tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42292304062057732392024-03-14T19:06:44.314-07:00The Squirrel's NestA blog containing opinion and analysis in a wide array of areas including the economy, health care, broadband and international relations.Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comBlogger4179125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-24227180781813627942024-03-14T14:26:00.000-07:002024-03-14T19:06:11.027-07:00MIT Needs a Cleansing<p> The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/14/opinion/harvard-mit-and-systemic-antisemitism.html">NY Times</a> presents a compelling article about MIT and its current management gross negligence. The <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.267702/gov.uscourts.mad.267702.1.0.pdf" target="_blank">legal papers </a>filed are also compelling. This was not the MIT I spent years affiliated with. The Augean Stables need cleansing and perhaps this is the first step. The Times notes:</p><p><i style="color: red;">There is no excuse for hypocrisy. There is no excuse for harassment. It
seems clear that M.I.T., Harvard and other campuses have failed to
uphold their moral and legal responsibilities. Now it falls upon the
engine of American justice to impose its consequences and to prove — to
this generation and the ones that follow — that this truly is a
government “which to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no
assistance.”</i></p><p>MIT just announced a <a href="https://orgchart.mit.edu/letters/karl-reid-84-sm-85-named-vice-president-equity-and-inclusion" target="_blank">Vice President for DEI.</a> Yet Jews get persecuted for their presence. One should read the complaint, it is terrifying, and a shame on the grossly defective Administration. </p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-81478854531349686012024-03-09T17:01:00.000-08:002024-03-09T17:01:26.191-08:00This Patrol Thing is Out of Hand<p> The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/09/nyregion/long-guns-subway.html" target="_blank">NY Times</a> reports:</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0"><i style="color: red;">Shortly after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday that hundreds of National Guard soldiers would be deployed to patrol
the New York City subway system and check riders’ bags, her office made
an adjustment: Soldiers searching bags would not carry long guns. The change, which was first reported by The Daily News,
was ordered by Ms. Hochul on Wednesday for implementation on Thursday,
according to a spokesman for the governor. Ms. Hochul issued a directive
that National Guard members would be prohibited from carrying long guns
at bag-check stations, he said. Soldiers not working at the stations
would presumably be allowed to carry them.</i></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">They are NOT long guns, they are continuous fire M-16! You know like the AR-15s they want to ban, but continuous fire rifles. It is amazing how this thing has been sanitized by the Press. This is worse than a Mussolini takeover, except by police who look more terrifying. A recent photo of a person returning from a pickle match, I gather having a beer bottle was being detailed by two chubby and short bearded slovenly NYPDs at the subway. What were they missing while they detailed this person. Got the picture just in case. </p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">I remember Mayor Daly in 1968 in Chicago. This Fall we may very see much worse. </p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">BTW, a long gun could be an M-1 or even an M-14, although M-14s can do rapid fire.<br /></p><p></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-84213860325744388192024-03-09T07:48:00.000-08:002024-03-09T07:57:52.246-08:00The NYC Subway<p> Well, I did it, took the subway. From Penn Station thru Times Square and up to 72nd Street and return.</p><p>Guess what, not a single cop, soldier, M-16. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdF4Llgo5Wm2XQi4qN4jAEau5C28vMUhO7Mosvaq5r_MdWg_VgX0KOZSBmP7JE7Ujj3dWVmEE8Y8lGODwkEkNSKrhqrjh9WUYdD0P8w35KyDcmpB6UWzUiMp5Sq5FstC9CTmduWNG7BOz0ob1ARKFVdJTGbjtw4UQzO0zMEwXOq6m9heFFmOJW2j08ZE/s3264/20240308_114950.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="3264" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdF4Llgo5Wm2XQi4qN4jAEau5C28vMUhO7Mosvaq5r_MdWg_VgX0KOZSBmP7JE7Ujj3dWVmEE8Y8lGODwkEkNSKrhqrjh9WUYdD0P8w35KyDcmpB6UWzUiMp5Sq5FstC9CTmduWNG7BOz0ob1ARKFVdJTGbjtw4UQzO0zMEwXOq6m9heFFmOJW2j08ZE/s320/20240308_114950.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNeLWeEWl1um3NdjgDA800xoMtvZfwwINrC2xfXcp4A6_fcgIakRthtWJFnVod2t8FUuAvUL8a7nLyGrKxe337qNbXNgboBRq1ij_QZ1cQcgwUXGROZmQ_dhDWovboPieciEgJ-9hxKGu6B16Gt467QOwItDnqb3RpJrlVQR5A8RcqlDzSQF4xwWMS3_k/s3264/20240308_114959.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="3264" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNeLWeEWl1um3NdjgDA800xoMtvZfwwINrC2xfXcp4A6_fcgIakRthtWJFnVod2t8FUuAvUL8a7nLyGrKxe337qNbXNgboBRq1ij_QZ1cQcgwUXGROZmQ_dhDWovboPieciEgJ-9hxKGu6B16Gt467QOwItDnqb3RpJrlVQR5A8RcqlDzSQF4xwWMS3_k/s320/20240308_114959.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p> </p><p>Lots of people, no security, none, not even a glimpse! So what happened? The Buffalo Gnome got scared of the backlash? </p><p>But wait. What was everywhere were the "immigrants" or "illegals" carrying babies on their backs holding large plastic trays filled with candy at every stairwell. Just try to figure out the economics of that trade. Also would you buy something to eat from a person from God knows where in a urine stained subway stop? If so then COVID should not have scared you! The baby on the back thing was interesting.</p><p>So is NYC safe? As long as you do not eat strange foods, stay well back from the train, make no eye contact, and avoid the police, then I guess it is as safe as Mogadishu.<br /></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-63219826229479777072024-03-07T16:45:00.000-08:002024-03-07T17:23:22.031-08:00Russia was Friendlier<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLpI37hh-dGvGh9Q3J006rGQpfArQpV0Tg7uNKjndpLpSQmbTVOC6nXF9f65oA_Ck3Pb8zbPCWp2BJUEnaJi49Hy7WI7-6iQFaUFvP3NfJW2w4N5tvYkST-q3Bc2_Qmwz0WhyaZzao4zug4To4N9XGZHMCxFDrcgwybNhdwnvlhvP1-E6J-qeDLOk-oyg/s2961/first%20day%20on%20the%20job%201947%2004%2017%2002_edited%20bw.bmp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2961" data-original-width="2363" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLpI37hh-dGvGh9Q3J006rGQpfArQpV0Tg7uNKjndpLpSQmbTVOC6nXF9f65oA_Ck3Pb8zbPCWp2BJUEnaJi49Hy7WI7-6iQFaUFvP3NfJW2w4N5tvYkST-q3Bc2_Qmwz0WhyaZzao4zug4To4N9XGZHMCxFDrcgwybNhdwnvlhvP1-E6J-qeDLOk-oyg/s320/first%20day%20on%20the%20job%201947%2004%2017%2002_edited%20bw.bmp" width="255" /></a></div><br />I ran a company in Russia for several years. Not the most friendly to legal rights, so one is always careful. Now along comes the New York Gov sending troops to the subway. I have to go tomorrow and anticipate a possible search and seizure. The Gov and her Praetorian guards invoke their powers to search and seize law abiding citizens while leaving the one performing illegal acts free to continue. Moscow was much more friendly, as long as you did not debate the Vlad! <p></p><p>The<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/07/nyregion/hochul-police-subway-search.html" target="_blank"> NY Times</a> noted:</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0"><i style="color: red;">Just 24 hours after Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed
the National Guard and the State Police in the New York City subway to
quell fears of crime, the unusual show of force drew intense criticism
on Thursday from various corners, some unexpected. On
the left, Jumaane N. Williams, the city’s public advocate, warned that
Ms. Hochul’s plan would “criminalize the public on public transit.”
Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher, a democratic socialist from Brooklyn, said
it was a “ham-fisted and authoritarian response” that “validates G.O.P.
propaganda about urban lawlessness in an election year.” Centrists
fretted that the deployment of troops carrying long guns — beamed
across the country by Fox News and other cable outlets — would actually
make New Yorkers and would-be tourists feel less safe, not more.</i></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Indeed, less safe from the National Guard. Think Kent State. Checking everyone's personal effects by untrained Guardsmen is incredible. Yes, that is me with my father on his first day on the NYC PD. Between him and his father they spent 60 years on the job. I learned how to identify suspects starting at the age of seven. Look at shoes, hair, clothes, hands, etc. Worked well with my former KGB partners. But I truly doubt these weapon carrying troops have any idea. Discharge an M-16 in the Times Square Station and you kill 50-60 people in seconds. The Gov has created a situation of imminent danger. <br /></p><p></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-50538300171890412102024-03-06T11:16:00.000-08:002024-03-06T13:08:58.716-08:00The Inferno<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBrzDow_NPK69QkD77yVeQDvISZ2oXD623GPEKCRI_UkCIc4DweLPKOMPhzUelcCQeGu-Zwiz6eLViU_qGWj0NnBA8HhSVFEa3q-FdMjE7OgLQaLNX4Gqw28gslWxXsNLZDgCLRoW5zVz_V_tD7rEEqlZqA_-oE5-Pp6O4OadjPLTqv2thLOihax9wjK0/s2112/The%20Club.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1632" data-original-width="2112" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBrzDow_NPK69QkD77yVeQDvISZ2oXD623GPEKCRI_UkCIc4DweLPKOMPhzUelcCQeGu-Zwiz6eLViU_qGWj0NnBA8HhSVFEa3q-FdMjE7OgLQaLNX4Gqw28gslWxXsNLZDgCLRoW5zVz_V_tD7rEEqlZqA_-oE5-Pp6O4OadjPLTqv2thLOihax9wjK0/s320/The%20Club.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/06/nyregion/subway-national-guard-police.html" target="_blank">NY Times</a> notes, as above, the expansion of police presence. The problem is clear from the above photo from the Times, the police just clump together totally disregarding the people. In addition one often sees a police office and wonders who this bearded creature is. Grooming and presence is 99% of the battle. It demands respect. Shabby dress and hirsute presentation does not. <br /><p></p><p>As the <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/03/06/us-news/gov-hochul-to-deploy-1000-national-guardsman-state-cops-to-carry-out-bag-checks-in-nyc-subways/" target="_blank">NY Post</a> notes:</p><p><i style="color: red;">Nearly 1,000 New York National Guardsmen, state police and MTA cops
are being deployed to carry out bag checks in the Big Apple’s
crime-ridden subway system, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday. The additional forces – made up of 750 guardsmen and 250 law
enforcement officers — will work alongside the NYPD to patrol “the
city’s busiest transit stations” amid a recent surge in underground
violence, Hochul said. “These brazen heinous attacks on our subway system will not be
tolerated,” Hochul said as she announced a five-point plan to crackdown
on the city’s burgeoning underground crime wave.</i></p><p> I am back into NYC this week but I suspect these 1,000 new faces will just hang in small groups glued to their smart phones. Going from Penn Station to Times Square and then to the East side is akin to trying a northbound trip on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in 1968 flying a US Flag! </p><p>For the past ten plus years it has just become a crime ridden place, with police clearly ignoring the situation. Thus one wonders what 1,000 more eyes looking at smart phone screens will accomplish. </p><p>So say a prayers for my safety, that may be the only way to move cross town. Oh yes, one could walk, but that is equally risky between the assaults and massive clouds of formerly illegal substances. </p><p>Dante, you would have had fun with this place!</p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-60181625489314268762024-02-28T12:28:00.000-08:002024-02-28T12:28:16.923-08:00Disinformation<p> A while back I wrote a piece asking <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376410514_What_is_AI" target="_blank">What is AI</a>? But the core problem is that junk in then junk out. See Google's latest piece of junk, Gemini. But as I noted, if the AI system can go out on its own a scour up information and then develop an unbiased rating metric, a real step up, independent of its creators, then perhaps we obtain a reliable AI system. Otherwise we have a next step disinformation system! Never trust humans, especially big ego Silicon Valley types. They believe that they know more than the rest of humanity but in my experience they are just pampered creatures oftentimes not worth the name human.</p><p>Thus my recommendation is stay away from this AI systems which are merely mouths for the Silicon Valley elite.<br /></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-8316665391000218842024-02-21T14:31:00.000-08:002024-02-21T14:31:13.831-08:00Everyone Gets a Prize<p> Back in the early 60s at MIT undergraduates often had little time for social events and to my best recall the only "prize" one gets is at graduation and a diploma. Now I note that <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2024/thirty-five-mit-students-selected-burchard-scholars-0221" target="_blank">MIT News</a> almost daily has students getting some prize or other. They note:</p><p><i style="color: red;">Elected by the Burchard Committee from a large pool of impressive
applicants, all students chosen for the program have demonstrated
excellence and engagement in the humanistic fields, but can major in
science, design, and engineering fields as well as the humanities, arts,
and social sciences. In the course of this calendar year, the Burchard Scholars will attend seminar dinners
with members of the SHASS faculty, during which they will have the
chance to engage with the faculty and one another. The program is
designed to both broaden horizons for promising students and provide
scholars the chance to engage in friendly but challenging discussions in
which to hone skills for expressing, critiquing, and debating ideas
with peers and mentors.</i></p><p>"Prizes" like this seem to be a common occurrence. There seems to be a common thread here of engaging with faculty and one another. Back in the Middle Ages of this process one got to engage via class performance and one on one contact. No "organized" prize awards. It seems that there is some need to have awards en masse. It is becoming like Hollywood, awards every week or so, making everyone "happy". How about just a little work, less awards.<br /></p><p></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-25234313856627876772024-02-18T11:42:00.000-08:002024-02-18T11:42:51.975-08:00Star Wars?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7uPAPkl6NZ0UA0_gW2iGkoSDE7TvREvtRwBdhvskc76X3IL1BkZPCw9iIQd_yf9FYnsQ2N5j4JxEzd7zDZQ7CClO8m-HxDs78xTqA5xjh71sI32Oqve2Zxlg0iKitcLmV3E3cF6WN6lPvbbFxMdwlAq1_CHB_nQgVsHJ1-jCUe5xGzK0Wb29k9zEUuE/s2816/P4120066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2112" data-original-width="2816" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7uPAPkl6NZ0UA0_gW2iGkoSDE7TvREvtRwBdhvskc76X3IL1BkZPCw9iIQd_yf9FYnsQ2N5j4JxEzd7zDZQ7CClO8m-HxDs78xTqA5xjh71sI32Oqve2Zxlg0iKitcLmV3E3cF6WN6lPvbbFxMdwlAq1_CHB_nQgVsHJ1-jCUe5xGzK0Wb29k9zEUuE/s320/P4120066.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />For those of us who remember the Star Wars program in the 80s, this was a plan to place satellites capable of neutralizing missiles and enemy satellites before they came down on the US. Its very announcement was an element leading to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Now forty years later Russia is again trying to launch satellites armed with nuclear weapons. <p></p><p>I remember in the 70s when I was seconded to the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, ACDA, we met with the Soviets in Kirkland AFB to discuss technical issues of the treaty. My job was communications with seismic monitors. My Russian was limited but after a few vodkas and walking about I spoke with the Soviet representatives, likely KGB and others, and we both understood what a 50 MT weapon could do, not to mention hundreds. There would be nothing left except the proverbial cockroaches.</p><p>So have the Russians forgotten and has the Defense Department been spending too much time on tactical issues and none on strategic. To paraphrase a movie character, Forest Gump, "stupid is as stupid does".<br /></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-51518091951081471872024-02-16T17:24:00.000-08:002024-02-16T19:21:21.467-08:00What Gender Bias?<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07068-x" target="_blank">Nature</a> has a piece alleging gender bias, namely institutions show via text and image a bias towards men, especially white men. They note:</p><p><i style="color: red;">Each year, people spend less time reading and more time viewing images, which are proliferating online. Images from platforms such as Google and Wikipedia are downloaded by millions every day,
and millions more are interacting through social media, such as
Instagram and TikTok, that primarily consist of exchanging visual
content. In parallel, news agencies and digital advertisers are
increasingly capturing attention online through the use of images, which people process more quickly, implicitly and memorably than text.
