Amanda Ungaro Arrived in the U.S. on Jeffrey Epstein's Plane at 17 — Now She's Going After Melania Trump From Brazil

This is such a bizarre story. And it includes the corruption that’s ever present…

Amanda Ungaro Arrived in the U.S. on Jeffrey Epstein's Plane at 17 — Now She's Going After Melania Trump From Brazil - Wealth of Geeks https://wealthofgeeks.com/amanda-ungaro-arrived-in-the-u-s-on-jeffrey-epsteins-plane-at-17-now-shes-going-after-melania-trump-from-brazil/

Artemis returns

Wow.  It was an amazing thing that happened!  The Artemis crew went off into space, circled the moon, and returned safely. They were at a fairly high altitude from the lunar surface, so in completing their mission, they became the humans that went the farthest from Earth - ever. The Apollo 13 astronauts were much closer to the lunar surface, so Artemis now holds the distinction.

They had a bit of a side mission to catalog as much of the moon as they could see, documeting, and taking photos and videos.  Many of the photos were beamed back to Earth in near-real time, so we could see them before the crew landed.  They also took a now 50-year-old tradition, which was started with the first Apollo mission to the moon, and had the opportunity to name a crater. Commander Reid's wife had died somewhat recently. and the other three crew decided that the crater would be named after his late wife.  Which was simply heartwarming.

We now have most of the moon captured in images, which is pretty cool.  We also got some amazing views of Earth - and in somei, the sun was eclipsed by the Earth!

But the one thing that got me was how spoiled we've become.  We had real time video and audio coming back from the crew (in actuality, its delayed by about 1.5 seconds each way, but that's less than the delay on terrestrial TV broadcasts which is about 7 seconds).  We lost contact with the crew as they went behind the moon, because the transmission waves follow a straight line, and the moon was blocking those waves.  That was totally expected.

What was more surprising was that the transmission cut out as the spacecraft re-entered Earth's atmosphere.  That's due to the plasma buildup on the vehicle.  But, with SpaceX missions, we have a constant live view and can see the plasma buildup.  And the reason for that is because SpaceX is using its starlink satellites to receive the transmission and beam that to Earth.  NASA doesn't have that capability.  And I admit I missed it.

In fact, the entirety of the return and recovery felt very much like the Apollo missions. You had grainy footage (with terrible white balance) from aircraft in the area.  You had "visualizations" that showed us what was happening (rather than the real thing).  You had a distant view from a ship when it splashed down.  And when they recovered the crew, they sent helicopters to fish them off of what amounts to a life raft, and hoisted them up and took them to a waiting ship.  Compare that with the SpaceX returns that have a recovery ship that quickly goes to retrieve the capsule and haul it onboard; astronauts then are helped onto the ship without the extra steps involved.

Anyway, it was totally amazing.  And to the science deniers who say we've never left Earth, I say: suck it.

Earth's Population Has Surpassed The Planet's Capacity, Study Suggests : ScienceAlert

A couple of scientists “did the math” and figured out what the optimal earth population should be, given factors like natural resources, food & water supply, etc. 

They note that while they have a number - and we have exceeded it - the other factor is that we have technology which allows us to extend beyond the resource limits. 

That said… their optimal number for population is about 2.5 billion. Our current earth population is around 8.3 billion. Which is a significant difference. They note that this is one reason we’re seeing problems with our ability to feed everyone. 

https://www.sciencealert.com/earths-population-has-surpassed-the-planets-capacity-study-suggests

The World's Largest Wind Farm Built to Power 3.3 Million Homes Just Flipped a Major Switch

Clean energy for the win. Essentially, the large wind farm in the North Sea was connected and a cable was laid to the UK coastline. 

Energy will now be provided to the grid, and that should be sufficient to power 3.3 million homes.  

https://dailygalaxy.com/2026/04/hornsea-3-offshore-wind-farm-export-first-cable-uk/

Watch "Wait, what? Trumps pastor Franklin Graham said this at the White House today. #trump #israel #iran" on YouTube

Well. I’ll be! 

https://youtube.com/shorts/an9D8G1BtjY?si=Zh1eHC1fzDbJaPd1

About the Iran military action

As I've noted many times in the past, it is nearly impossible to know what "truth" is, and the media is no help in finding it. Take the military action that is ongoing in Iran as an example.

T-rump gives updates, tells us how long he expects it to last (the ever changing goalpost), gives ultimatums, and the media just reports on that without probing further. 

We have no idea about the rationale or the objective of the conflict, though some will give what amounts to their opinion, or repeat what T-rump says.  It’s sad in a way. We should be better informed. 

We're also told about relative successes, while negative news is underreported. 

But, if you search outside of what we consider mainstream media, you get a different flavor of what's going on.  A couple of things I thought I would share:

• There was some amount of persuasion, focused on T-rump by warmongers and other nations, to get the United States involved. He had said no in his first term, but this time agreed to an offensive action. It’s unknown why he changed his mind, but this sudden change at least partially explains the lack of a clear objective. But no matter: in the end, it was his decision.  He - alone - owns it. 

• One of the things he tells us is that he wants to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program.  Which I find dubious. They have had the program for decades, and as they say, you can’t put a genie back in the bottle.

• Most of the middle east, and parts of Europe that are "nearby," have prohibited the US from using their airbases for any sort of offensive actions.  That means that aircraft carriers are the primary launching points for sorties.  However, the largest carrier (the Gerald Ford) had a fire, and had to exit the theater for major repairs (which may take a year to complete).  How the fire started is the subject of some discussion.  But reporting from outlets outside of the US, and even an offhand comment by T-rump, suggest that it may have been hit by an Iranian missile.

• Several tactical sites and planes used in general operations (which were at airbases in the Middle East or used in rescue operations), have been destroyed by what appear to be Iranian attacks.

• Russia is apparently helping Iran in some way.  In spite of T-rumps crush on Putin.

• The strait of Hormuz is now fully controlled by Iran, and they want to keep it that way, in order to control the world's oil supply (that is to say that T-rump's actions have changed the dynamic in the gulf, and emboldened Iran to make a power move).

• Its very unclear when (or maybe if?) oil prices will go down, worldwide

• Finally, there have been some strikes that appear to violate international law, and he’s announced others that there are absolutely against the convention about targeting civilians.  There is a strange report (from the person who received the call) that T-rump called a reporter and bragged about arming civilians in Iran.  All of these would be considered war crimes, and should be investigated further. 

And that’s just what’s top of mind. I have to say that it looks like there may be a “lasting legacy” if this keeps up. 

One thing I will add is that there are those who think that we can simply use our might to obliterate Iran.  I remind you that Russia had a similar plan in the Ukraine, and after years of attacks, it’s maybe not going so well.  

