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The Domain Game by David Kesmodel
In the acknowledgments section of his book, The Domain Game, journalist David Kesmodel thanks fellow journalists Carl Bialik, David Goldenberg and Michael Myser for their assistance, along with Peter DeMarco. Among those at The Wall Street Journal Online, he tips his hat to Bill Grueskin, Jason Ander and Marcelo Prince.
"My parents inspired me to chase my dream of being a writer from the early days of high school," Kesmodel writes. Lastly, he thanks his wife Tanya and his daughter, Greta, who was 7 months old when he began the book.
Personal Finance Editor Neal Templin Has 3 Kids and 3 Dogs - He Writes About the Dogs
Andy is 11-years-old and along with his two siblings, is costing The Wall Street Journal's personal finance editor, Neal Templin, a fortune to raise.Andy is a big-hearted beagle, who along with a Chihuahua and a terrier are the subject of Templin's July 24, 2008 Cheapskate column.
"After children, few living things will do as much to ruin your personal finances as dogs," writes Templin. "I should know, having three of each."
Templin notes that he bought Andy as a pup and has raised him on dog food purchased for $20 a sack from Sam's Club. He doesn't say, at least in this column, what he feeds his three 'other' kids.
The real expense of owning his dogs, Templin notes, has been in veterinarian bills and boarding. Once, Templin left Andy at a doggy spa while he was out of town, but Andy was so homesick and howled so much that the doggy resort asked him not to bring the dog back.
No Batteries Required: Saul Hansell of The New York Times Built His Own, Early "iPod"
Here’s one way I listened to the radio in grade school: I wound a coil of wire and connected it to a small crystal, a little yellow earphone and a few other parts nailed to a board. This was enough to receive WJR, then the CBS affiliate in Detroit, where I grew up. Batteries were not required.
Saul Hansell
The New York Times
June 13, 2008
Paranoid About Germs, But With Good Cause: WSJ's Laura Landro
For my part, I have more reason for concern than most people. My obsession with microbes is rooted in my own vulnerability following a bone-marrow transplant 15 years ago to treat a form of leukemia. As part of my treatment, high doses of chemotherapy were used to suppress my immune system, and for several months I was without defenses against any type of opportunistic infections. People had to wear masks around me, and I needed one to leave my room. I wasn't allowed fresh fruits or vegetables for months. Even in recovery I had to stay out of enclosed spaces like movie theaters (hard one) and the New York subway (easy one).Though my immune system has recovered sufficiently to allow me to live a fairly normal life, my paranoia remains. Attending a recent Saturday family barbecue in Long Island, I went into high-alert mode when I saw a half-dozen small children poking at a fascinating discovery in the yard. They had found a tiny nest filled with newborn field mice under a clump of weeds and grass. I yelled at the kids to step away from the nest and wash their hands immediately. Then I checked the CDC Web site. I learned that the hantavirus, which can cause a deadly pulmonary disease, can infect people "when they touch mouse or rat urine, droppings, or nesting materials that contain the virus and then touch their eyes, nose, or mouth."
Laura Landro
Health Columnist
The Wall Street Journal
June 11, 2008
Newsweek's N'Gai Croal Lost His Ericsson T610 Phone In A Taxi
If you happen upon one "candy-bar" sytle Sony Ericsson T610 phone in the back of a New York City taxi, please return it to Newsweek's N'Gai Croal.Croal, a technology writer, misses his T610, he tells readers in a December 3, 2007 column. And while many of his readers assume that Croal must stay in touch on an iPhone or some future-tech Japanese communicator, he confides that he upgradesd to a Sony Ericsson 710a swivel after the unfortunate taxi incident.
"I remain resolutely determined to maintain separate devices for separate activities: my phone for calls, texting and checking e-mail; my PSP for music and occasional Web browsing; my Palm for scheduling and writing," Croal writes. "Never the three shall meet."
Croal, who has been at Newsweek since early 1995 and is an aspiring short film maker, describes himself as a change-averse person "who fiercely resists adding new devices to his regular rotation." The proof? He still listens to his music on a PlayStation Portable. iPod? What's an iPod?
Houston Chronicle Biz Columnist Loren Steffy Wants O'Neal's Old Job
In his column on November 9, 2007, Houston Chronicle business columnist/blogger Loren Steffy published his open application for Stanley O'Neal's old job at Merrill Lynch. No word yet on whether his application was accepted.
Excerpts:
"I've been interested in working for Merrill Lynch for some time -- about two weeks to be exact"
"What attracted me to your firm was the humongous payout you gave to the previous CEO, Stanley O'Neal. According to my research, O'Neal will receive about $161 million."
"I believe that I would be a good choice to run your company because I would lose less than the $8 billion that O'Neal did on bad mortgage investments. Given my lack of experience, qualifications and knowledge of the job, I believe I would lose no more than $5 billion."
