Jason Takes a Stand Against Racist Workers
Last night I went out late to a party in Springfield. With my new regimen that no longer includes booze, it’s much easier to envision a safe drive back and forth late at night…and there was no way I’d miss Jackie and Mark’s annual Oscar Party. I got there and […]
In 2012, Your Charger Will Fit My Phone
Why didn’t they think of this 200 million junked chargers ago? At a meeting of the mobile phone industry, a sudden agreement was reached to one of the most vexing and frustrating aspects of owning a cellphone. How do you charge it and how come the chargers are all #$*! […]
After Pleasing the Crowd, I was Pleased by a Band
I think a good way to judge how successful a speaking engagement is would be the number of people who want to ask questions, and how many come down to introduce themselves after you’re all done. On these two scores, my Search Engine Optimizing presentation at the Boston Globe Travel […]
Up on the Podium, It’s a Nervous Yet Most Excellent Feeling
I stayed a bit late at the office last night, my friend Joe helped me put the finishing touches on my power point slides that I’ll use today at 2:30 pm at the Boston Globe Travel Show. I will begin the day at the Holyoke Y, then hop in the […]
Celebrity Tweets Are All the Rage
I visited the market in my hometown of Blawenburg this morning and found a copy of the NY Post. Inside there was a story that grabbed my attention…about celebrities who use the popular Twitter program to share short messages with the world. (People’s twitter addresses are www.twitter.com/their name) in case […]
He Used Harvested Body Fat to Fuel His Car
C. Alan Bittner is not available to do liposculpting in his Beverly Hills clinic at this time. That’s because he is currently living in an unidentified South American country “where I can help those most in need.” He spoke with Rhonda Rundle of the WSJ by telephone, shortly before the […]
Visiting The House Where I Grew Up
How many people can say that at age 50, they spend the weekend in the house where they grew up? Often I think about how lucky I am to have to parents who have been happily married for 56 years and still live in the comfortable old Colonial house they […]
Have Faith, He Said to Himself, It will Grow and Grow
Leaving this morning for a trip to visit family in Princeton NJ. I love the chance to see these folks because they’re always welcoming and interested in what we are all doing. We will also give them a chance to meet and hang out with little Sophie. Gotta do some […]
Car on Fire on Interstate 91
On my way to Holyoke last night, I saw a strange big blob of light…then I realized it was a car on fire…and behind it was a nearly mile-long line of headlights. I sent this video to CBS 3 News, I am not sure if it ever made it on […]
At 80, She Could Skip Across Temple Sites Like a Gazelle
I have been exercising at a different Y this week, the one in Greenfield is where I ended up a few nights. What a joy to discover that they have a Wi-Fi signal there. So I popped out my itouch and listened to my Pandora program while on the Elyptical. […]
Pizza Delivery Guys Made $20K a Week!
Last night I watched a sobering and fascinating (like watching a car crash in slow motion) television program on CNBC called “House of Cards.” In two hours, it told the story of how we got into our current credit crisis. Interviews with Alan Greenspan told of the confusing “collateralized Debt […]
Donations Pour In for Greenfield School Computers
Greenfield MA gets a pretty bad rap for its schools. I remember well a friend who worked in the high school and was so miserable he almost gave up teaching. Then he found himself a job at Frontier and has been happier ever since. The school committee makes the news […]
It Makes a Laptop Seem Like a Ball & Chain
Remember that scene by the pool in The Graduate when they whisper that all important word?“Plastics. ” My new word is “Mobile.” I just helped set up a new website that will show up beautifully on mobile phone or iphone screens as well as on any computer or laptop. Again […]
Travel Writing 201, Tips from Three Pros
I’m still thinking about our Travel writing seminar at the Javits Center on Saturday. It was exciting to have an audience of 180 listening to every idea we had about how to break into the travel writing business. I was impressed because many of the people in the audience were […]
A Morning with Sofie, Six Weeks
Valerie Sophie is just six weeks old. New and barely unwrapped. I used my cute little videocamera called a Vado HD by Creative that’s about the size of a cellphone to shoot her in high definition, and of course, put her on YouTube. Who can resist those tiny little hands? […]
Energy Consumption at Home and Around the World
I’ve been getting pats on the back for not sipping anything alcoholic since Dec 29. The best part was last night when after being away four days, my daughter and son-in-law remarked that I looked ‘way less puffy, smaller, like someone took a pin and deflated you.” I never knew […]
Dreamers Still Dream About Trips Faraway
Driving home last night on the packed FDR drive in the truck, I tuned into 770 am and heard some startling words from host John Bachelor. He had two experts on from Dow Jones, and they rattled off scary facts that made me shudder. For example, the total dollars held […]
Some of the People Behind GoNOMAD
Here’s the gang at the show ready to talk about the website to the crowd. From left, Joe O’Rourke, our seasonal tradeshow vet, Cindy Bigras, Travel Writer, Editor and Paul Shoul, Staff Photographer.