Thursday, October 24
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Queen Latifah, Steven Spielberg, and Missy Elliott among 39 recipients of 2022 and 2023 US National Medals of Arts and Humanities; singer Selena and chef Anthony Bourdain received posthumous awards (More)
> Dick Pope, two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer, dies at age 77 (More) | Mimi Hines, veteran Broadway actress, singer, and comedian, dies at age 91 (More)
> One Direction's Liam Payne reportedly had "pink cocaine" in his system at the time of his Oct. 16 death (More) | What is pink cocaine? (More)
Science & Technology
> FAA approves regulations permitting electric vertical takeoff vehicles, or eVTOLs, opening the door for an emerging air taxi industry; marks the first new category of aircraft recognized since 1940 (More)
> Oriental hornets have the highest alcohol tolerance in the animal kingdom, new study suggests; insects can consume diets of up to 80% ethanol with no side effects (More)
> Study details how the geometric shapes on dogs' noses begin forming during fetal development; structures help retain moisture and odor chemicals (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.1%, Dow -0.0%, Nasdaq +0.2%) amid election uncertainty, questions over the Federal Reserve's plan to cut interest rates (More)
> HSBC to divide into four divisions, separating Asian and European markets; Europe's largest lender also names its first female CFO (More) | BlackRock releases two new exchange-traded funds capitalizing on AI boom, one on AI and tech stocks, the other on software and hardware used to power AI (More)
> Walmart to launch same-day prescription delivery program (More) | Denny's to shutter one-tenth of its diners—or 150 restaurants—and reduce operating hours (More) | Buybuy Baby to close all stores, move all operations online by end of year (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Over 20 countries gather at BRICS, Russian President Vladimir Putin's summit for emerging economies seen as counterweight to US-led G-7; participating countries—including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—account for over one-quarter of global economy (More)
> US Justice Department charges Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general and three others in plot to murder Iranian-American journalist (More) | Former NYC mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani (R) ordered to relinquish valuables including NYC apartment in Georgia election case (More)
> Israel says airstrike this month killed presumed successor to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah; Hezbollah has not commented (More) | FBI investigates leak on Israel's preparations to retaliate against Iran (More) | See war updates (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
A Big Deal
.jpg)
At 76 years of age, I have put myself into a position where I can do this without thinking about where my next dollar is going to come from. For 46 years I worked (1968-2014) in a variety of jobs and by doing so, earned the right to receive Social Security. Of course, I paid into the system as did my employers.
I also managed to save a fair amount of money so that I could withdraw $2,000/month to supplement my social security income, thereby living very similarly to the way I was living when working.
My wife and I did not spend our money foolishly on things we did not need but on things we needed in order for us to be comfortable. That still enabled us to live a very exciting and enjoyable life participating in Caribbean Cruises, Flights to Europe and across the USA, along with visits to Hawaii and Alaska, as well as Myrtle Beach, SC.
We cannot spend a summer without going at least once to Myrtle Beach. We stay in a condo facing the ocean, eat out every night and including the cost of driving there and back, spend less than $2,000 for 7 nights.
But today, as I sit here on this couch thinking of what I want to write, I look around my environment and am very pleased with what I see.
- We own our $400,000 home
- We have no debt of any kind
- We have no unnecessary space
- I maintain the yard in under an hour
- We are strategically located to
- the interstate
- a skilled hospital
- a gasoline station
- a grocery store
- restaurants
- shopping
- entertainment
While our age is an issue and our health is not the best, we will still live another decade and a half, maybe more. Retired for 25 years or more with money to cover it all...
That gives us peace of mind and happiness and gratitude for a life well lived, but not totally void of mistakes...
However, when we look back upon what we have done, neither one of us would change anything that we have done...
And that's a BIG DEAL...
What the Euclid Space Telescope Sees
The Euclid Space Telescope has revealed the "first page" of the cosmic atlas it is building. The section of the map of the cosmos being built by Euclid was released on Monday (Oct. 15), and it features tens of millions of stars within the Milky Way and around 14 million distant galaxies beyond our own.
The vast cosmic mosaic was constructed from 260 Euclid observations collected between March 25 and April 8, 2024 and contains 208 gigapixels of data. The region charted is around 500 times as wide as the full moon appears in the sky over Earth.
Perhaps most astoundingly, the mosaic accounts for just 1% of the total survey Euclid will conduct over the next six years as it tracks the shapes, distances and movements of galaxies as far as 10 billion light-years away. Not only will this result in the largest 3D map of the cosmos ever created, but the vast scale of this map will help scientists investigate the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, sometimes collectively known as the "dark universe." READ MORE...
Wednesday, October 23
State of TN - East TN
The state of Tennessee has a few big cities (although these cities will never compare to NYC, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, etc.) which are Bristol, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, and Memphis.
In East TN, Bristol and Knoxville are considered to be larger than most others like Morristown, Greenville, or Strawberry Plains.
It is difficult to say if Chattanooga belongs to middle TN or east TN, but if you look at the map, it is at the southern end of middle TN.
Nashville is by far the largest city in TN but for a comparison, Atlanta has 0.14 million more people than Nashville.
