Author: justmytake.net

Weather Underground. Dark at 5:45pm – No. Engine Parts Are Overrated. Kudos To Atlanta United. Baseball Apathy. Dia De Los Muertos. A Purple Heart.

• Orlando, Florida temps today, obviously significant if you spend time in this area: High 78. Low 65. Heaven.

• ‘Dancing in the Dark” – not only a classic Bruce Springsteen song but the reality of daylight savings time going away until March 8th of next year. A few of my readers know how I despise the end of daylight savings time as it leads to four months of darkness. Below is a contrarian view.

• Delta Airlines thought they avoided the ongoing Boeing 737 Max issue as they did not participate with ordering that problematic aircraft. After further review, Delta probably does have aircraft issues as well, as they decided to purchase a fleet of Airbus A220 aircraft. A decision that seemed like a good one until two weeks ago, when Swiss Air was forced to ground all of its 29 Airbus A220 aircraft. It seems that one of these planes had to perform an emergency landing on its way to Geneva. Why? Pieces of the engine started to fall off somewhere over France. Yes, I said pieces of the engine. “Delta is ready when you are.”

• Atlanta United – after winning the championship in 2018 you came back this season without your best player, a new manager, a ridiculous schedule and too many injuries. With all that, you still won two Cups and got to the league semifinal. Well done. Come back stronger next year. #ATLUTD

• The Washington Nationals, to the dismay of many of their fans, refused to give their star outfielder Bryce Harper a long-term mega deal, and Harper eventually was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies. The Nationals, after a rough start to the season, went on to win the World Series…..a clear message to all general managers.

• I like Mexico. Especially Mexico City as I have been there a few times for business. I like Club America, the ‘Dallas Cowboys’ of Mexico’s first division. I like most of the Mexican people I have met – they are warm, friendly and have always invited me to join them in their almost daily ritual of celebrating something. Speaking of celebrating, most Mexicans have an annual two-day festival with the central theme of “Dia De Los Muertos” – or “Day of the Dead” – and though this celebration always falls around Halloween, these two have nothing to do with each other. Here is how Mexicans describe their Dia De Los Muertos: Many of us see death as a sad event but those who celebrate Day of the Dead view death as a welcomed part of life. That is why you will see brightly colored skeletons and skulls everywhere during the holiday. They often are seen smiling, as a friendly nod to death, even mocking death. This view of death began way back during the one month Aztec festival where they celebrated the dead and paid homage to the lady of death, Mictlancíhuatl, who protected their departed loved ones and helped them in the afterlife. I am not religious but do have a lot of faith, so if this is a positive path forward to recognize and never forget the dead – so be it.

• By definition, the Purple Heart is a medal awarded for wounds received in action against an enemy or as a direct result of an act of the enemy. There is speculation, due to an asinine military regulation, that a hero of last week’s capture and subsequent elimination of the world’s most feared terrorist, who was injured in this incredibly dangerous mission, will not receive the Purple Heart. Here is an excerpt from the military press conference held right after the successful mission, and the comments of Marine Corps General Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command: “At sprint speed, Conan chased ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to the end of a tunnel under the compound. Conan is a four-year veteran of the SOCOM program, and has participated in 50 combat missions. She was injured by exposed live electrical cables in the tunnel after Baghdadi detonated his suicide vest. I will also note that she has already returned to active duty.” Let’s get this straight. Conan is part of Delta Force. She has completed 50 missions. She forced the world’s most feared terrorist to blow himself up. She was wounded as a direct result of an act of the enemy. Read the definition of the Purple Heart. Does this soldier not deserve this prestigious award?

Adios, pay if forward, and have a Funday Sunday!

It Is All Happening Here.

