For some strange reason, I seemed to bring out the worst in some of the companies where I worked. With this in mind, I will relate an experience that I had when I worked at Essick Air in Little Rock, Arkansas.
As an Engineer / Manager, I would always be hired by contract. Though the duration of contracts isn’t anything like you would find in the rest of the world, an American contract essentially simply specified what benefits the company would give you and what you would give them. Of course, with the stipulation that they could fire you at will with no notice.
Yeah. Certainly the USA could use some labor laws. Duh!
That’s NOTHING like the contracts that I have signed in the rest of the world. I’ll tell you what.
Usually, the American contract would specify…
- Salary
- Vacation time
- Healthcare “benefits”
- Educational “benefits”
- And much, much more…
Today I want to talk about the “Educational benefits”.
In fact at all the companies where I worked, they would pay my tuition if I made a “B” grade or higher. Some companies would offer me a percentage of the tuition. The type of education, where and when were never specified and for the most part, I studied courses related to MBA, or higher level Engineering courses.
But no one would say NO! to going to school after work.
That is…
Until I worked in Arkansas.
I wanted to take night MBA classes. And they Management said no to that. Their excuse was that it wasn’t part of my job description. Who ever heard of a company saying no to higher education for their white collar professional staff? That was new to me.
Which really pissed me off, I’ll tell you what.
But, I’m a piker.
So I applied and was accepted for a Masters in Engineering program. After all, I am a degreed engineer by education, and a few extra course and certifications under my belt would be a plus. And they said no to that as well. Even though I was an engineer, they felt that it would not benefit me or them to take the class.
Sigh.
No and then no. Ok.
Still more tricks up my sleeve to better myself. Well, I figured, since I was doing a heck of a lot of International Trade at the time, why not something very specific to my current position? Yeah, so I suggested that I take a masters in International Trade.
Guess what? Yup.
They said no, yet again.
…
What the flying fuck? Is this some kind of parody? I pointed out my contract to the HR, and suggested they tell me which classes I could take. And they looked at me blankly and said, they didn’t know.
THEY DIDN’T KNOW?
What the bloody Hell?
…
The key was…
… that “benefit” did not REALLY exist. It was just empty words on a contact that they had no plans on following up on.
Such is the American Industry today.
It is no doubt why there just isn’t any Manufacturing, factories or industries in the United States today. With such a “Wall Street” attitude, no one would ever want to work for them, with them or associate themselves with them.
Gosh am I glad that I am no longer in that hellish place.
China is just ok with me.
You know, I have many…many… many stories of this ilk. But I just want to underline for all you readers to ask the HARD questions when someone slides a contract in front of your face.
Make sure that they will honor their commitments.
Otherwise, just leave. Out the door.
ESPECIALLY if you are dealing with an American company. They do not give a rat’s ass about you, or any contracts that you have signed.
Today…
As a police officer, have you ever been unexpectedly assisted by a civilian?
Over the years a few times people would see I was in a little over my head and jump in. The best was about 15 years ago. I had stopped a car on an interstate for speeding and there were 3 guys in the car. Two of the guys got out of the car as soon as it stopped. I asked them to get back in but they did not. I called for back up but it was about 10 to 15 minutes away. I started talking to the driver when the guy in the back seat grabbed me and was pulling me into the car. The other guy who was out of the car jumped on my back and was going for my weapon. Just then I heard a bunch of people yelling and they jumped on the 3 guys. I thought my life was over. It was a bunch of high school kids coming back from a high school football game. There had to be 25 or more of them, and it seemed like they kept coming. By the time my back up got there the kids had beaten the shit out of the 3 guys. All 3 of them needed to go to the hospital as I did. It turned out 2 of the guys had felony warrants and the 3rd was a brother of one. A couple of days later I went to the school and hugged every one of those kids that I could find and I’ve stayed in touch with a lot of them over the years. I sometimes think of what it must have taken for that first car to pull over and for those kids to get out and help me. In my eyes every one of them is a hero, if not for them I never would have made it home that night.
What’s the weirdest item you have found on your property?
This happened to a friend of a friend. They bought some property in Estacada, Oregon that was in terrible shape. There was a tiny, one bedroom shack on the property that was filled with garbage and blackberries had taken up the rest of the property, so they got it for a good price. Their plan was to clean out the shack and live there for five years or so, while cleaning up the property, then put a nice manufactured home on the property. I’m not sure how long they’d been living there when they were working on clearing one of the pastures and found … another house. A nicer house.
You might be a redneck if you mow your lawn and find a house.
New round of US sanctions started against Huawei! U.S. tech war enters stage 2.0!
Welcome to VOC – Vision of China, In this episode, we dive into the latest updates on the potential second round of sanctions by the United States on Huawei. Huawei, the Chinese tech giant, unveiled its new smartphone, the Mate 60 Pro, sparking intrigue amidst ongoing U.S.-China tech tensions. These cutting-edge smartphones, powered by 7-nanometer chips from China’s SMIC, bring 5G connectivity to the forefront. The implications of this move are significant, causing a reevaluation of the technology blockade against Huawei and even calls for a complete halt to technology exports. We also explore China’s efforts to boost its self-sufficiency in chip production and navigate U.S. export restrictions.
Is there any car which thieves can not steal?
My wife’s Chrysler 300 C has a feature I didn’t know existed until we were trying to replace her key fob. If the correct key fob isn’t in the ignition switch, the engine will start and run for maybe 30 seconds – long enough to burn off whatever residual fuel is in the injectors, then it shuts off and cannot be restarted. Either the fuel pump or ignition system is disabled – it will crank until the battery dies (we didn’t take it that far), but the engine will not fire. Chrysler aptly calls this feature the Immobilizer. I don’t know that it makes her car theft proof, but I’d bet any car thief would abandon it as soon as the engine dies and they can’t restart it.
What was the best revenge you’ve ever gotten?
I interviewed for a job when I was in my early to mid-20’s. I spent hours preparing my presentation and practicing my relevant examples, but I still bombed the interview and it was all my fault.
