Ride Captain Ride

 

Hamas' Underground City

 

MATH & ENGINEERING

Engineering

Advances in Civil Engineering
Using Recycled Concrete Powder, Waste Glass Powder, and Plastic Powder to Improve the Mechanical Properties of Compacted Concrete: Cement Elimination Approach
Erfan Najaf and Hassan Abbasi

International Journal of Rotating Machinery
Experimental and Numerical Studies of the Film Cooling Effectiveness Downstream of a Curved Diffusion Film Cooling Hole
Fan Yang and Mohammad E. Taslim

Journal of Robotics
Robust Finite-Time Tracking Control Based on Disturbance Observer for an Uncertain Quadrotor under External Disturbances
Hamid Hassani, Anass Mansouri, and Ali Ahaitouf




Mathematics

Abstract and Applied Analysis
A New Class of Function with Finitely Many Fixed Points
Matthew O. Oluwayemi, and Olubunmi A. Fadipe-Joseph

Advances in Fuzzy Systems
Clustering by Hybrid K-Means-Based Rider Sunflower Optimization Algorithm for Medical Data
A. Jaya Mabel Rani and A. Pravin

Complexity
Strong Emergence Arising from Weak Emergence
Thomas Schmickl

The Truth of FACTS

Q: Are there any facts that are really scary to know?

A: In 1997, 14 year old Nathan Zohner presented his science fair project to his classmates, seeking to ban a highly dangerous chemical from its everyday use. The chemical in question? Dihydrogen monoxide.



Throughout his presentation, Zohner provided his audience scientifically correct evidence as to why this chemical should be banned.

He explained that dihydrogen monoxide:

• Can cause severe burns while it’s in gas form
• Corrodes and rusts metal
• Kills countless people annually
• Is commonly found in tumors, acid rain, etc.
• Causes excessive urination and bloating if consumed

Zohner also noted that the chemical is able to kill you if you depend on it and then experience an extended withdrawal. He then asked his classmates if they actually wanted to ban dihydrogen monoxide. And so 43 out of the 50 children present voted to ban this obviously unsafe chemical.

However…this chemical isn’t typically considered toxic at all. In fact, dihydrogen monoxide is simply an unconventional name for water.

Nathan Zohner’s experiment wasn’t a legitimate attempt to ban water, but instead an experiment to get a representation of how gullible people can really be. Also, all of the points that Zohner used to convey his point were 100% factually correct; he just skewed all of the information in his favor by omitting certain facts. 

One journalist eventually dubbed this event as ‘Zohnerism’, where true facts are used to mislead people towards false conclusions. And this occurs a lot more often than you think, especially when politicians, journalists, etc., use proven facts to persuade people into believing false claims. The fact that people can mislead, and be misled so easily, is highly unsettling.

Being a Patriot

What does it mean to be a PATRIOT?
A patriot is a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors.

This definition is OBVIOUSLY LACKING in its explanation.

Both Democrats and Republicans vigorously support their country but from different perspectives in how the government should be managed and should operate.

WHICH ONE IS NOT A PATRIOT???

What about the patriot who did not serve in the military?  How can it be said that they were prepared to defend it against all enemies???

SO... does that mean patriots can only be VETERANS???

The DEMOCRATS are now saying that if Trump gets elected as President again, he will destroy our DEMOCRACY...

Does that mean that Trump, assuming the Democrats are correct, he not a PATRIOT???

Mohammed Ali, formerly Casious Clay, refused to be drafted because he was a conscientious objector...  

Does this mean he was not a PATRIOT???

When 9/11 took place in this country, there were numerous people who were willing to go to war to defend THIS COUNTRY...  Tons of Patriots...  but 20 years later, we have forgotten all about what happened and think that the USA is no longer the country it once was and that there are only very few AUTHENTIC PATRIOTS remaining...

BEING A PATRIOT IS NO LONGER APPLICABLE TO AMERICANS...

Saving Elephants

 

Exploring the Quantum Universe

After a multi-year review, the U.S. particle physics community has announced its vision for research spanning the next five to ten years. The various projects could, if funded, help researchers develop a much better understanding of the laws of nature.

The recommendations were released in a report called “Exploring the Quantum Universe: Pathways to Innovation and Discovery in Particle Physics.” It was written by the Particle Physics Projects Prioritization Panel (P5), a sub-panel of the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel (HEPAP), and will be submitted to funding agencies like the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science and the Natioce Foundation to guide their funding decisions over the next decade.  READ MORE...

Danny Boy

 

In the NEWS

Penn Reckoning
University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned Saturday amid backlash over remarks made during a congressional hearing about on-campus antisemitism Tuesday. Reports of antisemitic harassment have increased at US universities since the start of the Israel-Hamas war two months ago, prompting scrutiny of those institutions' responses. A major donor withdrew a $100M partnership with Penn Thursday as a protest of Magill's comments.




Diamond Deal
Shohei Ohtani, one of baseball's biggest stars, will depart the Los Angeles Angels and head across town to the Los Angeles Dodgers after signing a contract reportedly worth $700M. In total value, the 10-year deal is believed to be the biggest contract signed by any athlete in global sports history.



