US Economy Rebounds

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The US economy rebounded in the third quarter after contracting for the first six months of this year, as a narrowing trade deficit concealed weakening consumer demand. 

Gross domestic product increased by 2.6 per cent on an annualised basis between July and September, surpassing economists’ expectations and marking a sharp reversal from the 0.6 per cent drop in the second quarter of 2022 and the 1.6 per cent decline registered in the first three months of the year. 

The expansion in the third quarter was propelled by a narrowing of the trade deficit, as ebbing consumer demand damped imports while exports rose. That comes despite a widening of the deficit for goods in September as the strong US dollar weighed on exports. 

Consumer spending advanced just 1.4 per cent, far slower than the previous period, in a sign that the economy is beginning to slow.  READ MORE...

Through the Woods

 

Dreaming

 

Germany To Legalize Cannabis

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany on Wednesday set out plans to legalise cannabis, in a move promised by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government that would make it one of the first countries in Europe to make weed legal.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach presented a cornerstone paper on planned legislation to regulate the controlled distribution and consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes among adults.

Acquiring and possessing up to 20 to 30 grams of recreational cannabis for personal consumption would also be made legal.

The coalition government struck an agreement last year to introduce legislation during its four-year term to allow the controlled distribution of cannabis in licensed shops.  READ MORE...

Bird Bath

Mortgage Demand Drops

• Sharply higher mortgage rates caused mortgage demand to drop to the lowest level since 1997.
• Mortgage rates fell slightly to start this week, but are still well over 7% after starting the year at around 3%.
• Home prices are still higher than they were last year, but the increases are slowing down

A house’s real estate for sale sign is seen in front of a home in Arlington, Virginia, November 19, 2020.  Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

Mortgage demand fell last week to nearly half what it was a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as rates hit their highest level in 21 years.

Overall, demand for mortgages is at the lowest level since 1997.

Mortgage applications to purchase a home dropped 2% from the prior week and were 42% lower than the same week in 2021. The annual comparison continues to jump each week, as fewer buyers either want or can afford to get into this very pricey housing market.

Applications to refinance a home loan fell just 0.1% for the week, but only because they were so low to begin with – down 86% from a year ago. There are currently fewer than 150,000 qualified borrowers who could benefit from a refinance at today’s rates, according to Black Knight.  READ MORE...

Quicksand

Fetterman Raises Money After Debate

Democratic Pennsylvania Senate nominee John Fetterman raised more than $1 million following Tuesday night’s debate with Republican Mehmet Oz, according to Fetterman’s campaign.

The campaign said it raised the amount during the three hours between the debate’s conclusion at 9 p.m. and midnight.

The two candidates sparred over a number of top issues, like the economy and abortion, in the state’s first and only Senate debate.

The closely watched event, which was held two weeks before the election, also drew attention to Fetterman’s ongoing recovery from a stroke earlier this year, a matter that the Oz campaign has mocked at times. Fetterman’s challenges communicating were on full display during the debate, with the Democrat calling it the “elephant in the room.”  READ MORE...

Dogs in the Window

 

Climbing Kitten

 

Changing Brain Structure to Fight Depression

Decades of reinforcing neural connections can make the adult brain stubbornly resistant to rapid changes. Should our brain's structure trap us in cycles of dark moods and thoughts, disorders like chronic depression can be extremely hard to shake.

According to new research, some patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) can have their brains 'rewired' within weeks, given the right treatment.

Anti-depressants, behavioral therapy, and electroconvulsive therapy don't work for everybody with MDD, but scientists in Germany claim these treatments have the power to change brain structures. How long those changes last remains to be determined.

People who experience MDD often have trouble regulating negative emotions and their physiological responses to stress. Under such heavy conditions, enjoying even the most pleasant activities in life can feel burdensome.

In the past, brain imaging studies have found serious depression is associated with changes in the volume of gray matter (made up of neuron bodies) and white matter (made up of nerve fibers). It's also associated with increases in amygdala activity, which influences emotional experiences; shrinkage in the hippocampus, which plays a major role in long-term learning and memory; and shrinkage in the basal ganglia, which helps process emotions.  READ MORE...

Waterslide

Young Professionals Leaving California and New York

Young professionals who make more than $100,000 have started to flee California and New York, and the prices that go with them.

Instead, they’re going home, according to a study done by SmartAsset. In fact, analysis by the Census Bureau and Harvard University earlier this year found that 80% of young adults now live less than 100 miles from where they grew up.