What wasn’t my fault was the interviewers reaction! This man belittled me, laughed in my face and the rest of his team snickered in support of his unprofessional jokes. At the end, he tossed a paper that I had given him during the interview towards me and said, “Well, I wouldn’t want to get buyers remorse.” Once again they all laughed as I gathered my things to exit the interview.
I went to my car for a long regretful ride home. I parked in my driveway feeling ashamed and defeated, I cried before going into my home to face my family. I mean I cried buckets of tears, because I felt like a complete failure.
That incident motivated me to start teaching myself everything that there was to know about my field. I started watching how to YouTube videos, downloading free trials of software, attending webinars and of course obtaining mastery certifications in my field. My new skills paid off and I was promoted constantly.
Fast forward twelve years, I’m added to an interview and guess who it is? I look at the resume one more time to check to see if he was in fact employed at the place where I had once interviewed and sure enough it was a match. There I was sitting across the table from him in a tailored suit and he was the one unemployed. He’s staring at me and saying he felt like he knew me from somewhere. I smiled back and said maybe you interviewed me before!
The look on this man’s face when I said that was of complete horror, yet still priceless. He had a sunken look on his face like he was caught holding an axe in a crime scene. Lol I don’t think he remembered the incident at all. I do think he knows he was rude to people in interviews without ever thinking of how it could come back to bite him later.
I didn’t actually do anything to hurt him outside of not giving him my recommendation based on the fact I knew he had questionable character. I just cannot help but think Karma is the biggest gangster ever! Moral of the story is be nice to people because you almost always see them again.
Star Trek – Phaser Overload
What were the worst two minutes of your life?
I was 20. I was going to college and working.
It was late one night after a summer rain. I came upon a light truck that had slid off the road and flipped.
I stopped and ran to the truck and found a 16 year old kid impaled on a fence post and bleeding out. He was dying and he knew it. He was crying, calling for his mother and saying I don’t want to die over and over.
I told him I was going for help and he said please don’t let me die alone. I stayed with that kid, held him as he died.
It really messed me up. The cops thought I was a victim too because I had his blood all over me.
The paramedics gave me a shot and took me to hospital. They told me that’s the only way I’d let him go. Maybe I thought if I’d hung onto him he’d be all right.
I’d never met the kid but I would have given my life if he could have lived.
They kept me in the hospital a few days. Cops and paramedics came to see me. We talked a lot. The first time you come across a scene like that is a horror. If you aren’t ready for it, it’ll mess you up. I went down the drain in a haze of booze and drugs.
I had a bad case of PTSD. Every time I closed my eyes, that kid was there. In his eyes was the plea don’t let me die and there was nothing I could do.
Six months later I was in rehab.
I worked with a shrink. For another six months. I haven’t had a drink or drug since.
The nightmares are rare now. I learned how fragile and precious life is and, how quickly that can change in a matter of seconds.
What is the coolest line a pilot has said to the passengers?
It wasn’t the pilot — it was a flight attendant.
In my professional career, I flew all over the world — to all continents several times, with the notable exclusion of the Antarctic (thankfully). One year I flew 175,000 miles. I enjoyed the travel (even though that’s work) and the chance to immerse myself in various cultures, both for the local populations and the business communities.
Because of my frequent flyer status, I was most always upgraded to first class (domestically) and business class (internationally).
For whatever reason (and that reason was likely determined by a higher spiritual power) I was seated on this flight in the very last row — a window seat, where there is no window. It was uncomfortable.
As the flight began to land, the flight attendant announced about the captain.
After a decades-long career, this was his last and final flight. He was done, and now he was retiring.
Passengers clapped; I sat.
The plane landed; passengers disembarked.
When they all left; I stood. The plane was empty of passengers. I took my overhead and proceeded to the front.
The Captain stood outside the cockpit door.
I introduced myself to him.
We shook hands.
I said, “This is your last flight.”
“Yes.”
“And I am your last passenger.”
“Yes.”
“And so, Sir, I want to thank you for your service, your safety record, and your dedication to your job. You have helped many people.”
“I want to wish you well, and may you enjoy your retirement years.”
The flight attendants and he became obviously emotional.
I nodded my head, and disembarked the aircraft.
I will always remember that flight.
Independent Woman is Desperate to Find a ‘Perfect Man’ | Filipinas Give Hot Comments
Listen to what these ladies have to say.
What is something you are proud of about yourself?
It is genuinely something that Kids today would be able to do in a second.
Yet my proudest moment came yesterday evening.
It was something very simple and many guys should be able to do this in their sleep
I wrote a Program in C to solve for Prime Numbers and how to find out the Day given the Date.
Frankly i have never programmed in my life but i have been determined to learn Robotics and IDE and i wanted to start from the basics.
I have struggled and bothered thousands of people all over the world from various online communities (Why should you always include Stdio.H etc)
Then i slowly started adding 2 numbers, multiplying 2 numbers, using IF and FOR and learning the difference.
Then a week ago – a Kid from Japan told me to solve for a Prime Number. Given a number – to find out if it is Prime or Not.
I finally solved it yesterday. I inputted 41 numbers and got the right answer each time
Likewise How to find the Day- given the day – I solved using dayofweek and my new friends in the programming community – blasted me and told me Program dude…..dont use existing functions….assume they dont exist.
I struggled and struggled and finally my exasperated friends gave me a clue – 1 Jan 1900 was Monday. Go from there.
Then i screwed up without accounting for Leap years
Finally Yesterday i finished the code -that can find the day – for any date even Leap years.
These communities have good kids who are very patient and while they do cutting edge programs – they have time for me and guide me – no matter how many ridiculous questions i ask
Yesterday when i pasted the codes for both the programs
The feed back was Good on you Gramps ; Good Logic; See! Anyone can learn.
The moment was prouder than any other moment in my life – because seriously this was something i never thought i could actually do.
What is the smartest thing you have seen someone do in court?
We were in Court waiting for a hearing on a quiet title suit. It was a default hearing, so, we were at the end of the docket and got to sit through all of the oddball traffic and civil defaults.
Just before our case was called, a County Deputy came in with a junior Prosecutor and they were having a hearing on a DWI case.
