The series finale of ‘Mad Men’ closed a fictional window to the 1960s. Women’s and civil rights, The Beatles, Serge Gainsbourg and The Doors, the introduction of birth control and realization that cigarettes cause cancer. The series remained authentic by intertwining itself with events of the decade. The crash of American Airlines Flight 1, the assassinations of John F Kennedy …
Siblings Mandy and Sven Schulze have traveled together before. Last time it was the west coast of the United States. They live and work in Berlin. Mandy is the one with the powerful travel bug. Just last year she spent nearly eight months traveling mostly solo to cities across South East Asia and Australia. Mandy’s …
I met and hosted Nesrine Ismail through Couchsurfing.org when she stayed at my apartment this past Thursday night. She remained in Tampa with another host until Sunday when we caught back up for brunch at Sono Café along the Tampa Riverwalk. Originally from Egypt, Ismail has been living in the United States for 13 years; …
I have experienced positive growth personally and professionally from a simultaneously challenging and rewarding year and thought I would take a moment to reflect and share. Considering I was a newly diagnosed Type 1 Diabetic and spend most of New Years Eve/Day on the couch with 100+ degree fever I could taken that as the …
Technological unemployment is most often recognized as technology that directly replaces the work of humans because those losses are directly observable. Drive down any toll road in the world and you almost forget that just 10 years ago most people stopped to pay a human toll collector. What about the displaced jobs that are not as directly associated? Manufacturing …
News this week that Sears and Kmart will close 235 stores along with JCPenney’s continued decent reaffirm my belief that the true value of these iconic brands is being ignored. In the case of JCPenney, unimaginative executives struggle to increase sales with awkward marketing stunts in a retail industry that is returning to its roots. While the brands of yesterday are suffering slow …
For most of us reliable high speed Internet access is a daily necessity that when interrupted causes havoc to our routines. We expect our access to be reliable like telephone, water, sewer, and electricity – like a utility. The debate for and against Net Neutrality centers on this question. Should Internet access be regulated like a utility or …
With just 21 days left before Christmas we are now in the thick of the holiday “consuming” season. Shopping no longer being the operative word considering we are targeted by retailers and websites to buy what has the most margin after being baited by the best deal. We are merely consumers in the eyes of …
The top priority of improving our transportation network is to reduce congestion which would improve the quality of life and make our region more attractive to top employers and professionals. Infrastructure and bus improvements short of rail will certainly assist with relieving congestion; and with continued political efforts can be brought to reality. But will these initiatives ever really ease …
For a while I have expressed concern about the future of startup business incubators that are not only in Tampa Bay but everywhere. Tampa Bay Innovation Center president Tonya Elmore noted in the Tampa Bay Times last year that every “city council member in every town wants an incubator now that startups like Facebook glamorized entrepreneurship”. The article estimates …