Saturday, September 12
Friday, September 11
Thursday, September 10
Fire on Greek Island of Lesbos
Fires have destroyed Greece's largest migrant camp, an overcrowded facility on the island of Lesbos, leaving nearly 13,000 people without shelter. Some 20 firefighters battled the blaze at the Moria camp - designed for fewer than 3,000 people - as migrants, many suffering from smoke exposure, fled.
Greece's migration minister said the fires "began with the asylum seekers", but did not elaborate.
Police blocked roads from the camp to prevent migrants entering nearby towns. Many attempted to carry their belongings to the port town of Mytilene but access was cordoned off. Reports suggest many slept in fields after the fire.
EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson has said she has agreed to finance the transfer of 400 unaccompanied teenagers and children to accommodation on the mainland. To Read Entire Article, Click here...
RV Living
- Living in an RV camper has its moments, but it also can be a struggle at times. Here are 14 struggles of living in an RV camper no one tells you about.
- Small Bathroom
- Water stays hot for 5 minutes
- small stove and oven
- inside heats up when you cook
- constant grocery shopping (storage)
- very little privacy inside
- very little privacy outside
- difficult to sleep at night because of noise
- cannot guarantee a strong WIFI signal
- no washer or dryer
- no access for the disabled
- hauling the camper is expensive
- towing camper is wear/tear on vehicle
- camper breakdowns are hard to fix
However, if you use the camper for short duration trips then a lot of the points on the above list disappear... and, the larger the RV the larger the shower, the larger the stove/oven, and some of them have washers and dryers... but now you are talking about a motor home and that is something altogether different and way more expensive.
Wednesday, September 9
China At Odds With US
From NATIONAL DEFENSE, NDIA'S Business and Technology Magazine
The United States has been the world’s leading maritime power for decades. However, the U.S. Navy could find itself in China’s wake if current trends continue, analysts say.
Washington and Beijing are now locked in great power competition.
“The biggest challenge for U.S. national security leaders over the next 30 years is the speed and sustainability of the [People’s Republic of China] national effort to deploy a global navy,” said retired Capt. James Fanell, who previously served as head of intelligence for the Pacific Fleet.
The modernization of the Chinese navy, also known as the PLA Navy, has been underway since the 1990s, and its fleet has greatly expanded.
In its annual report on China published last year, the Defense Department stated that its Asian rival has more than 300 surface combatants, submarines, amphibious ships, patrol craft and other specialized vessels.
In 2019, China had a 335-ship fleet, about 55 percent larger than in 2005, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report titled, “China’s Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities — Background and Issues for Congress.”
“There is no doubt that they’ve been investing hugely in this,” said Nick Childs, senior fellow for naval forces and maritime security at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. “In recent years, they’ve been outbuilding everybody.”
To put it in perspective, during a recent four-year period the naval vessels that Chinese shipyards produced were roughly equivalent in tonnage to the entire U.K. Royal Navy or the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, according to Childs.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy has 293 ships in its battle force, just two more than it had 15 years ago. Its leaders aim to increase the fleet to 355 vessels, but analysts say that isn’t feasible unless there is a massive increase in the shipbuilding budget or a change in the mix of the fleet architecture toward less expensive platforms such as unmanned systems.
“Given the past 20-year trajectory of PRC naval ship construction, the PRC’s expressed desire and ability to continue to increase its spending on naval shipbuilding, the cost advantages its shipbuilding industry enjoy compared to foreign naval shipyards and Chinese shipbuilders’ continued trend of indigenous technical mastery of complex designs and systems integration, I expect the PLA navy will continue to surpass the U.S. Navy in the number of warships built for the foreseeable future,” Fanell said during remarks at the Hudson Institute last year.
Fanell estimated that by 2030, the Chinese fleet will have a surface force of over 450 ships and a submarine force of about 110 boats. However, predicting its future size and structure is challenging because the government is opaque about its ambitions, other analysts say.
“The planned ultimate size and composition of China’s navy is not publicly known,” O’Rourke said. “In contrast to the U.S. Navy … China does not release a navy force-level goal or detailed information about planned ship procurement rates, planned total ship procurement quantities, planned ship retirements and resulting projected force levels.”
But it’s clear to experts that the nation’s maritime capabilities are improving. China is rapidly retiring older, single-mission warships in favor of larger, multi-mission vessels equipped with advanced anti-ship, anti-air and anti-submarine systems, sensors and command-and-control networks, according to a 2019 Defense Intelligence Agency report titled, “China Military Power: Modernizing a Force to Fight and Win.”
