JUST MY TAKE

Laptop Checked? Music and Art on the Waterfront.  Always Ready.

It looks like international flights back into the U.S. will get a bit more quiet with many airlines starting to restrict what devices can be brought on board.  The days of using your laptop on those long trips back to the States may be over as all devices other than a mobile phone will need to be checked.  Maybe this will open up a market for very large mobile phones and foldable keyboards that can sync with your mobile?  The damage claims for luggage will increase as there are bound to be thousands of laptops broken and busted while bouncing around in your luggage.  Like most people I always carry on my bags but this new rule, after a long flight back to the States, will again put many of us at baggage claim to collect our bag with our laptop.  Not good but I hope this security measure has very positive results.

As a Florida native I never considered downtown West Palm Beach as a fun destination spot.  Not when you can have a night out in Ft. Lauderdale, Delray Beach or St. Petersburg.  My mindset quickly changed last weekend as I took in SunFest 2017, Florida’s largest waterfront music and art festival.  I was there for three days of the five-day festival which is located  in downtown West Palm Beach.  Set up along a waterfront park, the three stages allowed for 50 bands with a wide variety of music…including Ziggy Marley, Widespread Panic, Blink 182, Flo Rida and Steve Winwood.  Like many coastal cities in Florida, West Palm Beach is on fire with new mixed-use developments and fun restaurant/bars.  Great experience so take a look at SunFest 2018 for a great long weekend.

My casual boat ride on a very fast boat on the intracoastal waterway was unexpectedly delayed last week.  Why?  The U.S. Coast Guard, in one of their incredibly quick fast-boats, decided to board our boat.  You are familiar with their boat, the same one we always watched on Baywatch, with it’s aluminum and raft-type structure, 800 hp engines (two) and the two imposing .50 caliber machine guns.  In peacetime, the Coast Guard is under the guise of Homeland Security so many of their stop and boards are done to look for illegal drugs and weapons.  These guys had it easy last week with beautiful weather and calm seas but their job changes quickly in pursuit of drug runners or on a search and rescue mission.  Though it was a bit weird that of all boats they stopped us, it made me think how important their service is to protecting us and our boarders.  Semper Paratus is the Coast Guard’s slogan and for very good reasons.

To all of you moms:  Have a Great Mother’s Day!!  Adios and Have a Funday Sunday!!

 

 

 

 

Updates and Thoughts For The Start of Month Five 2017.

North Korea now is warning China to back off.  China is posturing and uses the North Korea dilemma to leverage trade and tariffs with the United States.  With that said, China has the world’s largest military, estimated at 2.3 million.  China borders North Korea so maybe we will all live long enough to see China turn North Korea into Southeast China?

Word has it that more than one worldwide sports agency is already preparing offers to sign Serena’s baby to a contract.

I received feedback regarding last week’s comments about parents and their children using their tablets and phones at restaurants.  Some feedback was positive so I will also add that the same holds true for parents who let their children leave the table to ‘play’ and run around the restaurant as if they were in a playground.  And again, you know exactly what I am referring to…..absolutely unacceptable.

Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue last week regarding his newborn son was an unreal watch.  Heartfelt and touching to say the least.

Racism unfortunately affects us all and with social media is well- publicized when it happens at worldwide sporting events.  Now we get more of it last week at Boston’s Fenway Park with a few fans yelling racial slurs at a Baltimore Orioles’ outfielder.  Sick racial behavior should be dealt with by prohibiting those spectators from attending any future games…..forever.  Time to send a message of no tolerance.

I mentioned ‘cord-cutters’ many blogs ago.  Last week, Dish reported a loss of 143,000 subscribers during the 1st quarter of 2017…..compared to a decline of 23,000 in Q1 of 2016.  Cord-cutting, who would have thought?

A duty to Queen and Country:  Prince Philip, the 95-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II, will step back from his royal duties.  Yes, he is 95 and now has decided to dial it back a bit.  We know who the sheriff is in that palace.

Adios and have a Funday Sunday!!

 

 

 

 

 

Détente, Maybe Not.  Thirteen Is Not Enough.  ATL UTD and the Hawks.

