In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson named 2024 WNBA MVP; Wilson becomes the second player to be unanimously selected as the league's MVP (More)

> Mercury Morris, three-time NFL Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion, dies at age 77 (More) | Kathryn Crosby, actress and wife of Bing Crosby, dies at age 90 (More)

> Catherine, Princess of Wales, makes first public appearance since announcing she's completed her cancer treatment (More)


Science & Technology
> Social media platform X could return to Brazil as soon as this week after complying with a judge's demand to censor certain posts, appoint a legal representative in the country (More) | See previous write-up (More)

> US health regulators approve the first self-administered, at-home influenza vaccine; treatment is delivered via nasal spray (More)

> Engineers demonstrate 3D-printed glass bricks with similar strength to concrete blocks; interlocking structures can be used many times over and repurposed at the end of a building’s life (More)


Business & Markets
> Markets end mixed following the Fed's first rate cut in four years Wednesday (Dow +0.1%, S&P 500 -0.2%, Nasdaq -0.4%); Dow finishes at record high (More) | The history of stock markets (More, w/video)

> US officials to propose ban on Chinese-made software and hardware in self-driving cars as soon as today, according to reports; follows a recent tariff of 100% on imported Chinese electric vehicles (More)

> Indian hotel chain Oyo acquires G6 Hospitality, owner of Motel 6, from private equity firm Blackstone for $525M (More) | Qualcomm reportedly considering an acquisition bid for rival chipmaker Intel (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> At least four people killed, 17 wounded in late-night mass shooting in Birmingham, Alabama; officials suggest the incident stemmed from a personal dispute (More)

> Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Scranton, Pennsylvania, ammunition plant to thank workers ahead of this week’s United Nations General Assembly (More) | See updates on war (More)

> Leftist candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake wins Sri Lankan presidential election; results come with the country stuck in a yearslong economic crisis (More) | See an overview of the economic challenges (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Social Media

 

I have had a membership on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter/X.  On LinkedIn and Facebook, my accounts were hacked and several items were posted that violated the rules about which I knew nothing, so I was KICKED OFF.

I stayed off of social media for several years but after Elon Musk purchased Twitter/X, I decided maybe I should try it out again.

LISTEN TO ME CAREFULLY...

On all three of these social media platforms, there are females that are trying to scam you out of your money, or sell their bodies online, or photos of their bodies to fools who want to pay the money to buy that crap.

No one knows if the people to whom you are talking are REAL or FAKE.

My suggestion is if you have to go on one of these social media forums, do so, but stay away from the women, even those who claim to be married and just want to fool around a little.

BELIEVE NO ONE

TRUST NO ONE

Somewhat Political

 

A Particle of Gravity Glimpsed

Gravitons, the particles thought to carry gravity, have never been seen in space – but something very similar has been detected in a semiconductor.

Physicists have been searching for gravitons, the hypothetical particles thought to carry gravity, for decades. These have never been detected in space, but graviton-like particles have now been seen in a semiconductor. Using these to understand gravitons’ behaviour could help unite the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics, which have long been at odds.

“This is a needle in a haystack [finding]. And the paper that started this whole thing is from way back in 1993,” says Loren Pfeiffer at Princeton University. He wrote that paper with several colleagues including Aron Pinczuk, who passed away in 2022 before they could find hints of the elusive particles.          READ MORE...

Steppenwolf - "Born To Be Wild"

Climate

 

Pregnant

 

Liberal Demands

 

First Term

 

Baby and Dog

 

Aren't Too Proud to Share

 

GYNECOMASTIA  is a condition in which the glandular tissue in the breasts becomes enlarged in males, sometimes causing discomfort or nipple tenderness. It is usually the result of a hormonal imbalance and typically occurs during infancy, adolescence, or mid to late life.  Jan 18, 2024     SOURCE:  MAYO Clinic

Last week, I had an appointment at the Breast Center at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.  My appointment was for a mammogram, and it had been scheduled by my Oncologist, after feeling my left breast during a routine appointment, after I had complained about some tenderness there.

Once my childish neighbors, who are also retired found out about my appointment at the Breast Center, you would not believe the jokes that they tossed my way.  None of which are repeatable here.

