But then it became clear that if we made a contribution this large, it was also a statement on our part.
"It's easy to be dismissive about this kind of Type A overdrive, but it's a mistake, I think, to criticize it," says Shelly Kagan, the author of "Death" and a professor of philosophy at Yale. "We should consider ourselves fortunate if we find our work so satisfying and meaningful, and if we can make a contribution until the end".
"And, if we can make a contribution to conservation biology?
Robert Kasdin, senior executive vice president at Columbia, said the university is not abandoning efforts to combine technology and learning: "We want to see if we can really make a contribution doing a few more selective efforts.
But New England doesn't have a lot of sun, as you know, so if we're going to make a contribution to a cleaner electrical grid, we're going to have to start with wind.
He said: "If GM can make a contribution then we have a choice as a society and as a world about whether to make use of that technology".
We are asking friends if they could make a contribution of 10-20 dorlars or more to help get him out of jail as soon as possible so he can seek legal assistance.
At the moment, for example, if you make a contribution to a pension scheme, it reduces your income for income tax purposes, but not for National Insurance.
If you make a contribution to a lawmaker's re-election campaign and later ask a favor, that's not bribery.
We still have a letter from the then unknown Dan Flavin asking if he could make a contribution towards the paintings' restoration".
