Tidbits on February 27, 2020
Bob Jensen at Trinity University

Wes Lavin's Pictures of Golden Pond in the Wintertime
http://cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Lavin/2020-1/Set01.htm 

 

Tidbits on February 27, 2020
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Bob Jensen's Tidbits ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm

For earlier editions of Fraud Updates go to http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm
For earlier editions of New Bookmarks go to http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm 
Bookmarks for the World's Library --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm 

My Latest Web Document
Over 500 Examples of Critical Thinking and Illustrations of How to Mislead With Statistics --
-
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/MisleadWithStatistics.htm

Excellent, Cross-Disciplinary Overview of Scientific Reproducibility in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ---
https://replicationnetwork.com/2018/12/15/excellent-cross-disciplinary-overview-of-scientific-reproducibility-in-the-stanford-encyclopedia-of-philosophy/
[Researchers] are rewarded for being productive rather than being right, for building ever upward instead of checking the foundations.---
Decades of early research on the genetics of depression were built on nonexistent foundations. How did that happen?

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/05/waste-1000-studies/589684/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20191022&silverid-ref=NTk4MzY1OTg0MzY5S0
Bob Jensen:  My take on research validation or lack thereof is at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TheoryTAR.htm

Tom Lehrer on Mathematical Models and Statistics ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfZWyUXn3So
You must watch this to the ending to appreciate it.

Bob Jensen's past presentations and lectures --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/resume.htm#Presentations   

Bob Jensen's Threads --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm

Bob Jensen's Home Page is at http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/

More of Bob Jensen's Pictures and Stories
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm

Updates from WebMD --- Click Here

Google Scholar --- https://scholar.google.com/

Wikipedia --- https://www.wikipedia.org/

Bob Jensen's search helpers --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/searchh.htm

Bob Jensen's World Library --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm

Animated  Visualization of the United States’ Exploding Population Growth Over 200 Years (1790 – 2010) ---
A Visualization of the United States’ Exploding Population Growth Over 200 Years (1790 – 2010)

USA Debt Clock --- http://www.usdebtclock.org/ ubl

In September 2017 the USA National Debt exceeded $20 trillion for the first time ---
http://www.statedatalab.org/news/detail/national-debt-surpasses-20-trillion-for-the-first-time-in-us-history

Human Population Over Time on Earth ---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUwmA3Q0_OE 




Online Video, Slide Shows, and Audio

Video:  3D Printing is Changing the World ---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV8zPtqOyqg

Explore Ancient Athens 3D, a Digital Reconstruction of the Greek City-State at the Height of Its Influence ---
http://www.openculture.com/2020/02/explore-ancient-athens-3d-a-digital-reconstruction.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Watch the rare, awesome spectacle as Mercury passes between the Earth and Sun ---
https://aeon.co/videos/watch-the-rare-awesome-spectacle-as-mercury-passes-between-the-earth-and-sun?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=99bb474399-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_02_20_04_58&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_411a82e59d-99bb474399-68951505

Journey to the Microcosmos (video) ---
www.youtube.com/channel/UCBbnbBWJtwsf0jLGUwX5Q3g

The Sunset Hill House Hotel (near our cottage) ---
https://www.thesunsethillhouse.com/
Watch the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5cqUX0LcbU&t=9s


Free music downloads --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm
In the past I've provided links to various types of music and video available free on the Web. 
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm 

Music With a Message --- https://jborden.com/2020/02/17/music-monday-music-with-a-message/

Peanuts Rock: Watch the Peanuts Gang Play Classic Rock Songs by Queen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Journey & More ---
http://www.openculture.com/2020/02/peanuts-rock.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Harry Chapin on Writing, Performing, and Making a Fool of Yourself ---
https://jborden.com/2020/02/24/music-monday-harry-chapin-on-writing-performing-and-making-a-fool-of-yourself/

Bob Jensen's Links to Free Music
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Music.htm


Photographs and Art

1001 Inventions --- www.1001inventions.com

The Art of Documentary Photography: Dorothea Lange Reconsidered ---
https://time.com/longform/dorothea-lange-day-sleeper/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-brief&utm_content=20200224&xid=newsletter-brief

Caravaggio & Bernini (art history) ---
https://caravaggio-bernini.khm.at/en/

This $3.3 million yacht is powered by solar panels that allow it to cruise around forever (at very slow speed) without refueling ---
https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-powered-yacht-can-cruise-around-indefinitely-2020-2
It will go a lot faster when using its diesel power.

7-Eleven is testing cashierless stores to compete with Amazon Go — here's what the first one looks like inside ---
https://www.businessinsider.com/7-eleven-cashierless-store-test-tour-photos-2020-2

Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries ---
https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/search/objects/museum/science-museum/gallery/medicine:-the-wellcome-galleries

Photos of abandoned ski lifts and snowless slopes reveal the toll that rising temperatures are taking on winter resorts ---
https://www.businessinsider.com/ski-resorts-face-no-snow-empty-mountains-lost-customers-photos-2020-2

Old General Store Converted Into a Home ---
https://www.businessinsider.com/louisiana-couple-buys-general-store-turns-it-into-dream-home-renovation-photos

The City of Nashville Built a Full-Scale Replica of the Parthenon in 1897, and It’s Still Standing Today ---
http://www.openculture.com/2020/02/the-city-of-nashville-built-a-full-scale-replica-of-the-parthenon-in-1897-and-its-still-standing-today.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

What are the 5 least populous US states?
https://www.foxnews.com/us/5-least-populous-us-states

Beautiful Pictures of Vermont ---
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2020/02/vermont-photos/606586/
Not pictured are the high taxes at all income levels that lie beneath the surface.

Bob Jensen's threads on art history ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm#ArtHistory

Bob Jensen's threads on history, literature and art ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#History


Online Books, Poems, References, and Other Literature
In the past I've provided links to various types electronic literature available free on the Web. 
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm

Bob Jensen's threads on libraries --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm#---Libraries

Narratively --- https://narratively.com/

Bertrand Russell’s Prison Letters Are Now Digitized & Put Online (1918 – 1961) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2020/02/bertrand-russells-prison-letters-are-now-digitized-put-online-1918-1961.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Free Electronic Literature --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm
Free Online Textbooks, Videos, and Tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm#Textbooks
Free Tutorials in Various Disciplines --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#Tutorials
Edutainment and Learning Games --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/thetools.htm#Edutainment
Open Sharing Courses --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI




Now in Another Tidbits Document
Political Quotations on February 27, 2020
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/2020/TidbitsQuotations021220.htm             




People used to think the crowdsourced Wikipedia represented all that was wrong with the web. Now it's a beacon of so much that's right ---
https://www.wired.com/story/wikipedia-online-encyclopedia-best-place-internet/


Technology Aids for People With Disabilities ---
https://edubirdie.com/blog/technologies-for-people-with-disabilities

Bob Jensen's threads on technology aids for people with disabilibies ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/thetools.htm#Handicapped


This May Be the Cheapest Way to Quickly Reduce Homelessness:  Nearly 40% of Europeans in their late 20s still live at home ---
https://qz.com/1805520/nearly-40-percent-of-europeans-in-their-late-20s-still-live-at-home/

Jensen Comment
USA's Dems like to remind us that college education and job training are free in Europe. What they don't tell us is that education and training are funded by taxpayers for the top 35% of Tier 2 (think high school) graduates filtered by intellectual ability and not race or income. Unlike in the USA, European nations do not have capacity (think private and public universities) to educate Tier 2 graduates who are able to pay their own way, The USA has much more low-cost community college capacity for the masses who cannot afford or otherwise get into top USA universities ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#Tertiary

Most of the European training of Tier 2 graduates (nearly half of whom still live at home) takes place in Europe's private sector offering tedious on-the-job apprenticeships that do not pay very well relative to housing costs. Eventually these apprenticeships do pay off and people in the skilled trades finally do relatively well and trainees can at last get apartments in Europe.

