PhilMur's thoughts on biz/tech/money/life

Last Christmas I was fortunate enough to receive a Nook reader, the device sold by Barnes and Noble which competes directly with the industry-leading device, Kindle.  Not only did I begin reading books on my Nook device, I also downloaded the Barnes and Noble reader software for my PC, later retitle

For those interested in giving and philanthropy, you should be aware of http://givingpledge.org/ — this website describes what began as Bill and Melinda Gates’ and Warren Buffett’s joint challenge to some of the wealthiest people in America to give away much of their wealth. Specifically, the websit

Just read an article on CNBC today that confirms what I have learned myself– though I rarely act on it.   (Full article at http://www.cnbc.com/id/38815496/). Read this paragraph from this article discussing the effect of “digital input” on thinking: Cellphones, which in the last few years have becom

I am in the process of returning to blogging on a more regular basis again (two boys under the age of 2 can really tax your schedule!), but for the moment I wanted to at least share a few productivity tools that I have found and fallen in love with over the past year… And [...]

I came across this article by Clifford Stoll from the Newsweek magazine issue dated February 27, 1995.  I couldn’t help but laugh at the opening lines of the article: After two decades online, I’m perplexed. It’s not that I haven’t had a gas of a good time on the Internet. I’ve met great people and

Recently a certain line of thinking has been promoted by realtors and other various professionals primarily in the real estate and mortgage community.  The idea is this: an increase in mortgage interest rates can be much more unpredictable, and at times more devastating, than an increase in home pri

As I opened my blog control panel last night to work on (and hopefully complete) a few blog posts, I was frustrated to find that I have more unfinished “draft” blog postings that are not completed or posted within my blog site than I have actual, published postings (and I’ve posted 56 blog postings

This past November 2009, a fresh benchmarking study was released that provides valuable insight into the finance and accounting operations within U.S. businesses.  The study, entitled “Benchmarking The Finance Function” (see full source info at the bottom of this post) was developed by The Financial

I am not a sales or business development professional by trade.  However, I am passionate about networking with sharp people in business and I think that long-term relationships are the most valuable relationships for anyone, whether they be personal friendships or business relationships that develo