Idiot of the Week: Florida firefighter at the Capitol Claims Brainwashing

 Florida firefighter seen at the Capitol just got arrested. His lawyer shifts the blame, saying
that he was under the command of the "commander in Chief" and "The Capitol Police" to storm the Capitol. The lawyer indicates this firefighter was brainwashed... Maybe like the other 29% of the American people who believed the garbage of conspiracy theories.

   Too bad he's an idiot. He's handsome, but that proves that looks aren't everything. 

 Here's the story from YAHOO News, courtesy of the Miami Herald: 

 

(Photo courtesy of the Sanford, FL Fire Department) 

Florida Firefighter Seen at the Capitol Arrested, His Lawyer Shifts the Blame

Madeleine Marr

Wed, January 13, 2021, 12:01 PM

Story: https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-firefighter-seen-capitol-just-170156394.html

A Central Florida firefighter photographed inside the U.S. Capitol during last week’s pro-MAGA riot was arrested Tuesday on charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful entry.

Andrew Williams had been put on paid administrative leave by the Sanford Fire Department, where he had worked since 2016, but is now on unpaid leave.

“We hold the men and women in this department to the highest standards. It saddens me that the actions of one individual have tarnished the hard work and dedication that the rest of the department puts forth on a daily basis,” his boss, Sanford Fire Chief Craig Radzak, said in a statement.

#MediaRelease NEWS FROM SANFORD FIRE DEPARTMENT Sanford Fire Department Places Firefighter on...

Posted by Sanford Fire Department on Tuesday, January 12, 2021

After a hearing in federal court in downtown Orlando on Tuesday, Williams was released and ordered to surrender his passport and all weapons.

The first responder also was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation and cannot travel outside the state of Florida, unless it is for legal business.

Williams will not be fired while his agency further looks into the fireman’s involvement, Radzak added.

“Our investigation will continue in conjunction with the current federal criminal investigation. As is policy with any type of policy violation, including a criminal violation, an internal administrative process must be followed in order to ensure a thorough investigation with a just conclusion. I ask for the public’s patience as we move through this process.”

Williams’ lawyer blamed others for his client’s issues as they were leaving the courthouse.

“The president and the Capitol police encouraged despicable behavior,” Vincent Citro told a press pool as they entered a waiting car. “Mr. Williams took part in none of it.”

A judge set bond at $25,000. Williams’ next court date is Jan. 22 in Washington, D.C.

Each offense is punishable for up to a year in jail.

Good Person/Heroes of the Week: Officers Daniel Hodges, Christina Laury, Michael Fanone Fought Off Capitol Mob

 All of the police officers that fought off the Pro-Trump mob at the Capitol in January are heroes. Officers Daniel Hodges,  Christina Laury and Michael Fanone are just three of them, There is graphic video of the mob trying to crush Daniel's head between a door and door frame. Fortunately, he was able to get out of it, but not before suffering injuries. Officer Fanone was beaten, tased and the mob tried to get his gun and kill him with it. He also had a heart attack.   These officers are heroes.   They stood to protect life and property from an insane, vicious mob intent on hurting, kidnapping and killing.   

  Side Note: The officers said that the mob thought the Police would help them destroy the Capitol and the people within. I think the GOP can no longer say that they support the police- not after inciting this, and killing 2 officers. 

Here's a story from ABC News about these 3 heroes>>

(Photo: Officer Daniel Hodges, Michael Fanone and Christina Laury. Credit: WJLA TV)

ByMorgan Winsor, January 15, 2021, 6:35 AM  ABC News Reported: 

OFFICER HODGES

Officer Daniel Hodges, 32, whose platoon had been on duty since 7 a.m., said he feared for his life multiple times that day, including when he was "surrounded" by pro-Trump rioters outside the Capitol building and beaten.

"That was one of the three times that day where I thought: Well, this might be it," Hodges, a patrol officer in the 4th District, told WJLA. "This might be the end for me."

 

Video: https://youtu.be/QVZvp-Dv0gg

Another time, Hodges said, was when their police lines broke on the dais and they had to fall back to the Capitol building.