The strong capitalist nations of Denmark, Finland, and Sweden have the least young adults living at home per capita --- mostly because of their relatively strong economies. Even these Nordic nations do not provide free education or training to the masses ---
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertiary_education

USA's progressives want free college for everybody irrespective of academic ability. Even USA dogs can get student loans and diplomas in some of our for-profit diploma mills. In fairness the Obama administration worked hard to eliminate diploma mill frauds, but President Trump and Betsy DeVos work even harder to perpetuate diploma mill frauds in higher education.

 


Ohio University's Radical Students Could Have Ignored Kaitlin Bennett. Instead, They Threw Liquids At Her.---
https://reason.com/2020/02/19/ohio-university-kaitlin-bennett-riot-free-speech/

Bob Jensen's threads on political correctness on campus ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies2.htm#PoliticalCorrectness


Credential Fraud:  Altered Grades, Manufactured Transcripts, and Store-Bought Diplomas ---
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3513634

As Enron and Bernie Madoff once showed us the depths that people will go to hide who they really are, there are many others out there who have created entire academic profiles... and even careers... under false pretenses. This is the story of only a few of them.

Bob Jensen's threads on cheating in academe ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Plagiarism.htm

Most Common Resume Lies (Forbes) --- http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml

From foolish fibs to full-on fraud, lying on your résumé is one of the most common ways that people stretch the truth. But think twice before you ship off your next half-baked job application. Even if your moral compass doesn't keep you from deceit, the fact that human resources is on to the game should.

The percentage of people who lie to potential employers is substantial, says Sunny Bates, CEO of New York-based executive recruitment firm Sunny Bates Associates. She estimates that 40% of all résumés aren't altogether aboveboard.

And this game of employment Russian roulette is getting riskier and riskier. Almost 40% of human resources professionals surveyed last year by the Society for Human Resource Management reported they've increased the amount of time they spend checking references over the past three years.

View a slide show of the most common résumé lies.

Truth of Fiction:  Top Resume Lies (Strategic HR Lawyer) --- http://www.strategichrlawyer.com/weblog/2006/07/truth_or_fictio.html 

Resume lies you can't get away with (CNN) --- http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/Careers/01/19/cb.lies/index.html

The 10 Most Memorable and Outrageous Resume Lies (DIGG) ---
http://digg.com/business_finance/The_10_Most_Memorable_and_Outrageous_Resume_Lies

Executive Lies About His MBA from the University of Southern California
Officials at the University of Southern California -- responding to an inquiry from the Journal -- told the company it had no record that Mr. Lanni had earned a master's degree in business administration from the school. A corporate biography of Mr. Lanni on MGM Mirage's Web site says he holds an MBA in finance from USC. Mr. Lanni is a longtime patron of USC, joining boards and speaking at the school over the years, Mr. Murren and others said. For example, he is currently a member of the Board of Overseers of USC's Keck School of Medicine. The university contacted MGM Mirage on Wednesday following the Journal's inquiries about a recent discovery by Barry Minkow, a private fraud investigator in San Diego, of a discrepancy between Mr. Lanni's corporate biography and a database of college degrees accessible to private investigators. (Please see related article.) Mr. Minkow said he has no investment position in MGM Mirage, but one of his employees has bought "put" options betting against the company's stock.
"MGM Mirage CEO to Resign Amid Questions About MBA," by Keith J. Winstein and Tamara Audi, The Wall Street Journal, The Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2008 --- http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB122661583489225999-lMyQjAxMDI4MjE2NDYxMTQ1Wj.html

Jensen Comment
An anonymous tip revealed that Lanni was a major fund raiser at one time for the USC School of Accountancy. Although Lanni has claimed on his resume that he has a BS in speech, it turns out that he does have a BS in Business (not from the USC School of Accountancy where he was a fund raiser).

In terms of wealth Lanni can still claim he gambled and won at the MGM Mirage in Las Vegas.

Bob Jensen's Fraud Updates ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm


PG&E’s Fire Victims Are Set to Become Its Biggest Shareholders ---
https://www.wsj.com/articles/pg-es-fire-victims-are-set-to-become-its-biggest-shareholders-11581592571?mod=djemCFO

Jensen Comment
Many victims would prefer cash, but how would bankrupt PG&E raise such billions in cash? Who wants to buy the transmission lines --- ownership of these carries with it the liability for future maintenance in a state that's hostile to grid power. Who wants to buy the generating plants --- these are of limited value in a state hostile to carbon fuel.  Sure you could force the sell off of maintenance trucks, but that would result in blackouts on the grid.  PG&E fire victims do not have many options for settlements.

How would you like the responsibility of valuing PG&E shares used to settle claims?

Out in La La Land the Governor will dream up ways to get taxpayers to pay those settlements.


How Much Are Most Colleges Paying in Endowment Tax?
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/02/18/wealthiest-universities-are-paying-big-endowment-tax-bills-how-much-are-others-who?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=d5b88a680c-DNU_2019_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-d5b88a680c-197565045&mc_cid=d5b88a680c&mc_eid=1e78f7c952


New study says student evaluations of teaching are still deeply flawed measures of teaching effectiveness, even when we assume they are unbiased and reliable ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/02/27/study-student-evaluations-teaching-are-deeply-flawed?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=8574bd3799-DNU_2019_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-8574bd3799-197565045&mc_cid=8574bd3799&mc_eid=1e78f7c952

. . .

And it assumes that SETs do not systematically discriminate against instructors on the basis of irrelevant criteria such as their gender, class size and type of course being taught.

Statement Against Student Evaluations for Promotion and Tenure Decisions (American Sociological Association) ---
https://www.asanet.org/sites/default/files/asa_statement_on_student_evaluations_of_teaching_sept52019.pdf

Jensen Comment
The good news is that teaching evaluations usually make teachers focus more on how to be better teachers. The bad news, as some major studies have shown, is that teaching evaluations bring enormous pressures to inflate grades ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/assess.htm#RateMyProfessor


CNBC:  Here’s how to reduce the taxes on your Social Security benefits ---
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/25/how-to-reduce-the-tax-you-might-have-to-pay-on-social-security-checks.html


Charitable Giving To Colleges Grew 6.1% In 2019 To All-Time High ($50 Billion) ---
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2020/02/charitable-giving-to-colleges-grew-61-in-2019-to-all-time-high-50-billion.html

Jensen Comment
Trump's revision of the tax code badly hurt charitable giving and giving to universities by alumni and others ---
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2019/06/18/charitable-giving-took-a-hit-due-to-tax-reform/#1012f167f6ff 

This begs to question about why charitable giving to colleges still grew to an all-time high in 2019? The article notes that some enormous gifts (outliers) skewed the outcome. But there are other positive factors such as a roaring stock market that enabled some donors to make gifts in spite of not receiving tax breaks.


Underemployed:  41% of Recent Grads Work in Jobs Not Requiring a Degree ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2020/02/18/41-recent-grads-work-jobs-not-requiring-degree?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=d5b88a680c-DNU_2019_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-d5b88a680c-197565045&mc_cid=d5b88a680c&mc_eid=1e78f7c952

Jensen Comment
This seems high when you think of all those who are in jobs requiring a degree (think nursing) but are not employed full time plus all those who are not employed at all while focusing on raising a young family.
This also seems high given the low unemployment rates in the present economy.
One issue is that some lower-level jobs (think working for Amazon) pay better and have more benefits (medical insurance, paying graduate school tuition, and unemployment insurance) relative to working in so-called "higher-level" jobs.
In a given a given discipline there may be jobs available that are not attractive because of location (think having to move to an expensive city) or having to live apart from a spouse. In accounting some of my graduates in San Antonio could not find local jobs in a Big 4 accounting firm when all sorts of openings were available in the Big 4 San Francisco offices). Try living on a starting accountancy wage in San Francisco.

The advantage of accounting was that even in a graduate could not get into a local Big 4 office in San Antonio there were usually other accounting jobs available in San Antonio if you scratched around hard enough. Those accounting jobs, however, usually did not provide the benefits of expensive formal training and student loan forgiveness provided by the Big 4.


