No Wonder Some People Have Coulrophobia

Never heard of coulrophobia? Neither did I until five minutes ago. No, it's not a fear of Dairy Queen. Coulrophobia is a fear of clowns, and can bring on feelings of fear when you see clowns or clown images. It’s a specific phobic disorder that causes anxiety, a racing heart, nausea, and profuse sweating. This … Continue reading No Wonder Some People Have Coulrophobia

Forget Dine and Dash, Now There’s Splash and Dash

The above photo is from a polar bear plunge close to Charleston, SC. These events are usually referred to as a polar bear plunge, but I have also heard it referred to as a splash and dash. But the photo is misleading in that this blog post has nothing to do with crazy people running … Continue reading Forget Dine and Dash, Now There’s Splash and Dash

Shopping Cart Confusion

Some of you may think this post is about online shopping carts, but you would be wrong. This is about good old-fashioned physical carts, the kind you would find at a grocery store. Last week Amazon Express opened up a store near us, and we had to check what all the excitement was about. Here's … Continue reading Shopping Cart Confusion

Music Monday: Wavelength by Van Morrison

I only know a handful of Van Morrison's songs, but I enjoy every one of those. If I had to pick my favorite, it would be Wavelength. It may not be as popular as some of his other songs, but it did reach No. 42 in the U.S. Here's a bit of background on the … Continue reading Music Monday: Wavelength by Van Morrison

This Microsoft Office 365 Feature Sums Up the Current State of Politics in the U.S. Pretty Well

Like many organizations, Villanova's default email system is Microsoft Outlook as part of MS Office 365. Over the years, the spam filtering capabilities of Outlook seem to have gotten better. When an email is flagged as being potential spam, it is filtered into either a Junk Folder or a Quarantine folder. I wasn't quite sure … Continue reading This Microsoft Office 365 Feature Sums Up the Current State of Politics in the U.S. Pretty Well

Is It Just Me, Or Do You Also Think This Is Disgusting and Inappropriate?

This past weekend my wife, son, and I went out to dinner in the wonderful small town of West Chester, PA. The town is the county seat, and in addition is home to a large state university, West Chester University (one of our swimming archrivals when I was in college). The town has done a … Continue reading Is It Just Me, Or Do You Also Think This Is Disgusting and Inappropriate?

This Blog Post Will Make You Happy

You can thank Dan Ariely for this tip on how to increase your level of happiness. Dear Dan, My aunt gave me some money for my birthday. Since she wasn’t sure about my likes and dislikes, she said to spend it on something that would make me happy. Do you have any advice on how … Continue reading This Blog Post Will Make You Happy

This Blog Post Can Be All Yours for Just $5,700

I think it's time for me to stake my claim and make my fortune in the world of digital assets. This insight dawned on me the other day while I was reading an article about the metaverse in the Wall Street Journal. Sidebar - do not ask me what the metaverse is. I have no … Continue reading This Blog Post Can Be All Yours for Just $5,700

The Problem With Being Vegan

There's a chance you may have felt that there was something missing in your life. Well, I think I know what it is. It's been a while since I've shared a post from Dan Ariely's mailbag. So let me remedy that by sharing this email Dan received, with an answer that hits way too close … Continue reading The Problem With Being Vegan

Throwback Tuesday (Or, Me Being Lazy)

The following post was originally published on January 7, 2017. More than five years later, it has no likes, and only four comments, two of which are mine. Despite those anemic numbers, it has always been one of my favorite posts. I told myself that if I ever started reblogging some of my previous posts, … Continue reading Throwback Tuesday (Or, Me Being Lazy)