Thrillist, an online media website covering food, drink, travel and entertainment, recently came out with its listing of the 100 greatest YouTube videos of all time. Who would not be attracted to a headline like that? So I decided to take a peek at the list, expecting to be familiar with just about all the videos included on the list. Well as it … Continue reading Here’s to Wasting Time on the Internet →

Here's an experiment you can try: the next time you are out walking somewhere, try skipping for a few seconds. My guess is that you find it almost impossible not to smile while you are doing so. If you are too embarrassed to skip, then you need to watch this clip from Friends: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fS5wJKiwR4 Now … Continue reading The Joy of Skipping →

I'm not really sure how this happened (I think it may be the result of having watched ABC New World Tonight earlier in the evening), but I was sitting there trying to think of something to write for my blog, and To Tell the Truth was playing on the TV in the background. And just … Continue reading Is There a Guinness World Record for Everything? →

I had the chance to see Paul Simon in concert for the first time tonight, with my youngest son, as an early Father's Day present. It was phenomenal; it is hard to imagine that Simon is 76 years old. His voice sounds just as good as it did 40 years ago, and he went full … Continue reading Paul Simon’s Farewell Tour →

'Between Two Ferns' is one of my favorite online video series, and I was wondering if there was ever going to be any new episodes. The last episode released was in September, 2016, and that represented the first new episode since October 2014. In other words, there has only been one new episode in nearly … Continue reading It’s Back! A New Episode of ‘Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis’ →

I don't know why this commercial from the early 1970s always stuck with me. Here is link to a web site that has the video: https://www.oddballfilms.com/clip/13160_13316_bowmar2 I still remember most of the dialogue: "I was a real dummy. I couldn't add. I couldn't subtract. I couldn't multiply. I couldn't divide. Percentages made my head spin. … Continue reading A Favorite Childhood Memory – the Bowmar Brain →

Every summer, Villanova University offers what is known as the Summer Business Institute, or SBI. Here is some info about the program from its web site: SBI is a full-time, 16-credit program held on Villanova’s campus, which focuses on finance, economics, accounting, marketing, management, analytics and information technologies. Created exclusively for non-business majors in 1997, … Continue reading Three Cheers for the Students in Villanova’s Summer Business Institute →

In the field of ethics, one of the guiding principles for making ethical decisions is known as the "Mom Test". Basically the Mom Test asks decision makers to think about what their mom would think of the decision he or she is about to make. If you think your Mom would approve the decision, then … Continue reading I Think De Niro Failed the “Mom Test” →

The Atlantic had a wonderful article last week that looked at the rules Fred Rogers used when talking with children. He insisted that every word, whether spoken by a person or a puppet, be scrutinized closely, because he knew that children—the preschool-age boys and girls who made up the core of his audience—tend to hear … Continue reading Words Mattered to Mr. Rogers →

This post is somewhat connected to yesterday's post that looked at the concept of restorative justice. One of the possible benefits of restorative justice and other types of prison reform measures is that there will be fewer people spending time in prison. Taking care of prisoners is expensive, and by reducing that population, federal and … Continue reading Unintended Consequences of a Drop in the Crime Rate →