Here we show that the rise of images online significantly exacerbates
gender bias, both in its statistical prevalence and its psychological
impact. We examine the gender associations of 3,495 social categories
(such as ‘nurse’ or ‘banker’) in more than one million images from
Google, Wikipedia and Internet Movie Database (IMDb), and in billions of
words from these platforms. We find that gender bias is consistently
more prevalent in images than text for both female- and male-typed
categories. We also show that the documented underrepresentation of
women online
is substantially worse in images than in text, public opinion and US
census data. Finally, we conducted a nationally representative,
preregistered experiment that shows that googling for images rather than
textual descriptions of occupations amplifies gender bias in
participants’ beliefs. Addressing the societal effect of this
large-scale shift towards visual communication will be essential for
developing a fair and inclusive future for the internet.</i></p><p>Now if one then looks at <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2024/mit-course-aids-social-connection-better-relationships-happiness-0215" target="_blank">MIT News</a> it is near impossible to find this effect. The Institute management is all female, mixed race. </p><p>Harvard is somewhat akin but frankly much less so. It will be interesting in the long run to see how this plays out. The MIT course noted above is described as:</p><p><i style="color: red;">The course, known as CLICK for short, stands for "Connecting as is,
Listening first, Investigating without Judgment, Communicating kindness,
and Keeping in touch." CLICK was taught for the first time at MIT in
winter 2023 and focuses on emotional intelligence and social
connections. During the 50-minute sessions, students work in small
groups and learn valuable tips to help them navigate life — especially
being on campus for the first time. Students also learn how to
decompress with yoga. <b>CLICK also helps students examine the places they go during the week
and the people they interact with, then provides “recipes” for easy
conversation starters along with a blend of open-ended reflections on
how to show up authentically and with compassion. Conversely, they offer
advice on backing out of an unwanted conversation graciously.</b></i></p><p>Yes, this is a real MIT course and it is being promoted on the MIT News site. My, have things changed!<br /></p><p><br /></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-60970923784403765752024-02-16T16:20:00.000-08:002024-02-16T16:20:46.468-08:00Employment 20 Years<p> Back in 2005 I started to examine certain employment numbers to try to understand the changing economy. I thought it would be worth a review. So here goes:</p><p>First s core business vs Government. Core saw a large drop in the Plague period but has recovered. Government not so much but continues to grow. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJC52QYL7POgaKZT782WlvwONMDYcOJq-oDr5ZurhEs5m9Iy3HaXemlTktRPXMdpUfwFGlfZiXmxPg3ljJUeai2g_jrRukBnEwOpuNvMnPDpDUNHJRan1P7-EHCEocHcJC4jKBcpN6AOsdzUeO9pH8CAhSYsX7ccOoItw5fF5mSKRbCPO6ae5KbPNJxhk/s2112/Employ%202024_Page1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1632" data-original-width="2112" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJC52QYL7POgaKZT782WlvwONMDYcOJq-oDr5ZurhEs5m9Iy3HaXemlTktRPXMdpUfwFGlfZiXmxPg3ljJUeai2g_jrRukBnEwOpuNvMnPDpDUNHJRan1P7-EHCEocHcJC4jKBcpN6AOsdzUeO9pH8CAhSYsX7ccOoItw5fF5mSKRbCPO6ae5KbPNJxhk/s320/Employ%202024_Page1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The following is core by sector. Transportation has grown as has non durable.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAUdKpKMseU-i7Hmyu9fjMfNvQOBeW_J6dPQNTQ1FYiMUphnD0-NjUpfr9vghByfwqFLQK7SSDGD-uMNTY9Y0CkYkKz73XlnZLLcH2ol5mcTYp6bJmF-XoF6X0fSdzLkh0C3vuCBsXbpWtSmpMWS1D0mK9-jghglXIhIPsmlH-ck8TZghb-kjjXf21K9E/s2112/Employ%202024_Page2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1632" data-original-width="2112" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAUdKpKMseU-i7Hmyu9fjMfNvQOBeW_J6dPQNTQ1FYiMUphnD0-NjUpfr9vghByfwqFLQK7SSDGD-uMNTY9Y0CkYkKz73XlnZLLcH2ol5mcTYp6bJmF-XoF6X0fSdzLkh0C3vuCBsXbpWtSmpMWS1D0mK9-jghglXIhIPsmlH-ck8TZghb-kjjXf21K9E/s320/Employ%202024_Page2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The following are per PoP numbers by sector. Ed and Health are dramatically increasing. This is workers not just dollars. Surprisingly Government has dropped.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBF7e3yQtwLyiYlvMbuv6Uz3zRiiIjbpA9SHu45XQLaWGIo45aUfjkrw9QBtLoS17u96CkvZqTaTQ4oL16cbDjsUGsrGMi91gXxHqjADDB3QRzlO38fajV_zwFkWmXUI6kTw7_M79FCgoKS_T7i0UEPXX-KXt9mmpSuuG_I9I0kXIAN2XFUFxflObLdMM/s2112/Employ%202024_Page3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1632" data-original-width="2112" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBF7e3yQtwLyiYlvMbuv6Uz3zRiiIjbpA9SHu45XQLaWGIo45aUfjkrw9QBtLoS17u96CkvZqTaTQ4oL16cbDjsUGsrGMi91gXxHqjADDB3QRzlO38fajV_zwFkWmXUI6kTw7_M79FCgoKS_T7i0UEPXX-KXt9mmpSuuG_I9I0kXIAN2XFUFxflObLdMM/s320/Employ%202024_Page3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The following is a graph of percent total by year by segment. Note that health and professional have grown but many old core have dropped.Especially manufacturing. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZHkpYf1JeLkbm6f94nsCXGS85nxal5Lx9U68zYizMHbu7ZccMTPvhOFAEp3trQ41T9_Wb1elA0yTS0ZwVcGoSHgQKLZD526kfUia-YgxFDUG6Ls0lCf4yPgl2v3vdT-JhUXLqbStdn1lgg-GCqScN392XgnpWW9C3wvvWzJQAVN5T0P3wp-z7di9SAT8/s2112/Employ%202024_Page4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1632" data-original-width="2112" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZHkpYf1JeLkbm6f94nsCXGS85nxal5Lx9U68zYizMHbu7ZccMTPvhOFAEp3trQ41T9_Wb1elA0yTS0ZwVcGoSHgQKLZD526kfUia-YgxFDUG6Ls0lCf4yPgl2v3vdT-JhUXLqbStdn1lgg-GCqScN392XgnpWW9C3wvvWzJQAVN5T0P3wp-z7di9SAT8/s320/Employ%202024_Page4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-64339998970727014202024-02-10T07:38:00.000-08:002024-02-10T10:13:28.121-08:00AI and Health Care<p><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/health-202-senate-finance-ai-health-care-hearing/" target="_blank"></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLAVt8gaS7VVWp5Gz-VvNni7-fo3F3Ta2EhqIOPNr-ZC-jKcc1DQ9kCFzeeLqeCEo9MLIohKUWEEeON2eGFj8gTiOGviOat52LOsU5IBVfH_8Y0zMMd7vt_hgXJ30PX9UWFzEWu9fasIjmy2gp08E2EqNzE9TnBxK7nDISvs6C7_Rr7aszEbjGFbWY1M/s2577/doc%20office.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2577" data-original-width="1836" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLAVt8gaS7VVWp5Gz-VvNni7-fo3F3Ta2EhqIOPNr-ZC-jKcc1DQ9kCFzeeLqeCEo9MLIohKUWEEeON2eGFj8gTiOGviOat52LOsU5IBVfH_8Y0zMMd7vt_hgXJ30PX9UWFzEWu9fasIjmy2gp08E2EqNzE9TnBxK7nDISvs6C7_Rr7aszEbjGFbWY1M/s320/doc%20office.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><br /> Kaiser Health News reports on the move by the Senate to regulate AI in Health Care.<p></p><p><i style="color: red;">The <b>Senate Finance Committee</b> contemplated the future yesterday: artificial intelligence and its potential applications to health care. And it turns out the future looks an awful lot like the past and
present: Democrats want regulations. And the industry wants money. He expressed outrage at the results of <u>2019 research</u> led by <b>Ziad Obermeyer</b>, a <b>University of California at Berkeley</b>
associate professor, who found that one commercial algorithm
recommended less health care for Black patients based on historical cost
data. “<b>How does such a flawed system make its way into general use</b>?” Wyden said. “Nobody’s watching. No guardrails. No guardrails to protect the patients from flawed algorithms and AI systems.” It’s unclear whether this algorithm is still being marketed, Obermeyer testified later. The hearing marked Congress’s latest attempt to wrap its head around
