Friday, January 17
Thursday, January 16
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Catherine, Princess of Wales, announces her cancer is in remission; Catherine underwent chemotherapy treatment after announcing her diagnosis in March 2024 (More)
> Warner Music Group and Sony Music join Universal Music in canceling all Grammy Awards week events due to Los Angeles wildfires (More) | Palisades Fire is 17% contained and Eaton Fire is 35% contained as of this writing; see map (More)
> Rashida Jones steps down as president of MSNBC after leading the cable news network for four years (More) | Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund nearing deal to invest $1B in sports streaming service DAZN (More)
Science & Technology
> President Joe Biden signs executive order allowing the Defense and Energy Departments to lease federal lands to companies building AI data centers and clean power facilities (More)
> Gut bacteria in Antarctic worms produce proteins that help the animals cope with freezing temperatures; study sheds light on the interaction between the microbiome and environmental adaptations (More) | Heard about the gut microbiome but don't know what it is? Start here (More)
> Laser imaging technique reveals intricate tattoos on medieval-era mummies from Peru's Chancay culture; discovery may offer insight into the culture's social hierarchy (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.1%, Dow +0.5%, Nasdaq -0.2%) as investors weigh first of two inflation reports this week (More) | SEC sues Elon Musk for allegedly failing to timely disclose Twitter ownership stake in March 2022 before eventually buying the company (More)
> Federal regulators sue Capitol One over allegedly misleading customers about their savings accounts and cheating them out of more than $2B in interest (More) | JPMorgan Chase exec Daniel Pinto, longtime No. 2 to CEO Jamie Dimon, will step down in June from roles as chief operating officer and president (More)
> Eli Lilly shares close down over 6% after revenue guidance trimmed on lower-than-expected demand for obesity and diabetes drugs (More) | The FTC finds major pharmacy benefit managers inflated drug prices for more than $7B gain (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> South Korean investigators detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for questioning after entering his compound early Wednesday; Yoon faces insurrection charges, is first sitting president in the country to ever be arrested (More)
> Trump Cabinet hearings kick off, starting with defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth; topics covered included past comments on women in the military and allegations of sexual misconduct (More) | Justice Department releases report related to President-elect Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case (More)
> Biden administration to remove Cuba from state sponsor of terrorism list as part of deal to free political prisoners on the island; Trump had added the designation in 2021 shortly before he left office (More) | US-Cuba relations overview (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Americans Are Not Really into Customer Service
When my wife and I were cruising last month on Royal Caribbean, we were informed by several top
officials from that cruise line Americans make the worst employees and are seldom hired by any
cruise line because they do not understand, nor do they offer outstanding to excellent (decreasing in value here) customer service. Americans make good cruise directors but that is about it...
So, no Americans are hired to cook, wait tables, clean rooms, serve drinks, or provide security services because of this lack of awareness as to appropriate customer service.
However, it is my belief that Americans do understand customer service, it's just that they do not like to be told what to do by foreigners for starters, and it would also be my belief that providing this type of customer service is beneath them and the ego perceptions that they have of themselves. I would have to say that most Americans that I know or have seen working, are basically lazy and really strive towards getting paid as much money as they can for doing as little as they can.
On the other side of the coin, managers of service workers here in the USA treat those service workers as if they were no better than animals; in fact, most animal owners treat their animals better than service workers are treated by management... hence, part of the reason for the low-quality service.
But, is that all there is to it?
No, I don't think so.
Around 1950, American manufacturing was number ONE in the world as it supplied all the global countries as a result of the WWII being fought mainly in Europe, completely destroying the manufacturing base that was once there. As we manufactured quantity, we were not so much concerned with quality as we did not have the time to focus on quality, only quantity.
As American manufacturing grew, so too did the Middle-Class Family in America, reaping the benefits of our economic abilities. As the Middle Class grew and grew and grew, the mentality of the parents was to make sure that their children never endured the same hardships that they endured trying to earn a living.
Children were pushed into a different direction or they were pushed into the direction of college: white collar work as opposed to blue collar work.
Children born around 1950 were never going to be like their parents, so from 1970 (+/-) until 2000 (+/-) they acquired different skill sets, different experiences than their WWII parents so that when their children were born in the 1970's, by the 1990's when they were entering the workforce, their attitudes towards work were entirely different than the work attitudes of the 1950's.
