IT Insights Blog

It is a little known fact that there is a THIRD Jonas brother. Actually, there is even a fourth Jonas brother. His name is Frankie and he's about a decade younger than his more famous older siblings. He is also a musician, however, unlike with some famous brothers, where they do not all follow the same path in life. Mark and Donnie Wahlberg, for example, are both musicians and actors, whereas Paul Wahlberg is a chef and owns a restaurant.

The IT Insights Blog is taking the day off in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Here at TestOut Continuing Education, we often encourage IT professionals and other learners to do something for themselves. It's good to occasionally be reminded, however, of how much other people matter. As Dr. King once said: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' "

Legend has it that, in 1626, Peter Minuit and a party of Dutch colonists acquired Manhattan Island, the site of present-day New York City's Manhattan borough, from the indigenous Canarsie, a constituent tribe of the Lenape, for trade goods worth 60 Dutch guilders. That's the equivalent, as most familiar with the legend have no doubt heard, of $24 in ... well, not "today's" currency. In 2014, historians estimated that Minuit's trade goods would be worth between $2,600 and $15,600.

Did you ever wonder, as a child, what you would do for a living as an adult? Almost every kid wants to do something glamorous. Fight fires. Walk on the moon. Be a movie star. Join the circus as a lion tamer. Become the President of the United States. Sometimes the dreams get slightly more refined as a teenager: Learn to play the guitar and start a rock band, for example. Or maybe win a cooking competition on TV and become a world-famous restaurateur like Guy Fieri.

Today is the second Monday in January, which is probably bad enough for some people. Since when has Monday ever been beloved or anticipated? (Unless it's a Monday that's a federal holiday, like next Monday, which will be Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Then it's great, because no work or school, plus a shorter work or school week when everything returns to normal the next day.) Since January began on a Wednesday, however, it's also the 13th day of the month.