Social Dominance

Mental health symptoms appear to influence how people respond to being placed in dominant and subordinate positions, according to new research published in PLOS One. The study indicates that manic symptoms and depressive symptoms in particular are related to psychological and physiological responses to social dominance.

“A couple years ago, I worked with colleagues to review the literature on social dominance and psychopathology,” said study author Sheri Johnson, a professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley and the director of the CALM Program.

“I was amazed by the rich number of studies suggesting how important social dominance is to many different forms of psychopathology — anxiety, depression, mania, psychopathy, among others. Moreover, there was human and animal literature, and researchers had tested biological, social and psychological facets of the dominance system.”

“Still, though, the literature was fragmented because researchers were not using the same measures to study the various psychopathologies,” Johnson explained. “I wanted to fill that gap, and to do so using careful methods chosen from social psychology, where researchers had done so much work to think about how we can test reactivity to social dominance cues.”

The researchers conducted a laboratory experiment with 81 undergraduate students, who had previously completed psychological measures of depression, social anxiety, manic tendencies, and psychopathic traits.  TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE...

CATS... Cats... cats...

 We are the proud but not always so happy owners of three male cats...  two are yellow, and the third one is original Siamese...  and, believe it or not, all three are completely different.

One of the yellow cats cries out an annoying whine when he wants something.

When the other yellow cat wants something, he just struts over to me, sits down and stares at me until I feel guilty enough to get up and see to his needs.

The Siamese never really tells me what he actually wants, he just jumps up into my lay, lays down and expects to be rubbed until I finally figure out on my own what he wants.

Since these cats were acquired about the same time, they are all about 10 years old and we anticipate that they will live another 10 years...  after which my wife and I will probably sell this house and move into an apartment.

We are not always happy with these cats because of all the fur that they shed and the fact that one of them always seems to be getting sick because of rapid eating...  so, we are constantly having to watch carefully where we step especially in the night.

Emptying out the litter box everyday does not really bother either one of us...  and, when go off on vacation, we have always been able to find someone to take care of them.  However, when we finally return 6, 7, 10 days later, the two yellow cats are pleased to see us return, but the Siamese continues to remain pissed off that we left in the first place and will not come out of his hiding place to let us see him for 3-4 hours...  and sometimes, he won't come out until the next day.

All three cats are house cats, except one of the yellow cats can be trusted enough to go outside, spend 20-30 minutes doing whatever, and return to the back door to be let back in.  We have installed a motion sensor outside that plays music inside when he is back at the door waiting for us to let him in.

End of a Month

There are not many certainties in life like birth, death, paying taxes, spacetime, quantum physics, and the notion that time can only move forward and that each day we got older not younger.  With that change in age comes the notion that we live through the beginnings and endings of twelve months each year which is again repeated each and every subsequent year until we die or end ourselves.  To that point, today, represents the last day of May which is always followed by June.  May is blessed with 31 days, representing one of the longest of the twelve months...  and I am really not sure why May got 31 days and June only received 30, but I am sure that it has something to do with the stars.

In case you did not know, the stars guide, form, and shape our daily lives and for some, who worship the stars, it is believed that  our existence came from beings who came from the stars...  and that conceptual logic is not far off, especially when one relates it to Christianity and Jesus saying "My kingdom is not of this world."  However, I have never heard any religious leader referring to Jesus as being an extraterrestrial, even though that is basically what he is or was...  but, we have not yet accepted the fact that our Creator could have been or might have been an extraterrestrial as well.

BUT...  what do we know about May other than it having 31 days?  It is a transitional month as is April between the cold months of winter and the warmer months of summer...  referred to as springtime since the spring season is always between winter and summer just as the fall season is always between summer and winter.  Yet, the fall season is or has become not as cool always as the spring.

The last Monday of May is always the day we celebrate Memorial Day and this day is more than just another Federal Holiday but a day that we remember and honor all those Veterans who died protecting  the freedom that this country has stood for since 1776., although many people just see it as another holiday or another long weekend but not necessarily a 4 day weekend, unless the previous Friday was taken as a vacation day. which many people do as a way of extending time off without eating into vacation days.

