We all experience moments of temporary awe. Such feelings could be triggered by staring up at the night sky, watching the waves crash onto the shore, listening to your favorite singer perform your favorite song live, or watching an athlete turn in a performance for the ages. While such experiences are often fleeting and hard … Continue reading The Impact of Experiencing Awe →

We're in D.C. for the weekend, and we had planned to either walk or use the Metro to get around the city. When I went to check the directions from our hotel to the Smithsonian on Google Maps, I saw a link at the bottom that suggested giving Uber a try. I had downloaded and … Continue reading My First Experience with Uber →

We have been trying to find a house to rent in Ocean City. NJ, and given how late we are trying to do so, there are not many houses available. Our first stop was good old VRBO, which we have had great luck with before. We found one that was available but when we contacted … Continue reading Almost Scammed by a Craigslist Ad →

We just had a thunderstorm pass through our neighborhood a few minutes ago, with heavy rain, strong winds, and lightning. For whatever reason, thunderstorms have always fascinated me. I remember as a kid someone telling me that you can tell how far away a storm is by counting how many seconds it takes to hear … Continue reading It’s Nights Like This I Wish We Had a Front Porch →

Today's blog post is being written from the French Riviera, where my wife Mary and I are celebrating her birthday. Scratch that first sentence, I must have slipped into my fantasy world for a second. Anyway, today is my wife's birthday, and while we don't have much planned for today, since we're both working tonight, … Continue reading Happy Birthday to My Wife! →

I had jury duty today, and it was the closest I've ever come to actually getting selected. I arrived at the courthouse at 8:30, and at 9:00 we started the day by filling out a questionnaire, following the instructions of a judge who appeared via a video monitor. After we completed the questionnaire, we were … Continue reading Maybe Some Day I’ll Sit on a Jury →

I just finished watching the American women's soccer team win the World Cup, and after it was over Nike played a great commercial celebrating women's soccer, set to the classic Guess Who song "American Woman". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVXkkZp_jBQ It was a perfect commercial to show after the victory. Of course, watching it got me thinking about commercials, … Continue reading Congratulations to the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team and the Winners of the Cannes Lions 2015 →

I am excited to try something new with my fitness training program. Currently I do cardio six days a week, 45 minutes per workout, alternating days between my recumbent bike and rowing machine. I also alternate the type of training I do each day. I also do 30 minutes of basic strength training workouts three days … Continue reading A New Approach to My Training: the 180 Formula →

I met with a student recently who was upset because he had put in a tremendous amount of time studying for a test, but he did not do well on the test. He showed me all the notes he had prepared as part of his studying and all the practice problems he had worked on, … Continue reading Does Hard Work Always Pay Off? →