Coming Up 4's and 6's

 The Schloss-Blog is coming up 4's and 6's this weekend. Sort of...

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Sixes, you know, like the number of false identities that George Santos has. Uh, I mean Anthony Devolder. No, Anthony Zabrovsky. No, wait, I mean drag queen Kitara Ravache.

It's almost easier to name the people he hasn't been, the schools from which he hasn't graduated - with honors - or at which he's been a volleyball All-American - or the fortunes he has made, or the places his mother died and the places from where his parents fled persecution.

And eventually died.

Or, as Stephen Colbert said, the movie bio of his life will start with, "Based on a false story..."

Then again, he's almost a perfect mascot for the Republican party.

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Then there were 4's, or the number of homes of Democratic politicians that would-be New Mexico Republican state representative Solomon Pena hired four shooters to take aim at.

Pena, a Trump supporter and election denier, is accused of actually hiring four people to shoot at the homes of four Democrats in the Land of Enchantment.

He could have had them killed if the people he hired had been better shots.

The problem is that this is where we're going in America. Political disagreement among Republican radicals - or should I say irrationals(?) - has caused actual violence across the country. At FBI offices. At the U.S. Capitol on Jan.6, 2021. At Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco home. And now at the homes of Democrats in New Mexico.

Donald Trump has brought us into the era of - "If you don't like the results, kill 'em."

So they're trying.

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Is it just me or does every time the Republicans control Congress and/or the White House, they spend like proverbial drunken sailors. Trump ran up the deficit by $8 trillion in 4 years after promising to eliminate it altogether

But when Democrats engage in deficit spending, Republicans balk and try to shut down the government.

The Social Security Trust Fund, upon which so many of us depend, is already $3 trillion in the hole as part of the national debt. How long before entitlement-killing Republicans come for what's left of it?

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This headline caught my eye: Unexpected snowstorms cost communities billions of dollars.

Someone help me out here: what's an "unexpected snowstorm?" 

Can't weather forecasters accurately predict snowfall? Maybe not to the exact inch, but close enough, huh? Around Chicagoland, forecasters on TV traditionally try to sell you on massive amounts of snow coming so you'll stay tuned in to find out it's only 1-3 inches.

Are you trying to tell me that weathermen in Atlanta, Dallas, Memphis, Nashville, St. Louis and/or Kansas City can't predict "snowstorms" with precision?

Has climate change, in and of itself, made weather forecasting that unpredictable? Or are weathermen just that bad?

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And now, your Fast Company tip of the week, as selected by our Schloss-Blog editors:

• Did you know ... there are six mistakes you can make that sabotage your likeability in a job interview?

I'm thinking not shaving, not combing your hair, wearing pajama bottoms to the interview, forgetting to floss your teeth, wearing the same shirt you wore to the bar the night before and using phrases like WTF in response to interviewer questions.

But I'm sure you have your own six.

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Good night Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.

Gawd, I hate the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Death by Injury, Death by Illness, Death by Faking It, Death by Governor, Death by Government and Death by Quitting

The Schloss-Blog is examining ways to die today. To some extent, it's a little bit of death by "I'm gonna' kill you," as they say on the street, or "You're dead," as they trash talk on the basketball court or the football field.

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Not dead, although he could've been, is Damar Hamlin. A week or so after collapsing on the field after a hit and being revived via CPR, he is home after suffering cardiac arrest. A testament to faith and will. May he come back and contribute to the game in some way, shape or form. God bless him.

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However, death is still out there for the unvaccinated, or at least hospitalization. The COVID variant XBB 1.5 is rampant now, running through America like the conspiracy theory that Trump won the 2020 election or that Kari Lake won the Arizona gubernatorial vote.

XBB 1.5 is as or more contagious than omicron might have been. The best way to avoid it is getting your booster. Yet, many Americans have not done that. Yet.

What are they waiting for, especially with the flu and RSV running through America now as well.

Y'know, like election conspiracy theories.

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You want death? How about faking it? Novelist Susan Meachen apparently did. The prolific romance novelist, apparently depressed over low sales and supposed mistreatment from other authors, committed suicide two years ago.

Or did she?

Two years later, she announced on social media that she was back. What better way to sell books than to die? Hey, music artists generally explode in CD sales and downloads after death.

For Susan though, there's been backlash, including from fans who mourned her passing.

So, what about you? Got something to sell that is moving slowly? Hey, announce your death. Maybe it'll work as well for you as it did for her.

Or did it?

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Of course, there's always being dead politically.

Just ask Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican and former Speaker of the House, who was generally driven out of D.C. by Trump.

Now, after being dormant for about five years, he's back, lamenting the GOP failures in the 2018, 2020 and 2022 elections and firmly blaming Trump.

OK, he didn't say Trump's dead, but he might as well have. He called Trump a "loser" and he applied it to the GOP losing the House and the White House, failing to carry the Senate and coming up dismally short in recapturing the House in any convincing style whatsoever.

"Proven loser," Ryan called him, in a TV interview.

This is the same man who backed the Foxconn development debacle in his home state and turned and ran when the GOP failed to heed him and he was reduced to ineffectiveness in the wake of Trump. 

Now, Ryan, no doubt, likely wants to run for president in 2024, but Trump is in the way.

Proven loser indeed.

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Finally, as usual, here's the Fast Company tip of the week: there are six reasons you shouldn't just up and quit your job.

I'm thinking that No. 1 is having an income. What are the other five?

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.

R,I.P. Jeff Beck and Lisa Marie.

In Case You Didn't Know...

