Bookmarks 2026-01-02T21:08:41.201Z
by Owen Kibel
41 min read
Bookmarks for 2026-01-02T21:08:41.201Z
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Astronomers Spent Years Watching a Planet, Then It Vanished Without a Trace
Added: Jan 2, 2026Astronomers Spent Years Watching a Planet, Then It Vanished Without a Trace
Site: The Daily Galaxy - Great Discoveries Channel
A distant planet was hiding a violent secret, Hubble just exposed it.
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This Mysterious Shark Has Lived Since 1627, Whatâs Hiding in Its DNA Stunned Researchers
Added: Jan 2, 2026
This Mysterious Shark Has Lived Since 1627, Whatâs Hiding in Its DNA Stunned Researchers
Site: The Daily Galaxy - Great Discoveries Channel
Despite its elusive nature, the species attracted global attention after a 2016 study suggested it could live for four centuries
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Scott Adams Shares Grim Cancer Prognosis on Livestream / X Added: Jan 2, 2026
Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Trump Says He Wants 'Nice, Thin Blood' Running Through His Heart | National Review Added: Jan 2, 2026
Trump Says He Wants 'Nice, Thin Blood' Running Through His Heart | National Review
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Attacking Iran is key to Netanyahu remaining in power Added: Jan 2, 2026
Attacking Iran is key to Netanyahu remaining in power
Site: The Hill
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Trump earlier this week, they differed over the next stage of the Gaza ceasefire. But both men did agree to launch a second attack âŚ
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Trump earlier this week, they differed over the next stage of the Gaza ceasefire. But both men did agree to launch a second attack on Iran, should Tehran continue to rearm and reconstitute its nuclear weapons program. Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkianâs assertion that his country was at war with Israel, the U.S. and Europe lent credence to Netanyahuâs urgent desire for another attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. Netanyahu has always advertised himself as uniquely capable of providing for his countryâs security. The Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel certainly undermined that assertion. Netanyahuâs strategy of permitting Qatar to fund Hamas facilitated the terrorist attack. But Netanyahu has refused to take any responsibility for the October attack. There can be little doubt that, in order to restore his credibility as the unequalled protector of Israelâs security, he is pursuing more urgently than ever his long -term goal of waging war with Iran and dragging the U.S. into that war. Israelâs October elections, rather than Iranian rhetoric or actual progress in reconstituting its nuclear weapons program, are arguably the real source of Netanyahuâs sense of urgency. Current polls indicate that if an election were held this week, Netanyahu would be unable to form a new government. Most polls project that his Likud party would garner only 25 seats, roughly eight-to-ten fewer than he would need to form another governing coalition with the ultra-Orthodox and extreme right-wing parties. Once out of office, he would face the prospect of conviction in his corruption trials, unless President Isaac Herzog accedes to Trumpâs request that he preemptively pardon the prime minister. Herzog has not indicated if and when he would pardon Netanyahu; doing so prior to conviction would be unprecedented in Israelâs 75-year history. Until now, the key to Netanyahuâs electoral success has been his willingness to accommodate the extreme wishes of his potential coalition partners â especially the two major ultra-Orthodox parties. These parties have continually sought increased funding for their institutions â notably their religious schools. They demand that their elementary and secondary schools be permitted to pursue curricula that minimize secular studies. They seek funding to support day care for families of the students, and they insist on exemptions for yeshiva students from Army service. Until now, Netanyahu repeatedly has satisfied all four demands. Of all the ultra-Orthodox demands, the draft exemption has become the most controversial, due to the militaryâs personnel shortfall resulting from the wars with Hamas and Hezbollah. The original intention was to exempt about 400 students from service to pursue advanced religious studies. But with tens of thousands taking advantage, the Israeli Supreme Court invalidated the exemptions in 2024 and ordered the military to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men. Spurred on by their religious leaders, virtually all of those who are draft-eligible have refused to register, and the ultra-Orthodox parties have demanded that Netanyahu shepherd a new exemption law through the Knesset. A large majority of Israelis, notably families of those serving in the military, and even members of Netanyahuâs Likud Knesset faction, bitterly oppose another draft exemption law. The prime minister finds himself in a potential no-win situation. If he fails to deliver on a new bill, the ultra-Orthodox could join the opposition and bring down his government. They would likely do the same if he were to push for its passage but lose the votes of his fellow party members. Should the government fall over the draft issue, Netanyahuâs Likud might not obtain sufficient seats in the ensuing election to form another coalition government. Thus far, Netanyahu has promised the two ultra-Orthodox parties a new exemption law, while not pressing especially hard to enact one. He knows that the parties will hesitate to overthrow him as long as polls show the opposition garnering enough seats to form a new government, because they will never obtain what they seek from a new centrist and mostly secular government. Netanyahu also knows that in the volatile Middle East, much can happen during the next ten months to improve his electoral prospects. And for that reason, if he can delay action on a draft bill while obtaining American support for a new attack on Iran, he may yet find a way to stay in the office he has held for longer than any of his predecessors. Dov S. Zakheim is a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and vice chairman of the board for the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He was undersecretary of Defense (comptroller) and chief financial officer for the Department of Defense from 2001 to 2004 and a deputy undersecretary of Defense from 1985 to 1987.
