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The Trouble with Bank Tribbles Fans of the Sci-Fi classic “Star Trek” no doubt know about “The Trouble with Tribbles.” That was the title of one of the most memorable episodes from the original TV series, an episode that first aired on Dec. 29, 1967 (for all you Trekkies out there). The episode also happens […]

Make Every Day Someone’s Birthday Today, March 22, is my mother’s birthday. And as fate would have it, she is a spry and spunky 86-year-old with a penchant for literature, current events and cats. Now, if you know me, you know the idiom “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” applies here, as I […]

When you wake up to news of banks failing, stocks tumbling and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) swooping in to “save” the 16th largest bank in the country, you have to ask yourself: What is the deal with banks? Simply put, the deal here is that last Friday, venture-focused Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failed, […]

The Kindness of Capitalism We live, then we die. That’s a reality we all must grapple with each minute. And the fact that life is finite has implications for everything we do. And no matter what your beliefs are about the existence of an afterlife, there is no doubt that life on earth, as we […]

On Sunday, I learned that the auto racing group NASCAR had sold the land that houses the motorsports venue Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. The […]

“The first wealth is health.” That’s a profound proclamation by essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, a man who was brimming with all kinds of excellent wisdom. Here, Emerson reminds us that even if we’ve managed to achieve a good measure of monetary wealth, that wealth cannot and should not replace the first goal of […]

Bracing for A ‘No Landing’ Here’s something you’re not likely to hear from a commercial airline pilot the next time you fly: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position and that your seat belt is correctly fastened, as we […]

Good Night, Sweet Prince “Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” –Shakespeare, “Hamlet” “Good night, sweet prince.” These were the last words I spoke to my majestic chow chow, Hemingway, as he was sent into his final sleep. One week ago, I was forced […]

This Is What It Means Hopes and fears And chasing dreams This is what it means Smiles and cries And making memories This is what it means… –Jim Woods, “What It Means” There’s an old saying in the literary world that a man’s life is incomplete until he has tasted love, poverty and war. Beginning […]

When one of the biggest and most important companies ever announces a fiscal push toward the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), you know things are starting to get serious.

On Monday, […]