“How old were you when you got your first paying job?”   That’s one of my favorite questions when interviewing prospective employees. If the person answers “I was 21 years old”, a red flag goes up.   Based on personal experience, I’ve learned that people who had a paying job before age 16 have a better work...

Inconveniences offer opportunities to improve. The pharmacy would not refill my asthma medication last summer. The authorized refills had run out and my doctor had retired. After I described my symptoms to a new allergist, he replied, “Before I approve a refill of your prescription, I’d like a CAT scan of your sinuses.” When I...

“Mr. Walther, the test you just handed out isn’t fair!” “Why do you say that?” replied Professor Larry Walther, chairman of the University of Texas at Arlington accounting department. “The test has four essay questions. Our other teachers always give us multiple choice questions!” This dialogue that took place during the 2005 Fall Semester highlights...

Capt. Miles Standish had spent much time at his wife Rose’s bedside. As much time, that is, as he could spare from stalking game, fighting off intruders and felling trees to construct homes on shore. A bitter wind whistled through cracks in the Mayflower, anchored in Plymouth harbor the winter of 1620. Rose’s fever chills...

“I don’t mind going back to daylight savings time. With inflation, the hour will be the only thing I’ve saved all year.” (1) Who invented Daylight Savings Time (DST)? In 1784, Benjamin Franklin was documented as the first person to propose the idea of DST. Franklin estimated 64 million pounds of candle wax could be...

“The number of new-vehicle buyers who owe more on their trade than it is worth — the classic ‘upside-down’ scenario — has increased substantially over the past years. While only 25% of trades were an upside-down situation in 2001, today 38% of trades are in this category.” [1] Activity Based Costing (ABC) is exposing a...

Every time my family took cross-country car trips, Mom would pack snacks, a pencil and a Mad Libs® book.   Mad Libs®, as you may recall, are short stories created by filling in blanks with an assortment of names, nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Miles and time would pass by as Mom, Dad, my brother and...

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, eyes filled with tears, said on September 2nd, “Repairing the 17th Street levee means water will be controlled and the water level will be fixed and better days are coming. I’m calling it Project Hope.” Hope is as important to us as water is to a fish, as vital as electricity is...