Tonight I was lucky enough to attend Montgomery County Community College (Montco)'s annual “Salute to Excellence” reception. The event recognizes the academic dedication shown by scholarship recipients, who often must sacrifice and balance studies with work and family obligations in order to realize their dreams. At the event, students share their stories and get to … Continue reading This Place Opens Doors to Bright Futures →

Despite my strong feelings in favor of gun  control, I usually don't like to use isolated gun shooting incidents to support my position. I'd rather use the numerous research studies that utilize far more data and statistical analyses compared to one highly publicized shooting to back my beliefs. However, I'm going to make an exception … Continue reading Do Money and Guns Bring Out the Worst in People? →

The New York Times had a story recently, "The Future of Retirement Communities: Walkable and Urban", and that describes exactly the kind of place I'd like to live when I retire. So when I checked walkable.com to see what the most walkable cities were, I came across the list you see at the top of … Continue reading I Must Be Ready for Retirement – I’m Starting to Think Like a Retiree →

I had a chance to be part of two events this weekend that opened my eyes to the power of volunteering. The background of the people and the setting for each meeting could not have been more different. Last night I attended a meeting of Reconstruction, Inc., an organization committed to fighting for prison reform … Continue reading The Power of Volunteering →

Another great show at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. This time it was the classic "The  King  and I". I was vaguely familiar with  the story, and I certainly recognized  the song "Getting  to Know You." After the  play, I went to Wikipedia to read a bit  more  about the play and found out … Continue reading The King and I – a Timeless Tale →

I still remember the big day. I was probably around 12 years old, and my parents were taking me out to get something I really wanted. Webster's 3rd New International Dictionary. It was THE dictionary. It contained more than 450,000 entries, including more than 100,000 new entries. The first print run had 2,726 pages, weighed … Continue reading I Thought I Had at Least an Average Vocabulary; Wrong Again →

Since high school, I've never been one to voluntarily participate in class. I'm guessing the biggest reason was the fear of giving the wrong answer, and then feeling myself transform into Lobster Man in full view of the rest of the class. Basically, I didn't walk to be like Ivan Ackerman, as seen below. This behavior … Continue reading I Gave the Wrong Answer in Class Today, and the World Didn’t End… →

I came across a company that uses Twitter to post some of the most clever ads/packaging it has discovered. As often happens, I spent way too much time on the site, because there was always one more ad to look at. So thank you to marketing_birds for the inspiration for today's post, in which I thought I … Continue reading Some Great Ads from Around the World, and a Villanova/Lego video →

Today is International Day of Happiness, and it is also the day that the newest World Happiness Report was released. The report, developed by the UN's Sustainable Development Solutions Network, ranks the world's countries based on happiness. Norway jumped three spots and displaced three-time winner Denmark to take the title of "world's happiest country" for … Continue reading Am I Doomed to a Life of Less Than Optimal Happiness? →

March Madness. It's one of the best sporting events of the year, filled with great teams, great players, great plays, lots of drama, and moments that will go down in history. Perhaps none more than the final seconds of last year's championship game featuring Villanova vs. North Carolina. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7FFJUz0tdo There are also moments that leave … Continue reading Well at Least One Person Agrees with Me →