The crews that make container ships go
Globalization now relies on massive shipping networks that criss-cross the globe. Many of the goods around your house likely crossed oceans on their…
Author: Rick Good
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader's money, real estate, and business coverage.
Will NYC mom-and-pop landlords survive?
The government gets their taxes. The banks will get their mortgage payments (or a property). But many small landlords in New York City’s five boroughs…
On-trend cheap updates for home sellers
If you will be in the market to sell your home in coming months, you can get the best price with some inexpensive DIY updates, on-trend with young buyers….
Ask the Expert: Making a rental space in your home
I am thinking about renting out my finished basement. It has a separate entrance and it could easily be a basement apartment. Will I have any issues with…
Reduce clutter with a capsule wardrobe
It’s an annual ritual that most people don’t enjoy — digging through closets and sorting through clothing to pick out the things you don’t want. Is there…
Officially gone
The only photos from living specimens of the ivory-billed woodpecker are in black-and-white. There has been no confirmed sighting in the U.S. since 1944….
Online learning is more fun and easier than ever
Here’s the amazing truth for the curious: You can learn anything you want online — at least the basics — and a lot of it is free. The first and most…
Zebras on the lam
Five zebras escaped from a Maryland farm on Aug. 31 and as of the end of September, they were still free. Could the dazzling zebras live free and thrive?…
Cocaine hippos
Drug kingpin Pablo Escobar had a private zoo in Colombia, in which he kept all sorts of exotic animals, including hippos. But when Escobar’s estates were…
Natural defense: Goats come to the aid of firefighters
Last year’s wildfires burned up over 4.2 million acres in California, racing through weedy forests and plains and on to houses and entire neighborhoods….