In a Row

 

Telescopes Uses Ripples in TIME

The first JWST image of Earendel, the most distant star known in our universe, 

lensed and magnified ... NASA, ESA, CSA, STSCI

Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have imaged the most distant star ever observed thanks to a a ripple in spacetime that creates extreme magnification.


It’s currently 28 billion light-years away and its light has traveled 12.9 billion years into JWST’s optics. It existed just 900 million years after the big bang in a galaxy astronomers have nicknamed the Sunrise Arc.

The image of WHL0137-LS, above, was produced from over three hours of observations last weekend—but it’s not the star you think! Ignore the spiky star and instead go to the lower right-hand side (see below).


The ancient star is estimated to have a mass greater than 50 times the mass of the Sun.


Better known as “Earendel,” which means “morning star” or “rising light” in old English—was gravitationally lensed and magnified by a massive galaxy cluster called WHL0137–08 (a.k.a. “Sunrise Arc”) in the foreground.  READ MORE...

End of Day Waves

 

Going on Vacation

 After walking each day for over 7 days straight, I have decided to take a break today...

I have a CT Scan tomorrow at &:45 so I should be home by 9:00 am which is about the time that I usually walk so I will be to return to my schedule...

In 3 weeks, my wife and I are traveling to Myrtle Beach to spend a week there.  While I will be spending all of my time at the beach under an umbrella, I am also hoping that I will not have that much trouble getting into and out of those low situated beach chairs.

For less than $2,000 we can spend a week at Myrtle Beach that includes all our gasoline, food, and motel accomodations.  Our motel condo directly faces the Atlantic Ocean rather than being on the side.  We have a balcony, a living room kitchen and eating area, a large bathroom, and a bedroom in the back with a door.

There are plenty of restaurants from which to choose and there are plenty of attractions we can visit should we choose to do so...  however, without fail we will stop at least one night at COLD STONE ice cream and purchase a medium or large cup of custom-made ice cream with all sorts of items included.  I always get the apple pie concoction.

At our age, we no longer get into the water above the waist and typically we only get into the water to cool off.  We walk along the coastline but mainly we sit under the umbrella and watch the people or read.  In my case I listen to an audible book or write in my journal.

Are vacations necessary?

Probably not...  but, even though we are retired, we enjoying having a change of scenery at least once or twice during the year.

BUT...  more importantly, it is the FREEDOM to be able to leave your home and travel to another location and enjoy what that location has to offer before returning.  As one gets older, FREEDOM and MOBILITY are two important concepts that we appreciate that we still have and will have for at least another decade or two.

Do You Save Money?

When I was a young lad, still living at home and not yet a high school student, I made extra money by mowing lawns of our neighbors and by selling veges from our garden door-to-door in our community.  My parents made the rules and I was told that I had to save HALF of everything I earned.  

Since I was still honest at that age, I did not lie about the money I was earning, so HALF was indeed saved and the other half was kept in the top shelf of my dresser.

With my half, I purchased a:

• Television set
• Set of Weights
• A complete drum set

The mindset that was instilled in me when I was young stayed with me all my life and while I did not always save half of my earnings, I did continue to save money if and when there was extra money to save.

At the time, I DID NOT KNOW THIS but if I had saved $2.50 each day and at the end of the month deposited that money into a mutual fund and continued that process for 40 years, I would have SAVED $500,000.

Now think about that for a moment...

Let's say you start this at age 18 so 40 years later you would be 58...  and, you would have $500,000.

A general rule of thumb is that for every $100,000 you should be able to earn $400 each month.  So, that $500,000 at age 58 would start giving you $2,000 each month.  In addition to whatever salary you might be making at the time.

$2.50 each month is $75 every 30 days...  so, what could you spend $75 on instead of saving?  And, how come most people don't think of saving any money at all until they are in their late 50s or early 60s?

If you are not educated then you need to THINK SMART...

The Common Person

Sundays are a time for retooling the mental and physical parts of the body...  as instead of working we should be relaxing...  and, while that is good in theory and on paper, the reality of Sundays is that we complete the tasks that were started on Saturday but remain incomplete.

