JUST MY TAKE

What is Your Take? ‘U Ayen’t Rite.’ Any Answers? Darth Vader. Lisa & Barry.

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• Quote of the Week: In the state of Texas, an 18-year-old can purchase two AR-15s and 1,600 rounds of ammo, but a woman carrying a non-viable fetus which may KILL her cannot get an abortion. – Jo from New Jersey

There is no way that I am going to breach my ethos of ‘no politics, no religion’ -but this quote made me think. I have no take on gun control, other than to point out that the second Amendment was ratified 233 years ago. I have no take on abortion other than abortion to me is not a simple go, no-go decision.

I realize that religion and politics surround the topics of gun control and abortion. I have provided my take on school shootings, and the systemic terror that has gripped various schools across the United States. School resource officers are now a must, and the reality is the point of entry of every school must unfortunately be governed with bag checks and other levels of screening. Gun control and banning ‘weapons of war’ like the AR-15 assault rifle are not the entire answer. The Sandy Hook perpetrator used a Glock handgun.

The abortion issue is fluid and fragmented. Limitless abortion certainly can be problematic in certain situations. So can a law like Florida’s proposed six-week abortion ban. Do women have rights to manage abortion? Do government entities supersede personal abortion decisions with state laws?

I am looking for your take on these issues. You can post to the Comments section or send me an email. Your comments may be mentioned in my next post but not your name. Much appreciated.

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• “U Ayen’t Rite.” I reserve this description for the special people I meet, or the people I get to experience. Last Thursday night, in front of a sold-out house at KIA Center in Orlando, I watched and listened to Sebastian Maniscalco. He is a master storyteller, providing examples of his upbringing, school years, family, and many other topics. He is not Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Jamie Foxx, or Rodney Dangerfield. He has his own style, delivery, manner of speak, and facial expressions. I am sure most of you know Sebastian Maniscalco, but if not, here is a glimpse of why I refer to him as “You Ayen’t Rite.”

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A Few Comments and Questions for mid-September

• Thoughts and prayers to the people of the Louisiana and Mississippi coastal areas. An unfortunate target and destination of devastating storms.
• The new Starbucks CEO has stated that he needs the worldwide brand to get back to basics. I am not a fan of Starbucks coffee, but I do wish the CEO good luck as Starbucks says there are more than 170,000 possible drink combinations, including the doppio espresso macchiato with extra milk and two Splendas. Getting back to basics could be a monumental task.
• Is anyone interested in privatizing postal delivery and service in the United States? Other than medication, is the private sector okay with mail delivery on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (or a combination of three other days)? I ask as the U.S. Postal Service reported a $6.5 billion net loss for the 2023 fiscal year.
• He overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter. He won two Emmy’s, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts, and was honored at the Kennedy Center annual award ceremony. We lost James Earl Jones last week – someone we will all remember for his incredible voice overs as Mufasa in the “The Lion King” and Darth Vader in “Star Wars.” There was and has been no better station break voice over than his famous “This is CNN.” RIP James Earl Jones.

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• I do not need to explain why I picked these two artists for this week’s take on Pure Talent. If you cannot admire the magic of Lisa Stanfield and Barry White…well, I just can’t help you. These two are just Pure Talent.

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

Getting Old Is Not All Bad. No, and No. When is Fall Arriving? Have You Put in a Ticket? Dave Chappelle Says What We Think. Amazing Athletes.

Quote of the Week: “Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath, but the view is much better!” – Ingrid Bergman

• I agree that as you age, your view and perspective on many things gets better. Driven by life experiences, the way we perceive things and react to situations are sometimes tamed from yesteryear. I am enjoying ‘getting old’ and interacting with my family and friends as they endure the good, the bad, and the ugly. Perspective comes to us in all different shapes and sizes, including times that you visit your kid’s home. 🙂

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• Regarding aging, there seems to some correlation with age and the number of doctor visits. I will keep this take positive and will not go into the practice management (or lack thereof) we endure. What I will say is that there are many good doctors out there who spend a tremendous amount of time and energy keeping us healthy. While their office or hospital staff may lack professional bedside manner, the doctors I see are very thorough…. even when their patient adamantly disagrees with their suggestions.

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• This is the start of my seventh year living in the Orlando area. I have learned to enjoy Central Florida, though I do have that little bird on my shoulder whispering “if you live in Florida, live on the coast.” While most of the country is starting to feel ‘Fall-like’, the state of Florida, especially Orlando and south, will endure two more months of summer. The upside is that between mid-November and the end of April, Floridians will still be playing golf, tennis, and pickleball while most of the country deals with cold temperatures.

The combination of continuous heat and humidity wears on many with mid-morning temperatures sometimes hitting the upper 80’s with 80% humidity…. sometimes without rain. This rant about sums it up for us Floridians.

