Contributions

 

Eulogy

 

Voting

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Tennessee tops Texas A&M 6-5 in decisive Game 3 to win their first men's College World Series title (More)

> "Freaky Friday 2" confirmed for 2025 theatrical release, will feature Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan reprising their original roles (More) | Three major record labels sue AI music startups, citing copyright infringement (More)

> Tamayo Perry, professional surfer and "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor, dies at 49 following shark attack in Hawaii (More) | Princess Anne, the sister of King Charles III, hospitalized after suffering concussion from an undisclosed weekend incident (More)


Science & Technology
> Thirteen-year-old British patient becomes first to receive deep brain stimulation implant to address treatment-resistant epilepsy; early results show an 80% reduction in daytime seizures (More)

> Archaeologists uncover 33 ancient tombs in the Egyptian city of Aswan, with some remains showing signs of disease or bone disorders (More) | Ancient Egypt explained in three minutes (More)

> Study demonstrates at least 15 types of perfluoroalkyl substances—also known as forever chemicals—can be absorbed through the skin at levels high enough to cause meaningful exposure (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.3%, Dow +0.7%, Nasdaq -1.1%) ahead of fresh batch of economic data this week; Nvidia shares close down nearly 7% (More)

> Chipotle Mexican Grill to execute planned 50-for-1 stock split today, its first stock split since going public in 2006 (More) | Chinese fast fashion retailer Shein—last valued at $66B—files for initial public offering in London (More)

> Car dealerships across the US and Canada continue to experience disruptions in operations after last week's back-to-back cyberattacks on CDK Global software used by auto retail sales industry (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to plead guilty to violating the Espionage Act in a US court in the Northern Mariana Islands local time Wednesday; Assange to be released to Australia, his country of citizenship (More) | US Supreme Court agrees to hear challenge to Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for minors (More)

> At least 22 workers killed at a South Korean battery manufacturing plant after lithium batteries explode; cause of blaze under investigation (More) | North Korea resumes sending balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea; North Korea has reportedly dropped over 1,000 such balloons into the region since May (More)

> Cargo ship Dali and remaining crew head to Port of Virginia, leaving Port of Baltimore for first time since the 900-foot ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March; US Coast Guard to oversee its voyage (More)

SOURCE:   1440 News

Being Mindful of One's Health

 

A good friend of mine from high school that I have maintained a relationship with for 60 years, let me know that his wife had been put into the hospital.  Her doctor had put her in the hospital mainly for swollen legs but also wanted to perform a series of tests because of other symptoms she was experiencing.

After a few days, she was informed that she had cancer in her breast, cancer in her lungs, and cancer in her hip.  She had to undergo radiation in the hopes that the swelling in her legs would subside.  If all went well, she would be released at the end of her third week.

He and his wife and 75/76 respectively.

I have not been told yet what kind of cancer(s) it is or in what stage of development it is, but logic would dictate based upon her symptoms and length of stay in the hospital that the cancer(s) is a significant stage of development.

While he has yet to share his concerns, I am confident that he understands the seriousness of her condition.

Like so many other people, my friend's wife felt bad for many years but refused to get checked out by a physician for reasons that only she knows.  As a result, her cancer(s) was/were allowed to grow and prosper.

I have no idea what might be going through the mind of his wife but if it were me, I would be angry with myself for waiting so long before seeing a doctor.

As I understand it, there are many cancers and stages of cancer that medical science can still not effectively treat to save lives.  No doubt cures are on the way but right now they are not available.  There are also those cancers that grow so fast there is simply no need to even try and slow it down.

However, there are also many cancers that can be easily treated over time and new treatment regimens are constantly being approved by the FDA.

When my cancer was discovered, I had gone into my family physician for my annual checkup and was told that I had lost thirty pounds since I was last there 2-3 maybe 4 weeks ago for a cold.  That realization prompted more tests to be done and as a result, one or more of those tests yielded a result of cancer.

I immediately sought out the advice of an Oncologist and within weeks began treatment.  During my first 6 months of treatment, I sought out a second opinion which only confirmed the original diagnosis as well as the treatment I was taking.

For 16 years, I have undergone treatment for cancer and if I had not done something 16 years ago, the is a good possibility I would not be alive today.

