Reaching Your Goals. China is Full of Them. Hoochie Koo. Nuke the Moon? His Legacy or a Farce? Backstabbers.
- Quote of the Week: “I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.” – John D. Rockefeller
I think the word perseverance is often misunderstood. While the word itself is aligned with not giving up and maintaining a purpose, many unfortunately tie the word perseverance to being stubborn or unwilling to change. There are many words associated with perseverance including determination, achievement, and persistence, but to me it has always been about finding your own path, envisioning success, and overcoming barriers that are part and parcel of everyday life. To Rockefeller’s point, …“perseverance overcomes almost everything…” This short video shows us examples of perseverance.
- In previous posts I have commented on my concerns with electric vehicles (EV). Some of my concerns relate to the power grid thresholds, the availability of recharging stations, range per charge, and the amount of time needed to recharge your car’s battery. In the United States, automobile manufacturers have revisited their forecasts and plans for EV output, turning some of their production lines from all EV to hybrid.
The EV dilemma is no different outside of the United States, especially in China. China has the most EV makers of any nation globally (fifty) but only three Chinese EV makers are currently profitable. Three out of 50 is alarming with price competition, slowly decreasing demand, and expensive marketing costs putting a damper on many EV makers’ profitability. The tariffs imposed by the United States certainly are not helping matters, with Chinese EV makers focusing on Europe and Australia to ramp up sales.
Fifty EV makers in China, with the financial hurdles they face, are not sustainable. It is inevitable that there will be a good bit of merger and acquisition with these fifty Chinese EV makers. From a consumer standpoint, this may raise EV prices, but as reported by Nikkei Asia: “April’s top-selling all-electric vehicle in China was the Star Wish sedan from Geely’s Galaxy EV brand. A base Star Wish has a range of about 192 miles and is priced at $9,500. Comparatively, Tesla’s Model 3 starts at about $32,688 in China.“ I wonder how many people in China will pay 3x for a Tesla over a Star Wish EV?
The go-forward with auto makers is in flux. While Toyota reports a newfound strategy with EV and Hybrid manufacturing, General Motors has abandoned a plan to pump $300 million into electric-vehicle motor production at its upstate New York plant and will now invest $888 million to make the latest V-8 engines. There is no doubt that many changes are happening with worldwide automobile manufacturing.
- No auto-tune, no lip-syncing, just great music. Along with long hair and interesting attire, Rick Derringer was a guitarist, vocalist, writer and producer. Best known as part of the Edgar Winter Group on the Frankenstein tour, Derringer also played a role in producing Steely Dan, Meatloaf, and Cyndy Lauper. I best remember him for his 1970’s solo hit, Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo. Rick Derringer passed away last week at the age of seventy-seven.
This video is from the awesome show The Midnight Special, a weekly show that introduced many of us to all types of music. I can still hear my father pounding on our bedroom door telling us to turn down the volume. 🙂
- There has been a lot said about NASA and the Apollo Space Program. The Apollo program began in the 1960s and is best known for Apollo 11’s moon landing in July of 1969. That crew of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins landed on the moon’s Sea of Tranquility, and we all know that Armstrong was the first to step onto the moon’s surface with his famous declaration: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
While we do know about the ups and downs of the Apollo Space Program, I doubt that many of us were aware of the Project A119 plan. Developed by the U.S. Air Force, this top-secret project was conceived during the Cold War to show American technological superiority over the Soviet Union. The mission: to detonate a W25 nuclear warhead on the moon’s surface. Say what?
Thankfully, the A119 plan was canceled for all the right reasons. This video takes us through this strange but true initiative.
- Thank you everyone for chiming in with your answer to last week’s Question of the Week: What is Vladimir Putin’s desired outcome continuing the war with Ukraine?
I guess for Putin, Russia’s greatest threat is bordering a free, democratic, capitalist Ukraine whose citizens speak Russian language.
World domination: He wants to rule all and has the ego that is just as big.
To stay in power.
Yet another provocative question! I believe that only the Almighty and old Vladimir himself know what his actual endgame is. That said, it is mental masturbation to bring rational thought to the table to scrutinize this man’s plan. He was an early hero to the Russian people and their economy, a savior like Hitler to the downtrodden Germans after WWI. He then very adroitly consolidated power around him, silencing/killing outspoken opponents. The world sees him as unhinged, but oh wait! He has an arsenal of nuclear weapons and is perceived as demented enough to unleash them on a whim. He worships the old USSR, Mother Russia, and longs to return it to its superpower glory. And that all starts with regaining control of that darling, the most prominent of the former Soviet Union, Ukraine. He dares the rest of the world to screw with him. And he has won so far–the EU could wipe out Moscow in short order but legitimately fear this maniac unleashing hell on them. Can anyone identify any deterrent that has slowed him? Negatory.
Putin, in his deranged mind, is creating a legacy. He sees Ukraine as a land grab and a deterrent to keeping NATO away from his backyard. Sad, but true.
Here is this week’s Question of the Week: What is your favorite U.S. National Park and why? Note: I have two: Yosemite and Acadia. Both great for hiking and exploring.
- Pure Talent. No one likes backstabbers but the word was never explained better than by the O’Jays. It is too bad that our youngsters never had the opportunity to watch Soul Train in the 1970s. The amount of talent the show presented was amazing, and this video gives the O’Jays with their hit song “Backstabbers.” William Powell and the O’Jays were Pure Talent.
Guess you haven’t heard that the “Sea of Tranquility” has been renamed by the current administration. It is now called the “Sea of Obfuscation”.
🙂 C’mon, don’t hold back on how you feel!!!!!