Carrier Strike Group 1 (CSG1) was deployed to the Korean peninsula last week to start joint naval exercises with Japan and South Korea.  On Friday, after North Korea test-fired another missile, CSG1 entered the Korean Strait.  CSG1 is the support group that includes the USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class nuclear powered aircraft carrier with a crew of 5,700.  The firepower of the USS Vinson consists of surface-to-air missiles and various anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems.  Along with this onboard armament, the Carl Vinson has 90 aircraft that can be deployed on demand. The support group responsible for the safety of the $8B aircraft carrier includes a nuclear-powered attack submarine and various destroyers and frigates.  It is inevitable that North Korea’s very young ‘leader’ will challenge the presence of CSG1 and continue to provoke and threaten the U.S. naval forces now parked within striking distance of Pyongyang.  China, of all countries, is trying to play peacemaker between North Korea and our pacific rim allies but if Kim Jong Un continues his nuclear threats China will need to back off when the combined forces of the U.S., South Korea, and Japan strike North Korea’s nuclear infrastructure.  It is time to send a message.  Bombs away.

Always the supportive one (no coughing please), I agreed to binge watch a Netflix program on a rainy night in Blue Ridge.  Thirteen Reasons Why is not exactly the programming I fancy but I got stuck in on the couch to take in a very provocative thirteen-part series.  My takeaways:  social media never relents and keeps our youth informed 24/7 with the good, the bad and the ugly; school bullying has taken on a different tact with the use of twitter, text messaging, instagram and snapchat; parents are or can be very ‘disengaged’ with their kids for many reasons.   I will not suggest that you watch Thirteen Reasons Why but if you have kids that attend middle or high school it might be a good idea to watch this Netflix series.  More specifically, I strongly recommend you watch the series if you are the parents who take your kids to a restaurant and allow them to use their phones or tablets at the table.  And you know exactly what I am referring to.

They are back!  Atlanta United, after four weeks on the road, play later today at Bobby Dodd Stadium.  The game is sold out and the crowd should be crazy and loud after not seeing The Five Stripes for the last month.

The Hawks ended their season last night with a playoff loss to Washington.  There are some great pieces to the Hawks’ player pool but look for some big changes for next season.

Have a Funday Sunday!!!

Billy Gets Huge Golden Parachute.   I Would Watch United At Northside H.S.  Random Thoughts.

If you look at Bill O’Reilly’s ‘walkaway’ payout from a pure business perspective it is still ridiculous.  Then you learn about the backstories and his purported ongoing sexual harassment of his co-workers. You then realize that his former boss, Roger Ailes, allowed and was involved in creating the toxic culture within Fox News, where women were constantly antagonized and harassed.  Yes, I realize that Billy’s nightly show brought in massive revenue to Fox News, but if I was the one accused of this behavior in one of former workplaces I would have been shown the door immediately without recourse.  Bill O’Reilly leaves Fox News to finish his new book and continue his tour….and with $25m in goodbye money.  Read his new book?  No.  Go see him on tour?  Hell no.

Over the last few weeks I have been a bit over the top about the Mercedes Benz stadium situation and pending delays.  I suspected that the delays would continue (can you say architect bait and switch?) and it bothered me for only one reason.  The delay impacts Atlanta United’s schedule and as supporters, we should now be very concerned that the schedule changes could impact United’s chances of reaching the playoffs.  The reality of the stadium issues and scheduling changes will not play favor to United due to the World Cup qualifying matches in September.  National teams will call in their players from the Clubs they play on and the Clubs must release them for these matches. This means that up to five United players may be unavailable for three late season games to fulfill their national team duties.  Darren Eales, Carlos Bocanegra, and Tata Martino have done a tremendous job building United’s squad and it is very unfortunate that the stadium issue, pending schedule changes, and world cup qualifying commitments could be obstacles to reaching the playoff round.

Top of mind thoughts: 

Dylan Roof finally was moved to a federal penitentiary in Indiana and is on death row.  Yes, the Dylan Roof who told the FBI that he wanted to start a race war so he decided to kill thirteen churchgoers in Charleston.  Anyway to expedite the death row process?

The 2017 NFL schedule is out and the Atlanta Falcons have again been dealt of a tough run of games that includes a rematch of the Super Bowl and the New England Patriots.  It should be a fun season as the play nationally televised games on two Monday nights and one each on a Sunday and Thursday night.  The NFL draft is this Thursday and here’s to hoping Dan Quinn finds a couple of diamonds in the rough.