Chronicle of Higher Education:  The Scientific Paper Is Outdated ---
https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Scientific-Paper-Is/248045

Contemporary science faces several interrelated crises. Competition for tenure-track jobs is getting stiffer every year, thanks to an ever-­increasing supply of talented, young Ph.D. students; not enough is being done to prepare doctoral students for jobs outside of academe; candidates for junior faculty positions must submit so many research papers that journals, editors, and reviewers can’t keep up; and too many published results aren’t reproducible. All of that is inseparable from the decline in mental health of graduate students, driven largely by feelings of loneliness and isolation.

To deal with those issues, we should look at the axis around which the whole academic enterprise spins — the publication process, specifically of papers, which are the gold standard of scientific productivity. We must unbind the sharing of scientific knowledge from the traditional journal format and explore radically creative new ways to communicate with our colleagues. Software is one obvious solution.

The reality is that the scientific paper is outdated. It first appeared in the 1600s with the rise of scientific journals, and its basic format — a static document with text, figures, and references — has not fundamentally evolved in the intervening centuries. That format was chosen because, given the technology of the time, it was the most efficient way to share scientific knowledge. In 2020, that is no longer the case.

Scientific discoveries are a mix of raw data and inferences made from that data. A major challenge is transforming the data into knowledge. As pointed out 30 years ago by the geologist Jon Claerbout and articulated by the researchers Jonathan B. Buckheit and David L. Donoho, "an article about computational science in a scientific publication is not the scholarship itself, it is merely advertising of the scholarship." They pointed out that computer code, or software, is the scholarship itself. It generates summaries and figures that our brains can digest.

That’s why, rather than maximizing their publication output, scientists should spend more time and effort on software development. This could mean contributing to existing open-source projects on which their research depends or developing new software related to their research. In both activities, it’s crucial to recognize that "software," as opposed to just "code," includes many additional components, such as documentation, examples, and tests, which provide rich context for the code itself.

For example, an oceanographer who develops a new way to analyze satellite data could share that knowledge with the community via a software package that includes not only the basic code to perform the calculation but also comprehensive online documentation about the theory and implementation; a gallery of examples, including real-world scientific analyses; and a test suite to verify correctness. That contribution would include all the information contained in a scientific paper, plus so much more. Packaging knowledge in this way renders it immediately usable and extensible by the entire scientific community.

Continued in article


What Led Concordia Portland to Close?
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/02/14/warning-signs-concordia-university-portlands-closure-which-now-stretches-across?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=fbec0b6ad6-DNU_2019_COPY_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-fbec0b6ad6-197565045&mc_cid=fbec0b6ad6&mc_eid=1e78f7c952

Jensen Comment
The causes and excuses are complicated, although the audited financial statements tell much of the story.


Neobank --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neobank

Varo Bank --- https://www.varomoney.com/

Varo has become the first neobank to win approval for FDIC insurance ---
https://www.businessinsider.com/varo-becomes-first-neobank-to-win-fdic-approval-2020-2

. . .

Varo's approach marks a notable departure from its competitors', all of which rely on a partner bank. US regulations require neobanks to choose between pursuing their own license — which only Varo has done — or partner with an incumbent bank, which would then take a cut of their profits. Walsh has previously expressed that he feels it's unsustainable to try to grow while operating under a sponsor bank. If more neobanks follow suit, it could eliminate the need for sponsor banks, a role largely played by community banks.

A license could position Varo for future success by enabling it to engage in more lucrative segments of retail banking, like personal loans and mortgages. Varo will now have the freedom to control its own deposits and use them to fund its loans. It could add these capabilities to its existing lineup of features like overdraft protection and early wage access.

The license will also give the neobank full access to its customers' data, whereas its competitors in the US, like Chime and N26, have to rely on partner banks. Walsh has said that a charter would enable Varo to make money from deposits and continue to offer its services for free, as well as give the neobank a number of cost advantages and allow it to compete with a breadth of products. 

It's important to note that, with a license, Varo will now have to dedicate more resources to regulatory compliance. This responsibility would have previously fallen to its sponsor bank: Half of banks surveyed by the Risk Management Association said they spent between 6% and 10% of their revenue on compliance costs in 2017. Despite the potential risks of incurring compliance and other regulatory-related costs, Varo is positioning itself for long-term sustainability by pursuing a banking license independent of a partner bank. 

The FDIC granting Varo approval suggests regulators might be shifting to accommodate digital startups. This is one of the few times the FDIC has given a fintech company the ability to provide insured deposits, which banks have strongly opposed in the past, per the Journal.

Continued in article


Censorship of History in Amazon Bookstores ---
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/09/technology/amazon-bookstore-nazis.html

Bob Jensen's threads on banned books ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm#Banned


SUNY Binghamton hopes to expand its national profile (beyond academics) with a new $60 million baseball stadium paid for by an anonymous donor ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/02/12/suny-binghamton-receives-largest-donation-its-history?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=c92dc26ee0-DNU_2019_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-c92dc26ee0-197565045&mc_cid=c92dc26ee0&mc_eid=1e78f7c952


Ponzi Scheme --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme

Rhode Island Property Developer Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for $10 Million Ponzi Scheme and Obstructing IRS Investigation ---
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/rhode-island-property-developer-sentenced-eight-years-prison-10-million-ponzi-scheme-and

Another Obama Solar Company Burns Out – DC Solar Owners Plead Guilty to Largest ($1 billion) Ponzi Scheme in Eastern California History ---
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/another-obama-solar-company-burns-out-dc-solar-owners-plead-guilty-to-largest-ponzi-scheme-in-eastern-california-history/

A couple pleaded guilty to scamming Warren Buffett as part of a $1 billion Ponzi scheme ---
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/couple-admit-scamming-warren-buffett-1-billion-ponzi-scheme-2020-1-1028844728

Bob Jensen's threads on Ponzi schemes ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudRottenPart2.htm#Ponzi


Love matters: How parents' love shapes children's lives ---
https://phys.org/news/2020-02-parents-children.html

Parents often put their own relationship on the back burner to concentrate on their children, but a new study shows that when spouses love each other, children stay in school longer and marry later in life.

Research about how the affection between parents shapes their children's long-term life outcomes is rare because the data demands are high. This study uses unique data from families in Nepal to provide new evidence. The study, co-authored by researchers at the University of Michigan and McGill University in Quebec, was published in the journal Demography.

"In this study, we saw that parents' emotional connection to each other affects child rearing so much that it shapes their children's future," said co-author and U-M Institute for Social Research researcher William Axinn. "The fact that we found these kinds of things in Nepal moves us step closer to evidence that these things are universal."

The study uses data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study in Nepal. The survey launched in 1995, and collected information from 151 neighborhoods in the Western Chitwan Valley. Married couples were interviewed simultaneously but separately, and were asked to assess the level of affection they had for their partner. The spouses answered "How much do you love your (husband/wife)? Very much, some, a little, or not at all?"

The researchers then followed the children of these parents for 12 years to document their education and marital behaviors. The researchers found that the children of parents who reported they loved each other either "some" or "very much" stayed in school longer and married later.

"Family isn't just another institution. It's not like a school or employer. It is this place where we also have emotions and feelings," said lead author Sarah Brauner-Otto, director of the Centre on Population Dynamics at McGill University. "Demonstrating and providing evidence that love, this emotional component of family, also has this long impact on children's lives is really important for understanding the depth of family influence on children."

Nepal provides an important backdrop to study how familial relationships shape children's lives, according to Axinn. Historically, in Nepal, parents arranged their children's marriage, and divorce was rare. Since the 1970s, that has been changing, with more couples marrying for love, and divorce still rare, but becoming more common.

Education has also become more widespread since the 1970s. In Nepal, children begin attending school at age 5, and complete secondary school after grade 10, when they can take an exam to earn their "School-Leaving Certificate." Fewer than 3% of ever-married women aged 15-49 had earned an SLC in 1996, while nearly a quarter of women earned an SLC in 2016. Thirty-one percent of men earned SLCs in 2011. By 2016, 36.8% of men had.

