A ring in space-time

A century after the theory of general relativity was promulgated, Albert Einstein is much more present than ever. A space telescope, called Euclid, belonging to the European Space Agency (ESA) has captured an image that has left the scientific community speechless: the Einstein ring phenomenon, thus fulfilling all the predictions of the famous scientist.

If you haven’t understood what it is, don’t worry, we’ll explain it to you again: it is a phenomenon that occurs when the light of a galaxy that is very far away is bent by the gravity of another galaxy closer, so that astronomers can observe galactic objects that would be hidden to the naked eye.

It is a perfect case of gravitational lensing and generates an almost perfect ring of light, demonstrating how gravity can bend space-time!

What is an Einstein ring?
When we think of gravity, we usually imagine how it keeps planets in orbit or keeps us on the ground. But Einstein discovered that gravity can also affect light. If a massive galaxy is between us and another galaxy much further away, its gravity can bend the light from the background galaxy, forming a circle of light around the nearby galaxy. This is what is known as an Einstein Ring.     READ MORE...

The Who - Who Are You (Promo Video)

Diamond and Silk

 

 

Trump's Accomplishments

 

 

 

Dan Bongino

 

Russia is relying so heavily on
North Korea that it's getting 50%
of its ammo from Pyongyang,
Ukraine's spy chief says

North Korea steals $1.5bn 

as it pulls off world’s 

biggest ever heist

 

I moved to Spain for a more relaxed life. I pay about $300 a month in rent and have never been happier.

Jamie Dimon says 

he hopes DOGE is 

successful because 

the US government 

is 'not very 

competent'

 

 

 

At A Glance

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Clickbait: When your last name is Null, nothing works.

 

5 HEALTHY BREAKFAST IDEAS | easy, high-protein recipes

Bharti Kher - Artist

Bharti Kher is a contemporary artist. In a career spanning nearly three decades, she has worked across painting, sculpture and installation. Throughout her practice she has displayed an unwavering relationship with the body, its narratives, and the nature of things. 

Inspired by a wide range of sources and making practices, she employs the readymade in wide arc of meaning and transformation. Kher's works thus appear to move through time, using reference as a counterpoint and contradiction as a visual tool.


Kher was born in London, England, in 1969. She studied at Middlesex Polytechnic, London, from 1987 to 1988, and then attended the Foundation Course in Art and Design at Newcastle Polytechnic from 1988 to 1991, receiving a BA Honours in Fine Art, Painting. She moved to India in 1993, where she lives and works today.

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In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> "Conclave" wins top film prize for best cast at Screen Actors Guild awards while "Only Murders in the Building" and "Shōgun" bring home top TV awards (More)

> Keke Palmer wins entertainer of the year, "The Six Triple Eight" wins best film at 56th NAACP Image Awards (More)

> MLS season kicks off; see full season preview (More) | Mikaela Shiffrin wins record-extending 100th skiing World Cup race (More)

Science & Technology
> OpenAI identifies, bans Chinese group that used ChatGPT to build AI-powered surveillance tools to monitor anti-Chinese government content across X, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms (More)

> Researchers report prototype battery material with a potential energy capacity double that of current Li-ion batteries; fluoride-ion device expected to find use in future electric vehicle applications (More) | How electric vehicles work (1440 Topics)

> Study of Viking skulls reveals the population suffered from a broad range of severe diseases and infections, including osteoarthritis, abnormal jaw and bone growth, and more (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets drop Friday (S&P 500 -1.7%, Dow -1.7%, Nasdaq -2.2%) on reports of slowing business activity, tariff uncertainty; Dow sees worst week since late October (More)

> Investor Warren Buffett releases annual Berkshire Hathaway investor letter; company reports fourth quarter earnings up 70% year-over-year, holds record $334B in cash (More) | Everything you need to know about Warren Buffett (1440 Topics)