Also, I've heard it suggested that the US will simply release its strategic oil reserves to help stabilize prices and supply.  But that shows a lack of understanding about the oil reserve is.  And you can’t overlook the subtext about US oil production, which is also misunderstood.

As always, we prove to be moderately uneducated and are fed misinformation along the way.

Reps. Levin & Casten & SEEC Clean Energy Deployment Task Force Introduce the Energy Bills Relief Act | U.S. Congressman Mike Levin

Given rising gas prices, a supply issue, and the want to build more things that need to tap into electricity (like data centers), it's amazing to me there isn't more coverage of the topic. 

Americans are getting squeezed at the pump and in their utility bills. And it barely registers. 

So here's a bill that was introduced to help Americans. The energy bills relief act would address some of this and might actually help. 

Is it perfect? No. 

Does it address the broad problem and make some reasonable tradeoffs to help? Yes. 

Does it get any attention whatsoever? No. 

Is it likely to pass? As much as I'd hope so, I would assume the answer will be no. 

https://levin.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-levin-and-casten_seec-clean-energy-deployment-task-force-introduce-the-energy-bills-relief-act

A group of amateur astronomers has just “heard” a signal from 25 billion kilometers away, confirming that Voyager 1 is still transmitting from the outer reaches of the Solar System

Voyager 1 is still transmitting, and we are still receiving its signal. At 25 Billion kilometers away. Thats amazing. 

It takes light 24 hours to travel that distance. Voyager is about 173 times as far away from us, as the sun is. 

https://www.ecoticias.com/en/a-group-of-amateur-astronomers-has-just-heard-a-signal-from-25-billion-kilometers-away-confirming-that-voyager-1-is-still-transmitting-from-the-outer-reaches-of-the-solar-system/30278/

Disney and National Geographic Invite Audiences to ‘Step into Wonder’ This Earth Month to Celebrate and Explore the World Around Them

Earth Day is coming up, and Disney wants to help you to take it in.  

Not content to confine it to a single day, Disney is celebrating Earth Month in partnership with National Geographic.  It nicely fits within the idea of the True Life Adventures that Walt Disney himself created.

"For 138 years, National Geographic has been guided by a spirit of exploration that opens hearts as much as it expands minds," said Courteney Monroe, President, National Geographic. "With 'Step into Wonder,' we're putting that spirit at the center of Disney's Earth Month, creating a platform for stories that spark a love for our planet and inspire families to step outside and celebrate the everyday wonders of our world." 

https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/nat-geo-earth-month-2026/

The Astronaut walk out door

The Artemis astronauts emerged from their quarantine facility and took a moment to wave to the cameras before heading over to the launch pad.  

But did you know that this is *the same* walk out door that has been used throughout NASA's space flight program?  Yes, these astronauts quarantined in the same facility!

You can watch a short video I made on the topic here:

https://youtu.be/mh0O-vZvGGQ

By the way, one intriguing thing is that this crew is made up of one white American, one woman, one African American man, and a Canadian man.  It's a more representative group of people than the old three-man white American crews we saw in the 70s. Details here: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/our-artemis-crew/ 

Artemis Moon Mission

I'm just barely old enough to remember the first moon landing in 1969 (my parents woke me up and I have a recollection of the grainy video on our TV, of Neil Armstrong stepping out onto the lunar surface).  And I've essentially been a fan of the whole space program ever since. 

Those of you who know me know that my graduate research was a NASA-funded grant related to the Space Shuttle. So you likely know that I am a BIG fan of the space program (hence why there are regular posts about space!).

NASA committed to a return to the moon (more on that in a moment), and they recently stepped up the program from its fairly slow pace, to try and make it happen sooner.

Artemis is the name of the program, and that name comes from Greek Mythology. Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and the wilderness, which makes a lot of sense. 

You had the Artemis 1 launch that sent an unmanned craft around the moon in 2022.  Artemis 2  launched this week, which has a crew of four astronauts heading around the moon. They won't be landing, but what better way to see how these missions will go than by sending astronauts to the moon as we did with Apollo!

Now to the pressing question, and what the media can't quite get: why are we returning to the moon after 50 years?  The answer lies in our human need to explore. The next great frontier is space.  We have a (tentative?) plan to create a new space station, and there is a desire to build a moon base. They're all part of the nature of continued exploration.

And there's also some measure of scientific discovery in this moon return.  There are some hints as to the universe's origins on the lunar surface, and perhaps we can start to get more insights into the Earth's weather, since the moon has a direct impact on the tides and therefore contributes to our climate.

But... of course there  is the elephant in the room.  You can talk about nationalism, pride, exploration, and science.  But without a financial motivator, there is no reason to return.  

In case you wondered, the moon may have some significant mineral deposits which have some value. And there's deeper space to explore and (to a point) exploit.  Those are certainly motivating factors, too.

  

Further reading:

https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/why-are-we-going-to-the-moon-artemis-nasa-again-89dsbs29f

Archaeologists may have found the grave of the legendary "fourth musketeer" - Ars Technica

Another intriguing mystery. Archeologists have unearthed what they believe to be the remains of musketeer D'Artgan

Whether it is him or not remains to be seen. But the signs certainly point to it being him.  

https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/03/archaeologists-may-have-found-the-grave-of-the-legendary-fourth-musketeer/

Don’t let the door hit you in the butt …

Here's to hoping that one day, justice catches up with her …

Hubble images taken 25 years apart show big changes in the iconic Crab Nebula — Space photo of the week | Live Science

Nice! Using celestial images to show how expansion takes place in the universe.  

https://www.livescience.com/space/hubble-images-taken-25-years-apart-show-big-changes-in-the-iconic-crab-nebula-space-photo-of-the-week

More than half of World Cup countries face extra costs as Fifa fails to agree US tax deal | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian

Another interesting problem, related to the World Cup.  

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/apr/02/world-cup-countries-face-extra-costs-fifa-tax-deal-us-government

A School District Tried to Help Train Waymos to Stop for School Buses. It Didn’t Work | WIRED

I was driving behind a waymo yesterday and was thinking about the "problem" that Waymo's aren't truly autonomous and use a driver in the Philippines to "help"…

That the entirety of the business model is smoke and mirrors. And here's another example of how they don't learn something that's relevant to actual driving. And, there's an underlying problem that tickets aren't issued to a driver, and the company may or may not be responsibly be paying and learning from infractions. 

https://www.wired.com/story/a-school-district-tried-to-help-train-waymos-to-stop-for-school-buses-it-didnt-work/

High School Student, 18, Invents Filter That Eliminate 95.5% of Microplastics

I live hearing about young people tackling problems. Here a high school student came up with a ferrofluid, essentially magnets, that attracts the microplastics in a tank and leaves clean water. 

