Tonight, the Half Hollow Hills school district did something pretty remarkable. They approved next year's calendar, which has days off for two holidays not previously noted by the district: Diwali and Eid al-Fitr. I am proud of the school district from which I and my children have benefited. I am also proud of my childhood friend and former neighbor Niti for being a leader in the push for observance of the holidays.

After the first time I watched Groundhog Day, I didn't see the big deal. Yeah, it was a fun movie, the editing was superb, and it had a solid structure, but I didn't think too much about it. I was young. Every time I have watched it since, I am even more moved by its profundity.

I am insecure. Maybe not as much as many people I know, but I have my hangups. Mostly, they're about my physical appearance. It's always been that way.

This is a post-mortem on my New Year's Resolutions. I have not, until recently, been much of a believer in such things, but I liked the idea of public accountability. And my resolutions were not a HUGE stretch. But they have provided me with a myriad of insights.

Suffolk County stands out from the rest of New York in a number of ways. 8/10 of the highest-grossing 7-11s in America are in Suffolk. Suffolk leads the state in heroin and fentanyl overdoses. Suffolk also leads the state in DWI crashes. Suffolk begins at Melville and ends at Montauk, spanning more than 80 miles long. And so much of those 80+ miles are filled with beauty. Somehow, I think all of these things are connected.

On Monday, I will appear on an "Expert Hangout" in an authors' Facebook community. I will speak about legal and business terminology and concepts and how intellectual property affects authors. The interesting thing about this community is that it will be attended by plenty of people outside of the U.S. And I have already informed the community members that I am generally unfamiliar with laws outside of the U.S.

I hate neckties. I know I am not the only one, but I would love to see a fashion revolution in the workplace where male professionals--doctors, lawyers, accountants--ban neckties. Have you ever thought about why people where them in the first place? Croatian soldiers in the 17th century tied their uniforms in a certain way, and Louis XIII LIKED it. So there. Go ahead, wear that cravat (the French terminology). Even if it cuts off your oxygen. Or spreads disease.

The first Executive Order to come from the new President was withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. This was a relatively uncontroversial move, and was also a pretty toothless move, as Congress had effectively withdrawn the US from TPP in 2016. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and many other technologists were in favor of withdrawing from TPP for a very different reason--secretive clauses about US copyright--than the President's protectionism.

I am fascinated by Trader Joe's. How does it manage to never lose its shine? It is a privately held subsidiary of a German company that earns over $10 billion a year, yet every one feels like an Anytown, U.S.A. mom and pop shop. The brand is so well-cultivated, and yet, unlike Disney, which has been not-so-secretly nicknamed "Mauschwitz" by its employees, there doesn't seem to be a Sword of Damacles hovering over its staff to conform to the corporate brand.

I write this as 17,000 fellow Long Islanders have suffered the latest power outage today; thankfully, we have been spared so far. Today, it was warm, so it was rain and wind and flooding; a year ago today, it was cold, so we built forts atop the two foot blanket of snow, despite the 50+mph wind.

I remember reading years ago that resumes would become a thing of the past. People's personal web sites or biographies or sizzle reels would take the place of the old staid resumes, and that would be a good thing.To be honest, I don't know how that shift is progressing in the workforce at large; I haven't updated my resume in years. But I am curious about the limitations of things like resumes.

In my sophomore year of college, I picked up a slim paperback that would change my perspective entirely. "22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" by Ries & trout is a quick read, and its lessons are easy to grasp. It was my very first marketing book, and I referred to it often as I started up organizations, and then businesses. I still recommend it to clients and friends, and I know it has gotten a lot of attention because Tim Ferriss considers it one of the most important books for an entrepreneur to read. But he recommends the original 1993 version that I still read, even though it is incredibly dated.

My 9 year old son has been asking him to teach him how to work out with gym equipment. I decided to take him for the first time, start him off on some kettlebells, then move on to resistance bands, and finally some machines. I'm no fitness expert, but I read up on what's good for the human body and I studied up to make sure I wouldn't do more harm than good.