Category: Uncategorized

Watch Out For Jackson State Football. Who Knew About A Horse’s Ass? Privacy Is In Order. Don’t Go Politics With Ukraine. You Have Nothing Without Trust.

It is a bit difficult to have followed the University of Georgia football program for a very long time and be a big fan of a former Florida State University player. The reality is that this super athlete went on to play for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League and the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. He had defining moments as both a college and professional athlete, with speed and skills limited to only a few. Though his athletic prowess is well-documented, what Deion Sanders is doing right now with the Jackson State University football program is amazing. He was on 60 Minutes last Sunday night and his dedication, passion, and commitment is far-reaching from what he did on the football field and baseball diamond. Take thirteen minutes out of your day and listen to Deion Sanders.

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• I read this short piece last week and found it interesting. Why is the distance between railroad tracks associated with the Roman Empire? Thank you to the person who posted this on LinkedIn.

The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That’s an exceedingly odd number.
Why was that gauge used?
Well, because that’s the way they built them in England, and English engineers designed the first US railroads. Why did the English build them like that?
Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the wagon tramways, and that’s the gauge they used. So, why did ‘they’ use that gauge then?
Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used for building wagons, which used that same wheel spacing. Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?
Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break more often on some of the old, long distance roads in England . You see, that’s the spacing of the wheel ruts. So who built those old rutted roads?
Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (including England ) for their legions. Those roads have been used ever since.
And what about the ruts in the roads?
Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match or run the risk of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome , they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. Bureaucracies live forever.
So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process and wonder ‘What horse’s ass came up with this?’, you may be exactly right. Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses. (Two horses’ asses.)
Now, the twist to the story:
When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah . The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses’ behinds.
So, a major Space Shuttle design feature, of what is arguably the world’s most advanced transportation system, was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse’s ass. And you thought being a horse’s ass wasn’t important? Ancient horse’s asses control almost everything.

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• Why are Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady’s marital issues top of mind with the media and pundits? These are two people who have children – why does this matter to anyone outside of their family and close friends? With every newsworthy story being generated by the economy, Ukraine, China, Iran, Russia, and the midterms, can we just give these two people a break and leave them to sort out their go-forward – with privacy? Please?

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• My friends and associates often ask me, even after numerous explanations, why I abstain from politics. There are a few reasons, led by my feelings that discussing (usually arguing about) politics is energy-draining. I feel stronger about my conviction every day, especially after reading this statement from the House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy. To be very clear, I do not care what side of the political fence McCarthy stands on. For all that matters, he could be from Mars, but this statement reinforces my disdain for anything that revolves around politics: “I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine. They just won’t do it…Ukraine is important, but at the same time it can’t be the only thing they do and it can’t be a blank check.” McCarthy brings the political divide in the U.S. to the forefront with this asinine statement. An ally and sovereign nation is invaded by Russia and McCarthy takes the low road to politics? Disgusting.

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• Eat of the Week: Freshly baked corn muffins with honey. Yes, my grandmother taught me how to bake when she would come over for the weekend. It was more than her famous chocolate chip cookies. It was different types of bread and cakes. Baking from scratch is cathartic.

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• I have had the privilege of contracting with and listening to many motivational speakers. Motivational speaking is no different than any other type of speaking to a live audience…you have no more than fifteen seconds to initially engage the audience with your demeanor, opening sentence, and appearance. If this fifteen second ‘wake up’ does not happen, my experience tells me the speaker loses the audience. He is a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel and F-16 combat veteran, having flown sixty-five combat missions. He has taken his Air Force experience and persona to find The Wingman Foundation and speak across the world. All of us can use a bit of Lt. Colonel Waldman’s advice and inspiration. This video is three minutes about his experience with trust, and it is presented very well. For more of Lt. Colonel Waldman’s videos, and to contact him: http://www.yourwingman.com

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

Things I Think.