I used that same logic in the military.  I would take leave between two weekend in which I had to stand duty.  So, I would get 9 days in a row off and would only use 5 of my 30 vacation days..  If one could manage this 6 years each year, then they would have 54 vacation days instead of 30, since the military owns you 24/7.

But, I digress...

Consciousness

The history of science includes numerous challenging problems, including the “hard problem” of consciousness: Why does an assembly of neurons—no matter how complex, such as the human brain—give rise to perceptions and feelings that are consciously experienced, such as the sweetness of chocolate or the tenderness of a loving caress on one's cheek? Beyond satisfying this millennia-old existential curiosity, understanding consciousness bears substantial medical and ethical implications, from evaluating whether someone is conscious after brain injury to determining whether nonhuman animals, fetuses, cell organoids, or even advanced machines are conscious.

A comprehensive and agreed-upon theory of consciousness is necessary to answer the question of which systems—biologically evolved or artificially designed—experience anything and to define the ethical boundaries of our actions toward them. The research projects described here will hopefully point the way and indicate whether some of today's major theories hold water or not.

After prosperous decades of focused scientific investigation zeroing in on the neural correlates of consciousness, a number of candidate theories of consciousness have emerged. These have independently gained substantial empirical support, led to empirically testable predictions, and resulted in major improvements in the evaluation of consciousness at the bedside.

Notwithstanding this progress, the conjectures being put forward by the different theories make diverging claims and predictions that cannot all be simultaneously true. Moreover, the theories evolve and continue to adapt as further data accumulates, with hardly any cross-talk between them. How can we then narrow down on which theory better explains conscious experience?

The road to a possible solution may be paved by means of a new form of cooperation among scientific adversaries. Championed by Daniel Kahneman in the field of behavioral economics and predated by Arthur Eddington's observational study to test Einstein's theory of general relativity against Newton's theory of gravitation, adversarial collaboration rests on identifying the most diagnostic points of divergence between competing theories, reaching agreement on precisely what they predict, and then designing experiments that directly test those diverging predictions.

During the past 2 years, several groups have adopted this approach, following an initiative that aims to accelerate research in consciousness. So far, several theories of consciousness are being evaluated in this manner to test competing explanations for where and when neural activity gives rise to subjective experience.  TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE...

Komic Korner Kartoons

 

Mental Attributes of an Old Man

According to our online dictionary an attribute is...       a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something.

So...  a quality or feature which is actually a characteristic that has ALWAYS been a part of that person...  well... the only thing that really comes to mind here is the fact that I am always been an ASSHOLE more or less...  but would assume that it is more than less...

I have always been:

• self-determined
• stubborn
• opinionated
• sarcastic
• withdrawn
• introspective
• carefree
• reflective
• lacking common sense

However, I am sure there are some positive attributes that I must possess otherwise how would I have ever lived as long as I have so far?  And, I am sure that my ex-wife would have something priceless to say about all of this...  which is why she is an ex-wife I suppose...  still, at one point-in-time I must have said and/or done something right to have gotten married in the first place.

It is odd sometimes, looking back on one's life and trying to interpret why it went this way or that way when it should have gone another way altogether...  but, one thing is solid about one's life, especially mine, and that is that it was not supposed to have evolved or unfolded any other way...  outside of the way it actually unfolded and evolved.

Sounds kind of silly in a way, but it is true.  I have become exactly what I was supposed to have become from the moment I was conceived without my permission.  And, because of that I am here and no one asked me if I wanted to be here...  which I think is completely unfair and perhaps unethical as well.

However, this life could always be an alternate reality and in the real reality of my life, I am someone similar but different, in how I became...  or worse I suppose...  but, I cannot really imagine how it could be worse...

Obviously, I don't think about this too often.

Commode Sitting

Sitting on the commode can, for most of us, be both a refreshing as well as a humiliating experience, not to mention a religious experience as we wait for our normal biological functions to take place or kick in with the assistance of other substances that have by themselves have created a multi million dollar industry.

