Clueless

 

Once A Sports Lover

When I was in high school I played sports:  football, basketball, baseball, track, and volleyball.  It was the thing to do in high school as I was supporting a pretty good frame and had a fair amount of natural talent in all those areas.  However, when I got to college, I found myself on the lower end of the scale from a talent and physical standpoint, so I never pursued sports there.

As I was growing up, I remember supporting the local professional football and baseball teams and carried that competitive spirit throughout most of my early life...  following both football and baseball and soon added basketball after becoming aware of Michael Jordan.

Around the age of 50, I lost interest in sports both on the college and professional levels for some reason...  maybe it was all that early exposure to sports that did me in but whatever it was, I pretty much stopped paying attention cold turkey.

Nothing really replaced sports but I did become involved in watching SciFi shows on cable along with a variety of different series.  What bothered me about series was that you had to wait until the next year to watch the next season.  So, I would wait until all seasons had been recorded and would watch them straight through which came across more like a movie than a series.

But like everything else, I grew tired of SciFi and Series and stopped watching everything on cable or WIFI except the news and maybe a few cooking shows.

About this same time I got interested in creating blog and posting articles to them...  actually, I started posting article on LinkedIn and Facebook first.  At one time, I had 4 blogs and then condensed them down to two...  one where I would publish poetry and the other one where I would publish journalistic articles on a variety of subject about which I had an interest.

I maintain these two blogs daily and when I am not doing that, then I am usually writing novels,  I have completed 7 with two that are 50% and 80% complete.  A chapter outline for my 10th novel is written and ready to begin but I have lost interest in writing once we decided to downsize...  that activity has occupied all my time for a couple of months.

Maybe tomorrow I return to writing, I tell myself.
 

Bear With Ball

 

China's Place in Space

China has claimed to outpace the US-based SpaceX by successfully launching the world’s first methane-liquid oxygen rocket into orbit on July 12.

A commercial Chinese firm, LandSpace, launched its Zhuque-2 rocket late Tuesday and made history as the first company to send a methane-fueled launcher into orbit.

According to state media reports, the Zhuque-2 carrier rocket, developed by LandSpace, took off from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 9 a.m. and successfully completed its planned flight.

The launch of the Zhuque-2 rocket by LandSpace marked the second attempt by the Beijing-based company following an unsuccessful first launch in December.

Nonetheless, the rocket successfully deployed a test payload into a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), becoming the world’s first to execute this remarkable feat.

Furthermore, this accomplishment propelled China ahead of its US competitors, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, in the race to develop carrier vehicles powered by methane.

Methane is considered a cleaner, safer, and more cost-effective propellant for reusable rockets, enhancing China’s position in the field.

Early this year, the Terran 1 rocket by Relativity Space in the US and SpaceX’s Starship experienced unsuccessful maiden launches in their endeavors to reach orbit using liquid oxygen methane propulsion.

LandSpace’s achievement also marks the second instance of a private Chinese company launching a liquid-propellant rocket, with Beijing Tianbing Technology successfully launching a kerosene-oxygen rocket in April.   READ MORE...

Camper

 

Drum Solo

 

Green Path for Hydrogen

Hydrogen has great promise as a low-emission fuel source. It burns clean, generating only water as a by-product, and when it’s produced through electrolysis by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, the entire life cycle can be very environmentally friendly.

But the use of hydrogen has never reached its potential as a renewable fuel, mostly because its production process drives up the cost. Most hydrogen today is still produced as a by-product of fossil-fuel refinement—using methane with carbon monoxide as a by-product. 

Meanwhile, the hydrogen produced by electrolysis represents less than 1 percent of all the world’s hydrogen production. In order for hydrogen to be a viable source of clean energy, the cost of electrolysis needs to be much lower.

Sharaf Alsharif, a researcher at the Oldenburger OFFIS Institute for Information Technology in Oldenburg, Germany, believes digital twins could help bring down the cost of clean hydrogen production.

Digital twins are computer-simulation programs that can track and adjust the operations of a physical device in great detail. The close monitoring of hydrogen electrolyzers that digital twins provide could help streamline the devices’ operation and bring down the cost of electrolysis as a result.  READ MORE...