(Photo: Officer Daniel Hodges, D.C. Police Dept. Credit: DC Police) 

"We were battling, you know, tooth and nail for our lives," he said. "We held the line there in that doorway, and I guess I got pinned through the small back-and-forth we had fighting for, you know, every inch. And I had my arms pinned at that point, I wasn't able to defend myself."

In a now-viral video that was shared on social media, a bloodied Hodges is seen screaming for help as he is being crushed against a metal door frame inside the Capitol building.

Hodges said one rioter ripped off his gas mask and beat him with his own baton, while another tried to gouge his eye.

"At that point, I was also, you know, sucking in OC and CS gas, so I was pretty disabled at that point," he said. "I thought, you know, this might be it, I might die and there's nothing I can do to defend myself at this point. So I just started screaming at the top of my lungs for them to give me a way out, get me a line of retreat. Thankfully someone was able to do that and I was able to extricate myself."

OFFICER LAURY - Officer Christina Laury, 32, who is assigned to the narcotics and special investigations division, said the crowd of rioters was "immediately" aggressive and had already taken over the Capitol grounds when she arrived on scene.

(Photo: Officer Laury. Credit: WJLA TV)

Laury said she also witnessed officers on the front lines of the Capitol building getting beaten with metal poles, in addition to be sprayed with bear mace and other chemical irritants.

"They did everything in their power to not let those people in," she said. "And this was going on for hours."

Laury said she doesn't get scared often but admitted, "That was probably one of the scariest days."

OFFICER FANONE -  Officer Michael Fanone, 40, who is part of the crime suppression team in the 1st District, said he and his partner joined the front lines after relieving some of the fatigued and injured officers, even though he said none of them volunteered to leave. He recalled being tased "half a dozen times" and rioters grabbing gear off his vest, ripping away his badge, taking his ammunition magazines and trying to get a hold of his gun.

"I remember guys chanting, like, 'Kill him with his own gun,'" Fanone, who previously served for the U.S. Capitol Police, told WJLA. "I remember trying to retain it and the thought did cross my mind like, 'OK, people are trying to kill you and I think this has crossed the threshold of you, you know, defending yourself.' I thought about killing people."

He said he told the mob he had kids, and some then shielded him until his partner officer, Jimmy Albright, got him back into the tunnel.

Officer Michael Fanone and his kids (Courtesy photo)

Fanone said he suffered a mild heart attack and was hospitalized for two days. The other officers we spoke to were not hospitalized.

The police said they were amazed that a lot of the rioters seemed to think the police were supposed to be helping them.

"... that they would just walk right up and say 'we're here to arrest Congress.' And then police would say, 'OK let's go' and we'd all walk in, hand-in-hand, and just do whatever they wanted," Hodges said. "But that wasn't the case and it will never be the case."

WATCH ABS7, WASHINGTON DC TV'S INTERVIEWS WITH EACH: https://wjla.com/news/local/i-thought-this-might-be-it-dc-officers-injured-at-the-capitol-tell-their-stories

Research: Ice Age hunters’ leftovers may have fueled dog domestication

 Scientists have been studying dog domestication for centuries, and recently there were findings 
published that indicate early humans domesticated wolves by giving them "table scraps!" 

(Photo: Wolves. Credit: Braveheart Education, UK) 

Ice Age hunters’ leftovers may have fueled dog domestication

Ancient people tamed wolves by feeding them surplus game, researchers suggest

By Bruce Bower , Science News

 JANUARY 7, 2021 AT 11:01 AM 

 Sometime between around 29,000 and 14,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers navigating northern Eurasia’s frigid landscapes turned wolves into dogs by feeding them lean-meat leftovers. That, at least, is a likely scenario that would have benefited both wolves and people, say archaeologist Maria Lahtinen of the Finnish Food Authority in Helsinki and colleagues. 

In harsh Ice Age winters, when game hunted by both species was lean and fat-free, prey animals would have provided more protein than humans could safely consume, the researchers conclude January 7 in Scientific Reports. 

People could have fed surplus lean meat to captured wolf pups being raised as pets because the animals wouldn’t have had the same dietary limitations, the team proposes. That idea is largely based on inferences from previous research on how ancient hunter-gatherers survived in arctic environments and new calculations suggesting that, for dietary reasons, Ice Age groups could not have eaten all of the lean meat that was hunted. 

