Our last Rink Rats of 2020, whew, glad this is over!
There are many words that sum up
2020, some of them I cannot print here.
But one word that stays with me
is “transition”.
A year of transition in my
health, my attitude toward leadership and transparency. Transition in our
country, our attitudes toward fellow citizens, colleagues, and our
institutions.
My year has been a breeze, thanks
to my family, friends, and neighbors: compared to so many who have been ill,
who have been misguided, who have failed to see what is right and wrong.
A year of transition for business:
technology, personnel, marketing, supply chains – all have changed
dramatically.
Education perhaps has had the
greatest transition: students at all levels turning off their cameras,
management turning off their common sense, parents dealing with the changes at
home.
Social media has transitioned to
even a greater influence on society. From communication to shaping public
opinion, and entertainment. Every day I say what next in this social media
world.
Above all the stress and
uncertainty of the past year, this writer remains positive about the future. I
am surrounded by caring people who think of others before they think of
themselves. Can I stay positive? This is my transition into 2021.
2020 MARKET - In
March, the U.S. economy was chugging along with historically low unemployment,
then it turned left at a sign marked “coronavirus” and chugged off a cliff.
Congress quickly passed a rescue package of unprecedented scale: $2.2 trillion.
In 2019, you would have been
shocked to learn that a few months into 2020 you would pine for that
overcrowded, overpriced bar where it takes an hour to get a drink. You’d be
even more shocked to learn that $2 trillion in government spending would be
criticized as insufficient. But it was. The social distancing mandates
necessary to getting the virus under control put businesses and the labor
market in existentially dire straits.
That’s initial jobless claims for the week before March 26, the Labor Department’s biggest spike on record. Many economists agree the magnitude of the stimulus was beyond warranted, and for many critics, it wasn’t anywhere near enough.
One University of California
Berkeley economist argued that to support testing early on, the government
should have inserted itself even more into the private sector by guaranteeing
test makers a return on their investments.
NYT economics reporter Noam
Scheiber wrote, “Employers are generally willing to make investments when they
believe that these investments will benefit their business. But they are
reluctant to take on costs when it is primarily the public that benefits, in
which case it falls to the government to step in.” In 2020, the government
stepped in to a degree not seen before in our lifetimes. Now, even after a
second $900 billion stimulus package was passed, lawmakers are in a heated
debate over whether to send additional $2,000 checks to Americans.
President-elect Joe Biden will be
inaugurated on January 20, and he’s likely to take a more hands-on approach
with the private sector than President Trump. He’s promised to wield the DPA
(Defense Protection Act) to support healthcare efforts and called for even more
stimulus.
WHAT’S ON MY iPHONE PLAYLIST? - five
songs we are listening to this New Year’s 2021:
1). “Auld Lang Syne”, 1947: Guy Lombardo and His Royal
Canadians
2). “Rum and Coca-Cola”, 1944: Andrew Sisters
3). “Midnight Rider”, 1970: Allman Brothers Band
4). “1999”, 1982: Prince
5). “Don’t Stop Believin”, 1981: Journey
COLLEGE CHRONICLES TRANSITION - Faced
with a rapid deterioration in their finances in 2020, America’s colleges and
universities issued a record amount of bonds this year.
It is a stressful time for higher
education. The coronavirus pandemic worsened existing pressures on tuition and
auxiliary revenue, with international students opting to study outside the U.S.
and money from room and board drying up as schools keep classes online. At the
same time, demand for financial aid and costs related to providing protective
gear and Covid-19 testing have jumped.
Hoping to address possible
shortfalls and take advantage of ultralow rates, universities have flooded the
market with debt. With few places to get a return in the bond market, investors
have scooped up the issues, which in some cases offer yields of 2% or 3% for
debt that matures in 15 to 30 years.
For the year through November,
colleges and universities issued more than $41.3 billion in taxable and
tax-exempt fixed-rate debt, including refinancings, a record since Barclays
began tracking the data. The data included issuance from schools with top-notch
credit ratings, including Brown University and the University of Michigan, as
well as lower-rated schools like Linfield University in McMinnville, Ore., and
Alvernia University in Reading, Pa.
Moody’s Investors Service MCO
0.99% in March lowered its outlook on the entire sector to negative from
stable, citing uncertainties and financial challenges brought on by the
pandemic. S&P Global Ratings lowered its outlook on a raft of schools in
May and no longer maintains a positive outlook on a single one of the schools
it rates. Attempting to help alleviate some of the pressure, more than $20
billion was allotted to public and private higher education in the latest
Covid-19 relief bill passed by Congress.
CHINA
2020 TRANSITION - China will end 2020
as the only major country to see its economy grow, not shrink.
