In the NEWS

The Israeli military has reportedly begun pumping seawater from the Mediterranean into a complex tunnel network underneath Gaza. The operation, likely to take weeks, is part of Israel's efforts to destroy the roughly 300-mile-long infrastructure used by Hamas to transport supplies and personnel (see overview). Some of the 140 remaining hostages from Hamas' Oct. 7 attack are believed to be held inside the tunnels. See more war updates here.


Sports Illustrated's parent company, The Arena Group, announced it has ousted CEO Ross Levinsohn, the latest in a string of firings allegedly related to the company's reported use of artificial intelligence to produce content on its website.

The news comes two weeks after tech and culture site Futurism reported the sports publication appeared to be publishing articles written by AI and using headshots from an AI marketplace—without disclosing it to their readers—with many of the articles filled with errors. After initially denying the report, The Arena Group said the articles were product reviews and licensed content from an external, third-party company. Listen to an interview with the journalist who broke the news here.


Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the video game industry's largest convention in North America, shutting down after 28 years (More)


Andre Braugher, Emmy-winning actor known for roles in “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” dies at 61 (More) | Bulelwa "Zahara" Mkutukana, iconic multiplatinum-selling South African singer-songwriter, dies at 36 of reported liver problems (More)


Researchers demonstrate a hybrid biocomputer, made with lab-grown brain tissue connected to conventional electronic circuitry; potential applications include use in future AI-powered robotics (More)


Blue Origin, the Jeff Bezos-owned space flight company, to make its first launch since last September next week; uncrewed flight will carry scientific research payloads (More)


Harvard Corporation, the top governing body of Harvard, backs university President Claudine Gay following controversial congressional testimony on campus antisemitism (More) | See previous write-up (More)


New York Supreme Court orders state lawmakers to redraw New York's congressional map, finding the 2022 redistricting violated state law; analysts say decision may determine which party controls the US House after the 2024 election (More)

SOURCE:  1440 News

A Cosmology Mystery

A recent study proposes that the “Hubble tension,” a discrepancy in measurements of the universe’s expansion rate, can be resolved using the alternative MOND theory of gravity. This theory suggests local matter density variations account for the observed discrepancies.

Study by the Universities of Bonn and St. Andrews proposes a new possible explanation for the Hubble tension.

The universe is expanding. How fast it does so is described by the so-called Hubble-Lemaitre constant. But there is a dispute about how big this constant actually is: Different measurement methods provide contradictory values. This so-called “Hubble tension” poses a puzzle for cosmologists. Researchers from the Universities of Bonn and St. Andrews are now proposing a new solution: Using an alternative theory of gravity, the discrepancy in the measured values can be easily explained — the Hubble tension disappears. The study has now been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS).
Understanding the Universe’s Expansion

The expansion of the universe causes the galaxies to move away from each other. The speed at which they do this is proportional to the distance between them. For instance, if galaxy A is twice as far away from Earth as galaxy B, its distance from us also grows twice as fast. The US astronomer Edwin Hubble was one of the first to recognize this connection.  READ MORE...

Food Worth Printing

 

American Made Value Has Been Dead Since the !960s

In 1967, I purchased a specialty ordered 1967 Plymouth Barracuda convertible with a 383, 4-barrel carburetor, and four on the floor...  standard was a 273, 2-barrel carburetor, and automatic.  

I kept that car for over 30 years.  Had the engine rebuilt at 200,000 miles, repainted in the original candy apple red pigment, a new top that glass in the back instead of plastic.  I also replaced the seats and carpet.  

This cost me about $2,500 and I paid $3,500 for the car so I had $6,000 invested in it.  The car had over 350,000 miles on it when it was sold...  maybe closer to 400,000 but I cannot be sure about that.

Before I sold it, I would take her out on the interstate and blow her out somewhere around 100-120 mph on a straight away.   It felt good to be driving that kind of power.

