Shock

 

Just A Few More Thoughts

 There is a southern expression that really applies here:  OPINIONS ARE LIKE ASSHOLES, EVERYBODY HAS GOT ONE...  and, I am cetainly no execption...

Are my opinions biased?

Of course they are...

Are my opinions from the heart?

That's affirmative as well...

In 1970, Edwin Starr, wrote the lyrics to the song WAR...  here is an excerpt:

War what is it good for?

Absolutely nothing...

And yet, Americans are constantly going to war...  but, not just a war like the Korean War, Vietnam War, or the war in Afghanistan...

We have racial wars, educational wars, political wars, religious wars, perception wars, freedom of speech wars, vehicle wars, border wars, marriage wars, and the obvious one would be relationship wars...

We are constantly fighting each other endlessly over what most of us might believe or perceive to be STUPID SHIT.

So, why do we do this?

POWER

CONTROL

EGO

PRIVILEGE

ELITE

I remember when I first started workimg after college and if I had an idea and presented to my boss, he would say to me that it was not a good idea but 3-6 months later, present it to his boss as if it were his idea....

Why are Americans like this?

Our society, I fear, will never change and if they will never change, then our global world can never come together and live life as it was intended to be lived...  although, maybe this was the way it was intended to be lived...

From The Back Porch

There is nothing more majestic that watching sunrise...  and as we all can well imagine, sunrise is different from a variety of locations all over the world.  Watching the sunrise is an old pagan tradition, I have read, but be that as it may, it is still fascinating to watch, especially from my back porch.

As the valley lights up this morning, the clouds hide the magnificent ball of sun from being seen, but watching the light unfold is a miracle in and of itself.

Up early were you?

As a matter of fact I was...

Why?

Simply put, I could not sleep any longer...

This is one of the few mornings that the cats (of which we have 3) were not sitting at the door, whinning for me to get up and give them their morning treat.

It's a habit that we started years ago and repeat daily.

We humans have routines as well...  that were started long ago by someone who conditioned us like our parents and possibly later by an influential grade school teacher.

For me, it was my parents who taught me that the first thing that I should do before leaving the bedroom for breakfast was to make my bed...  they assured me that I did not have to do this if I needed to use the bathroom first.

Next, was the routine of breakfast as my father considered that to be the most important meal of the day, with lunch being second and dinner was important as well just not as much.

Meals were always a time for the family to talk and share whatever it was that we wanted to share with each other and sometimes the sharing got personal and had obviously violated privacy...  and, another routine was established that was simply don't share private stuff.

Over 70 years later, I still eat that most important meal of the day...  breakfast...  but, I typically don't even think about eating it until late morning...  and, when I say late, it is usually almost noon.  Around 2pm, 4pm, and 6pm, I eat small meals maybe just pimento cheese on a toasted English Muffin or a couple of apples or a bowl of soup.  As we grow older we don't need much of a routine to sustain our lives.

Reflections are a powerful source of memories and the older we become the more reflections we have and the more memories we remember...  and, it is in those moments of reflection that we finally understand who we are and what we have become.

War

 

Bouncy... Bouncy...

Hyper-Realistic Art

(Pocket-lint) - We've seen plenty of incredible images captured on film and with digital cameras in recent years. Whether brilliant photographs from space, amazing images from a new perspective or astounding aerial photographs snapped with drones, there are plenty of incredible images out there to enjoy.

There are artists out there though, who with a steady hand, plenty of patience and incredible talent have managed to create artwork so astounding and breath-taking you'll struggle to believe they aren't real images.

Dispell your disbelief and join us on this journey of discovery. With paintings, drawings and sculptures that are so good, you won't believe your eyes.

Sweet treats

They say the first bite is with the eye and we all enjoy a sweet treat from a vending machine, but this image really plays tricks on you too.

Roberto Bernardi has worked the oil onto the canvas so well here it even includes the reflection of a photographer in the glass of the machine.

Empire State Building in oil

At first glance, you might dismiss this image as a rather dull photo of New York City.

The classic tourist snap of the Empire State Building and surrounding skyline. When you learn though, that this image was actually created by hand, it becomes entirely more impressive.

Raphaella Spence has a real talent for creating hyper-realistic art and has been crafting and exhibiting her art since the late 1990s.

TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS AND SEE MORE FANTASTIC ART, CLICK HERE...

Classic Sunday Morning Newspaper Cartoons

 

Killing Pancreatic Cancer Cells

A research team led by scientists at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has discovered a molecule that inhibits the growth and metastasis of pancreatic cancer cells through the iron metabolism pathway.

Their findings, recently published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, pave the way toward the development of a new drug candidate for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

The molecule, MMRi62, targets iron metabolism to kill cancer cells and the harmful proteins that encourage their growth and spread, suggesting that further development and refinement of this compound could lead to a new type of pancreatic cancer therapy.

"MMRi62 causes degradation of an iron-storage protein called FTH1, as well as a protein that is mutated in PDAC, resulting [in] inhibition of metastasis and ferroptosis, a form of cell death triggered by free cellular iron," says Xinjiang Wang, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at Roswell Park. READ MORE...

