If it feels like you just spent nine months “on the inside,” go enjoy the better weather and the weekend.
Engage. Enrage. Enjoy.
Spring Has Sprung, and So Have You
I Have Another Story and a Moral Thereof.
Almost to this day a year has passed since I went from flying about 75,000 miles on business trips a year for 25 plus years to not. Sure I’ve flown a bit for getaways in the last twelve months. One such getaway was last week’s Orlando trip. As I got into my seat for the flight back the news broke that Boeing 737 Max 9’s were being grounded in some countries due to similarities surrounding two recent crashes. Jeez I thought. Actually a stronger word came to mind.
Compounding the angst was a three sided laminated foldout in the seat pocket directly in front of me. It spoke to the information and safety features of this particular plane. This plane was a Boeing 737 Max 8. Hmm. Way too close for comfort I thought. And, sure enough, a day later the FAA took both the 8’s and the 9’s out of the sky pending further investigation.
Surely you have heard someone say “air travel is safer than driving a car.” Or you might have heard “you have a greater chance of being struck by lightning than dying in a plane crash.” That all sounds good until it doesn’t sound good at all. It didn’t sound good to me then, and it doesn’t now.
Why not? Well, it turns out that a great friend of mine was on a Delta flight about 25 years ago that essentially crashed landed, overshot the runway, and ended up under the fence at the end of the field. Luckily he walked away from it. It also reminded me of a flight a dozen years back to sunny and warm Milwaukee. The flight attendant had just announced over the PA that I was on board that day and this was the flight that would take me over a million air miles. Surely they have some award for insanity? A partly cloudy ascent gave way to more clouds when a bolt out of the gray very brightly and strongly hammered the wing. Lightening had struck the plane. I saw it all too vividly from my emergency window seat. Remember, “you have a greater chance of getting struck by lightning that dying in a plane crash.”
I wonder what the saying is about dying from lightning in a plane? Surely the words “gosh darn” or maybe a bit worse would be included. The plane shook off the shake that the bolt put through the fuselage and it was if nothing had happened. Although it got very quiet when the copilot quickly exited the cockpit and did a visual inspection of all that he could see as soon as he could see it.
What’s the moral of the story? Air travel is very safe until it’s not. I don’t miss flying and all of the before, during, and after incivility that accompanies it. No I don’t, not at all.
Fly safely.
No Spring Chicken, But Still Pleased as Punch
Yesterday one of our esteemed writers turned a, in his mind, very young 59 years of age. An early morning workout gave way to some reading. Time of the essence allowed for only 12 holes of golf as a fun dinner with family awaited. And indeed the day was enjoyable. When asked about the day he said that he was as pleased as punch with how it went. However, while pleased as punch sounds good, it comes from a macabre origin. Its meaning is derived from the bizarre really.
Meaning: To be very happy
History: A 17th century puppet show for adults called Punch and Judy featured a puppet named Punch who almost always hurt people. The act of killing or hitting characters with his stick (know as a slapstick) brought him pleasure, so he felt pleased with himself afterwards. Later the show morphed into a lighter, more children’s friendly event, and Punch’s character thankfully became a friendly one.
As one ages either gracefully or not so gracefully(like the beast known as Punch) into the fall season of their lives, their existence is sometimes referred to as being “no spring chicken.” This seems less than flattering. Savvy New England chicken buyers agree.
Meaning: Someone who is past his prime
History: New England chicken farmers generally sold chickens in the spring, so the chickens born in the springtime yielded better earnings than the chickens that survived the winter. Sometimes, farmers tried to sell old birds for the price of a new spring chicken. Clever buyers complained that the fowl was “no spring chicken,” and the term came to represent anyone past their prime.
While you may not be as pleased as punch to be looked at as no spring chicken, remember, “age is only a number.” So says some wise owls.
We wonder why the bigger the birthday number the more likely it’s referred to as only a number? Actually, we don’t wonder. We know.
The day is young. It’s time to get after it.
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Cromartie Goes AWOL in NOLA.
With less than one day to go till the Lenten Season begins, BBR asked Antonio Cromartie to take in the sights, sounds, and decadence of NOLA on Mardi Gras Day and give us a look at it though his eyes. Predictably, and unfortunately, ole Antonio headed head first into the merriment and hasn’t reported back like any good reporter would. Our guess is that he’ll be swallowed by the swale and swill of it all for quite sometime. So much for pending Lenten promises.
We dialed up emergency relief help to show us the story. The BBR staff came to the rescue. Below are several photos of the French Quarter scene on a picture perfect Fat Tuesday. Iphones take great pictures, but if you are looking at the post on one give the big file a moment to load. Regardless, here are eighteen photos and a very brief explanation/title to act as your tour guide. Enjoy. Enjoy, but not to the Cromartie level of enjoy, please.
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French Quarter corner balconies are architectually very cool!
Antonio, wherefore art thou Antonio?
We Heard You Mr. Cummings.
