Thursday, September 12

Beyond Hydrogen and EVs

As Japan invests in hydrogen and America in electric vehicles, Sweden decided to take the bull by the horns and shift towards sustainable transportation. That is why today, Volvo Group, a Swedish multinational manufacturing company, demonstrates the path to proactively develop hydrogen-powered solutions to start a new movement, which tested vehicles already on the roads on a commercial level.

This grand vision reflects Sweden’s dense interest in decarbonizing the transport sector and puts the country on the cutting edge of green technology advancement. As Volvo pushes the boundaries of what is possible, Sweden is gaining recognition as a pioneer in environmentally friendly transportation.


How Volvo is revolutionizing transportation by leading the charge in hydrogen fuel cell technology
Thus, not a single segment of the Volvo Group is passive in developing and using hydrogen fuel cell technology. FCEVs store hydrogen gas in tanks and generate electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen. This operation is fast and clean, except for water vapor, which is the only discharge given out. Some advantages of FCEVs over BEVs are refueling times and a more extended driving range.         READ MORE...

Ride Captain Ride - Blues Image - 1970

Wednesday, September 11

Myrtle Beach: Day 4

 

For some it was a beautiful day but for others like my wife and I, it was a HORRIBLY COLD DAY...


Only one person got into the water and that was a young boy maybe 12-13 years old, and his chubby little body kept getting knocked over by the waves.


While the wind was not blowing as strongly as it had been on Monday, the temperatures were cooler which made the entire day feel like it was in the high 50s or low 60s.


Aside from an early morning walk along the shoreline and a trip back up to the room on the 6th floor for lunch, the day was spent sitting in a chair, listening to iHeart radio, an audiobook, or writing in my journal.


Instead of leaving at 4/4:30 when the lifeguard collects the chairs and umbrellas, we left at 3:00pm as we both were chilly and uncomfortable.

9/11 ANNIVERSARY

 

I am a Vietnam Era Veteran, serving from 1969 through 1974...  and I was amazed that this country, THE USA, was so arrogant and egotistical that they allowed terrorists into this country and consequently allowed THE TWIN TOWERS in NYC to be completely destroyed.


NOW...

for the last 4 years we have allowed millions of illegal immigrants into this country, many of which are MUSLIM TERRORISTS, and no doubt will start implementing terrorist activities once the election in November 2024.


WHAT BOTHERS ME THE MOST IS...

the American people, after 20+ years, have completely forgotten that the USA was attacked over 20 years ago.


Out of sight...  Out of mind...


Americans get emotionally alarmed only when an event is happening or has happened and then a FEW YEARS later, we are completely over it and go about our business as if it never happened...

And while there is some merit to that approach, it negates the fact that we should maintain an awareness it may happen again.


Now from 2020-2024, millions of illegal immigrants have come into this country, many seek a better life but there are also many who are criminals and/or terrorists...

QUESTION:  Why have the alleged terrorists not taken action so far, if they are really here?


The answer is very simple, these terrorists, in my opinion, are waiting to see who wins the election in November.  If Kamala Harris wins, then they will go into action because these terrorists and their sponsors don't see Harris as a strong leader who will take any kind of aggressive action.


DUMB ASSED AMERICANS have to wait until it actually happens again before they get upset and ask our government to PROTECT THEM...


STATES that have gun carry permits will initiate action immediately and start protecting themselves and their families.


Unless you believe that your LGBQT+ will protect you...  then you might have to screw up your courage and start protecting yourself.

My Own Words

 

Cooler

 


Harris Supporter

 


Retired


 

In The NEWS


Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Catherine, Princess of Wales, announces she has completed her chemotherapy to treat an unspecified form of cancer (More)

> Fashion mogul Peter Nygard sentenced to 11 years in prison in Canada after being found guilty in November to four charges of sexual assault (More) | Harvey Weinstein to undergo emergency heart surgery (More)

> FX's "Shogun" hauls in a record 14 wins at the 2024 Creative Arts Emmys with FX leading all distributors with 27 awards; Primetime Emmys are set for this Sunday (8 pm ET, ABC) (More)


Science & Technology
> Astronomers discover a pair of supermassive black holes with the closest separation between the two—roughly 300 light-years—observed to date (More) | How black holes work (More, w/video)