Fortunately, some of us or quite possibly many of us, have discovered that being as natural as we can be, is the best source to achieve daily satisfaction....  and, over the years, I have discovered that this process is best facilitated by the consumption of grains and vegetables but not necessarily fruits as some would contend...  unless those fruits fall into the PRUNE category.

I have also discovered to my personal satisfaction that coffee works remarkably well which is why my first course of action each morning is to consume at least two YETI mugs of coffee each morning although I hardly get through the second mug before nature comes a callin' and I fast-walk to the nearest water closet.

My current source of caffeine comes from McCafe Coffee Pods that I usually buy in the decaf variety but if none are available then I water-down regular coffee and am able to achieve the same results.  so.............

HAPPY COMMODE SITTING...

White is White and Will Always Be White

We are SO WHITE in the US of A...  and, it would appear that there is a group of people who will remain confidential that want us to not be SO WHITE...  instead, they want us to be OH SO of another color that I will not mention except to say that it is white's opposite.

There is a problem in this country because it is mainly populated by WHITES and consequently, there appears to be a white advantage in most every aspect of our lives...  and, the biggest reason for that is NOT RACISM, but revolves around the fact that 60% of the population is WHITE...  imagine that...

AND...  I would have to say that in some African Countries, the major population is undoubtedly BLACK and not white...  and yet, I would also suggest that whites live there as well...  but, do not claim racism as the justification for their lower population numbers...

Am I fortunate to be living in the US of A?

Yes...

Am I fortunate to be white?

Yes...

Am I going to subordinate myself to another race simply because I am white?

NO...

Should other races subordinate themselves to whites because they are not white?

NO...

SO...  WHAT THE HELL IS THEIR PROBLEM???

 

A Rainy Valley Day

Rain symbolizes multiple things depending on the context in which it appears, but most commonly connotes sadness, rejection or despair... Because rain is a common natural occurrence vital for life, rainfall can also represent rebirth and emotional cleansing.

Today, in the Valley...  that is to say the TN Valley...  it has been raining for two days...  so, do I need to invest in some treated lumber and build an Ark?  Or, am I just being factious? 

Being an English Major in College, I spent a lot of time reading a variety of literary works and analyzing their content using a variety of methodologies, one of which was symbolism...  and the author's use of rain or some kind of flowing water.

Interestingly, The Bible uses rain as well in the form of a GREAT FLOOD that covered the land supposedly to rid the world of evil people, so that the descendants of Noah could repopulate the world.  Supporting the Great Flood Biblical Story is the fact that IN ALL OTHER GLOBAL MYTHOLOGIES, there is mention of a Great Flood that explained a variety of justifications.  Needless to say, all of them in one way or another depicted a CLEANSING of the WORLD so that a new and better society could be rebuilt.

MEANWHILE...

my porch door is open to allow the cool weather to enter the house rather than use electricity to power our air conditioning unit.  There is no need to actually need electricity when there is not a need to do so.

Taking advantage of this rainy day, we have decided to drive to the big city of Knoxville and do a little shopping since we cannot spent anytime outside today.

People Will One Day Just Have Enough

RIGHT NOW AMERICA IS FULL OF...

Black Lives Matter

Defund the Police

Cancel Culture

WOKE Mob

Critical Race Theory

Liberalism

Socialism

A tinge of Maxism

White Privilege

How long do you think this shit is gonna last when a majority of the white population in the USA that represents 60% of the overall population has finally had enough?

Black Mayors that won't give interviews to white journalists

Black Restaurant Owners that won't serve white customers

Black teachers who teach that whites are evil people

Black groups that condemn white groups

We were at one time AMERICANS and now we are a conglomeration of ethnic and racial Americans who have no desire to co-exist with each other unless it is mandated by the government.

How does this make our country better?

And, at some point-in-time, a bunch of white crackers are going to wake up and say enough of this shit and start to fight back...  but not with protests but legally in the courts and by electing officials who are of like minds and when that happens, this country will experience a new kind of race riot and race war that will literally tear this country apart, worse than was ever seen or experienced during our previous CIVIL WAR...  leaving a scarred and embittered country that has no desire to ever unite again or seek out common cause or compromise, but instead decides to live as separate entities within the United States, interfacing only when the law demands...  two of everything...  and interracial marriage will start to decline.

