Monday, October 6
Headlines
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President Trump considers $10 billion bailout for farmers. The US soybean industry is in dire straits: The harvesting season is underway, and China hasn’t bought a single bushel since May, while protracted trade negotiations between the United States and the world’s largest soybean customer linger on. According to the Wall Street Journal’s analysis of federal data, US soybean farmers stand to lose $100 per acre this year due to falling crop prices and increased costs for fertilizer and equipment. President Trump is reportedly exploring ways to ease the strain on farmers, and he’s expected to announce solutions soon. Last Wednesday on Truth Social, he mentioned potentially sharing a percentage of proceeds from tariffs with embattled farmers.
Govt shutdown expected to continue another week. If you’re wondering what new developments you missed in Congress’s impasse, the answer is…not many. Both Democrats and Republicans remain entrenched in their belief that each has the upper hand in the argument. The Senate will reconvene this afternoon, with votes on the two competing continuing resolutions that led the government to shut down last week scheduled for 5:30pm ET, meaning the government cannot reopen before then. The House will remain out of town after Speaker Mike Johnson declared Oct. 7 through Oct. 13 “a district work period” while Washington is in disarray. Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, said on CNN’s State of the Union yesterday that mass firings of federal workers would begin “if the president decides that the negotiations are absolutely going nowhere.”
Taylor Swift banked $33m domestically for only-in-theaters event. This weekend, to celebrate the release of The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift hosted a “release party,” which was actually a movie, which was actually an 89-minute presentation of a music video and behind-the-scenes footage and commentary shown at participating cinemas for three days. Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl was distributed by AMC to over 3,700 theaters in the US and Canada. While it debuted at No. 1 at the North American box office, it won’t be defending its slot next weekend, as it left theaters yesterday. The event was only announced two weeks ago and received minimal promotion, but struggling theater owners were nonetheless grateful for the lovely bouquet.—HVL
Robert Reich
How Trump is making potentially lethal decisions
Friends,
When over the weekend federal Judge Karin Immergut (a Trump appointee) blocked Trump from deploying Oregon’s National Guard to Portland, Trump said she “should be ashamed of herself” because “Portland is burning to the ground.”
Trump promptly ordered the California National Guard to Portland.
Apart from the obvious question of how Trump can so blatantly defy a federal judge, there’s a deeper puzzle here. Where did he get the idea Portland is burning to the ground?
Nine days ago, when Trump first threatened to send troops to Portland, Oregon’s governor, Tina Kotek, told him there was no reason. “He thinks there are elements here creating an insurrection,” Kotek said after her call with Trump. “I told him there is no insurrection here and that we have this under control.”
At A Glance
The rise of trunk-or-treat.
Rising costs have coffee drinkers frothing mad—but they can't quit.
Inside the most crowded place on Earth. (via YouTube)
Hot air balloons shut down Lithuanian airport.
California corn maze takes at least 45 minutes to complete.
Record-breaking landmarks throughout the US.
See recently discovered translucent fish.
Spanish shipwreck off Florida's coast has $1M in treasure.
Salt has been misunderstood for far too long.*
Clickbait: Spooky background music. (w/video)
Historybook: Civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer born (1917); Yom Kippur War begins (1973); Pope John Paul II is first pope to visit White House (1979); Anwar Sādāt, president of Egypt, assassinated (1981); Hollywood legend Bette Davis dies (1989).
In The NEWS
FIRE, 101
Most US workers aim to retire around age 65—but for many followers of the FIRE movement, which stands for “financial independence, retire early,” that’s not the case. FIRE followers, who range from low- to high-income workers, typically prioritize high savings rates, relatively frugal living, and aggressive investing strategies in an effort to work less and enjoy life more in the long-term (see five distinct approaches).
While many proponents argue that the movement is more of a mindset about achieving financial freedom than any specific retirement date, both ends require similar means (watch a pioneer in the movement explain the mindset).The movement also isn’t without its critics. Some note that saving aggressively or maximizing income isn’t feasible for many, especially those with dependents such as children or elderly parents. They argue that FIRE followers are particularly at risk in times of economic hardship, such as high inflation or a long-term dip in the stock market, and that they underestimate how much money they actually need to save.
... Read our full deep dive on FIRE here.
Also, check out ...
> How much money you need to retire in each state. (More)
> Inside a FIRE follower's money diary. (More)
> Despite FIRE, most Americans are retiring later than they used to. (More)
What was the HGP?