China
is operating from a position of great strength, with an economy expected to
grow by 8.4% in 2021. The competition with the U.S. is likely to be fiercer
during Joe Biden's presidency than at any point in history.
Columbia
University historian Adam Tooze said: "However many times you hear the
China growth story, it continues to have the capacity to shock and amaze. ...
In scale and speed, it is unlike any previous experience."
China's
economy is projected to grow by 2% in 2020 and by 8.4% in 2021. By the end of
next year, its economy is expected to be 10.6% larger than it was at the
beginning of this year.
By
contrast, after shrinking by 3.6% this year and growing by a projected 4% next
year, the U.S. economy is going to end 2021 just 0.25% larger than it was at
the beginning of 2020.
ANNUAL
AIRING OF GRIEVANCES –
It
is time to air some things that bugged this writer, in some cases, again in
2020:
·
Top of the list, the
Detroit Lions – must they always stink!
·
Reply all emails,
really, the tenth straight year on my grievances list.
·
Leaders who
constantly say they are being transparent but are not even close…I know who you
are.
·
Why cannot golfers
replace their divots in the fairway and ball marks on the greens?
·
No one likes a
narcissist.
·
The “WF” course
grade; hey, either you failed or you didn’t. What’s up!
BIRTHDAYS
THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and
thoughts this week to Dr. Anthony Fauci (80) LeBron James (35), Gayle King
(66), Sandy Koufax (85), Maggie Smith (86).
BY
THE NUMBERS - 10% — The recommended limit
for added sugars as a proportion of daily calories in the dietary guidelines
the U.S. government issued Tuesday. The new guidelines left the allowance for
sugar unchanged, against the advice of a scientific advisory committee to cut
the limit to 6%. The new guidelines do include the committee’s recommendation
that children under age 2 consume no added sugars at all.
140
— The estimated number of graduate programs across
dozens of schools that won’t admit new doctoral students for fall 2021. Ph.D.
programs in seven of eight Ivy League schools are pressing pause on admissions,
and so are others at the University of Chicago, the University of Minnesota and
the University of Washington. Instead of taking on a new class of aspiring
Ph.D.s, scores of programs are extending funding to current students whose
studies or job searches the pandemic disrupted.
$300
— The daily maximum fine hospitals will face if
they don’t disclose the rates they negotiate with individual insurers for
services including drugs, supplies and facility fees, under a federal rule set
to take effect Friday. The American Hospital Association had sued to block the
new Trump administration policy, but a federal appeals court in Washington
affirmed the change on Tuesday.
RINK
RATS 2020 QUIZ –
1). Which
of the following films won the 2020 Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best
Director, Best Original Screenplay, and International Feature Film in February?
A. Alfonso
Cuaron’s Roma
B. Bong
Joon Ho’s Parasite
C. Taika
Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit
D. Guillermo
del Toro’s The Shape of Water
2). SpaceX
accomplished which historic achievement this year?
A. A
successful crewed mission
B. Elon
Musk took a selfie in zero-gravity
C. Starlink
satellites took a photo of Saturn’s rings
D. A
probe collected a moon rock
3). Which
was the most-viewed TikTok video of 2020?
A. 420Doggface208
drinking cranberry juice
B. Bella
Poarch lip syncing “M to the B”
C. Eliza
Petersen asking “meteor or meatier?”
D. Will
Smith wiping it down
4). Fill
in the blank: A 2019 study released this August found that the number of U.S.
workers ________ rose 11% from 2018, and 29% from 2015.
A. Actively
saving for retirement
B. Testing
positive for marijuana
C. Working
from home
D. Freelancing
5). Finally,
this year, everything was…
A. Dalgona
coffee
B. A
newsletter
C. Sourdough
bread
D. Cake
Answers
at the end of the blog.
2020
WASN’T ALL THAT BAD –
Below are six of our favorite pieces of advice, knowledge and wisdom we picked up this year.
Complaining
is sometimes good for you
The
trick to doing it right starts with understanding how the word “complaining” is
often misused to describe a variety of behaviors, with some being more harmful
or helpful than others. Teasing apart these distinctions requires vocabulary
that varies between experts, but there are roughly three categories: venting,
problem solving and ruminating, otherwise known as dwelling. Knowing which behavior
you’re engaging in, and with what purpose, can help you establish habits that
will not only make your complaining much more strategic, but also help improve
your emotional health and build stronger relationships with the people around
you.
You
should stop saving your money
OK,
to be a little clearer: Stop actively saving your money. Automate it so you
just don’t have to think about it. This is what I mean by mindless saving. Your
paycheck should be making pit stops before it hits your account, getting a
little smaller with each stop. The priority of these stops, and the amounts
saved, will vary based on your current financial life, but the general idea is
the same: Automate your savings so you never even have to think about saving
anything. Take yourself completely out of the equation — you can’t miss (or
spend) what was never there.
