Fourth Quarter

 

Weekend Edition

Happy October and happy weekend, everyone!

We begin the final quarter of 2021.

The good, the bad and the ugly: We begin October with an economy burdened by supply chain problems, inflation rising, help wanted a popular post on business front doors, stock markets fluctuating, the usual at the U.S. Congress, budget and debt ceiling undecided, lack of compromise and leadership. The Thing still controls 50% of this country

Besides this we begin October with higher education across the country at a loss to figure out changing demographics of their students and throughout the country you have the have and have nots among colleges and universities. University haves had record endowment returns June 30, 2021, federal covid aid funds balance budgets, meanwhile student debt at an all-time high and staff wages are reduced.

The Detroit Lions are 0-3, the best team in baseball is not Los Angeles but San Francisco. The National Hockey League season begins with new television partners (ESPN and TNT), and Clemson and Ohio State have already lost a football game.

An overwhelming majority of Americans who have died in recent months, a period in which the U.S. has offered broad access to shots, were unvaccinated. The latest deaths were concentrated in the South, and there were more young victims than at any other point in the pandemic. Every age group under 55 saw its highest death toll of the pandemic this August.

The new and alarming surge of deaths this summer, when the Delta variant was spreading, means that the coronavirus pandemic has become the deadliest in U.S. history, overtaking the toll from the influenza pandemic of 1918 and 1919, which killed about 675,000 people.

The deaths that followed the wide availability of vaccines, one expert said, were “absolutely needless.”

US coronavirus deaths by month

Feb 2020: 1

Mar: 3,767

Apr: 58,960

May: 42,099

June: 23,416

July: 26,164

Aug: 30,234

Sept: 23,341

Oct: 23,691

Nov: 37,172

Dec: 77,124

 

Jan 2021: 96,377

Feb: 72,880

Mar: 39,393

Apr: 25,413

May: 18,357

June: 9,775

July: 8,541

Aug: 27,194

Sept: 58,062

 

Vaccination rates: 9/15/21

France: 72 percent

Canada: 68.7 percent

Italy: 66.3 percent

UK: 65.9 percent

Germany: 62.2 percent

America: 53.9 percent

 

Extreme Weather - From record-shattering temps in Oregon to Hurricane Ida in the East, weather disasters affected nearly 1 in 3 Americans this summer. These weather events, plus a new UN report that deemed climate change a “code red for humanity,” sparked more conversation around climate mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Will it lead to action? Democrats cited failures of our current system (like the NYC subway flooding) as justification for the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill they’re hoping to pass this week.

Supply Chain Madness - Turns out, the Ever Given being stuck in the Suez Canal was the least of our supply chain worries this year. Factory closures in Asia due to Covid-19 have prolonged bottlenecks, driving inflation higher and delaying your new couch from arriving.

Some stats that illustrate the brokenness of the global supply chain:

The chip shortage will cost $210 billion this year, according to a new estimate.

Nike said 80% of its shoe factories in Vietnam are closed.

This month, the line of container ships waiting to enter Los Angeles’s and Long Beach’s neighboring ports hit an all-time high of 65 vessels.

 

More Stats - There will be more weddings in the US in 2022 than in any year since 1984, according to market research firm The Wedding Report. It estimates that 2.5 million weddings will take place next year, compared to an average of 2.1 million weddings/year pre-pandemic and 1.2 million weddings in 2020.

Average pay at US supermarkets and restaurants hit $15/hour for the first time ever, according to the Washington Post. Nearly 80% of US workers now earn a minimum of $15/hour, compared to 60% in 2014.

More than 45% of young people surveyed across 10 countries said climate change caused them anxiety and affected their daily lives. 56% said they thought humanity was doomed.

Women accounted for a record 59.5% of college students at the end of the 2020–2021 school year, while men made up just 40.5%.

 

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Hal Assael ….famous educator and mentor, Karen Ball ….famous sister, Jeff Bracken …famous southern California rancher, President Jimmy Carter (97), Angie Dickinson (90),  Devorah Lieberman … POTULV, Karla Suffredini …famous sister.

 

MARKET WEEK - Inflation climbed at the quickest pace in 30 years as supply chain issues continue.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred price gauge, rose by 4.3 percent in the year through August. That beat out the July reading of 4.2 percent, another three-decade high. Officials at the Fed are watching those trends as they consider when to remove the economic support that the central bank has been providing during the pandemic.

The U.S. is not alone: Inflation in the eurozone climbed to 3.4 percent in September from a year earlier, the highest in 13 years.

The S&P closed out a bumpy September in the red, its first monthly loss since 2020 (still, it was positive for the third quarter, which ended yesterday). Bed Bath & Beyond, a meme stock fave, plummeted more than 22% yesterday due to declining store traffic and, what else, supply chain snags.

US mortgage rates topped 3% for the first time since early July, tracking rising bond yields. Higher borrowing costs could potentially slow homebuyers’ roll.

Government shutdown: It was avoided with hours to spare. Biden signed a stopgap spending bill that extends government spending through Dec. 3, when Congress will have to figure out another short- or long-term solution. This bill also includes billions of dollars for Afghan refugee resettlement and aid for communities hit by recent hurricanes.

