Hamas Attacks Israel

 

Matter in the Universe

Most matter in the universe cannot be seen — but its influence on the largest structures in space can.

Astronomers estimate that roughly 85% of all the matter in the universe is dark matter, meaning only 15% of all matter is normal matter. Accounting for dark energy, the name astronomers give to the accelerated expansion of the universe, dark matter makes up roughly 27% of all the mass energy in the cosmos, according to CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research).

Astronomers have a variety of tools to measure the total amount of matter in the universe and compare that to the amount of "normal" (also called "baryonic") matter. The simplest technique is to compare two measurements.

The first measurement is the total amount of light emitted by a large structure, like a galaxy, which astronomers can use to infer that object's mass. The second measurement is the estimated amount of gravity needed to hold the large structure together. 

When astronomers compare these measurements on galaxies and clusters throughout the universe, they get the same result: There simply isn't enough normal, light-emitting matter to account for the amount of gravitational force needed to hold those objects together.

Thus, there must be some form of matter that is not emitting light: dark matter.

Different galaxies have different proportions of dark matter to normal matter. Some galaxies contain almost no dark matter, while others are nearly devoid of normal matter. But measurement after measurement gives the same average result: Roughly 85% of the matter in the universe does not emit or interact with light.  READ MORE...

Japanese Versus Americans... LOL

A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (General Motors) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior executives was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.

Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people paddling and 1 person steering, while the American team had 7 people steering and 2 people paddling.

Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.

They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were paddling.

Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 2 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager.

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 2 people paddling the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the paddlers. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices, and performance bonuses for the managers. The pension program was trimmed to 'equal the competition' and some of the resultant savings were channeled into morale boosting programs and teamwork posters.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management team laid off one paddler, halted development of a new canoe, sold all the paddles, and cancelled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the senior executives as bonuses.

The next year, try as he might, the lone designated paddler was unable to even finish the race (having no paddles), so he was laid off for unacceptable performance, all canoe equipment was sold, and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India.

Sadly, the End.

Here's something else to think about: GM has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US, claiming they can't make money paying American wages.

TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US. The last year's results:

TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while GM racked up 9 billion in losses.

GM folks are still scratching their heads, and collecting bonuses...

IF THIS WEREN'T TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY!


The Government is supervising and we the people are paddling!

Causes of Death

Below are the top 10 causes of death, which accounted for 75.4% of all deaths. 

1. Heart disease: 695,547
2. Cancer: 605,213
3. COVID-19: 416,893
4. Accidents: 224,935
5. Stroke: 162,890
6. Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 142,342
7. Alzheimer’s disease: 119,399
8. Diabetes: 103,294
9. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis: 56,585
10. Kidney disease: 54,358

Currently, I am in a battle with the TOP TWO:  Heart Disease and Cancer...

Actually, I have been fighting these TOP TWO since 2008...

As far as the cancer is concerned, I am dealing with two cancers:

• Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma 2008
• Melanoma 2013

I am not sure what caused my cancers...  could have been the luck of the draw or it could have been the chemicals I was working with in the job I had while attending college.  Not really sure and I am not sure if the reason really matters.

My heart issues can only be attributed to stress as all the other predispositions for a heart attack and heart disease, I did not have...  go figure?

But if it was stress, then it was because I did not manage my stress well.  

For those of you who might be in my situation with stress, now is the time to think about what you are doing and change it.

• Smoking does not eliminate stress
• Alcohol does not eliminate stress
• Marijuana does not eliminate stress

What these things do is temporarily hide the stress so you don't think you have any stress.

There is a root cause for stress and that must first be identified.

One of the best ways to remove stress is change your job, if your job is causing you your stress.  If you cannot change your job, then create an exercise routine and follow the Mediterranean Diet as best as you can. 

However, it goes without saying that you must stop smoking and drinking alcohol...  and, for many of us that is going to be difficult.

Somewhat Political

 

The Magic Green Hat

Visiting in Chicago, last week, I needed to go to the emergency room for a pain in my side. Not wanting to sit there for several hours, I put on my MAGIC GREEN HAT.

When I went into the E.R., I noticed that 3/4 of the people in the room, suddenly, got up and left. I guess they decided that they weren't that sick after all. It cut at least 3 hours off my waiting time.