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• I deal with an Information Technology (IT) vendor/partner on a weekly basis, ensuring that our staff is up and running at a high level of productivity. As IT has morphed into the cloud, as well as the never-ending add-ins invading our computers, we all get frustrated with our IT help desk. Long wait times, having to repeat yourself over and over again, and solutions which on the surface seem palpable, but in reality, set you back further than you were when you first initiated the IT ticket now required to speak to the IT help desk. Yes, it is amazing to me how frustrating this can be. I want to be clear that I am in no way disparaging Beavis & Butthead. They are hardworking tech support staff just trying to help us out with our IT problems.

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• I received a good bit of response and rebuttal regarding the gender issues at the Paris Olympic Games. To be very clear, I support whatever someone wants and needs to be. I also support common sense which is well-represented with Dave Chappelle’s NBA and WNBA scenario. His words, not mine, and there is foul language at the end of this video. Agree, or disagree, Chappelle does make a point.

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• This week’s Pure Talent highlights a Paris Paralympic Gold Medal winner in compound archery. Matt Stutzman is only one of the many amazing competitors in Paris, an armless archer who shows the world that a disability does not always prevent someone from living their life to the fullest. Matt Stutzman and ALL Paralympic participants = Pure Talent.

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

A True Hero. The Coach. Slurp Anyone? Wait, Its AC/DC. Oscar Rocks.

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• Quote of the Week: “I’ve been an action buff all my life. For me, action is not complete without emotion, and at the same time it’s about heroism more than anything else.” – Sajid Khan

We have all seen movies centered around a hero. The fatal flaw of the tragic hero, one example being Oedipus. The superhuman abilities of a superhero, with Batman coming to mind. Then there is the unwilling hero, someone who present themselves as reluctant and doubtful (let’s go with Rambo).

Last week I watched a movie about a humanitarian hero. A movie that was both a documentary and drama, a movie that told an amazing story about a true hero who did what he did in a most unselfish way. In the movie One Life, Johnny Flynn and Sir Anthony Hopkins play Sir Nicolas Winton in the early days of World War II and post-war, respectively. Their performances are outstanding, with Flynn as a young Londoner who travels to Prague for a week to aid refugees. Once Winton observes the extent of the humanitarian crisis, with children trying to survive their fate dictated by the ever-presence of the Nazis, his one-week trip turns into a full-time effort to save the children.

Sir Anthony Hopkins, eighty-four years old at the time of this movie, has never been better in any role he has played. Hopkins as Winton in the post-war is amazing, portraying the hero full of regret, a man whose perceived ‘failure’ took precedence over pride of his achievement. Winton, though honored and revered, as well as knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, always felt like he could have done more for the children.

It is estimated that 6,000 people are alive as a result of Winton’s operation, between the children he directly saved and their descendants. The surviving children who came together in the aftermath called themselves “Nicky’s children” and stayed connected to him until his death.

I am not going to follow this take with a photo or video. Take two hours of your time, enjoy the movie “One Life” and watch a real-life humanitarian hero. One other thing: there is a scene late in the movie that honors Sir Nicolas Winton. Make sure you have a box of tissues nearby.

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• It is now college football season. Eighteen weeks of great football from colleges and universities across the country. In previous posts, I have not been shy about following the University of Georgia (UGA) football program for the last forty-eight years. Please, do not do the math.

If you are a UGA fan, you usually do not like any other school in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), especially Alabama. I do not necessarily follow that line of thinking as I have always been an Alabama fan, unless they are playing Georgia. Bear Bryant, Ray Perkins, Bill Curry, Gene Stallings and many others were head coaches of the Alabama football program, but there is only the one and only Nick Saban. Saban’s boundless antics and emotion on the Alabama sideline was always entertaining, not cutting his players any slack even if they were up by three touchdowns.

Saban finished his coaching career at Alabama with a record of 201 wins and only 29 losses, won seven national championships, and his head-to-head record against Georgia was ten wins and three losses. Do not misunderstand me: I am a massive Georgia fan, but Nick Saban was incredibly entertaining to watch on Saturday afternoons. Kalen DeBoer has big shoes to fill now that he has taken over the head coaching job at Alabama. Good luck with that.

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• Etiquette is what you are doing and saying when people are looking and listening. What you are thinking is your business. – Virginia Cary Hudson

There are hundreds, if not thousands of etiquette rules. Some people refer to etiquette as rules that keep society running smoothly. Some think etiquette is a simple list of agreed-upon social rules that lay out parameters to let everyone know what to expect when interacting with others.

Etiquette spans a wide spectrum, from the way you conduct yourself in meetings, at the dinner table, and even on social media. Etiquette surrounding international interaction always causes some eyebrow-raising incidents, as visiting a new country and culture is not always easy to navigate, especially when family is involved. Here is one example, never done better than by Tom Selleck.