Crossing Stream

 

Systems Thinking

The concept of Systems Thinking came out of the quality movement that hit the USA in the early 1980's.  An NBC white paper entitled "If Japan Can Why Can't We?" aired and our manufacturing industry especially the automotive and electronics industry went crazy...  as they were losing market share to the Japanese. 

Dr. Edwards W. Deming was at the heart of the issue because at the end of WWII he was sent to Japan to help them rebuild their war devastated economy.  What he taught them has later become known as quality management and the soul of quality management is systems thinking.

Everything that is done from building a widget to planning for a Thanksgiving Dinner can be seen as a system.  Each system incorporates VARIATION and in order to improve the system, the variation must be eliminated or reduced.

Variation in the system can come from common causes and from special causes.  The trick is to understand which is which because the actions that one takes are substantially different.

In special cause variation, the issue must be identified and eliminated right then and there...  but, in common cause variation, the system MUST BE CHANGED.  It is this changing the system that causes so many managers problems because they were trained that if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Variation from common causes comes from the following:

1. People
2. Methods
3. Raw Materials
4. Machines
5. Environment (Temperature as well as attitudes)

Some companies have added money to this list but I would submit that money is inherent in all five areas.

Once the variation in these five areas has been identified, it is removed or eliminated one by one.

The variation in people is obvious but the variation is not so obvious as people simply do things differently.  Everyone must be doing it the same way.  Raw materials is a bigger because how does one exercise control over a supplier or a vendor?  Still, it must be done.  Older machines have greater variation that new machines and part of that variation comes from the different techniques in repairing them.  Finally, temperature can fluctuate and that fluctuation can cause machines and raw materials to respond differently.

All variation can be tracked on control charts and those control charts can help the worker identify whether it is common or special.

All

Spinning

NSA Working With AI Technology

Intelligence and National Security Summit in Fort Washington, Maryland, this week largely agreed that the AI developments over the past nine months have been surprising.

George Barnes, deputy director of the National Security Agency, called it a “big acceleration” in AI since last November, when OpenAI publicly launched ChatGPT.

“What we all have to do is figure out how to harness it for good, and protect it from bad,” Barnes said during a July 13 panel discussion with fellow leaders of the “big six” intelligence agencies.

“And that’s this struggle that we’re having,” Barnes continued. “Several of us have actually been in various discussions with a lot of our congressional oversight committees, just struggling with this whole notion of how do we actually navigate through the power of what this represents for our society, and really the world.”

The NSA and other intelligence agencies have been working in the broader field of artificial intelligence for decades. The issue has become a major priority in recent years, with many policymakers looking to ensure the defense and intelligence communities keep pace with China on AI and related technologies.

Barnes said the NSA is now developing a new “AI roadmap” to guide its internal use of the technologies.

“That’s really focused on bringing forward the things we’ve been doing for decades actually, in foundational AI, machine learning, but then tackling these newer themes, such as generative AI, and then ultimately, more artificial general intelligence, which is beyond the generative and something that industry is still searching to grasp.”  READ MORE...

Fully Performing Female Robot

 

George Carlin

 

Decoding Ancient Script

The ancient Kushan script carved into rock in the Almosi Gorge, Tajikistan. Researchers have managed to partially decode an ancient script that has puzzled scholars for around 70 years.© BOBOMULLO BOBOMULLOEV




Researchers have managed to decode an ancient script that scholars have been unable to understand for decades.

In a study published in the journal Transactions of the Philological Society, a team of scientists describe how they partially deciphered the "unknown" Kushan script, an ancient writing system that was once in use in parts of Central Asia between around 200 B.C. and 700 A.D.

It has been associated with early nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppe, such as the Yuèzhī, and one of their ruling dynasties, the Kushans, who founded a large empire encompassing much of what is now Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India.


The Kushan Empire is notable for having facilitated the spread of Buddhism to East Asia, as well as its monumental architecture and artworks.

The mysterious Kushan script has been known since the 1950s but had never been successfully deciphered. Several dozen, mostly short inscriptions, written in the Kushan script have been found to date, most originating from the territory of the modern nations of Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.  READ MORE...