Debt ceiling: Congress has until Oct. 18 to suspend or raise the debt ceiling before the US begins defaulting on its loans, an outcome that would likely be catastrophic for the economy. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is planning a vote on the debt ceiling as soon as next week (lots of luck with that).

Pandemic discount, we hardly knew ye—rental prices in the US are skyrocketing. The median national rent for a one-bedroom apartment is up 10.7% from March 2020, while two-bedrooms are up 13%, according to the Zumper National Rent Report.

Double digit increases are…not common. For context, 2020 rents increased 1% from the previous year, and 2019 rents were stagnant compared to 2018. It’s a “shocking level of growth, especially considering the vast majority of it has come in the last nine months,” wrote Jeff Andrews, the author of the report.

Why the surge? To put it simply, demand is back. Gen Z renters are moving out of their childhood homes after a long pandemic, remote-working millennials are picking apartments in more affordable cities, and baby boomers are offloading their homes in a seller’s market, opting for rentals instead.

Phoenix, where the one-bedroom median rent increased 24.8% between January and September.

New York City, where some rents have increased 70% since the dog days of the pandemic.

MLB FINAL WEEKEND - There's a lot on the line in MLB's final regular-season weekend, though a couple things wrapped up Thursday in Atlanta and Houston.

NL East: The Braves swept — and eliminated — the Phillies to win their fourth straight title. Atlanta spent 126 days without a winning record, the most for a division winner since the 1989 Blue Jays.

AL Wild Card: The Yankees (91-68) lead the pack, the Red Sox and Mariners (89-70) are tied for the second spot, and the Blue Jays (88-71) are still very much alive. Prepare for some beautiful chaos.

NL West: The Giants (105-54) and Dodgers (103-56) remain separated by two games. Just how good has San Francisco been? L.A. is 41-13 since adding Trea Turner and Max Scherzer ... and they've gained just one game in that stretch.

AL West: The Astros beat the Rays to clinch their fourth AL West title in five years.

ON THIS DATE - Fifty years ago today, the world got a little smaller when the Magic Kingdom first opened at Disney World in Florida. Stats to ponder:

Admission in 1971 was $3.50 for adults and $1 for children. It's $109 now.

The FAA has designated Disney World a “no-fly zone,” a level of security typically afforded to places like the White House and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

Disney’s bus fleet is the third largest fleet of any Florida transportation system. (I wish I had bought Disney stock 50 years ago and never sold.)

TOP FIVE – Five decades after the first James Bond movie, the wildly popular British spy film franchise releases its much-anticipated 25th canonical installment Friday with “No Time to Die,” marking star Daniel Craig’s final turn as the suave superspy.

Rink Rats top five James Bond movies:

1.         Goldfinger (1964)

2.         Spectre (2015)

3.         Golden Eye (1995)

4.         Skyfall (2012)

5.         Dr. No (1962)

 

THE SWAMI’S WEEKEND PICKS –

NFL Football Pick of the Week – Monday 10/4, 5:15 PM (PT), ESPN: Las Vegas Raiders (3-0) at Los Angeles Chargers (2-1). One word: Raiders! 30 – 27. (Season to Date 1-2)

College Football Pick of the Week – Saturday 10/2, 12:00 PM (PT), #8 Arkansas Razorbacks (4-0) at #2 Georgia Bulldogs (4-0). SEC at it’s best, Razorbacks in an upset, 35 – 32. (Season to Date 3-1)

D-III College Football Pick of the Week – Saturday 10/2, 1:00 PM (ET) ESPN+: #21 Hobart Statesmen (4-0) at #17 Ithaca College Bombers (3-0). A key Empire 8 contest, there will 6,000 strong at Butterfield Stadium for this one. Bombers in an upset, 24 – 17.  (Season to Date 2-2)

MLB Pick of the Week – Saturday 10/2, 1:00 PM (ET) TBS: Tampa Bay Rays (98-61) at New York Yankees (91-68). Final Saturday of the season, Yanks have to win to clinch a wild-card game on Tuesday. Yanks 5 – 4. (Season to Date (8-7)

2021 Season to Date (46-33)

 

Next Blog: Jackass of the Month, College Hockey Preview, Third Quarter Numbers

Until Monday October 11, 2021 Adios.

Claremont, California

October 1, 2021

#XII-3-440

 

1,787 words, five-minute read

 

CARTOON OF THE WEEKEND – Amy Hwang, Time to be a Cat All Day

 

 

RINK RATS POLL – Are you Covid vaccinated?

___ Yes

___ No

___ None of your business

 

QUOTE OF THE MONTH – "Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change." – Bob Kerry

 

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.

www.rhasserinkrats.blogspot.com

Men and Women of Honor

We have a special edition of Rink Rats this last day of August.

The last couple of weeks America has been on edge with the events in Afghanistan.

Our family has been directly involved in these events with our husband, father, grandson, son, nephew, and cousin: Captain Geoff Ball’s company was stationed at Abbey Gate at the Kabul airport.

Captain Ball posted this week a tribute to the nine men and women under his command who lost their life in a bombing at the Abbey Gate. Many news agencies have posted this posting in the last few days.

