A brief and simple way to meditate on Jesus ascension – Aleteia IT

Posted on by

If you are looking to enter into the mystery of Jesus ascension more deeply, one way is to take apart the episode into smaller segments, reflecting on every action that occurs.

This can be done quite effectively during the Rosary as you meditate on the Glorious Mysteries.

The Rosary is meant to be a meditative prayer, where you are immersed into the life of Jesus Christ and his mother. However, at times we can get lost in the prayers and forget to meditate on the mystery.

One way to stay focused on the mystery and grow deeper in love and knowledge of Jesus ascension, is to focus on the following short sentences before praying each Hail Mary. These sentences are found in Fr. John ProctersRosary Guide and are a great way to focus our prayer in a simple way.

It is hoped that the sentences will bring our attention back to the mystery we are meditating on, fight distractions and help us grow deeper in love of God.

Continue reading here:

A brief and simple way to meditate on Jesus ascension - Aleteia IT

Elon Musk is tech Covidiot No. 1 during coronavirus pandemic

Posted on by

After working as a journalist for over 20 years, much of it in the celebrity world, I have found that whatever age a person becomes famous is the age when his or her maturity (usually) stops.

But something a little different happens in the tech industry: Tech bros, it seems, develop a Jesus complex right after their first big deal believing they (and only they) can save the world because, as their acolytes and mothers have told them, they are just that brilliant.

See: Ubers Travis Kalanick, Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg, Amazons Jeff Bezos and, most especially, Elon Musk.

The guy behind Tesla, The Boring Company and Space X the one who is convinced he can make Mars inhabitable has been showing off his arrogance to dangerous effect during the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

Heres a rundown of recent examples of him wildly throwing his opinions out there.

March 6: the coronavirus panic is dumb, Musk tweeted to his 32 million followers.

March 16: maybe worth considering chloroquine for C19, he tweeted. (In some cases, this treatment has produced frightening side effects, and a small study testing it as a cure was halted due to risk of fatal heart complications.)

March 16: Musks Tesla defied a California shelter-in-place order and kept its Silicon Valley factory open, with workers saying it was business as usual. Several Tesla workers have since tested positive for COVID-19. Alameda County, Calif., officials said on March 18 that the factory had reduced its workforce but that 2,500 would still report to the factory.

March 17: According to the BBC, Musk proclaimed that Kids are essentially immune to the virus. This is demonstrably false: In an early April report, the CDC confirmed coronavirus contagion in children in all 50 states.

March 28: Many doctors are not treating patients due to fear of giving or receiving C19, he claimed.

March 31: Musk tweeted that he was rushing to the rescue! We have extra FDA approved ventilators. Will ship to hospitals worldwide within Tesla delivery regions. Device & shipping costs are free. Only requirement is that the vents are needed immediately for patients, not stored in [a] warehouse. Turns out, what he actually sent was five-year-old BiPAP sleep apnea machines that cant be used to treat coronavirus victims in the ICU.

April 5: He retweets engineering update on the Tesla ventilator from Tesla is Musk now making his own medical equipment?

April 16: Musk tweets out a partial list of hospitals to which Tesla sent ventilators. A day later,CNN contacts hospitals on the list that confirm they were not sent ventilators, but BiPAP apnea machines.

This is not the first time hes promised to step in and be a hero, only to flail. Remember his bid to save the Thai soccer team trapped in a cave in 2018? Musk offered up a kid-size submarine via his Boring Company, which experts said would not work and which showed up after the actual rescue was in process.

When British diver Vern Unsworth, who actually was heroic in helping save the team, criticized Musk claiming that the tech bro was using the opportunity for public relations Musk accused Unsworth of being a pedo guy. Only after Unsworth threatened to sue did Musk issue a rare apology. A nasty libel lawsuit followed that Musk eventually won.

A year later, Vanity Fair published a piece titled Hes Full of St: How Elon Musk Fooled Investors, Bilked Taxpayers, and Gambled Tesla to Save Solar City.

It outlined how New York taxpayers funded almost a billion dollars for Musks dream of SolarCity a solar factory that was part of Gov. Andrew Cuomos controversial Buffalo Billion program that was supposed to revive the upstate economy. In the end, just 750 jobs were created at the plant and the project was embroiled in a massive federal bid-rigging scandal that led to the downfall of top Cuomo advisers and donor contractors.

In November 2019, the Buffalo News reported that Tesla was getting an $854 million write-down on the plant: New York State spent $958.6 million to build Tesla Inc.s solar panel factory in South Buffalo and buy a big chunk of the equipment inside. Now, auditors are saying the building and all that equipment is worth just under $75 million or just 8 percent of what the state put into the RiverBend factory. As of mid-February, the plant, now called Gigafactory2, still needed to hire 360 people to meet its employment quota of 1,460 by April 30, or face paying a $41.2 million penalty to the state for each year it falls short, according to the Albany Business Review.

Elon, its time to take a breath and think and possibly research work that may not have been done by you before you speak. Take a page from the founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, and put your money where your big mouth is (without constantly crowing about it). Dorsey, who has teamed up with Rihanna and Jay-Z to donate $6.2 million to CoVID-19 relief funds, recently announced the creation of Start Small LLC, using $1 billion of his own equity to disarm this pandemic. After that, the fund will shift to health and education for girls.

Now that is a hero.

Read more from the original source:

Elon Musk is tech Covidiot No. 1 during coronavirus pandemic

The Cult of Elon Is Cracking – The Atlantic

Posted on by

Read: When Elon Musk switches on insane mode

Twitter is Musks main mode of communication with the public, including his fans. During other moments of Muskian controversythe tweet that led to fraud charges and cost him his Tesla chairmanship, or the time he got sued for calling a rescue diver a pedo guyyou could count on finding a chorus of support in the replies to Musks tweets, his admirers unwilling to consider any criticism of their hero.

But now, for the first time, Musk appears to have alienated even some of his most devout supporters. Fans are voicing their discomfort, and even dissent, directly to Musk on Twitter, knowing that he might see it. Last month, the top tweet beneath Musks demand to FREE AMERICA NOW and let workers return to their businesses was a bite-size study in cognitive dissonance: my first disagreement with my Idol. :/

Read: What you need to know about the coronavirus

The acerbic persona that once made Musk a cool renegade seems to have sharpened into something more alarming in this global crisis. Surviving a pandemic is rocket science only in the figurative sense, and some fans wish that Musk would let the experts handle it. The cracks in the cult of Elon are starting to show.

I reached out to some of these fans. They were mostly men, ranging from 20-somethings to 70-somethings. They included those who drive Teslas and those who wish they did, those who describe Musk as their idol and those who just think he makes a great car. They all prefaced their remarks with praise of Musks brilliance, vision, and ability to do things that others had sworn were impossible. And besides, they said, nobodys perfect. But. What the hell is he doing?

Read: The mission NASA doesnt want to postpone

Sometimes it just seems like the smarter people are, the more vulnerable they are to overestimating how much they know about something outside of their specialty, Ben Hallert, a longtime SpaceX fan and a Tesla stockholder, told me. If Im an expert in X, then why wouldnt I be an expert in Y?

Hallert loves talking about rockets. He talked about them all the way from Oregon to Texas last spring, when he took his wife and teenage sons to visit the place where SpaceX is building its biggest rocket yet, just off the Gulf of Mexico. Hallerts grandparents worked on the Apollo program, and he has his pilots license. He cant wait to see the SpaceX spaceship get off the ground, but he wishes that the man behind it would stop tweeting.

Read: The thorniest subject at NASA right now

Musks early takes on the coronavirus were mild, if ill-advised, fans told me. In early March, for example, Musk declared that the coronavirus panic is dumb. Fans believed that Musk was only poking fun at the hoarding of toilet paper and Clorox wipes, not the dangers of a sickness that was cropping up everywhere. But as Musks rhetoric escalated, some of his fans tried to reason gently with him that research showed social-distancing measures could slow the spread of the virus. They resurfaced a quote Musk tweeted in 2017, from Mustafa Kemal Atatrk, the founder of modern TurkeyIf one day, my words are against science, choose sciencein an apparent attempt to remind him of his better impulses. Such is the understanding nature of Musk fans, who still want to help their hero see the error of his ways.

Read more:

The Cult of Elon Is Cracking - The Atlantic

Elon Musk: the Tesla Cybertruck isnt getting any smaller – TechCrunch

Posted on by

In the days and weeks after Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the cybertruck a post-apocalyptic inspired vehicle made of cold-rolled steel there was a lot of speculation about whether it would be smaller once it actually made it to market.

