Healthy LIFE

 

Most of us live our lives relatively healthy in that we work hard, play hard, sleep hard, and eat hard...  and it is only when we reach middle-age that we start to experience changes in our bodies that are difficult to overcome...  then, when we retire, those changes manifest themselves in serious healthcare issues.

For me, this happened all at once at the age of sixty; for my wife, this happened after she had retired at age 65.

I had a heart attack, contracted two forms of cancer, and had five lower back disks fused.  My wife has had two hip replacements and has lower back stenosis and arthritis.

We were both told that the exercise that kept us healthy is what caused our bodies to wear out quicker...  however, the arthritis has nothing to do with age and had our bodies not been healthy, it would have been much worse for us.

Neither my wife nor I were overweight until we both hit the age of 60 and then the chemistry of our body changed, and it was easy to gain weight plus our activity levels started to decrease as well.

The key to a satisfactory older life is still healthy eating, exercise, and sleep.  We also stopped drinking alcohol, and I stopped smoking at age 40.

Many people think drinking alcohol is the key to enjoying yourself and while alcohol is enjoyable to drink, especially with family and friends, it is not needed for enjoyment.  Enjoyment is a mental activity, easily accomplished without alcohol.

However, it is your decision on how you want to live your life.

Somewhat Political

 

A Thermometer for Measuring Quantumness

If there’s one law of physics that seems easy to grasp, it’s the second law of thermodynamics: Heat flows spontaneously from hotter bodies to colder ones. But now, gently and almost casually, Alexssandre de Oliveira Jr.(opens a new tab) has just shown me I didn’t truly understand it at all.


Take this hot cup of coffee and this cold jug of milk, the Brazilian physicist said as we sat in a café in Copenhagen. Bring them into contact and, sure enough, heat will flow from the hot object to the cold one, just as the German scientist Rudolf Clausius first stated formally in 1850. However, in some cases, de Oliveira explained, physicists have learned that the laws of quantum mechanics can drive heat flow the opposite way: from cold to hot.

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Roy Orbison - Oh, Pretty Woman (Black & White Night 30)

Wonderings 7

 What is our purpose?

In the past, our purpose, at least for Americans, was to enter heaven by believing in Jesus...  however, as I grew older, I began to wonder about the other major religions and why were Americans just focused on Christianity.

Even if one accepted all TWELVE RELIGIONS (in a combined sense) as being the gateway to our purpose here on earth, it does not explain the VASTNESS OF THE UNIVERSE.

Purpose must have meaning and it makes no sense that religion is what caused the creation of the universe...  UNLESS our TWELVE RELIGIONS were specifically designed for the ENTIRE UNIVERSE.

AND...  if that is the case, then there must be other human beings out there or other life forms (entities) that have a need for our religion.

So, until we understand more about RELIGION, I am not sure is that represents a fair purpose.

Some other purposes:

• Propagation of the Human Race
• Acquiring as much wealth as you can
• Acquisition of assets
• Acquiring power/control over people/land
• Living life to the fullest
• Acquisition of knowledge
• Becoming one with nature
• Living life as simply as one can
• Growing technology
• Space exploration
• Treating others as you want to be treated
• Exploring the arts

As you can see, a long list has been easily created and there are many other items that could have been listed that would have answered the question as to our purpose.

Mankind is the only creature on earth (we cannot speculate outside of earth) that KILLS other living creatures for pleasure and not just for survival.

That statement should have been listed as one of our purposes.    SURVIVAL

The rather important question here that has been rather obviously avoided is...

IS MY PURPOSE MORE VALID THAN YOUR PURPOSE?

Maybe our purpose is just to think about what our purpose might be and then to convince others to believe like we do...  which means our purpose is changing people's minds.

Personal Opinion

 

VINCE

 

Tattoo

 

Bongino Report

 

The Amber May Show

 

Dinesh D'Souza

 

Heads

 

Russell Brand

 

The Shannon Joy Show

 

The Alex Jones Show

 

Greece, Athens Acropolis

 

The White House

 

The Big MIG

 

TimcastIRL

 

Concrete Stairs

 

The Big Think

Did AI flop at work?

Headlines

NurPhoto/Getty Images




Trump says Israeli hostages will be returned early next week. A day after Israel and Hamas said they had agreed to the first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, President Trump said that Hamas will return the 20 surviving hostages on “Monday or Tuesday” in exchange for Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Israel’s Cabinet voted last night to formally approve the agreement, which will also see the Israeli military withdraw to a line that leaves it in control of 53% of the Gaza Strip, a spokesperson said. The agreement does not address what’s to come of postwar Gaza and whether Hamas will disarm. Trump plans to travel to the Middle East this weekend to speak to Israel’s Parliament and attend a signing of the agreement in Egypt.

Rare earth stocks soar after China further curbs exports. Several US rare earth mining companies surged by double digits yesterday after China announced it was tightening exports of the metals, which are crucial in the development of the computer chips powering AI and other technologies. Investors speculated that the increased scrutiny of rare earths leaving China would encourage the US to ramp up investment in its own supply chain. China’s move comes ahead of an expected meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month. China has been limiting exports of the important metals in response to Trump’s tariffs.

