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.
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
- 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’?
- 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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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?” 🙂
Catching up on your blog. I know he was a bassist, but I think you have to throw Stanley Clarke in the mix for one of the greatest guitarists. Man, could he slap that bass!