Monday, November 20

Wrong Species


 

China Is Second Biggest Trade Currency


SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Global companies are making a beeline for China's debt markets, issuing record amounts of yuan-denominated bonds and borrowing heavily from mainland banks, capitalizing on rock-bottom yuan interest rates as funding costs elsewhere jump.

Companies and banks are raising record amounts of cash through yuan bonds issued in mainland China and in Hong Kong, known as panda and dim sum bonds, respectively.   READ MORE...

Emerson, Lake, & Palmer

 

Sunday, November 19

A Special Kind of Chili

When my wife and I retired in 2015, she informed me that she was no longer cooking and if I wanted to eat, I needed to cook my own meals.  She does cook a Thanksgiving dinner.


I am not a chef, don't intend to be a chef, and don't like following recipes which is not a particularly smart trait to have.


The foundation of most everything I cook involves:

  • Onions
  • Celery
  • Garlic
  • Bell Peppers
  • Mushrooms
  • Black Pepper
  • Virgin Olive Oil

Today, I have decided to make my own version of chili.  I will start with the basics listed above and to that I will add:
  • Navy Beans
  • Lentils
  • Corn
  • Diced Turkey Burgers
  • Diced Tomatoes
  • A package of Chili mixture

I have something already prepared for lunch today which is a soup I made with potatoes, lima beans, corn, and onions.   It is ok but not great.  I used water instead of a broth which was a mistake.

My chili soup will not be prepared and cooked until later in the day, long after this posting.  So, I will need to let you know Monday how it went.  If I remember I take some pictures with my cell phone.

Wisdom


 

Classic Sunday Morning Newspaper Cartoons





 

We Gotz Aliens Amongst Us

  1. The Roswell Incident 1947
  2. The US Air Force concludes the Roswell Incident of 1947 was just a weather balloon
  3. In 2021, the US government, in a report, would not confirm nor deny the existence of UFO's
  4. In 2023, a whistleblower alleges that the Federal Government is not sharing with the general public all that it knows about UFO's.
In the television show, Ancient Aliens, the various hosts make the general conclusion that there are many examples throughout our world of structures that may not have been built by humans without the interference of a SUPERIOR RACE of people. 

There are wall paintings that depict these aliens, but critics say it is just the imagination of the artist.  There are written words talking about people coming down from the sky, but critics say it was just their imagination.

We are at a crossroads with mounting evidence that proves the POSSIBILITY of extraterrestrials.

One day, we will know conclusively but that day is not today.
My concern is what is the government hiding?
What is the military hiding?
Why are both these departments giving us BS answers?

NASA scientists have concluded that the building block of our DNA originated in outer space and were deposited here on earth by crashing meteorites.  To read more about this, click here...

Does this mean that extraterrestrials had something to do with that?  NOT REALLY...
But what it does mean is that our DNA did not come from EARTH...  it came from outer space.

If it came from outer space, could it have originated on another world?

The real question is not if they messed with our DNA but are they are living with us here on earth?

Classic Sunday Morning Newspaper Cartoons





 

Selfies


 

Artificial Intelligence on the Production LIne


As Doritos, Walkers and Wotsits speed along a conveyor belt at Coventry's PepsiCo factory - where some of the UK's most popular crisps are made - the noise of whirring machinery is almost deafening.

But here, it's not just human workers trying to hear signs of machine failure above the factory fray.

Sensors attached to equipment are also listening out for indications of hardware faults, having been trained to recognise sounds of weary machines that risk bringing production lines to a grinding halt.

PepsiCo is deploying these sensors, created by tech firm Augury and powered by artificial intelligence (AI), across its factories following a successful US trial.   
The company is one of many exploring how AI can increase factory efficiency, reduce waste and get products onto shelves sooner.     
READ MORE...

Blind Faith

 

Saturday, November 18

Going Nowhere


 

Donating Money to Charities

 Being retired, I probably watch more news now than when I was working while I am drinking my coffee in the mornings.  

The television commercials are constantly asking for money, like:

  • Tunnel to Towers
  • Disabled Vets
  • Jews in Russia
  • Children's Hospitals
are just a few that come to mind...  but then there are those non-profits that don't have commercials like:
  • Animal Shelters
  • Leukemia Foundation
  • Make A Wish
  • Fire Departments
  • Police Departments
  • Homeless People

But the asking does not stop there...
  • Local churches
  • Local schools
  • Girl Scouts
  • Mission Programs
  • Attended Colleges

I get a grant each year from the Leukemia Foundation to pay for my expensive Lymphoma medication...  Should I give my extra money to that organization?