Here's the hat:
($19.00 on Amazon)

It also worked at Dept. of Motor Vehicles. It saved me several hours.

At the laundromat, three minutes after entering, I had my choice of machine. Most were still running.  It might also cut your wait time at the grocery store.

But, don't try it at a restaurant. The whole crew ran out the back door and I never did get my order!

Pythagorean Theorem Found Older Than Pythagoras

Study math for long enough and you will likely have cursed Pythagoras's name, or said "praise be to Pythagoras" if you're a bit of a fan of triangles.

But while Pythagoras was an important historical figure in the development of mathematics, he did not figure out the equation most associated with him (a2 + b2 = c2). 

In fact, there is an ancient Babylonian tablet (by the catchy name of IM 67118) which uses the Pythagorean theorem to solve the length of a diagonal inside a rectangle. The tablet, likely used for teaching, dates from 1770 BCE – centuries before Pythagoras was born in around 570 BCE.

Another tablet from around 1800–1600 BCE has a square with labeled triangles inside. Translating the markings from base 60 – the counting system used by ancient Babylonians – showed that these ancient mathematicians were aware of the Pythagorean theorem (not called that, of course) as well as other advanced mathematical concepts.

"The conclusion is inescapable. The Babylonians knew the relation between the length of the diagonal of a square and its side: d=square root of 2," mathematician Bruce Ratner writes in a paper on the topic. 

"This was probably the first number known to be irrational. However, this in turn means that they were familiar with the Pythagorean Theorem – or, at the very least, with its special case for the diagonal of a square (d2 = a2 + a2 = 2a2) – more than a thousand years before the great sage for whom it was named."

So why did this get attributed to Pythagoras? No original writing from Pythagoras survives. What we know of him was passed on by others, in particular the Pythagoreans – members of a school he set up in what is now modern-day southern Italy. 

The school, named the Semicircle of Pythagoras, was secretive, but knowledge learned there or discovered was passed on, and often attributed to the man himself.   READ MORE...

First Moon Base

 

IT'S WAR...

HISTORICAL FACTS

The word Palestine derives from Philistia, the name given by Greek writers to the land of the Philistines, who in the 12th century bce occupied a small pocket of land on the southern coast, between modern Tel Aviv–Yafo and Gaza.

In 1917, in order to win Jewish support for Britain's First World War effort, the British Balfour Declaration promised the establishment of a Jewish national home in Ottoman-controlled Palestine.

While the State of Israel was established on 15 May 1948 and admitted to the United Nations, a Palestinian State was not established. The remaining territories of pre-1948 Palestine, the West Bank - including East Jerusalem- and Gaza Strip, were administered from 1948 till 1967 by Jordan and Egypt, respectively.

The 1968 Palestinian National Covenant described Palestine as the "homeland of the Arab Palestinian people", with "the boundaries it had during the British Mandate". However, since the 1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence, the term State of Palestine refers only to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Hamas is a militant group that controls the GAZA STRIP.

Yesterday, Hamas executed an unprovoked attack against Israel.  Hours later, Israel's Prime Minister, Netanyahu, declares war on Hamas.  Iran and Hezbollah applaud.  Hezbollah operates out of Lebanon, whose southern borders touch Israel's northern borders.  Both Hezbollah and Hamas want Israel destroyed.

There is a good possibility that IRAN gave Hamas money to attack Israel from the six billion of Iran's money that was frozen, that Biden gave back to them.  If that is true, it is water over the dam but an indication that Biden's decision making process is flawed.

Will this DECLARED WAR, bring in countries like the USA, Great Britain, Europe, NATO, to stand up against Iran, Iraq, most of the Middle East (minus Egypt and Jordan), Russia, China, and others???

If so...  could this lead to a WORLD WAR III?

Right now, the USA is CASH POOR, having invested tons of money into Ukraine to fight the Russians, along with sitting on top of the largest NATIONAL DEBT since the creation of this country in 1776.  Our social programs like Medicare, Social Security, and Unemployment Insurance have put enormous strains on the national budget.  If we print more money, we risk deflating the value of the dollar and further increasing inflation.

A world war would be disastrous for the USA...  at this time.

With the USA between a rock and a hard place, will we back away from our support of Israel?