Today's cars are not like the cars they manufactured in the 1960s.  Not sure why that is because of all the advanced technology but once you hit 100,000 miles on a car, it is time to look for a new one.  However, Toyota has a reputation of going 200,000 to 300,000 miles before it starts to have problems.

When you think about this longevity issue for a while, it begins to make sense.  The consumer market is only so big...  one would call it finite even with an increasing birthrate.  So, the only way to continue that you can increase revenues year after year, is to make products that don't last long and need to be replaced.

This is not just true with vehicles but with appliances, hand tools, electronic equipment although this last one is replaced primarily because technology has improved and not because its components have worn out.

My parents kitchen appliances, washer and dryer, lasted over 30 years and were replaced not because they were not working but because my parents wanted the newer technology.

Somewhat Political

 

Living In a Computer Simulation

Physicists have long struggled to explain why the universe started out with conditions suitable for life to evolve. Why do the physical laws and constants take the very specific values that allow stars, planets and ultimately life to develop? The expansive force of the universe, dark energy, for example, is much weaker than theory suggests it should be – allowing matter to clump together rather than being ripped apart.

A common answer is that we live in an infinite multiverse of universes, so we shouldn’t be surprised that at least one universe has turned out as ours. But another is that our universe is a computer simulation, with someone (perhaps an advanced alien species) fine-tuning the conditions.

The latter option is supported by a branch of science called information physics, which suggests that space-time and matter are not fundamental phenomena. Instead, the physical reality is fundamentally made up of bits of information, from which our experience of space-time emerges. By comparison, temperature “emerges” from the collective movement of atoms. No single atom fundamentally has temperature.  READ MORE...

Gimme Shelter

 

Entropy in Physics

 

In the NEWS

 

The US Air Force announced disciplinary measures against 15 personnel yesterday, spanning ranks from staff sergeant to colonel, due to their failure to address questionable intelligence-related activities by accused leaker Jack Teixeira.


A federal civil trial began yesterday in Washington, DC, to determine punitive damages former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) must pay two election workers for defamation. Eight jurors were selected for the four-day trial, which could require Giuliani to pay up to $43M to the two women.


Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who has been serving time in a penal colony east of Moscow on an array of charges, is reportedly missing. The 47-year-old was due to appear via video for a court hearing yesterday but failed to show up. His attorneys said they have been unable to get in touch with him for six days, while two penal colonies where Navalny was believed to be claimed he was not listed as an inmate.


What happens when you combine German engineering with the world’s most trusted name in hearing care? The biggest breakthrough in hearing technology in more than a decade. Introducing the Horizon hearing aid by hear.com.


"Barbie," "Oppenheimer," and "Succession" lead film and television nominees for 2024 Golden Globe Awards (Jan. 7); see full list of nominations (More)


Shohei Ohtani to defer $680M of his record-breaking $700M contract until 2034, allowing the Los Angeles Dodgers to sign other star players due to a lowered payroll (More)


Brenda Lee’s "Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree" tops Billboard's Hot 100 for second straight week, more than 65 years after its original release (More) | Members of K-pop group BTS begin mandatory South Korean military service (More)


Jury rules against Google in antitrust case brought by Epic Games, maker of the popular video game Fortnite, finding the Google Play app store and its billing requirements constitute an illegal monopoly (More)


BAE Systems receives first funding award made under last year's CHIPS Act, will be used to increase production of computer chips used in F-15 and F-35 jets (More) | New York to establish a $10B chip research center at the University of Albany (More)


Report claims Israel used US-supplied white phosphorus munitions in an October attack in southern Lebanon that injured at least nine civilians (More) | What is white phosphorous? (More) | Roughly 1.9 Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza from the Israel-Hamas war, UN says; see more war updates (More)

SOURCE:  1440 News

First Humanoid Robot Factory

Per a recent write-up in Axios, a factory that produces humanoid robots is set to open in Salem, Oregon as early as 2025, with a number of massive implications for businesses and the general workforce. These bipedal bots are expected to be produced in the tens of thousands annually, with a number already set to ship to warehouse chains such as Amazon to assist with loading and unloading large boxes. The production of these automatons has been sped up by manufacturers citing competition from Beijing, China, where corporate interests project a mass production of robots by 2025.   READ MORE...