Hot Tub

 

Taking a Giant Leap

ORNL’s Joseph Lukens runs experiments in an optics lab. Credit: Jason Richards/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Scientists' increasing mastery of quantum mechanics is heralding a new age of innovation. Technologies that harness the power of nature's most minute scale show enormous potential across the scientific spectrum, from computers exponentially more powerful than today's leading systems, sensors capable of detecting elusive dark matter, and a virtually unhackable quantum internet.

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Freedom Photonics and Purdue University have made strides toward a fully quantum internet by designing and demonstrating the first ever Bell state analyzer for frequency bin coding.

Their findings were published in Optica.

Before information can be sent over a quantum network, it must first be encoded into a quantum state. This information is contained in qubits, or the quantum version of classical computing "bits" used to store information, that become entangled, meaning they reside in a state in which they cannot be described independently of one another.

Entanglement between two qubits is considered maximized when the qubits are said to be in "Bell states."

Measuring these Bell states is critical to performing many of the protocols necessary to perform quantum communication and distribute entanglement across a quantum network. And while these measurements have been done for many years, the team's method represents the first Bell state analyzer developed specifically for frequency bin coding, a quantum communications method that harnesses single photons residing in two different frequencies simultaneously.  READ MORE...

Treading Water

From the MAYO Clinic

Some people wonder if walking offers enough health benefits to be worthwhile when considering exercise options. 

Walking can, indeed, be beneficial for both fitness and weight loss, as long as you walk at a moderate pace and get out and walk consistently!

One of the significant benefits of walking is that you don’t need any special equipment other than a good pair of shoes, and you don’t have to go to a gym!

Let’s start today! Here are some tricks to getting in those extra steps:

1. Take the dog out for an extra walk
2. Park far away from the entrance of the store when shopping
3. Call a friend and catch up while walking
4. Walk around the block while your kid is taking dance class/playing soccer
5. Skip the drive-thru at the bank, pharmacy or restaurant and walk inside instead

Changing your lifestyle does not have to be overwhelming.

Adopt healthy habits and lose weight without being miserable.

Today

 

SOUTHERN BORN

Several years ago, my mother gave birth to me in a hospital that was located in Raleigh, NC and while we live briefly in Alexandria, VA, I returned to NC for college and remained there until 1990 when I relocated to TN, another southern state...

Not only am I a Southerner, I am also a Caucasian Male who was raised in a lower middle class environment.  I have never lived in a city.  Instead, I have always lived just outside of the city, in the country per se...  but, not until TN was a fully emersed in country living...  and, I would not trade that for anything.

I also prefer the SOUTH to the NORTH, and not just because the south typically has a warmer climate but because of the PEOPLE who are more compassionate than those in the north...  also, there is less vehicular traffic in the south, less smog and polution, and a slower life-style.

While some might think that the south is relatively backwards compared to the modern city of New York, we have respected universities, respected hospitals and healthcare, respected recreation areas, and a respected law enforcement where crime and violence is at a minimum.

What I like about it, is that the cost of living is less than most everywhere else in the US and while the income levels are also less, it is very easy to live very well and only spend about $3,500 to $4,000 on monthly expenses...  of course, my wife and I have no debt which helps and have been debt free for over 15 years.

Being retired, I don't have to pay any attention to CRT or becoming WOKE...  nor do I have to feel bad about the fact that I am WHITE...  and, being white does not mean I feel guilty about my ancestors practicing slavery...  the fact remains that I don't practice slavery today nor anyday during my life and that's what matters to me.

If you want to play the race card...  that is your right...  but I will not support you nor will I stand in your way...  because of the freedoms that our slavery believing founding fathers gave us.

Did I live a good life?

I did exactly what I wanted to do throughout the 74 years that I have lived on this earth.

Did I make mistakes?

Of course I made mistakes...  and sometimes, I actually learned from those mistakes.

Would I do anything different?

I have seriously thought about that, and I don't think that I would because I am the person I am today because of what I did before.

What have I learned?

Live and let live.

From the Back Porch

 

Thank god...  it's the weekend...

Somewhat funny from someone who is retired...  but after 45 years of working, the power of the weekends are engrained in me just as deeply as my religious upbringing in the United Methodist Church...

It was in the church that I first learned about being hypocritical...  that is to say, acting one way in church and around religious and acting another way when you were not around these kinds of people...

Being retired basically means that you are OLD...  and this holds true for people who keep working after they reach retirement age...  this is done for two reasons:  

(1) because you have to    

(2) because you cannot stand the thought of not making as much money as you can before you die

I suppose this is somewhat logical just as my opening line was somewhat funny.

For me, each day is S O S...

Same Ole Shit or SOS was taught to me in the Navy...   just like SNAFU although that term started in the Army but eventually extended out to all branches of the armed forces.

