Killed in Gaza

 

Same Message Different Decade

 

NASA Considering Budget Cuts

WASHINGTON — NASA is considering cutting the budget of two of its biggest space telescopes as it faces broader spending reductions for its astrophysics programs.

In an Oct. 13 presentation to the National Academies’ Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics, Mark Clampin, director of NASA’s astrophysics division, said he was studying unspecified cuts in the operating budgets of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope to preserve funding for other priorities in the division.

The potential cuts, he said, are driven by the expectation that his division will not receive the full request of nearly $1.56 billion for fiscal year (FY) 2024 because of legislation passed in June that caps non-defense discretionary spending for 2024 at 2023 levels, with only a 1% increase for 2025.

“We’re working with the expectation that FY24 budgets stay at the ’23 levels,” he said. “That means that we have decided to reduce the budget for missions in extended operations, and that is Chandra and Hubble.”

Clampin declined to say how much the budgets of those two observatories would be cut, or specific impacts on them because of the cuts. He indicated the proposed cuts are still being studied, noting that he was able to make a “positive adjustment” for Chandra just in the last week.

Chandra and Hubble are the two most expensive NASA astrophysics missions to operate after the James Webb Space Telescope. NASA requested $93.3 million for Hubble and $68.7 million for Chandra in its fiscal year 2024 budget proposal, in line with past years’ budgets. Combined, they represent a little more than 10% of the fiscal year 2024 budget request for NASA astrophysics.

They are also among the two oldest NASA missions, with Hubble launched in 1990 and Chandra in 1999. Clampin suggested that was a reason for reducing their budgets. “Chandra has a number of issues right now. It’s becoming increasing difficult to operate,” he said. Insulation on the spacecraft’s exterior is degrading, warming the spacecraft and making operations increasing difficult.

“While Hubble doesn’t have those issues,” he added, “it has been operating for a long time and it is a large piece of the astrophysics budget.”  READ MORE...

Getting Lunch

 

Israel at War

Unless you have been sleeping all day long for the last 7 days, you are aware that HAMAS in the GAZA strip invaded Israel.  A few days later, HEZBOLLAH in Lebanon fired rockets into Israel.

Iran is supplying Hamas and Hezbollah with money and arms to fight Israel and is also CONDEMING Israel for fighting back.

China is supporting Iran along with Russia and several other middle eastern countries.

The whole point is to COMPLETELY ELIMINATE the Israelis people off the face of this earth once and for all.

If you are Israel and are aware that your enemies feel like this, WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO SAVE YOURSELF AND YOUR FELLOW CITIZENS???

Israel has nuclear weapons and in my opinion, will use them if and when they find themselves backed up against the wall, completely out of all their other options...

Israel DOES NOT have the manpower to fight all their enemies and the USA will never enter into a war to fight on the side of Israel unless China declares war on Israel and turns this into World War III.

The odds of that happening are low...  I doubt if any of these larger more powerful countries want to get into another world war.

The USA dropped the Atomic Bomb on Japan to save American lives and we did not have our backs up against the wall.

Israel Defense has the mentality of it is better to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission.

Alpha Male

 

Keeping Cash Money Around

Americans are concerned about a market crash or impending recession, according to a new Allianz Life Quarterly Market Perceptions Study — and 54% say they’re keeping more money than they should in cash because of recession concerns.


That could be costly. “While you might not feel like you’re losing money by holding it in cash, over the long term you will lose out,” says Kelly LaVigne, vice president of consumer insights at Allianz Life. “Money kept in cash or in low interest bearing accounts isn’t keeping up with the rising cost of living,” says LaVigne. 

Plus, with some savings accounts paying 5% or more — see some of the best-paying savings accounts here — there’s no reason to have cash sitting in a low-paying vehicle.

How much should you have in cash?
You certainly need some money in cash in case of an emergency, pros say, and this MarketWatch Picks guide details how much. “At least 6 to 12 months of an emergency fund is adequate,” says certified financial planner Joe Favorito at Landmark Wealth Management. 

You might need less if you’re in a stable industry and not worried about job loss, or a two-income household where you could live on one income; you might need more if you’re in a single-income household or in an industry plagued by layoffs.

While it’s generally a good idea to have a liquid emergency fund as well as some cash on hand for other expenses, you don’t want to have a stash of cash tucked underneath your mattress. Especially not when many savings accounts are paying higher rates than they have in 15 or so years.

“Rates are high enough that with a little shopping around, people can often get more than a 5% return in a simple money market account and still have all the liquidity they need,” says certified financial planner Bobbi Rebell, founder of Financial Wellness Strategies.  READ MORE...

Support Hamas

 

The Supermarket

 

Voyager Probes in Space

When Voyager 1 launched in 1977, it began an indefinite journey into space, serving as an envoy for humankind. Today, it's the farthest manmade object from Earth, orbiting over 15 billion miles from the sun in interstellar space.

If you were out there, where everything we know is so far away and life itself is foreign, would you even be within the influence of our sun? From such a distance, could you actually see anything out there, or is it all eternal blackness?

