How do you determine what is "fair"? I grew up in a time when not everyone got a trophy, grades were not assigned on a sliding scale, and no one bailed out businesses who couldn't figure out how to stay in business. That makes me sound really old, but I'm under 50. Two pieces of fresh news today lead me to believe that facts are becoming less and less important. First, I had to shake my head at a Business Insider "news" story that totally missed reporting on the new Google Conversion API because they were too busy complaining about the...

Last month most of us learned the results of the voting in our local elections. Like it or not, the people have spoken, and now some of us have new leadership teams, while others kept the same officials. I’m sure you and I have heard the same chatter around the towns where we live. Some residents are passionate about a candidate and what they bring to the table, while others are so detached they didn’t even cast a vote. If you’re one of the passionate ones, and have considered becoming more involved in your community, this column is for you. Even if you’re new to your community and just want to learn how things work on a local level, read on for the crash course in getting informed!

I don’t often use my column to vent, but between experiencing some really bad customer service and listening to a vintage Clark Howard radio episode over the last several weeks, I feel compelled to put an issue on the table—customer no-service. I’ll admit, I’m warped about this topic because I worked in telephone user support for Digital Equipment Corporation for about three years, so giving bad customer service was just not an option. In fact, the extremely high standard of customer service may well be one of the reasons Digital couldn’t hold on in the contemporary marketplace. Now isn’t that a commentary on the sad state of affairs?

Many of the elders I know are not like my mom, who can e-mail, use most of the features on her cell phone, and spends time on the Internet every day—she can even handle a conference call on her phone—go, Mom! However, many seniors automatically get a glaze over their eyes at the mention of technology, especially those who were firmly implanted in a career before personal computers came onto the scene in the eighties.  Don’t get me wrong…there are many out there like my mom who embrace it all. This month’s column is all about technology being marketed to seniors. Although these products are marketed to seniors, they can be of benefit to everyone, so whether you’re a golden-age techno geek or not, read on!

I like to think that I am an informed consumer who balances budget and quality, trying to get the most “bang for my buck.” Recently, I came across the web site for an organization called Co-op America, that gave me pause. Now, I must start this writing with full disclosure that I am the driver of an SUV, I don’t do a good job of recycling, and it seems that with a family of four, we still have a bag of trash to discard at least every two days.