Some of us go to Church on Sundays and some of go out to lunch on Sundays and some of us do both and some of us do neither...  it is a day where just about anything goes as far as the common person is concerned...  and no doubt the same holds true for the uncommon person as well.

• Who is this uncommon person?
• Well, who is this common person?
• If we know one, then the opposite is true for the other one...

For me, I would say that the common person is the person who is married and both spouses only have a high school education with maybe some technical training or a certificate of completion for some skill.

This couple receives an hourly wages as both work.  They live in a 1200 square foot house or less or maybe they live in a double-wide or even a single-wide trailer or a 1-2 bedroom apartment depending upon how many children they have.  They drive cars that are over 10 years old or they have newer vehicles on which they are making payments.

Their combined income is less than $100,000 and a range could extend up to $150,000, but that would be unusual unless only one spouse is working with a high paycheck...  for instance, long haul 18 Wheeler drivers probably earn about $150,000/year +/- but most of that income is going to pay for the truck they are leasing or buying.

This would be the common person.  Basically living paycheck to paycheck...

And, while that description is misleading, it can also apply to millionaires who spend exactly what they earn leaving them without savings just a bunch of expensive assets that they don't completely own yet.

The common man is both liberal and conservative and one cannot say which side has the most as the liberals like government handouts because they are poor while the conservatives don't want any help at all because of their ego and pride.  So, there are poor people on both sides.

So, who are you?

And, what kind of person are you when it comes to want handouts or not?

Personally, I can see family helping out, or the church, or local community, but I cannot see that it is the role of government to provide us with handouts.

I think lazy people want handouts.

Are you lazy?

The Resume of DeSantis

60 Minutes had a hit piece on Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, but failed to disclose these facts:



Ronald Dion DeSantis was born on September 14, 1978, in Jacksonville, Florida, the son of Karen (née Rogers) and Ronald DeSantis. He is of Italian descent. 

His family moved to Orlando, Florida, before relocating to Dunedin, Florida when he was six years old. 

In 1991, he was a member of the Little League team from Dunedin National that made it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. 

After graduating from Dunedin High School in 1997, DeSantis attended Yale University. 

He was captain of Yale's varsity baseball team and joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. On the Yale baseball team, DeSantis was an outfielder; as a senior in 2001, he had the team's best batting average at .336. 

He graduated from Yale in 2001 with a B.A. magna cum laude in history.   He then spent a year as a history teacher at the Darlington School. 

DeSantis then attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 2005 with a Juris Doctor cum laude. 

DeSantis received his Reserve Naval officer's commission and assignment to the Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG) in 2004 at the US Naval Reserve Center in Dallas Texas, while still a student at Harvard Law School. 

He completed Naval Justice School in 2005. Later that year, he received orders to the JAG Trial Service Office Command South East at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, as a prosecutor. In 2006, he was promoted from lieutenant junior grade, to lieutenant. 

He worked for the commander of Joint Task Force-Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO), working directly with detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Joint Detention Facility. 

 

In 2007, DeSantis reported to the Naval Special Warfare Command Group in Coronado, California, where he was assigned to SEAL Team One and deployed to Iraq with the troop surge as the Legal Advisor to the SEAL Commander, Special Operations Task Force-West in Fallujah. 

DeSantis returned to the U.S. in April 2008, at which time he was reassigned to the Naval Region Southeast Legal Service. 

The U.S. Department of Justice appointed him to serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Middle District of Florida. DeSantis was assigned as a trial defense counsel until his honorable discharge from active duty in February 2010. 

He concurrently accepted a reserve commission as a Lieutenant Commander in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the US Navy Reserve. 

He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Iraq Campaign Medal. He represented Florida's 6th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018.

Obviously, with these qualifications, he is NOT qualified to be a Democrat, or serve in a senior political position in our nation’s capital when one considers and compares the credentials of Pelosi, Schumer, Harris or Biden. 

He has kept Florida free of the grip of a tyrannical federal government while our State of Florida still prospers, which is why more people have moved to Florida than any other state for the last couple years. 

So, for anyone who criticizes him, now you have the facts.

Little Drummers

 

Is Hunter Biden a Security Threat?

 

Deploying Discriminating Radar

The US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is winding up tests of its new Long-Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) as part of a significant defense upgrade against inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) to fend off a potential nuclear attack on mainland US from North Korea.