A user on the forum Reddit asked that very question: If we were somehow able to stand next to Voyager 1 in space, would we be able to see it?
Yes, you can easily see Voyager 1 if you were traveling next to it

We asked Michael Zemcov, an experimental astrophysicist and professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, to explain it, so you don't have to dust off your calculator to do the math yourself.

"Oh, gosh, that's, so this is a really interesting question," Zemcov told Insider.

To start, he said even though both Voyager 1 and 2 are way out in space, beyond all major planets, it's still pretty bright.

He took us through the math for Voyager 1.

First, you must compare Voyager's distance to the distance between Earth and the sun. Then, you use that distance to calculate what the light intensity would be that far away from the sun.  READ MORE...

Just Golf

 

Going on Cruises

 My wife and I have gone on 12 Cruises to the following locations:

1. Mediterranean Cruise out of Barcelona Spain
2. Hawaiian Cruise out of Honolulu, Hawaii
3. Alaskan Cruise out of Vancouver, Canada
4. A Bermuda Cruise out of Baltimore, Maryland
5. Eight Caribbean Cruises out of either Ft. Lauderdale or Miami, Florida

We always get an inside cabin so that we can spend more money on excursions, although, after COVID we decided if we ever went again, we could get a balcony cabin in case the ship quarantined its passengers.

We spent a week on Symphony of the Seas when it was the largest cruise ship on record, knowing that a larger ship, Icon of the Seas, was in construction.  I mention this only because, we had our best time aboard this larger ship even on SEA DAYS.  We always awake early so we don't miss anything, so getting up early to get deck chairs where we wanted was not a big deal for us.

We always got our chairs in the shade and never around the pool or on the deck above the pool because there was very little shade up there.

After our first cruise which was a delayed wedding present, we quickly realized that you did not have to bring dress clothes for dinner even on those nights where it was announced the dress would be formal.  However, many still dressed up but there were also many that did not.  Nobody was refused in the main dining room.

We also realized that we only needed half the clothes that we had taken, allowing us to take one large suitcase or two smaller ones.   Instead of wearing different outfits for each evening dinner, we brought 3 outfits that we wore twice.  The first dinner was so casual that many people wore the short they were wearing when they boarded the ship that morning.

After going through the boarding process and before getting lunch, we always checked with main dining to confirm our dinner reservations.  Confirmation is a MUST DO, even though you have already selected a eating time, otherwise, you will wait 30 minutes or longer for an empty table.

We also always brought coffee cups and large drink cups from home, rather than use their glasses or coffee cups especially on SEA DAYS.  Drinks from the buffet are available free of charge all day long, so unless you are hooked on SODA, you don't need to pay extra for a beverage card.  Plus, you are able to bring aboard 1 liter per person of soft drinks whenever you stop at a port.  There is always some place in town that sells these large bottles to locals.

There is so much food available that it is easy to gain 10 or more pounds in a week.  We always followed the three-bite rule whenever we ate.  Get whatever you want but only eat three bites of it rather than the full serving.  You still get the flavor but not all the extra weight.  Walking around the deck after the dinner meal helps as well.  There is always an outside walking deck on every ship.

We love cruising and think that a cruise vacation is the best way to spend your money and see a lot of different countries.

Candy Octopus

 

Toyota and Hydrogen

The global automotive industry has made a massive turnaround in the past few years, with an onslaught of EVs from every brand, and some like Jaguar who plan to ditch combustion engines altogether. It's safe to say that with EVs on the rise and e-fuel production still in its infancy, the future of the internal combustion engine has never been more uncertain. 

However, Toyota is adamant on finding alternate paths to vehicular propulsion. Their first attempt was the hydrogen fuel cell-powered Toyota Mirai, which barely dented EV demand due to the problems associated with hydrogen tanks and the rarity of fuel stations.

However, Toyota hasn't given up on hydrogen. They learned from the Mirai's shortcomings and took an all-new approach with how they use hydrogen as a fuel, eventually coming up with the hydrogen combustion engine. Unlike a fuel cell which acts as a battery and drives an electric motor, the hydrogen combustion engine does exactly what the name suggests. 

Toyota took a regular Corolla engine, modified its internals, and used liquid hydrogen instead of gasoline as the fuel. The results? Carbon-free emissions and performance that's on par with a gasoline engine. However, it's an oversimplification compared to the merits that hydrogen brings over EVs, ten of which will follow.

ONE
With fossil fuels being a limited resource that's already depleting at a rapid rate, there's always the distant fear of what will happen once the oil reserves do run out. Synthetic fuels and e-fuels are clearly not widespread enough to help mitigate the problem. 

That's where hydrogen – being the most abundant element in the universe – comes in handy. The idea of hydrogen acting as a fuel that can not only power future ICE cars but also existing and older engines through a conversion, is truly exciting.  READ MORE...

America and Ancient Rome

 

WE, The People's House

The US House of Representatives is under the control of the Republicans by a slim margin of only 4 votes.  Instead of coming together as a party and showing unity, the Republicans have decided to show their asses to the American Public by not coming together and continuing to fight each other in public.  

