In the 1970s, the Ford Motor Company introduced a new subcompact car called the Pinto. In response to several fatal accidents involving the Pinto, Ford prepared a seven-page company memorandum entitled “Fatalities Associated with Crash-Induced Fuel Leakage and Fires.” In the memo, Ford estimated the cost of fuel system modifications to reduce fire risks in … Continue reading COVID-19 and the Ford Pinto
Established in 1953, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing is one of the crown jewels of Villanova University and provides an educational experience that challenges students to become nursing leaders working at the forefront of modern health care, in every corner of the world. The College educates nurses to emerge as strong leaders in … Continue reading I Couldn’t Be Prouder of These Villanova Graduates and Students
I've expressed my political beliefs before; I am not a fan of President Trump and many of my views would be labeled as socialistic. As a result, I was tempted to write a post that was going to include a few anti-Trump and pro-socialist memes that I have recently found across the Internet, memes that … Continue reading Please Put Politics Aside and Just Work Together to Solve the Problem
We took another stroll around Villanova's campus today. The photo above shows one of the most heavily traveled parts of campus when school is in session. Normally at this time of the year, there would be hundreds of students walking on the paths, perhaps a few students tossing a football or frisbee back and forth, … Continue reading Where Is Everyone?
We were out walking our dog in between raindrops today, and we came across the Little Free Library stand shown above, one of a couple in our neighborhood. But as you can see, this one doesn't just have books. It has something that is in limited supply, with seemingly unlimited demand. For someone to sacrifice … Continue reading From Nation to Neighborhood: Crisis Brings Out the Best in People
This is why I love the Wall Street Journal. Sure, its editorial pages are often a little too conservative for me, and I can get a lot of the market news elsewhere. But it's got AHED stories, a sports page, and stories like this one, in today's paper (by Jacob Gallagher): Sleeping Nude: Liberating or … Continue reading The Naked, and Disgusting, Truth about Sleeping in the Nude
As a follow-up to yesterday's post about the top 25 best-designed products, here is a listing of the 50 greatest breakthroughs since the wheel. (Sorry for following in the footsteps of Buzzfeed here with these "listicles"). I want to thank Brad for the inspiration since he originally thought yesterday's post was about what products have … Continue reading The 50 Greatest Breakthroughs Since the Wheel
These past 10 days have given me a glimpse of what my retirement might be like. Since I finished teaching my class the first week of March, I really have no teaching responsibilities right now, so my days are fairly wide open. And let's just say I have not made the best use of those … Continue reading My Retirement Is Not Looking Too Productive
I received an email today from the President of Villanova University, Father Peter, announcing that classes will remain online for the rest of the semester. Classes had switched to an online format last week, and the hope was that face-to-face instruction could resume after Easter. However, the rapid escalation of covid-19 has eliminated such a … Continue reading Music Monday: A Song for Our Times – Put Your Hands Up
In the midst of all the negative news about covid-19, some people have managed to poke fun at it. So I thought I'd share a small number of video clips I've seen that I thought were pretty funny. If you think it's too soon, well here's what a couple of famous comic writers have to … Continue reading Too Soon? A Little Bit of Covid-19 Humor
Borden's Blather 