Spot Liars and Frauds Before You Hire (or Date) Them

For ten years, my favorite job as Compliance Officer of an Investment Bank was spotting liars. This meant figuring out which finance professionals NOT to hire because they embellished their qualifications, which potential clients NOT to accept because they had obfuscated weaknesses in their companies, and which alleged investors NOT to believe because they would never pony up a dime. On the theory of “garbage in, garbage out,” I figured that anyone who lied to me up front about something I easily discovered was likely to lie later on about something important I might not detect. With 7 billion people on the planet, I endeavored to avoid those mendacious people and work with honest ones.


What appalls me is the frequency with which I have encountered grown-ups who lie, easily, smoothly, and frequently to get something they want, based on merits they lack. Obviously, their blarney must work on some of the people some of the time. I'm also dismayed by the number of companies and individuals who don't do background checks before they hire or recommend people, or who part with their money or let someone into their homes or lives without asking a few logical questions first. So shame on both parties!


The following article shares easy, cheap or free research that anyone can do in less than an hour and examples of falsehoods I have uncovered in the areas of education, business experience, lawsuits, and crimes.  Protect yourself with a healthy dose of skepticism, a few minutes on the Internet, and some judicious questions.

Tiny Kitchen? Sumptuous Brunches in 30 Minutes

If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then what is brunch but a celebration of that importance? You don't gobble up brunch – you savor it. The entrees tend to be special treat versions of comfort foods. But many people don't cook such brunches for themselves. Why not?

Even in my tiny home (two rooms totaling 750 sq ft), with few pots and pans and little counter space for preparation and assembly, this grumpy, not-a-morning person routinely churns out the following breakfast egg entrees for family and occasional friends within 30 minutes (after my coffee) such as:

• Fried eggs on tomato basil bruschetta,
  
• Huevos rancheros (eggs over refried beans and cheese, on tortillas topped with salsa)
  
• Scrambled eggs over crab, salmon or pike cakes, topped with a lemon aioli
  
• A frittata of roasted potatoes with sausage, peppers, onions, cheese and eggs
  
• Eggs on creamy spinach sprinkled with bacon and chives
  
• Cheesy potato slices topped with smoked salmon and an egg
  

My go-to secret for quick, interesting breakfasts? Appetizers. You might not think of those two words in the same context, but I serve delicious and innovative morning meals throughout the week by utilizing prior hors d'oevres (and other foods cooked for prior meals). And with breakfasts as hearty as these, I tend to cook only two meals a day, which usually are – guess what – brunch (a late breakfast) and hearty appetizers (another sort of celebratory meal) for an early dinner. (I've never understood how people can sleep on a full stomach after a heavy, late meal)