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A Few Things I Am Thinking for the Last Sunday in August:

• The Boeing flight crew is still in space. Not stranded, but still there. After packing for two weeks, the Boeing Starliner crew will now have to stay at the International Space Station for eight months. I am a big supporter of NASA and the space program. Let’s be thankful for contingency planning and SpaceX.
• A federal rate cut coming in September. Good or bad?
• No one must cook in the Orlando area. The number of great restaurants/bars in The City Beautiful is amazing.
• Ten months of conflict, war, and death with Gaza and Israel. So damn sad.
• Not surprising at all: Ford is now scrapping plans for a three-row electric SUV and pushing back a new electric version of the F-150, its best-selling pickup.
• The Little League World Series comes to a close later today with Lake Mary, Florida playing Chinese Taipei for the world championship. Great stuff.
• Do you believe it is already the last Sunday of August?

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• This video is a great example of how music resonates with all of us. Ally McCoist was a legendary soccer player who spent his career with Rangers of the Scottish Premier League. He is the club’s all-time leading goal scorer, netting 355 goals in all competitions. He had a stint as a television pundit, and in this video, he shows massive composure as he is about to go on-air at Munich’s Allianz Arena. With his stage manager directing him where to stand, and his director barking in his ear, McCoist hears the in-game production staff play AC/DC’s Hells Bells. His reaction and enjoyment hearing the song is fantastic. AC/DC and Hells Bells while getting ready to go live on-air. Composure at its best.

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Pure Talent does not necessarily relate to human talent. Call it what you want, but Oscar the dog has a better voice than the lead singer of the band I saw last Thursday night. Not kidding. Oscar the dog is Pure Talent.

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

Doing the Right Thing. The Change of Season. Gender and Gender Identification. A Wounded Warrior. The Violin at its Best.

• Quote of the Week: If character is what you do when no one is watching, then sportsmanship is that conduct with everybody watching. – Bob Ley

When in the moment, with competitive juices flowing, sportsmanship is not always top-of-mind. Sure, archery is different than basketball, and swimming different than soccer, but no matter the competition an athlete’s behavior can sometimes go sideways. Criticism of an athlete’s bad behavior is warranted, but many times they are not recognized for their sportsmanship, even in the heat of battle. Fair play is great to watch.

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Speaking of sports:

• The English Premier League and other European leagues started this weekend.
• College football starts Saturday with Florida State and Georgia Tech meeting in Dublin.
• Pro football opens with the Ravens and Chiefs on Thursday night, September 5.
• Tennis’ best tournament, The U.S. Open, starts next weekend.
• Golf’s FedEx Championship culminates at Atlanta’s East Lake Country Club starting August 29th.
• Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer head into their last month of the regular season before the playoffs.
• The National Basketball Association and National Hockey League will get into gear with their schedules in late October.

The upcoming sports landscape and the change of season make Fall a great time of the year.

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• And more sports:

Everyone on the JustMyTake distribution list comes from different backgrounds with varying skill sets. All of you are very smart, and I would like your input on a top-of-mind subject.

I need help from you understanding the heated gender debate, again prominent in the news with the Algerian boxer who competed at the Paris Olympics. Accused of being a biological male, Imane Khelif competed in the women’s boxing program at the Olympics and created quite the controversy, though her father provided a birth certificate verifying her gender as female.

My question: do X and Y chromosomes dictate gender and is gender the same as gender identification? I am all good with whatever people want and need to be…I am just asking if gender identification dictates one’s gender? I have no take on the video below – I just found it interesting. What is your take?

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• One more thing about sports and heroism. The Savannah Bananas, for great reasons, are getting worldwide attention for their ongoing performances and antics on the baseball field. The also do a tremendous amount of charity work, and honor veterans anytime they can. Here is one very heroic veteran who appeared with those crazy Savannah Bananas. The Savannah Bananas

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• I have a diverse relationship with technology and application software. The list below only touches the surface of the variable applications we have access to on an everyday basis.

• The Microsoft suite: Office, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.
• Internet browsers: Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer.
• Music software: Pandora, Apple Music, Spotify.
• Communication software. Slack, Skype, Zoom, Teams, SharePoint, Instagram.

I have seen this relevant and sort of humorous post over the last few years. Did I write relevant? Never more than in today’s world does this hold true.

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• For this week’s Pure Talent, we enjoy a ten-year-old and her violin. She joins the airport entertainer to play Vivaldi. Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was an Italian composer and violinist, best known for violin concertos known as The Four Seasons. This young lady stops the crowd with her awe-inspiring abilities on the violin. That performance is Pure Talent.

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

Sha’Carri Richardson. Bring Us Back in February? Changing the Weather. Stop Laughing at Me. Barracuda Never Done Better.

