Tuesday, April 11
Violence in America
Violence is omnipresent in American society these days.
American cities where crimes are prevelant:
- Memphis, TN
- Detroit, MI
- Charleston, SC
- Monroe, LA
- Baton Rouge, LA
- Springfield, MO
- St. Louis, MO
- Albuguergue, NM
- Rockfield, IL
- San Francisco, CA
- Los Angeles, CA
- Anchorage, AL
- Washington, DC
- New York City, NY
- Atlanta, GA
- Baltimore, MD
- Cincinnati, OH
- Dayton, OH
- Beaumont, TX
- Minneapolis, MN
NOTE: these are just the main cities where crimes are taking place... there are dozens more where crimes are increasing over the previous years...
Why do we have these increases in crime?
Why to we allow these increases in crime to take place?
Has the BLM Movement caused these crimes to increase?
Has the BLM Movement caused these crimes to increase?
Has Defunding the police caused these crimes to increase?
Has the SECOND AMENDMENT caused these crimes to increase?
Divided America seems to be changing for the worst not the better. While we have advances in technology to make our lives better, increases in crime are offsetting technology's positive influence on our society.
While this may not be a big deal to many of you, I think that Americans have just GROWN INTO A HUGE DISRESPECT AND DISREGARD FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT... and, I base this claim on what I see on interstate highways as well as on rural and even city highways.
People of all ages and all ethnic groups simple PAY NO ATTENTION TO SPEED LIMITS... they drive as fast as they want to, slowing down when the spot a cop hiding or when a cop has stopped a car for speeding. There is no self-dsicipline to follow the speed limits, including by yours truly.
It has nothing to do with being late nor does it really have anything to do with the desire to drive fast and act like I am in a NASCAR race. Part of it is following the lead and part of it is simply the ease and comfort inside the car when driving fast. Sometimes, it is so quiet and gentle of a ride, you just don't think about how fast you are driving.
If a majority of us disregard the speed limit laws, then we must also expect that others are going to disregard the laws that protect private property. This obviously includes: theft, vandalism, breaking and entering, etc.
Will it ever stop? NO...
China Is Becoming a Dominate Power
I haven't fact checked, but probably not far from the truth.
Subject: NOT JUST ABOUT BALLOONS
4 reasons why China is fast becoming the dominant power in the world.
1 - They have a very low tolerance for crime. The death sentence is swiftly and routinely used for terrorists, murderers, and drug traffickers.
2 - Very low tolerance for Religion. They do not believe there is a Magic man in the sky. No such thing as a God. Almost no religious killings and getting rid of the Indigenous Chinese Muslim population as fast as they can.
3 - They have not been involved in any expensive wars or invaded any country for the last seventy years.
4 - Their primary weapon of choice to conquer the world is Finance and countries around the world are falling fast.
Not just the USA but all world is in trouble.
Soon China will employ millions of American workers and dominate thousands of small communities all over the United States.
The Smithfield Foods acquisition is a great example. Smithfield Foods is the largest pork producer and processor in the world. It has facilities in 26 US states, and it employs tens of thousands of Americans. It directly owns 460 farms and has contracts with about 2,100 others.
It is important to keep in mind that there is often not much of a difference between "the Chinese government" and "the Chinese corporations". In 2011, 43 percent of all profits in China were produced by companies where the Chinese government had a controlling interest.
Last year a Chinese company spent $2.6B to purchase AMC entertainment one of the largest movie theater chains in the United States. Chinese companies control more movie ticket sales than anyone else in the world.
But China is not just relying on acquisitions to expand its economic power.
"Economic beachheads" are being established all over America. For example, Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group, Inc. recently broke ground on a $100M plant in Thomasville, Alabama. Many of the residents of Thomasville, Alabama will be glad to have jobs, but it will also become yet another community that will now be heavily dependent on Communist China.
And guess where else Chinese companies are putting down roots? DETROIT.
Chinese owned companies are investing in American businesses and new vehicle techno-logy and selling everything from seat belts to shock absorbers in retail stores and hiring experienced engineers and designers to soak up the talent and expertise of domestic automakers and their suppliers.
If you recently purchased an "American-made" vehicle there is a good chance that it has several Chinese parts in it. Industry analysts are hard-pressed to put a number on the Chinese suppliers in the United States.