Screwed Up Values

 You have to ask yourself, what would the USA be like if all the wealthy people did not shelter their money in offshore bank accounts to avoid paying USA taxes.

• Would we have the national debt as high as it is?
• Would we be able to improve our infrastructure?
• Would we able to offer more social programs?
• Would we have a stronger military?
• Would we have better schools?

Because the wealthy have sheltered their money, the tax burden falls on the middle class...  and oddly enough, it is the middle class that provided the work for the wealthy to become wealthy.

You'd think some of the middle class would stand up and complain about that...

• We want to defund the police because there are a few police officers  that are racists.
• We want to change history because we don't like the fact that the USA was involved in slavery.
• We claim to have a society of white supremacists because there are more whites than blacks.
• We want the Federal government to take care of us instead of taking care of ourselves.
• We think that illegal immigration will solve all our problems by diluting our quality of life.
• We think the consumption of illegal drugs will help us find happiness.
• We think that crime and violence in our cities is caused by lack of proper education.
• We think the other side is EVIL because they do not agree with us.

The United States of America is the greatest country in the world which is the reason why the rest of the world HATES US...

Somewhat Political

 

Illegal Immigrants Want a Better Life

 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BREAK THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES IN ORDER TO GET A BETTER LIFE INSIDE THE UNITED STATES...

That logic does not even make sense and is the reason that our prisons are full of Americans who wanted to have a better life by breaking the law...

Illegal Immigrants

1. have no technical skills
2. are not educated
3. do not speak English
4. have no sponsors
5. have no immunizations
6. have no pride of community
7. have no respect for the law
8. wants the taxpayers to take care of them
9. are ignorant about what is available to them in the USA
10. are not aware that many Americans don't want them here
11. are creating more harm than good by coming here
12. have no backup plan if they don't get what they want

AMERICANS are fooling themselves if they perceive anything GOOD is going to come from the flow of illegal immigrants into this country...

AMERICANS are fooling themselves if they think these illegal immigrants are going to contribute to our society and the growth of our economy...

AMERICANS are fooling themselves if they think illegal immigrants are going to help improve our quality of life and reduce our cost of living.

AMERICANS are fooling themselves if they think that humanoid robots with AI are not going to replace illegal immigrants first...

Building One's Home

 

Computer with Human Brain Tissue

There is no computer even remotely as powerful and complex as the human brain. The lumps of tissue ensconced in our skulls can process information at quantities and speeds that computing technology can barely touch.

Key to the brain's success is the neuron's efficiency in serving as both a processor and memory device, in contrast to the physically separated units in most modern computing devices.

There have been many attempts to make computing more brain-like, but a new effort takes it all a step further – by integrating real, actual, human brain tissue with electronics.

It's called Brainoware, and it works. A team led by engineer Feng Guo of Indiana University Bloomington fed it tasks like speech recognition and nonlinear equation prediction.

It was slightly less accurate than a pure hardware computer running on artificial intelligence, but the research demonstrates an important first step in a new kind of computer architecture.   READ MORE...

Ride Captain Ride

 

Hamas' Underground City

 

MATH & ENGINEERING

Engineering

Advances in Civil Engineering
Using Recycled Concrete Powder, Waste Glass Powder, and Plastic Powder to Improve the Mechanical Properties of Compacted Concrete: Cement Elimination Approach
Erfan Najaf and Hassan Abbasi

International Journal of Rotating Machinery
Experimental and Numerical Studies of the Film Cooling Effectiveness Downstream of a Curved Diffusion Film Cooling Hole
Fan Yang and Mohammad E. Taslim

Journal of Robotics
Robust Finite-Time Tracking Control Based on Disturbance Observer for an Uncertain Quadrotor under External Disturbances
Hamid Hassani, Anass Mansouri, and Ali Ahaitouf