> Shein annual profits drop by almost 40% in 2024; the Chinese fast fashion retailer reportedly under pressure to cut the valuation of its planned initial public offering this year (More) | What are IPOs? (1440 Topics)


Politics & World Affairs
> President Donald Trump taps Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Caine as new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (More) | Trump administration puts majority of USAID staff on leave, eliminates 2,000 US-based positions (More) | ... and asks around 300 health researchers to return to posts after broad firings (More) | Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency says federal employees must detail last workweek or risk termination; a number of agencies tell staff to ignore email (More)

> Israel confirms the return of the body of Shiri Bibas after Hamas originally returned an unidentified body; Israel delays release of roughly 620 Palestinian prisoners over incident as first phase of ceasefire nears end (More)

> France's largest child sex abuse trial begins today; former surgeon Joël Le Scouarnec is accused of molesting nearly 300 patients, mostly minors (More)

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Males in Female Sports

 

SIMPLE QUESTION...

Should biological males who want to be female, participate in female sports?

The Democrats say YES

The Republicans say NO

When Americans were polled, 69% of them said NO

As a male, I cannot imagine ANY FEMALE wanting to compete with biological males because they have bigger bones and bigger muscle mass, regardless of the pills they take.

President Trump has signed an Executive Order indicating that biological males cannot play in female sports but there are several FEMALE GOVERNORS who are not going to comply.

Consequently, they will take the federal government to court.

Who knows what the outcome will be if the judge leans towards the democratic party.

Judges are not supposed to favor one party over another party but that does not always happen.

Biological males have a RIGHT to be a female, if that is their desire...  and I support that 100%, but I cannot in all good consciousness agree or even imagine why males want to compete against females.

Somewhat Political

 

When Did Time Begin?

Our universe is expanding, so it must have been smaller in the past. Indeed, if we rewind our cosmological movie, we see the universe shrinking back almost to a point – the big bang – some 13.8 billion years ago. Is this when time began? Alas, things aren’t so simple. 

Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity tells us that the backdrop of the universe is a fluid continuum, space-time, in which neither space nor time has an absolute meaning. What’s more, at the big bang, space-time distorts into a point of infinite density called a singularity. We can’t say this is where time begins, only that it marks a rupture beyond which we cannot extrapolate.


Even so, some cosmologists believe there was a “before” the big bang. Some suggest that another universe preceded ours, and that this one contracted and then “bounced” at the big bang, resulting in the expanding era we now observe. 

More radically, cosmologist Roger Penrose has proposed that new universes can emerge from ones that don’t contract, through a dramatic “rescaling” of all space-time.     READ MORE...

The Kinks "Lola."

Education

What Should K-12 Education 

Focus On in 2025 and Beyond?

Pondering

 

Starbucks is cutting 1,100 jobs 

and simplifying its menu in the 

US as it tries to improve flagging 

business in its home market.

I like Starbucks coffee and when I get a Starbucks coffee it is usually a vanilla cappuccino.  I get this coffee only when I am in possession of a gift card.

Why?

Because Starbucks coffee is too damn expensive...  and the good taste does not offset the price in my opinion.

I am not sure what coffee beans that Starbucks uses, but I am sure it is a blend that uses Kona coffee beans, and it is perhaps the Kona coffee beans that give the coffee its good taste.

In East TN, we have a convenience store chain called Weigel's that also uses Kona coffee beans in their blend of coffees as well.  Weigel's put in new coffee machines so that each cup of coffee is ground right there in the machine as the hot water pours over it, similar to French Press coffee.

Weigel's coffee is fresh, uses Kona coffee beans and costs only $2.50 for an extra-large Styrofoam cup and if you bring back the cup, you get refills for $2.25.

Compare this price to Starbuck's price of $6.00+ for a cup about 2/3 the size of Weigel's cup.

THREE CUPS OF WEIGEL'S VERSUS ONE CUP OF STARBUCKS

It is kinda like a no brainer decision...

Snowbirds

 

Serving Snowbird Vacations

Flying car inches closer to reality