The researchers say that their next important question will be to identify why parental love impacts children in this way. The researchers speculate that when parents love each other, they tend to invest more in their children, leading to children remaining in education longer. The children's home environments may also be happier when parents report loving each other, so the children may be less likely to escape into their own marriages. Children may also view their parents as role models, and take longer to seek similar marriages.

These findings still stood after researchers considered other factors that shape a married couple's relationship and their children's transition to adulthood. These include caste-ethnicity; access to schools; whether the parents had an arranged marriage; the childbearing of the parents; and whether the parents had experience living outside their own families, possibly being influenced by Western ideas of education and courtship.

"The result that these measures of love have independent consequences is also important," Axinn said. "Love is not irrelevant; variations in parental love do have a consequence."

Continued in article

Jensen Comment
In addition having two-parent homes (think Finland) improves both learning and discipline in schools. Disaster commences when over half the families have only one parent in the home.


A 40-year-old California trucking company is shuttering as soaring insurance premiums and tumbling rates slam the industry ---
https://www.businessinsider.com/trucking-bloodbath-california-trucker-shutters-rodgers-trucking2020-2?r=rr

. . .

Rates in the spot market — in which trucking jobs are picked up on demand, rather than through a prearranged contract — are still slipping this year. January van spot rates were 4.4% lower than they were the previous January, according to DAT loadboard data. There still appears to be an overcapacity of trucks; DAT said the ratio of loads to truck was up nearly 20% year over year in January. 

Small carriers are seeing insurance-renewal rates as high as three times up from typical rates, according to Cowen's freight note.

The rise in insurance rates comes from an upswing in massive personal-injury lawsuits. Trucking companies across the board have been slapped with "nuclear verdicts" — sometimes resulting in companies having to pay out tens of millions of dollars after a jury finds a truck driver guilty in a wrongful-death suit. 

Several truckers that shuttered in 2019 often pointed to the increase of insurance rates. The Texas-based Fleetwood Transportation cited insurance costs when it closed in December after 63 years in business, FreightWaves reported. Some 240 truckers lost their jobs from the shuttering. 

"We had more carriers losing their authority in the fourth quarter than any other quarter (on record)," Avery Vise, the vice president of trucking at FTR, previously told Business Insider. "There's no reason to think that's going to stop on a dime."

Cowen's team agrees. "Bankruptcies were up significantly in 2019, a trend that appears to be continuing — if not accelerating — thus far this year," the freight note said.

These headwinds are afflicting truck manufacturers like Volvo, Paccar, and Daimler. Truck production in 2018 and 2019 reached highs not seen since 2005 and 2006.

Continued in article

Jensen Comment
Added to the problem for California trucking companies is the higher cost of operation for trucks and truck fuel ---
https://www.truckinginfo.com/141917/california-gears-up-for-stricter-diesel-truck-emissions-regulations
Californians say they support the nation's highest air quality standards, but the costs are borne by various local industries. For example, higher costs of exporting California products to other states (think fruits and vegetables competing with Mexico) makes California exports less price competitive, especially when combined with other cost factors such as higher minimum wages in California and exceptionally high insurance rates in lawyer-saturated California.

It will be decades before electric trucks become serious competition for diesel and gasoline trucks --- especially given the high cost of grid electricity in California following the bankruptcy of PG&E and projected shortages of battery-making  materials worldwide.


The trends that will transform the TV and digital video industries in 2020 ---
Business Insider Newsletter:  TV and Video Trends to Watch

The TV industry analysts at eMarketer have put together the 2020 TV and Video Trends report, which lists out eight bold predictions for the year ahead:

1. More Fractured Viewership Will Make It Harder to More Reach Viewers

2. 'Bundled' Cable Packages User Growth Will Slow

3. TV Advertising Will Continue to Decline... After 2020

4. Connected TV Viewership Will Ad Buyers to Scale

5. Video Ads Will Account For Almost 50% of US Programmatic Spending

6. Facebook's Social Video Ad Market Share Will Decrease

7. Ad-Free Viewing Will Give Rise to Product Placement

8. Tracking Universal Video Metrics will Remain Difficult

Jensen Comment
Interestingly in the 20th Century we had newspaper advertising on the decline due to radio and ten television.

In the 21st Century we will have radio and TV advertising on the decline due to Internet alternatives such as the social media that are increasingly vulnerable to fake news.

The biggest loss is the process is newspaper investigative reporting when advertising paid for much of the local discovery and reporting in virtually all towns and cities of the USA.

It's hard to get local news (think school board and city council meetings) if somebody does not report and analyze this news at its source. Think of all the crime discovered and documented by aggressive newspaper reporters for the Detroit Free Press, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, etc

In the 21st Century who will pay for reporters muck raking on the streets?


The Power of Poetry ---
https://jborden.com/2020/02/14/the-power-of-poetry/

Jensen Comment

I live less than two miles from one of Robert Frost's homes that is now a Robert Frost Museum and home of a summer workshop of aspiring poets. Robert Frost is a highly respected poet who mastered the skill of poetic metre ---
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metre_(poetry)
He would not have much respect for post-modern poets who display zero skill in writing poems in poetry metre.

Writing poetry today is like modern art --- where a banana peel duck taped to a wall in an art museum was recently acclaimed as great art.

I really enjoy reading the poems of Robert Frost and the Frost Summer Workshop poets who make writing a truly skilled craft.

Robert Frost Museum Down the Road from Our Cottage ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/FrostMuseum/FrostMuseum01.htm


Open access journals get a boost from librarians—much to Elsevier’s dismay
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/02/how-librarians-keep-for-profit-scientific-journals-from-squeezing-their-budgets/


Auburn University is investigating "widespread cheating" at its pharmacy school:  Details not yet available ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2020/02/17/cheating-investigation-auburn?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=6204d3cea0-DNU_2019_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-6204d3cea0-197565045&mc_cid=6204d3cea0&mc_eid=1e78f7c952
Also see
https://www.al.com/news/anniston-gadsden/2020/02/cheating-investigation-underway-at-auburns-pharmacy-school.html

Bob Jensen's threads on plagiarism and other forms of cheating ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Plagiarism.htm


A former historian at Columbia University who resigned last year in the wake of a  involving his award-winning book on North Korea has lost a 2005 paper for misusing his sources ---
https://retractionwatch.com/2020/02/20/disgraced-korea-scholar-formerly-of-columbia-loses-paper-for-plagiarism/
The plagiarism scandal ---
https://retractionwatch.com/2017/07/05/historian-returns-prize-high-profile-book-70-corrections/

The Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) today retracted a paper it published last year claiming that vaping was linked to heart attacks ---
https://retractionwatch.com/2020/02/18/journal-retracts-hotly-contested-paper-on-vaping-and-heart-attacks/

Bob Jensen's threads on professors who cheat ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Plagiarism.htm#ProfessorsWhoFabricate


Boy Scouts Go Bankrupt Amid Sex Abuse Suits ---
https://www.ozy.com/presidential-daily-brief/pdb-279588/legal-fees-279591/ 


Chatbots --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatbot

Chatbots 101 ---
https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/chatbots-101?IR=T&itm_source=businessinsider&itm_medium=content_marketing&itm_campaign=content_marketing_leadgen_link&itm_content=leadgen_teaser&itm_term=leadgen_teaser-chatbots-101-report-business-insider#!/

Jensen Comment
I think chatbot technology is perhaps the most important learning technology ever.
Here's a good place (not free) to start learning about their use in education ---
http://results.chronicle.com/AIChatbotsHE18  

When I was still teaching (now I'm retired) I made over 100 Camtasia short videos to teach technical modules in my courses. If I were still teaching my next move would be to develop chatbots.
Bob Jensen

Case studies on how three insurers are using chatbots to boost customer acquisition, slash claims processing times, and increase staff productivity ---
https://www.businessinsider.com/chatbots-insurance-playbook