The driver, an old guy who certainly looked like he was capable of DWI lurched up to the Defendant’s table and stood there while the prosecutor led the Deputy through a practiced litany of why he had pulled the man over and the driver’s demeanor upon being stopped.
The Deputy basically said that the Driver was a known prior offender, he witnessed him cross the centerline a few times, so he pulled him over. The driver then, in the Deputy’s opinion, failed, or at least did not pass, the field sobriety test.
The driver quietly stood there silently, and let the Prosecutor put on his dog and pony show. The hearing was to establish that probable cause existed to proceed.
Then, the Prosecutor looked over at the Defendant and in the most haughty and derisive tone I have ever heard, said “Do YOU have any questions?”
The Judge gave the man about a second and was ready to drop his gavel when the old man spoke up. “Yes, I have a few questions. Your Honor, if I may.”
Here’s where it got interesting.
The slouching old man, suddenly drew himself up, cleared his throat, and in a voice that I might best describe as what one might have heard from Moses, intoned, “Deputy, did I hear you state that you pulled the Defendant over because you recognized him as a prior offender, and because he crossed over the center line once or twice?”
The Prosecutor and the Judge suddenly took notice, and you could see just a hint of concern steal across the Prosecutor’s face. The Defendant spoke in the third person, and was obviously able to speak with confidence in front of a Judge.
The Deputy thought for a second, and replied, “Well, yes, I know the Defendant, that would be you Bob (Not his real name), had a DWI conviction two years ago, and that you regularly close down the Dew Drop Inn (Not the Bar’s real name.)”
Bob, nodded his head, and continued. “So, the Defendant’s history of a DWI conviction was a contributing factor in your determination as to whether to pull him over or not?”
The Deputy nodded, and, in a less confident voice replied, “Yes, or course it was.”
Bob nodded, and the Prosecutor croaked out a pointless objection. Judge Dread (Not his real name) smiled and said “Overruled. I want to hear where this is going.”
The Defendant continued, “Since the stop was made in the middle of the day, and by your written report,” here Bob held up his copy of the ticket, “nowhere near the Dew Drop Inn, Deputy, would you say your knowledge or Defendant’s prior conviction was a significant contributor in your decision to pull Defendant over?”
Deputy Dawg, (Not his real name) even a little less confidently now, sputtered out. “I just said it was.”
Bob asked another question, “If you had to quantify the percentage that your knowledge of Defendant’s prior bad behavior contributed to your decision to pull Defendant over, would it be 60%, 70%, 80% or what number?”
The Deputy was almost snarling over being cross-examined by an old rogue like Bob. He looked at the Defendant like something unpleasant that had stuck to the bottom of his boot. “Well, I’ll tell ya, Bob, I figure it as around 90%; everyone knows you are the town drunk.”
At this point the Prosecutor sat down slowly, Bob nodded, and finished. “So, had you not known who the driver was, there was only a 10% probability that you would have pulled the vehicle over based upon the driver’s behavior. Is that a correct characterization?”
Deputy Dawg thought about it for just a moment, and barked out the answer, “Yes.”
Bob turned to Judge Dread and said “Your Honor, I move to dismiss these charges as the State has failed to field a prima facie case. Their witness cannot provide articulable probable cause.”
Before the Prosecutor could say much of anything, Judge Dread nodded his head and spoke. “Bob, your point is well taken. Deputy Dawg would not have pulled you over had he not known you were the driver. There was no probable cause. Case dismissed.”
Bob resumed his old man persona and hobbled out of the Courtroom.
It turns out that before his wife died, and he became an alcoholic, Bob had been a criminal defense attorney of some repute in the State.
Good for Bob.
Cat Rescue – The cat that broke my heart.
Should the US completely cut off Huawei and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp from American suppliers?
What a delusional question. The US has already done that and driven Huawei to be self-sufficient. ditto for SMIC. You saw evidence of that as many investigators tore apart Huawei’s recent Mate 60 Pro to find nary a US part within it. Yes, it did find South Korean Hynix memories but why is that an issue? Both Samsung and Hynix have reentered the China market because without it, they are dead meat.
“According to the transcript of the February speech posted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Ren Zhengfei said Huawei had over the past three years replaced the 13,000 components with domestic Chinese substitutes and had redesigned 4,000 circuit boards for its products.” (Reuters)
That was in March of 2023. One can only venture to surmise that Huawei’s goal over the last 4 years is to be self-sustaining with domestic parts and software. Huawei claims that is is self-sufficient in design, EDA tools, production equipment, and production up to and including 14 nm. Obviously with its 7nm chip in its Mate Pro series, it is moving beyond 14nm in conjunction with SMIC. There are reports that Huawei is also producing 5nm chips in the form of newer 9100 and 9200 series chips. The big mystery is how? The western presses say it is impossible using DUV, yet SMIC seems to be capable of doing that, and in production quantities of millions of chips. BTW, Huawei says its 9000s chip was designed over 3 years ago, so we can expect more revelations as newer chips are unveiled. Recently it formed an agreement with Xiaomi and will provide Xiaomi with 9100 series chips for its products, and Qualcomm has made an agreement to use Harmony OS in its CPU’s. So Huawei is not only self-sufficient, but it is being recognized a a leader in both semiconductors, software, and in all its facets of production.
The US has cut off its nose with its sanctions and restrictions. It has caused more harm to its domestic semiconductor companies than to China. There is a rebellion going on today with US tech companies ignoring the US government demands to not use China as a source and market. That rebellion has spread as South Korea has reentered the China market as Samsung has built new fabs in China and Hynix sells its memory chips to the likes of Huawei. TSMC is said to be fabbing 7nm chips for ZTE, Alibaba, and Tencent, the latter two are focused on AI chips.
An aside, the 9000s chip is not only a CPU chip, but it is a SOC (system on a chip), that contains CPU, GPU, and NPU processors.
“After a recent software update, Huawei
has revealed another hidden secret about the Kirin 9000s, which now has 12-core architecture.” (huaweicentral.com)
Does US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo seriously think that the US Congress can use legislative tools to stop Huawei from doing research innovation and launching new products?
