Award-Winning Journalist & Speaker - Expert in ERISA Fiduciary, Child IRA, and Hamburger History
When generative artificial intelligence (“GenAI”) platforms first appeared, I tried them all. GenAI fails—but not in the way you’re thinking. They failed to collect the data I requested. Quite simply, the platforms couldn’t search the internet that well.
Ah, 2024. Those were the good old days…
Code that tapped LLMs did achieve—a bit—what I wanted, but the inconsistency drove me Continue Reading “My Life With AI—Part V: Why GenAI (And All Search Engines) Fail”
After moderating the panel, I rushed to gather my materials. The large crowd buzzed in the afterglow of satisfaction. A woman came up to me and said, “I hope you’re still on the radio.” The comment stunned me. It seemed to come out of nowhere.
Then I remembered. We had only one microphone. It was on a cord. My vision for the panel was more of a conversation than a series of mini-presentations. Passing a mic between each panelist would stunt the informal back-and-forth I wanted to achieve. What could I do?
When the panel began, I asked each person to speak without a microphone to test if the audience in the back of the room could hear us. They could, so I told everyone we wouldn’t be using the mic. That’s when a lady sitting in the front said, “Will you be able to keep your voice loud? Whenever a presenter decides to go without a mic, they start loud, but their voice invariably gets quieter as the presentation goes on.”
I stopped dead in my tracks, looking at her straight in the eye. Then, channeling my inner Continue Reading “The Compliment That Caught Me Speechless”
The U.S. Navy celebrates its 250th birthday this Monday, October 13. Coincidentally, that day also marks the official celebration of Christopher Columbus’s discovery of America on October 12, 1492. These two events, centuries apart, show how this month celebrates our nation’s connection to the water, first through exploration and then through protection.
Columbus has long been revered as a patron saint of our country, long before he became the symbol of pride for Italian immigrants. By the 400th anniversary of his landing in 1892, you’d be hard-pressed not to find evidence of Continue Reading “Sails of Discovery, Anchors of Defense Celebrate Two Birthdays, One Destiny”
How many times have you applauded optimal teamwork that performs beyond expectations? You say something like, “They’re a well-oiled machine,” or “They’re perfect cogs running like clockwork.”
Every workgroup aspires to reach this level of efficiency. Managers have visions of their employees acting as a team. A winning team.
And you know what they say, don’t you? They say, “There’s no ‘I’ in team.”
And they would be correct. But not in the way they think.Continue Reading “Optimal Teamwork Relies On Every ‘I’ In Team”
As HF-L inducts new members to its Alumni Hall of Fame, it reminds me of that pleasant fall day in 2009 when Gates-Chili honored me in a similar way. The district asked all inductees to address the senior class in a special assembly. I thought the speakers would probably talk about either why education mattered to them or how their time at Gates-Chili helped them in their jobs.
In short, they’d be bland bios.
I didn’t want to bore the kids. I wanted to leave them laughing in the aisles with self-deprecating humor. At the same time, I wanted them on the edge of their seats, enthralled by the dramatic arc of a true-life story.
Of course, I’d abide by tradition by acknowledging the importance of education, but let’s be honest, what did they care about my career? So, I left that out.
I knew I was coming out of left field, but, in the words of those 20th-century British philosophers, “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.”
Because of this daring, I suspected the students would become unsettled. I hoped they would Continue Reading “How Math Saved My Life: From High School Disappointment to Hall of Fame Speech”
Did you know that we have a heroic Revolutionary War veteran buried right here in our own backyard? Well, not precisely our backyard, but close enough to call it that.
His heroism, however, isn’t limited to fighting against the British. He took the ideals espoused by the Founding Fathers to heart. So much so that he felt it was his duty to promote those ideals at great personal sacrifice. In fact, the reason he died in Livingston County is that he was chased out of Massachusetts. He knew his family would be safe here in America’s First Frontier.
Without Daniel Shays, America might not have its Constitution. The story behind his plight so worried George Washington that America’s future first president came out of retirement and agreed to preside over the Constitutional Convention.
