Morgan Housel recently published an article "Why Everyone Should Write". Morgan is a partner at the Collaborative Fund, a venture capital fund that focuses not just on investment returns but helping to make the world a better place. So what qualifies a financial person to talk about the value of writing? Morgan is a two-time winner … Continue reading Write On →

Last year, when the Powerball jackpot hit a record $1.5 billion, Mark Cuban shared some advice for the lottery winner with the Dallas News. Now that the Powerball has worked it's way back up into the stratosphere, I think it would be useful to share those words of advice again. But I have modified his … Continue reading My Edits of Mark Cuban’s Advice for the Powerball Winner →

The offer seemed too good to be true. Verizon was offering a one-gigabit FIOS connection package for just $79.99 per month. It was also waiving the installation fee (if you placed the order online), and was offering up to $500 to cover cancellation fees if you were switching to FIOS. We have been long-time users … Continue reading In Theory, This Post Should Have Only Taken Four and a Half Minutes →

I didn't think I would, but I did get a little caught up in the eclipse hoopla. I started watching TV around 1:00, and then got hooked in to watching all of the different viewing parties taking place across the U.S. It was impressive watching the moon cross in front of the sun as it … Continue reading Remembering the Eclipse →

I know that the "official unofficial" end of summer is still two more weeks away, but for me, it ends now. Freshmen are on campus for orientation, traffic is starting to pick up around campus, and classes start Wednesday. So my wife, son, and I decided to celebrate by going out to dinner. We were … Continue reading A Perfect Night for My Unofficial End of Summer →

I know I'm a sucker for stories with headlines like, "14 things successful people do before breakfast", or "14 Things Every Successful Person Has In Common", or "If You Want to Succeed, Here Are 5 Things You Need to Do Differently", or "25 Simple Things to Give Up If You Want to Succeed". After all, who … Continue reading Reading This 5-Minute Post Will Save You from Disappointment and Hours of Reading →

What would happen if you tried to toast a piece of bread inside a freezer? Which appliance would win - would the toaster be able to toast the bread despite the below freezing temperatures, or would the freezer be able to keep the toast from ever heating up? I have to admit it wasn't me … Continue reading Appliance Showdown: Toaster vs Freezer →

In response to yesterday's blog post that was a tribute to Elvis, Bud Drago, one of my teaching colleagues, commented that on the date of Elvis' death, he and his bandmates were practicing for an upcoming gig. When they heard the news, the band played a couple Elvis songs in his memory. 40 years later, … Continue reading Hidden Talents? →

Today is the 40th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, and I thought I'd share a few memories I have of him. I was lucky enough to have seen Elvis in concert, just a few months before he died. It was at the venerable Spectrum in South Philadelphia, and my friend Joe had somehow managed to … Continue reading A Tribute to the King – Three Memories →

It's my favorite line from one of my all-time favorite songs, Imagine, by John Lennon. I had been thinking about those words the past couple of days as I reflected on the hate and bigotry that was on display in Charlottesville this past weekend. Why is peace so hard? Why can't the world be as … Continue reading Imagine all the people living life in peace →