Happy Sabbath, 25 July 2025

Another week has come to pass; now let us enjoy the blessings of the Sabbath and rest.

The Death of Hulk Hogan at 71

There are tons of things one could say about the late Hulk Hogan and people will say everything; my own view is this: as a wrestler, Hulk Hogan was one of the greats of all-time, period and end of story. As a person, the late Terry Bollea was a Grade-A prima donna asshole.

That said, thoughs and condolences go out to the Hogan family on the loss of a wrestling legend. Rest in peace, Hollywood Hulk.

A Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne (1948-2025)

A great heartfelt tribute to Ozzy Osbourne by Sea of Tranquility's Pete Pardo; well worth watching. 

Osbourne (and Black Sabbath) were one of the great British metal bands of all-time (alongside Deep Purple & Iron Maiden) and Ozzy was one of the great frontmen of all-time, having a presence that just drew you in and made you want to listen. Not many can do; the closest still-living example that comes to mind is Purple's Ian Gillan, who even now in his mid-70's can still rock out and put shame to younger musicians (hell, that whole band can put shame to younger bands, but that's neither here nor there).

Now, I will say I was fortunate to see him perform during OzzFest 97' when they performed at the now-PNC Music Pavillion (then Blockbuster Pavillion) and while it wasn't their best performance by any stretch the man could still rock even years removed from his top-work back in the 70's.

Its' also a reminder of our individual mortalities; I just turned 50 a week ago and the number of musicians from rock's golden age is steadily declining. Not only does it remind you that time marches onward but it also reminds you that one day your number will come up and you'll be crossing the proverbial Rainbow Bridge.

Rest in peace, John Michael Osbourne.

Zak Brown Speaks on the State of IndyCar

Excellent interview by Indycar journalist David Land with Arrow/McLaren's Zak Brown on the state of IndyCar at present. Lot of good points all around, especially with regards to McLaren's intentions, not just in IndyCar but in other racing series.

ChampCar - Sebastien Bourdais vs Paul Tracy Rivalry Story

There simply was no better rivalry in the Indycar community than this one between Tracy & Bourdais; performance wise, Bourdais was simply better - 4 series titles for the Frenchman, 1 for the Canadian. In terms of wins Bourdais had 37 to Tracy's 31...

..that said, a major caveat has to be brought up and that is the fact that, due to the Split between CART/ChampCar and the Indy Racing League, they were literally the top drivers in what had become an increasingly thin CCWS field. By the 2003 season, the major players in CART - namely Penske, Ganassi and Andretti (Rahal would split time btwn the series in 2003-2004 before going full IRL in 2005) - had jumped ship so that they could compete in the Indy 500 and ChampCar's two remaining dominant teams - Newman-Haas and Forsythe - were essentially big fish in a small pond.

Timing is also important; had this begun back in the 90's it would've been epic as both Bourdais and Tracy drove for wht would have been at that time two of the sport's Big 5 and so one has to wonder what those totals above might look like in that case. There's also the fact that, if the Split doesn't occur, chances are one or both of them would have an Indy 500 win to their credit (which, given 2002, I'm betting still sticks' in Tracy's craw at times).

U.S. Posts First Budget Surplus In Decades....

BREAKING: US governments shocks with a budget surplus in June, 1st in 9+ years and defying deficit expectations

🟢June 2025: $26 billion surplus
🔴June 2024: $71.5 billion deficit
🔴June 2023: $227.7 billion deficit
🔴June 2022: $88.81 billion deficit
🔴June 2021: $174.16…

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 11, 2025

Tariffs work folks (Per CNBC)... The U.S. government posted a surplus in June as tariffs gave an extra bump to a sharp increase in receipts, the Treasury Department said Friday.

With government red ink swelling throughout the year, last month saw a surplus of just over $27 billion, following a $316 billion deficit in May.

That brought the fiscal year-to-date deficit to $1.34 trillion, up 5% from a year ago. However, with calendar adjustment, the deficit actually edged lower by 1%. There are three months left in the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

A 13% increase in receipts from the same month a year ago helped bridge the gap, with outlays down 7%. For the year, receipts are up 7% while spending has risen 6%.

Now, to be clear, Trump during the first year of his first term, also posted a budget surplus; you have to go back to mid-2005 for the last sustained period of monthly budget surpluses.

Happy Sabbath, 11 July 2025

Even in the midst of the summertime's blahs and pop-up storms, let us never forget the blessings of His weekly Sabbath, which as Jesus reminds us in the Gospel of Mark, "was made for Man, not the other way around."