Vets Day parade

When a young freshman was dropped off for the first time at Yale University by his dad, he got a sudden change in perspective. It had nothing to do with going to college. 

He remembers that moment with his father every time he watches a Veterans Day parade.

"This week I will do what I’ve done every year since I moved to Dallas. I’ll stand on Main Street and watch the bittersweet march of veterans young and old. I’ll bring along some tissues, since I know that I’ll end up blubbering — probably when the survivors of World War II start to pass me by. That’s the war my father served in, toward its end . . .

"I’ll never forget when my dad dropped me off for the first time at Yale. I hadn’t even visited the place, and now I was thoroughly nervous about living there in those Gothic dorms. For petty, silly reasons. I imagined that I’d look foolish to the “rich kids” whom I’d room with. I only had $50 a month in spending money. My clothes were garish and shabby by “preppy” standards. As I nattered on about all this, Dad wiped the sweat from his brow. (A burly letter carrier, he’d been schlepping all my stuff.) Here’s what he said: “When I was your age, I was sitting on a troop ship, puking through North Atlantic storms, on the way to serve in Germany.”

That put things in perspective."

WWI ends 1918

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Officially, the Treaty of Versailles ended World War I (WWI) in 1919. But hostilities actually stopped at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 - exactly one hundred years ago this coming Sunday. Technically it was just an "armistice," a temporary truce, but the fighting didn't resume and the truce became permanent.

That's the original reason for the U.S. holiday of "Armistice Day" on November 11: to remember and honor the end of the disaster that was World War I. Under President Eisenhower the holiday's name was changed in 1954 to "Veterans Day" in order to honor all our veterans.

To all our veterans, "Thank you for your service."

WWI starts 1914

Austria-Hungary's heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was murdered in the summer of 1914. That event started the ball rolling for the disaster that became World War I (WWI).

Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, then drew in its ally Germany. Eventually most other European countries and their colonies around the world also joined the war. That's how it became more or less global.

video: history

This global disaster resulted in at least 9 million military deaths and 5 million civilian deaths (mostly due to famine and disease). 

(cont'd tomorrow)

Election $

On the day after midterm elections in the U.S., you wonder where the huge sums of money came from to run those campaigns. 

Here is just one super-rich guy who used millions upon millions of dollars to influence the election: Michael Bloomberg, one of the richest people in the world.

"With Democrats taking back control of the U.S. House of Representatives, Bloomberg may be one step closer to his presidential aspirations. He committed $110 million this election cycle to help Democrats flip Congress, including $80 million to support candidates running for the House. The rest of the money went to Senate races and get-out-the-vote efforts. The former New York City mayor, who recently reregistered as a Democrat but was once a Republican and independent, has been contemplating a 2020 run."

Saudi oil #2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Aramco, the oil company owned by Saudi Arabia, can control the global price of oil. If they flood the global market with oil, the price goes down - as it did in 2014. If they hold back on production of oil, the global price will climb.

image: moneyweek.com

"Some analysts have floated the idea of oil prices getting as high as $200 or even $400/bbl in the event of a disruption in Saudi's petroleum output . . . Prices like that would quickly push the global economy into recession, as it helped do in 1973. That is the power Saudi Arabia holds."

"No other entity in the world has as much power to move the oil markets. Saudi Arabia could quickly bring the global economy to its knees."

"Global economic security will continue to depend strongly on the cooperation of Saudi Arabia."

Saudi oil #1

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince was the subject of a few posts two weeks ago. He ("MbS") holds power over his kingdom, and the kingdom holds considerable power in the world. Why? Oil. That power is analyzed in this Forbes article.

Saudi Arabia produces 12.9% of the world's oil, similar to the world shares of both Russia and that of the U.S.

"However, there is an important distinction when it comes to Saudi Arabia. In Russia, oil production is concentrated among a dozen or so companies. In the U.S., [it's] thousands of [independent] companies . . . But in Saudi Arabia, all of the oil production is controlled by Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company and reportedly the most profitable company in the world."

So - the Crown Prince holds global financial power similar to the combined oil companies of America - in his own hands.

(what that could mean . . cont'd tomorrow)

Simi Rotary

At the age of 25, Dennis Prager moved from New York City to California to work at a Jewish retreat center. He joined the Simi Valley Rotary Club.

"To the best of my memory, I was the only Jew in that Rotary chapter. What struck me was that my being a Jew meant essentially nothing to the other members. No one cared. Not even a little."

It meant a lot to Dennis that no one in his rotary club cared. He knew that in other parts of the world (like Europe) his primary identity would be "Dennis the Jew." It's part of what makes America exceptional for him, that being American trumps being a minority.

"To this day, a German whose grandparents immigrated to Germany from Turkey is likely to be regarded as a Turk, even if he speaks no Turkish and speaks German exactly as other Germans do. And this monumental difference goes in both directions. This third-generation Turk in Germany is not likely to regard himself as a German.

