To Bee or Not To Bee

Spelling bees bring back good memories for me, and I've written about my experiences before. I remember spending the summers after sixth and seventh grade going to our school's convent and sitting on the porch with retired Sister Miriam and practicing my spelling for an hour a day. I'm sure that's nothing compared to what … Continue reading To Bee or Not To Bee →

“Life Is Good” Co-Founder Delivers Inspirational Commencement Speech and a Few Well-Thrown Frisbees

Villanova University was blessed to have Bert Jacobs, co-founder of the Life is Good brand, as its commencement speaker this past weekend. Bert started selling t-shirts with his brother John out of a van back in 1989. But as their web site points out, it was not very prosperous. They lived on peanut butter and jelly, … Continue reading “Life Is Good” Co-Founder Delivers Inspirational Commencement Speech and a Few Well-Thrown Frisbees →

Is It Worth Living to 100?

I've always said that I want to live to be at least 100. There's no particular reason why, it just seems like a nice round number and perhaps confirmation of healthy living. I've always viewed running out of money as my biggest worry if I were to live to 100, but after reading an article … Continue reading Is It Worth Living to 100? →

Would You Rather Be…?

I'm currently reading Bad Blood, the fascinating, yet depressing, inside look at the story of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes. While I plan to offer a more in-depth review of the book when I finish it, I found one question posed in the book to be intriguing. A group of Theranos employees was having lunch, and … Continue reading Would You Rather Be…? →

Wisdom from 400 A.D. (in less than 400 words)

It was graduation weekend at Villanova, which meant there was a good chance one of the speakers was going to quote St. Augustine. A couple of the people did mention my favorite quote attributed to Augustine (at separate commencement events, fortunately). Here is the quote (at least one translation of it): Always be dissatisfied with … Continue reading Wisdom from 400 A.D. (in less than 400 words) →

I Just Completed My First Coursera Course, and All I Can Say Is Wow

A few weeks ago I signed up for my first Coursera course - Introduction to Probability and Data, and today I was informed that I had successfully passed the course. The course is part of a five-course Certificate, Statistics with R Specialization (R is a computer language focused on statistical analysis); The other four courses … Continue reading I Just Completed My First Coursera Course, and All I Can Say Is Wow →

The Gratitude Quiz

I mentioned the Greater Good web site in one of my previous posts, noting that it was my favorite new web site. Here's a little bit about Greater Good, from its web site: Through articles, videos, quizzes, and podcasts, we bridge the gap between scientific journals and people’s daily lives, particularly for parents, educators, business … Continue reading The Gratitude Quiz →

Two Shots for the Ages

I'm a few days late on this one; I guess I'm still trying to process what happened. If you are a basketball fan, particularly a Toronto Raptors fan, you had to love the ending to Sunday night's Game 7 match between the Raptors and the Philadelphia 76ers. If you're a Sixers fan, it was a … Continue reading Two Shots for the Ages →

Hey College Grads! Don’t Be “That” Guy or Gal

I'm on a roll here with these graduation posts; this is four in a row. Here are the previous ones: Advice for College Grads from the WSJ and Its Readers 24 Off-the-Wall College Graduation Traditions Music Monday: 13 Songs to Accompany Graduation Today's post is offering some advice that may seem a bit counter-intuitive. Job … Continue reading Hey College Grads! Don’t Be “That” Guy or Gal →