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Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Why He's "The Boss"

 

Driven by Curiosity: The Lanny Smoot Story

An excerpt from AfroTech - 

Lanny Smoot Becomes The Second Person From Disney, Since Walt Disney Himself, To Get Inducted Into The National Inventors Hall Of Fame

By Ashley Turner

Smoot is making history as the first Disney Imagineer to receive this honor. He’s also only the second Walt Disney Company employee since Walt Disney to earn the recognition.

During Smoot’s 45-year career, he has been a theatrical technology creator, inventor, electrical engineer, scientist, and researcher. The innovator has amassed a collection of over 100 patents, 74 of them created during his 25-year stint at the Walt Disney Company.

Before working at Disney, Smoot was talented.

After graduating with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Columbia University, Smoot developed multiple innovations, such as video-on-demand technology, video conferencing, and specialized television for remote locations, to name a few.

Smoot has been integral in creating some of the most technically advanced special effects at Disney theme parks and experiences. Some examples of these special effects include Madame Leota’s floating in the Séance Room at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, Disney Live Entertainment’s extendable lightsaber, the Magic Playfloor interactive game experience on the Disney Cruise Line, and the Fortress Explorations adventure at Tokyo DisneySea.






Sunday, January 14, 2024

 

A Classy Dude

An excerpt from the Whiskey Riff - 

Derrick Henry Thanked The Kitchen Staff, Security And Cleaning Staff By Name After His Last Game With The Tennessee Titans

By Aaron Ryan

It’s been said a million times that you should treat the cleaning staff the same way you treat the CEO. And NFL superstar Derrick Henry lives by that philosophy.

Henry has been one of the best running backs in the league for years now, since being selected by the Tennessee Titans in the 2016 NFL Draft. He’s a four-time Pro Bowl selection, led the NFL in rushing in 2019, and in 2020 was selected as the AP Offensive Player of the Year after becoming just the eighth player in history to rush for over 2,000 yards.

But despite all of the accolades and accomplishments, Henry has managed to stay humble.

It’s likely that yesterday’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars is Henry’s last game in Nashville. And after the game, he took a moment to address the fans and thank them for their support over the past 8 years:



https://www.whiskeyriff.com/2024/01/08/derrick-henry-thanked-the-kitchen-staff-security-and-cleaning-staff-by-name-after-his-last-game-with-the-tennessee-titans/ 

Friday, January 12, 2024

Regina Hall's Acceptance Speech


Saturday, December 16, 2023

FLYING ETIQUETTE - AN ESSENTIAL READ!

An excerpt from the Washington Post - 

The 52 Definitive Rules of Flying 

The Handbook of Behaving Like a Civilized Person, From Airport Arrival to Landing

By Natalie Compton and Andrea Sachs

Etiquette is more important than ever these days. For most of this year, more than 2 million people have been streaming through security checkpoints each day, according to the Transportation Security Administration. One ill-placed limb on the arm rest or acrid hard-boiled egg can sour the air travel experience for many.

To help you become a model passenger, we compiled 52 rules that cover every step in the flying process, from arriving at the airport to exiting the aircraft. To reinforce these tenets, we inserted several pop quizzes. Ace these tests and adopt these behaviors and you will earn your wings — angel’s, not pilot’s.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/interactive/2023/flying-airport-etiquette/

This is Faye - PLEASE READ AND SHARE FAR AND WIDE.

Monday, December 4, 2023

How Deep Is Your Love Cover By Bee Gees



That’s What Friends Are For Cover By @DionneWarwickOfficial


Inmates Can Now Make Free Phone Calls in Five States

An excerpt from CNN.com 

Making phone calls from prison is now free in Massachusetts

By Zoe Sottile, CNN

Inmates at Massachusetts correctional facilities can now
make an unlimited number of calls cost-free.
WichienTep/iStockphoto/Getty Images


Massachusetts has now become the fifth state in the US to allow inmates to make phone calls for free, thanks to a new bill signed into law by Governor Maura Healey.

The new law went into effect on Friday and includes all 14 correctional facilities in the state, according to a news release from the Massachusetts Department of Correction.

The change will “provide equitable access to sustained communication between incarcerated individuals and their loved ones,” says the news release.

There is no limit to the number of calls each inmate can make, according to the release.

“The Massachusetts Department of Correction recognizes the importance of incarcerated individuals maintaining bonds with their loved ones,” said the Department of Correction commissioner Carol Mici in the release. “No cost calls will alleviate the financial burden and remove barriers for an individual in MA DOC custody to stay connected with their outside support system. Strong family support helps to advance the rehabilitative process, reduces recidivism, and contributes to successful reentry upon release.”

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/03/us/massachusetts-prison-call-free-trnd/index.html

Whoever invented this game should be given a Nobel


Sunday, December 3, 2023

TSA Canine Calendar

An excerpt from the Washington Post - 

Meet the hard-working dogs of TSA’s 2024 canine calendar

You can get your paws on one this second because it’s free to download

By Natalie B. Compton

Zita, a German shorthaired pointer,
works at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. (TSA photo)

The Transportation Security Administration has just released the perfect antidote to this week’s capitalistic overload of holiday sale mania: a 2024 calendar of very good dogs with airport jobs. And it’s free.

Travel better with news, tips and guides that make you feel like a local wherever you go. In your inbox, Thursdays.

The TSA Canine Calendar is an annual tradition celebrating the work of America’s explosives-detection dogs. More than 1,000 patrol our airports and 300 more are trained every year to sniff out explosive materials.

“We screen passengers, baggage, we do terminal searches, we even screen cargo,” said TSA canine handler Caitlyn Winn, who’s been working with her dog, Puk (featured in this year’s calendar for October), at the Boston Logan International Airport since 2019. Like all the dazzlers in the calendar, Puk lives at home with her handler and leads a pretty normal life. But at the office (or, airport) she goes from pet to professional.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2023/11/29/tsa-dog-calendar-2024/

The Billionaire Myth

An excerpt from the Washington Post - 

Opinion:  The billionaire myth takes a beating

By Jennifer Rubin 

New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin, left, and Elon Musk
at an event in New York on Wednesday. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Long before Donald Trump rode down the golden escalator or Elon Musk purchased Twitter (now X) or Sam Bankman-Fried built a crypto empire, Americans lionized billionaires.

“The idea of a self-made American billionaire is the super-sized version of all other self-made myths, and outlandish to the point of being at least mildly insulting,” BSchools.org, a blog about business schools, explained. “Individual achievement still deserves recognition. But these things don’t operate in a vacuum — and massive wealth is never solely attributable to the actions of a single person.”

But, as we have learned again and again this year, sometimes the self-appointed “genius” billionaire is simply a crank, a con man or a beneficiary of familial wealth and luck.

Never has the billionaire myth looked shakier. Trump, the four-times-indicted former president, is facing civil liability for exaggerating his wealth (built on inheritance) and property values. Bankman-Fried is facing a lengthy prison sentence for fraud. And Musk, who lost more than half of Twitter’s value, self-incinerated in a now-viral interview in which he crassly told off advertisers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/03/billionaire-myth-musk-trump/

Looking at 2023 in the Rearview Mirror

From CNN - 

2023: The Year in Pictures

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2023/specials/year-in-pictures/