Man Saves Bear

 

Sixteen Tons

 

American Eduction

 Over the last 50 years (going back to 1974) the average GPA for college graduates was C+/B- and now it is B+/A-...

• Have Americans gotten smarter?
• Are high schools doing a better job of teaching and helping student retain information?

Two interesting questions...

FIFTY YEARS AGO (1974) American education was rated NUMBER ONE in the world.  Today, that same education is rated 15th/17th depending upon which study you read.

If American education is declining in high school then how can the grades of college graduates be increasing?

Logically, this should not be happening and yet it is which means that today's college education is being WATERED DOWN to accommodate these weak performing students.  In many cases, college professors are not assigning grades (pass/fail) or they have lowered their standards.

Consequently, these college graduates are being hired by our businesses and industries and have no retention or very little retention of knowledge.

• What does this mean for our economy?
• Will America be able to compete in the global marketplace?

Again, two interesting questions...

But, here is a more interesting question:  

• If you owned a company, who would you hire, an American college graduate or a humanoid robot with artificial intelligence?

My guess is that you would hire the robot, especially since they do not smoke, drink alcohol, take illegal drugs, need vacation leave or sick leave and do not get pregnant, have heart attacks or contract cancer.

So, one would suspect that a college education costs $30,000 a year and just getting a bachelor's degree is not enough, so now one needs a master's degree or another 1-2 years.

Therefore, student loans (on average) are going to be around $150,000...

It does not take a rocket scientist to see that going to college may not be what high school graduates should do.

Somewhat Political

 

Humanoid Robots in South Carolina

Shiny, silver human-shaped robots the size of lightweight boxers are getting ready to start shuffling their way through BMW’s US factory floors. The carmaker recently reached a commercial agreement with the robotics startup Figure to bring its eponymously named “general purpose” humanoid robot to BMW’s manufacturing facilities, starting with its Spartanburg, South Carolina location. 

The agreement puts BMW in a race with Tesla and other automakers who’ve embraced a vision of humanoid robots in an effort to further automate their already tech-filled facilities. It’s clear the robots are coming, but nobody really seems to know exactly what to do with them just yet.   READ MORE...

Afterlife

 

In The NEWS

Apple's Vision Pro headset launches in the US today, the company's first major product release since the Apple Watch debuted in April 2015. Starting at $3,500, the headset boasts compatibility with more than 1 million apps and games, including Disney+, PGA Tour Vision, and Microsoft 365 productivity tools.


Scientists pinpoint why women are at much higher risk of autoimmune disorders than men; a process known as X chromosome inactivation, meant to throttle the activity of the second X chromosome, can trigger an immune system response (More)


AI researchers demonstrate language model trained on film captured by a headcam attached to a single infant; approach may shed light on how children learn to speak and understand language (More)


Study suggests clownfish may have the ability to count; research finds fish determine who is friendly or a potential threat based on the number of white strips exhibited (More)


Biden administration issues sanctions against Israeli settlers involved in violence with Palestinians in the West Bank (More) | West Bank 101 (More) | See updates on the Israel-Hamas war (More)


European Union to launch mission to protect commercial vessels in the Red Sea from Houthi militia attacks within the next three weeks (More) | EU separately agrees to $54B in aid to Ukraine, as Ukrainian government says its military is nearly out of basic military supplies (More)


First of two atmospheric rivers moves through California, with storms expected to bring threats of flooding across the state and add up to 5 feet of snowpack in the Sierra Nevada (More)

SOURCE:  1440 News

Pray with me for Trump's Presidential Loss in 2024

Let me state up front that praying for Trump to lose the election, is using pray to God in the wrong way.  I selected the title as an attention grabber...

With that said, let me share with you my feelings about who should win the 2024 election and who should not.

TRUMP SHOULD NOT WIN

My first inclination was hoping Trump would win because of all the shit that has been thrown at him in order to keep him from winning.  I find this totally irresponsible and believe it would be something I might read about happening in China or Russia,

However, after careful consideration of all the facts and analyzing the unintended consequences of this 2024 Presidential election, I am a firm believer that TRUMP SHOULD LOSE.

