I may be the luckiest guy around.  In the last week, I have been randomly selected to win: trips, cash, TVs, a college education and, most importantly, rude wake-up calls.
One morning last week I woke up to 2 missed calls. Thankfully the ringer had been off. Not to worry, they were going to call back. Again. And [...]

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The Black Box
Consider a black box. The box takes, as inputs, a number of things. As output, the box produces some output that is both expected and desired. How the box works and what’s inside of it is of no moment. What matters, for now, is whether it works or not.
Not understanding the inner workings, [...]

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(Warning: nerdy, but skippable, portions found in [brackets])
The other night I was thinking about a friend who shares an email account with his wife. I know there are a lot of efficiencies that come from sharing - but does that apply online, when things are free and no real resources are consumed? Sharing an email [...]

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The Visa Version:
There’s a crowded restaurant at lunch. Choreographed masses spin with loaded trays. Lunch-goers approach the register, present a magic Visa card, a quick swipe, the card is handed back and they walk away. Some poor clod gets to the counter and tries to pay with cash - the dance is brought to a [...]

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I don’t want to rub it in, Google - but I called it!

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Ask anyone who took Business 101 what a thing is worth, and that person will tell you it’s worth what people are willing to pay for it. What’s something worth when it’s offered for free, but surrounded by advertising?
Traditional media have been ad-supported for a long time. When people wanted to offer content and services [...]

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I got my haircut this afternoon. I don’t have much to say about that, except that the place I go doesn’t seem to understand fractional inches. It doesn’t seem to matter who I get there, they just don’t get it.
The guy next to me came in loudly and sat down. He had some story [...]

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My civil procedure professor once suggested that there was no reason to discuss procedural versus substantive due process because they are really the same thing. If that’s the case, then the titles remain as vestigial reminders of the past and present reminders that academics can sometimes create distinction without difference just for the sake of [...]

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I was hoping that I could take care of it myself.  The water in the kitchen sink showed no sign of draining - even after sitting overnight.  So in the morning I started with the plunger.  The water level did go down, but only because I was squirting and splashing smelly water on me in [...]

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I’m behind on my emails. Way behind. At some point my inbox just became a triage. I was no longer taking emails in the order received - I had to assign priorities. The chest pain cases were handled promptly. Those not needing attention, but soliciting me to re-finance, enhance, find romance or just take [...]

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