Production of the Cybertruck is still a long ways off. There isnt even a factory to build the all-electric truck yet. However, Musk did provide some clarification Saturday on its size. In a tweet, Musk wrote Reviewed design with Franz last night. Even 3% smaller is too small. Will be pretty much the same size. Well probably do a smaller, tight world truck at some point. (Musk was referring to Teslas head of design Franz von Holzhausen. And we assume Musk meant to write light not tight truck.)

The change is important to note since he told Jay Leno that the vehicle is actually 5% too big, according to a teaser video promoting an upcoming episode of Jay Lenos Garage that will air Wednesday on CNBC. If we just take all of the proportions and drop them by 5%, he told Leno, later adding it has to fit into a normal garage.

Musk had previously said the company could probably reduce the width of the cybertruck by an inch and maybe reduce length by 6-plus inches without losing on utility or esthetics.

Tesla hasnt shared the dimensions of the vehicle. And TechCrunch failed to bring a measuring tape at the launch. (Lesson learned).

In the past two months, Musk has provided a few other updates around the cybertruck via Twitter, noting that the company is increasing dynamic air suspension travel for better off-roading and that it will float for awhile, a claim he didnt explain further.

Tesla said it will offer three variants of the cybertruck. The cheapest version, a single motor and rear-wheel drive model, will cost $39,900, have a towing capacity of 7,500 pounds and more than 250 miles of range, according to specs on its website. The middle version will be a dual-motor all-wheel drive, have a towing capacity of more than 10,000 pounds and be able to travel more than 300 miles on a single charge. The dual motor AWD model is priced at $49,900.

The third version will have three electric motors and all-wheel drive, a towing capacity of 14,000 pounds and battery range of more than 500 miles. This version, known as tri motor, is priced at $69,900.

Go here to read the rest:

Elon Musk: the Tesla Cybertruck isnt getting any smaller - TechCrunch

Elon Musk Speaks Frankly on Coronavirus, SpaceX, and Rage Tweets – Bloomberg

Posted on by

If all goes well, on May 27 two American astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, will ride in a Tesla electric car to a Florida launchpad, hop out, and then climb into the nose of a Falcon 9 rocket built by Elon Musks SpaceX. Theyll strap in before a bank of superslick touchscreens, as opposed to a Cold War-era clutter of buttons and knobs. The rocket will blast off at 4:33 p.m. EDT and dock with the International Space Station about 19 hours later. It will be the first privately built rocket and capsule ever to put humans into space, as well as the first time in almost a decade that an American spacecraft will ferry Americans into space from American soil.

In another era and under slightly different circumstances, this event would be the whole, glorious story. Immigrant rocket man ferries brave patriots into the heavens. Plop some ice cream on the apple pie, pass the Budweisers around, and let the livestreamed adrenaline loose on the imaginations of millions of kids.

Alas, we do not live in such times. We have a Twitter President and all the tremendous, very big, super-duper baggage that comes with him. We have a Space Force. We have a virus run amok. And, in Musk, we have a Twitter Business Icon with his own impressive set of baggage. So the moment of achievement is complicated. Sort of like The Right Stuff meets The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test where the idea that anything is possible is as unnerving as it is encouraging.

As Musks biographer, Ive spent years watching how he operates and affects everyone and everything in his orbit, from SpaceX to that other company he runs, Tesla Inc. During interviews, he can be loquacious to the point of oversharingand then shut down for weeks or months after some perceived slight. Weve had periods of intense and fruitful interactions, though my book left me in the Musk doghouse for quite a while. The odd e-mail returned. The odd phone call about his desire to reenact the police raid on Kim Dotcoms compound if he ever visits New Zealand. But silence, mostly. Yet here we are, at the leaving-the-planet part of the pandemic, which would certainly qualify as a giant leap for Musk. Sure enough, he called late on May 17.

Its pretty intense days, Musk says, revealing nothing about his whereabouts other than being two hours late for a dinner.

A lot can go wrong with a rocket launch, obviously, from inclement weather to much worse. The only reason NASA entertained the idea of putting astronauts in a rocket built entirely by a private company is that SpaceX has proven itself a remarkably dependable, relatively low-price, competently managed operation. Over the past decade, its launched about 100 rockets, landed many of them safely back on Earth, and come to dominate the industry, while being valued at close to $40 billion. It took the effort of many clever, hardworking people to pull this off, but its Elon Musk in all his audacious, volatile glory that made such a thing possible in the first place.

Even the most fervent Musk hater, of whom there are plenty in the U.S., has to feel some twinge of pride. At a moment when the American Empire can seem to be in decline, heres a clear sign that great things remain possible and that humans have much left to achieve. America is still the land of opportunity more than any other place, for sure, Musk says, waxing patriotic. There is definitely no other country where I could have done thisimmigrant or not. That its a multibillionaire, Covid-19-truthing, entrepreneurial huckster/hero delivering this message is pretty much perfect for America in 2020.

Its not like I stand by all the tweets Ive ever done. Some of them were definitely extremely dumb. On balance, the good outweighs the bad

Illustration: Arno for Bloomberg Businessweek

Like President Trump, Musk uses Twitter as a mainline into the id. But even by Musks flamboyant standards, the last couple of months have been exceptional. Hes vowed to sell almost all his possessions, announced the birth of his son, named X A-12 (pronounced ex-ash-A-twelve), described Tesla as being overvalued, recited the lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner, and made sure that everyone knows Facebook sucks. The real juice, though, has come on the topic of the coronavirus, where Musk has emerged as one of the most prominent advocates of reopening society and one of the most vocal downplayers of the viruss effects.

He predicted in March that the U.S. would see probably close to zero new cases by the end of April, which was obviously wrong. Like Trump, hes promoted the use of chloroquine, which doctors have warned is unproven to help with Covid-19 and can be very harmful. There have been no calls to inject Lysol but plenty of armchair epidemiology. And, on the subject of reopening, Musk has been less than subtle with such memorable tweets as Give people their freedom back! and FREE AMERICA NOW.

Ricardo Reyes, who served two tours of duty as Teslas communications chief, saw all of this and tweeted, My lord. Seems Gorillas way out of the cage And knows exactly what hes doing. As if to prove his former employee right on both counts, Musk on May 11 announced he would reopen Teslas Silicon Valley car factory in the most high-on-Twitter-dopamine way: Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules, he posted. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me. After additional threats to pull Tesla out of California and move to a more hospitable state, Musk got his way, and Tesla was given the all-clear to reopen.

As for the virus and his predictions of its imminent disappearance, Musk refuses to back down, despite clear evidence to the contrary. I think the statistics became unreliable at the point at which they included those who werent actually tested for Covid but simply had Covid-like symptoms, he says. The statistics became bogus probably around mid-April. Theres about a hundred Covid-like symptoms. Basically anything. And then the stimulus bill gave a major incentive to have someone regarded as having Covid. The data is no longer valid. That said, I would say I was off by maybe three or four weeks.

Suggesting that Covid-19 cases are faked sounds especially abhorrent coming from someone who tends to celebrate science. But Musk has always been a provocateur. Its only in recent years that those outside his inner circle or who dont work at his companies have been able to witness the Full Elon firsthand.

Hes basically become a religious figure on Twitter. The true believers think he can do no wrong and celebrate any position he takes even if it seems to contradict past positions or simple common sense. As in, is he pro-science and fighting climate change or anti-science and denying the spread of the coronavirus? The true believers dont care. Conversely, there are the hordes of people who detest everything Musk does. They think hes an outright fraud who lies and cheats and will do anything to make a buck.

The pandemic tweets, though, have made it harder to tell whats up and whats down in Musk Land. Hes been distrusted by a certain breed of conservative for years simply for producing electric cars and sounding the alarm on climate change. And now suddenly Musks reopening demandscombined with tweets supporting fringe right-wing causeshave aligned him with plenty of voices on the right. Texas, which tried long and hard to ban Tesla from selling or servicing its cars in the home state of Big Oil, has politicians stepping over each other to welcome Musk and his factories. True, many people, even in Texas, have bought Teslas to virtue-signal their love of the planet and hope for a better future. But the symbolism turns quickly if you believe the workers making the car are risking their health on the factory line.

Among the many questions Musks recent behavior raises is, Why tweet at all? Why risk alienating your base and fraying the goodwill of the superfans? Also, why spend your limited free time in a virtual cesspool?

Its hard to make everyone happy, especially on Twitter, Musk says. Look, you can either say things that are not controversial at all, and then youre boring, and nobody cares. Some of the things I say, I would like to retract them. Its not like I stand by all the tweets Ive ever done. Some of them were definitely extremely dumb. On balance, the good outweighs the bad. Its a means of communicating directly to the people without having to go through the press.

The great irony in Musks pandemic denialism is that pandemics are the sort of thing that SpaceX was built to free us from

Billionaires are not in vogue at the momentespecially tech billionaires. To Musks point about going around journalists, the tech pressafter years and years of celebrating young, rich geeksseems to have decided they can now do no right and have ruined civilization. But to the extent that theres still room for nuance and complexity in the world, consider Musks unlikely and remarkable story.