The Human Genome Project was an international collaboration to map all the genetic information found in humans and several organisms of importance in biological research. From 1990 to 2003, more than 2,000 scientists from universities and research facilities worldwide sequenced more than 3 billion base pairs of a genetic tapestry built from 20 individuals from Buffalo, New York.
The HGP was proposed in the mid-1980s as a joint initiative by the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Energy to identify the genetic cause of illnesses and the genetic effects of radiation and energy-related chemicals (see timeline).
The composite genome was cut into fragments, which were sent to 20 sequencing centers, processed, and combined on computers to reassemble. The project would end with publishing a 92%-complete human genome sequence, which would be finalized thanks to new technologies in 2022.
... Read our full write-up on the project here.
Also, check out ...
> About 70% of the project's reference genome sequence came from one donor. (More)
> The project spawned numerous spinoff genetics projects. (More)
> How the project overpromised on its final outcomes. (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Self-Reflection
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These people range from those in their 50s, 60s. and 70s, although I have not seen this type of buying about those in their 80s or those below 50s; however, people in their 30s and 40s only have half what those other families have.
CREDIT CARD DEBT is one of the biggest problems in America along with illegal drugs and alcohol. When there is an addiction, it is difficult for one to see the change in oneself and difficult to hear when a friend points it out.
SELF-REFLECTION
This is easy to say that it needs to be done but very hard to implement, yet it is an important aspect of understanding who we are.
Who am I?
- What do I do well?
- What do I do poorly?
- What do I need to improve upon?
- Am I addicted to credit cards or buying stuff?
- What are my strengths?
- What are my weaknesses?
- What do I know?
- What do I need to know?
- What do I like?
- What do I dislike?
- What kind of personality do I have?
Another issue dealing with Self Reflection is how to I perceive (see) myself... or do I rely on how others perceive (see) me?
Sadly...
most of us care how others see us and not how we see ourselves.
That is to say we base our behavior based upon how others want us to be not how we want ourselves to be.
AND,
this is hard for us to admit.
The Perseverance Rover Spotted A Rock That May Be The Strongest Sign Of Ancient Life Yet
NASA's Perseverance rover has been exploring Mars' Jezero Crater since 2021 with the primary objective to investigate the environments that could have supported life in the past on the Red Planet.
In order to do that, the rover is busy collecting samples for possible return to Earth, where they can be meticulously studied. Jezero Crater was the obvious choice for research because orbital data revealed evidence of abundant water in ancient times; there's an old (now dry) river delta that used to supply Jezero Crater with water.
After all, the name Jezero, in some Slavic languages, means "lake." What's more, this former lake might have just done a lot to help Perseverance find signs of ancient Martian life -- rocks with strange patterns potentially created by organic reactions.
Sunday, October 5
Wonderings 2
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Mankind's Purpose
Here... it gets a little tricky because we are dealing with several unknowns...
First - is there a creator?
Second - is this creator God as mentioned in the Bible?
Third - was our creation merely a result of natural evolution?
Fourth - did extraterrestrials alter our DNA to accelerate or modify our evolution?
Fifth - does our existence come with an afterlife?
Sixth - are there multiple dimensions?
Seventh - are there multiple universes?
Eighth - are there white holes just as there are black holes?
Nineth - do these white holes create new universes?
Tenth - if the universe creates its own temperature, is there entropy?
With each new generation of human beings, there is increased knowledge and awarenesses that leads the wanderer and the wonderer to develop new questions, especially when technology advances providing us with such tools as Artificial Intelligence.
Although AI is limited in its scope and awareness, it still has access to knowledge that the normal human being does not know exists such as advanced cosmology, or theoretical physics, or biometrics, robotics, or astronomy to name a few.
Purpose, like anything else, must have a beginning and an end... a goal... an endpoint... that may not be death, if there is an afterlife... although our purpose might change a little... or for some, a lot.
If life is for 100 years and the afterlife is for infinity, then it is easily understandable that those two purposes in general will be different... and even moreso, after factoring all our individual differences.
This will give you something to ponder until my next article.
Enjoy your wonderings and your wanderings.
The world is going nuclear again
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Just like the dusty vinyl records your parents were on the verge of tossing for years, nuclear power is undergoing a renaissance.
For decades, the energy source fell out of favor due to safety concerns and high plant construction costs; its share of the world’s electricity supply plummeted to 9% in 2024 from 17% in 1996, according to the global energy think tank Ember.
