Recently, I signed up for a MOOC to see what the fuss was about and to learn more about American history. So far, I can report the following: The lectures are really good, and I’ve learned a lot from listening to them. The readings, which are mostly primary sources, are great, too. I quickly realized… [Read More]
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Veev, organic alcohol, and organic chemistry
A few months back, Veev sent me and many other bloggers some bottles of their Veev Frute organic alcoholic beverages. As beverages, they were great. Each bottle contains premade margarita, lemonade, or cosmopolitan cocktails; chill the bottle, serve over ice, and you’re set. They aren’t super sweet, and they are easy to cut with soda… [Read More]
What to do with your tax refund
It’s time to pull out the receipts, get them organized, and do the darn taxes. A fitting end to a miserable winter? Maybe so. In 2013, the IRS paid $322.7 billion in individual income tax refunds to 120.7 million taxpayers, for an average refund of about $2689. That’s a lot of money. You want to… [Read More]
Bitcoin, Zimbabwe, and full faith and credit
I was thinking about Zimbabwe because of the news about Mel Reynolds, and I have been doing work on bitcoin for various clients. And here’s what I don’t get about bitcoin: what backs it? I understand that nothing backs US currency other than the full faith and credit of the US government, but if the… [Read More]
University endowments up 11.7% in fiscal 2013
The National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and Commonfund have released their annual study of endowments, with some interesting information. The average institution reported a return of 11.7% after fees. Larger institutions tended to have better performance, with institutions that have over $1 billion in assets reporting returns of 16.2%, in part… [Read More]