• We will have a black police force and a white police force
• We will have a black military and a while military
• We will have a black public school and a white public school
• We will have black universities and white universities
• We will have black hotels/motels and white hotels/motels
• We will have black resorts and white resorts
• We will have black sports and white sports
• We will have black movies and white movies
• We will have black only concerts and while only concerts

The United States of America will finally become that which it has always intended to become and will be able to finally realize its destiny.

The United States of America will not longer be the greatest country in the world nor will it have the greatest economy or the greatest desire among other peoples to immigrate here.

We will have a United States of Black Americans and a United States of White Americans and a United States of Non-White/Non-Black Americans.

ALL BECAUSE OF THE FOCUS ON SYSTEMIC RACISM WHICH WAS ONLY PRECEIVED BY A FEW BLACKS TO HAVE REALLY EXISTED IN THE USA THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO BLAME FOR THEIR OWN LACK OF MOTIVATION TO SUCCEED AND MAKE SOMETHING OF THEMSELVES...

Gravitational Waves

As in history, revolutions are the lifeblood of science. Bubbling undercurrents of disquiet boil over until a new regime emerges to seize power. Then everyone's attention turns to toppling their new ruler. The king is dead, long live the king.

This has happened many times in the history of physics and astronomy. First, we thought Earth was at the center of the solar system — an idea that stood for over 1,000 years. Then Copernicus stuck his neck out to say that the whole system would be a lot simpler if we are just another planet orbiting the sun. Despite much initial opposition, the old geocentric picture eventually buckled under the weight of evidence from the newly invented telescope.

Then Newton came along to explain that gravity is why the planets orbit the sun. He said all objects with mass have a gravitational attraction towards each other. According to his ideas we orbit the sun because it is pulling on us, the moon orbits Earth because we are pulling on it. Newton ruled for two-and-a-half centuries before Albert Einstein turned up in 1915 to usurp him with his General Theory of Relativity. This new picture neatly explained inconsistencies in Mercury's orbit, and was famously confirmed by observations of a solar eclipse off the coast of Africa in 1919.

Instead of a pull, Einstein saw gravity as the result of curved space. He said that all objects in the universe sit in a smooth, four-dimensional fabric called space-time. Massive objects such as the sun warp the space-time around them, and so Earth's orbit is simply the result of our planet following this curvature. To us that looks like a Newtonian gravitational pull. This space-time picture has now been on the throne for over 100 years, and has so far vanquished all pretenders to its crown. The discovery of gravitational waves in 2015 was a decisive victory, but, like its predecessors, it too might be about to fall. That's because it is fundamentally incompatible with the other big beast in the physics zoo: Quantum theory.

The quantum world is notoriously weird. Single particles can be in two places at once, for example. Only by making an observation do we force it to 'choose'. Before an observation we can only assign probabilities to the likely outcomes. In the 1930s, Erwin Schrödinger devised a famous way to expose how perverse this idea is. He imagined a cat in a sealed box accompanied by a vial of poison attached to a hammer. The hammer is hooked up to a device that measures the quantum state of a particle. Whether or not the hammer smashes the vial and kills the cat hinges on that measurement, but quantum physics says that until such a measurement is made, the particle is simultaneously in both states, which means the vial is both broken and unbroken and the cat is alive and dead.  TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE...

2030 Global Economies

The top 10 Global Economics in 2030 are/or will be:

1. China
2. India
3. USA
4. Indonesia
5. Turkey
6. Brail
7. Egypt
8. Russia
9. Japan
10. Germany

Source:  Medium.com/predict

What is interesting here is that:

            4 of 10 countries are in the East

            4 of 10 are in Europe/Middle East

            2 of 10 are in the West

Alert!!!  alert!!!  alert!!!

People...  it does not take a brain surgeon here to realize that the GLOBAL ECONOMY is shifting away from the United States not towards the United States and that FACT should have a lot of our US citizens worried...   to say the least...