Though far from the final word on the controversial origins of dogs (SN: 5/21/15), Lahtinen’s group offers a novel take on how that process may have unfolded. The researchers’ calculations assume that, like some arctic hunter-gatherers today, ancient humans acquired 45 percent of their calories from animal protein. 

(Photo : Dash and Tyler begging for Table scraps)

Humans can’t eat a completely carnivorous diet because of the liver’s ability to generate only part of our energy needs from protein. 

Edible plants could have been stored for the winter as a source of carbohydrates, but supplies would have waned as the annual big freeze wore on, the scientists suspect. So Ice Age hunter-gatherers probably reached a point where they focused on hunting in order to extract fatty marrow and grease from the bones of prey to meet energy needs, the researchers argue, leaving plenty of lean meat untouched and available as wolf food. 

 Competition between humans and wolves for prey would have declined as generations of pet wolves gradually evolved into dogs, the team hypothesizes. Only then, the idea goes, were more docile canines trained to help people (SN: 3/21/15).

Fascinating Paranormal Book: A Walk in the Shadows by Mike Ricksecker

 Shadow people have been a mystery for centuries and no one has put together an analysis of them until now. Mike Ricksecker, my friend and fellow Paranormal investigator, a Ghostorian, and You Tube show host, author and more recently published a new book providing an in-depth look at different types of shadow people! He also presents theories and possible explanations about them whether earthly beings to extra-terrestrials and also discusses dimensional possibilities.  - I'm grateful to Mike for allowing me to share my experience, too. This book is a MUST-READ. - Rob Gutro

About the Book:  

Shadow people are some of the most mysterious entities in the known universe, and Mike Ricksecker has experienced many, starting with a tall, dark humanoid figure that appeared in his room as a child. While examining who or what these dark beings may actually be and sharing the ominous experiences of several others, Ricksecker recounts his interactions with shadows, which also include a black mass that formed in a bedroom where a girl had seen an entity with red eyes, a crawler that crept its way around an abandoned desecrated church, and many more.

A Walk In The Shadows addresses these tantalizing questions:

What are the different types of shadow people and their characteristics?
What's the relationship between shadow people and sleep paralysis?
Are shadow entities interdimensional beings or, perhaps, players in a simulated universe?
Are shadow people evil, or have they been miscast as the darkest of the dark in the supernatural realm?
Are some shadow people actually extraterrestrials?
What does a renowned demonologist with nearly 50 years of experience have to say about shadow entities?

A Walk In The Shadows explores the secrets of the dark while unveiling an enigmatic world feared by many and misunderstood by most.

Review

"Mike Ricksecker has broken new ground with A Walk in the Shadows, illuminating a rather cryptic element of paranormal activity which has endured decades of speculation and skepticism, providing more curiosity than clarity. The author sheds new light on the subject with his erudite commentary and insightful treatment of the anomaly, offering a fresh perspective regarding the existence and origin of shadow people. He will gently guide you through this authentic and enormously valuable contribution to the cause of human enlightenment."
- Andrea Perron, Best-selling author, House Of Darkness House Of Light

About the Author

Award-winning Mike Ricksecker is the author of the historic paranormal books Ghosts of Maryland, Ghosts and Legends of Oklahoma, Campfire Tales: Midwest, Ghostorian Case Files: Volume 1, and the Encounters With The Paranormal series. He has appeared on multiple television shows and programs as a paranormal historian, including Animal Planet's The Haunted

I Made Delicious Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls - Here's How You Can, too!

 Over the weekend I made Pizza-dough Cinnamon rolls. I got the recipe from a book I read in the Witch City Mystery series by Carol Perry. These cinnamon rolls are delicious and you can easily make them. Here's how. 

TIP: Prepare it on parchment paper to save a mess!

   For the rolls you need:

*Frozen Pizza Dough (we used Wegmans brand)

*Sugar, cinnamon, butter

For the glaze you need: 

*Butter, vanilla extract, powdered sugar and hot water.