He grew up in South Africa and had the good fortune of doing so in an upper-middle-class home. But thats more or less where the good fortune ended. His parents divorced. He was bullied at school. And he had a disastrous relationship with his father. At 17, Musk decided to leave home, heading first to Canada and then the U.S. for university. When I told my father I was leaving, he said I was going to fail and would be back in three months, Musk says.

Some of his most vocal detractors have promoted the idea that Musk, like Trump, began his career backed by the deep pockets of dear old dad. Errol Musk, an engineer, owned a small percentage of an emerald mine and had a couple of good years before the mine went bust and wiped out his investment. Musk readily jumps onto Twitter to refute the charges that his empire was forged with the aid of family wealth, and part of the reason he wanted to talk to merather comically given the rocket launch and, well, trollswas because the jabs bug him, and he hopes to set the record straight. For what its worth, my reporting, based on conversations with hundreds of people, confirms Musks story. Regardless of your opinion of him, he is a self-made billionaire.

I paid my own way through collegethrough student loans, scholarships, working jobsand ended up with $100,000 of student debt, Musk says. I started my first company with $2,500, and I had one computer and a car that I bought for $1,400, and all that debt. It would have been great if someone was paying for my college, but my dad had neither the ability nor the inclination to do so.

Fast-forward to 2001. Musk is sitting poolside at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The Nasdaq has crashed. Sept. 11 is coming. But life is pretty good for Musk. The company he co-founded, PayPal, is about to go public. His stake will soon be worth roughly $160 million, and hes celebrating in a cabana with some friends, amid the boozy, nearly naked masses. Only hes celebrating like Musk celebrates. Elon is there reading some obscure Soviet rocket manual that was all moldy and looked like it had been bought on EBay, Kevin Hartz, one of the PayPal crew, told me for my book. He was studying it and talking openly about space travel and changing the world.

The Musk sitting by that pool was coming on 30 and, while wealthy and plenty full of confidence, was far from the outsize persona that rampages across Twitter today. That Musk was closer to the awkward loner from South Africa who still had room for self-doubt. He was wandering around in an existential funk, trying to figure out what to do with his money and his life.

Among the least financially advisable projects imaginable for someone in that position would be to start a rocket company. Rockets are national projects. They cost billions of dollars to develop and manufacture. Governments make them via the hard work of thousands of people spread out over many years. The handful of wealthy space enthusiasts whod tried to make rockets in the past gave up after setting fire to their fortunes. The lesson being that one does not pivot into rockets on a midcareer whim. And you definitely dont do it because you think it would be cool to put a small greenhouse on Mars that earthlings could all watch via the internet, Musks actual founding idea for SpaceX.

Cut to 2008, and things are not going well. SpaceXs first three rockets have either blown up or failed to reach orbit. Tesla is verging on bankruptcy after struggling to get its first car to market. Musk has ripped through his PayPal money, trying to keep both of his companies alive. In the background of all this, the financial markets are cratering, real car companies are going under, and Musk is getting a divorce from the mother of his five boys. The only way out of the financial part of this mess is to persuade investors watching their portfolios collapse to take one more chance on Tesla and make NASA, if not you, believe in a space startup by getting the last remaining SpaceX rocket in the factory to orbit. (The way out of the personal mess turned out to be dating a talented and beautiful young actress, Talulah Riley.)

That Musk somehow emerged from this with both companies intact is lottery-odds improbable. If we really are living in a simulation, as Musk has suggested, its the only one you could run where both SpaceX and Tesla survive.

Since then, Musk has built vast rocket, car, and battery factories. Hes employed tens of thousands of people, created a worldwide car-charging network, figured out reusable rockets, started an artificial intelligence software company, dug tunnels for high-speed transport, founded a brain-machine-interface startup, and constructed a high-speed internet systemin space. (Hows your sourdough starter going?)

That he can be a tyrant to those helping him create all of this stuff is no secret. And, as regulators would attest, his business tactics and behavior can oscillate between infuriating and appalling. Yet at a time when America doesnt seem the best at doing stuff, the guy gets a lot of stuff done. Part of the reason Musk is under fire for pushing to open his factories is because he actually has factories to open. People should value manufacturingthe world of atoms vs. the world of bitsfar more, he says. It is looked down upon by many, which is just not right.

Musk has railed against Silicon Valleys squandered brilliance for years, and he has a point. The Bay Area, home to Tesla and its car plant, boasts the worlds top engineers, biggest tech companies, and wealthiest people, as well as some of the finest universities and hospitals. Yet precious few ideas have emerged here about reopening the economy, even as the local daily deaths from Covid-19 have neared zero. The Silicon Valleyites who talk often about saving the world with their apps and baubles have been missing in action when the world actually needs saving.

Musk, true to form, says he wont wait for people to figure out how to turn the economy back on. SpaceX has been working this entire time, because we have a national security exemption, he tells me. Weve had 8,000 people working full time through the whole pandemic. Weve had zero serious illnesses or deaths despite working in L.A., Washington, Texas, and Florida. Its more of the same in China [for Tesla], with 7,000 people. I think when the dust settles it will be obvious this was much less of an issue than people thought.

The great irony in Musks pandemic denialism is that pandemics are the sort of thing that SpaceX was built to free us from. While the mission to the ISS may be a defining moment in his career, its only a steppingstone toward his companys much bigger ambitions. Musk wants to build a human colony on Mars, in part to make people dream big, and in part to give us a backup plan for the human species in case of an asteroid strike or, you know, a plague. SpaceX engineers are busy constructing a massive craft called Starship meant to take humans to, as it says on the website, the Moon, Mars and Beyond. Where such a quest might have seemed laughable decades ago, it now feels very real, especially when you consider the other great irony of Musk: SpaceX, the crazy rocket company, is his most consistent and successful venture.

Following the launch of the astronauts, SpaceX is on the hook to fly several resupply missions to the ISS and to put up military satellites, communications satellites for commercial customers, and thousands of its own satellites at the heart of its Starlink space internet system. Its also in the running to take people to the moon with NASA and apparently to fly Tom Cruise to the ISS to film a movie. This flurry of activity is part of a booming new space industry Musk and SpaceX catalyzed.

Its because of Musk and SpaceX that Ive turned into a space nerd. Ive traveled from California, Texas, and Alaska to French Guiana, India, New Zealand, and Ukraine to see rockets get made and watch them go up. At every launch, the excitement comes from the unknown. Theres a thin, tall metal tube filled to the brim with liquid explosives, and it seems to huff and puff as the countdown heads to zero. At liftoff, the might of gravity becomes obvious, as this object blasts great streams of fire at the ground but struggles to gather momentum. Will it? Wont it? Just like with Musk, you want to see what happens next.

His behavior of late will no doubt color how SpaceXs May 27 launch is perceived, and thats unfortunate. People can understand a businessman wanting to restart the economy, and plenty of arguments can be made that support such a position. Its the straight-up denial of a pandemic thats killed hundreds of thousands of people that casts a pall. But then, Musk will always do as he wishes and operate in the reality he creates. Its this very trait that led to the formation of SpaceX.

For anyone who can look past Musks antics, a successful launch will be a moment of pure shared bliss at a time when the world could use some of that. At the very least, it would affirm that the governmentin this case, NASAcan take intelligent risks and be courageous by partnering with a private company while keeping its safety standards intact. There might have been 10,000 meetings, Musk says. There are probably 10,000 tests of one kind or another that have taken place. Should all go well, Musk, NASA, and all of SpaceXfrom its indomitable and thick-skinned president and chief operating officer, Gwynne Shotwell, to every engineer, coder, and metalworkerwill provide the rest of us with proof of what government and industry can accomplish when they execute on a well-thought-out plan.

Between now and the launch, Musk intends to keep on Musking. He really is doing what he tweeted: selling his possessions, including his many homes. Id rather just stay with friends and rotate among their houses and stay in the factories when there are issues, he says. I kind of like that better. Its less lonely. His comments may not have been thought through at, say, a NASA-like level. Asked where his six boys will stay, Musk allows that he might need some kind of residence in Los Angeles, near SpaceX headquarters. Ill probably rent a place or something. Renting a place thats sort of small. But I actually dont know where it would be.

When the launch does take place, Musk will head to Cape Canaveral and sit with the SpaceX and NASA teams as they do their final engineering reviews. If the weather cooperates and all the technology performs as designed, two humans will safely exit the pandemic and head for the stars.

Assuming its successfulI dont want to seem presumptuousthen it will be an incredible moment for humanity, Musk says. I think its something that everyone should be able to celebrate.

As in parties? In person? Seriously?

