Friendship

 

Record Breaking Free Divers of Egypt

Dahab, Egypt – When the countdown began, Khaled Elgammal took one final, deep breath before descending without any breathing equipment into the ocean. One minute and 29 seconds later, still holding his breath, the Egyptian athlete had free-fallen to 102 metres (335 feet) – a national record.

But for it to count, he had to reach the surface again. He turned at the bottom of the line and began his ascent – focusing on deep relaxation and the feelings of the surrounding water. In all, he had held his breath for two minutes and 50 seconds.

Elgammal is Egypt’s deepest freediver, and his remarkable achievement set a new national record at the Sharm el-Sheikh competition in October 2023.

“When I came to the surface, it was bliss. It felt amazing,” Elgammal recalls.    READ MORE...

US Dominance in the AIR

 

Moody Blues

 

Unlimited Energy from Nuclear Fusion

We go behind the scenes at the world’s largest nuclear fusion device attempting to harness energy from the same reaction that powers the Sun and stars.

In the heart of Provence, some of the brightest scientific minds on the planet are setting the stage for what is being called the world’s largest and most ambitious science experiment.

"We are building arguably the most complex machine ever designed," confides Laban Coblentz.

The task at hand is to demonstrate the feasibility of harnessing nuclear fusion - the same reaction powering our Sun and stars - at an industrial scale.         

To do this, the world’s largest magnetic confinement chamber, or tokamak, is under construction in the south of France to generate net energy.

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project agreement was formally signed in 2006 by the US, EU, Russia, China, India, and South Korea at the Elysée Palace in Paris.         READ MORE...

Friendship

 

In The NEWS

Senate negotiators reportedly made progress over the weekend on a suite of border security measures, working under a self-imposed Sunday deadline to reach an agreement. Lawmakers have tied the package to a larger $110B deal that includes support for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

Roman Catholic Cardinal Angelo Becciu was found guilty of three counts of embezzlement and sentenced to five and a half years in prison Saturday, the result of a two-year trial into his and nine others' financial crimes within the Vatican City state. The 75-year-old Italian is the first cardinal to be tried criminally by Vatican courts since the Vatican became an independent state in 1929.

The head of Israel's Mossad spy agency reportedly met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani over the weekend, looking to renew a cease-fire deal that would see hostages held by Hamas in Gaza released. The talks came a day after the Israeli military killed three hostages after misidentifying them as Hamas militants.


Texas tops Nebraska to win back-to-back NCAA women's volleyball national championships (More) | South Dakota State set to take on Montana for NCAA football championship series national title (More)


"General Hospital" and "The Kelly Clarkson Show" are top winners at the 50th annual Daytime Emmy Awards; see complete winners list (More)


NASA's Cassini spacecraft detects the presence of hydrogen cyanide on Saturn's moon Enceladus; the molecule, lethal to humans, is thought to be a key chemical in the origin of organic life (More)


Study suggests North America's first humans may have arrived 23,000 years ago via sea ice floating across the Bering Strait; timeframe is roughly 10,000 years earlier than current estimates (More)


Dow Jones, Nasdaq end up Friday (S&P 500 -0.01%, Dow +0.2%, Nasdaq +0.4%); Nasdaq closes at highest level since November 2021, all three indexes extend weekly winning streak to seven (More)


Biotech giant Illumina to divest cancer diagnostics startup Grail after two-year antitrust battle with federal regulators (More)


At least 61 migrants, including women and children, drown after their ship sank off the coast of Libya reportedly en route to Europe (More) | See numbers of missing and dead in the region (More) | Kuwaiti leader Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah dies at 86 (More)


Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley narrows gap with frontrunner former President Donald Trump in New Hampshire presidential primary polls, trails by 15%; GOP state primary to be held Jan. 23 (More) | See nationwide polls (More)

Lumbar Vertebrae Fusion - 18 months Ago

Two years ago, I got out of bed one morning and my legs collapsed under me.  I grabbed the bed, to keep myself from falling to the floor.  From that moment on, it was difficult for me to walk and when I did, I walked with a limp.    A few weeks later I went to a Orthopedic Back Surgeon who wanted me to have an MRI but he suspected that I had a problem with L4/L5 disks.

I cannot have an MRI without being sedated.  My wife tells me I'm pussy but those comments don't bother me anymore.

My MRI revealed that my spinal stenosis was more advanced than first suspect and I agreed to spinal fusion surgery that fused L2-L3-L4-L5-S1 disks together.  It is considered the granddaddy of all fusion surgeries.