MIT:  Google says its new chatbot Meena is the best in the world ---
https://www.technologyreview.com/f/615118/google-says-its-new-chatbot-meena-is-the-best-in-the-world/

Bob Jensen's threads on chatbots ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/thetools.htm#Chatbots


I will do the same for the young women that I do for the young men. I shall take pleasure in giving gratuitous instruction to any person whom I find competent to receive it. I give no elementary instruction, but only in the higher mathematics.
Benjamin Peirce to Arthur V. Gilman, president of Harvard, February 18, 1879
http://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Peirce_B_O.html


The Long History of the Hand-Washing Gender Gap ---
https://slate.com/technology/2020/02/women-hand-washing-more-than-men-why-coronavirus.html


State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction --- https://smartasset.com/taxes/trumps-plan-to-eliminate-the-state-and-local-tax-deduction-explained

How Not to Mislead With Statistics

We Don’t Know If The SALT Cap Is Driving Away Residents Of High-Tax States ---
https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/we-dont-know-if-salt-cap-driving-away-residents-high-tax-states

Jensen Comment
This is a classic problem of correlation versus causation and the article avoids some of the pitfalls of misleading statistics.
It's also a problem with anecdotal evidence in surveys. People who move to another state and are also angry with the SALT cap may report that SALT is the reason for moving when in fact it is only one of many reasons for moving. The decision to move out of state is usually a complicated multivariate decision.

The title of the above article is honest about being unable to report that the SALT Cap is the leading reason that a majority of people are leaving the high tax (blue) states. There are instances where it is a leading reason, but most likely there are also many more reasons that are more important to the final decision to move. It's long been known, before the SALT Cap that retirees who move out of state choose lower tax states like Florida, Texas, Washington, and New Hampshire.  But there's also a weather factor and a living cost factor. Erika and I chose to retire in Hampshire rather than Maine because of both lower NH taxes and lower real estate prices when comparing NH mountains with Maine shoreline. But other factors made us want move from Texas, especially the heat and humidity and nearness to some of our widely-dispersed children in California, Wisconsin, and Maine.

The Governor of New York is placing a lot of blame on the SALT Cap as a reason so many people are leaving New York. However, he probably wants to draw attention away to the chronic New York problem of high state income taxes, inheritance taxes, increasing crime, weather, and cost of living. Deep down he probably hates that the SALT cap increased taxpayer resistance to increasing taxes in New York ---  ---
https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/cuomos-budget-rich-high-taxes/
Of course a lot of people are also moving into New York because its a popular sanctuary state for illegal immigrants.


Benefit Corporation (B Corp) --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benefit_corporation

B corporations are pushing to change the way the world works ---
https://qz.com/work/1802794/what-are-b-corps-and-can-they-fix-capitalism/

Jensen Comment
This is an extension of what for decades is known as corporate social responsibility. The concept, however, is not without controversy. For example, there are two sides to almost any issue faced by legislators elected by the voting public to represent their viewpoints. There's no democracy in terms of voting representation in a B Corp. Hence, when a B Corp puts resources into most any social initiative it most often is taking sides such as when it funds and promotes abortions, gun controls, anti-war efforts, etc.

One of my best examples is Tesla Corporation. Many investors are attracted to Tesla because they feel they are investing in a green initiative to save the planet by replacing traditional fuel vehicles with battery-powered vehicles. However, at the same time they are supporting Tesla's aggressive  anti-union policies, questionable worker safety concerns, environmental damage and pollution from battery production, increased dependency of the USA on foreign suppliers (think lithium and rare earth elements needed in Tesla's batteries), and adverse economic impacts of aggressive replacement of over 300 million vehicles in North America.

My point is that when corporations become more political it's not always for the betterment of society and can interfere with an electoral process. And it's not always for the benefit of shareholders themselves when their returns on investment become adversely affected by political activities of B Corporations.

I side more with Milton Friedman who concluded that it's best for corporations to focus on long-term profitability while always obeying the laws and regulations set by the electoral process of a democratic nation. Of course there are still controversies such as whether it's it the best interests of long-term profitability to provide child care for employees, family leaves, employee college benefits, more R&D, etc.

My point is that a company might well become a B Corp simply by adopting policies that seem to be better for long-term profitability.
 


USC Announces Financial Aid Changes ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2020/02/21/usc-announces-financial-aid-changes?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=50c23fee0f-DNU_2019_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-50c23fee0f-197565045&mc_cid=50c23fee0f&mc_eid=1e78f7c952

A new report finds the middle class is heavily underrepresented at elite private colleges -- and boosting low- and middle-income student representation at such colleges could increase U.S. income mobility ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/02/21/middle-class-heavily-underrepresented-top-private-colleges-report-finds?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=50c23fee0f-DNU_2019_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-50c23fee0f-197565045&mc_cid=50c23fee0f&mc_eid=1e78f7c952

Jensen Comment
Per usual, fixed cut-offs like $80,000 per year are controversial due to living costs. In San Francisco and LA some homeless people living in vans make more than $80,000 per year. In Yuba City where two of our sons live $80,000 is probably closer to "middle class." 
 


University of Michigan Embarrassed by Having Amazon Hire so Many MBAs --- 
https://poetsandquants.com/2015/11/06/amazons-amazing-mba-hiring-binge-at-ross/
Jensen Comment
According to a recent WSJ article, the Ross School of Business in 2017 stopped announcing MBA hiring statistics because Amazon each year was hiring the most MBAs. This year Amazon will once again seek to hire over 1,000 MBAs across the USA.  Amazon offeers great benefits, and you don't necessarily have to live in costly cities like Manhattan where MBAs hired on Wall Street typically have to commute.


How Much Are Most Colleges Paying in Endowment Tax? ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/02/18/wealthiest-universities-are-paying-big-endowment-tax-bills-how-much-are-others-who?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=a6afec840c-WNU_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-a6afec840c-197565045&mc_cid=a6afec840c&mc_eid=1e78f7c952

Also see
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-11/stanford-faces-43-million-tab-in-new-endowment-tax-under-trump


Take an exclusive look at the Seattle lab where chip-maker Nvidia is testing human-like robots ---
https://www.businessinsider.com/an-inside-look-at-nvidias-next-generation-robotics-lab-2020-2?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_content=BIPrime_select&utm_campaign=BI Prime 2020-02-21&utm_term=BI Prime Select

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON — On the sixth floor of a nondescript building in Seattle's University District sits a model Ikea kitchen surrounded by the type of open-air office you'd find in most corporate buildings.

But the countertops, stove, and cabinets aren't meant to be operated by humans. Instead, the room serves as the testing ground for Nvidia's research into next-generation robots. 

Unlike the tech platform that supports self-driving cars — which is trained to avoid pedestrians — or robots that are preprogrammed for specific tasks like those used in many manufacturing operations, Nvidia is trying to build systems that can interact with the environment and humans independently.

The kitchen was a logical first choice because the challenges represented many of the broader problems Nvidia was aiming to solve, like how to create a robot that could grasp a slew of everyday objects, according to senior director of robotics research Dieter Fox. Those could range from a rigid saucepan to something more malleable — like a bag of flour

The applications the company is testing also fit into a larger, more practical goal: building robots that can help people with disabilities better tackle everyday tasks. "If we want to ever enable these kinds of robots, there's a lot of research that has to be done," Fox told Business Insider. 

Led by renowned CEO Jensen Huang — who last year was named the top performing leader by Harvard Business Review — Nvidia has emerged as a key player in the ballooning artificial intelligence industry.

Located near the University of Washington campus, its research lab currently employs 12 research scientists, with a goal to grow to 20. The center also attracts top academic luminaries who are interested in pursuing robotics-based projects (like the University of Washington's Byron Boots, a well known expert in machine learning) and various interns (it had 20 last summer).