I think we can have parties, he says. Yeah, well be fine.Read next: Trumps Reopening Gamble Risks Lives and Livelihoods

Visit link:

Elon Musk Speaks Frankly on Coronavirus, SpaceX, and Rage Tweets - Bloomberg

Elon Musk is playing Twitter footsie with the fringe right – The Verge

Posted on by

Elon Musk has always had a certain manic energy on Twitter, but in the past week, his output has taken a more troubling turn. Musks ongoing standoff with Alameda County health officials had inspired him to share a wave of disinformation, something he hasnt backed off from even as much of it has been removed from the platforms themselves. But now, Musk seems to be moving into a more troubling part of the online sphere, and he risks taking a lot of his fans with him.

Last night, Musk tweeted a confusing combination of the rose symbol for the Democratic Socialists of America and the red pill meme, a Matrix reference that has become a touchstone for anti-feminist communities online. Its hard to say what Musk meant by all this, but it was clearly taken as a dog whistle by prominent red-pillers like Mike Cernovich and Infowars Paul Joseph Watson. It was also retweeted by Ivanka Trump, which caused Matrix co-creator Lilly Wachowski to curse both of them out.

Its all very surreal and confusing, and its debatable whether Musk meant to stir any of it up at all. But it fits a larger pattern of signaling to far-right figures that is harder to discount. Since the Alameda fight started, Musk has been a regular fixture in the replies of coronavirus skeptic Alex Berenson and stunt journalist James OKeefe who has also been vocal about the counting of coronavirus deaths. And Musk has spent the past month promoting discredited reports about the dangers of coronavirus, describing shelter-in-place orders as fascist, and dismissing the validity of existing case and death statistics on the viruss spread. Along with Fox News, Musk was an early proponent of the antimalarial drug chloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19, an idea that has been discredited by clinical trials.

None of the tweets are particularly scandalous on their own, and its not as if screwing around on Twitter is some horrible crime (court order notwithstanding). But Musk has been through a lot on Twitter, from the Unsworth Affair to the Securities and Exchange Commission debacle. He knows what it means to his fanboys when he starts talking to another public figure, and he knows how quick that same crowd is to pile onto anyone who tries to call him out on it.

Platforms like Twitter are very fertile territory for a particular kind of huckster who can use the limitations of the medium to sow confusion and build a following. Berenson is building a following this way, and red-pillers like Cernovich and the Infowars crew are running a more advanced version of the same hustle. These hucksters have become surprisingly powerful under President Trump, and it may be that Musk is trying to tap into that, figuring that currying favor with the Infowars crowd will help him keep his factories open. Or it could be hes just spent too much time online and is grateful for all the allies he can get. Still, its weird to see one of the most prominent figures in the tech world playing coy with this sort of thing and for anyone who respects Musks work with Tesla and SpaceX, its an alarming shift.

View post:

Elon Musk is playing Twitter footsie with the fringe right - The Verge

Elon Musk’s friend and a top SpaceX engineer has left the company to join a fast-growing rival rocket startup – Business Insider

Posted on by

A startup that hopes to 3D-print entire orbital-class rockets has picked off a top engineer from SpaceX.

Zach Dunn, the now former senior vice president of production and launch for SpaceX, started out as an intern at the rocket company 13 years ago and most recently reported to founder Elon Musk. But as of June 8, Dunn whom Musk considers a friend will start his new job at Relativity Space.

"Zach made a significant contribution to SpaceX," Musk tweeted on Monday. "I wish him well as he tries something new."

Zach Dunn. Zachary Dunn/Relativity Space Relativity Space is a venture-capital-backed rocket company founded in 2015 by Jordan Noone and Tim Ellis, who are former employees of SpaceX and Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos' rocket company), respectively. The startup has already secured a launch site in Florida and raised more than $184 million, according to PitchBook. Its backers include former Walt Disney executive Michael Ovitz andJared Leto, the "30 Seconds to Mars" rock star and actor.

The company's first big goal is to 3D-print a rocket within 60 days of a customer's order, then use it to launch a payload into orbit.

That rocket, called Terran 1, will stand about 95 feet tall, have 10 engines, and be capable of launching a small to medium-size satellite or other payload into space for about $10 million. The largest size that a payload can be is about 2,750 pounds (1,250 kilograms), or about one Fiat 500 hatchback's worth of mass.

Relativity says the typical lead time for ordering a launch vehicle is about 12 to 18 months, and that Terran 1 will decrease the complexity of a rocket by having 99% fewer parts, since they can be seamlessly integrated into a larger part using proprietary "Stargate" 3D printers.

Relativity Space's rocket factory. Relativity Space

To create such an unprecedented capability, Relativity needs a mastermind to build out and run its "factory of the future" a 120,000-square-foot facility in Long Beach, California.

The company announced this week Dunn would be that person.

"Zach brings immense creativity, audacity, and leadership to a critical piece of Relativity's company vision. He will be instrumental in our goal of developing the factory of the future using large-scale 3D printing," Ellis said in statement emailed to Business Insider.

Relativity knew of Dunn's accomplishments at SpaceX and that he rose through the ranks at the company.

"What wasn't he involved in? At each opportunity Zach would gravitate toward the hardest engineering problems our industry had to offer, and demonstrated success each and every time," Ellis said. "In an organization with some of the very best engineers in the world, this is a feat worth recognizing and we are confident Zach will bring the same success to our 3D printing factory."

Dunn will lead a new division at Relativity called factory development, which a spokesperson said will join two preexisting engineering teams: the launch vehicle development group and the avionics and integrated-software group.

"Initial focus of the Factory Development team is to deliver Relativity's first rocket, Terran 1, to its first orbital launch. After our first successful launch, we will continue to develop the core technologies needed to scale Terran 1 production and beyond," the spokesperson said.

Relativity hopes to launch Terran 1 for the first time in 2021 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, where it's renovating an old military launch site into a modern commercial complex.

An illustration of a Terran 1 rocket by Relativity Space launching from the US Air Force's Launch Complex 16 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Relativity Space

Relativity is a competitor for SpaceX's small-launch business, which the latter company announced in 2019.

However, Ellis previously said Relativity hoped its 3D-printing technologies would one day join SpaceX on flights to Mars aboard Starship, a towering new vehicle Musk's rocket company is developing, building, and testing at the southern tip of Texas.

"What do you need to make on another planet? We think there needs to be another company focused on this piece of the puzzle," Ellis told Business Insider in 2018. "I would love to launch our factory to Mars and then figure out how to scale and sustain that society very quickly."

This story has been updated.

Continued here:

Elon Musk's friend and a top SpaceX engineer has left the company to join a fast-growing rival rocket startup - Business Insider

The way of the future: Howard Hughes Co. is pitching Elon Musk on a Vegas Tesla HQ – CNET

Posted on by

"Show me all the blueprints. Show me all the blueprints."

Elon Musk, being an outspoken gazillionaire with an interest in engineering, inevitably draws more than a few comparisons to Howard Hughes, aka the guy responsible for the Spruce Goose and the subject of my favorite Martin Scorcese film.

That's why it's funny and a little ironic that he's recently been approached by the Howard Hughes Corporation about moving Tesla HQ to Las Vegas, according to a report published Thursday by ABC News 3 Las Vegas.

So, you might be a little lost at this point. First, Howard Hughes is dead, but his businesses (well, some) live on, and real estate company Howard Hughes Co. is among them.

Why Las Vegas? Well, Hughes spent a significant amount of time in Vegas towards the end of his life and invested heavily in real estate there. His company still owns a good deal of it, including the Summerlin community, which you probably know as a place where rich people with dark secrets were often murdered on CSI.

Now, Elon's tiff with California over its coronavirus shelter-in-place restrictions on businesses is well-documented at this point. Several municipalities have been throwing themselves at him to have either a new Tesla factory placed with them or, to act as a new headquarters, free from California's pesky worker protections and higher costs of doing business.

The Howard Hughes Company's pitch came from current board chairperson Bill Ackman over Twitter -- aka Musk's favorite medium after Soundcloud -- and pitched him on not just Summerlin but also planned communities owned by the company near Dallas and Houston. They even made a sizzle reel to help sell it.

Vegas' mayor pro tem even got in on it, suggesting that the city could name a street after Musk's newest son, X A-12. The levels of thirst on display here are unreal. Can you imagine Google Maps trying to pronounce X A-12 Lane?

Will Musk actually move Tesla out of California? At this point, that's unclear. Doing so would be a massive expense for a company that only now has been able to turn a Q1 profit for the first time in its history, not to mention the logistical headaches. But, if he does, in the end, decide that the Golden State isn't the place for him, he won't be lacking for options in where to go next.