Tesla is under investigation again. It’s a day that ends in “y,” and so that means Elon Musk’s automaker must be under investigation. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is probing Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature after 58 incidents of traffic violations, including cars running red lights and driving on the wrong side of the road while operating in the mode. Tesla says drivers still need to pay attention to the road when FSD is equipped. The investigation follows a slew of government inquiries this year looking at other Tesla features, as well as the company’s crash reporting practices.—AE

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At A Glance

Princess Catherine of Wales pens essay on human connection.

Understanding the naked mole rat's long lifespan.

See trailer for upcoming "Game of Thrones" prequel.

The unpopularity behind RSVP'ing "maybe."

See playground made by Nike and Lego.

Evidence of kings on Scotland’s western isles.

Supermodel Tyra Banks teases hot ice cream.

Monarch butterfly receives wing transplant.

Dreams of having a private chef: answered.*

Clickbait: Hair today, gone tomorrow.

Historybook: United States Naval Academy opens (1845); American actress Helen Hayes born (1900); Filmmaker Orson Welles dies (1985); Hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship ends (1985); "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve dies (2004).

Tofu Stir Fry, my latest weeknight obsession

Quick Clips

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The 2025 MacArthur Foundation's "genius grant" recipients announced; each of this year's 22 winners gets a no-strings-attached $800K award (More)

> Cristiano Ronaldo becomes first soccer player to top $1B net worth, combining his career salary, investments, and endorsements (More)

> Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" breaks Adele's record for most albums sold in one week with 3.5 million sold in just five days (More)


Science & Technology
> Nobel Prize in chemistry awarded to US-, Australia-, and Japan-based scientists for developing porous molecular architecture used to extract pollutants from water, capture carbon dioxide from air, and store hydrogen for energy (More)

> Scientists identify brain area linked to chronic pain, which affects one in five people worldwide; finding could lead to interventions that mute pain signals (More)

> SoftBank strikes $5.4B deal to buy robotics arm of Swiss engineering firm ABB; Japanese tech conglomerate seeks to merge artificial intelligence and robots (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.6%, Dow -0.0%, Nasdaq +1.1%), Nasdaq and S&P 500 close at record highs after Federal Reserve meeting minutes from September show officials see at least two more rate cuts this year (More)

> Elon Musk agrees to settle $128M lawsuit over unpaid severance with four former Twitter executives, who were fired after Musk took over the company in 2022 (More)

> Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $966M in talc-based baby powder cancer case after jury finds company liable (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Internal Revenue Service furloughs over 34,000 employees—nearly half its staff—amid government shutdown; workers guaranteed back pay, despite President Donald Trump's earlier objections to the policy (More) | Read previous write-up (More)

> Supreme Court appears poised to revive Republican challenge to Illinois law accepting late-arriving mailed ballots; Illinois is among 18 states and the District of Columbia that accept ballots postmarked on or before Election Day (More)

> Myanmar military strike kills at least 24 people and wounds nearly 50 during Buddhist candlelight vigil opposing military rule, per government-in-exile (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Vanderbilt - Hip Surgery

My wife and I drove to Lebanon, Tennessee Tuesday afternoon because she was having hip replacement surgery on Wednesday.  

A few years ago, she had her left hip replaced and had a terrible experience in Knoxville, and decided when she needed the other one done, she was going to Vanderbilt in Nashville.

The hip surgeon operates out of Vanderbilt, Lebanon which is why we are here.

Before the procedure on Wednesday, several doctors came in to visit with her before surgery, explaining to her what they were going to do and how they were going to manage her pain, and if she needed more just to let them know.

Right from the very beginning, she was feeling very good about what was going to happen because of how concerned they appeared to be over her pain management.

One can go to the best surgeon in the world, but if the people around that surgeon don't manage the patient's pain, then the surgery is perceived as not being A+.

Now...

one must also bear in mind that the pain after the surgery, can only be managed based upon one's tolerance for pain.  Some people tolerate pain better than others...  Pain meds can offset that to some degree...  and, that pain is not always the fault of the surgeon.

My body for instance tolerates pain much better than my wife's body.  I had five lower back disks fused a three years ago and the first night out of surgery, I slept on my back and never took any pain meds.  My wife is not that fortunate and still experienced pain even after taking the pain meds and it took her almost a year to recover from her first hip surgery.

The last comment I made to her before they took her to the operating room was, it will be different this time.

 

Somewhat Political

 

Information could be a fundamental part of the universe, and may explain dark energy and dark matter

For more than a century, physics has been built on two great theories. Einstein's general relativity explains gravity as the bending of space and time.

Quantum mechanics governs the world of particles and fields. Both work brilliantly in their own domains. But put them together and contradictions appear—especially when it comes to black holes, dark matter, dark energy and the origins of the cosmos.

My colleagues and I have been exploring a new way to bridge that divide. The idea is to treat information—not matter, not energy, not even spacetime itself—as the most fundamental ingredient of reality. We call this framework the quantum memory matrix (QMM).

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Cream - Strange Brew (1967)