Freaking Out a Friend

 

Characteristics of a GOOD Leader

 My first thought in these situations is EXPERIENCE....  but, lot of experience does not always make a good leader.  It is also debatable that this experience has to be in the same field as the position.  While that may have its advantages, management is management and leadership is leadership and if one is a professional manager/leader, then one should be able to demonstrate these skills in all fields.  However, bear in mind that there are always exceptions.

My second thought is one must have excellent communication skills which includes oral, written, as well as listening.  Listening is a key to understanding, especially when there are two side to the story.  It is not always clear when one is listening to the truth or not.

My third thought is taking responsibility.  When one takes responsibility, one is leading by example and it is this example the people want to follow or do not want to follow.  Taking responsibility means admitting mistakes and setting about to correct those mistakes.

My fourth thought is having a clear, concise vision and a detailed set of goals, along with a set of tasks to achieve those goals.  One cannot lead, if one has no idea where one is going.  Coupled with goals and tasks are realistic time tables that have incorporated into them milestones, so that one can feel that one is accomplishing something.

My fifth thought is that one must be FAIR.  This is not the same as equity or equality which does not really pertain to the world of business.  A business leader is color blind and put the best person they can find in critical positions that has nothing to do with race, gender, or age.

My sixth thought is that a good leader must fully understand the business they are leading and all the products.  They need to have a general understanding of accounting, economic forecasting, marketing, advertising, human resources, and all related technologies which includes quality management and process improvement which includes a concept called SYSTEMS THINKING.

Charlie Brown

 

Largest Nuclear Fusion Rocket

Nuclear fusion propulsion technology has the potential to revolutionize space travel in terms of both speeds and fuel usage. The same kinds of reactions that power the Sun could halve travel times to Mars, or make a journey to Saturn and its moons take just two years rather than eight.

It's incredibly exciting, but not everyone is convinced this is going to work: the tech needs ultra-high temperatures and pressures to function.

To help prove the viability of the technology, the largest ever fusion rocket engine is now being built by Pulsar Fusion in Bletchley, in the UK.

The chamber, some 8 meters (26 feet) long, is scheduled to start firing in 2027.

As you might expect, replicating the Sun inside a rocket isn't easy. At the center of nuclear fusion propulsion is an ultra-hot plasma locked inside an electromagnetic field, and scientists are continuing to figure out how to do this in a stable and safe way.

"The difficulty is learning how to hold and confine the super-hot plasma within an electromagnetic field," says James Lambert, CFO of Pulsar Fusion. "The plasma behaves like a weather system in terms of being incredibly hard to predict using conventional techniques."    READ MORE...

The Titan Sub

 

The Economy

 

Who is to Blame?

It would be simplistic and lazy to say the Republicans will blame the Democrats and the Democrats will blame Trump and white supremacy...  but the fact remains that our problems here in the USA have been building up for decades...  in fact, the same problems that we see today and the same problems that we saw in the 1960s....  over 50 years ago...

Why has nothing been solved?

1. Elected officials are more concerned with re-election than solving problems
2. Elected officials get wealthy in office
3. The American public is generally apathetic about politics
4. Improvements could hurt the economy
5. The politicians want us mad at each other rather than mad at them
6. The USA is controlled by billionaires and their financial contributions
7. Racism is a great ticket to run on either for or against
8. Corporations and Lobbyists have been influencing politics for decades
9. The American people want big government because it means more social programs
10. Minority groups have been influencing politics for decades
11. Our society wants to keep the public in debt so they will not have a reason to stop working
12. Global markets are more important than domestic markets

These initiatives began in the late 1950s early 1960s and really escalated in the 1980s & 1990s so that when the 2000s rolled around, it was easy for minorities to take the lead and focus, especially Blacks using slavery as the political leverage.

Joe Biden ran on a ticket of UNITY but when he got into office UNITY was the last thing on his mind.  The country is more divided now than it has ever been.  Trump has two indictments with which to deal and Biden is facing a wall of corruption that his son opened to door to by forgetting about his laptop.

Mainstream media is covering up Biden's faults and mistakes because they perceive a worse threat from Trump.

