Am I Better Off?

 
My wife and I have more money at our disposal than we have ever had before in our married lives, because we had developed and implemented a savings plan.  Therefore, the longer you live, based upon our plan, the more money we are able to save.

Not everyone is in our same situation, so it is really difficult to make a comparison other than to say that SAVING MONEY is the key or at least one of the keys as the other one is NOT SPENDING.

Obviously, couple have to spend money to pay their bills but after bills are paid, what you spend your money on needs to be addressed.

• Is you home bigger than you really need?
• How much debt do you carry or add annually?
• Do you buy the most expensive?
• How much do you spend on:
• clothes?
• vacations?
• birthdays?
• holidays?
• entertainment?

I quit smoking 36 years ago.  My wife never smoked.  We cut out drinking alcohol except 1-2 cocktails when on vacation sometimes.  Our vehicles are purchased when they are a year old (enormous savings there).  Our vacations are booked out-of-season.  Our home is no bigger than we absolutely need.  We don't buy items we want, only what we need, and we save everything we possibly can.

So...

why do we do this?

We don't have company pensions, just social security.

Savings are necessary to supplement social security.

We also need to have enough money saved to account for:

• inflation
• nursing care
• out of pocket medical

My wife is 71 and I am 76.  We both have health issues which, for the most part, is covered by Medicare and our supplements.  Our health is only going to worsen.

Neither one of us will live longer than 10-12 years past 80 or early 90s if we make it that far.

We have been planning for this eventuality for the last THIRTY YEARS, rather than living like we are never going to get old.

Thirty years is a long time to save.

Whether our country is managed by Democrats or Republicans, it will not matter to us because our lifestyle WILL NEVER CHANGE...

Not many people can say this.

Part of our good fortune is that we are living in EAST TENNESSEE:

• no state income tax
• low cost of living
• excellent healthcare
• no much traffic or crime
• people are laid back
• moderate annual weather
• plenty of recreation
• people here love their second amendment

So...

the bottom line here is that my wife and I are better off but not because of POLITICS.  We are better off because we planned to be better off, and we did not expect the government to take care of us.

Somewhat Political

 

Nuclear Reactor Breakthrough

The US has set a target to produce 100 percent of its electricity using renewable energy sources by 2035, and nuclear power will play a major role in its clean energy transition.

About 20 percent of all the electricity produced in the US already comes from nuclear power plants. However, this isn’t enough. If the country wants to become a leader in the clean energy space, it needs to boost its nuclear energy program and make its nuclear plants more efficient than ever.

A big issue with nuclear reactors is their dependency on nickel-based alloys, which are expensive and are abundantly found in countries (like Russia, Indonesia, Philippines) that are not always on good terms with the US. Moreover, the high moisture content of nickel ore poses transport challenges as well.

Addressing these issues, a team of researchers from Department of Energy‘s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory (AGL) have developed a framework to find material that could replace these nickel-based alloys. Using their framework, the AGL team identified and tested some promising materials.

In fact, the researchers have identified a new material that can successfully endure intense radiation testing and withstand extreme reactor conditions for extended periods.      READ MORE...

Saturday Vid

Helping Hand

 

Revenues

 

Illegals

 

Claim

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Taylor Swift cancels three upcoming Eras Tour shows in Vienna, Austria, after two men, at least one affiliated with ISIS, were arrested for allegedly plotting a terrorist attack near the venue (More)

> Hampton Morris becomes first American man to medal in weightlifting since 1984, capturing bronze (More) | Team USA takes on Serbia today (3 pm ET, USA) in men's basketball semifinals (More) | See latest medal count (More)

> NFL preseason begins in earnest tonight; see preview for all 32 teams (More) | Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh effectively banned from college athletics until 2028 for "unethical conduct" while serving as Michigan's head coach (More)


Science & Technology

> China begins launching satellites as part of its "Thousand Sails" space-based internet network; reports suggest effort is meant to function similarly to SpaceX's Starlink (More)

> New device provides first easy-to-use measurement of real-time blood pressure in any place on the body; applications may include at-home health monitoring and use in remote areas with limited access to healthcare (More)

> Researchers attach cameras to eight endangered sea lions, map out nearly 2,000 miles of uncharted ocean floor off the coast of Australia (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.8%, Dow -0.6%, Nasdaq -1.0%) as shares of technology companies decline (More)

> Shopify shares close up 18% after e-commerce software giant tops Q2 revenue and earnings estimates (More) | Warner Bros. Discovery shares fall 10% in after-hours trading after reporting $9B impairment charge (More) | Impairment charges 101 (More)

> Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway now holds roughly $235B worth of investments in US Treasury bills, more than the Federal Reserve (More) | What are Treasury bills? (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Tropical Storm Debby hovers off the coast of the Carolinas, with the region bracing for a second landfall (More) | 5.2-magnitude earthquake strikes Bakersfield in Southern California Tuesday, causing dozens of aftershocks but no reports of deaths or damage (More)

> Rep. Cori Bush (D, MO-1) loses to prosecutor Wesley Bell (D) in second-most expensive Democratic congressional primary in history, with $18M spent on candidates' ads, $8.5M from pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC (More)

> Russia declares a state of emergency in the border region of Kursk after Ukraine launches a rare cross-border ground assault (More) | See war updates (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

The 2024 Presidential Election Race is ON

 SOON... we will have a new President of the United States.

Will 51% of the American people elect Trump or Harris?

