Monday, June 10, 2019

Serenity Now


My last blog was April 22, good Lord I am a mess.
“The Serenity Now” was the 159th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. The third episode of the ninth and final season was “The Serenity Now”. This episode aired on October 9, 1997.

As of this evening 172 spring semester/term grades are complete, Serenity Now.

The Detroit Tigers are 24-38, eighteen games behind the Minnesota Twins, Serenity Now.

Horse racing in America is in big trouble. Serenity Now.

Reply all email is still a major form of communication in academia, Serenity Now.

Infomercials in Doctor’s Offices are creepy, Serenity Now.

Speaking of creepy, data analytics is no way to make strategy, Serenity Now.

Is narcissism contagious? Serenity Now.

GOT, Billions, and Mrs. Maisel are now fini, Serenity Now.

I just read “Fear” by Bob Woodward, I can no longer sleep at night, Serenity Now.

Higher education is in big trouble, on so many fronts, stay tuned; Serenity Now.

Is anyone on time anymore? Serenity Now.

 Brent Brekke is the new men’s hockey coach at St. Lawrence University. His experience is on the staffs at Miami of Ohio, Cornell University, and Clarkson University. Clarkson???? Serenity Now.

I have no summer projects, Serenity Now.

I feel much better, thank you Frank Costanza.

COLLEGE CHRONICLES – Colleges that participated in the 2018 NACUBO - TIAA Study of Endowments returned an average of 8.2 percent on their endowments for the 2018 fiscal year, compared with 12.2 percent for the 2017 fiscal year. The drop was largely due to a decline in U.S. and international equity markets.

Top Five: June 30, 2018

Harvard - $38.3 B
University of Texas – 30.9 B
Yale – 29.4 B
Stanford – 26.5 B
Princeton – 25.9 B

Other Institutions of note:

Pomona - $2.3 B
Ithaca College - $316.0 M
St. Lawrence - $305.7 M
La Verne - $102.3 M

STUDENT DEBT – Democratic Presidential candidate, Pete Buttigieg's high college debt — $130,000, between him and his husband, Chasten — has helped make student loans a major 2020 issue.

Several candidates have made major proposals to address the crisis, including wiping away debt, lowering interest rates, expanding programs that tie repayment terms to income, and making college free or debt-free.

The data: Student loan debt is often discussed in terms of millennials, but it cuts across age groups: 7.8 million people age 50 and older owe a combined $291.9 billion in student loans, federal statistics show.

IMMIGRATION - Immigrants accounted for almost half of population growth in the U.S. from 2017 to 2018, according to new Census Bureau data.

Why it matters: It's a reminder of how rapidly the demographics of the country are changing — and how the bitter political fights over immigration aren't changing the broader trends.

Immigration could help mitigate the negative impact of falling birth rates.

The U.S. is headed toward a large dependent population of children and retirees and a much smaller workforce, which would slow economic growth.

The big picture: 9% of the nation's counties grew due to immigration rather than more births than deaths — including counties that contain most of San Francisco, Houston and Boston, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.

More than half the population growth in D.C., Florida, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and 7 other states was due to immigration.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Tonya Carmon, Madonna (60), Dick Vitale (80).

SUMMER TRAVEL BUG - The internet was supposed to mean we never had to leave our homes again. But other forces -- a globally expanding middle class, increased transportation options, and even social media -- have conspired to make this an era of when an unprecedented number of humans are exerting their travel agency. The trend has left some increasingly popular places stuck in a tourist trap. The Atlantic: Too Many People Want to Travel. "If tourism is a capitalist phenomenon, over tourism is its demented late-capitalist cousin: selfie-stick deaths, all-you-can-eat ships docking at historic ports, stag nights that end in property crimes, the live-streaming of the ruination of fragile natural habitats, et cetera. There are just too many people thronging popular destinations."

+ In 1923, George Leigh Mallory said he attempted to climb Everest, "because it's there." More importantly, everyone else wasn't. These days, things have changed. "With crowds, trash, and selfies at its summit, the once untamable mountain has lost its cultural power." Everest Is Over. (I also hear that, towards the top, the WiFi sucks.)

+ You know we're reaching peak travel when a company that makes suitcases is valued at $1.4 billion.

MARKET WEEK - The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield settled at 2.085% Friday, its lowest since September 2017. The benchmark yield posted its fifth straight weekly decline.

United Technologies strikes deal for Raytheon. The proposed deal intensifies the consolidation in the aerospace and defense industry. Plane makers have been seeking better terms from suppliers and the Pentagon has been pressuring contractors to cut costs and invest more of their own money in new technologies.

PG&E shuts power to California resort area. The utility turned off power to more than 22,000 customers in the northern part of the state over the weekend as part of the first wave of what PG&E has said will likely be numerous pre-emptive shutdowns this year to help prevent deadly wildfires.

DRIVING THE WEEK - POTUS heads to Iowa Tuesday, where he will tour and speak at Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy in Council Bluffs ... Senate Banking has a hearing at 10 a.m. Tuesday on data brokers ... House Financial Services subcommittee has a hearing at 10 a.m. Tuesday on student loan debt ...

Senate Finance has a hearing at 3 p.m. Wednesday on China's Belt and Road initiative ... Peterson Institute for International Economics has a forum on the economy and trade at 12 p.m. Thursday featuring NEC Director Larry Kudlow.

CONGRATS – To Chapman University Panthers Baseball team (44-12) (Endowment 6/30/18 $394.1 M) for winning the DIII National Championship. The SCIAC conference has national prominence in baseball and tennis this recently completed 2018-19 season.



SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS

NHL Game of the Week – Wednesday 6/12 8:00 PM ET, NBC. Game 7 Stanley Cup Final. St. Louis Blues (3-3) vs. Boston Bruins (3-3). Game 1,355 of the 2018-19 season, Bruins win 4-2, and take home the Cup. (Season to date 8-4)

MLB Game of the Week – Saturday 6/15 6:05 PM PT, FS1: Chicago Cub (37-27) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (45-21). No better place than Dodger Stadium to see two of the National League’s best teams, Dodgers win this one 6 – 3. (Season to Date 1-0)

2019 Season to Date (15 - 9)

Next Blog:  Word and Jack Ass of the Month.

Until next time, Adios

Claremont, California
June 10, 2019
#IX-22-390

CARTOON OF THE WEEK – “ Summer” Charles Schulz


RINK RATS POLL –

My candidate for the 2020 Democratic Presidential nomination, as of today is….

____ Joe Biden
____ Cory Booker
____ Pete Buttigieg
____ Larry David
____ Kamala Harris
____ Bernie Sanders
____ Elizabeth Warren
____ Opray Winfrey
____ Other

QUOTE OF THE MONTH – “Statistics are like bikinis; they show a lot but not everything.”
Lou Piniella

Rink Rats is a blog of weekly observations, predictions and commentary. We welcome your comments and questions. Also participate in our monthly poll. Rink Rats is now viewed in Europe, Canada, South America and the United States.

Posted at Rink Rats The Blog: First Published – May 3, 2010

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