Excerpts:
"I've been interested in working for Merrill Lynch for some time -- about two weeks to be exact"
"What attracted me to your firm was the humongous payout you gave to the previous CEO, Stanley O'Neal. According to my research, O'Neal will receive about $161 million."
"I believe that I would be a good choice to run your company because I would lose less than the $8 billion that O'Neal did on bad mortgage investments. Given my lack of experience, qualifications and knowledge of the job, I believe I would lose no more than $5 billion."
'Active' Video Games Get NYT's Tara Parker-Pope to Stand Still
There is a difference between the kind of video games people play sitting on their couches and those that require users to get off the couch and dance, exercise or otherwise move.
Thus, The New York Times' Tara Parker-Pope (married to Portfolio magazine journalist Kyle Pope) found herself on the hunt for the latest in video games.
"As a new parent eight years ago, I swore never to buy a video game system, certain that my child would spend her leisure time reading and playing outside," Parker-Pope writes in her November 27, 2007 Health column. "I recently remembered this vow while waiting in line for two hours outside the Nintendo store in Manhattan. Like hundreds of other parents, I was trying to get my hands on the Nintendo Wii, a popular video game system and on of the season's hottest toys."
Parker-Pope explains her conversion by noting that so-called active video games actually encourage players to get off their duffs.
Thus, The New York Times' Tara Parker-Pope (married to Portfolio magazine journalist Kyle Pope) found herself on the hunt for the latest in video games.
"As a new parent eight years ago, I swore never to buy a video game system, certain that my child would spend her leisure time reading and playing outside," Parker-Pope writes in her November 27, 2007 Health column. "I recently remembered this vow while waiting in line for two hours outside the Nintendo store in Manhattan. Like hundreds of other parents, I was trying to get my hands on the Nintendo Wii, a popular video game system and on of the season's hottest toys."Parker-Pope explains her conversion by noting that so-called active video games actually encourage players to get off their duffs.
FORTUNE, Columbia Journalism Review and More on NYT's David Carr's 'To Read' List
In his Monclair, New Jersey home, New York Times Business Day columnist David Carr keeps the latest high tech gear out of his living room.
Instead, visitors will find what Carr describes as "a large comfortable chair, a good lamp, and a magazine rack groaning with the fruits of American journalism," not to mention his wife Jill's accordion.
Carr intends to use his living room as a reading room, although he confesses that he rarely has much time to read anymore. "The bounty is undeniable. There are nutritious morsels there -- a piece in the Columbia Journalism Review calling for a nonprofit newspaper model, a Fortune article about a high-powered chief executive who regrets his ruthlessness on the way to the top, and a New York Times Magazine article on Hugo Chavez's brand of nationalization," Carr writes in his November 26, 2007 "The Media Equation" column.
Carr goes on to sing the praises of The Week, a magazine digest that he says "riffs through all the content in the known universe and digests it into a form that can be disposed of in 20 minutes."
"Am I A Pushy Mom?" Wonders The Wall Street Journal's Sara Schaefer Munoz
She doesn't want to be pushy. The thought of asking other parents why their kids don't include her nursery school daughter in their play dates concerns her, lest the other parents think she is pushy. Yet The Wall Street Journal's Sara Schaefer Munoz says she can't help but question the reasons why her daughter is often not included.
Posting on "The Juggle" on October 12, 2007, Munoz, who is the blog's lead writer, suspects the fact that she is a working mom who can fully socialize with the other mothers does have an influence on the number of invites her daughter gets.
"My husband usually does the pick-up from school. While everyone is perfectly friendly, moms usually gravitate towards one another," says Munoz. She adds: "One reader even wrote on our 'manny' post that some neighborhood moms shy away from having their kids over to play with just the stay-at-home-dad there.
Posting on "The Juggle" on October 12, 2007, Munoz, who is the blog's lead writer, suspects the fact that she is a working mom who can fully socialize with the other mothers does have an influence on the number of invites her daughter gets.
"My husband usually does the pick-up from school. While everyone is perfectly friendly, moms usually gravitate towards one another," says Munoz. She adds: "One reader even wrote on our 'manny' post that some neighborhood moms shy away from having their kids over to play with just the stay-at-home-dad there.
The Wall Street Journal's Karen Damato Shares Her Passon For Horseback Riding With Her Teen Daughter
In an October 12, 2007 on The Wall Street Journal Online's "Juggle" blog, Karen Damato writes she uses horseback riding to keep her connection with her 14-year-old daughter close.
"Scheduling has gotten tougher since I switched from working part-time to full-shortly after her 12th birthday," Damato writes.
One recent family tradition Damato tries to adhere to is going away for her daughter's birthday. Damato favors camping. But this year the family settled for spending a Saturday night "at a gracious old hotel near a park where we went hiking the next day."
"Scheduling has gotten tougher since I switched from working part-time to full-shortly after her 12th birthday," Damato writes.
One recent family tradition Damato tries to adhere to is going away for her daughter's birthday. Damato favors camping. But this year the family settled for spending a Saturday night "at a gracious old hotel near a park where we went hiking the next day."