| How to be Generous Without Spoiling the Grandkids
When my children were younger, their grandparents in New York kept a scrapbook of their favorite comic strips to read aloud when the kids came to visit. Meanwhile, their Pittsburgh grandparents sent them copious clippings about the Steelers, the kids' favorite football team. Both sets of grandparents bought traditional presents as well, but it was those gifts of time and thoughtfulness that were most memorable. And that's worth keeping in mind this holiday season, when gift-giving by grandparents, well-intentioned and generous as it may be, can cause tensions on both sides of the generation gap. Spirit of giving. In a recent survey by AARP Financial, 79% of the grandparents said that their grandkids don't understand the value of a dollar. (And they often say the same about their adult children.
Colleges uneasy about Harvard's deal on tuition
Two words to students hoping to get a break on college tuition now that Harvard and a handful of rivals have increased financial aid to middle-class students: Fat chance. Most colleges say they aren't loosening the purse strings just yet, although as financial-aid season approaches they are under intense pressure from parents to offer Harvard-style deals. Ursinus College's enrollment director, Richard DiFeliciantonio, said a parent already had called him to ask: "'If Harvard can do this for their kids, why can't you?' " The answer is obvious: Ursinus, like most colleges, isn't as filthy rich as Harvard, whose endowment of $35 billion is the largest in the nation. "Maybe 30 colleges in the country can even think about doing what Harvard is doing," said DiFeliciantonio, whose school has $150 million in its coffers.
Toll-hike plan meeting set for Voorhees
Gov. Jon S. Corzine announced the next series of town hall meetings on his financial restructuring and debt-reduction plan. The meetings are part of the governor's effort to have an open discussion in each of the state's 21 counties about the state's financial problems. Locally, the governor will host a meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. Jan. 28 at Voorhees Middle School Performing Arts Center, 1 Holly Oak Drive. Residents who plan to participate are asked to RSVP by calling (609) 292-9763, e-mailing camden.rsvp@gov.state.nj.us or filling out the online form available at www.state.nj.us/townhallmeetings/listing. .
Bloggers and Twitter
I started tweeting a couple of days ago and am quickly getting addicted. I thought I’d share some of my early impressions of Twitter. Twitter seemed rather pointless to me from the outside. I figured there would be a lot more noise than signal and perhaps if you’re following the general public there is going to be too much noise to wade through. On the other hand if you can use a little discretion when choosing who to follow you’ll find a lot more signal than you might think. I’ve seen a number of posts over the months about Twitter and had signed up sometime awhile back, but a few recent posts convinced me to start tweeting. A Quick Introduction to Twitter for Bloggers 17 Ways You Can Use Twitter: A Guide for Beginners, Marketers and Business Owners 75+ Internet Marketing Gurus on Twitter It was probably the weight of all the posts I’ve seen in recent months, but they all reached a tipping point within the last week.
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