Coach Bill / Dad, Entrepreneur Special Educator, American Political Scientist, Writer, Musician.

It began long ago with a dream that has nothing to do with money. I know what it is like to be incredibly rich and it is not all that. What makes life way more awesome is when we invest of ourselves into each other. That may sound idealistic. It is. My dream is a common dream that shares in part with Dr. Martin Luther King's dream, Mohandas Ghandi's dream and the dream of our American forefathers. It starts with acknowledgements, moves into living at peace with one another and then rocking out full of expression for each other. Life is short, as you know. With all our planning, we don't know what tomorrow holds for us. On my way back home Friday from a canceled session (the #JMan had a fever) I drove by a car accident on the Merrit Parkway near Route 7. The trusty firefighters were there. It seemed that they were trying to get someone out of the car that front-ended another one. Who knows if the person lived or will walk again. Things happen. Maybe they were texting an...

updated 1/15/16 12:30 pm We use the internet to connect, communicate, learn, teach, create awareness, take action, as an economic medium and as a 'place' to share all sorts of things. Did you know that there was an internet before the 'Internet' though? A very organic underground system that connects across different species in a multi-faceted manner sending protection, aid, communication and defense quite marvelously.  Mycorrhizae, a fungi cousin to mushrooms has been studied by British scientists and they have discovered that mycorrhizae filaments stretch for miles, even covering entire forests under the earth with connections to all all plant and tree life. Outside threats of infestation, or vegetative disease are picked up by filaments which in turn communicate to the rest of the web of inter-connected species who in turn take action exactly like the auto-immune system in humans. Who would have known that intelligent vegetative life could behave in such...

I just met Ricardo (that's not him in the photo:), my elderly neighbor, an American who was born and raised in Argentina.  Ricardo’s story is a very American story filled with hope, vision and tremendous optimism. I know the story well. It is one shared by many immigrants who come to our shores for a chance at a better life in the ‘land of opportunity.’ The guy left with one dollar from his home country in his early twenties. On the way over, in the airplane, three quarters of his money fell out from his pocket leaving him with only 25% of the dollar he started with. It was enough. Upon reaching JFK airport with one suitcase in hand he found out that he could take the bus for a quarter all the way into Manhattan. He didn’t need to go all the way though. The guy was happy just to be in America and got off in Queens with his suit on and began to walk the sidewalk. Before he knew it, an old man patted him on the back and eventually took him to a bar where he found out that 1...

updated 1/11/15 10:23 am A massive methane leak has been spewed at least 83 thousand metric TONS of methane and counting into the air of Burbank, a well-known suburb of Los Angeles for three months now. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Southern California Gas Company removed the original safety valve from the gas well over 36 years ago (1979) and CHOSE not to replace it because it was not required by law to do so. To add injury to insult, the gas company thinks it MAY be able to fix the issue sometime in March. Does this sound like 'Fuku part 2?,' as in the still continuous 100,000 gallons of nasty radioactive water spewing daily into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in eastern Japan? It has been nearly half a decade that 'Fuku' has been releasing itself on the marine life in the Pacific basin killing most if not all marine life in that ocean. Now we have what amounts to a volcanic eruption blasting what amounts to the main component ...

Much can be said about David Bowie's music, fashion and entrance into popular culture. The 'Thin White Duke' was a game changer in Western culture. His appearance gave license to millions to literally change music, artistic perspective and fashion over night which, alongside other forces of his time, led to a new day in how we express ourselves. His rise in stardom at a time in history that was plagued with civil right growing pains also helped cement a new pattern for youth and music allowing for a 'breakaway' from old social norms and societal balances. Mr. Bowie was very different from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. It is as if he had no handlers and his metamorphosis as an artist sped past the ability of the 'old establishment' to make sense of it. In essence, David Bowie achieved 'breakaway velocity.' It was hard to categorize him or his music at the time. Personally, my first introduction to Mr. David Bowie was through the children...

Driving a race car takes more than stepping on a gas pedal and turning a wheel. It takes epic executive function skill usage. A NASCAR driver must know how to gauge, pace and focus on an ever-changing battle field where the other racers jockey for position in order to win. Like a game of chess, race car drivers must use their foresight (anticipate, predict) and keen sense of timing to know when to make a move, pull ahead, hold tight or come in for a pit stop. The pit crew must also have tip-top  executive function skills as they recalibrate, change up and get the super-charger roadster back on the road in two shakes of a lamb's tale. The road crew of individuals each have their key duties which they must focus on as they work together in harmony to bring up to speed and release the speedster back into the race. Of course, from the stands, it may look as if they cars are just going around in round, yet the relationships that bring each racing team to the track form the foundati...

Does the ends justify the means?  What happened to Volkswagen? They seemed to be on the 'up and up with great cars with sleek designs. Why does an established car maker for over half a century cut corners on emissions testing? For what? What was the thought process behind their rationale on purposefully cheating on car emissions? Who stood out to win from this? Should heads roll? Should we signal out individuals and vilify them? Should we trot them out in public and make examples of individual executives? I think not, though it does not excuse their complicit action to cheat. We all make mistakes. The mistake they made was on a grand scale. It affected millions of people. Volkswagen remains a great car even though certain misguided executives steered the company down the wrong path. The corporation as a whole is now paying a deep price for their errors. Hopefully they will be able to recoup and move on. The ends does not justify the means. When we run a race it DOES matter...