It’s
fine to leave your phone plugged in all day
Some
people just plug their phones into a charger (or toss them onto a wireless
charging pad) whenever power is available. Others fastidiously keep their
batteries between 40 percent and 80 percent, never allowing a full charge,
guided by the belief that a battery will last longer as a result.
After
speaking with battery researchers and the experts at iFixit, reviewing studies
on phone replacement trends, and analyzing some user data from Wirecutter
staffers, we’ve found that although micromanaging your phone’s battery is
likely to extend its life to a small degree, the results might not be worth the
inconvenience in the long run.
Being
a good person is simpler than you think
According
to Cheryl Strayed, author and former “Dear Sugars” host and columnist:
Cultivate a sense of optimism. Remember to be grateful. Be happy for others
when good things happen to them. Stop complaining about the people, jobs or
situations that make you miserable, and find a way to change it or end it
instead. Go for a walk every day. Goodness is action. It’s being kind, honest,
considerate, respectful and generous. It’s holding love in your heart.
To
have a better night’s sleep, slow down in the evenings
Excitement
makes it harder to sleep. “Smartphones and laptops are just too exciting,” one
sleep expert told us. “So many people find it easier to go to sleep after
reading a book than after trawling the internet. Do more quiet, relaxing
activities in the hour or two before you plan to sleep.” Books, audiobooks,
just listening to music or even meditating are all perfect — though make sure
you don’t mess around with your phone too much.
Similarly,
exercise, big meals and bright lights — especially sources of blue light like
screens — should be avoided an hour or two before bedtime. Not only do blue
lights suppress melatonin, which makes it harder to fall asleep, but they also
diminish the quality of sleep you get through the night.
Self-awareness
is key to emotional intelligence
This
simply means being able to identify your own emotions and how they work. Are
you anxious in loud environments? Do you get angry when people talk over you?
If you know these things about yourself, then you’re practicing self-awareness.
This can be more difficult than it sounds, but simply being aware of yourself
is all it takes for this step.
2020
JACK ASSES –
- President Donald
Trump: he called COVID a hoax, mocked anyone who wore a mask, insisted we’d
turned a corner and refuses to assist the economy he destroyed. Wants credit
for the vaccines, is a bully, cheats at golf, has fake hair. Enough said.
·
Sean
Hannity: The real-world consequences of Hannity’s scandal-mongering require
little in the way of guesswork. A recent study by the Pew Research Center found
that 52 percent of Fox News viewers see voter fraud as a “major problem when it
comes to voting by mail in U.S. presidential elections.” That scary number
isn’t surprising, considering that Fox News repeats the bogus claims of President
Trump — and the alleged pitfalls of mail-in voting is a big one — with minimal
interference. People believe Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham
— and possibly even the “Fox & Friends” crew. As this episode suggests, the
Fox Newsers have little worry that their audience will find, and trust,
contradictory reports from other outlets. So why not just ignore them?
- Kellyanne Conway has
admitted Biden/Harris won. This means:
1) Hell has frozen over and Kellyanne has been
offered a job as a Zamboni driver
2) Kellyanne wants her husband and daughter to
talk to her again
3) Kellyanne will start claiming she's never met
Trump
- Gavin Newsom: A pompous non-transparent leader.
- Don Cherry: Don, time
to retire and fade away.
BASEBALL FINANCE 2020 - MLB teams
paid out $1.7 billion in prorated salaries during the pandemic-shortened 2020
season.
That figure is nearly $2.5
billion less than the full 2019 season.
Top 2020 Payrolls –
Los Angeles Dodgers: $98.6
million
New York Yankees: $83.6 million
New York Mets: $83.4 million
Houston Astros: $81.4 million
Chicago Cubs: $80.6 million
The Dodgers topped the league
in spending for the fourth-straight year, but 2020’s payroll was the lowest by
a league-leader since the 2000 Yankees spent $95.3 million.
When adjusted for a full
season, all but nine teams actually increased their payroll.
The 2021 season start date and
length is still up in the air — a 135-game season starting in May has been
floated — but there’s growing mistrust between teams and players.
MLB claimed teams would lose up
to $4 billion last season without fans in attendance if players made their full
prorated salaries.
Last week, super agent Scott
Boras pushed back on the league’s claims: “There’s no team in baseball that
lost money last year.”
CFP / BCS BOWLS - When the
College Football Playoff announced the Rose Bowl Game was moving from Pasadena,
California, to Arlington, Texas, the COVID-19 positivity rate in Arlington’s
county was higher than that of Pasadena.
