Ken Garen, CPA, Co-Founder and President, UBCC

"A Slow Motion Disaster": Network Sunset Of 3G Will Wreak Havoc For Millions Of Vehicles On The Road   BY TYLER DURDEN FRIDAY, FEB 25, 2022 - 06:00 PM   While the world is looking forward to the future of 5G - as soon as we can figure out how to implement it without screwing up our entire air travel infrastructure - the demise of 3G is quietly wreaking havoc with some automakers, according to a new report from  CNBC .  "Millions of car owners" are affected by 3G dropping off the map, the report notes. Many vehicles use 3G networks for updates and remote communication, including models manufactured by Tesla, Audi, Honda and Nissan.  The affectionately titled "network sunset" of 3G renders some features on these models, and many other products including home security systems, obsolete. While some vehicles will still function normally, CNBC notes that "others could lose automatic emergency response services in the event of a crash and certain i...

BBC Shows How Kids Can Walk Into Metaverse Strip Clubs   BY TYLER DURDEN THURSDAY, FEB 24, 2022 - 04:00 PM A new  BBC investigation  had come to the same conclusion we did last month when we pointed out (read:  here ):  the dark side of the metaverse and how kids aren't safe in virtual spaces.  Part of the investigation included a 25yo BBC journalist who strapped on Meta's (formerly known as Facebook) Oculus Quest 2 goggles and spent hours in the virtual-reality VRChat app, posing as a 13yo girl. She found examples of child grooming, sexual material, racism, and rape threats.  While investigating VRChat, the journalist (remember, posing as a 13yo in an innocent avatar) came across pole dancing and strip clubs.  One user told the journalist that avatars can "get naked and do unspeakable things." Others spoke about "erotic role-play." Following the investigation, BBC reached out to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelt...

Prominent UK Lockdown Advocate Admits He Got It Wrong by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News February 22, 2022   A prominent lockdown advocate who advised the UK government admits in a new book he got it wrong and that there was never any proper consideration of the devastation caused by lockdowns. Well, we told you so. Professor Mark Woolhouse is a member of SPI-M, the modelling group on SAGE, the group that advises the British government on lockdown measures. SAGE has become notorious for consistently predicting doomsday COVID scenarios that never even come close to passing,  such as last year’s warning that Omicron could cause 6,000 deaths a day in the UK without harsher restrictions. Just as SAGE got it spectacularly wrong earlier in the summer, without substantially harsher restrictions being imposed, Omicron caused nowhere near that level of fatalities. In a new book called  The Year the World Went Mad ,  Woolhouse  expresses regret  at ...

  Chinese Fast Food Restaurants Rely On Robots To Fuel Expansion   BY TYLER DURDEN WEDNESDAY, FEB 16, 2022 - 09:20 PM Last year  was a record-breaking year for robots joining the American workforce . But in China, the advent of robotic workers was equally - if not more - intense. According to a report from  Nikkei , Yum China's network of KFC and Pizza Hut outlets has seen significant growth over the past year, even as the size of China's workforce has remained steady. "We increased our stores, but without increasing the total number of staff," said Joey Watt on a call with analysts and investors on Feb.9, highlighting Yum China’s investments in artificial intelligence and digital technologies to support operations and training. Most stores now feature touch screens where customers place orders, a feature that has become familiar to American consumers over the past decade. KFC robots make soft-serve ice cream cones for customers, while take-out orders can...

Watch: DARPA Flies 'Smart' Black Hawk Helicopter With No Pilot On Board BY TYLER DURDEN THURSDAY, FEB 10, 2022 - 09:20 PM For the first time the famed  Black Hawk helicopter has flown entirely unmanned  as part of an experimental project by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Lockheed Martin. The project, which has been in development for six years, is called ALIAS - or the "Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System" - and proved successful after days ago a UH-60 Alpha-model Black Hawk helicopter performed its first flight with no human pilot on board. The maiden flight included the helicopter taking off and landing successfully with no human pilot. It also navigated simulated aerial obstacles in between. Lockheed Martin published footage of the historic flight to its website this week,  describing ... "Sitting on the runway in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, one of Sikorsky’s pilots in an S-70 Black Hawk helicopter  flips the optional...

  NSO's Pegasus: How to know you're being tracked - and how to stop it Do you think your phone is being targeted? These signs could help determine if you've been hacked and what you can do about it. By YINON BEN SHUSHAN/WALLA  Published: FEBRUARY 8, 2022 19:00 Updated: FEBRUARY 8, 2022 21:35 The investigation into the Israel Police's alleged misuse of  NSO's Pegasus spyware   has revealed the extent of the widespread use of the software against senior officials in the public and private sectors. Are you concerned for your privacy? This is how you can know if you're being tracked – and how to protect yourself. How does NSO's Pegasus work? The spyware carries out an action that, if someone without permission to do so activated it, would be considered a criminal act and a violation of law. It is an "offensive cyber" software; it does not perform defensive actions, but rather offensive ones which are intended to compromise the existing de...

Scientists Conclude Dire Climate Change Models Were Wrong, Now What?   Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com February 6, 2022 Scientists admit they did not model clouds accurately and that they need a supercomputer 1000 times more powerful to accurately do that... Climate Change Modeling Meets Limits of Science  The Wall Street Journal reports  Climate Scientists Encounter Limits of Computer Models, Bedeviling Policy . That is a non-paywalled, free-to-read link courtesy of the WSJ.   It's lengthy but an excellent read. I encourage everyone to take a look. The dire predictions went out the window, seemingly unanimously. But there is plenty in the article for the fearmongers and the sceptics to both say "I told you so". Italic  emphasis  in the snips below is mine. Introduction For almost five years, an international consortium of scientists was chasing clouds, determined to solve a problem that bedeviled climate-change forecasts f...

Automated Trucks Will Soon Haul Freight For Union Pacific Railroad   TUESDAY, FEB 08, 2022 - 10:20 AM By David Lester of  RTandS.com TuSimple, a global autonomous driving technology company, announced that Union Pacific Railroad, the largest Class I railroad in the U.S., will become the first customer to move freight on TuSimple’s fully-automated trucking route between the Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona metro areas. Union Pacific is leveraging Loup Logistics (Loup), a wholly-owned subsidiary, to coordinate the freight shipment and support seamless movement between rail and the critical first and last mile. Starting this spring, TuSimple plans to carry Driver Out freight for Union Pacific, utilizing groundbreaking AV (autonomous vehicle) technology to deliver goods to their destination faster and more cost-effectively. “Partnering with TuSimple allows us to extend our operations beyond our rail hubs and serve our customers faster and more efficiently,” said  Kenny R...

AI 'Nanny' Being Created By Chinese Scientists To Grow Babies In Robot Wombs FRIDAY, FEB 04, 2022 - 09:40 PM Via TheMindUnleashed.com, The artificial intelligence nanny has  arrived .  Robots and artificial intelligence (AI) may now be used in conjunction to optimize the generation of human life, marking a significant milestone in the science. Robotics and artificial intelligence can now assist in the development of newborns via the use of algorithms and artificial wombs, which is eerily similar to what we see in the cult classic,  The Matrix . According to the  South China Morning Post , Chinese experts in Suzhou have pioneered the development of the latest technological breakthrough. However, there are concerns about the ethical implications of raising human beings in an artificial environment. The discoveries were published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Biomedical Engineering by Suzhou-based scientists. The AI nanny, according to the researchers, m...