Not An April’s Fool Joke

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Fortunately.

Washington youth mental health shows best improvement in 20 years.

“Simckes said they can’t specify exactly what is causing this improvement in youth mental health across the state, but pointed out that social support is improving in the home and at school. Nearly 60% of youth said that they felt they had an adult to turn to when feeling depressed. 

‘We don’t know what comes first – are they feeling supported because their mental health is better?’ asked Simckes. ‘Or is their mental health better because they’re feeling supported?'”

And importantly:

Shulman said that although mental health for LGBTQ+ students is improving, this group remains highest for depressive feelings and contemplation of suicide due to the current national political climate. 

‘More than 500 legislative bills were introduced last year and the year before in state legislatures around the country, aiming to diminish freedom for LGBTQ people, and especially LGBTQ youth, and the youth are aware of this,’ Shulman said. ‘So at the same time, they’re having more parental support, more stability, more safety in the schools … At the same time, they’re also in the center of a political maelstrom that is not of their own making over which they have little control, but that affects their future.'”

What Is A Sports Fan To Do?

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The steady expansion of legalized college and pro sports gambling coupled with the free flow of “Name Image and Likeness” money in big-time college sports is rapidly changing the sports landscape.

Reporting on these trends continually refers to all of the “unintended consequences” of the changes. Which is laughable. Most, if not all, were entirely predictable. . . a marked increase in the number of people addicted to sports gambling now that it’s damn near “frictionless”, the mind-numbing non-stop use of instant replay leading to interminably long games, players being compromised by gambling interests, coaches being threatened by “monied interests”, college players steadily switching teams annually to maximize their “NIL” opportunities, etc.

It’s unlikely that this toothpaste will ever be put back in the tube so what’s a lifelong sports fan like me to do? Be more selective and watch even less? Follow poorer nichey sports more closely whether women’s golf, cycling, triathlon, or track and field? Or stop watching altogether and use the saved time to talk a walk, hit golf balls, swim across that lake, anything that doesn’t require video replay and gets the heart rate up.

Number One Is In The Back Yard

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Or is it the front yard?

From the WSJ:

“Fewer than 10 bridges in the U.S. have the clearance of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the 1,200-foot span that collapsed after a supersize containership slammed into one of its vertical supports. All of them have a vulnerability where the failure of even a single steel component in tension along the span could cause a collapse. 

The National Transportation Safety Board flagged this condition in the Key Bridge after it fell early Tuesday morning—but the hit that destroyed the Key wasn’t a blow to one of those crucial steel components. Rather, it was the devastating strike taking out one of the bridge’s concrete vertical supports, known as a pier, that caused the massive structure to cascade into the water below. 

Any span of that size suffering a comparable loss could tumble, according to engineers, making bridges that can accommodate giant ships particularly at risk.”

Say What?

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Post swim, sitting in the jahjahcuzzi stretching while reflecting on the meaning of life.

Dude asks, “Where did you get your gloves?”

Inner dialogue. “Gloves? What on earth? Oh, he meant paddles.”

“SwimOutlet.”

“Where’s that? Around here?”

“On-line, swimoutlet.com.”

“Oh, okay, thanks, they’re cool.”

Inner dialogue. “I haven’t heard anyone trip over basic sports terminology that badly since talking to the Good Wife.”

Sentence To Ponder

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BALTIMORE—”The crew of workers from Mexico and Central America were well into their night shift, pouring concrete to fix the potholes that dotted the Francis Scott Key Bridge.”

So they weren’t animals from insane asylums committing crimes?

Anti-immigrant hysteria depends upon not seeing or thinking about the people fixing potholes on bridges in the middle of the night.

Add Andrew Huberman To The List

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Of famous figures capitalizing on the public’s tendency towards gullibility.

I read this lengthy takedown of Huberman so you don’t have to. You’re welcome.

The two most telling paragraphs are easily skipped over because of their seeming ordinariness.

“On Thanksgiving in 2018, Sarah planned to introduce Andrew to her parents and close friends. She was cooking. Andrew texted repeatedly to say he would be late, then later. According to a friend, ‘he was just, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll be there. Oh, I’m going to be running hours late.’ And then of course, all of these things were planned around his arrival and he just kept going, ‘Oh, I’m going to be late.’ And then it’s the end of the night and he’s like, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry this and this happened.’

Huberman disappearing was something of a pattern. Friends, girlfriends, and colleagues describe him as hard to reach. The list of reasons for not showing up included a book, time-stamping the podcast, Costello (his dog), wildfires, and a ‘meetings tunnel.’ ‘He is flaky and doesn’t respond to things,’ says his friend Brian MacKenzie, a health influencer who has collaborated with him on breathing protocols. ‘And if you can’t handle that, Andrew definitely is not somebody you want to be close to.’

“Flaky” is far too generous a word. Where was Huberman when he didn’t show? The profile would suggest with one of the six women he was in relationship with at the same time.

It turns out, thanks to the powers of duplicity coupled with the public’s gullibility, you can become famous, rich, and influential as a podcaster, salesperson, and academic without showing up for colleagues or even close personal friends. Repeatedly.

But “showing up” is a prerequisite for being a decent human being.

Paragraph To Ponder

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College financial crisis edition. Same ol’ story at the local Catholic liberal arts school, declining enrollment, shit retention rates.

“. . . options are currently being discussed, such as continuing freezing staff vacant positions (currently 25 staff positions are frozen), lowering adjunct faculty course loads, decreasing the number of cross-listed and co-taught courses, and lowering or freezing the employer 403(b) contribution benefit. Please know that any budget-saving measures enacted will not impact the student experience, university officials say.”

A static, older faculty with increasingly negative attitudes towards their employer won’t have any impact on the student experience. LOL. Tell me another one!

How To Resolve Conflicts And Have Relationships That Last

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Recently, the Good Wife told me I am a conflict avoider. I told her I didn’t want to talk about it.

I may not communicate as much as she’d like, but my hilarious, nonstop comedy routine has to compensate. Doesn’t it?

We’re learning to work though conflict by assiduously avoiding “you” statements and instead saying how we feel and what we want. What the social scientists refer to as “soft skills”.

Here’s the relationship saving formula, just in case, in the distant future, any of you ever experience conflict with someone special. I feel ____________. I want ____________.

I shocked the Gal Pal last night when I voluntarily shared some of my innermost thoughts. I asked her, “Are you up to doing some active listening?” Half in shock, she quickly said, “Yes.”

“I feel bereft. I want UCLA to play better next year so I don’t have to go through another March Madness feeling so left out.”

After she thoughtfully paraphrased what I was feeling and wanted, and showed me real empathy, I felt a lot better.

Conflict avoider my ass. I deftly wield the softest of skills.

Math To Ponder

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From CBS News.

“As of mid-February 2024, Forbes estimates Trump’s net worth at $2.6 billion, putting the real estate developer at No. 1,216 on the magazine’s list of the world’s richest people. 

Trump’s wealth largely stems from real estate, spanning residential buildings in New York City to golf courses and hotels around the world.

According to Bloomberg, one of his largest assets is his $500 million stake in 1290 Avenue of the Americas, an office building in Manhattan. Trump also has $600 million in liquid assets, while his Trump National Doral Miami Golf Resort is worth about $300 million, Bloomberg said.”

Source.

And yet, today he’s claiming he can’t pay his $454m judgement. I tapped out after Algebra 2/Trig, but isn’t $600m > $454m.

He should prob start charging more for the shoes.