Duck Landing on Pond

American Education

 Forty-eight percent of Americans have a college degree.

Asian Americans have the highest level of education with TWO-THIRDS of them having some sort of college education even if it is only an Associate's Degree.

According to PISA tests of academic achievement, the USA ranks somewhere between 17th and 31st out of 65 countries.

Really!!!

Can you believe that???

• The USA ranks near the bottom in math skills.
• The USA ranks near the bottom in English skills.
• The USA ranks near the bottom in Science skills.

As far as the demographics are concerned, American Blacks consistently rank below Asians, Whites, and Hispanics.

• Will MONEY fix this discrepancy???
• Will BLM fix this discrepancy???
• Will CRT fix this discrepancy???
• Will WOKE fix this discrepancy???
• Will SOCIALISM fix this discrepancy???

NO... is the answer to all of these...

The only solution is to hire teachers that want to TEACH... 

• Teaching is not using powerpoints.
• Teaching is not using videos.
• Teaching is not using lectures.
• Teaching is not getting students to memorize to pass.

TEACHING is teaching students to teach themselves.

TEACHING is learning by doing...  homework helps with that but it is not the only solution.

• How do I use math to be a carpenter?
• How do I use math to be an electrician?
• How do I use math to create a budget or balance my checkbook?
• How do I use math to invest/save for my future?
• How do I use math to decide if to rent or buy?

The same kinds of questions can be used for English and Science.  

Not all teachers want to put in this kind of work to earn their paychecks.

Sunday Morning Classic Newspaper Cartoons

 

Statue With Realistic Expressions

Photo: The Ministry of Culture and Tourism

New finds were discovered in Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe. At around 12,000 years old, Göbekli Tepe is the world’s oldest megalithic site – and it has a “sister site” called Karahantepe.

A recent discovery in the world’s oldest religious sanctuary, Göbeklitepe, “Potbelly Hill” in Turkish, which is described as the “zero point of history” has revealed a painted wild boar statue.

The UNESCO World Heritage site of Göbeklitepe has changed the way historians and archaeologists think about the cradle of civilization. And there is so much more to be discovered.

A painted wild boar statue was discovered during ongoing excavations in Göbeklitepe. The artifact, which contained red, white, and black pigment residues on its surface, was the first painted sculpture found from its period to the present day.

As part of the Taş Tepeler project, which sheds light on prehistory and has seen highly significant discoveries on a global scale, the archaeological excavations carried out in 2023 in 9 different areas have recently led to the discovery of human and animal statues.

The Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism has released a written statement providing the following information:

In the D structure of Göbeklitepe, a life-sized wild boar sculpture made of limestone was discovered. The wild boar sculpture found in Göbeklitepe was situated on a pedestal adorned with decorations believed to include an H-shaped symbol, a crescent, two snakes, and three human faces or masks.  READ MORE...

Air Show

 

Trampoline

 

Building an AI Military

While it is not moving ahead at an accelerated pace, the movement to have an AI military is in progress...

• Will it take 5 years - 2028?
• Will it take 10 years - 2033?

What will an AI military look like?

• Instead of having human bodies fight a ground war, the military will have robots, AI enhanced to fight the war.
• Instead of having human bodies on a naval ship, we will have robot sailors, AI enhanced.
• Instead of having human bodies fly a jet fighter, we will have robot pilots, AI enhanced.

What is interesting here in the sense of its inevitability is that this will happen...  it is not conjecture or speculation, it is a reality that will take place sooner than later.

Obviously, there will be human bodies still in the military in a variety of positions, but eventually they will be replaced as well.

Military Forecasting Experts all agree that our global militaries will be mostly Robots with AI enhancement by 2050.  This is only a little more than 25 years ahead.  

If you think about this logically, it makes sense to send robots with AI enhancements to fight wars rather than human beings.

With that in mind, it will encourage wars rather than discourage wars since very few human beings will ever be involved.

Can you imagine what it would be like if Vladimir Putin sent robots into Ukraine rather than human beings?  That would have changed Putin's aggression tremendously.  Actually, he would have been more aggressive than he has been.  

And then you would have Ukraine fighting the Russian Robots with their own robots.  It would be more costly but human lives would have been saved...  providing no fighter bombers with robot pilots drop their bombs on Ukraine...  then, human lives will be involved.