However, it is my belief that Americans do understand customer service, it's just that they do not like to be told what to do by foreigners for starters, and it would also be my belief that providing this type of customer service is beneath them and the ego perceptions that they have of themselves. I would have to say that most Americans that I know or have seen working, are basically lazy and really strive towards getting paid as much money as they can for doing as little as they can.
On the other side of the coin, managers of service workers here in the USA treat those service workers as if they were no better than animals; in fact, most animal owners treat their animals better than service workers are treated by management... hence, part of the reason for the low-quality service.
But, is that all there is to it?
No, I don't think so.
Around 1950, American manufacturing was number ONE in the world as it supplied all the global countries as a result of the WWII being fought mainly in Europe, completely destroying the manufacturing base that was once there. As we manufactured quantity, we were not so much concerned with quality as we did not have the time to focus on quality, only quantity.
As American manufacturing grew, so too did the Middle-Class Family in America, reaping the benefits of our economic abilities. As the Middle Class grew and grew and grew, the mentality of the parents was to make sure that their children never endured the same hardships that they endured trying to earn a living.
Children were pushed into a different direction or they were pushed into the direction of college: white collar work as opposed to blue collar work.
Children born around 1950 were never going to be like their parents, so from 1970 (+/-) until 2000 (+/-) they acquired different skill sets, different experiences than their WWII parents so that when their children were born in the 1970's, by the 1990's when they were entering the workforce, their attitudes towards work were entirely different than the work attitudes of the 1950's.
And the children born in the 1990's, when they started entering the workforce in 2010, an entirely new breed of American Worker appeared on the scene, there were so far removed from the 1950's that the workers starting in the 1990's had no clue as to how to manage and motivate these workers.
But rest assured that these new workers are in no way planning to pick fruit or vegetables, work in Call Centers, or sell any Retail products either in person or over the phone. None of these workers will ever get their hands dirty, so count out working in firefighting, emergency services, or law enforcement. None of these workers will ever consider the idea of reporting to work each day and sitting behind a desk pushing papers when they already know that they can do most anything, once it has been digitized, from the comforts of their own homes, even if they are still living with their parents.
<continued tomorrow>
But rest assured that these new workers are in no way planning to pick fruit or vegetables, work in Call Centers, or sell any Retail products either in person or over the phone. None of these workers will ever get their hands dirty, so count out working in firefighting, emergency services, or law enforcement. None of these workers will ever consider the idea of reporting to work each day and sitting behind a desk pushing papers when they already know that they can do most anything, once it has been digitized, from the comforts of their own homes, even if they are still living with their parents.
<continued tomorrow>
Nuclear Reactor ONE MIILE Underground
Offering a unique approach to powering data centers through nuclear energy, Deep Fission and Endeavour Energy have announced a strategic partnership. Their agreement plans to bury small modular reactors (SMRs) a mile underground.
“As part of the agreement, Endeavour and Deep Fission have committed to co-developing 2 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear energy to power Endeavour’s expanding global portfolio of Edged data centers,” said Deep Fission in a press release. Notably, the first reactors are expected to be operational by 2029.
Deep Fission, a nuclear energy company, is pioneering this new approach. They have designed small nuclear reactors that are lowered into 30-inch boreholes drilled a mile deep.
Innovative approach with several benefits
This method takes advantage of the natural geological properties at that depth. The earth provides robust containment and constant pressure. This eliminates the need for the massive concrete structures typically used for containment in aboveground nuclear reactors.
This approach offers several advantages. It significantly reduces the cost of construction and minimizes the environmental impact by decreasing the surface footprint of the reactor. READ MORE...
This method takes advantage of the natural geological properties at that depth. The earth provides robust containment and constant pressure. This eliminates the need for the massive concrete structures typically used for containment in aboveground nuclear reactors.
This approach offers several advantages. It significantly reduces the cost of construction and minimizes the environmental impact by decreasing the surface footprint of the reactor. READ MORE...
