Gut Check

When we were first married, my wife used to drink tons of Diet Mountain Dew. She loves a little jolt of caffeine in the morning but doesn’t like coffee. Since learning that diet soda is not necessarily good for you, she began looking for healthier alternatives. Poppi is one of those options. Poppi is a […]

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Big Box Store or Big Brother?

I love my iPhone – it provides me with lots of information. It turns out, though, that I’m providing it with lots of information, too. Last week, my buddies and I were talking about the Packers defeating Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Lo and behold, when I turned on my phone, I was bombarded […]

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If You Come at the King, You Best Not Miss

In June, LeBron James exercised his player option to continue playing for the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2025-26 NBA season. In 2024, he signed a two-year, $104 million contract that contained a no-trade clause. So, he will be paid approximately $52.6 million for the upcoming season, his record-breaking 23rd in the league. James, who […]

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Peppered with Recalls

My kids and I love to make bang bang shrimp in the air fryer. We coat the shrimp with panko crumbs and various spices, including paprika, cayenne pepper, and garlic and onion powder. It’s harder to make the shrimp, though, since U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials detected cesium 137 in shipping containers of the […]

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Capital Idea

When I was in law school, my dad advised me to take as many tax courses as possible, because every aspect of the law involves tax. So, in the spring of 1997, I took Income Taxation at 8:00 in the morning. I drank a lot of Mountain Dew that semester. One of the important tax […]

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Not Hip to Hop to Court

My son loves rap music. As an old dad, it is my responsibility to constantly remind him that today’s music can’t compare to that of my generation. He enjoys talking about clashes between certain artists and the diss tracks, or songs that insult an adversary, that ensue. While he thinks this is a relatively new […]

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Mall Rats

As a kid in the ‘80s, going to the mall was a huge deal. We’d save money to play video games in the arcade, buy pizza in the food court, and even throwing stars from the martial arts kiosk. If we had extra money from a birthday or Christmas, maybe we’d buy something extra special, […]

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If You Can’t Beat ‘Em

Legendary coach Bill Belichick made headlines when he retired from the New England Patriots after winning six Super Bowls with the team (and two as defensive coordinator with the New York Giants). He made a splash again after announcing he was returning to coaching by taking the helm of the University of North Carolina. But […]

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Far From Nil

Kimberly has hosted the International Softball Congress World Tournament eleven times, second only to the Quad Cities in Illinois. As a kid, I worked at the tournament by selling Pepsi products to parched fans. In addition to literally seeing the world’s best softball, I also got a free soda and hot dog each shift. So, […]

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Be Careful

In 2004, I bought ‘Halo 2’ for my Xbox. It was the first game I ever played against an opponent online. While commonplace today, the concept of playing a video game against someone on the other side of the planet was almost inconceivable. As technology has advanced over the last 20 years, online gaming has […]

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