China is very interested in acquiring energy resources in the United States. For example, China is mining for coal in the mountains of Tennessee.
At the time, that acquisition really didn't make much news, but now a group of conservatives in Tennessee is trying to stop the Chinese from blowing up their mountains and taking their coal.
And soon China may want to build entire cities in the United States just like they have been doing in other countries. Right now, China is building a city larger than Manhattan just outside Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
Are you starting to get the picture yet? China is on the rise and has been for a long time while America plays political games.
If you doubt this, just read the following:
When you total up all imports and exports China is now the number one trading nation on the entire planet.
# Overall, the US has run a trade deficit with China over the past decade that comes to more than 23 trillion dollars.
# China has more foreign currency reserves than anyone else on the planet.
# China now has the largest new car market in the entire world.
# China now produces more than twice as many automobiles as does the United States.
# After being bailed out by US taxpayers GM is involved in 11 joint ventures with Chinese companies.
# China is the number one gold producer in the world.
# The uniforms for the US Olympic team were made in China .
# 85% of all artificial Christmas trees the world over are made in China.
# The new World Trade Center tower in New York includes glass imported from China.
# China now consumes more energy than does the United States.
# China is now in aggregate the leading manufacturer of goods in the entire world.
# China uses more cement than the rest of the world combined.
# China is now the number one producer of wind and solar power on the entire globe.
# China produces 3 times as much coal and 11 times as much steel as the United States does.
# China produces more than 90 percent of the global supply of rare earth elements.
# China is now the number one supplier of components that are critical to the operation of any national defense system .
# In published scientific research articles China will become number one in the world very shortly. And what we have seen so far may just be the tip of the iceberg.
Don't give up on the U. S. We are still #1 in the world in -
(a) number of lawyers per capita
(b) cost of education per student
(c) government inefficiency
(d) growth in National debt
Subject: NOT JUST ABOUT BALLOONS
1 - They have a very low tolerance for crime. The death sentence is swiftly and routinely used for terrorists, murderers, and drug traffickers.
2 - Very low tolerance for Religion. They do not believe there is a Magic man in the sky. No such thing as a God. Almost no religious killings and getting rid of the Indigenous Chinese Muslim population as fast as they can.
3 - They have not been involved in any expensive wars or invaded any country for the last seventy years.
4 - Their primary weapon of choice to conquer the world is Finance and countries around the world are falling fast.
Not just the USA but all world is in trouble.
Soon China will employ millions of American workers and dominate thousands of small communities all over the United States.
Chinese acquisition of US businesses set a record last year and it is on pace to shatter that record this year.
The Smithfield Foods acquisition is a great example. Smithfield Foods is the largest pork producer and processor in the world. It has facilities in 26 US states, and it employs tens of thousands of Americans. It directly owns 460 farms and has contracts with about 2,100 others.
But now a Chinese company has bought it for $ 4.7 billion and that means that the Chinese will now be the most important employer in dozens of rural communities all over America.
It is important to keep in mind that there is often not much of a difference between "the Chinese government" and "the Chinese corporations". In 2011, 43 percent of all profits in China were produced by companies where the Chinese government had a controlling interest.
Last year a Chinese company spent $2.6B to purchase AMC entertainment one of the largest movie theater chains in the United States. Chinese companies control more movie ticket sales than anyone else in the world.
But China is not just relying on acquisitions to expand its economic power.
"Economic beachheads" are being established all over America. For example, Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group, Inc. recently broke ground on a $100M plant in Thomasville, Alabama. Many of the residents of Thomasville, Alabama will be glad to have jobs, but it will also become yet another community that will now be heavily dependent on Communist China.
And guess where else Chinese companies are putting down roots? DETROIT.
Chinese owned companies are investing in American businesses and new vehicle techno-logy and selling everything from seat belts to shock absorbers in retail stores and hiring experienced engineers and designers to soak up the talent and expertise of domestic automakers and their suppliers.
If you recently purchased an "American-made" vehicle there is a good chance that it has several Chinese parts in it. Industry analysts are hard-pressed to put a number on the Chinese suppliers in the United States.
China is very interested in acquiring energy resources in the United States. For example, China is mining for coal in the mountains of Tennessee.
