As we approach the middle of the summer it is a time to
re-charge our attitudes and relax. Be it a day at the beach or lake, an
afternoon at a museum, some travel, a family reunion, or just sitting on a
patio and catching up on your reading.
Summer is also a time when you can attend a camp: a sports
camp, overnight camp, health camp, music camp, you get the point. This summer I
have had the continued great pleasure to participate in two academic camps.
The University of La Verne has two wonderful summer
programs, wonderful not because I participate, but wonderful because they help
students learn: A business camp for high school students to study college level
business, and an executive certificate program for international students to
study American business.
Both these camps are popular and community based. The REACH
Business camp provides local high school students (58) an exposure to business,
business education and perhaps most important many of these first generation
college students a first exposure to college life. They develop a business
venture and develop a plan by studying accounting, finance, web site
development, organization management and learn how to work as a team.
Every year I participate in this camp I am amazed at the
desire to learn and the joy of beginning a higher education academic career for
these students. You read these days about the high costs of college and the
poor return on the investment. I disagree, when you see these students’
families and friends attend their graduation with their pride and expectations
for the future, you cannot help to feel good about what college offers these
students and their families.
The second camp is for students (220) from South America,
China, New Zealand, and Europe who want to increase their knowledge about
management, accounting, finance, marketing, public administration, and business
strategies. What an enthusiastic group of adults. To view their wonder at
visiting Southern California (America) for the first time is very special.
SCIENCE
101
- Eclipse fever builds: From coast to coast, towns anticipate celestial event
of a lifetime ... Parades, parties and port-a-potties.
The moon's shadow will race across the United States [during
the day] on Aug. 21, tracing a 2,800-mile arc from Oregon to South Carolina. It
will take about 90 minutes for the eclipse to travel from coast to coast,
plunging a roughly 70-mile-wide swath of land into a twilight-like darkness in
the process.
Only in this so-called path of totality will the world grow
dark enough to see the stars as the moon blots out the sun. The temperature
will drop, crickets will begin to chirp and farm animals will lie down and go
to sleep. If skies are clear, observers will be able to see the sun's halo-like
corona, which is usually obscured by the brightness of the photosphere.
An estimated 12 million Americans are fortunate enough to
live in the path of totality. But for the rest of us, viewing the first total
solar eclipse to stretch across the continental U.S. since 1918 will take some
strategizing.
Hopkinsville, Ky., is calling itself Eclipsville: "We
put in a request with Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin to have 85 National Guard
military police, simply to assist with the immense amount of traffic that we
anticipate.
BOXERS
OR BRIEFS? - Sperm count falling sharply in Western world: Sperm
counts in men from America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand have dropped by
more than 50 percent in less than 40 years ... [Researchers] said the rate of
decline is not slowing. Both findings ... pointed to a potential decline in
male health and fertility. ... 'This study is an urgent wake-up call for
researchers and health authorities around the world.'"
Researchers said falling sperm counts have ... been linked
to various factors such as exposure to certain chemicals and pesticides,
smoking, stress and obesity.
COLLEGE
CHRONICLES – Canada is the most educated country in the world; 55% of
adults have a college degree.
College
Costs: Public vs. Private - Comparative costs on college campuses.
Large, public universities spend more efficiently than do
small, private colleges, according to a new study by the American Council of
Trustees and Alumni. At large, public institutions, the administrative staff
spends a median of 17 cents for every dollar spent on the instructional staff.
At small, private colleges, 64 cents are spent on the administrative staff for
every dollar spent on the instructional staff. Here's the analysis.
Following a 400-percent rise over the past 30 years, college
tuition is growing at its slowest rate in decades.
MORTGAGES
COULD GET EASIER – Two major changes in the mortgage market go
into effect this month, and both could help millions more borrowers qualify for
a home loan. The changes will also add more risk to the mortgage market.
First, the nation’s three major credit rating agencies ...
will drop tax liens and civil judgments from some consumers’ profiles if the
information isn’t complete ... In addition to the FICO changes, mortgage giants
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are allowing borrowers to have higher levels of debt
and still qualify for a home loan.
BIRTHDAYS
THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Tim Gun (64) New York, NY; Corlan Ortmayer Harrison
…she should be ULV’s Alumni Director; Arnold Schwarzenegger (70) Beverly Hills, CA.; Jordan Spieth (24) Austin, TX.; Sandro Suffredini …another
famous nephew.
GOOD READ - "The Uninhabitable
Earth," by David Wallace-Wells, is now the most-read article in the
magazine's history, with 2.5 million readers so far: http://nym.ag/2tdMwYO..
SUMMER
TRAVEL – I eat nothing on flights. At super high altitude, your
digestive system shuts down completely. Someone said to me it's like being
under anesthesia. So when you get off the plane, everything restarts and [your
digestive system] has so much more work to do and so it makes you more tired.
Most people overeat because it's a diversion or a way to
pass the time; but even the best plane food is over salted and preserved so it
can be microwaved. So you have something to eat a couple hours before getting
on the plane, but otherwise it's nothing but lots and lots of water.
Dear
Rink Rats:
For the
last five months I have been talking to a guy I met via a dating app. We live a
few states apart and have yet to meet in person, but we communicate regularly.
With my
tax refund this year, I’d like to do something for me. He suggested that I
visit him. I don’t get any red flags from him, and I’m sure I’d be 100 percent
safe while I’m there. However, I’m anxious about taking a trip by myself to
visit a guy I’ve developed a massive crush on.
I have
thought about offering to pay his way here instead, or simply not going at all.
I asked my friends and family for their opinions. Some of them think I should
go, while others say I should pay his way here. I need advice from an
outsider’s perspective.
Signed,
Confused
and Crushing
Dear
Confused and Crushing:
Are you
nuts…what are you doing on a dating app! How about the local bar, church, or
bingo hall to meet Mr. Right? Or how about investing your tax return in a
Technology ETF?
But if
you must, I vote for having your friend come and visit you the first time you
meet. That way your family and friends can meet him, and if your massive crush
doesn’t live up to your expectations, you won’t be alone in a strange city and
at a disadvantage.
Signed,
Rink
Rats
TOP
NORTH AMERICAN SPORT FRANCHISES – According to Forbes Magazine
the most valuable American franchises: Dallas Cowboys $4.2B, New York Yankees
$3.7B, New England Patriots $3.4B, New York Knicks $3.3B, New York Giants
$3.1B.
SWAMI’S
WEEK TOP PICKS –
MLB Game of the Week (July 29) – Colorado Rockies (58-44)
vs. Washington Nationals (59-39). Two playoff bound teams clash in the nation’s
capital, Rockies win 4 – 3.
Season
to Date (45 - 23)
ON THIS
DATE
- July 24, 1701: Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac established a French settlement
at le détroit ("the strait”). Happy 316th Birthday to the City of Detroit.
Next
Blog: Jack Ass of the Month, words of the Month and what is on the
iPad.
See you on July 31, Adios.
Claremont, California
July 26, 2017
#VIII-10-352
CARTOON
OF THE WEEK – Unemployment
by Michael Ramirez
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