Awareness

 

All About the Benjamins

 A few weeks ago, I heard that the BLACKS were demanding that California pay them reparations because of slavery...  

A  days ago, I heard the minister from California saying that paying reparations to BLACKS was the only way to stop them from stealing from white owned businesses...

Sounds like BRIBERY to me but since it is coming from BLACKS...  it is ok...  and justified because of white supremacy that supposedly still exists.

Paying BLACKS reparations will only increase the hatred for blacks among the whites and increase the expressism of racism here in the USA.

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY...  it is all about MONEY...  more than racism, equity, equality, BLM, or becoming WOKE...  MONEY cures it all...

• No need for parenting
• No need for educating
• No need for learning skills
• No need for practicing

Just give me the frigging benjamins...

I am reminded of FOX News reporting on illegal immigration at our southern border...  and how the DRUG CARTELS from Mexico are controlling the flow of immigration and drugs into the United States.  This reporter also said...   IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY...  the benjamins...

If you ask a billionaire is they are ever going to retire and stop trying to earn more money and all of them will tell you NO...  It is all about how much money I can earn in my lifetime.

The railroad train derailment in Palestine occured because the railroad did not want to spend money on preventive maintenance, so they could generate MORE MONEY.

People go to college so that they can earn more money during their lifetimes while trying to avoid paying high taxes to the government...  by avoiding taxes, the government eventually has to raise taxes.

Hollywood Actors/Actresses want to make more movies and earn more money to buy bigger houses in several locations...  more and more money earned the happier their lives will be.

Manufactures build products that are of a low quality and see those products to the consumer in order for them to generate more and more money.  When my parents were first married they purchased appliance that lasted 20-30 years.  When I got married, the appliances we purchased lasted only 10 years if we were lucky.

In graduate school for business, I was taught BUILT IN OBSOLESCENCE...   in other words, build products so they do not last long which means the consumer will have to replace them more frequently and we can earn more money.

Money like drugs will never solve our problems...  only make them worse...  but, until we see that, we will get caught up in the money cycle like a mouse running on the inside of a wheel trying to get somewhere...

As one gets older and eventually retires, one begins to learn that money is no longer that important.  Sure one has to eat and go to the doctor.  But one sees that money only creates the illusion of happiness.  Money does not stop one from getting old.  Money does not stop the loss of hearing or the reduction of eyesight.  Money does not help one sleep any better nor prevent urological disorders.  Money does not stop tooth decay, weakening bones and muscles, and forgetfulness.  Money does not buy you frienships.

One of these days, a majority of Americans will realize that there is more to life than money, cars, big homes, expensive vacations, and going to professional sporting events or musical concerts.  It is relatively easy to earn money and even easier to spend it... but it is not so easy to live simply and enjoy life around you.

I don't mean live like a MONK in a cave...  but perhaps living like Native Americans lived...  rejoicing in life, respecting life and the life around them.  Extremely grateful for what they had been given...  they needed no benjamins...  they literally had everything they needed...  their lives were full and complete.

Future Home

 

Vietnam

 

Hugs

 

ASML Makes the Machines that Make the Chips

From the outside it looks like an ordinary corporate building, lots of glass and steel, but this factory in the south of the Netherlands belongs to ASML, and the machines made there are anything but ordinary.


In fact, the technology is so advanced and so much in demand, that ASML has become Europe's most valuable technology firm.


So what is made there?


ASML designs and makes the machines which make computer chips - but not any old computer chips.


ASML machines make the most advanced computer chips and it's the only company in the world with that kind of technology.


This effective monopoly means that exactly how ASML's machines work is subject to some of the most stringent corporate security in the world.


Nevertheless, we were given a tour of its plant, and were guided through the basics.

IMAGE SOURCE,ASMLImage caption,  This illustration shows the complex interior of an ASML 

EUV machine - the extreme ultraviolet light is in purple


Microchips are made by building up complex patterns of transistors, or miniature electrical switches, layer by layer, on a silicon wafer.


They are printed using a lithography system, where light is projected through a blueprint of the pattern of those miniature switches.


The light is then shrunk and focussed using advanced optics and the pattern is etched onto a photosensitive silicon wafer.


That pattern forms the circuitry of a silicon chip, that might end up in a computer, phone or any other electrical device you might care to mention.


The crucial aspect of ASML's most advanced machines is that they can work at tiny scales by generating super fine extreme ultraviolet light - just 13.5 nanometres.  READ MORE...

Dog Likes Water

 

Cats Watching

 

Downsizing

My dad retired at age 62 in 1975 and died in 2001...  living 27 more years aftr he retired.  My parents owned a beach cottage at Nags Head, NC and a home in Chapel Hill, NC, and after selling the beach cottage, adding on to the house in Chapel Hill, upscaling their home to just under 5,000 square feet. The house had 5 bedrooms, 3 full baths and two areas that could be converted into bedrooms  if necessary.  Their live in guests were never more that one couple at a time so 90-95% of the time only 1 bedrrom and 1 bath were ever used.

