I'm amazed by some people when it comes to money.
I just wanted to write briefly about something I think is really important. The difference between what you can pay and what you can afford.
If you spend money thinking that, "yes I can pay for it" chances are that you are thinking about things on a paycheck to paycheck basis.
If you spend money thinking about whether or not you can afford it you probably have more of a plan. Afford is different than pay because afford takes into effect what you are giving up in order to get something.
Pay doesn't take that into consideration.
Smart people realize that you have to take into account whether or not you can afford something. Can you sacrifice going on this vacation over paying for your child's college education?
Or on the flip side, can I afford not to go see my parent who is dying in the hospital? You need to sacrifice by taking out a loan because the time with a loved one is about to come to an end.
Can you afford to take the time to do something? Time is also something we sacrifice when we purchase things some time.
Can you afford to do something is the right question to ask yourself. It shouldn't be that you simply can pay for it.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Why Working In Sports Sucks
Funny article someone shared on facebook. If you work in sports these things go through your mind. It may not stop you from doing what you are doing, but it does make you think twice.
http://postgradproblems.com/10-reasons-why-working-in-sports-sucks/
http://postgradproblems.com/10-reasons-why-working-in-sports-sucks/
Saturday, July 20, 2013
This should make sportscenter
Someone brought this article to my attention today. It's about a man who is running across the United States to help raise money for clean water in Africa.
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130219/news/702199944/
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130219/news/702199944/
Thursday, July 18, 2013
GRE Scores
So I looked at my GRE scores recently and amazingly it was my writing that scored the best. Thankfully they don't score what I write on here. I'd be on the precipice of my scores being invalidated if they read all of my useless drivel.
But I'm impressed I used precipice in a sentence.
But I'm impressed I used precipice in a sentence.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
An Ironman
I also read a book called "You Are An Ironman"
It's about the paths six amateurs took to complete their first Ironman Triathlon, which is a 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bike ride followed by a 26.2 mile run.
All of that needs to be done in 17 hours.
Book was fascinating.
Most all of the people who completed it also had something in their life that made them want to accomplish this feat. They either had life threatening disease, were sick or out of shape or used working out to overcome something.
The book certainly makes me want to think about doing one.
Now I just need to learn to swim.
It's about the paths six amateurs took to complete their first Ironman Triathlon, which is a 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bike ride followed by a 26.2 mile run.
All of that needs to be done in 17 hours.
Book was fascinating.
Most all of the people who completed it also had something in their life that made them want to accomplish this feat. They either had life threatening disease, were sick or out of shape or used working out to overcome something.
The book certainly makes me want to think about doing one.
Now I just need to learn to swim.
Interchangeable
I am reading a book about Gould, Rockefeller, Morgan and Carnegie right now. It also talks about the American Economy after the civil war. One of the things it talked about was the race to get guns to be interchangeable.
Interchangeable also seems to me to be efficient, and in the business world efficient matters.
I am not going to write much but I would think of it this way. An employees goal should be to be as non interchangeable as possible once they get a position. It's in a person's best interest to be unique in irreplaceable.
It's probably in management's best interest to make someone as interchangeable as possible.
Now in the business world I'd argue that this happens more frequently with low skilled positions. Those positions management wants to be interchangeable.
With professional trades it's probably difficult to have that happen.
Interchangeable also seems to me to be efficient, and in the business world efficient matters.
I am not going to write much but I would think of it this way. An employees goal should be to be as non interchangeable as possible once they get a position. It's in a person's best interest to be unique in irreplaceable.
It's probably in management's best interest to make someone as interchangeable as possible.
Now in the business world I'd argue that this happens more frequently with low skilled positions. Those positions management wants to be interchangeable.
With professional trades it's probably difficult to have that happen.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Heather Buck
Heather Buck gets a shout out. I'm not at UCONN anymore, but I can tell she is a great person.
First of all, I somehow ended up with a free ticket to I believe the Oakland game this winter courtesy of her and my connection to a former manager. She put me on her ticket list. I can't help but thank her.