 

On August 26, at around 1730, Ghost Company was rushing to save as many people as possible at the Abbey Gate before we were required to cease processing evacuees. We were supposed to have stopped an hour earlier, but we decided to keep working for an additional hour in hopes of finding more passport holders or Green Cards. Alongside many other members of 2/1, the Army, and British Paratroopers, the Marines and Sailors of Ghost, were pulling families out of the canal when a suicide bomber detonated his device from the other side of the water. All those working to save Afghans and Americans were fully exposed to the blast.

Nine of my Marines and Sailors gave their lives so that others may live, and almost 20 other members of the company were wounded by their side. Up until that moment, I did not believe I could ever be more proud of their efforts, by the way they handled the surging crowds and chaos all week, but they proved me wrong.

A mass casualty event is something we prepared and trained for - especially our incredibly corpsmen. It is defined by having fewer resources than necessary to process and handle those wounded. In our case, we had a third of our entire force to care for in a split second. But in less than 20 minutes after the bomb detonated, we had our first wounded at the airport hospital, and this included a ten-minute drive time. Senior leaders at the operations center remarked they had never seen a MASSCAS response move so quickly. The entire V21 team worked incredibly smoothly and efficiently during this moment, and we lived up to our name, The Professionals. We held security, we moved our wounded, and due to our training, likely saved more than we should have.

If Ghost Company is anything- it is a family. It is resilient and it is cohesive. In less than 24 hours after we returned to our billeting area after the attack, the company was back on the line and watching over evacuees. As my First Sergeant and I walked the lines that night, we saw the airport flag at half-mast, and we raised it back up. There is no breaking this company.

The Marines of Ghost and the rest of the V21 family were magnificent. Not only in that moment of horror, but throughout an entire week of the most indescribable tragedy one could ever witness. Our combined efforts kept the Abbey Gate open when many others closed - only pausing when the Dept of State couldn’t process evacuees fast enough. As a result, V21 and the British Parachute Regiment processed over 30,000 people through the Abbey Gate.

There is no greater honor for a Marine to be called to save Americans. To be the last on deck as those who need our help are pulled to safety. To lay down our lives for others. That is what my Marines did. They will always be my heroes.

To support our families, and the families of those who lost loved ones alongside us, please consider donating to the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (https://www.taps.org) They will be providing care to us for a long time to come. Please consider sharing this post as well so that people may know our story and in hopes of increasing support to an organization that I have personally served for, and I know will provide the comfort we need.

Semper Fidelis.

 

 

 

 

Next Blog:  “Dog Days of Summer”

 

Until Friday September 3, 2021 Adios.

Claremont, California

August 31, 2021

#XII-2-439

 

755 words, three-minute read.

 

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.

www.rhasserinkrats.blogspot.com

idk

 Weekend Edition

Well, it has been over two months since our last Rink Rats. Where has RR been? “I don’t know” (idk).

Seriously, for the last week I thought about what I have been doing since April 30: a trip to Michigan, closing the academic year with grades, recommendation letters, and the usual higher education bureaucracy.  Plus, a full summer session online teaching schedule, why? idk

A trip to Vegas planned, cancelled, a trip to wine country planned, cancelled. Why cancelled? idk

I have been placed on the DL (disabled list) with an injured shoulder. How I injured it? idk

Naturally, I have been following the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Swami picked a Toronto vs. Colorado final – Why? idk Note: Tampa Bay won in five games over Montreal. Montreal, how did the lowest team in the playoff qualifying get to the finals? idk

The last two months I have been slowly coming out of the pandemic mode: restaurants, no bars yet, one thing I forgot about due to the pandemic and now remember, I am not a big fan of people. Why? idk

I have been following the antics of The Thing, why people continue to pay attention to this creature? idk

So, we are back, did you miss us? idk

One thing I do know, I missed you all.

 

BEE BEST - Zaila Avant-garde, an eight-grader from Louisiana, just became the first African American winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. And for Zaila, spelling is a side gig. She was already known for her hoops. "She currently holds three Guinness world records for her basketball skills, including a record for most bounce juggles in one minute with four basketballs." (Making her a promising avant-Guard.) Not cool enough? Check out who she thanked after the victory. "I'd like to say thank you to Bill Murray because the reason I knew that word ‘murraya' was because of the movie Lost in Translation, which when I was a little kid I used to listen to the soundtrack and so that's how that word was stuck in my head because it was spelled like Bill Murray's name."

 

TWO WORLDS - On the same day the Tokyo Olympics announced that venues will be empty, MLB announced that all 30 ballparks are now at 100% capacity.

This all feels very 2020, when the return of sports necessitated extraordinary measures and the "bubble" concept was born.

Those isolated environments were the only way forward last year. But with cases falling and vaccines becoming available, empty venues have mostly become a thing of the past.

And yet this month, the world's biggest sporting event will be held in a bubble, in a country where just 15% of residents are fully vaccinated.

While the Games may still end up captivating TV audiences, the on-the-ground experience in Tokyo is going to be bizarre.

Athletes will be tested daily upon arrival and will be forced to withdraw if they test positive once the Games are underway.

Most aren't in Tokyo yet, but at least three have already tested positive and been put in isolation since getting there.

Organizers had an extra year to plan for the strangest Olympics in history. But here we are, 14 days out, and they appear to be flying by the seat of their pants.

