The state of American politics is, for the first time in my life, at a threshold I've never seen before. This will not be the usual partisan Republicans vs Democrats election. American voters will decide whether democracy will continue or not. Surely, those MAGA types must realize what is at stake. Or maybe not, and perhaps they want victory to fully take charge. If so, and I warned you, don't be surprised if you lose total control to someone named Donald Trump.
The Democratic National Convention has made that issue the theme of November 5. I don't ever remember watching long segments of any political convention. But I did beginning last night. The driving motivation was the danger posed by Donald Trump. All the speakers recognized this common cause, and the Democratic Party actually yesterday released a law and order ad condemning him. Watch it.
Otherwise, there were no lowlights, and a few highlights.
- Hillary Clinton's speech was her best ever. Read about her The Future is Here presentation. Or, better yet, watch her 17 minute talk. The thrill of revenge.
- President Joe Biden spoke for nearly an hour.
- He began his career 52 years ago when, at the age of 29, defeated the incumbent Republican senator in Delaware, even as Richard Nixon won in a landslide.
- Has successfully managed a bipartisan role. Until Trump.
Introduced by his daughter Ashley, Biden dabbed tears as convention delegates held signs reading “We ❤️ Joe.”- Ashley is 43. She is a social worker who earned a Master's Degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Donald Trump went to the same school and said he graduated from Wharton School, but an undergraduate degree is not from Wharton.
- Brother Beau introduced her to Howard Krein, a plastic surgeon. They've been married for 12 years.
- This was the most heartwarming moment of the evening.
- Worth a few minutes to watch her introduction.
- They hugged for a long time.
- The Republican National Convention was totally male dominated. The DNC is a nice mix. And, by the way, why is JD Vance continuing to criticize Tim Walz about his military career? Walz spent 24 years in service. Donald Trump was a notorious draft dodger. Bone spurs? According to Military Times, and shared by lawyer Michael Cohen, Trump faked this ailment to avoid Viet Nam. While condemning if you're running for president, I can almost understand how he felt. I joined the Army Reserves to avoid the draft, and went to graduate school during those tense years in the 60's to avoid getting activated.
About the protests outside of the convention. Compared to 1968, nothing much. Maybe too organized to only rant. There are no officially sanctioned protests today, but there will be numerous leftover hangers-on still there.
Need to add one more podium talk, that of Stephanie Grisham today. She was press secretary and part of the Trump family. She finally had too much to take, and was the first administrative person to resign on 6January2021. Watch what Grisham said.
See the Super Blue Moon last night? Here are some super shots from Time magazine. Note that the moon is not the color blue. The term is used to describe a rare celestial event when there are three lunar cosmic events: full moon, supermoon and blue moon. And, by the way, Tuesday night will feature a 98.8% full moon, and Wednesday night 94.7%.
I woke up and also tried to take a photo. I did it indoors in the comfort of my bedroom, so droplets on the window were in the way. More so, my real camera broke down on a recent trip, so I used my old iPhone. Clearly, I need to learn how to do this. However, I kind of like my failed version, which at least featured a blue circle.
I've decided that a standard camera is now obsolete. The iPhone I carry will be my only camera.- Should be out next month? But exactly when? Week of September 9, probably.
There was an Action Button on the iPhone 15 Pro models, but all four iPhone 16 models will have this feature. Activates flashlight, turns on camera, launch shortcut, adjust focus mode, etc.
PLUS, there will be a new Capture Button to work like the shutter button on a digital camera, detecting multiple levels of pressure for focusing, then capturing, an image.- Located on the same side as the power button.
- Will respond to pressure and touch.
- Lightly press to autofocus while capturing an image or video.
- Press harder to take a photo.
- Swipe left and right to zoom in and out.
- Switch between photo and video modes.
Something about the Tetraprism 5x optical zoom lens for advanced models.- New thermal design will combat overheating. Maybe graphene to replace copper.
- 8GB of RAM, up from the 6GB in the iPhone 15.
- Flash latest news. The iPhone 16 could well be cheaper than the 15. 16 Pro starting at $1099 and Pro Max begin around $1200.
- The USB-C link for the iPhone 15 will be used for the 16.
Improved microphone and AI-enhanced Siri.- More water resistance and better signal-to-noise ratio.
- The 16 Pro models could include an improved Ultra Wide camera with a 48-megapixel sensor.
Both the 16 Pro and Pro Max could get the 5x telephoto lens.- Current telephoto is equivalent to a 77mm lens. The new super or ultra telephoto could be 300mm or over.
- Longer battery life for some models, and batteries can be replaced by owners.
There will later (as early as this Fall) be an iPhone 16 Ultra model featuring camera improvements, bigger display and perhaps even a portless design. If you keep up with Apple, this is similar to what happened to the Apple Watch.
To totally confuse you, there is an iPhone 17 Pro Max, featuring a 48-megapixel telephoto lens optimized for the VisionPro headset, which could come out later this year. Also an anti-reflective display that will be more scratch resistant.- Then in 2026, iPhone 18 will have both under-display Face ID and under-display front-facing camera technology.
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