My college friend joins the podcast to discuss her experience with "Long Covid".

After a take on early holiday decorations, I start the episode talking about the best things about Thanksgving week. 

I then bring on my former college classmate and mom of 2 girls, Rachel Ferebee Puckett who explains that in spite of taking a very cautious and conservative approach to Covid, contracted the disease and symptoms have stuck with her for almost a year.  She talks about the challenges she has experienced and how difficult it has been to manage a household with this.  She ends discussing broader Covid frustrations of the population.

Takes of all Temperatures(T.O.A.Ts)- bad drivers/bad cars; nannies don't parent; change of seasons underrated?; blasphemous Frank Sinatra take for an Italian-American.

I start talking about why I love October almost as much as September.  I discuss the brutal cold that struck the Ham family.   I then segue to talking about fun Halloween plans and a party with kids, adults, and NFL football.  I finish off my intro discussing the witnessing of an interaction between my older daughter and her classmate that left me feeling very angry and protective and not surprised based on interactions with the parents (0:00-11:11).

I discuss how I am a "supermarket Catholic" but very spiritual and how both dogmatic religion and atheism are rooted in one very similar character trait.  I tie this character trait to stagnation and dysfunction with two of my beloved professional sports teams(11:15-25:20).

I breakdown the Netflix hit Squid Game and discuss what makes the show so captivating(25:24-31:16).

I introduce a pop culture segment and react to the E News IG story real-time(31:20-37:44.

I talk about a local magazine feature and how being a minority within a minority group makes relatability challenging even as I grow my family. I discuss gratitude for a great 40th birthday celebration and the friends in my life(37:48-44:20)

Takes of all Temperatures(T.O.A.Ts)- Anti-Vax Dimwits; Rainrunning; Tomohawk Chop; Women rarely worse looking than hubbie (44:24-51:20)

I recap why I like analyzing NFL lines and spreads but do not actually gamble myself.  I discuss how you have to narrow games down and not pick every game.  I then make my ATS picks for week 8 and explain my rationale to narrowing down from the whole slate to the card of 5 which people use for supercontest style pools are top wagers.  

I start talking reflecting about my pending milestone 40th birthday and what is planned. I talk about parenting and how their challenges jump out when you are solo without your spouse.  I discuss the specific challenges of my two kids and how we better get ready for THREE kids. (0:00-7:41)

NFL- Ham Hot Sharp Butter Knife Picks ATS for Week 3. (7:45-18:58)

Some thoughts on Zach Wilson, the Jets in 2021, and the end of the Yankee regular season. (19:02-23:58)

Reflection on turning 40- Discussing what my 20s and 30s were about; the good, the bad, the ugly; How an interaction at age 12 or 13, is something that is still sticking with me as I turn 40. I also talk about how racist my college girlfriend's familly was and a racist encounter that I heard of in college from a friend but didn't involve me directly. I discuss addiction, the blessings in my life now, and why 9/11 is more emotional now 20 years later than it was in 2001.(24:02- 48:08)

Takes of all Temperatures(T.O.A.Ts)- Sending servers away at restaurants; ice cream float APEXs; fashion trends that stay static; baseball players and gold chains (48:12-52:46)

I play two very prophetic statements on January 5th by my guest, Chris B.  I intro discussing an exciting announcement about the Ham Hot Sharp Butter Knife segment/bonus pod.  

My wife's cousin's husband and godfather to our 2nd daugther joins the episode to forecast the NFL 2021 season. We start talking about a bougie sporting event, a bloody pinky, and a brand new car fender bender to start the episode.

Then we dive into our excitement for football and discuss the top 3 storylines entering the 2021 NFL season.  Spoiler Alert: We discuss the impact of Covid and the unvaxed as one of these major stories!

We predict division finishes

We go through playoff seeds and Chris B has a bold Superbowl prediction.

I introduce the episode sharing excitement around a new car, a new restaurant, and what makes my favorite month of September particularly special this year.

My wife Jen Aloisi Ham joins the show for the first time in a bit:

I start trying to understand why stray laundry stresses Jen out and dbate the merits of segregating "outdoor" and "indoor" clothing.

We then jump into breaking down our Nashville trip and what lessons we learned as first and last plane trip as a family of 4 until we become a family of FIVE very soon.

We then segue to talking about the south.  We talk about the racist remnants and the artifacts that exist subtly. In spite of all the technology in 2021, the word of Covid apparently hasn't made its' way down south.

Then we segue to talking about our family expansion and baby boy Ham on his way. We hammer a couple of the weird cliche questions we have gotten since sharing the news with people including why one question is particularly STUPID.

We anticipate having a boy and what terrifies us about the new gender in our household.

We discuss our dog's injury in spite of his laziness.

We then talk about friendships around this phase of life, aspirational role model parents in their 40s, and hypothesize why certain couples get along.

Are husbands bad photo takers? What drives this? 

We end with some Kardashian talk and the partner picking challenges, the phenomenon of their fame, and I can't think of anyone who I would be more star struck if I ran into them.  

We cap the show off with a quick NFL discussion about high level predictions and the spectacle of the Cowboys on Hard Knocks.

I kick off the episode with a major personal announcment.  CAN YOU GUESS? Oh boy. 

I then welcome Dr. Monica Gandhi, medical doctor, infectious disease expert with a massive Covid Twitter following.

Linner segment: College kids need to go back to school

Takes of all Temperatures(TOATs): cookies over ice cream; Starbucks; regular customers; mosquito irritation; city living shelf life

I open talking about my oldest daughter Eloise's marathon 5th birthday celebration and how 5 and 6 are unique birthday parties for parents. I preview a very compelling guest and podcast logo change as we step into episode 70.  

I then segue to discuss why social media likes are less trivial than advertised and how smaller behavioral actions by friends, family, and acquaintances can actually be larger windows into sentiments.

I discuss the N-word and how suffix implies a different meaning yet both should still be avoided

Linner segment- I talk about how spouses can be checks and balances for each other; I show an example of 12-step recovery in action around NBA Finals MVP Giannis.

TWELVE TAKES OF ALL TEMPERATUES(T.O.A.TS)- CP3 & State Farm; baseball uniforms; maple syrup types; motorcyles; bulk bacon; armored trucks; multiple simultaneous photo takers; Bezos PR; Monday anniversaries; orange juice; cross gender texting; QR codes 

I start disucssing my enjoyment of Father's Day and one of my favorite local pizza places and what makes the pizza so great and unique.

I segue to discussing the population of people that don't seem to acknolwedge dads on Father's Day beyond their own.  

I then talk about Covid dwindling and the clinging to irrational mask belief systems.

I share a fender bender story and talk about how little decisions can lead to big things good, bad, and everything in between.

T.O.A.Ts(Takes of All Temperatures)- Durant hair; Over-using "baby"; Good towns & traffic; Pet names: Coach attire; Red Flags at 20 are red flags at 40