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Astronomers detect rare 'free floating' exoplanet 10,000 light-years from Earth | Space Added: Jan 2, 2026
Astronomers detect rare 'free floating' exoplanet 10,000 light-years from Earth
Site: Space
"Our discovery offers further evidence that the galaxy may be teeming with rogue planets."
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Hubble Glimpses Galactic Gas Making a Getaway - NASA
Added: Jan 2, 2026Hubble Glimpses Galactic Gas Making a Getaway - NASA
Site: NASA
A sideways spiral galaxy shines in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. Located about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo
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Zohran Mamdaniâs âWarmth of Collectivismâ and the Cold Realities of New York City | National Review
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This Startup Plans to Mine the Moon by 2029 And Theyâre Not Alone
Added: Jan 2, 2026
This Startup Plans to Mine the Moon by 2029 And Theyâre Not Alone
Site: The Daily Galaxy - Great Discoveries Channel
Space powers are racing to mine the moon, before the rules are even written.
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Grenell says âWickedâ composerâs Kennedy Center cancellation âtotally bogusâ
Site: The Hill
Kennedy Center interim President Richard Grenell dismissed reports Friday that âWickedâ composer Stephen Schwartz canceled his upcoming performances at the venue, saying he had never siâŚ
Kennedy Center interim President Richard Grenell dismissed reports Friday that "Wicked" composer Stephen Schwartz canceled his upcoming performances at the venue, saying he had never signed a deal to perform under the new leadership. "The Stephen Schwartz reports are totally bogus," Grenell wrote on the social platform X. "Shame on the woke high school reporters repeating it. He was never signed and Iâve never had a single conversation on him since arriving. He himself said last February he hadnât heard anything on it. People are literally plagiarizing a fake @RollingStone story." However, the Washington National Opera had previously promoted a one-night gala featuring Schwartz on May 16, though the webpage for that event no longer mentions the composer. Newsday first reported that Schwartz was backing out of the performances, citing an email from the composer's assistant saying the center "no longer represents the apolitical place for free artistic expression it was founded to be," adding, "Thereâs no way I would set foot in it now." Rolling Stone and other outlets cited the Newsday story in their own reporting. In the statement to Newsday, Schwartz said Washington National Opera artistic director Francesca Zambello invited him to be part of the event, but added, "I've heard nothing about it since February 2025, so I have assumed it's no longer happening." "I can't imagine Francesca continuing under the current circumstances. If it is happening, of course I will not be part of it." Grenell was appointed as the center's interim leader in mid-February. Zambello is still listed as the opera's artistic director on the Kennedy Center's website. Roma Daravi, the center's vice president of public relations, told The Hill that Schwartz "was never discussed nor confirmed and never had a contract by current Trump Kennedy Center leadership." Daravi did not respond to a question about whether the composer agreed to appear under the previous leadership. Several acts backed out following Trump's initial takeover of the Kennedy Center, and a second wave has canceled shows following the center's board voting to rename it "The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" last month. Jazz singer Chuck Redd, who hosted the center's holiday âJazz Jamsâ on Christmas Eve since 2006, canceled last month's performance after he saw the name change. New York jazz group The Cookers canceled their New Year's Eve shows, country singer Kristy Lee canceled her Jan. 14 shows, and New York dance company Doug Varone and Dancers canceled its two performances in April. All cited differences with the institution following the name change. Grenell said Monday that the artists who canceled their shows were âbooked by the previous far left leadership.â "Their actions prove that the previous team was more concerned about booking far left political activists rather than artists willing to perform for everyone regardless of their political beliefs,â he wrote on X. âBoycotting the Arts to show you support the Arts is a form of derangement syndrome. The arts are for everyone and the left is mad about it." Board members, all selected by President Trump after he said in March that the center would be revamped, voted to change the buildingâs name. Shortly after, signage outside the building was added to reflect the name change. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called the renaming "illegal," noting "legislative action" is required to change the center's name. Congress voted to name the center after former President Kennedy in 1964 as a "living memorial" after Kennedy's assassination the prior year. Kennedy family members also slammed the name change. Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.), grandson of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, said the center "can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says." âThree years and one month from today, Iâm going to grab a pickax and pull those letters off that building, but Iâm going to need help holding the ladder,â Kerry Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy's daughter, posted on X on Dec. 19. âAre you in? Applying for my carpenterâs card today, so itâll be a union job!!!â
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Trump vowed to protect Iranian protesters: Here's why they're demonstrating Added: Jan 2, 2026
What to know about the protests in Iran as Trump escalates threats
Site: Axios
"We are locked and loaded and ready to go," Trump said.