Many are opposed to a five level back fusion.

In 6 months, I was able to walk a mile in about 20-25 minutes.  My normal speed was 12-15 minutes.  I was able to walk without a cane but it took 6 more months of walking to eliminate the limp.

December 20 (tomorrow) marks 18 months since the surgery and I would assume that all 5 disks have finally fused together.  

• I can bend over and touch the floor with my
  
  fingers. 
• I can bend over and pick up stuff off the floor. 
• I still have a hard time stepping into my underwear.  
• I still have a hard time putting on socks.  
• My walking seems forced instead of natural.
• I can drive a car for 4 hours straight without back pain
• I have some difficulty stand up straight talking for over 30 minutes before needing to lean against something or sit down
• I still have no strength in my right leg to pull myself up steps - can descend fine.

Right after my back surgery, I was never in any pain which pisses my wife off whenever she thinks about it.  The day after the surgery I slept flat on my back in bed to sleep.

All in all, I would say I came out pretty good because if I had not had this surgery, then there was a high degree of certainty that I would have ended up in a wheelchair in the next few months for the rest of my life.

Therapy and injections would have postponed the surgery for a while, but surgery was the only permanent solution which is why I went with the surgery.

This is all part of growing old.

Quiet Lives

 

Time Travel Theoretically Possible

No one has yet managed to travel through time – at least to our knowledge – but the question of whether or not such a feat would be theoretically possible continues to fascinate scientists.

As movies such as The Terminator, Donnie Darko, Back to the Future and many others show, moving around in time creates a lot of problems for the fundamental rules of the Universe: if you go back in time and stop your parents from meeting, for instance, how can you possibly exist in order to go back in time in the first place?

It's a monumental head-scratcher known as the 'grandfather paradox', but a few years ago physics student Germain Tobar, from the University of Queensland in Australia, worked out how to "square the numbers" to make time travel viable without the paradoxes.

"Classical dynamics says if you know the state of a system at a particular time, this can tell us the entire history of the system," Tobar explained back in 2020.                 READ MORE...

Life After Death

 

Ghost Riders in the Sky

 

Largest Drone Helicopter

Rotor Technologies Inc., a firm engaged in the development of autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, has unveiled and commenced the production of what it claims to be the "largest uncrewed civilian helicopter on the market."

Termed R550X, the VTOL is derived from the U.S. firm's Robinson R44 platform and is developed as a versatile autonomous helicopter designed for multiple missions.

According to Rotor, R550X is capable of hoisting substantial loads of up to 1,200 pounds (lbs) — or 550 kilograms, kg —in diverse weather conditions, including night operations and situations with limited visibility. The vehicle comes in a ready-to-fly configuration for immediate flight and can be personalized with various mission-specific payloads and autonomy equipment.  READ MORE...

Itching

 

Pros/Cons of Being Retired

 CONS:

1. Less annual income
2. Potential boredom
3. Less activity
4. Less purchasing power
5. Limited mobility
6. More doctor's appoinments
7. Physically restrained
8. Indication of old age
9. Not much of life left
10. Friends are dying
11. Greater risk of illness
12. Not around people

PROS:

1. Don't have to kiss the bosses ass anymore
2. Have less opportunity for stress
3. Can sleep in as long as one desires
4. Open schedule for traveling
5. Can travel more
6. Spend more time with children/grandchildren
7. Have more leisure/recreation time
8. Have plenty of time for yardwork
9. Can focus on hobbies
10. Can save money on gasoline
11. Can save money of buying clothes
12. Have the opportunity to downsize

...CAVEAT...

One of the biggest hurdles one faces whether single or married is having enough income without working to retire.  Another hurdle is how much debt are you carrying into your retirement.

Sources of income once retired will come from:

• Savings
• Investments
• Social Security
• Company retirement programs
• Sale of a house when downsizing

In my case, that is to say my wife and I, we relied on savings and Social Security to retire and when we sold our house and downsized the profit that we made was just an added bonus.  We also put some of our saved money in a high yield CD for 18 months to generate more savings.

From 2015 until 2020 when COVID hit, we traveled at least every other month for a week; in fact, we traveled so much (at least for us) that we got the travel bug out of our system.  Now, we just go to Myrtle Beach, SC twice a year for a week.

We will soon stop our MB,SC trips in the next 3-5 years because of age.

My main hobby now is writing novels and in the process of writing novels I have to do research and that research helps keeps my mind active.  I also maintain two blogs daily which keeps me busy as well.  In the mornings, I watch FOX News for a couple of hours, but hardly ever anything else.  None of the shows, movies, or series interest me, so why waste the time, I tell myself.

