How the actions of this poor widow challenges a slightly irreverant, Linux-using, business school educated Christian. And his money.
Some towns may call them “Food Banks” — charities that give away groceries to those in need. But in my fair city, where the SF Food Bank is a government-funded entity, us little guys are known as “Food Pantries”.
My food pantry is known as the Excelsior Community Food Pantry or ECFP for short. When I [...]
Posted on October 21st, 2009 by Ryan
Filed under: Christian tradition, charitable, chasing happiness, church, diary worthy | No Comments »
I have a time-honored tradition* of responding to some of Hayley’s blog posts. Our friend Rahul calls it “competing blogs”. I like to think of it as complementary blogs. But I digress…
Hayley’s recent post expressed some of the busyness that we’ve experienced recently. Like Hayley, I’m a bit tired, stressed, [...]
Posted on March 21st, 2009 by Ryan
Filed under: charitable, chasing happiness, church, diary worthy | 1 Comment »
Yes, apparently it can. Strange, isn’t it? I’m not talking about employees grumbling about smaller-than-expected annual raises. Nor am I talking about those who get a sizable raise but still feel shafted. I’m talking about an honest-to-goodness raise.
Unhappiness from a pay raise is rare. It only applies to specific work situations. A pay raise might [...]
Posted on August 29th, 2008 by Ryan
Filed under: brazen, charitable, chasing happiness, diary worthy, societal concerns | 1 Comment »
Capitalism, for all of its flaws, is very good at efficient resource allocation. Money flows towards promising opportunities. It leaves overpriced and dead-end projects in its wake.
Consider the oft talked about gas prices. Demand for gas guzzling trucks and SUVs have plummeted. American car makers reacted quickly. Ford slashed its [...]
Posted on July 10th, 2008 by Ryan
Filed under: Christian tradition, brazen, charitable, church, economic theory, societal concerns | 2 Comments »
This past Sunday, I coordinated a volunteer event for my church at the SF Food Bank. I gathered 22 participants, who represent some of the most educated and talented people I know. We had doctors and lawyers, scientists and scholars, entrepreneurs and business managers. We had fashion designers, musicians, publishers, teachers, and [...]
Posted on June 10th, 2008 by Ryan
Filed under: charitable, church, diary worthy, economic theory | 2 Comments »
While Americans were debating same-sex marriages, a social issue of let’s face it — relatively minor consequence, a global debate involving a 100,000 lives was pushed quietly into the background. I’m referring to the Myanmar cyclone victims and their military government’s obstinate refusal to accept international aid. Even weeks after the cyclone passed, [...]
Posted on May 23rd, 2008 by Ryan
Filed under: charitable, societal concerns | 1 Comment »
It’s free to have Jesus in your heart. But to have the Pope in your city, that’ll cost a little over $1 million a day, according to this NY Times article. It lists security, transportation, and street closings among the myriad costs of a papal visit. The local archdioceses are responsible for much of [...]
Posted on April 15th, 2008 by Ryan
Filed under: Christian tradition, charitable, church, diary worthy, economic theory | 6 Comments »
Back in October, 2007, I began this experiment. I set aside $10. Each time I encountered someone on the street who asked for money, I gave him a dollar. I didn’t like giving to beggars. And my hypothesis was that I’d feel happier about giving towards the end of this experience.
The Raw Data
These are [...]
Posted on February 11th, 2008 by Ryan
Filed under: charitable | 3 Comments »
You see that little brown splotch on the top of your browser? Yeah, it’s up there in your navigation pane, next to the URL. That’s called a favicon, as in “favorite icon”. All of the popular websites have them. Google’s got a G in a cheerful multicolor box; Yahoo has a fun Y!; [...]
Posted on January 12th, 2008 by Ryan
Filed under: charitable | 3 Comments »
Tonight at Jill and Shyam’s Iron Chef chocolate cook-off, I saw an old friend from college, James. I have one vivid memory of James during my college years. And it’s one of the most powerful and touching moments of generosity that I’ve witnessed in my life.
I was walking down Telegraph Avenue in [...]
Posted on January 6th, 2008 by Ryan
Filed under: charitable | 2 Comments »