"But a Turk who immigrates to America is regarded as American the moment he becomes an American citizen (if not sooner) — even if he has a Turkish name and speaks halting, accented English."

"Only in America."

Sleep deprived

Per yesterday's post, maybe Elon Musk can sleep now that Tesla is in a better place. According to this article, he needs it. 

photo: cbsnews

"Musk is by his own admission highly sleep-deprived, a condition that in everybody who suffers from it results in impaired judgment at best, and outright disaster at worst. When you suffer from this affliction, you lose reasoning and problem-solving skills; you also suffer from short-term memory loss and stop being able to learn from your prior mistakes."

Loss of reasoning and problem-solving skill is just the tip of the iceberg. According to this article in Bloomberg, multiple health problems can be traced to lack of adequate sleep:

• inflammation
• headaches
• poor communication
• worse pain management
• risk of type 2 diabetes
• loneliness
• etc., etc.

So if "sleep deprived" describes you, then I hope you too can change that.

Tesla makes $

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

"[T]his quarter (Q3 of 2018), Tesla has not only made tons of money . . but has also fulfilled its production and distribution objectives, showing every sign of staying in the black . . ."

So Q3 was not a one-off, in this analyst's opinion, but the first profitable quarter that will be followed by more profitable quarters. He seems to be saying that Tesla has turned a critical corner, that it's out of imminent danger, that it has pulled back from the brink of disaster.

"[T]he company’s profit margin on every Model 3 it sells is now around 20%, well above the industry average in its segment, and overnight its prospects for growth and profitability now seem not only credible, but probable . . ."

photo: nypost

After years and years of hard work, Tesla is an overnight success. Maybe Elon Musk can start sleeping better.

Tesla profits!

Breakthrough has happened for the premiere electric vehicle company:

"After seven quarters of losses, Tesla had a record-breaking quarter, sending its share price soaring 9%."

"Tesla is no longer an industry quirk: many have laughed at its production difficulties . . "

" . . But the company is now outselling Porsche, Mercedes Benz and BMW, making it the best-selling domestically-made car in the United States."

(cont'd tomorrow)

TX Hyperloop

Yes, Richard Branson has quit as chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One (VH1) and it was probably a hit to the industry. But the hyperloop industry is far from done. VH1 still has a future.

HyperloopTT (HTT) and VH1 are both considering projects in the U.S., especially in Texas. According to a VH1 executive, "It's a very large state with pretty vast distances between metro areas that are densely populated. It's kind of perfect territory for Hyperloop . . ."

The growing area of Dallas-Fort Worth may be part of a triangle route also connecting Houston, Laredo, Austin, and San Antonio - a route of about 640 miles. 

Naturally there are problems, and there are skeptics who don't think the problems can be overcome. A handful of new companies trying to develop new ways of doing things - that's innovation. Americans have a strong tradition of figuring out a way to succeed.

Dick Ahlborn of HTT believes in competition. "In the end, it's a good thing that the more you have, the more likely everyone is passionate to bring this to light. We all benefit," he says. "If we fail, someone else will do it right."

I love that spirit.

Prince's problem

(cont'd)

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) wants to vigorously modernize his kingdom by 2030. But the Kashoggi affair has put the plan in jeopardy.

Journalist Jamal Kashoggi went into the Saudi consulate in Turkey and never came out again. It's assumed by many that Saudi Arabia had him killed. That's the reason Richard Branson gives for his actions (yesterday's post).

Western business leaders pulled out of a Saudi investment conference this week: 
Uber CEO, Viacom CEO, AOL co-founder and others - for the same reason. 

The Crown Prince may lose momentum toward all the good economic growth he planned for his country, especially for the future of young people according to this article.

If MbS had Kashoggi killed, he's paying a price for his mistake. 

Branson quits

British entrepreneur Richard Branson (founder of Virgin Atlantic Airlines) invested a large amount of money in Hyperloop One (H1) about a year ago and became its chairman, changing the name of the company to "Virgin Hyperloop One" (VH1).

He said, "I was very impressed and now look forward to helping turn this cutting edge engineering into a global passenger service." 

About the same time, they partnered with Saudi Arabia to build a working hyperloop, which would be the first in the world and very exciting for fans of the hyperloop concept.

All of that is now over.

Branson has quit as chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One, and has quit talks with Saudi Arabia about the possibility of their investing $1 billion in other of his businesses.

Why? Branson made his decisions "in light of the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was killed inside the consulate in Istanbul.."

(cont'd tomorrow)

Paris streets

(cont'd)

While in Paris we stayed just south and east of the La Tour Eiffel.

We walked all over the neighborhood, enjoyed coffee/croissants. Streets, though narrow, were well-lit and inviting. All the cafes had lines of customers waiting to get in for dinner. 

