This May will be 10 years since Aaron and I graduated from university. I just looked up the cost for the upcoming academic year, which includes tuition, room, board, fees, and books, and it’s running at a rate of around $53,000 per annum. Assuming even modest annual increases, a 4-year degree would cost just shy of…
DetailsI normally like richer, specialty breads – the heavy kind you find in some European bread shop, each for its own purpose and recipe – but a recent trip to the grocery store made me curious about the type of ordinary bread most Americans are eating. After looking at the nutrition label of several major baking companies,…
DetailsFrom time to time, I get messages from business owners or entrepreneurs who are discouraged and upset. Their family, friends, colleagues, bank officers, or suppliers don’t believe in what they are trying to do and they take it personally. This afternoon, as I sat in a McDonald’s restaurant having coffee and revisiting an excellent book called McDonald’s Behind the Arches that details the historical rise of one of the world’s largest real estate portfolio masquerading as a hamburger chain, I was reminded of a story I first read back in college that I think has a lot of powerful lessons.
DetailsWe have been trying new recipes, again. One of the dishes that was on the list was a skillet lasagna. It’s popular because you can take ingredients you have at home and quickly put together a home cooked meal without a lot of effort. I was hesitant because, in my opinion, the entire appeal of…
DetailsIt is a common mistake for inexperienced investors to look at the realized or unrealized gains or losses reported by their broker, using it as a proxy for economic reality. Total return, particularly on an after-tax basis, can be wildly different. Here is one real-world illustration of how the difference may arise.
DetailsAfter my post on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air earlier, I began thinking about the media industry. One of the things I find most fascinating when studying history, businesses, mental models, and the human experience, is the unexpected cultural phenomenon. There are certain things that happen, at certain moments in time, that are only…
DetailsOn June 26, 2014, I beat my first Deity game in Civ 5. I decided to play a Highland map surrounded by mountains, huge, with maximum city states. Luck of the draw pitted me against Genghis Khan, who was never able to march an army to my capital in time due to the long, almost impassible mountains that stood between us.
DetailsMy niece and nephew were over at the house a couple of days ago and I ended up playing Eurotruck Simulator 2 with them as I had picked it up during one of the past Steam sales. In it, you want to start a freight company but you have no money so you take driving jobs. As you amass capital, you establish your own trucking business, setup a headquarters, acquire new equipment, and increase profits. You can even program your radio to play your own mp3 files.
DetailsThe Hobby Lobby decision has been all over the news and it seems like everyone has an opinion on it (few people bothering to read the actual opinion from the Supreme Court). Despite many messages from you asking my thoughts, I haven’t written about it for several reasons. [mainbodyad]I believe this is a case that never should have been…
DetailsEstee Lauder couldn’t get an ad agency to accept her company as a client because her budget was too small. Facing rejection after rejection, she decided to take the $50,000 she had set aside for marketing and try something new. Undeterred by the endless stream of “no”, she mailed direct samples to consumers, launched a virtually…
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