I also facebook creeped recently on a friend and saw her pose for a picture at graduation with an older fan. She made that fans day or even year I bet.
She also I noticed showed up in a picture at graduation for her team managers, which is really nice to see, because her team managers gave so much to her team. She didn't have to support them, but it was cool to see that she did.
I can tell she is a great person. I was so happy to see her score that last basket in the National Championship game. It was really cool to see. She was so excited, and as a UCONN fan, it was so exciting to see her emotion.
First of all, I somehow ended up with a free ticket to I believe the Oakland game this winter courtesy of her and my connection to a former manager. She put me on her ticket list. I can't help but thank her.
I also facebook creeped recently on a friend and saw her pose for a picture at graduation with an older fan. She made that fans day or even year I bet.
She also I noticed showed up in a picture at graduation for her team managers, which is really nice to see, because her team managers gave so much to her team. She didn't have to support them, but it was cool to see that she did.
I can tell she is a great person. I was so happy to see her score that last basket in the National Championship game. It was really cool to see. She was so excited, and as a UCONN fan, it was so exciting to see her emotion.
Jailbreak 5k
So I ran my first 5k yesterday in Belknap County, New Hampshire which is pretty fitting.
I love New Hampshire, and most people that know me, know that. The LIVE FREE OR DIE state is like a second home to me since we vacationed up there every year during the summer. As a matter of fact in order to get rid of my nasty post-race smell I went in to Lake Winnipesaukee (Which means Smile of the Great Spirit to the Native Americans who named the Lake) for the 24th straight year.
So when looking for a place to run a 5k it only made sense to do it near Lake Winnipesaukee. I knew I could run and exercise in the morning and then have fun all afternoon and then go to my favorite places to eat.
Plus I first decided to eat better, and be more conscious of taking control of my health in New Hampshire. One vacation I just decided to eat half as much as I usually ate and before I knew it I got to a healthy weight. I was very overweight until 8th grade. Knowing what it's like to be out of shape makes me want to avoid ever going back to being unhealthy.
I had several motivators for the 5k. A big one was my coach. Another big one was doing it for the cross country and track runners that I work with. I push them to be better (hopefully) so in return I wanted to push myself to be better in an area they excel at. Another was just wanting to see how well and far I could push myself. One is that a marathon is on my bucket list. Baby steps first!
The 5k I did benefited the Sheriffs Department of Belknap County. I have a cousin who is a police officer on Martha's Vineyard and my great great great grandpa was a police officer in New York City. It's good to help those who help ordinary citizens for a living.
The night before my 5k I got instructions from my coach on what to eat for breakfast and how to prepare. I was smart enough to ask about nutrition because I knew my favorite of Maple Syrup with Waffles wouldn't really help me do well. I was instructed that oatmeal and banana's would work. I added some apple sauce and cinnamon pita chips and grapes as well. As for stretching I used my foam roller before I left. As for warming up I ran starting about 15-20 minutes before the run.
Thankfully I knew where I was going, since I had driven past the complex for Belknap Country for years. It made the drive a lot less stressful since I knew I didn't need to worry about traffic. I arrived about an hour early, registered, hydrated and stayed in my car or in the shade to stay cool.
After a little while more people showed up and since it was my first 5k I didn't know what to expect, mainly, where the heck would I be running? I didn't expect to be in the back and just following people. I hoped to be near the front. I expected to get around 19:30 and to finish between 3rd and 7th. So finally I asked some guy and got an idea of where I was going.
Just before the start of the race I took a piss, knowing I didn't want to have to pee in the race.
I had no idea where to start, but I sensed that I shouldn't be too shy, and shouldn't be too far from the first runners. In retrospect, I should have been in the first row of people. I was probably in the second or third. As the gun went off I was just antsy. I weaved in and out of a few runners before settling in with the top few runners.
