Wonderings 4

 Personally, I like to daydream, fantasize, wonder, ponder, IMAGINE life in a different perspective than what it really is...

1. What would it be like to live on another planet?
2. What would it be like to be a space traveler?
3. What would it be like to live to age one thousand?

What kind of person does this kind of thinking make me, outside of being different from you?

According to the Myers Briggs Personality Profile, I am an INTJ.  I know this is accurate because I have taken the test 4 times with 10 years having passed between each test.  My answer is always the same...  a solid INTJ.

The short definition of an INTJ, other than only being found in 2% of the general population is that:  I AM A BUILDER OF THEORETICAL CONCEPTS AND MODELS.  In other words, I imagine stuff...  how life should be perhaps.

It is very difficult for an INTJ to make friends, let alone create long lasting, strong friendships.

Think about that for a while.

This inability to make strong friends is going to IMPACT the question:  WHO AM I?

Not only is it going to impact that question but it is going to impact my:

SELF ESTEEM

SELF CONFIDENCE

because I don't make friend as easily as other people do.

I spent the first TWENTY YEARS of my life, wondering why I did not have many friends and virtually no close friends.  That kind of anxiety influences in a negative way one's behavior which only serves to exacerbate the situation.

Why don't they teach understand WHO AM I in elementary schools?  In high school it is rather too late because of other influences on our lives.

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Protesters in Chicago last month. KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI

AFP via Getty Images




Judge won’t block Trump from sending National Guard to Chicago, for now. Officials from Illinois and Chicago sued yesterday to stop President Trump from deploying National Guard troops to Chicago, as conflicts between the president and Democrat-led areas escalate. A federal judge declined to immediately grant that request, but scheduled a full hearing for Thursday. Trump wants the troops to quell protests of ICE agents’ aggressive immigration enforcement in Chicago. The local officials’ lawsuit argues that he’s motivated by hostility toward the city and its leaders rather than a true emergency. The president also sought to deploy the National Guard to Portland, OR, but a different federal judge blocked that twice over the weekend. The White House is appealing in Oregon, and the President has also said he could invoke the Insurrection Act to bypass the courts.

Fifth Third to buy Comerica as regional lenders consolidate. In what Bloomberg calls the biggest US bank deal this year, Fifth Third said it would acquire Comerica for $10.9 billion in stock. The acquisition, expected to close in the first quarter next year, would create the ninth-largest bank in the country with $288 billion in assets. The announcement sent Wall Street tongues wagging about whether a wave of consolidation could be coming to regional banking, as smaller banks look to compete with giants like JPMorgan and may want to take advantage of the Trump administration’s more open stance toward big mergers.

Talks toward ending Gaza war began in Egypt. Yesterday, on the eve of the two-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that prompted the war in Gaza, Israel and Hamas started indirect talks in a Red Sea resort town to discuss President Trump’s 20-point peace plan. Both sides are under pressure to agree to a ceasefire, but they are also believed to be far apart on key issues—including whether Hamas will disarm and the withdrawal of Israeli troops. Going into the discussions, Hamas said it would agree to release its remaining hostages in exchange for a release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, but those details are still being hashed out as well. The White House is pushing for the talks to move quickly, and the initial phase is likely to take several days.—AR

READ MORE...

Robert Reich

What Trump doesn’t want us to know about ourselves
How Trump is systematically concealing America from Americans








Friends,

Flying blind is dangerous, but it’s what Trump and his lackeys are forcing America to do.

For starters, the current government shutdown means that critical economic statistics — such as job numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that normally would have appeared last Friday — are delayed. No one knows when they’ll appear.

The BLS also produces data on inflation and wages — also delayed.

At a time when there’s reason to worry that the American economy is weakening — when Trump’s tariffs (import taxes) are pushing prices higher, his ICE dragnet is causing labor shortages, and he is asserting control over the Fed’s interest-rate decisions — turning the lights off on the economy is a particularly bad idea.

But even if the government weren’t shuttered, Trump is still turning out the lights.

READ MORE...

At A Glance

What it costs to grow old in your home. (w/interactive)

Images from Thailand's water buffalo festival.

Taco Bell tops speed rankings in drive-thru report card.

Universities producing the most billionaires.

The calculated, useful art of gossiping.

Failed amendments that almost reshaped American history.

Longest-running computer and 10 other odd tech records.

How one man stole thousands of butterflies.

Robots are cooking your french fries now.*

Clickbait: Rare coin treasure hunt kicks off today.

Historybook: Edgar Allan Poe dies (1849); World’s oldest airline still operating under its original name, KLM, is founded (1919); American cellist Yo-Yo Ma born (1955); US invasion of Afghanistan begins (2001); Hamas launches attack into Israel, killing over 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage (2023).

