Presidential intimidation

Dear Friends,

I just signed the campaign: Protect the Oath: Reject Presidential Intimidation Now

It would mean the world to me if you could also add your name to this important issue. Every name that is added builds momentum around the campaign and makes it more likely for us to get the change we want to see.

Will you join me by taking action on this campaign?

https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/protect-the-oath-reject-presidential-intimidation-now?share=a07a203f-d0c4-4b34-b812-4291e6cf30f1&source=s.fwd&utm_medium=&utm_source=s.fwd

After you've signed the petition please also take a moment to share it with others. It's super easy – all you need to do is forward this email.

Thank you!

And here we go again

Senator,

Mr Trumps behavior this week was beyond the pale. Specifically, he took to social media and assailed his perceived enemies. 

Congresspeople dared to defy him, in reminding the military about its constitutional obligation and the legality of their actions. We are all aware that officers are sworn to uphold the constitution, and must not carry out unlawful orders.

But Mr Trump decided to use the word traitor and called for their execution. He then linked it back (somehow, and absurdly) to George Washington as though this is something he would have done. Which of course, Washington would not have, and never did. 

We all know that Mr Trump is ignorant to history, and to his own constitutional responsibilities. 

But to call others traitors, and want them executed, because they don't agree with him is a bridge that should never be crossed. 

This is not how any of this works. 

You must hold him accountable for violation of his own oath in calling for attacking "his enemies," these other elected people. 

And I moved into first place on soarin’

It didn't take too long for the program to start racking up points. 

I did notice that I had a mistake in my code that mishandled a certain "null value," but that was easily fixed and the percent of correct answers climbed to around 90%

I still have the issue of clicking on the map, and another issue with a bit of game play that's kind of a "rapid fire" bonus 5 questions. 

I developed it in a way that reads the question and clicks the correct answer. And it repeats, so the screen may get clicked 4-5 times when a question comes up. This was done because I have no way of knowing when the next question pops up. So I just keep reading and clicking.  

In the bonus round, there are a times when the previous answer gets clicked because the program hasn't recognized a new question came up. So I miss on some of those answers. 

I could come up with a better way of handling the next question. But it's not really worth the effort. 

Another letter to the senate

Senator,

Are you really okay with Mr Trump engaging the military to attack small boats, with no rationale, no provocation, and reportedly using intelligence from another country? How is that constitutional?

And now he's apparently amassing ships and troops for what is widely believed to be an attack on Venezuela. The last time I checked, Venezuela was a sovereign nation and there's no public evidence (or even suggestion) that they have done anything to provoke us, or otherwise have affected our interests in a way that warrants an unprovoked attack. And Mr Trump - in his typically incoherent state - can't articulate why this is necessary. 

It is quite literally unconstitutional, and may be considered by other countries as a war crime. 

You must hold him accountable and stop this unnecessary aggression. 

There is also the matter of Venezuelans who had been here under a TPS order that got extended, being told they must now self deport. Many of them live in our state. They have strengthened communities, often made families, and contributed in many ways, including paying taxes.  

And yet they are being told to deport to a country that seemingly will be attacked by the country that is deporting them. 

How does that make any sense? That really pushes the notion of "cruel and unusual" does it not? And is contrary to pretty much everything we've stood for over the last 250 years. 

I urge you to defend our constitution and don't let this escalate any further. 

SuperBowl prediciton

I'm calling it now. One of these 8 teams WILL win it all: Indianapolis, Kansas City, New England, Denver, Seattle, LA Rams, Detroit, or Green Bay. Full stop.

Seattle vs Indianapolis is the most likely, based on their point differential.

Why? 

I've summarized below the teams that had the highest point differential in week10 of the season, for each of the last 6 seasons, and how they fared in the end.  

I did look at seasons prior, and the trend is the same.  If you are in the top 4 in points differential, you are very likely to make the playoffs (92% over the last six seasons), and one of the 8 teams will win the superbowl.  

I am aware that twice the team with the 5th best point differential made the superbowl, but both times that team lost.

Oh and by the way, something else I noted is that the teams that have a better win loss record, and generally those that get that bye, are much more likely to win in the end.

Here's the point differential...