• In a post over a month ago, I ranted about Alex Jones and his money-grabbing mantra of spewing conspiracy theories and false news to garner a greater listening audience. I don’t know how the payments work but a jury decided Jones and his enterprise should pay $965 million to families and an FBI agent affected by his repeated on-air claims that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax. Well done, women and men of that jury.
• Not that too many of my readers care, but last week’s ask of the NFL and their Thursday night football debacles did resonate with many others. I suggested that the NFL make Thursday nights a bit more compelling with more competitive teams. I may have been thinking through this incorrectly as it may not be the teams competing, but the short rest period coming off a Sunday game. Here are some straight up stats, etc. from the last two Thursday night games: Two straight weeks the Thursday Night Football (TNF) winner has scored all of twelve points. In more than 102 minutes of TNF action over the last two weeks: Forty-one drives that resulted in 20 punts, 8 field goals, and 5 turnovers. The level of play in the past two TNF matchups are even more eye-opening after watching yesterday’s incredible college games with Tennessee’s 52-49 win over Alabama, Utah beating USC 43-42, and TCU’s overtime win against Oklahoma State. Amazon paid the NFL $1 billion to have exclusive streaming rights to the Thursday night games. I would think that Amazon is rethinking this deal?
• There were hints last week of Vladimir Putin backing down a bit and possibly interested in coming to the negotiating table? Do not count on that, and besides, what is there to negotiate? Negotiate the fact that he has invaded a sovereign country and claimed territories that are not part of Russia? There is no negotiation here and there is only one way that this war will stop. Putin must go.
• Is the U.S. government’s posture with China and their production of advanced semiconductors too severe? Sanctions by the administration prevent U.S businesses from sending processors required to run the algorithms…and the executive order requires that any U.S. citizen or green card holder working in China cannot work in the Chinese semiconductor industry or risk losing their American citizenship. I totally understand putting the brakes on China, but I hope the U.S. Department of Commerce knows what they are doing.
• The headline of the week: “Bear 747 Overcomes Scandal to Win Fat Bear Week.” Yes, the Katmai National Park & Reserve has an annual Fat Bear Week contest. The park is somewhere in the hinterland of Alaska and the contest has been going on for many years. The other forty-nine states are concerned with inflation, international conflicts, oil prices, and hurricane damage, and the people living on this Alaskan peninsula are judging the best of the 2,000 bears that inhabit their national park. On a serious note: This was Bear 747‘s second title in three years and the 1,400-pound behemoth is now called “Bear Force One”.

• The Netflix series ‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’ – is anyone really watching this? The answer is amazingly yes, as it is one of Netflix’s most popular shows. I do not get it at all, and does this series’ popularity tell us something about the state of our society? At a minimum, does this series do disservice to the victim’s families? For you youngsters who have no clue about Jeffrey Dahmer, he was an American serial killer and sex offender. Between the years of 1978 and 1991, Dahmer murdered seventeen males, with rape, dismemberment, necrophilia, and cannibalism part of his sick method. The story behind Dahmer is enough to make anyone sick to their stomach, and this is one of Netflix’s top watches. Disturbing.
• Go you Orlando City. They play at Montreal tonight in the first round of the Major League Soccer playoffs. Montreal is a very good team and even better playing at home. Let’s see if Orlando manager Óscar Pareja can devise a way for Orlando to advance.
• We are thirty-nine days to Thanksgiving and 70 days from Christmas. Amazing how this year has just flown by.
• Pickleball, for all the right reasons, has become the rage of participation sport. A smaller court than tennis, a paddle and a different kind of ball allows for longer rallies and fun tactics. It is fast and comes along with the camaraderie generated by tennis and other racquet (paddle) sports. I have played only twice but I am starting to think I might enjoy this more than tennis.

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

The Situation And Players Are Much Different This Time.

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• Vladimir Putin is no different than a bad dog. Now backed into a corner due to his military’s poor performance in Ukraine, Putin, now seventy-years-old, has voiced his saber-rattling threat of using all forces necessary to claim Ukrainian territories he has decided are now part of Russia. Most international authorities take his threat to include tactical nuclear weapons, the first threat of this kind since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The use of a tactical nuke would have prolonged effects not only in areas of Ukraine, but the fallout would most likely cross into NATO countries, provoking the NATO alliance to take action. Putin wants to leave his mark with his Russian rulership, and reclaiming territories of Ukraine is a legacy he desires. He must save face as his dictatorship will hopefully come to an end very soon, so how far will he go with the continued threat and use of tactical nuclear weapons? In my opinion, a bad dog in a corner never backs down, and neither will Putin.

