With a title like that, it’s hard to transition… Let’s just say Thursday turned out alright.
During a charity event, I was leisurely flipping through an “original facebook” (i.e. the printed program of event attendees) to see if anything caught my eye.
Mr. & Mrs. Blahblah
Mr. & Mrs. Blubbityblah
MR. & MRS. T. BOONE PICKENS
Keeping with the analogy, think of the top team in your favorite sport. What do they have that sets them apart from the rest? Most likely, it’s strong offensive AND defensive players.
The nine-page article focused on Henry Petroski’s newest book
The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems
Dr. Petroski has written over a dozen books on the topic of engineering, and his first,
To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design
was also my first introduction to his work.
Earlier today I was reading another book review over at Free From Broke, and was thinking of the similarities drawn between the book’s focus – leadership, and our focus here – personal finance. Much to the same regard, I wanted to highlight excerpts from Dr. Petroski’s article and apply them to personal finance. I’ve gone ahead and highlighted key points in bold.
Never having seen the show, a co-worker was describing the premise of Pawn Stars. Personally, there’s always been something sketchy about pawn shops since the operations seem like barely legal fences. Anyway, that’s neither here nor there, so back to the show…
Some poor sucker walks in wanting to sell whatever item they’re trying to rid themselves of. First thing the owner asks is what they think the item’s worth. Once the owner knows that number, the game begins.
Apparently the replies range from the colorful to the mundane, but they all convey the same message – “there’s NO way it’s worth THAT!” Even if the owner hasn’t a clue as to the real value, they’ll become temporary experts to close the deal.