the newest AI systems, which can mimic some forms of human reasoning to
make predictions and calculations, or generate text and images that look
deceptively human-created. <b>Wyden touted his “Algorithmic Accountability Act,” </b>a bill intended to force companies to assess their own products and require the <b>Federal Trade Commission</b>
to collect and report data on AI systems. But Republicans indicated
that they don’t want to move quickly on the emerging technology. </i></p><p> The problem is,<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376410514_What_is_AI" target="_blank"> as we have noted</a>, there is no agreed to definition of "AI". As as usual Congress is not the least bit concerned about regulating something they are totally ignorant of. After-all let the Chevron precedent allow the bureaucrats take of as they so choose. How can one regulate something that is undefined? Each purported AI technique is vastly different starting with the training sets.</p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-60827129077055817742024-02-10T06:19:00.000-08:002024-02-10T06:53:45.047-08:00What is Science?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6sZp9xgT-TXFHrbVM13vS1elKTF2rGPPljFQsmDqofIsV1XZWZlEvm9BR-owajA_bmHYwGk0M9GAizXwIcMDutnZPG5Q8JGynPF5oeqeL7O1pH1sAH-vY9m4Jrhkdr_hZ8rogn6UpPvh2voo05Iih09-qhiU_yBnCd8W5qAv63fYZsaQMGPTr9J-DeY/s3072/P7130026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="2304" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6sZp9xgT-TXFHrbVM13vS1elKTF2rGPPljFQsmDqofIsV1XZWZlEvm9BR-owajA_bmHYwGk0M9GAizXwIcMDutnZPG5Q8JGynPF5oeqeL7O1pH1sAH-vY9m4Jrhkdr_hZ8rogn6UpPvh2voo05Iih09-qhiU_yBnCd8W5qAv63fYZsaQMGPTr9J-DeY/s320/P7130026.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /> In a recent article in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi9606" target="_blank">Science</a>, the authors promote the idea that science as we know it is too limited and it must include the ideas of indigenous people as a key part. They note:<p></p><article data-design="pill" data-has="right-rail" data-type="other" dir="ltr" lang="en"><div class="core-container related">
</div><section data-extent="bodymatter" id="bodymatter"><div class="core-container"><div role="paragraph"><i style="color: red;">Conflict
has grown around Indigenous knowledge in education policy. There has
been growing acceptance of the value of Indigenous knowledge for
promoting ecological resilience, transformational approaches in
stewardship, and cultural renewal within global fora such as the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. However, despite increasing
acceptance at a strategic high level in science-informed policy, there
is often a lack of wider acceptance, application, and policy protections
of Indigenous knowledge transmission in more local settings, including
opposition by some scientists. We argue that Indigenous knowledge can
complement and enhance science teachings, benefitting students and
society in a time of considerable global challenges. We do not argue
that Indigenous knowledge should usurp the role of, or be called,
science. But to step from “not science” to “therefore not as (or at all)
valuable and worthy of learning” is a non sequitur, based on personal
values and not a scientifically defensible position.</i></div><div role="paragraph"><i style="color: red;"> </i></div><div role="paragraph">They continue:</div><div role="paragraph"> </div><div role="paragraph"><span style="color: red;"><i> Similarly, we argue that teaching Indigenous knowledge alongside science
should not seek to usurp science (in the way that, for example,
creationism seeks to undermine evolutionary theory because they are
incompatible with one another), but rather it “provokes science, and can
act as a mirror for science to see itself more clearly, reflected in a
philosophically different form of knowledge” </i> A parallel understanding of science and Indigenous knowledge
systems would be complementary, emphasizing their similarities and
cultural differences; the separation versus connection of empirical and
philosophical subjects would be one example of those differences.
Another example specific to Aotearoa–New Zealand would be that Te Ao
Māori (Māori worldview) uses an intergenerational lens inclusive of the
observer that gives cultural integrity to questions and generated
outcomes, whereas the scientific method strives to be disconnected from
that which it observes.</span></div><div role="paragraph"> </div><div role="paragraph"> This article makes no sense. Western science has evolved as a fact based construct, that uses a set of physical and mental tools which are subject to verification. The "constructs" the authors propose are cultural and cultural without verification. I admit that many medications are based upon time honored constructs from botanical areas but they have evolved with a firmer bases of their functions leading to improved medications. Such is not the case here. Their dismissal of creationism as non indigenous seems a bit far fetched. If a society accepts certain rituals such as healing by some stones then why not creationism. I am a firm Darwinian, one has to be when one hybridizes plants, but at the same time I am a firm believer in the basis of Western Science. Apparently these folks want us to accept any far fetched idea except those they do not agree with. It seems to be consistent with may of our current society. </div></div></section></article>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-61644722436697251362024-02-08T05:39:00.000-08:002024-02-08T05:39:40.437-08:00And Who Paid for This?<p><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMcps2020668" target="_blank"></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WfxrCeMThi3BT1g6g19WQfnSKzCMzi6fao5akq4nRLX8nSlR2fhXoIN-6-gDENY1ph0C0bADO_iSvUM1DgFyqghYpeCp-Oq4MIRA34sbnkNTmX98kBEg372Nbhe4ea51GIKi7UWMCqo7W958vh0h1nv9KCL8iITsOFWFMegzrkwBMUT2PgBo_E-4n_M/s1013/Leptospira_interrogans_strain_RGA_01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="1013" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WfxrCeMThi3BT1g6g19WQfnSKzCMzi6fao5akq4nRLX8nSlR2fhXoIN-6-gDENY1ph0C0bADO_iSvUM1DgFyqghYpeCp-Oq4MIRA34sbnkNTmX98kBEg372Nbhe4ea51GIKi7UWMCqo7W958vh0h1nv9KCL8iITsOFWFMegzrkwBMUT2PgBo_E-4n_M/s320/Leptospira_interrogans_strain_RGA_01.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /> NEJM presents an interesting case. It is also in a <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2310173?query=featured_home" target="_blank">NEJM video</a>. It is about leptospirosis, a bacterial infection having crossed the Rio Grande. They note:<p></p><p><i style="color: red;">When the patient was discharged 6 weeks after his initial
presentation, the urine volumes were normal and the creatinine level
remained elevated at 2.3 mg per deciliter (203.3 μmol per liter). One
month later, in clinic, he appeared healthy. He had mild normocytic
anemia but the results of other laboratory studies were normal,
including the rest of the complete blood count and tests of kidney and
liver function.</i></p><p>Yes, the patient was hospitalized for six weeks, 42 days. Now typical hospital costs are well above $25,000 per day at MGH so we are looking at a $1 million plus bill. </p><p>My question: who pays for this? Just a thought.</p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-18310069149171312902024-02-07T11:02:00.000-08:002024-02-07T12:28:00.586-08:00Vulnerable Cables<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9w4mYmCASYCUIrcH6ZPOPfwVl7G32Hwz-P5DdWkL_9WoYAJIYLkodXwC_QBxxz8i9jXT9QjHMkq3eugDnR6wUbCcvTJSe3mQxr5_cU-480pWaZhYsAGtJSvJd3f1msZ979iJ-I72to_h0Q26-c5_Rs5ZG5Kkc48hOKuHXPguCKvSlYM_3ea0NGy8pc4M/s1221/Nahodka.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1221" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9w4mYmCASYCUIrcH6ZPOPfwVl7G32Hwz-P5DdWkL_9WoYAJIYLkodXwC_QBxxz8i9jXT9QjHMkq3eugDnR6wUbCcvTJSe3mQxr5_cU-480pWaZhYsAGtJSvJd3f1msZ979iJ-I72to_h0Q26-c5_Rs5ZG5Kkc48hOKuHXPguCKvSlYM_3ea0NGy8pc4M/s320/Nahodka.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />The <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68231945?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA" target="_blank">BBC</a> notes:<p></p><section class="sc-4e574cd-0 bhtqwj" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe"><i style="color: red;">Yemen's