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10 Old Fashioned Habits We Need To Bring Back in 2026 (Frugal Living) - New Trader U
Added: Jan 2, 202610 Old Fashioned Habits We Need To Bring Back in 2026 (Frugal Living) - New Trader U
Site: New Trader U
As prices rise and life feels faster, the most astute individuals are quietly moving backward. We're living in an age of inflation fatigue, burnout,
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Leading Jewish groups blast Mamdani's revocation of antisemitism definition | The Times of Israel
Added: Jan 2, 2026Leading Jewish groups blast Mamdaniâs revocation of antisemitism definition
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Petition unlikely to faze CEO amid Bari Weiss saga: ex-CBS journo | Fox News Added: Jan 2, 2026
Petition unlikely to faze CEO amid Bari Weiss saga: ex-CBS journo | Fox News
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Israeli tech billionaire urges Americans to 'limit the First Amendment' | New York Post Added: Jan 2, 2026
Israeli tech billionaire Shlomo Kramer urges Americans to âlimit the First Amendment,â sparks outrage
Site: New York Post
âI know itâs difficult to hear, but itâs time to limit the First Amendment in order to protect it,â Shlomo Kramer said during the interview.
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Megyn Kelly declares CBS News, legacy media âdeadâ as Bari Weiss feud escalates
Site: New York Post
âNothing will happen at CBS,â Megyn Kelly wrote on X, responding to a post about incoming CBS âEvening Newsâ anchor Tony Dokoupil.
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Toccata, Un poco largo, Allegro in D Major - YouTube Music Added: Jan 2, 2026
Toccata, Un poco largo, Allegro in D Major - YouTube Music
Site: YouTube Music
Provided to YouTube by ATMA Classique Toccata, Un poco largo, Allegro in D Major ¡ Alexander Weimann Alessandro Scarlatti: Complete Keyboard Works, Vol. 2 ...
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Release v5.3.0 ¡ pinokiocomputer/pinokio
Added: Jan 2, 2026Release v5.3.0 ¡ pinokiocomputer/pinokio
Site: GitHub
Checkpoint
Save exact install state and recover later.
A checkpoint is a tiny JSON of exact commit hashes and install paths for all installed modules for a project, so you can later restore exact...
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GitHub - BazedFrog/SongGeneration-Studio: Clean, polished interface for Tencentâs SongGeneration. Create songs from text prompts or reference audio, with batch processing and smart model selection. Minimum Requirement: 10GB of VRAM
Site: GitHub
Clean, polished interface for Tencentâs SongGeneration. Create songs from text prompts or reference audio, with batch processing and smart model selection. Minimum Requirement: 10GB of VRAM - Bazed...
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Space Rings in the New Year With the Champagne Cluster Added: Jan 2, 2026
Space Rings in the New Year With the Champagne Cluster
Site: SciTechDaily
A bubbly-looking galaxy smashup called the Champagne Cluster offers a rare glimpse into cosmic collisionsâand the hidden behavior of dark matter.
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As Mamdani rises in New York, San Francisco turns away from the left - POLITICO Added: Jan 2, 2026
As Mamdani rises in New York, San Francisco turns away from the left
Site: POLITICO
In San Francisco, progressives are looking east with envy.