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• Quote of the Week: “One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” – Arthur Ashe

Confidence can be defined in many different ways. The Cambridge dictionary defines the word confidence as the quality of being certain of your abilities or of having trust in people, plans, or the future. After taking in some of the Olympics over the last two weeks, I define confidence in two words: Sha’Carri Richardson. At twenty-four years old, and standing all of 5′-2″, this American track star is known for her speed and vibrant personality. She exudes a massive amount of confidence, best exemplified by the glare she gives her opponent as she streaked down the track to help the U.S. women earn gold in the 4 x 100 relay. Sha’Carri Richardson = confidence. Watch the video below at the .15 second mark.

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• Last week’s post had a list of questions, with one of them referring to the two astronauts who are temporarily stuck at the International Space Station (ISS). Last Sunday’s question:

Boeing keeps saying that the two Starliner astronauts are not stranded at the International Space Station (ISS). Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have now been at the ISS for eight weeks after a planned eight-day mission. If they are not stranded, then why not bring them home? Boeing: swallow your diminishing pride and enlist SpaceX to get them back to earth.

Early last week, NASA stated that the two astronauts were “kind of stuck, although certainly not stranded.” Sorry NASA, as much as I admire and follow the space program, this issue with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is problematic to say the least. This is Boeing’s first-time launching astronauts, after flying a pair of empty Starliners that suffered from software issues and other problems. Besides helium leaks, Boeing and NASA now believe there are problems with various propulsion thrusters. Engineers are now determining whether they take a chance and send them home soon in the Boeing Starliner, or wait and bring them back in February 2025 aboard Elon Musk’s SpaceX Dragon rocket? I mistakenly thought that the SpaceX Dragon could bring them back to Earth soon. I am wrong.

You all tell me, does something seem wrong with these scenarios?

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• If you have read justmytake.net over the years, you should be aware of my respect and admiration for Godzilla. As you roll your eyes, just a reminder not to start up the comparisons between Godzilla and King Kong. Please do not as there is NO comparison of the two. Without going into all the data points of comparison, this 2011 weather forecast, at the .46 second mark, again substantiates the attributes of Godzilla. Saving the world one big step at a time.

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• A while back I listened to live music at a local tavern featuring a guy and his guitar. Relatively talented, this musician’s playlist covered everything from pop to old school rock. One of his songs, in the day, would have been called a ‘rock ballad.’ When I mentioned this factoid to a friend, she started to laugh out loud and questioned me about the term ‘rock ballad.’ I succumbed to her wrath of laughter and went on with listening to some decent live music. Just for the record, I deem any song within the rock genre that tells a story containing emotion a ‘rock ballad.’ Last week, I was reminded of another genre of rock called ‘power ballads’ which often contain sound driven by drums, bass, keyboards, and big guitar. The vocal component of a ‘power ballad’ has a high value of verse, usually with powerful expressions of feelings and emotions.

I am sure I will be laughed at again but wanted to provide an example of a ‘power ballad.’ Formed in 1975, this Switzerland-based band was known for its big sound that bordered on the genre of heavy metal. To my friend who makes fun of me as a hobby, I give you the band Krokus and their ‘power ballad’ Screaming in the Night.

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• Speaking of music, here is this week’s Pure Talent. Combining Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters, Nancy Wilson, and Pink equals great music. A couple of years ago, in a tribute to former Foo Fighter’s drummer Taylor Hawkins, this group of great musicians combined to perform Heart’s song, Barracuda. This is another great example of Pure Talent.

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

Messi, Anatoly & Metallica. Answers Please. Prince At His Best.

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• Quote of the Week: Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence. – Henry David Thoreau

What does it feel like to be revered? The word ‘revered’ comes from the Latin word ‘revereri‘ which literally means to greatly fear. While that is the pure definition, being revered usually relates to someone or something being held in high regard. Dignitaries, sports icons, and to my despair, politicians have been revered by the millions. It is interesting that some people who are held in high regard are not necessarily those we feel most comfortable around. Sometimes we are too busy holding them in awe.

Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Ghandi, Norman Schwarzkopf, Albert Einstein, Katie Ledecky, and Simone Biles come to mind when I think about the word revered. Here are three random examples.

• There are no words to describe how the people of Argentina and millions of others around the world feel about Lionel Messi, and his accomplishments on the field. It is noteworthy to mention how Messi’s off-the-field family life stays out of the tabloids. The world’s most famous athlete and a great family person.

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• Vladimir Shmondenko, known as “Anatoly”, has turned ‘gym pranking’ into a mega-business. You can usually see him on Instagram reels, portraying a janitor cleaning a gym’s floor before he throws down his mop and dead lifts five hundred pounds in front of astonished weightlifters. Shmondenko, born and raised in Ukraine, was once revered as pound-for-pound the strongest man in the world. He weighs 155 pounds and, in this video, completely startles the bodybuilders on Muscle Beach. Honored and revered by men twice his size. Shmondenko’s YouTube site has six million subscribers.

