Thursday, June 15, 2023

Ted Lasso (or “the Richmond Way”)

I really enjoyed the Ted Lasso show. It was a terrific 3 seasons worth of programming. It was smart, funny, and very well written.

It's a show about soccer. But it's really not. Soccer provides the context and there is some soccer in it. But I think they did a good job of presenting it in a way that worked. So if you are a fan of soccer, there's just enough to keep you happy. But if you're not, it's short enough to not get bogged down.

The story really is about the human experience. They cover a lot of ground, and the characters all grow throughout.

They run the gamut of things that make us human, from family, to personal issues, to self entitled athletes, to social issues, and on and on. It's emotional at times, more like a drama. And it's very funny at others.

At the heart of it is Ted. He's a guy who coached American football and gets hired to coach soccer in England because the owner wants to run the team into the ground.

But he grows, too, and shows heart and a determination all the while demonstrating it’s all about how you motivate the team. And in the end, he does something remarkable.

Personally, I could identify with Ted. I took up coaching youth soccer when my kids were little and stayed with it for about 12 years. Only leaving when my kids outgrew it, or moved on to different activities.

I both loved and despised it. But I grew as a person. I learned a lot about myself. And as I watched Ted Lasso, I realized that my philosophy was very much like his. I didn't know the sport, really, but knew how to lead the kids, got them to learn to play and have fun. In short, I helped them to BELIEVE (a theme in the show).

I identified with him and the show on a different level. And that made a great show even better.

Thanks to the writers, actors, and producers for putting together something so heartfelt.

I'll miss you. Kind of like I miss coaching on Saturdays.

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Bitchin' Dave's Newsletter

 



June 13, 2023

Insights, news, ramblings, and other serious nonsense from Dave 
Dave’s Musings
Donald Trump was indicted on federal charges, related to his handling of classified documents after he left the office. There are some who defend his actions for whatever reason, suggest that this is all political, or worse, try to suggest that its "no big deal" or "others have done the same or more."

But here's the thing: he took highly classified documents with him after he left the White House. These included information about nuclear capabilities, troop movements, and other sensitive types of things. He was asked to return them, but ignored the request, lied about that, and then proceeded to brag about keeping the documents. They were kept in fairly public places, shown to people with no security clearance, and otherwise left unattended.

The outcome of all of this is that the Department of Justice brought in a Special Prosecutor to review the facts at hand, and decide what to do / how to proceed. The reason for a Special Prosecutor is, essentially, to make this less political and remove any sort of inherent bias. The person independently makes a determination about what happened, and can (and in this case did) make a recommendation on filing charges.

This had to be vetted by various levels of lawyers and analysts and ultimately was brought before the Attorney General. After that, charges were filed in Federal Court.

Getting to this point isn't done lightly. It takes a lot of review, examination, grand juries, interviews/depositions, and so on.

And now there's a case that will be heard. I would suggest it doesn't look good. But in our system of jurisprudence, Trump is innocent until proven guilty in a court. We can't assume this or that will happen, though of course, getting to the point of filing charges and realizing how many counts were filed suggests that there is a likelihood that he is guilty of something.

We will know more in the coming months.

Now as an aside, related to the idea that "others have done the same." As far as we know, no one had taken this large a cache of documents, that they had the specific types of information, or that they left them in a sort of public location. And most importantly, they were returned or otherwise accounted for in some way without any sort of malfeasance.

And I would remind those that want to defend this that Trump defined himself as the "Law and Order" guy, and vowed to not things like this go unchecked. Let the process play out, and lets see where it lands.


In 2022, NASA rolled the SLS rocket from the hangar to the launch pad and back for several months. Several times, fuel leaks occurred while attempting to refuel.


Wilson Aerospace sued Boeing. The large 74-page document states that Boeing is accused of stealing intellectual property between 2014 and 2016. 


Specifically, it refers to the design of spanners.

The plaintiff claims that Boeing's experts obtained all documentation on the tools, after which they decided to sever the relationship. Because Boeing was unable to recreate the keys exactly from the stolen documents, this led to defects in the SLS rocket and potentially provoked more serious consequences.


In addition, Wilson Aerospace claimed that Boeing used the tools on the International Space Station, putting the lives of astronauts at risk. A lawyer for the company is sure that there are other firms from which Boeing "borrowed" intellectual property

There's an Israeli company working on a roadway wireless charging for EVs.


Although I couldn't find much detail about what they're doing, it appears as that it is some sort of magnetic field, or perhaps another induction type setup.


But in any case, they see the opportunity to allow for vehicles (particularly busses) to travel a route and not have to stop to charge. And they're testing it out on a test track.


This is really cool piece of tech and could revolutionize the industry.

Read more here: https://www.businessinsider.com/toyota-ev-drives-1200-miles-range-wireless-charging-roads-electreon-2023-6?amp



Quirky

News



This item is maybe a little less "quirky" but it is interesting.


Satellites are in place to track various aspects of our climate. They have detected that there is a rise in surface temperatures on Earth. And have simultaneously detected that atmospheric temperatures are declining.