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Polar Vortex 2026 Update: New Stratospheric Warming Detected, Winter Shift Likely in January Âť Severe Weather Europe
Added: Jan 2, 2026Polar Vortex 2026 Update: New Stratospheric Warming Detected, Winter Shift Likely in January
Site: Severe Weather Europe
Is a major winter shift coming for the U.S. and Europe? New model data shows a Polar Vortex disruption is coming in January, following a Stratospheric Warming event
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Incredible discovery that may have settled the 'life on Mars' debate - Earth.com Added: Jan 2, 2026
NASA announces incredible discovery that may have settled the 'life on Mars' debate
Site: Earth.com
NASAâs Mars rover finds organic signals in mudstone that resemble microbial activity, sparking new debate over life on the Red Planet.
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Controversial Ancestor Found to Have Done Something Eerily Human : ScienceAlert
Added: Jan 2, 2026Controversial Ancestor Found to Have Done Something Eerily Human
Site: ScienceAlert
A controversial hominid that lived 7 million years ago may have walked on two legs after all, according to a new analysis of its fossilized bones.
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How Trump is making life affordable again Added: Jan 2, 2026
How Trump is making life affordable again
Site: The Hill
Deregulation, tax cuts, cutting of unnecessary public workers and taxpayer-funded programs, and deportations are all steps in the right direction.
The damage of four years of inflation-inducing Biden-era policies cannot be understated. In a recent Fox News poll, 76 percent of Americans view current national economic conditions negatively. But although there is certainly much to be done to reverse the last administrationâs harmful agenda â including its overregulation, increased government spending, and inflationary stimulus â the federal government today is working hard to bring affordability back. Since his inauguration 11 months ago, President Trump has implemented a variety of supply- and demand-side policies intended to reduce costs and revitalize the American Dream. Deregulation, tax cuts, cutting of unnecessary public workers and taxpayer-funded programs, and deportations are all steps in the right direction. Deregulation is a necessary long-term stimulant of domestic growth that the Biden administration ignored. Increased regulations in environment, health, and energy agencies under Biden came with more than $1.8 trillion in costs overall, with nearly three-quarters of that attributed to the Environmental Protection Agency. A complicated regulatory framework increases compliance costs for producers, misallocates business resources, stifles growth, and leads to higher prices for Americans. Regulations are effectively hidden costs on consumers, as it is difficult to measure how much of the price of a good can be attributed to regulatory burden. But surely, prudent deregulation eliminates unnecessary costs. President Trump has made headway in reducing overregulation in the energy sector, which is vital since energy affects everything we do and buy â including gas to fuel our cars, electricity to power our homes and the very machinery that produces and delivers consumer goods. Deregulatory savings made by the White House, so far, across all sectors may be as high as $907 billion, which translates to more than $10,600 for a family of four. Although deregulation is prudent policy, it can take months or years to implement. Price reductions experienced by consumers take even longer to be felt. In the meantime, Trump has also worked to boost household budgets directly through tax cuts and public sector savings. The July 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act built upon and extended the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, preventing a massive tax hike that would have occurred if the latter had been allowed to expire. Important tax changes include depreciation expensing, lower tax brackets, increased standard deductions and the elimination of taxes on tips and overtime. These provisions aim to boost the take-home pay for Americans and grow the economy by incentivizing work, investment, and business activity. Lowering the tax burden allows people and businesses to keep more of their hard-earned money, thereby allowing Americans to enjoy a higher standard of living. For example, 4.1 percent wage growth in August and September outpaced inflation, which fell to 2.7 percent in November. Americans' paychecks are finally going further than they did under Biden, meaning they could buy more groceries in the supermarket or more gas at the pump and still have leftover income for presents. Cutting unnecessary federal programs and employees actively reduces taxpayers' burden, eliminates bureaucracy and waste, and forces Washington down a path of fiscal responsibility. Government spending makes life less affordable, so as federal government expenditures shrink, so does inflation. It is basic economics that in order to reduce prices, supply must be increased or demand reduced. Trumpâs supply-side solutions â deregulation, tax cuts, and axed federal spending â are long-term efforts that will lower the cost-of-living for citizens. Other priorities for must include rolling back tariffs on basic necessities and other targeted consumer goods coupled with increasing domestic productive capacity, both of which will reduce prices and help the economy outgrow deficits. On the demand side, the deportation of lawbreaking non-citizens plays a vital role. Deporting illegal aliens who should not be in the country to begin with will effectively reduce demand for housing and taxpayer-funded federal government programs. Making housing financially accessible is a primary concern for Americans, particularly the younger generation. Deregulation paired with deportations of those living off our welfare state can help lower the price of dwellings and keep the American Dream of homeownership alive. Americans are rightfully concerned about affordability, but Trump is actively taking steps to reduce costs for Americans. His efforts to deregulate, cut taxes, reduce the size of the public sector, and deport illegal aliens are necessary measures to bring prices down â but there is certainly a long way to go. All these positive changes will be felt in the years to come, so Americans must trust in free-market and fiscally conservative solutions to deliver long-term affordability. And thatâs not to say that the short-term is unimportant, as people have bills that need to be paid today. Reversing four years of Keynesian Biden-era policies is certainly a challenge, considering much of the resulting inflation is, unfortunately, baked into the economy. But Washingtonâs economic policies are actively working to reduce prices where possible and enhance the standard of living for all Americans. Nicole Huyer is a Senior Research Associate in The Heritage Foundationâs Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies.