Despite this, CFP Executive
Director Bill Hancock said in a statement the move was due to the “growing
number of COVID-19 cases in Southern California,” and emphasized excitement
that Arlington’s local guidelines would allow families into the stadium.
But another appeal of Arlington
hosting quickly emerged: In addition to families,16,000 fans can attend.
Ticket revenue represents
“arguably” one of bowl games’ largest revenue streams and as ticket prices sour
and begin to sell, young fans appear willing to attend despite the risks.
THE BOYS ARE BACK - The NHL is
a bit closer to actually getting on the ice.
The NHL Board of Governors
approved the proposed agreement between the league and the NHL Players'
Association.
So, the path is basically
cleared for a 56-game regular season to begin on Jan. 13. But there is one more
obstacle.
The NHL’s seven Canadian teams,
in what will be an all-Canadian division under the proposed one-year
realignment, are still to get clearance from the five provinces to go ahead and
play in their own buildings.
If they cannot, the NHL will
either go to a hub-city format, with those seven teams staying and playing
likely in Edmonton, or possibly disperse the seven teams to cities in the
United States (which would require further realignment).
What does all this mean from
Rink Rats favorite team the Detroit Red Wings’ perspective?
As one of the seven teams that
didn’t quality for the Return To Play last summer, they’d get a few extra days
of training camp beginning on Dec. 31 with the other non-playoff teams (the
other 24 teams would begin Jan. 3).
The Red Wings will be housed in
the Central Division along with Columbus, Carolina, Chicago, Nashville, Tampa,
Florida and Dallas.
All 56 games will be played
within the division, and the top four teams in the division advance to the
playoffs, again all within the division, with the regular season scheduled to
end May 8.
The Stanley Cup is expected to
be awarded in mid-July, with a return to a “normal” hockey calendar for the
2021-22 season beginning in early October.
SWAMI’S
WEEK TOP PICKS –
NFL
Football Pick of the Week – Sunday 1/3, 1:25
PM (PDT), CBS: Arizona Cardinals (8-7) at Los Angeles Rams (9-6). LA QB Goff is
out, winner makes the playoffs. LA prevails 24 – 21. (Season to
date 10-3)
COLLEGE
FOOTBALL BCS – Friday 1/1, 1:00
pm (PDT), ESPN: Citrus Bowl - #4 University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-1)
vs #1 University of Alabama Crimson Tide (11-0). Roll Tide 45 – 28.
Friday
1/1, 5:00 pm (PDT), ESPN: Texas Rose Bowl - #3 Ohio State University Buckeyes
(6-0) vs. #2 Clemson University Tigers (10-1). Big Ten humiliated again, Tigers
win 38 – 20.
(Season
to Date 8-5)
NBA
Pick of the Week – Friday 1/1. 5:00
pm (PDT), NBA TV: Los Angeles Lakers (2-2) at San Antonio Spurs (2-1). It’s
early, but Lakers are sluggish, Spurs win 94 – 85.
EPL
Pick of the Week – Friday 1/1, 12:00
pm (PDT), NBCSN: Manchester United (8-3-3) at Aston Villa (8-2-4). Good New
Years Day football, too bad it will be a tie, 2 – 2.
NCAA
College Hockey Pick of the Week –
Thursday 12/31, 4:00 pm (EDT), ESPN+: #11 Quinnipiac Bobcats (6-2) vs. St.
Lawrence Saints (0-0). First game for the Saints after some COVID
cancellations, Bobcats will be a test in Appleton, can we get an extra credit? Quinn
wins 5 – 2.
2020
Season to Date (37 – 21)
REMEMBERING
– Chadwick Boseman, Kobe Bryant, Kevin
Campbell, Kirk Douglas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Lewis, Little Richard,
Pris Schroeder, Jerry Stiller
Have a safe and heathy 2021
A special thanks to all my readers, for your feedback, your
support, your complaining, keep it up in 2021!
Next
Blog: The Swami picks for 2021
Until
Monday January 4, 2021 Adios.
Claremont,
California
December
30, 2020
#XI-20-426
3,425
words, nine-minute read
CARTOON
OF THE WEEK – The New Yorker, Emily
Flake
RINK
RATS NEW YEARS POLL – My New Year
resolution -
____
Health
____
Peace
____
Honesty
____
Calm
____
All of the above
____
The perfect martini
____
Other
RINK
RATS 2020 QUIZ ANSWRS –
1).
B 2). A 3). B
4). B 5). A
QUOTE OF THE MONTH: “It is essential to woman’s equality with man that she be the decisionmaker,
that her choice be controlling. If you impose restraints that impede her
choice, you are disadvantaging her because of her sex...” - Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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
Our
Eleventh Year.
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