 

MARKET WEEK - After a bumpy Thursday when investors questioned economic growth prospects, stocks rebounded to close at all-time highs. Biogen stock fell after the FDA’s acting head called for a federal investigation into the controversial approval of the company’s Alzhiemer’s drug.

Covid: The CDC released new guidance around school reopenings this fall. It wants schools to stay open for in-person instruction and said teachers and students who are vaccinated don’t need to wear masks or physically distance.

 Penalty: 15 US states reached a deal with OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma, bringing the big opioids case closer to its anticipated $4.5B settlement.

Stable: Crypto firm Circle, which operates one of Earth's largest dollar-pegged stablecoins, is going public at a $4.5B valuation.

Swiped: Wells Fargo is shutting down all personal credit lines this month — customers weren't thrilled.

Freight: President Biden is expected to pass an exec order to curb the dominance of companies in the ocean shipping and railroad industries.

IOU: Borrowing is back — Americans are signing up for credit cards and car loans in record numbers.

Feature: How the Trump Presidency took a toll on Mark Zuckerberg's and Sheryl Sandberg's partnership. Hint: it’s political.

Risk Free Interest Rate - The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which serves as a benchmark for interest rates across the US economy, fell for an eighth straight day yesterday to below 1.3%—the lowest level since February. Since bond prices and yields move in opposite directions, falling yields signal higher demand for Treasuries.

At the most basic level, the 10-year yield is a key indicator of investors’ confidence in future US economic growth. As the Delta variant spreads and threatens to slow the economic recovery, the fall in yields means investors are souring on a mega growth spurt and snapping up safer assets rather than riskier stocks.

For months, the United States has been experiencing the growing pains of an economy rebooting itself — surging economic activity, yes, but also shortages, gummed-up supply networks and higher prices. Now, shifts in financial markets point to a reversal of that economic narrative. Specifically, the bond market has swung in ways that suggest that a period of slower growth and more subdued inflation could lie ahead.

What does this mean for inflation? Because investors sell bonds when they think inflation is coming, the runup in bond prices means the worst of Wall Street's inflation concerns may be over. “It feels like we have moved from thinking inflation will be transitory, to fearing growth will be transitory,” Art Hogan, chief marketing strategist at National Securities, said.

 

TAX MAN – Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer (Country Day ‘73) made news for two different reasons on Thursday: Joining the $100 billion club, and paying lower tax rates than Staples Center concessions workers.

$100B club: Due to a surge in tech stock prices, the former Microsoft CEO is now one of just nine people in the $100 billion club and has passed Mukesh Ambani, owner of the Mumbai Indians (cricket), as the world's richest sports owner.

Tax investigation: A ProPublica investigation titled, "The Billionaire Playbook," focused heavily on Ballmer and examined how owners — legally — use their sports teams to avoid millions in taxes and inform the IRS that they're losing money when, in fact, they're printing it.

 

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this weekend to Larry David (74), Tom Hanks (65).

 

CHRONICLES OF HIGHER EDUCATION - President Biden’s plan to make community colleges free for all students comes at a critical time: The pandemic led to a steep decline in college enrollment, particularly for low-income and minority students. And businesses have struggled to fill vacancies, as the economy adds jobs at a rapid rate.

Proponents of the proposal, which would cost $109 billion over 10 years and is part of Mr. Biden’s American Families Plan, argue that community colleges can help solve both of these problems while also boosting local economies. In addition to paying for tuition, the plan would allocate resources for community colleges to build programs that addressed skills shortages. And a number of economic studies have suggested that increasing the percentage of college graduates benefits everyone, not just the students who received grants to go to college.

But, most Americans have doubts about the effectiveness of community colleges, with only 12 percent believing community college degrees prepare people “very well” for the work force, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey. Mr. Biden’s plan, which if passed would be funded through tax increases on the wealthy, faces resistance from Republican politicians who say community colleges consistently underperform, with only about a third of students graduating.

The debate is muddled by insufficient data. Few detailed studies have looked at how community colleges affect students’ earnings in the long term, and while 15 states have programs that offer tuition-free community college to anyone, regardless of high school grades or income, most of these programs are too new to have shown meaningful results.

Bruce Sacerdote, an economics professor at Dartmouth College, said that while the Biden program would undoubtedly raise the number of college graduates, more needed to be done to combat wealth inequality. “This thing is not a silver bullet,” he said. “Every dollar you give to a university ought to have a string attached to it,” he said, adding that too many schools are educating students in areas where no jobs are available. “There are huge amounts of money being committed without really strong evidence,”

 

ON THIS DATE – 1974, the first barcode was scanned in an Ohio supermarket, a pack of gum.

 

LA COUPE STANLEY - Nearly a year after being crowned kings of the bubble, the Lightning edged the Canadiens, 1-0, in front of a capacity home crowd Wednesday night to win their second straight Stanley Cup.

The Lightning are the ninth franchise to repeat as champions and fifth non-Original Six team, joining the Flyers, Islanders, Oilers and Penguins.

"It's like we won two completely different Stanley Cups, and that's what makes it extremely special for us. You do one without fans and then you do one in your own building. We couldn't have written the script any better."

