The Propeller – Stranded in Space: Do Astronauts Need an Uber? – 8-11-2024

Pick a month, say January.

Make it your month to review all of your insurance policies and potential home maintenance. 

Every January you could switch out smoke detector batteries and replace your air filters. 

You could go through your insurance policies and make sure they’re updated and accurate. 

Look at your limits and how much your property is insured for. If it’s not insured enough based on potential risk, consider raising it. 

Make sure you’re comfortable with your deductible. For most, $2,500 may be okay. If you have an older property with older systems, maybe consider having lower deductibles. 

Ask your insurance agent if there are any requirements that if you don’t fulfill you may not be covered. Ask for a checklist. 

See if you qualify for any new discounts. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

These are just some ideas that can help you get started.  

At the end of the day, make sure that you’re comfortable with the amount of insurance you have and the terms for those policies.

Don’t wait to do your research.

You’ll be glad you checked everything in advance if you have to make a claim.

The key to always being up to date is by having systems. 

Doing something every year in a specific month is one of those systems.  Mark the tasks you want to do each month in your calendar for easy recall.

This past week’s market movements provided a practical lesson in volatility and the futility of trying to time the market. The S&P 500 index, which stood at 5,346 at the close of the previous Friday, ended Friday at 5,344. On a weekly scale, the change was negligible, not even reaching a tenth of a percent. However, the index experienced a significant dip on Monday, dropping to 5,119—a decline of over 4%—before recovering to its starting point by week’s end. For those invested in an S&P index fund such as ITOT, VFIAX, or VOO, the value of their investment remained virtually unchanged over the week, barring any transactions.

Here’s the takeaway: Market fluctuations are not worth obsessing over. They’re likely to cause undue stress. This week, those who sold in a panic saw losses, while those who purchased shrewdly realized gains.

I really like this Tweet that I recently saw:  “This is the biggest market decline since the last decline you don’t remember or care about anymore”

While I love the Netflix algorithm and its suggestions, my biggest frustration with Netflix is the inability to actually find many of the thousands of movies they have buried on their streaming service.

I have found some lists of ‘Netflix Secret codes’ to help you navigate to dozens of categories of movies you otherwise would never see:

To search Netfix’s hidden categories, simply replace the XXX with the subgenres’ corresponding numerical code at the end of this url:
http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/xxx

Here are some examples you can use to test this (log into your Netflix account on your browser first):

Biographical Documentaries 3652
Action thrillers 43048
Sports Comedies 5286
Recently Added Shows/Movies 1592210
Action & Adventure 1365
Anime 7424
Children & Family 783
Classic 31574
Comedies 6548
Documentaries 6839
Dramas 5763
Horror 8711
Music 1701
Romantic 8883
Sci-fi & Fantasy 1492
Sports 4370
Thrillers 8933
TV Shows 83

There are many more!  You can find the thousands of these at:  https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/the-netflix-id-bible-every-category-on-netflix/

Awhile back, I discussed how we have two US Astronauts stuck in space.  The ongoing situation with Boeing’s Starliner at the International Space Station (ISS) has evolved into a critical discussion point for both NASA and the spaceflight community. Initially, extending the crew’s stay aboard the ISS to investigate the thruster anomalies appeared manageable. However, the persistence of these issues has raised significant concerns.

Despite rigorous ground testing and Boeing’s confidence in Starliner’s ability to safely return astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, NASA remains unconvinced. The thruster problems are not isolated; they’ve been accompanied by helium leaks, complicating the spacecraft’s reliability.

NASA now faces a pivotal decision with two distinct paths. The first option is to trust Boeing’s assurance that they have a handle on the situation, allowing Starliner to bring the crew home. The second, more cautious approach, involves sending the Crew-9 Dragon to the ISS with a reduced crew of two. This would allow Butch and Suni to remain on the station until February 2025, at which point they would return aboard Crew-9, leaving Starliner to attempt an uncrewed reentry. Boeing cannot like the idea that a SpaceX ship has to come and save them!

As of now, NASA has not reached a final decision, which is why the Crew-9 launch has been postponed from August 18th to September 24th. This delay provides NASA with the necessary time to deliberate over the Starliner’s future and configure Crew-9 for either a two-person or standard four-person mission.

Safety is paramount for NASA, especially in light of past tragedies such as Apollo 13, Challenger, and Columbia. They will take every precaution necessary to ensure the well-being of the crew. Yet, the clock is ticking—Starliner has a limited operational window, expiring at the end of September. While the pressure is on, I am confident that NASA will make the decision that prioritizes crew safety, whether that involves a return on Starliner or SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.