“Enough is Enough”. Random Takes.

The March for Our Lives.  Top of Mind Things I Think.

Let there be no misunderstanding.  I am proud of all the people worldwide, especially the children, who gathered yesterday to make their voices heard regarding gun control.  I just wonder if their efforts are misguided?  As I stated in my February 18th post:  “I will not comment on why a 19-year old possessed a AR-15 rifle, groups of gun activists or gun control, nor our divided political system.  What I will comment on is school security.  Don’t get me wrong, I put no blame on the high school administrators where last week’s massacre took place.”  My bewilderment relates to the ability of someone, anyone, able to enter a school with little security in place.  I only wish that the protest would have been more focused on school safety than gun control.  With respect to the 2nd Amendment it is time for more controls to be put in place when purchasing a gun, but what would have been the difference if the sick 19 year-old had walked into Stoneman Douglas High School with a shotgun instead of an AR-15?  The importance of security and locking down our schools is still way more important than gun control.

Today is Palm Sunday.  Just as a reminder, Palm Sunday is the final Sunday of Lent, the beginning of Holy Week, and commemorates the triumphant arrival of Christ in Jerusalem, days before he was crucified.  I know all of you knew that.

The NCAA tournament committee:  nice job seeding Loyola-Chicago 11th.  The Ramblers destroyed Kansas State last night and go on to next weekend’s Final Four.  Yes, the 11th seed.

Juventus, who has won the Italian League (Serie A) a whopping 33 times, will play at  Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz stadium on August 1st.  That will be one hell of a summer party.

Ponce Inlet, located just south of Daytona Beach – one of the better beaches I have been on.  Relatively quiet, flat, and of course a beach bar or two.

Not that I have a deep understanding of basketball strategy, but what the heck was Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton thinking in the last two minutes of last night’s NCAA Elite Eight knockout game?  Weird tactics.

Next weekend: the Final Four, baseball season opens, Major League Soccer in full force and Easter Sunday.  Welcome to Spring.

Adios and have a Funday Sunday!

 

Miami Sad. Etc.

A Bridge Too Far.  Random Thoughts for Mid-March.

Growing up in a middle-class neighborhood of Miami, with the southwest section surrounded by Coral Gables to the east, Calle Ocho to the north, the Everglades to the west and Kendall to the south, my friends and I were able to use Tamiami Park and the brand new Florida International University (FIU) soccer fields to tone our skills.  FIU has grown to be a massive University, with world-class educational facilities supported by both private and public funds.  The school has helped the “Miami turnaround”, from the dark days of the “cocaine cowboys” to what is now one of the most vibrant metropolitan areas in the world.  Massive construction, new developments, and leading edge design have put Miami back in the media spotlight.  Unfortunately, the lack of due diligence, responsibility, testing, and oversight has again brought negative attention to South Florida.  On the heels of the Parkland tragedy, a pedestrian bridge, designed for rapid fabrication and installation, crashed onto a busy street last week killing six people and injuring many.  950 tons of steel and concrete crushing cars below as the ‘engineers’ were adjusting tension cables that support the bridge.  One engineer’s phone call to the State Authority mentioned cracks at one end of the bridge but stated that ‘no danger was imminent’ with adjusting the cables.  Sad, unfortunate and more importantly unnecessary sadness around the FIU campus and the Miami area for all the wrong reasons.  Was it too much pressure to get the bridge built, the lack of engineering, or the tactic of fabricating the bridge in one piece and ‘swinging into position”?  More importantly, when adjusting the cable tension of a new bridge, why was the road below not shut down for the hour or so when these adjustments were taking place?  Miami will overcome this tragedy – one that was senseless and avoidable.

The season started off with a bit of an alarming loss, but Atlanta United, led by manager Tata Martino’s shift in formation (or shape), has dominated their last two opponents in two easy wins.

One person in Pennsylvania is very happy this morning.  $457 million happy.

The NCAA tournament got off to the usual crazy start with Virginia, the #1 seed, crashing out to minnow UMBC.  March Madness true to the word.

Speaking of madness, are we already done with 2.5 months of 2018?

I thought most sectors of retail were stabilized and in some cases making a bit of a comeback?  Not so much.  Goodbye Toys “R” Us.

Pets on planes arriving in the wrong continent – so wrong.

86 degrees today in Orlando.  Summer has started.

Adios and Have a Funday Sunday!

 

 

I Have One Word.

Call It What You Want.

Trump & Kim Jong-Un:  Megalomaniacs

The 2nd Amendment: Confusing

Elon Musk:  Ballsy

March Madness:  Fun

BitCoins: Confusing

Putin: Shrewd

Syria: Hell

Chicago: Crime

Silicon Valley: Done

Stormy Daniels & Donald Trump:  Meh

Alexa: Obedient

Puerto Rico:  Forgotten

Atlanta United: Win

Daylight Savings Time: Thankful

Odell Beckham:  Bizarre

Spring Training Baseball:  Interesting

Regular Season Baseball:  Dull

Atlanta:  Traffic

Atlanta Hawks: Rebuild

Traffic:  I-4

Stock Market:  Uncertainty

International Women’s Day:  Passion

Canine Companions for Independence:  Amazing

Salvatore:  Entertaining

Adios and Have a Funday Sunday!

 

 

 

Short Takes for the First Sunday of March.

Just My Take.

Assault rifles are now coming out of the racks and cases at many retailers.  I support the Constitution including the 2nd Amendment but why did it take the tragedy in South Florida for these retailers to take action?

Major League Soccer, opening up it’s 23rd season today, has come a very long way.  Twenty-three years ago, USSF President Alan Rothenberg sat in my living room in Atlanta watching the inaugural MLS match on TV as his Atlanta hotel did not receive Univision.  The league has come a very long way.

A “Nor’easter” creating havoc this weekend in the New England area.  People killed and over a million people without power.  Thoughts and prayers for all of you dealing with this storm.

Tonight is the 90th Academy Awards.  Here is hoping that the Academy Award winners only thank the people who helped them and then get off the stage without political rants that dominated last year’s ceremony.   Maybe this time Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty can open the envelope and announce the real winner for best motion picture.  Meh.

Another March Madness and the NCAA basketball tournament – so fun to follow and watch the minnows upset the giants of college basketball.

Just when you think that our entire world has been discovered, a satellite has uncovered a “colony” of penguins living on an island located on the north side of Antarctica.  Maybe the word colony is the understatement of the year.  Scientists, who visited the remote island after the satellite’s discovery, found an estimated 1.5 million penguins enjoying the frozen tundra.  Sounds like this “colony” has found their paradise.

You would think Arsene Wegner, who has been Arsenal’s manager for 23 years, would like to leave his long tenure with the Club with dignity. Not that I really care about Arsenal but it is bit painful to see this man crashing out without significance.

The decision to “cord-cut” has now become mainstream.  In one of my earlier posts I had mentioned that cable operators were in disarray dealing with the number of monthly cancellations for cable service.  The more I talk with people, especially the under-40 crowd, the more I learn that services like YouTube TV,  Hulu and Netflix are becoming the go-to way to watch television content.  This practice will undoubtedly grow over time once fiber is installed nationwide.

Atlanta United:  the second season started similar to the inaugural season, with a loss at Houston.  Not much to discuss here but there is a silver lining to the 4-0 loss.  Thirty-three more games to go and yesterday’s game was a wake up call,  making the departures of Carlos Carmona and Yamil Asad a serious issue.  Focused training and NO more ball-watching will be a good start to correcting some of yesterday’s issues.

Trade wars and tariffs.  Per my no politics mantra, I will not go there……

Adios and Have a Funday Sunday!