Caeli Energie has invented responsible “aircon” - Grenoble INP - UGA

A nice bit of innovation using thermodynamics to cool the air. Yeah maybe it's not quite what we think of as "ice cold a/c" but applying thermodynamic principles to cool the air efficiently, cheaply, and at a lower cost to the environment is a huge leap forward. 

Caeli Energie has invented responsible "aircon" - Grenoble INP - UGA https://www.grenoble-inp.fr/en/companies/caeli-energie-has-invented-responsible-%e2%80%9caircon%e2%80%9d

And a review 

https://www.philaplace.org/lifestyle/goodbye-traditional-ac-new-technology-uses-5-times-less-energy-and-delivers-4-times-more-cooling-48837/

Michelle Obama's Girls Opportunity Alliance rallying $2.5M for grassroots education

This news item caught my attention. Michelle Obama was engaged and involved in the idea of betterment throughout her 8 years as the First Lady. Eat healthier, and think sustainably. Promote education. 

And sadly, she was mostly panned for doing so by the GOP (mostly for racist reasons). 

And even after she left the White House, she continues to do much the same thing. She's doing it because she wants to, and because she believes in the core message. 

And I have to ask what the current presidents wife is doing, did during his first term, during the 4 years in between, or really at any point in her life. 

I have no idea if she actually stands for anything at all, mostly because we never hear anything from her.  Surely it's partly her, but there is also a misogynist husband, who presumably wants her to be subservient and quiet. 

The difference between these two women could not be more clear.  

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/michelle-obamas-girls-opportunity-alliance-rallying-25-million-126426940

From potato to chip: The next chapter of Lay’s

Lay's is making a big to-do about making some changes to their products, and more specially the packaging. 

On the one hand they note that 

42% of people who enjoy Lay's don't realize they're made with real, farm-grown potatoes.

Which would suggest that people are stupid. So they are hilighting the potato on their packaging. Which, if you look at any packaging they've used in the last 30 years always has shown potatoes on them… so I'm not sure how that helps. 

And on the other hand, it's clear that they are dancing around the fringes of the dunderhead in health and human services wants in his quest to reduce food dyes and additives. They don't mention this specifically, but they do want to be more transparent. So sure, sure. 

It's just weird that they made such a big splash and the media ate it up. (See what I did there?)

https://www.pepsico.com/our-stories/story/from-potato-to-chip-the-next-chapter-of-lays

Crypto world, buckle up for the rug-pull of all time

I am aware that this article is opinion and not necessarily news, but the underlying point is solid: crypto being "decentralized" doesn't mean it can't be manipulated in some ways.  A few bad actors could theoretically move wealth from the many to the few. 

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/5548075-crypto-rug-pull-warning/

Trump administration issues layoff notices to more than 4,000 workers during government shutdown

Pursuant to my previous post about reducing the federal work force, here you go …

  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1mxd1g71vxo

This has been on my mind for a while now...

I'm amazed at how a certain segment of the population doesn't believe in science, and in particular, how vaccines became a bad thing.  From the dunderhead who currently heads up health and human services on down to the trolls who "do their own research," for some reason vaccines are to be avoided and shouldn't even be in the public purview because .... reasons! 

But yet, these same folks clamor for drugs that they are "told" are miracles, like taking ivermectin as a cure all, despite it having never been tested for efficacy for reasons that make no sense.

Or these drugs you see advertised on TV that may treat some rare thing, but also may cause death, are widely accepted and people clamor for them.  And for things like Ozempic, which causes weight loss *for as long as you take it* as a true side effect of what the drug is intended for, makes people want it as a miracle weight loss drug.

Why is this so hard for people to understand.  Science looks at the small details, the facts, and not hyperbole, wild claims, or other crazy bits of information. And in some cases, protects us from nature itself.  But yet, people seem to think that what matters is that catchy tune that makes everything sound wonderful, even if its not.

It’s no wonder people steer clear of financial advisor types

In summary: a professional football player in Miami used the services of Merrill Lynch in South Florida. The person who was serving as his advisor was actively enriching himself from the players money through a series of shady transactions, and laundering money through a third party - that the player had never met or authorized.

The advisor was arrested and faces restitution and significant jail time.  And Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay about 3x what was stolen, and essentially (paraphrasing from their publci statements) "hopes to do better in the future."

And surely other people who were managed by the same person had money stolen, too. What of them? 

Merrill Lynch Pays $9.5 Million to Settle FINRA Arbitration Brought by Former NFL Star Reshad Jones https://www.iorio.law/blog/merrill-lynch-reshad-jones-fraud-settlement/