Two Legged Robots with AI Brains

When Fourier Intelligence unveiled its lanky, jet-black humanoid robot GR-1 at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai in July, it instantly stole the show.

While the global technology community has been fixated on artificial intelligence (AI) software since the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in November, the Chinese-made GR-1 - said to be capable of walking on two legs at a speed of 5km an hour while carrying a 50kg load - reminded people of the potential of bipedal robots, which are being pursued by global companies from Tesla to Xiaomi.

For Fourier, a Shanghai-based start-up, GR-1 was an unlikely triumph.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

"It is an unprecedented attempt by us - we barely had any reference when it came to the technology," Alex Gu, founder and chief executive of Fourier, said in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post in the Chinese financial capital.

Fourier's focus has not always been on humanoid robots. Named after the 19th-century French mathematician and physicist Joseph Fourier, the company was originally set up in 2015 in Shanghai's tech hub Zhangjiang with the aim of developing rehabilitation robotics.

The firm's current products include a smart exercise bike, a wireless robotic glove and a series of computer-guided contraptions that help users restore movement in their arms and legs.

But just like many of his peers, 42-year-old Gu, a mechanical engineering graduate from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, had long dreamed about creating his own humanoid robot.  READ MORE...

Somewhat Political

 

AMERICA: A Declining Nation

 At the end of WWII, the USA had the only industrial economy that had not been destroyed.  Consequently, the USA had to rebuild the rest of the world.  As a result of rebuilding the rest of the world, we became the STRONGEST country in the world.  The citizens that made it possible for the USA to accomplish this, immigrated from Europe decades ago to live in a country that believed in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

In 1950, the USA had:

1. the strongest economy
2. the strongest military
3. the most robust agricultural system
4. the best education (K-12 and higher)
5. the best medical system
6. the best technology
7. the best research and development
8. the best rule of law
9. the most freedom for its citizens
10. the best political system

In the 1960s, Japan was the first nation to economically challenge the USA in the automotive and electronics industries.  I can remember seeing a documentary entitled:  IF JAPAN CAN, WHY CAN'T WE?

I am not sure when it started, but I would speculate that it was in the 1960s when it started but whenever it started, the USA CHANGED...

• We became politically corrupt
• Our business leaders became corrupt
• Our educational systems started to decline
• Our judicial system favored the wealthy
• Our law enforcement system became BIASE
• Built in obsolescent dictated our manufacturing policy
• Politicians cared more about re-election that making the USA better
• Government became bigger and bigger
• Government began offering more social programs
• The USA wanted the rest of the world to incorporate our brand of democracy

GREED - POWER - WEALTH began to dictate direction in all aspects of life in the USA...

TODAY...  the liberals want to completely silence the conservatives by censoring their opinion through the mainstream media...

TODAY...  ABC, NBC, CNN, and CBS fail to report any story that goes against the liberal points of view.

TODAY...  Facebook, Twitter, and other social media giants remove comments off their platforms because they say the comments are DISINFORMATION.

Who gave them the right to CENSOR our freedom of speech rights?

TODAY... the liberal party has decided to move our economy towards green energy regardless of that movement destroying our economy.

TODAY...  the liberals want to spend less and less money on the military so that we are no longer a global military power.

TODAY...  the liberals are pushing BLM, CRT, WOKE, and the Cancel Culture despite the fact that 50% of Americans are AGAINST their direction - that doesn't matter because they are in power.

TODAY...  our education system (K-12) is ranked number 15th in the world...  down from NUMBER ONE.

TODAY...  our judicial system is so corrupt that it only favors the wealthy or the bias.  District Attorneys want to make sure that our prisons have just as many whites incarcerated as blacks, regardless of the crimes committed.

Live Life

Life on Mars Likely

The mystery of life’s origins on Earth has long puzzled scientists, but a recent discovery on Mars might be shedding new light on this profound question, while also inching closer to finding life on Mars.

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has uncovered a patchwork of well-preserved ancient mud cracks, forming a distinctive hexagonal pattern, signaling the presence of wet-dry cycles on early Mars. These cycles could be key to the assembly of complex chemical building blocks necessary for microbial life.

A study published in Nature elaborates on the importance of this discovery. The lead author, William Rapin of France’s Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, expressed his excitement, stating, “These particular mud cracks form when wet-dry conditions occur repeatedly – perhaps seasonally.”

Mud cracks named “Pontours”
Curiosity’s ongoing exploration of Mount Sharp, which stands 5 kilometers high in Gale Crater, has brought about this groundbreaking revelation. 