The bad news for Elon Musk is that he paid $593m in 2016 income taxes.  The good news for Elon Musk is that he paid $593m in 2016 income taxes.  🙂

Atlanta United’s very tough run of fun straight road games is finally over with last night’s win at Real Salt Lake.  They will be home in front of another sold out Bobby Dodd stadium next Sunday at 3pm.

Adios and have a Funday Sunday!

 

Mother of All Bombs.  The NBA is a Tough Go.  The $5m Re-Accommodation.  Incentive Compensation.

It was directed at an ISIS stronghold in Afghanistan.  “It” is a MOAB, the most powerful non-nuclear weapon ever developed, weighing 21,600 lbs. The MOAB, the “Mother of All Bombs”, is officially called the GBU-43/B and was first tested 17 years ago.  The MOAB creates a devastating impact zone a mile-wide and has to be carried and deployed by a C-130 cargo plane.  The Pentagon said that last week’s use of the MOAB was not in response to one of our soldiers being killed in Afghanistan but a direct attack on an ISIS stronghold.   I don’t have a clue of how many MOABs we have in our arsenal but I guess the message to ISIS was delivered.  More importantly, the world, including Kim Jong-un, witnessed first-hand the MOAB’s ability to wipe out one-square mile at a time.  For me, Pyongyang looks like another good test site.

The Atlanta Hawks, led by CEO Steve Koonin, overcame a very long season and untimely injuries to again make the NBA playoffs.  Eighty-two regular season games can take a toll on the players, coaches and staff and these Hawks, with their backs against the wall, went on a timely winning streak at the end of the regular season.  Two weeks ago the season went to hell with two losses against a terrible Brooklyn team. Then, with some lineup changes and Paul Millsap returning from injury the Hawks turned the season around by beating Boston and then Lebron and the Cavs. Maddening inconsistent but it seems like the Hawks have come together and are peaking at the right time.  Later today, the Hawks and Wizards open up their playoff series in D.C.  TNT has the game at 1pm.

Last week’s United Airlines debacle should not have been worldwide news.  There are daily passenger issues and disturbances that are usually handled in a calm and professional manner.  In last Sunday’s incident all parties handled the situation poorly resulting in a passenger being manhandled out their seat and dragged off the plane.  The first issue is United Airlines’ policy and protocol for “re-accommodating” passengers. Second, the passenger should have complied when ordered off the plane.  And the third and most important issue, the Chicago Aviation Police, who obviously felt it necessary to remove the passenger in a manner that resulted in a broken nose and broken teeth.  Yes, I realize that the passenger should have obliged the request to leave his seat and get off the plane but the end result was ridiculous.  To top things off, Oscar Munoz, United Airlines’ CEO, quickly tweeted after the incident and his message was absurd. His PR blunder and the viral outreach of video from the incident resulted in United Airlines’ market cap dropping by $700m.  The passenger’s attorneys are positioning the incident for a massive lawsuit that United, to mitigate anymore negative publicity, will settle out of court.  Most pundits guess a payout to the passenger between $3-$5m.  Weird from hell.

Random Thought:  Incentive compensation works – the I-85 repairs will be completed very quickly due to a $3.5m bonus for hitting a mid-June target.  Atlanta United has now played three straight games on the road with one more before they play at home on April 30…….speaking of incentive compensation, maybe it is time for Mr. Blank’s organization to dangle a big bonus carrot to the Mercedes Benz stadium contractors to hit the early July completion date (yes, early July as it will take 20-30 days for security, vendor, and staff training).  Fingers crossed that United does play in the Mercedes Benz on July 30.

Have a Funday Sunday and Happy Easter!

 

 

Some Of The Week’s Highlights (or Lowlights).

Trump signed the Bill allowing your internet service provider to sell your info to advertisers.  Info including your location, browsing history, etc.  Nothing good will come from this.

Why is Tony Romo retiring from the NFL and going into the broadcast booth big news?  The Masters withstanding, it must have been a slow sports week.