The last serious threat with using nuclear weapons was in 1962. After the failed U.S. attempt to overthrow the Castro regime in Cuba with the Bay of Pigs invasion, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev reached a secret agreement with Cuban premier Fidel Castro to place Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba to deter any future invasion attempt. United States’ reconnaissance planes, on never-ending missions over Cuba, discovered that the Soviets were secretly building missile sites that would be capable of launching nuclear weapons – a mere ninety miles from Florida and capable of striking targets along the U.S. eastern seaboard. The thirteen days of both political and military posturing is well documented, with Hollywood providing interesting insight into that tense situation with the well-polished year 2000 flick “Thirteen Days.”

To try and compare the situations sixty years ago with Cuba and the Soviet Union, and currently with Russia, I have listed the options the United States had with the Soviet Union’s Nikita Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I follow these options with a comparative take on what the United States and NATO can and should do with Vladimir Putin and Russia:

• Do nothing: American vulnerability to Soviet missiles was not new. Newly placed missiles in Cuba made little strategic difference in the military balance of power. This is not an option in this day and age. Putin’s threat of using tactical nuclear weapons is not a “do nothing” scenario. The outcome of Russia deploying nuclear weapons in a sovereign nation has both physical and financial ramifications for Europe and the rest of the world.
• Diplomacy: Use diplomatic pressure to get the Soviet Union to remove the missiles. I am certain that the U.S. and their NATO allies are using every back-channel available to open up communication with Putin’s minions. The issue is that Putin is both a narcissist and megalomaniac, and he has no patience or tolerance to participate in diplomacy. As stated earlier, Putin is in the ‘save face’ mode.
• Warning: Send a message to Castro to warn him of the grave danger he, and Cuba, were facing. The United States has sent Putin warnings through diplomatic and military channels. Does Putin care about our warnings? The answer is no.
• Blockade: Use the U.S. Navy to block any missiles from arriving in Cuba. Using U.S. land, sea, or air forces to stop the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons would be an act of war. Could the U.S. provide Ukraine with enough naval assets to take out Russian warships and land-based sites? The answer is yes.
• Air strike: Use the U.S. Air Force to attack all known Cuban missile sites. Is the Ukrainian air force capable of knocking out all land and sea-based nuclear sites? Whether they can or cannot may not matter…they may be forced to do so.
• Invasion: Launch a full force invasion of Cuba and overthrow Castro. This is not an option for obvious reasons. What is an option is for the Russian people, the oligarchs, and the rogue Russian naysayers to take Putin out of office, either literally or politically.

Putin’s threats, along with President Biden’s strange comments last week, are cause for concern. Putin’s bad dog demeanor means that he will never back down and succumb to political or military pressure or diplomacy. The U.S. is taking Putin’s threats seriously, similar to sixty years ago with Khrushchev and Cuba. One bit of evidence of how serious the U.S. is taking the threat: the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services just spent $290 million on a drug to treat radiation sickness. By the way, here is some really spot on advice from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): The drug needs to be used within 24 hours of exposure and recommends that people stay indoors for at least 24 hours after a nuclear blast. Thanks FEMA, I do think I will stay indoors for at least 24 hours once I see a massive mushroom cloud. Are you kidding me?

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A few short takes for October 9, 2022:

• I hope all of you contributed to the Hurricane Ian / Red Cross fund. We all know how devastated southwest Florida is, and there are many other areas of the state that are still under some level of water.
• I would call Gisele Bündchen, but I now realize I am too high maintenance for her.
• A special birthday for our friend L.M. – well done!
• To the NFL: if you are going to continue to include Thursday night games with your schedule, please ensure the teams are competitive. Last Thursday’s game was a debacle. To Amazon Prime Video: I know the NFL is a monster to negotiate with, but when you pay them $1 billion a year to stream Thursday night games, you should ensure the schedule includes the best of the best.
• The Major League Baseball playoffs and the fall season. Good fun.
• Major League Soccer’s decision-day and the playoffs. Even better fun.
• The concussion rules and protocol in the NFL must be dealt with…quickly.
• The World Cup. The tournament, held every four years, is usually played during the summer, but due to Qatar hosting this time around, the tournament starts in forty-two days, on November 20th. I will be cheering on the U.S.A., Canada, and Mexico, and hopefully they can get out of their tough groups and advance to the round of sixteen.
• Speaking of the World Cup, there have been many issues with labor in the construction of Qatar’s stadiums. I have discussed this in previous posts and hopefully FIFA, the worldwide association governing the sport, will step in and keep other host countries in check. With all that said, Qatar has built some very interesting stadiums. Al Bayt Stadium is unique with its giant tent structure covering the whole stadium that is named after Bayt al sha’ar – tents historically used by nomadic peoples in Qatar and the Gulf region.