— Coach Jon Cooper

Dynasty, confirmed: The Lightning have 70 playoff wins since their 2015 run to the Final (lost to the Blackhawks). That's 28 more than any other team — and an average of 10 wins per postseason.

Champa Bay: Prior to 2020, the Lightning, Buccaneers and Rays had a combined four championship series appearances and two titles. In the last two years alone, they have four appearances and three titles.

Utter domination: Over the past two postseasons, Tampa Bay had a +50 goal differential and never lost two games in a row.

Three-Pat: Pat Maroon, who won the 2019 title with the Blues before moving to the Lightning, is the first player to win three straight Stanley Cups since multiple players did so with the 1980s Islanders.

Playoff MVP: Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy won the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) and had a series-ending shutout for an NHL-record fifth consecutive time dating back to the 2020 final.

End of an era ... Wednesday's game was NBC's last NHL broadcast for at least seven years. ESPN and TNT, the ice is yours.

 

WEEKEND SPORTS - The marketing folks at ESPN are calling this the “Weekend of Champions,” and they’re not wrong. Sports fans will be treated to the Wimbledon finals, Argentina vs. Brazil in the Copa América final, England vs. Italy in the Euro final, an NBA Finals game, and the rubber match of Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.

Lots to watch this weekend, especially for soccer fans. Some highlights...

 

⚽️ Euro final: England hosts Italy at Wembley Stadium on Sunday (3pm ET) in one of the biggest European soccer matches in years. A petition for a national holiday if England wins already has over 300,000 signatures. The SWAMI has Italy winning 2-1.

 

🎾 Wimbledon: The women’s final is today, the SWAMI picks Ash Barty, the men’s final is Sunday, who else, the SWAMI picks Novak Djokovic

 

⚽️ Copa América final: Brazil vs. Argentina. Neymar vs. Messi. There's a case to be made that this is an even bigger game than the Euro final. Kickoff: 8pm ET, Saturday. The SWAMI likes Brazil, 3-2.

 

🏀 NBA Finals, Game 3: The series heads to Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum, where the Bucks are 7-1 this postseason. The SWAMI has the Suns in six.

 

⚽️ Gold Cup: CONCACAF's continental contest begins Saturday. The U.S. kicks off Sunday alongside Canada, Martinique and Haiti in Group B, while tournament favorite Mexico is in Group A alongside El Salvador, Curaçao and Trinidad and Tobago. The SWAMI likes Mexico to win it all.

 

🥊 McGregor-Poirier 3: Las Vegas hosts one of the biggest fights of the year on Saturday night, with Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier meeting in a rubber match in the lightweight main event of UFC 264. The SWAMI picks…idk

 

⚾️ 2021 MLB All-Star game is Tuesday July 13, the SWAMI likes Shohei Ohtani in the home run derby and to win the game American or National, idk

 

CONGRATS – I know this is late, but congratulations to all the recent graduates. It has been an interesting two years. In fact, in the months of May/June I went to ten graduations, or was it nine? For the same institution.

A special congrats to my niece Maria S. Who graduated top in her class, Maria will be studying environmental engineering this fall at, get this, Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York. Her Uncle Buck will not be visiting the Clarkson campus, due to personal history (I have a police record in Potsdam). 😊

 

BREAKING NEWS – A possible St. Lawrence football/hockey reunion is coming this October 15-17; get your vaccinations, your parole reports, and your thirst. Stay tuned for details.

 

Next Blog: “But It’s a Dry Heat”

 

Until Monday July 19, 2021, Adios.

Claremont, California

July 10, 2021

#XII-1-438

 

2,309 words, four-minute read.

 

CARTOON OF THE WEEKEND – The Real Real Estate Market

 

RINK RATS WEEKEND POLL – Over or under?

____ over

____ under

 

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: “The more educated someone is, the less likely it usually is for them to say that they do not know, when they do not know.”

― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

 

 

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.

www.rhasserinkrats.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend Whats

Weekend Edition

What to Rock: Anyone who tells you rock is dead doesn't listen to Royal Blood. The dynamic duo is back with a new album, a hint of disco added to their sound, and a must listen. Check out Typhoons. This is the rock band that old school rockers love.

What to Book: I got an advance copy of The End of the Golden Gate, a collection of essays from writers on loving and (sometimes) leaving San Francisco. It's an excellent book and it couldn't be more timely. It features 25 acclaimed writers taking on the Bay Area-dweller's eternal conflict: Should I stay or should I go? (To paraphrase the Clash: If I go, there will be trouble, And if I stay it will cost me double.)

What to Carb: Unlike most Americans, I didn't rediscover carbs during the pandemic. I have remained true to pasta. And I'm pretty sure I just started boiling the best pasta brand I've tried. It's called Mancini, and my pot runneth over.

What to Promote: The promise of life not doing it for you? How about a donut? Free beer, pot and doughnuts. Savings bonds. A chance to win an all-terrain vehicle. Places around the U.S. are offering incentives to try to energize the nation's slowing vaccination drive and get Americans to roll up their sleeves. These relatively small corporate promotion efforts have been accompanied by more serious and far-reaching attempts by officials in cities such as Detroit, where they're offering $50 to people who give others a ride to vaccination sites. Chicago is sending specially equipped buses into neighborhoods to deliver vaccines. Public health officials say the efforts are crucial to reach people who haven't been immunized yet.