Before my back surgery, I was walking around the neighborhood for about an hour or a mile whichever was less.  I did not walk fast but I did not walk slow like window shopping either.

I hardly ever sleep past 9:00 am, usually up around 7:30-8:00 am, and shower and shave every other day instead of every day when I was working.  I eat 2-3 meals a day, not large, just enough to be filling and I snack twice a day on Captain's Wafers (1 pack) or 2-4 Lemon Orea cookies.  I have coffee in the morning and SAM's water the rest of the day.

My wife and I go out to eat once or twice a week.  I usually eat half of what I order in the restaurant and bring the other half home for another meal the next day.

I fill up my 2015 Venza every other week as opposed to every 3 days when working. 

Finally, my wife and I were debt free when we retired which made a big difference with our decision.  Plus, my wife and I never needed to live anything but a simple lifestyle which also helped.

Transformation

 

Optimus Gen Two

Tesla has unveiled “Optimus Gen 2”, a new generation of its humanoid robot that should be able to take over repetitive tasks from humans.

Optimus, also known as Tesla Bot, has not been taken seriously by many outside of the more hardcore Tesla fans, and for good reason.

When it was first announced, it seemed to be a half-baked idea from CEO Elon Musk with a dancer disguised as a robot for visual aid. It also didn’t help that the demo at Tesla AI Day last year was less than impressive.

At the time, Tesla had a very early prototype that didn’t look like much. It was barely able to walk around and wave at the crowd. That was about it.  READ MORE...

Funny and Sad

 

No One Cares

There is a friend of mine that lives way, way up north; we have known each other since high school, which is almost 60 years.  We write each other every night for the most part, unless something prevents us from doing so; it is like having a daily conversation with someone...

Our conversations are about what we are doing or what we are planning to do or what we have done and invariably include the weather and a discussion on politics and what is happening to our wonderful countries.  Sometimes, we get so angry at what we are writing about that we have stop our comments for a few days to cool off as it makes us both upset.

BUT...  the really strange thing about all of this is that NO ONE ELSE SEEMS TO CARE...

• I talk to the person who cuts my hair and he has no idea what is going on in the USA with politics.
• I talk with my nurses about the same subject and get the same reaction - they are not aware.
• I talk to people while waiting in the check out line and get the same reaction.
• When my wife and I go to a restaurant, no one is talking politics.

My Impression of it all

1. They are aware that Trump has been indicted.
2. They are aware that Biden is under investigation.
3. They are aware of all the illegal immigration.
4. They are not concerned about China or Russia
5. They are not concerned that Iran and North Korea might soon have nuclear capabilities.
6. They have no concerns about our national debt.
7. They don't seem concerned about inflation.

It makes me wonder if my thoughts are wrong and if they are just so apathetic that they no longer give a damn.

Of course, part of me agrees with them because after 76 years of life, it makes no damn bit of difference what I think or how I vote - this country is going in a certain direction whether I like it or not.

In the NEWS

London's High Court yesterday ruled in favor of Prince Harry in a lawsuit accusing a British tabloid publisher of using illegal methods to report on the private lives of celebrities, athletes, and royalty, including phone hacking and high-level cover-ups.

Israeli military says it mistakenly killed three hostages in the Gaza Strip.
A representative for the Israel Defense Forces said troops found the three Israeli hostages during a ground operation in Gaza Friday, mistakenly identifying them as a threat and opening fire. At least 130 people remain hostage in Gaza after Hamas abducted more than 240 people during its cross-border attack Oct. 7. See latest war updates here.


Federal jury orders Rudy Giuliani to pay $148M to defamed election workers.
A judge in August found the former New York mayor liable for defamation for falsely claiming the two Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss, committed ballot fraud during the 2020 presidential election. In the second phase of the case, the eight-person jury was tasked with determining the monetary amount Giuliani had to pay for damages to Freeman and Moss.


General Motors to lay off 1,300 workers from two Michigan plants.
The layoffs, which will begin in January, are tied to the ending of the production of GM's Chevrolet Camaro and electric Chevrolet Bolt. GM is discontinuing the Camaro—first introduced in 1966—partly due to a decline in sales, while the Bolt is being discontinued partly to make room for next-generation electric vehicles.


Domestic cats hunt or scavenge roughly 2,000 different species, study finds.


"The American Dream" costs roughly $3.4M over a lifetime, analysis estimates.


The number of homeless people in America grew 12% in 2023 to 653,104 people, the highest level since the federal government began keeping records in 2007.