Speaking of The Masters, the tournament started off with terrible weather and the world’s #1 player withdrawing.  Then the weather and the final round made for a great Sunday.  CBS’ production and broadcast talent deliver The Masters in a compelling, story-telling way.  Yesterday’s finish  was a good as last year’s Jordan Spieth debacle.

Assad, the Syrian rebels, the Russians, the Americans, and ISIS – other than the Americans and ISIS it is really difficult to understand the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Atlanta Hawks have gone through a very tough spell with some injuries and hard luck.  Sometimes this period of a season results in a team coming together and peaking for the playoffs.  Yesterday’s incredible comeback versus LeBron and the Cavs may be a sign that the Hawks could be a big factor in the post-season.

Amazon accounted for 53 percent of e-commerce sales growth last year and the online giant continues to take a toll on bricks and mortar stores.  Bankruptcy filings and store closings are surging and it is estimated that 6,800 retail locations will close by year-end.

The DVR’s will be on for this week’s quarterfinals of the Champions League.  The club making it through to the Final and being crowned champion could earn over $125m.  Crazy.

Atlanta United has now played two of the four consecutive road games they are forced to play due to the Mercedes Benz delays and Georgia Tech’s football team needing Bobby Dodd stadium for spring practice.  These road games were against last year’s MLS champion and runner-up and without United’s leading scorer.  ‘Tata’ Martinez has a tough group of players to come away with a point from each game.  This Saturday’s game is in Montreal at 1pm.

I have complained numerous times about the sound quality of my flat screen TV.  Most of my bitching comes from hearing the background music but not clearly understanding the spoken words.  I finally eliminated the problem with some Bose speakers.  Inexpensive fix and big audio difference.

Dining on the radar.  Try Milton’s, the new Muss & Turner’s, South on Main, Amalfi, and Camp’s.

Adios and have a great week!

 

 

But I Hit the Private Button!   The I-85 Six Flags Ride.  1st Sunday.

The good news is we have internet service.  The bad news is that our internet service providers (Verizon, Comcast, Charter, etc.) again get to sell your information without your knowledge or approval.  Oh, I know, we all have nothing to hide so what is the big deal?  The deal is that the FCC, understanding points of privacy, fought very hard to ensure that our information could not be sold by ISP’s to advertisers without prior consent.  Information like your location, browsing history, and other data no one would want socialized for any purpose or reason. Browsing in “incognito” or private mode does not prevent your internet provider from knowing which sites you visit. Private mode only prevents the browser you are using from storing your internet history. For example, Comcast will still know when you view healthcare or adult content, even if Chrome forgets. There are very technical ways to help control your web browsing, including the use of a virtual private network (VPN), but my tech friends tell me that many VPN providers do not live up to their privacy promises. As the famous beer man says: “Be careful out there my friends…”.

A lot of jokes going around regarding the I-85 bridge collapse just northeast of downtown Atlanta.  Some of them are relatively creative and funny.  What is not so funny?  Over 200,000 cars a day used I-85 and now that traffic will be diverted to surface streets and other roadways.  Atlanta’s traffic situation has escalated to a severe level over that last ten years and the city’s growth, fueled by a diverse economy, has doubled in population over the last twenty years.  During the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, Atlanta and it’s surrounding counties accounted for approximately 3 million people.  Today, that number is over 6 million.  A lot of things will come from this incident including regulations on materials stored under interstates, but for the five-month foreseeable future, the area surrounding I-85 at Piedmont Road will be one to avoid.  Kudos to all the first responders and DOT personnel for controlling the situation early on.  How no one was killed or injured is a true miracle.

Thoughts for the 1st Sunday in April:  Atlanta United has now played one of four consecutive games on the road…here is to hoping the Mercedes Benz Stadium time line stays solid for the July 30 opening.  It is baseball season…..SunTrust Park looks really nice.  Well done Bruce Arena….you stepped into a tenuous situation with our national team and now have us back on track to qualify for Russia in 2018.  Anyone want to explain to me why and how Dylan Roof is still alive?  The word collusion and a quarterback named Colin Kaepernick have no correlation.  The restaurant business is very tough…..success is difficult to achieve day in and day out but good food, great service and a management team that really does care make a huge difference……go try Muss & Turner’s in East Cobb.  Melissa McCarthy is a much better Sean Spicer than Sean Spicer.

