What does a bad day look like?
What does a bad day look like? This series takes a look at the mildly frustrating to the seriously unfortunate.
Tune in every Tuesday for a new edition, or scroll down to browse previous topics.
Death of a star
October 27, 2026
Really, I should say, Death of a Star Trek family member. Walter Marvin Koenig, aka Ensign Pavel Chekov, died yesterday at age 90. Koenig played his Chekov role beginning in 1966 in all six of the Star Trek movies and also in Star Trek: Generations. He was also a screenwriter.
How are you keeping up?
October 20, 2026
Workers are now spread across work environments that are more diverse than ever. So, how are you maintaining your workforce given the mix of these work locations? Are you keeping up with workers’ mobile habits as part of their PPE since connectivity is part and parcel of protection? Have you combined any satellite with cellular communications? Are you bridging remote gaps with the ability to monitor and respond, making workers feel connected no matter where they are working.
Without power
October 13, 2026
If you’ve been without power, you know the feeling: When is this going to be resolved? Are we talking hours? Days?
Is your phone fully charged? (Almost never do we anticipate the power being out, so I’m going to guess no.) Do you have a power bank or two, fully charged? Or better, a whole house generator?
More than 5,000 folks in Nashville lost power October 10, 2026, due to a power pole fire, and Nashville Electric Service (NES) was able to restore power to around 3,500 in the hours after the fire. The other customers, estimated to be approximately 1,250, have had to tough it out until power is restored.
Anytime there’s a power outage brings an opportunity for you to ready yourself for when your power might go out. Make a checklist of what you will need and put it together using your list so you won’t be caught offguard.
Checklist:
- Water, one gallon per person per day (at the very least, a 3-day supply); canned food with pop tops or a manual can opener (also nut butters, crackers, protein bars, other nonperishables)
- Equipment: portable emergency solar crank radio, NOAA (or the battery-powered type); flashlights, headlamps, batteries, solar-powered lights
- Essential medications/supplies for each person (such as a kit for diabetics); also, a general purpose first aid kit
- Money (smaller bills are best) and documents: Wrap insurance docs and essential papers in sealed plastic bags
- Have a bag ready with: extra layers, a blanket, extra batteries, a multipurpose tool, hygienic/sanitation supplies (trash bags, wet wipes, etc.)
Drink recall
October 06, 2026
More than 122,000 cases of Gatorade bottles have been recalled by PepsiCo in 37 states after two undisclosed yellow food dyes were omitted from product labels as discovered by the FDA. The recalled Gatorade is in 28-ounce bottles.
-Lemon Lime
-Lemon Lime Zero
-Orange
-Orange Zero
This is a Class 2 recall that carries health risks: Consumption may cause temporary or reversible health complications. Food dyes omitted from labels may cause allergic reactions, asthma, or rashes.
Cleats melt on synthetic turf
September 29, 2026
At the September 20 NFL football game in Nashville’s Nissan stadium, the temperature was 95 degrees for the fans but the sun heated the synthetic turf surface to a scalding 157 degrees. The footwear of the Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans players began to melt.
The Eagles offensive lineman Cam Jurgens reported that his feet felt as though they were on fire and he had to wear numerous changes of shoes to cope with the situation.
If you were watching the game, you could see TV cameras covering trainers continuously spraying the cleats of players to mitigate melting.
And Eagles head coach, Nick Sirianni, had to have an IV drip to get through dehydration.
Synthetic turf is a debated topic in the NFL with the player’s association trying to inpose a league-wide ban on artificial turf.
Almost losing 3 M in a bunker
September 22, 2026
PGA golfer Viktor Hovland does a lot of things right but during the last round of the 2026 Tour Championship at East Lake, he managed to set off a vigorous viewer debate. At the par-4 13th hole, his ball landed in a bunker and, when reviewed on TV slow motion, Hovland was seen brushing the sand prior to making contact with the ball.
You don’t have to be a golfer to know that golf rules are not made to be bent—unlike the clubs of some of the more “expressive” players. Yes, Rule 12.2b is strict about a player not touching the sand of a bunker before the backswing. Should you contact the sand before your stroke, it’s a 2-stroke penalty.
However, Hovland was not assessed with the penalty and came in second place, winning five million. Had he been assessed, his payout would have been $1.6 M. And, for him, that would have been a very bad day.
Try not to celebrate too much
September 15, 2026
Your team in a high-profile game is ahead and has been the whole game through. It’s the fourth quarter and—since there’s in a mix of some in your group who were rooting for the other team—you make a polite effort to celebrate inwardly.
However, on the inside, you are racing across the floor, dancing with your dog, having your own private parade.
You’re on the other end
September 8, 2026
Everyone knows somebody who’s had a bad day. When you’re on the other end—hearing that someone has gone through a truly stressful experience—how do you respond?
Since most of us have had a bad day, it’s helpful to mentally connect with how you felt and respond with an offer to listen if they want to vent or a simple validation that makes the person feel heard.
We can all agree that bad days are frustrating. Sometimes listening can be just what that person needs.
Shifting sands of employment
September 1, 2026
What happens when the summer job is no longer a real income-earning situation; rather, it’s an unpaid internship or cafe or coffeehouse help—definitely a departure from the “summer jobs that were.”
The US government began tracking summer jobs in 1948 and today’s data shows jobs for teenagers at the lowest historic level. This is due to competition from more experienced and often more senior workers.
Also, jobs that in the past have been traditional entry-level for teenagers are being eliminated or performed by technology. And recently companies — even industries — are making the choice to not hire seasonal workers due to rising costs and lower consumer demand.
Invasive shellfish
August 25, 2026
The scenario is happening in Shasta Lake, CA: Species of Invasive mussels are spreading across this area and statewide so fast that local and national agencies are working to find a solution to stop the spread. The current program, “Halt the Hitchhiker,” with three phases is touting quite the payoff for winning pitches, a hefty sum of $200,000. This is due to the high cost—more than $1 billion in yearly costs—of what agencies were spending to eradicate the threatening species, even prior to the golden mussels invasion in 2024. The winning proposal must fulfill a tier of defined results.
Read more about it here.
