The Idea Blog

Last week, High Point University hosted Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger as part of their cultural enrichment series. He is one of the most famous graduates of Notre Dame as he was immortalized in the film Rudy. His experience of overcoming incredible odds to reach his dream of playing football for the Fighting Irish is one of [...]

I don’t follow the NBA as much as other sports, but whether you’re a fan or not, it’s amazing to watch what these athletes can do, specifically this year’s slam dunk champion Dwight Howard. He doesn’t dunk it. He “throws” it in… from way back and above the rim. Simply amazing.

Christmas morning. This photo not art directed by myself in any way. But uncanny in the resemblance of how it came out compared to my own previous hoist in my last post. We love Wii.

My boys want a Wii for Christmas. I thought, “No big deal. You run by Target. You buy a Wii.” Then Lyn Rollins, the Burris shopping expert, informed me how impossible it was to get your hands on a Wii. It wasn’t long before I concluded she was right. Based on a “tip,” I spent [...]

I just bought my first fake Christmas tree. I always vowed I’d never have anything other than a real tree since I grew up with a fake one. But for various reasons (a big one being lack of time) I changed. We carefully picked and purchased what we felt was an attractive tree of good [...]

Seven weeks ago my younger son started his first season of coaches pitch baseball. A big step for a kid fresh out of T-ball. I wasn’t sure he was ready, but like anything worth doing, he jumped into untested waters with determination and gave it his best every game. The Reds were lucky enough to [...]

I was sad to learn Anita Roddick died. I didn’t know her but was fortunate enough to see her speak at a conference in San Francisco around 1995. She was ahead of her time. She was one of the first corporate leaders I remember championing the cause of the environment. And she believed in business [...]

I can’t believe it’s that time already. Seems like I was just at the bus stop for the last day of school, and here I am again for another year. My two are the guys in front who look so happy. Fire up the coffee pot. Next up, Fall little league.

I was lucky enough to attend championship day at the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open. It’s amazing to see someone so small and thin as Lorena Ochoa step on the #6 teebox at Pine Needles and crank a drive straight down the middle out of sight. And in the same group, Morgan Pressel and eventual champion [...]

A recent Friday at Burris was like a day at the Bermuda Triangle. Among other weird happenings, a swarm of bees decided a large plant at our entrance was a good place to set up camp. A beekeeper was called in and carefully “relocated” them to a new hive. I was about 12 inches from [...]