Tuesday, January 14
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The 2025 Grammy Awards (Feb. 2) face possible postponement due to Los Angeles wildfires (More) | Jeff Bridges, Paris Hilton, and Billy Crystal among Hollywood stars who have lost homes to wildfires (More)
> Sam Moore, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and one-half of soul duo Sam & Dave, dies at age 89 (More) | Leslie Charleson, actress best known for starring on "General Hospital" for 46 years, dies at age 79 (More)
> Ohio State tops Texas 28-14 in College Football Playoff semifinal, will take on Notre Dame in national championship (Jan. 20) (More) | NFL Wild Card round wraps up tonight; see latest playoff bracket and schedule (More)
Science & Technology
> Blue Origin attempts delays first full launch of New Glenn rocket due to vehicle issues; date of next launch attempt to be determined (More)
> Researchers discover new type of cell in cartilage that acts as "bubble wrap," providing cushioning and structure to surrounding tissue, including making the human nose flexible (More)
> New theory suggests Pluto may have captured its largest moon after a collision billions of years ago; how Charon, almost half the size of Pluto, became trapped in orbit has been a longstanding mystery (More)
Business & Markets
> Markets tumble Friday (S&P 500 -1.5%, Dow -1.6%, Nasdaq -1.6%) as strong jobs report lowers expectations of interest rate cuts (More) | How stock markets work (More)
> Apple antitrust lawsuit begins in the UK today; tech giant faces claims it charges excessive fees on App Store downloads, faces up to $1.8B in fines (More)
> Federal judge rules American Airlines violated federal law by emphasizing environmental, social, and governance principles in investment decisions for employee 401(k) plans (More) | See 1440's overview of 401(k) plans, how they work, and much more (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Special counsel Jack Smith resigns from the Department of Justice; Smith led separate probes into President-elect Donald Trump over alleged election interference and mishandling of classified documents (More) | Senate confirmation hearings for Trump nominees begin this week; see schedule (More)
> Israel sends David Barnea, director of the country's Mossad intelligence service, to Qatar to join Gaza ceasefire talks (More) | See updates on war in maps and charts (More)
> Winter storm brings freezing temperatures, multiple inches of snow across the US South from Texas to Georgia; more than 10,000 flights canceled or delayed over the weekend (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
The Limits of Nostalgia & Being Nostalgic
Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word nostalgia is learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of νόστος (nóstos), meaning "homecoming", a Homeric word, and ἄλγος (álgos), meaning "pain, ache", and was coined by a 17th-century medical student to describe the anxieties displayed by Swiss mercenaries fighting away from home. Described as a medical condition—a form of melancholy—in the Early Modern period, it became an important trope in Romanticism.
Nostalgia can refer to a general interest in the past, its personalities, and events, especially the "good old days" from earlier in one's life. The scientific literature on nostalgia usually refers to nostalgia regarding the personal life and has mainly studied the effects of nostalgia induced during the studies. Smell and touch are strong evokers of nostalgia due to the processing of these stimuli first passing through the amygdala, the emotional seat of the brain. These recollections of one's past are usually important events, people one cares about, and places where one has spent time. Music and weather can also be strong triggers of nostalgia. Nostalgic preferences, the belief that the past was better than is the present, has been linked to biases in memory.
So, if we are nostalgic or being nostalgic then we are expressing a sentimentality for the past...
But is this a good thing?
At 77 years old, I oftentimes (since I am retired) reflect upon previous years and sometimes those
reflections are received fondly and sometimes they are not.
1. My childhood was not a fond reflection
2. My high school years were a fond reflection
3. My college years were not a fond reflection
4. My time in the military was not a fond reflections
5. My first marriage was not a fond reflection
6. Various aspects of my career employment were not fond reflections
So, if we are nostalgic or being nostalgic then we are expressing a sentimentality for the past...
But is this a good thing?
At 77 years old, I oftentimes (since I am retired) reflect upon previous years and sometimes those
reflections are received fondly and sometimes they are not.
1. My childhood was not a fond reflection
2. My high school years were a fond reflection
3. My college years were not a fond reflection
4. My time in the military was not a fond reflections
5. My first marriage was not a fond reflection
6. Various aspects of my career employment were not fond reflections
What this little analysis tells me that there is only one area of my life with which being nostalgic
would not be a problem for me... but, if I were to spend too much time reflecting upon that period of my life that was never replicated... would I feel good about those reflections or bad?
Perhaps being nostalgic is not the way to go for me or for others who are like me... and perhaps nostalgic journeys to my negative past might help me better appreciate what I have now?
While this may seem that I am being a little too critical of not having an enjoyable life, let me say that there were many events in my life that were extremely happy, productive, and fulfilling but if I look back on them in a general way, they were more negative than positive.
...Continued Tomorrow...
Entangle Light and Sound
The quantum entanglement of particles is now an established art. You take two or more unmeasured particles and correlate them in such a way that their properties blur and mirror each other. Measure one and the other's corresponding properties lock into place, instantaneously, even when separated by a wide distance.
