Saturday, February 15
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The 2025 NBA All-Star Game is set for Sunday (8 pm ET, TNT); will feature four-team mini-tournament for first time (More) | NASCAR Cup Series kicks off this Sunday (2:30 pm ET, Fox) with the 67th Daytona 500 (More)
> Closing arguments begin in rapper A$AP Rocky's felony assault trial (More) | CBS, Comedy Central, and MTV among more than 20 channels that could go dark on YouTube TV amid contract dispute with the streamer (More)
> New York Jets parting ways with four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers after he played just one full season with the team (More) | More than 1 million people expected to attend Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl parade this morning (More)
Science & Technology
> The Boring Company announces deal to build 10-mile-long underground tunnel in Dubai; Elon Musk-owned company built and operates similar project under Las Vegas (More) | Musk says he'll withdraw $97B offer for OpenAI nonprofit arm if organization gives up for-profit plans (More) | OpenAI 101 (1440 Topics)
> Engineers decode electrical signals between the nervous system and hand movement, use patterns to create robotic movement that feels human-like (More)
> New study suggests birds, reptiles, and mammals each developed complex brain circuitry independently despite sharing a common ancestor (More) | Thirteen examples of convergent evolution (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +1.0%, Dow +0.8%, Nasdaq +1.5%) (More) | President Donald Trump signs memo directing federal agencies to examine how to adjust US tariff rates to match import taxes imposed by other countries (More)
> Robinhood shares close up 14% after beating Q4 estimates; quarterly revenue rose 115% year over year (More) | Coinbase shares close up over 8% after reporting biggest quarterly revenue in three years due to postelection crypto rally (More)
> US household debt—including credit cards, mortgages, and other loans—reaches all-time high of $18T, per report from Federal Reserve Bank of New York; total credit card balances stand at record-high $1.2T (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed as health secretary in 52-48 Senate vote (More) | Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith (D) won't seek reelection, is second Senate Democrat to retire ahead of 2026 midterm elections (More) | Federal judge halts executive order seeking to end funding for gender-affirming youth care (More)
> At least 30 people injured in Munich, Germany, after driver rams into labor union demonstration; suspect—a 24-year-old Afghan asylum-seeker—is in custody (More)
> Hamas says it is ready to resume releasing hostages in Gaza this weekend, following talks in Cairo, as long as Israel holds up its end of ceasefire deal (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Advertising
Our society has grown dependent on marketing and advertising techniques to convince us what or what not to buy.
If you watch cable shows, listen to music, or read magazines/newspapers, or spend time online visiting websites, you are constantly bombarded by advertising and marketing gimmicks attempting to convince you to buy a particular product or service.
All movies offered by HULU, PRIME, and NETFLIX for example, will charge a higher fee if you want to eliminate commercials... One way or the other, these forums must find a way to earn money to stay in business. Advertising revenues allows them to do that.
From my stan.dpoint, I either leave the chair when the commercials are on or I ignore them. Others are not like that and look forward to the commercials to see what they can buy next... not sure why they do that other than if you buy stuff, you convince yourself that you are wealthy.
WEALTHY PEOPLE DON"T SPEND THEIR MONEY LIKE THAT...
THEY ARE MORE CONSERVATIVE WITH THEIR SPENDING THAN YOU MIGHT IMAGINE...
Dark Matter and Gravity
- Out there in the Universe, it isn’t just normal matter that’s present, but dark matter as well: a mysterious, invisible substance that, as far as we can tell, gravitates, but doesn’t interact through any other means.
- When we look at the gravitational effects that massive objects have on space, we find dark matter forms a diffuse, halo-and-filament-like network of structure.
- Normal matter, however, collapses into stars, galaxies, planets, and much more. If dark matter gravitates, and does so the same as normal matter does, then what prevents it from collapsing?
Here in our Universe, it may be the normal matter that we can directly detect, measure, manipulate, experiment with, and observe, but it’s the dark matter that represents most of the mass in the Universe.
Whereas all the “stuff” that the planets, stars, gas, plasma, and dust are composed of represents about 4.9% of the total energy in the Universe, the mysterious dark matter — whose nature is unknown but for which the observational astrophysical evidence is overwhelming — makes up a whopping 27% of the cosmic energy budget.
Only dark energy, making up 68% of the Universe, is more important from an energy density perspective. READ MORE...
Friday, February 14
Sprinting Trump
What amazes me when I think about what is going on in WashDC is how fast President Trump is moving on his MAGA agenda.
I have my doubts as to HOW GREAT Trump can make America because I really believe our GREATNESS has come and gone. However, Trump disagrees with me along with all of his cabinet appointees.
Trump learned his lessons about WASHDC and the SWAMP during his first term in office. Now, he is moving like a bat out of hell, because he knows he will probably lose the House in 2026. He also knows that after 2026, Congress is going to pretty much see him as a LAME DUCK.
To underscore my comments about speed, click on the below link...
Carville admits Trump’s fast pace is leaving Democrats reeling: ‘We are overwhelmed’
This whole presidency thing with Trump has been fascinating to watch from his campaigning to election night to his first few weeks in office.