The Schloss-Blog is looking at all the things we could learn if we were reading Fast Company and WIRED newsletters that promise advice on how to be better managers, how to promote vibrant cultures and how different generations rate each other in the workplace.

In other words, all things trending. Stand by.

*For instance, did you know, according to Fast Company, that there are specific protocols that managers should use when approaching promotions for underlings.

Not sure what they are, even after reading the article, but I'm still waiting for the article to tell me something I didn't know. But to me, the manager, if you can't help the company make more money, generate more subscriptions, achieve healthier profits and/or improve our lot in the world, you ain't getting promoted.

*Found out from WIRED that there are three ways to 'rewire' your default stress settings.

But if you're not getting stressed out about something, chances are you're not human. We all need a degree of stress to function, to be driven. My default stress settings, however, include not ticking off my spouse, not pestering my daughter and not spending money irresponsibly. I generally do all three anyway.

Not sure if that makes me wired or rewired.

*Know what Fast Company says are the five best apps on your phone? Neither do I, but I know I can't get by without American Airlines, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and amazon. Any question?

*What were the biggest tech trends of 2022 and what will be the biggest of 2023? Wait, it's AI, AI, AI and AI. Also, AI.

*Looking for cable TV alternatives? Streaming, streaming, streaming and streaming. The rumor is that Netflix will merge with or be bought out by Disney+ or Paramount+, creating a streaming service so big, it'll be too tempting to resist.

As long as they have the sporting events I want, I'm in. Right now, live sports account for 90% of the top-rated TV shows, and unless the streaming services carry the ones I want, I ain't streaming, no matter how much of a trend Fast Company identified it as.

*Gen Z, Gen X, Baby Boomers and Millennials generally consider each other cordial. And that's it. 

*Did you know that Fast Company says there are nine essential tech products? I can't name them either besides my laptop, my cellphone and my tablet. What are the other six? Someone? Anyone?

*Reddit predicts trends. Really? And here I thought all it did was allow for anonymous attacks on other people.

*There are five employment trends that will shape the future. Let's see, four of them are a paycheck, a pay raise, green grass and grass that is greener on the other side.

*Bet you didn't know there are five skills managers must have, Fast Company says. I looked at the list - being able to manage was not on it.

*Speaking of stress, as we were earlier, self-care is something that drives up your stress levels. And 45% of us, WIRED says, consider ourselves stressed out; 36% consider ourselves scared and depressed and an overlapping 25% consider ourselves demotivated.

Man, that's depressing. Guess that puts me though in the 36%.

*Are you keeping up with food trends? I'm reading where kelp, pulp, mocktails, fruit, hojicha tea, experiential dining and tables for one are trending, says, Fast Company.

I don't know - I eat alone a lot. Table for one? Nah, I sit at the bar.

*Finally, I see where YouTube is becoming Tik Tok and Tik Tok is becoming YouTube. So, does that mean I can watch one of my favorite videos, the Tedeschi-Trucks Band doing Layla with Trey Anastasio of Phish sitting in with them, on Tik Tok?

Here's two of my trends:

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.

God watch over us with Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House.

And Jack Smith, what's taking so long?

It's a Women's World; It's a Betting World; But It's Not Necessarily an NFT or NIL World

The Schloss-Blog is watching women in sports, betting in sports and blood money in sports and women in sports (again) because they are kicking ass.

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But first, it appears fusion energy is next great trend. It uses energy to create even more energy than it uses to create it and is really cool.

But it's like carbon-less energy and electric cars - they will dominate the marketplace - around 2050 or later. Maybe. And not before politicians. Scrambling to put their names on it all, screw it all up.

Me, I'll buy an e-car when, on every street corner, all those gas stations have been replaced by quick-serve e-car recharging stations that let you plug in your car and go, just like you do now with gas.

Raise your hand if you think that is going to happen by 2030, which, by the way, is when Volkswagen is going to stop making gas-powered cars and only produce e-cars.

I have two Tiguans. They are both gas efficient. We'll see if I want to buy two more 'e' versions.

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Do you know who Julianne Stich is?

Maybe you should. She is the first female coach to guide a men's collegiate team to an NCAA title. She took the University of Chicago to the Division III title with a 2-0 win over Williams College earlier this month in the championship game.

A lot of men coach women's sports. It's time to start reversing that.

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An Olive Garden manager in Kansas recently sent an absolutely scathing letter to employees about calling in sick, telling them, literally, if their dog died and they had to bring it in to prove that's why they stayed home.

Olive Garden fired him.

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In an interesting Sports Business Journal survey, 80% of fans told them don't watch LIV golf, they think NIL is good for college sports and their betting habits have not changed just because you can place a bet just about form anywhere in any state in the union.

Sixty-three percent say they never bet anyway, just like always. Only7 10% says they are gambling more on sports than they did before. And NFTs? Some 85% don't own one and likely never will.

Don't worry kids - mom and dad are not gambling away your inheritance, let alone your college tuition.

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Here's a scoop: Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX corporation will not have a Super Bowl commercial this year.

Unless it's an ad for Orange is the New Black.

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In case you're thinking about attending college in New Zealand or getting an internship there, the nation is banning you from buying cigarettes if you were born after Jan 1, 2009. 

In other words, whatever comes after Gen Z. Wonder what they're gonna' call that?

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Next week, a look back at 2022. It had its stars (San Bankman-Fried) who will end up in stripes. Trump will too, just not in 2023.

Probably.

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Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Julianne Stich.

More Sunday night twice) on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show (two shifts this week - 6-8 pm Eastern on Sunday and again 11 pm-2 am Eastern, Sunday into Monday).