Thanks for the request.
Can you blame Raimondo? She was just listening to the experts.
Bottomline, we could sum up the critical equation of the U.S. sanctions to ASML and its EUV machine. ASML didn’t invent its technologies. They were the results of decades of work by American and European companies. And by all calls of the experts, if the U.S. also restricts the DUVs, China will be pushed back by at least a decade for them to produce anything from 7nm chips and further.
Visit ASML and tour their facilities needed to produce the $200 million school-bus-size machine and you wouldn’t argue.
But in a little more than 4 years, Huawei has been able to design and produce its Kirin 9000 processor. But this chip is the sum total of an entire ecosystem made up of hundreds of companies developing native expertise from chip design to packaging to make this possible. They’re the Chinese EDA companies producing the tools for Huawei to design their own chips to the chip packaging companies that pioneered chiplet technologies to enable SMIC to advanced its N+2 platform to produce a 7nm chip without need for an EUV machine, a process that experts deem impossible at a commercial scale.
And it is SMEE leading the charge to build an SSMB EUV lithography factory in Shanghai, and it claims that it has mastered the core technologies of EUV lithography, such as light source, optics, mask, and stage. SMEE also says that it has successfully developed a prototype of an EUV machine with a resolution of 22 nanometers, and that it will achieve a resolution of 14 nanometers by 2024. SMEE’s goal is to produce EDoes US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo seriously think that the US Congress can use legislative tools to stop Huawei from doing research innovation and launching new products?
Thanks for the request.
Can you blame Raimondo? She was just listening to the experts.
Bottomline, we could sum up the critical equation of the U.S. sanctions to ASML and its EUV machine. ASML didn’t invent its technologies. They were the results of decades of work by American and European companies. And by all calls of the experts, if the U.S. also restricts the DUVs, China will be pushed back by at least a decade for them to produce anything from 7nm chips and further.
Visit ASML and tour their facilities needed to produce the $200 million school-bus-size machine and you wouldn’t argue.
But in a little more than 4 years, Huawei has been able to design and produce its Kirin 9000 processor. But this chip is the sum total of an entire ecosystem made up of hundreds of companies developing native expertise from chip design to packaging to make this possible. They’re the Chinese EDA companies producing the tools for Huawei to design their own chips to the chip packaging companies that pioneered chiplet technologies to enable SMIC to advanced its N+2 platform to produce a 7nm chip without need for an EUV machine, a process that experts deem impossible at a commercial scale.
And it is SMEE leading the charge to build an SSMB EUV lithography factory in Shanghai, and it claims that it has mastered the core technologies of EUV lithography, such as light source, optics, mask, and stage. SMEE also says that it has successfully developed a prototype of an EUV machine with a resolution of 22 nanometers, and that it will achieve a resolution of 14 nanometers by 2024. SMEE’s goal is to produce EUV machines that can compete with ASML’s products in terms of performance and cost. SMEE expects that its EUV machines will be able to produce chips for applications such as memory, logic, and image sensors.
Nobody expected all these to happen so quickly. But it is happening.
Woke Snow White Actress FIRED from New Movie After DESTROYING Disney Classic
What a nasty and Entitled young woman. Let’s get her “Cancelled” for being so Condescending and Ungrateful.
Why does my child always make silly mistakes in maths?
Define Silly mistakes please
23*4 = 82
That’s not a silly mistake. It’s a fundamental lapse. He missed the carry over 1.
It’s a procedural mistake
s = ut + 0.5at
That’s not a silly mistake. It’s a fundamental lapse. He forgot to square the time component in the parabolic equation and ended up making it a linear equation which is fundamentally ENTIRELY WRONG
35 >=17 >= 41
This is not a silly mistake. It’s a fundamental lapse. A simple reversal of the signal nullifies and invalidates an entire inequation
Mistakes are Mistakes
They aren’t Silly!!!!
A Child must never be told his mistakes are silly. He must be taught how his mistakes drastically changed the mathematical interpretation and how he can prevent the mistake
Yes, a Kid who forgets to carry over the one in Class III – gets 1/2 a mark less for his mistake
However someone who debits instead of crediting, ends up jobless or in JAIL. It’s also a simple silly mistake isn’t it
Your Child makes mistakes
A. He isn’t focused enough
B. He doesn’t understand the fundamentals thoroughly
C. He is in a hurry to finish and his timing is a problem
One or maybe ALL of the three
Now when you say
23*4 = ?
You teach the kid to multiply 3 and 4, place the 2 and carry over the 1, then multiply 2 and 4 and get 8, then add 1 and make it 92
W H Y?
Basically you are simply breaking 23 into 20+3 and multiplying both into 4 and adding the terms
Thus (20+3) *4 = (20*4) +(3*4) = 80+12 = 92
You are shortening this by carring over the one and adding it to 8 because both are in TENS PLACE
How many Kids know this?
Very very few
They mechanically do what is told and carry over the one and add the one. When they forget to add the one, they think SO WHAT? It’s just a single mistake
It’s not. They didn’t grasp the fundamentals of the operation.
It’s the same as blindly following instructions without understanding them
Instead first teach a kid (20+3) *4
The teach the kid the shortening form and why you carry over the one (because 8 and 1 are both in tens place, so it’s 80+10 not 8+1 in actuality)
He will NEVER make a mistake again in this
He blindly memorizes
s = ut + 0.5at²
He will make mistakes
He has to know WHY
He has to begin with distance = speed x time
He has to first understand accelaration and why acceleration is (v-u) /t
Then he gets v= u+at
Then he deduces that s = (v+u) /2 as average velocity and WHY THIS ASSUMPTION
Finally he gets (v+u)/2 = (u+u+at) /2 = (2u+at) /2
Thus s = (2u+at/2) *t = ut + 0.5at²
He will never forget because he understands the concepts and derivation now
Plus Focus and Timing
Many kids get pressured when they find they have lesser time Or are pressured by the teacher who demands the kid to be “QUICK”
Time management is key and you have to teach that
A rewards system is useful here
Divide each question into a specific routine and time your kid and try to ensure he has at least 5 minutes to spare
There are no SILLY MISTAKES
Except using your maiden name by mistake instead of married name
What is the purpose of the US sending its senators to China regarding the micron ban, and do they intend to withdraw sanctions on Chinese entities before demanding the withdrawal of sanctions on Micron?