Brig. Gen. Joey Lestorti, head of the US Northern Command’s Operations Directorate/J3, said that the LRDR will be operational within months, reported Breaking Defense.

“We are literally months away from being able to plug in the Long Range Discrimination Radar, LRDR, in the missile defense operational architecture.

From the testing so far, we are seeing positive results for what this radar can do for us, discriminating threats to the continental US to make ground-based interceptor engagements more lethal,” Lestorti told the annual Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., on August 10.  READ MORE...

Classic Sunday Morning Newspaper Cartoons

 

"Angry Kitten" System to be Used in Combat

South of Death Valley this spring, the Air Force experimented with electronic warfare. In tests that took place in April at China Lake, California, fighter jets flew 30 training missions, testing the efficacy of an electronic warfare training device called “Angry Kitten.” In an August 3 announcement, the Air Force recommended using Angry Kitten for actual combat.

“Given the success of the pod in training and demonstrated ability to be reprogrammed, Air Combat Command recommended four pods be converted into combat pods to provide attack capabilities against enemy radio frequency threat systems, instead of simulating them,” reads the announcement.

Electronic warfare is a crucial part of modern armed conflict. It involves, broadly, the transmission and obstruction of signals along the electromagnetic spectrum, primarily but not exclusively in the domain of radio waves. These signals are used for communication between pilots; with radar to perceive the location of enemies beyond visual sight; and for weapons guidance. If one side can block the signals of the other side, it can potentially prevent their pilots from communicating, their radar from perceiving, and their weapons from following radar guidance.

The Angry Kitten was developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute to simulate the electronic warfare devices of other country’s aircraft, the kind that the Air Force might encounter in the sky. It is a system that incorporates a software-defined radio, meaning its signal and frequencies can be changed by code. This is in contrast to traditional hardware-defined radio, which is limited by what frequencies the physical components can produce and receive.  READ MORE...

Just in Time

 

Pigs to The Rescue

In the land down under, one ecological nightmare is helping crocodiles fill their bellies.

The saltwater crocodile has been prowling Australia’s waterways for millions of years, eating whichever animal was unfortunate enough to fall in its jaws. Still, despite their fearsome nature, this species came to the brink of extinction in the 1970s. But now, they are recovering while also performing a hugely important ecological service: the species is growing fat by eating the invasive, habitat-destroying feral pig.

Researchers say this interplay between the native saltwater croc and feral pigs, the descendants of animals brought to Australia by European colonists, could be the first sign that the invasive species has finally met with a predator that can help keep its population in check. At the same time, it gives real grounds for hope that the crocs themselves may recover, now that they have access to a steady and convenient source of food.


“Crocodiles eat whatever is easiest, and feral pigs are the perfect size,” said Mariana Campbell, a researcher at Charles Darwin University in Australia who studies saltwater crocodiles in the country’s north. “They’re pretty lazy hunters. If you’re a crocodile, what is easiest? You stay near the bank and wait a few hours for a pig? Or do you go and hunt for a shark, an animal that can swim five times faster than you?”

Since first arriving in Australia in the late 18th century, feral pigs — the wild, descendants of escaped domestic pigs — have spread over almost 40% of the continent. They are one of the most successful invasive species plaguing Australia today, and are held responsible for widespread habitat loss and as important contributors to Australia’s rate of mammal extinctions, which is the highest in the world.  READ MORE...

Bear in Snow

 

Saturday Afternoon Encounters

As part of my back surgery recovery, I need to walk each day...  actually I need to walk twice each day...  and both those walks should be at least one mile...  doing it once a day is all my body will allow, so my recovery will take a little longer than expected...  which is longer than normal because of my age...  double wammy.

So, this morning around 9:30 am  I walked my route of 1.2 miles and it took me  right at 38 minutes (without stopping) according to the walking app I have on my phone.  38 minutes is high but right now that is the best that I can do.

After tending to my blogs, I prepared my version of loaded WONTON SOUP which included 10 purchased wontons, organic chicken broth, 2 green peppers from our garden, 8 green onions, a handfull of mushrooms, a heaping spoon of diced garlic from a jar, a teaspoon of soy sauce, pepper and salt.  It cooked over slow heat for about 90 minutes, cooled, put into 3 plastic containers and into the frig for later consumption.  Each container has 3 wontons.

