The Psychology Of Money In Practice

Last week, I was in Las Vegas and Phoenix for a mix of business and pleasure.  I had several interactions that provided real-life, end-game examples of what I wrote about in my last blog entry about the book The Psychology of Money, and now I have to share them.....

Vegas is a great venue to observe how people spend money.  More than anywhere on earth, it's a place to stay in your lane when it comes to money, because the opportunities to spend are relentless.

For those who could afford it, the Vegas strip has expensive, even exclusive places to stay, eat, shop, and gamble. For others, the strip has options for more modest lodging, fast food, convenience stores, and yes, gambling.

I saw people staying at $1,000 per night hotel rooms, and I saw people staying at $100 a night rooms.  I saw people dining at celebrity chef restaurants where no prices are posted, and I saw people eating at food courts. I saw people carrying Gucci and Tiffany shopping bags, and I saw people carrying CVS shopping bags.  I saw people playing $100 minimum blackjack, and I saw people playing penny video slot machines.

The psychology of money matters a lot in Vegas.  If a person has a disciplined spending psyche (or is very wealthy), Vegas is a fun and amazing place.  If a person doesn't have a fiscally responsible psyche, Vegas will chew them up and spit them out.

Phoenix provided a more specific example of the psychology of money.  Late winter golf has always been expensive there, with most courses charging well over $100 per 18-hole round.  Above-average resort courses charge far more, some exceeding $500 per round.  Regardless, all golf courses there are packed with players at this time of the year, so prices are much higher than normal.

My attitude has always been one of being willing to pay these higher prices.  By this time of year, I haven't played for a few months, so I haven't spent anything on golf for a long time.  I'm perfectly willing to spend up that savings on winter resort golf.

Meanwhile, other golfers I know who travel or winter there -- people with a materially similar or greater net worth -- won't spend that for golf.  They don't want to pay more than would at other times and places during the year, so they either don't play, or they only play on the lowest-priced (worst conditioned) courses.

In summary, my mindset is, it's more than I want to spend on golf, but I'm willing to do it.  The others' mindset is, it's more than they want to spend, and they aren't willing to do it.

These opposing views are another manifestation of the psychology of money.  Being able to afford / not afford things is one subset.  Being willing to buy / not buy them is another.

2024

Time for another entry in my annual list of things I'd like to see happen next year.  But first, let's see how this year stacked up to last year's list, with comments in ALL CAPS:

A rising stock and bond market.

STOCKS UP NEARLY 25%, BUT  BONDS FLAT.

That Vladimir Putin is purged as a leader.  Any mysterious and/or violent way is acceptable.

IT WAS A BIG ASK.

Newly remodeled bathrooms in my house.

100%

Me attending a major sporting event.

DOES A KANSAS BASKETBALL, NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL, OR INDY CAR RACE COUNT?

Elon Musk leaves Twitter, or I leave Twitter for another similar service.

NO BUT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE.

Drought relief for the western U.S.

NOT REALLY.

Me getting a golfing hole-in-one or eagle.

NOPE.

MAGA-death, and a crop of moderate presidential candidates for 2024 who aren't aged 70s or 80s.

UNFORTUNATELY, LOST GROUND HERE.

More acceptance and usage of plant-based proteins.

I SUPPOSE YES, BUT NOT AT ALL WIDESPREAD.

And now, my new annual list of things I'd like to see happen next year:

The demise of the MAGA movement via defeat of their candidates in the 2024 elections (repeat).

Streaming service mergers and resulting price decreases.

Downside my residence -- or in the alternative, have my trailer trash neighbors relocate.

Finally get my Real ID driver's license.

Delegitimization of the LIV golf tour.

Consistently avoid working on Mondays and/or Fridays.

More pay-at-the-table restaurants.

A new technology device or service I want but don't have

2023

I promised to be less optimistic in my last annual list of things I'd like to see happen next year.  For the most part, that turned out to be a good idea.  Let's review the 2021 list, with comments in ALL CAPS:

More mandates and life complications for the unvaxxed, making more of them get vaxxed.

I SUPPOSE MORE GOT VAXXED, BUT NOT FOR INVOLUNTARY REASONS

Cryptocurrency regulations.

CLOSE BUT DIDN'T HAPPEN, BUT IT'S A LOT MORE LIKELY NOW THAT BIGSHOTS LOST BIG MONEY IN THE BANKRUPTCY OF FTX.

Prosecutions and convictions of Trump administration / organization officials who had roles in the 1/6/2021 insurrection.

CALLING THIS A YES, BECAUSE ALTHOUGH IT DIDN'T HAPPEN YET FOR ADMIN FOLKS, IT DID FOR MANY OTHER INDIVIDUALS.

A Winter Olympics that actually happens.

CHECK.  BUT IT WAS SORTA BORING.