• A huge sports week in the City of Atlanta led by Atlanta United’s playoff game on Wednesday night. After all the ups and downs of Atlanta United’s season, (injuries, Miguel Almiron leaving for Newcastle and former manager Tata Martino leaving for Mexico’s national team) new manager Frank de Boer has provided a runway to get the team to the semifinals. Toronto is Wednesday night’s opponent but at home with huge and loud fan support, Atlanta should reach the November 10th championship game. If you are an Atlanta supporter, you need to be cheering on Seattle in the other semifinal game. Should Seattle beat Los Angeles Football Club on Tuesday night, Atlanta will host the championship game in two weeks at Mercedes Benz stadium. Speaking of Atlanta sports, you might want to catch the Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young, who with a bit of injury-free luck, might become the NBA’s next superstar. In the Hawks’ first two games of the season, Young has been fantastic with a combination of scoring, assists and defense. Another Steph Curry in the making? Maybe so. #atlutd #AtlantaHawks

• For a few reasons I do not watch televised baseball. Take me to a game six times a season – it is America’s pastime (in many ways) so I enjoy the ballpark atmosphere, a cold beer, and the infamous hot dog that for some reason always tastes better watching a ‘swing and a miss’. The World Series is in motion with the Nationals and the Astros battling in a best-of-seven series. I have written about the length of game issues Major League Baseball executives address every year. The average time of a major league baseball game this past regular season was three hours, six minutes, with many games lasting close to four hours. Take for example Friday night’s World Series game – after two hours the game was still in the fourth inning and the game ended at the 4:03 mark. I don’t know what the answer is but Major League Baseball better quickly figure this out.

• He was a 48-year-old Sunni Muslim and he joined the Islamic State many years ago. As the leader of ISIS he has been responsible for thousands of deaths. He had to know that his time was coming as I assume he had been told that U.S. Special Forces had been deployed to capture him. Even for the worst of terrorists, it must be a very uncomfortable feeling knowing that the U.S. Army’s Delta Force had been given orders to find and capture. As a comparison, Delta Force is a liaison to the Navy’s Seal Team Six, who eliminated Osama Bin Laden many years ago. Last night, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S. military raid – reports say that as Delta Force arrived at his location, al-Baghdadi used a suicide vest to blow himself up. Due process at it’s best. That statement may have gone against my ethos of no religion, no politics. In this case, I don’t care.

• While most of the United States and other basketball loving countries focus on managing their brackets for the NCAA basketball tournament, many people in an area of Alaska fill out a different type of bracket in October. This bracket has nothing to do with basketball or any sport, but predicts which bear, during Fat Bear Week, will be the fattest bear of all before the winter hibernation season begins. The population of bears in this area of southwest Alaska is close to 2,000, and the managing directors of Fat Bear Week streamline (per se’) the contestants down to twelve – allowing thousands of people to post their brackets on Facebook. Don’t I wish that things were so simple that I could focus on my Fat Bear Week bracket every October?

• It does not matter whether you enjoy watching the sport. Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Minnesota, and L.A. have proof that some Major League Soccer matches, especially those of rivalries, have now become a relevant event in the landscape of North American sports. Thursday night’s playoff game between the L.A. Galaxy and Los Angeles Football Club (this rivalry game is called El Trafico for all the obvious reasons), brought out the best of 90+ minutes of fandom. With all due respect to the tremendous Atlanta United supporters, the “3252” of LAFC are insane. This club is all about L.A. glitz, with the celebrity list reminding many of an NBA playoff game, with Magic Johnson and Will Ferrell leading the way. I have bias towards the sport, but even watching this game on an even keel, this two-hour event was spectacular. If things go as planned in this week’s semifinals, Atlanta United will visit this crazy venue two weeks from today in the Major League Soccer championship game.

• To the soccer pundits who spit out opinions on younger players, watch young American Christian Pulisic’s hat trick yesterday. Their take on Pulisic moving from German club Dortmund to Chelsea of the English Premier League questioned his motivation and ability to not only be effective, but to receive any playing time. Go write about someone else.

Adios, pay if forward, have a Funday Sunday and a great Halloween week.

Random Thoughts. Make It Happen USA. ATL UTD / ATL Hawks.