Wednesday, January 15
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The 2025 Grammy Awards to proceed as planned Feb. 2, with the telecast serving as a fundraiser for wildfire relief efforts (More) | Country music star Carrie Underwood tapped to perform at President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration (More)
> English author Neil Gaiman faces new allegations of sexual assault by four women (More) | Sean "Diddy" Combs accused in lawsuit of 2000 rape of a 16-year-old (More)
> Academy Awards nominations announcement pushed to Jan. 23 as voting process delayed due to wildfires (More) | ... and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, delays premiere of her Netflix lifestyle show (More)
Science & Technology
> Biden administration proposes rules on exports for advanced AI computer chips; select group of nations will have full access while countries like China, Iran, and Russia will face heavy restrictions (More)
> New NASA study suggests roughly one-third of supermassive black holes—those up to billions of times the mass of the sun—are hidden from view by gas and dust (More) | All the best resources on black holes from 1440 Topics (More)
> Bioengineered male mosquitoes deliver toxic venom proteins during mating, shortening the life span of disease-spreading female counterparts; only female mosquitoes bite and transmit pathogens (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.2%, Dow +0.9%, Nasdaq -0.4%) as investors rotate out of tech stocks (More) | Moderna shares close down nearly 17% after company slashes 2025 sales forecast by $1B, partly due to declining demand for its COVID-19 vaccine (More)
> Robinhood to pay $45M to settle charges with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over data breach, record-keeping, and other violations (More)
> Johnson & Johnson to acquire psychiatric drug developer Intra-Cellular Therapies in roughly $15B deal; if completed, deal would be largest biotech merger since 2023 (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Judge allows partial release of special counsel Jack Smith's investigative report related to President-elect Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case; report could be released as soon as today (More)
> National Weather Service issues "particularly dangerous situation" red flag warning for Los Angeles area, advising high winds could cause fires to intensify through tomorrow (More) | Palisades Fire has burned over 23,000 acres and is 14% contained as of this writing; see map of fires burning in Southern California (More)
> Israel and Hamas reportedly nearing deal for ceasefire in Gaza and release of hostages following a breakthrough in Qatar-led negotiations; both sides reviewing details of the plan, which haven't been made public (More) | See war updates (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
The Limits of Nostalgia & Being Nostalgic - continued
...Continued from yesterday...
I had great parents who were well educated and would do anything (within reason) for my happiness or for my education or for my career.
But, when I was in 3rd grade, my father told me these statement as to how he felt about me:
Given my impressionable age, neither of those two comments should have ever been made... so, my
memories of childhood are clouded and distorted because of that one memory.
While I was in College (mid 1960's) in the South, I wore my hair long along with jeans, T-shirts, leather
jackets, and boots while attending classes... and, was told by most of my professors that they were giving me low grades because of the way I was dressed.
At the same time, I met a lot of people, and we did have fun playing cards, drinking beer and alcohols, and chasing women at night at the local bars... we were free spirits... had few boundaries and even fewer limitations... and, we laughed all the time... but, what the professors did to me stayed with me more
Being in the military was like being in prison, especially if you were aboard a US Naval Vessel out of Norfolk, VA and was deployed at sea more than you were in port with a vehicle. When deployed, the only thing to do in port was to drink and whore around or sightsee... guess which one got our attention?
Because of the caliber of the enlisted man, you could trust your fellow sailors from stealing from you or setting you up to be blamed for something they did. For the first time in my life, I was provided with room and board but was completely alone, away from family and friends, and without any kind of network of support, except those people I did not like or trust... because we had little in common and came from different sides of the tracks.
I did manage to stay alive and because I was able to stay alive, the GI Bill paid for all my college education including both undergraduate as well as graduate school... and, that is extremely
- “You are not worth the powder and shells it would cost me to blow your ass to hell.”
- “The best part of you ran down my leg.”
Given my impressionable age, neither of those two comments should have ever been made... so, my
memories of childhood are clouded and distorted because of that one memory.
While I was in College (mid 1960's) in the South, I wore my hair long along with jeans, T-shirts, leather
jackets, and boots while attending classes... and, was told by most of my professors that they were giving me low grades because of the way I was dressed.
At the same time, I met a lot of people, and we did have fun playing cards, drinking beer and alcohols, and chasing women at night at the local bars... we were free spirits... had few boundaries and even fewer limitations... and, we laughed all the time... but, what the professors did to me stayed with me more
Being in the military was like being in prison, especially if you were aboard a US Naval Vessel out of Norfolk, VA and was deployed at sea more than you were in port with a vehicle. When deployed, the only thing to do in port was to drink and whore around or sightsee... guess which one got our attention?
Because of the caliber of the enlisted man, you could trust your fellow sailors from stealing from you or setting you up to be blamed for something they did. For the first time in my life, I was provided with room and board but was completely alone, away from family and friends, and without any kind of network of support, except those people I did not like or trust... because we had little in common and came from different sides of the tracks.