Guizhou Gouchuang Energy Holdings Group spent 616 million dollars to acquire Triple H Coal Co. in Jacksboro, Tennessee.
At the time, that acquisition really didn't make much news, but now a group of conservatives in Tennessee is trying to stop the Chinese from blowing up their mountains and taking their coal.
And soon China may want to build entire cities in the United States just like they have been doing in other countries. Right now, China is building a city larger than Manhattan just outside Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
Are you starting to get the picture yet? China is on the rise and has been for a long time while America plays political games.
If you doubt this, just read the following:
When you total up all imports and exports China is now the number one trading nation on the entire planet.
# Overall, the US has run a trade deficit with China over the past decade that comes to more than 23 trillion dollars.
# China has more foreign currency reserves than anyone else on the planet.
# China now has the largest new car market in the entire world.
# China now produces more than twice as many automobiles as does the United States.
# After being bailed out by US taxpayers GM is involved in 11 joint ventures with Chinese companies.
# China is the number one gold producer in the world.
# The uniforms for the US Olympic team were made in China .
# 85% of all artificial Christmas trees the world over are made in China.
# The new World Trade Center tower in New York includes glass imported from China.
# China now consumes more energy than does the United States.
# China is now in aggregate the leading manufacturer of goods in the entire world.
# China uses more cement than the rest of the world combined.
# China is now the number one producer of wind and solar power on the entire globe.
# China produces 3 times as much coal and 11 times as much steel as the United States does.
# China produces more than 90 percent of the global supply of rare earth elements.
# China is now the number one supplier of components that are critical to the operation of any national defense system .
# In published scientific research articles China will become number one in the world very shortly. And what we have seen so far may just be the tip of the iceberg.
Don't give up on the U. S. We are still #1 in the world in -
(a) number of lawyers per capita
(b) cost of education per student
(c) government inefficiency
(d) growth in National debt
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Monday, April 10
Fusion Power with Microwaves
Structure of Heliotron J device. Credit: KyotoU/Heliotron J group
Plasma physicists from Ukraine, Germany and Japan collaborate to spark fusion power.
Despite being forced to evacuate the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology due to the Russia-Ukraine war, lead author Yurii Victorovich Kovtun has collaborated with Kyoto University to create stable plasmas using microwaves. Plasmas must be maintained at the correct density, temperature, and duration for nuclear fusion to occur.
Despite being forced to evacuate the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology due to the Russia-Ukraine war, lead author Yurii Victorovich Kovtun has collaborated with Kyoto University to create stable plasmas using microwaves. Plasmas must be maintained at the correct density, temperature, and duration for nuclear fusion to occur.
The research team, including the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, has identified three critical steps in plasma production and utilized the Heliotron J device to study fusion plasma discharges. They discovered that blasting 2.45-GHz microwaves without alignment of the magnetic field produced a dense plasma, which could potentially simplify fusion research in the future.
Lead author Yurii Victorovich Kovtun, despite being forced to evacuate the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology amid the current Russia-Ukraine war, has continued to work with Kyoto University to create stable plasmas using microwaves.
Getting plasma just right is one of the hurdles to harnessing the massive amounts of energy promised by nuclear fusion.
Plasmas — soups of ions and electrons — must be held at the right density, temperature, and duration for atomic nuclei to fuse together to achieve the desired release of energy.
One recipe involves the use of large, donut-shaped devices with powerful magnets that contain a plasma while carefully aligned microwave generators heat the atomic mixture. READ MORE...
Lead author Yurii Victorovich Kovtun, despite being forced to evacuate the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology amid the current Russia-Ukraine war, has continued to work with Kyoto University to create stable plasmas using microwaves.
Getting plasma just right is one of the hurdles to harnessing the massive amounts of energy promised by nuclear fusion.
Plasmas — soups of ions and electrons — must be held at the right density, temperature, and duration for atomic nuclei to fuse together to achieve the desired release of energy.
One recipe involves the use of large, donut-shaped devices with powerful magnets that contain a plasma while carefully aligned microwave generators heat the atomic mixture. READ MORE...
Only in America
MEDICARE PLAN G*
Say you are an older senior citizen and can no longer take care of yourself and the government says there is no Nursing Home care available for you. So, what do you do? You opt for "Medicare Plan G".