• Immerse 2019 – a must see if you are in the Orlando area this week. Awesome interactive displays, exhibits, live music and great food.

• What are you charged with in the court of law if you are the lead technical pilot on Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, and you do not report or lie about malfunctions with the automated flight system, and your lack of transparency leads to two crashes and 346 deaths….? Fill in the blank.

• Congratulations to Amy and Michael. A beautiful wedding, a great party but most importantly newlyweds who ‘have the glue’. All the best.

• Since coming out of the nasty downturn in the economy ten years ago, all Sunbelt cities are exploding with growth – namely Atlanta. This city is on fire spurred by the efforts to attract corporate and regional headquarters along with many technology companies moving in town to take advantage of the millennial workforce. The Buckhead district of Atlanta now looks more like a downtown or midtown area of most U.S. cities. In a word, amazing.

• I am 99% confident that the Centers for Disease Control have very smart health care scientists working hard every day to figure out how to combat Ebola. It looks like small steps have been achieved with antibodies to combat this deadly virus but thousands continue to be infected and perish on a monthly basis. Would it take an outbreak of Ebola in North America for additional private and public funding?

• This is from long ago, and though a bit ‘off-color’ sometimes you just have to watch and listen to this bar scene:

• Last Tuesday night, the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) looked really bad in a 2-0 loss to Canada. The match was not a ‘friendly’, but one played in a so-called tournament made up of countries in the North American, Caribbean, and Central American regions (also known as CONCACAF). This is the same region we start to play against next Spring to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, which takes place in of all places Qatar. For the last few days, the soccer pundits, via over-the-air and social media channels, have lambasted the USMNT’s manager, the U.S. Soccer Federation, and everything else connected to our national team. Most of the criticism is warranted and I was very disturbed at what I watched last Tuesday night. Not because we lost to Canada, but the lack of effort and perseverance our national team is known for worldwide. Using the baseline that we failed to qualify for last summer’s World Cup, I don’t care who our manager is and I don’t care what players make up our player pool. This statement will bother the soccer purists but I also don’t care about what style or system the USA plays. What I care about is qualifying for Qatar 2022. CONCACAF qualifying, based on the fact that the USA failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, is obviously no longer a slam dunk. Above and beyond regional powerhouse Mexico, now managed by former Atlanta United manager Tata Martino…Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras and now Canada have matched or in some cases exceeded the USA’s physicality. From a technical standpoint, in most cases, the USA’s player pool does not match up with these regional rivals. From a tactical standpoint, their teams and level of managers and coaching have evolved since the last qualification cycle. This qualifying cycle will be more difficult than the run up to the 2018 World Cup-and failing to qualify cannot happen again. To the U.S. Soccer Federation: qualifying for the World Cup starts soon. There are not many times the U.S. manager has with the national team as the open windows for the player’s clubs to release them for national team duty is limited. If you are going to make a change with the manager, do it now – do not wait six months and then make a change. If you are not going to make a change, provide all the possible support and funding necessary to our manager to get us through qualification and to Qatar in 2022. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over with the same and unacceptable result. Just qualify, with or without Gregg Berhalter as the manager. 😊

https://www.concacaf.com/en/world-cup-qualifying-men/article/concacaf-announces-format-for-the-2022-fifa-world-cup-confederation-qualifiers

• Speaking of sports, Atlanta United ended Atlanta’s two-week sports curse (can you say the Braves, the Dawgs and the Falcons?) beating New England, 1-0, in a first round playoff game…and the Atlanta Hawks open up their 2019-2020 campaign this Saturday night.

Adios, pay if forward, and have a Funday Sunday!!

Pulling The Plug For All The Right Reasons? Negative Takes and Positive Vibes. Bang For Their Buck.