In the last seven days passion has come to the fore. Robert Kraft news kicked it off as we learned of his passion for massages (cheap ones at that) and women of the Asian persuasion. President Trump (who loves the ladies quite a bit as well) was passionate in his attempt to get North Korea to denuke. Never be afraid to walk from a deal that doesn’t get close enough to your ask, never. Michael Cohen was passionate in his hate for his former client Donald Trump. Maybe he was too passionate as he likely will face additional charges for again lying to the House of Representatives. Elijah Cummings passionately implored America to do better than this!
We heard Mr. Cummings. After a week of too much misdirected, failed, or ill-advised passion we decided to end it on a somewhat lighter note that allows us to forget for a bit all of the above. Sports. Now that’s passion directed in the right direction 24/7. Combatants on any field, arena, or track of competition bring out the love of the game in all of us. Their actions and subsequent achievements are plenty enough to gain a sense of the love for their chosen filed of dreams. But, sometimes their passion spills over into their words as well. Below we offer to you in no particular order some inspirational quotes from some intense sport folks.
1. “You can’t always control circumstances. However, you can always control your attitude, approach, and response. Your options are to complain or to look ahead and figure out how to make the situation better.” ― Tony Dungy
2. “If you can believe it, the mind can achieve it.” – Ronnie Lott
3.“The more I practice, the luckier I get.” – Gary Player
4. “Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle.” – Wilma Rudolph
5. “Excellence is not a singular act but a habit. You are what you do repeatedly.” – Shaquille O’Neal
Perhaps Shaq should have practiced free throws repeatedly. But we, otherwise, couldn’t agree with him more. This weekend I am repeatedly going to try to be excellent at having fun. The passion of the real world necessitates the escape to the fun.
Just, Just…..And the Beat Goes On.
Last week, riding its post All Star NBA weekend high, nike unveiled its latest technologically advanced, lightest weight, and most breathable basketball sneaker ever. Just Do It. It’s light weight was achieved by removing the entire outsole. With the entire bottom of the foot exposed the air circulation is second to none. It was quite the stage for the reveal as Duke was hosting North Carolina in a great ACC showdown. It was so unexpected just 18 seconds into the contest that Zion Williamson was unprepared for it and he sprained his knee as a result. Duke was so unprepared for it that they got hammered by NC in their own Cameron Area without Zion. We trust that nike was unprepared for it as well.
Meanwhile President Trump was busy selling and building a wall on the U.S. southern border. He was all in joining Nancy Reagan’s early 80’s campaign of Just Say No to drugs. Mr. Trump’s triumph in 2016 gives him the political clout to keep pushing. He says that amongst other things the wall will stop the massive amount of illegal drugs entering into our country on a daily basis. Half of America is so unprepared for it that they attempt to verbally tear it down as it’s being built.
Nike has been riding high due to its Just Do It campaign and great connection to basketball on all levels for over forty years. A wise owl told us that the combined market share of nike and Air Jordan sneaks command a combined 92 percent of the basketball shoe market.
Unfortunately America has been riding high for those 40 years and then some on drugs in spite of Mrs. Reagan’s Just Say no campaign and thousands of DEA and border agents best efforts.
It’s highly likely that the nike blowout on the hardwood will have little negative effect on their sales and gaudy market share numbers. While we write and while you sleep the sewing machines in China and beyond that forgot to sew Zion’s pair are busy 24/7 sewing millions of pairs.
It’s also highly likely that the Trump wall will have little negative effect on the abundant supply of drugs. Global weed growers and pill makers are likely busy 24/7 as well.
If the roles were reversed and the Just Do It slogan was used to help the wall and the Just Say No one was used to try slow nike sales we also doubt that either would have any negative effect. Demand is what it is for nike, and, for very different and unfortunate reasons, for illegal drugs.
Therefore, supply always attempts to satiate demand. Always. Money always wins out. Always.
Sonny and Cher sung the hit song “And the Beat Goes On“ way back in 1967.
And so it does.
Kraft Heinz and Kraft-Food for Thought.
As Thursday, February 21st faded into the evening like week-old roses, who knew what was in store for the dead of winter Friday, February 22nd? After all, on Wall St. what is known as the triple witching hour had already come and gone Friday a week prior. But, the world of business, sports, and life came together and had a triple witching hour all of its own.
Prior to the market’s open Kraft Heinz Corporation came clean about being dirty and bad. Kraft Heinz shocked investors Thursday when it posted a gigantic loss due to the write down of its Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands, slashed its dividend and disclosed an SEC probe into its accounting. Krafty accounting some say. Oh, and perhaps it forgot its most important mission-make tasty products that people actually want to buy and eat. Analyst’s note that increasingly food shoppers are headed to the healthier aisles including fresh, not processed, foods. This financial behemoth could have invested more wisely.
But, the Kraft Heinz revelation disgrace paled in comparison to the revelation that Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, had a warrant issued for his arrest for being dirty and bad too. Kraft’s name appeared on a list of “John’s” not “Robert’s” that were in trouble for solicitation of prostitution in a Jupiter, FL massage parlor. The Orchid’s of Asia Spa has a menu of services. You can pay by the half or by the hour. Apparently the financial transaction and the physical action is all caught on a police surveillance tape. Krafty cops some say. This financial behemoth could have invested more wisely.