The reason for this has not been fully explained but it just goes to show that the Republicans do not have the "BALLS" to manage the House, let alone the Presidency.

Trump is facing 91 indictments and even if he wins the GOP nomination, he will lose the Presidential election again...  because people will vote against him not caring that putting Biden into office a second time would be disastrous.

HOWEVER, looking at the lack of leadership that the Republicans are showing in the House, I am not sure if I would vote for any of them either.

What's worse is that the rest of the world can SMELL our WEAKNESS and will continue to take advantage of that until we are all forced to speak Mandarin.

The USA is not the same country that won WWII but continues to be the declining country that lost in Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. 

Our values have crumbled, our greatness has been diminished and all we seem to be able to do when in power is argue among ourselves.

We are pitiful.
 

Somewhat Political

 

FIVE-THOUSAND-Year-Old Wine in Egyptian Tomb

Why would you want to drink boggy old sarcophagus juice when there are more palatable tomb beverages to hand?

In the tomb of the First Dynasty Egyptian queen Meret-Neith, archaeologists have uncovered a wealth of grave goods that includes hundreds of large wine jars – some of which still sealed. These funereal riches, they say, bolster the case that she was a person of great significance, maybe even Egypt's first female pharaoh.

Meret-Neith lived some 5,000 years ago, serving as queen of Egypt some time around 2950 BCE. She was, at the very least, queen-consort and regent. She may have been a ruler in her own right – a pharaoh – but archaeologists have been unable to determine her position with certainty. The first queen known to assume the full royal titulary was Sobekneferu, a millennium later.

There is certainly evidence of Meret-Neith's importance in her tomb, at the royal necropolis of Abydos. She was buried amid the final resting places of male pharaohs, and her own tomb was of comparable size and richness. She was likely the most powerful woman of her time.  READ MORE...

Enjoying Today

Each year in February, the sun's angle is such that Horsetail Falls waterfall lights up like fire. Yosemite, USA

Houseboat

Panda, scared after the earthquake in Japan, embraced the leg of a
policeman.

Kalapana, Hawaii where the sea meets the lava.

Beijing Airport by night.

Two year-old Chimpanzee feeding  milk to "Aorn", a small tiger 60 days old.

Ducks tend to continue throughout life to be seen in birth order,
whether or not by their mother.

Highway in Japan with snow more than 10 meters high.
Unbelievable.

Spectacular rice fields in China.

Austria's Green Lake is a beautiful park in winter. The snow melts in summer and creates a very clear lake.

Undersea tunnel linking Sweden and Denmark.

The world's highest swimming pool is located in the skyscraper Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.

Amazing lightning storm over the Grand Canyon.

Baby chameleons.

Beautiful image of a panda bear helping another.



"The Road to Heaven", a place in

Ireland where every two years the stars align with the road.

World's Largest Swimming Pool in San Alfonso, Chile. More than 1,000 yards long.

Crystal Palace. Madrid.

''Heaven's Gate", Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain, China .

The Northern Lights, Alaska.

The white owl Spectacular.

The famous'' Rosa Moss Bridges", Ireland.

Eiffel Tower. Romantic and beautiful Paris, France.

Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii.

Restaurant hanging, Belgium.

Sea otters hold hands while they sleep in case the current changes, so they awaken together.

There are animals with more sensitivity than many people.

Fireman giving drink to a baby Koala in Australia fires.

Amazing view of Manhattan, New York from above.

Frozen bubbles in the Canadian Rockies, Canada.

 

View of the semi-submerged cataract, Hawaii.

Northern lights over the Rocky Mountains in Canada

 

This dog saved her puppies from a fire at home and put them safely in one of the fire trucks

Infinite Cave, Vietnam

"If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present." -- Lao Tzu


Life does have an expiration date…


Take the time to enjoy each and every day!

Israel Goes to War With Hamas

By now, everyone should know that Hamas attacked Israel just outside of the Gaza strip.  The attack was brutal, as the elderly, women, and children were killed and hostages were taken for whatever reason...  we can only speculate.

Israel as they have always done retaliated, and the Arab world went berserk because the Jews fought back. 

I am reminded of the movie FIRST BLOOD where the main character did nothing wrong until the other side drew his blood first.  Then, he paid them back unmercifully.

Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord...  is from the Bible and one would think that the Jews would honor those words, but they do not.  And, if I was in their shoes, I would not either.

If someone hit you, then you have a fundamental right to FIGHT BACK and do so in such a way that they never attack you again.

The Arabs have asked for a DAY OF RAGE and if that's what they want let them have it...  but, they must remember that no matter how angry you are, women, children, and the elderly are off limits.

It is my hope that Israel kills every single person who is a member of Hamas and every single member of Hezbollah who says they will fight alongside of Hamas.  The world, outside of the middle east, China, and Russia is solidly in support of Israel.

If this develops into a world war, then a world war it shall be and a war the likes of which no one alive today has ever seen.  It will be a war where those who do not have the resources will feel the full weight of those who have the resources...  it will be a war of WILLS and when Americans think their rights are being taken away, have the will of an immovable object meeting an irresistible force.