An executive order, at the least, to loosen federal rules on cannabis.

YES THIS DID HAPPEN, BUT IT'S ONLY A PYRRHIC VICTORY WITHOUT ACUTAL LEGISLATIVE ACTION.

A top-tier Minnesota Vikings football team.

12-3 AS I WRITE THIS, SO I GUESS IT'S A YES?

A loss of market cap and credibility for Facebook/Meta.

A GIANT YES.

Me playing golf at a famous course / resort.

NO.

A decline in residential home buying.

ANOTHER GIANT YES, THANKS TO HIGHER INTEREST RATES.

A repeat from 2020 – me traveling to the final four U.S. states in which I’ve never set foot.

75% YES SINCE I GOT TO 3 OF THE 4.  ONLY ALASKA LEFT NOW.

Now for my new annual list of things I'd like to see happen next year.

A rising stock and bond market.

That Vladimir Putin is purged as a leader.  Any mysterious and/or violent way is acceptable.

Newly remodeled bathrooms in my house.

Me attending a major sporting event.

Elon Musk leaves Twitter, or I leave Twitter for another similar service.

Drought relief for the western U.S.

Me getting a golfing hole-in-one or eagle.

MAGA-death, and a crop of moderate presidential candidates for 2024 who aren't aged 70s or 80s.

More acceptance and usage of plant-based proteins.

Fame, Fortune, And Sportswashing

As a golfer, I’ve been following the newly formed LIV golf tour / organization with great interest.  It’s funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which is a fancy way of saying it’s funded by the Saudi Arabian government.

LIV (which supposedly comes from the Roman numeral for 54, the score a golfer would likely have if they birdied every hole in a round of golf) bills itself as a rival to the PGA tour / organization.  It’s been recruiting golfers to play in its limited events, in some cases paying them huge up-front money – even offering 9-figure amounts to the biggest names.

The term some are using to describe LIV is ‘sportswashing’, meaning this a way for the Saudis to cover-up their awful record on human rights.  It’s the same thing China has done recently by hosting the Olympics.  Market the country through sports, in a way that obscures how that country oppresses people.

I get the money is enticing for these golfers, even life-changing for some of them.  The PGA has always operated in a way that makes the players independent contractors, there’s nothing keeping them there.

I also get and agree that organizational competition is a good thing, and LIV has already made the PGA make changes for the better to its structure.  

Regardless of whether you call it sportswashing, I would not support LIV.  But more importantly, why do some of these players?  Why would the already famous, wealthy pro golfers choose to associate themselves with a regime like this?

They might make a greater fortune, but they'll lose their fame.  Everyone considers the LIV the minor leagues right now, with no top-20 golfers signed, and not many from even the top-100 are expected to sign.  LIV players will miss out on some major championships, and the biennial Ryder Cup.  Also, the LIV tour has no major television coverage, so no one is going to see or care about these players anymore.

That’s particularly true for the legendary ones, like my now former favorite golfer Phil Mickelson.  He says publicly he’s just trying to ‘grow the game’ by endorsing LIV (and taking a 9-figure sum) but all he’s doing is tarnishing his image.  At age 50+, he isn’t going to be much of a threat to win again anyway, even on the watered-down LIV tour.

It all sucks for golf fans, too, who want to see the best play against the best.  In terms of competition, this whole thing reminds me of Indy-car racing in the mid-90s, which split into two groups and completely watered down that sport for years.  It made even the Indianapolis 500 unwatchable.

In summary, I’d say that competition is a good thing, but not all competitors are good, and this is one of those cases.  If you want to align yourself with a new competitor, maybe make sure they don’t represent some of the worst people in the world.

2022

Last year I implied that 2020 was the worst year of everyone's lifetime, you know, pandemic and all.  This year started with the promise that COVID-19 vaccines would make 2021 relatively normal.  I should have known better.

With that in mind, I’ll try to be less optimistic on my annual list of things I’d like to see happen next year.  But first, here’s this year’s annual review with comments in ALL CAPS:

A non-pandemic world where people live without fear of contracting COVID-19.

A HARD-ROCK SOLID NO.

A less-friendly social and legal environment for those who help spread malicious propaganda and conspiracy theories.

A SOFT-ROCK SOLID NO.

A Summer Olympics that actually happens.

YES, BUT IT WASN’T THE SAME WITHOUT CROWDS.

Revelations and prosecutions of Trump administration / organization officials who broke laws.

YES ON THE REVELATIONS, NOT SO MUCH ON THE PROSECUTIONS (YET).

More time to read, more time to listen to podcasts.

THANKS TO AN ONGOING PANDEMIC, THIS WAS PROBABLY MORE TRUE THAN NOT.

An easy integration of administration and technology between Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade.  (A rare professional ask in this annual list.)

