Winning The Nonmonetary Lottery

99.99% of lottery winners are not the big tickets winning the big money prize. These nonmonetary lottery winners are winning from the powers to be, the almighty, the heavens, the unexplained, and/or life itself. It depends on the person's perspective. Talent or unique skills is an example of a nonmonetary prize. Some nonmonetary prizes are natural such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Steve Jobs, Michael Jackson, and Meryl Streep. Some nonmonetary prizes are won through hard work such as Stephen Curry, Tom Brady, Tom Hanks, Taylor Swift, and Bill Gates. Unfortunately, most people don't find the prize, don't discover the prize, or not awarded the prize.

Top Ten Plus Fifteen Equals Top Twenty Five Moment Inspired Blogs

I wrote these 25 blogs inspired from moments.

25. All Is Ready Cue The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show Opening Theme (Aug 7, 2023). The introduction song inspires preparation is completed. Everything is ready. Good to go.

24. Turn Back The Clock On Anime (Oct 1, 2017). A tweet showing the character No Face from the anime movie Spirited Away as a smartphone wallpaper inspired me to watch anime in Sep 2017.

23. Merry Unmotivational Christmas (Dec 26, 2023). Christmas was bad. Move forward. Hope the next Christmas is good.

22. Walmart Is Good At Being Walmart (Jan 13, 2022). I shared my observations shopping at a Walmart Neighborhood Market for the first time.

21. Green Tea And Coke Don't Mix (Feb 4, 2006). Support staff from my second company I worked gathered after hours to say goodbye to an assistant. I drank Coke for dinner. I drank green tea before I went to bed. I stayed awake for hours afterwards.

20. My Thoughts On Urban Growth Driving On Interstate 880 (Feb 14, 2016). A Sat drive on a Bay Area freeway seeing new construction and an unusual high amount of cars made me concerned about overpopulation.

19. Mike's Rules (Jul 5, 2014). A night shift gym staffer inspired the name of the rules for getting along with people. Some rules include complement a person, take the initiative, and smile.

18. End It Now (Jun 5, 2022). All of the parents practiced patience and restraint on a Cub Scout graduation event held on a school night. The fatigued parents wanted to go home quickly.

17. Too Many People (Jul 15, 2019). The Mercury News published an article titled Churches Go On Building Spree on Jun 16, 2019. The article discussed the San Francisco Bay Area churches building affordable housing on their properties. Too many people applied for the units.

16. Give It Time The Winners Remain Standing (Mar 10, 2021). I watched a documentary on a military boot camp. The losers quit the training.

15. Take The Advantage, Use The Advantage (Jan 2, 2020). A dream inspired me to take an advantage when given to me.

14. My Girlfriend's Ultimatum Or Her French Black Dress (Mar 15, 2015). All relationships including marriages, business, and friends require work. "She gave me an ultimatum. Either I find a way to keep our relationship going or she breaks up with me. The French black dress was my break-up gift to remember her. I was shocked."

13. My Four Mount Rushmore Greatest Moments In My Life (Aug 9, 2020). 95.7 FM The Game KGMZ selected four Mount Rushmore greatest moments in Bay Area sports history in May 2020. My four Mount Rushmore greatest moments are cosplaying, growing up, self job training, and watching The Shawshank Redemption.

12. Always Protect Your Precious Belongings (Aug 12, 2005). I lost my laptop bag keychain at a retail strip mall. I was lucky a family and their children found it. I have been consistent protecting all my possessions when I'm out of the house.

11. Top Ten Plus Four Equals Fourteen Fry's Electronics Moments (Feb 25, 2021). Fry's Electronics declared bankruptcy. I also include the moment I Fried Fry's Electronics on Nov 25, 2005 when I shopped on Black Friday 2005.

10. Anti-Social For The First Time (Feb 18, 2017). There are multiple blogs when I wanted to escape from reality. I wanted to be alone. The blog was inspired when one of my cousins from Los Angeles visited after he graduated college.

9. Top Ten Daily Changes After O'Connor Hospital (Oct 21, 2017). I was an impatient for the first time on Apr 2-5, 2017. I was diagnosed with Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis. I needed two surgeries.

8. Maintenance Is Important As Innovating Infinitely (Nov 6, 2016). The Freakonomics Podcast In Praise of Maintenance on Oct 19, 2016 inspired the blog.

7. Seeing Ordinary People Living Their Lives (Nov 4, 2014). An evening shopping observing normal people living one day at a time inspired the blog.

6. First Time I Saw A Restaurant Close On Tuesdays (Dec 9, 2018). The bad luck 2018 year cumulated when a restaurant I wanted to try for the first time located out of town closed on Tues instead of the typical Mons.

5. Sort Of Professional Painter (Feb 17, 2019). I'm terrible at home repairs. I'm terrible at home improvements. I hate painting. However, the job must be completed. Maintenance is required. The blog emphasized being a professional. Further, the blog Respect For Hard Work Multiplied By 60 Hours written on Feb 18, 2019 is included.