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• The total collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was a surprise. Their economy was on the brink of collapse and their military in disarray due to their own Soviet policies, the Cold War dynamics, and the United States policy of containment to curb communism. It is also interesting that the Soviets yearned for music, and in this case the band Metallica, who agreed to play the Monsters of Rock concert in Moscow just days before the Soviet Union’s collapse. You only need to watch the crowd of 1.6 million for a few minutes to realize the level of appreciation, honor, and reverence at this Moscow venue. Side note: I am not sure why the Soviet helicopters were ‘divebombing’ the crowd.

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Random Questions for The First Sunday of August:

• The United States has deployed warships and fighter jets to the Middle East. The deployments include ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers. Is Iran’s threat with Israel coming to fruition?
• Regarding Iran, how vulnerable is their Revolutionary Guard? It seems Mossad enlisted agents from with the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to plant explosives in the Tehran guesthouse where Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was staying. Last Wednesday, a massive explosion at that guesthouse ended Haniyeh’s life.
• Boeing keeps saying that the two Starliner astronauts are not stranded at the International Space Station (ISS). Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have now been at the ISS for eight weeks after a planned eight-day mission. If they are not stranded, then why not bring them home? Boeing: swallow your diminishing pride and enlist SpaceX to get them back to earth.
• I barked very loud regarding the situation in Haiti, and I will do the same with the situation in Venezuela. When will the United States, already stretched thin with the issues in the Middle East, step in to oust Nicolas Maduro?
• Due to my schedule, I have had to pick and choose what Olympic events I can catch. What do you think about the television coverage?
• Does anyone have any insight on why Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway slashed its stake in Apple by 50%?
• What should the Olympic committee and other sports entities do about the gender eligibility issue?
• Is the Affleck and JLo ordeal just unfortunate and sad?

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• Pure Talent. This performance was only three years ago but, in that time, we lost tremendous talents, including Tom Petty and Prince. This rendition of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps‘ was performed in 2021 as an honor to George Harrison. It is 2024, and for the 100th time I am again watching Prince’s amazing guitar performance. By the way, Prince was snubbed by Rolling Stone Magazine’s top 100 guitarists. They got that very wrong. Pure Talent.

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

Sundown Town. Expressionist. Five Thoughts for the End of July. Who’s That Lady.

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• Quote of the Week: It is often easier to become outraged by injustice half a world away than by oppression and discrimination half a block from home. – Carl T. Rowan

Before moving to Orlando, Florida seven years ago, I spent much of my life in the Atlanta area. For various reasons I sometimes traveled to the Huntsville, Alabama area. Huntsville is a growing city with an economy that continues to prosper, anchored by NASA and its Marshall Space Flight Center. Depending on the route you take to Huntsville, you may find yourself crossing through Guntersville, Alabama and Lake Guntersville. A beautiful town and gorgeous lake, and a relatively quiet area with beautiful lakefront homes. I highly recommend visiting northeast Alabama with Cheaha Mountain, which sits 2,500 feet above sea level, and Little River Canyon, where you can hike and rappel off the canyon’s edge. Guntersville is less than a three-hour drive from Atlanta and Nashville.

Depending on the route you take to northeast Alabama, may find yourself driving through, in the blink of an eye, Arab, Alabama. This small town was established in the mid-1800’s with the current name of Arab a misspelling by the U.S. Postal Service. The city’s intended name, taken from the son of the town’s founder, was Arad Thompson. Unfortunately, Arab was known as a ‘sundown town’ warning African Americans not to stay in Arab after dark. Disgusting, yes, and Arab was only one of many towns in the U.S. known as ‘sundown towns.’ A sundown town (also known as a gray town) is an area in the U.S. where Black people are forced out of the public once the sun goes down. According to AP News, “these towns are inhabited by a majority of white people who insist that Black and white residents get along really well.”

Another sad chapter of discrimination in the U.S. Thankfully, we have comedian Henry Cho to put it all in perspective. Well done, Henry.

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• How do you define ‘expression?’ All of us have expressions, usually as a response to an action. Some of our expressions are sublime, and some of them outlandish as demonstrated by Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson). With the 2024 Paris Olympics opening last week, I remembered that Mr. Bean provided us, along with the London Symphony Orchestra, a performance to remember to open up the 2012 Olympics. I am not sure how he thinks through his expressions, or if they are all impromptu without rehearsal. This performance of expression is one to remember.

