Congratulations to the crew of the Artemis II moon mission for surpassing the distance record humans have flown from earth. Given this achievement, it’s fitting to revisit Apollo 8. The Apollo 8 astronauts (Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and Jim Lovell) were the first to orbit the moon. On Christmas Eve 1968 as the lunar sunrise approached, they sent a brief, televised message back to earth that was seen by almost one billion people worldwide.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Current Events
AI and Reader Comments
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to replicate human intelligence is growing rapidly. New applications for AI keep being found, and current AI technology keeps being improved. I have a suggestion for online newspaper publishers: work with computer scientists to develop AI algorithms that can be more widely used to screen reader comments (see flow diagram).
Continue readingMelania’s Rating on the IMDb
I didn’t set out to post anything about Melania (see screen capture of the top portion of its film poster) because the less said about the Trumps’ personal and business lives the better. But when I read online about how poorly Melania is doing at the box office, I turned to a website I trust—IMDb.com—for more information. As of today, the film’s rating there is the lowest I have ever seen.
Continue readingDon’t Rename Greenland
Greenland (see screen capture) is a gigantic island in the Arctic Ocean situated between Canada and Northern Europe (not the U.S. and Northern Europe as President Trump might have said). Its name has been around for centuries and stands as one of the largest con jobs ever tried in the real estate sector. It makes me smile every time I hear it. Greenland doesn’t need a new name.
Continue readingWe Have Forever for a Trump Stamp
DIY Exercise: Use your favorite graphics program to design a USPS-style Forever stamp depicting President Trump. Whether you save the file is optional.
Continue readingLe Grand Orange
DIY task: Please supply your own color photo of President Trump.
This morning, while watching his Rose Garden speech about the “deal” to end the government shutdown, I wondered, again, if it would be appropriate to recycle former Major League Baseball player Rusty Staub’s nickname when referring to President Trump. With his carrot-top hairdo and tanning-salon-hued skin, the president clearly fits the bill for the third word of the wondrous French phrase Le Grand Orange. He falls short, though, when you consider the true meaning of the second word.
Continue reading
Posted in Current Events, Government, Sports
Forever Due
Return to sender.
Last week, in a senior moment, I mailed in my final 2018 quarterly tax payment with one big omission. Yep, I forgot to stick on a Forever stamp (currently $.50 in postage), thus denying the letter a smooth flight to the IRS office in San Francisco. And now forever is due (see photo).
Continue reading
Posted in Current Events, Government
Core Dump: The War of 1812
Old Ironsides
To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the War of 1812, the USPS will issue a stamp later this year (see illustration). This post covers everything I know, or thought I knew, about the War of 1812. It’s not a long write-up. My knowledge comes from the National Anthem, a decades-old public school education, and the lyrics to the 1959 pop hit by Johnny Horton called “The Battle of New Orleans.”
Continue reading
Posted in Current Events, Government
I Shouldn’t Have Bothered
On Thursday I posted an entry about the strike against Waste Management in King and Snohomish counties. I had no inside information about the walkout. My knowledge of it was based on reports in the local media. Still that didn’t stop me from writing more than 500 words expressing my observations. Later that afternoon, after Waste Management agreed to return to the bargaining table, the union instructed its members to return to work on Friday. That doesn’t mean the two sides will reach an agreement, but it does get the strike off the front page. It also made me question the wisdom of commenting on fluid breaking-news stories.
Posted in Current Events
Waste Management Strike
Yesterday trash haulers walked off the job in King and Snohomish counties affecting about one million Waste Management customers. The union had been working without a contract since April 1st. The company made its final offer on April 2nd, and since then hasn’t offered any substantive changes to its proposal. The work stoppage is intended to force Waste Management back to the bargaining table. After reading a Seattle Times article about the strike, I have a few observations:
Continue reading
Posted in Current Events
Mud Bay Blog 