4. Epilogue (Oct 15, 2005). There were two reasons I visited Washington and Canada. The first reason was visiting my friend at his home state for the first time; in addition, visiting another state and visiting a foreign country. The second reason is inspiration: "Life is a marathon, not a sprint. These people won their marathons and are retired. It takes time to become successful. I should enjoy the marathon. That is the inspiration from the Washington Canada Vacation."

3. Boring Can Save Your Ass (Jan 12, 2022). I went to a tire service center to get my car's tires rotated and balanced. The boring work must be done.

2. Grown Up Lessons In Second Grade Completing A Word Search (Oct 22, 2024). A difficult word search homework assignment in second grade taught me some assignments couldn't be completed. Also, I said, "The word search was just a word search. Nothing gained on an insignificant assignment was the third lesson. Nothing was rewarded. Nothing was penalized."

1. Stop And Smell The Roses And Read Your Receipt (Feb 3, 2022). An incorrect charge on my receipt reminded me to always check my receipt for errors. Also, slow down. Relax. Take a breath. Stop rushing.

People Fail Intentionally Or Unintentionally

Today's blog is an update on a past blog.

Update On A Past Blog

I write another thought on the blog I Did It Right written on Nov 14, 2013. I wrote I lived life correctly no matter the good times and the bad times, the successes and the failures, and the good lucks and the bad lucks. The blog was another reminder of growing up. I can't control everything. Never stop learning. Correct mistakes. Be grateful. Forgiveness.

I complete the plan. I follow the instructions. I adapt the system. I perform my job. I work everything correctly. Learning is finished. Training is completed. I'm sincere. I'm honest. The end result is failure.

There are 32 NFL football teams. Two of the 32 teams play for the NFL championship at the Super Bowl. The two teams' coaching staff create a plan. The two teams' players follow their instructions. The systems are established. All players know their jobs. They practice hard. One team wins. The other team loses. One team is successful. The other team and the 30 other teams not playing in the Super Bowl are failures.

An oversimplified hiring process for an open job position. 500 people apply for the job opening. 20% of the applicants qualify. 100 people remain. 20% of the applicants exceed the job requirements. 20 people remain. The hiring manager selects 6 candidates to interview. One candidate is hired. The other 499 people are not hired. The other 499 people fail for whatever reasons.

People can do everything correctly. People do fail. The people include me. The people include the reader. Most projects fail. Most businesses fail. Most relationships fail. Most people fail. Success is relative. Failure is absolute. Although, successful people can be wrong. Successful people can be lucky. Life is weird. Life is unfair.

There are false losers. I wrote about These Young People Are False Losers on Aug 7, 2022. These young people experience bad breaks and bad luck.

My Best Motivational Quote On Winning From Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan on winning from The Last Dance documentary aired on ESPN in 2020. A camera crew was given unrestricted access to the Chicago Bulls 1997-1998 season. The ten-part documentary is Michael Jordan's NBA career and the Chicago Bulls' six NBA championships in the 1990s. Here is the entire quote:

"Well, I mean. I don't know, I mean. Winning has a price. And leadership has a price. So I pulled people along when they didn't want to be pulled. I challenged people when they didn't want to be challenged. And I earned that right because my teammates who came after me didn't endure all the things that I endured. Once you joined the team, you lived at a certain standard that I played the game. And I wasn't going to take any less. Now if that means I had to go in there and get in your ass a little bit, then I did that. You ask all my teammates. The one thing about Michael Jordan was he never asked me to do something that he didn't fucking do. When people see this, they are going say, 'Well he wasn't really a nice guy. He may have been a tyrant.' Well, that's you. Because you never won anything. I wanted to win, but I wanted them to win to be a part of that as well. Look, I don't have to do this. I am only doing it because it is who I am. That's how I played the game. That was my mentality. If you don't want to play that way, don't play that way. . . . Break." *Jordan requests a break*

The motivational pics are 4K 3840x2160 resolution. There are two full versions excluding the last sentence when he cried and wanted a break. There is a half version and there is a quarter version for those who want a condensed quote. The full, half, and quarter versions include a clean version without the swearing.

No Guarantees In Life Including Sports

Sports are percentages. There is pass completion rate, percentage drops, and number of points the defense gives up per game in football. There is field goal percentage and free throw percentage in basketball. There is batting average, walk to strike out ratio, and earned run average in baseball. There is goals against average and shots on goals in hockey. There is no 100%. There is no 1.000.

The percentages, rates, ratios, probabilities, averages, sums, and totals in all sports applies to life. Chances in life applies to sports. Timing and luck in sports applies to life. A basketball player experiences a bad shooting night in a regular season game. A no big deal. A basketball player experiences a bad shooting night in a championship game. A yes big deal. The thought process applies to a quarterback throwing a football, a place kicker kicking a field goal, a baseball player going 0 for 4 with three deep flyouts, a pitcher giving up four home runs, a winger missing too many shots on goal, and a goal keeper giving up four goals.