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Things I Think for the Last Sunday of July

• The ethos of the Olympic Games consists of three values: 1) Striving for excellence and encouraging people to be the best they can be; 2) Demonstrating respect in many different manners: respect towards yourself, the rules, your opponents, the environment, the public, etc.; 3) Celebrating friendship, which is quite unique to the Olympic Games – an event that brings people together every few years. While the creativity of Friday’s opening ceremonies should be celebrated, I am unsure of the some of the content including what looked like a recreated painting of The Last Supper. Again, I enjoyed the creativity of using the Seine River instead of the Olympic Stadium, but to me the opening ceremonies were a bit over-the-top as a ‘made-for-TV’ spectacle.
• A week later, Delta Air Lines is still struggling with IT infrastructure and recovery from a third-party service provider’s software glitch. Bad optics, especially if you are a shareholder.
• Do we finally get a federal rate cut in September?
• It interesting that of all countries, Greece is spending $3.5 billion to buy 20 F-35 Joint Strike fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. Their reason: continued tension in the region between Greece and neighbor Turkey. There is nothing good about this.
• The repressive government and dire economic situation in Venezuela have officials predicting that up to a third of their population could flee the country. Venezuela once boasted Latin America’s richest economy due the having the biggest oil reserves on earth. Due to former President Hugo Chavez and current President Nicolas Maduro, the country’s corruption and high levels of debt have led to an economic collapse. So unfortunate and sad.

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• Pure Talent. Rudolph, Ronald and O’Kelly Isley gave us music that unfortunately will not be replicated. “That Lady” is a song by the Isley Brothers, made famous in 1973 when it was reworked into a funk-rock style. The video below is the long version of the song, with the brother’s harmonic style and starting with the 2:30 mark, a guitar performance bar none. Here is to the Isley Brothers and their massive hit, “That Lady.” Pure Talent.

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

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Unbiased Companionship. ‘The Blue Screen.’ Paris is Ready. A Dream Come True. Niko Moon.

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• Quote of the Week: “Properly trained, a man can be dog’s best friend.” – Corey Ford

I could not agree more with Corey Ford’s quote.

Animals, specifically dogs, have been part of my life for a long time. I have had some great dogs, all with a mind of their own but for the most part, loving and loyal. My favorite was Montana, a white-furred half German Shepard, half Labrador Retriever. He was a rescue dog and early on I had to make a tough decision, due to a growth plate issue, to take his right front leg. Of course it was a rough time for about a month, but he quickly adapted, able to ‘run like the wind’ until he took too sharp of a turn. 🙂 Montana had a great life, was a great companion, and lived until he was thirteen. I have not had a dog for many years and miss the relative craziness of owning and training a dog.

There is data that details the benefits of dog ownership. In no particular order, here are a few that come to my mind:

Dogs are great, unbiased, and fearless unless there are fireworks! They are also very smart.

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• We sometimes question the amount of money spent by private and public entities with cybersecurity. Friday’s missteps by cybersecurity technology company CrowdStrike again exposed the fragility of connected technology, not only in the United States, but worldwide. CrowdStrike stated that Friday’s issue was due to a faulty software update and had nothing to do with a security breach or cyberattack.

Friday’s incident with CrowdStrike’s software update crashed Microsoft’s Windows, resulting in millions dealing with the ‘blue screen of death.’ Thousands of flights were canceled or delayed, including those with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines. The outage disrupted emergency services and court systems in some areas, while some healthcare providers postponed nonessential surgeries. Thousands of other businesses had to cope with the outage, including government services and hotel systems.

Friday’s ‘blue screen’ issues again is a reminder that cybersecurity must be a high priority for every private and public entity. If Friday was a taste of vulnerability, what happens when a software malfunction or worm disrupts our internet or financial systems?

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The Summer Olympic Games start this week. I am looking forward to the competition and will focus on swimming, track and field, gymnastics, and how the U.S. fares in the men’s and women’s soccer competitions.

The first modern Olympic Games took place in Athens in 1896. With the 2024 Summer Games ready to open this week, I thought I would review a few facts from the past:

• The original Olympia-based Olympics were part of the Sacred Games, which took part in four different places: Nemea, Delphi, and the Isthmus of Corinth and Olympia. It is interesting that the athletes competed for money.
• The first torch-to-torch Olympic flame lighting was in 1936, when German organizers of the infamous Berlin Games arranged for the flame to be lit in Olympia and transported to the German capital. The 1936 Olympic Games featured American track and field athletes, including Jesse Owens.
• The marathon competition is based on the legend of Pheidippides, an ancient Greek courier, who ran twenty- miles from a battlefield in Marathon to Athens to announce Greece’s military victory over the Persians—then he unfortunately died on the spot.
• Ancient Olympians competed nude. Some speculate the athletes’ true motivation for competing nude might have been to simply show off their bodies, which they liberally coated in oil, to their peers, gods, and fans.

The competition starts Wednesday with men’s and women’s soccer with the opening ceremonies on Friday. Great fun and competition.

