Slope of Hope Blog Posts

Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.

Thrift Wins Again!

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I’m a big fan of saving money. Earlier this year, I penned this post about how I immediately dismissed the idea of paying $26,200 to a kitchen designer and find just a good a person for a mere $1,900. That savings single-handedly paid for all my new appliances. This weekend, I experienced something on a smaller scale, but I still feel really good about pandering to my thrifty instincts.

We’ve got an older Lexus which I use as kind of a “beater” car. A few months ago, a very large dent appeared on the front bumper. I’m not sure how it took place, although maybe someone hit me when I was parked in a lot somewhere. I’m not vain enough to get hung up on such things, but I confess it was a little embarrassing to be driving around with this thing.

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Close Encounter

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It is early morning, with the fog-shrouded sky concealing the puny amount of sunlight on the horizon. I am walking my two large dogs on the wild lawn of Palo Alto’s main post office, constructed during the Great Depression and looking every bit worse for the wear. The dogs are both gnawing on long strands of grass, having found the very specific variety of plant that they seem to favor, and I gaze off into the parking lot on the other side of Hamilton Avenue.

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