We blame the players for the bad performance. We blame the players for the miss critical plays. We blame coaches for bad decisions. Think rationally. No player wants to screw up. No coach wants to lose. The chances are there to connect, and sometimes there are no chances. Timing and luck are not there. The game is lost. The strategies don't work out. It's the other result. It's the opposite of the percentage. It's the other side. A basketball player free throw percentage success is 90.1%. The player missed critical free throws at the fourth period. It's the 9.9% failure percentage. Failed. The team lost the game. Regular season is a no big deal. Try again next time. Championship playoffs is a yes big deal. It's unfair. It's the nature of the sports world. A professional sports team not making the playoffs with at least 50% regular season wins is considered a successful season.

The Odds Are Against Professional Dreamers

There are a limited number of active professional sports players who play in the top leagues. There are 1,696 professional football players in the 32 team NFL out of all the professional football players. There are 450 professional basketball players in the 30 team NBA out of all the professional basketball players. There are 780 professional baseball players in the 30 team MLB out of all the professional baseball players. There are 736 professional hockey players in the 32 team NHL out of all the professional hockey players. Those numbers are small. Practice squad and inactive professional players are excluded from the numbers. The chances of professional sports players in a North American big league roster are slim. Life is rolling the dice. Many try to become professional sports players. Few succeed.

Update On A Past Blog

I add the percentages, rates, ratios, probabilities, averages, sums, and totals in all sports to the blog Top Ten Life Lessons I Learned Watching Sports written on Nov 5, 2016.

I wrote a no guarantees blog A Lesson Learned Tonight written on Feb 2, 2010. The blog talked about Conan O'Brien leaving The Tonight Show with a $45 million settlement on Jan 2010. I remind myself there are no guarantees in life; however, death and taxes are 100% certain.

I repeat an update on a past blog word for word from Owners Hiring The Below Average Worker on May 12, 2023:

Life is chances. The right place at the right time. Timing and luck are in favor. The wind blows behind your back. The odds are good. The dice are rolling well. Probability is close to 100%. Here are two blogs related to chances, odds, and probabilities: Roll The Dice When You Wake Up written on Aug 12, 2019 and The Homeless People Rolled Too Many Snake Eyes written on Apr 8, 2019. Death and taxes are 100% certain. Life is unfair regardless of the probabilities. Times continue to be tough going forward.

Maxed Out On Career Learning

I finished my WordPress self job training last week. Full disclosure. The WordPress was a satisfactory failure. The training resulted in finding a new web hosting provider for my webpage Innovate Infinitely and ending the training project due to costs. The last WordPress tutorial was an offline training I found from the YouTube algorithm. Regardless, I added the skill to my resume.

The remaining self job training skills are Excel, Python, and HTML as of the blog post. Years 2022 and 2023 were peak with the following skills: Excel with Power Pivot and Power Query, Git, Linux, Power BI, Python, R and R-Studio, SQL, and Sublime Text. There is no new job training related to my profession thereafter. Reviewing existing job skills are too repetitious with no additional benefits--borderline boredom and tiredness. It's like no more promotions. There's nothing more going up. My salary is maxed. My rank is at the top ceiling. Anything new adds no additional value; although, I receive information to learn PyTorch for machine learning.

I never thought about running out of new job training skills. I never realized the self job training spanned a decade. Students graduate high school. Students graduate college. The common wisdom is never stop learning; however, all training must come to an end. The student takes the pebble from the master's hand.

Top 2023 Pics

Here are the top five pictures I took in 2023. They're sorted from the start of the year to the end of the year. The goals delaying one year are relearning from my mistakes, reinforcing my lessons, reminding myself my moments, refreshing acquired knowledge, rediscovering new wisdom, and sharing changes. Enjoy!

Update On A Past Blog

2024 is over. I shut down my life during the Mon Dec 23, 2024 and Mon Dec 30, 2024 weeks. These two weeks remind me of the blog First Time I Saw A Restaurant Close On Tuesdays I wrote on Dec 9, 2018. I declared 2018 was over. I said, "Bad luck. Bad timing. Misfortunes." Dec is ending on bad luck, bad timing, and misfortunes. I adapt the "I respond what life gives me. I go with the flow." It's time to take a break. It's time to rest. Two reasons are loss of focus and fatigue.

I took partial breaks and spread the partial breaks from Oct 2023 to Jan 2024 to finish reading Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. The time span was the last time I took any break or any vacation.

Highlight and Favorite 2023 Tweets

Here are my 13+1=14 highlight Tweets and 2 favorite Favorites Tweets in 2023. The goals delaying one year are relearning from my mistakes, reinforcing my lessons, reminding myself my moments, refreshing acquired knowledge, rediscovering new wisdom, and sharing changes. Follow me @inin61. Enjoy!

Highlights

Jan 4: @LiveDoppler7, Today is a stormy day with a Level 5 extreme storm on the exclusive ABC7 Storm Impact Scale. (The first level 5 storm since the inception of the scale 7 years ago). Watch LIVE ABC7 Team Coverage with @DrewTumaABC7 and the #ABC7Mornings team: https://t.co/n3QBk9fCxc https://t.co/IEGq9Eliqj https://abc7ne.ws/2YUq6x7 Pic.

