April 16, 2022

This morning’s NY Times feed featured the new “It” plant.  The article said succulents were the best plants to own because they are easy to care for.  The author went on to say even though she was a “clueless city dweller” she had been able to keep her nine plants alive multiple growing seasons.  Successfully cultivating an indoor garden of impressive plants accords bragging rights.  “It’s like your kids got accepted to an Ivy League college — they’re doing well,” one plant blogger wrote.  The proud “It”-plant cultivator knows the plant collection is really a testament to the gardener, or as the article said, the “plant parent”.

When I looked online, I found numerous websites dedicated to plant bloggers, including a page for the “Top 45 Plant Blogs and Websites.”  When I checked the blogs, they offered information, but the real purpose seemed to be selling training videos, or the sale of actual plants.  The blogs called succulents the popular choice for two reasons: they are beautiful to look at and nearly indestructible.  Succulents are easy to raise if you followed the “right” combination of the Big 5: light, soil, water, temperature/humidity, and fertilizer.  The light needs to be at least six hours of sunlight a day.  The soil is a fast-draining mixture specifically designed for cacti and succulents.  Watering should be to soak and allow the soil to dry.  Ideal daytime temps are 70F to 85F (21C to 29.5C) and between 50F to 55F (10C to 12.7C) at night, with 80 percent humidity.  During the growing season you fertilize as you do your other houseplants and stop entirely when dormant.

While this all seems easy to follow, I knew it was not the whole story.  Melissa has spent hours researching the right soil for the different plants, and the soil composition can change depending on the age and activity of the plant.  Some are summer growers while others prefer winter.  There are different temperature preferences when the plant is growing than when it is dormant.  The same is true for light, water, and fertilizer.  While you may be able to put a small succulent or cactus on the shelf and hope for the best, a true “It” garden needs constant monitoring.  There is no such thing as easy if you want your plants to do more than just survive.

THOUGHTS:  When I worked for the State of Utah, I bought a small cactus and placed it on the corner of my desk.  I wanted the plant to be easy to care for but wanted to add some color to my office.  The small barrel cactus seemed appropriate for Utah and for my gardening skills.  I took care of the cactus for the first months, and then it began to slip my mind.  One day I observed the plant had not changed for several months.  On closer inspection, I found the plant had died.  I had accomplished the near impossible.  I killed a cactus from lack of water.  Most things are easy once you know what you are doing, but there can be a huge learning curve before they become easy.  We need to take time to learn to treat others with respect.  We need to practice until it becomes easy.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

April 15, 2022

It has been a long time since Melissa has had a new puppy, so we are both having to relearn how to be parents.  Like any proud parents, we have been checking videos and websites trying to discover the best way to train Zena.  The first thing we discovered was she is a puppy.  Like a human child, there are some things she can comprehend, and others she is not yet old enough to grasp, even though we would like her to.  The other problem, like the “terrible twos” for a child, is there can be a difference between what we want Zena to do and what Zena wants to do.  We are determined to use the trend of positive reinforcement to train Zena rather than punishment.  This is not too far different than Dr. Spock’s recommendations on child rearing.

When I looked online, I found Benjamin McLane Spock (May 2, 1903 – March 15, 1998) was an American pediatrician whose book, Baby and Child Care (1946), is the second best-selling book of the twentieth century, after the Bible.  It sold 500,000 copies in the six months after initial publication in 1946, 50 million by the time of Spock’s death in 1998 and had been translated into 42 languages.  The book’s premise to mothers was that they “know more than you think you do.”  Spock was the first pediatrician to study psychoanalysis to try to understand the children’s needs in relation to family dynamics.  His ideas about childcare influenced generations of parents to be more flexible and affectionate with their children and to treat them as individuals.  Spock’s recommendations and advice revolutionized parental upbringing in the US. 

Spock advocated ideas about parenting that were considered out of the mainstream, but over time his books helped bring major change.  Previously, experts told parents babies needed to learn to sleep on a regular schedule and picking them up and holding them whenever they cried would only teach them to cry more and not to sleep through the night.  They were told to feed their children on a regular schedule, and that they should not pick them up, kiss them, or hug them, because that would not prepare them to be strong and independent people in a harsh world.  In contrast, Spock encouraged parents to show their children affection and see them as individuals.  At the time, his books were criticized by conservatives for propagating permissiveness and an expectation of instant gratification, a charge that Spock denied.  I am glad I was able to grow up as a child rather than the little adults of the previous era.