Excellent approach that may yield some innovation. 

https://people.com/high-school-student-18-invents-filter-that-eliminate-96-of-microplastics-11932477

Scientists testing new scanning technology discover mysterious structure beneath an ancient Egyptian city

Gotta love this leap forward, using traditional methods of searching, some 3D modeling, and satellite views. 

The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of combining geophysical measurements and remote sensing data, which gave a very accurate vision in detecting buried settlements in a complex region

https://phys.org/news/2026-03-scientists-scanning-technology-mysterious-beneath.html

New quantum sensor could replace satellites for GPS-free navigation

Color me intrigued! A "quantum sensor" may be a reliable - and more accurate, without the need for satellite coverage - replacement for GPS. 

And it's about to get a full scale test in space, after being deployed overnight. 

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/quantum-sensor-launch-into-space-spacex

The U.S. Will Require Travelers From 50 Countries to Pay Up to $15,000 to Visit—What to Know

I'm sorry. But this is insanity. Bad enough they opted to make the rules racist at their core. But the rules are so complicated. 

https://www.travelandleisure.com/us-visa-bond-requirement-for-travelers-11932070

Watch "South African innovator finds low-cost solution for potholes" on YouTube

Now that's innovation. https://youtu.be/gtVQ_GE7HKo?si=3Ec1ClVv59FpeUiq

The Billion-Dollar Pivot: Fans Tell Disney Exactly How to Spend the Scrapped OpenAI Windfall

A couple of weeks ago, Disney exited a deal with OpenAI to provide some service to Disney.  I was very unclear on the objective, but it turned out to be a bad fit, so they opted out.

And that leaves Disney with around a billion dollars of capital that otherwise would have been invested in that relationship.

Inside The Magic did a little dreaming, and invited Disney fans to weigh in on ways that Disney could spend that money.  Here's what they came up with: mostly it focused on the theme parks, and lowering the costs to guests.

Read about it here:

https://insidethemagic.net/2026/03/disney-has-an-extra-1-billion-after-openai-deal-fell-through-fans-have-ideas-on-how-disney-can-spend-that-money-rl1/

Land animals evolved from ocean ancestors – new study unravels the genetics behind the transition

This is a summary of an extensive research paper about how land animals evolved from sea creatures around 550 million years ago.

They studied the genetics of animals and found that there are specific things that the animals adapted to in their new environment. 

While the summary is interesting, I encourage you to read the detailed paper. 

 

https://theconversation.com/land-animals-evolved-from-ocean-ancestors-new-study-unravels-the-genetics-behind-the-transition-278609

US scientists turn bourbon waste into high-performance electrodes

Here's a use for "stillage," that is the waste byproduct of distilling bourbon. 

It turns out that the material makes a great material for supercapacitors - an energy storage device that's similar to a battery in this context. 

Creativity for the win. 

https://interestingengineering.com/science/us-bourbon-waste-electrodes-supercapacitors

This Popular Food Was Found to Remove Microplastics from the Human Body in a New Study

Kimchi is a delicious solution to the problem of microplastics accumulating in the human body. 

In summary "The lactic acid bacterium found in the dish helps bind nanoplastics inside the intestine, allowing them to remain together when exiting through the bowel."

The answer is that we should all be eating more fermented vegetables. 

https://people.com/popular-food-found-to-remove-microplastics-from-human-body-new-study-11932883

Wind & Solar Generated A Record 17% Of U.S. Electricity In 2025 - CleanTechnica

In spite of the derision, we've reached a point where wind and solar power generation in the US combined to provide about 17% of the total power in 2025. 

It's only a modest increase over 2024, but it's nice to see it headed in the right direction. 

https://cleantechnica.com/2026/03/20/wind-solar-generated-a-record-17-of-u-s-electricity-in-2025/

Ultra-fast EV truck charger hits 1 MW using just 500 kW grid power

Here's a novel approach to fast, high capacity charging that larger vehicles need. 

What researchers have done is to integrate several components, and a little bit of electronic management.  They created a system that can draw smaller amounts of power at any given time by using batteries and other pieces of tech to increase the amount of power and allow for speed an efficiency - at over 98% efficient it blows away current fast charging. 

https://interestingengineering.com/energy/mega-ev-truck-charger

Chinese Orbiter Crushes Starlink With a 2-Watt Laser From 36,000km Above Earth

A team in China has developed a laser that can transmit data from a high earth orbit to a ground station that far exceeds the data stream that SpaceX uses in starlink. 

It's the next evolutionary step in seamlessly transmitting data from deep space - and to allow for transmission worldwide in near-real time via a satellite. 

With fewer satellites, and the potential for lower cost. 

https://dailygalaxy.com/2026/03/chinese-satellite-outpaces-starlink-2-watt-laser-from-orbit/

Humans in The Andes Appear to Have Evolved a Strange Genetic Ability : ScienceAlert

Here's a story about people in a region of Argentina, high in the Andes, who have evolved to be able to process high levels of arsenic. 

Humans have lived there for over 7,000 years, and the arsenic level in the water is 200 times what is considered the safe limit. Yet, these people have thrived there. 

Another amazing example of adaption and a form of evolution to meet the surroundings. 

Aside: there are some among us who stupidly ask why there are still monkeys if we evolved from them. I would ask why are they still here if some have evolved to process arsenic? That's clearly an ability they don't have, ergo they shouldn't exist, right?

https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-in-the-andes-appear-to-have-evolved-a-strange-genetic-ability

https://www.sciencealert.com/chernobyl-fungus-seems-to-have-evolved-an-incredible-ability#

Check this out. Inside of the still very radioactive reactor at Chernobyl, scientists have found a fungus clinging to the wall. And it's thriving. They believe the way it lives is through a process is something like photosynthesis, but they're calling it radiosynthesis given the way it soaks up radiation. 

Life seems to always find a way. 

https://www.sciencealert.com/chernobyl-fungus-seems-to-have-evolved-an-incredible-ability

Incredible new NASA images reveal Saturn in a new light — and it's all thanks to a telescope team-up from Webb and Hubble | Space

Using the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists took some amazing visible light photos of Saturn. 

Then, they turned the James Webb Space Telescope to it, and got some incredible infrared shots of Saturn. 

Using both, they currently have a pretty detailed look at our celestial neighbor. 

https://www.space.com/astronomy/saturn/incredible-new-nasa-images-reveal-saturn-in-a-new-light-and-its-all-thanks-to-a-telescope-team-up-from-webb-and-hubble

ISS observes an unknown phenomenon 55 miles above Earth - Earth.com

NASA is using some high tech equipment to view atmospheric disturbances - literally waves in the Mesosphere that can't be seen with the naked eye - in order to better understand how our weather functions. 

In particular, they used the telemetry to watch hurricane Helene, so they could see how the hurricane formed and moved. 

I look forward to seeing how they use this data to help better understand hurricanes and maybe protect against them. 

