Published in DataDrivenInvestor·1 day agoMember-onlyWhich is Harder to Learn: Welsh or Klingon?I’d really love to speak both — First, let me say up front that I suck at learning foreign languages. I’m good with computer languages, but that’s really just another form of math. I took Spanish in high school. I won an award my freshman year, and ended up taking three years of Spanish. Welsh is harder…Humor5 min readHumor5 min read
2 days agoMember-onlyMonstersAre Supposed to Be Under the Bed — When I was a little girl I thought There were monsters under the bed. When I slept I lay in the exact center of the bed Farthest from where the monsters could get me Hands tucked under me and feet crossed. But I learned that a monster could be →…Poetry1 min readPoetry1 min read
Published in DataDrivenInvestor·Mar 13Member-onlyOne Way to Start a Meeting on TimeAnd leave early — When I was in college we had a special January session, where the faculty would teach classes outside the standard curriculum. My first year I took “Murder 101 (with lab)”, in which two history professors introduced us to very good current mystery novels, with a field trip to a book…Leadership4 min readLeadership4 min read
Mar 10Member-onlyWe of the NorthshieldWhere bitter wind blows icy breath and crackling frost ‘neath every step predicts a slow and frozen death, We of the Northshield are come.Poetry1 min readPoetry1 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Mar 9Member-onlyA Secret is Something You Tell One Person at a TimeHow to keep your secrets secret — What if everybody knew your secret? You know, that one. The one that makes you squirm? You remember what it was like as a kid. No one kept a secret. Sometimes it feels like your face stayed red until you graduated high school. But you’re an adult. If you have…Secrets4 min readSecrets4 min read
Published in DataDrivenInvestor·Mar 9Member-onlyAI’s promises may kill youRogue AIs are fun in the movies, but not in real life — I once wrote a simple next word prediction app, similar to the ones found now on your phone when you’re texting. You can try it out here: https://kbrenchley.shinyapps.io/PlusOne/. It’s basic data science, and it predicts what the next word in your sentence will be. …Artificial Intelligence3 min readArtificial Intelligence3 min read
Published in Three-Minute Reads·Feb 24Member-onlyWhat My Friends Taught Me About Cops and CourtsTips that could save you money and time — When you’re driving down the street and see a police car in your rear-view mirror, do you get a little tense? Even if you’re not speeding or tailgating or doing anything wrong? What if the cop stops you? What should you do? I had a very good friend who was…Crime4 min readCrime4 min read
Feb 17Member-onlyWhy Aren’t Women’s Clothes Designed to Be Warm?Or are women supposed to always expose their chests? — After living in Silicon Valley for many years, I bought a house. I never thought I would, because as Silicon Valley grew, with more and more companies growing, and hiring more and more people, housing prices kept growing, too. But I had a windfall, so I bought a house. On…Feminism4 min readFeminism4 min read
Feb 16Member-onlyTeaching, Old Dogs, and New TricksThe silence was deafening. — I needed to sign up for my last general ed class, but I had no idea what I wanted. One of my mother’s university colleagues was a philosophy professor. He was younger than she was, tall, handsome, and we called him the Transcendental Texan. Paul was cool. He and my…Self5 min readSelf5 min read
Published in DataDrivenInvestor·Feb 14Member-onlyHow to Use Verbal Aikido on Annoying, Argumentative PeopleFighting just isn’t worth the effort. — When I’m around angry people and difficult problems, I work to fix things. I’m not bossy or pushy about it. I’ve just learned an important way to calm people down. So how does this work? The first time I actually tried this technique was at a sporting event, where I had been volunteered by a…How To Resolve Conflict4 min readHow To Resolve Conflict4 min read