SOURCE:  1440 News

Buddhism

Three Universal Truths

• Everything in life is impermanent and always changing.
• Because nothing is permanent, a life based on possessing things or persons doesn't make you happy.
• There is no eternal, unchanging soul and "self" is just a collection of changing characteristics or attributes.

Four Schools of Buddhism

• Theravada - focuses on the teachings of Buddha
• Mahayana - focuses on the road to enlightenment
• Vajrayana - focuses on tantric practices
• Zen - focuses on meditation to achieve mindfulness

Buddhism concentrates its efforts on:  happiness, peace of mind, joy, mindfulness all of which changes as we grow older.

In North America, South America, and Central America Europe, China, Australia, and parts of the Middle East, we focus our attention on WEALTH and POSSESSIONS.  But, as we age, we change, and when we change those possessions don't mean much anymore...   however, we have wealth, so we buy more and are temporarily happy until we change again.

You may not like to hear this, but Native Americans are closer to the philosophy of Buddha than we are or than we will ever be.

When my wife and I downsized, we threw away 1/2 of what we had.  I had 20+ file boxes full of educational materials that I had acquired during my professional career that I was keeping because it was a part of who I was...  holding onto them meant something.  When we toss everything into the landfill, who I was did not change, because I only threw away the past.

• We don't live in the past.
• We don't live in the future...  at least not yet.
• We live in the present that constantly changes every second.

It is difficult for many of us not to want more and more because that is what we have been taught.  The only people that understand this are the poor people because they have been forced into that realty and have learned to accept their positions in life.  However, if they had an opportunity, they would want more rather than accept what they have.

There was a time in my life where I wanted more and because I wanted more, I made decisions that supported and influenced my thoughts.  I soon discovered that after a while, each one of those decisions never made me feel any better about myself than I had felt before.

Fortunately, retirement puts us all into a position whereby accepting the Buddhist philosophy is more acceptable.

More Than Just Physics

Researchers have highlighted the importance of contextualizing physics education to reflect real-world energy issues. In a recent paper, they discuss how educators are incorporating case studies on power plants to teach students about the broader impacts of energy decisions. Their work emphasizes the need for a holistic approach that considers scientific, ethical, ecological, and cultural factors, encouraging students to participate in informed community decision-making.

Reframing power in terms of social and cultural dynamics enables students to actively participate in their communities.
Large-scale energy generation endeavors are influenced equally by economic and political factors as they are by the availability of natural resources and raw materials. The output of power plants encompasses more than just electricity; it also results in diverse scientific, ethical, ecological, and cultural consequences. These impacts are felt at various levels, from local communities to regional areas, and extend up to state, national, and global dimensions.

Researchers from the University of Washington Bothell and Seattle Pacific University discussed the importance of contextualizing physics principles. In The Physics Teacher, a journal co-published by AIP Publishing and the American Association of Physics Teachers, they outlined how teachers implemented case studies to teach about energy and the realities of power plants.  READ MORE...

Oooopps

 

Signs of Life on MARS

A school science experiment is answering questions that are out of this world. While there had been concerns that any evidence of organic matter on Mars might be obscured by the planet's geology, new research suggests this might not be the case.

A group of budding young researchers has helped to demonstrate how evidence of life on Mars could be found.

Students from St Bernard's Convent High School in Westcliff-On-Sea, Essex, assisted scientists from the Natural History Museum and University College London in an experiment to see what evidence any potential ancient life may have left on the red planet.  READ MORE...

All My Loving

 

DOUBLE STANDARDS in our Justice System

When I was growing up in Alexandria, Virginia, I became aware of the fact that if your parents were financially well off, then the law was applied differently to the children of those financial well-off parents than it was to children of parents who were not financially well-off.

At the time, it did not bother me that much and I just rolled with the punches and took my punishment that the good little soldier I was and kept my mouth shut.

As I got old the double standard in the Justice system pissed me off more and more because that was not the way our legal system was designed to work.  JUSTICE WAS SUPPOSEDLY BLIND.

NOW...  I am 76 years old, a Vietnam Era Veteran, and retired after a working career of 45 years, and I get really mad as an American when I see this double standard.

This double standard in our LEGAL SYSTEM is obvious when DEMOCRATS break the law than when REPUBLICANS break the law.

Before this political division in the Justice System, there was an equally horrific difference in the application of the law between BLACKS and Whites, with the BLACK on the losing end of those unbalanced scales.

In My Humble Opinion, there will always be a difference in our JUSTICE SYSTEM because that is just the way Americans want to be...  