But please don't tell anyone in this administration that we're looking at climate science. 

https://www.earth.com/news/iss-observes-airglow-atmospheric-waves-awe-mission-55-miles-above-earth/

Jared Kushner’s conflicts of interest become even more controversial

Son-in-law and "Jack of all trades" made his way into the news once again.  There's some reporting by the NY Times (behind a paywall), and a summary in the second link.  The first includes another summary plus a clip of Rachel Maddow talking about it.

As a summary, Kushner has had *private dealings* with Saudi Arabia in his business of private equity.  They (the country and prominent individuals) have invested significant sums (like, billions) into his company and he is helping broker a deal for them to purchase Electronic Arts (you know, an American gaming company, which would now be foreign owned - Make America Great!).  

He is also the chief envoy to middle east affairs.  He has met in a weirdly official US capacity with Iran, Israel, and Saudi Arabia - without any official title (and likely in violation of federal law).  Conflict of interests abound, and because he doesn't have a title, he doesn't have to report on the money he accepts.

Anyway, Saudi Arabia rather publicly lobbied for the US to attack Iran, and then we did.  And perhaps not surprisingly, since the attack began, Sadia Arabia's crown prince has shown up on the White House call log frequently. 

The thing to remember is that for T-rump its always. ALWAYS.  About the money, and enriching himself.

If only we had some means of looking into this and holding everyone accountable for their actions.  Too bad the DOJ is totally corrupt, and Congress turns a blind eye, isn't it?

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/jared-kushners-conflicts-of-interest-become-even-more-controversial

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjzbkfby11l#

Watch "Inside The Kitchen Making 30,000 Meals For The Oscars" on YouTube

This is wild to watch.  So.  Much. Planning.  

https://youtu.be/66iCIfoCIVA?si=2J6JIOz6pXGH-A_7

Stop Anti-Voter Bills Now | American Civil Liberties Union

https://action.aclu.org/send-message/stop-anti-voter-bills-now

China Tried to Block the Gobi Desert with Millions of Trees, Only to Turn a “Biological Void” Into Carbon-Sink Territory

Planting trees at the deserts edge has an ecological benefit, helps maintain the size of the desert, and acts as a carbon sink that actually helps scrub more of the earths gasses. 

 

https://dailygalaxy.com/2026/03/china-taklamakan-desert-green-belt-becomes-carbon-sink/

As VA Looks Ahead to Dementia Needs, Study Finds Immune Cells Attack Alzheimer’s Plaques in Brain | Military.com

Certainly, plaque buildup is one of the big contributing factors to Alzheimer's.  So eliminating the plaque is important to the prevention of the disease. 

I'm intrigued by the notion that building up certain immune cells can help this to happen.  It's a fairly simple application, and theoretically inexpensive. I look forward to seeing how this turns out as they study it further. 

https://www.military.com/benefits/veterans-health-care/va-looks-ahead-dementia-needs-study-finds-immune-cells-attack-alzheimers-plaques-brain.html

Huawei launches another major battle over streaming against Disney

Hmmmm. Technology is ever evolving. Companies come up with solutions to problems and patent the methods they come up with. 

Other companies wind up creating something similar, and then get sued by the first company for infringement. And then it's up to a court to decide who owns what - and whether any money will need to change hands to satisfy the claim. 

It's a crazy world these days. And development happens so quickly. I don't know who's in the right here, but Disney has to defend themselves against infringement on their streaming platform. 

https://www.juve-patent.com/cases/huawei-launches-another-major-battle-over-streaming-against-disney/

African soccer confederation strips Senegal of Africa Cup title and declares Morocco the champion | AP News

This is so bizarre. Back in December, you had the AFCON soccer championship that pitted Senegal against Morocco. 

It was wild! I summarized a lot of what happened here:

Chaos at the AFCON 2025
https://youtu.be/e2YAcAJvmbw

But now - months later - FIFA is stripping Senegal of their win. If I understand the ruling correctly, it's because the coach sent the Senegal team to the locker room. So they essentially were ruled to have "abandoned the game" … of course he did this to reign in the chaos. The fans were out of control and the players were hot. He was trying to de-escalate the situation. 

And in my humble opinion, he was completely right. And coming back now to change the outcome is just stupid. 

https://apnews.com/article/afcon-morocco-senegal-overturned-ruling-deee4ed18e0f49b5836cf6c672df9193

And of course Senegal responded …

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/sports/2026/3/18/senegal-govt-alleges-corruption-in-decision-to-hand-afcon-title-to-morocco

This 12-Year-Old Built a Nuclear Fusion Reactor at Home, A World First for His Age

This young lad got an interest in nuclear power when he was just 8 years old. And while building a nuclear reactor wasn't feasible for him, he did manage to get engaged with a project incubator program in Texas. 

And built a working fusion reactor! 

There's still some validation and testing required, and it remains to be seen if it could be viable at scale. 

But, wow. Curiosity got him a long way! 

And what have I done with my life?! 

https://dailygalaxy.com/2026/03/12-year-old-nuclear-fusion-reactor-home/

And meanwhile, in Britain, there’s a $266 (USD) retrofit of a coal power plant into a fusion reactor. Which is impressive in its own right. But definitely a little pricey. 

https://interestingengineering.com/energy/fusion-power-plant-coal-site-uk

The archaeological discovery of the century: a city resembling Atlantis has been found at the bottom of a lake

This is a pretty remarkable find… in very shallow water. An entire city appears to have been affected by an earthquake a century ago, and a lake rushed in to cover it. 

I'm constantly amazed at how little we really know about our own human history. 

https://www.ecoticias.com/en/the-archaeological-discovery-of-the-century-a-city-resembling-atlantis-has-been-found-at-the-bottom-of-a-lake/29143/

NASA just picked a new upper stage for its SLS moon rocket amid Artemis shakeup | Space

NASA made a big announcement about a change to the Artemis moon program, and after so many problems and delays, this was expected. 

There are several pieces to this announcement. The first is that they're going to away from the more intricate design that required several different types of rockets to be built, and they'll be focused on one type of rocket. 

Next, they're evolving the thinking on the lunar module. The design will be simplified and (if I understand it correctly), they'll be changing to a model more like the Apollo rockets lunar module, where they won't be landing the whole unit. 

And finally, the plan is to increase the frequency of launches to accelerate the program. 

Meanwhile, SpaceX and blue origin are also on the hunt to get to the moon and have some plans to build out solutions that may get us there sooner, too. 

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/artemis/nasa-selects-new-upper-stage-for-sls-moon-rocket-amid-artemis-shakeup

Astronomers Just Watched Two Planets Smashing Into Each Other 11,000 Light-Years Away

The basic story is that the astronomers got lucky in a way. They saw two planets at the right angle (relative to earth) at about one astronomical unit away pass near each other and then saw the spectrum emitted changed and a cloud of debris appears to have formed. 

https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/planetary-collision-gaia20ehk/

Josh D’Amaro officially takes the reigns as the CEO of Disney

Attached are two articles with slightly different points of view on the succession that's happening. 