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

• After the disaster and devastation that took place last week, my will to be my cynical and sarcastic self does not play out. The destruction that took place on the barrier islands of southwest Florida, through Orlando, the east coast cities of Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna Beach, and coastal South Carolina is now estimated at $50 billion, 2.5 times greater than Hurricane Andrew, which devastated south Florida thirty years ago. I have no words to describe the combination of wind and water damage – and the lives that are forever ruined, or lost. I have asked before (the fires in California and the tornado destruction in Mississippi and Kentucky) and I am going to ask again. At the very minimum, get on your device and give to the American Red Cross. Hurricane Ian – go rest in hell. https://www.redcross.org/donate/hurricane-ian-donations.html/

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• For many people in Florida, there will be no sunshine even when the sun is out. Here is a tribute to all the people whose lives have been altered by Hurricane Ian.

Bill Withers. We all know this talented artist from his massive hit “Ain’t No Sunshine.” The often used trivia question from this song: How many times he repetitively sang the two words ‘I know’? Below is a salute to everyone in Florida from the great Bill Withers. By the way, the answer to the trivia question: Twenty-six “I knows” in a row.

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

Go Ahead, Make My Day. Parents Not Parenting. The GOAT. Winds Of Change.

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• I am not going to be ignorant to the fact that poachers kill animals for profit. I assume this disgusting practice has been going on for hundreds of years. With that said, we have reached a new low. Earlier this month, three orphaned chimpanzees were kidnapped from the J.A.C.K. Primate Rehabilitation Centre in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The kidnappers have now demanded a six-figure ransom, sending a photo of one of the chimps with her hands tied above her head. It is time to draw the line. It is time for a no-tolerance stance, and time to throw due process out the window with people who abuse animals. Look at Hussein below – what kind of sick individuals would do harm to this animal? The answer: people who no longer belong in our basic society. In the early 1900s, over one million chimpanzees roamed the forests of western and central Africa. Today, that number has sadly dwindled to approximately 150,000.

After wondering what authorities could do to try and rescue the three chimps, I came across this video of Kintasha, a massive silverback gorilla weighing in at 550 pounds. These massive silverbacks are up to nine times more powerful than average humans and can run at a speed of twenty-five mph. So, there is your answer. Hire two silverbacks for way less than the ransom fee, drive them to where the chimpanzees are being held, and just let them loose. The crisis averted and CSI in the Democratic Republic of Congo would need to run DNA tests as the kidnappers are all of a sudden unrecognizable. Yea, I know, too much coffee this morning.

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I will never forget being in a Marlowe’s Tavern, a family-oriented restaurant in the suburbia of East Cobb, in Marietta, Georgia. Behind me sat a family of four – typical for that time of the evening. The two kids, around the ages of 5-7, were up and racing around the table while the parents glared not at them, but at what must have been very interesting content on their phones. Screaming and yelling, the manager of the restaurant finally had to come over and tell the parents to get their kids under control, and most importantly get them seated. I know this parent behavior is systemic, but my sensitivity to these types of occurrences stemmed from my father, who had a zero-tolerance policy when our family was at a restaurant (which was not often). The no-tolerance carried over to me with my daughter. There were many times I picked her up and took her outside at restaurants – whether it was a Waffle House or nice Italian restaurant, as being seen, not heard, continued from my upbringing. Sebastian Maniscalco never said it better.

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• Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have more Grand Slam titles, but no one has had the full attributes of Roger Federer. Federer played his last match on Friday after an incredible twenty-four-year career where he won twenty Grand Slams and 103 ATP tournament titles. He professionalism, demeanor, and competitive nature will never be replicated, as he earned the respect of his rivals, especially Rafael Nadal. Their competitiveness on the court was unmatched, very different than John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, as the Federer -Nadal relationship developed into an off-court friendship which is relatively rare among tennis stars. As stoic and focused as Federer was on the court, the video below shows us the real Federer – giddy, fun-loving, and just enjoying the banter with his friend Rafael Nadal. Roger Federer – thanks for the memories.

