Bean counters count beans

Friday May 22, 2020 at 06:15 a.m.

Poor planning on your part does not constitute an Emergency on my part,

Here's a pretty great story that seems wonderful until you consider the facts and look at the details and then it's like being served a bowl of melted ice cream. Yeah, it's ice cream all right, but who the hell wants this crap?

A team of scientists has discovered that apparently, Cannabis can help to prevent and also treat the coronavirus. In the details, they say the strain used to treat the virus, must be a particularly strong strain of cannabis. For potheads this sounds like very good news huh? But wait, there's more. So far the best results thus far have been obtained in Cannabis that tested very high in the anti-inflammatory aspects of CBD, but also very low in THC, which is the part that gets you high. You win some and you lose some I guess. Smoking anything and putting it into your lungs is a very bad idea anyway, although the prospect of going into a convenience store and asking for a pack of "Marlboro Toker 100's" does sound appealing, in a weird way.

Cue the music "No stems and No seeds that you don't need, Toker 100's is some badass weed !"

In Yesterday's Rant, I talked a little bit about basketball and what the game has turned into over the years. I spoke of the evolution of the game and what has happened, briefly, in the past 30 or so years focusing mostly on the types of players that are now considered to be great players. In doing so I totally skipped one class of player that has come on so strong that they are better now than they have ever been.  I'm talking of course of the pure shooter and players like Steph Curry. His long bomb 3 points clutch scoring game has touched off a revival of sorts in the importance of the scorer/shooter in today's game. Kobi Bryant was a player like this, although he didn't rely on the long bomb jump shot as much as Curry does, he was however able to score, at will, from almost anywhere on the court.

My point is not to focus on one aspect of the game or to hype one individual player or team over another however. My ultimate goal here was just to say that I firmly believe that talent and skill overall has been corrupted by the glamor of the long bomb. It's been misappropriated by the banging and bumping style that has taken over the league, that started on the playgrounds and has thrived in the NBA. In the description of any discussion of the subject "What is basketball", someone will supply an answer that attempts to say that it is a non-contact sport. This is what I really object to as there are elbows flying and intentional fouls being committed at a pace that stops the game so often that a game stoppage is more common than extended play. It has done what I thought impossible and made it pretty boring. Who wants to watch one free throw after another all night long?

Contents are sold by weight, not by volume. Some settling may occur during shipping.

1. A 56-year-old grown-ass adult man has been arrested and has 125 misdemeanor charges lodged against him for hunting and killing animals outside the law and outside the season of legitimate hunting as well. He also has several Federal charges and other state charges pending the completion of an ongoing 18-month investigation. Several more people are also going to be charged in accordance with state law. He is charged among other things with killing 18 Wolves, at least 3 Bald Eagles, some deer, beavers, bears, and bobcats. He allegedly told officers he killed them because "He likes it."
   
   
2. Elon Mush says that once the A.I. is finished for his Tesla automobiles that it will add over $100,000 to the value of any Tesla it is installed in. Oh, and he was dead serious too.
   
   
3. If you have ever been to Hong Kong or you have ever thought about going or ever even thought of it as a cruise destination, forget it. Hong Kong will be dead by this time next year. At least it will be according to several China experts that say as soon as China institutes several strategic security initiatives designed to eliminate the challenges to the rule of Chinese law that were seen last year. Strict new security laws implemented by China will effectively end life in Hong Kong as know it today. The autonomy they have enjoyed as a part of everyday life in Hong Kong will end as they become fully integrated into and are taken over by the Chinese government. Chine fears a return to the democracy protests that plunged Hong Kong into turmoil last year.
   
   
4. I'm a big Ben Shapiro fan. He is a brilliantly smart, funny guy, I do not always agree with his point of view but don't think I have to agree with him 100% of the time, to enjoy his commentary. Even though your teachers in High School and your College Professors said they aren't a real resource, learn more about Ben on Wikipedia right here: Wikipedia: Ben Shapiro
   
   
5. Here is another long-winded but short story to add to the boring BigMike collection of "What is that idiot talking about now collection." It used to be not so long ago that when the new CEO, or COO, or really anybody in the position of running an organization at an operational level, you could usually look at that person's resume and see the relevant experience which would make you go, "Hmmm ok." Or at least it seemed that way to me. I could be totally wrong.
   
   Back when Banking, for example, was a middle income, mid manager type of job, and wasn't seen as a way to get a house in the Hampton's, companies and their boards of directors looked for top officers to have the experience that could be translated into profit, based on a proven track record of results. Hense the old say "Past Performance dictates future results." It doesn't seem that way anymore, and I might add it has been coming that way for a long time.
   
   Boards and others have become convinced that the leaders they must have in order to be successful should have Masters Degrees and more often than not, the degree and relevant experience should be from an accounting background. The theory is that you can teach an accountant how to operate pretty easily. The problem and one that will probably never be addressed is how they see the business from the top.
   
   Accountants see every item under Sales (Or Revenue if you will) is that they always see cost as something that has to be reduced and ultimately if possible, to be eliminated altogether. That's pretty much why we move businesses to offshore locations like Vietnam or China or Mexico. They think they are saving money by eliminating costs and they are focused on the short term share price and the bonus program they are paid under, instead of the long term health of their employees, who are the ones that built the organization to the level it is at. If you ask them why they moved operations to say, Mexico that will tell you it was their Fiduciary duty to maximize profits or some such nonsense. Its why you cannot speak to someone in America about a problem you have unless you insist on it.
   
   I think its time we turned this thinking around and put Operators back in charge where they belong. Bankers and accounting-based executives are support functions and always have been, they always should be as well. Just my humble opinion.
   
   
   Bean counters count beans, that's their job.
   
   BigMike