Category: Personal

Events that effect me or that I have an interest in.

These UnunitedStates

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This is the zeitgeist of our world as of July 4, 2022! The United States is far from united. Today, we hold these truths that all races are NOT created equal, that all genders do NOT have unalienable rights, that our government has become as corrupted, usurpatory, and tyrannical as King George III. We the people, misquote and misinterpret the Constitution to justify our actions. We have daily mass shootings. We have racially motivated killings. We have reckless, irresponsible leaders acting on conspiracy theories and driving us to destruction and disunion….and then we have  #AlexJones babbling about Cyborg Slaves of Satan. Hallelujah! Holy Shit! Where’s the Tylenol? #UnunitedStates

With manned Mars missions on the horizon, nuclear-powered rockets are finally getting reconsidered

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I was a sophomore in high school when someone asked me, “what do you want to do when you graduate college?” To which I promptly replied, “make nuclear rockets.”

Nuclear-Powered Rockets Could Be The Best Option For Bringing Humans To Mars

Source: NPR

Finally, nuclear-powered rockets for space travel are getting some recognition.

Welcome to the Not-So Roaring 20s

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It feels like the year 2020 came out of nowhere! I can’t believe it’s been a decade since I wrote, Finally, 2010, The Year We Make Contact – and I can’t believe this blog is almost 15 years old!

Social media is still a force to be reckoned with. President Donald Trump (yes that happened in 2016) was elected largely because of his infamous celebrity on Twitter. He’s been using social media to bash, berate, and belittle people for years; his base loves it.

I’m still married to my beautiful wife, Barbara. We’re empty nesters now: Vincent married Sara this year and they live in Dallas, Katie moved to Richmond to be with Shawn, and Jake joined the Air Force this year and got stationed at Fairbanks.

In the past decade my wife and I quit smoking, and now I’m being treated for atrial fibrillation (AFib). We’ve had cats leave us, and new ones come along. There has been droughts, and there has been hurricanes.

This year I plan on attending my 30 year class reunion. If the 20 year was any indication, the 30 year should be off the chain; no worries Chuck. [I just read that my high school is set to be “remodeled” (demolished and rebuilt) in February.]

YouTube’s Dear John Letter

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Well, I finally got my Dear John letter from YouTube. They’re raising their monetization requirements and kicking little guys to the curb if they don’t have the numbers. The new threshold is 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of view time in the past 12 months.

The Great YouTube Demonetization Controversy Continues

Folks want to blame Logan Paul for this latest policy change. He’s a popular (15 M subscribers) YouTube creator who posted a video where he showed a dead body in a Japanese forest known for hosting suicides. A YouTube spokesperson had this to say, “Sometimes our systems get it wrong, which is why we’ve encouraged creators to appeal.” (Source: The Guardian). I say sometimes they don’t get it at all, but I don’t blame Logan Paul. I blame YouTube: adopting weak business practices and morphing into a traditional media outlet replete with ass-kissers for advertising dollars.

I guess there’s Vimeo…