A Mandarin Lemon I taught hospitality economics at the Cornell School of Hotel Management back when it was called that and I was in business school. I found it interesting to come up with hospitality examples of fundamental economic concepts and, of course, I have always enjoyed the teaching process. I have spent the last fifty years staying in every type and manner of hotel you can imagine. I have stayed in my early motorcycling…
Into the Teeth of the Storm I am sitting on my Delta flight on the tarmac at San Diego International waiting to take off for JFK and then, after a few hours, boarding a similar flight to Barcelona. No, there is no storm here in San Diego, but more importantly, the weather.com radar map, as forecasted through the afternoon when we depart JFK later, does not look like there is any storm warnings since whatever…
Up and At ‘Em Being an early riser has done as much to define my life as anything else about me. I expect that it goes hand in hand with some of my flaws like overthinking things and being in my head more than I should be. But if those are the prices I have to pay for being an early riser, I accept that. I feel so incredibly much more productive first thing in…
Planes Trains and Automobiles I miss John Candy. He died 28 years ago at an age that was way too young (43). He was a wonderful comedic actor who I, as a big man my whole life, found it easy to relate to. Other, less than svelte actors who died way too young included John Belushi (age 33) and Chris Farley (also age 33). The other big male actor I can relate to is John…
An Ethical Don Quixote My connection to the University of San Diego is strong enough to cause me to travel forty miles back and forth twice a week this semester to get to my two classes. Those classes start at 7pm so I go a bit early and grab a bite before my two and three hour classes. Last semester I was in the habit of going to a noodle cafe near the University, but…
Purpose As I sit on any given morning, pondering what is on my mind at the moment, I often use visual cues to spur me on. Since I have lately been writing in the morning at my office desk, I can choose to examine the things around me in the office, things that are by design filled with memories and imbedded aspects of my life that cause me to reflect. Every picture may tell a…
The Business of Teaching I just finished teaching my Law, Policy & Ethics course for two hours tonight in what felt like a 90 degree classroom (we are all asked to conserve energy during this heat wave). It wrung me out and felt like a hard day in the salt mine by the time I was done. There is nothing inherently hard about the course material or this particular class, since it was the introductory…
Labor Day Labors We all carry our own burdens, whether we want to or not. One of mine appears to be that I think too much. Please don’t shut down and assume that I am being arrogant and suggesting that I am smarter than other people, because I am not. I know my IQ and have for many years and I know I have a modicum of intelligence, but that many of you out there…
Moonshot In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I am quite fixated when it comes to moon themes around this hilltop. It all springs from my favorite movie, Moonstruck, which suited me as a name for this house those ten plus years ago when we bought it. I have never looked back since and the moon hits just keep on coming. I looked up the word moon in reference to the 1,437 stories I…
It’s a Dutch Door Life I just saw a piece from the Atlantic that caught my eye. It is called The HGTV-ification of America and it’s opening salvo is “You can’t escape gray floors”. As I read that, I looked down at the gray luxury vinyl floors under my feet in our office. We had originally put in two shades of gray (not quite the fifty that pop culture demanded) when we renovated our kitchen…