Should I donate money for Cancer research in the hopes that a drug will be found to KILL MY TWO CANCERS?

Do you pick a non-profit that you are touched by and donate to them each year or should you spread your money around by donating to a different charity each year?

Is it better to help children with cancer or disabled Vets or a church mission group trying to convert Africans to Christianity?

And then there is YOURSELF...  as you get older, more stuff happens to you.  For me, it is a heart attack, lymphoma, melanoma, possible prostate cancer, a five-level disk fusion in the lower back, failing eyesight and hearing, and the real possibility that I may have to pay a nurse to take care of me and my wife.

Do I save my limited money for that eventuality?

The thing is...
  • I am not a billionaire
  • I am not a millionaire
  • I am not worth hundreds of thousands of dollars
  • I am in the lower middle class
  • I am a recipient of charity

What would you do???



Somewhat Political

 



CRISPR Gene Editing

HAMAS Did Not Count on This

  

Friday, November 17

The Animals

 

America's Priorities

WHAT ARE/OR SHOULD BE AMERICA'S PRIORITIES???

NOW - More or Less

  • Green Energy
  • Social Programs
  • Illegal Immigration
  • Inflation
  • Terrorism
  • War against Democracy
  • Crime and Violence
  • War on Fossil Fuels

CURRENTLY
  1. China has a bigger Navy, Air Force, and Army than America
  2. Russia has more nuclear weapons than America
  3. China has declared they want to be the global leader, replacing America
  4. BRICS has started a global movement against using the US dollar for international trade
  5. American education ranks number 15th in the world
  6. Set Congressional Term Limits
  7. America's military cannot meet recruitment goals
  8. Humanoid Robots will be mass produced soon
  9. Terrorists have entered the US through our southern borders
  10. The US Congress has been ineffective for over 20 years
  11. The US has lost its global respect and is no longer a country to be feared or followed

WHAT SHOULD BE THE PRIORITIES FOR AMERICA???
  • Bring back fossil fuels - gasoline
  • Lower Taxes
  • Build a strong military
  • Strengthen education by teaching students to retain rather than just memorize
  • Train in high school for the future
  • Increase Wages
  • Stop fighting wars overseas
  • Eliminate the United Nations and move towards more arrangements like NATO and/or OPEC
  • Put a freeze on price increases
  • Build defense systems to destroy nuclear missiles in the air rather than more nuclear missiles or bombs
  • Use AI/Robots for medical research
  • Gradually move towards EV & infrastructure
  • Get the wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes or be forced in invest in the future
  • Eliminate people living in poverty
  • Build jails in Artica or Antartica and send prisoners there.  Have them guarded by robots.
  • Seriously stop the flow of illegal drugs into the US
  • Stop Illegal immigration and deport all illegal immigrants in the US

Google's DeepMind AI


Artificial-intelligence (AI) firm Google DeepMind has turned its hand to the intensive science of weather forecasting — and developed a machine-learning model that outperforms the best conventional tools as well as other AI approaches at the task.

The model, called GraphCast, can run from a desktop computer and makes more accurate predictions than conventional models in minutes rather than hours.

“GraphCast currently is leading the race amongst the AI models,” says computer scientist Aditya Grover at University of California, Los Angeles. The model is described1 in Science on 14 November.  READ MORE...

Honey Bees


 

Going Electric

There are currently more than 160,000 EV chargers in the United States.

The state of California has the most.

The 2030 National Charging Network report finds that to support a mid-adoption scenario of 33 million EVs on the road by 2030, the nation will need 28 million charging ports.

Presently, it costs about $10,000 for a level II charging station.

Cost to reach the goal: $280,000,000,000

NOTE:  this cost above DOES NOT TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION the cost of increasing the power grid to accommodate all these charging stations.

Average cost of an EV is $35,000...  but you get what you pay for and the lower the price the smaller the battery and the less range that you have.

In my opinion, an EV is like a golf cart.  If you are just going to drive around locally within your community, then an EV is more or less perfect for you and all your charging can be done at home.

However, if you are making a trip of 300 miles, then you will have to stop and charge the vehicle.  Depending upon the number of charging stations and the number of people in front of you, the actual charging could take 2-3 hours.

What are you going to do while you wait???
  • Go to a movie?
  • Got out to dinner?
  • Go shopping at a mall?
How many others will have that same idea???

Hybrids that you don't have to charge are a better idea than an EV...  but, they have some problems as well.
  1. Cost of maintenance is higher than a gas vehicle
  2. Resale value drops substantially
  3. Cost of battery replacement
  4. Size of vehicle

While going EV is a great idea and very similar to going into space and establishing a colony on Mars, it is going to be a little more expensive than we had first realized or anticipated.