> Scientists capture footage of young Japanese eels escaping after being eaten by a predatory fish via the animal's digestive tract and gills; marks the first known observation of the behavior in nature (More)

> Follow-up study on the first partial face transplant to include an eye shows no signs of rejection by the patient; vision has not been restored in donor eye, but has achieved blood flow (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +1.2%, Dow +1.2%, Nasdaq +1.2%) (More) | Terns Pharmaceuticals shares jump as much as 26% on weight-loss drug trial results (More) | Palantir shares close up 14% on news it will join the S&P 500 Sept. 23, along with Dell Technologies and Erie Indemnity (More)

> Google begins federal antitrust trial related to its ad-tech business; trial comes after a federal judge in a separate case last month said the tech giant violated laws by illegally holding a monopoly on online search and text advertising (More)

> Discount retailer Big Lots initiates Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, will sell its business to private equity firm Nexus Capital (More) | Chapter 11 overview (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump to face off in their first presidential debate tonight in Philadelphia, hosted by ABC at 9 pm ET (More) | See latest national polls (More)

> Death toll from Typhoon Yagi rises to at least 49 people in northern Vietnam, with at least 22 people missing, hundreds injured, and millions without power; Yagi is the most powerful storm to hit Asia this year (More) | Tropical Storm Francine forms in Gulf of Mexico, forecast to strike parts of Louisiana tomorrow as a hurricane (More)

> Germany tightens land borders temporarily to curb what it considers to be irregular migration and to protect the country from extremist threats (More)


SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Our Generation


 I was born a North Carolinian in 1947, a couple of years after the end of WWII; my sister was born in 1943, and my brother in 1955.


Alexandria, Virginia, eight miles south of Washington DC was where I grew up until high school.  High School was spent in Cairo, Egypt graduating in 1966, afterwards I attended college in North Carolina.


In 1970 until 1972, I was in the military after leaving college and was awarded a BA degree in 1974 and an MBA in 1981.  After numerous employers in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky, I retired in 2015 after working for 45 years.


Our generation has been labelled the BABY BOOMERS...  those who were born during WWII and just afterwards.


Our generation is the heart of ROCK and ROLL where some of the best music in the world was written, recorded, and performed.


Our generation is the generation of long hair, hippies, smoking weed (marijuana), wild clothes, and outspoken beliefs as we protested the VIETNAM WAR.


Our generation owned homes, paid off mortgages and student loans, saved for retirement, challenged all traditions, and built the strong economy that Americans were able to appreciate until COVID arrived.


Our generation taught our children how to be polite, courteous, and respectful of other people, not lie, cheat, or steal, and to earn things on their own merit without needing any help from the government or the DEI push that you see today.


Our generation believes in helping yourself rather than expecting the government to help you.  Our generation does not want the government to take care of us and give us handouts.  We build up our own lives with hard work, paying our dues first, determination, and discipline.


NO GENERATION HAS BEEN LIKE THIS SINCE!!!

Somewhat Political

 





Nuclear Power Breakthrough


The United Kingdom is leading the world in nuclear fusion energy power plant design, according to a report by The Royal Society. The special edition report details the progress achieved by the spherical tokamak for energy production (STEP).

The STEP program aims to design and build the UK’s first prototype fusion energy plant. The report presents the technology needed for the prototype and also presents the steps needed for integrating it with the power plant for producing energy from fusion.

One of the unique aspects of the program is that it also considers decommissioning as a part of the design.

UK’s STEP for nuclear fusion
STEP is scheduled to be built at the former coal-fired power station site of West Burton, Nottinghamshire. Ground and environment surveys are underway for the project and first operation is expected to begin in early 2040s.

The program aims for the formation of an integrated delivery organization based on a public-private partnership model that will deliver the prototype plant. This includes designing for cost, and at pace.     READ MORE...

Arlo Guthrie - "St.James Infirmary"

Tuesday, September 10

Myrtle Beach: Day Two & Three of Eight

 

Monday and Tuesday at Myrtle Beach, SC were pretty much more of the same.


The temps were high 70s, low 80s both days, maybe a little hotter on Tuesday but Monday was very windy...  


Each day, I would walk south down the beach towards Damons Restaurant for about one-half mile and when I turned to make the trip back, the wind was so strong, I had to take my hat off.  I don't mind losing a hat since for five bucks I can get a new one, but this particular hat was one of the best wearing hats I've ever worn.