Adios and Have a Funday Sunday!!

 

 

Retail Woes 2.0.  Delta’s Pillars.  We Need A Solution.  Kicking It.

They dominated retail for decades as millions of loyal customers flocked to their stores to buy everything from appliances to tools to clothing.  I am talking about Sears, the retailer that has been around since 1886 and now finds itself in substantial doubt of staying in business.  I know I have discussed the retail sector many times but it is amazing that the bricks and mortar retailer is in serious jeopardy due to online shopping, the shift away from mall shopping, and the lack of customer service and in-store experience.  In January, Sears announced that they were closing 150 stores and restructuring the company to cut $18B in costs.  That is $18 BILLION  in costs that they suddenly realized they could forego?  It makes you wonder the short term mentality of retailers’ executive management teams and their lack of insight into product and customer trends.  Sears is not a stranger to this mentality and dilemma as Payless Shoes, whose portfolio consists of 4,000 stores in 30 countries, announced last week that they will file for bankruptcy and close 500 stores.  When will this fall from grace end?

Most of us have been there.  After dealing with getting through security and making your way to the designated gate, you wait for the Delta gate agent to start their announcements.  You think the boarding instructions are relatively clear cut, but similar to Tarzan’s call for all his animal friends, hundreds of passengers disregard their boarding zone and rush to the front of the boarding area.  If you are one of the preferred zones you push people aside to make your way to the boarding area already knowing that the frazzled gate agent has let through non-premium passengers.  We assume that Delta has a lot of smart employees and they must constantly be working on time and motion studies to maximize boarding efficiencies?  Finally, after spending thousands of man hours studying the boarding process, someone at Delta has come up with the brilliant idea of placing pillars in the gate areas that designate zone numbers.  So instead of Tarzan’s herd stampeding the boarding area, passengers line up next to the pillar that designates their boarding zone.  The first and business and ultra-premium passengers also keep their seniority as they have their own separate pillar where they can board at their convenience.  So, after many years of passengers complaining and thousands of man hours studying the boarding process, the answer is pillars.  Well done Delta.

I guess you can’t stop someone from driving into a crowd of people on a busy weekday afternoon.  Again terror struck last week in London with another horrible outcome.  Anyone have any answers to this terror tactic?

The United States National Team finally won a game in the qualification cycle for the 2018 World Cup beating Honduras 6-0 Friday night.  A new coach, new players, and a few veterans combined well to earn our first 3 points in the qualification tournament.  We travel to Panama for our next qualifier on Tuesday night.  It will be a war as there is no love lost between any Central America team and the U.S.  Catch the game on BEIN Sports at 10pm EDT Tuesday.  Then on Friday the party is on (any volunteers?) as Atlanta United visits the MLS defending champion Seattle Sounders.  Watch it at 10pm on Fox Sports 1.

Adios and have a Funday Sunday!

 

 

 

A Very Entertaining 90 Minutes.  Random Takes.

I will exclude my interest and background in the sport of soccer and focus on the game day experience at yesterday’s match between Atlanta United #ATLUTD and the Chicago Fire.  We drove over to MARTA’s North Springs Station and parked at no charge.  $2.50 to ride down to midtown’s North Avenue Station and an easy walk to Bobby Dodd Stadium.  Great weather and a great performance by United for a perfect afternoon.  We waited 20 minutes or so after the game to let the crowd thin out and then walked a bit past the North Avenue station and had some food and drink.  By that time the train station was quiet and we rode back up to the North Springs station.  A fun day with a very lively crowd. It is obvious that the Atlanta United staff have made a tremendous effort to make the temporary digs of Bobby Dodd Stadium a great fan experience.  Even if you have little interest in soccer I would strongly recommend you attend the next home match on Sunday afternoon, April 30th.  A shout out to the supporter’s behind the north goal….all of you rock! United has some special players to watch and if you are a big fan of United you better enjoy Josef Martinez while you can because a large European club will make an offer to United that they will not be able to refuse.

Freedom of speech is a very important constitutional right.  With that said, it is very difficult for me to understand how a billboard in Arizona, with Nazi-themed messaging, can stay standing.  We don’t need any public messaging that may entice and support a moron’s interest in hate crimes.

