Eric Benshetler

An engineer by training and an early computer programmer, I now teach courses in international business/management/marketing, business law & ethics, economics, and project mgmt. Before I was a computer nerd, I was a chemistry geek. I speak fluent Morse. See LinkedIn profile for details.

Haven't been fully active here for several months due to a serious health issue (esophagitis) that led to complications, including a cardiac arrest in the OR. Finally home but not fully mobile yet. Slow progress but progress. My profile photo looks so much better than before I lost 30 pounds.

RIP Bernie Parent, "A Beautiful Ting" 😁 😢 www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/sports/...

Saw a photo of the Union's Pride Night bracelet giveaway with beads spelling PNL🐍UNION. Apparently it was *supposed* to be PHL. Another win for @jaysugarman.bsky.social? 😉 @jtannenwald.bsky.social @sportsdoctormd.bsky.social

Meanwhile, in the rest of the world... (FTA = free trade agreement)

May the Take Five be with you!

Fed rate cuts later this year? I'd bet on at least one rate *increase* to get inflation under control. Today is 4/17/25. Let's check back later and see how this classroom macroeconomist did.

Penn State won't announce which Commonwealth Campuses are being closed until at least mid-May, after all students are home for the summer, away from faculty advisors who can help them navigate next steps. Brilliant! /S

Anyone else take the cutting edge off aluminum foil/wax paper/plastic wrap boxes before recycling? Don't want anyone to get hurt on it. I use needle nose pliers.

We have a visitor that likes birdseed, or maybe peanuts. There are significantly fewer field mice, and unfortunately rabbits, since the red foxes started showing up a few years ago.

This evening's b-law class topic is criminal law. Mostly general concepts like search warrants and Miranda warnings followed by white collar and cybercrimes, with a little blue collar crime tossed in. At least it's less political than yesterday's macroeconomics class. 😆 😆 😆 IYKYK...

Gas at the local Sunoco, one of the lowest prices in the area, just went up 1.7% between lunchtime and this evening. $2.97 -> $3.03 That's what I get for waiting until after this evening's economics class to fill up.

I try to avoid politics in my teaching, but he'd fail both my macroeconomics and international business courses. This is going to be a disastrous natural experiment in economics. And it's not like we haven't been down this road before.

My dad, who taught industrial arts, would have loved this. Actually looks a little like him. He mostly taught metal shop and mechanical drawing but also sometimes wood shop.

Happy Einstein's Birthday! Have some pi.

Lunar eclipse tonight... and it's turned cloudy. Astronomical phenomena cause clouds. Prove me wrong.

Just saw Steve Liesman on CNBC. Usually a facts-and-figures guy, he's been getting much more vocal about what's going on in the past week. As a part-time macroeconomics teacher, I'd say he's right. And anyone who says tariff money is flowing into the US has no idea how tariffs work.

I want to opt out. Do I slide the toggle on or off? 😁 ESPN app being intentionally vague?

First time in 26 years a player in MLS has 6 goals in the first three games of the season. Unreal start for Baribo.

Watched the Union beat the NE Revs away, 2-0. I don't think I've ever seen a stadium that empty. #DOOP I'll have to find out later why Tai got a yellow card after his goal. He's on a roll!

Enjoyed an outing to the Philadelphia Flower Show, with side trips to Dizengoff's for lunch and the Reading Terminal Market for Bassett's ice cream and Termini's baked treats. Thanks to @farfarraway.bsky.social for exhibit recommendations!

Wonderful. I'm only months away from filing. www.cnbc.com/2025/03/01/d...

Penn State will close some of the Commonwealth (satellite) Campuses. All Philadelphia-area campuses will remain open. www.psu.edu/news/adminis...

Hint from Heloise: My short-term fix for my slippery new phone before the grippy Speck Presidio case arrives is a rubber band wrapped around the bottom part. Kludgy but it works.

Why are smartphones so slick? Highly polished smooth metal surface is just asking to be dropped. I never care about my phone's color because it's going to be hidden in a grippy case anyway. Hey, @samsung.bsky.social , Apple, and Google: Maybe make phone enclosures that have a textured surface. 🤔

Replaced my old Samsung S9+ with an S25+. Seems good so far. Still re-setting up several of the apps.

Many years ago, when my day taught metal shop, he visited SPS. Brought home a couple huge bolts they made, the kind used for bridges and locomotives. One was shiny stainless steel, maybe 8x2 inches. Every time I drive by SPS and see their bright steel letters over the entrance, I think of that.

The BEA website is already warning about data going away. I saw this while looking up details on recent GDP components for today's Econ class. (Those data are still there... for now.)

Tis the semester for PowerPoint updates. Already have to make changes for FCPA and the revocation of LBJ's affirmative action EO 11246. I won't have much left in my Employment Law lecture if they yank Title VII, ADA, and ADEA. Think it can't happen? dredf.org/protect-504/

Hey, class! Remember that FCPA thing I told you about last week with the stories of Lockheed and Siemens? And the similar OECD convention and UK law? Well, forget about it.

Penn State's administration responds to the NIH funding cut.

Got our Eagles Superbowl Champion merch at Rally House tonight and saw the Channel 10 news crew there. By the time we got home, they were reporting that the tables were empty. We timed it right!

Team Fluff comes back for a final score of 68-66 on a last second touchdown!!! 🐾

We're rooting for Team Fluff for obvious reasons. 🐾

Among other activities, SWE, NSBE, and SHPE encourage high school students to consider engineering careers. They're now banned at West Point. That's crazy. Even Musk says we need more engineers. I hope other engineering organizations like the IEEE, ASCE, and AIChE also speak up.

Time for a new phone. The USB port on my Samsung Galaxy S9+ was always loose and it's getting worse. Trying to decide between another Samsung or a Pixel. Too many options as usual.

Businesses need predictability to make long-term investments. That's provided by laws and regulations. They also need a rule of law system that protects tangible and intellectual property rights and enforces contracts. Imagine playing a game where there were no rules.