The exam lasted about 10 minutes, and I saw the doctor about 15 minutes after that for my results.  My condition was GYNECOMASTIA and was not life threatening he explained with a smile.  He also thought that if I search around, I might be able to find a plastic surgeon who would be willing to perform an extraction of the tissue.  I told him I would not be interested in something like that, but my comment did not come with a smile.  Of course, I was not angry either.

Since my condition was typical for men of my age, then this was something with which I was just going to have to live.

Now, I get to add another ache to my list of OLD MAN issues.

And just to make matters worse, I twisted my left knee somehow, doing what I do not know, and I have been limping around the house because it does not seem to be going away any time soon.

After reading this, I am sure you cannot wait to reach your 70s...  LOL

Somewhat Political

China Developing High Quality Robots

A humanoid robot showcases its ability to run at the 2024 World Robot Conference held in Beijing, August 22, 2024. (Photo by Chen Xiaogen/People's Daily Online)



The 2024 World Robot Conference was recently held in Beijing. Nearly 170 Chinese and foreign robot enterprises joined the 2024 World Robot Expo, part of the World Robot Conference, unveiling more than 600 innovative products, including 27 humanoid robots.

In recent years, the Chinese robot industry has experienced rapid growth, integrating deeply into people's daily work and life. China has become the world's largest market and producer of robots.

Recently, humanoid robot Walker S Lite developed by UBTECH Robotics Corp., Ltd., a leading robotics firm based in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, completed training at the 5G smart factory of Chinese electric vehicle brand Zeekr in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang province, after working three weeks alongside its human counterparts. With a maximum load of 15 kilograms, it can assist workers in carrying work bins.  READ MORE...

Foghat - I Just Want to Make Love to You (live 1974)

In The NEWS

FTC sues drug intermediaries for allegedly inflating insulin prices.

The Federal Trade Commission accuses the three largest pharmacy benefit managers—CVS' Caremark Rx, Cigna's Express Scripts, and UnitedHealth's OptumRx—of illegally overcharging for insulin used by diabetes patients. The three PBMs control 80% of all prescriptions filled in the US, deciding which drugs are covered and often setting patient out-of-pocket costs.



Secret Service identifies failures preceding July Trump shooting.

An agency report released Friday concluded communication failures between local and federal law enforcement contributed to missed opportunities in stopping the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in July during a rally outside Pittsburgh. Problems included ineffective radio transmissions between the Secret Service and local police, as well as failure to place a team on the roof where the shooter was perched.



Georgia election board requires November ballots be hand counted.

The state election board ruled 3-2 Friday in requiring local precincts to count ballots by hand and to confirm the figures with the machine counts before certifying the results in the November elections. The new rule could lengthen the time it takes to tally the results in the battleground state (see overview). Separately, early in-person voting kicked off Friday in Virginia, Minnesota, and South Dakota.



Researchers reconstruct Earth's climate over 485 million years.

The effort is considered the most rigorous reconstruction of Earth's past climate and offers new insights into the link between carbon dioxide and global temperatures. The findings—based on 150,000 estimates derived from fossil evidence and climate models—show the planet's climate has varied more than previously thought, with the average temperature fluctuating between 52 and 97 degrees Fahrenheit during the Phanerozoic Eon. The Earth's current average temperature is 59 degrees Fahrenheit.



Sri Lankans to vote today for their next president.

More than 17 million eligible voters in the South Asian island nation are poised to vote for their next president for a five-year term. Nearly 40 candidates are running in the race, with top contenders including Marxist-leaning lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake and current President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is running as an independent. The election comes after Sri Lanka's economy collapsed in 2022, spurring nationwide unrest and prompting the former president to flee the country.

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Family

 

My father, through his example, showed me what hard work was all about and how discipline and determination were both keys to one's success.

My father, did not, however, provide me with the motivation to make more money, even though throughout his career he was constantly changing positions and getting salary increases.

Consequently, I had no desire to relocate up north where I would have, by default, doubled or tripled my salary from what I was earning down south.  

Since my dad only worked for the Department of Agriculture for 40 years, I was reluctant to move any farther than from North Carolina to Tennessee.  My sister was similar in her actions, but our brother was not as was my daughter, but her son also stayed and worked in North Carolina.