In 2021, after drilling a sample from a rock target nicknamed “Pontours,” located in a transitional zone between a clay-rich layer and a layer enriched with salty minerals called sulfates, the rover spotted these telling mud cracks.  READ MORE...

Wildfires in Maui Update

 

GREED

All free-market enterprise system economies or CAPITALISM is predicated upon GREED...  without greed, economies WILL NOT GROW but if by chance they do grow, they will grow slowly and methodically.

If greed is present in SOCIALISM then it is up to the government to fulfill that greed, not necessarily the businesses as would be the case in a capitalistic society.  Greed could then become a problem.

The USA, while a democratic republic with a capitalistic society, does incorporate a bunch of socialistic programs such as:  unemployment insurance, social security, medicare, public transportation, police and fire protection, water and sewer, etc.

However, greed is still necessary to push the economy forward.  Therefore, pushing students to go to college after high school, is the foundation of this greed.  With a college degree they can demand a higher salary and spend more money.

Companies can only survive if they can sell their products...  so, all advertising and marketing is designed to convince people to buy what they don't need or necessarily want.

Get life insurance instead of investing the money yourself...  Life insurance only works, if you die sooner than expected...  and the sooner the better, otherwise you give the insurance company more money than they get back.

Buy a new car...

Buy a new house...

Buy car protection just in case...

Buy home protection just in case...

Buy warranties just in case...

Buy new clothes...

Buy more new clothes...

Go on an expensive vacation...

BUY...  BUY...  BUY...

When you are buying a warranty, it is because you perceive that the product you are buying was manufactured incorrectly and may not work properly....  what then is wrong with our manufacturing process?

Buy from a manufacturer that has QUALITY and does not need a WARRANTY.

Selling you what you don't need is based upon the fact that you are either lazy or stupid or BOTH...

Wake up America...  economies are designed not to help you but to take your money...

Only buy what you need...

Only buy on sale...

Don't buy new cars...

GET SMART AMERICA...

Maui Fires

 

Ancient Roman Boat Found in Serbia

The wooden remains and the layers of sand above them were damp, indicating the wreck was protected by moisture from the air. (Image credit: Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade)



Coal miners in Serbia have discovered the remains of a large wooden boat likely used by the Romans to supply a nearby city and military headquarters on the empire's frontier.


Archaeologists are waiting for radiocarbon dates of wood from the remains, but they think it may be from the third or fourth centuries A.D. They suggest the ancient vessel carried supplies along small rivers between the Danube River and the Roman city of Viminacium about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) away, which was established early in the first century A.D.

The ancient wreck was unearthed in late July at the Drmno surface coal mine near Kostolac, about 30 miles (50 km) east of Belgrade.
The wooden remains were buried in a layer of silt about 25 feet (8 meters) below the surface. The mine's coal seam is reached by cutting away the topsoil with a mechanical digger, and the wreck was found on the wall of the cutting.  READ MORE...

Advice

 

Stay The Course

Those of you with weak mental fortitude, I suppose supported BLM, CRT, WOKENESS, and Cancel Culture without the slightest hesitation.  I would also suspect that these same people, jumped on the bandwagon about climate change, supported the end of fossil fuels, and went out and purchased an ELECTRIC VEHICLE.  There was no doubt in your mind that the minority in AMERICA was wrong...

I would also suspect that these very same people would jump off a cliff if they thought that is what the IN CROWD was doing.

As soon as the new ipad comes out, you have to buy one.  As soon as the new iphone comes out you have to buy one.  As soon as the new iwatch comes out you have to buy one.  You are up to your eyeballs in debt, but that's ok because you are doing what everyone else is doing WITHOUT QUESTION...

How stupid is that?

Going into debt is exactly what POOR PEOPLE do because they do not want to admit that they are poor.  What would the IN CROWD THINK?

You are also the type of person who automatically goes to college because that is the thing to do after high school without the slightest thought that college may not be the place for you to go.  It is just what everyone else is doing.

How stupid is that?

Journalists are now writing articles that charging an EV is more costly than filling up your gas tank with gasoline...  who would have ever thought that?

Journalists are writing that the USA does not have the infrastructure to support 100% EVs nor do they have the money to build the infrastructure needed to support 100% EVs...  who would have ever thought that?

YOU wanted to change because the IN CROWD was changing...  you had no idea that you should ever doubt their beliefs...

Is that stupid or what?

Personally, I don't give a flying flip what my neighbor does or does not do, I am not buying an EV or even a HYBRID until I absolutely have to.

Have you ever heard of a place called BUC-EE'S?  It is a convenience store that sells all kinds or stuff including gasoline.  A new one just opened in TN, and in a couple of months, there will be new stores in Ohio and Texas.  Each of the newer stores, and there is a bunch of them, have 120 gasoline pumps...