Looking at adults under 35 who earn $100,000-plus per year, SmartAsset examined the inflow and outflow of wealthy young professionals from state to state between 2019 and 2020: 

Where did they leave? 

And where did they go?

It’s time to cue up the map app and take a closer look.

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Texas
In 2019-2020, Texas ranked the most popular destination. Roughly 15,000 came into the state and only about 11,200 left for a net inflow of about 3,800, according to SmartAsset.  READ MORE...

Dog and Cows

Environmental Toxins - Protecting Your Family

Environmental toxins are cancer-causing chemicals and endocrine disruptors, both human-made and naturally occurring, that can harm our health by disrupting sensitive biological systems.

Here, we review what endocrine disruptors are, where they come from, and how to minimize exposure to help protect you and your family from their potentially dangerous effects.

What are environmental toxins?
Environmental toxins include naturally occurring compounds such as:

lead;
mercury;
radon;
formaldehyde;
benzene; and
cadmium.

They also include human-made chemicals like:

BPA;
phthalates; and
pesticides.

In toxic doses, all of these compounds can negatively affect human health. Many of them are known to:cause cancer (radon, formaldehyde, benzene); act as endocrine disruptors (BPA, pesticides, phthalates); and cause organ failure or developmental problems (lead, mercury, cadmium)

Lead toxicity is a well-known example. People are generally aware of potential sources of lead, such as old paint and old pipes.

Cadmium toxicity was first realized in the 50s and 60s, and policies now limit industrial exposure.  READ MORE...

Leaves a Falling

 

A History Lesson

 

Owl Friendly

 

Brittney Griner Declines Basketball

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 10: Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury prepares for game 1 of the WNBA Finals at Footprint Center on October 10, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Mattina/Getty Images)

Brittney Griner reportedly made a tough decision in prison.

The WNBA star has been sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison on drug charges. Griner, who was playing overseas in Russia, was arrested at the airport when drugs were allegedly found in her backpack.

While the United States government is attempting to bring her home via a prisoner trade, Russia does not appear to be anxious to get something done.

According to ESPN's T.J. Quinn, Griner's lawyers offered to bring her a basketball in prison, though she reportedly declined the offer.

"I asked Griner's lawyer if she's had an opportunity to play basketball since she was detained. She said the jail has a hoop, but no ball. When Griner's lawyers offered to bring one, BG declined, saying it was too painful to think about," he reported.  READ MORE...

Who Was That?

 

Pill Replicates Exercise

A drug has been identified by researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) that replicates the benefits of exercise on mice’s bones and muscles.

You can look and feel better by keeping up a regular exercise schedule, but did you know that exercise also supports bone and muscle health? Locomotor fragility, which affects people who are unable to exercise, causes the muscles and bones to deteriorate. Recently, Japanese researchers discovered a new drug that, by producing effects comparable to those of exercise, may help treat locomotor frailty.

Physical inactivity can result in a weakening of the muscles (known as sarcopenia) and bones (known as osteoporosis). Exercise dispels this frailty by boosting muscular strength and suppressing bone resorption while simultaneously promoting bone formation. 

Exercise therapy, however, cannot be used in every clinical situation. When patients have dementia, cerebrovascular disease, or are already bedridden, drug therapy may be very helpful for treating sarcopenia and osteoporosis. However, there is no one drug that targets both tissues at the same time.  READ MORE...

Tree Revenge

How The Great Pyramid Was Built

The Great Pyramid has evoked many theories about its construction. With the advent of drone photography, we get a closer look at the summit and can see amazing evidence for the methods used by builders to get megalithic blocks all the way to the top.

There is an opportunity for you to make the discovery for yourself! Watch and listen to the clues and see if you can figure it out before the reveal.

What's with the lone dark stone that stands out from the yellow limestone? Is it a different composition or was there granite used at the very top?

Do you miss the metal scaffolding that used to mark the original apex or does Khufu's pyramid look better without it?

Bear in Snow

 

TN Valley Living

 

There are seven regional areas in the state of Tennessee, and I am fortunate to live in the region that is referred to as East TN...  which revolves around the metropolitan area of Knoxville. the Cumberland Plateau, the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, 10 lakes, and 3 river systems:  the French Broad river, Holston river, and the Tennessee river.

RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES ARE OUTSTANDING...

What makes TN an attractive state is there is NO STATE INCOME TAX...  and yet, the first two years of college is FREE to residents because of our lottery system.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is located in east Tennessee and receives 80% of the Department of Energy's budget each year because of its research and development.

