It is what it is until it isn't

Wednesday, May 6th, 2020at 5:30 a.m. why in the hell am I awake?

Objects in the mirror are closer than they seem especially if you're high,

I do this all the time. I sit down at this keyboard and amuse myself by inserting little references here and there that don't have any real meaning to the larger scheme of things in the world, they are just funny little snippets of stuff from other things like songs or plays or film. Most of the time, the vast majority of the time, nobody sees them and there is very little recognition to be had that they existed. Usually, it just flies on by,  zoom zoom,  and we all go about our business, I giggle about it later. Being as that there are really only a few readers of my blog in the first place, most people don't even know it ever existed. That's what it's like being inside my head, chortling at stuff no one else even knows ever existed. I'm not trolling for readers here, if I were I would choose a platform with more readers to do it. Ironic huh?

Here's one that's out in the open. You know what's really ironic? (Maybe even funny depending upon perspective), Did you know that the colors Red, White, and Blue almost always convey images of freedom to most people? The most notable exception to this idea is when they are flashing in your rearview mirror. Think about that for a second.

In America it is possible to get the best of everything there is. You can have the best food, the best service, the very best medical care, the absolute best representation and advice from an attorney, the most wonderful careers that can be had, the highest levels of education and the most exquisite houses and all you have to do to achieve this wonderful ideal way of living is to be born rich. If your mother and father were uber-wealthy, well you are set for life. You probably don't even have to go to school if you do not want to as all will be provided for you if you just give it time. Even medium rich will do it if it covers the basics for you forever however, if you are born to the uber-rich, well learn how to sail Bucko because summers are gonna be lit for you for the rest of your life.

This scenario I've just described actually exists for a few. It exists for people who have summer homes on Martha's vineyard or for people who go skiing in Vail at the winter home and for those lucky few that can say their Daddy has a house in the Hamptons. If you have to ask where the Hamptons are, then this doesn't apply to you.

Sadly, as anti-American as this may seem to a lot of us, this is what is held up to the world as the American Dream, where it is possible to be anything, to do anything, to have anything in America if you are just willing to work hard enough. Most of this is bull-hockey for the average American. It may have been possible for this to happen in the distant past however my opinion those times are long past and are never to return. I really don't know why but I choose to blame the rich just because they are easy targets.

In the world we have 3,665, 912 cases of the coronavirus right now and 257,337 people have died of this crap so far. In The USA only its 1,204,475 cases and 71,078 deaths. In the US, about 6 % of all cases result in death, and in the world its around 7 %. I would imagine the standard of living or the standard of medical care accounts for the difference. I'm not sure it even matters or ever has.

Useless advice and notes from the spinning wheel of my brain

1. They say the best way to stop your glasses from fogging up while you are wearing a cloth mask is to wash them with soap and warm water, then don't touch them with your fingers while drying. Never use anything made from wood or wood pulp when drying your glasses. This includes tissues, toilet paper and paper towels as wood pulp products will scratch the lenses. Use cotton-based products like bath towels instead. I'm not sure if it works or not but I also heard that cleaning the lenses with shaving cream will stave off the fog too. Good to know I suppose.
   
2. Most economists and the talking heads on TV said that job losses and business closures were temporary and that most of them were expected to make a complete recovery. I said from the beginning that this was pablum as the market could not and would sustain temporary closures. Most businesses even if closed, still had monthly expenses to pay even if the business was closed and they were producing zero revenue. Some sectors of our economy will never recover from this. Most that don't return to full operations will restructure, reduce, or will close, liquidate, or go bankrupt. A wave of bankruptcies will begin as soon as the sectors have met their conditions imposed by the collection of stimulus funding. It is beginning to look like I'm right even though I do not want to be.
   
   Other business sectors such as airlines, airline industries, airline part manufacturers, and their service suppliers, and even employee unions will see major drops in their numbers that are inevitable. GE, for example, has announced 13,000 jobs are being removed and won't be replaced. UAL (United Airlines) COO Greg Hart has stated publicly that it would be better if their employees would just go away and quit on their own.
   
   Our unemployment rate could spike at 22% for May compared to 15.8 % for April.
   Heady times Bro!
   
3. Ironic still is the news that some retailers are expected to file for bankruptcy just as soon as they can re-open and put a little cash in the bank that would finance liquidation sales and bankruptcy filings. Most shuttered businesses had only 2 weeks of operating cash on hand when they closed. In other words they are too poor to go bankrupt.
   
   Look for great deals and great sales at J Crew, JC Penney, Nieman Marcus, and a slew of others as they hold everything must go sales to liquidate excess inventory. Hertz will soon file and Victoria's secret just called off a private sale due to cash balance issues. They are all in trouble.
   
4. I hate cliches and the constant use of buzzwords. I use them as badly as anyone and I still hate them. The worst of all of the popular ones right now is the dumbass phrases "It is what it is". Of course, it is, what else would it be?  How else could you think of it? It is what it isn't? Dumbass crap.
   
   I just love it when someone puts out something like "They are going to have to tactically evaluate it from 40,000 feet before it uncycles productivity or negatively impacts the cross-functional team members that are coordinating the multi-pronged approach to synergizing our strategy".
   
   Aaaargggghh! I get crazy asking them to extract themselves from this word vomit and say what's on their mind. It makes me nuts trying to make sense of this shit.
   
5. You know when people are shown going underwater without diving gear in the movies? I like to hold my breath to see if I would have survived in the same situation. Its pretty fun to do this. It provides a lot of giggles.
   
   I almost died during  "Finding Nemo" though.
   
   
   On your feet Navy Diver !,
   
   BigMike