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Man fought off a mountain lion weeks before a suspected fatal Colorado attack
Site: The Hill
A solo hiker who authorities believe was killed by a mountain lion on a remote Colorado trail on New Yearâs Day was not the first person to encounter one of the predators in the area in recenâŚ
A solo hiker who authorities believe was killed by a mountain lion on a remote Colorado trail on New Year's Day was not the first person to encounter one of the predators in the area in recent weeks. Gary Messina said he was running along the same trail on a dark November morning when his headlamp caught the gleam of two eyes in the nearby brush. Messina used his phone to snap a quick photo before a mountain lion rushed him. Messina said he threw the phone at the animal, kicked dirt and yelled as the lion kept trying to circle behind him. After a couple of harrowing minutes he broke a bat-sized stick off a downed log, hit the lion in the head with it and it ran off, he said. The woman whose body was found Thursday on the same Crosier Mountain trail had âwounds consistent with a mountain lion attack,â said Kara Van Hoose with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. An autopsy is scheduled for next week, said Rafael Moreno with the Larimer County Coroner's Office. Wildlife officials late Thursday tracked down and killed two mountain lions in the area â one at the scene and another nearby. A necropsy will help determine if either or both of those animals attacked the woman and whether they had neurological diseases such as rabies or avian flu. A search for a third mountain lion reported in the area was ongoing Friday, Van Hoose said. Nearby trails remained closed while the hunt continued. Van Hoose said circumstances would dictate whether that lion is also killed. Based on the aggressiveness of the animal that attacked him on Nov. 11, Messina suspects it could be the same one that killed the woman on New Yearâs Day. âI had to fight it off because it was basically trying to maul me,â Messina told The Associated Press. âI was scared for my life and I wasnât able to escape. I tried backing up and it would try to lunge at me.â The 32-year-old man from nearby Glen Haven, Colorado, reported his encounter to wildlife officials days later who posted signs to warn people about the animal along trails in the Crosier Mountain area northeast of Estes Park, Van Hoose said. The signs were later removed, she said. Mountain lion sightings in that area east of Rocky Mountain National Park are common, Van Hoose said, because it offers good habitat for the animals: Itâs remote with thick forests, rocky outcroppings and lots of elevation changes. Yet attacks on humans by the animals are rare, and the last suspected fatal encounter in Colorado was in 1999, when a 3-year-old boy disappeared in the wilderness and his tattered clothes were found more than three years later. In 1997, a 10-year-old boy was killed by a lion and dragged away while hiking with family members in Rocky Mountain National Park. Two hikers on Thursday saw the victim's body on the trail at around noon from about 100 yards (meters) away, Van Hoose said. A mountain lion was nearby and they threw rocks to scare it away. One of the hikers, a physician, attended to the victim but did not find a pulse, Van Hoose said. The victim will be publicly identified following the autopsy by the coroner, who is also expected to provide a cause of death. Mountain lions â also known as cougars, pumas or catamounts â can weigh 130 pounds (60 kilograms) and grow to more than 6 feet (1.8 meters) long. They primarily eat deer. Colorado has an estimated 3,800 to 4,400 of the animals, which are classified as a big game species in the state and can be hunted. Thursday's killing would be the fourth fatal mountain lion attack in North America over the past decade, and the 30th since 1868, according to information from the California-based Mountain Lion Foundation. Not all of those deaths have been confirmed as mountain lion attacks. Most attacks occur during the day and when humans are active in lion territories, indicating the animals are not seeking out the victims, according to the advocacy group. About 15% of attacks are fatal. âAs more people live, work, and recreate in areas that overlap wildlife habitat, interactions can increase, not because mountain lions are becoming more aggressive, but because overlap is growing,â said Byron Weckworth, chief conservation officer for the foundation. To reduce the risk travel in groups, keep children close and avoid dawn and dusk when lions are most active, Weckworth said. During an encounter, maintain eye contact with the lion, make yourself appear larger and back away slowly; don't run, he said. Last year in Northern California, two brothers were stalked and attacked by a lion that they tried to fight off. One of the brothers was killed.
