Have you ever considered what friends are worth? It’s futile to put a price tag on friendship itself, though it’s fairly easy to argue that someone without any friends is bankrupt in some way. It takes time to cultivate friendships; this process can’t be accelerated by throwing money at the problem. Having a lot of … Read more
Cash is king. Cash is capital, in small, unmarked bills. Almost nothing speaks louder at the negotiating table. It says: “I have the means, right now, to buy from you.” Because it speaks so loudly, there are great deals to be had if you can pay cash. Here are a few: Real estate. The somewhat … Read more
This past weekend I played at a gig with a ten-piece band I’m in. Aside from lots of people having a good time, and us playing pretty well, the attendees raised money for the American Red Cross. Part of the money raised was through ticket sales (which offset the cost of the bands and the … Read more
A couple of weeks ago we took an honest-to-goodness family vacation for the first time in what seems like forever. We went to North Carolina’s Outer Banks with three other families for a week. The weather cooperated nicely and we all had a chance to just chill out. (Notwithstanding the severe case of beach brain … Read more
Many online retailers, such as Amazon.com, have customer reviews as an integral part of their site’s functionality: user buys something, tries it out, posts what they thought. The aim of having customer reviews alongside the product descriptions is to provide real, honest feedback from real people to allow for better-informed buying decisions. A side benefit … Read more
I don’t consider myself a funny person most of the time. Once in a while, though — usually when I’m tired or otherwise stressed — I’ll get in one of those moods, and inspiration (or just lowered inhibitions) hits. I’m sure most of you can relate the need to appease your inner actor or comedian. … Read more
There’s a time to buy things, and there’s a time to sell things. The thing has outlived its usefulness, or it’s the wrong color now, or it’s no longer played with by your kids. The thing is taking up space, or taking up your mental energy, or costing you some monthly maintenance fee — or … Read more
Some of my wife’s Facebook friends posted some pictures the bumper-to-bumper traffic into the local mall / retail area today. It’s definitely not the best time to run in and out of stores for a few things, being a week before Christmas and all that. So we stopped at our local antique mall this afternoon. … Read more