It used to be tech support's favorite acronym, RTFM, for Read the F***ing Manual. It suggested that users could just as easily have found the answer to their question by reading the manual instead of calling tech support. More modern versions of the phrase are STFW ("search the f***ing web"), GIYF ("Google is your friend"), and … Continue reading RTFM (Or in This Case, RTFL) or Better Yet, STFW →

Two weeks ago I wrote about how I had secretly hoped that I would have had the opportunity to be sitting outside at a London pub while there was a major snowstorm back home in Philly. As fate/Karma would have it, almost the reverse happened. London was hit with record setting cold temperatures and snow, … Continue reading Karma, Part 2… →

One of the things I have found different between restaurants in the U.S. and Europe has been how long it takes to get your bill. Prior to getting the bill, the service is similar on both sides of the Atlantic (usually, but more on that later). However, in Europe it takes a looooooong time to … Continue reading Restaurant Workers – Tips vs. Salary →

It's just one more technology that I'm late to the game using, but in just a couple of weeks I've become a believer. I'm talking about Shazam. No, not this Shazam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxQ-Ltfs9ds But THE Shazam, the one that is an app that can identify music, movies, advertising, and television shows, based on a short sample … Continue reading Shazam > Napster →

One of the things I like about the Wall Street Journal is that it's not all business. It has a Sports page, a weekly "Mansion" section, a daily Life & Arts section, and its famous front page A-Hed stories. The paper has fashion reviews (which I consider the comic page), a weekly arts and entertainment … Continue reading Add One More Item to the List of Things I Will Never Do →

The following blurb from the Metro UK newspaper caught my eye the other day: "A French baker has been fined £2,600 for 'working too hard' by selling bread every day. Cedric Vaivre, 41, broke labour laws in Lusigny-sur-Barse by not having a rest day." That seems like such a foreign concept, both literally and figuratively, … Continue reading The French Seem to Have It Right →

It was one of my favorite songs as a teenager, Three Dog Night's "Never Been to Spain". Well I never been to Spain But I kinda like the music Say the ladies are insane there And they sure know how to use it They don't abuse it Never gonna lose it I can't refuse it … Continue reading I Can Never Sing the First Two Verses of This Song Again →

The Evening Standard, one of London's daily newspapers, had a great story the other day about a public high school school in London that went from being one of the worst in Britain to one of the best, in just four short years. While it was certainly a team effort between the administrators, the teachers, … Continue reading The Power of Leadership, Hard Work, and One Person →

Nearly every day I walk past a neighborhood that appears to be some form of low-income public housing. I am sure when the units were first built that they were attractive and clean, and people were excited to move into them. Now, the units are starting to show their age, and it's become more obvious, … Continue reading Not So Hidden Fences and the Broken Window Theory →

It makes sense. If you want to meet people, you need to go where there are people. And if there's one place that is able to draw a fairly regular crowd, it's got to be a grocery store. After all, people need to eat. And whether they are buying the ingredients to make their own … Continue reading Looking for Love in the Produce Section →