What follows is an excerpt from a chapter in my book, 50 Hidden Gems of Greater Western New York (Pandamensional Solutions, 2012), that reveals the true story behind this Revolutionary War veteran. It may have happened more than two centuries ago, but as you read the events, don’t be surprised if it seems this could happen (and maybe has happened) even today…Continue Reading “Eerie Echoes Today of Daniel Shays, the Forgotten Patriot Who Sparked the Constitution”
“Go Bills!” said the man in the blue shirt as he blurred past in the opposite direction.
I stopped dead in my tracks. The magnificent visage of the four heroes on Mount Rushmore rose ahead of me. But I looked back. So did the man who said those words. He puffed out his chest and pointed proudly with inverted thumbs to the logo on his tee. It was a Buffalo Bills shirt. I smiled and answered, “Go Bills!” in return.
Throughout my travels west, I wore my Buffalo Bills cap. Not so much to promote the team, but to keep the sun away from my hairless head.
Still, everywhere I went, there came this familiar refrain: “Go Bills!” On trails, in hotel lobbies, while pumping gas—it didn’t matter. The first few caught me off guard. After that, I began returning the favor. Far away from Buffalo, I had discovered a universal language. The phrase resonated with both Bills fans and even supporters of other teams. (Ironically, the favorite team of one was the Kansas City Chiefs!)
My immediate thought was, “Why does this happen?” But my broader reflection asked, “Why Continue Reading “‘Go Bills’—The Universal Language”
Beef Country lay far beyond the horizon behind us, but as we progressed through the Crossroads of America, hamburger dreams filled our heads. We thought it was just a craving for food. But it was more than that. It was much like the hunger of the hometown fans who crowded the bar under the massive television screen in the spacious hotel lobby, where we ate a late dinner.
We arrived at the Indianapolis Marriott East for our concluding night of vacation. Too tired to find a restaurant, we settled for the meager menu offered by the hotel itself. Only one other family made the same choice. For them, food was secondary. They, like the dozens of others, had their eyes glued to the TV. It was the last game of the NBA Finals. The hometown fans watched their beloved Indiana Pacers lose to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It was a bitter loss. The Pacers, after winning three ABA titles in the early 1970s, have yet to win an NBA Finals title. In a way, Indiana fans have a hunger similar to that of Buffalo Bills fans. Like the Pacers, the Bills remain winless in Super Bowls, though they did win back-to-back AFL championships.
We’ve seen this same regional pride across America. In Beef Country, you might call it Continue Reading “From Beef Country To Hamburger Dreams”
It turns out the Gateway to the West isn’t all that different from any other gateway. It allows travel in both directions. Whether heading in or out, all travelers seek the same thing: to quench their thirst.
The thirst they wish to slake can include many things. It can be physical, like food, drink, or air conditioning. It can be emotional, like happiness, a sense of belonging, or simply a good joke. Finally, it could be spiritual, like being closer to God, Country, or the Green Bay Packers.
Americans grew up trained to satisfy their thirsts. It doesn’t matter which part of the country you come from; the grass is always greener on the other side. Chances are, if Americans see a doorway, they’ll eagerly pass through it. Such a portal always signals a better place, a better future, a better life.
Perhaps that’s the purpose of the West. It symbolizes something new, a place where dreams can come true.
Or am I confusing the promise of the American frontier with Hollywood?Continue Reading “Quenching Thirsts With Bud, Pepsi, And The Arch That Defines America”
Did you ever have a dream you kept putting off? A place you always wanted to visit? A story you always wanted to tell?
So did I. (Notice the past tense.)
This site might give you a clue about how I accomplished this. Who knows? It may even reveal to you how you can realize your own greatest goals.
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My Life With AI—Part VI: How To Spot AI Content – Or – Apparently, I Am A Robot
Financial professionals often have public footprints. I find them by perusing firm bios, scrolling LinkedIn’s polished profiles, and searching for prior quotes. A business email helps, too. I rarely consider replies from generic addresses like Gmail or Yahoo.
The problem isn’t the people. It’s their answers. Are they genuine—or pasted from a GenAI platform?
Last Monday, I opened an email from a “retirement planning expert” responding to my Continue Reading “My Life With AI—Part VI: How To Spot AI Content – Or – Apparently, I Am A Robot”