Nice post, Trent!! Hope there are many great years to come! :)

I do this too. I use NPR as my source for new books. When I hear about an interesting book, hit Amazon to get the ISBN details and head to my library website to put a hold on it..

KCDesi

I live in a major city, in an apartment. I have both bought items off craigslist (picked up from the seller, and asked them to bring the item downstairs where possible) and sold items (in some cases requiring folks to come to my apartment.)

In both situations, I’ve gone alone to pick up an item or been alone when something was picked up.
However, I had a superintendent in the building and I kept the apartment door open during the visits (absolutely no problems but I had spoken to the people first and vetted them a bit. You can sometimes tell if someone is a bit “off” for lack of a better word.) I also had my cell phone in my hand.

a lot to do with what you are selling and where you live. (I’m sure if I were living in a luxury apartment it might be more of a concern; but I do not and don’t have anything valuable to steal anyway. Plus, I already had tons of information about the potential buyers that had been checked out. I ruled out any “flakes” who would not identify themselves.)

Worried? Bring/have someone with you. Bring several people with you. And if I lived in a home, I’d definitely have one or more adults with me before I let anyone in. I’d also ask for ID upfront and note car details before I let them in.

You can also alert your neighbors. You can also make it clear that you are meeting them at a certain time and that you will be leaving for an appointment, etc.

If you’re concerned about meeting someone else, meet in a public place. If they balk, that’s already a sign.

You can get mugged, robbed or attacked anywhere.
Parking lot, work, shopping, etc.

You have to use caution everywhere.

Somebody wants to hurt you? They have a thousand ways to do it without you using craigslist.

#5 – for local news, we just access our local newspapers online.

#8 – I’ve been thinking the same thing lately. In the old days, if someone gave up TV, they were truly going electronic media free. Now, if they’re giving up cable, it isn’t to go media free, it’s just a switch to an alternate – the computer, netbook, the DVD player, the DVD player in the car, etc. And virtually every person I’ve ever heard say they’ve given up cable or their TV have also admitted they will find a way to watch it occasionally (at a friend’s, relative’s, or a sports bar) – which to me is an admission that TV is not evil.

I prefer being a quiet homebody as well. However, being more soical also you to build more “contacts” which can come in handy in the future—i.e. future business opportuntities, experts in other areas, etc.

It’s not necessary to have people come to your house. You could also arrange to meet them at a local coffee shop on your lunch break, for example.