Friday, May 10
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokić wins 2023-24 NBA Most Valuable Player award, his third MVP win in four years (More) | Minnesota Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert wins a record-tying fourth Player of the Year award (More) | Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava gives up title two days after Miss USA resigns (More)
> Steve Albini, iconic rock producer and engineer who worked with Nirvana, the Pixies, and many others, dies at 61 (More)
> South by Southwest festival to expand to London in 2025 (More) | Ten countries advance to Eurovision 2024 Grand Final set for May 11 (More)
Science & Technology
> Astronomers discover the first known exoplanet similar to Earth with a substantial gas atmosphere; 55 Cancri e, roughly 41 light-years away, is too hot for organic life but may provide insight into Earth's early development (More)
> Researchers develop modified chemical compound based on the psychedelic venom of the Colorado River toad that reduces anxiety and stress without inducing hallucinations (More)
> Google's DeepMind announces its AlphaFold platform now allows researchers to predict protein structures when interacting with other molecules; capability, currently under restricted access, likely to help accelerate new drug discovery (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 0.0%, Dow +0.4%, Nasdaq -0.2%); Dow extends winning streak to sixth day (More)
> Airbnb shares fall 8% in after-hours trading on weaker Q2 forecast (More) | Robinhood shares rise over 3% in after-hours trading on better-than-expected Q1 earnings and revenue (More) | Uber shares close down 5%, Lyft shares close up 7% following ride-share companies' respective earnings reports a day earlier (More)
> Archegos Capital founder Bill Hwang and company's chief financial officer begin trial for fraud and racketeering charges over an alleged stock manipulation scheme; Archegos Capital collapsed in 2021 with $36B in assets, drove $10B in losses at global banks (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> House Democrats join Republicans in 359-43 vote to dismiss motion from Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R, GA-14) to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R, LA-4) (More)
> Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suffered from a series of health issues, including a parasite that infected part of his brain, as well as a neurological disorder, heartbeat abnormality, and mercury poisoning, per new report (More)
> Russia launches more than 70 missile and attack drones targeting Ukrainian power plants across six regions (More) | See updates on war (More)
Entertainment
My wife and I stopped paying for cable and just got a WIFI connection and a ROKU to watch a variety of programs that were available through Netflix, Prime, and HULU. I wanted HULU so I could watch FOX News and did not really care about the others.
Tired of Being Told
This should be required reading for every man, woman and child in the U.S.A & Canada
By Robert A. Hall
I'm 73
Except for one
semester in college when jobs were scarce and a
six-month period when I was between jobs, but
job-hunting every day, I've worked, hard, since I was 18.
Despite some health challenges, I still put in
50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in
seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but
I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I
worked to get where I am. Given the economy,
there's no retirement in sight, and I'm tired.
Very tired.
I'm tired of being told
that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who
don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being
told the government will take the money I
earned, by force if necessary, and give it to
people too lazy to earn it.
I'm tired of being told
that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every
day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men
killing their sisters, wives and daughters for
their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over
some slight offense; of Muslims murdering
Christian and Jews because they aren't
"believers;" of Muslims burning schools for
girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims
to death for "adultery;" of Muslims mutilating
the genitals of little girls; all in the name of
Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari???a law tells them to.
I'm tired of being told
that, out of "tolerance for other cultures," we
must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund
mosques and mandrassa Islamic schools to preach
hate in America and Canada , while no American
nor Canadian group is allowed to fund a church,
synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia to
teach love and tolerance..
I'm tired of being told I
must lower my living standard to fight global
warming, which no one is allowed to debate.
I'm tired of being told
that drug addicts have a disease, and I must
help support and treat them, and pay for the
damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a
dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up
their noses while they tried to fight it off?
I'm tired of hearing
wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians
of both parties talking about innocent mistakes,
stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we
all know they think their only mistake was
getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense
of entitlement, rich or poor.
I'm real tired of people who
don't take responsibility for their lives and
actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the
government, or discrimination or big-whatever
for their problems.
Yes, I'm damn tired . But I'm also glad to
be 73.. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have
to see the world these people are making. I'm
just sorry for my granddaughters and grandson.
Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served
five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate.
There is no way this will be widely publicized, unless
each of us sends it on!
This is your chance to make a difference.
"I'm 73 and I'm tired." If you don't forward this you
are part of the problem.
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Exploring Exotic States of Matter
Proximity is key for many quantum phenomena, as interactions between atoms are stronger when the particles are close. In many quantum simulators, scientists arrange atoms as close together as possible to explore exotic states of matter and build new quantum materials.