Before long the first two guys checked out on us. After going up a hill, which I tried to charge up, even if only in the first few moments of the race, I ended up getting to third. I was hoping to keep that up, but I started to realize that I was going a little too fast. I kept wondering if it was halfway yet. Then I realized that I hadn't seen the half way point water break. I decided to back off a little bit. The guy in fourth place and the girl in fifth place both passed me and I ended up in fifth. As we kept going I finally got to the water break. I thought about how I would handle getting handed water. Do I stick my hand out? What if the water falls out of my hand and I lose time? Then I realized the runners in front of me didn't get water to drink, just thrown at them to deal with the 80 degree heat. I took a splash and kept going. The man in third place kept getting a little farther away, and I settled in with the women in fourth.
For the last mile I would say, I was neck and neck with the women running before I finally got to the point where I was ready to give everything I had. At this point I put a small amount of distance in between her and I. I also had my eye on a man behind me.
I kept running hard through the end and was happy to finally hit the homestretch, where I just gave it my all. I ended up getting a 19:28 and held on to fourth place by three seconds over the women racing near me. I also beat all of the Law Enforcement in the race, so it's proof I can outrun the cops.
The first thing I did after the race was try to find a place to lie down. I got a Gatorade from my sister's boyfriend and just enjoyed that and a bottle of water. The man who finished in third place was nice enough to congratulate me. I told him it was my first 5k, and he informed me that I ran a long 5k, a 5k that was 3.2 miles. So I really run this much faster than my training run on Tuesday that I did in 19:36. Now he was amazed I ran a full 5k on Tuesday, saying that wasn't a lot of recovery time. I casually mentioned something about that to my coach over a text and she didn't kill me, but realized I took her meaning of a hard workout literally. Let's just practice for the 5k by doing one! I guess I got that wrong.
All in all I had a great time. I was happy to benefit New Hampshire Sheriffs, to run past the shores of Lake Winnisquam, and then head over to Lake Winnipesaukee for some fun.
My post race meal, which actually occurred a few hours after the race, because I wasn't hungry right after, was a hot dog, with onion rings and french fries. A healthy breakfast called for an unhealthy lunch I guess!
I now just have to find another race to do...and maybe it's getting closer to the time I start thinking about triathlons.
And I used Richard as my name...from Ashburnham, MA
http://www.coolrunning.com/results/13/nh/Jul6_Belkna_set1.shtml
I love New Hampshire, and most people that know me, know that. The LIVE FREE OR DIE state is like a second home to me since we vacationed up there every year during the summer. As a matter of fact in order to get rid of my nasty post-race smell I went in to Lake Winnipesaukee (Which means Smile of the Great Spirit to the Native Americans who named the Lake) for the 24th straight year.
So when looking for a place to run a 5k it only made sense to do it near Lake Winnipesaukee. I knew I could run and exercise in the morning and then have fun all afternoon and then go to my favorite places to eat.
Plus I first decided to eat better, and be more conscious of taking control of my health in New Hampshire. One vacation I just decided to eat half as much as I usually ate and before I knew it I got to a healthy weight. I was very overweight until 8th grade. Knowing what it's like to be out of shape makes me want to avoid ever going back to being unhealthy.
I had several motivators for the 5k. A big one was my coach. Another big one was doing it for the cross country and track runners that I work with. I push them to be better (hopefully) so in return I wanted to push myself to be better in an area they excel at. Another was just wanting to see how well and far I could push myself. One is that a marathon is on my bucket list. Baby steps first!
The 5k I did benefited the Sheriffs Department of Belknap County. I have a cousin who is a police officer on Martha's Vineyard and my great great great grandpa was a police officer in New York City. It's good to help those who help ordinary citizens for a living.
The night before my 5k I got instructions from my coach on what to eat for breakfast and how to prepare. I was smart enough to ask about nutrition because I knew my favorite of Maple Syrup with Waffles wouldn't really help me do well. I was instructed that oatmeal and banana's would work. I added some apple sauce and cinnamon pita chips and grapes as well. As for stretching I used my foam roller before I left. As for warming up I ran starting about 15-20 minutes before the run.
Thankfully I knew where I was going, since I had driven past the complex for Belknap Country for years. It made the drive a lot less stressful since I knew I didn't need to worry about traffic. I arrived about an hour early, registered, hydrated and stayed in my car or in the shade to stay cool.
