In 1961 President Kennedy picked Ed Dwight to become America's first Black astronaut candidate, but NASA never selected him, so he spent decades sculpting bronze instead — and finally flew to space at 90

I’ve mentioned Ed Dwight in previous newsletters, but it’s worth revisiting.  Dwight nearly was the first black man in space - if he had been selected among the first group of astronauts in the 1960s.

But sadly, while Kennedy had wanted Dwight to be part of the story, when Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, that dream died along with him, and Dwight was excluded. And it would be another two decades before a black man would go into space.

https://spacedaily.com/m-in-1961-president-kennedy-picked-ed-dwight-to-become-americas-first-black-astronaut-candidate-but-nasa-never-selected-him-so-he-spent-decades-sculpting-bronze-instead-and-finally-flew-to/

Wealth inequity

Wealth is so out of control these days.  The uber wealthy have grown to a point where they have become oligarchs (actual definition: An oligarch is an extremely rich and powerful person who uses extreme wealth and business ties to control or influence government and society. The word comes from ancient Greek terms meaning "to rule by the few")

Back in 1990, there were just 66 people in the US who had a billion dollars or more.  And the top 1% of the population controlled a little under $5 trillion in total.

Today, there are about 3,400 people with a billion or more (that's more than a 50 fold increase, and the curve is something like exponential growth).  And the amount of wealth controlled by the top 1% is around $56 trillion (an 11 fold increase!).

But the number of people in the top 1% only increased by about 20% (1.08 million people > 1.33 million people).  Essentially meaning the group at the very top accumulated most of the wealth.

And the crazy part is that this increase is almost exclusively  "new money," accumulated in an environment where de-regulation is key.  Tax rules are favorable, companies can do what they want, and the people that run companies are profiting off the backs of their under-appreciated employees.

It's crazy, and can lead to nowhere good in the long run.  We can and should be taxing them more.  I have no issues with someone accumulating wealth, but at what point is it "too much" or excessive?  Seems to me that there should be a threshold (IMHO $50 million is more than enough for anyone and is generational in nature), and in excess of that, you have to contribute to society in some way - through taxation or by having to move it into a charitable endeavor.

On that note, I recently re-watched the re-imagined adaptation of Sherlock Holmes called "Elementary" which came out about 15 years ago.  Holmes is still British, but he's solving crimes in New York with the help of Watson, played by Lucy Liu.  It is entertaining, but takes a few modern-day liberties.  

One of those liberties is to have storylines around Holmes' father, Morland.  He comes from old money, and has a lot of power in the world to do as he pleases.  At some point in the story arc, new money comes into the picture and starts aggressively moving into Morland's domain.  He can stave it off at first, and then must start calling on other old money players to band together.  Only, he gets betrayed as a group of them, who sell out to these new players - and they set him up to be killed off.

What we're seeing play out around us is that storyline to a point.  The new money players are edging out the old money - and it becomes a matter of them adapting, or they fall behind.  Life is imitating art to a degree.

If you know, you know.

Giant U.S. company cancels major employment perk for new staff - TheStreet

This is an interesting turn of events. While we may simply sluff it off as corporate greed and kind of what we expect today, there’s a little more to this. 

Many of the large companies have events, retreats, and otherwise use Disney World as a kind of a fun perk for employees. 

Taking these perks away and “cost cutting” has a bottom line impact to Disney. 

While Disney doesn’t provide exact figures, it’s estimated that there are around 1,000 corporate events held each year.  And that’s not even considering events with under 250 people. They book rooms, using meeting space, dine, take advantage of the amenities, and often will rent a park for a signature event one evening. 

That’s a lot of potential lost revenue. 

https://www.thestreet.com/employment/pwc-cancels-employment-perk-internship-disney-world

Most people can hold their breath underwater for a minute or two, but a people called the Bajau can spend up to five hours a day underwater, diving to depths that would unnerve a scuba diver — and scientists have traced the ability to a change written into their very DNA

If you don’t believe in any kind of human evolution, I present to you this story about bajau people who have adapted because they live near the sea, and spend a lot of time under the water … their bodies can maintain their oxygen supply for much longer than most humans, go deeper than you and I, and they have a unique ability to recover quickly once they return to the surface; they can dive again almost immediately. 

https://spacedaily.com/d-most-people-can-hold-their-breath-underwater-for-a-minute-or-two-but-a-people-called-the-bajau-can-spend-up-to-five-hours-a-day-underwater-diving-to-depths-that-would-unnerve-a-scuba-diver/

When a child mixes white school glue with liquid starch, the long polyvinyl acetate chains in the glue tangle around borate ions from the starch and form a stretchy net — the same cross-linking chemistry that makes slime peel off a table in one rubbery sheet instead of a sticky smear. - The Artful Age

I can remember the teachers in my kids’ preschool making slime! From a mixture of cornstarch and school glue. It’s safe, non toxic, and fun to play with. 

I made it at home to play with too. 

Well it turns out that there’s an interesting thing that happens in chemistry that makes this a kind of a unique substance - that has other uses. 

You can read the details of how it works here:

https://theartfulage.com/ap-when-a-child-mixes-white-school-glue-with-liquid-starch-the-long-polyvinyl-acetate-chains-in-the-glue-tangle-around-borate-ions-from-the-starch-and-form-a-stretchy-net-the-same-cross-linking-chemis/

Alzheimer's patient in Broward sees brain plaques cleared after year and a half of treatment - CBS Miami

Here’s a breakthrough in Alzheimer’s research. Scientists have known that the plaque buildup is the main factor in the onset of Alzheimer’s. There are various things one can do to try and protect against the plaque buildup and the clearing of it. 

But now Eli Lilly has a drug they are testing.  It’s an anti-amyloid medication and in early trials it is clearing the plaque efficiently. 

More needs to be done, but it has some promise as a treatment.  And probably will lead to other things as well. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/pompano-beach-alzheimers-patient-treatment-cleared-plaques/