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• College and professional sports are sometimes scrutinized, especially these days with the salaries professional athlete’s garner, as well as the name, image, and likeness payouts to college and high school athletes. Sometimes that scrutiny may be warranted, but often, behind the scenes, college and professional sports entities are doing good deeds for their communities. A shout out to Minnesota United, and their opponent, D.C. United, for allowing this young child to fulfill his ‘Make-A-Wish’ dream. The fans, the announcers, and the opposing goalkeeper made this dream come true for Carter Lucero. Well done.

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• Pure Talent. This artist, who once worked alongside Zac Brown, has skyrocketed up the charts with his pop-country crossover performances. Signed by Sony Music, Niko Moon has also written songs for Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flats, and Morgan Wallen. Nico Moon is Pure Talent.

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

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Making the World Better. Jaws is Back. Mid-July Takes. Give Me Some Bad Company.

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• Quote of the Week: “We are still in the position of waking up and having a choice. Do I make the world better today somehow, or do I not bother?” – Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks’ quote including the phrase “…or do I not bother” is troubling. Is Hanks referring to the general population or is he specifically thinking about individuals born between 1997 and 2012, also known as Gen Z. To be clear, Gen Z characteristics include big-time gamers, anxiety orders, everyday users of social media, and the ability to absorb many realms of technology. If Hanks was referring to Gen Zers, he is wrong as I believe that the Gen Z generation does want to make the world better.

Gen Z grew up with technology, some of which I still have little grasp of. They are social, in a media kind of way, but nonetheless they stay in touch, informed, and are not shy to share their opinions. Are they different than millennials and baby boomers? Are they different than Gen X and Gen Y? Yes, certainly they are as we are different than our parents, who were way different from their parents. From the Pew Research Center: “Gen Zers are known for their social responsibility, dedication to social and political issues, and they demand authenticity when it comes to brands and advertising. They are resourceful, independent learners who value an inclusive culture and place a priority on well-being and mental health in the workplace.”

The video content below references Gen Z and generational differences. A funny and interesting take.

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• Thirty-three years ago this week, Discovery Channel launched Shark Week with their primary goal to increase summer viewership. Three decades later, Shark Week is a cultural phenomenon with an amazing amount of promotion and sponsorship. The week of the show is now treated like a point in time, no different than President’s Day in February. The spin regarding the show and sharks does bring science into play, but the stickiness of the show and its millions of viewers are that sharks represent an example of a common fear. Watching divers deal with sharks is exciting and dangerous, though the odds say that you are more likely to die in a car accident or by increasingly unstable weather (thoughts and prayers to all who have been affected by Hurricane Beryl).

Shark Week, for all the right reasons, is TV’s longest-running programming event. The show has great writing, production value, and that never-ending combination of education, danger, and fear. Iliza Shlesinger sums up all we need to know about Shark Week:

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Things I Think for Mid-July

• Snowflake is AT&T’s data-warehousing service provider. After Friday’s disclosure that a hacker downloaded call and text message data from AT&T’s ninety million wireless subscribers, Snowflake tells us they have not found evidence that the data breach was caused by any vulnerability with Snowflake’s platform. Sorry Snowflake, I am calling bulls–t on that press release. Yes, I am an AT&T customer.
• Later today and tonight hopefully delivers two great final matches of the European Championships (a.k.a. Euro), and Copa America. Last Wednesday’s semifinals were great, especially the crazy match between Colombia and Uruguay.
• Regarding the sports world, we are about six weeks away from the start of college football, the NFL, and the Europe’s soccer leagues. Are you ready for some football?
• Some good: Financial services firm CME reports that traders are now betting on a 94.4% chance of a Fed rate cut by September, up from 77.7% a week ago. Positive thinking, but have we not been betting on a rate cut since November of last year?
• Some more good: Artificial intelligence is outperforming clinical tests predicting progress of Alzheimer’s disease. Let us hope that this is a game-changer with this debilitating disease.
• Some not so good: Residents of the state of Florida have been enduring ridiculous and alarming rate hikes from their insurance carriers. Just when you think Florida is being singled out by insurance carriers, Allstate announced that they are seeking a 34% increase for California homeowners.

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• Pure Talent. Bad Company is a British hard rock band that was formed in 1973. The band consists of members Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Mick Ralphs, and Boz Burrell. They are known for their bluesy rock and roll style with a touch of heavy metal. Bad Company quickly rose to fame in the 1970s due to their unique sound and captivating stage presence. The band has solidified its place as one of the most iconic rock bands of all time, with a legacy that influences music to this day. Bad Company and Paul Rodgers with a live version of the song Bad Company: Pure Talent.

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

Does The Asteroid Redirect Program Work? Halfway to 2025. Fly The Flag. Precision At Its Finest.