Feb 2: palpable: 1 capable of being touched or felt. 2 easily perceptible. Readily or plainly seen, heard, perceived; obvious. #mynewwordoftheday

Apr 16: A bat and a ball cost $1.10. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? $0.10 is the incorrect answer. . . . The correct answer is $0.05. ball+bat=1.10 bat=1.00+ball ball+(1.00+ball)=1.10 2ball+1.00=1.10 2ball=0.10 ball=0.05

Apr 23: Apology is policy.

May 11: The Verge posted a TikTok video summarizing the 2023 Google I/O event promoting their latest and greatest on May 10. Here is CEO Sundar PichAI Link.

May 15: It's not a secret. It's confidential.

May 28: The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck. It makes hormones which control the way the body uses metabolism. These hormones affect nearly every organ and control functions including breathing, digestion, nervous systems, and body temp. #mytriviaoftheday

Jun 3: Ask a person to share a boring fact instead of an interesting fact. There is too much pressure to share an interesting fact. One is I don't like mayonnaise on sandwiches. Another boring fact is I take pictures of police cars.

Jul 19: These people didn't commit a crime because they're corrupt. These people committed a crime because they're stupid.

Aug 25: 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan lost the bet drafting Trey Lance. It was a series of unfortunate events. Finger injury, ankle injury, and COVID-19.
Mar 26, 2021: Call it YOLO. Call it all-in. Bet the ranch. The present is now. The San Francisco 49ers traded their 2021 first round pick (12th overall), 2022 first rounder, 2022 third rounder, and 2023 first rounder to the Miami Dolphins for their 2021 first round pick (3rd overall).

Aug 31: Willful blindness is a person avoiding civil liability or criminal charges by ignoring facts for which the person could be found liable or guilty.

Aug 31: Ignorance of law, conscious avoidance, and intentional ignorance are other terms. People commit willful blindness everyday. Link.

Sep 23: @espn, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning didn't hold back in his pregame speech against Colorado. "They're fighting for clicks, we're fighting for wins."

Nov 17: Don't make it a big deal fellow family members. Grandma's secret cake recipe is the Pillsbury Doughboy.

Favorite Favorites

Apr 26: @HistoryInPics, Founded in 2002 @SpaceX @elonmusk turned a vision into reality. Pic.

Sep 23: @espn, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning didn't hold back in his pregame speech against Colorado. "They're fighting for clicks, we're fighting for wins."

Children Following Sports Should Learn Life Is Unfair

There are four major professional sports leagues in North America. The National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and Major League Baseball (MLB). The NBA has 30 teams divided in two conferences and six divisions total. The NFL has 32 teams divided in two conferences and eight divisions total. The NHL has 32 teams divided in two conferences and four divisions total. MLB has 30 teams divided in two leagues and six divisions total.

What is one commonality among the four sports leagues? The answer is one team wins their championship in a season. All other teams lose. One NBA Finals winner. One Super Bowl winner. One Stanley Cup winner. One World Series winner. There is no second-place winner. There are no playoff participation awards. There are lots of good teams in each league. A few of the good teams are championship caliber. I repeat. Only one team wins their championship. All other teams lose. Life is unfair.

There are more popular teams. There are less popular teams. There are teams the ownership provides the necessary monetary funds. There are teams the ownership limits monetary funds. There are teams with many all-stars. There are teams with few all-stars. There are teams in big markets. There are teams in small markets. There are teams with good coaching staff. There are teams with bad coaching staff. There are teams with the latest stadiums and facilities. There are teams with outdated stadiums and facilities. There are teams with strong fan bases. There are teams with weak fan bases. There are no equal teams in each league.

Timing and luck are factors. Which team has the fewest players on the injury list? Which team has the most players on the injury list? Which team is the healthiest during the championship game or championship series? Good weather or bad weather? Does the ball bounce perfectly? Does the ball tip to an opposing player? What team benefits the puck ricochets off the wall? Which team wins the attrition battle? Which team their star-players are in a slump? Which head coach or manager guesses correctly? Which player makes a winning gamble move? Which team benefits from an incorrect referee call? Which team gets the breaks?

Update On A Past Blog

I reminded people There Is Truth Serum During COVID-19 And After COVID-19 on Sep 16, 2024. I want to add some truths change life from good to bad. The blog Life Is Good Because It's Predictable And Certain written on Jan 20, 2022 said bombshells shook people's sense of predictability, certainty, and calmness. Life changed after the smoke cleared and damage assessed.

Crossing The Line To Become An Adult

It's like crossing the finish line in a race. The race is over. The race is finished. The race is successful. A person becomes a true adult crossing the adult line. All puzzle pieces fit together. The dots connecting backwards are connected. The patterns are established. The adult makes the connections. No stupidity. Full understanding. Circles are fully drawn.

Adult Continues Work After The Race

There are more races to cross the finish line. Professionalism is practiced daily. Responsibilities never ends. Never take maturity for granted. Always seek new adventures. Continue experiencing new experiences. Always sharpen the saw. Never stop innovating. Innovate infinitely.

