When will we meet our pledge?

Disabled children also celebrate Halloween

From the NY Times

Another group of modern women

A message to COP26

The next generation of Muslim women

Arnold's View on Climate Change Efforts

Holding your breath

Old people control Japan?

CO2 Basics

Why such a backlog?

Your Roth IRA

Buy a sports team

Increasing your wealth

Afghanistan is Hell

LEGO in the real world

Supply does not meet demand

The biggest user of plastic?

Rollercoaster nut

A different view of homelessness

Los Angeles has about 60,000 homeless people. During this year it has been building tiny homes for the homeless. So far, they have built six developments of these tiny homes.

The developments have been a success, and the first site that started this trend already has a waitlist for its beds. Its next site {the Arroyo Seco Tiny Homes Village} will be the largest; it will be able to serve 220 people. It will be located near the other developments and will cover 6.8 acres at a cost of $5.1 million. There will be 224 beds in 117 tiny homes. Instead of solid colored units, all 117 tiny homes will have varying hand painted designs that'll brighten up the community. Each home is 64 square-feet and can accommodate up to two people.

 
Furthermore, the units all have amenities that can be found in your typical home, just in a more condensed space. This includes two beds, a desk, storage units, outlets, heaters, air conditioners, and windows And the village is pet friendly. And, all of the occupants will also get access to laundry, bathroom facilities with showers, communal tables, and three daily meals …as well as on-site social services like mental health treatment, job resources, and case managers.

Drugs, alcohol, and weapons are banned from the premise, and the village will also have around-the-clock security.

Having individual lockable units allows its occupants to control their own privacy. However, the homes aren't meant to house their occupants long-term. Instead, the goal is for residents to find a permanent housing solution within their fourth to sixth month stay at the tiny home village.

Quitting your job

Rain can kill

Big John was sold for $7.7 million

Big John is the biggest triceratops skeleton yet found. It was discovered in 2014 in South Dakota and is thought to be over 66 million years old. It is certified by the Guinness World Records as the largest documented skeleton of a triceratops. The dinosaur died in an ancient flood plain on the island continent stretching from present-day Alaska to Mexico, allowing the conservation of its skeleton in mud. The skeleton is more than 60% complete and its skull more than 75% complete, making it unique. 

These relics can generate a lot of money. Last year, a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton reached almost $32 million in an auction in New York, becoming the most expensive dinosaur ever sold.

Learning etiquette

The next Pele?

Robotic Religion

Lowering your costs...

...if you use hearing aids. The FDA has proposed that the purchase of hearing aids by those with mild-to-moderate hearing loss will no longer require hearing exams and a prescription. This is good news for the more than 37 million Americans, or 15% of adults, who have trouble hearing; it's estimated that 75% of those who need hearings aids now cannot afford them.Under the plan, the devices could be ordered online or bought over-the-counter at pharmacies and other retail stores.

Covid has made them richer

Since Covid hit us in 2020, our billionaires have grown in number; their fortunes have increased by $2.1 trillion in that time. 130 new billionaires have been created. There are now 745 people with "10-figure bank accounts" compared to the 614 that existed when the pandemic first hit. These billionaires hold "two-thirds more than the $3 trillion in wealth held by the bottom 50% of U.S. households."

 
Much of these gains will go untaxed and will disappear entirely for tax purposes when they're passed onto the next generation. Billionaires are paying a mere 8 percent tax rate, lower than millions of working Americans.

Covid Odds for Seniors

From today's NY Times

The Dead Sea is dying

Achoo!!

Pigs don't like geese

Friends

Climate Change in the Sahara

50 degrees Celsius equals 122 degrees Fahrenheit

Hot Springs, Japan

Have you seen all the Bond movies?

When will she be back to normal?

He goes home

Hard to believe

Everytown For Gun Safety, a firearms control advocacy group, says that unintentional shootings by minors have caused 879 deaths since 2015 and 114 this year. The latest is a two-year-old child in Florida who fatally shot his mother in the head while she was on a Zoom meeting. His father had stored the gun -- loaded and without the safety on -- in a backpack themed with the children's television series "Paw Patrol."