Continued in article


Wells Fargo agrees to $3B settlement in fake accounts case ---
https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/wells-fargo-settlement-fake-accounts


How to Mislead With Statistics

Freedom from Fossil Fuels is Good for Your Health ---
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/02/freedom-from-fossil-fuels-is-good-for-your-health.html

Jensen Comment
This is a very superficial article that mentions many of the benefits of a world without fossil fuels. It totally ignores the costs and risks. For example, is starvation good for health? We don't really know how loss of fossil fuels (think farm machinery) and petrochemicals will affect food production for over seven billion people worldwide, but there are a huge degrees of agricultural productivities and efficiencies that might be adversely affected by abrupt shut down of fossil fuels. Then there's the global distribution of food that currently relies upon fossil fuels from cargo ships to fleets of trucks between farms and markets around the world.

Certainly there are positives about eliminating fossil fuels from heating our homes, cooling our homes, and transporting us to jobs and other places we want to travel. But are there no negatives in the alternatives to replacing fossil fuels? For example, there are tremendous environmental problems with all the battery production needed to accompany solar and wind electricity production. Petrochemicals are now essential in the production of vital medicines.

Realistically, nuclear energy is about the only known solution to the massive shortage of power lost with the elimination of fossil fuels. Nuclear energy is getting safer and more economically feasible, but the cost for seven billion people on earth will still be tremendous and require great economic sacrifices on nations trying to do without fossil fuels.

Certainly one day in the future fossil fuels will no longer be necessary (or even available) for any life that remains on earth. However, articles on ending reliance upon fossil fuels must consider the advantages and disadvantages of living without fossil fuels and why it will take so long to do so ---
https://www.bartleby.com/topics/Essay-on-Fossil-Fuels

Certainly our politicians are not doing us big favors by ignoring (think Trump)  the carbonization problem or by making decarbonization political promises that are absurd.

MIT:  Pete Buttigieg’s $2 trillion climate plan is infeasible, but less so than most ---

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615265/pete-buttigieg-2-trillion-climate-plan-is-infeasible-but-less-so-than-most/

MIT on Promises That are Literally Impossible to Keep:  Elizabeth Warren has a ($3 trillion) climate change plan ---
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615212/climate-change-elizabeth-warren-has-a-3-trillion-plan-for-that/

Much depends upon future research discoveries that are hard to predict in terms of types and timing (think flow batteries) ---
https://www.computerworld.com/article/2918235/can-elon-musks-battery-really-cut-your-power-lines.html

Petrochemicals --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrochemical

Examples of Petrochemicals and Petroleum Products (think medicines and food)  ---
https://www.thoughtco.com/petrochemicals-and-petroleum-products-603558


Bankruptcy in the USA --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankruptcy_in_the_United_States

Can you get rid of your student loans by filing for bankruptcy?
https://theconversation.com/can-you-get-rid-of-your-student-loans-by-filing-for-bankruptcy-130995




From the Scout Report on February 21, 2020

Dust3D Science --- https://dust3d.org/ 
Dust3D is a tool for creating 3D models to use in 3D printing, video game development, or other computer graphics applications. It is designed to be simple and easy to use, especially for users without extensive experience with other model generation software. The Dust3D documentation places particular emphasis on creating models of real world objects from reference photos. The Make a 3D Model From Scratch Using Dust3D section of the documentation contains a 23-minute tutorial video that builds a model of a mosquito from reference photos. Under The Easiest Game Asset Pipeline section on the Dust3D site, users can find instructions for using models created with Dust3D in game engines such as Unreal, Unity, or Godot. Dust3D is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux systems.


Dar Science --- http://dar.linux.free.fr/ 
Dar is a backup and archiving utility with a particular emphasis on correctness and precision. Unlike archiving tools that only replicate file contents, Dar works to exactly recreate hardlinked files, extended attributes of various types, macOS resource forks, file sparseness, and a variety of other file attributes. Dar also takes steps to work correctly when backing up a live filesystem (one that may be modified while the backup is running). If a file is modified while being backed up, Dar can detect this and retry that file several times. If the file is being repeatedly modified such that Dar is unable to get a clean copy of the file, this file will be flagged as 'dirty' so that the user can be notified of the potential problems. Most other archiving tools make no attempt to detect or correct this situation. In addition to full backups, Dar can also produce incremental, differential, and decremental backups. Backups can be encrypted, compressed, and split into fixed-size "slices" (e.g., for burning to a set of DVDs). Under the Asking for Support section of the Dar site, users can locate both a tutorial and a mini how-to demonstrating typical Dar usage. Under the Download section, users can locate installers for Windows and macOS systems. Users of Linux and BSD systems can find Dar in their OS package manager.




Free Online Tutorials, Videos, Course Materials, and Learning Centers


Education Tutorials

Real World Physics Problems --- 
www.real-world-physics-problems.com

Narratively --- https://narratively.com/

Bob Jensen's threads on education links ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#EducationResearch


Engineering, Science, and Medicine Tutorials

Journey to the Microcosmos (video) --- www.youtube.com/channel/UCBbnbBWJtwsf0jLGUwX5Q3g

Video:  3D Printing is Changing the World ---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV8zPtqOyqg

Real World Physics Problems --- 
www.real-world-physics-problems.com

South African Young Academy of Science --- www.sayas.org.za

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds --- www.rspb.org.uk

The United States Water Crisis --- https://thewatercrisis.us/

1001 Inventions --- www.1001inventions.com

Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries ---
https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/search/objects/museum/science-museum/gallery/medicine:-the-wellcome-galleries

Women and Girls in Science

Wogrammer --- https://wogrammer.org/

Emerging Female Scientists --- https://emergingfemalescientists.com/

Lesson Plan: Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese Nuclear Physicist ---
www.aip.org/history-programs/physics-history/teaching-guides-women-minorities/chien-shiung-wu-chinese-nuclear-physicist

Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: Quick Take ---
www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-stem

Women in Science --- www.colorincolorado.org/booklist/women-science

Bob Jensen's threads on free online science, engineering, and medicine tutorials are at --http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm

Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


Social Science and Economics Tutorials

Study Questions for the History of Economic Growth: For Midterm 1: Econ 135
Brad DeLong, UC Berkeley
https://www.bradford-delong.com/2020/02/study-questions-pre-commercial-revolution-economies.html

South African Young Academy of Science --- www.sayas.org.za

The United States Water Crisis --- https://thewatercrisis.us/

1001 Inventions --- www.1001inventions.com

Black Social Thinkers

James Baldwin: Art, Sexuality and Civil Rights --- www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/tolerance-lessons/james-baldwin-art-sexuality-and-civil-rights

Digital Aponte (José Antonio Aponte) --- http://aponte.hosting.nyu.edu/

THE UNDEFEATED: 44 AFRICAN AMERICANS WHO SHOOK UP THE WORLD ---
https://theundefeated.com/features/the-undefeated-44-most-influential-black-americans-in-history/

The 100 greatest books ever written by African American women ---
https://zora.medium.com/100-best-books-by-black-women-authors-zora-canon-46b3492bdded?gi=3111a57c5b1e

The Documentary Podcast: Wole Soyinka Returns to Biafra ---  www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02qqqww

Bob Jensen's threads on Economics, Anthropology, Social Sciences, and Philosophy tutorials are at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm

Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


Law and Legal Studies

We the People Social (US Constitution debates) ---
https://constitutioncenter.org/debate/podcasts

Bob Jensen's threads on law and legal studies are at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
Scroll down to Law


Math Tutorials

 

Bob Jensen's threads on free online mathematics tutorials are at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
Scroll down to Mathematics and Statistics

Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


History Tutorials

1001 Inventions --- www.1001inventions.com

Bertrand Russell’s Prison Letters Are Now Digitized & Put Online (1918 – 1961) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2020/02/bertrand-russells-prison-letters-are-now-digitized-put-online-1918-1961.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

How the Brooklyn Bridge Was Built: The Story of One of the Greatest Engineering Feats in History ---
http://www.openculture.com/2020/02/how-the-brooklyn-bridge-was-built.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Presidencies of the United States ---
http://presidencies.blubrry.com/

Japanese-American Internment Camp Newspapers, 1942 to 1946
https://www.loc.gov/collections/japanese-american-internment-camp-newspapers/about-this-collection/