I'm hopeful that the company manages to get it right this time and that Josh is ready to step in as the leader of one of the most recognized brands with a long and illustrious history. 

But one thing that I can't quite understand: why him? What makes him more qualified than anyone with experience with the company? (And if I wanted to sound petty, why wouldn't someone like me even get consideration). 

A brief summary of his bona fides: he graduated with a degree in business in 1993 from Georgetown. He went to work at Gillette for a couple of years.

Then, he moved to Disney as vice president of sales and travel trade marketing. 

And it's been a rise ever since.

It's not like he's a wunderkind, exactly. 

But as I said, I hope it works out. 

https://deadline.com/2026/03/disney-ceo-josh-damaro-addresses-shareholders-1236759317/

https://deadline.com/2026/03/josh-damaro-memo-disney-ceo-succession-1236759197/

Other nations danced for joy at the World Baseball Classic. Team USA played toy soldiers | World Baseball Classic | The Guardian

Good story.

And for what it's worth, the outcome of the world baseball classic was somewhat satisfying. Not that I rooted for the US to lose or anything. Just was happy to see a Latino team play well and win. 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/mar/18/world-baseball-classic-usa-venezuela-trump-war

All 5 fundamental units of life’s genetic code were just discovered in an asteroid sample

Wow. Scientists have looking for what defines life. They came up with 5 "fundamental units of life" that are genetic markers that establish the baseline. 

And they have found all 5 of the returned sample from the asteroid Ryugu. Which suggests that life could exist beyond the earth. It doesn't mean it does, of course, it just shows that the things that make life do exist elsewhere. 

https://theconversation.com/all-5-fundamental-units-of-lifes-genetic-code-were-just-discovered-in-an-asteroid-sample-278099

Torsional flexibility of the thoracic spine is superior to that of the lumbar spine in cats: Implications for the falling cat problem - Higurashi - The Anatomical Record - Wiley Online Library

This may seem a little silly and perhaps trivial. But, a group of scientists decided to figure out WHY cats always land on their feet when they fall or jump. 

The rigor they put into their experiment is enviable. It's quite well thought out. 

In the end, what the discovered was that cats have two spinal regions which can twist independently, so a cat can start turning part of its body and then can turn the rest. 

Studying the world around us is the essence of science. 

 

https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.70165

Messi can suck it.

I was a fan of his. I mean he's the GOAT of soccer. 

But not only did he go to the White House (that's forgivable IMHO because his team won), he also played it up for the orange menace. That's a bridge too far. 

https://youtu.be/2IWM94ru73Q?si=oZNyoD5zUYXw66A-

New iron nanomaterial wipes out cancer cells without harming healthy tissue | ScienceDaily

This is a leap forward in dealing with cancer cells; they attack cells with an iron based particle that gets into the cells and destroys them from inside. 

So far, tests have proven to have a positive outcome. What happens next is more trials that hopefully will lead to human testing at some point. 

 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260228093456.htm

DNA Test Proves "Chimera" Incidence in Washington Woman - Global Genes

Genetics can be a little crazy…

https://globalgenes.org/story/dna-test-proves-chimera-incidence-washington-woman/

Out of control wealth inequity

Here's a little something for you.  

The "top 1%" refers to the top 1% of households or individuals in a country with the highest income or net worth, representing an elite group with significant financial resources

At the end of 2024, to be considered in the top 1% on net worth in the US one had to have around $10 million, which is a shit ton of money…

But at the end of 2025, that number leapt to $11.5 million.  As you might expect, this is the largest one-year leap in that number.  

And why did it grow like that? Because the top .1% - the roughly 900 people (a wildly insignificant percentage of the population who are billionaires) control $7 trillion of the wealth.

And their wealth grew by such a large margin, that they moved the value of the larger group by 15%. For reference there are about 1,500,000 people in that group. 

That is simply nuts.

This plastic is made from milk and it vanishes in 13 weeks | ScienceDaily

Scientists racing to tackle plastic pollution have created a surprising new contender: a biodegradable packaging film made partly from milk protein. Researchers at Flinders University blended calcium caseinate with starch and natural nanoclay to form a thin, durable material designed to mimic everyday plastic. In soil tests, the film fully broke down in about 13 weeks, pointing to a realistic alternative for single-use food packaging.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260227071922.htm

Leopards adapted to South Africa's Cape so successfully that they're genetically unique

Well. What do you know?  These leopards evolved and adapted, based on their environment.  

Shocking. Said no one with half a brain ever. 

https://phys.org/news/2026-02-leopards-south-africa-cape-successfully.html

Disney's Disability Assistance Program

As I've noted in the past, Disney has always been inclusive, and had a program to make it easier for people with specific issues (like, say, autism) could get a pass to have a return time, so they didn't have to wait in line ... because in some cases that would be impossible.

Knuckleheads abused the system, and they changed it to be more complicated - but still made it so that people with certain conditions didn't have to wait in lines. But.... Disney doesn't like the way the current system is setup, given all the technological innovations they've put in place and the fact that the system can (and is) still be abused.

Couple that with the very weird climate around any sort of "differences" in people that we have in society today, and Disney wants to rethink their strategy.

They are asking shareholders to weigh in on whether they should create a sort of executive review panel to look into this further and come up with better solutions.

And one might assume that the outcome might be that they will find a way to provide a better solution - for a price.  It might be more inclusive, but surely will ask people to spend more.

https://insidethemagic.net/2026/03/disney-disability-access-service-update-emd1/

Paramount Won't Say Whether Middle East Money Is Funding Its WBD Deal - Business Insider

The FCC wants to "quickly approve" the merger of paramount and Warner brothers. But how did this come to pass?

Why three nations in the Middle East funded it! So it's not US based media anymore. Now it's all owned by T-rump loving countries. 

I guess we don't have independence anymore. 

https://www.businessinsider.com/paramount-wbd-gulf-saudi-financing-abu-dhabi-qatar-ellisons-2026-3

The 2026 World Cup faces big challenges with 100 days to go : NPR

The future - as it extends to the World Cup - remains kind of uncertain.  

There are questions about security at games and around the venues (the images from last year of the game in Miami still come to mind), and fan events are getting cancelled due to lack of structure, stability, and money. 

Homeland security blames the shutdown and assorted things, but yet still has plenty of money to round people up and fly them to a third world prison. Go figure. 

Meanwhile, we have the ongoing conflict in Iran that surely will prevent fans from attending … and there are questions about whether the team can/will participate. 

Mexico also has a host of issues - mainly because the US helped kill a drug lord which caused chaos that has been spiraling. 

And countries from Europe and Africa are voicing concerns. 

