Musings from the CU Suite

Written by Anthony Demangone

I love my drive to work in the morning.

You see, I get to drive Kate and Briggs to school. Yesterday's drive was the best one yet. 

Out of the blue, Briggs asked how "bad" words started. Who said the first "swear" word? What was it? What year was it first uttered? 

Before I could get too far into the subject, Kate spoke up.

"Everyone in first grade knows the S-word," she said.

- Sigh -

 "It's OK," I said. "Just remember that just because you hear it from older kids, you don't have to repeat it."

But then I thought...which S-word was she talking about?

So I asked her to tell me.

She got a big grin. 

"Stupid," she said.

One of my favorite first graders.

And with that, here is the best of this week's reading pile....

***

• You hear a lot about FinTech, and whether financial start-ups will disrupt the banking sector. A new view is emerging. Some in Wall Street aren't too worried about those start-ups. Because they plan on buying them. (Business Insider)
• I wonder when those self-driving cars will hit the roads. Well, they already did. A dozen trucks just finished a week of autonomous driving across Europe. Connected by WIFI, the 12 trucks "platooned." I tell you, the future isn't as far away as it used to be. (Quartz)
• I've written about how it seems that automation and technology are going to kill a lot of jobs. A wonderful story from NPR points out that this has been happening for quite some time. In 1850, 51% of all jobs were in agriculture. Today? That would be 2 percent. (NPR)
• You may not read Josh Brown, but I do. Today, he talks about simple vs. complex. And he comes down on the right side, I think. (TRB)
• Dan Rockwell makes a good point. We say we too much, when we really mean "you." (Leadership Freak)
• I heard about this via NPR on the way into work yesterday. Ray Dalio, founder of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, created an animated video to share his view of the economy. It is 30 minutes well spent. (YouTube)
• Using data, and defying the conventional wisdom, the Golden State Warriors have brought a new wave of innovation to the National Basketball Association. Even if you don't like sports, the story of innovation and risk is a good one. (WSJ)
• Remember what I said about the future? A company has created mobile solar panels that roll out like a carpet and create a ton of juice. Perfect for natural disasters. The recent developments in solar energy have been mind-blowing. (YouTube)
• Seth Godin writes a great piece about how companies slip slowly but surely into telling lies.  And once that happens, the next question is obvious. What else will you lie about? (Godin)
• Seven days until the early bird ends for NAFCU's annual conference in Nashville. (NAFCU)
• News of the competition: Bank of America just changed its leave policy for expecting parents. Its workers have fully-paid paternity, maternity and adoption leave for 16 weeks. (Business Insider)
• Everyone can make a difference in their job. Everyone. About 48 years ago, a young mail clerk was hired by the USPS to work at Penn State. 48 years later, he retires as a legend. Meet Mike the Mailman, everyone. (The Post Gazette)