The Power of Propaganda in World War II ---
https://nhpbs.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/imwwii-soc-propaganda/the-power-of-propaganda-in-world-war-ii/
Fake and biased news was a big thing in history --- only it was called propaganda and did not have the reach of today's social and electronic media

The Rise and Fall of Pan Am ---
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-pan-am-went-from-pioneering-air-travel-to-bankruptcy-2020-2

The Long History of the Hand-Washing Gender Gap ---
https://slate.com/technology/2020/02/women-hand-washing-more-than-men-why-coronavirus.html

Caravaggio & Bernini (art history) ---
https://caravaggio-bernini.khm.at/en/

Black Social Thinkers

James Baldwin: Art, Sexuality and Civil Rights --- www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/tolerance-lessons/james-baldwin-art-sexuality-and-civil-rights

Digital Aponte (José Antonio Aponte) --- http://aponte.hosting.nyu.edu/

THE UNDEFEATED: 44 AFRICAN AMERICANS WHO SHOOK UP THE WORLD ---
https://theundefeated.com/features/the-undefeated-44-most-influential-black-americans-in-history/

The 100 greatest books ever written by African American women ---
https://zora.medium.com/100-best-books-by-black-women-authors-zora-canon-46b3492bdded?gi=3111a57c5b1e

The Documentary Podcast: Wole Soyinka Returns to Biafra ---  www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02qqqww

Bob Jensen's threads on history tutorials are at http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
Scroll down to History
Also see http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm  

Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


Language Tutorials

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings ---
https://folkways.si.edu/

Bob Jensen's links to language tutorials are at http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2-Part2.htm#Languages


Music Tutorials

 

Bob Jensen's threads on free music tutorials are at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
Scroll down to Music

Bob Jensen's threads on music performances ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm


Writing Tutorials

Bob Jensen's helpers for writers are at http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob3.htm#Dictionaries



Bob Jensen's threads on medicine ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2-Part2.htm#Medicine

CDC Blogs --- http://blogs.cdc.gov/

Shots: NPR Health News --- http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots

Updates from WebMD --- http://www.webmd.com/

February 12, 2020

·         Chemicals in Mom-to-Be's Makeup Impact Kid's Weight

·         Few Teen Boys at Risk for HIV Get Tested

·         U.S. Heroin Use Nearly Doubled Over Two Decades

·         Marijuana Use May Increase Risk of False Memories

·         Smoothie Kits Recalled Over Listeria Fears

·         General Anesthesia Ups Postpartum Depression Risk

·         How Does Social Media Shape Your Food Choices?

·         Meds May Not Prevent Migraines in Kids

·         Puberty in Girls Starting Earlier and Earlier

February 13, 2020

·         Fewer American Families Weighed Down by Medical Bills

·         Shingles Vaccine Bonus: Reduced Risk of Stroke?

·         Golf May Be a Recipe for Longevity

·         Antibody Found That May Help Autoimmune Disorders

·         Were You Born in an H1N1 Flu Year or an H3N2? It Matters

·         Family Members Are Swiping Hospice Patients' Painkillers: Study

·         Chemicals in Mom-to-Be's Makeup Impact Kid's Weight

·         Few Teen Boys at Risk for HIV Get Tested

·         U.S. Heroin Use Nearly Doubled Over Two Decades

February 14, 2020

·         'Tough Guys' May Be at Especially High Risk for Suicide

·         Is Sunny Outlook the Best Rx for Stroke Recovery?

·         Recall: Faulty Insulin Pump Blamed for One Death

·         Quarantined for Coronavirus: What It's Like

·         As Liquor Stores Close, Murder Rates Decline

·         Consumers Waste Twice as Much Food as Experts Thought

·         Fewer American Families Weighed Down by Medical Bills

·         Shingles Vaccine Bonus: Reduced Risk of Stroke?

·         Golf May Be a Recipe for Longevity

February 15, 2020

·         Will Brushing, Flossing Protect Against Stroke?

·         Rethinking Milk: Science Takes On the Dairy Dilemma

·         Cholesterol Drugs Might Help Curb Prostate Cancers

·         More Sex Partners, Higher Cancer Risk?

·         Diabetes Among U.S. Young, Especially Asians, Continues to Climb

·         'Tough Guys' May Be at Especially High Risk for Suicide

·         Is Sunny Outlook the Best Rx for Stroke Recovery?

·         Recall: Faulty Insulin Pump Blamed for One Death

·         Quarantined for Coronavirus: What It's Like

February 19, 2020

·         Melanoma Cases Rising in U.S.

·         Blood Pressure Med Tied to Harmful Side Effects

·         Price Hike Lead Patients to Craigslist for Insulin

·         Study Probes Side Effects of Long-Used Methotrexate

·         Exposure to Cleaners Tied to Baby's Asthma Risk

·         Women Patients Still Missing in Heart Research

·         Late Bedtime in Preschool Could Bring Weight Gain

·         Diet Drug Belviq Withdrawn Due to Cancer Risk

·         Will Brushing, Flossing Protect Against Stroke

February 20, 2020

·         Healthy 'Mediterranean Diet' Is Good for Your Microbiome

·         Common Plastics Chemicals Linked to Autism Traits in Young Boys

·         Many Teens Suffer 'Digital Dating Abuse'

·         Doctors Look to Existing Drugs in Coronavirus Fight

·         Melanoma Cases Rising in U.S.

·         Blood Pressure Med Tied to Harmful Side Effects

·         Price Hike Lead Patients to Craigslist for Insulin

·         Study Probes Side Effects of Long-Used Methotrexate

·         Exposure to Cleaners Tied to Baby's Asthma Risk

February 21, 2020

·         Healthy 'Mediterranean Diet' Is Good for Your Microbiome

·         Common Plastics Chemicals Linked to Autism Traits in Young Boys

·         Many Teens Suffer 'Digital Dating Abuse'

·         Doctors Look to Existing Drugs in Coronavirus Fight

·         Melanoma Cases Rising in U.S.

·         Blood Pressure Med Tied to Harmful Side Effects

·         Price Hike Lead Patients to Craigslist for Insulin

·         Study Probes Side Effects of Long-Used Methotrexate

·         Women Patients Still Missing in Heart Research

February 24, 2020

·         Katherine Johnson, Famed NASA Icon, Dies at 101

·         Pot Use Among Seniors Nearly Doubled in 3 Years

·         FDA Approves New Cholesterol Drug

·         Drug Company Perks Spur Doctors' Prescriptions

·         Can Men Dine Their Way to Higher Sperm Counts?

·         Hidden Dangers of Ultraprocessed Foods

·         Could Climate Change Make Flu Seasons Worse?

·         Power in Numbers: Your Birthday Influences Care

·         Another HIV Hazard: Higher Risk for COPD

February 25, 2020

·         FDA Warns Jimmy John's Over 'Adulterated' Produce

·         Losing a Spouse Could Speed Brain's Decline

·         Drug May Help Tough-to-Treat Chronic Cough

·         Another Vaping Hazard: Less-Healthy Mouths

·         Coronavirus' Top Targets: Men, Seniors, Smokers

·         Woman's Body Actually 'Auto-Brewed' Alcohol

·         Quarantines for Coronavirus: Not in My Backyard

·         What Works Best to Ease Flare-Ups of COPD?

February 26, 2020

·         Weight Gain Is No Friend to Aging Lungs

·         FDA Warns Jimmy John's Over 'Adulterated' Produce

·         Losing a Spouse Could Speed Brain's Decline

·         Drug May Help Tough-to-Treat Chronic Cough

·         Another Vaping Hazard: Less-Healthy Mouths

·         Coronavirus' Top Targets: Men, Seniors, Smokers

·         Woman's Body Actually 'Auto-Brewed' Alcohol

·         Quarantines for Coronavirus: Not in My Backyard

·         What Works Best to Ease Flare-Ups of COPD?