Update On A Past Blog

The blog I Have An Answer To When Is An Adult An Adult written on Jan 6, 2021 answer is 50 years old. I'm lucky I became an adult at age 45. I crossed the line five years earlier. I incorrectly wrote, "I'm four years ahead." The correct sentence is, "I'm five years ahead." The correction applies to Grading My Past Years On A Curve written on July 17, 2022. I incorrectly wrote, "I achieved an adult is an adult four years ahead." The correct sentence is "I achieved an adult is an adult five years ahead."

I Correct Be Patient And Go For The Long Run

I thought of the "be patient and go for the long run" when I was a student at San Jose State University. The wisdom was correct. The attitude was correct. The adaption was incorrect. The execution was incorrect. I did it wrong. College life was too much fun and too little learning. Obviously, any student read the book, attended the lectures, and passed the exams to graduate. I took life for granted. Outside the classroom was unproductive growth.

I'm doing the "be patient and go for the long run" correctly decades later. Work. Give everything time. Take everything one day at a time. Build a little every day. Add the little accomplishments for the big goals. My job training approaches the endgame. I learn investing following WallstreetBets since Jan 2021. I'm training for a 10k marathon since 2021. I'm close to the 6.2 miles. My longest distance is 6 miles. It took me six months to read Harry Potter from Sep 2019 to Mar 2020. I researched two hours every Sun from Jul 2019 to Nov 2019 to build a new desktop. Furthermore, medical scientists continue to research the COVID-19 virus since 2020.

I was irresponsible then. I'm responsible now. It's okay for immediate fun and leisure. Work for most of the week. Take a break for a few. I did none of these as a college student. Perhaps, my biggest regret was being a naive person in my 20s. The regret is forgiven. My life catching up continues.

It's A Fair Question

Good questions. Bad questions. Either way they can be fair questions. Nothing wrong. They are honest questions at the appropriate time and place. The person asking can't be attacked.

Are you honest?

Did you earn it? What did you do to earn it? Did you deserve it?

Are you entitled?

Are you a grade A person or a grade C person?

Is it your fault?

Why did you include him, her, it, or them? Why did you exclude him, her, it, or them?

Are you paying your share?

How much time did you apply?

Disclose your advantages. Disclose your disadvantages.

Is the answer correct? Are you correct?

What are the rules?

Emotionally Draining

The 2023 Major League Baseball playoffs saw all three teams with 100 or more regular season wins eliminated in the best of five divisional rounds. The 90-win Philadelphia Phillies defeated the 104-win Atlanta Braves 3-1. The 90-win Texas Rangers defeated the 101-win Baltimore Orioles 3-0. The 84-win Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the 100-win Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0. The Dodgers and Orioles were the first time multiple 100-win teams who didn't win a postseason game. The Orioles were never swept during the regular season.

In addition, the Rangers defeated the 99-win Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 in a best of three wild card round. The Diamondbacks defeated the 92-win Milwaukee Brewers 2-0 in a best of three wild card round.

Full disclosure. I watched zero innings of the wild card and divisional playoffs. I'm not a professional sports journalist. I share my intuitive opinion. I believe winning 100 or more games was too hard. The 2023 season was emotionally draining. There are past 100+ win teams winning the World Series; for instance, the 2022 Houston Astros won 106 games, the 2018 Boston Red Sox won 108 games, the 2016 Chicago Cubs won 103 games, and the 1998 New York Yankees won 114 games. According to Wikipedia List of Major League Baseball 100 win seasons, 116 teams won 100 or more regular season games in a season as of the end of the 2023 season. 68 of the 116 teams played in the World Series (.586). 38 of the 68 teams won the World Series (.559). 38 of the 116 total teams won the World Series (.328).

The three 100+ win teams experienced winning emotional fatigue. The winning high was over when the postseason began. The winning feeling was over when the postseason began. Supplemental emotions or auxiliary emotions were required to reach 100+ wins. The three teams clinched a postseason spot. The 100+ wins meant nothing if the teams couldn't win postseason games. I'm sure physical fatigue and mental fatigue were nonfactors. Winning inspirations were jaded. No winning emotions feelings. No championship.

Emotional energy is unsustainable. Emotional energy depletes faster than physical energy and mental energy. Emotional energy is the easiest to achieve maximum. Emotional energy is the easiest to achieve empty. Physical and mental are more important than emotional. Skills, abilities, and knowledge are more important than feeling good. Is motivation or desire an emotional feeling? Is motivation or desire a spiritual feeling? Or is motivation or desire mental for which motivation is a state of mind? I have said motivation is more important than intelligence. I may have contradicted myself.

Success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.

Human Influence

Another possibility is rigged games. Las Vegas casinos and sports bookies influences the games for which the underdogs won the series.

The National League Championship Series best of seven Phillies lead the Diamondbacks 2-1. The American League Championship Series best of seven Astros and Rangers are tied 2-2. Both series standings are as of today's blog.

Do We Fail When We Do?

Here's a scenario. There are 200 students learning computer programming in a classroom. Some students learn fast. Some students learn slow. On the one hand, many students pass the class at the end of the academic term.