Was it the influence of our parents or just the influence from our different personalities, lifestyles, and culture.  Our brother was 8 years younger than me and 12 years younger than our sister.  Our brother grew up in a different environment and he was the only one or us to attend a PREP SCHOOL.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with living in the south, but living in the south means:

• lower wages
• lower state and local taxes
• lower cost of living
• less opportunities

Therefore, there are less people in the south.  Less crime and violence.  Less traffic, less pollution, and less waiting in line for services.  However, this is not true for life in large southern cities like ATLANTA, MIAMI, NEW ORLEANS,     and DALLAS, etc.

There are even major differences between Southern States like the cost of living is less in Tennessee than it is in North Carolina - although smaller towns in North Carolina are more than likely similar to Tennessee and vice versa when it comes to larger cities like Nashville.

What I have discovered, much to my surprise, is that many southerners go up north for their careers and higher salaries, then cash out when they retire and move down south to cheaper locations like Knoxville or Bristol, Tennessee.    A $750,000 house up north can buy the same size in TN for $300,000.  The rest or the money is put in the bank to earn interest.

Cost of living up north may be two to two and half times what it is down south.  $3500/month versus $7500/month or higher.  Plus, TN has no state income tax.

For one reason or another, northern people look down their noses at southern people.  I am not sure why, but they do.  Northern people are typically rude whereas southern people are typically not rude.

I like it down south and I am glad that I have lived most of my life here so far, and plan to die here as well.

Somewhat Political

 

Code for Time Travel

Can you imagine going back in time to visit a lost loved one? This heart wrenching desire is what propelled astrophysicist Professor Ron Mallett on a lifelong quest to build a time machine. After years of research, Professor Mallett claims to have finally developed the revolutionary equation for time travel.

The idea of bending time to our will – revisiting the past, altering history, or glimpsing into the future – has been a staple of science fiction for over a century. But could it move from fantasy to reality?

The inspiration: A father’s love and a classic novel
Professor Mallett’s obsession with time travel and its equation has its roots in a shattering childhood experience. When he was just ten years old, his father, a television repairman who fostered his son’s love of science, tragically passed away from a heart attack.

Devastated, the young Mallett sought solace in books. It was H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine that sparked a lifelong fascination.

Wells’ opening lines became his mantra: “Scientific people know very well that Time is only a kind of Space. And why cannot we move in Time as we move about in the other dimensions of Space?”         READ MORE...

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child (Slight Return) (Live In Maui...

Business and Government

 

Part of my problem is that I am educated in the area of BUSINESS, receiving an MBA from Wake Forest University in 1981.

After going through two years of business courses, I switched from favoring Democrats to favoring Republicans.  

I was not too keen on Donald Trump in 2016 and did not vote for him but after witnessing EIGHT YEARS of relentless attacks and false accusations on the man, I have decided to NEVER AGAINS give the Democrats a second look.  They are horrible people for what they have done to that man and his family.

GOVERNMENTS do not exist to give BENEFITS to their citizens.  Governments exist to protect and serve their citizens making sure that they can offer as much as they can to their citizens that they CAN AFFORD without going into debt.

If taxes don't pay for all the programs you want, you don't raise taxes but increase the population.  This takes us to our current ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION problem.  On the surface it makes sense because there is more tax revenues, but the Democrats are wanting immigrants here only to VOTE FOR DEMOCRATS and end Republican control and power.

This rationale is simply WRONG.  It defeats the purpose of a democracy as well as the purpose of government.

Businesses and Corporations and Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Capitalism...  They provide jobs, products and services in such a way that our economy is not just healthy but so that it will consistently grow and prosper.

INFLATION never helps the economy or the people and yet, inflation happens all the time.

WHY?

Too much money in the economy and not enough goods and services to absorb that money.

Basic supply and demand.

Basic business classes.

The government should work with business to construct a healthy economy, not against them because the government believes that business is taking advantage of the people.  People buy what they need and/or want, and if business does not supply that at a reasonable cost, the people will look elsewhere.

IT IS JUST THAT SIMPLE