Entries by admin

High cotton

Physics was never boring. At least not when Richard Feynman was teaching. Despite the complexity of his subjects, he kept things simple and fun. Feynman was awarded the 1965 Nobel prize for his work on quantum electrodynamics. His method for learning a topic was to be able to write about it in such a way […]

Goon Squad

Everyone wants to be unique. Elvis Costello made a career out of it. Costello’s biting sarcasm stood in stark contrast to the wave of conservatism that swept Britain in the late 1970’s and brought Margaret Thatcher to power. He might have been talking about the military, or he could have meant the anonymous office drones, […]

No Regrets

I decided I needed a soundtrack for this week’s article. The theme is regret – the feeling that you wish you could change something that’s already happened. Edith Piaf laid the mark down. She had no regrets at all. Defiantly, she announced: Je repars á zéro. Non, rien de rien. Non, je ne regrette rien! […]

Craftsmanship

Boston real estate was feeling pretty sore in the early 1990’s. Many state-chartered banks in New England had collapsed under the weight of so many bad commercial real estate loans, just like their savings and loan brethren throughout the southwest. I first stepped into this troubled market by briefly working for a small real estate […]

No Show

Many years ago, when I was in high school, my Dad gave me some scholarly advice that paid dividends in subsequent years. He said that if I was stumped on an essay question, then the best thing to do was to “show what I know”. I may not have all the facts about the Battle […]

Five O’Clock Charlie

MASH was always full of laughs, but those CBS writers never let you forget about the senseless brutality of war. One minute the affable Colonel Henry Blake is on his way back from Korea to his wife and kids, the next minute he’s gone. Radar runs into the triage tent to tell everyone the news. […]

Pseudo-Analysis

My sister and I always knew it was a big deal when Dr. Sidney Freedman showed up on MASH. The psychiatrist wasn’t there to join the wise-cracking banter in the triage tent. And he sure wasn’t going to put on dresses with Klinger or pull pranks on Dr. Winchester. Somebody was about to get their […]

Iron Men

The richest man in the world pondered the unfinished business of his life. Hoping to mend their rift, Andrew Carnegie penned a letter to his former partner. He requested a meeting with Henry Clay Frick, whose towering palace loomed only blocks away from Carnegie’s own Fifth Avenue mansion. The irascible Frick was in no mood […]

Don’t know much biology

Alexandria Real Estate Equities is the leading landlord for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The Pasadena-based firm boasts 41.8 million square feet of office and laboratory space, with a further 5.3 million square feet under construction. Shares of the real estate investment trust with the ticker ARE closed at $102.66 on Friday. Total market capitalization […]

Control

Louis XIV was a control freak. The “Sun King” reigned from 1643 to 1715. The king’s day was timed to the minute to allow the officers in his service to plan their own work accordingly. From morning to evening his day ran like clockwork, to a schedule that was just as strictly ordered as life in the Court. […]