Not Just About Wealth. Mid-April Takes. To Mars We Go. Mexican Radio.
- Quote of the Week: When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost. – The Reverend Billy Graham
Over the last fifteen years, the amount of information and emphasis on wealth-building has increased ten-fold. Investment firm advertising has hit an all-time high, private equity is in the news numerous times a day, and banking has become so fluid you rarely need to go into a branch. Reverend Billy Graham’s quote is spot on. Has the yearn for wealth overshadowed a focus on health? Has it also helped denigrate one’s character – deciding that wealth supersedes all?
I do not have to give examples of The Reverend’s concern. If you consume any level of news, there are daily stories that provide clear examples of people of less character who placed wealth over their well-being. You can have all the money in the world, but if you do not have your health or high character, what do you REALLY have?
Things I Think for mid-April 2026
- I am not saying I am not looking forward to this summer’s World Cup. What I am saying is playing matches in three countries, forty-eight teams (12 groups of four teams), and 104 matches may be too much. I am not discounting the efforts of all one-hundred-four teams’ effort to qualify for the World Cup tournament, but in reality, I have no interest in watching countries like Jordan, Uzbekistan, Curacao, and Iraq. One team I will keep my eye on is Morocco, who have proven that their physicality and tactics can put their opponents on their heels. Morocco is grouped with Brazil, Haiti, and Scotland and with the top two teams in each of the twelve groups moving on to the knockout stages, we should see Morocco advance. The USA has a decent shot at advancing to the knockout stages as well, being grouped with Paraguay, Australia, and Türkiye.
- Today is day forty-four of the U.S. – Iran war. Is there an end in sight?
- The world of broadcast radio continues to spiral. Not surprisingly, Edison Research reports that “Podcasts have officially overtaken AM/FM talk radio as the more popular medium for spoken-word audio in the United States.“
- Even if you have little interest in golf, today’s final round of The Masters is much-watch TV.
- With streaming services now being ubiquitous, I find it interesting that the U.S. Justice Department has launched a probe into the National Football League (NFL) engaging in anticompetitive practices, specifically the league’s increasing shift to airing more games on subscription television services. Last season, NFL games aired on ten different services, including Prime Video, YouTube, Peacock, and Netflix.
- After various people suggested I watch Peaky Blinders, I cannot stop watching this six-season show on Netflix. Warning: crude, rude, and violent but the storyline and acting is bar none. Cillian Murphy’s performance in this British historical crime drama is fantastic. Factoid about Cillian Murphy’s performance: he does not smoke, but his character called for him to consistently light one up. He went through 3,000 herbal cigarettes per season, for six seasons.
- Has anyone been to Anegada? It is the second-largest island in the British Virgin Islands and has fewer than five-hundred permanent residents. It is near Tortola (if that helps).
- Regarding travel, many people who visit Orlando ask me what area to stay in. Even if you are attending a conference at the convention center or a hotel near the convention center, do not stay in that area. That is NOT the real Orlando. Orlando is made up of small towns that over the years have grown together to form a large metro area. Try staying in the Lake Eola/downtown area, Winter Park, College Park, or anywhere not near the convention center area. Here is your restaurant list: Reel Fish, Christner’s, Maxine’s on Shine, Kress, The Castle, Linda’s la Cantina, Santiago’s Bodega, The Pinery, The Whiskey, Eddie V’s, Totoya Sushi Lounge, Tori Tori, and any of the Vietnamese restaurants in the Mills 50 area. Orlando’s entrepreneurial spirit with restaurants is noteworthy.
- Friday night’s Artemis II splash down culminated the second of four Artemis missions. The Artemis program will eventually return humans to the Moon for long-term exploration by delivering modules for the Gateway lunar station. There have been many questions about the overall program, and maybe some confusion with the four Artemis missions. To clear that up, here is a brief explanation:
- Artemis I – this 2022 mission was uncrewed with objectives of evaluating the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule ‘s safety and performance.
- Artemis II – this mission, after delays, was a ten-day lunar flyby carrying four astronauts to test life-support systems, navigation, and radiation shielding. The Orion capsule splashed down Friday night, April 10, off the coast near San Diego, California.
- Artemis III – targeted for 2027, the third of four missions will be manned and focus on testing docking capabilities that involve the Orion capsule spacecraft and commercial lunar landers preparing for future landings including Artemis IV.
- Artemis IV – this will be a crewed lunar landing mission and deliver the first major module of the Gateway lunar station into lunar orbit. The four astronauts will land near the Moon’s South Pole.
The Artemis program has three major objectives and goals. 1) to establish a permanent human presence on and around the Moon; 2) to land in areas previously unexplored by Apollo to search for water and other resources; 3) to develop technologies including life support, navigation, and habitation modules to prepare for future human missions spending time on Mars.
Here is a short video if you did not see Friday night’s splashdown:
Question of the Week. Thank you for your responses regarding a job or career you had planned on pursuing and if it came to fruition.
- No set idea on a career path however my career path found me and my love for management in the containership logistics area was formed.
- Airline pilot, obviously NO.
- My love for animals has always existed and dreamed of being an animal trainer or zookeeper.
- A sports broadcaster…specifically play-by-play. I did get to do two years of live television sports broadcasting…but as my brother always told me: ‘I had a face for radio.’
- Astronaut. The Artemis II mission reminded me of how much I wanted to be an astronaut. Somehow, I became a financial advisor.
Pure Talent. This band fit into the genre of ‘New Wave’ but also offered up a bit of strange and cinematic edge to the music scene. The year is 1982 and the band Wall of Voodoo broke through the top ten charts with their hit song, “Mexican Radio.” This song stood apart from anything else on the radio at the time. At many levels, Wall of Voodoo was Pure Talent.