Last month a two-year-old boy accidentally killed himself in Texas after finding a loaded gun in a relative's backpack.

Working with the sun

Police in action

A Century of Notoriety: The Estate of Al Capone

That was the title for an auction of some of Capone's goods. The auction raised at least $3 million and attracted nearly 1,000 registered bidders, including 150 who attended the nearly four-hour-long event in person.

Among the items up for auction was a bear-shaped humidor as well as diamond jewelry and some family photographs. The most popular item proved to be Capone’s favorite Colt .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, which went for $860,000.

It's not Patriots day...

....That's when the Boston Marathon had been run for 124 years. This year it was held yesterday, October 11. It looks like a very happy time.

RoboCop

Let's have a burger

We need better gun control now

They smell well

Limerence

Addictive Apps

Where does used clothing wind up?

Soccer can be a rough sport

In a game in Brazil last week, a player was so upset by a referee's call of a foul against him that he punched a referee in the face and kicked him in the head. The ref was unconscious and taken to the hospital but released in the morning.

The club terminated the player’s contract, and will take legal action to ensure justice for the referee.

Some numbers re Covid-19

If you add the death toll from World War II (405,399), World War I (116,516), Vietnam War (58,220), Korean War (36,574), Revolutionary War (about 25,000), War of 1812 (about 15,000), Mexican-American War (13,283), War on Terror (about 7,000), Philippine-American War (4,200), Spanish-American War (2,447), Gulf War (383), you find that COVID-19 has resulted in more American deaths (about 700,000) than the number of deaths suffered during every major foreign conflict (685,000) in United States’ history.

Plus, now the COVID-19 pandemic has become the deadliest pandemic in American history as the death toll surpassed that of the 1918 flu pandemic. The 1918 flu – which came in three waves, occurring in the spring of 1918, the fall of 1918; and the winter and spring of 1919 – killed an estimated 675,000 Americans, according to the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention. It was considered America’s most lethal pandemic in recent history up until now.

From Snopes and a host of other sources.

China's efforts at climate change

Covid has impacted the supply of semiconductors

Protesting the Texas Abortion Law

Which sign is most appropriate?

Leadership at the Fed

A "Culture of Corrption"

8 a day

That's how many French kids have been sexually abused by clergy in the French Catholic Church since 1950. The Church's investigation report, which is nearly 2,500 pages long, said the "vast majority" of victims were boys, many of them aged between 10 and 13.

There were at least 2,900-3,200 abusers. This does not count abuses committed by lay members of the Church, such as teachers at Catholic schools. Unfortunately, most cases assessed by the inquiry are thought to be too old to prosecute under French law.

Taking risks to help their families survive

Friends

Courtesy of a childhood friend

A dissecting show?

Tax havens for country leaders

Driving through New Hampshire in the Fall

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From the NY Times today

He wanted to stop drinking

A Lithuanian man was brought to the hospital with severe abdominal pain, so severe that he had to be operated on. Doctors found more than a two pounds of nails, screws, nuts and knives removed from his stomach by doctors; some of these objects were 4 inches long.

How did they get there?

He had been swallowing metal objects for a month after quitting alcohol, doctors said. He is now reported to be in a stable condition, and is being monitored at the hospital.

Problems with Tylenol?

A study by 91 clinicians and researchers of various disciplines leads them to think that Tylenol (acetominophen) used during pregnancy may pose risks to the fetus and to early childhood development.

The study is based on an assessment of 25 years of research in the areas of human epidemiology, animal and in-vitro studies.It concludes that prenatal acetaminophen exposure may increase the risks of reproductive organs developing improperly. The researchers found a heightened risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, primarily attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and related behaviors, but also autism spectrum disorder, as well as language delays and decreased IQ.

The scholars' conclusion:
"Based on our extensive review of the evidence – and the recognition that there are limited alternatives for the necessary treatment of high fever and severe pain – we recommend that pregnant women refrain from using acetaminophen unless it is medically recommended by a doctor. Women should also minimize risk to the fetus by using the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time."

Young hearts

Hard to believe

Rome is very dirty