Texas Abortion Battle
The Texas Supreme Court paused a lower court's ruling over the weekend allowing a Dallas-area woman to receive an abortion despite the state's new laws limiting access to the procedure. The case is believed to be the first of its kind in the US since Roe v. Wade was overturned last June.



Retirement
This Princeton grad's startup raised $161M to help people plan for retirement.


If you're one of the whopping 110 million Americans over age 50—or a wise Millennial looking to get ahead—SmartAsset's no-cost tool makes it easy to find vetted financial advisors who serve your area. Research suggests that people who work with a financial advisor could end up with 15% more money to spend in retirement.¹


Science

• European Union reaches world's first comprehensive set of regulations for AI; plan creates a risk ranking system for different types of AI and allows consumers to file complaints against platforms (More)
• Paleontologists discover 75-million-year-old fossil of a Gorgosaurus, a species of tyrannosaur from what is now western North America, with its final two meals preserved in its stomach (More)
• Physicists demonstrate optical tweezers—focused laser beams that can hold and move tiny objects—which can position single molecules so precisely they can be used for quantum computing (More)

Purchasing Power of US Dollar in the USA

 It would take $173 in 2023 to purchase the same items in 2000 for $100...

This means that over a 23 year period of time that inflation has reduced the value of the dollar.

The value of the dollar is even worse when used overseas and exchanged with the EURO dollar...  it takes more dollars to buy a Euro than it did before...

This also hurts travel and tourism because it costs more for tourists to come to the USA than it did before which means we are losing revenues as a country.

To make matters worse, the dollar has less purchasing power in 2023 than it did in 1960...  instead of getting stronger, the dollar has gotten weaker.

What contributes to this decline?

• Inflation
• National Debt
• GDP
• Perception of value

BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) along with some other countries are pushing the rest of the world TO STOP USING THE US DOLLAR  when negotiating trade deals with other countries.

This pressure also weakens the purchasing power of the US dollar.

WHY IS THE REST OF THE WORLD AGAINST THE USA???

The Animals

 

Advice I Would Have Given My Young Self

 I have heard lots of people make the comment that...    

 if I had it to over again, I would have lived my life differently...  

and I am sure that they are sincere, but reflections like that are impractical and illogical because that chance would never happen, so why even consider it?

Personally, I would not have lived my life any differently if I had the chance because the way my life was and is currently being lived, is the way it was intended to be lived from the GETGO...

However,

with that said, I would have given my younger self the following advice...

DON'T BE GREEDY WITH YOUR CAREER THINKING THAT THERE MIGHT BE SOMETHING BETTER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD.

Why am I giving this advice?

Several times during my 45 year career, I changed my employers thinking that this move which provide me with greater and greater wealth.

The question that I did not ask myself was:  

Why did I think I need this extra wealth?

The answer was simple...   EGO

In 1977, I was in a great position with a Community College in North Carolina and had I stayed there for 20 years, I would have retired in 1997 at the age of 50.  Obviously, I would not have retired, but I could have either stayed there or looked for another 20 year career from 50-70.

In 1990, I had a great position with a Community College in Tennessee and had I stayed there, I could have retired in 2010 after 20 years or 2015 (the year I actually retired) after 25 years.

LOOKING BACK....

I would not have changed anything...  but had I been able to give myself advice, I MAY have lived my life a little differently because I had made different decisions.

IF...   I was in a position to live my life again...  I probably would have stayed in the Navy for 20 years and gotten my bachelor's and master's degrees while on active duty.  1969-1989...   I then would have either applied for a teaching position while getting my PHD or simply gotten my PHD and then looked for a teaching position...  

• PHD - 1989-1991
• Teaching - 1991-2011/2015

Retirement:   

1. Military - 20 years
2. Teaching - 20 years
3. Social Security - 40 quarters or 10 years

Making the Internet Better

 

From THE VERGE

Engineers and major companies are pushing a technology called L4S that they say could make the web feel dramatically faster. But how?

Building for tomorrow
A few months ago, I downgraded my internet, going from a 900Mbps plan to a 200Mbps one. Now, I find that websites can sometimes take a painfully long time to load, that HD YouTube videos have to stop and buffer when I jump around in them, and that video calls can be annoyingly choppy.

In other words, pretty much nothing has changed. I had those exact same problems even when I had near-gigabit download service, and I’m probably not alone. I’m sure many of you have also had the experience of cursing a slow-loading website and growing even more confused when a “speed test” says that your internet should be able to play dozens of 4K Netflix streams at once. 

So what gives?  READ MORE...

