• LESS-EMPATHETIC MANAGERS WHO DELIVER NEGATIVE FEEDBACK to employees are apparently impacted by becoming less effective themselves. “Ability to anticipate how an employee is likely to feel, and thus able to express genuine care & compassion in giving constructive criticism, increases their own personal level of distress & anxiety, personal effectiveness in time management, focus, and ability to inspire their teams… Conversely, for less-empathetic leaders, giving negative feedback can actually be an energizing experience.” Strange, but this according to latest studies published in Journal of Applied Psychology.  [HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW – 1/27/22]
  • SPORT-FAN EXPERIENCE IS METAVERSE-BOUND. “Point-of-view technology which allows personalized real-time interpersonal experience of being at a game, in best possible seats, engaging with others” is now being developed by Facebook/META for NBA games, and next-in-line is football. NFL teams already use helmet cams in practices & warmups; next step involves “every player/ coach/ official  with audio microphones to capture pretty much everything except play-calling in the huddle… However, concerns still relate to (1) Decline of in-person attendance at average in-season games; (2) Example from a few years back when World Football League was experimenting with helmet cams and, after a particularly hard hit, a quarterback’s helmet was knocked off, falling to the ground and creating the visual impression for many that he’d been decapitated; (3) Much to chagrin of NFL purists, time between plays to allow for multiple vantage points would likely  increase from 40 to 60 seconds.”  [THOMAS FREY – 1/27/22]
  • “DECADES AGO, MOST PEOPLE BOUGHT GUNS FOR HUNTING & RECREATIONAL SHOOTING. Now they mostly do for self-defense. People who feel vulnerable to crime or hold less faith in the police are more likely to arm themselves, seeing firearms as an equalizer, especially the roughly 37% of gunowners who are women – following the mantra ‘God made man & woman, but Sam Colt made them equal… According to polling by Gallup, in 2021 support for stricter laws dropped by five percentage points, lowest in seven years.”  [ECONOMIST – 1/22/22]
  • COMING EVENTS: (1) Digital U.S. government dollars (cryptocurrency) “are an inevitable evolution by 2030,” according to Bank of America and a recent Federal Reserve paper. “In absence of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), ‘Stablecoins,’’ issued by private companies and typically-pegged to the U.S. dollar & other fiat currencies to avoid wild price swings, will flourish in the near term.” [BLOOMBERG – 1/25/22];  (2) Fraud and manipulation of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) which support “criminal activity including money laundering and tax evasion, last year comprising 93% of I.R.S. Criminal Investigation Unit seizures (over $3.5 billion).” [EPOCH TIMES – 1/27/22]  (3) Mass extinction of over 500 land animal species over the next two decades, based on study of over 29K vertebrate species, a result of “human involvement and climate change which create habitats unsuitable for many species of wildlife, and experts warn that ‘extinction breeds extinction.” [REUTERS – 1/19/22];  (4) Increasing public appreciation of censorship and disapproval of journalism, attributable to third-party false ‘factcheckers’ and claims of Conspiracy “on behalf of governments or other special interest groups by large news outlets, all part of a very well-funded & well-organized landscape that dictates and slants the info they want, or don’t want, us to have, instead of holding them accountable.” [EPOCH TIMES – 1/23/22]
  • THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:   A beautiful recording of My Prayer:  https://biggeekdad.com/2020/04/the-prayer/

     Civilization is collapsing in real time in LA and other big cities. Drug-addicted homeless have become a protected & prioritized class, now destroying public grounds & culture, usurping hundreds of billions of dollars from every other need, in a manufactured crisis.  If doubtful, a picture of stupid and insulting policies (15-minutes).  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DREmnsungVM

     I.R.S. has now adopted new online login controls which require an identification document (from third-party firm id.me) showing your photo alongside a ‘selfie’ to verify identity before access to personal records – more info than typically requested for online verification (government id, phone service/ utility/ insurance policy details, etc.). What could go wrong with putting MORE personal info into the hands of I.R.S.?