THEY DIDN’T EVEN BEGIN THIS YEAR.

A full return of college and professional sports.

THIS IS A QUALIFIED NO, GAMES WERE STILL POSTPONED AND CANCELED.

The Minnesota Twins to break their streak of 18 consecutive playoff game losses.

NO, BECAUSE THEY'D HAVE TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS FIRST.

Less interaction with people who make every conversation about them.

YES, PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE ON THIS.

An awesome vacation.

DID MAKE A FUN TRIP TO SOCAL AND VEGAS IN SEPTEMBER.

For 2022, I want to experience this:

More mandates and life complications for the unvaxxed, making more of them get vaxxed.

Cryptocurrency regulations.

Prosecutions and convictions of Trump administration / organization officials who had roles in the 1/6/2021 insurrection.

A Winter Olympics that actually happens.

An executive order, at the least, to loosen federal rules on cannabis.

A top-tier Minnesota Vikings football team.

A loss of market cap and credibility for Facebook/Meta.

Me playing golf at a famous course / resort.

A decline in residential home buying.

A repeat from 2020 – me traveling to the final four U.S. states in which I’ve never set foot.

Can't Spell Old-Fogie Without G-O-L-F

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog post for a message on recent news.  At age 50, somebody just won the PGA Championship, one of the four most important golf tournaments in the world.

Phil Mickelson, nearly age 51, did this a few days ago.  He's the oldest person to ever win a major golf championship.  This is a tremendous feel-good story for both sports and aging.

Over the past two decades, golf has become a sport that requires significant power and clubhead speed to be played at an elite level.  On most American golf courses, it's a huge advantage to be able to hit a golf ball longer.  The course where Mickelson won, the Kiawah Island Ocean Course in South Carolina, was played at one of the longest yardages of any tournament in history.

Just as a late-30-ish person begins to lose their agility and skill at most sports, there's no way a guy in his 50s should be able to hit the ball as far as others that are 10, 20, even 30 years younger.  But Mickelson has stayed healthy and flexible and powerful enough to do it.  That he still happens to have one of the best chipping and putting games in the world is no small feat, either.

To top it off, Mickelson has long been a crowd favorite for both boomers and youngsters, so it was a very popular victory.  He's been my favorite golfer to follow in the past 30 years, going back to when my old favorite growing up, Jack Nicklaus, stopped seriously competing in the late 1980s as he was approaching age 50.

It proves that golf is a sport that can be played competitively, even at the highest level, at an age well beyond what can be done in other legitimate sports.  (A possible exception is bowling, or maybe billiards or darts, but if you can play them in a bar, is it really a legitimate sport?)

It also proves, once again, that people can accomplish great things throughout their lives, not just when they're 'young' whatever that means.

2021

The worst year of virtually everyone's lifetime is just ending.  This should make it very easy to complete my annual list of things I'd like to see happen next year.  It will also make it very difficult to review what I wanted to have happen in 2020, and see a near total failure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Let's start with that review, with comments in ALL CAPS:

Me traveling to the final four U.S. states in which I've never set foot.
HAHA -- I RARELY TRAVELED OUTSIDE OF IOWA, OR EVEN OUTSIDE OF THE DES MOINES METRO AREA, THE ENTIRE YEAR

A new president-elect and a corresponding surviving, independent, democratic republic.
ONE WINNER AND ONE PROBABLY WINNER -- IT WILL STILL BE A FEW WEEKS TO PRESIDENT-ELECT BIDEN'S INAUGUARTION DAY TO SEE IF THE REPUBLIC ACTUALLY SURVIVES.

More chances to make a hole-in-one (which means more time to play golf).
GOLF WAS ONE THING THE PANDEMIC DID NOT ALTER MUCH, BUT I DIDN'T PLAY OFTEN UNTIL AFTER MEMORIAL DAY.

Widespread acceptance of plant-based meats on restaurant menus.
PLANT-BASED PROTEINS DEFINITELY EXPANDED THEIR FOOTPRINT, BUT NOT IN RESTAURANTS WITH LIMITED-TO-NO CUSTOMERS.

The Minnesota Twins to break their streak of 16 consecutive playoff game losses.
ACTUALLY WENT BACKWARDS ON THIS.  THEY MADE THE PANDEMIC-SHORTENED SEASON PLAYOFFS AND THEN PROCEDED TO LOSE ANOTHER TWO GAMES TO BRING THE STREAK TO 18!

Consolidation in the video streaming service industry.
THIS ALSO WENT BACKWARDS, THERE ARE MORE STREAMING INDUSTRY PARTICIPANTS THAN EVER, AND MORE TO COME THANKS TO THE PANDEMIC.

A Summer Olympics without scandal.
I GUESS YOU CAN SAY THIS HAPPENED, SINCE THE OLYMICS WERE CANCELED.