• 600,000 customers in northern California and 187,000 customers in southern California. Last week, their respective utility companies, due to heavy wind conditions, shut off their power to help mitigate fires. The customer base unfortunately includes the less fortunate and disabled, so the lengthy loss of power severely hampered their quality of life in many ways. While I am sensitive to the damage done by wind-swept fires, I am not sure that the indiscriminate shut down of power to these areas was carried out in a diligent manner. Losing power for a few hours is a total hassle, but losing power for four to five days, for many people, is possibly too drastic of a measure to control fires. I am not Yogi Bear, but only you can prevent forest fires. And now for the rest of the real story and the possible motive behind one utility’s decision to cut power: “As hundreds of thousands of Northern Californians sat in the dark, many tried to understand why their utility decided to take such drastic action. Pacific Gas and Electric’s power shut-off safety measure has proved unusual in its scope, as California utilities typically take a more surgical approach to blackouts. The utility has been found responsible for about two dozen wildfires and filed for bankruptcy protection in January. PG&E has said it could face up to $30 billion in liabilities for fires started by its equipment in recent years. In response, PG&E described an act taken out of an abundance of caution in the interest of safety”.

Is it me, or does something seem a bit out of order with PG&E and their so-called preventive measures? #PG&E

• Bothersome Takes

• The Atlanta Braves – how can you let THAT happen?
• The Dawgs – see above.
• The Atlanta Falcons – later today, don’t let THAT happen again.
• Turkey & Syria – can’t we just get along?
• October’s stock market craziness.
• Orlando City – search, thoroughly interview, rank and rate, and make an offer to a manager who will get stuck in with the Club. The carousel of managers needs to end.
• Snakehead fish – how does this land-crawling predator of a fish, native to the Yangtze River basin located in China, end up in Gwinnett County, Georgia?
• Daylight Savings Time going away on November 3rd.
• Atlanta United – I hope you did not watch the Braves’ deciding playoff game debacle. You guys need to start Saturday’s playoff game firing on all cylinders. Allowing the first goal is not an option.

• Positive Vibes

• Amy and Michael’s wedding celebration, this Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia.
• Atlanta United earning a home playoff game.
• The weather in Orlando slowly changing for the better.
• North Turn Racing – once the actual north turn of the Daytona Speedway, this beach area is now one of the best walking /running beaches in Florida. The dive bar that sits on the property now – providing an awesome view of the ocean and good live music, is a must go-to if you find yourself near Ponce Inlet. #northturnracing
• This weekend’s Winter Park arts festival. Some incredible people-watching, live music, great weather, and yes, a decent array of art.
• Chattanooga FC, after ten years as a top amateur club, moving into the ranks of professional soccer. #NISA

• I am not passing judgement on matrimony, the sanctity of marriage, or the newlyweds’ wishes. I also don’t know where East Earl, Pennsylvania is, but please take a look at this wedding cake. Yes, this is a wedding cake. Do I need say more?

Adios, pay it forward, and have a Funday Sunday!

P.R. The Dow. Transportation Security Administration. The Great Things About The Fall.

Dateline Paso Robles, California. I really like Puerto Rico. Beautiful beaches, nice people and an easy flight from the United States. I have been there a few times and will go back soon. The P.R. I am referring to is not Puerto Rico, but Paso Robles. A small, quaint town in California’s central coast, surrounded by many ranches, rolling hills, and most importantly close to three hundred wineries. My friends moved here many years ago from the bustling area of Silicon Valley, designed and built their beautiful home, and enjoy a fantastic lifestyle. I strongly suggest that you visit the central coast, anchored by the city of San Luis Obispo, and take in the great wineries, beaches, and restaurants and bars. It is not Los Angeles and certainly not San Francisco, but a gem of an area that provides a good bit of sanity away from the throes of congestion, traffic, and smog.

In a previous post I mentioned the stock market and the month of October. I am still confused while the start of the third quarter correlates with the volatile fluctuations with the Dow Jones – and the start of this October was no different. Can someone please shed some light on why this happens every October?