Or put another way, essentially there is a warming trend on the ground, while temperatures higher up are decreasing. The implication is that these changes are man made - the climate is varying because of greenhouse effects. Otherwise they would be related to each other.


You can read more about this in a recent Wired article: https://www.wired.com/story/the-upper-atmosphere-is-cooling-prompting-new-climate-concerns/


Miami continues to become the mecca for sports. Recently, Lionel Messi, (arguably) the greatest soccer player in the game today, left Paris in the French league, spurned an offer to return to Barcelona in the Spanish League, and turned down a lucrative offer from a Saudi team to come to the MLS, and play for Miami.


Its an exciting time, and Messi becomes the face of the league, and will certainly improve the Miami team. Fans are excited and this could be a lot of fun!





One Little Spark … 

… for your imagination



During June, we celebrate many things, including gay pride.  There are celebrations and events in many places.  In my humble opinion, Its an opportunity for people to simply be themselves.  Whatever some might think about gay rights, and pride, I think its a great opportunity to bear in mind that we're sometimes two nations.  Why are people so passionate in taking an anti LGBTQ stance?

I was thinking about this season of Ted Lasso, where a player (Colin) comes out to his team. Everyone says its cool, and they don't care.  And that's when Ted goes full on Ted and says:

"The point is Colin, We don’t not care. We care very much. We care about who you are and what you must’ve been going through. But hey, from now on you don’t have to go through it all by yourself."


Which I thought was a pretty good assessment. Kudos to the writers for stating it this way. 

You can watch the whole segment here: 




Dave’s latest video

My EV has a stated range of 330 miles. But what does that mean? How far can I actually drive?


The premise is that I'm discussing the effective range of the car.

https://youtu.be/WEr5h3hPS8U



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Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Bitchin Dave's Newsletter

 



June 7, 2023

Insights, news, ramblings, and other serious nonsense from Dave 
Dave’s Musings
I find it intriguing how as humans we keep learning new things, even when it seems to contradict things we thought we knew. Take the James Webb Space Telescope, and consider that it is providing some unexpected things. And as a result, maybe the universe isn't exactly what we assumed.

But that's the point of a scientific theory. As scientists, we come up with a plausible explanation based on available evidence. It has been tested and repeated to become widely accepted as a scientific theory.

The cool part though is that it is always subject to review and modification. Sometimes, these theories can be challenged by new evidence. And then the revised theory will be tested until it becomes widely accepted.

I know not everyone quite gets that, but its one of the things that is at the core of science and discovery. We continually learn and update what we know. There are very few absolutes, and there is no clinging to "this is how its always been."

The JWST can point us to new theories and new ways of looking at the world.


Arthur C. Clarke once posited that communications and power could be relayed between satellites and the Earth.


Of course, global communications came to pass, with satellites in orbit that can find your position on Earth, or connect you to the internet.


But the idea of power from space was well ahead of its time. Until now. CalTech is attempting to use micro satellites to collect power in order to beam it to Earth.


Sounds like science fiction doesn't it? But yet, the launch was in January, and now its being tested out.


https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/in-a-first-caltechs-space-solar-power-demonstrator-wirelessly-transmits-power-in-space

AM radio has been in the news lately. Car companies want to stop including them in cars. And several electric cars have already done so due to interference from the electric motors.


And anyway, AM radio has mostly served its purpose and is "dying" anyway.


But for those of us who grew up with it - in the days before the internet or even cable TV - they were a part of life. And at night, the signal changed. Why? Because of physics.


Its about the atmospheric conditions that impact the wavelengths used, essentially. But you can read the details here.


https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/in-a-first-caltechs-space-solar-power-demonstrator-wirelessly-transmits-power-in-space



Quirky

News



Last week on 60 Minutes, there was a piece titled


How an Air Force veteran discovered his new house was the seat of a plantation where his ancestors were enslaved


Much as the title suggests, its a fascinating tale about a man who unintentionally purchased a house (and the acreage) that was once part of a plantation ..... and that plantation is where his ancestors lived, worked as slaves, and died.  The house they once occupied still stands, and their graveyard is on his property.  What an interesting turn of events.

  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sharswood-air-force-veteran-plantation-ancestors-reclaiming-history-60-minutes-transcript-2023-05-28/


There was a story from November about a team of researchers, working on a project off the coast of Florida, who found a large section of the Challenger space shuttle from 1986. 


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/piece-challenger-space-shuttle-discovered-bottom-atlantic-floridas-coa-rcna56653







One Little Spark … 

… for your imagination



This past weekend was the "Wear Orange Weekend" to commemorate the victims of gun violence.

Its unconscionable when you consider that roughly 43,000 people are killed each year in the US due to gun violence, and another 76,000 are wounded.  That number alone should give us all pause to consider just how pervasive this is, and one would think it SHOULD lead us to have a rational and honest discussion about the Second Amendment and its full context.  

Perhaps the lack of an Oxford comma is a concern, but the word "well regulated" do appear.  Can we talk about it?
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.




