Monday, April 10
Understanding our Universe
A new study amplifies the Hubble tension, a discrepancy in cosmic expansion rate measurements, by providing the most accurate calibration of Cepheid stars for distance measurements. This discrepancy calls into question fundamental concepts in physics and has implications for understanding dark energy, the time-space continuum, and gravity.
When it comes to measuring how fast the Universe is expanding, the result depends on which side of the Universe you start from. An EPFL study has calibrated the best cosmic yardsticks to unprecedented accuracy, shedding new light on the Hubble tension.
The Hubble tension, a discrepancy in the cosmic expansion rate (H0) between early Universe and late Universe measurement methods, has puzzled astrophysicists and cosmologists.
The Hubble tension, a discrepancy in the cosmic expansion rate (H0) between early Universe and late Universe measurement methods, has puzzled astrophysicists and cosmologists.
A study by the Stellar Standard Candles and Distances research group at EPFL’s Institute of Physics has achieved the most accurate calibration of Cepheid stars for distance measurements, amplifying the Hubble tension. The discrepancy calls into question the basic concepts of physics and has implications for the nature of dark energy, the time-space continuum, and gravity.
The Universe is expanding – but how fast exactly? The answer appears to depend on whether you estimate the cosmic expansion rate – referred to as the Hubble’s constant, or H0 – based on the echo of the Big Bang (the cosmic microwave background, or CMB) or you measure H0 directly based on today’s stars and galaxies. This problem, known as the Hubble tension, has puzzled astrophysicists and cosmologists around the world.
A study carried out by the Stellar Standard Candles and Distances research group, lead by Richard Anderson at EPFL’s Institute of Physics, adds a new piece to the puzzle.
The Universe is expanding – but how fast exactly? The answer appears to depend on whether you estimate the cosmic expansion rate – referred to as the Hubble’s constant, or H0 – based on the echo of the Big Bang (the cosmic microwave background, or CMB) or you measure H0 directly based on today’s stars and galaxies. This problem, known as the Hubble tension, has puzzled astrophysicists and cosmologists around the world.
A study carried out by the Stellar Standard Candles and Distances research group, lead by Richard Anderson at EPFL’s Institute of Physics, adds a new piece to the puzzle.
Their research, published today (April 4) in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, achieved the most accurate calibration of Cepheid stars – a type of variable star whose luminosity fluctuates over a defined period – for distance measurements to date based on data collected by the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Gaia mission. This new calibration further amplifies the Hubble tension. READ MORE...
Sunday, April 9
Eating Out By Choice
Most people when they go out for dinner, they want some kind of steak and potato combination: TBone, Sirloin, Ribeye, Strip... and/or perhaps, some kind of pork like Ribs or Bar-B-Que... but, for me, when I go out to dinner, I am first looking at Salmon or Cod or Flounder stuffed with crab meat or something having to do with Chicken...
My wife is typically looking for some kind of salad with chicken... every once in a while she might get Fish 'n' Chips... ot shrimp... and seldom, she might order chicken and a potato.
Once a year, I might have a ribeye or sirloin steak but no more than once a year as I seriously try to avoid eating red meat. When I eat steak, my favorite is Omaha Steaks... maybe once or twice, I will also have a cheeseburger but it is still rare when that happens.
HOWEVER, Salmon is my favorite meal when I eat out, either with rice or a baked potato and always with broccoli. Typically, I will get the largest ounce size available, then eat half at the restaurant and take the other half home for the next day... so, regardless of the price, I get two meals... that way the price does not bother me as much. Salmon can range from $18 to $27/$28 dollars... so, eating it for two meals makes it mentally afforable.
If the meal is reheated in an air-fryer is tastes better than in the oven or usining a microwave.
My wife and I typically go out for dinner at least once a week... sometimes, this outing is done in the morning for breakfast or brunch. If it is morning, then I am always ordering an everything omelette or as close as I can get to that... and, depending upon where we got, that meal comes with breakfast potatoes and pancakes. Again, half is eaten there and the other half taken home.
