June 3, 2024
Good morning! If Memorial Day was the end of meteorological spring, then we will declare it to have been among the better ones of all time. A long lilac season, ample gentle rain, temperate temperatures, a gradual emergence of plants, plenty of sunshine, minimal bugs. Are you getting excited for the Olympics?
- Q: When you’re hiking on a one-direction trail with no loops, how do you know when to turn around?
- A: When you’re half tired.
- We live in an agrarian-centered society even though less than one percent of the adult U.S. population live and work (produce goods) on a farm. (U.S. Census)
- Perhaps we DO know from whence our food cometh?
- Each producer of food in the U.S. produces for herself/ himself and for 165 others (USDA)
- Is it time to call the question?
- Regrettably, and with apologies to Ben, it is.
- Ladies and Gentlemen, the United States Postal Service is unreliable.
- Can we fix it?
- Kim Jong Un ballooning human excrement across the border to unsuspecting nearby villagers has to be among the more bizarre behaviours of this despot.
- Where and how do you suppose he thought this up?!
- Why not just use a lithobolos or a catapult?!
- Movie: On the Basis of Sex — Impressive cast, excellent acting, compelling story (2018)
- Many of the media are all in a tizzy regarding a recent criminal trial in downtown New York City.
- A variety of adjectives, adverbs, and hyperbole are being used to report on the situation.
- But, it’s simple math; some multiplication and then some extrapolation of those data.
- Approximately eight percent of the (adult) U.S. population are convicted felons (we know, this seemed high to us, too, but we checked multiple sources).
- There have been forty-six presidents of the United States. (Forty-five if you don’t count Grover twice.)
- Eight percent of 46 is somewhere between three and four humans… take your pick.
- To have one convicted felon out of 46 is 2.2% — or, if you prefer, one out of 45 is also 2.2% rounded.
- Ladies and Gentlemen, we are way, way above average, way above average.
- Is this a Crisis?
- The price of a single family home in the United States increased by 6.6% this past year (Q1 2023 – Q1 2024, FHFA)
- Those increases were most dramatic in the Northeast, as much as 12% and more, and the least in Louisiana and Mississippi. (Halter, 2024)
- So, what has to happen to bring this market back into better equilibrium?
- Or, better vocabulary might be, what must happen to provide better access for the vast majority of people?
- Someone out on the hike planted a Northern Red Oak two or three years ago, I saw it again this morning and it was looking very healthy.
- There is a poem waiting to be written about this… if you get to it before I, please share.
- Feeling lonely? Many are — including some who won’t admit it, or don’t recognize itg.
- A recent survey found that 58% of workers called themselves lonely compared to 46% in 2018.
- The rise in feeling isolated comes as the work place is changing to include less face-to-face time.
- Even in-office workers report spending more time on virtual communication than on face-to-face interactions. (Bright Horizons/ Cigna)
- Delivering carbon dioxide removal capacities for net-zero will likely require as much as $16,000,000,000,000 of cumulative investment by 2050…
- … far below previously expected levels, according to McKinsey & Co.
- Are you a Major League Baseball fan?
- Have you put yourself to work re-learning all of the thousands and thousands of data?
- Out with the old, in with the new.
- To navigate conflict, prioritize dignity. (Hoben, 2024)
- Practicing dignity can lead to more constructive problem-solving and collaboration.
- Look for more on this topic down the road… it’s an important one.