Kraft becomes the first NFL owner to have six Super Bowl rings and one prostitution ring. It’s a dubious record that likely no one will ever break, nor will ever want to break. Perhaps Kraft, like Kraft Heinz, should have made healthier choices.
What is it about the Patriots and getting caught on tape? And, what is it about Jupiter, Florida, sports figures, and tawdry sex tales? Tiger Woods had a bit of trouble in this town a few years back. Town crier, ESPN “NFL Insider Expert,” Adam Schefter tweeted out that his sources state that Mr. Kraft isn’t the only big name that will be exposed (sorry) in this ongoing investigation. Salacious.
Five years ago Warren Buffet’s company bought Heinz. Then Heinz bought Kraft. Buffet rarely swings and misses so, especially with such a great brand name(s).
Roger Goodell is the commish over a great brand name too. It’s the NFL. Like it or not, he might have to take a swing on behalf of the league at Robert Kraft.
Kraft Heinz told Wall St. yesterday that they were guilty. Robert Kraft proclaimed his complete innocence yesterday through his legal team.
We’ll watch too closely like we do all train wrecks.
More Kraft Macaroni and Cheese please.
Done With Work Week Eight. Feeling Great!
You don’t need someone to put a gun to your head to take a couple of days off do you? Enjoy, Monday is just about 60 hours away……..59…….
What Would Alexander Graham Bell Say?
Randall Stephenson, AT&T CEO, answered a wide range of questions yesterday in a back and forth with Maria Bartiromo while appearing on the Fox Business Channel. In ten minutes or so of air time Bartiromo had Stephenson cover his companies finances, outlook, debt, direction, long view of tv viewing, content, etc, etc.
We paraphrase the exchange. Their 2018 acquisition of Time Warner drove their debt up 40 billion to 173 billion last year. No worries he said. Free cash flow from operations would reduce the 40 billion by 75% by year-end 2019 and the dividend was safe. What does Time Warner bring to your business? Content. A 90 year library of goodies. Are you selling CNN? No, It’s an integral piece. Your subscriptions for Direct TV have slid 4 consecutive years, did you over pay for this mammoth division? Not at all he said. It gives us a platform to reach millions and a chance to convert them to our Direct Now streaming services. Plus its original content rich as well. People are getting their content from many other non conventional sources she stated such as YouTube TV, Roku, Netflix. He agreed and stated that the future looked to him like most households would use two or three different services and that AT&T was well positioned to be a provider of the means as well as the content.
In ten minutes not one word was spoken about the origins of the business, aka the phone, nor its outlook, nor its profitability. AT&T is the world’s largest telecommunications company, the second largest provider of mobile telephone services, and the largest provider of fixed telephone services in the United States through AT&T Communications. The phone biz is a cash cow farm. In short the phone biz is paying for the entertainment acquisition and endless repackaging of its content. The race for your money by winning your viewing pleasure is on yet again.
AT&T can trace its origin back to the original Bell Telephone Company founded by Alexander Graham Bell after his patenting of the telephone. One of that company’s subsidiaries was American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), established in 1885. AT&T eventually established the monopoly known as the Bell System, and during this period, AT&T was also known by the nickname Ma Bell. The former AT&T was the world’s largest phone company.
In 1982, U.S. regulators broke up the AT&T monopoly, requiring AT&T to divest its regional subsidiaries and turning them each into individual companies. These new companies were known as Regional Bell Operating Companies, or more informally, Baby Bells. AT&T continued to operate long distance services, but as a result of this breakup, faced competition from new competitors such as MCI and Sprint. AT&T was in the phone business and phone business only then, but no more.
Speaking of new competition, all of that brings us to this. Is your telephone and television quality of calls, service, and content any better than it ever was? On one hand the answer is a resounding yes. Phone communication is mobile/wireless now. TV is in 4k Ultra HD and headed to 5. The plethora of choices in live programming as well as recorded is head spinning. Watch programming on your phone or on your Ipad or Surface? No problem. You can watch what you want, where you want, on what you want, and when you want to.
On the other hand the answer on phones lies in still too many dropped calls, intermittent call clarity, background noisy air pods, tangled ear pods, low battery, dead battery, and lost chargers. On the other hand the answer on TV lies in much higher costs, satellite bad weather outages, blocked programming, local blackouts, ever-changing content companies, to stream or not, and how many providers do you want providing what you want. Oh, and there is this small matter of passwords.
AT&T has the word “telegraph” in its name for a reason. How far have we come? Very, very. We’ve come from Morse Code to Al Gore’s Internet at your door/car/phone.
How far and fast will these tied at the hip industries yet go? Our guess is very and very still.
WWAGBS? What Would Alexander Graham Bell Say? Our guess is that he would say one or two things. One, he would likely say “I would just like a damn phone that works.” And, two, “Roku this!”
Work Week Seven Has Died and Gone to Heaven. Lucky You.
You can almost smell the infield dirt. It’s one of many signs of spring. it’s time to tee (up) your weekend with this great 57 second video from our Twitter friends.