The News You Need

14-July-2018

• Georgia Duffy has a small bookshop in Harrowgate. She had a bad Monday recently, and tweeted that she only got 12 pounds that day. It went viral. It was retweeted 4000 times. She got lots of orders. Why? Because instead of asking for sympathy or charity, she just asked people to buy a book or a card to support a small business. She typically sells 12 books a day, and a week later sold 70 books on Tuesday alone. Ms Duffy had to scramble to get her Paypal set up. She’s on twitter @ImaginedThings.

• The US Navy sent out the carrier USS Essex with F35’s on it. But no press release. Looks like a change in emphasis from “show the flag” to more traditional military operations. EDITORIAL COMMENT: I’d like to see our “freedom of navigation” operations such as challenges to China’s territorial claims in the China Sea handled quietly and diplomatically, as opposed to through the media. Send a destroyer through, back it up with a polite note from the ambassador, and stay ready.

• PC sales have declined for years. But in the 2nd quarter, they grew by 1 or 2 percent. This is partly due to a refresh cycle by businesses, but the “Big 5” of HP, Lenovo, Dell, Acer, and Apple are giddy. EDITORIAL NOTE: This is a generation gap. I live in a laptop, millennials live in smartphones.

• An NBA player named Jimmy Butler turned down a 4-year extension from the Minnesota Timberwolves. $110 million, and he said no. Why? Because if he plays another season he can get 4 years and $140 mil from another team, or 5 and $187 mil from the T-Wolves. EDITORIAL NOTE: It’s risky to walk away from $100 million. You could buy lots of PC’s with that. My family would slap me silly for turning it down. The NBA is officially playing with monopoly money now. And no, I have no idea who Mr Butler is.

• Last September the IceCube observatory in Antarctica detected a rare event. A neutrino crashed into the ice. Each second, trillions of neutrinos pass through your body at nearly the speed of light, without any interaction at all. Earth gets them from the sun, but also from black holes and supernovae. And interactions are rare. They checked with NASA’s Fermi telescope for sources, and they now suspect a galaxy 3.7 billion light years away. EDITORIAL COMMENT: That’s … wicked far. I have worked with people that don’t create a detectable impact and I called them Neutrino Man.

• Sergeant Randy Thumann of Fayette County TX made a routine traffic stop of a Tahoe on I-10. The occupants’ stories conflicted, so he asked permission to search the vehicle. His K-9 partner sniffed narcotics. There was a compartment in the fuel tank containing 60 kilos of meth. Some Mexican exporter is out $6 million. EDITORIAL NOTE: I don’t see how domestic meth producers can compete with these imports. Does anyone know how to get a tariff put on this stuff?

• Yesterday around 4pm a woman was found dead at the Cinco Ranch Walgreens in Katy TX. The engine was running. Last week two people were found around 11am in a similar situation in downtown Brenham TX. It turned out to be due to carbon monoxide. If you’re going to spend a lot of time in the car, not moving, with the windows closed and the AC on during these hot summer days a leak might put too much CO into the cabin. Think about cracking the windows and be alert to signs of drowsiness in the middle of the day. EDITORIAL NOTE: I could fall asleep any time, no CO needed.

• An unopened bottle of liquid coffeemate (we like cinnamon vanilla cream) will last for 2 years unrefrigerated. It’s a good idea to shake it before you open it. After opening, they say to use it within 14 days if unrefrigerated. You only need to swirl it a bit after opening, stirred not shaken. Why not refrigerate it? Because cold creamer in hot coffee makes warm coffee! Why refrigerate it? Because it will last longer, up to and 5-7 days past the “use by” date. We haven’t had a bottle last 14 days in … ever. EDITORIAL NOTE: Many people avoid synthetic and processed foods and drinks. I can say with confidence that drinking liquid coffeemate has never caused anything weird to happen to me. Nothing at all. Nope. Never. Not ever.

• Yesterday in Harrow Borough, England a panicked woman called 999 (the UK version of 9-1-1) to report a burglar downstairs in her house. The 5-0 rolled up and found a “rogue squirrel” downstairs making a mess. The squirrel was questioned and released without arrest. EDITORIAL NOTE: In the US we would have used an AR-15 on that rat.

• Tim and Angel Wilson of Gainesville FL put a GoPro camera on their dog for a special perspective on their wedding. While honeymooning in Venice FL there was a paddleboating mishap and the camera was lost. Almost a year passed. Jeff Heim was snorkeling in Venice FL and found a GoPro camera under the water. Having lost 3 GoPro’s himself, he went to some effort to reunite the owners with the photos he found on the memory card. He tweeted a couple of the photos, with a #GoPro tag. That company picked up on it and in a short time Tim and Angel got their pictures back. EDITORIAL NOTE: No mention of the dog but I’m sure it’s safe.

• BOTTOM LINE: Ask nicely when you need help, crack the windows in an idling car, take the $110 million if you like living in Minnesota, make your own choice about refrigerating coffeemate, help other people by buying books and returning lost photos, and don't be a neutrino. This is the path to a wonderful life.