2019, week 10:

AFC

New England +172 (lost in wild card round)

Baltimore +111 (lost in divisional round)

Houston +45 (lost in divisional round)

Kansas City +45 (won superbowl) <- had the bye

NFC

San Francisco +130 (lost superbowl) <- had the bye

Dallas +81 (did not make playoffs)

Minnesota +80 (lost in divisional round)

Green Bay +45 (lost in conference championship)

----

2020 week 10:

AFC

Kansas City +103 (lost superbowl) <- had the bye

Pittsburgh +100 (lost in wildcard)

Baltimore +79 (lost in divisional round)

Miami +69 (did not make playoffs)

NFC

Tampa Bay +70 (won superbowl)

New Orleans +58 (lost in divisional round)

Arizona +56  (did not make playoffs)

Green Bay +53  (lost in conference championship)

----

2021 week 10:

AFC

Buffalo +145 (lost in divisional round)

New England +98 (lost in wildcard)

Tennessee +46 (lost in divisional round)

Indianapolis +38 (did not make playoffs)

>> 5th best Cincinnati +33 (lost superbowl) 

NFC

Arizona +98 (lost in wildcard)

Dallas +89 (lost in wildcard)

Tampa Bay +67 (lost in divisional round)

Los Angeles Rams +44 (won superbowl)

----

2022 week 10:

AFC

Buffalo +99  (lost in divisional round)

Kansas City +64 (won superbowl) <- had the bye

Cincinnati  +43 (lost in conference championship)

Baltimore +39 (lost in wildcard)

NFC

Philadelphia +79 (lost superbowl)  <- had the bye

Dallas +47 (lost in divisional round)

San Francisco +35 (lost in conference championship)

Minnesota +35 (lost in wildcard)

----

2023 week 10:

AFC

Baltimore +113 (lost in conference championship)

Buffalo +78 (lost in divisional round)

Kansas City +65 (won superbowl)

Miami +60  (lost in wildcard)

NFC

San Francisco +109 (lost superbowl) <- had the bye

Dallas +104  (lost in wildcard)

Philadelphia +57  (lost in wildcard)

Detroit +38 (lost in conference championship)

----

2024 week 10:

AFC

Buffalo +97 (lost in conference championship)

Pittsburgh +69  (lost in wildcard)

LA Chargers +68  (lost in wildcard)

Baltimore +65 (lost in divisional round)

>> 5th best  Kansas City +58 (lost superbowl)  <- had the bye

NFC

Detroit +113 (lost in divisional round)

Washington +73 (lost in conference championship)

Philadelphia +72  (won superbowl)

Minnesota +64  (lost in wildcard)

---

2025 week 10:

AFC

Indianapolis +115

Kansas City +76

New England +73

Denver +62

NFC

Seattle +103

LA Rams +98

Detroit +83

Green Bay +37

First images from Sentinel-4 reveal air pollution hotspots - Earth.com

Back in July, the European space program launched a satellite called Sentinel-4. Its purpose is to monitor pollution and atmospheric conditions, so we can learn more about how pollution travels and where hot spots exist. 

The first publicly available data became available recently, and shows how this will work. We should be able to understand the impacts of man-made pollution (even if certain politicians here in the US want to ignore it). 

 

https://www.earth.com/news/first-images-from-sentinel-4-reveal-air-pollution-hotspots-around-the-world/

World’s First Wirelessly Charging Highway Is Here — More Powerful Than Tesla Superchargers - Autoblog

This is pretty cool, in principle. Though I do wonder about its practicality on a large scale. 

In any case, a company has embedded the technology on a stretch of highway in France, and the results are good, with an inductive charge that is faster than a supercharger, and doesn't require the driver to stop. 

 

https://www.autoblog.com/news/worlds-first-wirelessly-charging-highway-is-here-more-powerful-than-tesla-superchargers

New research reveals next-gen energy source that is plunging in cost: 'This technology is no longer a moonshot prospect'

The short summary is that the evolution in the technology used in solar means that it costs less than 3cents (US) to produce a KW to produce. 

Though of course installation is still a large cost, and storing the energy at night has pitfalls. 

But the larger point stands: it is much cheaper to harness the sun than to mine for coal or capture natural gas. And less hazardous too. 

https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/solar-energy-university-of-surrey-cheapest-power-source-cost/

Indian-Malaysian CEO of American company with O-1 visa stopped by FBI at Miami airport | Hindustan Times

"I really can't wait for the next election because what's happening in America right now is insane. The fearmongering, the xenophobia, the blaming of immigrants by politicians with no ideas on how to truly make a country great."

https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/us/indianmalaysian-ceo-of-american-company-with-o-1-visa-stopped-by-fbi-at-miami-airport-101763182826879.html

FIFA and the World Cup

A few years ago, the World Cup was awarded to "North America" - with some games in Canada, some games in Mexico, and some games (including the late rounds and finals) in the United States.