Under 100 days until the games kickoff. And nothing is certain. 

https://www.npr.org/2026/03/03/nx-s1-5733993/fifa-world-cup-iran-war-us-canada-mexico

Stupid is as stupid does

The orange menace opts to attack another sovereign nation for reasons that make no sense. Iran didn't do anything to incite the US, but he attacked purportedly to make a regime change.  That's a war crime, something he should be held accountable for. Innocent people are dying at his hands. 

But what makes this so much worse is that there really is no plan here.  The objective and end game are unknown.  Heck, apparently many allies were caught off guard, too. That's a contributing factor to why Kuwait shot down some US planes; they had no idea what was happening. 

And there is this oddity too.  The US is making statements about how the Iranian military needs to surrender.  Except that this message is not getting through.  The internet was suppressed in Iran by their government. And the US made no effort to turn it back on or provide another means to get online.  Also, in all his cost cutting, T-rump cut funding for Air America and other propaganda tools.  Meaning that no one is relaying information to Iranians on our behalf.

Telling people to surrender has no effect if they can't hear you.

There's also the matter of people traveling anywhere in that region and getting stuck.  They are paying for an "extended vacation" with no end in sight,  missing work and their families, with no means to get home. Heck, there's not even a plan.  Often, the US government would alert people to leave or not travel, and / or have an evacuation plan for citizens (which the citizen must reimburse the government for).  

And because of this surprise war, the markets don't know how to react, and thus go down. And because it's a Middle East conflict, gas prices go up… which affects our economy.

It's all just nuts. 

Kryptos - the sculpture at CIA headquarters.

Back in 1990, artist Jim Sanborn created a sculpture for the CIA that was appropriate in that it had 4 parts which had a code embedded on them. The codes were all different and he challenged anyone to decipher them all. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kryptos

3 were deciphered fairly quickly by cryptographers at the CIA, though the results were kept secret for a few more years. 

But the 4th one remained unbroken. Until a couple of reporters figured out a way to break the code via a side door - at the national archives. 

They're not saying what the answer is, and the code itself remains undeciphered still. 

And the person who owns the key to all of it tells us that there is a 5th cypher that hasn't revealed itself yet. 

This is kind of amazing and the article breaks it down for us. 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-cias-kryptos-sculpture-gave-up-its-final-secret/

The original Epstein whistleblower, 90s supermodel Karen Mulder. Why didn’t they believe her?

Here's a short synopsis of her life and involvement with Epstein - and what happened when she came forward. 

https://youtube.com/shorts/ZWfvChb-i0w?si=bp8eFU11G3BakFDv

The president has run amok. To our senators and congresspeople.

Mr Trump has engaged in a military action - again - against a sovereign nation (Iran) that has not otherwise provided a credible threat to the United States.

This is inexcusable and he must be held to account.

Do your job! Impeach and remove.

Colorado 12-year-old nationally awarded for invention | FOX31

This is the story about a boy named 

Anirudh Rao who has several amazing inventions. But the one that stands out is an early detection system for tornadoes. 

He deploys a series of drones that can detect changing weather patterns and can indicate a tornado brewing as much as 40 minutes in advance. Current systems allow for about 13 minutes; this invention could save lives. 

It's amazing what someone can do when they put their mind to it. 

 

https://kdvr.com/news/local/colorado-12-year-old-nationally-awarded-for-invention/

A continent-long “brown ribbon” has appeared in the Atlantic off Africa — and scientists say it’s not a good sign - Futura-Sciences

There's a brown streak that has appeared across most of the Atlantic. And this mass is … sargassum! 

The scourge is back and essentially worse than ever. But of course, we merely shrug. 

https://www.futura-sciences.com/en/a-continent-long-brown-ribbon-has-appeared-in-the-atlantic-off-africa-and-scientists-say-its-not-a-good-sign_26008/

China's water battery hits 120,000+ cycles, can beat lithium by decades

Tofu for the win! These scientists have found a way to use a tofu brine as the means to allow batteries to conduct electricity - in place of lithium. 

It's less costly, lasts longer, and in-all safer. 

See? Even cars are going vegetarian. lol. 

 

https://interestingengineering.com/energy/chinas-water-battery-outlast-lithium

The Couple Who Wed During Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Performance Share Their Story - The New York Times

Such a good story. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/style/bad-bunny-super-bowl-halftime-wedding-couple.html

Ford Has a Patent for a Shifter That Could Give the Manual New Purpose | Gear Patrol

With all the talk about moving away from computers, or even that ford is somehow abandoning advanced tech or EVs, this is an interesting twist.

https://www.gearpatrol.com/cars/ford-ev-manual-shifter-patent/

Olympian Eileen Gu

As we bid goodbye to another Olympics, we can marvel at the (mostly) young athletes who got to do something amazing as a representative of their country - while the IOC makes a ton of money and leaves the host city holding the bag from a financial perspective.

But this item is about one of these youngsters - Eileen Gu, who is an American, but represents China at the Olympics.  She's a remarkable person and I thought it was worth commenting on her.

You see, Gu is a smart woman, and she figured out how to make the most of her opportunity and love of skiing early on.  She created a social media presence and got noticed.  And because she's of Chinese ancestry, she was invited to participate on behalf of that country.  They pay for her training and related expenses.  And yet they allow for her to continue to use her presence to maintain sponsorships, and continue modelling.  And she is able to remain in the United States and pursue a degree at Stanford. She's studying International Relations, but that hasn't stopped her from taking courses in Quantum Physics! (and as a few physicists have noted, that may help her perform better because she understands what it takes to make her successful at her sport.

She went on to win 6 medals across two olympics.  And yet, she is mostly humble and understands her place as a kind of leader - and took the high road when several knuckleheads tried to chastise her for not representing the United States.

Heck, she cried after her last event, while giving an interview, because she was informed her grandmother - an inspiration - had just died. 

I have so much respect for her and her intelligent approach.  Consider this quote:

"I'm an introspective young woman. I spend a lot of time in my head. It's not a bad place to be. I journal a lot. I break down all of my thought processes. I'm 22, so with neuroplasticity on my side I can literally become exactly who I want to be. How cool is that? How empowering is that, right?

"I get to become every day the kind of person that me, at age eight, would revere. I would be obsessed with me today. Are you kidding? I would love me and I think that's the biggest flex of all time."

We need so many more people like her in the world!

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/feb/22/eileen-gu-freestyle-skiing-halfpipe-gold-zoe-atkin-bronze-great-britain-winter-olympics

Albert Einstein predicted it and Mars has now confirmed it: time flows differently on the Red Planet, forcing future missions to adapt

This feels crazy!

Essentially time is a construct that we came up with, and while it mostly works, consider that we have to add in time periodically (hence the leap year), and because of the constraints on it, "time travel" as we think of it is impossible.  It's a linear function within the construct.