Greater federal regulation of Facebook, and less people using it to show me pictures of their food.
THERE WAS MORE EMPHSIS ON REGULATION, BUT FACEBOOK IS BASICALLY SELF-REGULATING, WHICH IS TO SAY THEY AREN'T DOING MUCH.

A new artist who brings back the sound of classic rock.
THIS WAS ALWAYS A PIPE DREAM.

That I never order from a bar that tells me it has no Crown Royal Apple.

I WAS NEVER AT A BAR TO ORDER ALL YEAR, SO AGAIN, TECHNICALLY THIS WISH CAME TRUE.

Now for 2021, let's see these things happen:

A non-pandemic world where people live without fear of contracting COVID-19.

A less-friendly social and legal environment for those who help spread malicious propaganda and conspiracy theories.

A Summer Olympics that actually happens.

Revelations and prosecutions of Trump administration / organization officials who broke laws.

More time to read, more time to listen to podcasts.

An easy integration of administration and technology between Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade.  (A rare professional ask in this annual list.)

A full return of college and professional sports.

The Minnesota Twins to break their streak of 18 consecutive playoff game losses.

Less interaction with people who make every conversation about them.

An awesome vacation.

2020

Another year is ending, this one also concluding a decade.  It would be a good time for a retrospective piece on the past ten years, but lots of other entities are doing that.  I'll just stick to my usual review of the things I wanted to have happen this year, and consider some things I would like to see happen in 2020.  We'll again start with the prior year's list, with comments in ALL CAPS:

The resignation or impeachment of a mentally unstable and unqualified president -- again, no names.
IMPEACHMENT HAPPENED.  I CARRIED THIS OVER FORM THE PRIOR YEAR, WHICH TURNED OUR TO BE VERY PRESCIENT.

The electric vehicle becoming America's fastest growing (by percentage) seller.
THIS IS HAPPENING IN THE U.K. BUT NOT IN THE U.S.

Alabama and Clemson and New England to have poor football seasons.
THEY WEREN'T POOR, BUT ALABAMA AND NEW ENGLAND AT LEAST HAD DOWN YEARS.

Some major medical breakthrough, perhaps a vaccine to eliminate a dread disease.
NO.

Consistent, moderate summer rain in central Iowa.
YES.

A priest actually arrested and charged and jailed for past sexual abuse.
THIS DID HAPPEN IN PENNSYLVANIA.  IT WAS TOO PREDICTABLE, AND NOT NEARLY ENOUGH.

More cities allowing app-based scooter rentals.
WHILE MORE CITIES DID ADOPT THEM, OTHER CITIES STARTED TO RESTRICT THEM.

Another scandal that ruins another Fox (News) TV personality.
NOT REALLY, ALTHOUGH THE PRIOR SCANDALS AND CURRENT PROPAGANDA AT FOX DID CAUSE SHEP SMITH TO LEAVE.

U.S. restaurants that allow payment by app, OR that bring the credit card reader to your table.THIS STILL HASN'T RECEIVED WIDESPREAD U.S. ADOPTION, WHICH IS SORT OF INFURIATING.

Me traveling to one of the five continental states in which I've never set foot.I WAS ABLE TO CROSS OFF NORTH CAROLINA AND SOUTH CAROLINA FROM MY LIST.  DOWN TO IDAHO, MICHIGAN, MONTANA, AND NORTH DAKOTA.  (IT WAS ACTUALLY SIX.).

Now, for 2020 I'd like to see these things happen:

Me traveling to the final four U.S. states in which I've never set foot.

A new president-elect and a corresponding surviving, independent, democratic republic.

More chances to make a hole-in-one (which means more time to play golf).

Widespread acceptance of plant-based meats on restaurant menus.

The Minnesota Twins to break their streak of 16 consecutive playoff game losses.

Consolidation in the video streaming service industry.

A Summer Olympics without scandal.

Greater federal regulation of Facebook, and less people using it to show me pictures of their food.

A new artist who brings back the sound of classic rock.

That I never order from a bar that tells me it has no Crown Royal Apple.

A New Decade Of Thanklessness

Thanksgiving 2019 means the start of a second decade for my annual list of things for which I'm not thankful.  It's almost sad how easy it is to compile a new list every year -- it's becoming a literary version of me telling kids to get the hell off of my lawn.  Anyway, here it is, in random order:

Ticketmaster charges.

Using social media to make well-wishes to people who aren't on social media.

The Baby Shark song.

White Claw (beverages).

Pro basketball (NBA) load management.

Old-school British period shows.

Vaping and vapers.

Anyone promoting a multi-level marketing program.

Corrupt family dynasties.

Annuities and financial products by any other name.

Martinis without blue cheese stuffed olives.

Cold-weather golf.

Spicy chicken sandwiches.