It’s typical hogwash
US is here solely for FINANCE
- US badly needs money. It has no money and is printing money and one day all that printed money will cause chaos
- China is flush with money. Choking with money from all those savings post lockdowns with 3 years moolah and nothing to spend on.
China badly needs to LEND this money or this money will cause deflation after 18 months or so
China doesn’t trust the US and believes very firmly that US will renege on its debt one day
In 2009, it was a similar group of senators who flew to China and laid bare the truth about their economy and the global crisis and begged China to keep buying US Debt and not to sell their US Holdings
China Agreed
In 2023, I doubt if China will agree
That’s all this is about
EU, US, UK all want Chinese money to purchase their debt
The US badly want to weaken their USD to make US exports mildly competitive at least and to stimulate the economy with cheap credit
To do this they need to stop printing money and they need someone to buy their debt
In the last 5 years, China, Japan, UAE and Saudi Arabia have all reduced their holdings of US Debt
China by nearly 15%
India, UK and EU have steadily increased their holdings of US Debt
Yet it’s a pittance
China could buy $ 400 Billion of US Debt tomorrow in 30 sessions across maybe 2 weeks
That would put the Yuan back at 6.78
That would bring down inflation by 40% across 5 months from the existing 4% today to around 2.4% by Middle of March
Janet Yellen wanted only $ 250 Billion
Yet US can’t make this public
Thus they pretend to talk of Micron
Why the hell would they?
Micron is a private entity isn’t it?
Micron execs would be the ones going to China to meet top officials not Senators
I foresee another refusal from China
Another interview in CBS about Chinas Collapse
And further deteriorations in the relationship
China successfully processed used cooking oil into plane fuel
What will they think of next?
In Chinese. Full link HERE.
As a doctor, have you ever witnessed an anesthesia failure when the patient gained consciousness during surgery?
Yes, I have. It scared the pants off me.
I was a resident, at the time.
We were taking a very nice man, with prostate cancer, to the OR. He was to get an implantation of radioactive beads, into the prostate to treat his cancer. This was done via the rectum.
As you can imagine, this would be pretty painful without anesthesia.
The resident anesthesiologist put him under. The patient seemed pretty relaxed, certainly not uncomfortable.
We draped him and put his feet up into stirrups. It’s the position that is typically used in childbirth.
We had good access. Things were going smoothly UNTIL we inserted the first bead.
Apparently, he was not “out” quite as much as the anesthesiologist thought.
The doctor stuck the sharp rod, carrying the pellet, into the wall of the rectum.
The poor patient came jumping off the table.
I was so intent on helping with the procedure that I didn’t reall notice him coming until I got a foot in the face and he landed in my lap.
We grabbed the guy so that he didn’t hit the floor.
I glanced up at the anesthesiologist. All the blood had drained out of her face. She was frantically trying to push stuff into his IV and dialing up the gas.
The attending physician looked up and barked, “That better, f***ing, not happen again!”
We lifted the man back onto the table. Thank God, he wasn’t injured. We finished the procedure.
The physician snapped off his gloves and stalked out of the OR cussing up a storm.
Later we told the man that there had been an incident. Thankfully he did not remember a thing.
Peace.
Steak Diane
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients
- 2 (6 ounce) filet mignons, thawed
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
- 2 tablespoons shallots, minced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
- 1 teaspoon Brandy
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
Instructions
- Season both sides of steak with salt and pepper.
- Melt butter in a heavy skillet; add mustard and shallots. Sauté over medium heat for 1 minute.
- Add steaks and cook for approximately 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare.
- Remove steaks to serving plate and keep warm.
- Add into pan drippings, 1 tablespoon butter, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and chives. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add brandy; pour sauce over steaks.
- Sprinkle parsley over the top.
China is Preparing for WAR as Neocons Cross Xi’s Red Line in Taiwan
“China has lots patience with the US as the neocons continue to cross its red line in Taiwan, this time moving toward full Ukrainization of the proxy war. I discussed this and more “
Why are single men with no children sometimes shamed for refusing to date women who have children?
Originally Answered: Why are single men with no children sometimes shamed for refusing to date women that have children?
I was watching a dating show once where they filmed couples on a first date, these two people were around 30, had met online and were getting on really well, sparks flying and all that.
They were at a restaurant and the guy had ordered chips, the woman reached across and pinched a chip, then commented that her kids ate nothing but chips. The guys reaction was priceless:
He recovered and they finished their meal, after the date they did a ‘de-brief’ interview with each of them to find out their thoughts, the guy bluntly said he wasn’t interested because she had kids.
He got lambasted for it by the presenter, but all I was thinking was ‘why didn’t she mention it earlier’? Having kids is about as massive a factor as you can have in someone’s life.
I have kids, but I could completely understand why someone would not want to date someone who has kids. One party already having kids causes huuuuge hurdles to the dynamic of a new relationship. Maybe the partner would like to travel? Sorry, not an option. Maybe they want to live somewhere not within 30 minutes of the kids school? Not gonna happen. Maybe they want more than 15–20% of their partners attention? How unrealistic can you be?? Maybe the partner wants to go out drinking with you? No chance, who’s gonna watch the kids? Maybe the partner would rather not have to deal with a potentially volatile relationship with the child’s mother/father/in-laws? Sorry, that’s just part of the deal.
Often, a man declining to date someone who has kids (or vice versa) is portrayed as being shallow or lacking commitment or even of being a misogynist (because they can’t handle the fact that their partner has been with someone else), but the point I’m trying to get across is that someone has to be willing to sacrifice a lot to date someone who has kids, and the fact that they’re not willing to do that doesn’t necessarily make them an arsehole.
*Of course, some people are just arseholes, but I guess that’s true of every situation in life.
