Yahoo! Answers

Photo by notlob86
My daughter and I went to Filoli Gardens over the weekend to take some pictures. She had a project to work on for her photography class and I was testing out my new digital camera. My daughter used her 35mm SLR camera because part of the project includes processing and developing the roll of film. I used a digital camera that has a few bells and whistles but is basically a travel/personal model-not a fancy, high-end digital SLR.

Once I got home, I uploaded my pictures and performed a few enhancements with software, such as cropping and adjusting the contrast, saturation, etc. I was really happy with the pictures in general (although I’m still getting used to the macro feature), and as I glanced over at my once-cherished Minolta X-700 (I know, it’s an oldie!), I wondered if I would ever need to load another roll of film again.

Of course, I’ve yet to see my daughter’s photos. She is a much better photographer than I am and she’ll probably do some creative things during the film-development process.

Still, I’m wondering if using film makes any difference for someone like me-an amateur photographer who may benefit from being able to snap away and delete the mistakes without worrying about the cost of buying and developing film.

What do you think? Any die-hard 35mm film fans out there? Do you have any preference between digital and film?

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Hey Guys,

The financial mess on Wall Street is all anybody seems to be talking about these days. Some are even wondering if we could be entering another “Great Depression.” I did a little research into the causes of the Great Depression to see if the circumstances are similar.

I always assumed the stock market crash of 1929 directly led to the Great Depression. But, as it turns out, that’s not necessarily so. An article from about.com lists the top five causes of the Depression, and while “Black Tuesday” is on the list, it wasn’t the only factor that triggered the meltdown. There was “a combination of domestic and worldwide conditions” including massive bank failures, reduced consumer spending, an ill-advised economic policy, and a horrible drought that caused many farms to go under. It was truly the perfect storm.

A blog explains that before the Great Depression, the stock market was artificially inflated due to massive speculation. Eventually, the market fell apart, and that event, combined with the unequal distribution of wealth among Americans, had a huge part in starting the Depression. During the 1920s, wealthy Americans whose income was among the top 1%, saw their disposable income rise 75%. Meanwhile, the per capita rise was only 9%. Not exactly a level playing field and certainly not a sustainable figure.

Times have, of course, changed. In the 1920s, there was far less government regulation. The stock market was much more a “wild west.” Everybody was playing, but there weren’t very many rules. A Yahoo! News article explains there are significant differences between the Depression and the economic crisis of today. During the Depression, unemployment was around 25%. Today, it’s around 6%. Economists agree that things could get worse (they always can), but something on par with the misery of the 1930s is unlikely.

What do you guys think about the events of the past few weeks? Have they changed the way you invest? Are you more cautious or more aggressive now that prices have dropped? Please leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading,

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Photo by ralphbijker
With the current state of the economy and rising cost of everything from fuel to fun to fashion, I’ve been taking a pretty close look at my budget, and one thing is clear: I spend way too much money on food. With working full time, teaching an evening class, working in my pottery studio, and cultivating a social life, I juggle a pretty busy schedule.

I’m rarely organized enough in the morning to bag myself a balanced lunch, and cooking a healthy, inexpensive dinner for myself is usually the last thing I feel like doing after a long day. Instead, I usually dine out or grab something on my way home, which can really put a strain on the wallet (not to mention the waistline!) This week, I thought I’d root around Answers to see if I could cook up some inspiration for optimizing my weekly food budget, and maybe even get some basic-meal ideas I could keep handy at home.

• When shopping at the grocery store, Holly suggests skipping the processed foods and offers some recommendations about which natural ingredients give you the biggest bang for your buck.

• Paul makes a really good point about avoiding grocery shopping when you are hungry. Studies support the idea that hungry shoppers tend to spend more and make less sensible decisions on what to buy. Eat beforehand and shop with your brain, not your stomach. He also suggests avoiding the grocery store when you are angry or depressed-those shoppers tend to buy more sweets and indulgent items, and find it more difficult to make healthy food choices.

• Silly’s-gone-C-r-A-Y-Z saves cash by buying foods in large quantities and repackaging them into smaller servings. Cooking an entire ham at once yields meals for the entire week and is a lot cheaper than cooking individual portions every day. A little planning can pay off big-time.

• Bringing lunch to work instead of hitting a restaurant is certainly a wise money-saving practice. Jeffrey P recommends packing it up the night before so you’re not rushing to try to take care of it in the morning. He also keeps grab-and-go items like canned soup, crackers, and fruit on hand to make putting together a healthy lunch a little easier.

These are some wonderful ideas that make a great jumping-off point to start me on a healthier eating pattern, both fiscally and nutritionally. What others can you suggest?

How do you maximize your food budget to make the most of your dollar while still eating well?

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Here at Yahoo! Answers, we’re always working on new features and enhancements for the site. Still, we recognize that sometimes things need fixing. Earlier this week, we addressed a number of outstanding bugs that have been bothering many of you. We made the following changes:

•    Emails are now sent to your contacts when you submit a question. When you receive an email about a new answer, the text properly describes the answer.

•    We have significantly enhanced the spell check dictionary for asking and answering a question.

We are committed to resolving outstanding bugs on Answers, as well as developing new features. In the meantime, we thank you for your patience.

Note: As mentioned in some of the comments below, you can choose not to receive emails when one of your contacts submits a question. Click on your username link to get to your profile and then click on Edit My Info. Scroll down to the Email Communications from Yahoo! Answers section and uncheck the middle option (Email me when one of my Contacts asks a question). Click the blue Preview button and then OK. That’s it.

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The rules of dressing can be obvious or totally baffling. “No shoes, no shirt, no service” makes sense to me, but why can’t people wear white after Labor Day? What’s the offense?

I used to work at a fashion college where the students, and even the teachers, competed to be the most stylish. (To be honest, I’m thankful the majority of my Yahoo! coworkers have passed on the skinny jeans trend.) Most of the fashion students embraced experimentation wholeheartedly – I swear some invented fashion rules just to break them.

One day, however, a student looked at my outfit and said, with a pout, “You’re wearing two different blacks.” I looked down at myself and, sure enough, my shirt and pants were slightly different shades. “That’s a ‘don’t,’” she scolded.

Oh, thanks. Now I’m totally self-conscious, though not about the contrasting blacks. (In case you haven’t been following this blog, I wear a lot of black.) I’m worried there are fashion rules I’m breaking without even knowing. What’s the fun of breaking a rule unconsciously?

So I’m curious about the purpose of fashion rules. I understand there are certain occasions (job interviews, funerals) when it’s important to dress with decorum, but what about the more mysterious fashion dos and don’ts? Are there any traditional fashion rules that are still worth following?

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