Is this the way we want to fight wars in the future?  Or do we want to find some way to stop wars altogether?

 

Tower of Cards

 

Space Force to Guard the Moon

Artist's illustration of NASA astronauts near the moon's south pole, a region thought to be rich in water ice, a key resource that could help humanity extend its footprint out into the solar system. (Image credit: NASA)




It's been reported that United States Space Force Commander Gen. Chance Saltzman surveyed the Force's members to develop a mission statement for America's newest military branch. Aside from the novelty of crowdsourcing soldiers as to their interpretation of their mission (which I like but could draw criticism from more constitutionalist folks), the result seems to be on target: "Secure our nation's interests in, from and to space."


However — and with all due respect to the general from this son of a sergeant — I believe his interpretation of at least a part of this statement may be incorrect and informed by a bias that is all too common in the sometimes overly conservative and hallowed halls of the Pentagon.

First, having a simple and concise statement is essential. Shorter is better. Having that statement be co-generated by those forming the first cadres of the Force is an excellent idea to encourage buy-in and ownership.

The term "secure" is also essential. Protecting U.S. national interests is the chief priority of all our military branches, from under the sea to above the sky and all places in between.


He interprets securing that national interest "from space" as the defense of systems and technologies such as communications, navigation and missile warning. In other words, protecting those elements of the defense infrastructure vital to what the military refers to as the "Joint Force" (i.e., all the branches that might be part of a combined military action or activity on Earth).

So far, this is all great stuff. However, what the good general is missing in his reading and interpretation, and perhaps, in what his soldiers are saying (although I bet not, given their probable age demographic), is anything referring to the outward-facing phase of developing space activities without reference to direct support of our on-the-planet military posture and capabilities. In other words, the Space Force's role in securing our national interests beyond low Earth orbit (LEO).   READ MORE...

Chinese Mega Project

 

Will Trump Rescue/Save the HOUSE?

 

Democracy Threatened

 Is Democracy being threatened?  If so, by whom? By which party?

Definition of Democracy - a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

Definition of Socialism - a transitional social state between the overthrow of capitalism and the realization of communism. a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

The Republicans and their policies are AGAINST Socialism...  whereas the Democrats and their policies are in favor of Socialism.

Socialism and Democracy ARE NOT THE SAME FORM OF GOVERNMENT...

Hilliary Clinton (Democrat), who lost the Presidential election to Donald Trump (Republican) has recently stated that the Republicans are DESTROYING DEMOCRACY.

My question is:  How are the Republicans doing this?

• Are they in favor of Socialism?   NO
• Are they in favor of a big government?  NO
• Are they in favor of illegal immigration?  NO
• Are they in favor of more government spending?  NO
• Are they in favor of inflation?  NO
• Are they in favor of an increase in illegal drugs?  NO
• Are they in favor of an increase in crime and violence?  NO
• Are they in favor of defunding the police?  NO

When you think about it, all the questions above, are those talking points that the Democrats support.  Hilliary Clinton and her Democrats are accusing the Republicans of doing what they are promoting and supporting.

SO WHO REALLY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DESTROYING DEMOCRACY?

Starlink

 

Microplastics Found in Sealed Cave

A cave that's been closed off to human visitors for 30 years has been found to contain high concentrations of microplastics — and that should worry you.

Such were the findings of a pair of new studies, the most recent of which was published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, that used the cave's hermetic seclusion as a way of gauging just how far microplastics have penetrated the environment, and more specifically, subsurface water systems.

"A lot of research has been focused on surface water settings," Elizabeth Hasenmueller, a geochemist and associate director of the WATER Institute at Saint Louis University who authored both studies, said in a statement. "However, one of the most understudied areas in this field relates to what's happening to the subsurface in terms of microplastic contamination."

Inescapable Waste
Scientists continue to find new places where these tiny shards of plastic waste — five millimeters and smaller — end up, and none of them are reassuring. Recent notable studies have discovered it everywhere from polluting clouds to the inside of human hearts.

The locale selected by the researchers is Cliff Cave, located in Missouri, and while it has been closed to the public since 1993, it is located near a residential area. As such, it's not totally sequestered from civilization, but serves as a good case study on how human settlements impact nearby ecosystems.  READ MORE...