HIGH PROTEIN Meal Prep Marry Me Chicken In 25 Minutes

Quick Clips

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" sells 2.7 million copies on its opening day and 1.2 million vinyl albums in the first week, a modern-era (1991-present) record (More) | ... and the album's release launch film hauls in $46M at global box office (More)

> Former NFL quarterback and Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez hospitalized, arrested on three misdemeanors after late-night altercation with 69-year-old truck driver (More)

> MLB Division Series is underway; see latest playoff bracket and schedule (More) | Las Vegas Aces take 2-0 lead over Phoenix Mercury in WNBA Finals (More)


Science & Technology
> Study reveals enzymes and process that allow ants to ferment milk into yogurt; most modern yogurts rely on two bacterial strains during production (More)

> Mushrooms evolved the ability to produce psilocybin—the psychoactive substance in magic mushrooms—in two different ways (More)

> Scientists use AI tool to map how an antibiotic known as enterololin helps treat Crohn's disease while leaving the rest of the gut microbiome unaffected; approach accelerates research process from years to months (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed Friday (S&P 500 +0.0%, Dow +0.5%, Nasdaq -0.3%); the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish jobs report for October amid federal government shutdown (More)

> OPEC+ countries announce an increase in oil production next month by 137,000 barrels per day, amid concerns of a potential supply glut in the fourth quarter (More)

> Bitcoin price jumps to record high of over $125.7K following September's Federal Reserve rate cut (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> US Supreme Court begins its new term today; high-profile cases on the docket address birthright citizenship, conversion therapy, President Donald Trump's tariffs regime, the firing of Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook, and more (More)

> President Donald Trump authorizes 300 National Guard troops to Chicago after an armed woman rams her vehicle at federal officers, is shot by Border Patrol (More) | Federal judge temporarily blocks deployment of National Guard to Portland, Oregon (More)

> Israel and Hamas negotiations begin today in Egypt, after Hamas agrees to elements of a US-proposed peace deal (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Artificial Intelligence

 

I asked AI a simple question:  What can AI DO?

This was the answer:

AI can simulate human intelligence by learning from data to perform tasks like understanding language, recognizing images, making predictions, and automating processes. It can be used to automate repetitive tasks, personalize user experiences, generate creative content, assist in complex analysis, and power autonomous systems such as self-driving cars. Common applications include digital assistants, personalized recommendations, medical diagnostics, translation, and fraud detection.

Now...

Can you imagine any job in America that cannot benefit from AI?

I asked AI another simple question:  What kind of energy demands will AI require?

This was the answer:

AI's energy cnsumption is significant and growing rapidly, primarily driven by the high energy needs of data centers that power AI models, especially generative AI. Projections show a dramatic increase in this demand, potentially requiring large additions to global power generation capacity by 2030

Now...

Can you imagine GREEN ENERGY being able to supply AI's energy demands?

I asked AI another simple question:  Which jobs will AI eliminate first?

This was the answer:

Jobs involving repetitive, predictable tasks are most vulnerable to being eliminated first by artificial intelligence. This includes entry-level positions across a range of industries, from administrative and financial roles to customer service and creative fields.  This includes:

• Administrative and office support
• Customer Service
• Bookkeeping and Accounting
• Entry lever content creation
• Translators and Proofreaders
• Manufacturing and Warehouse workers
• Transportation

Now...

Can you imagine what percentage of the workforce this might be?

This is just AI...

I've not asked about HUMANOID ROBOTS...

Somewhat Political

 

Tiny living robots made from lung cells could one day deliver medicine inside the body

A brand-new engineering approach to generate "designer" biological robots using human lung cells is underway in Carnegie Mellon University's Ren lab. 

Referred to as AggreBots, these microscale living robots may one day be able to traverse through the body's complex environments to deliver desired therapeutic or mechanical interventions, once greater control is achieved over their motility patterns. 

In new research published in Science Advances, the group provides a novel tissue engineering platform capable of achieving customizable motility in AggreBots by actively controlling their structural parameters.

READ MORE...

Start me up, The Rolling Stones, Cleveland, Ohio, 6/15/2024

Wonderings 3

 Who am I?

This is a really complex question, if thought about it seriously, because, I am a:

• male
• son
• sibling
• husband
• father
• divorcee
• veteran
• college graduate
• southerner
• American
• retired
• cancer survivor
• had a heart attack
• athlete
• weightlifter
• swimmer
• lifeguard
• North Carolinian
• Tennessean
• receiving social security
• in my 70s
• a writer
• a teacher
• a student
• over six feet
• slightly obese
• have white hair
• have had cavities

and...  this list could go on and on...

Sometimes, we can find out more about who we are by looking at who we are not.  For example, I am not a/an:

• astronaut
• chemist
• physicist
• politician
• crusader
• FBI agent
• professional athlete
• singer
• movie star
• wealthy

while this list is shorter than the one above, you should be able to see where I am headed...

What I find interesting about this question is that individuals seldom think about the question(s) or what the answer(s) might be.  Not even when two people decide to get married or live together.  As long as there is love and they have a few things in common, they always jump into the arrangement.  

How can you possibly understand others if you don't understand yourself???

AND...

How can you understand your children and help them understand themselves, if you don't understand yourself???

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