I have no idea what is going to happen to the wife of my friend but from what I know so far, it does not look good.  I hope that medical science will be able to help her.

But more importantly, I hope my readers will take this posting seriously and watch over their own health more carefully.

Somewhat Political

 

Not Created by our Species

Paleontologists in South Africa said they have found the oldest known burial site in the world, containing remains of a small-brained distant relative of humans previously thought incapable of complex behavior.


Led by renowned paleoanthropologist Lee Berger, researchers said in 2023 they had discovered several specimens of Homo naledi – a tree-climbing, Stone Age hominid – buried about 30 meters (100 feet) underground in a cave system within the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO world heritage site near Johannesburg.​


"These are the most ancient interments yet recorded in the hominin record, earlier than evidence of Homo sapiens interments by at least 100,000 years," the scientists wrote in a series of preprint papers published in eLife.​


The findings challenge the current understanding of human evolution, as it is normally held that the development of bigger brains allowed for the performing of complex, "meaning-making" activities such as burying the dead.​


The oldest burials previously unearthed, found in the Middle East and Africa, contained the remains of Homo sapiens – and were around 100,000 years old.​


Those found in South Africa by Berger, whose previous announcements have been controversial, and his fellow researchers, date back to at least 200,000 BCE.       READ MORE...

Rescue

 

BACKFIRING

It appears that the Democratic Strategy of charging Donald Trump with a bunch of ridiculous crimes and keep him off the campaign trail is not working...  Neither was their desire to be able to call Donald Trump a convicted felon.

It is these same Democrats who have another strategy of letting into the USA millions of illegal Immigrants...  so much so that even the SANCTUARY CITIES AND STATES are now bitching and moaning that it is too much for them to handle.

Why did the Democrats move in this direction?

• Most of the people in the USA both republicans and democrats believe that Donald Trump has been wrongly charged and convicted.
• Most of the people in the USA believe that there is a two-tiered justice system.
• Most people think that the DOJ has been weaponized.
• Most of the people in the USA think that there are too many illegals in this country.

Why do you think most people feel this way?

The democrats have misjudged Americans and because of this, Biden should not be President again.

If the democrats have misjudged their own people, do you think they have the competence to be the influential leader of the world?

I sure don't.

This has nothing to do with Trump, as the Democrats using their intellect did it to themselves...

Therefore, the lesser of the two evils is the only logical course of action to take.
 

Business Students

 When I was teaching business students in college, on the first day of class, I would ask them to write an essay (homework) and answer two questions:

• Who are you?
• What do you know?

Before the student left the class, they wanted me to tell them what they should include in their essays, 

whether the essays needed to be typed, and how long they should be.

My response to those questions were always the same:  YOU MUST DECIDED THESE ANSWERS ON YOUR OWN

When the student returned to class the following week, most of the essays were less than a half page long and most were untyped, all of them lacked an in-depth analysis of the two questions, and all of them wrote as if they were still in high school.

My students were always JUNIORS and SENIORS in college.

The last three years of my 45-year career in the workforce was spent teaching business classes full time.

Needless to say, I was utterly amazed and extremely disappointed with the results I had uncovered.

What does this tell you?

First - these college students did not know how to write

Second - these college students lacked the self-confidence to be self-directed

Third - these college students lacked the ability to problem solve or dig down on a problem

Fourth - these college students were nowhere near becoming business professionals

I recall one of my students handing in an essay with two sentences.

• I am who I am
• I don't know what I don't know

Plus, the paper was typed.  However, this paper was one of the best papers that I received during my three-year tenure at this Christian college.

While being clever, do you see what this essay lacked?

THIS STUDENT DID THE MINIMUM TO GET BY...  and that attitude is not what will be successful in the business world.

Students today, do not take their education seriously, thinking all they need is a college degree and it does not matter what they have learned or retained.

Let me close by sharing this with you.

THE PERSON WHO IS RANKED DEAD LAST IN HIS MEDICAL SCHOOL GRADUATING CLASS, IS STILL CALLED A DOCTOR.

Would you like to go to this doctor???

Accomplishments

 

Sexuality

 

Here Come the JUDGE

 

WTF???