On the other hand, some students quit because they don't understand programming. Some students quit because programming is not a match for a career. Some students quit because they're lazy learning sincerely. A common wisdom is success is relative and failure is absolute. Do the students who quit fail? The failure students try. The failure students do their best. Is quitting a failure? What are the criteria for a failure? When is the time to declare a failure? How come we fail when we try? We do it. We attempt it. We try, we work, no reward, fail. Maybe the failure is a successful failure. Quit programming. Pursue another major. Turn the failure to a success. Graduate with another major. Change the failure narrative.

The scenario continues. All of the students who pass the class graduated with a computer science degree. Most found programming jobs. Some programming jobs are good. Some programming jobs are bad. Which of the following computer science graduates succeed? How many of the programming jobs match the graduates' education? The graduates didn't fail. Moreover, are the graduates who can't find jobs a failure? Success is relative.

Update On A Past Blog

I remember three pics of Stephen Curry for the 2019 NBA Finals and the 2022 NBA Finals. The Golden State Warriors lost to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals. The first two pics are the 2019 NBA Finals Curry with head coach Steve Kerr admitted defeat on Game 6. The third pic is the 2022 NBA Finals Curry on the bench smiling on Game 6. The Warriors scored 21 consecutive points. The game over feeling was present. The series was over.

The two blogs are My Thoughts On The Golden State Warriors Won The 2022 NBA Finals written on Jun 24, 2022 and 2019 Golden State Warriors Basketball Postseason written on Jul 14, 2019.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Answered Failure

The 2023 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference number one seed Milwaukee Bucks lost to the number eight seed Miami Heat 4-1 in the first-round best of seven series on Wed Apr 26. Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked if the 2022-2023 season was a failure? The question was fair. He answered honestly. He didn't raise his voice. He didn't attack the reporter. He responded humility taking the high road. "Michael Jordan played 15 years. Won six championships. The other nine years were a failure? . . . It's a wrong question. There's no failure in sports."

There is a common wisdom: failure is absolute, success is relative. Did Antetokounmpo dodge the failure question? The answer depends on the person's reference point. The answer depends on the person's base case. One perspective is the Bucks failed. The Bucks were eliminated in the first round to the lowest seed. The Bucks were eliminated early by five games in the series. The Bucks won an NBA Championship in 2021. They team should have won another. The odds were in favor. Antetokounmpo was an MVP in 2018-2019.

Another perspective is the Bucks succeeded. The Bucks already won an NBA Championship in 2021. Antetokounmpo was a former MVP. 16 teams play in the NBA Playoffs. The Bucks was one of the 16 teams. One team is a champion. 15 playoff teams are not a champion. The remaining NBA teams didn't reach the playoffs. And Antetokounmpo has a successful NBA career.

Another successful perspective is the Bucks' best regular season record in the NBA 58-24 earning the number one seed. The Bucks did their best. Unfortunately, the timing was bad to play poor basketball. The Heat played the best basketball at the best moment. The games favored the Heat. The Bucks' shots didn't go in the bucket. Injuries factored in the Bucks performance. Antetokounmpo missed two full games. The Bucks couldn't control everything.

Click Giannis Calls Out Reporter In HEATED Response: "There's No Failure In Sports" to watch the failure question interview. Click Giannis AMAZING exchange with Reporter During Postgame Interview to watch the full interview.

Black Friday 2022

There was one Black Friday 2022 shopping on Fri Nov 25. Most of my Black Friday shopping was online. I picked up most of my orders at the retail stores. All retail stores online and offline offered fewer Black Friday deals during the Thanksgiving week. Black Friday 2022 was my worse Black Friday since I started shopping Black Friday in 2004. One Cyber Monday 2022 purchase was cheaper than Black Friday 2022.

Tue Nov 22

Samsung 256GB FIT Plus USB 3.1 flash drive at NewEgg. The flash drive was backordered.

Thur Nov 24

Two Head & Shoulders 23.7oz shampoo bottles purchased online at Walgreens.

A three pack Calvin Klein classic boxers underwear purchased online at Kohl's.

Workout socks, casual socks, and two performance shorts purchased online at Under Armour. Socks and shorts were delivered.

Hotel Collection 500 thread count Micro Cotton Queen bed set purchased online at Macy's.

Fri Nov 25

Two Sara Lee frozen pound cakes at Grocery Outlet. The family went back in time when we ate Sara Lee pound cake at my grandparent's house in Santa Barbara, CA. The price wasn't Black Friday pricing. The price has been the same afterwards.

Sun Nov 27

Selected video games in the Valve Complete Pack for my Steam account. The purchase completed my Valve Complete Pack.

Mon Nov 28

Vanicream 3.9oz soap purchased online at Walgreens. The store I selected for pickup fulfilled half my order.

Hotel Collection 500 thread count Micro Cotton Queen bed set purchased online at Macy's for the second time. The Cyber Monday sale price was cheaper than the Black Friday sale price. It was the first time I experienced Cyber Monday cheaper than Black Friday. The Black Friday purchase must be returned when I picked up my Cyber Monday purchase. I couldn't refuse pick up.