What does BUC-EE'S know about gasoline that the IN CROWD does not know?  Why would a store open up 120 gas pumps if the USA was REALLY going to stop using gasoline???

EVs, Hybrids, BLM, CRT, WOKE, and Cancel Culture are just FADS that will soon be over and done with.  A majority of Americans do not support any of these...  right now they are just tolerating this BS but soon they will start fighting back which is what happened to BUD LIGHT.

Which side of our future are you on?

Mark Twain

 

Arrowhead Made from a Meteorite

In the late 1800s, archaeologists discovered an arrowhead at a Bronze Age dwelling in Mörigen, Switzerland. In the years since, the 3,000-year-old artifact has been part of the collection at the Bern Historical Museum.

Now, a new analysis reveals that the object is no ordinary arrowhead — it was crafted from a meteorite that crashed to Earth 3,500 years ago, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science.

"On the outside it looks like a typical arrowhead coated in rust," lead author Beda Hofmann, head and curator of mineralogy and meteorites at the Natural History Museum of Bern, told Live Science. Their analysis showed that "there is still a lot of metal preserved," he said.

Several methods, including X-ray tomography (computerized imaging) and gamma spectrometry (a process that detects gamma-emitting radioactive materials), showed that the palm-size arrowhead not only contained aluminum-26 isotopes that don't naturally occur on Earth but also traces of iron and nickel alloy consistent with meteorites, according to the study.

The analysis also revealed grind marks left over from when the meteorite was shaped into an arrowhead, and the remains of tar, which was likely used to attach the point to the arrow's shaft, according to a statement.

At first, scientists thought the artifact was linked to the 170,000-year-old Twannberg meteorite site, less than 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the dwelling. However, further study revealed that the concentrations of nickel and germanium (a chemical element) in the arrowhead weren't a match, according to the statement.

"It wasn't from the meteorite that I suspected it was from," Hofmann said of the artifact, which weighs one-tenth of an ounce (2.9 grams) and measures just over 1 inch (3 centimeters) long.  READ MORE...

Gold

 

THINGS Poor People WASTE Their Money On

Warren Buffett, one of the most successful investors in the world, has a reputation for his simple yet profound financial wisdom.

POOR PEOPLE WASTE THEIR MONEY ON THE FOLLOWING:

Neglecting Personal Development
According to Buffett, the best investment one can make is in oneself. Enhancing skills and education can boost earning potential significantly. Knowledge and abilities are assets that no one can take away from you.

Relying on Credit Cards
Credit cards can be convenient, but high interest rates can quickly overshadow any benefits if you don’t pay the full balance monthly. Buffett advises against needless spending that could lead to credit card debt.

Frequenting Bars and Pubs
Spending on social activities like drinking at bars can add up. Opting for more affordable social gatherings, like home get-togethers, can help save significantly.

Chasing the Latest Technology
New gadgets may be tempting, but often, last year’s model serves just as well. Buffett himself has a history of sticking to functional rather than flashy tech. It’s important to assess if the latest upgrades genuinely provide added value for the price.

Overspending on Clothes
Buffett, along with other billionaires, leans towards simplicity in his wardrobe. Choosing classic, durable clothes over flashy, expensive brands can result in significant savings.

Buying New Cars
Cars are notorious for their rapid depreciation. Buffett recommends buying pre-owned cars and holding onto them for as long as they’re reliable, instead of falling for the allure of the new models.

Unused Gym Memberships
Buffett promotes an active lifestyle but cautions against unused gym memberships. Free or low-cost fitness routines can be just as effective if regularly practiced.

Unnecessary Subscription Services
Subscription services, if not carefully monitored, can become a financial drain. Review these regularly and cancel those that don’t provide value.

TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE...

My Health

 For those of you who do not follow me on a regular basis, when I was 60, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and had a triple bypass type of heart attack.  Five years later, I was diagnosed with Melanoma as well and in 2022, I had 5 lower back disks fused as a result of old age, I was told.

In 2007, my weight was 205 lbs and in 2017 it was 250 lbs because of the steroids.  Due to meticulously counting my calories, I reduced my weight down to 220 lbs by 2022.  In the last year, my weight has reduced from 220lbs to 208 lbs as a result of my cancer (but not the melanoma) growing.  However, we are not sure how the Lymphoma has transformed and have sent off a biopsy to be genetically sequenced for treatment.

I will not be in a position to find out the results  and start a new treatment regimen for another two weeks.  Partly because the lab is overworked, partly because my Oncologist is on vacation, and partly because my medical center only has ONE PET SCANNER.