Mathematics

Abstract and Applied Analysis
A New Class of Function with Finitely Many Fixed Points
Matthew O. Oluwayemi, and Olubunmi A. Fadipe-Joseph

Advances in Fuzzy Systems
Clustering by Hybrid K-Means-Based Rider Sunflower Optimization Algorithm for Medical Data
A. Jaya Mabel Rani and A. Pravin

Complexity
Strong Emergence Arising from Weak Emergence
Thomas Schmickl

The Truth of FACTS

Q: Are there any facts that are really scary to know?

A: In 1997, 14 year old Nathan Zohner presented his science fair project to his classmates, seeking to ban a highly dangerous chemical from its everyday use. The chemical in question? Dihydrogen monoxide.



Throughout his presentation, Zohner provided his audience scientifically correct evidence as to why this chemical should be banned.

He explained that dihydrogen monoxide:

• Can cause severe burns while it’s in gas form
• Corrodes and rusts metal
• Kills countless people annually
• Is commonly found in tumors, acid rain, etc.
• Causes excessive urination and bloating if consumed

Zohner also noted that the chemical is able to kill you if you depend on it and then experience an extended withdrawal. He then asked his classmates if they actually wanted to ban dihydrogen monoxide. And so 43 out of the 50 children present voted to ban this obviously unsafe chemical.

However…this chemical isn’t typically considered toxic at all. In fact, dihydrogen monoxide is simply an unconventional name for water.

Nathan Zohner’s experiment wasn’t a legitimate attempt to ban water, but instead an experiment to get a representation of how gullible people can really be. Also, all of the points that Zohner used to convey his point were 100% factually correct; he just skewed all of the information in his favor by omitting certain facts. 

One journalist eventually dubbed this event as ‘Zohnerism’, where true facts are used to mislead people towards false conclusions. And this occurs a lot more often than you think, especially when politicians, journalists, etc., use proven facts to persuade people into believing false claims. The fact that people can mislead, and be misled so easily, is highly unsettling.

Being a Patriot

What does it mean to be a PATRIOT?
A patriot is a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors.

This definition is OBVIOUSLY LACKING in its explanation.

Both Democrats and Republicans vigorously support their country but from different perspectives in how the government should be managed and should operate.

WHICH ONE IS NOT A PATRIOT???

What about the patriot who did not serve in the military?  How can it be said that they were prepared to defend it against all enemies???

SO... does that mean patriots can only be VETERANS???

The DEMOCRATS are now saying that if Trump gets elected as President again, he will destroy our DEMOCRACY...

Does that mean that Trump, assuming the Democrats are correct, he not a PATRIOT???

Mohammed Ali, formerly Casious Clay, refused to be drafted because he was a conscientious objector...  

Does this mean he was not a PATRIOT???

When 9/11 took place in this country, there were numerous people who were willing to go to war to defend THIS COUNTRY...  Tons of Patriots...  but 20 years later, we have forgotten all about what happened and think that the USA is no longer the country it once was and that there are only very few AUTHENTIC PATRIOTS remaining...

BEING A PATRIOT IS NO LONGER APPLICABLE TO AMERICANS...

Saving Elephants

 

Exploring the Quantum Universe

After a multi-year review, the U.S. particle physics community has announced its vision for research spanning the next five to ten years. The various projects could, if funded, help researchers develop a much better understanding of the laws of nature.

The recommendations were released in a report called “Exploring the Quantum Universe: Pathways to Innovation and Discovery in Particle Physics.” It was written by the Particle Physics Projects Prioritization Panel (P5), a sub-panel of the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel (HEPAP), and will be submitted to funding agencies like the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science and the Natioce Foundation to guide their funding decisions over the next decade.  READ MORE...