The Philippines keep being HATED! Foreigners do not BELIEVE until they visit the Philippines
Iraq has bought CH-5 drones that resemble the US MQ-9 Reaper
Caihong is a family of Chinese reconnaissance and strike-class unmanned aerial vehicles. It consists of a dozen models. One of them is the Caihong-5 or CH-5. Iraq recently purchased a batch of these drones.
Here’s What We Know
We first learnt about the CH-5 seven years ago. It was officially presented at the Airshow China 2016 exhibition. In the summer of 2015, the debut open tests of the drone took place. The UAV made a flight lasting 20 minutes.
The maximum take-off weight of the Chinese drone is 3,300kg, of which 1,000kg is for armament. The UAV can carry bombs and missiles. In particular, AR-1 and AR-2 with a range of 8 kilometres.
It has a range of 10,000 kilometres. The Chinese Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics, which is the developer of the drone, wanted to double the range. The CH-5 can fly for 60 hours, which is about four times longer compared to the US MQ-9 Reaper drone (14 hours).
Have you ever been treated differently in a store because of what you were wearing?
I was manager of a small boutique women’s shoe store. A lady walked in the door dressed in dirty clothes. She had dirt under her fingernails. That us how dirty she was. My sales staff all took a step back when she walked in, so I asked her if I could help her find anything. She said no and just walked around the store looking. When she was ready she asked for a few shoes to try on. No problem. I also brought similar colors and styles in her size. She tried them on and said yes or no rather quickly. While she was trying them on I brought matching handbags to her as well. Her yes pile grew. I pointed out hats and scarves. Added a few of those too. She asked if one of the shoes she liked had other colors in her size. I did, so those where added to her yes pile. $2000 and change later she was packed up and ready to go.
My staff was shocked at that easy sale. They said they had never seen anything like that before. I reminded them that they were not here to judge, but to sell. Since we all earned commission, I had a great day. Turns out she was a chicken farmer and had just dropped off the bank roll in the mall so had some cash to spend when a pair of shoes caught her eye in the window.
Lesson: Never judge a chicken farmer with dirt under her nails.
EDIT It was a boutique store, not payless, so I fitted them on her after giving her stockings. Her feet were clean once her shoes and socks were off. Her clothes were a bit dirty and dirt was only under her nails. Not our usual client. Its not like she farmed barefoot or rolled in the muck. She took most of the items … and the gym ladies who just came to try on shoes and gossip and think about it had comparably dirty/clean feet. She Bought most everything she tried.
The Collapse of The American Dream Explained in Animation
This is great!
What is the most surprising thing you have accidentally overheard about yourself?
My parents divorced when I was 4. My mother remarried a man one year later in 1965.
He was a very controlling man about most things—but that’s a different story. In the summer between my 4th and 5th grade, he became “Born Again” at a Billy Graham revival. At his insistence, my mother soon followed, as did my sister. I was the only one in our family of 4 who didn’t want to give up their entire life and become a singularly focused religious fanatic.
My stepfather had never really liked me before that. After that he hated me, and could barely contain his loathsome attitude toward me.
Speeding ahead a few years, when I was entering the 12th grade, my mother took me aside one day and told me that they had no money to help me with college—that I was going to have to figure out my future on my own. (She was quite literal about that. They never even once discussed with me what my options might be.) I said it was ok. I’d figure it out. I did, and after high school, I got a job at a factory.
My sister, who is 4 years older than me, did attend a religious college, and while it crossed my mind as to how she was able to pay for college, I never asked. We weren’t very close.
Fast forward to 1994. I am now successful in my career. I have a large house with a swimming pool and hot tub in the backyard. My family—mother, stepfather, sister and her family—are invited to my house for an afternoon barbecue.
My mother and sister are sitting in my hot tub. I am around the corner of the house tending the barbecue. They don’t realize that I’m there. They are talking loudly, and I can clearly hear them. My sister starts talking about college education for her kids and she asks my mom how she and my stepfather saved up the money for her college education.
My mom immediately started to panic, and began shushing my sister to be quiet. She frantically said, “I don’t want Kent to hear this! We told him we had no money for college.”
I always knew that I was the black sheep in the family, but it was in that moment that I truly realized how much I was excluded. From that point on, my eyes and mind were opened to the lies and deception within my family. It forever altered our relationship.
Update- stepfather died. Felt nothing. My wife thinks that I suffer from PTSD because of him. Maybe with time I can now forget and maybe even forgive. I wonder if he got that gold-plated throne next to God that he obsessed on his entire life. I doubt it.
Update- mother died. I felt almost nothing. I do mourn that she was more interested in keeping her abusive husband happy than having an interest in her son. Such is life.
After the accident, she was left on the side of the road, no one stopped the car to help her!
Have you ever judged someone and realized you were wrong?
An encounter with approximately 30 burly men and their girlfriends part of a motorcycle gang with the name Outlaws written on their leather jackets.
I was 16 years old at the time and worked part time at Tim Hortons in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.
The donut shop was right near the bridge going to the US border.
It was a rainy night in early summer in the early 1980’s. I was on the night shift.
It is around 3 a.m. in the dead of night. The place is quiet. The bar people have gone home and I am mopping the floor. I hear the sound of many motorcycles. I mean many many motorcycles. The cook looks out the window and goes in the back to hide.
I am alone in the shop and I see them park their bikes and walk towards the shop. I put the mop back in the bucket. Push it to the side at the back near the wall and they all walk in. I was not really afraid. I admit I was somewhat naive and stupid too. I figured they wanted to rest a bit and I started all the coffee machines.
I just took out all the cups, set them on the counter. We had counters where customers could sit down like a soda shop back then.
Waiting for the coffee to brew, I took the racks of donuts and put them on the counter near the cash.
I tried to serve everyone as fast as I could. To my surprise, three big dudes, walked behind the counter and helped by pouring coffee for their friends while I brewed more coffee.
They took some donuts, had their coffee, talked amongst themselves and I continued with my chores as a server. All the while, the cook is still hiding in the back room. lol
Well, one by one, they walked up to the cash and asked how much they owed. I had no clue. I asked them what they had because I told them I was not sure what they all had. They told me, I rang up the order and keep in mind the prices were different back then but for example, the price for a customer might have been 4 $. Well, the big burly fellow would give me a ten and tell me to keep the change.
