Category
Uncategorized
-
01.17.10Permalink: Holiday GreetingsALLEN FAMILY HOLIDAY GREETINGS CARD FOR 2008. SUGGEST YOUR OWN CAPTIONS “I would go back to the drawing board if it hadn’t been repossessed last week.” “Given the economy, and now that you have written the proof that two can live as cheaply as one, I guess I will marry you.” This cartoon was suggested by Brooke Allen, illustrated by Alicia Reeves, and published in the November 21, 2008 on-line edition of Science Careers Magazine in the story Finance's Quant(um) Mechanics
-
09.01.09Permalink: Crime PreventionCRIME PREVENTION © 2009 Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.net www.BrookeAllen.net Originally published September, 2009 in International Family Magazine A week after I moved to Manhattan, I went to a street fair and found there a policeman with a big sign: HELP US PREVENT CRIME I approached, "I'm game. How can I help you prevent crime?" He said, "By putting three locks on your door." "But I already have two locks on my door, and I find it really annoying. How does having three prevent crime?" "Years ago, everyone had one lock, so we told them to get two. Now everyone has two, so you need three." "But how does having ...
-
09.01.09Permalink: Bad OwnersBAD OWNERS – THE FLY IN OUR SOUP © 2010 Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.net www.BrookeAllen.net Originally published in International Family Magazine Shareholders have a problem – themselves. My friend asked me when his mutual funds would rebound, and I asked him why he cares. He said, “Because if they are not going to rebound, I am going to sell.” I asked him what he would do if he found a fly in his soup. “I’d want to talk to the waiter.” And if the waiter said it wasn’t his problem? “Then I would want to speak to the chef.” And if the chef said he couldn’t ...
-
03.01.08What to Think About How to ThinkWhat to Think About How to Think © 2008 Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.net www.BrookeAllen.net Originally published in International Family Magazine When discussing "math phobia" our neighbor, a psychotherapist, said, "I can't think mathematically." My son said, "Then you can't think." She was taken aback. "Of course I can think. I just can't think mathematically." My son said, "See, you’re not thinking." The conversation ended there. Do you see? My son understands logic, which is a subset of mathematics. He knows that to say, "I can think; I just can't think mathematically," makes no more sense than saying, "I can drive; I just can't make left turns." Try picking the right ...
-
09.22.07Fire Was no Stranger to TokyoFire Was no Stranger to Tokyo. © 2007 Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.net www.BrookeAllen.net Just before noon on September 1st, 1923, an earthquake struck Tokyo. Since so many people were using fire to cook their lunch, nearly the entire city was set ablaze. High winds (there was a typhoon just off the coast) spread the fires rapidly. More than half a million homes were destroyed and nearly two million people were left homeless. Over one hundred thousand perished. During World War II, the 20th and 21st bomber commands repeatedly firebombed the city. On a single night (March 10, 1945) 279 B-29s Superfortress bombers destroyed ...
-
05.01.07The Magical Power of ImaginationThe Magical Power of Imagination © 2007 Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.net www.BrookeAllen.net Originally published in International Family Magazine As an undergraduate I went on a date to see a famous “mentalist I find magicians entertaining. My date was eager to show me proof of the supernatural. I was entertained and she found her evidence. His first feat was to control the minds of two volunteers. He had asked the promoters to provide a selection of decks of cards. Two volunteers each chose a deck and shuffled them. The volunteers sat at desks a few feet apart, each with a face-down deck. The mentalist then remembered that ...
-
05.01.06The Right WomanThe Right Woman © 2006 Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.net www.BrookeAllen.net Originally published in International Family Magazine I began trading in May of 1988. By the summer of 1990 I felt like I was ready for a change. My days were spent in the most exciting, least interesting work imaginable. At least we had some money in the bank. Your mother and I made a decision. We would change careers. Eve was accepted into a Ph. D. program in Marketing. I would take a Masters in education so that I might become a sixth grade teacher. Then something happened… One afternoon in mid-August at 2:00 PM, my boss swiveled ...
