Most of you probably know that H Mart is a Korean grocery store chain in North America. They have several stores in the Greater Seattle area. They have everything Koreans need to make their favorite foods, plus plenty of other Asian but non-Korean foods. This book by Michelle Zauner is a memoir that is a […]
Experiencing a 7.4 Earthquake
Much of life we plan for, as best we can, and much is pure chance. On the pure chance side of things, my family and I were in Hualien, Taiwan, for the 7.4 magnitude earthquake on April 3rd. It was a family vacation. My wife and I are raising our grandson. His other grandfather is […]
Book Review: Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Before I get into my review of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, a couple of background items. First, I had been aware of the author, Robert Kiyosaki, for some time. His pitches for his books and seminars felt like the typical hype for this type of ‘financial advice,’ aimed at the mass market. The subtitle of […]
Book Review: The Fund
The Fund by Rob Copeland is subtitled, Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the unraveling of a Wall Street Legend. It is basically an expose’ of Ray Dalio and the firm he founded, Bridgewater Associates, which was the world’s largest hedge fund. Dalio is a larger-than-life figure and has a couple of bestselling books. Principles: Life […]
Book Review: Icons and Idiots
The provocative title is no surprise from a guy known as “Maximum” Bob Lutz. Lutz is an American, born and raised in Switzerland, and probably the best automotive executive produced by America. He speaks five languages, is urbane, opinionated, usually right, and has worked for General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and BMW. To relax, he flew […]
How Auditing Has Changed
Auditing has changed substantially over the course of my long and not-so-storied career. I’m not talking about audits by the IRS or the Department of Revenue. I’m talking about audits by CPA firms. This is what accountants call the ‘attest function.’ An independent organization, the CPA firm, issues an opinion on the veracity of the […]
Book Review: The In-Between
The subtitle of this book is “unforgettable encounters during life’s final moments.” This is a big part of this book by first-time author Hadley Vlahos, a hospice nurse in Florida. She clearly has a talent for writing as the book is a very easy read.Each chapter is about one of her patients, and at the […]
Book Review: The Soul of an Octopus
I’m back on my octopus fascination. It is easy to be fascinated with octopuses. They are the closest thing to aliens that we will ever encounter on Earth. The author, Sy Montgomery, is a naturalist, documentary scriptwriter, and author of over twenty nature books for both adults and children. This is the first book by […]
Happy New Year 2024!
Happy New Year everyone. I’ve got a few observations as we head into this new year. Christmas Deliveries Usually, we hear each year about logistic delays and late deliveries during the pre-Christmas rush. This year, I didn’t hear anything about this. USPS, FedEx, UPS and Amazon seem to have solved the issues they had in […]
No Whining! We Have Much to be Grateful For
My last blog post was titled, “Have We Become a Nation of Whiners?” I got a lot of responses, all positive, and most agreeing that we have and that they count themselves amongst the whiners! Okay, me too. But that got me thinking. Are things really so bad? Sure, the wars in the world are […]