Team Joe

 

The Blues Brothers

 

In The NEWS

A 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck the western coast of central Japan yesterday, collapsing dozens of buildings and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate from their homes. A major tsunami warning—the country's first since a devastating 2011 tsunami that killed 20,000 and triggered a nuclear disaster—was implemented but eventually lifted without incident. Roughly 80 aftershocks hit the country throughout the day.

The No. 1 Michigan Wolverines will face off against the No. 2 Washington Huskies in the college football national championship Monday (7:30 pm ET, ESPN), after each team won their respective semifinal games last night. It marks both teams' first appearance in the title game (and first playoff win) since the playoff format began in 2014.

Israel's Supreme Court struck down a key piece of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial reforms yesterday, ruling 8-7 against an amendment that would have barred the court from overturning laws found to be "extremely unreasonable."


Cale Yarborough, legendary NASCAR driver, dies at 84 (More) | Ana Ofelia Murguía, Mexican actress known for voice acting role in "Coco," dies at 90 (More)


Early version of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse enters public domain, making the "Steamboat Willie" character available for public use (More) | See previous write-up (More)



Taylor Swift passes Elvis Presley for most weeks spent atop the Billboard 200 album chart by a solo artist, as Swift's "1989 (Taylor's Version)" stays at No. 1 (More)



Sony, Canon, and Nikon to develop digital signatures for photographs, distinguishing shots from AI-generated images (More)



NASA's Juno spacecraft returns images from Jupiter's moon Io, the most volcanic object in the solar system, after a flyby brings it within 930 miles of the surface (More)



Study of the Mongolian Arc—a 250-mile-long, 1,200-year-old extension of the Great Wall of China—suggests it was not used as a defensive barrier, may have provided control points for migration (More)



Markets close down Friday (S&P 500 -0.3%, Dow -0.1%, Nasdaq -0.6%), but set to begin 2024 trading today near record highs (More) | "Magnificent Seven"—Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla—made up two-thirds of the S&P 500's gains in 2023 (More)



Chinese automaker BYD reports selling more than 526,000 fully electric vehicles in the fourth quarter, potentially overtaking Tesla as world's top EV seller; Tesla to report sales figures today (More)



Global minimum tax rolled out in certain jurisdictions, including the UK, European Union, and Japan; corporations making more than roughly $828M will see at least a 15% tax on profits, the US and China have not yet agreed to the deal (More)



Russia launches 90 drone strikes across Ukraine, the largest drone attack since the start of the war; follows Ukrainian shelling near the Russian town of Belgorod, which killed at least 21 people (More) | See an overview of the Iran-made Shahed drones (More)

SOURCE:  1440 News

Electric Aviation Technology

Normally, electric aviation is the last thing we consider when talking about military aircraft. Militaries around the world use a LOT of fossil fuels, and this is particularly bad for aviation. 

The power density just isn’t there for most types of planes to be able to effectively use battery power, and the higher performance planes militaries often need are even less favorable to that. 

Things like fighter jets use tens of thousands of gallons of fuel, just to carry a pilot and some bombs and missiles around.  READ MORE...

Lady Liberty

 

ENDGAME of Democrats

 

HERE ARE THE POLICIES OF THE DEMOCRATS

1. Stop Donald Trump
2. Increase Illegal Immigration
3. Increase in Government Spending
4. Increase the National Debt
5. Increase IRS Taxes
6. Increase Illegal Drugs
7. Increase Crime and Violence
8. Put just as many whites in prison as there are blacks
9. Brainwash our children with CRT, BLM, WOKE
10. End reliance on fossil fuels
11. Not see China as main threat to USA
12. Silence the conservative voice
13. Reduce funding to the military
14. Reduce funding to law enforcement

WHY DO THE DEMOCRATS WANT TO DO THIS???

Every time I think about this, I realize that there has to be more than just the obvious.

• Our way of life is being destroyed
• Our quality of life is being destroyed
• Our middle class is being destroyed
• Our economy is being destroyed
• Will all these immigrants vote Democratic
• Will all these immigrants contribute to the USA

They want to create a DEMOCRATIC DICTATORSHIP where the conservative voice has no impact at all and is no longer in consideration.  They want to create a culture where WHITES are the enemy and we have to make sure we take care of the oppressed Blacks at the expense of the whites.  They no longer want the USA to be the leader of the world, instead they want to turn that role over to China and their middle east followers.  The want to end Christianity and replace it with ISLAM as the world's new religion.

WHO IS BEHIND THIS?

All the billionaires...

They are not satisfied with controlling the USA, they want to control the world through CHINA and its communist party.

With our freedom of speech, democracies by definition and difficult to control when there are two opposing voices.

Hands

 

Production of GR-1 Humanoid Robot

Fourier Intelligence has been manufacturing exoskeletons and rehabilitation devices since 2017. The Singapore-based company launched its first generation of humanoid robots this year, designated the GR-1.

The humanoid platform includes 40 degrees of freedom distributed throughout its body, which measures 1.65 m (5 ft., 5 in.) in height and weighs 55 kg (121.2 lb.). The joint module that is fitted at the hip of the robot is capable of producing a peak torque of 300 Nm, which allows it to walk at a speed of 5 kph (3.1 mph) and carry goods that weigh 50 kg (110.2 lb.).

Making the leap from exoskeleton development to humanoid design is a logical progression, as the humanoid platform shares many of the mechanical and electrical design elements that Fourier developed for its core product line. Actuation is a core competency of the company, and by designing and building actuators, it claimed that it can optimize the cost/performance of the system.  READ MORE...