My wife usually orders eggs and bacon and sometimes that comes with pancakes as well. She usually eats everything except for one pancake, so I get that one as well.
We go out to eat not because we are trying to get out of cooking... we go out to eat because we enjoy the process of going out for a meal... we don't look at it as a treat or a reward... it is just something that we like to do...
Taco Bell has a bean burrito for $1.89 and SAMS sells an absolutely delicious hotdog and drink for $1.50. SAMS has pizza as well but we have yet to try that. Subway as decent foot longs that can be eaten for two meals. And, of course there is always Wendy's Chili that is always well prepared.
Eating out can take a variety of forms and does not always have to be done at a nice restaurant. However, I refuse to go to a restaurant where half the price goes to the atmosphere they think they provide... Those ego trips can be enjoyed by the wealthy.
On This Easter Sunday
Death and resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith. And, if you properly believe in all of that, when you die, you will be resuurected, like Jesus, into heaven. It is this hope and our faith in this hope that forms the foundation of our faith...
HOWEVER, is it true?
Why has God and/or Jesus not appeared to us again for over 2,000 years?
And, why did HE appear to us 2,000 years ago?
What is God/Jesus waiting for to take place on the planet earth before they reappear again? Or, was that appearance the one and only time?
IF God/Jesus loves us like we are told, why have they not shown that love for over 2,000 except in a few miracles that are targeted to a selective group of people and not to everybody?
Why are the people of AFRICA left out of all this religious beliefs except through a few missionaries that have gone there?
Why didn't God/Jesus visit them as they/he did in the middle east?
There are just too many questions for a person to have 100% faith.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN...
I personally believe that there is or was some sort of creator that has coordnated and orchestrated the creation of the universe.
I don't know why this happened but it did and that is a fact that we can see and measure.
Is this creator our God/Jesus or simple an EXTRATERRESTRIAL?
For me, it makes more sense that our God is an extraterrestrial and the reason why we have not seen God/Jesus again is that it takes time to travel here.
It is said that if one travels at the speed of light that time STOPS... Now, we know that we have the movement of time... we can see it every day and we can see it in our aging. So, is it time that is stopping God/Jesus from returning? And, if they returned, would that mean that time stops? OR, is it death that stops time?
We may not ever find out the answers to these questions so we may never know if there is really a God/Jesus, even though we are led to believe that there is one.
And, if we find out when we die... what does like look like then? Are we alive as a SPIRIT or do we get another body? What would life be like as a SPIRIT?
Will we eat and drink and sleep?
Will we have sexual relationships?
Will we feel pain or love?
Right now there is a 50/50 chance that any of this will happen... either it does or it does not... those are the odds.
Findng the Right Balance
The other driver that bothers me on the highway is the family on vacation who thinks they own the highway and the small compact cars that want to drive twice the speed limit to let you know they are not just stupid but have big balls. Neither of those attitudes will make much difference if they make a mistake.
Drivers these days are in such a hurry for some reason that driving on the interstate is more dangerous than it has ever been in the past. One advantage that drivers may or may not realize is that vehicles are made much stronger and can withstand the impact of a crash much better than they could 20 years ago... but very little is going to save you ass when you are driving 90mph.
When one drives faster than the posted speed limits on the interstate, one is putting forth more stress because it takes more attention in case something goes wrong. In addition to the stress, this type of driving causes one's body to be more tense and that tension over time can cause physical problems as well.
However, all of this is actually subordinate to the driver who has no concept of DEPTH OF FIELD while driving. I am constantly witnessing drivers that have to do a hard press of the brakes because they misjudged the distance between them and the car in front of them. This type of misjudging is almost always fatal.
When I was 50 years old, I decided that driving fast no longer made any sense for a variety of reasons. Not to mention the fact that the 55 mph gives you the best gas mileage. However, 55 is a tad slow, slow so I try to simply drive the speed limit... which seems to be the best all around approach to driving. Not because its the law, because it is the best for you and your car.
