I like a good routine. A typical pattern for me is start up my computer, read CNN "5 Things", look among the new email messages for things from a person I actually know instead of an organization. Read "Numlock News" and "Popular Information".
When I was an elementary school student, I didn't like arithmetic so I was surprised when I was graduating from college later, that I had accumulated enough math credits to claim that subject as my minor. Then, when I got a job teaching 5th grade, I was the 5th grade arithmetic teacher for all four sections, mine and three others.
So, whether I am in the mood or not, I go through Numlock News, edited by Walt Hickey each day. He recently published "You Are What You Watch" and I intend to look at my copy real soon. You know the numlock key can be pressed on a keyboard to give you numbers from all those keys that serve two purposes, one of them being to type a numeral.
Where else are you going to find items like this?
Tooth Fairy Inflation
The amount of money that the Tooth Fairy — a fey beast that forged an ancient compact with humanity to trade coin for fang, provided the terms are upheld and the summoning ritual is complete — pays out has become a somewhat testy topic, as some kids get a pretty hefty chunk of change for their first or final tooth, and that can raise expectations from other kids and cause disruption in the neighborhood. The national average payout per lost tooth is already up, from $5.36 per tooth in 2022 up to $6.23 per tooth last year, according to an annual poll sponsored by Delta Dental. So when a kid gets $100 for a first tooth and $20 for subsequent teeth, one might understand the class animosity that can quickly emerge. Not to mention the moral hazard: Let's be clear, the minute that a tooth out of the mouth is worth way more than a tooth in the mouth, kids are canny enough to spot a deal when one's presented in front of them.