  Here are the photos of the stages of making them, and the recipe. Enjoy! Rob

  

 INSTRUCTIONS:

*Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit (190.5 Celsius for the rest of the world)

 * DISH- It says 8x11" baking dish but I used 2 small 8" round cake or pie pans. Works better! 

* Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. 

* Lay out Parchment paper or use a counter top- then sprinkle flour on it. 

* Roll out dough (w/rolling pin) to a 16x10" rectangle

* Melt butter slightly in a microwave then brush it on the dough (you can pour it on and use a paper towel to spread it).

* Sprinkle Cinnamon/Sugar mixture evenly on it (it looks like a pizza).

*ROLL IT length wise (so it forms a thick 10" roll).

*Cut , w/sharp knife into 14 rolls about 1" thick- (you may have to had mold a bit as  the dough is squishy). 

*In Pan - put 1 roll in middle, and surround it by 6 others. 

*BAKE for 20-25 minutes!! 

MAKE THE GLAZE- 

*Melt butter in microwave, mix with powdered sugar, vanilla extract and HOT water. Whisk it! 

*Drizzle the glaze over the slightly warm cinnamon buns! 

*STORAGE NOTE - put the pan of rolls in an airtight freezer bag (to keep them fresher).

* SERVING - If you still have a few later in the week, they may get harder, but just pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds! 

In the News: Can dogs smell COVID? Here’s what the science says

 As a dog dad, I've seen dogs do amazing things. We took one of our dogs on a paranormal
investigation and she was able to determine what spirit was visiting. Dogs are trained to sniff out explosives, drugs, and other things. Now, scientists are using dogs to detect the COVID19 virus. 

(Photo: Tyler standing in for COVID19 sniff detecting dogs, because a photo wasn't available)

Here's a short version of the latest research and a link to the full article is at the bottom of the blog.

Canines seem to detect coronavirus infections with remarkable accuracy 

But researchers say large-scale studies are needed before the approach is scaled up.

Around the world, canines are being trained to detect the whiff of COVID-19 infections. Dog trainers are claiming extraordinary results — in some cases, they say that dogs can detect the virus with almost perfect accuracy. Scientists involved with the efforts suggest that canines could help to control the pandemic because they can screen hundreds of people an hour in busy places such as airports or sports stadiums, and are cheaper to run than conventional testing methods such as the RNA-amplification technique PCR.

But most of these findings have not yet been peer reviewed or published, making it hard for the wider scientific community to evaluate the claims.

Trials at airports in the United Arab Emirates, Finland and Lebanon are using dogs to detect COVID-19 in sweat samples from passengers; these are then checked against conventional tests. According to data presented at the K9 meeting, dogs in Finland and Lebanon have identified cases days before conventional tests picked up the virus, suggesting that they can spot infection before symptoms start. FOR THE ENTIRE ARTICLE from NATURE, visit:

UK News: Fox and photographer strike up unlikely friendship

Here's a story about a gardener in the United Kingdom who was befriended by a fox while
he was out taking nature photographs. Hope this makes your day a little brighter. 

 Fox and U.K. photographer strike up unlikely friendship 

BBC NEWS Dec. 30, 2020 

An aspiring wildlife photographer has formed an unlikely friendship with a fox. Tony Putman, from Crowborough, East Sussex, first came across the vixen while walking his dogs in nearby Edenbridge, and struck up a bond by giving it dog treats. 

Tony combines his job as a gardener with his passion for taking pictures of animals. He has already built up a loyal following on social media after befriending a series of robins. He said: "It's a great privilege to actually interact with the animals and have the mutual respect with each other."    Here's Tony's Photo Facebook page:  https://tinyurl.com/ya32jk2w

 

Idiot of the Week: N.H. man makes phone threats to members of Congress and Leaves His information

 This week's idiot is an is also a terrorist. Here's the story from the Associated Press:

N.H. man accused of making phone threats to members of Congress, arrested in Boston 

CONCORD, N.H. (Associated Press) Jan. 13, 2021— A New Hampshire man has been accused of leaving phone messages in December threatening to hang six members of Congress if they didn’t support President Donald Trump.

Ryder Winegar, 33, of Amherst, was arrested in Boston on Monday and faced a federal magistrate on Tuesday. He was temporarily detained pending preliminary and detention hearings. A message seeking comment was left with his attorney. 