While the mainstream media is not on my initial list, they deserve a lot of credit for covering up.

Everything and Everyone is to blame.  Nothing will change until we look at ourselves and say we are the enemy.

Social Media

 

EVs are Piling Up

The auto industry is beginning to crank out more electric vehicles (EVs) to challenge Tesla, but there's one big problem: not enough buyers.

Why it matters: The growing mismatch between EV supply and demand is a sign that even though consumers are showing more interest in EVs, they're still wary about purchasing one because of price or charging concerns.

It's a "Field of Dreams" moment for automakers making big bets on electrification — they've built the cars, and now they're waiting for buyers to come, says Jonathan Gregory, senior manager of economic and industry insights at Cox Automotive.

Driving the news: 

• Cox Automotive experts highlighted the swelling EV inventories during a recent midyear industry review for journalists and industry stakeholders.
• EV sales, which account for about 6.5% of the U.S. auto market so far this year, are expected to surpass 1 million units for the first time in 2023, Cox forecasts.
• A Cox survey found that 51% of consumers are now considering either a new or used EV, up from 38% in 2021.
• Tesla’s rapid expansion, plus new EVs from other brands, are fueling the interest — 33 new models are arriving this year, and more than 50 new or updated models are coming in 2024, Cox estimates.

Yes, but: Sales aren't keeping up with that increased output. 
READ MORE...

EVs Crashing

 

News

 

Powder Substance

 

Life Insurance

There are two different types of policies that you can purchase:

• whole life
• term

Of the two, term is better...

However, no matter which policy you select, each policy has been carefully designed for the insurance companies to make more money then they pay out.

In other words, the insurance companies try to get you signed up for life insurance as soon as possible, targeting young families with children.  Then, they expect you to live longer than the actuary tables predict you will live.

The longer you live, the more money the insurance companies make.  If you are older, the premiums increase and if you have an illness, the premiums increase.

Their data also shows at what age you will probably acquire a serious disease.  The data is based upon large numbers and they do not really concern themselves with the exceptions to the rules.

What happens with life insurance is that you typically pay in all that you are scheduled to get back.  In the meantime, these insurance companies invest your premiums into a mutual fund and make even more money.

The insurance companies LOSE money the sooner you die after your probationary period.  Even then the fine print has exclusions to cover early deaths.

The way to beat the insurance companies is to play the same game that they are playing by telling yourself you will probably live longer than the actuary tables indicate that you will live.  Based upon that knowledge, you take the same money you were willing to pay the insurance companies and invest it into a mutual fund yourself.

Now you are earning the same amount of money yourself that the insurance company would have been earning on your money.

WH Cocaine

 

India is Growing its Economy

India is poised to become the world’s second-largest economy by 2075, leapfrogging not just Japan and Germany, but the U.S., too, says Goldman Sachs.

Currently, India is the world’s fifth-largest economy, behind Germany, Japan, China and the U.S.

On top of a burgeoning population, driving the forecast is the country’s progress in innovation and technology, higher capital investment, and rising worker productivity, the investment bank wrote in a recent report.

“Over the next two decades, the dependency ratio of India will be one of the lowest among regional economies,” said Goldman Sachs Research’s India economist, Santanu Sengupta.

A country’s dependency ratio is measured by the number of dependents against the total working-age population. A low dependency ratio indicates that there are proportionally more working-age adults who are able to support the youth and elderly.

Sengupta added that the key to drawing out the potential of India’s rapidly growing population is to boost the participation of its labor force. And Sengupta forecasts that India will have one of the lowest dependency ratios among large economies for the next 20 years.

“So that really is the window for India to get it right in terms of setting up manufacturing capacity, continuing to grow services, continuing the growth of infrastructure,” he said.

India’s government has placed a priority on infrastructure creation, especially in the setting up of roads and railways. The country’s recent budget aims to continue the 50-year interest-free loan programs to state governments in order to spur investments in infrastructure.

Goldman Sachs believes that this is an appropriate time for the private sector to scale up on creating capacity in manufacturing and services in order to generate more jobs and absorb the large labor force.  READ MORE...

Electricity