Brian Martucci

According to the card buried deep in my wallet, I’ve been a “loyal member” of the American Automobile Association (AAA) since 2005. In fact, my AAA Membership is one of the longest relationships of my life, even exceeding the length of my marriage!
Early on, AAA’s roadside assistance services helped me and my succession of comically beaten-up cars get out of more jams than I can count. However, these days I use roadside assistance infrequently enough to call the wisdom of shelling out $80-plu...

“Working ever-longer hours to bring in more cash might make your life more comfortable, but it isn’t going to make you happy,” writes Charlie Sorrel in a provocatively titled Fast Company article, “Science Says You Should Quit Your Demanding, High-Paying Job.”
Is Sorrel right? The study he cites certainly suggests so. In it, authors Ashley V. Whillans, Aaron C. Weidman, and Elizabeth W. Dunn make a convincing case that employees who prize time over money score higher on measures of subjective...

Do you live without a car? Congratulations. You’re among a growing cohort of Americans for whom the term “car trouble” has no personal relevance.
For everyone else, car trouble is all too real – and often hits all too close to home. Whether you own a new or used car, you’ve probably experienced your share of car problems: unexpected breakdowns, unexplained noises, persistent mechanical defects, or accidents caused by unsafe road conditions or human error. These issues are inconvenient, expens...

You love shopping at your local farmers’ market like the good millennial you are. There’s nothing wrong with supporting local growers and craftspeople who make your home region special.
Then again, maybe you’re on the wrong side of your weekly farmers’ market transaction. Who’s to say you’re not cut out to sell at your local farmers’ market?
You don’t have to till your own fields every spring or milk your own cows every morning to earn a spot at your local farmers’ market. All you need is a r...

From the endless rolling grasslands of the High Plains of western South Dakota rise two iconic landforms: the Badlands and Black Hills.
To be fair, the Black Hills extend into northeastern Wyoming, with the singular Devils Tower looming just beyond. But the bulk of the action is in South Dakota, within 90 minutes’ drive of Rapid City. Whether you’re embarking on a long-distance road trip across the U.S. or traveling full-time in an RV, it’s worth going out of your way to pass through this bea...

Back in 2009, in the depths of the Great Recession, the New York Times picked up on a then-novel trend among uber-frugal urban homeowners.
“As Americans struggle through a dismal recession, many are trying to safeguard themselves from what they fear will be even worse times ahead. They eat out less often. They take vacations closer to home. They put off buying new cars,” wrote reporter William Neumann.
He added, drily: “And some raise chickens.”
The economy has improved markedly since Neumann...

Located on the flat, swampy, ever-steamy Chao Phraya River delta, not too far north of the Gulf of Thailand, Bangkok is Thailand’s capital and largest city.
That’s actually an understatement: Bangkok is by far Thailand’s most important city, and inarguably the economic center of the Southeast Asian subregion encompassing Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. In this part of the world, all roads truly lead to Bangkok.
With thousands of glittering glass high-rises and soaring expresswa...

America is awash in connected devices.
A Pew Research Center survey revealed that 84% of all American households have at least one smartphone. 80% have at least one desktop computer or laptop. 33% of all Americans live in households with three or more smartphones, and 18% are “hyper-connected,” with 10 or more electronic devices in the home.
In real terms, desktops and laptops are actually less costly to replace today than in 2010, but they’re not exactly cheap. According to PC Magazine’s ana...

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The candidates scrunch together in front of the fireplace, with frozen practiced smiles. The photographer crouches. A hush falls over the well-dressed donors and activists on hand for an evening of “candidate speed dating” at Edina Country Club, one of Minnesota’s most exclusive addresses. Just before the shutter clicks, one of the four breaks ranks.
Two-term Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, the odds-on favorite to outlast this GOP group and compete this fall for his old job, had some...

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Interstate 5, the West Coast’s main north-south artery, cuts an angry, 12-lane slash through Seattle, severing upscale residential neighborhoods like Capitol Hill and First Hill from the central business district.
For now. Citizens are lobbying their elected representatives to take up a plan for a 45-acre ribbon of public space running atop I-5 for 2 miles. The Seattle C.A.P.itol Hill Park, envisioned by local architects Patano Studio, would include as its centerpiece a multiuse arena...

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The prime-time analysis of Hillary Clinton’s defeat in 2016 was clear — she had ignored states like Michigan and Wisconsin, and had paid the price. They voted for Donald Trump. But on a pleasantly cool evening this June, President Trump flipped that narrative in the neighboring Midwestern state of Minnesota, where he had lost to Clinton. “We came this close to winning the state of Minnesota,” Trump told the 8,000-plus supporters packed into AMSOIL Arena, in gritty Duluth. “I needed on...

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Last year, the top three executives at workforce management startup Branch Messenger decamped from Pasadena, California–based Idealab, the United States’ oldest surviving technology incubator, midway through their stint there. Their destination: Minneapolis.
Of 150-plus Idealab startups birthed over two-plus decades, 45 have achieved successful exits. In Pasadena, Branch’s founders had seasoned mentors who built careers guiding founders from early stage to initial public offering or a...

Expert advice for independent professionals and freelancers wondering where to start.

A roundup of the most affordable luxury cars of 2017.

An in-depth guide to planning and executing a cost-effective bachelor/bachelorette party.