The phrase, "OK, Boomer."

The Stadium Experience

I've been an avid competitive sports enthusiast since I was a child, both as a fan and a participant.  My participant days are long gone (with the possible exception of golf), but I still follow sports closely, primarily major college and professional team sports.

An offshoot of this interest is an interest in the stadiums in which these teams play.  There was a time when I could name the stadium called home by every single professional team, and most major college teams.  I wouldn't be able to do that anymore, mostly because teams now sell stadium naming rights that change regularly.  But I'm still quite good at being able to see a stadium on TV and be able to name the home team.

I recently attended a Minnesota Vikings football day game at the relatively new U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.  (I even got to be on the field the day prior for a charity event.)  Such a neat stadium environment, with a translucent roof and enormous 'doors' that open at on end -- effectively being indoors but having the sun shine in and feeling fresh air.

This made me think about a 'bucket list' of other famous and/or unique sports venues in which I want to attend a game.  I've already checked a few of these off of my list, but here are my top ten for now in alphabetical order:

Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS 
AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX
Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC
Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles
Fenway Park in Boston 
Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, IN
Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA (done)
Soldier Field in Chicago (done) 
U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis (done)
Wrigley Field in Chicago (done)

Outside of the U.S., I'd also add Wembley Stadium in London. Unfortunately, there are also some great old stadiums that have been replaced with new ones I'm not as interested in seeing.  Otherwise, I'd have included old Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, and old Chicago Stadium in Chicago.

While my 'event' sports bucket list would of course include things like the Super Bowl, World Series, and The Masters, this stadium list would be fun to accomplish, too.

Golf Outing Etiquette

This week I played in a 4-person scramble golf outing.  I only do this 2-3 times a summer, usually for charity.  Some outings are have more perks, some are more organized than others, some use nicer golf courses, some have better food – it runs the gamut, and I’m typically satisfied that my time is well spent.

Unfortunately, this week’s outing had one big downside – I had a dipshit playing in our group.  He wasn’t unfriendly; he simply had no self-awareness, no clue about golf, nor any clue about golf etiquette.

There are almost too many examples of his dipshit-ness, but it ranged from running out of golf balls early in the round, to playing half of the round in bare feet.  And this may go without saying, but he was a terrible, terrible golfer.

None of that would have mattered if he’d been the least bit self-deprecating.  I’ve played with plenty of terrible golfers in my day, but it’s still been enjoyable.  Most just try to make the best of it, chat you up, limit their embarrassment, and play quickly.  Not this guy.

Even though he never hit the ball more than 100 yards all day (and most of those shots were chunks that went straight to the right or left), late in the round he was still asking about whether he should aim for that tree….the one, you know, 300 yards in the distance.

The bottom line on this is, if you only play golf once or twice a year, you should not be playing in a golf outing.  But if you are absolutely obligated to play, here are the rules you must follow:

• Lower the group’s expectations when introduced to them.  Just acknowledge you don’t golf much.  Any decent golfer can tell how good you are by just watching a few of your swings, and/or by the equipment you’re using.  (In other words, we know by the second hole how painful this will be for everyone.)

• Be friendly and jovial.

• Know golf etiquette.  This includes what you wear (collared shirt and shoes are a must), and what you do on the course.  You can read up about this etiquette thing, you don’t even have to be a golfer.

• Don’t make excuses all day.  

• Play first and play fast.  If you suck at golf, get your shot out of the way and step aside.  Who knows, you might actually hit a putt that others in the group can use as a read to make their own.

Above all remember that you can just politely decline if invited to a golf outing.  Or make up an excuse for being unable to attend, whatever it takes.  Do it for yourself, and every other golfer.

Golf Season (At Bushwood)

Now that it's October, and the days are getting colder and darker, any round of golf I play may be the last one of 2015.  Here's a summary of the beginning and end of most rounds I played with my buddies, using scenes from Caddyshack:

On the first tee

Al Czervik: What're we, waiting for these guys? Hey Whitey, where's your hat?

Judge Smails: Do you mind, sir. I'm trying to tee off.

Al Czervik: I'll bet you a hundred bucks you slice it into the woods.

Judge Smails: Gambling is illegal at Bushwood sir, and I never slice.

[Swings club, slices ball into woods]

Judge Smails: Damn!

Al Czervik: OK, you can owe me.

Judge Smails: I owe you nothing!

At the 19th hole

Bartender: Another Rob Roy, Bishop?

Bishop: You never ask a navy man if he'll have another drink, because it's nobody's goddamned business how much he's had already.

Judge Smails: Wrong, you're drinking too much your Excellency…..

Bishop: Excellency, fiddlesticks, my name's Fred and I'm a man, same as you.

Judge Smails: You're not a man, you're a bishop, for God's sakes!

Bishop: There is no God.....