- No one expected him to win
- Everyone thought the criminal charges would stop in
- His cabinet is being confirmed at an accelerated pace
- His executive orders are turning DC upside down
- Democrats are spending thousands on legal fees to stop him
- Most of the cases will be ruled in Trump's favor
This will go down as one for the HISTORY BOOKS
Jeff Koons Artist
Jeffrey Lynn Koons (/kuːnz/; born January 21, 1955) is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror-finish surfaces. He lives and works in both New York City and his hometown of York, Pennsylvania. His works have sold for substantial sums, including at least two record auction prices for a work by a living artist: US$58.4 million for Balloon Dog (Orange) in 2013[2] and US$91.1 million for Rabbit in 2019.
Critics come sharply divided in their views of Koons. Some view his work as pioneering and of major art-historical importance. Others dismiss his work as kitsch, crass, and based on cynical self-merchandising. Koons has stated that there are no hidden meanings or critiques in his works.
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Mariah Carey, Oasis, and Outkast headline the list of 14 nominees for the 2025 class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (More) | Super Bowl LIX pulls in record $800M in ad revenue for Fox Corp. (More)
> Sean "Diddy" Combs files $100M defamation lawsuit against NBCUniversal, claiming false allegations against Combs in a documentary that premiered in January on Peacock (More)
> President Donald Trump named chair of Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in unanimous vote by newly appointed board of trustees; vote comes one week after Trump removed Democratic members of the board (More)
Science & Technology
> Underwater observatory detects the most energetic neutrino to date; known as the "ghost particle," an estimated 10 trillion neutrinos pass through your body every second (More) | Neutrinos 101 (More)
> Sea turtles create mental maps of Earth's magnetic field to help guide them to foraging areas, study finds; the animals also "dance" when sensing food-related magnetic fields (More)
> Engineers develop functioning, fully 3D-printed spray engine at much lower cost than existing technology; devices are used to propel crafts like small satellites through space (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.3%, Dow -0.5%, Nasdaq +0.0%) as US 10-year Treasury yield rises above 4.6% after hotter-than-expected inflation data (More) | Core consumer price index rose 0.4% month over month and 3.3% year over year in January (More) | The history of inflation in the US (1440 Topics)
> Chevron to lay off between 15% and 20% of its global workforce, or as many as 9,000 people, by end of 2026; move is part of efforts to cut costs by between $2B and $3B and comes amid pending $53B acquisition of Hess Corp. (More)
> Olipop prebiotic soda valued at $1.85B after raising $50M in latest funding round (More) | NYSE Chicago to reincorporate in Texas, rebrand as NYSE Texas (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Eight inspectors general sue the Trump administration for allegedly violating federal law by terminating a group of government watchdogs last month without notifying Congress (More) | Judge allows federal worker buyout plan to proceed (More)
> More than 90 million people under winter weather advisories or warnings as snowstorms sweep across US Midwest and East Coast; Chicago, Detroit, and Kansas City, Missouri, among places to be hit with largest snowfall (More)
> US Coast Guard releases recording thought to be the sound of 2023 Titanic submersible implosion (More) | See previous write-up (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Valentines
We celebrate Valentines once a year on this day... by giving our sweetheart, a card, candy, and roses (or some kind of bouquet of flowers). We do not really know where the tradition started or why and don't really care, because we observe it nonetheless.
Ever since graduating from high school, I have been of the opinion that I could not only write my own valentine's poem better than any card that I could find, but it would also save me money in the process, because a poem would substitute for card, candy, and roses.
During my two marriages (the second one is still active), I have written a poem for Valentines. The one below is the one I gave my second wife this year.
VALENTINES 2025
A gift of greeting this day represents
for old and young alike they say,
A sweetheart chosen by many
others just an infatuation perhaps...
Those of us who have lived a while
see not the gift or greeting or sweetheart
but the person with whom we have spent
over one third of our lives and with
whom we have loved and continue to love,
With whom we have disagreed and with
whom we have shared the best of life
and the negative side of life as well...
We see the partner with whom we have
built our life and future and with whom
we see at first light when we awake,
We see the person with whom we share
our soul, our hopes, fears and happiness,
valentines are perpetual for us or not at all...
Quantum Machine Simulaton
Physicists have performed a simulation they say sheds new light on an elusive phenomenon that could determine the ultimate fate of the universe.
Pioneering research in quantum field theory around 50 years ago proposed that the universe may be trapped in a false vacuum—meaning it appears stable but in fact could be on the verge of transitioning to an even more stable, true vacuum state.
While this process could trigger a catastrophic change in the universe's structure, experts agree that predicting the timeline is challenging, but it is likely to occur over an astronomically long period, potentially spanning millions of years.
In an international collaboration between three research institutions, the team reports gaining valuable insights into false vacuum decay—a process linked to the origins of the cosmos and the behavior of particles at the smallest scales. The collaboration was led by Professor Zlatko Papic, from the University of Leeds, and Dr. Jaka Vodeb, from Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany. READ MORE...
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