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA). I have commented in previous posts why I feel like this entity should be privatized – not only for financial reasons but to provide more of a control and command to the screening of passengers before they board a flight. I realize that most of the personnel of the TSA do a fine job with their roles and responsibilities – and that millions of passengers boarding aircraft can feel reasonable assured that the screening process prevents bad people from doing very bad things. With all that said, a woman boarded an Orlando to Atlanta flight yesterday without going through the screening process and without a boarding pass. It took police forty-five minutes to remove the woman from her seat (seriously?) and then all passengers had to be removed from the plane and be re-screened. Then the plane had to be swept by police and their K-9’s. This incident is truly alarming – and TSA and Homeland Security need to work through every detail of how this could happen. #TSA #Delta Once you get through security and make your way to your gate, you then get to endure the sometimes incredulous boarding process:

The Fall: college and pro football is well underway. The Premier League and other European leagues are in full motion. The Braves and Atlanta United in the playoffs. The Hawks are getting ready for their season and a run into the NBA playoffs. It is a birthday week for a special friend. A very fun time of year!! Lets Go Braves and Atlanta United!! #EPL #ATLUTD #AtlantaBraves

Adios, pay it forward and have a Funday Sunday!

Rules. Let Them Deal With It On Their Own. 45th Season Opener!

Just My Take = no religion and no politics. With that said, and due to the top of mind subject of impeachment, I wanted to understand the rules by which a President of the United States can be impeached. Again, I will not stray into the political arena but after further review here you go:

• Here is the law of the land on the hows and whys the President can be impeached: “The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” The process starts with the House of Representatives having the power to impeach the president. A simple majority is necessary for an article of impeachment to be approved (each article lays out a charge against the president). Then the process moves to the Senate, where a trial will be held, with the chief justice of the Supreme Court presiding. Finally, and crucially, it takes a two-thirds vote from the Senate to actually convict a president on any count. Conviction on any count would then remove the president from office and put the vice president in power.
• Note that two-thirds of the Senate — 67 votes — is a very high threshold almost never achieved on any matter that’s remotely partisan. The framers of our Constitution did not make it easy for Congress to remove a democratically elected president from power.
• I don’t know how long this process takes. To me, my focus has been and always will be our military, the economy, and healthcare. This process will make all media outlets and their advertisers very happy but to me it is a major distraction, energy draining, and just another reason to spend my free time staying away from listening to political pundits. Here is a nicely done piece that explains the process way better than I just did:

In previous posts I have mentioned the disturbing trends with parents and their lack of guidance with their children. The words ‘helicoptoring’ and ‘bulldozing’ come to mind – and all of us have witnessed or experienced this new wave of parents hovering over their children and making issues go away – instead of having their children figure out how to deal with the obstacle or problem. I raised a daughter and of course made many mistakes with her and her upbringing, though I am proud to say that I did not ‘helicopter’ her. I definitely made her deal with issues head on so that later in life she would have the wherewithal to handle both personal and professional hurdles. She still remembers me telling her in no uncertain terms, “I am your father, not your friend”. The issue of parenting came to light again as last night, at a relatively upscale eatery, I witnessed a family of five sitting at a round table in the middle of the restaurant. The two younger children were using the round table to play tag; the older child was on his iPad, and the parents sat staring at their phones. Yes, I did put them ‘on the clock’ and by my watch it was over five minutes before the mom told the younger ones to sit down. The older child and parents did not look up from their devices until the food was served some ten minutes later. Can you say problematic? A family of five having dinner at a restaurant with barely any conversation or interaction. This type of parenting can only lead to, in one word, dysfunction, which of course is just my take. This Aussie journalist explains what this behavior may lead to with our children as they get a bit older: (note: I have no opinion on Al Gore, global warming or immigration-but I obviously have an opinion on young adults and their ability to adapt after being ‘helicoptered’ before and during adolescence).