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• They are from the 403rd Air Force Reserve and sometimes fly just five-hundred feet above the water. They collect vital data for the National Hurricane Center, providing the information needed for the forecasting of potentially dangerous storm systems. They are the NOAA’s hurricane hunters, which is a job not for the faint of heart. Here is a quote from one of the hurricane hunters on a mission two-years ago: “That was when the hurricane was intensifying from a Category 5 to a Category 5+. I felt like a feather in the wind that day,” Dunion recalled, adding, “I think we had about three to four G forces. That’s something that someone who’s getting launched into space would feel.” The next time you feel the need to bitch about your job responsibilities, watch this video…it should cork your whine.

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• Short and simple: Long live the king! Rest in peace, Her Majesty!

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

Following In The Footsteps Of Queen Elizabeth II. Who’s Laughing Now? The Carlos Alcaraz. “Bring Everyone”

• She came to the throne in 1952 and gave seventy years of her life as the UK’s longest serving monarch. Fifteen UK prime ministers served her, starting with Winston Churchill. Last week, in her last official ceremony, she welcomed new prime minister Elizabeth Truss. Queen Elizabeth II died last Thursday at the age of ninety-six. I did not know much about the Queen, but I did read some interesting things about the British monarch:

• Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, Margaret, never went to school. They were tutored at home.
• She was married to Philip for seventy-three years before his death in April of 2021. Philip was born into the royal families of Greece and Denmark but renounced his original titles when he married Elizabeth.
• Over 80% of UK residents were not alive when Elizabeth ascended the throne.
• During her seventy-year reign, she met fourteen different U.S. presidents.
• Her stamina was amazing. In 2015, at the age of eighty-nine, Queen Elizabeth II carried out 341 royal engagements, more than Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate combined during that year. She made more than 260 official overseas trips.
• Queen Elizabeth’s famous quote after becoming the U.K.’s monarch: “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

She was only twenty-one when delivering this speech, not knowing in a few short years, upon the death of her father, King George VI, she would become the Queen. At twenty-one, I was lucky enough to put ten words together, nonetheless address the world:

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• Offspring. No, not the band of the 1990’s, but the offspring of what I consider the greatest protagonist of all time. My friends gave me a good bit of raucous grief when I posted my Godzilla-King Kong comparison, lamenting my deep admiration for Godzilla. Well, who is laughing now, and more importantly where is this nasty creature’s mother? Yep, stay in your lane and deal with it.

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• I have played (sort of) and watched a good bit of tennis over the years. I enjoy playing for all the good reasons including Vitamin D, a bit of exercise, and some good camaraderie. I usually do not enjoy watching tennis unless it is the U.S. Open or Wimbledon. I have admired the great professionals of the past, especially Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, fierce competitors who fired up the crowd and left it all on the court. Sure, there are today’s awesome players including Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic, but a new dawn has set on the sport, and his name is Carlos Alcaraz. He reminds me of a right-handed Rafael Nadal, while maintaining the demeanor of Federer and the fitness level of Djokovic. There is another discernible difference with Alcaraz, and it is called speed. Yes, Nadal in his earlier years was very fast, as was Michael Chang and Gael Monfils, but Alcaraz is gifted with that other speed that will set him up for success in the years to come. He is only nineteen and enters this afternoon’s men’s final at the U.S. Open as my favorite. This is one of many examples of his pure speed on the court:

By the way, the women’s U.S. Open champion, Iga Świątek, is very much a carbon copy of Alcaraz, with amazing court coverage and tremendous court speed. She has now played in three major finals and won all three. Amazing.

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• This is my headline of the week, and can we just make Kim Jong Un go away? “North Korea will ‘automatically’ launch nukes if Kim killed” Seriously, how do the leaders of the world put up with this strange, unbalanced individual?

• Congratulations to Orlando City for capturing the U.S. Open Cup. Exploria Stadium near downtown Orlando was rocking last Wednesday night.

• I do not have to go into any extensive detail. Twenty-one years ago today.

• It is day two hundred of the Russian invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine. Yes, everyone, day two hundred. Is it time for everyone’s Delta Force of Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Liam Neeson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, Sean Connery, Jason Statham, and Jean Reno to pay a visit to the Kremlin? Yes, I listed Jean Reno, because there was no nastier badass than Reno in his role as Leon in the movie The Professional.

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Adios, pay it forward, be safe, and Have a Funday Sunday!

A Few Short Takes To Start Off The Month.

