Month: January 2024

Anything Wrong With a 48″ TV In Your Car? Yes, An Oscar Nomination. Comments/Questions? The Council on Foreign Relations. Billy Powell is Pure Talent. 

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• Quote of the Week: It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. – Albert Einstein

Let’s see…. because drivers on America’s highways and interstates are not distracted enough? Ford’s designers and engineers, at a minimum, are tasked with delivering discernible differences with the design and performance of their line of vehicles. Competitive pressure dictates that Ford reinvent how drivers get information and their new Lincoln Nautilus will be Ford’s first offering of the Lincoln Digital Experience. The platform: a 48-inch-wide screen that runs the full width of the windshield, and of course the screen has 4K resolution to match today’s high-end TV screens. Ford touts the ability of the driver to read weather, trip computer, and entertainment information from behind the wheel of a 4,500 lb. automobile/SUV. Do not get me wrong, I really like new technology, especially anything to do with audio and video, but has Ford carried in-vehicle technology a bit too far? 

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• Friends of mine frown upon my admiration for Godzilla. Totally unprovoked, they question my sanity with what I consider one of the best examples of a dynamic character. Godzilla is a force of nature, a villain, a hero, and at the same time an antihero. I have written about Godzilla and have explained to naysayers, amongst other comparisons, there is no comparison between Godzilla and King Kong. I will not bore you with the details, but there is no comparison.

So, to my dear friends, keep giving me grief about Godzilla as what goes around, comes around. Godzilla, the legendary ‘monster,’ has landed his historic first Oscar nomination. A well-deserved one at that. Who would not want to see the epic, Godzilla Minus One? :)

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The first month of 2024 is already done. Here are some thoughts and questions as we head into February.

• I caught some flack over last week’s post, specifically my statement about Nikki Haley’s quote. One reader suggested (called me) a racist. It is possible the context of what I wrote read wrong or maybe some people took the statement the wrong way. To all: I write this blog to get comments, feedback, and questions…but if you refer to me as a racist, check yourself. 110% wrong.
• She was a mom, a businessperson, a gatherer, tough, loving, and empathetic all at the same time. Carol, rest in peace. 
• Later today is my favorite day of the NFL season. To me, the NFC and AFC championship games are so great to watch. Not that I am not looking forward to Super Bowl LVIII but starting today at 3pm EST is usually seven hours of great fun.
• How long does the U.S. and Great Britain abstain from a ground war in Yemen to eradicate the Houthi rebels? The Houthis attacked another commercial ship on Friday and slowly but surely, supply chain issues are starting to bubble up. Enough said.
• Anyone familiar with ‘loud budgeting?’ As much as I can tell, it is a Gen Z mantra complaining about their financial circumstances and how expensive things are. I have an answer, but I am not sure many Gen Zers want to hear it.
• Driving under the influence of alcohol is seriously wrong. Arrested and charged with DUI in the state of Florida usually results in a big fine, license suspension, vehicle impoundment, and sometimes being jailed. Above and beyond those consequences, your father being Hulk Hogan cannot be good. Good luck, ‘Bubba.’ 

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• As described on their website: The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. Founded in 1921, CFR takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.

I have heard about the CFR in the past but never really dug into what they do. As a think tank the CFR provides a massive amount of unbiased information about foreign relations and to dumb it down, what is actually going on with countries around the world. One bit of information they provide is called the Global Conflict Tracker, an interactive guide to ongoing conflicts around the world, and how those conflicts concern the United States. The Global Conflict Tracker map displays close to thirty conflicts with background information and resources on each conflict.

When you listen to people complain about the United States, have them look at this map and the list below. At whatever level, we should be thankful. https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/

Americas
Criminal Violence in Mexico
Instability in Haiti
Venezuela Crisis
Asia
Instability in Afghanistan
Territorial Disputes in the South China Sea
North Korea Crisis
Instability in Pakistan
Conflict Between India and Pakistan
Confrontation Over Taiwan
Civil War in Myanmar
Europe and Eurasia
War in Ukraine
Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Middle East and North Africa
Conflict in Syria
Instability in Iraq
Instability in Lebanon
Conflict Between Turkey and Armed Kurdish Groups
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Civil Conflict in Libya
War in Yemen
Violent Extremism in the Sahel
Confrontation With Iran
Sub-Saharan Africa
Conflict in the Central African Republic
Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Instability in South Sudan
Conflict With Al-Shabaab in Somalia
Conflict in Ethiopia

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• BEST IRISH TEXT MESSAGE OF ALL TIME: “Mary, I am just having one more pint with the lads. If I am not home in twenty minutes, read this message again.”

