The Super Aircraft Carrier Russia Could Never Have

Scrapped in the '90s...

A concept of the Ulyanovsk, the supercarrier Russia wanted to build.

Had she ever sailed, the Soviet supercarrier Ulyanovsk would have been a naval behemoth more than 1,000 feet long, with an 85,000-ton displacement and enough storage to carry an air group of up to 70 fixed and rotary winged aircraft, Paul Richard Huard reports on nationalinterest.org.

With a nuclear-powered engine -- and working in conjunction with other Soviet surface warfare vessels and submarines -- the supercarrier would have steamed through the oceans with a purpose, Huard wrote.

Namely, to keep the U.S. Navy away from the Motherland.

But the Ulyanovsk is an "almost" of history.  Moscow never finished the project because it ran out of money, Huard added.

For more of a fascinating report: http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-navys-greatest-fear-russia-wanted-build-super-aircraft-26025

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:

Darien's Weekly Home Market Closes on an Active Note.

How Close Are We to a Quantum Computer?

Taming a new computing technology...

An IBM researcher working on an advanced quantum computer.

The race is on to build the world's first meaningful quantum computer -- one that can deliver the technology's long-promised ability to help scientists do things like develop miraculous new materials, encrypt data with near-perfect security and accurately predict how Earth's climate will change, Larry Greenemeir reports on scientificamerican.com.

Such a machine is likely more than a decade away, but IBM, Microsoft, Google, Intel and other tech heavyweights breathlessly tout each tiny, incremental step along the way, Greenemeir wrote.

For more, including an interview with Jim Clark, director of quantum hardware at Intel Labs: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-close-are-we-really-to-building-a-quantum-computer/

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:

The Super Aircraft Carrier Russia Could Never Have.

Connecticut's Ongoing Economic Dilemma, Part II

Spending by cities and towns...

Bridgeport.

When Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin appealed for help to save his municipality from bankruptcy, one response he faced was that the capital city's big-spending ways had come home to roost, Keith Phaneuf and Clarice Silber report on ctmirror.org.

The perception that Connecticut's cities, facing struggling schools, poverty, crime and heavily traveled roads, easily outspend their suburban and rural neighbors can be found both around the capital city and elsewhere in the state, Phaneuf and Silber wrote.

But when municipal spending is examined on a per capita basis, it's Connecticut's suburbs -- and particularly those in Fairfield County -- that lead the way in spending, they add.

For more of their report: https://ctmirror.org/2018/05/30/among-connecticut-cities-towns-wealthiest-big-spenders/

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:

How Close Are We to a Quantum Computer?

Update: Connecticut's Ongoing Economic Dilemma

The haves vs. the have nots and more...

Watch out for those trains, Senator.

Even within a nation racing dangerously toward unprecedented levels of income and wealth inequality, Connecticut stands apart, Keith Phaneuf reports on ctmirrior.org.

The gap between its richest and poorest citizens -- and that between the top and the middle class -- outstrips those in most other states, and many other corners of the globe, Phaneuf wrote.

Since the last recession, inequality in Connecticut has not been a simple case of hedge fund principals reaping rewards that dwarf a still-prosperous middle class. Rather, only the richest of Connecticut's most affluent households, on average, have improved their standing, he added.

For more on an important issue: https://ctmirror.org/2018/05/29/already-deep-debt-connecticut-struggles-extremes-wealth-income/amp/

Photo: Giphy.

Next time on The Allen Report:

Connecticut's Ongoing Economic Dilemma, Part II.

IBM's Head of Watson Likes Elon Musk but "Hates" A.I. Scaremongering

Plus an IBM update with Ginni Rometty...

Warnings of artificial intelligence (AI) posing a threat to humanity are "not helpful," a top IBM executive has said, according to Ryan Browne on cnbc.com.

While critics like Tesla CEO Elon Musk have warned about the risks of developing AI, David Kenny, IBM's senior vice president of Watson and Cloud, said the technology is already proving beneficial, Browne wrote.

For more, including a video with an IBM update by Chairman and CEO Ginni Rometty: https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/05/28/ibms-head-of-watson-likes-elon-musk-but-hates-ai-scaremongering.html

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report: 

Update: Connecticut's Ongoing Economic Dilemma.

How Student Debt is Killing Homeownership

Heavy load...

Apartment for sale, close to train.

As you've probably heard, Millennial just aren't buying houses like young people used to, Sarah Holder reports on citylab.com

This story has been told many ways: Living with roommates, renting rather than buying and spending on other things besides apartments and bungalows, Holder wrote.

Partly to blame is the fact that housing prices have rapidly outpaced incomes since 1980.  But there's another trend that magnified the effects of this:  An increase in college attendance and mounting student debt due to a spike in tuition costs, she added.

For more of a timely report: https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/01/student-loans-are-killing-homeownership/551300/

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:
IBM's Head of Watson Likes Elon Musk but "Hates" A.I. Scaremongering.

Amazon's Echo Blabs Out of Turn

Spying and snitching...

"I can't trust it," a woman says of her Amazon Echo device.

As secret recordings go, the Portland couple's conversation was pretty mundane: They were talking about hardwood floors, Laurel Wamsley reports on npr.org.

But their Amazon Echo was listening and recording their discussion.  The device then sent the recording to someone in their contacts -- without the couple's knowledge, Wamsley wrote.

For more about Echo's spying and snitching: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/25/614470096/amazon-echo-recorded-and-sent-couples-conversation-all-without-their-knowledge

For a cbs.com report: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-alexa-echo-device-recorded-conversation-sent-to-contact/

For a quartz.com report: https://qz.com/1288743/amazon-alexa-echo-spying-on-users-raises-a-data-privacy-problem/

Photos: Giphy.

Next time on The Allen Report:

How Student Debt is Killing Homeownership.