Houthis

 

Parachute Jump

 

Quantum Shadows: Images Hidden in Noise

A groundbreaking phase imaging method, resistant to phase noise and effective in dim light, has been developed by international researchers. This technique, detailed in Science Advances, enhances imaging capabilities in fields ranging from medical research to art preservation. (Artist’s concept.) Credit: SciTechDaily.com



Innovative quantum-inspired imaging technique excels in low-light conditions, offering new prospects in medical imaging and art conservation.

Researchers at the University of Warsaw’s Faculty of Physics with colleagues from Stanford University and Oklahoma State University have introduced a quantum-inspired phase imaging method based on light intensity correlation measurements that is robust to phase noise. The new imaging method can operate even with extremely dim illumination and can prove useful in emerging applications such as in infrared and X-ray interferometric imaging and quantum and matter-wave interferometry.

Revolutionizing Imaging Techniques
No matter if you take photos of a cat with your smartphone or image cell cultures with an advanced microscope, you do this by measuring the intensity (brightness) of light pixel by pixel. Light is characterized, not only by its intensity but also by its phase. Interestingly, transparent objects can become visible if you’re able to measure the phase delay of light that they introduce.   READ MORE...

Mechanical

 

A New Year - 2024

 A new year has begun, and we are the better for it.

Why?

Because we are a year older for the most part and with age comes wisdom.

2023 -  was for the most part a disaster depending upon your perspective.   For some it was the greatest year ever but for others that was not true.

Last year for me and my wife, although I cannot really speak for her, was no different than 2022 or 2021 or 2020 or any of the years previously past going back to 2015 when we both retired.

Yes, prices were somewhat higher but that increase cost did not change our lifestyle, which is the same thing that will happen to us in 2024.

The only concern that I really have going into 2024 will be getting involved in another war.  That involvement must include military weapons as well as personnel.

We have wars in:  Ukraine, Israel, and potentially Taiwan in the south China sea.  BUT...  we are also be baited into a war with Iran and North Korea because those countries refuse to listen to the warnings from our government.

War will not affect me since I am too old to be boots on the ground, but numerous Americans will before they have had a chance to live their lives and those of us left behind will not really care that they died for us.

In some cases, war is good because it helps strengthen our economy and the same could hold true in 2024.

Regardless of the negative possibilities of 2024, I believe this year will basically be no different than the year before for many of us.

The main issue here is that we are still alive to experience 2024 in its entirety.

Raccoon Slippers

 

Lithium Reserve Under US Volcano

The planet’s largest-known lithium deposit may have been found hiding beneath an ancient super volcano along the Nevada–Oregon border in the US. Given the skyrocketing demand for lithium, this deposit could be a treasure trove – although obtaining it could come with a bunch of challenges and dangers.

An estimated 20 to 40 million metric tons of lithium is thought to be contained within sediments of the McDermitt caldera, a caldron-like depression that formed as a result of the volcano erupting and then collapsing on itself. The caldera is found in southeastern Oregon and northern Nevada, taking up a vast portion of land around 45 kilometers (28 miles) long and 35 kilometers (22 miles) wide.

If this estimate is correct, it would mean the McDermitt caldera holds the record for the biggest lithium deposition in the world, beating Bolivia's salt flats, which hold around 23 million tons.

“If you believe their back-of-the-envelope estimation, this is a very, very significant deposit of lithium,’ Anouk Borst, a geologist at KU Leuven University and the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium, told Chemistry World.     READ MORE...

Blue Angels

 

NEW YEAR'S DAY - 2024

NEW YEAR'S EVE - Sunday

 

In The NEWS

Every year on Jan. 1, a new batch of copyrighted works and intellectual property enters the public domain. On Monday, the first versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, featured in the 1928 short “Steamboat Willie” (watch here), will become available for public use.


Russia launches 122 missiles, 36 drones against Ukraine.
At least 30 people were killed and 144 injured across Ukraine Friday from the attack. The Ukrainian military said it had intercepted most of the missiles and drones. The attack is considered the largest aerial barrage since the war between Russia and Ukraine began in February 2022. See war updates here.


South Africa accuses Israel of genocide in case brought to top UN court.
South Africa, which has been a critic of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and has compared it to South Africa's past apartheid regime, seeks an order from the UN's International Court of Justice to halt Israel's attacks and declare Israel in violation of the Genocide Convention (see 101). Israel maintains it is abiding by international law. Separately, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza moved south to Rafah, while a delegation met in Egypt Friday for cease-fire talks. See war updates here.


World population projected to top 8 billion on New Year's Day.
The world's population grew by more than 75 million people this year, up 0.95% from New Year's Day 2023, according to the US Census Bureau. On Jan. 1, the population is expected to reach a little over 8 billion, from 7.9 billion a year ago. Next year, 4.3 births and two deaths are expected worldwide every second. Track the Census Bureau's US and world population clocks here.


California keeps Trump on state's 2024 primary ballot.
Former President Donald Trump will appear on the Republican ballot in California's Super Tuesday (March 5) presidential primary after Secretary of State Shirley Weber (D) published a list of official candidates, including Trump, late Thursday. The news came hours after Maine's secretary of state nixed Trump due to a 14th Amendment clause (see previous write-up). See a state-by-state tracker of challenges here.


At least eight people injured after huge wave batters California coast (w/video).
The massive 20-foot-plus wave crashed onto Ventura, California, flooding surrounding areas and sweeping up a truck. California has been experiencing huge waves this week as a result of low-pressure storm systems in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Coastal flooding and waves in the range of 15 to 20 feet are expected along California's coast through this evening.

SOURCE:  1440 News

Somewhat Political