The last time I popped up in your inbox, I talked about a pretty horrific example of an extreme case of following the pack.  I couldn’t help but think about another example of blindly following the pack - and my mind went right to the classic Matrix trilogy. (Thank goodness, this [...]

Ever heard of the expression “drinking the Kool-Aid”? I’ll bet you have at least at some point in your life.   But, what you might not know is where the expression originated - and, do I have a story for you (it’s not a happy one, so get ready for that).   The [...]

How many of us remember our dads barking at us to be quicker in the shower or shut off the lights when leaving a room?  “Darnit, don’t you know that money doesn’t grow on trees?!” It may have been difficult to understand the need for saving when we were kids, but [...]

If you’ve taken advantage of your employer’s 401K program to get a leg up on retirement savings, you can be confident that you’ve made a great choice in taking part in the program. But, what happens to your 401K payments if that company no longer employs you? What happens to the [...]

No, I don't mean David Lee Roth fighting 401,000 people, but that would definitely be the fight of the century.   What I'm talking about is the difference between two very distinct retirement savings accounts.  You've probably heard those names before, and if you don't know what they mean, here's the skinny: [...]

I’m very tempted to let bygones be bygones, but the fascinating topic I’m discussing today has made me run amok!  Some of the most intriguing words in the English language are what linguists call ‘fossil words,’ so named because they are artifacts from another era and survive only in isolated usage. [...]

One of the most popular and well-rated television series of all time is AMC’s Breaking Bad.  Bryan Cranston earned an absolutely obscene (but well-earned) number of awards for his incredible performance as Walter White; the ill-fated high school teacher turned meth kingpin. On the day after his 50th birthday, Walter was [...]

These days, we are going on more and more video meetings. And, sometimes, they're with people in other time zones (pretty common, especially since there are quite a few in the USA).  And, naturally, sometimes our wires get crossed, and we mess up meeting times as a result!  "When was it [...]

A movie came out in 1991 called “Terminator 2”. Maybe you’ve heard of it?  The sequel to the 1984 action hit “The Terminator” upped the ante in many aspects from the original, where our heroes Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese stopped the Terminator from fulfilling his mission of terminating (get it?) [...]

The definition of a “luxury item” is something you don’t necessarily need to live, but is nevertheless an item held in high regard and desired by society. This is where the divide comes in.  It’s kind of funny when you think about it - “luxury” varies from person to person and [...]