Somewhat Political

 

Starbucks Coffee

My brother introduced me to Starbucks coffee in the late 1990s when our father was in the naval hospital in Norfolk, Virginia.  I don't recall the price, but he was buying so it really did not matter. 

I would suspect that it was much less than $5 then probably around $2.50 or $3.  

However, it was delicious.

Today, a large Vanilla Cappuccino at Starbucks is between $5.50 and $6.50 depending upon one's location.

I WOULD NEVER in my wildest dreams pay that much money for a cup of coffee...  UNLESS, I was in possession of a gift card.

I have been asking for Starbucks gift cards for several years now for my birthday and Christmas...  The reason why I am even talking about this is that I used one of those cards today, to get a large Vanilla Cappuccino.

After using the card and getting a receipt to keep track of how much was left, I asked my wife, who is the caretaker of these cards, how much I had left not including this card.

She informed me that I had $80 left in a variety of cards ranging from $5 to $25.  While that may seem like a lot, $80 will only buy me about 13 cups of coffee, maybe 14/15 depending upon how much is left on the card that we just used.

So, depending upon how often I get a large Vanilla Cappuccino at Starbucks, these cards will last me 6 to 18 months.  However, there is a birthday this month and Christmas in two months after that so I am sure my Starbucks gift card wealth will increase.

I might be able to extend the longevity of these cards if I reduced the size cup, I get but I have gotten so used to drinking the large that a smaller size would seem like I was cheating myself.

Puppy & Rabbit

 

Ukrainian Calls Russian Tank Tech Support for Help

In the 20 months of Russia’s wider war on Ukraine, the Ukrainian army has captured around 200 of Russia’s T-72B3 tanks.

The T-72B3, a product of Uralvagonzavod in Nizhny Tagil, is one of Russia’s newer tanks. And unlike, say, the T-64BV, the T-80U or the T-72AMT, Ukrainian industry doesn’t have much experience with the type.

So when a Ukrainian tanker with the callsign “Kochevnik” ran into problems with his captured Russian T-72B3—problems local expertise couldn’t immediately solve—he called Uralvagonzavod tech support. And incredibly, the help line actually helped.

Militarnyi captured Kochevnik’s calls on video.

Kochevnik serves in the Ukrainian army’s 54th Mechanized Brigade, which fights around Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine and operates mostly Soviet-vintage equipment including T-64 tanks and BMP fighting vehicles. It also owns some of Ukraine’s ex-Russian T-72B3s.

Kochevnik was trolling the Russians, mostly. But his gripes with his 45-ton, three-person tank were real. The tank had been spewing oil. Its compressors weren’t working. The electrical turret-rotation mechanism kept failing, forcing the crew to rotate the turret with a hand crank.  READ MORE...

3-D Printed House

 

History

 

A Reduction on Oil Production in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia could begin easing its production cut sooner than oil market participants believe as the world’s top crude oil exporter wouldn’t risk demand destruction through too high prices, consultancy Rapidan Energy Group says.

Due to the Saudi and OPEC+ cuts and falling commercial crude inventories in the U.S., oil prices climbed to their highest levels in months in early trade on Thursday —the U.S. benchmark jumped to a 13-month high and Brent hit the highest price since November 2022 and a new high for 2023.

Early this month, Saudi Arabia extended its 1 million bpd cut through December. The production levels would be reviewed each month until the end of 2023.

According to Rapidan Energy’s president Bob McNally, Saudi Arabia could start easing the cuts sooner than traders realize as it wouldn’t want to overheat the market.

“They do not want to deliberately over-tighten the market, because if you get a spike, then you get a demand collapse, and you get a bust,” McNally told Bloomberg Television in an interview on Thursday.

“The real sensible way to bring prices to heel is for Saudi Arabia and OPEC+ to say: ‘We’ve made our point, we’ve scared away the speculative shorts’,” the energy expert added.

Last week, Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy at ING, said that even though the oil price rally had “more room to run,” a break above $100 per barrel for Brent wouldn’t be sustainable.

“OPEC+ will also want to be careful about overtightening the oil market. They will be shooting themselves in the foot if they push prices to levels where we start to see an increased risk of demand destruction,” Patterson wrote in a note.  READ MORE...