Possible Disney World expansion?

Disney submitted their 20 year plan for land usage to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (the state-run board that replaced the Reedy Creek Improvement District).

Most of it is the pro forma land usage plans.  But there were a couple of interesting items within it.  First was that they set aside property for two "minor theme parks."  These would be things like water parks or amusement park-type areas.   

But, more interestingly is that they left space for a 5th theme park.  Speculation is running wild on the internet on what that means, and when it could happen. But the reality is that there is (to this point) no concrete plan in place.  This is speculative, and leaves room for future growth, should Disney decide to expand like that. 

Still its important to note that Disney is planning for more growth.

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/fifth-theme-park-disney-world-approved-2045-plan/

Trump must be impeached

Senator,

Mr Trump continually ignores the constitution, but this weekend he went farther than he had previously. 

After days of saying "we'll see," he launched a military strike on a sovereign nation, seemingly based on nothing more than "his own gut."  While relations may be strained with Iran, there was no provocation and no reason to take this action. 

And the constitution requires that he get congressional approval to enter into any such conflicts. Which he simply did not do. 

It has been reported that he alerted England's prime minister and several "key Republican lawmakers" just before he launched the effort. But he skipped over people he doesn't like. 

That is not how any of this is done. 

Setting aside all the other transgressions, this one is the most severe and significant. He needs to be removed from office for this conduct. 

You need to support and defend the constitution and represent Americans in standing up to him. 

On maintaining friendships

This is a somewhat personal story...

Years ago, I met a guy through some work I was doing on the web and we became friends.  We found out we had a lot in common, and would hang out a few times a year (we lived in different parts of the country so it revolved around common activities).  He appeared on a Dolphins podcast that I had at one point, and on the Disney podcast, too.

He was a good human being. And I was glad to call him a friend.

The pandemic came, and we didn't see each other for a while, and we fell behind on communicating.  Hey.  It happens, that's life.

I saw something that I was pretty sure this friend would enjoy knowing about, so I dropped him an email.  I got a fairly unexpected reply, from his daughter: "sorry to tell you that he passed away after a brief illness, about two months ago"

I was stunned.  I reached out to a few other mutual friends to let them know.  Only to find out that during his illness, he had reached out to them to let them know he was not doing well.  And then a fairly close friend of his let this group know when he passed.

But I was left out of the conversation.  That stung a little more.

We obviously hadn't been that close in the last few years, and I hardly blame him.  But I was mildly surprised that the other folks hadn't mentioned anything to me. 

Again, that is life.  Still, it made me a little sad.  

But then I remembered an interview with former Dolphin player. and hall of famer, Larry Little from a few years back.  

He told a story about how a college teammate was in town, and had reached out and asked him to dinner. He said he was too tired and didn't go.  And the friend wound up having a heart attack and dying a few days later.  He felt great guilt and quietly reflected on that.  His advice to himself - and others - was to always try and see people that you care about when you have the chance.  Don't let being tired or busy be an excuse.  Cherish the people you like, and let them in.

And that's what I was trying to do in reaching out to my friend, and others who I've lost touch with over the years.   My aim is to cultivate better friendships, and try to not let this happen anymore to people I actually like and care about.  It's not so hard to send an email, or a quick text, or even make time to meetup if the person is nearby.

And that's the same advice I pass along to you.  The world is strange a lot of the time, but there are good people in it.  I'd like to encourage anyone reading this to make an effort to not let people just slip out of your life, only to find out that they died unexpectedly. 

Starship woes

SpaceX's large craft - starship - has experienced a series of problems recently. 

They have managed to launch several vehicles, and have returned the booster successfully; and even "caught it" a few times. 

But the upper stage hasn't found any success. The rockets mis-fire. The attitude can't be controlled. The payload doors won't open. 

And now they had a spectacular explosion on the pad while performing a static fire. 

I know that there is a lot of trial and error involved. And space is hard. But it just seems like maybe the spacecraft is too big and powerful and it just can't be harnessed properly. 

Anyway, you can watch the explosion on the attached link:

https://weather.com/science/space/video/spacex-starship-rocket-explodes-in-texas-testing

And one amusing thing. Afterwards, Elon channeled his inner Python fan and said "it's just a scratch" - which is amusing yet stupid (coming from him) 

To the senate: no war with Iran!

Senator, might I remind you that the ongoing discussion by Mr Trump to authorize military action against Iran seems to be entirely motivated by his own hubris rather than by good policy or some rational thought about the future of the Mideast and its stability. 

I also would point out that the majority of Americans - including those who identify as MAGA - are opposed to such action. 

And as you are likely well aware, there is no existing congressional authorization for the use of force against Iran. So there is yet another constitutional showdown looming, should he decide to act. 

You need to take a firm stand and support other options, other than military action. 

To the senate: Elimination of programs to feed people

Senator,

I often volunteer at feeding south Florida. I live here and want to help my community, and can honestly state there is a need. And a growing one at that. With the cost of living compared against the wages, and the rising cost of food, people don't have a lot of options. 

The food bank gives them an option. But through various actions of this administration, I am seeing less food being brought in, and Florida and federal donations are lower. 

Now with the budget that eliminates SNAP and other programs, there will be even less. And our neighbors - your constituents who are legally here - will need to rely on food banks more than ever. But their funding will also go away. 

So essentially in approving this budget, you would be creating more issues than you'd be solving. I would think the proposed tax savings for the ultra wealthy would be insignificant in the big picture. 

People work hard and still can't make ends meet. They need a little help. Don't cut their benefits!

To the senate: Emoluments clause

Mr Trump is promoting some ridiculously overpriced phone that I guess his family is selling (it's confusing but he's definitely involved). 

And that means he stands to profit (again) directly from the office he holds. 

That is a clear violation of the emoluments clause. You need to hold him accountable for (again) not acting constitutionally.