Danny Boy

 

In the NEWS

Penn Reckoning
University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned Saturday amid backlash over remarks made during a congressional hearing about on-campus antisemitism Tuesday. Reports of antisemitic harassment have increased at US universities since the start of the Israel-Hamas war two months ago, prompting scrutiny of those institutions' responses. A major donor withdrew a $100M partnership with Penn Thursday as a protest of Magill's comments.




Diamond Deal
Shohei Ohtani, one of baseball's biggest stars, will depart the Los Angeles Angels and head across town to the Los Angeles Dodgers after signing a contract reportedly worth $700M. In total value, the 10-year deal is believed to be the biggest contract signed by any athlete in global sports history.



Texas Abortion Battle
The Texas Supreme Court paused a lower court's ruling over the weekend allowing a Dallas-area woman to receive an abortion despite the state's new laws limiting access to the procedure. The case is believed to be the first of its kind in the US since Roe v. Wade was overturned last June.



Retirement
This Princeton grad's startup raised $161M to help people plan for retirement.


If you're one of the whopping 110 million Americans over age 50—or a wise Millennial looking to get ahead—SmartAsset's no-cost tool makes it easy to find vetted financial advisors who serve your area. Research suggests that people who work with a financial advisor could end up with 15% more money to spend in retirement.¹


Science

• European Union reaches world's first comprehensive set of regulations for AI; plan creates a risk ranking system for different types of AI and allows consumers to file complaints against platforms (More)
• Paleontologists discover 75-million-year-old fossil of a Gorgosaurus, a species of tyrannosaur from what is now western North America, with its final two meals preserved in its stomach (More)
• Physicists demonstrate optical tweezers—focused laser beams that can hold and move tiny objects—which can position single molecules so precisely they can be used for quantum computing (More)

Purchasing Power of US Dollar in the USA

 It would take $173 in 2023 to purchase the same items in 2000 for $100...

This means that over a 23 year period of time that inflation has reduced the value of the dollar.

The value of the dollar is even worse when used overseas and exchanged with the EURO dollar...  it takes more dollars to buy a Euro than it did before...

This also hurts travel and tourism because it costs more for tourists to come to the USA than it did before which means we are losing revenues as a country.

To make matters worse, the dollar has less purchasing power in 2023 than it did in 1960...  instead of getting stronger, the dollar has gotten weaker.

What contributes to this decline?

• Inflation
• National Debt
• GDP
• Perception of value

BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) along with some other countries are pushing the rest of the world TO STOP USING THE US DOLLAR  when negotiating trade deals with other countries.

This pressure also weakens the purchasing power of the US dollar.

WHY IS THE REST OF THE WORLD AGAINST THE USA???

The Animals

 

Advice I Would Have Given My Young Self

 I have heard lots of people make the comment that...    

 if I had it to over again, I would have lived my life differently...  

and I am sure that they are sincere, but reflections like that are impractical and illogical because that chance would never happen, so why even consider it?

Personally, I would not have lived my life any differently if I had the chance because the way my life was and is currently being lived, is the way it was intended to be lived from the GETGO...

However,

with that said, I would have given my younger self the following advice...

DON'T BE GREEDY WITH YOUR CAREER THINKING THAT THERE MIGHT BE SOMETHING BETTER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD.

Why am I giving this advice?

Several times during my 45 year career, I changed my employers thinking that this move which provide me with greater and greater wealth.

The question that I did not ask myself was:  

Why did I think I need this extra wealth?

The answer was simple...   EGO

In 1977, I was in a great position with a Community College in North Carolina and had I stayed there for 20 years, I would have retired in 1997 at the age of 50.  Obviously, I would not have retired, but I could have either stayed there or looked for another 20 year career from 50-70.

In 1990, I had a great position with a Community College in Tennessee and had I stayed there, I could have retired in 2010 after 20 years or 2015 (the year I actually retired) after 25 years.

LOOKING BACK....

I would not have changed anything...  but had I been able to give myself advice, I MAY have lived my life a little differently because I had made different decisions.