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It is Labor Day weekend. The U.S. Open and college football are in play, and worldwide, the other football is also in full swing. Here are a few things I think I think as we move into the Fall, Halloween, and the year-end holiday season:

• I have belabored the point of electric cars and what seems to be a suspect power grid infrastructure. I have also discussed California’s directive regarding the year 2035 and their stance on no further sales of gasoline-powered cars. Then we read that on Friday of last week the state of California has requested that all electric car owners slow their rate of charging their cars – because the state’s power grid is failing due to extreme heat. Make your own assessment of this situation.

• It is okay to shower in Jackson, Mississippi. It is not okay to open your mouth while showering. The city’s water treatment facility is not working and has been out of order for five days. This is 2022, right?

• Orlando City meets Sacramento this Wednesday night in the U.S. Open final at Orlando’s Exploria Stadium. This game has been sold out for weeks, and it is Orlando City’s first opportunity to earn silverware. Get it done Orlando City!

• I felt really bad for the 300,000 people who made their way to the space coast for last Monday’s launch of Artemis I. I did find it strange that after all the testing and performance protocols, issues with a hydrogen bleed line did not rear its ugly head until forty minutes before launch. The news yesterday was not any better as NASA once again scrubbed the launch, with the projected launch window to be determined at a later date.

• I do not know the details of climate change. What I do know is that many bodies of water in the United States, including Nevada’s Lake Mead, are drying up at a very fast rate. At the same time one third of Pakistan is under water due to massive flooding. Regarding the climate, make it a point to visit Death Valley, California in the next few days to enjoy temperatures reaching 125°F. Seriously, what the hell is going on? (No pun intended.)

• Serena Williams. An amazing professional tennis career. It will be interesting how she enjoys being a mom and manages her business enterprises, including her venture capital firm.

• The Napoleon complex at its finest. Vladimir Putin did not bother attending yesterday’s funeral of Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union’s last leader. A snub or just Putin’s narcissistic mind and manner?

• How does everyone feel about the updated Covid-19 boosters?

• Headline of the week: “More than 40% of Americans think civil war is likely within a decade.”

• Labor Day is tomorrow. Celebrated on the first Monday of September, Labor Day is designated to pay tribute to the achievements of American workers. As always, a special tribute to all healthcare workers and first responders. Please everyone, fly your flag.

• This time of year can be great with the summer behind us and all the good things the Fall brings. Speaking of good, this band earned more than fifty Gold and Platinum albums and sold over 100 million albums worldwide, earning them a solid spot as one of best selling music artists of all-time. I have seen Earth, Wind, & Fire twice, and it is amazing that they can play for two hours and you know every song they play.

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

California Takes A Stance – Imagine That? Artemis I Goes Big. Student Loans Paid For By Whom? Negative Vibes From The Fed Chairman. A Feel Good Moment.

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• In discussing what looks to be a major pivot from many automobile manufacturers to electric and hybrid, we now turn our attention to the always interesting state of California. In addressing their growing concern for the climate and carbon pollution, California announced last week that they will require automakers to only sell new electric and hybrid cars in the state by 2035. This rule follows on the footsteps of the European Union (EU), who is floating a proposal to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars and is awaiting their member countries’ input and actions. This may seem insignificant with thirteen years to go until 2035, but my take is that the ripple effects of California’s stance on creating a zero-emissions transportation future will follow suit in many other states. Comments and concerns?

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• I have given my take on the onslaught of electric vehicles, supporting some of my concerns with perspective from power grid executives in Texas and Arizona. On top of all the power supply and recharging issues I have mentioned, here comes a eye-opening tidbit from Ford Motor Company: On August 9, the group from Dearborn, Michigan, announced an increase in the price of the F-150 Lightning, the electric version of the iconic F-150 pickup. These price increases were between $6,000 and $8,500 depending on the model. The base price of the F-150 Lightning model year 2023 thus climbed between $47,000 and $97,000, compared to approximately $40,000 to $92,000 for model year 2022 vehicles. These prices obviously exclude taxes, delivery, and other charges.

I have no words other than to say that this electric vehicle planning, implementation, and execution strategy may be a bit of course.