Update On A Past Blog

The San Francisco Giants backed out of the 13-year, $350 million contract offer with all-start shortstop Carlos Correa. The Giants cancelled the introductory press conference on Tue Dec 20. Correa signed a 12-year, $315 million contract with the New York Mets later in the day. A professional sports media opinion said the Giants can't sign superstars. The Giants can't sign all-star talent. The Giants becoming a cheap franchise is debatable. Was the Giants feeling buyer's remorse?

The Giants are risk-adverse. The Giants are the runner ups. The Giants are the big free agents' second choice: Carlos Rodon, Kodai Senga, Carlos Correa, Aaron Judge, Brandon Nimmo, Dansby Swanson, Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani, and Giancarlo Stanton. The second choice reminded me of the blog I Can't Win The Freedom Championship written on Jul 18, 2021. The Giants can't win the big prize free agent(s) for whatever reasons.

All For One Or Some For Many

You have a luck meter or luck bar like an energy meter or energy bar in a video game. The luck meter is filled 100%. Do you use all 100% luck meter in one moment? Or do you spread the luck meter in multiple moments? Answer the question anyway you want.

Update On A Past Blog

I wrote Luck Is Part Of Life on Nov 15, 2016. There are aspects in our lives we can't control. Admit it. Anyone who says he or she controls his or her life is lying. The person has too much good luck. My opinion regarding luck stands: the most successful people under appreciate luck and the least successful people over-rely on luck. Anyone who says luck is the reason he or she is successful is probably not modest. The person is probably telling the truth.

Instant Bullets Blog Oct 13, 2022

*Whiffle Ball On A Fishing Pole. Watch the YouTube video how to set up your child to hit a whiffle ball or a baseball on a fishing pole instead of a T-ball Fishing rod baseball - how to teach kids to baseball - T-ball tips.

*sycophant: a person who tries to win favors from wealthy or influential people by flattering them up; a flatter; a suck up. A servile self-seeking person.

*Raymond Mar University. If I'm president of the Raymond Mar University in New York, New York, then I'm raising my annual tuition $10,000. President Joe Biden and his student loan debt forgiveness is free money. Nothing personal. It's business. I need to pay for my professors, my university staff, my security, and run my facilities. The costs increase every year.

Thank you, Mr. President. Your $100,000 donation to the Democratic Party is in the mail.

My school mascot is the white tiger.

*The Best Forgiveness. Winning is forgiveness. Winning is forgetting the bad. The championship erases the horrible memory. Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshawn Watson is suspended 11 games and fined $5 million during the 2022 NFL season for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. If Watson wins a Super Bowl, then all is forgiven.

*Marketing. Client 1: I have a sob story. Marketer: We can sell it.

Client 2: I have a happy story. Marketer: Did you get abused beforehand?

*I would have just languished in a job I hated, doing just enough to get by, and would become bitter and disillusioned, like almost every lawyer I know. --Tucker Max, I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell

*Calvin And Hobbes Time Management. Comic by Bill Watterson.

*Mad Libs. The word game is created by Leonard Stern and Roger Price. The player asks other players for words to be substituted in blanks for a story. Mad Libs can be played solo. Everyone must play at least once in their life. There are free games at their website Mad Libs.

*Smooth Criminal. Listen to the song Smooth Criminal instrumental only Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal (Instrumental). Listen to the song Smooth Criminal lyrics only Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal Vocals Only.

*Wrong Predictions. Nobody can predict the future 100% correctly. Nobody. Time will tell. Time is the ultimate judge. The jury is still in the courtroom regarding Bill Gates and NFTs.

*Bluff Game Carrot In A Box. Watch Sean Lock and Jon Richardson play the game from the TV show 8 Out Of 10 Cats "Carrot in a Box" Jimmy Carr IN TEARS After Game with Sean Lock & Jon Richardson! | 8 Out of 10 Cats. The rematch Sean Lock & Jon Richardson's Hilarious Carrot in a Box REMATCH! | 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. Jon Richardson plays for a third time Carrot In A Box III: Jon Richardson vs Lee Mack! | 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown | Channel 4. Sean Lock died from cancer on Aug 16, 2021.

*Millionaire Matchmaker Patti Stanger Q&A interview on romance and dating in the modern age. Direct link to article Sexual Health Magazine July 2022 Patti Stranger. Two favorite quotes from the interview. The first is the following, "When [women are] not being treated right, they'll often still stick around and keep seeing each other, hoping [men] will change like they were at the beginning of their relationship. As women, we're taught to be polite and service the man. My mom programmed me to be like that and I had to work to break that programming. People are afraid to do that! If their needs are not met, get out!"

The second is the following, "For women, she may not find him cute initially and then goes on the date and comes back with 'I can fix that! And I really liked him as a person.' A man will never want to get 'fixed' because men and women are different animals. I know women will grow into a relationship, but a man will know in a second."

*A Dating Advice. Don't ask a girl where she wants to eat. Tell her to guess where you're taking her to eat. Then take her to the first guess. Likewise for a girl asking a guy where he wants to eat. The advice works both ways.