Our last night we walked toward the River Seine. When we got to the quai (concrete river bank with walks and stairs), I turned around and took this picture:

People were enjoying the evening - some on the quai, some getting street food (we got crepes), some strolling along the river, some in the park area around the tower. The parts of Paris that we saw were beautiful and "walkable."

Walkable city

Here is a re-post from 2014, "Walkable City." Why the re-post? Because my niece and I spent some time in Paris last week, and "walkable" really describes it. More tomorrow.

Walkable city

There's a term for it according to city planner Jeff Speck's book, Walkable City. If pedestrians are comfortable walking from place to place, if they feel safe and interested in what they see, if they are intrigued and engaged by the street life, the city has walkability.

American cities, according to Speck, are designed for cars. Wide traffic lanes, fast-moving traffic, huge parking lots, clearing of obstacles including trees, all inhibit pedestrians' sense of comfort. These features get cars into and out of cities efficiently, but they discourage walking.

Picture a boring and unpleasant street scene, then imagine how it could be made beautiful and appealing (click on the picture below). That's what this organizationdoes:

photo: walklive.org

Walkable city-scapes are high in real estate value. Millenials (~age 20-32) expect to live in an urban core, or at least 77% of them do. They - and the empty nest boomer generation too - will pick an urban neighborhood that makes city living safe, friendly, interesting. Go to walkscore.com to get an idea of the walkability of any address.

(cont'd tomorrow)

Break

As you read this today, I have been in France for almost a week on what I expect will be an exciting trip to Europe. 

It may be that I can find time to publish a couple of posts while we are there. 

But normal weekday posts will resume starting on Thursday, October 25.

If you are a praying person, pray for us! Thanks 😊

Voyager

Voyager 2 was launched from the U.S. in 1977, and it's still traveling while sending information back to earth, almost eleven billion miles away. That's a successful machine.

Judging from the particles hitting the spacecraft, NASA thinks that it will soon leave our solar system.

image: curious astronomer

(from Space)

AI optimizes

optimize but not create

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a wave of technology that can't be stopped, and it scares a lot of people (including Elon Musk). Most of us don't understand it well enough to be completely comfortable even talking about it. So I've created a new label and we'll pursue the topic.

Kai Fu-Lee, who worked in the field for decades at Apple, says AI can "optimize - but not create."

Nobel Prize

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege have been selected to share the 2018 Nobel Prize for their work.

photo: npr

Dr. Mukwege's response to winning the prize:

"This honor is an inspiration because it shows that the world is actually paying attention to the tragedy of rape and sexual violence and that the women and children who have suffered for too long are not being ignored."

Nadia Murad's response to winning the prize:

"Persecution of minorities must end. We must work together with determination – to prove that genocidal campaigns will not only fail, but lead to accountability for the perpetrators and justice for the survivors."

Denis Mukwege

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

It seemed to the Congolese gynecologist, Dr. Denis Mukwege, that he was treating extremely high numbers of women with horrible injuries. It led to a specialized work that he thinks will last the rest of his life.

photo: Mukwege Foundation

Mukwege has earned the moniker "the man who mends women" for the work he and his colleagues at Panzi Hospital have done to treat tens of thousands of women and girls, survivors of rape and sexual violence, which has been used as a weapon of war since conflict began in the east of the DRC in 1995.

"For 15 years I have witnessed mass atrocities committed against women's bodies and I cannot remain with my arms folded because our common humanity calls on us to care for each other."

His work has also put his own life on the line, with Mukwege narrowly escaping an attack on his life in October 2012, in which his guard was killed.

(cont'd in tomorrow's post)

Nadia Murad

Back in 2014, Nadia was living a quiet life with her Yazidi minority family in an Iraqi village. Then Islamic State carved a brutal path through Iraq. IS violently took over her village, executed her mother, murdered six of her brothers, and made Nadia into a sex slave.

She published her story, The Last Girl, in 2017. She was tortured, beaten, and repeatedly raped by members of Islamic State, whose "research" concluded that Yazidi are actually  property, not persons.

She managed to escape after three months of captivity and fled to Germany. She became an activist speaking out on behalf of other Yazidi, who are one of the minorities targeted for genocide by Islamic State.

Click on the Iraq or IslamicState labels to get some background on the terror and minority persecution that was IS.

(cont'd tomorrow)

Unplanned

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Four days before filming was to begin on "Unplanned," its two producers did not have their lead to play the part of Abby Johnson. Delays are expensive when this kind of movie costs about $20,000/hour to make.

photo: stream

Then the decision was made, Ashley Bratcher would be Abby in this film. Ashley had been filming four days when she talked to her mother on the phone and received some astonishing news: Ashley herself had very nearly been aborted.