Golf 24/7

An historic event (or is it a historic event?) in my life occurred this week.  After many years of abstinence, I allowed myself to indulge in a long-waited, premium desire.

I got the Golf Channel.

A little background here:  I have cable, bundled with internet service.  I could do that with satellite TV, but I’m happy with the broadband internet speed I have, and that’s keeping me tethered to cable TV for now.

However, our cable provider, Mediacom, sucks when it comes to its basic cable TV channel lineup.  This is true for a lot of cable companies, still fighting against the a la carte model that internet TV inevitably will provide.  Still, I’ve been to plenty of other places that have different cable providers, and Mediacom’s basic cable channels are not robust by comparison.

This means that the basic cable service I’ve had for years is missing ‘premium’ channels that other providers consider basic.  This includes Golf Channel, ESPNU, and a few others.  (One of the others is Fox Business News, a/k/a the 1% Channel.  It’s beyond strange how this is considered a premium channel, while CNBC isn’t.)

Cheap bastard that I am, I’ve never paid the extra dough for home access to those so-called premium channels.  That ended this week with the effort of one phone call, in which I agreed to pay another $100 a year ($8 per month) for a premium sports and information package.

Ironically, I did this primarily for the ESPNU channel, because I don’t want to miss another bunch of good college basketball games this winter.  And I did it secondarily for The NFL Network, so I don’t miss those games this winter, either.

But the long-term crown jewel for me will be the Golf Channel.  A new ‘go-to’ for when there’s nothing else good to watch.  It’s already paying for itself with end-to-end coverage of the Australia Masters and next week’s Australian Open – two events I couldn’t have cared less about a few days ago!

Fore!

Pictures From A Vacation, Sort Of

Went to Phoenix for a few days again last week, and lucked out with the weather again, too.  70-75 degrees and sunny every day.

This year's trip was much like last year in other respects as well, but a few new observations:

I highly recommend the Talking Stick Resort.

Visit Apache Junction, AZ for a trail-walking, ghost town-visiting, and saloon-imbibing good time.

There is no non-private golf course in the U.S. in better condition than We-Ko-Pa in Fort McDowell, AZ.

I gained firsthand knowledge of what a jumping cholla can do to a golfer if they aren't careful.  (Another reason to not hit the ball into the desert scrub.)

It sure seems easy to get around in Phoenix, it's spread out and there's lots of pavement for driving.  However, if you have trouble on the 101 or the 202, it's easy to get directions, like this.

That's A Peach, Hon!

This weekend's stop on the PGA Tour was The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. That's the only  tournament where a national TV audience can watch a bunch of amateurs play alongside the pros, at one of golf's most beautiful and famous venues, no less.

Some of the amateurs are decent, but watching them this weekend I could only think of the following scene from Caddyshack:

Tony D'Annunzio: [caddying for the elderly Havercamps... to Mrs. Havercamp] Your ball's right over there, go straight.  You can't miss it. Mrs. Havercamp... Mrs. Haver... Mrs. Havercamp... you'll need this.  [hands her her club]

Mrs. Havercamp: Oh, I might at that!

Tony D'Annunzio: Mr. Havercamp, your ball's right over there, sir.  [Havercamp puts hand out for club, Tony hands it to him as he attempts to shoot away from the green]  No... Mr. Havercamp.  The green's right over there, sir.

Mrs. Havercamp: [knocking ball into the pond]  Whee!

Mr. Havercamp: That's a peach, hon! Oh, by golly... I'm hot today!  [he slices it and it barely misses Tony's head]

You must Google the scene for the full effect!

Lancing Lance

Like everyone else who cheered for Lance Armstrong, I'm disappointed.  Not that he doped, not even that he lied about it - only naive people would have thought differently.  That was the cycling culture, just like it was the pro baseball culture years ago.  But it is very disappointing to hear about the lengths he went to cover up the lies, the way he tried to destroy people.

However, while everybody is piling on their disgust, I still find myself asking why people want to pile on.  He's going to be ruined financially, and considered a cheat and a coward the rest of his life, but he can still inspire people with this story about beating cancer and rising to the top of his profession.

Consider how society looks at Tiger Woods now.  Nobody lost more than he did with his extra-marital shenanigans.  Lost wealth, lost family, even lost his professional edge, and still has not regained his form as the best golfer in the world.  Plus, and he lied to friends and angered fans in the process.

Yet, there are lots of people cheering for Tiger Woods in golf tournaments.  Just did a new TV commercial that has people talking.  Maybe people just want to like Tiger Woods.  And after a long while, people will start to want to like Lance Armstrong again, especially if he keeps up his anti-cancer work.

Both of those guys lied and hurt people.  They should suffer and be accountable for that.  Ultimately, though, isn't it likely Lance Armstrong will win fans back as Tiger Woods has?