They typically do this by cooling the atoms to a standstill, then using laser light to position the particles as close as 500 nanometers apart—a limit that is set by the wavelength of light. Now, MIT physicists have developed a technique that allows them to arrange atoms in much closer proximity, down to a mere 50 nanometers. For context, a red blood cell is about 1,000 nanometers wide.
The physicists have demonstrated the new approach in experiments with dysprosium, which is the most magnetic atom in nature. They used the new approach to manipulate two layers of dysprosium atoms and positioned the layers precisely 50 nanometers apart. At this extreme proximity, the magnetic interactions were 1,000 times stronger than if the layers were separated by 500 nanometers. READ MORE...
Thursday, May 9
The Airscooter Flying Machine
This incredible personal flying machine is designed to offer an alternative to cars. And it can zip through the air at speeds of up to 62 miles per hour. Imagine a cute little egg-shaped cockpit, where anyone – with just a little training – can take control and soar up to heights of 9,800 feet.
This amazing flying car is one of a kind, and it’s practical too. A trip that would normally take two hours by car during rush hour can be completed in just 10 minutes with the Airscooter. But it’s not all fun and games; this flying machine also helps the environment.
Although it does use a bit of fuel, its carbon footprint is like that of a car. The Airscooter is a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, meaning it doesn’t need much space to take off. READ MORE...
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Disney shares drop nearly 10% despite news that streaming platform Disney+ brought in its first-ever quarterly profit (More)
> Ian Gelder, "Game of Thrones" actor, dies of cancer at age 74 (More) | Susan Buckner, actress known for role in "Grease," dies at age 72 (More)
> Borussia Dortmund tops Paris Saint-Germain to advance to UEFA Champions League final (More) | Real Madrid takes on Bayern Munich today (3 pm ET, Paramount+) in other semifinal matchup (More)
Science & Technology
In partnership with EnergyX
> OpenAI debuts tool to detect images generated by its text-to-image DALL-E 3 platform; detection worked with 98% accuracy, but accuracy rate dropped if images were modified after being generated (More) | Watch 1440's new explainer on how generative AI works (More)
> Engineers develop millimeter-thick fabric capable of suppressing sounds in large rooms or spaces; the electrically active material acts as a "sound mirror," can reduce ambient noise by up to 75% (More)
> NASA's Roman mission to search for primordial black holes; theorized but never observed, the low-mass objects formed shortly after the Big Bang and may be as small as Earth (More) | How black holes form (More, w/video)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.1%, Dow +0.1%, Nasdaq -0.1%) as investors wait on news of Federal Reserve interest rate cut timing (More) | Reddit shares jump over 14% in after-hours trading on news first-quarter revenue rose 48% from 2023; marks first quarterly earnings report since March initial public offering (More)
> TikTok sues US government over law forcing Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest or face a US ban; argues video platform should be allowed to operate under First Amendment free speech protections (More) | See previous write-up (More)
> London-based self-driving car company Wayve raises $1.1B in Series C funding led by SoftBank (More) | Federal investigators question Tesla over uptick in crashes despite rollout of autopilot software updates (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Israel takes control of Gaza's side of Rafah crossing with Egypt as the UN warns of potential for collapse of aid flow to the territory; Israel-Hamas cease-fire discussions continue (More) | See updates on war (More)
> Ukrainian officials say they have foiled an assassination plot against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, arrest two colonels accused of acting as Russian spies (More) | See updates on war (More)
> At least one person died and more than 30,000 people left without power following tornadoes in Oklahoma; parts of central and eastern US under tornado and thunderstorm watches (More)
Lessons Learned
At SEVENTY-SIX (76) years of age and after a FOURTY-FIVE (45) year career, these are some of the lessons I have learned, many of which were learned the HARD WAY. The hard way is always AFTER THE FACT, NEVER BEFORE.
What does that mean?
If someone told me not to spit into the wind, I would have to spit into the wind in order to find out why.
1. Follow the TEN COMMANDMENTS whether you are religious or not because they make sense.
2. Don't worry about learning that much in high school outside of English because you will always need to communicate properly no matter what you do - both oral and written.
3. Consider the Air Force as a career - low risk of being killed.
4. Consider going to a Community College for your first two years and as a junior you can pretty much attend any college you want.
5. Find the right balance between work and home. It is different for everyone, not just because everyone is different, but spouses are different as well.
6. In college, don't worry about the grade - worry about how much knowledge you can retain to use in your career.
7. Manage your debt properly (no debt is best) and manage your stress. The word manage connects these two concepts together.
