Personal Space It’s Wednesday evening and I am at University of San Diego waiting for my class in Advanced Corporate Finance to begin in about 90 minutes. As those who know me understand, I rarely get anywhere late and I almost always err on being 15-30 minutes early. While that is not necessarily a good thing for hostesses throwing a party and putting finishing touches in place, mostly its a good thing that means I…
Head Game I spent about five hours yesterday with my brother-in-law Jeff at his house. Jeff and I met seventeen years ago in 2005, the year I met my magnificent Kim. Since my relationship with Jeff only exists because of Kim (I’m not sure how, in a country of just under 300 million people at the time, I would have otherwise run into Jeff), let me digress for a moment and tell you how I…
Fixing the World I often say to people that I teach because I get so much out of it. That sounds like a lot of Hoo Haw to most people, even to me, but it may also be true. One of the things that I clearly experience from teaching is the integration of that process with y expert witness activity. One truly does feed off the other. I am a more interesting and valuable expert…
Getting Pickled I have a funny relationship with pickles. I think it must have to do with PH balance or something. There are times I like them and times I find them very distasteful. If I’m going to have a hot dog, I generally prefer one with mustard and relish and relish is nothing more than ground up pickles, right? Maybe its the combination with mustard (something I believe Heinz may have combined and sold…
Influencer Hell A few years ago I read about a simple music teacher in South Korea that was eking out a living doing one-off music lessons. Then someone gave him the suggestion that he take his craft online and start leveraging himself by offering his lessons over the internet. The idea was initially about sourcing more clients through digital marketing, but also to create a network effect by allowing more students to access his supposedly…
Seeing Red Red has always been a controversial color. Red flags make bulls crazy. If you are especially angry, you see red. If you are an irresponsible driver you do things like run red lights. If you make a faux pas you might blush red. Redheads have been intriguing to men over the centuries for all sorts of reasons, most of which are too obvious and risqué to mention. If you exclude white, the most…
That’ll Do, Pig My old college fraternity pal, Doug, stayed with us with his wife, Liz, for the past few days. They came for a western trip to spend time in Phoenix, Sedona and San Diego. We had been inviting them to come out and stay with us for several years and they finally had the time on their dance cards to come out and make that happen. They timed it to join us for…
Mind the Gap Those of you who have spent time in London and ridden the Underground (subway) there, you are familiar with some of the Britishisms that one encounters. If you are on the street, you are familiar with the “Look Right” or “Look Left” designations on the curbs that are intended to remind pedestrians that road traffic travels in the opposite direction than what is familiar to most people who live in right-hand drive…
Relief I think I speak for Kim as well when I say that I am very tired of politics. I have spent a lifetime ignoring politics even though I lived through some pretty turbulent times. My first election at the ripe old age of eighteen was the 1972 election that set the stage for the era of Watergate hijinx and Nixon. The big political issues were war and economy (Vietnam and Stagflation). Fifty years later…
Going to the Mountain I still feel new to my hilltop after three years here full time. It’s days like today that make me feel that way and stare in wonder at the beauty of the distant views. It forces me to remind myself that views may be one of the secrets to the universe. If you are a believer, like I am, that state of mind drives everything, very few things other than perhaps…