7:00/7:30 - I am awake and out of bed

10 minutes later I have my first cup of coffee made from a Keurig Coffee Pod Machine

7:45 - I am watching FOX News

7:45-8:45 - I write in my journal

8:45-10:30 - I prepare my blog for the next day and have pretty much consumed 2-3 YETI containers of coffee

10:30-11:00 - The consumed coffee causes me to have my morning bowel movement that most people refer to as "taking a shit"

11:00 - I typically decide it is time to eat breakfast

12:00 - 2:00/3:00 - I work on one of my novels

2:00/3:00 - I have a small meal

3:00 - 5:00 - I watch a couple of hours of some kind of multiple seasons series that is usually a mystery, scifi, espionage, or detective stuff

5:00-6:00 - I usually eat another small meal

6:00 - 9:00 - is pretty much free time which I can use to work on my novel or watch some sort of series or type previously written poems into my poetry blog

9:00 - I answer email

10:00 - I am usually in bed

This is why I refer to it as SOS...

BUT, a few weeks ago my routine was upset because when I awoke, I had a insideous pain in both butt cheeks that came and went.  A few days later, this pain descended down into the back of my thighs which made it very difficult to walk.  Obviously, after a month of this nonsense, I went to see an orthopedic doctor who, based upon the way I was walking, said I had a problem with disks L6, L5, or L4 in my lower spine...  could be a pinched nerve...  but, it was not from anything I had done and not done...  it was just from age.  I told him that I exercised, walked, ran, and was very physical most of my life until retirement...  He smiled and said...  if you had not have done that, your situation today would be WORSE...  HOLY SHIT...  I kinda said to myself...

An MRI will confirm his diagnosis but I cannot have that MRI until the end of April so I will have to live with this shit for almost 2 months.  If the MRI confirms his diagnosis, then there will either be steroid shots directly into the spine at those "L" locations or surgery.

Ironically, this would have happened to me whether I retired or not...  so, it is a good thing that I retired, because limping around like this, I would not have been worth a shit at work...  and, that is something my bosses would have given a shit about and probably would have asked me to "go to the house".

Thank god...  it's the weekend...

Interaction

 

Google to Pay French Publishers

Google has signed a new agreement to pay French publishers for the right to display their news content online.  The deal means that media organisations in France will be fairly renumerated when their news articles appear on the search engine's results pages.

A new agreement was unveiled on Thursday by Google and the Alliance for the General Information Press (Apig), which brings together nearly 300 national, regional and local news groups.  The deal replaces a previous agreement that was announced last January.

Facebook reached a similar agreement with Agip in October to pay French publishers over the copyright of their content.

The dispute over so-called "neighbouring rights" has soured relations between French news organisations and the US tech giant for more than two years.  Google and Facebook have long argued against the principle, stating that French publishers are already exposed on their platforms and promoted to customers.

But in 2019, a European Union Directive entrenched "neighbouring rights" into law, a move that France swiftly adopted.  Although Google and Agip reached an agreement last year, the US company was fined €500 million for not having negotiated with French publishers "in good faith".

A French watchdog had asked Google to resume negotiations and propose a new compensation offer.

Google and Agip said in a joint statement that the new agreement on "neighbouring rights" was a "historic step". The exact amount of compensation offered to French news organisations has not been made public.

Google also hopes to sign a similar deal with another French media group, SEPM, in the future.

Hot Tub

 

Snowflake

NEW YORK, March 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Snowflake’s (SNOW.N) melting market capitalization reflects investors’ overly lofty expectations. Its share price fell by nearly a fifth on Thursday even though the $65 billion data warehouse firm said fourth-quarter revenue doubled. 

A solid business, with cash from operations easily covering capital expenditures, means slight missteps present a valuation conundrum, not an existential threat.

Fast growing firms are hard to value, but the market’s ardor read more is cooling. Snowflake thinks revenue will rise by two-thirds next year, to $1.9 billion. 

Now assume sales grow 50% annually for five years and the company will enjoy a net margin of 35%, like Microsoft (MSFT.O). On the same earnings multiple, the company would eventually be worth around $140 billion. 

That’s exuberant, but Snowflake was worth about this much in December. If growth is 20%, it will eventually be worth only a third as much on the same multiples.

Snowflake will continue to thrive. The same might not be true of other highfliers, such as electric-car makers like Lucid (LCID.O), which are burning cash. Without highly valued stock to issue, missteps could prove deadlier. (By Robert Cyran)

Snowbound

 

China's SAIC Motor

NEW DELHI, March 3 (Reuters) - MG Motor India, which is owned by China's SAIC Motor, plans to raise funds to develop its Indian electric mobility business, three sources told Reuters, as Chinese investments face increased scrutiny by the government in New Delhi.

MG Motor India may try to sell a stake of between 10% and 30% and is looking at options including issuing new shares or diluting SAIC's holding, one of the sources familiar with the plans said, adding that it may even create a separate unit for its electric vehicle (EV) business in India.

The company is talking to private equity funds which are increasingly interested in investing in the fast-growing electric vehicle market, two of the sources said, as countries shift their economies away from fossil fuels.

"Everyone is buying into the EV story because it gives investors an ESG bet, and MG is trying to pitch itself as an EV play," the first source told Reuters.

MG Motor India has yet to finalise how much money it plans to raise, which will depend on the valuation of the Indian business and its growth plans, the sources, who asked to remain anonymous because the talks are private.  READ MORE...