A sad loss. :
Stephen Hawking passed away on March 14 at 76 years old. The fact that he lived so long with motor neuron disease is amazing but to have achieved so much during his scientific career is to me staggering and the loss of his intellect will be felt keenly. He was not without his critics but who among us has none?
Hawking’s theories and work will be long remembered and used. For those that like coincidences Hawking was apparently born the same day that Galileo died, and Hawking died on Einstein’s birthday. I hope there is another of their ilk out there somewhere, check the birth records in a few years.
One can’t have a column like this and not mention President Trump or the events unfolding around him. There is another firing. Rex Tillerson heading out of the White House was not much of a surprise, he was not getting the ear of President. Playing Devil’s advocate here. In a corporate world when an executive constantly fires talented people because he/she can’t get on with them when do investors maybe figure that the problem is the executive doing the firing?
The fact that North Korea is willing to talk for whatever reason is good. However, I think the U.S. administration has made too much of it before it’s happened, already treating the supposed talk as a win. I think this is a big mistake. Honestly, I don’t think anyone should have even released this until it was a done deal, going to happen very soon or even happened. Whether that’s desperation for a good news story or inexperience from the administration I don’t know. There is a lot of scope for egg on faces and eating crow here.
In the Pennsylvania special election, that Trump himself campaigned in, subject to a possible recount, it looks like the Democratic candidate may have pulled off an unthought of win in a safe Republican district. Even a narrow win for the Republicans would have the party worried about the mid-terms. Change may be coming.
Once again Russia is in the news for all the wrong reasons and, according to UK sources, a Russian made toxin was used to attack a former spy and his daughter. There will be expulsions of Russian diplomats/intelligence operatives from the UK and a tit for tat from Russia. It’s like the 1960s all over again. Use of a toxin surely was a deliberate act and designed to send a message for there are, according to books and movies, a myriad of ways to remove an enemy quietly with the minimum of fuss or suspicion. We have the usual denials and the Doomsday Clock hovers ominously close to midnight.
I’m not a fan of plastic containers. I’ve always thought there might be issues with plastic particles. Now, it looks like there are. A study by Orb Media apparently found plastic particles in 93 per cent of the bottles of water that it tested, including some major brands. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says it is now launching a review of the potential risks of plastic in drinking water. I’m going to go further here. I think we need to look at plastic bottles/packaging in all drinks and foodstuffs. My gut tells me this is just the tip of an iceberg and we may have to reengineer packaging altogether, which may have the plastics industry scrambling for a safe product. Glass and paper maybe?