WHY?

Not getting what you want is a tragedy.

Getting what you want oftentimes is a worse tragedy.

SPOCK once said:  "Wanting is not as pleasing as having."

I am 76 years old and while there is not much I have not seen; I believe it is time to turn this country over to the younger generation that DOES NOT WANT TRUMP.

The younger generation as I understand them want:

1. Socialism as a form of government
2. Censorship of information
3. Open Borders
4. Slavery Reparations
5. A WOKE culture
6. Defund the police
7. To eliminate white supremacists
8. A weak military
9. To be controlled by China and Russia
10. To continue to increase the national debt
11. Free Education with no exams or grades
12. To work when they damn well please
13. To exterminate all JEWS and Christians
14. To abort their pregnancies at will
15. Green energy regardless of the cost

 It is my belief therefore that Trump should lose and Biden/Harris should win in 2024.  In fact, I don't expect Biden to finish another four years, so I am perfectly willing to let Kamala Harris become president without a general election.

Our country needs to see how well this country will be managed once it is totally in the hands of the younger generation...  and the SOONER THE BETTER...

Somewhat Political

 

Improving Decontamination of Water

Plasma is an ionized gas—that is, a gas containing electrons, ions, atoms, molecules, radicals, and photons. It is often called the fourth state of matter, and surprisingly, it permeates everything. Plasmas, which are artificially generated by transmitting energy to a gas, are found in the fluorescent tubes that light kitchens, but they have also allowed mobile phones to become smaller and smaller.    READ MORE...

Mississippi Queen

 

Astaire and Powell

 

Chinese Alibaba Gains Wealth

Jan 2 (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group (9988.HK) said on Tuesday it had repurchased a total of 897.9 million of its shares for $9.5 billion during 2023.

The shares were bought in both the U.S. and Hong Kong stock markets, the company said in a filing. The e-commerce giant said the remaining amount the company's Board had authorized for its share repurchase program, which is effective through March 2025, was $11.7 billion.

"Our share repurchase program resulted in a net reduction of 3.3% in our outstanding shares in the last 12 months after accounting for shares issued under our ESOP (employee stock ownership plan)," the company said.

Alibaba had 20 billon outstanding shares as of Dec. 31, compared with 29.7 billion at the end of 2022.

Somewhat Political

 

TRUMP off Ballot

Recently, I have read articles where retired judges and historians have made pleas to the SUPREME COURT to remove Trump from the 2024 Ballot because of the insurrection he allegedly caused.

While these judges and historians are well educated and experienced, they are forgetting one important facet of AMERICAN JUSTICE...

INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN QUILTY BY A JURY OF YOUR PEERS

Without that stipulation, we would be like other communist countries and dictatorships where if the ruling party's enemies are causing problems, they are simply prevented from entering the competition, imprisoned, and or some cases KILLED.

50% of the people believe Trump is guilty

50% of the people believe Trump is innocent

Now, based upon what these retired judges and historians have to say, should we:

• Remove Joe Biden from the Presidency because it is perceived he is corrupt and a Chinese puppet by 50% of the people?
• Kick Nancy Pelosi out of congress because 50% of the people believe she got wealthy from insider trading of stocks?
• Stop MSNBC from operating as a news agency as a result of not airing Trump's acceptance speech and 50% of the people believe they are censoring news from the general public?

I applaud these judge and historians coming forward and sharing their feelings, but because they want to violate a basic judicial principle, leads me to wonder if they are someone we can believe.

Find Trump guilty in a court of law by a jury of his peers (not a biased court or a biased jury) and I would be the first to say throw the SOB in jail...

Train Kick

 

Creating Tee Tiny Objects Using Light

Engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology say they have developed a breakthrough method for printing incredibly small metallic nanostructures using the power of light. While some methods to accomplish this same task currently exist, they are slow and cumbersome, preventing their use at any viable commercial scale.

The engineers believe that their method, referred to as superluminescent light projection, represents a breakthrough that could enable revolutionary technological advancements in a wide range of industrial, commercial, and scientific applications, including advances in nanotechnology.  READ MORE...