What to Spend: Counting the coronavirus stimulus plan approved earlier this year, President Biden has now proposed more than $5 trillion in new spending initiatives over the next decade—far more than Clinton or Obama ever offered—to be partially paid for by tax increases on corporations and affluent families. On cultural and social issues, Democrats are likewise pursuing a much more ambitious lineup than Clinton or Obama did. Should be an interesting 2022 election year. The Thing is lurking.

What to Read: John Grisham has spent the past 30 years churning out legal thrillers and courtroom dramas. His next act: A basketball novel.

 "Sooley" (available now) tells the story of 17-year-old Samuel Sooleymon, who leaves his family behind in a Sudanese refugee camp to chase his dreams of playing college basketball.

This is book No. 46 for Grisham, who hasn't gone a year without publishing a book since first releasing "The Firm" in 1991. Wild.

On the Rink Rats Book List.

What to Eat: Live in the Claremont, California area, crave a Chicago Dog or Wisconsin Brat, perhaps a Labatt Blue to wash it down? Well, “Windy C’s” 353 W. Bonita Avenue in Claremont is your place.

It is nice to visit a restaurant again (after fourteen months). The menu is decent Chicago Dogs, chili dogs, brats, onion rings and the usual. All worth a try. The service, not so good. The owner never smiles (must be a Chicago Bear fan) and no thank you for coming or giving them some business. Clean up the consumer relations and this place is a go.

Finally, after a year and a half: Rink Rats rating from 1 to 10 with 10 being Hoot Owl like: We give “Windy C’s” a six. Good food, ambiance is like visiting Mar-a-Lago with a “I love Joe” hat.

 

BOOK EM’ DANNO - Federal investigators in Manhattan executed a search warrant on Wednesday at the Upper East Side apartment of Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who became President Donald J. Trump's personal lawyer, stepping up a criminal investigation into Mr. Giuliani's dealings in Ukraine, three people with knowledge of the matter said. One of the people said the investigators had seized Mr. Giuliani's electronic devices. Rudy Giuliani's Apartment Searched in Federal Investigation. Hmm. This is odd. Rudy never struck me as a guy who might be up to something unsavory.

 

FEEL GOOD FRIDAY - There was a time I needed a helping hand. They gave us an opportunity to get back on our feet. So it is my job to give back." Steelers Draft Pick Najee Harris Hosts Draft Party at Homeless Shelter Where He Used to Live.

Number of Americans fully vaccinated tops 100 million.

CVS to offer in-store mental health counseling.

Arab towns offer food, drink to Meron survivors; hundreds give blood in Tel Aviv.

Number of children held in Border Patrol facilities drops 84% since peak last month.

Crazy odds: Minneapolis mom gives birth to three kids, each two years apart, all on the same day. (I'm guessing the dad's birthday is exactly nine months before this date.)

 

PANDEMIC UPDATE - More Brazilians have died from the virus in the first four months of this year than in all of 2020, with the death toll having jumped from 300,000 to 400,000 in the past five weeks alone. Brazil's COVID-19 Deaths Top 400,000 Amid Fears Of Worsening Crisis.

As cases in India surge faster than anywhere in the world, Indians struggle to care for their family members who have COVID and mourn lost loved ones." Photos Show How Dire The Coronavirus Surge In India Is. (The numbers in India are likely being undercounted, but when you look at the disasters in India and Brazil, keep in mind that America had worse numbers under a president who called the virus a hoax.)

HEAD FOR THE LINKS - Watching the Masters on television usually makes golfers itchy to get on the course themselves. That may be especially true this year. The pandemic created a boom in golf participation, with about a half a million more players hitting the links last year as a safe escape from the drudgery of lockdown. But what happens when things get back to normal?

The industry has a lot of ideas for how to capitalize on the game's revival over the past year. Maybe golf becomes less formal and more social. Maybe it loosens the rules or even shortens the game by creating courses with fewer than 18, or even nine, holes.  We also talk to outgoing USGA chief executive Mike Davis about the biggest issues facing the game, such as how to make golf courses sustainable both financially and environmentally.

Golf is also angling for new ways to engage you on and off the course. All sorts of new tech is available that generates data to help you analyze—or, more likely, overanalyze—every aspect of your own game. We test-drove AI apps that aim to teach you to swing the club better, and found some workouts that will help you prepare physically for your round.

If you're at home, new technology is being rolled out to personalize the viewing experience, enabling fans to follow any player they choose through all four rounds of a tournament if they like. And then there's the gambling. The game used to scold players for wagering. Now the PGA Tour is aiming to capitalize on the legalization of sports betting that has swept across the U.S.

 

CENSUS - The U.S. population over the last decade grew at the slowest rate since the 1930s, the Census Bureau said.

With immigration leveling off and a birthrate on the decline, the nation may be entering an era of substantially lower growth, demographers said.

The total population was 331,449,281 in 2020, up by just 7.4 percent over the previous decade. The South and the West drew Americans away from struggling small communities in high-cost, cold-weather states in the East and the Midwest. The newly released data also underscores America's slowed growth and aging population, according to Brookings Institution demographer William Frey.

