Skip to main content

Silent Goodbye a sad reality. (Mom passes on & leaves small Children)

-
The quiet community of Ngodini, just outside Nelspruit in Mpumalanga, South Africa, woke up to heartbreaking news that left neighbours and relatives in disbelief. Twelve-year-old Ayanda had always been the responsible one. As the eldest of three children, she helped her mother care for her younger siblings, eight-year-old Sipho and four-year-old Amahle. Their mother, Nomsa, worked hard to provide for them, often reminding her children that no matter how difficult life became, they should always love and protect one another. One cold winter morning, the children woke up as usual. Ayanda prepared breakfast while waiting for their mother to get up for work. Minutes turned into an hour, but Nomsa never came out of her bedroom. Ayanda gently knocked on the door. "Mama?" she called softly. There was no answer. She knocked again, louder this time. "Mama, it's morning. You have to wake up." Still, there was only silence. Growing worried, Ayanda tried opening the door. H...
Post a Comment

Bill Gates says he's not 'a Mars person' like Elon Musk and would rather spend his money on vaccines

-

 Tim Levin , Business Insider US

 Feb 17, 2021, 02:49 PM
The Microsoft cofounder said he won't be buying a ticket to space.
  • Unlike fellow billionaire Elon Musk, Bill Gates doesn't think going to Mars is all that important.
  • Gates said he doesn't "think rockets are the solution," on Kara Swisher's "Sway" podcast. 
  • He'd rather dedicate funds to addressing climate and public health crises on Earth. 
  • Visit Business Insider for more stories.

Tech tycoons Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have dumped billions into private space travel - with lofty goals to establish bustling colonies outside of Earth's atmosphere - but Bill Gates is more concerned with problems closer to home. 

The Microsoft cofounder explained why he hasn't gotten involved in Bezos and Musk's space race during an appearance on Kara Swisher's "Sway" podcast Monday.

"No, I'm not a Mars person. I know a lot of Mars people," he said. "I don't think rockets are the solution. But maybe I'm missing something there."

Gates, who appeared on the podcast to promote his new book, "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster," said he's interested in using his wealth and foundations to directly address some of humanity's greatest challenges. He told Swisher he's not too keen on buying a ticket to space either.

"I'm not going to pay a lot of money because my foundation can buy measles vaccines and save a life for $1,000," Gates said. "Anything I do, I always think, 'OK, I could spend that $1,000 buying measles vaccine.'"

When it comes to addressing climate change and curbing emissions in the long-term, Gates said, people should pay more attention to industries that are difficult to make greener, like steel, meat, and cement. But firms like Tesla have made great strides on "the easy stuff, like passenger cars," he acknowledged.

"It's important to say that what Elon did with Tesla is one of the greatest contributions to climate change anyone's ever made," Gates said. "Underestimating Elon is not a good idea."

Musk's interplanetary ambitions center around using rockets built by SpaceX, the space exploration company he founded in 2002, to transport 1 million people to Mars by 2050. Musk has said he aims to establish a self-sustaining city on the Red Planet so humanity can survive a future apocalypse on Earth. 

Amazon's founder and outgoing CEO, meanwhile, wants his firm, Blue Origin, to facilitate a base on the moon along with space colonies that could house up to 1 trillion people. Both SpaceX and Blue Origin are working to develop reusable rockets that would drastically cut the cost of a trip to space.

Receive a daily news update on your cellphone. Or get the best of our site emailed to you

Go to the Business Insider front page for more stories.

Tagged In

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MultiChoice’s BEE scheme trying to find 22 000 shareholders who are missing out on millions

-
Image
  USINESS REPORT COMPANIES MultiChoice’s black economic empowerment scheme is looking for about 22 000 shareholders who owned shares and did not receive dividends of R207 million between 2006 and 2020. Picture: Karen Sandison/African News Agency(ANA) MultiChoice’s BEE scheme trying to find 22 000 shareholders who are missing out on millions By Edward West   Feb 16, 2021 CAPE TOWN - PHUTUMA Nathi, the MultiChoice black economic empowerment scheme of more than 80 000 shareholders, is looking for about 22 000 shareholders who owned shares and did not receive dividends of R207 million between 2006 and 2020. “This money belongs to our shareholders. We’re calling on them to contact us to get their money. In these tough economic times we want to do everything in our power to give them what is rightfully theirs,” Phuthuma Nathi chairperson Mandla Langa said in a statement yesterday. Phuthuma Nathi has been paying dividends every year since the start of the scheme in 2006. Am...
Read more

This New Ultralight Aircraft May Be World’s Fastest Single-Engine Business Jet

-
Image
  The speedy LAR-01's automotive interior adds comfort and luxury. Plus: The wings detach, so the jet can be stored in a home garage. By  MICHAEL VERDON           Courtesy Flaris The  Flaris  LAR-01 has a number of striking stats, including being a ton lighter (literally) than its competitors, along with an unusually short-field landing capability, and detachable wings. But its most impressive number is the 250-knot true air speed, which its designers say makes it the world’s fastest business jet among single-engine very light jets and turboprop aircraft. Flaris says recent tests “confirmed the assumptions made previously” about the effectiveness of multiple systems, including its Garmin G600 avionics and Flaris Flight Assistance System flight computer, as well as the landing gear and emergency parachute system. But it also claims more impressive stats like the 250-knot TSA at 10,000 feet. Its 6,000-feet-per-minute climb rate, adds the compan...
Read more

Fighting Drug addiction

-
 Here's the story: We sat down with a man who had a harrowing journey with addiction. He began by telling us about his early days in tertiary education, where he would occasionally smoke dagga with friends. However, his focus remained on his studies, and he worked hard to graduate and secure a qualification. After landing a job, he started building a life for himself. He got married, bought a property, and even splurged on a car. Life was good, and he felt like he was on top of the world. But one fateful night, while out with friends, he was introduced to heavier narcotics. At first, the experience was exhilarating. He described it as an elevation from the mild high of dagga to a level 5 high, where he felt invincible and euphoric. The effects would last for days, allowing him to party from Friday to Sunday without sleep. The problem, however, began to manifest on Mondays and Tuesdays every week, when the withdrawal symptoms would kick in, and he'd struggle to function at work....
Read more