legitimate, UN-recognised government in Aden has warned that the
Houthis, who seized much of Yemen in 2014, are now threatening to
sabotage the crucial undersea communication cables, including internet
lines, which run under the Red Sea - connecting Asia to Europe.The
warning came after a channel linked to the Houthis on the Telegram
messaging app posted a map showing undersea cable routes in the Red Sea.Could the Houthis sabotage these lines? They almost certainly would if they could.The
group has reportedly claimed that they have easily accessed maps
showing the confluence of undersea communications cables running past
their coastline, as they pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait which, at
its narrowest, is just 20 miles (32km) wide.</i></p></section><p> (See <a href="https://www.submarinecablemap.com/" target="_blank">Maps</a>)<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvAvrKYEfSA3tJMZOUMZLJZ7QjZ0fBGXa1oAe3XzzzWPUksb2Th3g8BJeaNC1dpBcBhDRz48H4RtnYovtVgiZcUwMnCHND0fmBt1DfPl61lUfdLEPWp5YNy1VIyRR2vMgK-ARN6GXYOVy3kzciHXQESVwr2wPlrQT9fk_Doa5gJv2gUlKZtLRZnl9FuSc/s1167/Sub.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1167" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvAvrKYEfSA3tJMZOUMZLJZ7QjZ0fBGXa1oAe3XzzzWPUksb2Th3g8BJeaNC1dpBcBhDRz48H4RtnYovtVgiZcUwMnCHND0fmBt1DfPl61lUfdLEPWp5YNy1VIyRR2vMgK-ARN6GXYOVy3kzciHXQESVwr2wPlrQT9fk_Doa5gJv2gUlKZtLRZnl9FuSc/s320/Sub.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Yes, this is a real problem. However, Russia has facilities across the Arctic that connect St Petersburg to Nahodka. That being the case the West would be at the mercy of Russia for Eastbound traffic. Pacific Westbound would still function but India would be in trouble. Again see above Maps reference.<br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-zeA92Q0LDGBtZz6QjJ-g786khk3YHgmrCrg2dbYcVeYcwZcX4QAFVVfAWQc9I71qdMUVnTk-6LJnP8K948f2n-JCAxgB8GjFZ_uHrkve3ZBjtzevaDwn2ButOAceVUcTif-LI8PxgHorNFVWAFdeh9ZcOuDMYRCOexA62Xwe2c77fFI6RFZbXTqr3Mw/s1225/Russia.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="1225" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-zeA92Q0LDGBtZz6QjJ-g786khk3YHgmrCrg2dbYcVeYcwZcX4QAFVVfAWQc9I71qdMUVnTk-6LJnP8K948f2n-JCAxgB8GjFZ_uHrkve3ZBjtzevaDwn2ButOAceVUcTif-LI8PxgHorNFVWAFdeh9ZcOuDMYRCOexA62Xwe2c77fFI6RFZbXTqr3Mw/s320/Russia.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>By the way, all it requires is a fishing trawler, an anchor, a map and GPS. Cheap and it is game over! <br /></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-8906718698001611912024-02-07T08:07:00.000-08:002024-02-07T10:51:22.905-08:00An Interesting Observation<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnxIwOcVIdrGw1xFCxnZ0dFYGHawk09stQqxDBFgrfqbFecfXccveX0MY50Z6b2maW_vuVMAEiWD5WhGeVC49k9iXzwdFqNbDJcccNHeRmCZQ90XG1NRja66NUraLsDPE5YUTyd61mstK4YyNv3Rc-2tsIBW2djn66mvzrLSLUybTBogQJEsPGK14UQc/s2048/Cells-2019-04-14-17-24-28.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnxIwOcVIdrGw1xFCxnZ0dFYGHawk09stQqxDBFgrfqbFecfXccveX0MY50Z6b2maW_vuVMAEiWD5WhGeVC49k9iXzwdFqNbDJcccNHeRmCZQ90XG1NRja66NUraLsDPE5YUTyd61mstK4YyNv3Rc-2tsIBW2djn66mvzrLSLUybTBogQJEsPGK14UQc/s320/Cells-2019-04-14-17-24-28.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> In <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00216-3" target="_blank">Nature</a> there is an interesting note regarding how to deal with cancers. Simply stated:<p></p><p>1. We know that cancers are driven by genetic pathways that have become aberrant</p><p>2. We know that cancers can be attacked by the immune system with the help of certain targeted therapies using antibodies such as those attacking PD-1, CTLA4, HER2 etc</p><p>3. We know that these above two factors are often organ independent</p><p>4. Thus instead of dealing with organ specific cancer treatment we should be focusing on genetic specific cancer treatment.</p><p>This means that a priori we should sequence the cancer cells independent of organ and start from there. We have spent centuries dealing with organ first and it is about time to deal with genes first. I have posted a recent <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377854353_Cancer_Vaccines" target="_blank">Note</a> regarding cancer vaccines. After reading the Nature piece I noted that my suggestions and observations in the Note follow just such a shift in paradigm.</p><p>As Nature notes:</p><p><span style="color: red;"><i><b>This attachment to classifying cancer — and addressing it — on the
basis of the organ in which it originated is stalling progress in
multiple ways. <u>First, it runs counter to the scientific understanding now emerging.</u></b> The
past two decades of cancer research, which have been dominated by
efforts to characterize tumours at the cellular and molecular level,
have shown that some of the molecular events driving their evolution are
shared across different ‘types’ of cancer. Mutations in the tumour
suppressor gene TP53, for example, are a feature of most types of
cancer, as defined by the organ in which the cancer originated. What’s
more, most cancer types can be subdivided into different molecular
subgroups. Some lung cancers have mutations in the epidermal growth
factor receptor (EGFR) gene, some have mutations in the MET</i> <i>gene, others have translocations involving the ALK gene, and so on.<b><u> Second
— as already described — classifying cancer according to the organ in
which it originated is making it harder for patients to obtain the drugs
that could help them. In fact, when it comes to regulators approving
the use of treatments</u></b>, molecular-based classifications are likely to
become ever more important as more drugs are developed using advanced
biotechnologies.</i></span></p><p>I strongly believe that this trend, an actual paradigm shift, focuses on the problem not the organ. Thus metastasis no longer would exist since it is nothing more than an extension of the aberrant gene expressions..Focusing on the aberrant genes we then focus on the whole body and not an organ at a time. This is the expression of what is today's reality.</p><p>Thus instead of an Oncology book contents being:</p><p>1. Nervous System</p><p>2. Respiratory</p><p>3. Head and Neck</p><p>4. Genitourinary</p><p>5. Digestive</p><p>etc where the subsets are often the gene targets. Instead it would be:</p><p>1. PD-1, PDL-1</p><p>2. mTOR</p><p>3. JAK</p><p>4. HER2</p><p>5. etc</p><p>Then the subsets of each would then be the organ. </p><p>This flips the view 90 degrees if you will, and it demands genetic profiling initially on all suspected lesions from the initial target lesion. It would turn Oncology on its head. Possibly make it a great deal more effective. Surgery would most likely not be affected but treatment would be.</p><p></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-72556603149510336722024-02-04T06:59:00.000-08:002024-02-04T11:10:51.969-08:00PsyOps?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgebCn8Ei1UcGOeyUu8pdsSkvB1M_5EJaYjR0uj5KXSXHVT66yt9CsrR8MveGxR9KWEarqKFk2cOEP5pgvNlEMphUKuW-MoH3cKwNXhR6z5d1c0rrKXYOacpjdGMtuHdfB5-FLsq1uurRRhtRs_WltgkFA2gAeHDwwVLx9lx9u8LmQtwy7V8nfl76vRiOY/s448/habib%2002.