To make a long story short, when my dad died, my mother sold the house and went into a retirement community where she lived in a one bedroom apartment for another 14 years until she died...

So, what's the point of this narrative so far?

My parents lived in a big house that they did not need because they could financially, not necessarily because they wanted to.  Most of their time was spent in the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and back porch.  Sometimes, they would used the TV room, but my parents did not like to watch a lot of TV unless there was a football game or a tennis match being televised.  

During my first marriage, we purchased a small house that had a full basement that we never used,  During my second marriage, we also purchased a small house with a full basement that we never used.

My wife and I have been retired for 7 years and we are already thinking about downsizing because our house and yard are too big and we are getting too old to take care of it all...

Why do we purchase these big homes?

We would be better off to purchase a small home and put the rest of the money in the bank for retirement...  and yet, very few of us do that...  we have been trained to think that BIGGER is BETTER.

Unday Classic Sunday Morning Newspaper Cartoons

 

A Spiritual Observation

 If we assume that there is a God who created the universe and everything inside it...  then, why did He create both good and evil?  Unless to God, there is no such concept as good and evil, life is just learning how to survive.

This also begs the question...  why did God allow som many different religions to develop, then send his SON JESUS to earth to let people know that there is only ONE RELIGION in which to believe?  What is odd about this is that Jesus was sent to the Middle East area at a time when there was no global communications so how were the people living in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Russia, China, India, Africa, and Australia going to find out that there is only one religion?

Why wasn't Jesus sent all over the Globe to let people know that there is only one religion in which to believe?

Instead, limited the area of exposure, and it would appear that this was done intentionally...  and then stated that the only way to heaven was through Jesus, condemning all these other cultures who were not give direct exposure to Jesus or God.

It leads me to believe that God wanted this controversy to exist and he wanted all the other religions to develop...

So why did God want this?

Does it make any sense, given how powerful GOD is?

Allowing other religions to exist, seems counterproductive both religiously and spiritually...  and, puts mankind into a very uncomfortable position trying to CONVERT the rest of the world to Christianity...

IS THERE NOT ENOUGH ROOM IN HEAVEN FOR ALL OF US?  ALL OF MANKIND SHOULD BE IN HEAVEN...  NOT JUST THE CHRISTIANS...

The Magic Bank Account

THE AUTHOR IS NOT KNOWN.
IT WAS FOUND IN THE BILLFOLD OF COACH PAUL BEAR BRYANT, AFTER HE DIED IN 1982 in Alabama...



Imagine that you had won the following *PRIZE* in a contest:

Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400

In your private account for your use.

However, this prize has Rules:

The set of rules:



1. Everything that you didn't spend during each day would be taken away from you.



2. You may not simply transfer money into some other account.



3. You may only spend It.



4. Each morning upon awakening,

The bank opens your account with another $86,400 for that day.



5. The bank can end the game without warning; at any time, it can say, Game Over!" It can close the account

And you will not receive a new one.



What would you personally Do?



You would buy anything and everything you wanted right? Not only for yourself, but for all the people you love and care for. Even for people you don't know, because you couldn't possibly spend it all on yourself, right?



You would try to spend every penny, and use it all, because you knew it would be replenished in the morning, right?



ACTUALLY, This GAME is REAL

...

Shocked ???

YES!



Each of us is already a winner Of this *PRIZE*.

We just can't seem to see it.



The PRIZE is *TIME*



1. Each morning we awaken to Receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of Life.



2. And when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is not credited to us.



3. What we haven't used up that day is forever lost.



4. Yesterday is forever gone.



5. Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at any time WITHOUT WARNING...



So, what will YOU do with your 86,400 seconds?



Those seconds are worth so much more than the same amount in dollars. Think about it and remember to enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than You think.



So take care of yourself, be happy, love deeply and enjoy life!



Here's wishing you a wonderful and beautiful day.

Start spending....



"DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT GROWING OLD…!"



SOME PEOPLE DON'T GET THE PRIVILEGE!

Tik Tok Facing Global Bans

The backlash against China-owned TikTok in the U.S. and other Western countries escalated in recent days, as some U.S lawmakers pushed to give President Joe Biden the authority to impose a ban on the app for all users.


Canada banned TikTok on government-issued mobile devices on Monday, following a similar ban from the European Union last week.


TikTok, which has more than 100 million monthly active users in the U.S., has faced growing scrutiny from government officials over fears that user data could fall into the possession of the Chinese government and the app could ultimately be weaponized by China to spread misinformation.