If I need to, I get up early and leave early in case there is a slow down on the roads, so I will not be late and therefore have a reason to drive fast.
When I arrive somewhere, I arrive relaxed and with low blood pressure because I have eliminated most of my stress. What I spend my time doing now, is watching out for all the assholes that don't know how to drive.
You Will Never Have Good Ole Days
$8 average cost for a pack of 20 cigarettes
$6 average cost for a 6 pack of beer
$2.80 average cost for a McDonald's cheeseburger
$4.67 average cost for a gallon of gasoline
$7.25 minimum wage
...1962...
$0.25 cost for a pack of 20 cigarettes ($0.30 from a machine)
$1.25 cost for a 6 pack of beer (any brand)
$0.15 cost for a hamburger $0.20 for a cheeseburger
$0.18 cost for a gallon of gasoline
$1.15 minimum wage (valued in current dollars is $7.25 which I find rather amusing)
Does anything catch your attention here?
$1.15 in 1962 had the same purchasing power as $7.25 had in 2022... and yet look at the other costs between those years
SIXTY YEARS later, someone right out of high school who goes to work for $7.25/hour has the same purchasing power as I did right out of high school...
That shit just does not make sense...
In one 8 hour day, I would earn $9.20
- On that Friday, I could put 10 gallons of gasoline in my car for $1.80, leaving me $7.40
- I could buy 2 six packs of beer for $2.50, leaving me $4.90
- I could buy 2 packs of cigarettes out of a machine for $0.60, leaving me $4.30
- I could go to McDonalds and get 4 cheeseburgers for $0.80, leaving me $3.50
- I could get two small containers of french fries for $0.20, leaving me $3.30
- I could pick up my date, and got to the drive in theater for $1.00/person, leaving me $1.30
- I could give her two cheeseburgers and a container of french fries, give her a pack of cigarettes along with a 6 pack of beer and we could enjoy ourselves for several hours
- After the drive in movies ended, we could go to Waffle House for coffee and doughnuts for $0.30, leaving me $1.00
In 1962, all gasoline stations had condom machines in the bathrooms. The regular condoms were $0.25 and the more exotic ones were $0.50... depending on how many beers my date drank that night would determine how many condoms I needed to purchase.
The point is that I could all of that on just 8 hours of work. And, the compensation of work back then had the same purchasing power that a worker in 2022 had making $7.25/hour...
What is wrong with this picture?
Prices have increased but not wages
The people who own the companies and sell things to the general public have been taking advantage of you for 60 years and you have no idea that they have been screwing you the whole time...
Talk about ignorance...
Is this lack of education?
Is this the lack of retention of education?
Is this just the fact that you don't want to know?
Tesla Charging Speeds
Tesla’s new V4 Supercharger has started its initial rollout in Europe, and details are still continuing to spill out ahead of the first installations in the United States.
The V4 Supercharger is Tesla’s latest iteration of its industry-leading EV charging network, and with the recent introduction of non-Tesla vehicle charging in the U.S. to qualify for government incentives, the automaker is going forward with some monumental changes.
After the first piles were installed in the Netherlands in March, there were several distinct changes. We reported that the charging cables were now extended so that non-Tesla vehicles could charge with ease. This was a commonly reported problem in the U.S. as non-Tesla vehicles started to use the Superchargers.
Along with the longer cables, Tesla’s main focus was to increase charging speed so that people spent less time charging and more time on the roads. It was confirmed that the V4 Superchargers were capable of more power, but the vehicles’ architecture only allows for certain speeds. However, we are learning more information about what Tesla plans to do with these piles moving forward.
Thanks to Supercharger tracker MarcoRP, new details regarding the V4 Supercharger are available.
Tesla will make the CCS adapter built into the frame of the V4 Supercharger, which will allow non-Tesla vehicles to charge without an adapter. With the introduction of the Magic Dock, Tesla has made it possible for non-Tesla EVs to utilize the Supercharger network. With the V4 Supercharger, this will be standard.