The Wind Cries Mary

 

When I'm SIXTY-FOUR

 

Not Enough Military Power for China to Invade Taiwan

A new survey of leading experts from the US and Taiwan casts doubt on China's ability to invade Taiwan with its current military strength.

The survey, released on Monday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, gathered opinions from 52 US experts in November and December last year.

These included people with extensive experience in the US government, academics, and think-tank experts who had testified in Congress before, the center said.

And only 27% of them said they strongly or somewhat agreed the People's Liberation Army had the might to pull off an amphibious invasion, per the report.     READ MORE...

Somewhat Political

 

February 1, 2024

 What does this new month bring to us?

Well, it's not really good news except for the price of gasoline is down and that is because we are producing enough at home instead of buying from OPEC.

Other than gasoline prices, we have:

• a slow growing economy
• higher grocery prices
• higher prices for other items
• illegal immigration issues
• illegal drug issues
• increasing crime in cities
• uncertainty about WWIII happening
• Iran and North Korea gaining nuclear capabilities
• growing anti-Jewish sentiments
• a divided country
• a weaponized DOJ
• two tier justice system
• a growing global anti-American behavior

What bothers me more than anything is that we have EXTREMELY OLD elected officials in Congress in both the House and the Senate and in both parties:  Democrat and Republican.

These older politicians see the world through old eyes and with preconceived ideas that are no longer that valid.  The demographic of the USA is changing, and our elected officials need to change as well.  These new politicians need to create a NEW AMERICA...

This NEW AMERICA may not be the America that I want, but what us old folks wants is rather irrelevant wouldn't you say?  The younger generation want:

1. Socialism
2. Government Handouts
3. Open borders
4. Free education
5. A 20-hour work week
6. To be high on illegal drugs
7. A one-party LIBERAL government
8. China and Russia to control the world
9. A weak military, no police, or national defense
10. No protection against terrorism
11. The wealthy to pay for everything
12. A green society regardless of the cost

Insane

 

Ripples in Spacetime

Today, ESA’s Science Program Committee approved the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission, the first scientific endeavor to detect and study gravitational waves from space.

This important step, formally called ‘adoption’, recognizes that the mission concept and technology are sufficiently advanced, and gives the go-ahead to build the instruments and spacecraft. This work will start in January 2025 once a European industrial contractor has been chosen.

LISA is not just one spacecraft but a constellation of three. They will trail Earth in its orbit around the Sun, forming an exquisitely accurate equilateral triangle in space. Each side of the triangle will be 2.5 million km long (more than six times the Earth-Moon distance), and the spacecraft will exchange laser beams over this distance. The launch of the three spacecraft is planned for 2035, on an Ariane 6 rocket.     READ MORE..., 

The Speech

 

Born to be WILD

 

New Yacht Doubles as a Submarine

A traditional yacht won’t do anymore. Now you need one that can dive deep underwater.

Migaloo is now taking orders for a luxury submersible superyacht called the M5 that most multi-billionaires can only dream of owning. The company is asking 10 figures for the seacraft limiting its clientele to the richest of the rich.

The M5 is for the multi-billionaire who doesn’t want to just cruise the seven seas, but wants to see what’s underneath them as well. The seacraft measures 544 feet end to end and is 75 feet wide, giving it enough room for a maximum of 20 guests and 40 crew members. It has a range of more than 9,300 miles and can travel at speeds of up to 20 knots when surfaced and 12 knots underwater. It can also descend to a depth of 820 feet and then stay there for up to four weeks.   READ MORE...

Somewhat Political

 

Inflation, Wages, Cost of Living

 In 2021, when Joe Biden became President, his actions cause wholesale inflation to take place, and while gasoline prices have come down a little, most all other prices have not.

What this means for the general public is that their wages and/or salaries are just barely able to cover their monthly expenses.  Consequently, most workers start demanding or strike for high wages if a union is involved.  After several months of back-and-forth bullshit, a higher wage is agreed upon and everyone gets back to work, expecting they are now in a better financial position.

WRONG!!!