Make sure that you understand the above sentence...  51% because while that is a majority, it does not reflect the WHOLE COUNTRY.

Our divided country will still be a problem no matter who wins...  so, the question is, who will control CONGRESS?

House?

Senate?

Yes, either President will write EXECUTIVE ORDERS to get MOST if not ALL of their work and goals accomplished...  BUT whoever wins will be FORCING THEIR AGENDA on almost HALF THE COUNTRY.

SO, what does that mean?

Well...  let's start with the mainstream media.

• If Harris wins, the mainstream media will be PRAISING every damn thing she wants to do.
• If Trump wins, the mainstream media will be condemning everything damn thing he want to do. 

HOWEVER,

is the mainstream media the heart of the problem?

Not really...

So, what is?

• The Democrats want:
• More illegal immigration
• Mor government programs
• To continue increasing the national debt
• Less law enforcement
• More whites in prison to balance out the blacks
• A weakened military
• Higher Taxes
• Not to see China as our enemy
• More countries to have nuclear weapons
• A weakened and/or destroyed Israel
• Censorship of the conservative voice
• Government supported DEI programs

If Kamala Harris win the Presidential race, it will not be because she will make a GOOD PRESIDENT, it will be because a majority of Americans DID NOT WANT TRUMP to become President.

For me, that is an illogical justification...

Somewhat Political

 

Brain Fibers & Quantum Entanglement

Most scientists have resisted the concept that quantum physics plays any role in the brain — an environment that Physicist Max Tegmark argued would be “too wet, warm and noisy” for quantum mechanics to play a meaningful role in cognition or consciousness..

However, recent research from China suggests that quantum entanglement—a phenomenon Albert Einstein famously dubbed “spooky action at a distance”—might play a role in the synchronization of neurons in the human brain, according to a New Scientist article.

The study, peer-reviewed in Physical Review E and also referenced in the online pre-print server ArXiv, examine the potential mechanisms by which quantum entanglement could impact neural synchronization and cognition. While both studies propose innovative ideas, they acknowledge the speculative nature of their findings and emphasize the need for further empirical validation.       READ MORE...

CREAM Crossroads 1968

LYING

 

Cycle

 

Lied

 

Awarded

 

Voter

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> American Gabby Thomas wins gold in the women's 200-meter final, beating 100-meter champ Julien Alfred (More) | Team USA tops Brazil 122-87 to advance to men's basketball semifinals; Kevin Durant passes Lisa Leslie to become Team USA's all-time leading Olympic scorer (More) | See latest medal count (More)

> Patti Yasutake, actress best known for roles on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Beef," dies at age 70 (More)

> Disney announces price hikes for its Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ streaming platforms (More) | "Stranger Things" prequel stage play sets March 2025 opening on Broadway (More)


Science & Technology
> OpenAI cofounder John Schulman to depart company and join rival Anthropic; Schulman says move allows him to return to hands-on technical work (More)

> New electronic sensor mimics the feeling of water droplets on the skin, may allow robots and advanced prosthetics to replicate the feeling of wetness (More)

> Researchers set record in imaging microchip features, using X-rays to capture structures with four nanometer—roughly one-billionth of a foot—resolution (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +1.0%, Dow +0.8%, Nasdaq +1.0%) after S&P 500 experiences worst day in two years this week (More) | See previous write-up (More)

> Uber shares close up 11% after reporting Q2 earnings and revenue beat Wall Street estimates (More) | Rivian posts mixed Q2 results after the bell (More) | Airbnb shares drop 16% in after-hours trading on news it missed Q2 earnings estimates, projects lower-than-expected Q3 revenue (More)

> Elon Musk sues advertisers, accusing them of violating antitrust laws last year when pausing promotions on X amid allegations of antisemitism (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Iranian-linked Pakistani citizen is arrested and charged in New York for alleged murder-for-hire plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump and other political figures (More)

> Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to lead Bangladesh's interim government after parliament dissolves, prime minister flees amid deadly anti-government protests; Yunus is known for pioneering microfinance (More) | See previous write-up (More)

> Hamas names top Gaza official Yahya Sinwar—accused by Israel of orchestrating the Oct. 7 attack—as overall leader to replace Ismail Haniyeh (More) | UN probe finds nine staff members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency may have been involved in Oct. 7 attacks (More)

SPOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Broken Promises

 

Time and time again, we believe politicians when they say they are going to do this or this, even when they have in the past, broken their promises....

Why are we so acceptive of these broken promises?

I recall when I was growing up, my parents made promises to me and my siblings about what they were going to do, only to renege on those promises down the road.  After so many times of this repeat performance, I began to come to the conclusion that they made those promises to SHUT US UP and had no intentions of ever fulfilling those promises.

How did this influence my opinion of promises?

I believe most politicians, but not all, started out as parents first and so they learned how to make promises that they had no intentions of fulfilling.

Consequently, the general public has also been children and have experience with their parent's breaking promises.

• Hard to believe that we live in a world like this.  
• Hard to believe that we live in a country like this.
• Hard to believe parents and politicians are similar.

As a parent myself, I don't recall ever making a promise to my daughter that I did not fulfill, except maybe one that revolved around me not getting a divorce from her mother.  But whether I had promised that or not, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that our divorce was imminent.  

Still, it is an interesting comparison that between parents and politicians that make promises and then break them.  AND, it is interesting how, we the general public, keep accepting those promises and forgiving them when the promises are broken.