Stagnating population growth, in small part due to the pandemic, means the U.S. should take "a serious look at our immigration policy going forward," he said.

Utah was the fastest-growing state. Three states lost populations, with West Virginia's population declining at the fastest rate.

The Census Bureau data is used to reapportion seats in Congress, based on new state population counts. Six states gained congressional seats: Colorado, Florida, Montana, Oregon, North Carolina and Texas gained two seats (ugh). California, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and West Virginia lost seats.

MARKET WEEK - The average used vehicle is now worth $17,609, but trade-ins are becoming very difficult.

Normally, dealers buy an old vehicle at a discount to what it's worth and hope to sell it at a profit.

Now, they need to worry that the whole market will crash from its current frothy highs.

Three huge shortages as we come out of the pandemic: (1) Microchips; causing havoc in the automobile industry. (2) Ketchup packets; home takeout dining over the pandemic has made the supply of ketchup packets exceptionally low. (3)  Toilet paper; early in the pandemic, toilet paper inexplicably became the hottest product in America overnight. Some stores went weeks without TP on the shelves. Eventually, the situation sorted itself out.

But now, toilet paper is on the brink of becoming scarce again.

The culprit this time is the shortage of shipping containers. Wood pulp is used to make bath tissue, but the lack of containers means there could soon be supply issues, according to Suzano SA, the biggest producer of wood pulp.

Big Tech crushed earnings reports this week, and shows no sign of slowing down:

Facebook stock hit an all-time high Wednesday after reporting a whopping 48% revenue growth over the previous year.

Apple earnings blew past Wall Street estimates, as sales of the iPhone, Mac and iPad all came in far ahead of expectations.

Amazon eclipsed analyst expectations for both earnings and revenue on Thursday, as sales surged 44% year-over-year.

Microsoft crushed Wall Street expectations and posted its highest revenue growth since 2018.

Google's parent, Alphabet, reported a record profit last quarter. Its video arm, YouTube, brought in a whopping $6 billion in revenue last quarter — more than Snapchat, LinkedIn and Pinterest combined.

Snapchat beat Wall Street expectations on subscriber growth, earnings and revenue, while also reporting that usage of its AR products hit an all-time high.

Recovery: Consumer and govt. spending fueled 6.4% GDP growth last quarter, the second-fastest pace for economic growth since 2003.

Control: China ordered 13 companies, including TikTok-owner ByteDance and Tencent, to follow much tighter regulation.

Crypto: Ether, the world’s second-largest digital currency, surged to a record high yesterday as Bitcoin's dominance declined.

IPO: UFC's parent company Endeavor saw its shares pop on its first day of trading (fun fact: Ari Gold from Entourage was based on Endeavor's CEO).

 

LA LA LAND - Californians hoping to remove Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom from office have met the state's minimum number of valid signatures to push a recall election forward this fall.

County officials have verified 1,626,042 signatures, according to the California secretary of state's website. Recall backers needed at least 1,495,709 valid signatures to qualify, which represents 12% of the votes cast in the state's last gubernatorial election.

Newsom has already formed a political offensive to fight the recall, saying the effort is a partisan attempt by Republicans aligned with former President Donald Trump to wrest power from his majority-Democratic state.

 

100 DAYS - President Biden spent his first 100 days trying to engineer the end of the coronavirus and the start of a job boom. The next 100 are more audacious and risky: Try to re-engineer the very fundamentals of America — inequality, voting rights and government's role in directing economic growth.

So look for Biden to court Republicans, but not yield to them, as he pushes a $2.3 trillion infrastructure package, to be followed by $1.5 trillion for his American Families Plan — including child care, paid family leave, universal pre-K and free community college.

It's the unspoken Biden formula: Talk like a rosy bipartisan; act like a ruthless partisan.

The Biden next-100-day agenda is more activist than most expected. But, three data-backed trends have encouraged his team to push the envelope:

(1). His poll numbers are strong.

(2). The economy is growing — and many think it's poised for an historic boom. In Biden's address to Congress on Wednesday night, look for him to point to the recovery as a vindication of his strategy so far.

(3). Corporations are cutting off, or cutting down, money to the GOP, which has been forced to find other sources of cash. And CEOs are taking public stands that sound a lot more like Biden than Trump.

 

OUCH - For the film industry, which was already fighting to hold its place at the center of American culture, the Nielsen ratings for Sunday night’s 93rd Academy Awards came as a body blow: About 9.85 million people watched the telecast, a 58 percent plunge from last year’s record low.

Among adults 18 to 49, the demographic that many advertisers pay a premium to reach, the Oscars suffered an even steeper 64 percent decline, according to preliminary data from Nielsen released on Monday. Nielsen’s final numbers are expected on Tuesday and will include out-of-home viewing and some streaming statistics.

Many factors have been undercutting the ratings, starting with the delivery route. Old broadcast networks like ABC are no longer that relevant, especially to young people. (One awards show that is actually growing is the Game Awards, which celebrates the best video games of the year and is streamed on platforms like YouTube, Twitch and Twitter.)

Increasingly, the ceremonies are less about entertainment honors and more about civic issues and progressive politics, which inevitably annoys half the audience.