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• Quote of the Week: “If the Earth gets hit by an asteroid, it’s game over. It’s control-alt-delete for civilization.” – Bill Nye

The earth has had asteroid ‘near’ misses – which thankfully in scientific terms means skirting earth by 2,000 – 6,000 miles. Fortunately, about once a year, an asteroid about the size of an automobile does hit earth’s atmosphere but burns up before reaching the earth’s surface. Scientists guesstimate that every 2,000 years or so, a meteoroid the size of a football field hits earth resulting in significant damage. Those same scientists insist that every few million years, an object large enough to threaten our civilization comes along.

On June 30th of 1908, exactly 116 years ago today, an asteroid plunged through the earth’s atmosphere and exploded over Siberia. The shock wave and heat blast from the aerial explosion devastated that remote area of Siberia, created massive forest fires, and knocked down trees for hundreds of miles. In recognition of that event, the United Nations proclaimed Asteroid Day be observed globally on June 30. The event aims to raise awareness about asteroids and what can be done to protect the Earth, its families, communities, and future generations from a catastrophic event.

NASA has now established the Planetary Defense Coordination Office and evaluated the technology to redirect a small asteroid should one pose a danger to Earth in the future. Let us hope that NASA’s plan is one that works well. Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson gives his take on dealing with asteroids. We are hoping his “gravitational toe-line” works.

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• Every year, the Economist Intelligence Agency (EIU) evaluates cities for their livability using thirty indicators including stability, healthcare, culture, education, and infrastructure. The goal of the ranking is to show us “how comfortable these cities are to live in.” Like many of you, I have traveled most of my business career, and to avoid evoking outrage with some of you, I will not comment on how wrong this ranking must be. 🙂 Note: the overall ranking number compares these U.S. cities on a worldwide scale. Worldwide, Vienna, Austria ranked #1, Copenhagen, Denmark #2, and Zurich, Switzerland, #3. I have been to Copenhagen and have no argument with that ranking.

1. Honolulu, Hawaii (overall ranking: 23)
2. Atlanta, Georgia (overall ranking: 29)
3. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (overall ranking: 30)
4. Seattle, Washington (overall ranking: 34)
5. Washington D.C. (overall ranking: 38)
6. Chicago, Illinois (overall ranking: 39)
7. Boston, Massachusetts (overall ranking: 45)
8. Miami, Florida (overall ranking: 47)
9. San Francisco, California (overall ranking: 49)
10. Minneapolis, Minnesota (overall ranking: 50)

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Five Things I Think Halfway to 2025:

• A month ago, I mentioned using your time wisely and to try and balance all the political news with other interests (volunteering, taking in a good book, etc.) I also mentioned that using your time wisely would be “a great way to keep your mind off of the ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ and ‘The Donald’ presidential candidates.” I grudgingly watched the first five minutes of last Thursday’s debate, and again, here is my never-ending question: How, in 2024, did the two parties end up with these two candidates?
• A very happy Independence Day to you and yours. I hope that no one takes our independence with a grain of salt, especially in light of some of the chaos, terrorism, and war happening at home and abroad. I was surprised that Independence Day was only declared a federal holiday in 1941, considering the United States is celebrating our 248th birthday. On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence and two days later, on July 4, delegates from the thirteen colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, drafted by the one and only Thomas Jefferson. If you have a flag, please fly it.  If you do not have one, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Ace Hardware have flag kits for under $15.00. Buy a flag and fly it proudly. To our Canadian friends: you celebrate Canada Day tomorrow, July 1st….and my experience with Canadians tells me most of you have been celebrating a few days early!
• Some people are continuing to complain about interest rates, especially the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. The rate has now declined for the fourth straight week and is languishing at 6.85%. I am not going old school with this comment, but my first mortgage was at 14.8%. Will someone please provide us with their thoughts on post-election mortgage rates?
• As if the U.S. healthcare system is not in enough disarray, Amazon has created a platform for health services including primary care, pharmacy services, and telehealth. Hopefully, Amazon’s foray into healthcare will increase healthcare access after hospitals and clinics have decreased these services due to decreasing margins.
• I think that this is absolutely crazy. The game is basically over, in extra time and the scored tied. Atlanta attacks and the opposing goalkeeper saves the ball and goes to play the ball from his goal area. Little does he know that an Atlanta player, who first drank some water from the goalkeeper’s water bottle, is behind him. Watch what happens in the last few seconds of the game.

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• For this week’s take on Pure Talent we look in on The Royal Edinburgh Military Tatoo. A military tattoo is a musical display performed by the military. Military tattoos evolved from a process called “doe de tap toe,” which was Dutch for “turn off the tap.” The Dutch States Army sent drummers through garrison towns to mark curfew. By the late 19th century, military tattoos were commonplace, with this military tattoo another great example of Pure Talent.

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