What is so special about East TN?
- Moderate climate all year long
- cheaper to live
- lower taxes
- low crime rate
- minimal illegal immigrants
- minimal illegal drugs
- excellent law enforcement
- close to Cherokee casino
- close to NASCAR racetrack
- close to excellent UT Medical hospital
- close to University of Tennessee
- close to Oak Ridge National Labs
- close to Mcghee-Tyson airport
- close to Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Dollywood
- Protected by Cumberland Plateau and Smoky Mountains
- TVA Parks and Recreation
- More rural than urban
- always receive southern hospitality
- Less traffic and congestion
Negatives:
- limited public transportation
- low wages
- no traffic nightmares
- no subway system
- no corrupt law enforcement
- no NYC-type rude people
- no professional sports (Nashville only)
- no off-Broadway plays
- no really expensive cuisines
- no hordes of taxis
- no homeless encampments
I have been living here since 1990, about 34 years (in two months) and while I have only lived in VA, NC, and KY as far as a comparison is concerned, I have visited numerous other cities and find this area to be preferred... at least by me.
North Carolina (NC) is probably the closest to being like East TN, but NC is much more advanced in the sense that it has more industry and more people both of which dwindle the similarities.
An MBA is a dime a dozen skill in NC whereas in TN, especially East TN it is a very unique skill to have and in 1990, it was a very rare skill to possess. Most of the MBAs ventured north for higher wages, leaving behind a gold mine for those who wanted to stay.
Even with less money, I had more than my counterparts who ventured North. If these transplants relocated to the south, then they had the advantage financially, but I saw that as a high price to pay for FORTY YEARS OF HAPPINESS.
Politics and the Media
Mainstream Media which includes CNN, CBS, MSNBC, and ABC have, since 2016 (and possibly earlier) slanted the news, suppressed the news, and/or eliminated the news by not reporting it... IF made the DEMOCRATIC PARTY LOOK BAD.
This is the kind of behavior that one would expect to take place in countries like China, Russia, North Korea, India, the Middle East, and other countries that embrace SOCIALISM and COMMUNISM and DICTATORSHIPS.
Up until recently, the USA has never been that type of country, although, there have been times where our government has asked the PRESS not to publish stories that might negatively impact national security... and while that too is wrong, it is still somewhat understandable.
Our country's values were based upon and predicated upon FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, not the PRESS deciding what stories to publish and what stories not to, and certainly not to align themselves with political parties.
It would appear that the LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC party has gotten control of mainstream media and is making an attempt to influence how the media is reporting the news of the day in the hopes of influence public opinion in THEIR FAVOR
ARE THEY AFRAID THAT PUBLIC OPINION WOULD GO AGAINST THEM, IF THE PUBLIC KNEW THE TRUTH OF THEIR ACTIONS???
This type of control of the media is only done when a group of people have something to HIDE.
The TRUTH is the TRUTH so why do the DEMOCRATS want to SLANT THE TRUTH in order to favor them?
Is the general public THAT NAIVE???
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Sean "Diddy" Combs faces seven new civil lawsuits, which include allegations of raping a 13-year-old girl; Combs is currently in jail in New York on racketeering and sex trafficking charges (More)
> Producer of "Blade Runner 2049" sues Elon Musk, Tesla, and Warner Bros. Discovery for using images of the film without permission during Tesla's Cybercab promo event (More)
> Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's upstart tech-infused golf league TGL sets Jan. 7 launch date with the first team match broadcast on ESPN (More)
Science & Technology
> Wall Street Journal, NY Post, and others sue AI platform Perplexity, claiming its chatbot violates copyright law (More) | Microsoft to unveil tools to build customizable AI agents—bots designed for specific tasks—in its Copilot Studio (More)
> Paleontologists discover smallest fossilized dinosaur eggs found to date; 80-million-year-old specimens likely laid by an undiscovered type of dinosaur (More)
> Deep brain stimulation may be effective at treating depression, new clinical study suggests; test uses a wearable cap to deliver gentle electrical voltages at home (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.2%, Dow -0.8%, Nasdaq +0.3%) (More) | Shares of Kenvue—the maker of Tylenol and Listerine—close up 5% after activist investor Starboard Value reportedly takes large stake (More)
> The Walt Disney Co. to appoint outgoing CEO Bob Iger's successor in early 2026, taps Morgan Stanley veteran James Gorman as chair (More)
> Payments giant Stripe acquires stablecoin payments company Bridge for $1.1B (More) | Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies tied to the value of a traditional currency; see overview (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Biden administration proposes rule to expand access to contraceptive products, including requiring health insurance companies to cover recommended over-the-counter birth control (More) | Student loan repayments paused for six additional months for 8 million borrowers under the SAVE plan (More)
> Moldovans vote in favor of the country joining the European Union by thin margin, with 99% of the votes counted and 50.46% voting "yes" to the referendum; Moldova, once part of the Soviet Union, lies between Ukraine and Romania (More)
> Fethullah Gülen, a US-based Turkish cleric accused of orchestrating 2016 coup attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, dies at age 83 (More) | US activist Thelma Mothershed-Wair, member of Little Rock Nine, dies at age 83 (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)