Wage stuff and bigger issues, too

Economically, there's so much doggone stuff brewing now that it's hard to know where to start. The minimum wage is a good place, but there are bigger things to contemplate as well, so I also offer some insights into upcoming topics in this week's column. Once again I can't resist the temptation to mention economist Joseph A. Schumpeter, who had an eerily accurate understanding of how mass psychology meshes with economics.

Computers for the Commonwealth

Many people don't know about these yet, but super-small "netbooks" computers are starting a trend in computing.

The first models were, well, "cute" and "intriguing," but that was about it. But the latest models are downright impressive. I think they're just the thing for island living; they're easy to tote, they're cheap, and some models can go as many as six to nine hours on battery power.

When the world is right

"When the man is right, the world is right." That's the moral of a story I got from W. Clement Stone, and I took it to heart as a kid (still do, actually). At the time I had no idea I'd actually get to meet Mr. Stone. So here's today's column.

Chinese 24/7

As a beginning student in Mandarin Chinese, I've been wading through a galaxy of books--phrase books, grammar books, writing books, and text books. The best I've found so far is Chinese 24/7, which I review in today's Tribune. This book has really helped me out a lot.

Here are some related links, as promised in my review:

The book's author, Albert Wolfe, is also author of Laowaichinese.net, and it's via this site that I discovered Chinese 24/7.

Chinese 24/7 has associated audio files that are free to download at Chinese247book.com, which also carries more information about the book.