Submerge Yourself. Social Media Restrictions. A Great Five Weeks. Making You Laugh…Again. She Does Eminem.
- Quote of the Week: “I just enjoy the moment I’m in. For me, life is a whole experience, not just a series of isolated moments. It’s like submerging yourself into a warm bath rather than sticking your toe under the faucet.” – Alex Trebek
I find the late Alex Trebek’s quote intriguing. His philosophy views life as a continuous experience rather than just a series of isolated moments. I am the opposite, as I tend to fixate on achieving significant milestones, which may come from competing in sports and business most of my life.
I did some research, trying to find an alternative to Alex Trebek’s viewpoint. Though I disagree with most of Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophies, I do agree with his idea of embracing the realities of the world passionately, “without relying on doctrines or outside influences that sometimes drain the energy from life.” The obvious conflict with my thinking and Friedrich Nietzsche has a hard stop as Nietzsche was both a racist and supporter of the Nazi party.
It seems plausible that I should step back from treating life like a checklist of accomplishments and tasks. Maybe this mindset and change of routine would help me understand that “…life is a whole experience, not just a series of isolated moments. It’s like submerging yourself into a warm bath rather than sticking your toe under the faucet.” How about you?
- Social media restrictions have reached the European Union with France ready to impose a social media ban for children under the age of fifteen. This follows restrictions set by Australia, Great Britain, Spain, Greece, and Denmark. While I agree with restricting children’s use of social media, I question two things: 1. How does this restriction jive with any and all free-speech rights in those countries, and 2. How does each country actually prevent youngsters from spending countless hours on TicTok, Facebook, X, and Instagram? How will social media sites (or government entities) verify users’ ages and prevent children from opening or keeping accounts?
Arcom, France’s audiovisual and digital communications regulator, reports that children twelve to seventeen spend and overage of one hour and 21 minutes a day...just on TikTok. The OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) is an international organization of thirty-eight countries committed to democracy and the market economy. The organization reports “at least half of 15-year-olds in most countries spend 30 hours or more per week on digital devices.”
I assume the United States will follow suit in the near future. What are your thoughts on restricting social media for children fifteen and under?
- The Bad News, Good News Headline of the Week: Oracle has crashed 34% this year, dropping to $126 per share and erasing $66 billion from CEO Larry Ellison’s net worth. The good news: Ellison’s new worth is now $181 billion. 🙂
Some Takeaways from the 2026 World Cup
- The expansion of the tournament to forty-eight teams and 104 matches worked much better than I thought. One example is the country of Cabo Verde, who had an amazing tournament with many talented players. Without the expansion to forty-eight countries/teams, we would never know about Cabo Verde and their players.
- People who were outraged about ticket prices were proved wrong as attendance numbers were fantastic. The Final match between Spain and Argentina was attended by over 77,000 at an average ticket price over $11,000.00. The math shows nearly $900 million in ticket revenue just for that one final match.
- The average attendance for all 104 matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup was 65,490 fans per match. Overall, 6,810,966 spectators attended the games, with stadiums operating at an incredible 99.7% capacity occupancy.
- In the United States, the television coverage from Fox and Telemundo was good. Remember that there is only one production feed for all worldwide networks, so challenges will always exist with camera shots, etc.
- Television ratings in the U.S. and worldwide were above expectations. In the U.S., a total viewership of 62.8 million between Fox and Telemundo. Approximately 5 billion people engaged with or watched the 2026 FIFA World Cup across linear TV, digital streaming, and social platforms.
- Andres Cantor….I cannot imagine there is a better play-by-play soccer announcer. Cantor keeps the game in focus, tells the viewers who has the ball, and the inflection in his voice is bar none. His calls when a team scores are fantastic. He works for Telemundo, who had the Spanish language rights to broadcast the World Cup in the United States.
- The halftime show was the first at a World Cup match. Obviously my opinion, but it would have been preferred to have Shakira perform the entire time.
- The late game heroics employed by Argentina was amazing. Even in the Final, playing a man down, they had their chances to tie the game and force it into penalty kicks.
- The Final match proved that the best team won the World Cup. Spain showed us how the combination of tactics, technique, fitness, and bench depth helped suffocate a strong opponent in Argentina.
- The United States, Mexico, and Canada were great hosts. The stadiums and Fan Festivals were great, and more importantly the fans around the world had a great takeaway of their experiences in the U.S.
- Peptides seem to be the ‘flavor of the month.’ Social media, the media, podcast hosts, and the healthcare community have heightened the awareness of peptide compounds purporting to support everything from muscle growth and skin health to improved energy, cognitive function, and sleep quality.
From the Harvard Medical School publication Harvard Health Publishing: Peptides are short chains of amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) that can have a range of effects on the body. For example, peptides help orchestrate hormone activity, immune defense, tissue repair and growth, control of inflammation, and digestion. You can think of them as smaller and simpler versions of proteins, which are made of longer chains of amino acids. The body can make countless types of peptides by stringing together different amino acids. Each combination of amino acids produces unique — and very specific — functions.
Though our bodies can produce some peptides, lab-created peptides have infiltrated daily health practices by compounding them into injectables, similar to GLP-1 medicines. While FDA-approved peptide medications have value, the compounding of peptides (as seen on Facebook and Instagram) have not been vetted by the FDA or healthcare experts, nor have they gone through clinical trials.
At first glance, it does seem like the peptide craze will slowly get to the clinical trials and follow the massive commercialization we have seen with GLP-1 products. We can only hope that our friends and families are consulting their physicians before injecting themselves with unregulated peptides. Have any of you had success (or issues) with peptide use?
Here is a short video with a good summary of peptides, their use, the benefits, and the downsides:
Last week’s Question of the Week asked about a theme song as you walk into a room. As expected, here are a few interesting answers:
- My entrance song would have to be The Bitch is Back by Elton John.
- Desperado by The Eagles.
- Wherever I May Roam by Metallica.
- Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes by Jimmy Buffett.
- My entrance song would have to be Stevie’s “Isn’t She Wonderful”. Makes me think of when my daughters were born!
- You’ve Got a Friend in Me by Randy Newman.
- Either Freedom Rider by Traffic, or Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum.
- Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard.
This week’s Question of the Week: What movie makes you laugh even after watching it several times?
- Pure Talent. Born and raised in The Netherlands, this opera singer was part of the National Opera Studio in London during the 2012/13 season. Maria Fiselier has performed in many opera productions but may be best known for this 2018 version of Eminem’s Lose Yourself. Fiselier’s voice and ability to take this song to a different level is Pure Talent.