THOUGHTS:  One area where we have had success with Zena is getting her to go to her cage.  We started when she came in from going “outside” by saying “cage”.  She learned to go into the cage to get her treat for going outside.  While she still struggles with extended time in the cage, especially with the door closed, she freely enters and lays down.  Now she even goes into the cage on her own when she is exploring without being asked or in expectation of a treat.  Most researchers say much of human behavior is learned, and from a very young age.  Parents have the responsibility to train their children to be good stewards of both the earth and others.  The best way to do this is to let your child learn behavior in your own actions and words.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

April 14, 2022

When I woke up this morning Melissa told me we had forgotten to lock the door last night.  We usually leave the front door open with the screen closed so we can see outside during the day.  Now that we have Zena there is added incentive as she will go to the front door and look when she needs to go out.  I usually close the door and lock it when it gets dark so others cannot look in.  Melissa opens the back door to regulate the temperature for her succulents on the sunporch.  This also provides easy access for Zena to the pool deck.  At night she will lock the door when we no longer use it.  Apparently, we both forgot last night as the front was closed and not locked and the back was wide open.

When I looked online, I found that an overwhelming majority of burglars enter homes through the doors and windows.  Thirty-four percent use the front door, while 22 percent get in through the back door.  Another 23 percent use first-floor windows.  That represents 79 percent of all burglaries, and often those doors and windows are not locked.  Leaving items in your yard can be another target for burglars.  According to Leonard Sipes, former director of information services for the National Crime Prevention Council, “The overwhelming number of burglars are unskilled people who go through open or unlocked windows and doors.  Simply locking windows and doors will prevent most burglaries.”  Happily, despite failing to lock both doors we were not targeted for a burglary.

While research says 93 percent of Americans lock their doors, that means 7 percent do not, and whether you lock your door seems to be a cultural norm.  If you grew up locking your door, you continue to do so.  If you grew up not locking your door, you continue to do so.  For Americans 65 and over 12 percent do not lock, compared to 4 percent of those under 30, with other age groups in between.  Fourteen percent of those who live in rural areas do not lock doors but only 5 percent of city dwellers, 6 percent of suburbanites, and 7 percent of those who live in towns.  When I lived in the Bay Area every door on campus was equipped with an automatic door lock.  In the town where I now live residents leaving their garage open.  We had a rash of burglaries last year and no one could understand why.  Maybe it had to do with leaving the door open?

THOUGHTS:  When I was younger, I did not lock my car and at times left valuables in plain sight.  My mom noticed this as we drove into the church parking lot and suggested I lock my car.  I exclaimed, “We are at church, is someone here going to steal from me?”  Mom replied, “I am not worried about the ones in the building, I am concerned about those in the parking lot.”  While I locked the doors for her, I continued to not lock my car until someone stole several items I left on the front seat.  Now I always lock my car.  Times and cultures change.  Some say adjusting to these changes is just giving up, others will tell you it is being realistic.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

April 13, 2022

I ran across a report in the local newspaper about a taxidermy museum located in a warehoused in Bétera, Spain, which held 1090 animals.  While this is an impressive number of animals by itself, this private collection included 405 protected species.  The collection includes the scimitar oryx (North African oryx), which the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared extinct in the wild, the endangered Bengal tiger, and the critically endangered addax (white antelope).  They found specimens of lion, cheetah, leopard, snow leopard, lynx, polar bear, and white rhinoceros.  The collection contained crocodile skin chairs, stools made of elephant feet, and 198 ivory elephant tusks.  It is the largest discovery of protected taxidermy specimens in Spain and one of the largest in Europe.  Spain’s Civil Guard estimates the worth of the collection at 29 million euros (US$31.5 million).

When I looked online, I found taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal’s body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study.  Animals are often portrayed in a lifelike state.  The word taxidermy describes the process of preserving the animal but also to describe the finished product.  The word is derived from the Greek taxis (“arrangement”) and derma (“skin”).  Taxidermy is practiced primarily on vertebrates (mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and less commonly amphibians) but can be done with larger insects and arachnids.  Taxidermy takes several forms including hunting trophies and displays in natural history museums.  The museums use taxidermy to record species, including extinct and threatened species, in the form of study skins and life-size mounts. Taxidermy is also used to memorialize pets.