Prosecutors allege that Winegar identified himself or his number on some of the calls. They said the voicemail messages were left Dec. 16, 2020. The messages threatened to hang the members of Congress if they did not “get behind Donald Trump” as president following the election.

Good Person of the Week: Dr. Omar Atiq Erases Cancer Bills for 200 Patients

Doctors are heroes because they help us through sickness and disease and we rely on them for a better life. This week's Good Person of the Week" went above and beyond by forgiving a massive debt owed him from 200 cancer patients. Truly an amazing and super-generous. Here's the story from the BBC News: 

US doctor forgives $650,000 in medical bills for cancer patients BBC News January 5, 2021

 A US oncologist has wiped out nearly $650,000 worth of debts for 200 cancer patients after realising that many of them were struggling to pay.

 Dr Omar Atiq closed his cancer treatment centre in Arkansas last year after nearly 30 years in business.

 He worked with a debt collection firm to gather outstanding payments, but then realised many families had been hit hard financially by the pandemic.

 Over Christmas, he wrote to patients telling them any debts would be erased."Over time I realised that there are people who just are unable to pay," Dr Atiq told ABC's Good Morning America. "So my wife and I, as a family, we thought about it and looked at forgiving all the debt. We saw that we could do it and then just went ahead and did it."

 Dr Atiq, who is originally from Pakistan, founded the Arkansas Cancer Clinic in Pine Bluff in 1991, providing treatments including chemotherapy, radiation therapy and CAT scans. He is now a professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock.

 "We thought there was not a better time to do this than during a pandemic that has decimated homes, people's lives and businesses and all sorts of stuff," Dr Atiq said, quoted by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

 He said the outstanding bills from about 200 patients totalled nearly $650,000 (£480,000). In his Christmas greeting card to patients, he wrote: "The Arkansas Cancer Clinic was proud to serve you as a patient. Although various health insurances pay most of the bills for majority of patients, even the deductibles and co-pays can be burdensome. Unfortunately, that is the way our health care system currently works. The clinic has decided to forego all balances owed to the clinic by its patients. Happy Holidays."

 The president of the debt collection company that had been helping to collect the outstanding payments described Dr Atiq as "a very caring individual".

 "He's always been extremely easy to work with as a client," said Bea Cheesman, of RMC of America. "It's just a wonderful thing that he and his family did in forgiving this debt because the people with oncology bills do have more challenges than the bulk of the population."

 David Wroten, executive vice president of the Arkansas Medical Society advocacy group, said that Dr Atiq had called him "to make sure there was nothing improper" about his idea of forgiving patients' debt.

 "If you knew Dr Atiq, you would better understand," Mr Wroten said. "First, he is one of the smartest doctors I have ever known, but he is also one of the most compassionate doctors I have ever known."

2 NEW Stupid Conspiracy Theories - DISPROVEN IMMEDIATELY

It appears that crazy right-wing media sites have been busy making up more falsehoods and ridiculous conspiracy theories to feed their challenged audience (who believes them, sadly). So, WTOP-Newsradio in Washington, DC researched them and published the FACTS.  What were these RIDICULOUS lies? 1) that Kamala Harris couldn't touch the Bible during the swearing in because she's a satanist. 2) Nancy Pelosi was in charge of Security during the day of the Insurrection 

   It's honestly hard to understand how people can believe these things and then they share it to others who are too lazy to check facts. Here are the facts. 

THE FACTS

1) Kamala Harris rested hand on Bibles, not a purse, during oath

CLAIM: When Vice President Kamala Harris was sworn into office on Wednesday, she placed a black clutch purse on top of the Bible so she wouldn’t have to touch the holy book.

THE FACTS: Harris rested her hand on a Bible stacked on another Bible as she was sworn into office. But on Thursday, social media users were sharing a photo from Wednesday’s inauguration ceremony along with false claims that Harris avoided touching the Bible during her oath of office. The photo showed Harris with her right hand up and her left hand resting on an unidentified black item, reciting her oath of office. The black item rested on top of a thick Bible, both held by Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff. “She couldn’t even bring herself to touch that Bible,” read one Facebook post viewed more than 35,000 times. “Do you all need it spelled out for you?” read another widely shared post. “A believer in Christ couldn’t wait to hold that Bible..A Satanist Cannot Touch It! Notice he has gloves… She has her clutch bag on top of it!” 

