Category: Columns

New year’s resolutions for my blog

~ nickc324 ~ 25 Comments

Now that we are two days into 2018, I have put together a few new year’s resolutions for my blog.

I am sharing them here in case any of them are helpful to you, and so that they will be a reminder to me of how I am trying to improve.

Be timely – Don’t wait until two days after the event before posting on topics. I want to post early about upcoming events, but I guess I am already struggling at this one. I will try to do better with this in 2018, or 2019 at the latest. Continue reading “New year’s resolutions for my blog” →

A New Year’s Eve to forget

~ nickc324 ~ 6 Comments

Another big New Year’s Eve is in the books and I am ready for 2018.

This is the year to become rich and famous, hopefully for something good and not for something like being attacked by a Bigfoot that I catch on film or for getting a big settlement after eating some bad ice cream.

No, this is the year to become hugely successful and to capitalize on all of the positives of 2017. It was a great year and it ended with an interesting Dec. 31.

Continue reading “A New Year’s Eve to forget” →

Sometimes blue is green, or What color do you think this sweatshirt is?

~ nickc324 ~ 19 Comments

A mysterious thing happened with a Christmas gift this year, and it brought back a debate that has confounded my household for the several years now.

The Christmas gift was a very nice grey sweatshirt with blue lettering that says “Ohio University.” I was fortunate to find this item on sale, so I proudly purchased it and wrapped it for my wife.

On Christmas morning, she unwrapped my present and showed everyone her nice grey sweatshirt with green lettering that says, “Ohio University,” on the front. Continue reading “Sometimes blue is green, or What color do you think this sweatshirt is?” →

Different reactions to Christmas gifts – Part Two

~ nickc324 ~ 12 Comments

present twoThis is Part Two of our study of how people react to receiving Christmas gifts.

In order to better understand how people can respond so differently to the same situation, we put together focus groups and presented the exact same scenario to different people and then wrote down their reactions.

Basically, we gave each person a present to see what would happen. So, if it’s not funny or interesting, remember that it’s not my fault because it’s just science. Continue reading “Different reactions to Christmas gifts – Part Two” →

Christmas presents can result in some very different reactions

~ nickc324 ~ 25 Comments

I am often amazed at how people can react so differently to the same situation.

In order to study this phenomenon further, we put together focus groups and presented the exact same situations to different people in order to see how they would react.

Today’s study (which is part one if this goes over well), involves presenting a Christmas gift to these different individuals and then studying their reactions. We are listing each individual and quoting their reactions: Continue reading “Christmas presents can result in some very different reactions” →

A Tale of Two Athenses (and several more)

~ nickc324 ~ 8 Comments

I took a trip to Athens recently, but this time Athens was pronounced with a long A.

I left in the morning from Athens (pronounced Ath-ens), Ohio and ended up in Athens (Ae-thens), Illinois. When I arrived, I was not sure if I should use the bathroom or the batheroom.

I have a brother who lives in Athens, Illinois, so the visit was a good opportunity to see him (and his wife) while we compared our Athenses. Continue reading “A Tale of Two Athenses (and several more)” →

Remember to be thankful for truly important items, like strawberry jelly

~ nickc324 ~ 7 Comments

Every year, people all across the U.S. take time to reflect on the things they are thankful for in their lives, usually focusing on subjects such as family, health and their friends.

While those are all fine choices, our lives are filled with other items that are too often ignored in the Holiday Season, even though they also bring great joy and satisfaction.

So this year I am going to be thankful for these items on Thanksgiving, and I hope that you also are able to ponder these truly significant items that make us happy and grateful every day. Continue reading “Remember to be thankful for truly important items, like strawberry jelly” →

A week away from blogging

~ nickc324 ~ 22 Comments

Ok, so I was was too busy at work last week and never had the opportunity to put together a good post.

“Now Nick, when do you ever put together a good post?” you may be saying to yourself.

I would agree, but would add that I didn’t even have time to write a post that I liked very much. I ended up working late every day and then traveling on the weekend, so here I am getting some posts ready tonight.

By not posting for a week, though, I realized a few things about blogging that I thought I would share here. Continue reading “A week away from blogging” →