When we go to the local outdoors store, we like to browse the tanks of live fish and view the taxidermy that prowl the walls.  I never thought to question whether this was legal.  Migratory birds pose the biggest legal challenge for taxidermists.  You need a federal permit to mount migratory birds, and the person who owns the bird needs a federal permit to have it in their possession.  Larger animals also require a taxidermy permit, and the taxidermists are responsible to make sure the customer had the proper hunting tags, permits, or other documents to determine the animal was lawfully acquired.  It is a crime to be in possession of unlawfully obtained animal carcasses.  It is also unlawful to transport, ship, or receive an unlawful carcass.  Spain has similar laws, and it is illegal to possess many of the animal taxidermy found in the warehouse.  The cost of the private collection just went up.

THOUGHTS:  Violations of taxidermy law in the US can reach up to $500,000 and two years in jail, depending on the crime, the person or group committing the crime, and the frequency and number of criminal violations.  State laws and permits are also required, which makes the burden to stuff something illegally almost insurmountable.  Once stuffed, you need a permit to possess the dead migratory bird.  You cannot throw the stuffed bird out because the trash service does not have a permit.  If you discard the taxidermy in the garbage, you commit a felony.  If you sell the mount, it is a felony.  Similar laws govern the deer head that spooked you as a child.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

April 12, 2022

Melissa and I have automatic alerts on our phones to warn us of the potential for severe weather.  We were working in our respective offices yesterday when Melissa’s alert went off saying we were under a Tornado Warning.  We were surprised as my alert had not notified me and usually the sirens go off well before the phone alerts.  I went outside to looked at the sky and it was warm and dead calm (not a good sign).  Immediately above our house were fluffy white clouds, but the skyline just to the north was dark and ominous.  When I went back inside and turned on the TV, the weatherperson declared there was a tornado on the ground just to the north.  That was when the county sirens finally blared their alerts.  

When I looked online, I found the importance in knowing the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning when alerts come through on your phone or on TV.  A tornado watch is issued by the NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center and are commonly issued a few hours before a potential severe storm.  These alerts warn of a developing threat for tornadoes and indicate the need to be prepared and remain vigilant.  Watches are issued for broad areas where conditions exist for the development of a tornado.  Tornado warnings are alerts issued by local offices of the National Weather Service (NWS).  These are more urgent alerts where people need to seek shelter right away.  They are issued for highly localized areas where a tornado is imminent or has been detected on radar, and often minutes before a tornado strikes. 

Severe thunderstorm warnings are alerts of imminent severe weather and are based on specific criteria and existing reports received by the NWS.  The criteria include hail that totals more than 1 inch in diameter and wind speeds of 55 mph.  Lightning and heavy rain are not criteria for a severe thunderstorm warning.  Trained NWS spotters will verify reports of rotation or storm damage, which gives meteorologists confidence in what they are seeing on radar.  The storm cell passed out of our area, but the TV station continued to track first the tornado and potential severe weather across the state.  The main cell was centered in the ominous clouds I had seen following the first alerts.  As I watched the radar, a secondary cell split off and moved north toward the town where I work.  As the tornado abated and the storm moved out of our area I got bored as the same information was repeated over the next several hours.  As much as I appreciate the alerts, the warnings do not seem to hold my attention.

THOUGHTS:  By the evening news the only clear indication was a tornado had touched down and caused some damage.  More damage was caused by the high winds and baseball sized hail that fell on some areas.  The alerts had worked and there did not appear to be injuries associated with the storm.  I did not notice damage as I drove the path of the storm to work this morning, but when I arrived, I noticed several men with chain saws clearing brush from around the trees at the front of the property.  When I asked, they said there was no damage.  They just decided this was the day to trim the limbs.  Storm alerts only work if they are heeded.  The same could be said concerning response to the pandemic.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

April 11, 2022

One of the articles in my local newspaper was an AP reprint on the number of armed conflicts and deaths around illegal fishing on the world’s oceans.  Sri Lanka is an island country in the Indian Ocean that shares a maritime border with India, and thousands of Indian fishing boats are encroaching on Sri Lankan waters.  The Sri Lankan navy has responded by destroying nets, ramming Indian fishing boats, and shots being fired.  The US Coast Guard has committed to join with the small Pacific Island nations to enforce world fisheries laws in the South Pacific.  Similar actions are occurring near South America as the Argentine Navy has twice fired on Chinese fishing boats in 2018 and 2019.  All these conflicts are the result of IUU fishing.

