In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The Atlanta Hawks take France’s Zaccharie Risacher with the top pick of the 2024 NBA Draft; Round 2 kicks off this afternoon (4 pm ET, ESPN) (More) | Team USA women's soccer 18-player roster announced for Paris Olympics (More)

> Investigation into "Friends" actor Matthew Perry's death reportedly could result in charges against multiple people involved in supplying Perry with ketamine (More)

> UEFA European Championship Round of 16 set; see latest bracket and schedule (More) | ... and Copa América group stage continues; see latest standings (More)


Science & Technology
In partnership with Eli Electric
> Daily multivitamin use shows no association with lower risk of death, including from cancer or heart disease, new research finds; study tracked almost 400,000 participants over 20 years (More)

> World's first usable titanium-sapphire laser on a microchip demonstrated; prototype is 10,000 times smaller and 1,000 times cheaper than commercial versions of the powerful research-grade laser (More)

> Scientists capture early moments of butterfly metamorphosis at the microscopic level, shedding light on how the insect's unique scale architecture forms on its wings (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.2%, Dow +0.04%, Nasdaq +0.5%); Nasdaq set for nearly 19% gain in first half of year, led by Nvidia and AI boom (More) | Amazon tops $2T market cap for first time as shares hit all-time high (More)

> Federal judge to likely reject $30B settlement between payment processors Visa, Mastercard, and merchants who say they have overpaid in credit card processing fees—which are often passed down to consumers (More)

> Japanese yen falls to weakest level against the US dollar since 1986; the yen has so far fallen 12% against the dollar this year, with analysts citing the gap between Japanese and foreign interest rates as a reason for the drop (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> US Supreme Court rejects lower court ruling restricting the Biden administration from contacting social media companies to remove misinformation (More) | The court is also planning to allow Idaho doctors to perform abortions in medical emergencies, per opinion accidentally published early (More)

> Bolivian general Juan José Zúñiga arrested after a failed coup attempt at the presidential palace; Zúñiga claims he was acting at the behest of the president (More) | Kenyan President William Ruto backs down on plans for tax hike following violent protests earlier this week and police crackdown (More)

> Centrist George Latimer defeats Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D, NY-16) in most expensive primary race in US history; total spend was $24.8M, almost $15M from pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC (More)

SOURCE:  1440 News

Variation

 Believe it or not, there is variation in everything that we do and if, you are like me there are lots of things that I do on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual basis.

So...  what am I talking about?

What about the time it takes you to drive to work in the morning.  If you left at the same time each morning, drove the same route, at the same speed, it would take you different times for you to arrive at work.  Don't believe me?  Keep track of your time for a week and see if I am not right.

What you might encounter:

• inclement weather than might slow you down
• a traffic accident that might slow you down
• more traffic than expected that slows you down
• your vehicle might develop a mechanical problem
• you may need to get gas
• you decide to stop for coffee
• a policeman slows traffic down

It is this unexpected variation that will typically alter the amount of time that it normally takes you to drive to work.

What you do to attempt to reduce the time...

• leave the house earlier
• take a different route
• drive faster than normal
• bring coffee with you
• make sure you don't need gas

So, what have you learned?

If you accept the fact that everything has variation, the in order to reduce the variation, you must be willing to CHANGE THE PROCESS.

The variation that is inherent in ALL PROCESSES comes from:

1. materials
2. labor (manpower)
3. methods
4. environment
5. machines

What materials do you use when driving a car?

Gasoline and Oil

Windshield wiper fluid

Brake & transmission fluid

What about labor (manpower)?

That would be you as driver

• do you know how to drive
• did you get plenty of sleep
• do you have good hearing/eyesight
• do you have good coordination/reflexes

What about the methods?

• do you use good driving techniques
• are you mindful of those around you
• do you maintain good posture or slouch
• are you talking on the phone
• speed of the vehicle

What about the environment?

• is it raining or snowing or sleeting
• is it windy, or foggy
• is it very hot or very cold 
• time left the house
• other traffic on the road
• the route you are taking

What about machines?  The vehicle being driven

• is it tuned up correctly
• are the tires properly inflated
• is it a new vehicle
• if used, how old
• is the windshield and mirrors clear
• does it need oil
• does it need radiator water

Each one of these areas has variation and while the variation in some areas is minute, there is other variation that could impact your time more.  Let me explain...  air pressure in one or more tires being incorrect is not going to impact the variation of time to work as much as a traffic accident or being stopped by highway patrol for driving too fast.

Next time, you are doing something simple like cooking breakfast, mowing the lawn, washing the car, going out to dinner, spending time at the gym, or filling up your vehicle with gasoline, each one of these processes is loaded with all sorts of variation that alters the time it takes you to complete the process.

Somewhat Political

 

Optimus Robots Will be Selling Next Year

Elon Musk announced that Tesla may start selling its Optimus humanoid robot next year. The automaker plans to use the robot in its own factory by the end of the year.

A few months ago, Tesla unveiled “Optimus Gen 2”, a new generation of its humanoid robot that should be able to take over repetitive tasks from humans.

The new prototype showed a lot of improvements compared to previously underwhelming versions of the robot, and it gave some credibility to the project, which was laughed off by many when first announced with a dancer disguised as a robot for visual aid a few years ago.

Tesla believed it to be possible by leveraging its AI work on its self-driving vehicle program and expertise in batteries and electric motors. It argued that its vehicles are already robots on wheels. Now, it just needs to make them in humanoid forms to be able to replace humans in some tasks – primarily repetitive and dangerous tasks.     READ MORE...

Muscle Cars

 

Tonight's Debate

 

Death

 

Intentional

 

Tonight's Debate

 

Pelosi

 

Laws

 

Net Worth

 

Corruption

 

Thinking

 

Returning to our Past

 

Debate Tonight

 The debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden airs tonight on CNN because the moderators for the debate are employees of CNN both of whom HATE Donald Trump and make no apologies for that HATRED...

So, we begin with an unfair advantage for the Democrats...

Sounds like to me they are really concerned about what might happen to them in November, otherwise they would have agreed to moderators that were unbiased...

Will Biden appear on stage jacked up on drugs?

Will Trump appear on stage full of anger?

Will this debate actually change any minds?

Biden says the border is closed to illegal immigrants crossing over into the USA...

The data says otherwise.

Biden says that prices have come down substantially so there is not inflation in the USA...

The data says otherwise...

Biden says that inflation was at 9% before he assumed the office of POTUS...

The data says otherwise...

On the other side of the coin, Donald Trump is a convicted FELON based upon ridiculous charges that will be appeals and probably reversed after the election...

The data says he is a convicted felon nonetheless...

The real question is:

Were you better off during the Trump administration or during the Biden administration?

Neither candidate in my opinion is a great candidate for President, so if I vote at all, it will be for the LESSER OF THE TWO EVILS.

Right now...  Currently...  this is what I see:

• Insane increasing of illegal immigrants crossing into the USA
• An enormously divided/polarized country
• High gasoline and food prices
• Rampant crime and violence in our cities
• A two-tiered justice system
• A DOJ that has been weaponized to go against its political opponents
• A WOKE movement that is out of control
• A failing educational system
• Social media platforms that are biased toward liberals
• A mainstream media that censors information from the public
• A weak, pathetic military that is unprepared for war
• A global lack of respect for the USA

China Owns US Farmland

 

Having a Party

 

Dirt

 

Religion