Now playing: Watch this: Elon Musk and Tesla vs. California's quarantine

2:30

Original post:

The way of the future: Howard Hughes Co. is pitching Elon Musk on a Vegas Tesla HQ - CNET

Why Is Elon Musk Tweeting About The Red Pill? – Forbes

Posted on by

Musk just reanimated a dead meme. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Lately, Elon Musks erratic tweeting has been generating headlines, as the billionaire has been calling for America to return to work amidst a global pandemic (wont somebody please think of the shareholders!) and announcing his sons name as X A-12 via Twitter - its still unclear which syllable Musk and Grimes use to refer to their son.

Musks recent Twitter drama was especially amusing, as Musk randomly tweeted to his followers to take the red pill, accompanied by a rose emoji, often associated with the socialist cause.

So, why was Musk referencing The Matrix and making vague political allusions?

Well, the Red Pill has long been used as a metaphor for accepting harsh realities over blissful ignorance, a meme often utilized by the alt-right, who seek to market their unpleasant ideas as the hard truth, rather than deranged incel fantasies which paint women as biologically inferior.

Theres a spectrum of shaky beliefs associated with the Red Pill meme, and its impossible to know what Musk is really referring to, because he deliberately left it open to interpretation. But Ivanka Trump gave a deliriously cheerful response, gleefully acknowledging that she has swallowed whatever bizarre delusion fermenting in the brains of people who unironically use the phrase, take the red pill.

Hilariously, Lilly Wachowski, co-creator of The Matrix, joined the conversation to put both pill-poppers in their place, also sharing a link to Brave Space Alliance, an LGBT social service organization, and encouraged people to donate to the cause.

Its a bizarre, bitter irony that The Matrix, the creation of two trans-women who imbued their own sense of alienation and displacement into the story, has been completely co-opted by the alt-right, who dont even recognize the existence of transgender people.

In The Matrix, the detachment that Neo felt, his suspicion that something was ever-so-slightly off about his world, proved deeply relatable, reaching far beyond the intention of the original allegory.

Perhaps its not surprising that the Red Pill meme proved so popular in the dark corners of the internet; The Matrix highlighted the unreality of modern life, the sense of isolation that our society often induces, the nameless dread that draws so many into believing hateful narratives.

Memes tend to evolve quickly, becoming distorted far beyond their original meaning, and in a sense, it doesnt really matter that the Red Pill was meant to symbolize the brutal reality of gender transition. Sadly, it means something different now.

But whatever Musks intentions, I think we can all agree that it is incredibly embarrassing for an adult to be tweeting about the Red Pill in 2020, a fact recognized by Grimes mother, Sandy Garossino, in a now-deleted tweet that seemed to be directly referencing Musk.

Outdated Matrix references aside, I suppose its somewhat comforting to know that even the rich and famous are losing their minds during quarantine; the relentless boredom is sending us all down some weird online rabbit holes.

See the original post:

Why Is Elon Musk Tweeting About The Red Pill? - Forbes

Tesla Model 3 convertible makes the EV that Elon Musk wont build – SlashGear

Posted on by

Tesla doesnt make a convertible Model 3, but that doesnt mean you cant enjoy the wind in your hair in Elon Musks smallest car as long as you have the budget for it. The Model 3 has already come in for some interesting mods, not least a pickup version, but now one customs company has sliced the top off completely.

Its the handiwork of Newport Convertible Engineering, a company which has made a business out of turning normal cars into cabriolets. Back in 2014, in fact, the mod-shop revealed its Tesla Model S convertible, turning the automakers premium electric sedan into an open-topped model.

Now, its the smaller and more attainable Model 3 thats in line for the circular saw. Gone is the roof and the rear glass; in their place is a fabric soft-top, which folds down onto the rear deck. That way you get to listen to the sounds of nature as you whip through it, without a gas engine to get in the way.

There are some style considerations to bear in mind. Most noticeable is the fact that the B-pillar is still in place, right between the front and rear doors. Thats partly because it allows a brace over the top of the Model 3 convertible, which is presumably needed to maintain stiffness: sedans arent designed to just have the roof chopped off, and can end up twisting disconcertingly if they dont have sufficient reinforcement.

The other issue is that the B-pillars are where Tesla embeds some of its cameras for Autopilot. Get rid of them, and youd lose the all-important driver assistance technology, which is part of the charm of the Model 3.

Then theres the cost. Newport Convertible Engineering says that itll cost around $30,000 to make the conversion, and thats not including the Model 3 itself. Your money only gets you a manual top, too. If youd like a powered hood, thats almost $40,000 on top of the cost of the EV.

Is it worth it? Certainly, youre not likely to see many other Model 3 convertibles on the road. The company says itll take 2-3 months to do the swap, which includes body reinforcement and new trim to work around the cuts.

For most, itll all be more trouble than its worth. Still, theres undoubtedly a market for electric convertibles, though so far weve not really seen many attempts at the category. Teslas upcoming Roadster the release date of which remains somewhat nebulous at this point will have a removable roof panel, and the original Tesla Roadster was a convertible too. Neither could be described as affordable, however.

More:

Tesla Model 3 convertible makes the EV that Elon Musk wont build - SlashGear

This what it’s like to be Elon Musk’s neighbour – indy100

Posted on by

Elon Musk recently announced hes selling most of his possessions, including the bulk of his property portfolio.

Lucky for residents in California, where two of his homes have now been listed for sale.

According to a new investigation by Esquire reporter Rachel Monroe, Musk is the neighbour from hell.

Or rather, his SpaceX project is.

Helpfully, she also summarised her findings in a Twitter thread and it doesnt paint Musk in a flattering light.

Monroe alleges that a few years ago, SpaceX began moving operations to Boca Chica, a quiet [retirement] community by a wildlife preserve. It didnt stay that way.

Soon there was 24-hour construction, bright lights on site at night and large trucks making noise at all hours.

Since 3 May, there have also been rocket tests happening in the wee hours of the morning.

Residents are warned in advance, says Monroe, by the police arriving around 10pm and informing them there will be tests at dawn.

Which leaves people living within a mile of the site chosen for a test the difficult choice of staying put and hoping the test succeeds or fleeing to another location in the middle of a pandemic.

Despite SpaceXs promises that there would be minimal disruption and a handful of tests, including pledges to rarely force closures of the local beaches, Monroe says the public beach has been made to close constantly this month due to SpaceX testing.

She accused Musk of taking over public resources and the company of essentially lying to residents.

The retirees living in Boca Chica have apparently been told they have to move because SpaceX says its not safe for them to remain there.

But according to a report in Intelligent Living, its actually because Musk is planning to build a SpaceX Village resort, including 100 electronically bookable rooms and regularly planned activities, such as volleyball tournaments, rock climbing, kayaking, and spaceport lounge events and parties.

Monroes thread wraps up with a quote from Musk in 2005, when SpaceX were briefly forced off their site by Lockheed Martin.

Somebody else builds a house next to you and tells you to get out of your house, like, what the hell? . . .

Were going to fight that issue, because it is just fundamentally unfair.

Between the rockets, the Red Pill tweets and his conspiracy theory about coronavirus, could Elon Musk prove to be the worst neighbour of all time?

Read more:

This what it's like to be Elon Musk's neighbour - indy100

Planning to go to Medical School? Join the Great Lakes Applicant Workshop – University of Wisconsin-Madison

Posted on by

This years workshop was held virtually in partnership withMichigan State University College of Human Medicine,University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Minnesota Medical School- Duluth and Twin Cities, University of South Dakota Medical School, University of North Dakota Medical School, and University Of Illinois Medical School.This years applicant workshop featured a keynote address from Frank Animikwam, MD, mini-sessions covering the application process, MCAT overview and strategies, tips for writing a personal statement, and a medical student panel.

If you are planning on applying to medical school this cycle please reach out to our center directly for additional information, especially on how COVID-19 is impacting this years application cycle.

Clickhereto access NACHPs website and below is our phone and email address:608-262-7218nachp@hslc.wisc.edu

You can clickherefor the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health admissions website.

See original here:

Planning to go to Medical School? Join the Great Lakes Applicant Workshop - University of Wisconsin-Madison

Its the American dream: Law school and medical school grads visit their grandpa at La Crescenta nursing home in emotional reunion amid pandemic – KTLA…

Posted on by

Vana Ebrahimi, a 25-year-old from Glendale, graduated from Loyola Law School on Sunday as her brother graduated from medical school. Although their in-person commencement ceremonies were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, they found a way to make the day special.

The pair went to visit their grandpa, Hayrik Abnous, at a La Crescenta nursing home, where he has been since January. In an effort to curb spread of the virus, the facility has been under a lockdown since March.

So Ebrahimi and her brother first generation college students got to see their grandpa through a glass door in an emotional reunion.

We just decided since were both graduating, lets go and surprise him and wear our cap and gowns, Ebrahimi said. It was a big deal for us to include him.

