Bottom Line On Top (BLOT)
Weekends are needed in so many ways these days! It’s crazy out there and living through a pandemic that’s killed over 3 MILLION people are hard on people. Not to mention that we’ve been isolated and fearful. Stay safe and keep up the good fight. Till we have more people vaccinated we can’t let our guard down.
Microsoft Report
Friday I received this report from Microsoft and it caught my attention. Last year we had a major shift in peoples’ work habits. Microsoft thinks there will be another huge shift in 2021 when companies become hybrid with people working both from home and in the office.
The one stat that surprised me was that 40% of people will changes jobs in 2021. That’s a huge number of people! When I think about that kind of change at my company I just imagine the chaos that would come along with the change. I just think about all the lost institutional knowledge.
73% of employees want flexible remote work options to stay. That’s not surprising to me. With children going back to school I imagine their parents will enjoy being there in the quiet space of their home. People don’t want to drive in that morning traffic.
37% of employees say their employer is asking too much of them at a time like this. I think this is interesting. Do you think employers are asking for more or have we given them more without an ask. I think employees, myself included, figured since they weren’t driving into office that they could start early. Now these same people are bitter because it’s become expected or normal. This is much like the relationship boundaries. You have to set boundaries otherwise you end up regretting that people grow to expect you to give more of yourself.
60% between the ages of 18 and 25 say they are merely surviving or flat-out struggling. This is not good for companies. This is going to drive turn over. If your in this situation you’re going to be looking for greener grass to move on too. To hear that people are flat-out struggling is not good either. You have to ask where their manager is and why their manager doesn’t recognize this in their employee(s). Sadly though they may be in the same boat.
Check out the report below.
Electric Vehicles
We hear people speaking about the batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) all the time but what about innovation in batteries? Have you heard of solid state batteries? Sounds like something from a SciFi show but it’s a real thing. Oddly enough though these batteries use some of the same materials we find in today’s batteries, exception being the materials are in a solid or dry state.
Maybe some don’t realize it but modern batteries have liquid components to them. Which can explode as I’m sure you’ve heard on the news. From what I’ve been seeing though they will be so much better than the current battery technology. First, they are more stable. If you’re in a car accident there basically no concern about the battery exploding.
This is a new technology and like all new technologies, there are some bugs to work out. Due to these challenges, we probably won’t see solid-state batteries in Electric Vehicles till 2024/2025. The big concern as I understand it for these solid-state batteries is cracking. As the battery heats, it expands. The act the battery heating and cooling leads to the battery expanding and contracting.
I can’t wait to see how it pays off. There’s a french company that uses solid state batteries in buses. They’ve figured out how to prevent the batteries from cracking it seems. Maybe they’ll share their secrets with others.
What’s on Netflix
ThunderForce is a new movie on Netflix starring Melissa McCarthy (@melissamccarthy) and Octavia Spencer (@octaviaspencer). It’s light humor but big on punch. The movie starts with the 2 characters as kids but we see that they are very different people. Octavia’s character has lost her parents to ‘mutants’ which drives her to find a way to combat the ‘miscreants’ who are creating havok. Melissa’s character is a little more casual and befriends Octavia’s character.
Thunder Force is written and directed by Ben Falcone (@benfalcone), husband to Melissa McCarthy. Ben also just had the Netflix special Super Intelligence come out in November 2020. It’s has a light heart, fun message about people loosing contact but still being friends. There’s also the message that even an average person can become a super hero.
It’s a pretty good flick and I would recommend checking it out. I think Melissa and Octavia have good chemistry in the film. They do some great scenes with funny music accompaniment. Check it out. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
What’s on Amazon
I don’t know if you saw my last post but I’ve been watching the Amazon Prime cartoon series Incredible. This is no cartoon series for kids. That’s for sure! It’s all the makings of a rated R movie. So if you’re not up for some profanity and bloody fight scenes then it’s not for you.
Last week we saw the son of Omniman, Incredible, get a serious beat down to the point that we weren’t sure if he would survive. It was harsh to say the least. To add to it the new Gaurdians come to his assistance and they got their behinds handed to them as well. I mean it was seriously disturbing to see these super heroes get trounced like they did.
This week’s Incredible seems to be OK. Of course, he’s a teenager so his first thought was about his new girlfriend, Amber. in this week’s episode there’s another fight scene and again Incredible doesn’t exactly win with fighting colors. Actually, he barely won a couple of different fights in this episode. It makes you wonder where this show is going. There are these side stories that haven’t come to the forefront of the show just yet.
If you like The Boys I would recommend this show. It’s definitely an adult cartoon. There blood, guts, swearing and violence. The storylines and characters make you wonder what’s going on and what direction the show is going to go. Give it a try and see if you get into it.
What’s on Disney Plus
Falcon and the Winter Soldier is the next in Marvel Comics television series following the wildly popular Wandavision. I of course watched that as well. These series are so well done that they rival movies. If you think about it this series allows them to dive a little deeper into the characters and storylines.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has a good storyline and is done extremely well. The production value is amazing. It’s really like watching a movie. They aren’t cutting corners and sparing no expense when filming these shows.
As I watch the series I wonder how it’s going to tie into the larger storyline of the MCU. These shows are meant to help fill in the gaps with the movies. These shows introduce characters and help establish storylines. For example in this series they reintroduce Zemo as well as the new Captain America.
It’s a great series. Check it out. You won’t be disappointed.
Gratitude
So what am I grateful for this week? This last weekend we went for a drive ‘over’ Mt Washington. To get through the pass you drive through the area that was involved in the forest fires last year. It’s pretty humbling driving through areas that have been demolished. Houses and cars burned and acres of forest decimated for decades.
- I’m grateful for the stability of my life.
- I’m grateful to be able to see such beauty in nature
- I’m grateful that we can drive for 7 hours and see all these different environments
Wrap up
Have a great week out there. Spring is here and the day is getting longer. There are so many good things to live for today. Don’t let all the negative get you down. Remember cloudy skies always have blue skies just beyond the clouds. Challenges come and go but how we handle those challenges is key to how we’re moving through life.
Check out my last article if you like article. You can find it here –> Gratitude at play on Sunday
#gratitude, #weekend, #movies, #work, #Microsoft, #tvSeries
Leave a reply showing there's intelligent life out there