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• I often discuss what I refer to as ‘pure talent.’ The discussion can relate to different types of artists, scientists, and athletes, but for me it always comes back to music. I am all good with many people not being fans of Lynyrd Skynyrd, a Jacksonville, Florida-based band, named after one of their high school teachers. Southern rock and blues are not always fan favorites, but if you spent any time in the southeastern United States in 70s, 80s, and 90s, you listened to Lynyrd Skynyrd. The band, like many of that era, had many eye-opening stories, but one that still sticks with me to this day is about one of their band members, Billy Powell.  

As Gary Rossington explains in the first video below, it was only a heavy rainstorm that allowed the band to discover Billy Powell’s amazing keyboard skills. The second video, an ancient one at that, gives us a brief glance at Billy Powell’s opening to the song Freebird. Do not even tell me that you did not like the song Freebird…do not.

Yes, I am envious of really talented people. Billy Powell was pure talent. 

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Adios, pay it forward, be safe, and have a Sunday Funday!

No Risk, No Reward.  MACH 1.5.  Knock It Down. Do You Have Answers? ”You Know That Detroit Has a Dome?” Jimi Hendrix. More Pure Talent. 

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I truly believe in this Quote of the Week – “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”– Muhammad Ali

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• Regarding risk: NASA is halfway through the testing of its experimental supersonic aircraft named the X-59. This is NASA’s venture into supersonic flight, which was banned back in 1973 due to the sonic booms evoked by the plane’s speed and velocity. There was nothing like the dishes in your kitchen’s pantry shaking and clattering when a supersonic aircraft flew over your house followed by a sonic boom.

Due to the design of the X-59, NASA is hoping that the aircraft, flying faster than the speed of sound (Mach 1, which is 761 miles per hour), will fly much more quietly than previous supersonic jets and not generating a loud sonic boom. ‘Lucky’ communities across the U.S. will be selected for the X-59 to do flyovers with the purpose of collecting data for regulators to consider rules that currently ban commercial supersonic flight over land because of noise concerns. It is all about the shape and design of the aircraft, especially the long nose of the plane that helps mitigate the boom sound with flying faster than speed of sound. 

If the testing goes well and the X-59 morphs into a commercial passenger aircraft, we are looking at jets flying at Mach 1.5, or approximately 1,100 miles per hour. How does New York to London in three hours ‘sound’?

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• Speaking of things flying above the earth. Maybe it was Ronald Reagan’s Star Wars technology, or was it the Star Wars trilogy? Whatever the inspiration was, we now have witnessed GROUND-BASED laser technology and systems that Japan is testing to clean up space ‘junk’. Since the dawn of the space age in the 1950s, humankind has launched almost 50,000 tons of material into space, about 10,000 tons of which remains in orbit, according to the ESA, which cited data from the U.S Space Surveillance Network. And of the 15,880 satellites launched into space since 1957, 10,590 of them – the majority of which remain operational – continue to whiz around in space at high speeds as of September, the space agency says.

Amazing, and a bit scary, one can only think of the damage a deranged person could do with this type of technology. Osaka-based EX-Fusion is vying to become the first to use lasers from the ground to eliminate the debris from Earth’s orbit, and hopefully that is all they plan to eliminate. Here is a very interesting and alarming video of how Israel is deploying laser weaponry.  

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I Have Questions and I would Appreciate Your Answers: 

• Did the Justice Department, above and beyond antitrust, block the JetBlue acquisition of Spirit Airlines for undisclosed reasons? Have you ever flown Spirit Airlines?
• Of course, I stay away from politics, but I will ask the question this way: Did the former Governor of South Carolina state that the United States was not/is not a racist country? That is a question, not a statement.
• With U.S. airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen not being effective, what next steps does the U.S. take with stopping their attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden?
• What are the key milestones required for consumer demand to grow with electric vehicles? Ford’s production planning geared up their F-150 Lightning pickup for 150,000 vehicles. Recent forecasts level sets sales for 2024 at 30,000 trucks. ”Just missed.”
• What are the drivers of U.S. oil production which are now at record levels? What does this level of production mean for fuel prices at your local gas pump? Is this increase in response to shipping lane disruptions in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden?
• Can someone who lives and breathes the financial world shed some light on the economic downturn, the ‘soft landing’, and recessionary pressure? The S&P 500 and Dow Jones hit all-time highs on Friday with the Nasdaq at a two-year best. Someone please explain where we are heading – it is already the third week of the new year. 
• Why did sixteen college football players make more money this season than standout San Francisco 49er quarterback Brock Purdy? Oh, I KNOW the answer…I am just venting. 