*I Work In Human Resources. Raise your hand if you wanted a career in human resources as a child.

*President Joe Biden on the economy from CNN on Oct 11, 2022: I don't think there will be a recession. If it is, it will be a very slight recession. That is we'll move down slightly.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the US is likely to enter a recession in the next six to nine months on Oct 10, 2022.

My Thoughts On The Golden State Warriors Won The 2022 NBA Finals

Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors winning the 2022 NBA Finals defeating the Boston Celtics 4-2. The Warriors are the 2021-2022 NBA Champions. The Warriors won four out of the last eight NBA Finals. The previous NBA Finals championships are 2015, 2017, and 2018. I share my thoughts.

*Egos are checked at the door. All professional athletes have egos. The Warriors play for the team.

*1+1+1=3. I wrote the math formula one superstar plus good coaching plus good management or good ownership equals a championship at There's An A In Overachieving on Oct 11, 2020. The formula applies to the Warriors with Stephen Curry, head coach Steve Kerr, and primary owner Joe Lacob.

*The core remains with Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala since 2015. Curry was drafted in 2009. Thompson was drafted in 2011. Green was drafted in 2012.

*Health, strength, conditioning, and injuries are factors. One can say the odds favor the team winning the war on attrition.

*Timing and luck are factors, too. Be honest.

*The ownership lead by Lacob and Peter Guber invested in a new arena. The old arena Oracle Arena was outdated. The ownership purchased 12 acres in the Mission Bay neighborhood in San Francisco on Oct 2015. JPMorgan Chase purchased the naming rights naming the arena Chase Center on Jan 2016. Construction began on Jan 2017. The arena was financed privately. No public money was involved.

The Warriors played their first game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct 24, 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic suspended the 2019-2020 NBA Season. No games played at Chase Center for the rest of the season. No fans attended or limited fans attended the 2020-2021 season.

Ownership persevered the COVID-19 pandemic. The Warriors won the 2021-2022 season. Congratulations to the ownership. You won a championship at Chase Center. You won the bet. Chase Center is a cash cow with the addition of tournaments, concerts, and theaters.

*Identify talent. Develop the young players. Teach them. Mentor them. The draft picks Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, James Wiseman, Kevon Looney, and Jordan Poole either are key players today or potential key players tomorrow. General Manager Bob Myers didn't acquire a veteran or an all-star by trading their young players. Management and the coaching staff believed in the young players for the playoffs.

*The light bulbs turned on for Andrew Wiggins and Looney. They understood what they needed to do.

*I can't confirm Curry played golf after the Game 1 loss. There was nothing new to learn. No changes were needed. Curry might as well play golf to relax.

*Kerr benched Green in the fourth quarter of Game 4. Kerr switched Poole for offensive sequences and Green for defensive sequences. The coaching decision changed the NBA Finals to favor the Warriors.

Play the game. The coach makes coaching decisions with the flow. Every game is different. Play a different card from a stack of cards depending on the game flow.

*The Celtics focused their defense on Curry for Game 5. The Celtics sold on Curry's offensive shooting. There were no problems for the Warriors. Other teammates stepped up providing the offense. The Warriors won Game 5 taking a 3-2 series lead.

*The Celtics are a young team with championship potential. I expect the Celtics to be back in the NBA Finals. There are missing puzzle pieces. The Celtics need a point guard and a veteran off the bench. The Celtics need more strength training and conditioning. The players must learn to communicate better.

*I connect the dots backwards. The Warriors scored 21 consecutive points which was the longest scoring run in an NBA Finals over the last 50 years in Game 6 on the road. The game was over. The series was over. Pic credit Bleacher Report.

Update On A Past Blog

Thur Jun 23, 2022 was the first day of the 2022 NBA Draft. The Warriors drafted Patrick Baldwin, Jr., forward, Milwaukee, with the 28th overall pick. I remind the NBA draft is a crapshoot from Instant Bullets Blog Jul 19, 2019 on Jul 19, 2019. Past performance doesn't guarantee future outcomes good or bad.

People Succeeded At Being Unsuccessful

I search the word "success" for books on Amazon resulting in over 60,000 results. I search the word "success" for books on Barnes & Noble resulting in 33,988 results. I search the word "success" for books on Half Price Books resulting in 999+ results. I take 5% of all the results because "success" is applied to other book titles such as success in computers, success in business, success in repairing cars, success in cooking, success in parenting, etc. There are 3,000 success books on Amazon, 1,699 success books on Barnes & Noble, and 50 success books on Half Price Books.

There are thousands of books on how to be successful. These published books are the successful books. Which successful books are truly the successful books? Which successful books are the top sellers out of the published books? My guess is 1% or less. There are thousands more books on how to be successful not successful. These books are not published. These books failed. The authors are unsuccessful.

Today's blog is another reminder life is zero-sum. The world is zero-sum. People enter. Few wins. Many loses. Everybody can't win. There is one champion. Sometimes people lose through no fault of their own. It's life. Blame bad luck. Blame bad timing. Blame life.