 

Finally

 

Support

 

Stained

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers meet tonight (8 pm ET, ABC) in decisive Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final (More)

> Reigning 100-meter world champ Sha'Carri Richardson runs 2024 world-leading time to qualify for Paris Olympics at Team USA track and field team trials; see complete results (More)

> "Inside Out 2" becomes 2024's highest-grossing film, pulling in $285M at the US domestic box office just over a week after opening (More)

Science & Technology
> The US to ban sales of antivirus software products from Russia-based Kaspersky Lab beginning in July, citing national security concerns; company is the world's fourth-largest antivirus software firm by revenue (More)

> Most energetic neutrino ever observed potentially recorded by observatory built at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea (More) | What are neutrinos, nature's "ghost" particles? (More)

> Population of Rapa Nui—or Easter Island, home to more than 1,000 giant statues—was likely small and resilient and relied on subsistence farming; new study counters theory of population collapse due to resource overconsumption (More)


Business & Markets
> Markets end Friday mixed (Dow +0.0%, S&P 500 -0.2%, Nasdaq -0.2%), as chipmaker Nvidia (-3.2%) sees second straight day of drops (More)

> Existing US home prices hit record high in May with a median price of $419K, up nearly 6% year-over-year; rise comes despite new inventory of homes for sale jumping more than 18% over same time frame (More)

> Sportswear giant Under Armour to pay $434M to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by shareholders in 2017 alleging they were misled about the company's financial health (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Four people killed, nine others wounded after shooter opens fire at an Arkansas grocery store; motivation for attack unclear, gunman was taken into custody after sustaining minor injuries (More)

> Russian officials blame the US for a Ukrainian strike in Crimea that killed six, wounded 100 people; Russia bombs the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in back-to-back days, killing at least three people (More) | See war updates (More)

> More than 1,000 people dead during Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca; officials blame extreme heat, with temperatures reaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit (More) | See previous write-up (More)

SOURCE:  1440 News

Managing Retirement

 

In 2015, my wife and I retired.  She was 62 and I was 67.  During the last three years of my career, I set aside enough money to pay for an individual health insurance policy until she could apply for Medicare.  We both applied for Social Security and because she had taken early retirement, her monthly allocation was less than had she waited.

However, because females typically live longer than males and if she lived to 90, she would receive more social security at 62 than at 67.  

In 2015, our combined social security checks paid all our monthly expenses but in 2024 that is not the case, and we have to remove money from our savings each month.

This is what our government refers to as inflation and while prices will come down a little, they will never go back to the level they were in 2015 thanks to the present administration.

For people that are considered wealthy, inflation is not really a problem but for those who are not wealthy, it is a huge problem.

Bear in mind 80-90% of the population earn less than $100,000 each year.  Depending upon one's geographical location, that is a lot of money or that is not much money at all.  For example, it costs more to live up north than in the south.

Being retired has all sorts of advantages but one limitation is MONEY.  When someone works, the idea is to make more than you need to live so that you can either save your money, pay off previous debt, or buy things that you may or may not need.  But when retired, your income is FIXED and the only way that you can do or have more is to draw down savings.

This is exactly why, retired folks continue to work part-time.

While our social security income is FIXED, we have managed to save enough money so that we can pretty much do whatever we want until we pass away.  Of course, doing whatever we want is misleading...  since doing whatever is relative to our lifestyle which is not like other people.

For instance,

• we don't want a big house and yard
• we don't want to own luxury cars
• we don't need new clothes/shoes each year
• we don't need a lot of jewelry
• we don't need to fly first class
• we don't need to eat out all the time
• we don't need to spend a lot for a motel room

One of our neighbors owns a pickup truck, a jeep, and three cars - all of which they are making payments own.  They have a home mortgage as well, along with two motor homes - one of which they are trying to sell.  They will die before they pay off all their debt.  That is a different lifestyle than what my wife and I experience.  It is not good or bad, we are just different.

When I was working, I liked what I was doing and I liked the people with whom I worked, but I did not like my supervisors.  Out of a career that lasted 45 years and included 8-10 jobs, I only had one supervisor that I liked, trusted, and respected.  So, when it came time for me to retire, I jumped at the opportunity and have never looked back.

Somewhat Political