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• I have the utmost respect for broadcast journalists, reporters, and all the production personnel who are behind everything we see and hear. With that said, it is imperative that journalists do their research and homework before asking questions, especially to an NFL head coach preparing his team for a road game at Detroit. To Todd Bowles: kudos to you for handling this so well. 

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• This past week, another conflict with a good friend of mine. Heated, passionate, and absurd, we argued the point of the greatest guitarist of all time. I know there is no clear-cut answer, but for me, and always, it will be Jimi Hendrix. To me, Hendrix was the most innovative guitarist, unafraid to proliferate the use of different melodies, squeals, shredding, acoustics, and effects with his left-handed playing style. Do not get me wrong, amazing guitarists including Jeff Beck, Prince, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, Lou Reed, and Duane Allman always brought a smile to my face, but Hendrix to me stands above the others – pure talent. What I also liked about Hendrix was his humility. You only need to watch the first thirty seconds of this video to realize that he was true to himself. Are there many better songs that resonate with guitar skill than the classic “All Along the Watchtower?” I do not think so.

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• Speaking of pure talent, Faheem Rashad Najm is known for his rap, R&B, and hip-hop skills, but for many years many have considered him one of the best acoustic performers of all time. His stage name is T-Pain, and what he does with the song Tennessee Whiskey, made relevant by country artist Chris Stapleton, is amazing. Early on in his career, T-Pain was ridiculed for using ‘auto-tune’ (think of auto-tune as Photoshop for music). Obviously, there is no auto-tune engaged in this live performance…just an amazing voice and performance. Bret: thank you for the reminder of T-Pain. Maybe someone should ask Chris Stapleton to perform T-Pain’s “I Am in Love with A Stripper?” 🙂

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Adios, pay it forward, be safe, and have a Sunday Funday!

Moving On. Do You Have Answers? Chiplets. A Fistful of Dollars. 

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• A friend gave me a book right after the holidays. He assumed it was an easy read and that I would enjoy the takes from Robert Glazer, a global business leader and national bestselling author. Titled Friday Forward, the book’s objective is to provide inspiration and motivation to end your work week stronger than it started. The book contains fifty-two weeks of inspirational stories, taking in one story a week for a year. I just finished week two, a three-minute read titled “Moment of Clarity.” Glazer narrowcasts the word ‘clarity’, with the notion that while most of us know what we want, we are often afraid to even acknowledge it, much less pursue it. A sentence in the chapter really did resonate with me: “Gaining clarity might mean that we face a relationship that, in our gut, we know is doomed or move on from a career that isn’t going anywhere or doesn’t fulfill us.” Reflecting back, this sentence is so true. 

A big thank you to Jim, for giving me this easy read. I really look forward to the next fifty chapters. 

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Five Questions for Mid-January

• Does the U.S. and the U.K. move to an all-out assault of the Houthi rebels in Yemen? Do disruptions in the Red Sea lead to supply chain issues? 
• What is the go-forward with Gaza once the Israelis feel like they have eliminated Hamas? Who governs Gaza?
• How will future Covid-19 variants and other airborne pathogens be designated by the WHO and the CDC? Another pandemic or an endemic? Are pandemics and endemics mutually exclusive? 
• Will $4.7 billion in economic aid from the IMF help Argentina help correct the country’s financial woes? South America’s second largest country has an annual inflation rate of 211%. Not good.
• Hertz, after making a huge investment to support their EV fleet of cars, is selling off their EV cars due to “hidden costs.” Anyone with an electric vehicle care to chime in?

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Quote of the Week: – from Sir Edmund Hillary:

“You don’t have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things—to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.”

Understatement of the Week – from the editor of a travel website reflecting on the state of many airlines’ ‘exclusive’ customer lounges:

“This is a very natural change, and I expect it to continue rising until demand and supply balance out. It is even my own personal opinion that there are too many people in these lounges at the moment, and sometimes it’s difficult to find a place to sit down.”

