A Williamstown Tradition Observed for 26 Years
The World Series is on and that always reminds me of my decades-long tradition of the Williamstown trip with my father. He would come up on Friday, and usually we’d go out to dinner somewhere. Then he and I would replicate the same trip, year after year. Right down to […]
The Gill Tavern: Cozy, Popular and Worth the Drive!
Last night I finally got a chance to eat at a restaurant I’ve heard praised right and left located way up near where 35 years ago I went to school. The Gill Tavern is so popular there’s always a line, last night a couple who lived nearby told about how […]
Random Notes on the Final Days of the Building Project
Random notes from late October 2010: I had a long night’s sleep anticipating many things coming up. Today’s highlight will be the laying of carpet in my new bedroom addition, putting a nearly-final touch on this lovely new room that I will be moving into late next week. I have […]
Ingredients for Ungodly Success: Zuckerberg’s Laser Focus
I’ve been excited about seeing the new Facebook movie. As we sat through a solid 25 minute marathon of coming attractions, I alternated between fascination at the new movies I hadn’t ever heard about, and happy that most of the time when I watch a film I can flit right […]
Did You Have a Near-Death Experience? You’re Not Alone
According to the WSJ, 15 million American adults reported having near-death experiences. But how can we tell if they really happened? A story in today’s WSJ explores ways in which scientists are trying to determine the truth of the commonly told story…entering a black tunnel toward a bright light, feeling […]
A Gaulic Response to Raising Retirement Age: Protest!
When people ask me about the best places I’ve ever been, two countries pop up the fastest. These would be New Zealand and France. Why? Because they both offer a combination of gorgeous scenery, the best food, and the friendliest locals. Even France, that often gets a bad rap, for […]
How to Buy a Helicopter…and Other Useless, Intriguing Data
How to Buy a Helicopter. What a topic! I quickly turned to this WSJ magazine feature that provided me with copious amounts of useless information about the best options for choosing the right ‘ship.’ It comes down to piston driven or jet. The three main companies that make helicopters are […]
You’ll Never Build Another School for Our Kids…Unless You Pay
Tonight I hosted a reception for the Marigold Fund, an Amherst-based organization that works on humanitarian projects in Afghanistan. After we sipped wine and admired the photographs taken in the north of the country, Gary Moorehead spoke about some of the challenges facing an American aid organization. Moorehead talked about […]
Small Triumphs to Savor, and Events to Enjoy
Ok, ok, now I am getting excited. So many things happen, and then you think about it, and some of them are really great! I’m planning a wine and cheese art opening happening at the cafe, showing off the photos from Afghanistan that were shot by Gary Moore and others […]
Businesses Lead the Way in Being Green…Because it Pays!
I often say that the market does a better job of making the big changes we need…and the government just gets things started. Again and again I find that businesses are leading the way, finding out how it just makes good sense to conserve, be green, and that it pays. […]
Going on Live TV with a Message: Take a Deerfield Daytrip!
My morning began in Chicopee at channel 22’s studios, where I was joined by Rosemary O’Hagen, Nancy Sadoski and Marc Belanger. We were there to tape our show promoting Deerfield as a Daytrip, and we all had our time in the spotlight. I was nervous as I watched Rosemary of […]
The Coolest Toy a Kid Can Have…My iPhone
Sometimes the New York Times Style section has its finger directly on the pulse that’s resonating in my life. That’s why they are hip and cool. Today a story ran about how soccer moms use their iPhones to placate their tiny tots. And boy, I can relate, having handed my […]
The Contractor’s Best Friend–Change Orders
As we approach the final weeks of our massive house renovation project I think back about a few caveats that I heard again and again as I prepared, financially and mentally, to take on this task. One was that it’s always more expensive than you think it will be. But […]
Open a Call Center in India, Then Hire in the US to Support It
It’s become the ultimate political football: tossing around invectives about how big corporations are sending too many jobs overseas…and now the American public has turned against free trade agreements because they think it kills jobs. We are losing millions of dollars in farm and export business as a result, and […]
Starbuck’s Baristas Under the Gun to Get it Done
Poor Starbucks! First they watch their stock slide into the toilet. They fight the notion that they are elitist, and continually lose market share to the likes of Macdonalds and the loyal Dunkin’ tribe. They’re told by critics that they no longer smell the coffee grinding; that those new sandwiches […]
Google and Others Solve the Wind Power Riddle
People love to talk about wind power, but the truth is, it’s a lot harder to make it a feasible replacement for oil and gas than it looks. I met T. Boone Pickens a year ago, and at that time he was just about to postpone his big plan to […]
The New Gap Logo is Like the New Coke–a Bad Idea
It must be a big old bummer to be the Gap’s ad agency this morning. After the company unveiled a new, modern logo, pesky fans on Facebook posted more than 2000 comments mocking, attacking and arguing that the company should have never moved away from the blue box design. See […]