As a result of our American and WIN/LOSE mentality, most everything in our society will in some way embrace this attitude...

For example:  Biological males are competing in women's sports creating a new set of winners and losers which is a form of a non-double standard in a perverted way.

Made in USA

 In the 1970s/1980s, we were buying products where the label on the back said made in USA...  we later discovered that these products were made in USA, Japan...  a town was specially named USA in Japan so they could make that claim...  the public was fooled but not for long.

BUT HERE IS THE DILEMMA...

because American workers are paid more than workers from other parts of the world which also includes paying workers for holidays, vacations, and providing health insurance, the COST OF LABOR is substantially more in the United States than it is in third world countries.

SO...  because of that high COST OF LABOR, American companies decided to manufacture overseas where the labor costs are lower...  as a result, the companies are selling their products at a cheaper cost.

If we want to buy from those companies that manufacture in the United States, then we must get prepared to pay TWICE AS MUCH for that item.

The American consumer is currently bitching about the high cost of FOOD, UTILITIES, and GASOLINE and that they are living from paycheck to paycheck...  

How do you think this same consumer is going to feel if they can only purchase goods that are MADE IN THE UNITED STATES?

I just purchased a replacement female end of an extension cord from Lowes for about $5 and it was made in CHINA...  I would have paid $10-$12 for that some item, if it had been made in the United States...  I can say this honestly because there were some of those items on the shelf and I elected to buy the cheaper one which in my opinion was just as good.

I buy Japanese vehicles because they are manufactured better than vehicles made in the United States.

I've been in auto manufacturing plants in the United States and there is a hatred between management and labor that results in labor getting back at management by not caring that much about their job resulting in poor quality of an important item that goes into our American vehicles.

Most of the companies that manufacture parts for American vehicles are located in the SOUTH because labor costs are lower than in the north.

This is just the type of country that we have grown into becoming...  there is not right or wrong...  it is just the way it is nowadays.

Big Oil Not Worried About Climate Change

London  (CNN) —  Is this the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era? The world’s latest climate deal could be that milestone. But recent events show the oil and gas industry still has a very different vision of the future.

Following marathon talks, the COP28 climate summit in Dubai struck a deal Wednesday that makes the unprecedented call for “transitioning away from fossil fuels.”

Some countries, including the United States, welcomed the firmest-ever commitment to moving away from energy sources responsible for most planet-heating emissions, but critics were quick to point out that the agreement falls far short of requiring the world to “phase-out” oil, coal and gas, a position more than 100 nations had supported.  READ MORE...

Peace of Mind (Joy)

From the very first time we become consciously aware and can articulate our own thoughts, we are put into a situation where all influences push us to WANT MORE...  this idea of wanting more is nothing more than GREED.

As we grow older we want more expensive birthday and Christmas presents.  After high school we go to college because we can earn more with a college degree than with a high school diploma.  Our first job, we want a new car and if married a new house, but the house has got to be bigger than the one we grew up with.

While all of this is taking place, we are inundated with religious indoctrinations that our only course of salvation, redemption, and an afterlife is by accepting Jesus into our lives.

Then, when and if, we retire, we are constantly searching for things to do so that we don't bored, or become too lazy which is not good for either our physical or mental health.

All of a sudden, we find ourselves at 80 years of age; our children are out of the house and on their own, and our grandchildren are old enough not to want to spend that much time with the grandparents.   We might play a little golf; we might go out to dinner with friends; we might go on vacation, and we might invite friends over for a drink and conversation.

BUT...  we wonder about the purpose of life.  We wonder about our purpose in life.  We finally understand that religion does not provide us with any answers, and we begin to doubt if there is any truth in religion or ever was.  We struggle with our own identity because we just don't have any answers and life just seems to be more than what we have experienced so far.

IS THIS ALL THERE IS???

Unfortunately, society has created our anxiety and rather than listen to ourselves, we listened to society.

Some of us on the other hand, did not listen to society and went our own way and was criticized by those around us for not being more ambitious.  However, when we turned 80, there was no anxiety.  

We were comfortable with who we were/are and what we had become.   We were not pushed along by Greed and we accepted a simply lifestyle rather than one that was complex.

In so doing, we achieved HAPPINESS, PEACE OF MIND, and our life was full of JOY because we were alive and appreciated everything around us.  There are still disappointments and heartaches as that is just part of life.

We are content and at ease with ourselves and who we are...  needing very little...  life is what it is and not what you want or try to make of it.

Somewhat Political