Rachel Kaufman

Freelance writer, editor, and blogger in the Washington, D.C. metro area

Archives for the ‘New and Cool’ Category

Common Weed Killer Makes Male Frogs Lay Eggs

By Rachel • Mar 1st, 2010 • Category: New and Cool, Science

The so-called pregnant man has company: One of the most common weed killers in the United States can make male frogs lay eggs, a new study says.

Atrazine, widely used to kill pests on U.S. croplands, is an endocrine disruptor—a substance that interferes with animals’ reproductive systems.



Marine Machines Made in Nature’s Image

By Rachel • Oct 26th, 2009 • Category: New and Cool, Science

If it looks like a fish and swims like a fish, it could be a robot–such as the University of Bath’s Gymnobot, inspired by an Amazonian knifefish.

Researchers worldwide are developing robots that look and act like aquatic creatures. That’s because biomimetic gadgets–bots that take inspiration from nature–are often more efficient than their clunkier counterparts.



How To Not Screw Up Your Taxes

By Rachel • May 27th, 2009 • Category: Finance, New and Cool

My name is Rachel Kaufman, and I don’t understand taxes.

I thought I was doing everything right until tax season. That’s when my tax prep software told me I owed thousands of dollars for my small – by all standards – writing business. Thousands I … didn’t exactly have. Sure, I’d been saving some money to pay the IRS, and I thought it’d be enough, but there I was, scrambling to find a hefty chunk of extra cash. About $2,000 extra.



Just Prove Him Wrong

By Rachel • Feb 11th, 2009 • Category: Getting Ahead, New and Cool, People

HEY, DUMMY. Get over here and stop ruining your life.

Larry Winget, the Pitbull of Personal Development and star of A&E’s short-lived reality show, “Big Spender,” says in his new book that you – yes, you – are an idiot.



Online Book Swaps: ‘Tis Better to Give and Receive

By Rachel • Dec 14th, 2008 • Category: Life, New and Cool

It’s like getting a present,” Christa Cothrel says a little gleefully. The Arlington resident and self-described bibliophile has been getting books in the mail for four years — free.

Joan Wendland of Sterling hasn’t bought a book in 18 months, yet her bookshelves are full. She has sci-fi and fantasy, mysteries, nonfiction, audio books and one incredible Jasper Fforde novel autographed by the author. “He doesn’t come through the States often,” Wendland, 44, says, “and when he does, there’s a huge line.”



Schooled: Inside D.C.’s oldest and only independent learning center

By Rachel • Sep 10th, 2008 • Category: Getting Ahead, New and Cool, People

BLACKJACK DEALING. Resume writing. Improve your life. Make more money. Become more attractive. Turn that great invention idea into reality. Heck, is that Sudoku puzzle too hard for you? There’s a class for that, too.
Washington’s source for educational seminars both serious and off-the-wall is First Class Inc., that business whose brochures are usually nestled [...]



Shack to the Future

By Rachel • Jul 31st, 2008 • Category: Food, More, New and Cool

“Is there somewhere around here I can get a quick lunch, like a half-smoke, maybe?” The question catches the man pushing his Fayette Street door open for fresh air off-guard.
“Sure, there’s a Five Guys two blocks that way.”
Are you kidding me? You live three blocks from the greatest, oldest, stubbornest carryout in all of Alexandria, [...]



Feathers at Your Nest: Spotting Wild Birds

By Rachel • Jun 27th, 2008 • Category: Condo Living, Environment, New and Cool

MARY PFAFFKO was on her way back from the gym, walking down Connecticut Avenue, and there it was. A wood thrush, common in the East but rarely seen outside deeply wooded areas. But there it was, right on the street. The only problem was that it was dead.
In her role as president of the D.C. [...]



Funnier than Fiction: Bill Maher

By Rachel • May 29th, 2008 • Category: New and Cool

YOU CAN’T SAY BILL MAHER IS AFRAID of offending people.
After the “Real Time With Bill Maher” host’s broadcast show, “Politically Incorrect,” got pulled off the air after some of his post-9/11 comments, he took his political humor and commentary to a more receptive audience at HBO. But it’s stand-up Maher prefers.
“Telling jokes to strangers is [...]



Make Old Clothes Fab: Jean Modification

By Rachel • May 9th, 2008 • Category: Fashion, New and Cool

WITH THE CURRENT DRIVE to be green and spend less money, thrift-store shopping is now eco-chic. But what if those Gap skinnies or Seven bootcuts don’t fit, are out of date, or are just revolting? Don’t die of barfness — reconstruct.
Did Levi Strauss have skirts, appliques and raw hems in mind when he invented jeans? [...]