The plan gives anyone 75 or older a gun (Plan G) and one bullet. You are allowed to shoot one worthless politician. This means you will be sent to prison for the rest of your life where you will receive three meals a day, a roof over your head, central heating and air conditioning, cable TV, a library, and all the Health Care you need. Need new teeth? No problem. Need glasses? That's great. Need a hearing aid, new hip, knees, kidney, lungs, sex change, or heart? They are all covered!
As an added bonus, your kids can come and visit you at least as often as they do now! And, who will be paying for all of this? The same government that just told you they can't afford for you to go into a nursing home. And you will get rid of a useless politician while you are at it. And now, because you are a prisoner, you don't have to pay any more income taxes!
Is this a great country or what? Now that I've solved your senior financial plan, enjoy the rest of your week.
As an added bonus, your kids can come and visit you at least as often as they do now! And, who will be paying for all of this? The same government that just told you they can't afford for you to go into a nursing home. And you will get rid of a useless politician while you are at it. And now, because you are a prisoner, you don't have to pay any more income taxes!
Is this a great country or what? Now that I've solved your senior financial plan, enjoy the rest of your week.
Our Anniversary
I cannot honestly say that those 5 years made any difference or not... we still have similarities and we still have differences... and, now that we are retired, we spend our days differently... coming together in the mornings briefly and coming together in the evening briefly to share whatever it is that we want to share.
We go on vacations together, not separately and we go out for dinner and breakfast once a week. However, my wife goes to lunch sometimes with her friends and we both attend our doctor's apppointments separately unless there is a need for both of us to be there. We were both together when I had follow-ups with my orthopedic surgeon when 5 disks of my lower back were fused. Two ears are better than one.
On the days that I have chemo and IVIG infusions, I always go by myself... there is just no reason for her to be there, sitting with me for 3 hours, when my premeds typically put me to sleep for half the time.
We both retired in 2015 when I was 67 and she was 62 and for the first 5 years, we went on week long vacations every other month. After 5 years, we had enough of traveling, airports, customs, playing the tourist, and trying to figure out where we need to go and how to get there since we did not speak the language. Not everyone in Europe speaks English. Living out of a suitcase was also a pain... and, we saw just about everything that we wanted to see.
At 75 and 70, we have slowed down a lot and are only into 2 vacations a year and those vacations will be Myrtle Beach, SC... once in May and again in September, both times are before and after the main season. We stay in an ocean front condo for 7 nights and spend most of the day under an umbrella.
Back home in East TN, we have an above ground pool, a huge deck surrounding the pool that has a 12 X 12 foot pentagon Gazebo, a hot tub, a grill and deck furniture where we spend most of our time during the warm days of spring, summer, and fall. IF it gets too humid, I stay inside.
Our community is basically retired folks so it is very quiet and very safe. We walk around the community for exercise. We are a mile from a Walmart Super Center where we get our groceries and there is a gas station a half mile away. We are 8 miles from the interestate and 30 miles where are the restaurants are... although, many of the restaurants are building about 10 miles from the house, so we will soon not need to drive to Knoxville for dinner.
The Great Smoky Mountains (and Gatlinburg) are less than an hour away and the NASCAR racetrack in Bristol is also about an hour away. Dollywood is before we get to Gatlinburg. Nashville is about 3-4 hours away and Chattanooga is about 3 hours away.
In the 20 years that we have owned our home, it has more than doubled in value. Our house sits on an acre of land and you can park 3 cars side by side between our neighbors on either side... so we have plenty room to stretch out.
At my age, I proabably only have 20 more years at the most to live with my wife and she with me. Fortunately, we get along and enjoy each other's company. While we are not wealthy, we have enough to live like we want and we both enjoy the way we live.
Figures of Speech
(Winston Churchill loved them).
1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.
2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you... but, it's still on my list.
3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.
6. War does not determine who is right, only who is left.
7. Knowledge, is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
8. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
9. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
10. In filling out an application, where it says, "In case of an emergency, notify... I answered "a doctor."
11. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still. . think they are sexy.
12. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive again.
13. I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure.
14. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.
15. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian, any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
16. You're never too old to learn something stupid.
17. I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.
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.
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