Top Ten Tech Blogs

 

1. Wired

Founder: Louis Rossetto, Jane Metcalfe

Year Started: 1993

Domain Authority: 94 ⋅

2. TechCrunch

Founder: Michael Arrington, Keith Teare

Year Started: 2005

Domain Authority: 94

3. Recode

Founder: Kara Swisher

Year Started: 2014

Domain Authority: 93

4. Mashable

Founder: Pete Cashmoreg

Year Started: 2005

Domain Authority: 93

5. CNET

Founder: Halsey Minor, Shelby Bonnie

Year Started: 1994

Domain Authority: 93

6. The Verge

Founder: Joshua Topolsky, Jim Bankoff, Marty Moe

Year Started: 2011

Domain Authority: 92

7. Venturebeat

Founder: Matt Marshall

Year Started: 2006

Domain Authority: 92

8. Slashdot

Founder: Rob Malda, Jeff Bates

Year Started: 1997

Domain Authority: 90

9. Gizmodo

Founder: Pete Rojas

Year Started: 2001

Domain Authority: 90

10. Engadget

Founder: Pete Rojas

Year Started: 2004

Domain Authority: 90

Our Obese Society

 A year and a half ago, maybe two, I weighed somewhere between 250-260 on a 6'1" frame...  which put me into the category of being obese.

Last year, I had managed to reduce my weight down to 220-224 and that weight stayed around for a while, so I thought that was the best that I could do.

Today, my weight is between 212-214 and while I like the way I feel nowadays, I would like to get down to 205.

At 205, I will still be overweight but not obese.

Somewhere between the ages of 50-60, I stopped being as active as I had been but continued to eat.  I just did not care that much about the extra weight or how it made me free.

However, when I was diagnosed with cancer and started taking chemo, I was given steroids to prevent nausea and while that worked, it caused my weight to continue to increase.

A few years ago, I went from chemo to immunotherapy and as a result no longer needed to take steroids and it is then I consciously began focusing on my weight.

Exercise does not help one lose weight.  It maintains the weight that was lost by NOT EATING AS MUCH and eating the right things.

I no longer eat red meat, fried foods, sugars, or drink alcohol.  I eat fish, chicken, turkey, beans, and lots of vegetables.  I like Salmon, Cod, and Tuna and have gotten used to eating Turkey Hot Dogs and Turkey Burgers.

We have a problem of obesity in the USA and while I was not obese until way after age 60, I see children and teenagers that are already obese and I wonder about their health and if we have the resources to take care of a bunch of people who are FAT AND SICK.

When I was working at ITT Technical Institute, we had two instructors there who were extremely obese.  One was in his 40s and the other was in his 60s and they both died on the operating table due to complications from being obese.  Both had gone in for a routine operation.

I hope this article causes you to think about your weight if you are obese.  Now is the time to do something about it.

Check Out These Retirement Blogs

The Retirement Manifesto Blog

Mr. Money Mustache — Early Retirement through Badassity (mrmoneymustache.com)

Squared Away Blog – Center for Retirement Research (bc.edu)

A Future Ready Organization

INSTITUTE FOR THE FUTURE

Change is everywhere. Whether it’s artificial intelligence and the next technology revolution, rising temperatures and the climate crisis, the changing nature of work and economic uncertainty, or the breakdown of trust and the shocks to our sense of what is true and legitimate, change keeps coming at us from all directions. 

It’s really difficult to feel grounded in this world of constant and rapid change. Instead of anticipating the future, we react to change (often too late) or we give into uncertainty (and anxiety) and do nothing. There is another way forward: we can prepare and be ready.

Future readiness is a journey
Future readiness is the state of being fully prepared for the future. Future-ready organizations anticipate systemic shifts in their environment and understand their long-term impacts. They envision alternative futures and invest in strategic foresight to manifest their preferred futures. They make sense of change by cultivating a futures mindset up and down and across their organization. 

Ultimately, future-ready organizations avoid being blindsided by change and are better able to transform valuable foresight into actionable insight by building and maintaining an anticipatory system (a network of resources including people, processes, methods, and tools dedicated to scanning the emerging future).  READ MORE...

Burning Down the House

 

Swinging

 

Family Unity Gone

We put up our Christmas tree and decorations today...  outside we have 3 boxes with lights that represent Christmas presents.  In the past, we have had a family of deer in our front yard but after several years, there was not much left to them, so they were put into the trash and hauled away to the landfill.

I look around my house and I see the Christmas tree lights and all the little figurines we have purchased over the years to sit around the house to create the Christmas mood...  but today, there is no mood...  no Christmas spirit.

Before our parents died, no matter where we lived, the three children would descend on Chapel Hill, NC to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with them.  My sister lived next door, so she would just walk across.  My brother would fly in and out on Christmas day with him family and I would drive over with mine.

While we seldom agreed on anything that we discussed around the dinner table, we were all still with our parents and we WERE A LARGE FAMILY...

It has been several years since their deaths.  Our father died in 2001 and our mother about 12 years later.  It has been over 5 years since our mother has died and the three children have yet to come together for CHRISTMAS...  no one has even brought it up that this is something that we should do to honor the legacy of our parents.

Not coming together at Christmas HAS NOT RUINED Christmas for any of us...  but we just don't have the family closeness anymore that we had when our parents were alive.

I am 76.  My sister is 79.  My brother is 68.  My sister and I have remarried while our brother remains married with one child and one adopted.  My sister had one child and I had one child.  For all intents and purposes, we only communicate with each other at Christmas...  the rest of the time, we live our lives as if we were an only child.

I have no idea what my brother or sister thinks about Christmas and our parents but I feel we have let them down with our failure to remain close or even remain in touch more often.