But Einstein used the theory of relativity to help us think about the construct and how it might not apply in every situation, because of orbits around the sun, gravity, and other factors. 

And we're seeing that this is the case on mars. Time is not absolute, and what we think of in that sense does not apply on mars (or really anywhere else).

So that means when you're "late for work ," you really aren't because time itself doesn't make sense. (Ha) 

And in science fiction when they talk about traveling through time by somehow warping space-time, they're actually applying science.

It kind of blows my mind. 

https://beaconwales.org/23-164048-albert-einstein-has-flows-adapt/

China invention turns desert sand into fertile soil in just 10 months - Earth.com

Well, this is interesting. A group of scientists are using bacteria to mix in with the sand, and then providing nutrient in order to stabilize the soil.  From there, they can plant other types of living things that can take root and grow.

Essentially reclaiming deserts.  

https://www.earth.com/news/process-microbes-turn-desert-sand-into-fertile-soil-in-just-10-months/

To the orange menace…

Birthright Citizenship at SCOTUS: Your Voice Matters | American Civil Liberties Union

https://action.aclu.org/petition/birthright-citizenship-scotus-your-voice-matters

A Spacecraft Flew Closer to the Sun Than Ever – and Is Rewriting a Century-Old Mystery

This spacecraft is collecting new information about the sun, its composition, and the atmosphere around the sun.

The objective is to help us better understand more about the sun, and how it affects the other.  We're learning more about solar wind and how it is heated on its journey to earth. 

But on that last one, shhh! Don't tell anyone that it will help us understand how earths climate is affected by the sun, because that might be considered climate science. And that's not allowable in this day and age.

https://scitechdaily.com/a-spacecraft-flew-closer-to-the-sun-than-ever-and-is-rewriting-a-century-old-mystery/

Automakers are getting rid of Apple CarPlay to try and take advantage of $625,000,000,000 opportunity

Recently, lawmakers have been discussing cars. Among the topics are a change to gas mileage requirements, a removal of any sort of emissions standards, and a notion that computers need to be removed from cars.

There's reasoning on this last one - according to them - is that the cars could be more like older models, with simple engines that are powerful, sometimes loud, and which allow the drive to control the car (certainly something we've strayed from, since cars in control these days. Heck even stick shifts on most current cars don't engage the engine to change how it physically operates; the shifting tells the computer to adjust the engine). There was also some nonsense about needing to be able to touch physical buttons rather than touching a screen (which felt very generational). 

 But here's the bigger picture: these computers collect billions of dollars worth of data about you and your driving habits.  Do you think the car manufactures will simply give that up? 

Just take a look at this article and the power play move with apple here.  This is about collecting, controlling, and selling information about you. It's about money.

https://supercarblondie.com/tech/why-automakers-are-getting-rid-of-apple-carplay/

What are JWST’s Little Red Dots? Astronomers may finally have an answer | Scientific American

As it continues to explore the cosmos, the James Webb space telescope has observed something that we have never seen before- and could not see -from earth. 

These are "Little Red Dots" scattered about… and to this point, no one can explain what they are.  There are plenty of theories, but it looks like we have stumbled onto a new cosmological object!

…or maybe (Star Trek reference incoming) it's just Michael Burnham in her angel suit, giving us clues to follow.  

 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-are-jwsts-little-red-dots-astronomers-may-finally-have-an-answer/

Engineering at its finest!

Back in 1929, Bell telephone purchased an 8 story building to use as its headquarters in Indianapolis.  But, they wanted to make a central part of a planned campus and needed to move the building about 50 feet over and rotate it on the property. 

And they did just that over the course of several months, with jacks and hoists - while the building was occupied by employees of the phone company. 

This article from 1931 gets into the …. Nuts and bolts? Of it all.

https://archive.org/details/sim_enr_1931-07-02_107_1

Nixon and his speech

I *am* a crook

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been hearing more about the grifting by the orange menace. He has certainly profited from his time in office. 

And yet 50 years(ish) ago, Richard Nixon stood in front of a group of reporters (at Disney world’s contemporary hotel by the way) and exclaimed that he was not a crook.  My how times have changed. How quaint that was…

https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/nov-17-1973-nixon-declares-i-am-not-a-crook/

The Muppets

There's a bit of a long story about how the Walt Disney company wanted the talents of Jim Henson, and were willing to buy the Muppets just to get him.  Unfortunately, he died before the deal was ever finalized, and the company lost interest in the property, and it was sold to a German company.

But Disney had a license to use the muppets in some situations, including as a part of Muppet Vision 3D at the studios.  So that remained open, but couldn't be expanded beyond that.

Then, the German company went bankrupt, and Disney wound up acquiring them - at a fraction of the original price.  But they had no idea what to do with them, and the Muppets mostly just sat idle.

And with park expansion, Muppet Vision finally closed.  The Muppets will appear as a replacement for Rock'N'Rollercoaster, but that really doesn't do them justice.

In the meantime, the Disney company has been considering other ideas. One of them was a resurrection of the Muppet Show.  They produced one episode and released it in January.  It followed the  formula of the original 70s era show - and I have to say that I enjoyed it.

There is some discussion of producing more episodes, and I sure hope that they do.... and don't just continue to let them languish and ultimately be forgotten.

Trump donor who criticized offshoring to close Ohio plant and move work to China | Business | The Guardian

America first!

Good paying jobs are coming!

Manufacturing will return to murica!

Except when it doesn't of course. 

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/feb/16/john-paulson-conn-selmer-ohio-factory-china-trump

This is another case where the simpsons got it right…

https://youtu.be/cyJfOPSS2Uc?si=l1q6N-O3C-x5ab7k

Monty Burns is any/every billionaire.

Watch "The Never-Ending Exploitation of Olympians" on YouTube

This is a pretty well done piece about Olympic athletes and what they make against the backdrop of the Olympics and its huge revenue stream (which athletes get none of!)

 

https://youtu.be/Q4kZTfHuM-I?si=GquU2x18ldYlc8XM

Kunal Nayyar Anonymously Pays Families’ Medical Bills via GoFundMe

There is good in the world, and I have so much respect for these actions. And the comments they include are pretty spot-on.

https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/alex-ocho/kunal-nayyar-gofundme-medical-bills-anonymous

You can read the whole interview here:

https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/big-bang-theory-kunal-nayyar-pay-families-medical-bills-4067786

"Right now people are not happy, because we are all expecting someone else to be kind. We are expecting a president or a politician, some leader, to come and bring us world peace. But there is no world peace if your neighbour comes to your door wanting some sugar for their tea, and you lock it against them and say 'get away'….. no one is going to come and change the world for you. You have to do it for yourself."

The Walt Disney Company Hit with Record Fine by California DOJ - WDW News Today

This news item caught my attention at least in part because the state of California is doing what the federal government is derelict in doing: holding large companies responsible for acting as they should. 

