Category Archives: Dumbasses

Blowouts & Bailouts: It’s Complicated

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Laura Alford, PhD

Let’s just start off with the fact that it’s spring break and I’m broken. My right knee imploded last week, and I have the MRI to prove it. No resolution on the problem, but I have an appointment later this … Continue reading →

Posted in accounting, California, Dumbasses, Politics, Saving Money, Writing | Tagged CDARs, Etsy, FDIC, Federal Reserve, monopoly, Silicon Valley Bank, Tech bro, treasury bonds, unions | Leave a comment

Twistleblower

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Laura Alford, PhD

The 2022 ACFE Report to the Nations reports that 42% of occupational frauds are initially detected because of a tip (p. 22). They also report that fraudsters are collaborating more and at higher levels of authority. And they’re overwhelmingly men– … Continue reading →

Posted in Dumbasses, Politics, Writing | Tagged Boiling the Frog Slowly, disinformation, Donald J. Trump, Elon Musk, flat-earthers, Hunter Biden's laptop, Journal of Business Ethics, NY Post, POTUS, Suh et al 2020, Suh Sweeney Linke Wall 2020, Taliban, Twitter, U.S. President, Vladimir Putin, whistleblower | Leave a comment

Quantum Leap

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Laura Alford, PhD

Last week I posted that to increase my productivity and happiness levels, I was trying some new techniques: (1) a cold shower a day keeps the doldrums away and (2) writing one sentence per day. It’s indicative of my commitment … Continue reading →

Posted in Continuouse Improvement, DIY Project, Dumbasses, Goal setting, karma, Statistics, Writing | Tagged CIA, cold showers, doldrums, Gateway Experiences, Goal setting, Law of Attraction, left-brain, MegaMillions lottery, monastery, Nathan W Pyle, physics, Powerball Lottery, psychedelics, publishing, Quantum leap, science, Scott Bakula, Timothy Leary, Wim Hof | Leave a comment

Big, Little World

Posted on March 11, 2020 by Laura Alford, PhD

I’m not sure what to think about the novel corona virus going around the globe like a case of HSV2 at Coachella. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of people who will be glad to tell me what to … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Dumbasses, End of the World, Politics, Statistics, Writing | Tagged china, coachella, death rate, global pandemic, Herpes simplex virus, HSV2, hurrican forecase, novel coronavirus, pandemic, Stephen King, storms, The Stand, vector, wash your hands, WHO | Leave a comment

Flip Side

Posted on January 28, 2019 by Laura Alford, PhD

Today I heard someone say that anger is the flip side of fear. Apparently, I’m terrified by my neighbor’s dachsund. Its incessant barking has my fear (of jail) factor maxed out. My current Amazon wishlist includes, but is not limited … Continue reading →

Posted in Dogs, Dumbasses, family, Louisiana, pets, Writing | Tagged Amazon wishlist, animal control, barking, brilliant, Caddyshack, Calgon take me away, calling the cops, Catwoman costume, constant barking, dog whistle, Dr. Nefario, fear factor, gophers, grappling hook, nefarious, neighbor’s dogs, now they’re yelling but dog is silent, please stop barking, retaliatory violin, shoot holes in my ceiling, terrified, toolbelt | Leave a comment

So Long, Farewell

Posted on May 31, 2017 by Laura Alford, PhD

It’s been a Long day, and I’m not happy about it. Our state budget teeters on the edge of a fiscal cliff and our elected leaders are passing useless, unwanted, frivolous bullsh*t, backscratching, backroom bills instead of figuring out how … Continue reading →

Posted in Dumbasses, Education, Louisiana, Politics | Tagged asbestos, backroom, backscratcihing, deals, fiscal cliff, highways, indentured servitude, kick them out., lobbyists, Long gone, long Legacy, Louisiana Legislature, Louisiana school for Math Science Arts, mold, partisan politics, pawn shop, priorities, Prison reform, privatization, progenitor, reform, Roads, term limits | Leave a comment

Product Regulation

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Laura Alford, PhD

Lawnmowers come with warning stickers: You have to be 18 to buy spray paint and Claritin-D, but WalMart will let anybody with a pulse and a valid credit card out the doors with one of these deadly weapons: I love … Continue reading →

Posted in Dumbasses | Tagged been there done that, claritin d, genius loves company, hair, here we go again, hope trumps experience, humans are idiots, irrational behavior, lawnmower warning sticker, Norah Jones, Ray Charles, roller brush, round brush, spray paint | Leave a comment

Joan’s Farrier

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Laura Alford, PhD

Ain’t everybody cut out to be Joan of Arc. The old proverb goes something like this: For want of a nail… For want of a fastener, the buffer between soft feet and rough terrain came aloose and emperilled the mission. … Continue reading →

Posted in Continuouse Improvement, Dumbasses, Education, End of the World, family, football, Generation Gap, Goal setting, Louisiana, LSU, music, pets, Politics, Sports | Tagged blacksmith, buddhism, buffer, center must hold, Christianity, farrier, fascism, fasteners, fire, for want of a nail the battle was lost, gender, glue, horseshoe, humanity, joan of arc, Leonard Cohen, music, opportunity, patriotism, protest, race, sexism, shadow, smitty, smoke, stoke, understanding | Leave a comment

The ‘Fn’ Key

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Laura Alford, PhD

For the uninformed, ‘Fn’ stands for FUNCTION. But before I delve too far into the ‘Fn’ blog, a few important facts: I hate switching to daylight savings time. I loathe the switch to daylight savings time. I despise leaving standard … Continue reading →

Posted in Basketball, Dumbasses, Louisiana, technology, weather, Writing | Tagged basketball, daylight savings time, Easter Eggs, Eire, elves, flooding, function, i love google, i love youtube, irish blessing, leprechauns, Louisiana, march madness, mouse pad not working, Murphy, occam's razor, rancid, st patricks day, windows 10 | Leave a comment

Helm’s Deep

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Laura Alford, PhD

You’re supposed to write what you like to read. And for the most part, I do. But, I have a confession to make. Even in books I like to read, I skimp (skim/skip) some parts. One of those sections is … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Dumbasses, television | Tagged action scenes, Batman and Robin, Charles Shultz, elves, Frodo, Helm's Deep, leviathan, Lord of the Rings, mankind, orucii, Snoopy, vampires, werewolves | 2 Comments