However, the fight to ban TikTok risks imposing undue limits on free speech and private business, mimicking the type of censorship for which some Western countries have faulted China, according to some experts and civil liberties advocates.  READ MORE...

Taking a Break

 

Strictly Political

 

Moose

 

Road in Rome

 

Masturing

 

Cost of Living Exoduses

There are two states I would not live in if you paid me $10,000,000...  those two states are:  New York and Californa

California has 39.24 million residents and only 60% of the households pay taxes...  the other 40% pay no taxes at all...

California is losing about 1% of each population annually...  which is going to seriously impact its ability to collect taxes.

But California is not the only state to lose residents, people are leaving:  New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Hawaii and dother states as well.

The states that are seeing the biggest increase in people relocating are:  Texas, North Carolina, and Florida...  and to a lesser extent other southern states.

WHY?

Taxes and the cost of living

States that have NO INCOME TAX are:

1. Alaska
2. Florida
3. Nevada
4. South Dakota
5. Tennessee
6. Texas
7. Washington 
8. Wyomng

NOTE:  Many of these states have a high sales tax to compensate as well as a state lottery...

As more and more families and businesses relocate to less expensive states, there will be an increase in demand for goods and services, but this will be offset by the economic impact of the money they will be spending annually.

States like New York and California will have a difficult time raising revenues and paying for the services they provide their residents.  Consequently, these states will have no choice but to cut services or file for bankruptcy...

These cities will eventually die because tourists will stop visiting them as restaurants and events close down.

IT IS NOTHING PERSONAL BUT THE GENERAL PUBLIC WHICH REPRESENTS 60-70% OF THE POPULATION WILL WATCH HOW THEY SPEND THEIR MONEY...  AND AS PRICES CONTINUE TO INCREASE THEY WILL CONTINUE TO CUT BACK...  THE REAINING 30% WILL NOT BE ABLE TO COVER THE SHORTFALL...

State governments will soon learn that they cannot provide all the goods and services that their residents are demanding...

Sad but interesting is the fact that the poor people made the wealthy people wealthy by their spending and when the poor people stop spending, then the wealthy people will have to adjust their lifestyles as well...  just not so quickly.

Teaching

 

Globalization

Is a definition of globalization that I can understand

and to which I now can relate:

Question:
What is the truest definition ofGlobalization?


Answer :
PrincessDiana's death.


Question:How come?


Answer :

An
English Princess
with an
Egyptian boyfriend

crashes
in a French tunnel,
riding in a

German
car

with a
Dutch engine,

driven
by a Belgian

who was
drunk

on
Scottish whisky,

(check the bottle before you
Challenge the spelling),

followed
closely by

Italian
Paparazzi,

on
Japanese motorcycles,

treated
by an American doctor,
using

Brazilian
medicines.

This is
sent to you by

a
Canadian,

using

American
Bill Gates' technology,

and
you're probably reading
this on your computer, or phone

that
uses Taiwanese chips,
and a

Korean
monitor,

assembled
by

Bangladeshi
workers

in a
Singapore plant,

transported
by Indian

truck drivers,

hijacked
by Indonesians,

unloaded by
Sicilian longshoremen,

and

trucked to you by

Mexicans

Who are in the

US Illegally.


That, my friends, is Globalization

Dark Times Ahead

Economist Nouriel Roubini paints a bleak future for a world facing ‘megathreats’ – including global economic meltdowns.


In a world faced with threats and challenges, many cynical politicians would rather kick the can down the road – and win votes – than make the tough decisions needed now.


At the same time, billions of people would happily trade globalisation for their old way of life, with nations embracing a “me first” attitude and eschewing inter-country cooperation and compromise for the collective good – even in dealing with pandemics and natural disasters.


Economist Nouriel Roubini, nicknamed “Dr Doom” for predicting the 2008 crash of the United States economy years before it happened, tells host Steve Clemons how a US “debt trap”, artificial intelligence and deglobalisation are part of the bleak future that awaits humanity within the next 20 years.

Making Pies

 

Classic Music & Cars

 

A Few Mind Benders

"A gun is like a parachute If you need one, and don't have one, you'll probably never need one again."

The definition of the word Conundrum is: something that is puzzling or confusing.

Here are six Conundrums of socialism in the United States of America:
1.America is capitalist and greedy - yet half of the population is subsidized.

2.Half of the population is subsidized - yet they think they are victims.

3.They think they are victims - yet their representatives run the government.

4.Their representatives run the government - yet the poor keep getting poorer.

5.The poor keep getting poorer - yet they have things that people in other countries only dream about.

6.They have things that people in other countries only dream about - yet they want America to be more like those other countries.

These three, short sentences tell you a lot about the direction of our current government and cultural environment:

1. We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics.

Funny how that works. And here's another one worth considering…

2. Seems we constantly hear about how Social Security is going to run out of money. But we never hear about welfare or food stamps running out of money ! What's interesting is the first group "worked for" their money, but the second didn't.

