hat do you do when the Super Bowl is on?

In response to last week’s question, "What do you do when the Super Bowl is on?," my northern sister-in-law up north Lorrie boasted, "During the Super Bowl, I will look forward to watching Roger Goodell shaking Tom Brady's hand as he gives Tom his MVP award.  I hope I haven't jinxed anything saying this.  You know we New Englanders tend to worry about jinxes."

My temple friend Richard wrote, "Normally I watch the Super Bowl with interest because I am a football fanatic. This year, with the Falcons playing in it, I will also watch with heart palpitations and a churning stomach," which led my cycling friend Ted to profess, "This year? Pray! Baruch Hashem!"

    

My social media friend Mark replied, "Hit the head, grab some chips and dip, and return to the TV for the commercials," which aligns with my writing and sailing friend Rich, who shared, "Make sure that my wife does miss a single Clydesdale commercial."  Similarly, my PR friend Stan plans to " Immerse myself in the game, sanctimoniously judge the commercials and overeat."   My equestrian friend Royce lamented, "Cut my girl friend OFF!"

My dad's beach buddy Bob, who is in SC, declared, "make a huge bowl of popcorn, grab a cold beer and watch the game until it is a blowout on either side then turn the channel to SCETV for great programming."

My sailing friend Norm cautioned, "I am on a diet and going to lose 20 lbs by April 15.  So what I do is watch the game, not the carbs everyone else is consuming!"

And then my finance consultant friend Sam challenged, "I think about how little viewership the Super Bowl gets  (115M) compared to El Classico (1B viewers worldwide) which happens at least twice per year. Makes you wonder “hmmm”, the “super” bowl ain’t so super!

Please send me your thoughts about this week's "things that make you go 'Hmmm' ":

Can you accidentally eat too much?  from my marketing friend Barry

Live well...laugh often and heartily.... have a good week and never regret anything that made you smile.

Hal

Falcons to the Super Bowl!  Fun 'alternate fact' found online:

Super Bowl 51 Odds	OPENING ODDS	WEEK 1
New England Patriots	8-1	6-1
Atlanta Falcons	40-1	80-1

…..Patriots are now favored by just 3 points in a game predicted to have 58 points scored.   Rise up! Go Falcons!

Thanks to Demetri Martin, Steven Wright and George Carlin for the inspiration for Hmmm.   I invite you to call or email me to catch up.

How do you keep your eyes peeled?

In response to last week’s question, "How do you keep your eyes peeled?,"  my cycling friend Ted concluded, "If you wear contact lenses, you just peel it of your cornea!" to which my sailing friend Norm concurred, "Since I don't wear contact lenses, I am unable to 'peel' my eyes.'"

When my equestrian friend Royce replied, "find a good ophthalmologist," my dad's beach buddy Bob added, "I had a surgeon do it for me about 20 years ago.  I can now see much better than before as I can now keep them open to new opportunities."

My production manager friend Ray's first response to Hmmm was, "By looking at a picture every day of Miss Emma Peel (think Avengers)."  And my social media friend Mark shared the image to the right.

My former colleague Vanessa advised, "I keep my eyes peeled by looking for good family quality time activities, looking for good self-enrichment opptys and for good teaching moments for my kiddos on how to give back to the community. I may also keep my eyes peeled for the occasional travel experience as well, I am convinced I was a nomad in a past life, lol. As Groupon says, if you are going to own something, own the experience! Would much rather spend my time doing then surrounding myself with things...."

And my photographer friend Thomas replied to the prior week's question, "Can you donate free time?," writing "If you want to value your time purely as an economics questions, consider the opportunity cost, i.e. what else would I be doing with this time.  Opportunity Cost: When a choice needs to be made between several mutually exclusive alternatives. Assuming the best choice is made, it is the 'cost' incurred by not enjoying the benefit that would have been had by taking the second best available choice.  This assumes your life is governed purely by economics."

Please send me your thoughts about this week's "things that make you go 'Hmmm' ":

What do you do when the Super Bowl is on?

Factoid: ~70% of people watching TV then will be tuned to the game (average of ~115M people)

Live well...laugh often and heartily.... have a good week and never regret anything that made you smile.

Hal

Falcons to the Super Bowl!  An awesome offense yesterday.  Rise Up! 

Thanks to Demetri Martin, Steven Wright and George Carlin for the inspiration for Hmmm.   I invite you to call or email me to catch up.

To observe MLK Day, "Can you donate free time?"

In response to last week’s question, "Can you donate free time?," my social media friend Mark lamented, "I have no witty reply, but if anyone says yes, please send them to my house ASAP."

My collaboration friend Tricia shared, "I love this question and yes. Free time is something I don't seem to have enough of, so if I can donate some of that, it has a very high value!"