Dave’s latest video

I'm talking about "Park Assist" on the Tesla. Its a little unusual, since it only uses cameras.


I believe its a work in progress.


Watch here: https://youtu.be/Xh2e2ZhStSY



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Monday, June 5, 2023

Saturday, June 3, 2023

Soarin challenge: update #3

After a few stops and starts - at times, during repeating guessing at answers, the game would stop or perhaps kick me out - I was able to push my score to 6,000,000.

By far and away #1 right now.

It's possible the guy at #2 will suddenly make a run and take over the top spot. But no matter. I'll still be the first to get that many points and should always remain far removed from any other competitors.

It was fun, and I enjoyed it. But I'm done.

My real player dropped to #9 by the way. I guess people got active again in the lower part of the top 10. Still. I'm happy with how this went.

Friday, June 2, 2023

What do you think you're doing, Dave?

I'm thinking about starting a newsletter on topics that I find interesting. 

There's work to be done with stylizing it and having a little more of my thinking. But here's volume 1, number 1. 

A bi-weekly newsletter about topics that I find fun, interesting, or relevant

June 1, 2023

Talk of the town
South Florida is *THE* hotbed for sports.  Live it up 305 and beyond!

Man, what a season for South Florida sports! Well, except for the 20th century perennial powerhouse football teams (the Dolphins and Hurricanes).

You had Nova Southeastern (or whatever they call it these days) win the D2 college basketball championship.  Both FAU and UM went to the final 4 in the NCAA tournament.

Now the Panthers are playing for the Stanley Cup in hockey.  By the way, this is their second trip to the finals, maybe this time they can win it all?

And the Heat, led by Jimmy Buckets and Bam are in the NBA finals.  This collection of who dat's and undrafted players is remarkable.  They just squeaked into the playoffs and have been very good....but they've been streaky all year.  What happens next?  Who knows!

Weird / Funny News
Miami often celebrates notable events by banging pots and pans.  But...why?
CBS Local has you covered.

In other news
There was an interesting story coming from the world of college football. LSU is partnering with a company which developed, essentially, a portable air conditioner for football helmets?  Whaaaa? That's crazy but, ahem, cool.

Science News
Sometimes I'm simply amazed by how little we actually know about our world, and nearby space. There was an article about an object that has been in orbit around Earth for a very long time, and yet we didn't actually know about it.  How does that happen?

Don't miss this
Maybe its just me, but the story about Walt Disney World shuttering the Galactic Star Cruiser hotel/immersive experience after a little over a year is just odd.

The idea for the experience mostly came from the previous CEO, and it was (a) expensive and (b) met with some early negative reviews.  So maybe its not a surprise.  Or then again, maybe its simply another political piece in the ongoing feud between Disney and the Florida governor.

And finally...One little spark, for your imagination....
For some reason, we seem to be all about banning books because they are deemed "inappropriate" by someone, somewhere.  Its rising in the level of absurdity...

But I am reminded distinctly of "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury, which was published in 1953.  In this fictional work, Bradbury talked about a futuristic dystopian society where books were banned, and firefighters were used to burn books.

Who would have guessed that he was actually predicting a future 70 years out?

This book is recommended reading, and you don't even have to go to a library to get a copy.  Just go here:

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Soarin challenge update #2

As I noted in my previous post, I wrote about how I stopped playing the game myself. And mentioned that I had created another player who was at #3. 

Allow me to elucidate. I wanted to get all the way to #1, but getting there actually playing the game was improbable, given how everyone in the top 10 keeps playing to maintain their position. 

So I decided to write a *very simple* script that played for me. I won't bore you with the details of how I set it up, but essentially, I had the cursor move and click on random answers for each question. 

Boom. It took off. I climbed quickly into the top 20.  The hit rate was about 20% correct, but that's close to what I'd expect since I randomized answers and was really just guessing…

Of course, I could have written better code, or even tracked answers to up the percentage correct. 

But I didn't want to do more than my initial 30 minutes of work building the code. And I could just let it run, so why bother? I opted to leave it. 

I figured the program could outwork everyone, get to #1 and I'd set the number really high. 

Except … the person who was at #1 clearly had a similar mindset. 

As far as I can tell "he" has a more sophisticated automation, and it kicked off every time I pulled within 300k, and pushed his lead back to 500k. 

I started to think my "life goal" would remain unfulfilled. 😆

And then…something unusual happened. While it was running today, I slipped past him. 

I took the lead!

(That's my auto player at #1, bruh!)

I don't know how or why. And I don't care. 

I also don't care that in the evening, he started playing again and retook the lead. 

For a few glorious hours, I was on top. 

And no one can take that away. 

And if I continue to challenge the player, he and I can have scores so high that no one will EVER catch us. 

That was a lot of fun. And I'm glad I did it. Hopefully I can see my name in lights when I go back to the attraction one day. 

Oh. And I should point out that my personal game moved back up to #7 without me playing. I was getting points for other red team members playing while I was tracking my rise to fame.