They all did that. ALL.OF.THEM.
Not only that, some guys helped me clean up by filling up the dishwasher and putting stuff in the garbage.
I was floored.
They left the place spic and span and I had over 100 $ in tips.
I knew they were a biker gang but in a weird way, I never felt afraid.
Life is like that sometimes.
By the way, I totally lost respect for the cook. lol
Tucker Carlson: Something big is about to happen!
“As real as it gets tucker. Thank you”
BRICS Countries Dump $123 Billion in U.S. Treasuries in 2023
A handful of countries from the BRICS alliance are cutting ties with the U.S. Treasury by offloading Treasury bonds. BRICS is increasingly looking to diversify its portfolios with gold, local currencies, and other commodities such as oil and gas. The move is a hedge against U.S. economic policies that will narrow down the dollar’s ability to fund its deficit. Recent data
from the U.S. Treasury Department shows that BRICS dumped $18.9 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds just this month.
In 2023, BRICS offloaded $122.7 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds and is staying away from the government’s debt. BRICS member China is the highest, as it offloaded $117.4 billion worth of U.S. government debt this year. Between June and July, China reduced its holdings from $835.4 billion to $821.8 billion, a decline of $13.6 billion.
Other BRICS member Brazil followed suit and reduced its U.S. Treasury holdings this year. Brazil’s U.S. treasury declined from $227.4 billion in June to $224.7 billion in July, a slump of $2.7 billion.
Another BRICS member, India, followed a similar path and trimmed its holdings by $2.3 billion during the same period. India has also allegedly dumped the U.S. dollar in the forex markets to keep the value of the Rupee from falling.
Similarly, the UAE saw its U.S. treasury holdings fall by $300 million in July. UAE’s holdings slipped from $65.2 billion in June to $64.9 billion the next month. In total, BRICS has removed $122.7 billion worth of U.S. Treasury bonds from its reserves in 2023.
Ukrainian forces quitting by the thousands, refusing to die in NATO’s war
New reports show Ukrainian forces are laying down their Western weapons and surrendering by the thousands using an emergency radio frequency. The surrendered forces are being fed and given medical attention and handing over vital troop movement data to Russian forces. This is the end.
Huawei, not Limited to Phone
Huawei held its Autumn Full-Scene New Product Launch Event at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center on the afternoon of September 25th. In addition to releasing new products such as tablets, smart screens, and smart watches, Huawei announced that it will release its first sedan, Luxeed S7 EV, in November. Richard Yu, the Executive Director and CEO of Huawei’s Consumer Business Group, as well as the Chairman of Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU, stated that the Smart Selection S7 will surpass the Tesla’s ModelS in all specifications. In addition, Huawei will release the AITO M9 in December, which Yu claims will be the “best SUV under 10 million yuan (about US$1.37 million).”
During the launch event, the new generation of near-distance wireless connection technology, Nearlink, once again became the highlight. Yu stated that the standard of Nearlink is a new standard led and contributed by Huawei. Compared with traditional wireless communication technology, it has lower power consumption, faster connection speed, lower latency, more stable connection ability, wider coverage ability, and more powerful networking ability. It can be used in intelligent manufacturing, smart cars, smart homes, and smart terminals.
Huawei’s Nearlink is targeted at the Bluetooth that we commonly use. However, since Bluetooth is already widely used and familiar to people, why introduce Nearlink?
First of all, it is a technical issue. Traditional near-distance communication technologies such as Bluetooth and WiFi have emerged since 1999. When they are updated and iterated over the years, they inevitably retain some of the characteristics of old versions. In terms of speed, anti-interference performance, and energy consumption performance, they are far from satisfactory. Problems such as insensitive digital key sensing occur from time to time.
Nearlink has no historical baggage. Compared with traditional wireless connections, its power consumption is reduced by 60%, data transmission rate is increased by six times, latency is reduced to 1/30th, and the number of connections is increased by 10 times, according to Huawei’s claims.
In addition to technical reasons, Chinese automakers need Nearlink for another reason: Nearlink is a domestically developed technology. After all, Huawei was once kicked out of the Bluetooth Alliance. Now Huawei has also established the Nearlink Alliance with its own standards and has more than 240 members.
This is just as Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei said, “The greatest resistance gives us the greatest motivation.”
“Strange things happened on 9/11”- Robert Kennedy, Jr.
Do you believe the official story about the 9/11 attacks? We’ll you’re not alone because Robert Kennedy Jr. doesn’t believe the official narrative either. During an interview with CNN’s Peter Bergen Kennedy says there were strange things that happened that day. The corporate media has already launched a series of hit pieces on Kennedy reminding us why this is just part of his normal conspiracy rhetoric.
Has someone you really admired/respected ever done something to cause you to lose respect for them?
Yes , was it an eye opener. I had known a woman from work who was very efficient, on time and got along well with others. I had heard of family gatherings, holidays and had seen pictures of some. She always spoke very positive and loving about her children.
THEN!!!
One day I happened to be grocery shopping and heard a familiar voice. As I rounded the corner, I realized it was my co-worker. Just as I was about to call out and wave to her, I witnessed her slapping the crap out of her three year old little boy, then her daughter (4) received the same with a jolting jerk as well and because she started crying because her little brother had just been slapped. Both were across the face!!
This WAS NOT the person I thought I knew and respected as a good parent. Much to my dismay, a stranger saved me the awful task of approaching her to tell her to knock the shit off!!! This other woman did.
My co-worker was very nasty mouthed to this other woman.
I was appalled! The entire incident was played out right in front of me and my co-worker never did look past her little world of rage (all the while still saying very cruel and mean things to her little babies) she did not even know I was there. I finished shopping and left the store. A police cruiser was pulling in as I left. I wondered then if they were there for her. They were not apparently.
This was a Saturday. The following Monday came and the day was going as usual….hectic. Before I knew it, it was 10am….time for am break. Sure enough as I entered the small bistro that was in the building, there she sat waving me to join her.