Saturday, April 8
Robots Will Serve the Wealthy
The average income in 2021 was $87,432.
Why the difference?
To find the average, you take the gross US income and divide it by the total number of workers.
To find the median, you take that number that is in the middle where half the people make more and half the people make less.
Average and Median are different but many people think they are the same...
So, whether you are looking at the median income or the average income, the odds are, robots are going to take your job.
- All manufacturing and assembly jobs can be done by robots
- All teaching, instructor, or college professor jobs can be done by robots.
- All customer service jobs can be done by robots.
- All retail jobs can be done by robots.
- Many medical profession jobs can be done by robots.
- All military jobs can be done by robots.
- All wars can be frought by robots.
- All driving jobs can be done by robots.
- All farming and harvesting jobs can be done by robots.
- All media broadcasting shows (news) can be done by robots.
- All lawncare jobs can be done by robots.
- All maintenance jobs can be done by robots.
In short, most all our jobs can be done by robots, so who does that leave who will not lose their jobs?
...THE WEALTHY...
If most Ameridcans loose their jobs, there will not be spectators at professional sports competitions unless they are the wealthy. Those athletes will no longer be paid large salaries. The same holds true for golf, basketball, baseball, tennis as well as musical concerts... unless you are wealthy.
What will the rest of us do to earn money when we loose our jobs?
Believe it or not, this will start to unfold in 2025 and be almost complete by 2030... it is not just in the USA that this will happen but all over the world. It is cheaper (in the long run) to hire robots...
- They don't need breaks
- They don't get sick
- They don't take vacations
- They don't get pregnant
- They don't ask for raises
- They don't sabotage
What will the rest of us do?
How will we pay our bills?
What is the point of going to college?
Each time we improve technology we must look at all the unintended consequences of our actions... not just the short term benefits...
Puerto Ricans Leaving
Bags sit in front of Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Carolina, Puerto Rico. (Salome Ramirez/VOA)
ADJUNTAS, PUERTO RICO — Achieving economic stability is typically the main reason that many Puerto Ricans migrate to the U.S. mainland. At the same time, thousands return to Puerto Rico annually, describing their homecoming as "a dream come true."
After 22 years abroad, married doctors Sheila Perez Colon and Lionel Lazaro Collazo decided to practice medicine in Puerto Rico.
“We always wanted to return to the island, but we couldn't find the way,” Lazaro Collazo told VOA. According to the orthopedic surgeon, attending medical school and building a practice led the couple to live in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. "It hurt us a lot when our daughter asked us why she wasn't born in Puerto Rico, if the whole family was from the island."
Data from the 2020 Census showed Puerto Rico’s population at 3.2 million, with an estimated 11.8% decrease over the preceding decade. Meanwhile, Puerto Ricans residing on the mainland reached 5.8 million, making them the second largest Hispanic population in the continental U.S.
“We always had Puerto Rico in our hearts, sometimes even with a bit of guilt for not being able to be there,” Perez Colon said.
A pediatric endocrinologist, Perez Colon said the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing isolation led them to return home. The couple arrived in Puerto Rico with their 10-year-old daughter in June 2022.
“Knowing there’s a great need for specialties like ours in our home country, while you are providing that expertise elsewhere and not back home, brought us back,” she said.
They say their biggest concern was the salary disparity of medical professionals in Puerto Rico compared with the U.S.
“That’s a reality that no one can deny. But we are prepared. We knew what was in store for us. We knew we were going to have a lower salary, but we would be rewarded to be with family in a place that satisfies us,” Perez Colon said.
For Lazaro Collazo, it was also an opportunity to give back.
“This was my dream, where I wanted to be to be able to offer my services to my people again,” he said. “What better than two well-prepared specialists who are bringing needed services to the island.”
A total of 17,859 Puerto Ricans moved back to the island in 2021, according to the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics. Two years earlier, 24,531 returned, one of the highest numbers in the past decade.
