While watching my kiddos grades rising now that they are back in the physical classrooms in contrast with the falling temperatures outside, I guess there’s worst trade-offs out there.

Herb Will Be Your Valentine – Former Wisconsin US Senator and current billionaire Herb Kohl once again fully funded several hundred DonorsChoose campaigns for Dairyland teachers this past Valentine’s Day. DonorsChoose is a platform where school teachers can raise money for supplies or equipment for their classrooms. This is the fourth time the heir to the department store chain has done this. Note to Wisco teachers, mark your calendar for next February.

Taxing The Ignored – Maryland became the first US state to tax online advertising after the state’s legislature overrode the governor’s veto of the bill. Where many people ignore banner ads and general ad links, it is the lucrative business that made Google and Facebook the giants they are. It will be interesting to see how many other states follow suit, as well as how Maryland businesses find ways around the tax.

Lesser is Morer – When you try to cut grains out of your diet, it’s a challenge when you want a “treat” and Doritos is out of the question. This is why I was happy I found the Lesser Evil snacks brand this past week. Based in Connecticut, the company makes snack foods with basic ingredients. What has become a new favorite in the house for me – and others as well – are their “No Cheese” Cheesiness Paleo Puffs. Though they have a different consistency of a standard cheese puff, they also don’t have the dayglow orange tint to them, not to mention being tasty.

This Cookie Option, Not So Much – Cookies have been used in Web browsers to “remember” information for almost as long as there have been Web browsers. They have evolved (devolved?) to being the means for companies tracking you as you traverse across various Web sites. Many Web browsers and tools can optionally block cookies, and now the major browsers are looking to eliminate them altogether. Google, who as previously stated is in business to make a lot of money, is coming up with alternatives to cookies. Where the intent of cookies wasn’t originally to track your every move, I am also suspect of any attempt by Google to control their replacement.

A Different Take on No Comment – Comments on blogs, articles and social media were designed to engage readers in a conversation. Just as cookies had a noble beginning and devolved, the same can be said for comments. An alumni of the University of Wisconsin is suing her alma mater for hiding comments on social media critical of animal testing at the school. This may lead to organizations simply not posting on social media or people getting off the platforms altogether. With the state of how these social media sites are today, this may not necessarily be a bad thing.

Be Billions – I have started binge-watching the Showtime series Billions with Paul Giamatti. Where I am not really into finance or law, there’s something about the characters in this story that has really drawn me into it.

Modeling the Creative – This week I caught up on a webinar I missed live on Learning Loops. It is a “mental model” for keeping the creative juices flowing when innovating products. It’s an energetic presentation and one I encourage you to watch even if you don’t have a product challenge right now.

Riddle Me Tech – As I am studying for the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals certification, which would prove I have a good high-level understanding of the tech giant’s cloud services, my friend Raj recommended IT Exams to review practice questions. Where this link is to the actual Microsoft exam questions, you can browse the site for all sorts of practice questions for, as they say, the very low price of free.

A Sunnier Outlook – When the thermometer goes up nearly 30 degrees over a few days, yet is still below freezing, you think a lot of why you are where you are. As dwelling on this wasn’t going to do me any good, I would often minimize all of my open apps and stare at the wallpaper on my computer. I took this photo last December when my family went to Florida, and this is the sunrise over Cocoa Beach. My daydreams of warmer, sunnier days may be coming soon, as the forecast for next week will have temperatures above freezing, though by only a few degrees.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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