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Algernon Moncrieff
Algernon Moncrieff's Journal
Algernon Moncrieff's Journal
April 27, 2016
I'd say this evening went about as well as Bernie Sanders could have expected
..and so far the delegate count is Sanders 79 and Hillary 150. Connecticut will likely split about evenly.
April 26, 2016
From Tech Crunch
The driverless truck is coming, and it’s going to automate millions of jobs
A convoy of self-driving trucks recently drove across Europe and arrived at the Port of Rotterdam. No technology will automate away more jobs — or drive more economic efficiency — than the driverless truck.
Shipping a full truckload from L.A. to New York costs around $4,500 today, with labor representing 75 percent of that cost. But those labor savings aren’t the only gains to be had from the adoption of driverless trucks.
Where drivers are restricted by law from driving more than 11 hours per day without taking an 8-hour break, a driverless truck can drive nearly 24 hours per day. That means the technology would effectively double the output of the U.S. transportation network at 25 percent of the cost.
And the savings become even more significant when you account for fuel efficiency gains. The optimal cruising speed from a fuel efficiency standpoint is around 45 miles per hour, whereas truckers who are paid by the mile drive much faster. Further fuel efficiencies will be had as the self-driving fleets adopt platooning technologies, like those from Peloton Technology, allowing trucks to draft behind one another in highway trains.
Shipping a full truckload from L.A. to New York costs around $4,500 today, with labor representing 75 percent of that cost. But those labor savings aren’t the only gains to be had from the adoption of driverless trucks.
Where drivers are restricted by law from driving more than 11 hours per day without taking an 8-hour break, a driverless truck can drive nearly 24 hours per day. That means the technology would effectively double the output of the U.S. transportation network at 25 percent of the cost.
And the savings become even more significant when you account for fuel efficiency gains. The optimal cruising speed from a fuel efficiency standpoint is around 45 miles per hour, whereas truckers who are paid by the mile drive much faster. Further fuel efficiencies will be had as the self-driving fleets adopt platooning technologies, like those from Peloton Technology, allowing trucks to draft behind one another in highway trains.
From Tech Crunch
April 26, 2016
Today Is Clinton’s Chance To End The ‘Groundhog Day’ Campaign
538/ Nate SilverClinton’s current lead — 235 pledged delegates — is still below her post-Ohio peak. But because there are relatively few states left to vote, she now needs only 41.6 percent of the remaining pledged delegates to clinch a pledged delegate majority, her lowest figure of the campaign to date. Sanders, conversely, will need 58.4 percent of the remaining pledged delegates to win a majority.
That’s already a tall order for Sanders, but if polls and demographic projections are roughly correct in the five states set to vote today, Sanders’s math will become even more challenging, requiring him to win about 65 percent of pledged delegates in the remaining states to surpass Clinton.
Clinton has clear leads in our polling-based forecasts of Pennsylvania and Maryland, which together have 284 pledged delegates (more than New York’s 247). She also narrowly leads Sanders in our forecast of Connecticut, while trailing him by a percentage point or two in Rhode Island. We’re not running a forecast in Delaware since there’s been only one poll there, but Clinton led Sanders in that survey.
Polls are sometimes inaccurate in primaries. Michigan has been the only state in the Democratic campaign so far where the substantial majority of polls misidentified the winner, but it was such a huge miss that it needs to be kept in mind. Still, in this case, the polls don’t diverge much from what you might expect from the states based on their demographics. Furthermore, all of the states voting today except Rhode Island are holding closed primaries, another factor helping Clinton.
That’s already a tall order for Sanders, but if polls and demographic projections are roughly correct in the five states set to vote today, Sanders’s math will become even more challenging, requiring him to win about 65 percent of pledged delegates in the remaining states to surpass Clinton.
Clinton has clear leads in our polling-based forecasts of Pennsylvania and Maryland, which together have 284 pledged delegates (more than New York’s 247). She also narrowly leads Sanders in our forecast of Connecticut, while trailing him by a percentage point or two in Rhode Island. We’re not running a forecast in Delaware since there’s been only one poll there, but Clinton led Sanders in that survey.
Polls are sometimes inaccurate in primaries. Michigan has been the only state in the Democratic campaign so far where the substantial majority of polls misidentified the winner, but it was such a huge miss that it needs to be kept in mind. Still, in this case, the polls don’t diverge much from what you might expect from the states based on their demographics. Furthermore, all of the states voting today except Rhode Island are holding closed primaries, another factor helping Clinton.
April 25, 2016
Howard Dean lost the 2004 Democratic Primary
However, in losing, he transformed how candidates raise awareness and money through use of the internet.
As a stalwart Hillary Clinton supporter, I hope she wins all of the states tomorrow. However, Bernie Sanders campaign will probably shape the narrative for the next 2-3 Presidential election cycles in much the same way that Howard Dean's loss built a foundation on which Barack Obama 's team built a successful campaign.
I have done more than my share of grousing about "I-VT" and that he won't join the party. Let me ask Sanders supporters this:
For the sake of discussion let's suppose that Hillary Clinton wins the nomination. If Bernie Sanders would switch from "I" to "D", could we consider him for the next Chair of the DNC? After all, Dean did a pretty good job, IIRC.
Just throwing it out there....
