Math problems

This is from a study guide my fourth-grade daughter received:   The calculation error gives the teacher the right answer, instead of 1/24. Normally, I give stuff like this a pass, since anyone can make a mistake. But this particular teacher is a math specialist, and it’s the second time a study guide has had [...]

Strictly personal: Amazon cloudburst in wordle

Here is Amazon’s explanation of last week’s cloudburst. I don’t pretend to understand it, so here is a wordle of the account (click image for larger):

Strictly personal: new gig

Starting next week, I’ll be guest blogging at Terms + Conditions, published at the Insurance Information Institute web site. Announcement is here. It’s quite an honor, as over the past four years, blogger Claire Wilkinson has done terrific work and has built a substantial audience. But Claire will be taking a well-deserved blogging break for [...]

Strictly personal: Mom’s World Series pick

“This is probably the first time in my life I’m rooting for an American League team,” Mom tells me. She likes the pitching coach; she’s picking the Rangers. She’s been right exactly half the time so far this post-season – not bad considering the three favorites – New York, Philadelphia, and Tampa – are all [...]

Strictly personal: Mom’s playoff picks

My Mom, who is 90, watches more baseball than you, guaranteed. When she was a kid she wanted to grow up to be an announcer, because she knew the boys would never let her be a shortstop. (Mind you, when she was a kid in the 30s, they invented the baseball announcer.) So Mom watches [...]

Actuarial tidbits

A couple of things I’ve been saving up: The U.S. accounting board, FASB, seeks comment on financial reporting rules for insurance companies. The wonky background: The international accounting board (IASB) is overhauling its rules governing insurance, and the U.S. organization wants to follow along, though there will be some differences. (I wrote about the IASB [...]

Strictly personal: Take Mom out to the ballgame

Leaving for Chicago, where my mother and I will spend her 90th birthday tomorrow at her favorite place, Wrigley Field. The last game we attended there together was July 1977. The Cubs beat the Big Red Machine 16-15 in 13 innings. There were 11 home runs, tying a record; here’s the box score. Summer for [...]

CAS swag

Haven’t been to a CAS conference in a while, so I was a bit surprised at the copious gifting from friendly sponsors. The cell phone picture above features: The ubiquitous tote bag, this one from Pryor Associates. Faux leather portfolio from EMB. A clear plastic bag for carry-on liquids, again from Pryor. A cell phone [...]

Strictly personal: cars

This post has nothing to do with insurance, or actuaries, but Consumer Reports ran (sub. req.) the following table comparing the new Mustang with the classic 1970 Mustang Boss 302: Now I’m not a car guy. I think my first car was a 1970 Ford Fairlane. Feel free to correct me in comments, but I [...]

Strictly personal: I am no longer a terrorist, gov’t says

Until now, only a few of my best friends knew the government thought I was a terrorist. I can talk about it now because, well, the government learned the truth, and what I learned may help you if you are on a government watch list. I’m overstating things a bit, I guess, but for the [...]