In his CRS report, Naval Specialist Ronald O’Rourke said Chinese ships, aircraft and weapons are now comparable in many respects to those of Western navies.
However, when it comes to aircraft carriers, the United States is still dominant, analysts say.
China currently has only two carriers. The Liaoning entered service in 2012. The nation’s first fully indigenously built carrier, the Shandong, entered service in December.
The former is conventionally powered, has an estimated full-load displacement of 60,000 to 66,000 tons, and reportedly can accommodate an air wing of 30 or more fixed-wing platforms, according to O’Rourke. The Shandong features some design improvements and may be able to operate a larger air wing of 40 aircraft.
The vessels, lacking catapults, launch fixed-wing planes using an inclined “ski ramp,” he noted.
“By comparison, U.S. Navy aircraft carriers are nuclear powered — giving them greater cruising endurance than a conventionally powered ship — have a full-load displacement of about 100,000 tons, can accommodate air wings of 60 or more aircraft … and launch their fixed-wing aircraft … using catapults, which can give those aircraft a range/payload capability greater than that of aircraft launched with a ski ramp.”
A third Chinese carrier is under construction, and a fourth may begin construction as early as 2021. These future vessels may have a displacement of 80,000 tons to 85,000 tons and be equipped with electromagnetic catapults rather than a ski ramp, which will improve the range and payload capability of the fixed-wing aircraft. TO READ ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE...
Wednesday Morning in East TN
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| Typical East TN Residential Community |
TODAY, it was 71 degrees in the morning with a very low humidity and according to ALEXA, our temps are only going to a high of 88 degrees also with low humidity. While it is a little cool to get into the pool as the water temps have been reducing due to colder nights, it is still a perfect day to sit underneath the gazebo and read, cooled by the gentle valley breeze. Yesterday, I mowed the yard again and had no problems with a clogged mow. My wife left a few minutes ago to walk around our neighborhood with her iphone and earplugs to listen to BTS and has continued to walk her regular route throughout the entire spring and summer and plans to continue well into the fall months and early winter, since we will not experience cold weather until January.
WHY AM I TELLING YOU THIS?
Because, I just finished watching FOX NEWS as I always do and heard about all the people in NYC, Seattle, Portland, and Chicago who are leaving the cities and moving out to the suburbs where there is less violence and lower taxes.
Now, just because where we are living is safe does not mean that crime does not exist in other Tennessee cities like Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, and Memphis. We would never want to live in these cities and seldom visit any of them except Knoxville. But, let me be clear, visiting the city is much different than living in the city.
I don't give a rat's ass which political party controls our cities and local governments as long as I feel safe in my community. I should never be forced to live anywhere that is not safe. I am a retired senior citizen but I would assume that mothers want a safe environment for their children as well.
Fastest Growing Jobs 2019-2029
An aging population and dramatic advances in technology and energy will determine the fastest-growing jobs in the U.S. over the next decade, according to an updated forecast released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
BLS' top-10 list of fastest-growing American occupations between 2019 and 2029 is comprised of six health care-related jobs and three tech/green energy-related jobs, though projections do not include the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, BLS said.
Titles in BLS' Top 10 list include:
BLS' top-10 list of fastest-growing American occupations between 2019 and 2029 is comprised of six health care-related jobs and three tech/green energy-related jobs, though projections do not include the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, BLS said.
Titles in BLS' Top 10 list include:
- Wind turbine technicians (median pay of $52,910 per year)
- Nurse practitioners ($109,820)
- Solar photovoltaic installers ($44,890)
- Occupational therapy assistants ($61,510)
- Statisticians ($91,160)
- Home health and personal care aides ($25,280)
- Physical therapist assistants ($58,790)
- Medical and health services managers ($100,980)
- Physician assistants ($112,260)
- Information security analysts ($99,730)
Except for Statistician, all of these top employment opportunities DO NOT REQUIRE a four year college degree but can be acquired after a year or two of training...
A college degree is beginning to lose its importance in the global economy...
However, we will still need:
- CPAs
- Lawyers
- Doctors
- Engineers
- Scientists
- Mathematicians
Tuesday, September 8
I Dislike COPS
The other name for law enforcement in England was COPPER which referred to the copper buttons on their uniforms.
COP or COPPER or Police, law enforcement by any other name is still law enforcement, but the law enforcement that BOTHERS ME THE MOST are the HIGHWAY PATROLMEN and I used the word "men" because I have never been confronted by a female highway patrol person.