April 25, 2016
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15316403/ex-new-england-patriots-defensive-lineman-ron-brace-dies-age-29
Ex-Patriots, Boston College D-lineman Ron Brace dies at 29
"We were deeply saddened to hear the news this morning of Ron Brace's death," the Patriots said in a statement. "Seven years ago tomorrow, we drafted Ron after his standout career at Boston College. During his Patriots career, the Springfield native was always eager to volunteer and give back in our communities, especially when those community initiatives were held in Western Mass. It is difficult to believe that someone so young and in the prime of his life is no longer with us. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ron's family, friends and the many former teammates who will mourn Ron's passing."
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15316403/ex-new-england-patriots-defensive-lineman-ron-brace-dies-age-29
April 25, 2016
Grand jury indicts Johnny Manziel on misdemeanor assault charge
Source: ESPN
Embattled quarterback Johnny Manziel has been indicted by a Dallas County grand jury on a misdemeanor assault charge, Dallas' ABC News 8 and CBS Dallas/Fort Worth reported, citing sources.
The formal announcement is expected to come Monday. Manziel's case was heard by a grand jury on Thursday.
Manziel, a former Cleveland Browns quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner at Texas A&M, is accused of hitting his ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley so hard that she temporarily lost hearing in one ear.
Crowley requested and was granted a protective order against the 23-year-old quarterback that prevents him from seeing her for two years.
Read more: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15318035/johnny-manziel-indicted-dallas-county-grand-injury?ex_cid=sportscenterFB&sf24932668=1
April 25, 2016
From The Hill
Dem strategist: Clinton's lead is insurmountable (HRC Group)
Watch the related videoFrom The Hill
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders boosted his campaign by winning the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday, but rival Hillary Clinton's delegate lead is "insurmountable," according to a Democratic strategist.
"I think he has a path to winning a couple more states here and there, but Secretary Clinton has a significant and really insurmountable delegate lead," Winnie Stachelberg of the Center for American Progress Action Fund tells The Hill's Molly K. Hooper in an interview.
"I think he has a path to winning a couple more states here and there, but Secretary Clinton has a significant and really insurmountable delegate lead," Winnie Stachelberg of the Center for American Progress Action Fund tells The Hill's Molly K. Hooper in an interview.
April 23, 2016
A 19-year-old Michigan mother who was one of the first to file lawsuits on behalf of the thousands of children poisoned by water in Flint was found shot to death this week.
The body of Sasha Bell was discovered Tuesday night at Ridgecrest Village Townhouses in Flint, authorities said. The body of a second woman, Sacorya Reed, was also found in the home.
Cops have not made any arrests or determined a motive
Flint mother one of first to sue over water found shot to death
http://m.nydailynews.com/news/crime/flint-mother-sue-water-found-shot-death-article-1.2611186A 19-year-old Michigan mother who was one of the first to file lawsuits on behalf of the thousands of children poisoned by water in Flint was found shot to death this week.
The body of Sasha Bell was discovered Tuesday night at Ridgecrest Village Townhouses in Flint, authorities said. The body of a second woman, Sacorya Reed, was also found in the home.
Cops have not made any arrests or determined a motive
April 22, 2016
78 Sears, Kmart stores to close; see the list
http://www.wfaa.com/money/78-sears-kmart-stores-to-close-see-the-list/147799701
List of Sears, Kmart stores closing across the U.S.
Full list at link WFAA
The following are Sears and Kmart stores that will be closing, according to a statement Thursday from the department stores' parent company, Sears Holdings (SHLD).
Closing Sears stores start their liquidation sales April 29 and the closing Kmarts start their liquidation sales May 12. The stores will close in late July, except those marked with an asterisk (*), which close in mid-September.
Closing Sears stores start their liquidation sales April 29 and the closing Kmarts start their liquidation sales May 12. The stores will close in late July, except those marked with an asterisk (*), which close in mid-September.
78 Sears, Kmart stores to close; see the list
http://www.wfaa.com/money/78-sears-kmart-stores-to-close-see-the-list/147799701
Trying to cut its way to profitability, troubled Sears Holdings announced Thursday that it will close 68 Kmart and 10 Sears stores this summer in its latest move to cut losses.
Sears (SHLD) move (see the list of the stores) comes atop a previous announcement that it will close 50 other stores. Sales have been falling and Sears had a disappointing holiday sales season.
"The decision to close stores is a difficult but necessary step as we take aggressive actions to strengthen our company, fund our transformation and restore Sears Holdings to profitability," said Sears Holdings CEO Edward Lampert in a statement.
All of the Sears stores and nearly all of the Kmart stores will close in late July, the retailer said. Two Kmart stores will close in mid-September. The closing Kmart and Sears stores will hold liquidation sales starting May 12 and April 29.
Sears (SHLD) move (see the list of the stores) comes atop a previous announcement that it will close 50 other stores. Sales have been falling and Sears had a disappointing holiday sales season.
"The decision to close stores is a difficult but necessary step as we take aggressive actions to strengthen our company, fund our transformation and restore Sears Holdings to profitability," said Sears Holdings CEO Edward Lampert in a statement.
All of the Sears stores and nearly all of the Kmart stores will close in late July, the retailer said. Two Kmart stores will close in mid-September. The closing Kmart and Sears stores will hold liquidation sales starting May 12 and April 29.
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