Somewhat Political






 

First Wooden Satellite


NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are planning to launch the world's first wooden satellite into space in a bid to make spaceflight more sustainable.


LignoSat, a coffee mug-size satellite made from magnolia wood, is set to launch into Earth's orbit by summer 2024, according to the space agencies.

Wood doesn't burn or rot in the lifeless vacuum of space, but it will incinerate into a fine ash upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere — making it a surprisingly useful, biodegradable material for future satellites. After successfully testing their wood samples aboard the International Space Station (ISS) earlier this year, the scientists believe the test satellite is fit for launch.    READ MORE...

Are You Experienced?

 

Thursday, November 16

IRON Butterfly

 

Debt and Being Unemployed

 COVID payments to Americans kept us alive during the two years that COVID filtered through all our neighborhoods.  The government essentially paid us not to work...


Not working caused production to decrease and as a result of those decreases, prices for goods and services increased.

With all the stimulus money the government was pumping into the economy, and the low production rates, inflation was fueled beyond everyone's imagination and expectations.

COVID is over, at least for right now, but inflation persists along with low wages for those who have decided to go back to work.

Here's the problem...
AMERICANS do not want to give up anything because they have fallen on hard times....  THEREFORE, they use their credit cards to continue buying.

Credit card debt is the highest its been in 20 years and is getting worse.

If you are now working and have a lot of credit card debt, please explain to me what you are going to do when humanoid robots replace you at your job?

Yes, you will get unemployment insurance but for how long?  Will you use that unemployment insurance to pay your bills or pay off your debt?

It is difficult to believe that robots will replace all jobs and perhaps they will only replace 80%... or maybe they only replace 50%...  What will you do if you are in the 80% or the 50%?

File bankruptcy...  great idea...  do you have any idea what will happen to the economy if 50% of all workers file bankruptcy?
I doubt that you have any idea at all since you did not take business classes in high school or college.
IT WILL NOT BE PRETTY...
Do a GOOGLE search on the possibility and see what you can find on the internet.

DO YOU THINK THE GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO TAKE CARE OF EVERYONE?  

WHERE ARE THEY GOING TO GET THE MONEY?

FROM BILLIONAIRES WHO HIDE THEIR MONEY IN TAX FREE ACCOUNTS?

TAX THE UNEMPLOYED?

WITH HUMANOID ROBOTS YOU CAN KISS SOCIALISM GOODBYE...

Training of ONE TRILLION Parameter

A US national lab has started training a massive AI brain that could ultimately become the must-have computing resource for scientific researchers.  Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) is creating a generative AI model called AuroraGPT and is pouring a giant mass of scientific information into creating the brain.  The model is being trained on its Aurora supercomputer, which delivers more than an half an exaflop performance at ANL. The system has Intel’s Ponte Vecchio GPUs, which provide the main computing power.


Intel and ANL are partnering with other labs in the US and worldwide to make scientific AI a reality.  “It combines all the text, codes, specific scientific results, papers, into the model that science can use to speed up research,” said Ogi Brkic, vice president and general manager for data center and HPC solutions, in a press briefing.  READ MORE...

Pink Flamingo


 

Going Nuclear

 At a distance of 20-25 miles downwind, a lethal radiation dose (600 rads) would be accumulated by a person who did not find shelter within 25 minutes after the time the fallout began. At a distance of 40-45 miles, a person would have at most 3 hours after the fallout began to find shelter.

For the survivors of a nuclear war, this lingering radiation hazard could represent a grave threat for as long as 1 to 5 years after the attack. Predictions of the amount and levels of the radioactive fallout are difficult because of several factors.  
SOURCE: AtomicArchive.com



Here's the question:  DO YOU FEEL SAFE?


We are a dangerous species...  We kill for pleasure not just for survival...  We are aggressive and brutal, and many human beings do not value life...


Concrete shelters will protect you from radiation fallout, but you may have to live underground for 5 years. Do you have enough food for that long?  Or medical supplies?  What about electricity?


Our enemy is not going to try and just kill humans, they will first target all our energy sources.  If there are a lot of bombs, it will not just be for five years that we are underground.  What will be left, once we can get out of our underground shelters?

  • All our buildings will be destroyed
  • All our manufacturing plants will be destroyed
  • All our hospitals will be destroyed
  • All transportation will be destroyed
  • All animals will be destroyed
  • All vegetation will be destroyed
  • All defense systems will be destroyed

Lightening