    But the black item on top of the larger Bible was another Bible, as photos from a different angle confirmed.  The Associated Press reported that Harris used two Bibles during her oath. One belonged to Regina Shelton, a family friend whose Bible Harris swore on when becoming attorney general of California and later senator. The other belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court justice.

2) Posts falsely cite Pelosi as responsible for security during Capitol insurrection

CLAIM: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is in charge of overseeing the Capitol Police, is responsible for security failures that allowed the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol to happen.

THE FACTS: Pelosi does not oversee day-to-day operations of the Capitol Police. But after the deadly riot at the Capitol, social media users began sharing posts that blamed Pelosi for security shortfalls that allowed the building to be breached. “It was Capitol Police that let the intruders in and it was Capitol police who killed an innocent woman that was on the opposite side of a door from that officer whom we still don’t know the name of,” said one tweet with more than 2,000 likes. “Nancy Pelosi is in charge of Capitol Police NOT Trump.” Capitol Police are responsible for security on the grounds of the Capitol and protecting Congress, along with the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms. “No one person oversees USCP — the oversight apparatus includes representation from the Architect of the Capitol, the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms, as well as committees from both Houses of Congress,” Bee Barnett, director of communications and programs for the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, said in an email. While the Capitol Police budget is approved by both chambers of Congress, Pelosi does not control day-to-day operations or officer assignments. 

The storming of the Capitol, which occurred as Congress met to tally the Electoral College votes confirming Joe Biden won the election, left five people dead, including Brian Sicknick, a Capitol Police officer who was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher. The building was placed under lockdown and members of Congress were forced to hide. Three top security officials resigned following pressure from congressional leaders, including Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, Senate Sergeant at Arms Michael Stenger, and longtime House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving. Pelosi called the events a “failure of leadership at the top” and called for Sund’s resignation. Irving had already resigned when she sought Sund’s resignation. Sund was hired in 2019 by a three-member board that consists of the two sergeants at arms from the House and Senate, as well as the Architect of the Capitol.

SOURCE: https://wtop.com/inauguration/2021/01/not-real-news-a-look-at-what-didnt-happen-last-week-3/

Research News: Ancient drought choked the U.S. Southwest for centuries - what does the future hold?

 Climate change is a reality that uneducated people struggle with, but paleoclimatologists and archaeologists have shown its effects on life. Recently, paleoclimatologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas studied a cave in a Utah desert that revealed an ancient people lived there and enjoyed fresh water and food sources. Climate change transformed it into a desert and because of global warming, that pattern is setting up again, which spells trouble for the U.S. southwest. Here's the Fascinating Findings>>>> 

(Photo:  Inside Danger Cave. Photo: Judy Fahys/Inside Climate News)

Ancient drought choked the U.S. Southwest for centuries - what does the future hold?

By Judy Fahys/InsideClimate News

Dec. 28, 2020

The ancient people of western Utah’s Danger Cave lived well. They ate freshwater fish, ducks and other small game, according to detritus they left behind. They had a lush lakeside view with cattails, bulrushes and water-loving willows adorning the marshlands. But over time, the good life became history. As heat and drought set in, the freshwater dried up, and the ancients were forced to survive by plucking tiny seeds from desert shrubs called pickleweed. Archaeologists know this from a thick layer of dusty chaff buried in the cave’s floor. 

 It might be ancient history, but science tells us that the past could also become the future. In fact, thanks to global warming, regional climate patterns linked to extended periods of heat and drought that upended prehistoric life across the Southwest thousands of years ago are setting up again now. 

 LISTEN:

CRONKITENEWS · InsideClimate News: Ancient droughts lasted for thousands of years

“The benefit of any kind of paleoclimate data is that it tells us what nature is capable of,” said Matthew Lachniet, a paleoclimatologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. 