Plans were made.  Contracts were signed.  Stadiums were updated.  Sponsors got involved.  Lots and lots of money changed hands to get ready for the event.  Its huge, and is the ultimate in "inclusion" with people travelling from around the world to see their team play!

And then, we had an election, and the idiot in chief started to take over the event to a degree.  He invited the head of FIFA to visit and told him he might move the games around at his discretion.  Word is that the head of FIFA was quite put off by that. The contracts, the money, everything would be a huge headache. 

Sponsors reacted by making a decision to spend more of their energy on games hosted in Mexico and Canada. Of course, there were rumblings and quiet talks  about maybe moving some games out of the US altogether.

And with the stupid rules around visas, and the "enhanced security" this might be wise, according to some.  Especially after what we saw at the Club World Cup earlier this year - what happened in Miami was a disaster. They certainly couldn't have a repeat of that.

Anyway, flash forward to a few weeks ago. The head of FIFA took on a new tactic: just kiss the ring (or more if necessary).  Flatter the guy.  Show him the trophy.  Tell him how great it is to have games in his country.  You know, all the things you say to a dictator.

And see if you can, get him to just accept the games where they are, and to remind him about the spirit of international competition.  Let people from other countries come for two weeks.... and then, the hook: FIFA will be awarding the first ever "FIFA Peace Prize" during the draw ceremony.  It will go to the person who really embodies the spirit of cooperation.  

"Will it be Trump?"  

"Wait and see!"

Never forget that while its nice that this is an international competition, its also about the money!  Getting T-rump on your side ensures that money flows with no need to breach any contracts.

And to that end, they announced ticket pricing.  They promised some tickets would be under $60.  And apparently they did make a very small number - across all venues for games in the first round - available to fans. They were immediately snapped up and resold for way over that value.

And meanwhile, the actual ticket prices are shown below, compared with the pricing in 2022 in Qatar.

Oh and then there's parking. While these games will take place at large NFL-sized stadiums, most of the parking lots will be closed off, and attendees will be directed to park in places literally miles away from the venues, at a starting price of around $175 per car.  Of course, these parking spots must be purchased in advance and to this point, the venues haven't announced how many spaces will be available, or where they will be.

And in many cities, public transportation really isn't an option, so its unclear who can afford to go to the games and how they will get there.

I admit that I was excited when I heard the world cup was coming to south Florida, and the notion that I could go see a game locally sounded great.  At a starting point of $100, which still seems high to me, maybe I would go.  

But good luck finding tickets under $400! That's the going rate apparently for any ticket to a first round game here.  No thanks.

The Chinese space station

(also known as space is hard, but keep calm and carry on)

The Chinese generally have had some good success on their Tiangong space station. 

The "standard procedure" for almost every trip to a space station is to launch a craft that then docks with the space station and remains there until they are ready to return.  They then board that same craft and head back to Earth.

But about a week ago, something unusual happened.  The spacecraft theTaikonauts used was struck by space debris, and damaged.  Enough so that its a risk to return the spacefarers home in it. 

And in this case, there are no other spacecraft docked to the station, so they are legitimately stranded on the space station without a means to get home.

The international community started to offer assistance, and of course, right on cue, Elon said he'd rescue them!  That sound bite made the rounds... but the Chinese weren't having it.  They thanked the community (though as far as I can tell, never him publicly) for their assistance.  And then announced they would be launching a new space craft for them soon.

And that is that.  No hyperbole.  No mention from them about being stranded.  No political games.  Just a sincere interest in their well being, and a plan to bring them home.

And then in one of the most amusing moments, they posted about the Taikonauts having the first barbecue in orbit as a somewhat momentous occasion.

https://youtu.be/GTgjFv51H7E?si=CMhnTQWBlSq90VLM

Not everything has to devolve into something else....

Ford CEO Farley considers drastic decision after $1.4 billion loss - TheStreet

I find this story interesting. 

Ford had a fantastic idea when they announced an electric F150 pickup truck. They knew what their customers wanted, and leaned into that through their design and advertising. 

It had so much potential. 

But then the pandemic came and it caused some serious supply chain issues, especially with the computer chips they needed. Trucks sat in a parking lot, mostly finished. 

And then another whammy: dealers played all sorts of games. Some thought the idea of electric was stupid and actively denigrated the trucks. Others decided they could use the shortage to boost profits and charged outrageous premiums to those who wanted the electric truck.  