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• From my longtime friend Rick S. He sent me this list of ten breakthrough technologies for 2024. Some are quite interesting; some I really do not understand. That could be due to the list being created by the MIT Technology Review. 🙂

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) will continue to not only reshape the tech industry but our everyday lives.
• Super-efficient Solar Cells will take advantage of a layer of tiny crystals to dramatically increase the ability of solar panels to be more efficient, create a greater range of electricity, and reduce carbon emissions. To my tech and power generation friends: What is stopping solar power from being used with automobiles, buses, and other types of vehicular mobility? 
• Apple Vision Pro headsets. The technology that is now used by military pilots and surgeons will morph into the consumer market. I love the technology, but I am not sure I am ready to experience augmented and virtual reality as part of my normal day. This is Apple’s reveal of this amazing headset.

• Weight-loss Drugs dealing with what has become an epidemic of worldwide obesity. There are reports and research that medications like Mounjaro and Wegovy could help protect against heart attacks and strokes.
• Enhanced Geothermal Systems, due to engineering challenges, is still in its infancy stage. As engineers unleash solutions for new drilling techniques there will be a better endgame with using the Earth’s heat to produce clean energy. This is way above my pay grade; does anyone want to elaborate on this energy technology? Tracy A.: care to help us understand this?
• Chiplets are small, specialized chips that can be linked together to make computers faster and more efficient. This technology dovetails with the topic of quantum computing, which I discussed a few weeks ago…and subsequently put many readers to sleep. 
• Gene-editing Treatments sound a bit scary, but both the U.S. and UK have given the bio-tech company Vertex regulatory approval to use gene-editing to help fight diseases including sickle-cell. This type of biotechnology could be a game-changer.
• Exascale Computing can now perform more than an exaflop’s worth of calculations (that’s a 1 followed by 18 zeros). These new machines will allow scientists to perform sophisticated simulations of the climate, nuclear fission, turbulence, and much more. Cost of this type of computing system = $390 million, and that cost does include installation. Check Amazon for better deals.
• Heat Pumps sales have gone vertical and for the first time have surpassed gas furnace sales. Benefits of heat pumps include higher heating efficiency, less expensive to run, no threat of gas or carbon monoxide, and it does not burn fossil fuels. One key downside to heat pumps: Since heat pumps need electricity to run, they won’t work if the power goes out. This can make it challenging to heat your home in the event of power failure, especially this weekend in places like Kansas City. 
• Twitter Killers….there is no need to explain how and why alternatives to “X” like Threads and Bluesky are gaining traction.

The MIT Technology Review did ask their readers what technology breakthroughs are missing from the list. Some of those included robotaxis, thermal batteries, lab-grown meat, and SpaceX’s Starship rocket. Thoughts?

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• I am often amazed at the pure level of musical talent exhibited by many around the world. To this day I wish I had taken the time to learn to play an instrument. I had my excuses but reflecting back, I could have taken forty-five minutes a day to learn piano, or the organ, which sat five steps from my bedroom door. Whether the musical talent is young children or a symphony orchestra, I am often awe-struck by their talent. This performance by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra is pure talent. Composed by Ennio Morricone, the theme from A Fistful of Dollars (one of many Clint Eastwood spaghetti Westerns), features an amazing score of complexity and composition. Amazing talent. Note: this is from IMDB: Morricone was hired by director Sergio Leone for A Fistful of Dollars (1964) on the strength of some of his song arrangements. His score for that film, with its sparse arrangements, unorthodox instrumentation (bells, electric guitars, harmonicas, the distinctive twang of the Jew’s harp) and memorable tunes, revolutionized the way music would be used in Westerns, and it is hard to think of a post-Morricone Western score that doesn’t in some way reflect his influence. Although his name will always be synonymous with the spaghetti Western, Morricone has also contributed to a huge range of other film genres: comedies, dramas, thrillers, horror films, romances, art movies, exploitation movies – making him one of the film world’s most versatile artists.

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Adios, pay it forward, be safe, and have a Sunday Funday!

Strategy For Your Life. Excellence Is Expected. It Is All About Amal. The Humane Society. We Exist Against All Odds.  NASA’s Lunar Strategy. A Great Performance. 

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• Three of my friends and I formed a small group over a year ago. We discuss the beginning of the year, avoiding New Year’s resolutions but discussing things in our life we are going to change. More than an excuse for a fun dinner fueled by a bottle of wine or two, our group discussion, as pointed out by this consultant in a Harvard Business Review video, really focuses in on our life strategy: “An integrated set of choices that positions a person to live a great life.”