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• Word of the week: With respect to the lawyers who read this blog: I have learned to love the word “redacted.” Could this be the most overused word ever? 🙂

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• Launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center is a must-see on Monday morning. At 8:33am tomorrow the Space Launch System (SLS) Artemis I is scheduled to make its debut launch on a 42-day mission. The space program, energized by private space exploration entities in not-so friendly competition, has never been more popular and top-of-mind. So mainstream in fact, that Brevard County officials are expecting up to 300,000 people to swarm their county to witness this launch. This is on a Monday morning, with most children in Florida back in school. I have discussed the significance of this launch in previous posts, but as a reminder, tomorrow morning’s launch and 42 days in space is a precursor to a manned mission sometime in 2024. That mission, Artemis II, will include four astronauts, followed by Artemis III in 2025, which will put two astronauts back on the moon. As I can watch the launch from my condo building near downtown Orlando, the “breakfast at Artemis” invitation is open. I thought my watch party idea was significant until I read this from Space.com: “As of last Wednesday night, there were over 4,000 registered private watch parties — including events slated to take place in family homes, classrooms, schools and universities. And there were nearly 2,500 registered public watch parties slated to kick off at museums, NASA Visitor Centers, planetariums, and more, according to Patricia Moore, an Artemis outreach strategist.” So much for my novel watch party idea.

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• Music, most of the time, is a common denominator. Everyone favors music they enjoy listening to, as well as watching talent perform on stages at various venues around the world. Talent is in the eyes and ears of the beholder, and Chris Stapleton, to me, is the epitome of the word talent.

• $24 billion a year. That is the amount of money the White House estimates the cost of funding, supporting, and facilitating the Student Loan Cancellation Program. I will not comment on whether I support the program or not, but here are a few other cost estimates and some interesting ramifications from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business: We estimate that President Biden’s proposed student loan debt cancellation alone will cost between $469 billion to $519 billion over the 10-year budget window, depending on whether existing and new students are included. About 75% of the benefit falls to households making $88,000 or less per year. Under strict “static” assumptions about student borrowing behavior and using take-up rates within existing income-based repayment programs, the proposed new income-driven repayment (IDR) program will cost an additional $70 billion, increasing total package costs to $605 billion. However, depending on future details of the actual IDR program and concomitant behavioral changes, the IDR program could add another $450 billion or more, thereby raising total plan costs to over $1 trillion. Of course this decision by the Administration has politicians chiming in with the usual bipartisan rhetoric. Here is another example of why I ‘quit’ politics a long time ago. It does NOT matter who stated this, and what their political alignment leans towards. It only matters that it was said – uncalled for, unfounded, and disgusting: “…Like, holy cow! 20 grand. You know, maybe you weren’t going to vote in November, and suddenly you just got 20 grand. And you know, if you can get off the bong for a minute and head down to the voting station,” he continued. “It could drive up turnout particularly among young people.”

Due to my ethos of no politics, no religion, I will not provide my thoughts on the loan forgiveness program. I will leave those thoughts and comments to you.

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• A big thank you to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell for his positive and stirring comments on inflation and the economy in general. Without REALLY explaining why official interest rates are so low if inflation is “dangerously” high, his rant on Friday resulted in the S&P falling 3.4 percent and the DJIA ending 1,000+ points down. Well done, Chairman Powell.

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• A match between Argentine First Division clubs can always be rough, rugged, and dramatic. Our feel-good moment of the week shows this young man comforting Newell’s Old Boys goalkeeper Ezequiel Unsain, who gave up a stoppage time winning goal to rival club Boca Juniors. We ALL need more of this – all day, every day.

Adios, pay it forward, be safe, and have a Funday Sunday.

Positive Thinking, Positive Vibes. Bearing It. Thoughts. All Along The Watchtower.

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It has been an interesting eight months of 2022. I call it socio-economic fatigue. There are some real worldwide issues affecting most of us around the world, many of them escalated by media outlets yearning for greater ratings.

• The Russians continued assault on the sovereign nation of Ukraine.
• A U.S. political system that yields so much energy-draining nonsense.
• A nuclear power plant in Ukraine on the verge of a meltdown.
• Cartels turning Mexican tourist areas into war zones.
• The continued barrage of terrorism from jihadists in Mogadishu.
• Droughts and flooding, and the continued discussion of climate change.
• Both pilots on a commercial airliner falling asleep and missing their landing.
• Supply chain and inflation woes.
• 22 million people at the risk of starvation in the Horn of Africa.
• The continued battle with viruses and volatile organic compounds.

Those are ten top of mind problems and issues that continue to bombard us day in, and day out. I say enough of the negative vibes and let us look to our bear friends for a bit of fun and levity.