But in recent years, amid advances in safety and experimental tech promising greater affordability, many countries have begun to view nuclear power generation as a source of scalable low-carbon energy. Meanwhile, tech giants have started bankrolling reactors to power the AI boom.
America united around splitting atoms
In the US, the embrace of nuclear energy has been bipartisan. During the Biden administration, Congress passed subsidies to incentivize the deployment of nuclear energy. And in his second term, President Trump issued executive orders aimed at reducing regulatory hurdles for new reactors, with the stated aim of quadrupling capacity by 2050.
Over a dozen reactors have been closed in the US since 2012, and no new large-scale nuclear power plants are getting built—yet. But as anticipated next-gen reactors undergo regulatory review, several older decommissioned ones are getting de-mothballed:A decommissioned reactor at Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear disaster in American history, is due to go back online (it wasn’t involved in the 1979 accident). The reactor’s owner, Constellation Energy, signed a 20-year power purchasing agreement with Microsoft last year.
And this summer, the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan became the first decommissioned US nuclear power plant to return to operational status, financed in part by a $1.5 billion loan from the Department of Energy.
The world powers ahead
Despite the renewed enthusiasm in the US, the vast majority of new capacity is coming online in other countries.
China, which lacks fossil fuel reserves, has added 80% of the world’s new nuclear capacity in the past five years and is due to surpass the US in total nuclear power generation, according to the International Energy Agency.
Meanwhile, the EU gave nuclear power a boost when it recognized it as a clean energy source, making it eligible for government subsidies. France currently plans to build six new nuclear reactors.
The UK plans to increase its nuclear capacity to meet 25% of its electricity needs by 2050, up from 15% currently. And Russia is working on 19 nuclear power plants beyond its borders in places like Turkey, Iran, and Bangladesh, making it the biggest exporter of nuclear capacity.
Looking ahead…Goldman Sachs projects that the world will have 500 functioning nuclear reactors in 2030, up from the current 440. By 2040, nuclear power will supply 12% of global electricity compared to the current 9%, according to the bank’s estimates.—SK
Robert Reich
We need to talk about it openly
Friends,
I’d like to talk with you about a difficult subject.
A significant number of you are disoriented by what Trump and his lapdogs are doing. Many are deeply anxious. Some of us are depressed.
For years, medical experts have recommended that Americans be screened for “anxiety disorders.”
But what many of us are feeling now is not a personal disorder. It’s a rational response to a nation that’s becoming ever more disordered.
What we’re experiencing is not a sickness or individual distress. It’s a sensible reaction to a society becoming sicker and more stressed.
Trump and the enablers around him aren’t just violating the Constitution and disregarding laws. They’re not merely doing cruel and vindictive things.
At A Glance
Some couples use chatbots to mediate their marriages—often ending in divorce.
Why muscles get fatigued.
A star investment banker was fired, launching a 10-year legal fight.
Imagining if Disney films about animals were scientifically accurate.
Reflections from Ben Giles, the world's greatest stain remover.
A tracker keeping score on past and future prophecies of apocalypse.
Restaurants are dishing out more chicken amid "The Great Chickening."
Six examples of unusually large single-celled organisms.
In "Life of a Showgirl," Taylor Swift nods to Pre-Raphaelite muse Elizabeth Siddal.
How NASA plans to build a base on the moon.
Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" was a satire urging cannibalism.
Gatorade was first developed for college football players in the Florida heat.
How dreams have long been used for religious and political power.
A map showing trip durations via train from various European stations.
A history of the boombox, aka the Portable Radio Cassette Recorder.
A star investment banker was fired, launching a 10-year legal fight.
Imagining if Disney films about animals were scientifically accurate.
Reflections from Ben Giles, the world's greatest stain remover.
A tracker keeping score on past and future prophecies of apocalypse.
Restaurants are dishing out more chicken amid "The Great Chickening."
Six examples of unusually large single-celled organisms.
In "Life of a Showgirl," Taylor Swift nods to Pre-Raphaelite muse Elizabeth Siddal.
How NASA plans to build a base on the moon.
Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" was a satire urging cannibalism.
Gatorade was first developed for college football players in the Florida heat.
How dreams have long been used for religious and political power.
A map showing trip durations via train from various European stations.
A history of the boombox, aka the Portable Radio Cassette Recorder.
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