 The climate risk across the Southwest is actually growing, based on Lachniet’s recent study of a different cave about 200 miles across the Great Basin, which covers most of Nevada and the western half of Utah. His geochemical data from Leviathan Cave in Nevada shows that drought can last 4,000 years – findings that Lachniet’s team cross-checked against paleoclimate data from the Arctic and tropical Pacific. In short, the story in the cave data suggests a worst-case scenario that could – and probably should – guide planning throughout the Southwest, home to 56 million people. 

 Lachniet’s scientific paper, released last summer in the journal Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, sprang from his work analyzing part of a rock pillar from Leviathan Cave, which is in Nevada’s Basin and Range National Monument. 

 The paleohistory that his team analyzed in the stalagmites that formed in Leviathan cover nearly the same time frame that humans first started using Danger Cave, which is now considered one of the Great Basin’s most important human history sites.

 FOR THE FULL STORY, VISIT: https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2020/12/28/ancient-droughts-lasted-for-thousands-of-years-research-shows/

I Discovered: 1970s Evangelical Publisher Used Comic Books to Lie About Science

Recently we found an old "comic book" at Tom's mom's house called "Primal Man." It had
cavemen on the cover, and it looked innocent enough. As a comic book collector  I had never heard of it.   When I researched it, I was glad I didn't. It was religious bullshit propaganda to teach children that science is "lies." I have to say that as a scientist, I was furious. So it went where it deserved to go, in the Trash. Keep this junk away from your children.  Here's the details on this garbage and this wacko publisher. >>>>

WHAT IS THE NAME OF IT?  "The Crusaders PRIMAL MAN?"  by Jack Chick publishing. 

WHY IS IT DAMAGING TO KIDS?   At the end of the book, it stated in bold "Evolution is a lie." 

This infuriates me on number of levels: 1) This "publisher" uses an innocent medium of comic books to teach bullshit religious ideas that the world was created in 7 days (it's a metaphor, people) and that evolution is not true (It IS A FACT). 

2) It's a cheap way to brainwash innocent children to believe made up crap. 

Evangelicals are the same fools that think humans and dinosaurs walked the Earth less than 4,000 years ago. Truly, they are idiots (I'm being nice here).  

SO WHAT IS JACK CHICK PUBLICATIONS? I had to  look it up. It's a right-wing Evangelical wacko company that uses comic formats to brainwash people into believing their religious junk.

WHO WAS THE FOUNDER?  Jack Thomas Chick was an American cartoonist and publisher, best known for his fundamentalist Christian "Chick tracts". He expressed his perspective on a variety of issues through sequential-art morality plays. Born: April 13, 1924, Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, CA Died: October 23, 2016.  

From a Medium: The Energy has Changed in a Good Way

For those who don't know, mediums like me can sense energy. That includes emotional energy of people around and the environment.

Today, with the inauguration of a new leader for our country, the energy has changed in the air. It has gone from a dark blanket of oppression and negativity to a shining, bright light of optimism.

For those who aren't able to feel the energy change, it will make a difference in everyone's lives over the next year. With no one remaining to incite division, darkness and anger, the light will dissipate those feelings. Optimism will return, and optimism is positive emotional energy (like love, faith and hope). It leads to better things - and healing.

The Kola Superdeep Borehole: deepest hole humans have ever dug

BBC News reported on efforts throughout the 20th century to bore the deepest hole in the Earth's surface to reach the Earth's mantle. One of them was in Russia that was stopped in 1992 because of the intense heat (from the Earth's molten core), and people referred to it as the doorway to Hell.  Here's the story about it and  a short, fascinating video describing the project and the amazing discoveries it yielded! READ ON!  

The Kola Superdeep Borehole: deepest hole humans have ever dug

BBC NEWS Dec. 2019

Drilling on the Kola Superdeep Borehole began in 1970, but it went completely unnoticed as the world was fixated on the space race. The Soviets quietly went about researching the best method for digging a really deep hole and then decided it was time to break ground. Researchers in both the USA and Russia began digging, not because it would lead to an amazing discovery, but just because they could.

The Kola Superdeep Borehole is the deepest manmade hole on Earth and deepest artificial point on Earth. The 40,230 ft-deep (12.2km) construction is so deep that locals swear you can hear the screams of souls tortured in hell. It took the Soviets almost 20 years to drill this far, but the drill bit was still only about one-third of the way through the crust to the Earth’s mantle when the project came grinding to a halt in the chaos of post-Soviet Russia.