In new research, physicists have theorized a bold way to change it up by entangling two particles of very different kinds – a unit of light, or a photon, with a phonon, the quantum equivalent of a wave of sound.
Physicists Changlong Zhu, Claudiu Genes, and Birgit Stiller of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Germany have called their proposed new system optoacoustic entanglement. READ MORE...
Monday, January 13
Plan for the FUTURE
I have often wondered why people who are not wealthy want to spend money on items that makes them feel like they are wealthy, causing them typically to sink deeper into debt?
Most of us realize, early on in our lives, if we are going to be in the top 10-1% of those Americans that are or that will be or become wealthy. We just know it or feel it in our bones.
Wealthy people have expensive homes, cars, and clothes but they do not become asshole deep in debt to own these assets. They have the money to pay them off whenever they feel the urge they need to do this.
However, those of us who pretend to be wealthy, hardly ever pay off these debts; instead, they just keep increasing their debt.
Why does making it appear to your neighbors that you are wealthy make so much difference to Americans?
There is a desire among Americans to live your life better than your parents lived their life, I understand that, but it is not the same thing as going into debt that you will never pay off to achieve that. WHO CARES???
My wife and I paid off our debt 20 years ago and have been living debt free ever since. Two years ago, we downsized to a smaller house to further cut expenses and the physical strain on our bodies to take care of a larger house and yard.
We put as much of our money into savings so that we will always have more money to pay our expenses as they increase but to also take care of unexpected expenses.
We are happy and content and want for nothing although, we have also accepted a simple lifestyle which makes a difference as well.
You should give serious thought to what you want your future to look like and start planning for that as young as you can...
Negative Time
Negative time is a peculiar quirk of quantum mechanics, like the possibility of an object being in two places at one time (think: Schrodinger’s cat) or two particles existing in the same state when far apart (aka quantum entanglement). Quantum mechanics is the world of atoms, electrons, and photons and at times, can appear to be at odds with what we see in the world around us. As for negative time, it refers to a period of time that is less than zero.
The concept was explored earlier this year by scientists at the University of Toronto. As IFLScience reported at the time, researchers released a study on the preprint server arXiv (meaning it is yet to be peer-reviewed) that demonstrates how objects can emit light in so-called negative time. The piece of research involved looking at how long it takes a pulse of light to travel through a cloud of atoms.
As light passes through the cloud, the atoms temporarily absorb the photons, triggering an “excited” state before releasing the photons. The team measured the amount of time atoms remained in this excited state. Curiously, there were instances where the time was negative, i.e. less than zero. READ MORE...
Sunday, January 12
In The NEWS
US hiring in December surges past economists' expectations.
The US labor market ended 2024 with robust job growth, adding 256,000 jobs in December and surpassing forecasts of 155,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% month-over-month and 3.9% year-over-year. Analysts say the data suggest continued economic strength and may provide the Federal Reserve less incentive to cut interest rates this year. See all data here.
Constellation Energy agrees to buy Calpine for roughly $16B.
The cash-and-stock transaction values Calpine at nearly $27B when including debt and creates the largest clean energy provider in the US. The acquisition combines Constellation's nuclear expertise with Calpine's natural gas and geothermal assets while expanding Constellation's presence in markets like Texas and California—America's two most populous, energy-consuming states.
US Supreme Court appears likely to uphold federal TikTok law.
Supreme Court justices on Friday appeared to lean toward upholding a federal law ordering TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to either divest the video-sharing app or face a national ban. Justices signaled the primary concern was national security issues related to the app's Chinese ownership and said because the law targets its foreign owner, TikTok may not be able to claim First Amendment protections.
US announces $25M reward for arrest of Venezuela's president.
The US imposed new sanctions on high-ranking Venezuelan officials and increased the reward for information leading to President Nicolás Maduro's arrest to $25M, coinciding with Maduro's third-term inauguration following a disputed election. The sanctions include visa restrictions. The Biden administration also extended temporary protected status for certain Venezuelan migrants in the US.
Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket to attempt first orbital flight tomorrow.
Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' aerospace company, is set to launch its New Glenn rocket tomorrow from Cape Canaveral, Florida, marking its long-awaited debut after more than a decade of development. The launch, initially intended for 2020, will carry a test version of Blue Origin's Blue Ring spacecraft platform and aims to validate its communications and tracking capabilities during a six-hour mission.
Global temperature rise breached 1.5 degrees Celsius for first time in 2024.
Last year was Earth's hottest year on record since preindustrial times, with global temperatures temporarily surpassing a critical 1.5 degrees Celsius warming threshold set in a 2015 internationally agreed-upon pact. See an overview of the benchmark here. See data from scientists here.
Traits of Successful eople
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Successful people have a variety of traits, including:
- Persistence: They don't give up easily and use setbacks as motivation to keep going.
- Resilience: They can get back up when they fall and are able to overcome challenges.
- Positive attitude: They maintain an optimistic outlook and view obstacles as opportunities for growth.
- Goal setting: They set specific, challenging, and achievable goals.
- Discipline: They are highly disciplined and dedicated to their craft.
- Creativity: They are imaginative and can see the potential in something others would pass by.
- Adaptability: They can excel in adapting to changing circumstances.