All of this should have been started last week, so I am about 2-3 weeks behind.

I am hoping that this delay does not make it more difficult to treat the cancer than if we started 3 weeks ago.  But, that's water over the dam right now.

In the meantime, I am simply trying to maintain my weight, not loose anymore and not gain anymore.

However, because the cancer inside my body is growing, I am experiencing nausea almost every day as well as extreme fatigue.  Before all of this started, I was walking a mile three times a week and was planning to increase it to 5 times a week.  It is difficult to walk when you wake up from sleeping the night before and feel like you need to go back to bed and continue sleeping.  This is after sleeping for 8 hours.

Stents were put into 3 arteries instead of doing a bypass and those stents are still pristine.  Therefore, I am not worried about my heart.  I take meds for blood pressure, blood thinners, and for cholesterol.  I continue to take pills for Lymphoma even though they are not working and continue to have monthly infusions with Opdivo for my Melanoma.

My lower back is all fused together, and my mobility is somewhat limited as is my bending over, but walking is supposed to help make that a little better.  It bothers me that I have been unable to walk but again, there is nothing I can do about it except try not to spend so much time sitting.

It is an uncomfortable position in which to be, but it is one that is not as bad as what others may be going through with their health.  I am thankful to still be alive after having cancer(s) for 15/10 years.  My new treatment protocol is probably going to incorporate some wicked chemo which I am not looking forward to because I have already gone through that for 6 months and it is no fun.

Classic Sunday Morning Newspaper Cartoons

 

Five Healthy Habits

Dr. Brett Osborn, a board-certified neurosurgeon in West Palm Beach, Florida, is also the founder of a preventative health care and anti-aging facility, Senolytix.

He works with patients to help them achieve a healthy weight, adopt better wellness habits and reduce their risk of chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

1. Assume responsibility for your own health
While it’s important to consult with a health care professional as needed, Osborn emphasized that people should listen to their own bodies and identify potential risks.

2. Take these 6 blood tests — and take them seriously
The best way to prolong your life is to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to Osborn — and the first step in doing so is identifying the risk factors.

3. Embrace these 10 supplements
Although supplements are not to be used as primary treatments for ailments, Osborn said, they can be used as a complement to a well-rounded diet and exercise regimen.

4. Work your brain
Although it’s not a muscle, Osborn emphasized that the brain benefits from exercise, both mentally and physically.

5. Know your food’s glycemic index
Measuring your food’s glycemic index (GI) is a way of rating the impact it has on blood sugar and insulin, Osborn explained.

TO READ MORE DETAILS, CLICK HERE...

Somewhat Political

 

Rain Wish

 

DEJA VU - Already Seen

Most of us interpret this French phrase to mean that when we go to a place that we've never been to before that we have an eerie feeling that we have been there before.

My use of this phrase is slightly different.

Let me explain.

Look at the wheel below.

For the sake of this article, let's assume that the circle in the middle of the wheel represents earth.  And, the larger wheel represents the universe.  One can easily see that the inner circle/wheel that represents earth must make several complete revolutions before the outer wheel makes one complete revolution.

Let's make the further assumption that once the larger wheel makes a complete revolution, 100 years has passed on earth.  One hundred years pretty much takes into consideration one's complete lifetime.

So, if a person was sitting at the outer wheel and had the ability to see what was going on in the smaller wheel, then that person would be able to see a person's entire lifetime before it actually unfolded for the person living on the inner wheel.

To put it another way, the inner wheels spins much much faster than the outer wheel.

Therefore, DEJA VU takes place at the larger wheel.

If the person living on the outer wheel can, in fact, see this, then they must also have the ability to change events that would change the life course of any individual living on the smaller wheel.  Those people living on the smaller wheel would not be aware that their life had been changed, thinking that this is the way it is supposed to be.

If our entire life is seen before it happens to us, then one could argue that we, as individuals, do not have FREE WILL even though we believe that we do.  Our lives end up the way someone else wants them to end up, not the way we may have wanted them to end up.

In other words, all our choices have already been made for us.

Spiritual War

 

Grilled Cheese Dipping TACO

Some people can solve a Rubik's cube in seconds. Others are really good at sports. But my expertise is all things Taco Bell.

I've gone to the secret test kitchen at the chain's headquarters in Irvine, California, eaten a Crunchwrap Supreme while watching the waves at the world's most beautiful Taco Bell in Pacifica, California, and ranked everything from burritos to the Cravings Value Menu.

Why is this important for you to know? Because Taco Bell has a brand-new taco — and it's the best menu item the chain has released in years.

Trust me, I'm an expert.