It does not seem possible that Saturday Night Live kicked off its 45th Season last night with the SNL premiere hosted by Woody Harrelson. With a few people over after dinner, college football watching was suddenly dismantled as I was outvoted by the majority who wanted to watch the SNL opening segment. Though I do stay away from politics, I must say that the opening, that included Alec Baldwin, Liev Schrieber , and Larry David, was incredibly well done and very funny. Speaking of Alec Baldwin, remind me to tell you about my encounter with him at the LaGuardia airport many years ago, just a week after his infamous rant to his young daughter. He, in my opinion, would be the poster child for the dysfunctional parents described in the take above. Where the heck did forty-five years go? #SNL

I am sure that this post will get some response and rebuttal, which is all good as it is Just My Take. Please use the comments section of the blog to respond.

Adios, pay it forward, and have a Funday Sunday!!

The Fall. You Can’t Fix Stupid. Matty Ice and Sanu. Is One Enough?

Every year about this time I start thinking about the North Georgia mountains, specifically the Blue Ridge area. Just a short drive from Atlanta, Chattanooga, and western North Carolina, the Blue Ridge area has it all. A great mountain range, a gorgeous lake, various hiking trails, and a quaint and fun ‘downtown’ area. I have had the opportunity to visit many different areas of the world, but it is awesome that just over two hours from Atlanta is an area that is in my top ten. There are lots of accommodations in Blue Ridge, from in-town bed and breakfasts, tons of VRBO’s, and beautiful cabins for two or for many. If you are interested in a cabin, I would strongly recommend Above the Rest, a development on a mountain range just ten minutes driving from the town of Blue Ridge. Make sure you check out the Boat Dock Bar & Grill at the Blue Ridge lake marina – good views, live music and fun and interesting people.

When you go, please say hello to Jeanette and David, the management team at Above the Rest.. #BlueRidgeGa #abovetherestcabins

https://abovetherestcabins.com/about-us

I am a dog lover. A well-behaved dog is great to be with and can truly be a great companion. The Orlando International Airport recently introduced a program for dogs to greet inbound passengers, simply as a way to welcome people to the Orlando area. A great idea and very well-received as some of the dogs used for this program are active and ex-police dogs. Police dogs are truly amazing with their amazing ability to track and take down bad people – in a very quick and efficient way. Below is a look at ‘Sicaria’, a Belgian Malinois that weighs 70 lbs. and can run at a speed up to 33 mph. There is the great saying “you can’t fix stupid” which would definitely align with this moron who thought it would be a good idea to run from Sicaria. Notice the pursuit speed when she is let go from her leash. Within seconds Sicaria has taken down the moron who decides to try and fight back. Not a good idea. Sicaria, you rule!! (note: move the red bar to the 8:30 mark to watch Sicaria do her thing).

The Falcons won last Sunday night. Good. Matt Ryan has thrown for five touchdowns in two games. Good. Ryan has thrown five interceptions in those two games. Bad. Mohamed Sanu, the 8th year pro from Rutgers, is one of the Falcons’ wide receivers. An excellent receiver who could also be the best blocking wide receiver in the game. Good. A wide receiver who also has a career QB rating of 158, having gone 7 for 8 for 223 yards and four touchdowns. He is the Falcons’ 3rd quarterback – Matt Schaub is Matt Ryan’s backup. Along with Sanu’s uncanny accuracy, Sports Illustrated has reported that Sanu’s arm strength provides him the ability to throw the ball farther than Matt Ryan (as well as Tom Brady and Russell Wilson). With the Falcons’ pathetic running game, do you think it’s time for head coach Dan Quinn to put in a play scheme that utilizes Sanu’s arm strength, accuracy and running ability? I certainly do. #atlantafalcons #mohamedsanu

October is right around the corner. What happens with the Dow Jones in this month of the systemic rise and fall of equities? An always fun trip to the central coast of California including Paso Robles, Templeton, Palo Alto and San Luis Obispo. On to Atlanta for Amy’s wedding which will be fun in so many ways. The Braves and Atlanta United’s playoff run. Some cooler evenings, the spectacle of Halloween, and the unfortunate end to daylight savings time. October is always a fun month.