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="448" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgebCn8Ei1UcGOeyUu8pdsSkvB1M_5EJaYjR0uj5KXSXHVT66yt9CsrR8MveGxR9KWEarqKFk2cOEP5pgvNlEMphUKuW-MoH3cKwNXhR6z5d1c0rrKXYOacpjdGMtuHdfB5-FLsq1uurRRhtRs_WltgkFA2gAeHDwwVLx9lx9u8LmQtwy7V8nfl76vRiOY/s320/habib%2002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p><br />I returned to MIT in the Spring of 2005 to assist several PdD students and a PostDoc. I was on campus about 2 days a week and we conducted research, field trips, and some entrepreneurial investigations. I remained there until 2012 when some VP of Administration who I never knew took a disliking to me for reasons unknown. But that is another story. But weekly I would have dinners with my students and a colleague who would add some insight from their successful careers. One was Ed Habib, a phenomenal engineer and visionary, having been in WW II Navy and having been the architect and implementer of many key NASA satellites. <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7UJKkl-Nq_Vdo4rcZLjY7aWFdEXxooxQKhmw_3kF5CHe_U4-bckqBWfuFNv4BAIuuD9mz-QJKIYy200_s47YK_yPQtAXr8TX-6aqL3qkPS0SQH6UM8JGx9o-3Usz-JsHvHXM8P3c0281FK1MhUFtDhmjCNoxQDqsdG5uCdqVB1InyDFk_9j8toSFYuPQ/s1600/P1010001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7UJKkl-Nq_Vdo4rcZLjY7aWFdEXxooxQKhmw_3kF5CHe_U4-bckqBWfuFNv4BAIuuD9mz-QJKIYy200_s47YK_yPQtAXr8TX-6aqL3qkPS0SQH6UM8JGx9o-3Usz-JsHvHXM8P3c0281FK1MhUFtDhmjCNoxQDqsdG5uCdqVB1InyDFk_9j8toSFYuPQ/s320/P1010001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> A second one of our "guests" was Dr David Margulies, a physician and entrepreneur, showing my students that research and professional excellence can excel in the commercial world as well. These dinners were a means to expand their worlds, rather than just the ofttimes closed MIT environment. Namely, human contact and communications was critical.<br /></p><p>Then in 2005, some of my students had discovered Facebook from Harvard. It was just then migrating to MIT. They insisted I join in. So I did. The <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-68109208" target="_blank">BBC</a> now recounts the 20th anniversary of Facebook, and it is worth the read. They note:</p><section class="sc-4e574cd-0 bhtqwj" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe"><i style="color: red;">Other
social networks, such as MySpace, existed before Facebook - but Mark
Zuckerberg's site instantly took off when it launched in 2004, proving
just how rapidly an online site of this kind could take hold.In
less than a year it had one million users, and within four years it had
overtaken MySpace - fuelled by innovations such as the ability to "tag"
people in photos.Taking
a digital camera on a night out, then tagging your friends in dozens of
pictures was a staple of teenage life in the late noughties. The
constantly changing activity feed was also a big draw for early users.By 2012, Facebook had surpassed one billion users a month and, aside from a brief blip at the end of 2021 - when daily active users dropped for the first time - the platform has continued to grow.By
expanding into less connected countries and offering free internet, the
company has maintained and increased the number of Facebook users. At
the end of 2023, Facebook reported it had 2.11 billion daily users.Admittedly,
Facebook is less popular than it used to be with young people.
Nonetheless, it remains the most popular social network in the world,
and has ushered in a new era of social activity online. </i></p><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe">Now after just a few weeks of use of Facebook, I realized that Facebook was a fantastic psychological profiling system. Back in the 60s we always were trying to profile Soviet targets. It was generally done at a distance. Now with Facebook, one could get a fantastic psy-profile.</p><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe"> Yet after a few weeks it became clear that not only did they get a profile they could use that to influence the user. Perfect PsyOps! I told my students but to no avail, it had become an addiction. Now with an abundance of these tools, foreign adversaries view their own platforms can influence the mentally vulnerable, also known as most under 35! </p><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe">Free Speech is a cornerstone of our Democracy, but PsyOps controlled by an adversary is not.</p></section>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-72968687309312081542024-02-02T05:13:00.000-08:002024-02-02T05:13:49.328-08:00A National Health System<p> The UK has the NHS. In dealing with cancers, time is of the essence in many types. But as <a href="https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/2024/02/02/world-cancer-day-2024/" target="_blank">Cancer Research UK </a>notes:</p><p><i><span style="color: red;"><span data-contrast="auto">Cancer services across the UK are
struggling to meet demand for cancer diagnosis and treatment, resulting
in patients experiencing some of the worst waits on record. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"134245417":false,"201341983":0,"335559739":120,"335559740":240}"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">With more people being referred for
suspected cancer than ever before, and the number of new cancer cases
per year in the UK rising</span><span data-contrast="none">,</span><span data-contrast="auto"> it is essential that services have the necessary investment in diagnostic equipment and the NHS workforce. In England, currently only around 54% of
cancers with a known stage are diagnosed early (stages 1 and 2), and we
are not on track to meet NHS England’s ambition for 75% of cancers to be
diagnosed early by 2028. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"134245417":false,"201341983":0,"335559739":120,"335559740":240}">Screening can help prevent cancers developing as well as detect cancers at an early stage, and it </span><span data-contrast="auto">is estimated that in the UK over 5,000 lives are saved by the cancer screening programmes each year. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"134245417":false,"201341983":0,"335559739":120,"335559740":240}"> However, screening participation varies
across population groups, and in recent years there has been an overall
decline in the uptake of breast and cervical screening. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"134245417":false,"201341983":0,"335559739":120,"335559740":240}"> We need to take action to </span><span data-contrast="auto">tackle barriers to participation and to ensure everyone eligible who wants to take up the offer of cancer screening can do so. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"134245417":false,"201341983":0,"335559739":120,"335559740":240}"><br /></span></span></i></p><p></p><p>Namely in Northern Ireland, the occupied territory, only 40% get to see a cancer specialist in 60 days. In the US, a woman with breast cancer will get next day service. That is the difference between life and a horrible death.<br /></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-88492082222473604832024-01-31T18:37:00.000-08:002024-02-02T06:00:29.660-08:00Four Years Ago<p> Four years ago I read the NEJM article stating:</p><p><i><span class="fontstyle0" style="color: red;"><b>In December 2019, a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown cause was linked to a seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, China</b>. A previously unknown betacoronavirus was discovered through the use of unbiased sequencing in samples from patients with pneumonia. Human airway epithelial cells were used to isolate a novel coronavirus, named 2019-nCoV, which formed a clade within the subgenus sarbecovirus, Orthocoronavirinae subfamily. Different from both MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, 2019-nCoV is the seventh member of the family of coronaviruses that infect humans. Enhanced surveillance and further investigation are ongoing. (Funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and the National Major Project for Control and Prevention of Infectious Disease in China.) </span><span style="color: red;">e<span class="fontstyle2">merging and reemerging pathogens are global challenges for </span><span class="fontstyle0">public health. broadly among humans, other mammals, and birds and that cause respira </span><span class="fontstyle0" style="font-size: 6pt;">1 </span><span class="fontstyle0">Coronaviruses are enveloped RNA viruses that are distributedtory, enteric, hepatic, and neurologic diseases.