Think about it.....and Last but not least :

3. Why are we cutting benefits for our veterans, no pay raises for our military and cutting our army to a level lower than before WWII, but we are not stopping the payments or benefits to illegal aliens.

Am I the only one missing something?

"If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools." – Plato

Searching for Missing Genomes

Enormous strides have been made to unravel the secrets of the human genome, so why are we missing the genetic information of most of the planet?

In the summer of 2020, a 63-year-old African American woman with colon cancer was treated with a common chemotherapy known as fluoropyrimidines at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland. But over the coming weeks, she began to develop a severe side-effect known as pancytopenia – a rapid and sudden decrease of red and white blood cells and platelets – causing her to be rushed into intensive care.

This kind of reaction is surprisingly common. Around 38,000 cancer patients in England and approximately 154,000 patients in the US are initiated on fluoropyrimidine-based treatments every year. While fluoropyrimidines help save lives, between 20% and 30% of the people who receive these drugs require lower doses, because their bodies struggle to process them. If given the standard dose, they experience reactions which can vary from severe to fatal.

Like many adverse drug reactions, this is thought to be at least in part due to variations in the human genome, the strings of billions of letters or chemical bases which comprise our DNA. But while all humans share 99.9% of our genome, the remaining 0.1% varies markedly from one individual to another, or between ethnic groups. Differences in the underlying sequence behind a particular gene – which can be anything from a few hundred to several million bases – can have profound and far-reaching consequences for our health.

In recent years, genetic-sequencing studies have started to get to the bottom of why some people react so badly to fluoropyrimidines, pinpointing four different variations of a gene called DPYD which is involved in metabolism, as the likely cause. Healthcare systems around the world have now begun sequencing the DNA of certain cancer patients and screening for each of these four variants before determining their chemotherapy dose.

The only problem is that these studies were done entirely on white people, or as geneticists say, "individuals of European ancestry". While different variants of DPYD may serve as warning signs for people of other ethnicities, we do not have enough data to be sure of which variants are most applicable to different ethnic groups. "Ethnic minority patients will usually be given conventional doses of the drugs," says Munir Pirmohamed, a pharmacologist at the University of Liverpool in the UK. "Some of these patients will carry other ethnic-specific variants which also affect their ability to metabolise these drugs, but we do not currently genotype for those, largely because we do not know."  READ MORE...

Vibrations

 

All of Us

 

Cat Tree

 

A Divided Nation Does Not Stand For Anything

We have reached the end of one month and are a couple of days into the next month.  The month of March is usually a transition month here in the valley where by the 15th, winter is mostly gone, temps are warming and new flowers are breaking through the ground, signifying Spring...  although the end of March/first of April can be a bitch weather wize sometimes with cold spells...

Similarly, we have a transition period going on in our National's capital, WashDC where our president dwells sometimes when he is not in Delaware.  Our nation's Congress lives there as well as both the House and Senate have been locked in a deadly battle for power and control with each other since the beginning of 2023.

Biden has two years left and those two years could not pass fast enough for me although at my age, we want years to move slowly.  There is a good chance, based upon his ego that THE BIG GUY will run again in 2024 and be slapped down like a Washington GNAT that pestered fans at the Senator's baseball games before they relocated.

I grew up in ALexandria, VA just 8 miles outside of WashDC, so going to the Senator's game was what we did in the summers...

With the election of the Republican Govenor in VA, the stomp-down of Lightfoot in Chicago that she claims is due to her race, the fact that people are moving out of California as the State nears bankruptcy, and the millions of illegal immigrants that are spread all over the country, I believe that the citizens of this changing country are going to KICK BIDEN'S ASS OUT OF THE WHITEHOUSE...

AND...  I have yet to mention:

• Inflation
• Conservative Censorship
• CRT Training in public schools
• Supply Chain issues
• Disrespect of USA by the Global community
• Our weakened military
• Our piss poor education system
• A frigging divided USA is dangerous
• The premature destruction of oil/gasoline
• The claim all whites are supremacists
• Politicizing the DOJ and FBI
• Kissing China's ass

What we are beginning to really see is that the MOTHERS in the USA are finally pissed off at the government...  and as a 75 year old male who has been married twice...  YOU DON'T PISS OFF A MOTHER...

Regardless of who wins the 2024 election, the biggest problem that the USA is faced with after CHINA, is the DIVISION...  whether you believe it or not, the following statement has been proven time and again:

UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL

Surely, you are not that politically ignorant where you cannot see that...

Regarless of who wins the whitehouse

Regarldess of who wins the senate

Regardless of who wins the house

IF, we do not find a way to fix our division, you better start learning MANDARIN CHINESE...