 My dad's beach buddy Bob concluded, "Of course.  If it's free and you're no longer using it,  let it go to where it will do more good.  If it isn't free, then the sacrifice will make it more meaningful."

My networking friend Andrew advised, "There is no such thing as "free" time.  All time is very expensive, the most precious resource we have, since we know it is scarce. In fact, we can't accurately value it since we don't know 'how' scarce it is (could have 1 minute, could have 40 years, but we don't have an unbounded amount of it). In economist terms, there are no 'substitutes' for time, and it cannot be reused/recovered/manufactured. By contrast, money is one of the cheapest resources available, since it is arbitrary in value. We can literally print as much as we want (and have!).   So while one can donate money, one can only 'spend' time, and life consists of how we do spend it, and with whom."

My florist friend Bruce counseled, "Time is not free...it has an associated cost that varies by individual and individual opinion. And one should donate time on a weekly basis to enrich society either in your home,  your faith, or your community."

Please send me your thoughts about this week's "things that make you go 'Hmmm' ":

How do you keep your eyes peeled?

Live well...laugh often and heartily.... have a good week and never regret anything that made you smile.

Hal

In honor of MLK Day, if you are a volunteer in your community, thank you for making this a better place, and for being a role model for others.  If you don't volunteer, consider how you can be of service to your community.

Go Falcons!  NFC Championship on Sunday, Jan 22.

Thanks to Demetri Martin, Steven Wright and George Carlin for the inspiration for Hmmm.   I invite you to call or email me to catch up.

What will it take to make 2017 better than 2016?

In response to last week’s question, "What will it take to make 2017 better than 2016?," my birthday bud Jon suggested, "A time machine that can take us back to 2015."  My social media Mark advised far more optimistically, "For me...it will be me. And for you...it will be you."

My recruiting friend Jason professed, "Less news channels.....no, wait...more news......no....definitely NO NEWS CHANNELS."  Then my college roomie John and equestrian friend Royce replied, "sometime after Jan 20th, dump Trump."

My temple friend Tracey shared, "Not much! 2016 was not a great year for most of the people I know. Here's to a new start and a new beginning.  Roll Tide."  To this, my managed IT friend Kosol suggested, "What the world needs now...is love sweet love."

My cycling friend Ted called out, "Another year of mountain biking."

My dad's beach buddy Bob P yearned, "At my age, just surviving for another year with my sweetheart will be just fine."

Please send me your thoughts about this week's "things that make you go 'Hmmm' ":

Can you donate free time? in honor of MLK Day being a national day of service on Jan 16.

Live well...laugh often and heartily.... have a good week and never regret anything that made you smile.

Hal

"OK, Northerners, stop criticizing how we in Atlanta handle snow and ice.  It's rare down here.  Kind of like winning a BCS Championship up North."

Mon, Jan 16 is Martin Luther King Jr Day, a national day of service.  One of the many, many great things this Atlantan wrote was, "We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now." Plan do to something good for your community soon. 

Thanks to Demetri Martin, Steven Wright and George Carlin for the inspiration for Hmmm.   I invite you to call or email me to catch up.

How old is Santa Claus? and a 2017 question

In response to last week’s question, "How old is Santa Claus?," my college roomie Jon replied, "The Santa I know is 55."  My equestrian friend Royce observed, "Only as old as the guy in the red suit."

My social media friend Mark noted, "Like me, old enough to not have to answer that question any more" while my PR friend Stan noted, "Ask my grandkids. They probably think he’s younger than I."

My dad's beach buddy Bob advised, "Santa is ageless as he lives in the memories of the children who pass his infectious loving memory on from generation to generation." My managed IT friend Kosol added, "Who knows how old he really is. One thing I do know is that his spirit of giving will continue on for generations.  Merry Christmas and have a happy and prosperous New Year!"

My cycling friend Ted shared a story, "He's much younger than he looks--he's 26.  He did go to college, but never went to rehab or prehab or hab, so his destructive lifestyle and reckless sleigh driving(He's had many SUI's) have  aged him before his time. Mrs Claus however, really is a Cougar of 178 and she doesn't mind when her perverted hubby calls her a Ho 3 times in a row. In fact, she recommended this name calling become part of his persona and Christmas tradition!"

Please send me your thoughts about this week's "things that make you go 'Hmmm' ":

What will it take to make 2017 better than 2016?

Live well...laugh often and heartily.... have a good week and never regret anything that made you smile.

Hal

Wishing you and your family a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year, however you want to define that.  We have much to be thankful for, many choices to make, and always opportunity to do the right thing.  As I've learned from so, so many friends and colleagues, " Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," which said another way is “That which is hateful unto you do not do to your neighbor."  Have a great year and live with intention.

Thanks to Demetri Martin, Steven Wright and George Carlin for the inspiration for Hmmm.   I invite you to call or email me to catch up.