</span><span class="fontstyle0" style="font-size: 6pt;">2,3 </span><span class="fontstyle0">Six coronavirus species are known to cause human disease.</span><span class="fontstyle0" style="font-size: 6pt;">4 </span><span class="fontstyle0">Four viruses — 229E, OC43, NL63, and HKU1 — are prevalent and typically cause common cold symptoms in immunocompetent individuals.</span><span class="fontstyle0" style="font-size: 6pt;">4 </span><span class="fontstyle0">The two other strains — severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) — are zoonotic in origin and have been linked to sometimes fatal illness.</span><span class="fontstyle0" style="font-size: 6pt;">5 </span><span class="fontstyle0">SARS-CoV was<br />the causal agent of the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreaks in 2002 and 2003 in Guangdong Province, China.</span><span class="fontstyle0" style="font-size: 6pt;">6-8 </span><span class="fontstyle0">MERS-CoV was the pathogen responsible for severe respiratory disease outbreaks in 2012 in the Middle East.</span><span class="fontstyle0" style="font-size: 6pt;">9 </span><span class="fontstyle0"><b>Given the high prevalence and wide distribution of coronaviruses, the large genetic diversity and frequent recombination of their genomes, and increasing human–animal interface activities, novel coronaviruses are likely to emerge periodically in humans owing to frequent cross-species infections and occasional spillover events.</b></span></span></i></p><p><span class="fontstyle0"> At that point I knew the proverbial would hit the fan. Also based upon experience and in my opinion it was likely this report would have been highly filtered. </span></p><p><span class="fontstyle0">And to paraphrase an HIV term, "The Band played on"</span>
<br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-12076884907307385462024-01-30T14:00:00.000-08:002024-01-30T14:00:05.056-08:00Horse Shoes and other things<p> Certain people seem to demand that what they do is essential and even if no one wants it anymore then we should all chip in an pay for it. Consist the horse manure collectors in New York City. Now we really did not need them for well over a hundred years an no one demand the "Government" fund their ongoing efforts. Frankly it would make traffic worse and one would guess Congestion Pricing would not apply to them.</p><p>Now along comes some privileged <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/01/media-layoffs-la-times/677285/" target="_blank">Atlantic</a> reporter who states:</p><p class="ArticleParagraph_root__4mszW" data-flatplan-paragraph="true"><span style="color: red;"><i>Some
have called for direct and muscular government intervention. Policy
proposals include tax credits for publications that hire reporters and
for advertisers that place ads in those publications, as well as
increased government spending on public-service ads. A potentially more
powerful mechanism: a law compelling Google and Facebook to compensate
publishers for the news content the tech companies display on their
platforms. Publishers around the world have lined up in support of a law
enacted in Australia in 2021 known as the News Media Bargaining Code.
The law creates a framework for publishers to negotiate payments from
tech giants. Thus far in Australia, the law has resulted
in more than $140 million a year in payments, according to the former
government official who implemented the bargaining code—a tiny fraction
of the $424 billion that Google’s and Facebook’s parent companies
collected in revenues last year, but real money to Aussie media
companies. The law’s apparent success in supporting journalism has
spurred similar proposals in Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Indonesia, Brazil, Switzerland, and South Africa. California might pass a state-level bargaining code this year. In 2023, Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar and Republican Senator John Kennedy introduced a federal version. The tech giants themselves, unsurprisingly, have balked; Facebook has blocked news in Canada rather than paying publishers there. Still,
even the threat of bargaining codes can nudge tech companies into
negotiations that lead to meaningful payments to publishers, according
to Anya Schiffrin, who has studied global media incentives as the
director of the technology, media, and communications program at
Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. “I’m a
huge believer in bargaining codes,” she told me. But, she predicted,
the Klobuchar-Kennedy bill, despite its long list of bipartisan
co-sponsors, is unlikely to become law anytime soon. “The Senate seems
to have other things to do,” she said. Among those who wish Congress would act is Soon-Shiong, who responded
to criticism from Democratic lawmakers by urging them to pass a law to
support news organizations. “I’d like to put the question to them,” he
wrote, according to the Times</i>’<i> </i>own coverage. “What can they do to help preserve a free and robust press, one that is instrumental in upholding our democracy?”</span></p><p></p><p>In a free market if no one wants your product you either change or go out of business. No more horses not more horse shoes. But there is now a class of people who firmly believe they are on high and demand we pay even though no one wants them.<br /></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-52020962861865129092024-01-29T16:52:00.000-08:002024-01-29T16:52:25.389-08:00A Modest Academic Proposal<p> There is significant outcries against the DEI etc overhead at US universities. At some universities this type of overhead competes with total faculty. So how to solve it without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Simple:</p><p>1. Fund research directly with no overhead. Fund faculty, researchers, students if they work.</p><p>2. Do not fund overhead. MIT and others have 90% + overhead. It is this slush fund that supports DEI etc.</p><p>3. If they still want to do this stuff let them fund it out of endowment funds donated by alumni.</p><p>4. But alumni can do what I have done, give the money directly to the researcher for their own fund and not a penny goes to overhead.</p><p>This was if the alumni want to support the overhead, let them, but also they have the option for direct funding via faculty discretionary funds, no overheat etc.<br /></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-26947990722227166352024-01-29T14:10:00.000-08:002024-01-29T14:10:49.579-08:00Dumb and Dumber<p> The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/01/29/world/israel-hamas-war-gaza-jordan-updates" target="_blank">NY Times</a> reports why the US military were killed. They state:</p><p class="live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0"><i style="color: red;">Air defenses
failed to stop an attack on a U.S. military outpost in Jordan on Sunday
that killed three American soldiers at least in part because the hostile
drone approached its target at the same time an American drone was
returning to the base, two U.S. officials said on Monday. The
return of the American surveillance drone to the remote resupply base
caused some confusion over whether the incoming drone was friendly or
not, and air defenses were not immediately engaged, according to the
officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss
preliminary findings into a major contributing factor to the incident.