 

VIEW ALL HEALTH NEWS


Schools are Now the Main Source of Student Health Care:  Are They Ready?
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rulesforengagement/2020/02/schools_student_mental_health_care_are_they_ready.html?cmp=eml-enl-eu-news2&M=59041952&U=2290378&UUID=b16c6f948f297f77432f990d4411617f


What is frostbite and who is at risk?---
https://www.foxnews.com/health/what-is-frostbite-who-is-at-risk


Question:  Why did surgeons have a woman play a violin while removing her brain tumor?

Message from Bob Blystone on February 19, 2020

Wilder Penfield during the 1950’s mapped the surface of the human brain.  Below is a link to his pioneering work leading to the homunculus representation of motor function.  I remember having to memorize the map when I took a graduate course in physiology in the late sixties.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/bhpenf.html 
PBS has a game of sorts that allows one to pretend to be Penfield and map a digital Web-based brain.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/brain/ 
Now we go to today’s world.  The link below is a video showing a violinist undergoing brain tumor removal surgery.  When removing a brain tumor there is a risk of removing “good stuff.”  The brain has no pain receptors on it surface.  So it is possible to perform surgery on a conscious person…  Of course many of us know all about Hannibal Lector.  
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-tumour-violin/violinist-plays-mahler-and-gershwin-to-save-her-music-as-surgeons-remove-brain-tumour-idUSKBN20D14Q 
The short video shows Dagmar Turner playing the violin while the surgeon maps her brain and subsequently removes much of her brain tumor.  I have been in surgical theaters where music was piped in during surgery, but I have never been in a surgical suite where the patient provides live music.  
Enjoy, I hope.
Bob Blystone

Humor for February 2020

San Antonio Zoo Valentine’s day markets in everything ---
https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2020/02/san-antonio-zoo-valentines-day-markets-in-everything.html

The 9 Craziest Things Seized by Customs and Border Protection ---
https://www.foxnews.com/us/the-9-craziest-things-seized-by-customs-and-border-protection

BBC News, Delhi
A 27-year-old Indian man plans to sue his parents for giving birth to him without his consent ---
https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-india-47154287#aoh=15822110572909&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s




Humor February 2020 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book20q1.htm#Humor0220.htm 

Humor January 2020 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book20q1.htm#Humor0120.htm

Humor December 2019--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book19q4.htm#Humor1219.htm

Humor November 2019--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book19q4.htm#Humor1119.htm

Humor October 2019--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book19q4.htm#Humor1019.htm

Humor September 2019--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book19q3.htm#Humor0919.htm 

Humor August 2019--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book19q3.htm#Humor0819.htm 

Humor July 2019--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book19q3.htm#Humor0719.htm

Humor June 2019--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book19q2.htm#Humor0619.htm

Humor May 2019--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book19q2.htm#Humor0519.htm

Humor April 2019--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book19q2.htm#Humor0419.htm 

Humor March 2019--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book19q1.htm#Humor0319.htm

Humor February 2019--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book19q1.htm#Humor0219.htm 

Humor January 2019--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book19q1.htm#Humor0119.htm   




Tidbits Archives --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm

More of Bob Jensen's Pictures and Stories
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm

Click here to search Bob Jensen's web site if you have key words to enter --- Search Site.
For example if you want to know what Jensen documents have the term "Enron" enter the phrase Jensen AND Enron. Another search engine that covers Trinity and other universities is at http://www.searchedu.com/

Online Distance Education Training and Education --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Crossborder.htm
For-Profit Universities Operating in the Gray Zone of Fraud  (College, Inc.) --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#ForProfitFraud

Shielding Against Validity Challenges in Plato's Cave ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TheoryTAR.htm

The Cult of Statistical Significance: How Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives ---
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/DeirdreMcCloskey/StatisticalSignificance01.htm

How Accountics Scientists Should Change: 
"Frankly, Scarlett, after I get a hit for my resume in The Accounting Review I just don't give a damn"
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/AccounticsDamn.htm
One more mission in what's left of my life will be to try to change this
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/AccounticsDamn.htm 

What went wrong in accounting/accountics research?  ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm#WhatWentWrong

The Sad State of Accountancy Doctoral Programs That Do Not Appeal to Most Accountants ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm#DoctoralPrograms

AN ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION OF RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS BY THE ACCOUNTING REVIEW: 1926-2005 ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/395wpTAR/Web/TAR395wp.htm#_msocom_1

Bob Jensen's threads on accounting theory ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm

Tom Lehrer on Mathematical Models and Statistics ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfZWyUXn3So

Systemic problems of accountancy (especially the vegetable nutrition paradox) that probably will never be solved ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudConclusion.htm#BadNews

 

World Clock --- http://www.peterussell.com/Odds/WorldClock.php
Facts about the earth in real time --- http://www.worldometers.info/

Interesting Online Clock and Calendar --- http://home.tiscali.nl/annejan/swf/timeline.swf
Time by Time Zones --- http://timeticker.com/
Projected Population Growth (it's out of control) --- http://geography.about.com/od/obtainpopulationdata/a/worldpopulation.htm
         Also see http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/P/Populations.html
        
Facts about population growth (video) --- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U
Projected U.S. Population Growth --- http://www.carryingcapacity.org/projections75.html
Real time meter of the U.S. cost of the war in Iraq --- http://www.costofwar.com/ 
Enter you zip code to get Census Bureau comparisons --- http://zipskinny.com/
Sure wish there'd be a little good news today.

Free (updated) Basic Accounting Textbook --- search for Hoyle at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm#Textbooks

CPA Examination --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cpa_examination
Free CPA Examination Review Course Courtesy of Joe Hoyle --- http://cpareviewforfree.com/

Rick Lillie's education, learning, and technology blog is at http://iaed.wordpress.com/

Accounting News, Blogs, Listservs, and Social Networking ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/AccountingNews.htm

Bob Jensen's Threads --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm 
Current and past editions of my newsletter called New Bookmarks --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Tidbits --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Fraud Updates --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm

Online Books, Poems, References, and Other Literature
In the past I've provided links to various types electronic literature available free on the Web. 
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm

Some of Bob Jensen's Tutorials

Many useful accounting sites (scroll down) --- http://www.iasplus.com/links/links.htm

 

Bob Jensen's Sort-of Blogs --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/JensenBlogs.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called New Bookmarks --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Tidbits --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Fraud Updates --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm

Some Accounting History Sites

Bob Jensen's Accounting History in a Nutshell and Links --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm#AccountingHistory
 

Accounting History Libraries at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) --- http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/accountancy/libraries.html
The above libraries include international accounting history.
The above libraries include film and video historical collections.

MAAW Knowledge Portal for Management and Accounting --- http://maaw.info/

Academy of Accounting Historians and the Accounting Historians Journal ---
http://www.accounting.rutgers.edu/raw/aah/

Sage Accounting History --- http://ach.sagepub.com/cgi/pdf_extract/11/3/269

A nice timeline on the development of U.S. standards and the evolution of thinking about the income statement versus the balance sheet is provided at:
"The Evolution of U.S. GAAP: The Political Forces Behind Professional Standards (1930-1973)," by Stephen A. Zeff, CPA Journal, January 2005 --- http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2005/105/infocus/p18.htm
Part II covering years 1974-2003 published in February 2005 --- http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2005/205/index.htm 

A nice timeline of accounting history --- http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2187711/A-HISTORY-OF-ACCOUNTING

From Texas A&M University
Accounting History Outline --- http://acct.tamu.edu/giroux/history.html

Bob Jensen's timeline of derivative financial instruments and hedge accounting ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudRotten.htm#DerivativesFrauds

History of Fraud in America --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/415wp/AmericanHistoryOfFraud.htm
Also see http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Fraud.htm

Bob Jensen's Threads ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm

More of Bob Jensen's Pictures and Stories
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm

All my online pictures --- http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/PictureHistory/

 

Professor Robert E. Jensen (Bob) http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen
190 Sunset Hill Road
Sugar Hill, NH 03586
Phone:  603-823-8482 
Email:  rjensen@trinity.edu