I did manage to stay alive and because I was able to stay alive, the GI Bill paid for all my college education including both undergraduate as well as graduate school... and, that is extremely
positive, but not really a memory on which to become nostalgic.
As far as my career is concerned, let me explain it this way... as a result of my integrity and not willing
to do anything that violated my integrity, I was subsequently fired/terminated 10 times during a 45-year period or every 4.5 years... so, what is positive about that? The only thing that could be nostalgic is my desire to remain in the South where Employee At Will States were commonplace, which means your employer can fire you anytime they so desire without giving you a reason and you have no legal recourse.
As far as my career is concerned, let me explain it this way... as a result of my integrity and not willing
to do anything that violated my integrity, I was subsequently fired/terminated 10 times during a 45-year period or every 4.5 years... so, what is positive about that? The only thing that could be nostalgic is my desire to remain in the South where Employee At Will States were commonplace, which means your employer can fire you anytime they so desire without giving you a reason and you have no legal recourse.
So.......... my thoughts are......... do not look back at all... instead, look forward because that is the only
direction in which you are heading at the present time or moment or whatever.
Time is linear and may be curved with ups and downs but it does, in fact, move forward. And, what
happened a moment ago, may or may not have any bearing on what will happen a moment into the future, yet to be experienced.
While it is true that all we are today is predicated upon all that we were in the past, but to give the past anymore credence than that is somewhat foolish, I would think. My days fly by un-fettered and do so quickly giving a relative peace-of-mind in that they seem not to last too long but that is attributed to age more than it is to the actual day being shorter in time... which may or may not seem obvious to you.
Negative days are quickly replaced by new days and new opportunities to experience whatever... since no one can ever really predict what whatever might be. So, we adjust as the day progresses. If, when we awake, it is raining outside, then we do stuff inside whether the inside stuff be as enjoyable or not. The day itself is not good or bad... it just is...
That is the way it is with Nostalgia... it just was...
direction in which you are heading at the present time or moment or whatever.
Time is linear and may be curved with ups and downs but it does, in fact, move forward. And, what
happened a moment ago, may or may not have any bearing on what will happen a moment into the future, yet to be experienced.
While it is true that all we are today is predicated upon all that we were in the past, but to give the past anymore credence than that is somewhat foolish, I would think. My days fly by un-fettered and do so quickly giving a relative peace-of-mind in that they seem not to last too long but that is attributed to age more than it is to the actual day being shorter in time... which may or may not seem obvious to you.
Negative days are quickly replaced by new days and new opportunities to experience whatever... since no one can ever really predict what whatever might be. So, we adjust as the day progresses. If, when we awake, it is raining outside, then we do stuff inside whether the inside stuff be as enjoyable or not. The day itself is not good or bad... it just is...
That is the way it is with Nostalgia... it just was...
Human Robot Interaction
We’ve come a long way from viewing robots merely as tools. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-enabled robots play increasing roles in human lives – from assisting us in mundane everyday tasks to aiding in complex scientific research.
They’re becoming our partners and social entities, blurring the boundaries between human and machine.
And this transition is not without its pitfalls. This transformation challenges existing legal and ethical frameworks, raising pressing concerns about privacy, safety, and regulation.
A new publication, The Cambridge Handbook of the Law, Policy, and Regulation for Human-Robot Interaction, addresses these issues. The book provides a roadmap for navigating this rapidly evolving landscape.
Complexities of human-robot interactions
Edited by Woodrow Barfield, Yueh-Hsuan Weng, and Ugo Pagallo, the handbook gathers insights from social sciences, computer science, and engineering.
It stands as the first book to focus on the legal, policy, and regulatory aspects of human-robot interaction.
“Humanities are crucial to AI development,” said Yueh-Hsuan Weng, an associate professor at Kyushu University and Tohoku University. READ MORE...
Edited by Woodrow Barfield, Yueh-Hsuan Weng, and Ugo Pagallo, the handbook gathers insights from social sciences, computer science, and engineering.
It stands as the first book to focus on the legal, policy, and regulatory aspects of human-robot interaction.
“Humanities are crucial to AI development,” said Yueh-Hsuan Weng, an associate professor at Kyushu University and Tohoku University. READ MORE...
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