Good Memories. Unmanned Rescue. Great Answers. Digital Solitude. Denzel Rules.
- Quote of the Week: “As I learned from growing up, you don’t mess with your grandmother.” — Prince William
Prince William has a good point, especially considering his paternal grandmother was the late Queen Elizabeth II, who reigned over the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth from 1952 until her death in 2022. The late Queen was known as very tough and resilient, shaped by her military service during World War II – the first female of the royal family to serve on active duty. She also did not hesitate to step in and strip her son, Prince Andrew, of his military titles and patronages when his royal duties “were no longer tenable.“
I hope all of us have interesting stories about our grandmother(s). I only knew my grandmother on my father’s side, all 4’11” of her. Make no mistake, Ida, born and raised in Ukraine, was not someone you wanted to cross, lie to, or disrespect. With that said, she was very caring and most importantly to me, loved to bake. Her banana bread and chocolate chip cookies were neighborhood-renowned, some Sundays making hundreds of chocolate chip cookies, using our small glass kitchen table to create the dough…of course without measuring cups and spoons. To this day, I never understood how she could simply pour flour, eggs, vanilla, water, brown sugar, and chocolate chips onto the glass table and use her hands to create the best tasting batter and cookies ever.
Do you have a story about your grandmother you would like to share? Here is one grandmother not to be messed with…
- Drones have become part of daily life, used by real estate agents, architects, broadcasters, police, the military, and companies like Amazon for a wide range of purposes. Now, sea drones are also playing a role in U.S. military operations. Last week, a 24-foot unmanned surface vessel—about the size of a fishing boat and capable of speeds up to 35 knots (40 mph)—helped rescue two soldiers from a downed U.S. Army helicopter off the coast of Oman.
This was the first known instance of an unmanned vessel used to conduct a rescue mission – due to Iran shooting down the U.S. helicopter. Typically used for detecting mines, the U.S. Navy’s Task Force 59 manages the unmanned sea vessels, now used by Ukraine and other countries. It is reported that the U.S. Navy has between 50-60 sea drones at their disposal.
- An observation: It was really nice to see all the World Cup watch parties on Friday night in support of the U.S. match against Paraguay. People gathered at these watch parties to support the U.S. team, mixing people young and old, from different backgrounds, and different political views. Everyone together enjoying the 4-1 win for the U.S.
Friday night’s watch parties put a smile on my face.
Question of the Week: Last week’s questions asked about a movie you watch repeatedly, and an actor you enjoy no matter the movie. Here are some of your answers:
- Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid and Forrest Gump. Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks.
- Gladiator, The Hunt, American Pie, Brave Heart, The Patriot, Silence of the Lambs. Jason Statham, Daniel Craig in all the 007 movies, Clint Eastwood anytime, Stanley Tucci.
- My Cousin Vinny, Shawshank Redemption, Man on Fire, The Fugitive. Denzel Washington.
- Forrest Gump. Robert De Niro.
- Shawshank Redemption. Judy Dench.
- Braveheart. No actor mentioned.
- A Few Good Men. Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise.
- Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Love Actually, Forrest Gump, the Wizard of Oz. Tom Hanks.
- The Hunt for Red October and Field of Dreams. Paul Newman; Sean Connery.
This week’s Question of the Week: If you could have any job in the world for exactly one week, regardless of your current skills, what would it be?
- Hormonal pills (The pill), IUDs, condoms, and permanent sterilization. Birth control is a personal decision based on ease of use, effectiveness, and side effects. Unlikely as it seems, the National Bureau of Economist Research (NBER) has also chimed in on birth control and has introduced us to another birth control method, the iPhone. The NBER’s research found that in the first four years of the iPhone’s release, areas with access to this and other smartphones saw reduced birth rates from 4.5% to 8%.
There is a possible silver lining to the findings. Though there was a clear reduction in fertility with smart device use, the reduction in births was in the age range of fifteen to twenty-four. “What we show is that births are declining way faster in the places where you could get the iPhone than the places where you couldn’t,” Caitlin Myers, the study’s co-author and professor of economics at Middlebury College, told Fortune.
For many reasons there is concern with the amount of time some teenagers and young adults spend on their smart phones. It will be interesting to see if this research supports how “digital solitude” will shrink the population.
- Pure Talent. “It Ain’t That Big of Deal” was never stated better from the leading actor in movies including Malcolm X, Training Day, Glory, Man on Fire, Remember the Titans, and The Equalizer trilogy. Denzel Washington’s response to the question regarding the pressures of making a movie is both moving and relevant. Fellow star Julia Roberts praised Washington as “one of the greatest actors of all time.” There is no doubt that Denzel Washington is Pure Talent.