The video of the special moment shows Ebrahimi and her brother, who did not want to share his name or school information, in their gowns, waving to their grandpa while he looks at them in tears from his wheelchair.

It was heartbreaking but cute at the same time, said Ebrahimi, who was also in tears in the video. It was a surreal feeling for us both. Its the American dream.

Her parents and grandparents escaped war in Iran and went to Austria, eventually making it to the U.S. in 1993, just before she was born.

My mom and dad came here literally with no money and not knowing English, Ebrahimi said. For us to be able to not just go to college, but also get a graduate degree It was like the struggle of coming here and escaping war and doing all that was worth it. For us it feels like were finally paying them back.

Having her children graduate from law school and medical school has been emotional for her own mother too, Ebrahimi said. While her uncles were able to leave Iran during the war on student visas, her mother was not.

You dont just, you know, send your daughter to America on her own, Ebrahimi reflected. So my mom had to stay back, and she never got to go to college because the war happened and the schools closed.

As an Armenian American, she says the accomplishment has even more meaning for her as a minority.

From a culture thats had a genocide, were still here were still standing. Were pursuing our dreams and they didnt destroy us, she said.

Ebrahimi has been staying with her grandmother while her grandpa remains at the nursing home for a broken hip and a heart condition. She says she and her grandma were going to the nursing home every day before they closed their doors, and at the time of their graduation reunion, she hadnt been able see her grandpa in two months.

It was a huge deal to be able to have us all together to celebrate, even though it wasnt the type of celebration we wanted or imagined, she said. Quarantine has had its perks of having more intimate moments with your family.

Ebrahimi said her metspop, as she calls him, has never stopped smiling, even while in the hospital or the nursing home. He is the most easygoing patient, she said, always smiling.

As an Armenian immigrant family, this meant the world for my grandfather who came here with little to nothing and not knowing the language to see us accomplish the American dream, she said.

See the original post here:

Its the American dream: Law school and medical school grads visit their grandpa at La Crescenta nursing home in emotional reunion amid pandemic - KTLA...

Mother-Daughter Duo Become First To Graduate From Medical School At The Same Time And Match At The Same Hospital – Because of Them We Can

Posted on by

Now this is a reason to celebrate!

A mother and daughter are making history, becoming the first to graduate from medical school at the same time and match at the same hospital, UMHS reports.

Dr. Cynthia Kudji and her daughter, Dr. Jasmine Kudji attendedmedical school at the same time, miles apart from one another. Cynthia attendedthe University of Medicine and Health Sciences (UMHS) St. Kitts and Maine and Jasmine attended Louisiana State University School of Medicine. After years apart, bothmother and daughter have matched at LSU, the first to do so, with Cynthia pursuing Family Medicine and Jasmine studying General Surgery.

The Ghana native said she always wanted to be a doctor, but after becoming pregnant with her daughter Jasmine at 23-years old, she put her dreams on hold. She workedas an RN and Nurse Practitioner for almost 10 years before deciding to apply to medical school at UMHS. A trip back home inspired her to pursue her dreams again after all those years.

My mom wanted us to have a family trip back to Ghana and there was an incident where we were in the village and somebody just walked up to us and said that their child had a fever and was sick and wanted my mom and I to help. We put the child in water, trying to get the temperature down...and I just remember being so frustrated that the mom had to come to a complete stranger to get access to health care. The only thing I knew that could change that situation was to be a physician, Cynthia said.

Her daughter Jasmine, simultaneously began med school at LSU. The two said the road hasnt been easy but they are glad to have finally completed a major part of their journey.

So, the only thing that makes it difficult as far as older students is if you havent been in school for a while, it takes some getting used to the volume of material. [Also,] you still have the responsibilities of an older individual, of a mom or a dad... So even though I was in medical school, I was still Jasmines mom. I still had to be there as mom regardless of whether I was in medical school or not, Cynthia shared.

Thanks to technology, the two were able to remain close andconnected.

I think initially it was difficult because my mom and I have always been really close so I had to get used to the distance, we had to learn how to FaceTime and Skype each other, so we were Skyping each other every day and whenever I had struggles and she had struggles, we just had to learn to communicate from a distance, said Jasmine.

Both mom and daughter are excited to finally be back together and look forward to continue leaning on each other as they enter this next phase of their careers.

I always tell people we laugh together, we study together, we cry together. I think medical school is one of those experiences that you dont truly understand until youre in it. Sometimes people struggle to find someone who relates to their struggles, so for that person to be my mom was extremely helpful, said Jasmine Kudji.

This is mom-daughter goals! Congratulations ladies!

Photo Courtesy of Dr. Cynthia Kudji

Continued here:

Mother-Daughter Duo Become First To Graduate From Medical School At The Same Time And Match At The Same Hospital - Because of Them We Can

Grad Profile: Med School valedictorian reflects on L.A. filmmaking past and a new future in medicine – Dal News

Posted on by

This article is part of a series focusing on the grads of the Dalhousie Class of 2020. Visit our Class of 2020 virtual space to share in the excitement with our newest graduates.

David Hung was sitting in Kanye Wests office when he learned he would be attending Dalhousie Medical School.

Born in Palo Alto, California, and raised in Halifax, David originally set his sights on becoming a skateboard video director. Armed with a camera at a young age, David and his friends started to make music videos, commercials, short films and even a feature film, in addition to medical education videos with his physician father.

I feel like in film theres these really fast-paced and high-stake environments, says David. That was where I thrived.

While working on filmmaking projects in Halifax, David completed a BA with Honours in Theatre at Dalhousie but decided to follow that need for high-stakes into a career as a paramedic.

Although working as a paramedic allowed him to follow his passion for a fast-paced environment, combined with his inherent interest in medicine filmmaking options in Halifax were limited.

David, and his friends Tyler and Jacob, made the incredible decision to move to Los Angeles to follow their filmmaking dreams. Over a span of two years, they made the right connections and began working with rap superstars such as Kanye West and Travis Scott, and celebrities like Kylie Jenner.

Tyler worked with Kanye West on tour, and then toured with Travis Scott, which eventually led to the Netflix original documentary, Look Mom I can Fly, which David worked on as an editor and cinematographer.

Even with this burgeoning success in the industry, the pull to practise medicine remained. So with the support of mentors such as Dr. Ron Stewart, who was supportive of Davids Arts career and passion for pre-hospital and emergency medicine, David finally decided to apply for medical school.

He was a huge inspiration for me to not only pursue this as a career but also to keep rooted in my creative outlets and mediums, says David.

Fast-forward to sitting in Kanye Wests office. At the time they were just finishing up work on the music video for the hit song Famous, but uncertain what the next job would be and where the next paycheque would come from.When I got that letter, it was a huge relief, says David. It was something that not only represented hard work and determination that everyone who applies puts in, but it represented stability which is something I think I was looking for at the time.

Four years later, and David is set to graduate from Dalhousie Medicine School as valedictorian of the Class of 2020 and preparing to start his residency in Emergency Medicine in Halifax.

Hes travelled the world learning what makes a strong leader and observed the collaboration it takes to make a hit record which is a nice correlation to working successfully in interprofessional teams.

While from the outside it seems that he has been chasing the thrill of filmmaking with stars, or the high-acuity world of emergency medicine, its been those closest to him that have kept him grounded and helped him survive medical school.

My wife-to-be, Meghan, was a huge part of my success. Being able to have a person to talk to, to go on adventures with and experience life together outside of the hospital was the key to my wellness, says David. Now we have a beautiful daughter, Violet, and spending time with her is all that matters.

More:

Grad Profile: Med School valedictorian reflects on L.A. filmmaking past and a new future in medicine - Dal News

Business Observer for the week of May 24 – Asheboro Courier Tribune

Posted on by

Achievements, Promotions and Recognition

Achievements

Southeastern Regional Medical Center Intensive Care Unit Registered Nurse Tess McNeill has been honored as Southeastern Healths 2020 Baker Nurse of Excellence.

Poyner Spruill LLP has announced partner Mike McIntyre has been selected as the 2020 Liberty Bell Award recipient by the Young Lawyers Division of the North Carolina Bar Association. Serving as director of the firms government relations practice, McIntyre represents governments on the local, state and national levels. He also focuses on business, real estate, agribusiness, energy and environmental law, along with military, sports and entertainment law. Before joining the firm, McIntyre held the position of Congressman of North Carolinas Seventh Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 until 2015.

Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly Jr. was among 45 superintendents from across North Carolina to graduate from the NCSSA Next Generation Superintendent Development Program Cohort VII.

Appointments

Former state representative and longtime attorney Ron Sutton has been appointed to the Board of Trustees at UNC Pembroke. Sutton was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2011 and previously served on the UNCP Foundation Board. Sutton served as a Democratic member of the N.C. General Assembly representing District 47, which includes Robeson and Hoke counties, from 1993 to 2011.