The Kola Superdeep Borehole. Drilling was stopped in 1992, when the temperature reached 180C (356F). This was twice what was expected at that depth and drilling deeper was no longer possible. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union there was no money to fund such projects – and three years later the whole facility was closed down. Now the desolate site is a destination for adventurous tourists.

The Soviets’ superdeep borehole isn’t alone. During the Cold War, there was a race by the superpowers to drill as deep as possible into the Earth’s crust – and even to reach the mantle of the planet itself. If the Earth is like an onion, then the crust is like the thin skin of the planet. It is only 25 (40km) miles thick. Beyond this, is the 1,800-mile deep mantle and beyond that, right at the center of the Earth, is the core.

(Graphic showing the depth of the  Kola Borehole in Russia. Credit: Simon Kuestenmacher on Twitter)

Now the Japanese want to have a go.“The ultimate goal of the [new] project is to get actual living samples of the mantle as it exists right now,” says Sean Toczko, programme manager for the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science. “In places like Oman you can find mantle close to the surface, but that’s mantle as it was millions of years ago. Other deep hole drilling projects continue around the world. Today, “M2M-MoHole to Mantle” is one of the most important projects of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). As with the original Project Mohole, the scientists are planning to drill through the seabed where the crust is only about 6km (3.75 miles) deep.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/pNgwFrSMzug

Good Mystery: Murder in the Locked Library by Ellery Adams

 I recently discovered cozy mystery writer Ellery Adams and enjoyed her book "Murder in the
Locked Library." It's one of 6 in a series called "A Book Retreat Mystery." When I looked up the author she has written books in 7 different series and standalone books, too. She's also an award-winning author.

I enjoyed this story very much. Storyton hall is a resort for people interested in books, and Jane is the proprietor. She has two young enthusiastic sons, and there are many employees who help her run the business. There are a number of characters in the book, but they don't distract from the plot of finding a skeleton buried with a book on the property. That mystery and the ancient death ties into a current death at the Rare Book Conference being held at Storyton. Getting to know the characters was a little slow in the beginning but once the author got into the mysterious findings, the book was pretty captivating. It ended with another mystery, so I'll be looking for the next in the series. - Rob

ABOUT THE BOOK: Welcome to Storyton Hall, Virginia, where book lovers travel from near and far to enjoy the singular comforts of the Agatha Christie Tea Room, where they can discuss the merits of their favorite authors no matter how deadly the topic . . .

 
With her twins, Fitzgerald and Hemingway, back in school, Jane Steward can finally focus on her work again—managing Storyton Hall, and breaking ground on the resort’s latest attraction: a luxurious, relaxing spa named in honor of Walt Whitman. But when the earth is dug up to start laying the spa’s foundation, something else comes to the surface—a collection of unusual bones and the ragged remnants of a very old book. The attendees of the Rare Book Conference are eager to assist Jane with this unexpected historical mystery—until a visitor meets an untimely end in the Henry James Library. As the questions—and suspects—start stacking up, Jane will have to uncover a killer before more unhappy endings ensue . . .
 

Here are the other books in this series: 

BOOK RETREAT MYSTERY Series:

Main Character: Jane Stewart, Storyton Hall Book Resort Manager, Virginia

1. Murder in the Mystery Suite    ’14
2. Murder in the Paperback Parlor    ’15
3. Murder in the Secret Garden    ’16
4. Murder in the Locked Library    ’18
5. Murder in the Reading Room    ’19
6. Murder in the Storybook Cottage   ’20

Fun 9 Min Video: Dolly Parton Explains The Evolution of Her Look | Allure

 Allure Magazine did a fun 9 minute video interview with Dolly Parton (My favorite!) about the evolution of her look.  Since Tomorrow, January 19th is her birthday, I though this would be a fun thing to watch: 

 Allure said: Whether it's her nails, heels, or wigs,

@DollyParton

can still have it all — even if it's fake. She sat down to talk to us about the evolution of her beauty look from the '70s to now. Watch the full video here: http://in.allure.com/VD3NveK