Movie Theaters

I recently read the article below on casual movie theater attendance. It is apparently a thing of the past. I’d like to offer an opinion on this.

HOW ABOUT PUTTING BACK THE DANG MARQUEES!!!!

We have a new theater in our neighborhood. I suspect it isn’t doing well, and part of the reason, I am sure, is that I have no idea what’s playing there. Movie theaters mostly removed their marquees a number of years ago. They required manpower to change the sign and since everyone has smartphone (I don’t) then why bother? Well, because no one is going to look it up. That’s why.

It seems so simple, but I struggle to understand why they have not thought of it. Many times in the past I decided to see a movie because I noticed it was showing at my local theater. I might still be out shopping and say “Hey, let’s go see that film.” Modern business leaders are stupid.

The casual moviegoer is a thing of the past. That’s a big problem for Hollywood

This is Why Fighting Climate Change is Good Fiscal Policy

I am always amazed by the lack of logic from those who deny climate change. I have watched friends change their stance from “I don’t believe climate change is occurring” to, “Well maybe, but we can’t be sure it is caused by humans” to the current, “Well China and India aren’t doing anything about it why should we?” This last comment has become popular as China overtook our country on EV (electric vehicle) and Solar Panel production. We now have a 100% tariff on Chinese EV’s because China can make a pretty good EV for about $12,000 U.S.! Can you imagine what a $12,000 car could do to the U.S. car market? Poor folks could almost afford a new car.

My point is that as we delay, the problem grows worse and we lose any ability to offset the cost of fixing it by providing the technology to do so. Soon we will be forced to buy that technology from China. So before Trump tries to abolish all climate research to avoid those pesky facts, please enjoy this latest report from the good people at USGS (United States Geologic Survey).

14 Million Americans May Sink Within 76 Years

BTW, That estimate is $1 trillion in damages by the end of the century, just for the southeastern coast.

Oh, and for those who wonder why I post so many Yahoo links it is because they have less advertising than the websites the stories come from.

Now This is a Real Problem

We are often told about “problems” identified by politicians so they can promise “solutions”. Rarely are these the most important problems we face. While illegal immigration is a problem, it isn’t nearly as dire as some politicians would have you believe. The numbers just don’t show it. On the other hand THIS is a problem. It is a distinctly American problem and it has possible solutions. Yet you don’t hear much about the problem, let alone the solutions.

When You Have the Best Band

There is a line in the movie “The Blues Brothers” where the late Donald “Duck” Dunn says, in his great southern drawl, “… Jake’s’ not lyin’, we had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.” I’ve always loved that line. In 1975 Bruce Springsteen played the Hammersmith Odeon in London. He had that kind of band…

I have never gotten to see Springsteen, placing him on my list of “Bands that got away”. But I always heard he put on a helluva show.

What the Hell is Wrong with Car Companies?

Ford files patent for a car with holographic cops and guard dogs

Okay this is insane. I recently heard of a guy who bought a Kia Stinger (about $30 to $35 thousand dollar car) and then got in a front end fender-bender. The repair bill was $27,000 due to all the sensors in the front end.
Personally, I do not want “automatic braking”, “lane assist”, or “automatic parking” or a tailgate that opens when I wave my foot. And for God’s sake, why would I need Wi-Fi?
I recently saw a video from, I think CBS, where Audi proposed the answer to today’s super-bright headlights was “adaptive headlights” where a mini-computer moves tiny little shades in the headlight to shield oncoming drivers. How the hell much is that going to cost?!?!
Really Ford? Holograms?

NASA finally dishes on Boeing

This is a sad testament to the ineffectiveness of our government. How is it that anyone on Boeing’s management team still has a job? If I was a shareholder I would want the bunch of them out. The CEO and Quality Control Head should both be facing prison time for bilking the American taxpayer. This is what happens when government and industry get too cozy.

NASA inspector general gives damning assessment of Boeing’s quality control

As a result, the two astronauts that flew the Boeing Starliner to the ISS may not get home until February! On a better built Space X Dragon no less!
Cost to develop Starliner – 4.2 billion dollars (not including cost overruns)
Cost to develop Dragon – 2.6 billion dollars

The Hottest Day Ever Recorded

was yesterday. Beating the previous record holder, the day before yesterday. How long will we keep electing fools who ignore the coming disaster? Hope you like higher food prices for a start.

Monday breaks the record for the hottest day ever on Earth

A movie opened last week called “Fly Me to the Moon”. It is a fictional tale set around the first American moon landing. It portrays a possibility of NASA faking the landing. I sincerely hope everyone associated with this garbage loses their careers. We already have 1 in 8 Americans who think we didn’t land on the moon, one of our country’s proudest achievements. Sadly, America’s once proud association with science and reason seems to have vanished.

Oxygen from the Ocean

Okay, this could be a real game changer. People have been talking about mining manganese nodules (metal nodules made from a number of rare metals) from the bottom of the ocean floor since I was in elementary school. Just as the technology is being developed we discover this…

Oxygen discovery defies knowledge of the deep ocean

If this is true, mining these nodules could be another heavy straw on the camel’s back as far as the ocean is concerned. Our world ocean is already stressed to the breaking point.

So Important

As we think about life, the future, and everything that bothers us, remember this…

In 1990, as Voyager 1 was leaving the solar system. NASA turned it around and took one last photo of the Earth. It was at the limit of Voyager’s camera’s ability. Earth is just one blue dot in a vast sea of darkness.