Like every Academy Awards show, this one brought out a variety of opinions from viewers and reviewers. It was a year when small films took the big awards, so it makes sense that the awards show was more intimate as well. Overall, I liked most of the changes and thought the show seemed more real and personal, which makes perfect sense following year that was all too real and personal. Among the highlights: Yuh-Jung Youn's acceptance speech for best supporting actress for her role as the grandmother in Minari. The moving speech by director Thomas Vinterberg who lost his daughter during the filming of the best International Feature Film, Denmark's Another Round. And, of course, Glenn Close dancing to Da Butt, which moved this exchange down to her second greatest television moment. Meanwhile, Frances McDormand howled like a wolf (which made my beagles howl back), and the show switched around the awards to present best actor last, to create an emotional Chadwick Boseman win, only to find that Anthony Hopkins won the award. He wasn't there, so Joaquin Phoenix had to accept on his behalf. But really, there's no better way to mark a return to normal than Joaquin Phoenix being weird.

 

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this weekend to Megan Granquist …famous long-distance runner, Dave Keon (81), Jerry Seinfeld (67), William Shatner (91), Kathryn Tappen (40), Julie Wright …famous educator, Robin Wright (55), Joe Zanetta …the Mayor of Palm Springs.

 

CHRONICLES OF HIGHER EDUCATION - The California State University System and University of California System will require vaccinations for all constituents at the start of the fall semester or upon the full approval of one or more vaccine, whichever occurs later.

More than 240,000 cases of Covid-19 have been linked to American colleges since January 1, and more than 660,000 cases have been reported since the beginning of the pandemic.

The American College Health Association is recommending that Covid-19 vaccinations be required for all on-campus students, and more than 180 colleges have set such a mandate.

PLAYOFFS - The Pittsburgh Penguins clinched a playoff berth for the 15th consecutive season, the longest active streak in the five major North American sports leagues.

Longest active playoff streaks:

🏒 NHL: Penguins (15)

⚽️ MLS: Sounders (12)

⚾️ MLB: Dodgers (8)

🏀 NBA: Raptors, Trail Blazers (7)

🏈 NFL: Chiefs (6)

Longest active playoff droughts:

⚾️ MLB: Mariners (19)

🏀 NBA: Kings (14)

🏈 NFL: Jets (10)

🏒 NHL: Sabres (9)

⚽️ MLS: Fire, Dynamo, Whitecaps (3)

 

DETROIT SPORTS – Depressing times in Deeeetroit:

As of today – April 30

Detroit Tigers (MLB) the worst record in the league (8-18)

Detroit Pistons (NBA) the second worst record in the league (19-44). Thank you, Houston (16-47),

Detroit Red Wings (NHL) eighth worst record in the league (17-26-9), though a better record than the two L.A. teams.

Michigan Wolverine Football – still Jim Harbaugh is coach.

Michigan State Athletics – still haunted by the Larry Nassar sex-abuse scandal.

Time to head to the Anchor Bar (450 W. Fort Street, Detroit) and yes, they are serving!

 

CONGRATS TO THE SAINTS – Let us not get too excited since there were only three teams out of twelve playing at the end of the season. The St. Lawrence men's hockey team won the ECAC Hockey title and the Whitelaw Cup (their seventh conference crown) with a pair of thrilling overtime victories in the conference playoffs, defeating Colgate 5-4 in the semifinals at Appleton Arena before toppling top-seeded Quinnipiac, 3-2, in the finals. The championship comes in Charles W. Appleton II Head Men's Hockey Coach Brent Brekke's second season at St. Lawrence.

Good job boys but do not get big heads over this one. BTW what happened to Clarkson?

 

 SWAMI’S WEEKEND TOP PICKS –

147th Kentucky Derby – Saturday 5/1, 6:57 PM (EDT), NBC:

1). Known Agenda: 6/1, Todd Pletcher, Iran Ortiz, Jr.

2). Hot Rod Charlie: 8/1, Doug O’Neil, Flavin Prat

3). Sainthood: 50/1, Todd Pletcher, Corey Lanerie

4). Essential Quality, 2/1, Brad Cox, Luis Saez

SCIAC Game of the Week – Saturday 5/1, 11:00 AM (PDT), LVTV-3: It is okay now to play some baseball in the SCIAC (D-III). #2 Chapman University Argyros (2-1) vs. University of LA Verne Leopards (0-0). The Leopards led by Drew Reddick, Brandon Shiota, Tanner Siffert, Matthew Diaz, Sean Holt, Nicolas Skardutos, and Aaron Fong – all with outstanding business skills begin the 2021 season against nationally ranked Chapman University. Too bad we cannot take in the game at Ben Hines Field. The Swami likes La Verne to upset the Argyros, 6 – 5.

Season to Date (21-10)

 

Next Blog:  Who Cares?

 

Until Monday May 10, 2021 Adios.

Claremont, California

April 30, 2021

#XI-31-437

 

3,152 words, six-minute read

CARTOON OF THE WEEKEND – Mallard Fillmore

 

RINK RATS WEEKEND POLL – This first weekend of May, what is on the grill?

____ burgers

____ hot dogs and brats

____ fish

____ steak

____ veggies

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: “Climate change kills jobs. Clean energy saves and creates them. Climate deniers who say otherwise are as dumb as doo-doo.” – Jerry Brown

 

 

 

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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