Strictly Business: A roundup of business and retail news right to your inbox.

In Business

Kampgrounds of America, located at 465 Kenric Road in Lumberton, off I-95 exit 17, has re-opened for RV travelers as COVID-19 restrictions are eased. The office and bathrooms will remain temporarily closed as a precautionary measure due to the pandemic. Only curbside check-in is available during office hours.

On the Job

Alan Zhu, M.D., has joined Southeastern Healths Southeastern Cardiology and Cardiovascular Clinic and Southeastern Health Heart and Vascular, providing general cardiology and electrophysiology. Dr. Zhu earned his medical degree from Tongji Medical University, in China. He earned a master of science degree in biometry from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He competed a fellowship in cardiology at Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, California, and an electrophysiology fellowship at University of Minnesota. He is a fellow of the America College of Cardiology.

Southeastern Healths The Surgery Center at Southeastern Health Park has reopened for surgeries on Mondays and Wednesdays. Visitors will be limited and patients will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms and given a mask before entering the surgical facility. Employees of the center will also be screened before being allowed to report to work.

Dr. Toby A. Travis has joined The Village Christian Academy as the superintendent over PS-12. His previous school roles include teacher, coordinator, principal, academic director and head of school, serving in both Christian and international school settings.

Read this article:

Business Observer for the week of May 24 - Asheboro Courier Tribune

Answering the Call: Med school grads plan to practice in the Valley – Brownsville Herald

Posted on by

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley recently graduated its first class of students from the School of Medicine. Those graduates entered the program when it opened in 2016 and many plan to stay in the Rio Grande Valley for residencies or will return to practice. Graduates spoke of their community ties and a desire to address the needs of underserved border residents who face unique social and cultural challenges requiring physicians to work collaboratively with patients.

Training doctors locally is essential in addressing the needs of underserved South Texas communities and has been the driving force behind a decades-long push to bring a medical school to the RGV, explained Dr. Leonel Vela, the School of Medicines Senior Associate Dean for Educational and Academic Affairs.

If we look at the number of physicians per 100,000 population nationally, we have roughly half of that ratio. Compared to the State of Texas, we have about a third of that ratio. Texas already ranks in the lower 10 out of the 50 states in terms of the number of doctors per 100,000 population. It gives you a perspective of the significant need there is here, he said.

UTRGVs med school was generations in the making and a major impetus of that push was to address the significant shortage of doctors locally. Vela came in as the founding dean at the Harlingen Regional Academic Center in 2000. Students from the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio would do clinical rotations until legislation was passed calling for the establishment of the medical school under UTRGV.

The programs pre-development brought expanded residency programs to students including internal medicine, psychiatry, family medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and even fellowships in cardiology, gastroenterology, hospice, and sports medicine.

Nationally, what we see is that physicians are almost three times as likely to stay in the area where they go to medical school and train. When you develop that locally, it becomes a nexus for attracting more physicians, more research. Weve seen interest in medicine expand locally. Now, for students in our public schools, its a dream they can achieve. For my generation, the only option was to leave the Valley, said Vela.

As for the students, graduates spoke enthusiastically about the benefits their training brings to South Texas. Ramiro Tovar, 26, grew up in the Valley and is pursuing family medicine because it allows him to get to know his patients on a personal level, enabling treatment thats responsive, effective, and sensitive to cultural practices and values. His mother wanted to be a doctor growing up and didnt get the chance, though interest in medicine was solidified only when an aunt he was close with had a burst aneurysm.

They told her the prognosis was terrible, but neurosurgeons stepped up with a surgery that could save her. She got another 16 years of life. She got to see her daughter married, her son grow up. As a physician you can walk in one moment and change an entire persons life, he said.

Another graduate, Daniella Concha, 27, will leave the area to complete a residency in NYC focused on internal medicine. After, she hopes to do a fellowship in cardiology. She echoed Tovars respect for RGV communities and in particular her home town of Donna.

There are so many hardworking people I encounter here who face so many limitations regarding access to healthcare and understanding their conditions. Ive seen my own family members struggle to understand whats going on with them because of the language barrier, she shared.

While there are many Spanish-speaking physicians here, many do not speak Spanish. I want to help these people understand whats going on with their bodies, how its happening, what the consequences of not following up with your doctor are.

Concha emphasized the power of community ties and cultural insight in making her a responsive physician.

I grew up in this culture. My mom once cracked an egg on my head and said, This is going to cure your stomach ache. A lot of the patients here practice folk medicine. Being able to incorporate both the patients beliefs and their culture with management thats within the literature of what evidence-based medicine is that is going to help a lot of people here and I want to be a part of that.

Other students opted to stay in the Valley not only to address healthcare access, but also to remain close to family. Joseph Garza, 26, is graduating into a residency at DHR Health in Edinburg and has a young daughter with his fianc, which only strengthened his resolve to practice locally.

Working in medicine, going through school, seeing hospitals I saw the health disparities. There are complicated patients here with hypertension and diabetes but not a lot of resources for a large community. I understand the culture here. I speak Spanish. Patients want a doctor that understands them and I feel like Im able to do that for my patients when I start seeing them in July, said Garza.

Graduate Ye Ji Choi, 27, grew up in Mission and will be joining Garza at DHR Health while training in obstetrics and gynecology. She said her four years at UTRGV were challenging and exciting as the program represented uncharted territory.

You gain a lot of experience and become aware of and exposed to the culture locally. You can hone in on and adapt to the needs of the community. Things like the language itself, body language, cultural implications. Being able to provide these services is crucial said Choi.

Some members of the graduating class completed their undergraduate degrees through UTRGVs BMED Scholar Program. The programs director, Dr. Hugo Rodriguez, noted that Tovar was also member of the first BMED graduating class in 2016, likely influencing his decision to stay. We did a lot of activities outside of the classroom community service, clinical experience, and professional development, said Rodriguez.

His philosophy has been to motivate students to push through their work, to be honest with themselves, and to have the will to learn from mistakes while embracing the journey as something joyful.

You chose a pathway and you need to be reading every day of your life. The field of medicine is constantly evolving. We need to plant that seed in the students from day one and nurture that seed, he said.

Students are encouraged by faculty to engage with the needs of the Valley. That might mean coming back to practice and it might not, but even those graduates who have chosen residencies cited a desire to return to practice. Veronica Trevino is one of them. She recalled realizing she wanted to be a pediatrician at three years old when she asked her parents about the work of her own doctor. Being born and raised in the Valley, this is a huge, huge deal for me, she said.

Trevino is from McAllen and is leaving to the closest place she possibly can while still practicing pediatrics Driscoll Childrens Hospital in Corpus Christi.

When babies get really sick, when kids get really sick, we send them to Driscoll. It has exceeded the capacity at which we can take care of them here. They have satellite clinics all over the Valley and we get to rotate at all of them, she added.

Trevinos education in medicine exposed her to the Valleys underserved colonias and the lack of basic infrastructure like running water and unpaved roads, which she referenced as an integral driver of her desire to practice locally. Her appreciation for medicine truly began at 11, however, when her dad suffered a heart attack and had open heart surgery. She said of the experience, As my dads daughter, that surgeon didnt do anything to me directly, but he completely changed my life because he gave me my dad back.

She thanked the community for welcoming the graduates with open arms and giving them the respect they needed to learn and thrive. It has been a really meaningful experience, said Trevino.

Her classmate and fellow graduate Shuemara Kates Ondoy, 25, will complete a residency in internal medicine at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, her first choice placement. Ondoy has been a Valley resident since high school when her family settled here after relocating from the Philippines.

There were plenty of times during the last four years where you wonder, Am I going to make it? Do I have what it takes? said Ondoy of her graduation.

There was a stigma growing up in the Valley like the education you get down here is sub-par, which is why a lot of people want to leave after high school. That wasnt my experience in this program. I felt I could get the same education right here that I can get anywhere else. Its intrinsically important to have a medical school here in the Valley. As a student, youre putting the RGV on the map. Were giving the native people an opportunity to pursue that higher education so they dont have to leave.

Ondoy thanked the universitys faculty and staff for the programs success.

There were a lot of growing pains, being the first class. The passion and the dedication of our faculty and staff made the journey worthwhile. We would not be here without them; its their achievement just as much as ours.

esheridan@brownsvilleherald.com

Read this article:

Answering the Call: Med school grads plan to practice in the Valley - Brownsville Herald

Chicago family holds backyard graduation for their medical student daughter and her friend – FOX 32 Chicago

Posted on by

Chicago family holds backyard graduation for their medical student daughter and her friend

A Morgan Park family is making sure their daughter and her friend get the ceremony they deserve for completing medical school.

