06/7/21

Applying Logic and Simple Reasoning

I am going to tell you a tale. Stay with me to the end as it is not what you may think.

We live in a world in which many odd things have happened of late. Amongst them are the following:

 1. Solar Winds — Russian hackers — have cracked into the vast majority of US government computers and databases to an extent that we simply don’t know how deep they penetrated, if they left behind artifacts, and when they did it.

We do know our government didn’t tell us for a long time and they did not know about it for a long time. But, supposedly, the Russian hackers did not get the nuclear football codes.

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06/4/21

The End of the Coach K Era at Duke

I am a passionate North Carolina Tarheels basketball fan and thus am obligated to hate Duke and The Rat, Coach Mike Krzyzewski. I hate Duke and Coach K.

In reality, if Duke is not playing Carolina or if they are still in the NCAA March Madness Tournament and the Heels are out, I root for Duke. I like Coach K, the smiling cherub.

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06/1/21

Trusting Politicians

I do not trust politicians. I never really have. I am often tempted to single out Democrats for being more untrustworthy, but I call them like I see them.

Here is my view of Louisiana Republican politics and the Republicans. It sucks. They suck. Do not trust them.

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06/1/21

CEO Shoptalk — You Will Learn

About five years ago, I had a chat with the younger brother of a successful CEO. The older brother was a friend of mine of longstanding and through him I met the younger brother.

The younger brother was in awe of his big brother — All State Basketball First Team kind of awe. We got to talking about his brother, the CEO/Founder, in that capacity. He was, admittedly, very good. Plus, he was a good guy with that aura of a winner that guys like that have.

“I could never do what he does,” said brother younger. “He just knows what to do. He’s a natural.” It was a serious lament, so I told him the following:

 1. No CEO/Founder ever knew everything he/she needed to know before they started the company even if it is their fifth company.

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05/28/21

Honor and Observe v Celebrate Memorial Day

Monday is Memorial Day, the day upon which we honor and observe, not celebrate, those who lost their lives in service to the Nation in the military during wartime.

Lance Corporal Eric Ward, a fourth-generation U.S. Marine, was killed in Afghanistan on February 21, 2010. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The United States is commemorating Memorial Day this Monday.

As a Nation, we ponder with solemnity the sacrifice these men and women made in service to the Nation.

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05/27/21

FBI — Tied Up In Knots Over A Noose

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched an investigation into the appearance of eight nooses at an Amazon work site in Windsor, Connecticut. Key the threatening background music, please.

The noose is, of course, interpreted as a symbol of racial hatred harkening back to the horrific lynching of black persons with a knotted noose.

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05/26/21

Adapt Or Die — New York Times

Evolution is a real thing. We are seeing companies evolve due to the realities of the Internet and digital everything.

Do you recall just a couple of decades ago when we knew that hard copy, paper newspapers were a “dead man walking?”

You just knew all that content was going digital and that a paper newspaper was a death sentence. Right? Not so fast, amigos.

Remember when everyone said the New York Times — once America’s paper of record — was headed to the dustbin of history?

There is, however, an alternative to the dustbin of history — it is called “adaptation” and the 170-year-old New York Times has successfully undertaken that course of action.

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05/26/21

Space Race — Blue Origin v SpaceX

Do you want to take a ride into outer space? Well, do you?

If you do and you have a bit of ready cash you can hitch a ride on either Blue Origin’s (Jeff Bezos) or SpaceX’s (Elon Musk) rocket and escape the surly bonds of gravity for a few minutes. Today, we talk Blue Origin’s book.

You can put yourself into outer space in less than two months. Hello, America! Here’s how, amigos.

Blue Origin is auctioning off a passenger ticket. [No, Expedia and Priceline are not involved.]

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