For the first time, Taco Bell fans can try the chain's new slow-braised shredded beef. Taco Bell has spent two years perfecting the recipe, which I first got to try when I visited its test kitchen in October.

Liz Matthews, Taco Bell's chief food innovation officer, said the rich and spicy flavors traditionally found in birria were "a major point of inspiration" for the Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco.

"By combining slow-braised shredded beef with the two dipping sauces, our fans can enjoy a new range of flavors they may have never had from Taco Bell before," Matthews said in a statement sent to Insider. "This Mexican-inspired dish represents an evolution of what fans typically expect from Taco Bell."  READ MORE...

Laser Fighter

 

Random Variation

 By definition, it would seem that random variation is unpredictable.  Variation is how one item differs from another and random means that it is not consistent.

If we look at the above image, we see a device that has a funnel at the top.  In the middle are a bunch of pegs.  Black balls have been dropped into the funnel and the black balls hit these pegs and bounce down until they get to the bottom.  They have dropped into cylinders and appears to have formed a pyramid shape.

This pyramid shape is what we call a BELL SHAPED curve.  This bell shaped curve will ALWAYS be form if enough black balls are dropped even though, one cannot predict which peg or how many pegs each ball will hit on its way down.

Randomness over time will always form a bell shaped curve and once we have a bell shaped curve, we can predict with 99.99997% accuracy into which cylinder the next black ball will land.

In manufacturing or in LIFE, you want your variation to be random...  random variation is predictable.  When you do not have random variation, you have chaos...  when there is chaos, one cannot predict the future.

One can measure damn near anything and everything in life and determine if it is random or not.

Some (but not all) items that can be measured;

1. lost articles of mail
2. short/long landings at an airport
3. incorrect surgical operations
4. medicines delivered to the wrong floor
5. on time arrivals
6. daily intact of calories or fat grams
7. time it takes to drive to work
8. closing the books at the end of the month
9. time it take to make a determination on insurance claims
10. number on monthly speeding tickets issued
11. time spent in the grocery store
12. time it takes to walk a mile
13. time it takes to mow the lawn
14. babies accidentally dropped by doctors/nurses
15. hospital admissions wait time
16. time it takes to change a flat tire
17. wait time at the dentist office
18. measuring the same dimensions of an item
19. calibrating scales for weigh stations
20. measuring the density of paint on a car after painting

Silence Please

 

Diamonds Making Their Way to the Surface

"A diamond is forever." That iconic slogan, coined for a highly successful advertising campaign in the 1940s, sold the gemstones as a symbol of eternal commitment and unity.

But our new research, carried out by researchers in a variety of countries and published in Nature, suggests that diamonds may be a sign of break up too – of Earth's tectonic plates, that is. It may even provide clues to where is best to go looking for them.


Diamonds, being the hardest naturally-occurring stones, require intense pressures and temperatures to form. These conditions are only achieved deep within the Earth. So how do they get from deep within the Earth, up to the surface?


Diamonds are carried up in molten rocks, or magmas, called kimberlites. Until now, we didn't know what process caused kimberlites to suddenly shoot through the Earth's crust having spent millions, or even billions, of years stowed away under the continents.

Supercontinent cycles

Most geologists agree that the explosive eruptions that unleash diamonds happen in sync with the supercontinent cycle: a recurring pattern of landmass formation and fragmentation that has defined billions of years of Earth's history.


However, the exact mechanisms underlying this relationship are debated. Two main theories have emerged.  READ MORE...

Known

 

Slowing Down Aging

 When I was younger (before high school), I got involved with lifting weights and wanted to be a bodybuilder.  I am glad I did not go in that direction but because of my interest, I began living a very active and physical life.  Mowing lawns, running around a track, calisthenics, felling trees, splitting wood, etc.

It was not until I was 40 years old that I realized (and did something about it) smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol and my diet were negatively countering my physical activity.  So, I stopped...  COLD TURKEY so to speak.

I also stopped eating red meat, fried foods, fast foods, and sugars...  instead, I ate lots of chicken, fish, vegetables, and beans.  I occasionally ate the bad stuff, but it was like only once a month.

Ironically, I still had a heart attack and I still got cancer and I still had five lower back vertebrae that had to be fused together because of arthritis and a narrowing of the spinal column.

At first, I was pissed and complained because of all the exercise I had done and my diet...  the doctor smiled and said, your condition would have been WORSE had you not done that...

OLD FRIGGING AGE is what got me and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it...  you may be able to slow it down, but it will eventually happen to all of us.

I tell you this only so that you will have the knowledge to start doing something for yourself now because the alternative will be horrible as you age.  The aging process is NEVER KIND.

Free Thinker