IF...   I was in a position to live my life again...  I probably would have stayed in the Navy for 20 years and gotten my bachelor's and master's degrees while on active duty.  1969-1989...   I then would have either applied for a teaching position while getting my PHD or simply gotten my PHD and then looked for a teaching position...  

• PHD - 1989-1991
• Teaching - 1991-2011/2015

Retirement:   

1. Military - 20 years
2. Teaching - 20 years
3. Social Security - 40 quarters or 10 years

Making the Internet Better

 

From THE VERGE

Engineers and major companies are pushing a technology called L4S that they say could make the web feel dramatically faster. But how?

Building for tomorrow
A few months ago, I downgraded my internet, going from a 900Mbps plan to a 200Mbps one. Now, I find that websites can sometimes take a painfully long time to load, that HD YouTube videos have to stop and buffer when I jump around in them, and that video calls can be annoyingly choppy.

In other words, pretty much nothing has changed. I had those exact same problems even when I had near-gigabit download service, and I’m probably not alone. I’m sure many of you have also had the experience of cursing a slow-loading website and growing even more confused when a “speed test” says that your internet should be able to play dozens of 4K Netflix streams at once. 

So what gives?  READ MORE...

Top Ten Tech Blogs

 

1. Wired

Founder: Louis Rossetto, Jane Metcalfe

Year Started: 1993

Domain Authority: 94 ⋅

2. TechCrunch

Founder: Michael Arrington, Keith Teare

Year Started: 2005

Domain Authority: 94

3. Recode

Founder: Kara Swisher

Year Started: 2014

Domain Authority: 93

4. Mashable

Founder: Pete Cashmoreg

Year Started: 2005

Domain Authority: 93

5. CNET

Founder: Halsey Minor, Shelby Bonnie

Year Started: 1994

Domain Authority: 93

6. The Verge

Founder: Joshua Topolsky, Jim Bankoff, Marty Moe

Year Started: 2011

Domain Authority: 92

7. Venturebeat

Founder: Matt Marshall

Year Started: 2006

Domain Authority: 92

8. Slashdot

Founder: Rob Malda, Jeff Bates

Year Started: 1997

Domain Authority: 90

9. Gizmodo

Founder: Pete Rojas

Year Started: 2001

Domain Authority: 90

10. Engadget

Founder: Pete Rojas

Year Started: 2004

Domain Authority: 90

Our Obese Society

 A year and a half ago, maybe two, I weighed somewhere between 250-260 on a 6'1" frame...  which put me into the category of being obese.

Last year, I had managed to reduce my weight down to 220-224 and that weight stayed around for a while, so I thought that was the best that I could do.

Today, my weight is between 212-214 and while I like the way I feel nowadays, I would like to get down to 205.

At 205, I will still be overweight but not obese.

Somewhere between the ages of 50-60, I stopped being as active as I had been but continued to eat.  I just did not care that much about the extra weight or how it made me free.

However, when I was diagnosed with cancer and started taking chemo, I was given steroids to prevent nausea and while that worked, it caused my weight to continue to increase.

A few years ago, I went from chemo to immunotherapy and as a result no longer needed to take steroids and it is then I consciously began focusing on my weight.

Exercise does not help one lose weight.  It maintains the weight that was lost by NOT EATING AS MUCH and eating the right things.

I no longer eat red meat, fried foods, sugars, or drink alcohol.  I eat fish, chicken, turkey, beans, and lots of vegetables.  I like Salmon, Cod, and Tuna and have gotten used to eating Turkey Hot Dogs and Turkey Burgers.

We have a problem of obesity in the USA and while I was not obese until way after age 60, I see children and teenagers that are already obese and I wonder about their health and if we have the resources to take care of a bunch of people who are FAT AND SICK.

When I was working at ITT Technical Institute, we had two instructors there who were extremely obese.  One was in his 40s and the other was in his 60s and they both died on the operating table due to complications from being obese.  Both had gone in for a routine operation.

I hope this article causes you to think about your weight if you are obese.  Now is the time to do something about it.