Short Takes.

Let’s Not Ever Forget. Is It Currency?  Saturday Night Fever.  Grow Up.  Mars Anyone?  The China Syndrome.

Friday was the anniversary of a day the U.S. will never forget. Seventy-seven years ago, at 7:55 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, a Japanese force of 183 airplanes attacked U.S. forces on Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands.  The worst of wake up calls for the United States Armed Forces and specifically the United States Navy.  That’s why we should fly the Flag on these days of remembrance….to never forget.

I have little to no knowledge of crypto-currencies.  I understand the general concept of trading monetary value without the intermediary bank or financial institution.  What I do not understand is the governance of Bitcoin or other crypto-currencies.  While the Federal Reserve’s decisions may not be spot on all the time, the thought of no governance with a currency is a bit unnerving.  Last week, Bitcoin value dropped 80% year over year.  Call me crazy….but that IS CRAZY.

Over 73,000 fans witnessed #AtlantaUnited in last night’s Major League Soccer Championship game. The Club and it’s plan and strategy started way longer than two years ago after a tremendous amount of groundwork and strategy that has been executed extremely well by the Atlanta United staff.  United brought home the silverware last night beating a very good Portland team 2-0.  The City of Atlanta should be incredibly grateful to Mr. Blank and his staff.  The strategy to birth a Major League Soccer team was well conceived and came with a bit of risk. The Club, through it’s grassroots marketing tactics, the capital outlay to build a world class stadium, the fantastic training grounds, and the right combination of player pool, has united the City of Atlanta like never before.  The Five Stripes will lose their manager, their top player, and a few more players who will not be resigned or lost to the expansion draft, but you have to feel confident that Mr. Blank’s directive of sustainability will keep this Club, and it’s supporters, engaged year after year for a very long time.

Kevin Hart.  Outstanding stand-up comedian.  A star of many movies.  Funny without even trying.  And a bigoted homophobic who needs to grow up quickly.  Uncalled for, sad, as your tweets must be representative of your character.  

The mission’s cost is over $1B.  It took six months to get there, traveling 100 million miles.  The ultimate goal of this exploration of Mars is to determine and measure similarities to Earth, specifically to figure out how both planets evolved.  Though this mission was funded by NASA, the privatization of space exploration is here and here to stay.  With my creative team, I am charged with providing NASA and Kennedy Space Center with a look at what a “SpacePort” will look like in the future.  The long term thinking from Kennedy Space Center and NASA is that NASA, in the not too distant future, will become the ‘new’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  NASA will govern the private space flight companies (SpaceX, Blue Origin, etc) and how manned flights into space are scheduled and monitored.  This thinking may seem a bit futuristic but it is moving fast with a watchful eye from NASA.  This post goes to many creative and smart people.  I could use some forward thinking on this project from all of you.

We have heard it all before.  “I took all my money and it’s stashed under my bed”.  “I go to Las Vegas monthly and win every time”. Well, after last  week’s Dow Jones debacle those statements are no longer ridiculous.  The Chinese, the trade agreements and posturing.  No es bueno.

Adios and Have a Funday Sunday!!  And Thank You Atlanta United.