When I looked online, I found while the world’s fish stocks are under threat from intensive legal fishing, they are also at risk from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.  Illegal fishing refers to fishing by foreign vessels without permission in waters under the jurisdiction of another state, or which contravene the state’s fisheries law and regulations in some other manner.  Unreported fishing refers to fishing, which is not reported or have been misreported, by vessels to the relevant national authority.  For example, some vessels harvest more tonnage than they are entitled under official fishing quotas.  Unregulated fishing refers to fishing activities in areas where there are no applicable management measures to regulate the catch.  Unregulated fishing on the high seas is not illegal, but results in fish stocks being over-exploited.

It is difficult to precisely estimate the total catch from IUU or pirate fishing, as this is a black market.  Some experts put the annual figure at around 11 million tons, while others suggest it may be as high as 26 million tons.  This is equal to 14 or 33 per cent respectively of the world’s total legal catch (fish and marine fauna) in 2011.  These catches are in addition to the world’s legal catch (fish and marine fauna), of 78.9 million tons.  Unless the IUU share is factored into the calculations, the legal catch quotas for a maritime region cannot be determined correctly.  IUU fishing exacerbates the existing problem of overfishing because IUU vessels operate in marine protected areas where a total fishing ban has been imposed and ignore management plans which are intended to conserve overexploited or depleted stocks. 

THOUGHTS:  According to 2022 census reports, the two most populated countries in the world are China (1,439,323,776) and India (1,380,004,385).  It is no coincidence these countries are actively involved in IUU to find food.  The South China Sea has a long-standing conflict over access to its islands and fishing grounds.  There have been 17 cases of armed violence in the area since 2017, and three-fourths involve foreign fishing crews.  IUU has replaced piracy as the main problem of the world’s seas.  Around one-third of wild fish populations are overfished, and two-thirds are fully fished (more caught than reproduce in wild).  With the high demand for fish, 50% of the world’s seafood is farm raised.  There is no ‘right’ choice between wild and farm raised seafood, but only one is sustainable.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

April 09, 2022

When our friend arrived today, she brought a rawhide chew toy for Zena.  They had recently got a new puppy and Melissa has been using them as a sounding board for what works (and does not) when trying to get your puppy to mind.  When we had dog sat for them, they had brought several curled strips of raw hide for Eddie to play with, but I had not paid much attention.  When she gave the rawhide to Zena, it was like the dog was in heaven.  Zena tossed and chased and chewed on the strip for half an hour.  She mentioned rawhide was a good form of sitter when you could not pay close attention to your dog.

When I looked online, I found rawhide refers to a hide or animal skin that has not been exposed to tanning.  The process for making rawhide begins with the fur, meat, and fat being removed from the skin (buffalo, deer, elk, or cattle).  The hide is stretched over a frame to dry, and the material becomes hard and translucent.  Rawhide can be shaped by rewetting and forming before being re-dried.  Rawhide is often used for whips, drumheads, or lampshades, and more recently as chew toys for dogs.  It is more durable than leather if the item will experience abrasion during use, and its hardness and pliability can make it more suitable than leather.  Rawhide is effective for training dogs and satisfies their desire for meat.  Some veterinarians discourage giving small pieces of rawhide because of the inability to digest the rawhide properly and its tendency to swell in the stomach.  That is less of a problem with rawhide strips that cannot be swallowed whole.

I also found the Visalia Rawhide, a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.  They have played in Visalia, California, at Valley Strong Ballpark since their start in 1946.  The team has had nine names, most of which reflect changing major-league affiliates, and took the name Rawhide in 2009.  The mascot is a Holstein Bull named Tipper, introduced on October 15, 2008.  Tipper represents the tens of thousands of Holsteins in Tulare County, which is the top dairy-producing area in the country.  Tipper’s home is a 40′ x 20′ red barn which is part of the outfield fence.  The traditional red barn was built as a “community barn raising” to raise awareness for Habitat for Humanity and stands as an icon for the agricultural heritage of the valley.  Once per season, the team wears old-fashioned uniforms recalling Mighty Casey, the main folklore hero of “Casey at the Bat” and the “Mudville Nine”, based on the Stockton Ports in Stockton, 160 miles (240 km) to the north.