You may think that education in east TN is lacking but the University of TN hires a majority of its professors from the IVY LEAGUE Schools up North because of the cheaper cost of living...   The same holds true for a majority of the doctors that work at UT's Medical Center which is now privately owned and operated.  And, Tyson-McGhee airport has become so popular that there are many non-stop flights to major cities and it takes only 30 minutes to fly to Atlanta which connects to everywhere.

East TN is inbetween Nashville (2 hours - the home of country music) and Bristol (2 hours - NASCAR) and Cherokee, NC (2 hours - Gambling).

If you want expensive dining, go to NYC, Washington, DC, Chicago, Boston, or LA...  but don't get pissed if you spend a lot of time in traffic trying to get where you want to go...

Life in USA -- End of 2022

1. 
    Inflation
2. High Gasoline Prices
3. High Food Prices
4. Higher Prices at Restaurants
5. Crime Increasing
6. Violence Increasing
7. Illegal Immigration Increasing
8. Illegal Drugs Increasing (Fentanyl from China)
9. Racism Increasing
10. Media Outlets Censoring News
11. Fake News
12. CRT Taught in Public Schools
13. Higher Taxes
14. Higher Interest Rates
15. Electric Vehicles Only for Wealthy
16. COVID Lingering Around
17. Supply Chain Shortage Lingering
18. National Debt Increasing
19. Economy Slowing Down
20. Possible Recession

The Democrats are worried that Donald Trump is going to run for President again and they are doing everything in their power to try and stop that from happening...  and overlooking our southern border and what is being brought into this country...

Meanwhile Hunter Biden and Hillary Clinton are being protected by the FBI and the mainstream media that includes:  CNN, MSNBC, ABC, and CBS...  so, why does our liberal media not want to publish the TRUTH???

I am not a Republican nor a Democrat nor am I a Liberal, but I am an a conservative who believes in a balanced budget and no debt as my wife and I have been debt free for over 15 years.  My college education was paid for by the GI Bill because I was in the military during the Vietnam War and was willing to serve my country...  and, this was when the military was HATED by the general public.

A woman should be allowed to do whatever the hell she wants to do to her body just like a man and we have a right to own guns, although I will never purchase a firearm myself.

Blacks only represent 12% of the American population and whites represent 60%, five times the voting power and yet we cater to the blacks because they cry racism and use slavery as an excuse for not being successful...  claiming it is a white privileged world...

Well...  I am white and had NO PRIVILEGE other than being born in the USA and being born in the South which is LOOKED DOWN UPON BY NORTHERNERS....

White privilege don't shit to me and never will.

I don't like the media telling me what news they are going to share with me and what news they are not going to share.

I HAVE A RIGHT TO HEAR BOTH SIDES and then use what little intelligence I have to figure out what I want to believe and what I don't want to believe...

YOU ARE TAKING AWAY MT RIGHT...  and that pisses me off.

These are my concerns and will form the foundation for how I vote in the midterms...  I am so sick and tired of Biden telling me our economy is healthy as hell which I know damn well it is not...  STOP LYING to me!!!

Slip Sliding Through

 

The Race to Space

The race to provide high-speed internet from satellites is well underway – but another, more ambitious competition, to connect directly from space to devices like smartphones, began in earnest earlier this year.

The potential untapped market — which hinges on, but extends beyond, sending a text via space — is spurring a tale of two strategies: Those putting specialized antennae in phones, versus those putting high-powered antennae on the satellites themselves. For some companies, it means billions spent on what could end up being a losing approach.

“The satellite industry is really niche and – if they can tap into connecting billions of smartphones – they can start talking about market sizes that are way greater than they’ve ever been able to address before. Everything before has been in the millions,” Caleb Henry, senior analyst at boutique research firm Quilty Analytics, told CNBC.  READ MORE...

Wild Flowers

China Leads USA in STEM Research

Forty years ago, China sent huge cohorts of students off to study abroad.

Then, Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping argued this wasn’t a flight for human capital, but rather an investment that would eventually return to make the country more educated and innovative.

“We need to send tens of thousands,” Deng said. “This is one of the key ways of…improving our level of scientific education.”

A recent working paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research proved the politician right. China now accounts for about 23 percent of scientific publications in the international journals indexed by Scopus, adjusted for the Chinese share of addresses or names on publications. This means the nation is now the “largest contributor to global science”.  READ MORE...