MOST EVERYONE driving their vehicles on the Interstates exceed the posted speed by 10-15, sometimes 20 miles per hour. This is the NEW NORM... and, I have witnessed, males, females, young, old, and clergy willingly and voluntarily breaking this law on a regular basis.
Now I do think it is appropriate to remove DUI DRIVERS from our roads, highways, and Interstates but speeding is not ever reckless unless one is trying to get around a 18-wheeler and the driver's actions may seem erratic and bold and all of a sudden... but, depth-of-field issues are not the problem.
If Highway Patrolmen feel particularly FRISKY, they will stop the LAST CAR in a PACK of several cars all of which are exceeding the posted speed limits. Typically, these COPS do not mess with PACKS OF CARS.
When I see the phrase PROTECT AND SERVE on a police car nowadays, I laugh inside because their REAL MISSION has very little to do with protect and serve. They are never really protecting us COLLECTIVELY but they do protect one or both parties from domestic violence issue or other assault issues that might develop among people at a bar.
Otherwise, the drive around or hide in an effort to catch speeders. Hiding to catch speeders is not protecting and serving, it is generating income for the city or county. If someone is driving fast in a residential area, that person should be stopped, but COPS are not around because they are trying to catch speeders on roads that are traveled more frequently.
Oh YEAH... I forgot... they investigate accidents too...
Oh YEAH... I forgot... they investigate accidents too...
Lesson From LinkedIn
It was in the Fall of 2003 that a colleague at ITT Technical Institute convinced me to join the social media network. It was just a bunch of people sharing with each other and oftentimes finding alternative jobs and other business opportunities as friendships and trust grew.
These days, it is still the same but it has leaned more towards Facebook in that it is more or a social network than it is a business and professional networking platform and has become very conducive for sales people trying to get members to invest in bitcoin or foreign exchange. And, these sales people do not take NO, NOT INTERESTED for an answer.
MOST but not ALL successful people are like these sales people, they do not take NO for an answer or to put it another way, they do not easily give up. They have persistence and determination and an internal motivation desire that drives them even if there are other people around who are either "for" or "against" their efforts.
- Self Motivation
- Persistence
- Determination
- Not Quitting
Not Promise... Prove
The title was taken from a line in a recent mattress commercial that I have been seeing on the television... and, each time I see it, this phrase bothers me because I believe it is misleading the consumer and the buying public.
Let's look at our two definitions, shall we?
Prove -- means to demonstrate the truth or existence of (something) by evidence or argument.
Let's look at our two definitions, shall we?
Promise -- means to assure someone that one will definitely do, give, or arrange something; undertake or declare that something will happen.
Prove -- means to demonstrate the truth or existence of (something) by evidence or argument.
So, what they are saying is that they cannot promise you a good night's sleep but that they can prove you should/might be getting a good night's sleep with their mattress.
Don't you think the lawyers had something to do with how this commercial was worded?
Marketing/Advertising is all about getting the consumer to buy something that they do not really need while at the same time, getting them to pay more for that item than they should or can afford by using a credit card.
Another aspect of Marketing/Advertising falls on the design department and the production department along with the philosophy of UPPER MANAGEMENT by making sure we increase sales through REPEAT BUSINESS. Therefore, most products built in the good ole US of A are designed and manufactured to be replaced in 3-5 years.
Our lack of due diligence is allowing our companies to increase their profits substantially each year making it a good investment for their shareholders if they are a publicly traded company.
Monday, September 7
Valuing Employees
According to INC.COM, there are 9 ways to show employees you value them:- Show Appreciation
- Create New Employees
- Make it Personal and Specific
- Show You Trust Them
- Make Internal Improvements
- Make Time to Connect
- Make Mentorship Part of the Culture
- Give Employees Ownership
- Be Honest and Transparent
What is interesting here is that nothing is mentioned about pay/salary increases and yet most of the claims that the media makes or that politicians are making revolves around giving employees more money...
Increasing the salary creates a temporary boost in the minds of the employees...
WHY?
If an employer gives me a pay/salary increase but still demonstrates a lack of trust or does not take time to talk to me or continues not being honest with me, then the raise means very little in terms of me wanting to be more productive for my employer. My loyalty for the company and my employer does not improve and I am highly likely to be looking around for a better job... not necessarily more money.
UNFORTUNATELY,
How often do you try to get to know your
- plumber?
- auto mechanic?
- electrician?
- heating and air technician?
ANOTHER EXAMPLE: I have been under treatment for cancer for over 12 years and my Oncologist during all that time has never really become my friend nor do we discuss spouses or children or talk about our vacations. He is simply my Oncologist.
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