People forgive and forget - especially forget.  We see it time after time after time.  There's no reason to think this won't be another American story of redemption.

Breaking Down the Summer Olympics

There are 36 Summer Olympic sports with at total of around 300 events.  So for example, tennis is 1 sport, but with 5 events - men's and women's singles and doubles, plus mixed doubles.

Over the past two weeks, I've been able to watch, via TV or computer, at least parts of every one of these so-called 'sports.'  Here are my comments on all of them:

Archery - modestly interesting, mostly because my daughter's high school classmate is an Olympic athlete in this category.

Athletics (Track & Field) - I would not walk across the street to see a high school or college track meet, but for the Olympics, I'll make an exception.  Watching Usain Bolt both on and off the track was worth it alone.  And seeing Oscar Pistorius, the South African runner on artificial legs, was very cool.

Badminton - I played this in a college class and was pretty good at it, so it was kind of interesting to watch the pros.  Until some of them decided to intentionally lose.

Basketball - Great combination: The probably the most entertaining Olympic sport to watch, with the best U.S. professional players together on the same team.

Beach Volleyball - Looked like a fun venue to be at in person, but let's get real, without the American teams, it would not have been that entertaining to watch.

Boxing - Growing up, in the 70s, this was one of the showcase events.  Now, because the sport of boxing in this country has been run into the ground, nobody wants to watch it anymore.

Canoe Slalom - Just couldn't get into it.  Can anyone name the best canoe/kayaker of all-time?  If so, you have too much spare time.

Canoe Sprint - Looked like a very modernized Lewis & Clark expedition down a man-made waterway, except more aerobic.

Cycling BMX - Belongs in the X-Games, not the Olympic Games.

Cycling Mountain Bike - Moderately interesting, although I felt the course should have had more obstacles.

Cycling Road - I appreciated it as a cyclist, but it was anti-climatic coming on the heels of the Tour de France.

Cycling Track - The indoor velodrome races were kind of cool, and had some drama, not just because the bikes had no gears or brakes.

Diving - I tweeted about this more than once:  Why did diving get so much prime time TV exposure?  It's boring, and it's not like most Americans are divers.  (On that basis, we should have seen more table tennis.)  Plus, what makes a person become a synchronized diver?  As one blogger wrote, could they not stand the crushing loneliness of being more than three meters from another diver?.

Equestrian - Dressage is goofy, but the jumping is kind of interesting.  The medals should go to the horses for what they do, not the riders

Fencing - Near as I can tell, you need to shout and act like you made contact on each thrust, lest the judges think you didn't win the point.  If they used actual sabres and swords, there would be less confusion about that.

Football (Soccer) - Just like regular soccer, meaning mostly boring, and made moreso that way since the U.S. men didn't even qualify.  But it was fun to watch the U.S. women win, right up until their post-gold medal media interviews, when they couldn't seem to stop talking about how great they were.

Gymnastics Artistic - Don't really mind watching it.  Pound for pound, no one is stronger than men or women gymnasts.  Also, 'local' angle since gold-medalist Gabby Douglas trains in West Des Moines at a complex close to my office.  But would someone also please give the U.S. women some media training?  If I hear another one of those teens use the word "definitely" in a sentence, I'm going to puke.

Gymnastics Rhythmic - Strangely compelling to see the flexibility and balance.  What they do with balls and hoops might be illegal in many bible belt states.

Handball - Not handball, TEAM handball.  Odd, but watchable.  The U.S. would dominate this sport, if we cared about it, which we don't.

Hockey (Field Hockey) - Seems like it should have been more entertaining to watch, like ice hockey, but it was more like soccer, which is to say kind of boring.  Maybe it's because I never quite understood all of the rules.

Judo - See taekwondo.

Modern Pentathlon - Did you even know about this?  A one-day event on the last day of the Olympics, consisting of fencing, swimming, horse riding, shooting and running.  Only medieval knights apply.

Rowing - The sport was OK, but the venue was better in how it allowed people on bicycles to ride alongside as the competition occurred. (Same as canoe sprint.)

Sailing - The only drama comes before the race even starts, when the boats jockey for position at the start.  Otherwise, it's like watching paint dry.

Shooting - Kind of alarming to think people can shoot moving targets that fast.  For sport.

Swimming - Don't mind watching it, but all of the events tend to dilute interest.  Also, please stop showing me Michael Phelps, and Michael Phelps' mom.

Synchronized Swimming - Sort of mesmerizing to watch, like a kaleidoscope, but in the end, it's synchronized swimming.

Table Tennis - Crazy how good these folks are at ping-pong, but could today's players beat the best of all-time, Forrest Gump?

Taekwondo - See judo.

Tennis - How many more times will Wimbledon be held this year?

Trampoline - Not a sport.  Cirque do Soleil is calling on line 1.