THOUGHTS:  Wet rawhide was used by some cultures as a means of torture or execution, gradually biting into the parts of the body encloses as it dries.  Rawhide was also used in the context of medicine by First Nations peoples.  The Sioux Nation would wrap wet rawhide around a long bone fracture, and as it dried it would slowly set the bone.  The dried rawhide then served to support the fracture, like a plaster cast today.  Many items’ humans make can be used for good or ill.  The same can be said today for wearing masks.  The difference comes with the intent of the user.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

April 08, 2022

When I checked my early morning feeds, I came across a video of a cocker spaniel playing with a ball.  There was a life-sized bronze statue of a man slightly leaning forward as he sat on a bench.  The spaniel ran into the frame and dropped the ball at the man’s feet.  The dog stared at the ball in expectation for the man to pick it up and throw it.  The dog then looked up at the man hoping to get his attention.  Getting no response, the dog grabbed the ball, ran through the legs, and then dropped the ball again, again waiting in expectation for the man to pick up the ball and throw it.  Despite the dog’s expectation, the statue never picked up the ball.

When I looked online, I found despite what common sense may tell you, research shows people are surprisingly inept at predicting how we will feel in various situations, and that reality and expectation often differ greatly.  Charles Dickens’ novel, “Great Expectations” illustrates the problem.  The main character, Pip, inherits money from a secret benefactor and views this fortune as a steppingstone to marrying the girl of his dreams.  He ultimately learned money was not necessarily part of that larger plan, and he realized the important relationships and gifts in his life that he had taken for granted.  His expectation robbed him of appreciating his reality.

I had mentioned how I had first tried to transfer the beans for the beanbag chair outside and managed to get them all over the pool deck.  One of the difficulties was the beans were so light on full of static they jumped and repelled each other in the light wind.  While I was not happy about losing the beans, Zena was ecstatic.  The very thing that exasperated me was what made the beans so fun to play with for Zena.  She would crouch in front of one of the tiny beans, and pounce as it blew around on the deck.  The best part for Zena seemed to be the expectation that the bean was going to move.

THOUGHTS:  Research shows we do not fully appreciate what we have when we expect more, or when we compare what we have, to what we could have.  One study found participants given a subliminal reminder of wealth spent less time savoring a chocolate bar than subjects who were not reminded of wealth.  The study reminds us to try to savor our chocolate (lives) more and not dwell on what we do not have.  The study also shows how our thoughts color our enjoyment of what we have.  During the height of the pandemic, we lamented the loss of normal activities.  Like Pip, we allowed our expectation to rob us of appreciating our reality.  As Garth sang, “Life is a dance you learn as you go.”  Expectation should enhance, and not hinder, the dance.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

April 06, 2022

I was lying in bed this morning when I received a text from Melissa asking me to come watch the dog.  Melissa was on a zoom call for work and Zena was frolicking on the deck around the pool.  Even though we have a tarp covering the pool, the recent rains have sagged the tarp about two and a half feet (3/4 meter) and there is about six inches (15cm) of water standing in various places on top of the tarp.  I have seen Zena frolic around the pool every time I have taken her out on the deck.  She bounces around like any puppy and gets too close to the edge.  I have also seen her fall into the pool, but the cover and the step where she has fallen have given her enough traction to allow her to climb out before I could get to her to help.  I went outside to appease Melissa’s fear of, “just in case.” 

When I looked online, I found around 3,500 to 4,000 people drown every year, or an average of 10 fatal drownings per day.  Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1-4 and is among the top 5 causes of unintentional injury-related death from birth to 5 years old.  Twenty-three percent of child drownings happen during a family gathering near a pool.  It is estimated another 5 to 10 people receive hospital-related care for nonfatal drowning injuries for every fatal drowning victim.  Eighty-seven percent of drowning fatalities happen in home pools or hot tubs for children younger than 5 years, and most take place in pools owned by family or friends.  Children and puppies can easily panic when they fall in a pool.