I have pointed out the rapid decline of large to big-box retailers in previous posts so it comes as no surprise that JC Penny will close 138 stores and terminate 5,000 workers.  JC Penny’s justification:  the store closings will provide them with $200m in cost savings.  Go figure.

The Muss & Turner restaurant expands to East Cobb this week with an opening in the space of the former Common Quarter.  All the best to Ryan Turner for taking the chance with the very fickle East Cobb customer base.

If you have not watched FX’s The Americans wait for a rainy day to binge watch from the first season on.  Great writing and acting depicting a typical American family back in the ’80’s…..who happen to be KGB.

I do not and will not write about religion or politics.  I will leave those topics for the self-serving pundits.  With that said, there really is a lot to write about based on President Trump’s first 100 days in office.

March Madness is underway with some great games and crazy coaches.  Take a look at Northwestern’s coach in yesterday’s game going crazy over what he thought was a non-call by one of the referees.  His behavior resulted in a technical foul that basically swung the result of the game against No. 1 ranked Gonzaga.  Shameful as this was Northwestern’s first visit to the NCAA tournament and they had a great chance to upset Gonzaga.

Adios and have a Funday Sunday!!!

 

 

Supply and Demand.  Can We Be Cord-Cutters?  Mowgli Goes Live.

• We are the reason that networks pay the National Football League hundreds of millions of dollars each year.  We are the reason that sponsors and advertisers can pay the networks hundreds of millions of dollars to promote and advertise their brands, products and services.  We watch the NFL every Thursday night, all day Sunday and Monday night and the sponsors capitalize on the high ratings as they are looking for our eyes on the NFL broadcasts.  You say so what?  So did I until I read that the Chicago Bears are able to pay Mike Glennon $45m over three years to quarterback their team with $16m guaranteed for 2017.  The same Mike Glennon who is 5-13 during his career and has thrown a total of eleven passes in the last two years.  Yep, these crazy contracts are no different in the NBA, MLB, and international soccer but it just makes you wonder how a backup quarterback can demand that level of compensation? Though NFL ratings were down a bit year-over-year, shared television revenue spread between NFL teams allows some of the crazy signings we have seen last week during free agency.  Note:  Glennon’s salary for the 2017 season only places him 23rd amongst the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL.
• It comes via snail mail or email every month.  Most of the time the invoice amount changes monthly and you need a CPA/forensic accountant (I know one by the way) to explain the line item charges.  Don’t even try to challenge the bill with the provider unless you have a minimum of an hour to kill as the customer service experience is maddening.  I am referring to the cable bill which for some of us is blended with internet service and for very few a hard line for telephone or fax use.  As confusing as it may be, it is probably time for all of us to look to alternative bundling via the internet.  Last week YouTube announced that they are introducing YouTube TV, which similar to Amazon Prime Video, Sling TV, and Netflix provides programming with fewer channels than Comcast or other cable providers but at a fraction of the cost.  Some of the offers limit the span of programming.  For example, YouTube TV does not offer Turner (TBS, TNT), A&E Entertainment or Discovery Communications channels.  “Cord-cutting” and moving to a combo of on-demand services is here and here to stay.  It can be confusing and if you add-on too many bundled services the monthly charges can rise rapidly but the ongoing monthly charges for cable and internet services are ridiculous.  Look for aggregators to pop up that will help you determine what on-demand services to purchase.
• The new version of The Jungle Book has been out for almost a year.  I thought I was giving up my man card when I was coerced into watching this new version but to my surprise The Jungle Book is actually an unexpected surprise.  The producers bring Mowgli to life and this man-cub’s supporting cast of characters are an animated marvel.  The movie won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effect and for good reason.  When you need to get away from politics, news, and sports, watch The Jungle Book for a good two hours of entertainment.

Updates:  Daylight savings time from now until November 5th.  Atlanta United: let’s play the full ninety today against Minnesota.  Driven through Sandy Springs on Roswell Road lately?  Friday is St. Patrick’s Day….do us all a favor and use Lyft or Uber…driving is not an option.  Watch the last 12 minutes of last week’s Champions League match between Barcelona and Paris St. Germain…never say never!!

Have a Funday Sunday!!!