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How the politics of Mamdaniâs parents, both longtime BDS supporters, shaped NYCâs new mayor | The Times of Israel
Added: Jan 2, 2026How the politics of Mamdaniâs parents, both longtime BDS supporters, shaped NYCâs new mayor | The Times of Israel
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I removed Samsungâs âunremovableâ apps and my phone flies now
Added: Jan 2, 2026I removed Samsungâs âunremovableâ apps and my phone flies now
Site: MUO
I did not root my phone, I just took out the trash.
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A Bizarre Seven-Hour Gamma-Ray Explosion From Deep Space Has Left Astronomers Puzzled Added: Jan 2, 2026
A Bizarre Seven-Hour Gamma-Ray Explosion From Deep Space Has Left Astronomers Puzzled
Site: SciTechDaily
A record-breaking cosmic explosion has forced astronomers to rethink what they know about gamma-ray bursts.
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Quote of the day by George Orwell: 'The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection' - The Economic Times Added: Jan 2, 2026
Quote of the day by George Orwell: 'The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection' - The Economic Times
George Orwell's timeless quote challenges the pursuit of perfection, highlighting that true humanity lies in embracing flaws, loyalty, and emotional vulnerability. His words resonate today, pushing back against self-optimisation by reminding us that life's inevitable defeats are the price of deep connection and love. Read on!
We grow up chasing perfection: perfect careers, perfect relationships, perfect versions of ourselves. That is why a decades-old line by George Orwell suddenly feels startlingly modern. In one sweeping thought, Orwell dismantles the idea of flawlessness and reminds us that being human is messy, uncomfortable, and deeply emotional. His words donât offer comfort; they offer truth, and that is what makes them timeless.George Orwell's quote and its meaningGeorge Orwell, widely regarded as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, shaped how generations understand power, freedom, and humanity. Best known for Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell also wrote powerful non-fiction works such as Down and Out in Paris and London, The Road to Wigan Pier, and Homage to Catalonia. Across fiction and reportage, he remained deeply concerned with how systems strip people of dignity, and what it truly means to remain human within them.126287228 One of his most enduring reflections captures that idea with striking honesty: The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection, that one is sometimes willing to commit sins for the sake of loyalty. That one is prepared in the end to be defeated and broken up by life, which is the inevitable price of fastening one's love upon other human individuals. How it is relevant today?At its core, the quote rejects the obsession with moral purity and emotional control. Orwell suggests that striving for perfection is not just unrealistic, it is inhuman. To love deeply means risking pain. To stay loyal sometimes means making mistakes. To live fully means accepting that life will eventually defeat us in some way. That defeat, Orwell argues, is not a failure but the cost of caring.The idea echoes strongly with the Japanese philosophy of kintsugi, the art of repairing broken pottery with gold. Instead of hiding cracks, kintsugi highlights them, treating damage as part of the objectâs history and beauty. Similarly, Orwellâs words urge us to embrace imperfection rather than erase it. Growth, vulnerability, and change are not weaknesses, they are proof of being alive.126283457 Orwellâs understanding of human fragility was shaped by his own life. Born Eric Arthur Blair on June 25, 1903, in eastern India, he was the son of a British colonial civil servant. Educated in England, he later joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, then a British colony. The experience left him deeply uncomfortable with authority and control. He resigned in 1927, choosing the uncertainty of writing over the security of empire.According to a BBC report, Orwell moved to Paris in 1928, where financial struggle forced him into exhausting, low-paying jobs. These years of hardship became the foundation of Down and Out in Paris and London, published in 1933. Shortly before its release, he adopted the pen name George Orwell.126319237 The quote feels especially relevant today. We live in a time that promotes constant self-optimisation, be better, do more, fix yourself. Orwellâs words push back against that pressure. They remind us that humanity does not lie in control or flawlessness, but in connection, loyalty, and emotional risk. Totalitarian systems, which Orwell fiercely criticised, demand perfection and obedience. Human life, in contrast, is chaotic and unfinished.Orwell wasnât celebrating defeat, he was acknowledging reality.