The third strike came when a design flaw was discovered. In some specific situations, the truck would just stop working. It could be while parked or while at a traffic light. And there was nothing the driver could do. It didn't take long for that to go viral. And though they have fixed it, the negative press lingers. 

So here we are. The ceo might kill the brand. It's understandable but kind of sad. 

As I said. So. Much. Potential. 

https://www.thestreet.com/automotive/ford-ceo-farley-considers-drastic-decision-after-1-4-billion-loss

Residents forced to abandon homes as coastal community faces worsening crisis — here's what's happening

The net of the story is that it's *related to* climate change….however, the biggest contributing factor is that the government put in a dam that caused the environment in this community to be altered. 

But yes, they put in the dam to protect agriculture due to a changing climate. 

So it's sort of an indirect sort of effect. Even though there has been some amount of sea level rise that was also affecting them.

https://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/thailand-coastal-village-sea-levels-tourism/

Soarin into 3rd place

My program continues to run well. I have a few issues here and there with it not selecting an answer, which I think is due to how it "sees" the question (there is sometimes hidden text and other times the answer is too close to the question so it appears like it's not a match). And there's the issue of "map questions" where it asks you to touch where a city is. These don't follow the standard A B C D answers. 

Louvre heist reveals museum used ‘LOUVRE’ as password for its video surveillance, still has workstations with Windows 2000 - glaring security weaknesses revealed in previous report | Tom's Hardware

Well. Alrighty then. 

Windows 2000, with all of its outdated and unsupported security issues. Unchanged and easy to guess passwords. It sounds like the Louvre didn't take its technical security seriously enough.  

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cyber-security/louvre-heist-reveals-glaring-security-weaknesses-previous-reports-say-museum-used-louvre-as-password-for-its-video-surveillance-still-has-workstations-with-windows-2000

Common Sweetener Could Damage Critical Brain Barrier, Risking Stroke : ScienceAlert

First off, I'm glad to see that there are still scientific studies ongoing at US universities. And sincerely hope that they are able to, and do, continue. 

Second, what they found in their study is that eryththritol, which was heralded as a great breakthrough in alternative sweeteners, may actually be (very) bad for brain health. 

I've tried it in a few drinks and thought it tasted weird, and so I've stuck to sugar. But it's interesting to learn more about these chemical compounds that are engineered. 

https://www.sciencealert.com/erythritol-sweetener-blood-brain-barrier-study#

Bob Iger Interview: Podcast Shares His Disney Successors and Legacy

Bob Iger provides a look into his tenure as ceo, and gives a few insights into the role and what it's like to follow in Walt's footsteps. 

The linked podcast is about 30 minutes and is a good listen…and the podcast has a few other episodes related to Walt and the company that are now on my playlist. 

"That's really constant innovation, a constant exploration, a constant essentially desire to reinvent and or to invent even more than anything else. That's what I'd want," he continued. "But I think we do occupy a place in the world as great storytellers, perhaps maybe the greatest in many respects. And I would hope that that position would continue for years and years."

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/bob-iger-successors-legacy-podcast-1236420559/

Space power: The dream of beaming solar energy from orbit

A company tested the feasibility of beaming energy from space by testing out a land based solution. 

They took their prototype system to a football field and beamed the energy across that expanse. 

You can't fault them for proving out their equipment without having to launch into space, for now. 

And now they're about ready to take it to that next step. And with the cost to launch being at a reasonable place, it's certainly feasible. 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20251029-the-beam-dream-should-we-build-solar-farms-in-space

Female-Led Arab Team Turn Coffee and Plastic Waste into Activated Carbon, Capturing CO2 in the Atmosphere

The outcome - using coffee and plastic to create a carbon capture device  to reduce CO2 - is pretty cool. 

But more than that this was brought about by a group of women who are Arabic. In some places, women are not allowed to work  as researchers, so it's good to see something positive like this. 

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/female-led-arab-team-turn-coffee-and-plastic-waste-into-activated-carbon-capturing-co2-in-the-atmosphere/

Reversing peanut advice prevented tens of thousands of allergy cases, researchers say : NPR

This is a remarkable story. It's peculiar how peanut allergies spiked for around 20 years and became a thing so a researcher started studying what was going on. 

He got the peanut industry to fund the research and then studied children in Israel who had a lower incidence of peanut allergies against children from similar backgrounds who lived in the US. 

And what he found was that children in Israel were given a peanut snack fairly commonly from a very young age, where children in the states were not. 

And after studying further the conclusion was that avoiding peanuts in young children actually increased the likelihood of peanut allergies. 

