Here at Weakonomics we like to take the weekends off. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have something for you to read. I like to recap a couple of older posts, talk about myself, and link to something that has nothing to do with money.

Today I want to talk about giving back. Like many of you, my girlfriend is a big fan of American Idol. Being her boyfriend, I can’t very well go watch Family Guy reruns (same time slot) when Idol comes on each week. So I’m stuck watching Simon, the fat guy, and the 80s pop star judging people that will have an insignificant impact on the music industry. Opinions aside, for the last few seasons American Idol has done specials they call “Idol Gives Back”. Its like a giant telethon with celebrities, singers, dancers, and the contestants all entertaining us in effort to raise money. Its very successful, raising millions for worthwhile organizations across the globe. I prefer to keep my donations for local charities, so I made no contribution.

I’m fortunate enough to be able to give in another way. I freely admit that I don’t give back as much as I should, but my employer makes its easy to do it. Every few months, the Red Cross comes to my building to steel my fluids. I gladly give up a pint or two of my red stuff in exchange for candy and soda. This is something I wouldn’t go out of my way to do, so I thank the Red Cross and my employer for doing this.

My employer goes one step further. They allow me to take time off every month to go volunteer somewhere. It’s all in the name of spreading the good word of the bank, but it works. My department goes to the local food bank. We sort donations, clean, stuff envelops, or whatever the food bank needs. It feels really good to help, but again I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to do it. So I must thank my company for making it easy for me to give back.

Moving on. My link for the week is another way to give back with little effort. Folding@home is a project started by Stanford researchers. Without going into the details of distributed computing, it uses your computer’s unused processing power to do work. In essence millions of computers act as on big super computer. Its many times more massive than the largest super computer. Folding@home simulates protein folding, something involved in the development of many diseases including Alzheimer’s, mad cow, and certain cancers among others. Go download it, it runs in the background and you never notice it.

I’ve got two lookback posts for you today. The first is my post on the power of a singular voice. To give an update on this post, it looks like the media has stopped trying to convince the public we paid to save Bear Stearns. Of course the impact of my letter was negligible to this outcome, but this is how you get heard. Those that speak the loudest get heard.

The other post was my College of Weakonomics course on government spending. Its a good read. I know its the weekend but it doesn’t hurt to learn a bit. Have a great weekend everyone!

By The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice.

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