• One of my favorites of all time, for many reasons, is this ‘traffic-control’ bear working the roads of Yosemite National Park. One bear versus seven road workers standing around wasting our tax dollars. I will take the bear.

• Regarding bears, here is some very good creative from the brand John West and their canned red salmon product. Really well done.

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What Am I Thinking?

• College football is right around the corner, followed by the NFL, NHL, and NBA. The MLS and MLB playoffs start in five weeks.
• Florida is thinking about using veterans to fill open teaching positions around the state. Clever idea, or not so much?
• Has anyone ever stayed at Mar-a-Lago? I have not, but when in the Palm Beach area of Florida check out The Eau Resort, The Breakers, the Brazilian Court Hotel, and the Four Seasons.
• Is it just the summer vibe, or does there seem to be a rapid rise with shark attacks from Maine to Florida?
• Is anyone else wondering about the go-forward with cryptocurrencies?
• The headline of the week: “Venice mayor calls out ‘imbeciles’ surfing Italian city’s historic canals.”

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I am often reminded of the great music talent you can find at a music venue or on a side street. Yes, I am both jealous and envious of this gentleman, who does a great job with All Along the Watchtower, which was written by Bob Dylan and famously performed by Jimi Hendrix.

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

Empathy And Sportsmanship. RIP Olivia Newton-John. Top-of- Mind Thinking. Talent Training At WLS/Chicago.

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• We can all use a moment of levity and good news. What could have turned into a serious medical issue, or a usual brawl between two baseball teams, turned into the moment of the week. This young man shows tremendous empathy and class to the pitcher who had just hit him with a pitch. I know the dynamics of pitchers beaning batters at the professional level are different, but maybe Major League Baseball should make this video a mandatory watch for their players? I know, I am dreaming…

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• I had a crush on her, forever. She could sing, act, and was no doubt gorgeous. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included five number-one hits and other top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100. She made John Travolta much better with her performance in Grease, which became the highest-grossing musical film ever at the time and whose soundtrack remains one of the world’s best-selling albums of all time. Olivia Newton-John passed away last week after a lengthy battle with cancer. Her passing provided me with a flood of good memories.

We then learn about Olivia Newton-John’s lineage, and her famous grandfather and father. Her grandfather was the physicist and mathematician Max Born, who fled Nazi Germany to continue his work with quantum mechanics (anyone want to chime in on quantum mechanics?). In 1954 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics but was better recognized for his efforts to help people escape Nazi Germany. Her father, Brinley Newton-John, also has his own place in history. He was a British intelligence officer who was involved with the capture of Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess. Olivia Newton-John was a magical performer with a storied family history.

Who could forget this music video which was produced in the early days of the aerobic craze? RIP Olivia Newton-John.

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Short Takes For Mid-August

• Just asking: How long is the world going to stand by and watch Putin’s Russian troops demolish the country of Ukraine?
• Regarding the question above, the Ukraine power plant in Zaporizhzhya is on the brink of a nuclear disaster in Europe. Hello NATO?
• Does anyone what to chime in with answers on inflation, with low unemployment and better supply chain dynamics, as well as the markets up 10% in the last three weeks. Anyone?
• We are two weeks away from college football. Nothing else needs to be said. 🙂
• Headline of the week from the Tampa Bay Times: Why is The Villages known as ‘the STD capital of America?’ (FYI: The Villages is a massive, planned development in Central Florida saturated with over-55 communities.)
• A telling tale of what?: College enrollment is down four million in the last decade.
• A CEO crying while announcing layoffs and firings at HyperSocial, a Columbus, Ohio online marketing firm. He did this on LinkedIn. I have no words.
• With all due respect, size matters. The foldable phone is coming fast, first from Samsung and Motorola. The tag line: “A large screen that folds in half so you can put it in your pocket.” That is some well thought out product marketing.

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• I spend a good bit of time ‘on set’ at television networks and their affiliates around the country. Television news, especially local affiliates, are very competitive with everything they do. Many affiliates differentiate themselves from their competition with the technology used on their sets – to present and show off their content and storytelling. As technology has evolved with lower price points, news affiliates are starting to use large LED walls, seamless monitor arrays, and touchscreens, similar to what we might see used on networks including France 24, The Weather Channel, BBC, CNN, and Fox News. WLS TV is an ABC affiliate in the large television market of Chicago. Is Greg, the weather person, messing with us or did his news director and chief engineer not advise him about their new touch-screen technology? Embarrassingly funny.

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