I knew one of the reasons Melissa was worried was because of what happened to Bella, her last puppy.  Bella liked to bounce around the pool getting way to close to the edge as well.  One day as she sped around the corner, she cut it too close and fell in.  The pool did not have a cover and she went directly into the water.  Melissa was watching her and jumped into the pool to pull Bella out.  From that time on, Bella was terrified of the pool.  She would still run around the deck but kept her distance from the edge of the pool.  By the time I arrived Bella was no longer a puppy.  She still liked to careen around the pool but would stay a good distance from the edge.  At times I even saw her approach the side of the pool, and then bark at the water.  I do not know if that was supposed to scare the water, but it seemed to make Bella feel better.

THOUGHTS:  Melissa’s uneasiness about Zena was warranted.  When I had been with her previously, she had fallen into the shallow end of the pool, and the steps gave her traction to climb out.  I was not outside more than five minutes before Zena fell into the opposite end of the pool.  She was able to get her front feet and body above the side, but her back feet could not find the traction to hoist herself out.  Since I was watching, I was able to pull her out.  While lakes and ponds can be as deadly for children, adults tend to pay more attention in these situations.  At home we feel safe and let our guard down.  Puppies and children are curious, and test, taste, and get into everything.  The ultimate cause of most (tragic) accidents is not watching.  Being aware of others and looking for their welfare is good advice for adults as well.  Whether we admit it or not, we are a Tribe.  Do the work.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

April 05, 2022

The NCAA Men’s Tournament is officially over as the Kansas Jayhawks defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 72-69 last night.  The win marked the biggest comeback in championship history after Kansas was down 16 points during the first half.  This marks the second NCAA title for coach Bill Self, who led the team to the title victory in 2008.  Kansas was initially seeded No. 1 in the Midwest and had won the tournament three times (1952, 1988, and 2008), while being runner up six times.  The University of North Carolina (UNC) was seeded No. 8 in the East, which tied for the lowest-ranked team to reach the final since seeding began in the late 1970’s.  UNC has reached the Final Four 21 times, the most in college basketball history, and has been to the final 11 times, including 6 championships, and 3 were under head coach Roy Williams.

An interesting note was both coaches in this year’s final succeeded Roy Williams.  Over his 33 years as head coach Williams spent 15 seasons at Kansas (1988 – 2003).  Williams missed the tournament the first year, then led the Jayhawks to 14 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and two national championship games (no title).  Williams was succeeded by Bill Self, who has now won 2 championships and 15 regular-season Big 12 titles, including an NCAA-record 14-straight (2005-18).  During his 18 seasons (2004-2021) at UNC, Williams won 3 championships (2005, 2009, and 2017).  Williams is one of five coaches in college basketball history to achieve 900+ wins as a head coach, and his 903 victories surpassed UNC’s Dean Smith on the all-time list.  UNC head coach Hubert Davis served as an assistant coach for the Tar Heels from 2012 until Williams’ retirement.  Going to the championship game his first year is not a bad start.

Now that the tournament is over, I know what you are really wondering is how my brackets turned out.  I previously mentioned out of the 17.3 million brackets, all had at least one wrong prediction after the opening weekend.  The best score out of my five online brackets was 660.  By comparison, the two winners scored 1710 out of the possible 1920 points.  There are 6 rounds to the NCAA tournament and a player is awarded points based on picking the winner of each game in each round.  Each correct winner is multiplied by 10 and then the totals of the six rounds are added to achieve the final score.  ESPN compiles a “peoples” bracket of all the entries before the start of the tournament and it also busted.  My best bracket ranked 3,774,597^th.  Close, right?

THOUGHTS:  While I play for fun, there are some who play the tournament brackets hoping to win.  At the end of each round (Round of 64, Round of 32, Sweet Sixteen, Elite 8, Final Four, Championship Game) the top scoring individual entries from that round are added to an overall sweepstakes pool drawn at the end of the tournament.  A random drawing from the pool entries accumulated through the tournament is selected as the Grand Prize winner of $100,000.  I did not win.  I have heard, “winning isn’t everything” was coined by somebody who lost.  There are times I play hoping to win, times I play for fun, and times when I have no choice.  During the pandemic I have had no choice.  Like my brackets, while I have yet to win, obeying the rules has kept me from a loss.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.