According to the Pew Research Center, 2017 hurricanes Irma and MarÃa were determining factors in the exodus of Puerto Ricans, as they sought safety on the mainland. In the year after the hurricanes, Puerto Rico’s population dropped by 3.9%.
“The mid-2000s marked a turning point for the island's economy when it entered a recession from which it has not recovered,” the Pew study said. “Since then, many Puerto Ricans have left the island for the U.S. mainland, particularly Florida, often citing work and family-related reasons.” READ MORE...
After 22 years abroad, married doctors Sheila Perez Colon and Lionel Lazaro Collazo decided to practice medicine in Puerto Rico.
“We always wanted to return to the island, but we couldn't find the way,” Lazaro Collazo told VOA. According to the orthopedic surgeon, attending medical school and building a practice led the couple to live in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. "It hurt us a lot when our daughter asked us why she wasn't born in Puerto Rico, if the whole family was from the island."
Data from the 2020 Census showed Puerto Rico’s population at 3.2 million, with an estimated 11.8% decrease over the preceding decade. Meanwhile, Puerto Ricans residing on the mainland reached 5.8 million, making them the second largest Hispanic population in the continental U.S.
“We always had Puerto Rico in our hearts, sometimes even with a bit of guilt for not being able to be there,” Perez Colon said.
A pediatric endocrinologist, Perez Colon said the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing isolation led them to return home. The couple arrived in Puerto Rico with their 10-year-old daughter in June 2022.
“Knowing there’s a great need for specialties like ours in our home country, while you are providing that expertise elsewhere and not back home, brought us back,” she said.
They say their biggest concern was the salary disparity of medical professionals in Puerto Rico compared with the U.S.
“That’s a reality that no one can deny. But we are prepared. We knew what was in store for us. We knew we were going to have a lower salary, but we would be rewarded to be with family in a place that satisfies us,” Perez Colon said.
For Lazaro Collazo, it was also an opportunity to give back.
“This was my dream, where I wanted to be to be able to offer my services to my people again,” he said. “What better than two well-prepared specialists who are bringing needed services to the island.”
A total of 17,859 Puerto Ricans moved back to the island in 2021, according to the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics. Two years earlier, 24,531 returned, one of the highest numbers in the past decade.
According to the Pew Research Center, 2017 hurricanes Irma and MarÃa were determining factors in the exodus of Puerto Ricans, as they sought safety on the mainland. In the year after the hurricanes, Puerto Rico’s population dropped by 3.9%.
“The mid-2000s marked a turning point for the island's economy when it entered a recession from which it has not recovered,” the Pew study said. “Since then, many Puerto Ricans have left the island for the U.S. mainland, particularly Florida, often citing work and family-related reasons.” READ MORE...
Tennessee Legislature
I do not keep up with state politics but apparantly there was some sort of riot at the state capital in Nashville recently where protestors were against some gun law that the legislature was in the process of passing and making into law, once signed by the governor. Tennessee has pretty liberal gun laws.
While this riot was taking place, 3 Democratic legislatures joined the riot in support of their cause which is not allowed by legislative law. The legislatures were 2 black males and one white female. The Republican legislative majority voted to kick the 3 democratic legislature out of the legislature because they violated the law.
Well, after the vote took place, the two blacks were kicked out but the white female stayed in by ONE VOTE...
OUTRAGE followed and the Republican TN Legislators were called RACISTS and WHITE SUPREMACISTS because of those action not to kick out the white lady...
Being a white male my thoughts were that all three should be kicked out not because of the cause but because they broke the law.
Clearly our Republican Legislators have ALL THEIR HEADS UP THEIR ASSES to have made such a stupid move, especially in light of what all is currently going on in this country. Hard to believe that TN is still so BACKWARDS in its thinking.
I would have to agree that those Republican Legislators are acting like they are RACISTS and WHITE SUPREMACISTS... and, I am embarrassed that they are leading my state.
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