From time to time I admit to having visited over one hundred and fifteen countries, at least once. Some of these visits were quite lengthy, while others were extremely brief and came close to not counting at all. The shortest stop in a country on my list had to be the one in North Korea. …

They, whoever “they” are, say competition is healthy and makes competitors strive to be better. Well, there has always been a competition race between the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro, with the Mustang usually coming out the sales leader. In 2010, the podium had a new leader in the form of the re-introduced and …

Harry Truman said it best, and I follow his advice to this day: I can’t stand the heat, so I stay out of the kitchen. Okay, so I go there periodically throughout the day to fill my water bottle, and of course to do some minor food prep for meals. But when the temperature rises, …

Taxes, taxes and more taxes! Watch out! A tidal wave of new taxes is likely to go into effect in 2011 and 2013. These tax hikes will primarily be targeted at higher income earners. We are all aware of what has been happening. Our national debt has ballooned and is still growing. Sooner or later …

Your short game holds the secret to guaranteeing lower scores. I want to share some thoughts when it comes to practicing and improving this area of your game. To simplify, I specifically want to discuss chipping, pitching and sand shots. I suppose putting could be included but I will save that for another day. To …

Spring and summer have been wonderful for the 49ers. The stadium proposition passed in Santa Clara with more than 60 per cent of the vote. Their draft selections of Anthony Davis and Mike Iaupati promise to shore up the offensive line, and the team was selected to participate in the annual NFL regular-season game in …

A whole bunch of us got lost in “Lost,” the terrific TV series that just ended a seven year run. It almost never made sense, but we did not care. It is too soon to do a quiz based on the show, but we can “lost” anyway.   Who played the mother on the TV …

Q. Tom, in addition to short sale and bank-owned property sales in my neighborhood, there are also several ‘divorce’ sale situations where it seems the sellers are ‘giving the home away’. My impression is that ‘divorce’ sales drive down the values on my street more than anything else. Is that true? I understand how you …

Neutrals and Nudes are IT!   We’ve all embraced cutting-edge advances in technology, from online shopping to smart phone applications that can analyze everything from your body type to putting together a whole wardrobe customized just for you. This season technology-savvy designers got in on the act by broadcasting their Fall fashion shows live on …

In his groundbreaking self-help book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen Covey claims that one of the key elements of habit number one (being proactive) is to focus on what he describes as one’s “Circle of Influence,” as opposed to one’s “Circle of Concern.” He explains that, “Proactive people focus their efforts …