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Quote of the day by Nikola Tesla: why Nikola Tesla still defines modern life: Quote of the day by Nikola Tesla: âA man is born to work, to suffer and to fight; he who doesn't, must perish.â â How Teslaâs wireless energy breakthrough reshaped the modern world - The Economic Times
Quote of the day by Nikola Tesla: âA man is born to work, to suffer and to fight; he who doesn't, must perish.â â Nikola Tesla is one of the most influential scientists in modern history, yet also one of the most misunderstood. Born in the 19th century, his ideas power the 21st. Every time a city lights up, an electric motor spins, or wireless signals move invisibly through space, Teslaâs fingerprints are present. His famous quote about work, suffering, and struggle was not philosophical posturing. It was a summary of his own life.From his arrival in the United States with only four cents in his pocket to his development of the alternating current (AC) system, Teslaâs journey reflects a relentless pursuit of progress.Tesla believed progress demanded sacrifice. He lived that belief fully. He arrived in the United States in 1884 with almost no money, limited English, and radical ideas that challenged industrial giants. Within a decade, his work on alternating current electricity reshaped global power systems. By the end of his life, he died alone and broke, while his inventions generated trillions of dollars in economic value worldwide.The rivalry between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison was not just a personal feud; it was a battle for the future of global infrastructure. Edison was heavily invested in Direct Current (DC), which was inefficient for long-distance transmission. Tesla, however, championed Alternating Current (AC). He knew that by using transformers to step up voltage, power could be sent across hundreds of miles with minimal loss. Edison launched a smear campaign against AC, attempting to convince the public that it was too dangerous for domestic use. Despite this corporate sabotage, Tesla found an ally in George Westinghouse.The turning point came at the 1893 Worldâs Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Westinghouse and Tesla won the contract to light the fair, outbidding Edison. When Tesla flipped the switch, the world witnessed a dazzling display of thousands of lights, proving that AC was the superior system for a modernizing world. Shortly after, Tesla achieved his lifelong dream by harnessing the power of Niagara Falls. In 1896, the first large-scale hydroelectric plant began sending power to Buffalo, New York. This feat effectively ended the War of Currents and established the AC grid as the global standard. However, Teslaâs victory was bittersweet. To save Westinghouse from bankruptcy, Tesla tore up his royalty contract, voluntarily forfeiting billions of dollars in future earnings.Unlike many inventors, Tesla was not driven by wealth. He was driven by function, efficiency, and human advancement. His thinking anticipated wireless communication, renewable energy, robotics, and remote control long before these became mainstream. Today, Tesla is increasingly recognized not just as an inventor, but as a systems thinker who changed how energy moves across the planet. His life story is a case study in genius, resilience, and the long delay between innovation and recognition.Nikola Teslaâs childhood and early geniusNikola Tesla was born in 1856 in Smiljan, then part of the Austrian Empire, now in modern-day Croatia. His birth reportedly coincided with a powerful lightning storm, a detail often noted because electricity would later define his lifeâs work. His mother, Djuka Tesla, was not formally educated but designed mechanical tools and household devices. Tesla often credited her with shaping his inventive mind.As a child, Tesla showed extraordinary cognitive abilities. He possessed an eidetic memory and could mentally construct complex machines without drawings. He later described seeing vivid flashes of light and detailed mental images, which he learned to control and use for invention. This ability allowed him to test ideas entirely in his mind before building them.Tesla studied engineering at the Graz University of Technology. His academic life was intense. He often worked nearly 20 hours a day. This extreme discipline came at a cost. He suffered a nervous breakdown in his early twenties, accompanied by sensory overload and physical exhaustion. Despite these struggles, it was during this period that he conceived the rotating magnetic field, the core principle behind the alternating current motor.By the early 1880s, Tesla realized Europe lacked the industrial support for his ideas. He set his sights on the United States, believing it was the only place where large-scale electrical innovation could survive.The war of currents and the rise of alternating currentThe War of Currents was not simply a business rivalry. It was a decisive battle over how the industrial world would be powered. In the late 1880s and early 1890s, two electrical systems competed for dominance: Direct Current (DC) and Alternating Current (AC). This struggle determined whether electricity would remain a limited luxury for dense cities or become a universal force that could reach factories, farms, and homes across entire regions. The outcome shaped modern infrastructure, global industry, and daily life in ways that still define the 21st century.At the center of the conflict stood Thomas Edison, champion of Direct Current, against Nikola Tesla, supported by industrialist George Westinghouse. Edisonâs DC system delivered electricity in a single direction and worked well over short