interdependent we are. Look what happens when the weather gets really bad.)
You can hear what our guest conversationalists have to say in Episode 29, and we’d love to hear from you, too; What is our “civic duty”?
What are the best ways to save on heating costs?
As you’ll hear in Episode 29 this Sunday, there are several ways to deal with the problem of heating costs.
Cristin Siebert endorses insulation for the attic, and Debby Wan likes the thermal wrapper for the hot water heater. (Which sounds so comfortable, I’m considering having myself wrapped next winter.)
Any other secrets for saving money while keeping warm?
How do you manage your documents for easy access at tax time?
I was sitting in front of my accountant on January 3rd. (Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.)
The move was brought about by our unprecedented need for financial aid (from institutions of higher learning in New Haven, Connecticut and Providence, Rhode Island). I digress.
Our conversation turned to the issue of managing tax documents; which inspire the question, How do you manage your documents for easy access at tax time?
What should you have on hand for a winter power outage?
We recorded Episode 29 on Sunday at Modern Apizza, and one of our guest editors was Cristin Siebert.
We met Cristin when we were recording Episode 13, just after last summer’s power outage, and I have been thinking about how serious the loss of power becomes in the cold weather months.
Which inspired today’s featured question… What should you have on hand for a winter power outage?
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments – and please click the “Post to Facebook” box if you’d like to share with your friends…
What do you do for exercise?
This question was inspired by Fred Wilson’s AVC blog. (I’ve been a fan for years.)
Last week, Fred wrote about exercise routines.
I starting thinking about exercise – and the disappointing lack thereof in my own life…
What do you do for exercise?
How have you successfully conquered a vice?
In this, the “season of self examination” (damn you, holiday excess!), our hearts turn to thoughts of losing those extra few pounds… until the chicken wing and pizza fueled bacchanal known as “the big game”.
For me, this brings up a bigger question – how we handle vices in general.
SO… How have you successfully conquered a vice?
Episode 28: Social Networking, Tasty Food, and New Years Resolutions
Podcast: Download
Episode 28 was recorded on December 28th, 2011, as we dined on sustainable seafood at Miya’s Sushi on Howe Street. (Thanks, Bun!)
Gary, Bruce, Duo, Kristen and Ed
Our Guest Editors were Kristen Cusato, Gary Choronzy and Ed Bartlett;
As this new year begins, Kristen Cusato begins a new gig. No longer on News 8 in the morning, she is now following her passion, and working as the Southwest Regional Director for the CT Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Her main goal is education, in that many people get diagnosed with dementia, go home and say…now what? She wants to make sure people know there are resources out there, like the helpline, support groups, help for caregivers. (Here is the website.)
Kristen credits her Mom, who has younger onset dementia, as giving her a second career, and a chance to help people dealing with this mind robbing disease.
And Personally, she is a huge fan of sushi and sake.
Gary Choronzy is the Chief Web Guy at Connecticut Websites, and has built projects for folks like Ann Nyberg’s Network Connecticut, Ed Bartlett’s CT Out and About, and most recently, George Gombossy’s CT Watchdog.
Gary became a “friend of the Guide” in 2009, when he redesigned the website and programmed it to run on WordPress, the leading content management system on the web.
Ed Bartlett is President and CEO of Shoreline Out and About LLC publishes two Arts, Entertainment, and Event websites, CT Out & About and Shoreline Out & About. Both websites focus on anything and everything fun to do in the State of Connecticut.
In this episode, we talked about information overload, winter vacations, and social networking (a lively discussion!) - as well as tasty (yet healthful) foods and New Years resolutions…
Which foods have the highest ratio of taste to healthfulness?
Finding healthy foods that taste good is kind of a “holy grail” thing for me – this based on my gut feeling that in general, the less healthful something is, the more likely it is to be slowly killing you.
(See: Bacon.)
So, who’s good with this stuff? Which foods have the highest ratio of taste to healthfulness?