What these wages earners fail to realize is that, once your wages increase, then the worker's share of health insurance also increases.  If the wage increase is high enough, you are now in a higher tax bracket and more money is withheld from your check.

BUT, THAT AIN'T ALL...

Many but not all employers LAY OFF PEOPLE to compensate for the higher wage expenses they have to pay.

However, many employers, but not all, will keep their workforce at the current level and simply raise prices.

A rise in prices will cause the consumer to seek out SUBSTITUTES that are cheaper and almost just as good.

Once there is a decline in sales, the company will close down that division and lay off workers.

My example is based upon one company which is considered MICROECONOMICS, but when you look at a bunch of companies in a geographic area or MACROECONOMICS, then what you have is a general INCREASE IN THE COST OF LIVING.

Companies will not give up their profits because they are forced to pay high wages, especially if they are a publicly traded company and sell stock.  If they sell stock, then they answer to the STOCKHOLDERS and could care less about employees.

Most companies see the workers as a necessary expense that is easily replaced like XEROX paper or file folders.  The people that they really want to hold onto are:

Middle and Upper Management

• Before COVID, I was paying less that $2.00/gallon of gasoline.  Today, I pay $2.50 but it was over $3.
• Before COVID, I paid $8.99 for an everything omelet.  Today, I pay $14.99.
• Before COVID, I paid $11.95 for an 8oz Salmon with rice, broccoli, and a fully loaded baked potato.  Today, I pay $17.95.

These three examples are responsible for the COST OF LIVING in my area of TN.  Some wages have increased while others have not.  But there are several fine restaurants like Red Lobster, for instance, that have gone from a loaded parking lot to a parking lot three quarter's empty because they cannot find people to work for them.

Before the end of 2024, I suspect this Red Lobster will close it doors.

This type of action is happening all over this area, and it started with COVID, then inflation, then increased wages, then an increase in the cost of living.

Workers need more money...  I understand that...  but each time to get more money other negative things happen when they do, and life is never the same and the average worker NEVER GETS AHEAD.

A View from the Other Side of the Fence

I worked hard for over 50 years….I need to rant for just a moment. I'm getting old and I’ve worked hard all my life. I have created my reputation and legacy, the good and the bad, I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I have worked hard to get where I am in life. I have juggled my job, my family, and made many sacrifices up front to secure a life for my family. It wasn’t always easy and still isn't, but I did it all while maintaining my integrity and my principles. I made mistakes and tried to learn from them. I have friends of every walk of life and if you’re in my circle, it should be understood that I don’t have to remind you of what I’d be willing to do for you.

However....I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. People who have sacrificed nothing and feel entitled to receive everything.

I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it themselves.

I'm really tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate nor question, but formulated by $$ millionaires striving to fool the public and become $$ billionaires.

I'm really tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of all parties talk like their opinions matter to the common man. I’m tired of any of them even pretending they can relate to the life and bank account that I have.

I'm tired of people with a life-long displayed sense of entitlement.

I’m upset that I’m labelled a racist because I am proud of my heritage. I never stole anyone's land.

I’m tired of being told I need to accept the latest fad or politically correct stupidity or befriending a group that’s intent on killing me because I won’t convert to their point of view. I don't believe in a 3rd, 4th or 5th sexual orientation, they simply have earned and deserve an 'it'.

I'm really tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. Especially the ones that want me to fund them. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination, or big-whatever for their problems.

Yes, I'm really tired. But, I'm also glad to be in the twilight of my life. Because mostly, I'm not going to have to see the wretched, depressing world these useless idiots are creating. And lastly, because I have been shouting from an apple box or a rooftop, no one has listened or seemed to give a damn, so, "You reap what you sow, and so do your children".

No one is entitled to anything. You have a choice to work, a choice to stay off drugs, a choice to make something of yourself. I have nothing to do with your choice. That's all on you. You are entitled to what you earn.

There is no way these thoughts will be widely publicized, unless each of us sends it on! Surely, the politically correct police censors will try to quiet us, but can't erase the engraved labelling on my headstone ...."OLE ROSIE"