Yesterday after my bursitis therapy, I stopped at Weigel's to get gas and was charged $3.51/gallon which is down about 50 cents/gallon.  I am thankful that people have decided not to drive much  otherwise the price would have remained right at $4 and increasing...  but, people got smart and if the gas prices goes up, we don't drive much...  and that decision helps people like me out.  So, please continue to cut back on  your driving.

I've got a couple of easy chores to do around the house that will take me less than an hour to complete, so basically I have a complete weekend to myself...  now, I have to decide how to fill that time...  do I watch some stupid shit on HULU or even stupider shit on Netflix or do I spend time hunting for something that is going to keep my attention on Prime?  None of those are good choices for me.

I could take a nap or I could write a little on my novel but I am not really motivated to do either of those either...

Perhaps a few minutes in the hottub now that I have been cleared by my surgeon...  even though it is humid but not that hot, the hottub is obviously heated otherwise what would be the point of having one (?) but that heat does not bother me...  which is strange.

If the title of this piece bothers you...  my encounters are with my own thoughts...  in case you were wondering or spending time trying to figure that shit out.

I believe the hottub won the argument...

Having Enough Time

One of the main complaints that I hear from the OLD FOLKS is that they never had enough time to do what it is that they wanted to do...

Another major complaint is that they wished that they had taken more risks...

The final complaint is that they did not do what they really had wanted to do...

So...  you ask yourself why did these things happen?

The comment about time revolves around the fact that these people did not do a very good job of planning out their day...  typically, it is called TIME MANAGEMENT.

I remember one of the first things that I learned in Graduate School was that if I did not plan out my day, evenings, and weekends, I simply did not have enough time to get things done.

I would make a list of everything that needed to get done, and then I would estimate how much time it would take me on each of these tasks always adding in a little extra time just in case.

I still do that now that I am retired and especially when I have to go to a doctor's appointment.  

• When do I want to get there?
• How long is the drive?
• Add extra time for traffic delays...
• When do I need to leave home?
• How long will it take me to shower and dress?
• When do I need to set the alarm clock?

I am never late for an appointment...

The second issue about taking more risks is interesting because if they had to do all over again, they still would not have taken those risks...  Each of us has our own Risk Aversion Personality and for the most part that will never change unless you try to force a change and that is not always a good thing to do, especially if you don't manage your stress very well.

You will always do what you did because that is who you are...  so, saying you wish you took more risks is rather foolish.

And finally, wishing you had taken another path is also an irrelevant exercise because you did or became exactly what you should have done or should have become...

This part about time is not that easy to understand so suffice it to say that your life has already unfolded in the bigger picture before it actually unfolds here on earth.  Therefore, you do or did exactly what you were supposed to have done or did...

Time is relative...  the past, present, and future all happen at the same time...  which is exactly why you cannot look back and see what you did even if it is a nanosecond ago as it has already disappeared...  all you have is the present and the present does not last very long...

• Learn to live your life without regrets.  
• Learn to accept who you are and who you are supposed to be.
• Learn to accept you limitations.
• Learn to appreciate your gifts.
• Learn to be grateful for the life you have been given.

If you will do this there will be no need to ever look back and wish and wonder...

 

Who Am I

As a man, I used to think I was pretty much just a regular person, but I was born white, into a two-parent household which now, whether I like it or not, makes me “privileged”, and a white supremacist & responsible for slavery.

I am a fiscal and moral conservative, which by today’s standards, makes me a fascist because I plan, budget and support myself.


I went to high school, and have always held a job. But I now find out that I am not here because I earned it, but because I was “advantaged”.


I am heterosexual, which according to wokes, now makes me a homophobe.


I am not a Muslim, which now labels me an infidel.


I believe in the 2nd Amendment, which makes me a de facto member of the “vast NRA gun lobby”.


I am older than 70, making me a useless eater who doesn’t understand Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat.


I think and I reason, and I doubt some of what the media tells me, which makes me a "Right-wing conspiracy nut”.


I am proud of my heritage and our inclusive American culture, making me a xenophobe.