The seven steps comparing corporate strategy and life strategy very much align, with step seven being the key: How can I ensure successful, sustained change? I really enjoyed how this consultant explained social comparison, where you are always comparing yourself with other people in certain areas. Who would have thought that your life can be divided into sixteen strategic life units, with the ultimate goal of creating and sustaining the life you want? The two-by-two strategic life portfolio is a great way to visually plot the level of importance compared to your level of satisfaction with your sixteen life units. The consultant gives us a great quote from the philosopher Seneca: “If you do not know which port you are sailing to, no wind is favorable.“

I will propose this exercise with my other group members at our next dinner. The video does have a short break that you can exit after five seconds, but this nine-minute video is worth the watch.

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• Quote of the week. I did change one word:

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some MANY people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.“ – Steve Jobs

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• I am not one to watch award shows, though I do have to say that the presenters and winners have slowed their roll over the years with their political diatribes. I do remember Tina Fey burying the talented George Clooney many years ago. A classic salute to women – with Clooney taking it in stride.

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• Whatever Humane Society you support, please donate to this great cause. This note is from my Atlanta-based friend Samir, who runs the Board of the Atlanta Humane Society. Please note the Atlanta chapter’s work in Gainesville, Florida. Dear Friends: The Atlanta Humane Society “Day of Giving” is on February 15th, and as I do every year, I am reaching out to seek your support. Thank you for the tremendous support you demonstrated last year, and I am hoping for a repeat 🙂.

In my role as the chairman of the board of directors of the Atlanta Humane Society, I witness the profound impact your donations have on the essential services we provide. In the past year, we distributed nearly 170 tons of pet food to families and small animal shelters in need, we facilitated over 175,000 interactions with pets and their caring families, and we rescued more than 300 abused and maltreated animals. Additionally, our East Lake low-cost vet center provided services to countless pets in desperate need for medical attention. This year, we expanded to a new location in Gainesville, Florida and our team is working on expanding the same low-cost model initiative in Georgia and throughout the Southeast.

In the last few years and due to the pandemic, my aim to organize “Puppies Party” for the children at Scottish Rite Hospital using your donations faced challenges. My hope is for the hospital to relax its policy this year so we can restart this wonderful tradition, and put smiles on the faces of these resilient children.

To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit Samir’s fundraising page for Atlanta Humane Society. https://give.atlantahumane.org/fundraiser/5137623

Your support is genuinely appreciated, and I encourage you to forward this email to fellow animal lovers in your network. Thank you, Samir.

I am not asking but suggesting that if half the people on the JustMyTake distribution list contribute $50 to this important cause, Samir will get off to a great start with his Humane Society fundraising effort.

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• “We are alive against stupendous odds.” I have never thought about the reality of life this way, but as usual, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson nets it out. A very interesting perspective. 

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• “It will open up the moon as a place where there’s so many companies doing business, that when we want to do something that’s more than just landing stuff on the moon.” This quote is not from Star Trek’s Admiral James T. Kirk. This quote is from Joel Kearns, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for exploration in the Science Mission Directorate. Kearns is explaining the hopeful launch of the New Vulcan Centaur rocket, the first of many missions under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract. The rocket, from commercial space technology company United Launch Alliance (ULA), will travel for twelve days to the moon, enter several weeks of different altitude orbits, and on February 23, drop a lunar lander descending from sixty-two miles to the surface of the moon.

If the landing is goes off as planned (only half of the previous missions deploying equipment and materials to the moon’s surface have been successful), the Astrobotic Technology lunar lander will deploy its payloads, which include a myriad of equipment to measure and indicate levels of water, carbon dioxide, methane and lunar radiation. Along for the ride are five lunar rovers, as well as payloads from five different countries.

The cause and effect of commercial space exploration continues to be mind-boggling as the U.S. Space Force command leverages the private sector to strengthen U.S. commercial and military space systems. Cross your fingers that this mission and lunar deployment are successful – the go-time is early tomorrow morning, January 8th.  

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• We have all attended events that have started off with someone giving it their best shot with the U.S. national anthem. I have been told many times that the anthem is a difficult song to perform, and unfortunately, we have experienced talented singers having a tough time with Francis Scott Key’s Star-Spangled Banner. Kudos to the L.A. Galaxy staff member who elected to have this young lady perform. Wow!!

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Adios, pay it forward, be safe, and have a Funday Sunday!