A study of 1,700 businesses conducted by Boston Consulting Group found that companies with more diverse leadership teams have higher profits and are more innovative. — Or, as I like to say, “We all do better when we all do better.”
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Didja know: Brazil was the only South American country to send troops overseas in World War II. And yes, on the side of the Allies.
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In Case You Need to Know Dept.: A group of lizards is called a “lounge.” Provided by FactRetriever.com and a candidate for “Most useless fact of the month.”
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President Donald Trump has fired the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rohit Chopra, in the latest purge of a Biden administration holdover. Of course; the average ‘Merican does not need any protection from big banks or their friends on Wall Street, do they? You don’t mind those pesky little service charges, do you, for example? Maybe we should let Wall Street handle our social security money too, like George Bush said.
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Most valuable course I ever took award:
Typing; as in “typing by touch” as it was called. Should have taken a similar one in using the number pad, or 10-key, that would have been handy, too. I took typing in 9th grade mainly because I knew I had to write term papers as a junior and senior, and I thought my poor penmanship would hold me back. I got lucky when computer keyboards used the same layout as my manual typewriter . . . I read the other day that the first typewriters were invented by people who wanted the layout (qwerty) like t is in order to slow down typists, because the manual keys would get stuck. Ok, but no one typed by touch when typewriters first came out. So, they tried not to put common combos of letters next to one another, but spatially far apart so the metal arms with the letter at the end would not jam with one next to it.
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“Make Sure” is a phrase I learned to hate. Here’s why:
It was a phrase captains in the merchant marine would use in writing for officers like me, then countermand the written order verbally. When I joined a ship as a mate, I had the conn by myself eight hours a day (unless the captain came up to the bridge and said he “had the conn.”) I had to sign the Standing Orders in the front of the log book, which basically said to follow all the rules of the road, international regulations, etc. Also, for a night watch there was usually a Night Order book for each of the three mates to sign, and again basically saying “make sure” all rules and regs are followed, etc. Then the fun. Example: The first time I had the conn leaving New York Harbor at night, we got into dense fog near Nantucket, on the way to England. Following the rules, one thing I did was turn on the ship’s whistle (fog horn) so it would automatically blow the proper signal every two minutes, per the rules. The phone on the bridge rang right away. It was the captain: “Turn that goddam thing off, people are trying to sleep!” Slam. Right then I understood the “game.” I learned to play too, and when on a ship with a “bad” captain, I realized, as watch officer, I could write any damn thing I wanted to in the log book. Like one captain told us verbally not to use the radar. Much of the time this was okay, but not always. In those cases, I wrote “Radar off per captain’s orders” in the log, thereby covering my butt a bit (in case we hit something or went aground) and infuriating the “Ol’ Man.”
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In a follow-up to RFK and a deadly measles outbreak in Samoa, this:
Samoa’s top health official on Monday denounced as “a complete lie” remarks that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made during his bid to become U.S. health secretary, rejecting his claim that some who died in the country’s 2019 measles epidemic didn’t have the disease.—During his confirmation hearings, RFK said no one knew why those kids died. “We don’t know what was killing them,” Kennedy said. Lie. Deadly lie. And with kids!
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President Donald Trump’s administration has made significant changes to the U.S. agency charged with delivering humanitarian assistance overseas that has left aid organizations agonizing over whether they can continue with programs such as nutritional assistance for malnourished infants and children. – This will not win us any friends around the world. But of course, the R’s want to reduce health care and food for poor kids right here! Why should we help anyone? Didn’t we all make it on our own? Wait, Trumpy inherited over $400 M. . .
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I wrote that I would write a quick review of the movie Flight Risk. We saw it last Tuesday. If you saw the trailer, you know it is action packed almost non-stop. It’s only 91 minutes and you probably won’t want to miss anything. Two things aren’t perfect for me, however; one is the repeat shots of the plane flying over the same snow-capped mountains. The other is how one person survives so many injuries! The basic plot is simple enough but there is a sub-plot over “leaked information” I’ll call it – there is a quick verbal clue to that in the movie, but I won’t say exactly what – listen for it. On a 5-star basis, I would say 3.5.
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In the “We Don’t Have to Hide it Anymore” Dept.: Man Who Said ‘Competent White Men Must Be In Charge’ Now Has a Trump Administration Gig – Huffpost
Well, hell, they also have a J6 guy who went into the Capitol, too.
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Our neighbors have a 1-year-old. Next time they are here I want to tell them that, as she learns to talk, never teach her how to say two words – “no” and “why?” That will save them a lot of trouble! They’ll thank me!
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Coincidence or Irony? Just consider that Trump is actively trying to end USAID on the same day he suggested taking Gaza. Wait, wasn’t he the guy who said he would end foreign entanglements?
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I never thought I would get to the point wherein getting a new kitchen faucet would “make my day” but that happened today! The old one I guess had calcium build up, and hardly any water would come out. Doing the dishes in the sink took forever. Thankfully we have a new plumber who is now “our guy” and he is very good. Gotta know “who the guy is” and yes, sometimes it is a gal!
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If you read news online, maybe consider BBC news. Another view of world-wide affairs. When I was at sea, I always had a radio that could get short wave frequencies, in part because the BBC had broadcasts just about everywhere (the British Empire is another topic, but the Brits were all over the world at one time – there was a saying: “The sun never sets on the British Empire”). I never did learn to understand cricket broadcasts, though.
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Saw this on Huffpost: “Speaking of Greenland, there’s a question for you. What is the difference between Greenland and Donald Trump? Greenland is not for sale,” joked Klobuchar.
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That joke says a lot and I think it’s a good place to end.
It is Superbowl Day and I will watch the game. Neither team “mine” but I have decided to root for the Eagles. Too many damn State Farm commercials with Mahomes! And now Travis Kelce says nice things about Trump!
I have been to two Superbowls – number 6 and 49. Very different experiences. I will BBQ steaks to contribute to the party atmosphere – it is sunny today, too.
All take care,
Kevin
Blog: If I understand this 