Disney said that consumers could opt out of marketing, but then proceeded to sell information anyway. 

So Disney must pay a fine and change that practice. 

I'll take any small wins. 

And Disney -maybe- will do more to treat customers "right" and -again maybe- be a leader in the industry. 

https://wdwnt.com/2026/02/the-walt-disney-company-hit-with-record-fine-by-california-doj/

Why Scientists Are Rethinking 60 Years of Arctic Snow Data

Science is kind of awesome in that we keep updating what we know and adjusting theories accordingly. 

And while this might be hard to fit in to what (we think) we know, it's interesting to see that we probably need to look at the data we collected a little differently. 

Remember that the method for data collection was suspect until fairly recently. 

And I remain confident that at some point, we'll understand just what the data is telling us. I mean, really telling us. 

https://scitechdaily.com/why-scientists-are-rethinking-60-years-of-arctic-snow-data/

EPA revokes a key legal underpinning in fighting climate change | AP News

I am extremely bothered by this outcome. Years ago, under Obama, they EPA made clear that there was climate change and that we needed to protect against that. 

Now some of the same members who voted that way are playing some stupid political game that is - and will be more so in the future - harmful. 

Just ignore the science and side with whatever nonsense T-rump says. Great. Just great. 

And it goes on from there. Our water is in danger. Our air in in danger. Our environment overall is in danger. 

And there's an underlying thought that cars don't need to have emissions standards, or to have higher gas mileage. We want to go back to the polluting days of 50+ years ago. Because Murica!

While the rest of the world is looking at efficiency and standards. 

We have lost our way. 

 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-climate-change-epa-clean-air-act-c149d5ea6ec71c862e6c4b578adf92cd

Soarin (again)

Things changed and the guy in 2nd started playing and got a nice lead on me. Since I couldn't overtake that guy after he moved to 1st, I decided to create a new player (the MIA below) and have him move into 3rd. 

So I now have spots #2 & #3. Which is a different amount of fun. 

Super Bowl predictions

Seattle won, which was expected. 

As the playoffs progressed, I went back and looked at the model I developed. I streamlined it a lot, and went back to 2015 to see if it was true then, too.   It was!

Here's what I did:

• In week 10, I looked at the 4 teams from each conference who had the highest point differential at that point in the season. 
• in all but one year, one of those 8 teams won the Super Bowl. The exception was in 2018, when New England won; they were the fifth best team in the AFC. (I should note that the 5th best did make the superbowl a few times, but this was the only win). 
• Taking the 5 best in each conference solves this problem

• At season's end, I took those teams and looked at the average points per game that were allowed on defense (for the entire year)
• some of the teams didn't make the playoffs.  That's okay, any of the remaining teams are all we need to consider 
• other teams made the playoffs, but because they weren't in the first 10, they weren't considered - None of them have ever won the Super Bowl. 

• Last, I sorted them by PPG allowed, and the team with the lowest PPG allowed is the expected winner. 
• The playoffs are a little weird, and its hard to call a winner.  In the 11 years I considered:
• 2 times, the superbowl champion was the best team (so we knew at the start of the playoffs)
• 3 times, the next best after the wildcard weekend won
• 3 times, the next best after the divisional playoffs won
• 3 times, it went to the conference championship
• There was only one year where the best team didn't win; the second best did.  That was in 2022 when Kansas City beat Philadelphia on the last drive. Everything else seemed right to that point.

So, essentially, we always know that the superbowl winner will come from that group, and we can assess the likelihood of a team winning as the playoffs progress...

 

Nikola Tesla

Tesla was an inventor very much ahead of his time. His scientific endeavors went further than anyone - before or since - had gone. 

But his prolific works often were stolen. Amazingly (even for his time) he took it in stride. At some point he said:

"I Don't Care That They Stole My Idea… I Care That They Don't Have Any Of Their Own."

The Seattle Seahawks

On the surface, its kind of bizarre that just after they won the SuperBowl, the Seahawks will be sold.

But there's way more to this story.  Paul Allen bought the team (along with some other sports franchises) many years ago.  More recently, he moved those assets (along with others) into a trust.  His explicit directions via his will and that trust were that his sister, Jody, would serve as the trustee, and these teams would be sold, and all proceeds would be directed to charity.

The NFL has a rule that there must be a single, majority owner.  Trusts, and other ownership arrangements are not allowed.  So it makes sense ... sort of ...

 

Except that Paul Allen died in 2018, you know, like 8 years ago, and the sale still hasn't happened.  And you might ask why?  And the answer is in the team's relationship to the city and state.

When funding was approved for the new stadium for the Seahawks, a clause was written in, that if he sold or moved the team within 25 years, he would owe 10% of the value of the team as a penalty.  That agreement was signed in 1999, which means that it literally just expired.

So now that there is no more penalty hanging over the team, the NFL is "encouraging" the sale. 

And in case you wondered, he bought the team in 1997 for just under $200 million.  Its current value is at its peak, after a SuperBowl win, and is estimated to be around $8 billion.  That's around a 400% increase in value in 30 years.

Mind blown.  Dang.  It must be good to be wealthy.  (I'm half kidding)

More importantly, that money is going to charity, where hopefully it will do some tremendous good.  Hats off to him for thinking about making the world a little better through his investment.  And I'm glad the Seahawks won, in that case, to maximize that benefit.

Watch "The NFL’s Secret Weapon in London Is This Hidden Stadium Tech | WSJ Tech Behind" on YouTube

This is so cool!  And the engineering behind it is amazing. 

https://youtu.be/cnV4JkTGUjo?si=0ea97SjDN1rW18bO

Watch "We Uncovered the Scheme Keeping Grocery Prices High" on YouTube

This is so whacked. It's one way large corporations manage to keep food prices high, and churning out big profits.  

https://youtu.be/odhVF_xLIQA?si=5_fAMgtU_pP7t52Z

What we’re up against…

A few days ago, my wife got a random text from a (now former) friend. 

This friend joined the maga (and maha) cult and at one point, she made it her mission to "convert" my wife. My wife finally had to tell her to stop. And she did. That is, until this text….

She was on some weird tirade about how "Islamists" (code for a form of racism) are taking over parts of the world and it's dangerous, and these were former allies. It had no specific reason, and nothing in the current news cycle suggested anything about the rationale for why she sent it. 

I was giving it some thought, and it feels like this is classic cult behavior. You have to validate why you are there to the people outside, and periodically try and "recruit" people you know to join you through any one of a number of things that might catch their attention. 

In this specific case, it felt like proselytizing. "I must save you (from yourself)."  

And one other thing, she could have replaced the word "Islamist" with the word "black" and turned the clock back 100 years and it would have sense in that context, too.

This is what those of us who are rational are up against.