The recommendation, then, was to introduce peanuts early, and the number of cases we y down. 

Science for the win. 

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/21/nx-s1-5580211/peanut-allergy-study

Scientists May Have Found a Simple Way to Reverse Aging Eyes

Well that's cool.

Working with lab animals, a group of researchers have determined that a lack of fatty acids reduces eyesight. And by reintroducing them, the aging of eyes can be reversed. 

I wonder if there's a course of action we can take as humans to help maintain healthy eyes. Time will tell…

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-may-have-found-a-simple-way-to-reverse-aging-eyes/

Hidden pathogens uncovered in Napoleon’s doomed Russian invasion

As the article notes, Napoleons march to Moscow was one of the costliest war efforts, ever. 

The cold, the distance, and most notably disease wiped out his army. 

Now, we are learning through dna research that the biggest factor was disease.  And not just a single strain of typhoid, but rather a host of diseases that ravaged his army. 

I find it kind of fascinating to think about how perhaps things could have gone differently if we had antibiotics or vaccines. 

And it should serve as a reminder to us about what could (and perhaps will) happen to the US population if we don't immunize against diseases. 

The attached pictograph is one of the most famous depictions of the effort, it shows the size of his army as it left France, in brown and the returning army in black. It also has a  scale for time and relative temperature along the bottom. 

https://www.wesh.com/article/napoleon-1812-invasion-army-diseases-dna/69151987

Scientist develops game-changing new compound that solves major issue with plastics: 'People told me I was wasting my time'

Sometimes you just have to ignore the voices that tell you no, or that you are wasting your time. 

Enter a professor at Boise state who had never worked with polymers before, but who decided that plastic waste was a problem he could help with in some way. 

So over the course of several years, he self taught about polymers and their reactions. 

And he came up with an engineered form of a polymer that's stable under most conditions, but can be easily broken down into its base elements for re-use. 

Sure, it's nowhere close to be a commercial product, but it could (and probably will) be at some point. 

It's pretty cool what a little ingenuity and some commitment can do. 

https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/closed-loop-recycling-plastic-waste-sustainable/

Transparent solar windows hit Chinese homes — Energy everywhere you see

This is pretty cool. A thin, clear coating is placed on a window to collect solar radiation. This radiation is then transferred to photovoltaic cells on the edge of the window. 

And … voila. Energy is easily stored and can be used in the building that has the windows. 

https://www.ecoportal.net/en/transparent-solar-windows-chinese-homes/13594/

Japan to Beam Energy Down to Earth From Space in First Real Test of Orbital Power Transmission

While no launch date has been announced, the plan is still to launch a washing machine sized object into space. This device will collect the suns rays and then beam the energy that is collected down to an earth station using microwaves.  Then, this microwave energy will be used to provide power, like a power station. 

So it quite literally is beaming energy from space. Something Arthur C Clarke had hypothesized about more than 50 years ago. 

How cool!

https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/10/japan-to-beam-energy-down-to-earth-from-space-in-first-real-test-of-orbital-power-transmission/

Watch "What Happened to Walt Disney’s Weird Cinema Lens?" on YouTube

This is a well thought out story about the CinemaScope lens - the same one that Walt Disney used while filming 20,000 leagues under the sea. 

Your host not only tells the story, he got his hands on a lens, and was able to test it out … and in short it was amazing!

This story covers cinematic history in a fun way. It's worth 15 minutes of your time. 

https://youtu.be/Vg0ftclnwzI?si=iVGGyhdeU5k8T8Co

Wireless EV Charging Inches Closer as Breakthroughs Emerge - Autoblog

Here's an article about how different companies are taking on the idea of wireless ev charging - and how they're having great success in their laboratory environments. 

Now the real test will come in deploying it to the real world and ensuring cars manage to connect to them "right" or if somehow the devices can adjust to the receiver. 

But it is another cool leap forward. 

Imagine charging without having to plug in, in under 20 minutes. 

https://www.autoblog.com/news/wireless-ev-charging-inches-closer-as-breakthroughs-emerge

Soarin’ Round 2

I had a weird notion to restart a quest to top the soarin' game again 

So I started writing some code. And this time, I decided to capture the questions and answers in a database and use that to help up the percentage of correct answers. 

The game is "quirky" in the way it works, and there is some weird spacing that happens on some questions, but not others. 

So I had to write some additional functions to account for that. 

And the early results are good. It didn't take me long to get to a million and a half points. 

But with the top being at 13.6 million, it'll take some time to catch up; and no telling if that person will start playing as I catch up.