Commentary – Page 2 – Fast:Forward Farther

July 31, 2023July 30, 2023

Break Time

This is the final day of my self-imposed abstinence from Twitter (which I heard may have taken a new name while I was away?). I entered this one-month hiatus as a personal cleansing, because my favorite time of year approaches… and once things kick off, the ensuing 20 weeks will include frequent – some might say ‘too often’ – check-ins about the happenings around college football land.

As July progressed, this did not turn out to be a difficult challenge. My family and friends kindly obliged to avoid sending me links to Elon’s playground. There may be stories I missed along the way; however, it turns out nothing earth-shattering, life-changing occurred.

Tomorrow, I’ll wake up as usual around 4:45, do stretching and exercises as I listen to Squawk Box on CNBC, scroll through morning reads of a few business newsletters, browse the NY Times headlines, and play Wordle for the 527th consecutive day. Then I’ll head to the YMCA for a six o’clock swim, stationary bike ride and 10 minutes of rowing. When I come home, I’ll add X back on my iPhone and see what’s new in the sports world.

On July 1, I took on one other adventure: giving up my daily cookies and milk for the month. With a limited diet due to IBS, that ritual was one of my few guilty pleasures. How did it go? Much more difficult than Twitterless. Watch out Tate’s Bake Shop Gluten-Free Chocolate Chips and Lactaid milk. Soon, you’re mine.

June 14, 2023June 27, 2023

Linked Out

Every day I receive emails – many that my Spam detector fails to flag – with some form of: “Hello David / I hope you’re doing well. / I wanted to reach out and discuss the potential of utilizing our services for your business growth.” Clearly, these are auto-generated campaigns tied to LinkedIn or other marketing groups that have my email address.

Yesterday, I received this at 10:20 a.m.:

“Hi, David… I’m wondering about your thoughts per my email last week. My manager, [Name], asked me to reach out to you again. He is excited to connect with you…”

At 10:53 a.m., this arrived:

“Good morning, David… Recently, my sales associate, [Name], contacted you about scheduling a meeting with me. I’m excited that you want to discuss…”

This one came today at 9:43 a.m.:

“Hello, David… I noticed you haven’t responded to our urgent request to meet with you…”

I understand folks are just trying to make a living – so I shake my head and hit Delete, thankful I don’t have resort to these tactics. Sort of like when someone rings our doorbell and they’re selling new windows, lawn care, or solar energy panels. I’m always polite… and always make sure it’s a quick conversation.

May 6, 2023June 2, 2023

Penny Wise

Years ago, I received a check from a company for $.02 (two cents!), so I never cashed it. Still have it in a file, in fact. Last month I received a check from Hearst – publisher of the Houston Chronicle – for $.01 (one cent!!). It came with no explanation… and since I don’t have a subscription to said daily, I have no idea why they sent it to me. (Perhaps a Class Action lawsuit settlement?)

Thinking this through from their end: someone (or AI?) had to take care of this at the Hearst Service Center in Charlotte. Then it had to be mailed. So there’s at least $.63 (sixty-three cents!!!) of expense, plus any cost of time involved in processing.

The check says ‘Void after 90 days’ and I don’t intend to cash it, so it will join the other one in my file drawer. Of course, what I’d really like to know is the reason I received it. I would contact them and satisfy my curiosity – except that would just cost me more money in lost time that I could spend doing something more valuable.

April 28, 2023May 12, 2023

Slight Blips

This high-tech world we live in moves fast… and has a lot of wonderful tools to help folks be more efficient. Everyday there seems to be an innovation that makes people’s lives easier.

When you work for a large company, there’s an IT department on standby to help with challenges, especially integration of new apps or programs. When you’re self-employed and something doesn’t connect or work as intended, there’s… well… yourself… or a “we’re assisting other customers and will be with you as soon as we can” help line.

Over the past two decades, I’ve spent many hours on hold and many more speaking with support professionals… trying to explain exactly what my issue is so they can try to fix it. Often this happens following a software update. My current conundrum is trying to get my iMac calendar and Apple Mail to connect with MS Exchange, which one of my clients uses. If the way those two products get along is a reflection of the relationship between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, I’m certain they didn’t like each other. (Don’t get me started on Teams!)

The best solution would be a teenager living at home. These things come naturally at that age. Unfortunately, our last one moved out seven years ago, so I wander alone in the technology desert. Guess it’s time to break down and pay a pro to help me resolve the issue.

Now that I think about it, that’s why people hire me

March 16, 2023March 15, 2023

Last Dance

The NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament begins today with 48 games to be played through Sunday. There once was time I was fascinated by what some see as ‘the best four days on the sports calendar.’ From working the games during my TV career, to later going to Las Vegas a couple of times with friends, to most recently having several TVs going in our living room, I was all in. I’d watch throughout the year, study the matchups and always submit a bracket. Heck… last year I won a pool for the first time.

Yet this season I watched exactly one basketball game: last Saturday’s Big 12 tournament championship final won by my alma mater. What changed? A few things.

First, Kathy and I are working through a list of shows we missed during their first runs, now airing on the various streaming services. I enjoyed Lucifer, Chuck and Billions. We also watch new offerings: Ghosts, So Help Me Todd and, as of this week, the final season of Ted Lasso.

Second, I’m playing a lot of golf for the first time in 30 years… and being on the course at the end of the day – right up until sunset – is relaxing and peaceful.

Third, the antics surrounding the game are out of hand. Bill Self is accused of multiple violations at Kansas? Meh. He cut down the nets a year ago. Chris Beard gets fired at Texas for allegedly assaulting his fiancé in December. No worries. He took a new job this week at Ole Miss. Alabama’s star player and potential NBA lottery pick plays a role in a teammate murdering a young mother sitting in a car. So. He hasn’t missed a game, and two fans supported him by wearing insensitive shirts to last week’s SEC tournament.

Despite that, like millions of people, I expect to take in a bunch of basketball over the next two weeks leading up to the Final Four here in Houston. Only this time, unlike 2011 and 2016, we won’t be attending those games in person. Unless, of course, a buddy calls at the last minute and offers us tickets. Then, I might just follow the crowd and be a fan again.