Triathlon - Fits the 'faster/higher/stronger' theme of the Olympics better than any other event.  From a spectator standpoint, it just takes too long from start to finish.

Volleyball - I get the sport, and the toughness needed to play it at the Olympic level.  I don't get all of the hugging and touching after every single point.

Water Polo - Enjoyed watching both men and women, wondering how hard it must be to swim or tread water for so long.  But it was a little unsettling to see so many larger women in thong-ish one-piece suits.  And as one media outlet said, the headgear makes them look like aquatic teletubbies.

Weightlifting - Would have been totally forgettable if not for the dude who dropped the bar on his head, and somehow didn't get injured.

Wrestling - On the down side, not as good to watch as college or even pro wrestling.  On the plus side, they allow women to compete without controversy.

Looking forward to golf in 2016!

Golf Is Good

The U.S. Open Golf Championship is this weekend.  As a golfer, this is pretty much a must-see-TV event me, as is The Masters and the other so-called 'major' tournaments.

That surely sounds incredibly boring to those who don't care about golf.  Too bad for them.  The fact is, people of all ages who don't care about it are missing out, big time.

Let's just summarize a few of the reasons that golf is the greatest sport ever invented:

• It's a life-long sport.  It can be played at any age, and you don't need to be in peak physical condition to enjoy playing it.  Even older and disabled people can play it, because it doesn't require absolute physical strength and agility (although that helps).

• It's never the same.  Unlike the uniform conditions for indoor sports, in golf every hole on every course is different, and the weather elements are always a factor.

• It's got competitive equilibrium.  With its handicap, slope, and course rating systems, any two people can play on any given course in an even game.  No other sport can consistently and accurately do this, which is totally awesome!

• It's incredibly challenging, requiring as much mental as physical skill.  But still so damn much fun.

And lastly.....Caddyshack!

Praising Arizona

Got away for a few days of R&R in the Phoenix, Arizona area this past week.  I've been there several times before, and the older I get, the more I like it.  (If you visit there in the winter months, you can plainly see this attitude is shared by a lot of older Americans.)

A few observations about the trip:

*I'll take Arizona winter over Florida winter anytime.  No humidity, no daily thunderstorm threat, no bugs (unless you count scorpions).

*Played another awesome golf course there.  I've now played 5 different resort-style courses in the Phoenix area, and only one didn't meet or exceed expectations.  The price/value isn't any better than in Iowa, but the courses are more scenic and in better condition.

*Speaking of scenic, I can't imagine a more scenic city/area than Sedona, Arizona.  Plus, it's cyclist-friendly.

*The Phoenix area is currenly on sale.  Tons of property in on the market, no doubt for a fraction of what it might have cost a few years ago.  Basically, it's the desert version of what's been going on in Florida - lots of empty property originally bought to rent out to now non-exisitent vacationers.

And one sort of non-Arizona thing:  I don't understand why anyone would want to fly on any other airline than Southwest, if possible. Cheaper fares, friendlier employees.  Yeah I know, no first class seating - that only makes it better.

Bad Business

Years ago when I worked for a trade association, the powers-that-be (?) insisted that the annual meeting begin with a prayer. This might have been harmless except for the fact that the prayer was never non-denominational - the prayer-giver always invoked the name of Jesus Christ.

I always complained about this, not because I'm not Christian, but because it was ignorant. We were not a Christian organization - why assume everyone else was? It was pretty simple to conclude that not everyone in the room believed in JC, much less in God, and to throw this prayer in their face was just plain bad business.

With this as a backdrop, over the past few years I've paid particular attention to businesses that show their religious and/or political colors. Of course, it's OK for a private business to do that, but it is also relentlessly dumb to offend potential customers.

My best contemporary example of this has to be those businesses who insist on showing Fox TV in their public areas. First, let's agree on what Fox TV is - a conservative, Republican-leaning broadcast network. Everyone knows this. Fox is to 'fair and balanced' journalism as 'The Beverly Hillbillies' is to a fair and balanced depiction of life in Beverly Hills.

So if a business has Fox on their TVs, one can safely assume they are conservative, Republican-leaning folks. That's fine, but that also tacitly means they don't care to have non-conformists as customers. At least that's what it means to me, and I'm happy to oblige them. It's crazy. Just put the TV on the Food Network or some other benign channel, and I won't think twice about patronizing your business.

Take this weekend, in which I spent time in a corporate tent at a golf outing. The Golf Channel was on every TV but one - which was on Fox. Now, I'm certain I was around a bunch of Republican-leaning folks, but to assume all of the clients there were of the same political/conservative bent is dumb. If people want the news, the can go somewhere else, or use their smart phones.

I don't know, maybe I'm making too much of this, but I think there is a lesson here for businesses: Don't assume everyone else believes the same things that you do.