distances, initially lighting parts of New York City. But DC had a fatal flaw. It could not be efficiently converted to higher voltages, meaning power could travel only about a mile before weakening. This required power stations every few blocks and thick copper wires, making DC expensive, inefficient, and impractical for national expansion.Tesla saw electricity differently. He believed power should move in a continuous back-and-forth wave. His Alternating Current system allowed voltage to be stepped up using transformers, sent across long distances through thin, inexpensive wires, and then stepped down for safe use in homes and businesses. This single insight changed everything. With AC, one power plant could supply electricity across entire regions, not just neighborhoods. The technical advantage was overwhelming, but the fight was far from over.As AC installations spread, Edison responded with an aggressive propaganda campaign. He publicly portrayed AC as dangerous, staging animal electrocutions to frighten the public and secretly backing the development of the electric chair powered by AC to associate the system with death. He even pushed lawmakers to cap AC voltage levels, hoping to cripple its ability to transmit power over distance. Despite these tactics, AC proved its superiority through results, not rhetoric. The turning points came when AC lit the 1893 Worldâs Columbian Exposition in Chicago and when Teslaâs system successfully transmitted hydroelectric power from Niagara Falls to Buffalo in 1896, a feat that stunned the world.The victory of AC defined the modern age. It made electricity cheap, scalable, and universal, enabling mass industrialization, household appliances, global communication, and eventually the digital world. Yet the triumph came at a personal cost. Tesla, loyal to Westinghouse, tore up a royalty contract that could have made him one of the richest men in history, sacrificing his fortune to save the AC system itself. His ideas powered the future, but he did not profit from it. The War of Currents ended with AC winning the worldâand with its greatest architect paying the highest price.Wireless energy, radio, and the fall of Wardenclyffe TowerAfter reshaping global power systems, Tesla turned to wireless technology. In the 1890s, he demonstrated radio-controlled boats, wireless signal transmission, and high-frequency electrical experiments. Years before radio became commercial, Tesla held patents covering key radio components, including tuning circuits and signal transmission methods.In 1899, Tesla built a research facility in Colorado Springs. There, he generated artificial lightning, studied atmospheric electricity, and claimed to transmit electrical energy without wires. These experiments formed the basis of his most ambitious idea: a global wireless energy and communication system.To realize this vision, Tesla began building the Wardenclyffe Tower on Long Island. Backed initially by financier J.P. Morgan, the tower was designed to transmit voice, data, and potentially electrical power across the Atlantic. Teslaâs long-term goal was free, wireless energy for all.Funding collapsed when Morgan realized the system could not be monetized easily. Around the same time, Guglielmo Marconi achieved a transatlantic radio transmission using technologies later shown to rely on Teslaâs earlier patents. Wardenclyffe was never completed. The tower was dismantled in 1917.This failure marked a turning point. Teslaâs reputation faded. He continued to invent, filing patents on turbines, propulsion systems, and energy weapons, but public and financial support dwindled.Nikola Teslaâs legacy, influence, and most powerful quotesNikola Tesla died in 1943 at age 86 in a New York hotel room. He left no fortune, but his intellectual legacy is immense. The modern electrical grid, electric motors, radio, wireless communication, robotics, and renewable energy systems all trace back to his work. In 1960, the international unit of magnetic flux density was officially named the âteslaâ in his honor.Teslaâs writings reveal a deep philosophical outlook. He believed science should serve humanity, not markets. One of his most cited statements remains, âIf you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.â This idea aligns closely with modern physics, including quantum mechanics and electromagnetic theory.Another enduring quote reflects his isolation: âBe alone, that is the secret of invention.â Tesla never married and lived a highly disciplined, solitary life. He believed focus required sacrifice.Perhaps his most prophetic line was, âThe present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine.â More than a century later, as the world shifts toward electric vehicles, wireless charging, and sustainable energy, Teslaâs future has arrived. His life proves that true innovation often comes at a personal costâbut its impact can last forever.FAQs:Q: Why is Nikola Tesla considered one of the most important scientists in modern history?A: Nikola Tesla developed the alternating current (AC) system, adopted globally by the late 1890s. His work enabled long-distance electricity transmission at lower cost. AC power still supplies more than 90% of the worldâs electrical grids. His patents shaped motors, transformers, and radio technology.Q: Why did Nikola Tesla die poor despite inventions worth trillions today?A: Tesla gave up patent royalties in the 1890s to keep AC systems viable. He prioritized innovation over profit. Major projects like Wardenclyffe lost funding after 1901. He lacked sustained commercial backing. Tesla died in 1943 with limited assets, despite global reliance on his work.
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