CHICAGO - In the era of coronavirus, typical graduations have become non-existent.

So, one Morgan Park family is making sure their daughter and her friend getthe ceremony they deserve for completing medical school.

The front yard of Lindsay Howards home says it all. There is a banner and balloons, because she and her medical school roommate are both graduating virtually.

Lindsays family is making sure it is a moment they will never forget.

Ive been waiting for this moment for 24 years, Lindsay said.

Since she was 5-years-old, Lindsay dreamed of becoming a doctor. But graduating from the Medical College of Wisconsin during the coronavirus crisis was not quite what she expected.

I was really kind of bummed out when everything got canceled, Lindsay said.

That is when her family stepped in.

We had to find a way to still make it very special for her, Lindsays brother Larry said.

So, they turned on the music, got dressed up, put up some decorations, and held the momentous Hooding Ceremony from Lindsays backyard.

The Hooding Ceremony is just one aspect of them moving towards being conferred as a doctor, said Lindsays mother Gail.

During their socially distant celebration, family joined virtually from afar.

The Howards also honored Lindsays roommate, Brandy Norman, who is from Las Vegas and could not celebrate with her own family.

Its been amazing. A lot of med-school I wouldnt have gotten through without them, Brandy said.

Even a photographer was present to capture the unique milestone on camera.

I couldnt be more proud, brother Larry said.

Lindsay and Brandys virtual graduation ceremony will be held Friday.

Originally posted here:

Chicago family holds backyard graduation for their medical student daughter and her friend - FOX 32 Chicago

Cryptocurrency Definition

Posted on by

What Is a Cryptocurrency?

A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. Many cryptocurrencies are decentralized networks based on blockchain technologya distributed ledger enforced by a disparate network of computers. A defining feature of cryptocurrencies is that they are generally not issued by any central authority, rendering them theoretically immune to government interference or manipulation.

Cryptocurrencies are systems that allow for the secure payments online which are denominated in terms of virtual "tokens," which are represented by ledger entries internal to the system. "Crypto" refers to the various encryption algorithms and cryptographic techniques that safeguard these entries, such as elliptical curve encryption, public-private key pairs, and hashing functions.

The first blockchain-based cryptocurrency was Bitcoin, which still remains the most popular and most valuable. Today, there are thousands of alternate cryptocurrencies with various functions and specifications. Some of these are clones or forks of Bitcoin, while others are new currencies that were built from scratch.

Bitcoin was launched in 2009 by an individual or group known by the pseudonym "Satoshi Nakamoto." As of Nov. 2019, there were over 18 million bitcoins in circulation with a total market value of around $146 billion.

Some of the competing cryptocurrencies spawned by Bitcoins success, known as "altcoins," include Litecoin, Peercoin, and Namecoin, as well as Ethereum, Cardano, and EOS. Today, the aggregate value of all the cryptocurrencies in existence is around $214 billionBitcoin currently represents more than 68% of the total value.

Some of the cryptography used in cryptocurrency today was originally developed for military applications. At one point, the government wanted to put controls on cryptography similar to the legal restrictions on weapons, but the right for civilians to use cryptography was secured on grounds of freedom of speech.

Central to the appeal and functionality of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is blockchain technology, which is used to keep an online ledger of all the transactions that have ever been conducted, thus providing a data structure for this ledger that is quite secure and is shared and agreed upon by the entire network of individual node, or computer maintaining a copy of the ledger. Every new block generated must be verified by each node before being confirmed, making it almost impossible to forge transaction histories.

Many experts see blockchain technology as having serious potential for uses like online voting and crowdfunding, and major financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase (JPM) see the potential to lower transaction costs by streamlining payment processing. However, because cryptocurrencies are virtual and are not stored on a central database, a digital cryptocurrency balance can be wiped out by the loss or destruction of a hard drive if a backup copy of the private key does not exist. At the same time, there is no central authority, government, or corporation that has access to your funds or your personal information.

Cryptocurrencies hold the promise of making it easier to transfer funds directly between two parties, without the need for a trusted third party like a bank or credit card company. These transfers are instead secured by the use of public keys and private keys and different forms of incentive systems, like Proof of Work or Proof of Stake.

In modern cryptocurrency systems, a user's "wallet," or account address, has a public key, while the private key is known only to the owner and is used to sign transactions. Fund transfers are completed with minimal processing fees, allowing users to avoid the steep fees charged by banks and financial institutions for wire transfers.

The semi-anonymous nature of cryptocurrency transactions makes them well-suited for a host of illegal activities, such as money laundering and tax evasion. However, cryptocurrency advocates often highly value their anonymity, citing benefits of privacy like protection for whistleblowers or activists living under repressive governments. Some cryptocurrencies are more private than others.

Bitcoin, for instance, is a relatively poor choice for conducting illegal business online, since the forensic analysis of the Bitcoin blockchain has helped authorities to arrest and prosecute criminals. More privacy-oriented coins do exist, however, such as Dash, Monero, or ZCash, which are far more difficult to trace.

Since market prices for cryptocurrencies are based on supply and demand, the rate at which a cryptocurrency can be exchanged for another currency can fluctuate widely, since the design of many cryptocurrencies ensures a high degree of scarcity.

Bitcoin has experienced some rapid surges and collapses in value, climbing as high as $19,000 per Bitcoin in Dec. of 2017 before dropping to around $7,000 in the following months. Cryptocurrencies are thus considered by some economists to be a short-lived fad or speculative bubble.

There is concern that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are not rooted in any material goods. Some research, however, has identified that the cost of producing a Bitcoin, which requires an increasingly large amount of energy, is directly related to its market price.

Cryptocurrency blockchains are highly secure, but other aspects of a cryptocurrency ecosystem, including exchanges and wallets, are not immune to the threat of hacking. In Bitcoin's 10-year history, several online exchanges have been the subject of hacking and theft, sometimes with millions of dollars worth of "coins" stolen.

Nonetheless, many observers see potential advantages in cryptocurrencies, like the possibility of preserving value against inflation and facilitating exchange while being more easy to transport and divide than precious metals and existing outside the influence of central banks and governments.

View original post here:

Cryptocurrency Definition

As Bitcoin Struggles, This Tiny Cryptocurrency Has Soared A Massive 230% – Forbes

Posted on by

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency watchers are nervously waiting for bitcoin to make another move after a sudden sell-off this week.

The bitcoin price, the main driver of the cryptocurrency market, had been more-or-less trading sideways after rallying hard through April.

Now, one small cryptocurrency that isn't even in the top 30 most valuable tokens has suddenly soaredclimbing a staggering 230% over the last month.

Many bitcoin and crypto analysts are worried the bitcoin price could be heading lower before it ... [+] rallies again--but some small cryptocurrencies, such as omiseGO, have outperformed the wider market.

OmiseGO, an ethereum token that powers a smart contract platform and trades as OMG, was sent sharply higher after San Francisco-based bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase revealed it would list the token.

"The good ol' Coinbase listing pump is back," Larry Cermak, director of research at bitcoin and crypto news and analysis outlet The Block, said via Twitter, pointing to OmiseGO's sharp rally since "it was announced that it's listing on Coinbase."

OmiseGO's smart contract platform, based in Bangkok, is designed to facilitate the movement of funds between traditional payment systems and decentralized blockchains like ethereum.

The omiseGO price began climbing earlier this month after Coinbase, the largest U.S. bitcoin and crypto exchange, said it would allow Coinbase Pro users to make inbound OmiseGo transfers.

OmiseGO, which has a market value of just $257 million compared to bitcoin's $170 billion, jumped again this week after Coinbase said it would fully list the minor cryptocurrency everywhere but in New York State.

"Coinbase customers can now buy, sell, convert, send, receive, or store OMG," Coinbase said in a blog post on Thursday announcing the listing.

The OMG price is still heavily down on its all-time high of almost $30 per token set in late 2017 as bitcoin and cryptocurrency mania was sweeping the globe.

The omiseGo price has soared by 234% in just a month as investors cheer its new Coinbase listing.

The likes of bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies have also failed to return to their all-time highs, with the bitcoin price now trading around half its December 2017 high.

Some smaller cryptocurrencies, such as chainlink and tezos, have rallied hard in recent months, however, pushed higher by demand for decentralized finance platforms.

Meanwhile, the broader bitcoin and cryptocurrency market is closely-watching for price swings after bitcoin went through a supply squeeze earlier this month.

The number of bitcoin rewarded to those that maintain the bitcoin network, called miners, was cut by half, dropping from 12.5 bitcoin to 6.25 on May 11.

Some had warned the bitcoin price could crash in the aftermath of the third halving but most analysts seem confident the bitcoin price will climb eventually.

Here is the original post:

As Bitcoin Struggles, This Tiny Cryptocurrency Has Soared A Massive 230% - Forbes