After a little while more people showed up and since it was my first 5k I didn't know what to expect, mainly, where the heck would I be running? I didn't expect to be in the back and just following people. I hoped to be near the front. I expected to get around 19:30 and to finish between 3rd and 7th. So finally I asked some guy and got an idea of where I was going.
Just before the start of the race I took a piss, knowing I didn't want to have to pee in the race.
I had no idea where to start, but I sensed that I shouldn't be too shy, and shouldn't be too far from the first runners. In retrospect, I should have been in the first row of people. I was probably in the second or third. As the gun went off I was just antsy. I weaved in and out of a few runners before settling in with the top few runners.
Before long the first two guys checked out on us. After going up a hill, which I tried to charge up, even if only in the first few moments of the race, I ended up getting to third. I was hoping to keep that up, but I started to realize that I was going a little too fast. I kept wondering if it was halfway yet. Then I realized that I hadn't seen the half way point water break. I decided to back off a little bit. The guy in fourth place and the girl in fifth place both passed me and I ended up in fifth. As we kept going I finally got to the water break. I thought about how I would handle getting handed water. Do I stick my hand out? What if the water falls out of my hand and I lose time? Then I realized the runners in front of me didn't get water to drink, just thrown at them to deal with the 80 degree heat. I took a splash and kept going. The man in third place kept getting a little farther away, and I settled in with the women in fourth.
For the last mile I would say, I was neck and neck with the women running before I finally got to the point where I was ready to give everything I had. At this point I put a small amount of distance in between her and I. I also had my eye on a man behind me.
I kept running hard through the end and was happy to finally hit the homestretch, where I just gave it my all. I ended up getting a 19:28 and held on to fourth place by three seconds over the women racing near me. I also beat all of the Law Enforcement in the race, so it's proof I can outrun the cops.
The first thing I did after the race was try to find a place to lie down. I got a Gatorade from my sister's boyfriend and just enjoyed that and a bottle of water. The man who finished in third place was nice enough to congratulate me. I told him it was my first 5k, and he informed me that I ran a long 5k, a 5k that was 3.2 miles. So I really run this much faster than my training run on Tuesday that I did in 19:36. Now he was amazed I ran a full 5k on Tuesday, saying that wasn't a lot of recovery time. I casually mentioned something about that to my coach over a text and she didn't kill me, but realized I took her meaning of a hard workout literally. Let's just practice for the 5k by doing one! I guess I got that wrong.
All in all I had a great time. I was happy to benefit New Hampshire Sheriffs, to run past the shores of Lake Winnisquam, and then head over to Lake Winnipesaukee for some fun.
My post race meal, which actually occurred a few hours after the race, because I wasn't hungry right after, was a hot dog, with onion rings and french fries. A healthy breakfast called for an unhealthy lunch I guess!
I now just have to find another race to do...and maybe it's getting closer to the time I start thinking about triathlons.
And I used Richard as my name...from Ashburnham, MA
http://www.coolrunning.com/results/13/nh/Jul6_Belkna_set1.shtml
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Interesting Football Recruiting Article
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/top-recruit-commits-south-carolina-because-classes-where-091739231.html
Interesting article. The job of academic help centers should not be to prevent someone from failing, it should be to challenge them to be their best, and in my view, most importantly, prepare students for life in the working world.
I believe that the habit of working hard and persevering and doing your best is what needs to be rewarded. If you make a habit of doing that in the classroom and on the field you will succeed, regardless of the outcome on either place. Winners keep trying and keep trying to do better. Losers complain and take shortcuts. You need to make being a winner if everything a habit if you want to be the best you can be.
Interesting article. The job of academic help centers should not be to prevent someone from failing, it should be to challenge them to be their best, and in my view, most importantly, prepare students for life in the working world.
I believe that the habit of working hard and persevering and doing your best is what needs to be rewarded. If you make a habit of doing that in the classroom and on the field you will succeed, regardless of the outcome on either place. Winners keep trying and keep trying to do better. Losers complain and take shortcuts. You need to make being a winner if everything a habit if you want to be the best you can be.