8. Start saving money as early as possible. Maybe stop smoking and save the money you would have spent on cigarettes. Or, whatever else you gave up.
9. Don't challenge the boss at work but don't kiss their asses either. Learn what you can from that company and move on to another one. Never burn your bridges.
10. You will be lucky if you have 3-5 REAL FRIENDS during your lifetime. You will like some people you work with, but they are not necessarily friends. Friends are special and it make take 20 years before you realize someone is your friend.
11. Don't let power and greed cloud your judgement... that is to say, having one or both of them is not always the right kind of goal to have. Simplicity oftentimes outweighs complexity.
12. And to thine own self be true. Know who you are and live your life that way regardless of what others might say. Integrity is an important value that people often lose sight of.
I am sure that there are other concepts but those are the ones that pop into my mind. I have never let greed and power influence too much of my life and when I did follow of path of greed, there was always a tradeoff that I later regretted making.
HOWEVER, I would not change a thing about my life because who I am today is a result of who I was and all those experiences I encountered. I like who I am now.
The Entropy of Quantum Entanglement
Bartosz Regula from the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing and Ludovico Lami from the University of Amsterdam have shown, through probabilistic calculations, that there is indeed, as had been hypothesized, a rule of entropy for the phenomenon of quantum entanglement.
This finding could help drive a better understanding of quantum entanglement, which is a key resource that underlies much of the power of future quantum computers. Little is currently understood about the optimal ways to make effective use of it, despite it being the focus of research in quantum information science for decades.
The second law of thermodynamics, which says that a system can never move to a state with lower entropy, or order, is one of the most fundamental laws of nature, and lies at the very heart of physics. It is what creates the "arrow of time," and tells us the remarkable fact that the dynamics of general physical systems, even extremely complex ones such as gases or black holes, are encapsulated by a single function, its entropy. READ MORE...
Wednesday, May 8
Google Lays Off Hundreds of Employees
Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc., during Stanford’s 2024 Business, Government, and Society forum in Stanford, California, US, on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Just ahead of its blowout first-quarter earnings report on April 25, Google laid off at least 200 employees from its “Core” teams, in a reorganization that will include moving some roles to India and Mexico, CNBC has learned.
The Core unit is responsible for building the technical foundation behind the company’s flagship products and for protecting users’ online safety, according to Google’s website. Core teams include key technical units from information technology, its Python developer team, technical infrastructure, security foundation, app platforms, core developers, and various engineering roles.
At least 50 of the positions eliminated were in engineering at the company’s offices in Sunnyvale, California, filings show. Many Core teams will hire corresponding roles in Mexico and India, according to internal documents viewed by CNBC. READ MORE...
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
In partnership with Quince
> Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt relinquishes crown, citing her mental health; Miss USA organization to name a successor soon (More)
> Statues of civil rights leader Daisy Bates and musician Johnny Cash to replace existing 100-year-old statues representing Arkansas at the US Capitol (More)
> San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama becomes NBA's sixth-ever unanimous Rookie of the Year (More) | NBA postseason continues; see latest playoff bracket (More)
Science & Technology
> Groundbreaking Alzheimer's study links some cases of the disease with duplicate copies of the APOE4 gene; marks the most conclusive evidence of genetic causes for Alzheimer's, may represent 15% to 20% of cases (More) | Alzheimer's explained (More, w/video)
> New ultrasound imaging technique allows high-resolution of microscopic blood vessels in the heart, may lead to better diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (More)
> Boeing delays first crewed launch of Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station due to issue with an oxygen valve; a new launch date hasn't been announced as of this writing (More) | See previous write-up (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +1.0%, Dow +0.5%, Nasdaq +1.2%), with investors fueled by a greater chance of interest rate cuts this year (More)
> Boeing faces new probe from the Federal Aviation Administration over 787 Dreamliner model; investigation comes after the jet maker revealed its employees may have skipped some inspections and falsified records (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to run for fourth term; Sanders, 82, is second-oldest US senator behind 90-year-old Sen. Chuck Grassley (R, IA) (More) | Former President Donald Trump fined additional $1K for violating gag order in hush money trial, was previously fined $9K; trial judge warns of jail time for future violations (More)
> Russia detains American soldier on charges of theft, US officials say; soldier, whose identity hasn't been revealed, traveled to Russia on his own while between deployments (More) | Russia announces nuclear weapons drills (More)
> Great Plains, central US brace for supercell thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes, hail, and damaging winds (More) | Supercell thunderstorms 101 (More)