The Good: Atlanta United beat San Jose yesterday at Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz stadium. The Good: Josef Martinez. The Crazy: Josef has scored more than half of the team’s goals this year. The really bad: the cause and effect of Josef going down to injury in yesterday’s game. What happens with United’s playoff run with the possibility of Josef not being in the lineup? Who steps in to United’s starting eleven and where do the goals come from? Does manager Frank de Boer install a ‘bunker’ tactic and look for the counter attack employing the very fast Tito Villalba to replace Josef? The video below is one example of what Atlanta United will be missing without Josef: #josefmartinez #atlutd

Adios, pay it forward, and have a Funday Sunday!

Is The NFL Product Wavering?

Over two years ago, one of my posts addressed televised football, specifically the National Football League. I mentioned that I have been and still am an NFL fan, though to me college football makes Saturdays way more fun than the pro game on Sundays. I have been an Atlanta Falcons fan for decades though I do not regularly watch their 1pm Sunday games – watching football on TV is not really on the agenda on a nice Sunday afternoon.

Last night the Falcons took the field against Philadelphia on Sunday Night Football so I decided to watch hoping the Falcons could even up their record after two games. As I did over two years ago I decided that I would take a look at the 1st quarter metrics regarding actual playing time. I guess watching a game in person or at a bar/restaurant is a better experience, but watching at home and dealing with the non-playing time is becoming a difficult task. Here are some takes from last night’s first quarter:

• the first quarter last 41 minutes
• there were 6 commercial breaks or promotional spots
• there were 37 plays
• the actual play time of the 37 plays, from the snap of the ball to the end of play whistle: two minutes, fifty-seven seconds.

The 41 minutes of the 1st quarter, from 8:22pm to 9:03pm, had less than three minutes of actual playing time with 38 minutes of non-play (the huddle), penalties, regular or injury time outs, and commercial/promotional spots.

Again, I am a football fan, and when watching in person or at a sports bar, it really does not matter how much “non-play” time there is….as we are busy ranting and raving about the game as well as the obvious drinking and eating. There are a lot of smart people with the NFL office and I am sure they are looking at the length of game scenarios to figure out how to keep games from lasting close to 3.5 hours…or in other words present a better overall product. For me, I don’t watch too much football on Sundays so it is what it is…but it does seem that the disproportionate time between the time of the game and the amount of actual playing time is sideways. Here is a take on the NFL product – from two years ago. Do you agree?

I won’t talk about the positive soccer experience and the two-hour game, including halftime. No, I won’t.

Adios, pay it forward, and have a great week!

My Take On What I Learned From The Hurricane Dorian Experience.

“I told the truth about the Miami life. It’s a nice place to visit, but you don’t want to live here. I lived through two major riots and three Category 5 hurricanes, I don’t know if a lot of people could say that”. Trick Daddy I don’t know who ‘Trick Daddy’ is and nor do I care. His statement is correct – not many people can say what he said about Miami but the kids of southwest Miami I grew up with all can support his comments. Regarding living in Miami, he is wrong. Miami is a great area to live – way different than most cities in North America.

This past week, most of Florida was alarmed at the size and strength of Hurricane Dorian as it approached and then subsequently stalled over the Bahamas. To monitor the storm’s path all of us painfully watched The Weather Channel and their 24/7 live reporting from the Bahamas and different beaches along Florida’s east coast. Even Jim Cantore, The Weather Channel’s infamous anchor and field reporter, put in numerous hours working with his camera crew on providing live dramatic shots. Speaking of drama, we all remember this weather reporter’s ‘fake’ weather broadcast barely being able to stand the high winds (while two guys easily walk behind him):

Regarding The Weather Channel, here are some of the weather terms I picked up over the last few days trying to determine when and for how long I needed to close my office early last week:

EYE: The center core of a hurricane. Or, one of two orifices located on either side of your nose.

GALE WARNING: A warning of 1-minute sustained winds in the range of 34-47 knots (39-54 mph). Or, the arrival of Bill Gale, a good friend of many – a day before he shows up in Atlanta!

HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM: Is sometimes called an anticyclone, is an area where the atmospheric pressure is greater than that of the surrounding area. Or, the opposite of a low pressure system – and there is nothing about low pressure that can be good for any scenario.

HIGH WIND WARNING: A high wind warning is defined as 1-minute average surface winds of 35 knots or greater (40 mph or greater) lasting for 1 hour or longer. Or, the ill effect an hour after leaving Tijuana Joe’s in Marietta, Georgia.

HURRICANE SEASON: The portion of the year having a relatively high incidence of hurricanes. Or, the cheapest time to take a Carnival Cruise with thousands of your favorite friends who think Las Vegas Boulevard is Rodeo Drive.

HURRICANE WATCH: Issued when hurricane conditions are possible or expected in a given area with the next 36 hours. Or, the total freak out time for most of Florida’s favorite folks fighting over bread and bottled water.

STORM SURGE: An abnormal rise in sea level accompanying a hurricane or other intense storm, and whose height is the difference between the observed level of the sea surface and the level that would have occurred in the absence of the cyclone. Storm surge is usually estimated by subtracting the normal or astronomic high tide from the observed storm tide. Yes, Weather Channel, we all use our calculators to do the subtraction from the astronomic high tide. Seriously?

SUBTROPICAL DEPRESSION: A subtropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained surface wind speed is 33 knots or less. Or, the feeling you get when The Weather Channel goes to commercial break every six minutes. Yes, every six minutes.

TROPICAL DEPRESSION: Obviously the exact opposite of a Subtropical Depression. My friend Samir can explain.

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The loss of life and damage from a hurricane is no laughing matter. The people of the Bahamas and out islands incurred devastating damage to their property – damage that may take a very long time and a lot of money to repair. Please consider contributing to the Bahamas Red Cross:

Donations

https://bahamasredcross.org/volunteer/signup/

Thoughts and prayers to all that are affected by Hurricane Dorian. Adios, and pay it forward.

Psychosis With A Pending Storm.

I will never make light of possible storm damage or loss of life due to hurricanes. I was raised in Miami and I remember with Hurricane Donna, we slept in the hallway away from any windows or sliding glass doors. I remember securing trash cans and anything loose outside our home due to the magnitude of the winds. I also remember clogging up the drains in the neighborhood so that the rainwater would rise to a level allowing my friends and I to skim board down 92nd Avenue (until my dad figured out what we had done…which subsequently resulted in an ass-kicking).

What I don’t understand is the cause and effect with people’s mentality. Unlike a tornado, hurricane’s provide plenty of runway to prepare and get out of town… or prepare, stay put, and garner all types of provisions. So why, with many days to prepare, do people wait until until the last few days to grocery shop or purchase materials at their favorite home improvement store? Then, in a panic, they rush to the store only to find out that bottled water, pop tarts and plywood are no longer available. In contrast, this person must have arrived early on in preparation for Hurricane Dorian and obviously has taken advantage of the ORANGE Gatorade special:

The panic gets so out of hand that one Publix in South Florida had to post a security guard in front of the “orders to go” area as people were taking cases of water already ordered and purchased by customers.

Another bizarre example are the people who wait to fuel up their cars. Does it not occur to people that lines at gas stations could be an issue? Hurricane Dorian is no laughing matter but the anxiety level caused by this pending storm has lead to very strange behavior by many people. Take for example one of Florida’s finest, who decided to dress up for the occasion:

I live on the top floor of a 17-story building. Yes, I am a bit concerned for all the right reasons but for the most part I am keeping my wits and have bought provisions. The rooftop hurricane party is set for Sunday night -even with Dorian changing to a northern course it may be the last night the power is intact for a while. Why not take advantage of the Labor Day Monday holiday?

On a serious note, Godspeed to any and all in the path of Dorian.

Be safe, pay it forward, and have a Funday Sunday!