- Patience: They are able to deal with delays and obstacles without becoming stressed or frustrated.
- Curiosity: They have a desire to learn and understand new things.
- Confidence: They believe in themselves and their abilities.
- Passion: They are motivated by their work.
- Focus: They have a clear plan and concise objectives.
- Integrity: They have integrity.
- Willingness to learn: They are willing to learn.
- Responsibility: They are responsible.
- Self-reliance: They are self-reliant.
Effort
Talent
A bit of luck
I remember someone telling me that they do not believe in LUCK because of the following statement:
LUCK FAVORS THE PREPARED
However, you can plan all you want but sometimes you are simply in the right place at the right time.
Regardless of all of philosophical mumbo jumbo, it will not hurt anyone, who wants to be successful, to pay attention to the above 16 points and incorporate them into your personality and behavior plans for the future...
Dark Energy Does Not Exist NOW
One of the biggest mysteries in science—dark energy—doesn't actually exist, according to researchers looking to solve the riddle of how the universe is expanding.
Their analysis has been published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters.
For the past 100 years, physicists have generally assumed that the cosmos is growing equally in all directions. They employed the concept of dark energy as a placeholder to explain unknown physics they couldn't understand, but the contentious theory has always had its problems.
Now a team of physicists and astronomers at the university of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand are challenging the status quo, using improved analysis of supernovae light curves to show that the universe is expanding in a more varied, "lumpier" way. READ MORE...
Saturday, January 11
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Notre Dame tops Penn State 27-24 to advance to college football national championship; Texas takes on Ohio State tonight (7:30 pm ET, ESPN) in the other semifinal matchup (More) | NFL postseason kicks off tomorrow with the Wild Card round (More)
> "Wicked" hauls in $70M in its first week of video-on-demand sales, a record for a Universal release (More) | WWE's "Monday Night Raw" brings in 2.6 million US viewers in its Netflix debut, more than double their 2024 average (More)
> NBA postpones Los Angeles Lakers-Charlotte Hornets game last night due to wildfires; Lakers head coach JJ Redick loses home in fire (More) | Actress Jamie Lee Curtis donates $1M to fire relief efforts (More)
Science & Technology
> Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin delays first launch of its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket from early this morning to Sunday; see updates here (More)
> New study suggests the outer ear structure of mammals evolved from the gills of ancient fishes and marine invertebrates (More)
> Researchers engineer two new CRISPR enzymes that operate without triggering an immune system response; results may lead to safer, more efficient gene editing technologies (More) | How CRISPR splices and dices our genes (More)
Business & Markets
> December US jobs report to be released today; economists expect a gain of 155,000 jobs, down from 227,000 jobs in November, with the unemployment rate forecast to hold steady at 4.2% (More)
> Kroger to pay $110M to settle Kentucky lawsuit accusing the supermarket chain's pharmacies of helping to fuel the opioid epidemic between 2006 and 2019 (More) | Dive deeper into opioids, including how the drug works (More)
> JCPenny merges with Sparc Group, owner of brands including Aéropostale and Brooks Brothers, to form new joint venture called Catalyst Brands (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> President-elect Donald Trump faces sentencing in New York today in criminal hush money case; he was found guilty in May for falsifying business records to cover up payments made to Stormy Daniels in run-up to the 2016 election (More)
> Accused mastermind of 9/11 attacks scheduled to plead guilty today in war court on Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba; details of plea deal haven't been publicly released but include avoiding the death penalty (More)
> Lebanon's army chief, Joseph Aoun, elected as country's president after 12 failed attempts to fill the role since October 2022, when the former president's term ended (More) | Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado arrested following antigovernment protests on eve of President Nicolás Maduro's inauguration (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Fascism in America
What is FASCISM?
Fascism is a far-right form of government in which most of the country's power is held by one ruler or a small group, under a single party. Fascist governments are usually totalitarian and authoritarian one-party states.
Let's break this down...
- Far right thinking
- Dictator
- Single party
- Nationalism
- Militarism
- No Individual interest
What this tells me is that there is:
- No Congress
- No Constitution
- No State Governors/legislators
- No Supreme Court/Judges
- Govt owns all business
- Complete military control
- Individuals own nothing
Of course, this is my opinion and interpretation of the above definitions, so I might be off a little bit, but most of what I think is probably accurate.
Therefore, I would conclude that FASCISM CANNOT EXIST IN AMERICA...
Yes, it is true that our current govt on Jan 20, 2025, leans to the far right and is somewhat influenced by wealth but wealth has influenced politics for decades. Wealth has never been POTUS so that is new.
NON-LIBERAL VIEWS are always seen as being on the far right of politics, but we are not financially prepared to become a totally liberal focused nation.
Our liberal views and social programs are financed by Capitalism... and yes, it is true that Capitalism creates multimillionaires and billionaires, but it is Capitalism that is totally responsible for our quality of life.
Billionaires are allowed by Congress to shelter their money away from taxes because they created Capitalism and their taxes could finance additional social programs but so far Congress has said no to that.
Still, there is little indication that there is little to no FASCISM in America.
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