I did.
I then proceeded to tell her how awful I thought she had treated her children and that in my opinion she needed to seek counseling and turn the anger off. I also told her she had no right to treat anyone like that much less the gifts she had been given to raise and cherish.
She tried to offer some stupid fucking excuse which I cut off before it all fell out of her mouth. I told her I felt sorry for her that her abusive actions were now the only thing I could see. We were not going to be spending time together anymore. I also told her I felt immensely sorry for her children and that I hoped she would change her ways. I then ask her if her husband knew how she treated those beautiful little souls!
She replied NO. I thought long and hard over it (for 1 minute). I called her husband (who I knew was a kind person.) that evening and explained to him what I witnessed and what my fears were for his children. He was very quiet and only said two things to me. The first was he wondered, but had no proof. He did not go into detail. The other was a resounding THANK YOU.
Within one week my co-worker gave her notice at work saying that SHE was divorcing her husband and moving three states away. She also said her children would be staying with her husband who would be awarded full custody as she was signing her children to him
She never said anything to me about it. She worked her two weeks and left.
I have not talked with her husband as well. I do know he is raising the children. This was 5 years ago.
The abuse of anyone is something I will not tolerate. Even more so the abuse of a child or an elderly person will send me right over the top.
And NO I was not abused as a child. Thanks for asking the question and to those of you who actually made it to the end of my rant..
The Horrors of Plum Island | Hybrids, Human Experiments and Weaponized Killer Insects
Well this certainly was a disturbing episode. Reckless individuals and secret organizations operating without accountability.
Taiwan, a US pawn to contain China
According to a report by Taiwan’s China Times on September 13, 2023, Singapore’s former Foreign Minister George Yeo stated at the Asia-Pacific Forward Forum organized by the Fair Winds Foundation that if a war were to erupt in the Taiwan Strait, it would essentially mean that the United States, if it sends troops, would be directly engaging in conflict with Chinese mainland. Consequently, Taiwan would be nothing more than a sacrificial pawn.
Yeo highlighted that the leaders and people of Taiwan know that US policy on Taiwan is formulated not out of love for the Taiwan people but because Taiwan is an important piece to be used against mainland China. “It is also good business for US armament companies,” Yeo remarked.
The report also mentioned that China and the United States agreed to mutually recognize and establish diplomatic relations starting from January 1, 1979, with the US recognizing the government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China. Yeo further expressed at the forum, “How long the US can do this depends on the relative military power of the US versus China and the willingness of the Taiwan people to be played as a piece on the geopolitical chessboard of US-China relations.”
ALERT: RUSSIAN CYBERATTACK ON ISRAEL, US SENDS AIRCRAFT CARRIER FOR WAR WITH IRAN/ RUSSIA!
Stephen Hawking said, “The thing about smart people is that they seem like crazy people to dumb people.” Do smart people out there agree?
I was fortunate enough to attend a lecture given by the late Prof. Hawking on the campus of the University of Berkeley; I say “given”; Hawking rolled onto the stage, and the lecture he so painstakingly prepared was delivered by the machine he used to speak with. I never heard him repeat this quote, so I will have to take it on faith that this is something he actually said.
I’ll be PC here, and substitute “average” for dumb; average people are not necessarily “dumb”, but the difference between them and very intelligent people is that they are far less intellectually curious, and tend not to question their own beliefs, or look beneath the surface of phenomena they encounter every day. For the average, smart people are not necessarily “crazy”, but they do come across as weird. If I were to tell an average person that they like doughnuts because simple carbohydrates and fat were rare and valuable nutrients on the African savannah 70,000 years ago, they would look at me like I was mad. They would say something like “I enjoy doughnuts because they taste good”; it wouldn’t occur to them to ask the fundamental question of why they taste good to us.
As shown in the graph above, 68.2% of people are in the average range of IQ between 85–115 (using IQ as a proxy for general intelligence. The number of people with an IQ higher than 115 becomes increasingly rare with the increasing level of IQ, so those with 140+ are very rare indeed, so it should not surprising that those who are in this high range will often come across as “odd” to the average majority. There is a qualitative difference in the cognition of the highly gifted, compared to the cognitive style of the average; the more intelligent one is, the less “obvious” things seem to be.
In evolutionary terms, our “purpose” as humans is to survive and reproduce, functions for which the average level of intelligence is sufficient; humans evolved to be as intelligent as they needed to be in order to successfully carry out these biological functions, so it is not surprising that most of us are not smarter than we are. As social animals, we tend not to be too fond of “weirdos” who question the existing social order, and the way things have always been done, hence the existence of terms like “nerd” and “geek” for those whose manner of thought and speech is contrary to the norm. At the same time, it had to have been the prehistoric nerds and geeks who came up with technologies like the bow and arrow, and poison darts, which were beneficial for the survival of humans as a whole, by allowing us to hunt otherwise inaccessible game animals. One can just imagine the jeers of the normies when the first geek smeared some tree sap on a dart, and walked off with his blowpipe, saying “I’m going hunting by myself.”
As someone who has been accused of being smart, I’ve had to learn to self-censor in order to “fit in”, and not be ostracized as a “weirdo” by the general population. “Be yourself” is incredibly stupid advice if one happens to be an intellectual outlier, since “yourself” is likely to be regarded as strange, and even threatening by the majority. Hawking was right, and I reserve my unfiltered self for a select few IRL, plus, of course, anyone who chooses to read my apophenic ravings on Quora.
As importantly, PRC air and naval forces have long had existing plans to fight a U.S. force sent to aid Taiwan and have conducted countless 
![It was simply hanging in midair. He [the WSO] switched to the TV mode and was able to again lock the FLIR onto the object while still trying, with no luck, to get a STT track on the radar. As he watched it, the AAV moved out of his screen to the left so suddenly it almost seemed to disappear. On the tape, when it is slowed down, the object accelerates out of the field of view with shocking speed. The WSO was not able to reacquire the AAV either in RWS or with the FLIR.](https://metallicman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/navy-tic-tac-observed-1024x577.jpg)