I believe in hard work, fair play, & fair compensation according to each individual’s merits, which today makes me an anti-socialist.


I believe our system guarantees freedom of effort and opportunity - not freedom of outcome or subsidies, which must make me a borderline sociopath.


I believe in the defense & protection of America for and by all citizens, which now making me a militant.


I am proud of our flag, what it stands for and the many who died to let it fly, so I stand hand over heart during our National Anthem - so I must be a racist.


Please help me come to terms with the new me because I'm just not sure who I am anymore! Funny - it all took place over the last 7 or 8 years!


If all this wasn't enough to deal with, now I don't even know which restroom to use… and I gotta go more FREQUENTLY.

What Would You Do?

 

Let's suppose that you own a business that employs 1,500 and you pay above average wages to your employees of $20/hour with health insurance, 10 days sick leave and 10 days annual leave that increases to 15 after 10 years of employment and to 20 days after 15 years of employment.  Each employee also gets their birthday off but if it lands on a weekend, they can chose Friday or Monday as their day.

The product that you sell is in high demand by the customer which is why you operate three shifts but all the data shows that if you raise the price too much higher that a majority of your customers will start looking for substitutes.  Your company currently operates on a 20% profit margin and is planning to expand the product line this year as well as open several franchise operations, and explore selling the products in Europe.

The Federal Government has increased the tax rate for you company which is going to put you in a situation where you will be paying anywhere from $500,000 to a $1,000,000 more in taxes.

What would you do?

1. Layoff workers to compensate for the increase in taxes?
2. Increase the price of your products?
3. Use your profits to pay for increase in taxes and not change a thing?
4. Not expand your product line?
5. Not open franchises?
6. Close the door to Europe?
7. Do nothing?

Most business owners would layoff workers as the primary goal/objective is not just to make a profit from year to year but to be able to continue to play the game...  and yes, business is a game...  which is why they teach business game theory in business schools.

If your business was publically traded, then you would have another dimension to your decision making and that would be SHAREHOLDERS or STOCKHOLDERS...  and most business decisions revolve around stockholders than employees or even what may be in the best interest of the company.

My guess is that your company would lay off workers and raise the price of your products just to that point where your customers do not look elsewhere...

If your customer is paying $5 but will not pay $8...

• would they pay $6?
• would they pay $7?
• would they pay $7.95?

The very last thing that you would want to do is not have franchises, not have new products, and not open in Europe...  all of those possibilities come with risks...  that is true, but they also come with increase revenue that may or may not offset the risks...

This is the risk you have to take...  this is the game that you must play.

You Got It

COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America

ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible Times. It's 5.6%.

COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?

ABBOTT: No, that's 23%.

COSTELLO: You just said 5.6%.

ABBOTT: 5.6% Unemployed.

COSTELLO: Right 5.6% out of work.

ABBOTT: No, that's 23%.

COSTELLO: Okay, so it's 23% unemployed.

ABBOTT: No, that's 5.6%.

COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 5.6% or 23%?

ABBOTT: 5.6% are unemployed. 23% are out of work.

COSTELLO: If you are out of work you are unemployed.

ABBOTT: No, Biden said you can't count the "Out of Work" as the unemployed.

You have to look for work to be unemployed.

COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!

ABBOTT: No, you miss his point.

COSTELLO: What point?

ABBOTT: Someone who doesn't look for work can't be counted

with those who look for work. It wouldn't be fair.

COSTELLO: To whom?

ABBOTT: The unemployed.

COSTELLO: But ALL of them are out of work.

ABBOTT:No, the unemployed are actively looking for work.  Those who are out of work gave up looking and if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.

COSTELLO: So if you're off the unemployment roles that would count as less unemployment?

ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!

COSTELLO:The unemployment just goes down because you don't look for work?

ABBOTT:Absolutely it goes down. That's how it gets to 5.6%. Otherwise it would be 23%.

COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways

to bring down the unemployment number?

ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.

COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?

ABBOTT: Correct.

COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?

ABBOTT: Bingo.

COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to have people stop looking for work.

ABBOTT: Now you're thinking like a Democrat.

COSTELLO: I don't even know what the hell I just said!

ABBOTT: Now you're thinking like Biden.