Monday night, my wife and I ate at Red Lobster which is one of our go to restaurants down here.  She got fish and chips while I ordered baked Salmon with a baked potato and broccoli.  Any meals under $50 is a good deal for us.  We order water with lemon instead of a soft drink which immediately reduces the bill by $6.


With all the space that is down here on shoreline of Myrtle Beach, it always amazes us when another family has to set up umbrellas and chairs, two feet away from our umbrella and chair.


I understand that cars have to be parked close together but down here there is all kinds of space.  When they kids start to throw sand at each other, being that close can be annoying.


Recently, my wife and I have discovered that more and more people are completely disrespectful of other's people's space when out in public.  They act like they are the only ones around, and don't mind walking in front of you as you are not there at all.

Lunch

 


Allowed

 


Our Border

 

Getting Over

 


In The NEWS


Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Rapper Kendrick Lamar tapped to perform at 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show (More) | Dallas Cowboys signs QB Dak Prescott to 4-year, $240M deal, making Prescott the highest-paid player in NFL history (More)

> "The Room Next Door" wins the Golden Lion, top prize at Venice Film Festival (More) | "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" hauls in $110M at domestic box office, the second-largest September opening weekend  ever (More)

> Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka defeats American Jessica Pegula to win US Open women's tennis title (More) | ... and Italy's Jannik Sinner defeats American Taylor Fritz to win men's championship (More)


Science & Technology
> CEO Elon Musk says SpaceX will begin launching uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years; optimal time windows for Mars missions occur every 26 months (More) | Mars explained in three minutes (More, w/video) | ... and the history of SpaceX (More, w/video)

> Scientists discover separate groups of nerve cells signaling to the brain whether to trigger a cough or a sneeze; discovery may help lead to improved treatments for allergies or chronic coughing (More)

> Study suggests even low levels of electrical stimulation to the thalamus—the brain region responsible for passing sensory signals between the body and brain—can induce seizures (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower on Friday (S&P 500 -1.7%, Dow -1.0%, Nasdaq -2.6%) with the S&P 500 witnessing its worst week in a year and a half following news of August jobs report (More) | See previous write-up (More)

> Apple to release updates to device lineup—which drives about 60% of its annual revenue—in wake of recent sales slump today; latest iPhone model set to be the first to incorporate artificial intelligence, which Apple calls Apple Intelligence (More)

> Google will deliver opening remarks today in its second antitrust trial this year; Justice Department accuses the company of using monopolistic practices in designing and buying up rivals to its AdWords platform, now known as Google Ads (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Manhunt underway for active shooter near Kentucky I-75 who injured five people (More) | Mother of Apalachee High School shooter in Georgia reportedly warned the school to check in on her son 30 minutes before shooting began (More) | Shooting lasted roughly 1 minute, per sheriffs (More)

> Family of 26-year-old US-Turkish woman killed in the West Bank demand independent investigation (More) | Gunman approaching from Jordan kills three Israeli guards at West Bank-Jordan border (More)

> Sudan's military government rejects UN proposal for international peacekeeping force to ease 17-month civil war (More) | UN mission finds Sudanese military and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces both committed abuses; war collectively killed 20,000 people, displaced 8 million (More)


SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Party Allegience

 

We have two political parties in the USA, Democrats and Republicans, with a third Independent Party that really has no influence on the election although some say that it does.


If you are Democratic, you vote for the Democratic candidate regardless and if you are Republican, you vote for the Republican candidate.


If you vote according to your party, you are voting for all the policies that your party stands for, regardless of your personal opinion(s).


For me, that is WRONG.


There are some good points from the Democrats and there are some good points from the Republican.  Not either party has all the answers.


We should vote for the person, not the party with the idea in mind that the person will do what they think is best for the USA not necessarily what is best for the party.


THAT MAKES ME NAIVE to think this way but that is the only way to think.


For Example, Dick Chaney is a Republican and is planning to vote for Kamala Harris not because he believes in what the Democrats stand and not because he thinks Harris will be a better President but because he HATES Trump.


That LOGIC is NOT GOOD for the USA...


We will pay the price for that logic over the next four years, if Harris wins...