Two other drones that attacked other locations nearby in southeast Syria
were shot down, they added.</i></p><p class="live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0"> For almost a century we have had IFF, Identification Friend or Foe. One would have expected this in our most advanced systems, but alas like so many software systems today they are designed in my opinion by arrogant and ignorant morons. Pity! <br /></p><p></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-74239306267179461282024-01-23T16:58:00.000-08:002024-01-23T16:58:52.602-08:00More Nonsense<p> <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2024/how-brain-responds-reward-socioeconomic-background-0122">MIT News </a>has an article which in my experience is nonsense. </p><p><i style="color: red;"><span>An MIT study finds the brains of children who grow up in less affluent households are less responsive to rewarding experiences. </span>MIT neuroscientists have found that the brain’s sensitivity to
rewarding experiences — a critical factor in motivation and attention —
can be shaped by socioeconomic conditions. In a study of 12 to 14-year-olds whose socioeconomic status (SES)
varied widely, the researchers found that children from lower SES
backgrounds showed less sensitivity to reward than those from more
affluent backgrounds.</i></p><p>In reality and in my experience, the old MIT was the bastion of opportunity for those from lower incomes. Those who created their own opportunity. MIT was not a Harvard, Oxford, Princeton, it was pure meritocracy. If you studied like crazy for the SATs and got 1500 or higher, if you got a New York Regents Scholarship, high grades on State Regents exams, despite having no money and less than supportive parents and environments, it was an escape, one where you never wrote an essay bemoaning your life! </p><p>Yes we had a few Prep school kids, one that I remember, but for the most part they were Bronx HS Science and Stuyvesant. They were kids from low income homes, individual achievers. This write up is in my experience utter nonsense, unless of course you dig a bit deeper as to what types of people the writers are speaking of.</p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-7868734705794829202024-01-17T07:39:00.000-08:002024-01-17T07:39:53.796-08:00Kind of Fishy?<p> The Chevron ruling of the Supreme Court has in my opinion over the decades been one of the worst. Simply stated, Chevron says if Congress passes a law and it is not well written then the Administrative agency responsible for its administration can interpret the law as it sees fit no matter what. In effect it establishes an independent Governmental body composed solely on bureaucrats whose person opinions control what happens.</p><p>The latest is the herring case where the Government Administrators demand that fishing vessels have monitors and that the vessel must pay the monitors salary. As <a href="https://jonathanturley.org/2024/01/17/214310/" target="_blank">Turley</a> notes:</p><p><i style="color: red;">The cases today concern federal requirements that commercial fishermen
pay for at-sea monitors. Herring fishermen in New Jersey and Rhode
Island are challenging the law in a case with a long list of amicus
filings on both sides from groups, politicians, and businesses. The
fishermen say that the monitors could put them out of business, costing
up to 20 percent of their annual revenues in a business that is already
marginal for profits. They argue that the government wants monitors
(which they do not necessarily oppose) but lacked the funds. The
decision was made to shift the costs to the fishermen and then citing Chevron to curtail judicial review.</i></p><p> Chevron was always a problem. Congress can be sloppy and then let the uncontrolled bureaucrats make the decisions and having the taxpayers pay the costs of these often politically divergent acts. Hopefully Chevron is overturned. In my opinion and my experience this is worse than Roe.<br /></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-32904179291467127972024-01-15T05:51:00.000-08:002024-01-15T05:51:38.030-08:00From Whence Do They Come?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7_qjiC2vZ_8t3ZzXW_YARvK7dC1gnwNpcXWAuFhwfWpOkMmOML5FyZi8DvGfAFslMyZVkL9uTSW9tM3dpr29TlgHWJf8JMM5HSQlndQVgzhbwiuwOeVbs-16awzxCxxehyphenhyphenLKL010c5sHIfZOls5ugT2Yosq4jhIu3VSpB8Zx_TfCMchq4UltQxyHUUg/s5377/USNI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3585" data-original-width="5377" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7_qjiC2vZ_8t3ZzXW_YARvK7dC1gnwNpcXWAuFhwfWpOkMmOML5FyZi8DvGfAFslMyZVkL9uTSW9tM3dpr29TlgHWJf8JMM5HSQlndQVgzhbwiuwOeVbs-16awzxCxxehyphenhyphenLKL010c5sHIfZOls5ugT2Yosq4jhIu3VSpB8Zx_TfCMchq4UltQxyHUUg/s320/USNI.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> The <a href="https://news.usni.org/2024/01/14/houthis-fire-anti-ship-missile-at-uss-laboon?utm_source=USNI+News&utm_campaign=4ec33136be-USNI_NEWS_DAILY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0dd4a1450b-4ec33136be-230438557&mc_cid=4ec33136be&mc_eid=1fbb287213" target="_blank">USNI newsletter</a> notes:<p></p><p><i style="color: red;">U.S. fighter aircraft shot down an anti-ship cruise missile the Houthis fired toward USS Laboon (DDG-58), U.S. Central Command announced Sunday night. Central Command’s release did not specify the aircraft that shot down
the missile or the military branch. The fighter aircraft shot down the
missile off the coast of Al-Hudaydah, according to the release. There were no reports of damage or injury following the strike. The attack on Laboon comes after two days of strikes by the
U.S. and the United Kingdom on Houthi targets in Yemen. During the
strikes, which involved a number of warships and aircraft, the U.S. and
U.K. hit sites that included radar systems, production facilities and
munition depots, USNI News previously reported.</i></p><p>Now one may ask; where do these state of the art anti-ship cruise missiles come from. Sanaa in Yemen was a key stop on the trade routes from Aden on to Rome. It also was the source of incense used by Rome when burning bodies. Today Sanaa is a stronghold of the local terrorist clans. </p><p>As far as I know there are no Raytheon or Lockheed factories there, no high tech firms, no universities etc. Thus, from whence do these weapons come? Perhaps addressing the source would be helpful.</p><p>BTW, the market for incense has dropped significantly in the last two thousand years.<br /></p><p></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4229230406205773239.post-60137077116572547102024-01-14T13:44:00.000-08:002024-01-14T13:44:28.999-08:00X-15 to X-59<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBH2wALyQMrQ2eq4llpn3o5DB5pZM-fbdS1Z5VcBTF-GCazg0ALySyZ2tRgk-IFS61d6_v_JsYWO2bt1dp0-Zux6gBFz0YfksoceMDWSJSwIpNYpLYMet1otWLJH-uWBpvQOHrJARN8-EeQ58z4EI93QLeU5sTdaM0Ods6mo3UYaWvkvqlqfxn9v4wgS0/s1920/X59.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBH2wALyQMrQ2eq4llpn3o5DB5pZM-fbdS1Z5VcBTF-GCazg0ALySyZ2tRgk-IFS61d6_v_JsYWO2bt1dp0-Zux6gBFz0YfksoceMDWSJSwIpNYpLYMet1otWLJH-uWBpvQOHrJARN8-EeQ58z4EI93QLeU5sTdaM0Ods6mo3UYaWvkvqlqfxn9v4wgS0/s320/X59.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-lockheed-martin-reveal-x-59-quiet-supersonic-aircraft/" target="_blank">NASA</a> and Lockheed unveiled the new supersonic X-59. My first work was on the X-15 tracking atmospheric aerosols. The X-59 is a "quiet" supersonic. As NASA notes:<p></p><p><i style="color: red;">NASA and Lockheed Martin formally debuted the agency’s X-59 quiet
supersonic aircraft Friday. Using this one-of-a-kind experimental
airplane, NASA aims to gather data that could revolutionize air travel,
paving the way for a new generation of commercial aircraft that can
travel faster than the speed of sound. “This is a major accomplishment made possible only through the hard
work and ingenuity from NASA and the entire X-59 team,” said NASA Deputy
Administrator Pam Melroy. “In just a few short years we’ve gone from an
ambitious concept to reality. NASA’s X-59 will help change the way we
travel, bringing us closer together in much less time.”</i></p><p> Interesting how time changes, kind of. I flew the Concorde two times, even then it was a bit out of date. But it made a tremendous difference getting to Europe.<br /></p><p></p>Terry McGartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14046429926774630244noreply@blogger.com