Her father had pawned a shotgun to pay for the abortion, he and her mom went to the clinic to get it done . . and then her mom couldn't go through with it. She kept the baby, and named her daughter Ashley. 

“To know you almost didn’t exist is an incredible thing to hear,” says Bratcher in an interview. “I was just seconds away from not existing."

Whistle blower

Abby Johnson rose through the ranks to become a Planned Parenthood Clinic Director in Texas. But in 2009 she assisted in an ultrasound-assisted abortion, and that changed everything. After that experience, she decided, "Never again."

Two weeks later she quit her job, and then joined a pro-life organization. She became national news.

"I'm not doing this to judge anyone," she said. "My goodness, I have participated in the abortion industry for eight years. I'm just here as a resource and telling my story ... and maybe somebody will be touched by it."

She wrote a book, Unplanned, and started a non-profit which has helped over 400 people leave the abortion industry.

And a movie about her life, also called "Unplanned," will come out next March.

(cont'd tomorrow)

V2X trust

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

If V2X is to succeed, drivers must trust it. So designers have focused on two things that will certainly concern drivers (human drivers will have V2X before cars are self-driving).

1)  Accuracy
If drivers don't believe in the accuracy of warning signals coming from the V2X system, they won't brake or turn or whatever is called for - and they will not be safer. 

2) Privacy
If your car is constantly sending data about its speed, condition, location, etc., then it could potentially be tracked by government. (Americans don't want that, in contrast to Chinese who approve of 600 million surveillance cameras.)

More info:

• V2X will add about $250 to a car's cost
• Benefits will come when most vehicles are equipped with V2X
• Governments may require it of all vehicles by 2020

V2X safety

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Human error is the biggest reason why cars crash. Driving while drowsy, or distracted with a passenger or cell phone - or anything else - causes collisions. It's a big reason for the movement to autonomous driving, where the car needs no human driver.

photo: yahoo

V2X gives tons of information to the self-driving system: information broadcast by sensors in other cars, by sensors near the road area, from the government, from all over.

According to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, V2X can "prevent 80 percent of accidents for unimpaired drivers by alerting them to the hidden dangers . . in time to take evasive action."

About 40,000 people lost their lives in traffic deaths during 2017 in the United States, with millions more injured. So potentially thousands of lives could be saved.

(cont'd tomorrow)

V2X

V2X communication means "vehicle-to-everything communication."

"Cars that talk to one another and the world around them are almost here."

“Ten times per second, those vehicles are generating and sharing and broadcasting data: the steering wheel angle, the accelerator status, the windshield wipers status, the airbag status, the traction-control system status.”

"[Vehicles will] alert one another to road conditions, tell you when the traffic signal will change, and even warn you not to pull out of that blind intersection, because they can see the oncoming traffic you can’t."

"Today’s high-tech cars are practically rolling laboratories, packed to the radiators with switches, sensors, cameras, radar, microphones, and more."

(cont'd tomorrow)

Nabeel

Maybe you've heard about Muslims who convert to Christianity. Why would they do that?

Nabeel Qureshi was brought up Muslim, strong in his faith. But he changed his mind. This is his story.

Elon's opinion

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Elon Musk answered questions from the audience when he made that announcement about the first passenger who's going to the moon on his BFR rocket in 2023.

A journalist wanted to know Elon's response to the Boeing CEO who said that the first human going to Mars would go on a Boeing rocket. Elon's response (1:33), "GAME ON!!"

Somebody wanted to know when Elon thinks he himself will go to the moon, now that this other man is going to be the first. 

Elon may be choked up as he replies: "This has done a lot to restore my faith in humanity, that he's willing to do this. It's risky, it might not succeed, it's dangerous. He's, like, donating seats. These are great things. As far as me personally, maybe we'll both be on it!"

"It's guaranteed to be an exciting journey. I'm super fired up! This is going to be great."

Dear moon

Elon Musk made a major announcement recently. When SpaceX's biggest rocket (BFR) orbits the moon in 2023, it will take private citizen Yusaku Maezawa. Whatever he's paying for this is undisclosed, but the Japanese billionaire wants to take eight artists with him.

He calls it an "awe-inspiring global universal art project."



"Clair de Lune" is playing in the background, usually translated "Moonlight."

Chinese approve

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

"Interestingly, socially advantaged citizens – wealthier, better-educated and urban – show the strongest approval of social credit systems, along with older people."

Of course. Those who win at this game of pleasing the government get the perks, like internet speed.

Shanghai sales woman Joyce Hu says, "As long as it doesn't violate my privacy, I'm okay with it." Don't 600 million government surveillance cameras threaten her privacy?

But exactly what the government monitors is not completely clear. "Once citizens find that they are unable to understand how assessments of trustworthiness are made, or experience unfairness, it is unlikely that approval will remain high . . ."