And yet, no one is talking about this...  and, it is only 9 years away.  In 9 years, I will be in my 80's and it will not really matter for us senior citizens and retirees, but for those of you who still want to work and not rely on the Government for handouts, this transition will substantially impact you.

WAKE UP AMERICA...

Another Week Passes

At least in the Valley, this week has again passed virtually unnoticed...  except the continued onslaught of immigration and the mindless debate over the COVID Vaccination...  as to whether or not our Federal Government should mandate or not mandate getting the vaccine...  it bothers me and it should bother you that our Federal Government wants to TELL US how to make our own medical decisions.

I got the COVID Moderna Vaccine because I wanted to get the vaccine, not because I was being forced to get it by our Federal Government.  Similarly, I DO NOT have to inform my employee of any of my medical conditions, if I do not want to, and there is not anything that any employers can do about it.

DON'T LET OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TAKE OUR RIGHTS AWAY...  WHICH IS WHAT OUR LIBERAL GOVERNMENT CURRENTLY WANTS TO DO...

Weeks in the Valley are the best ever...  as the young female says about the ARK commercial...  and, they are the best ever because I no longer have to work unless I want to.  I no longer have to kiss my supervisor's ass or violate my integrity because management wants to withhold information from the consumer.  I no longer have to worry about GREED or the BOTTOM LINE even though I am frugal with my money.

I don't blame people who are of retirement age, not to want to stop working, especially since they have nothing else to do...  nor do I blame them for wanting to generate more revenue...  as that is their right...  it is just that I no longer have that desire or motivation; instead, I am spending all my time doing exactly what it is that I want to do and that is WRITE Creativity...  and, I want to exercise that right whether or not people want to read what I have to say.

I stopped drinking alcohol years ago.

I stopped smoking cigarettes years ago.

I stopped constantly worrying years ago.

I started exercising regularly years ago.

I started eating healthy years ago.

I finally grew up years ago...  and, when I did, I realized that the influences of society were designed to work against people like me who were not motivated by money or climbing up the corporate ladder or becoming incredibly wealthy.

Of course one has to earn enough money to survive and to pay one's bills...  but, one's bills do not have to be as high as they currently are.  One can choose to live more simply...  in not such a large house...  drive not such an expensive or brand new vehicle.  Not dress in all the latest styles and fashions or stray overnight in the most expensive hotel.

My lifestyle is simple and yet it is still complete.  I want for nothing except mild weather temperatures and sunshine.  I have one bedroom in my house only as large as I need to sleep at night.  I have an office that I share with clothes and cats.  My living room is just large enough to contain two 3 people couches and a large flat screen and there is no wall between it and the kitchen that is big enough for two people to do their own thing.

We have garages for our two vehicles and a deck with a gazebo and an above ground pool along with a hot tub for our warm weather entertainment.

And, we constantly have and/or experience best days ever here...

BTW, my pool and hot tub are 14 years old and were maintained properly in order for them to last that long.

I have minimal desires to go out to eat or to drive or fly somewhere for a week long vacation.  Home is where I am these days for as long as that lasts and my money supply is sufficient to enable me to do that for another two decades or more.  At my age, two decades or more is interesting speculation.

Technology impacts me very little and there is no reason why it should.  My vehicle is gasoline powered and I will invest in an electric vehicle when I am forced to and not before.  I an not interested in hunting for charging station and finding them all occupied.  And, by that time, it will be more convenient to order goods and services online and not drive anywhere at all.

ONLINE SHOPPING IS THE BEST DAY EVER...

China's Evolution

(CNN) — At the beginning of the 21st century China had no high-speed railways.  Slow and often uncomfortable trains plodded across this vast country, with low average speeds making journeys such as Shanghai-Beijing a test of travel endurance. Today, it's a completely different picture. The world's most populous nation has -- by some distance -- the world's largest network of high-speed railways.

No fewer than 37,900 kilometers (about 23,500 miles) of lines crisscross the country, linking all of its major mega-city clusters, and all have been completed since 2008.  Half of that total has been completed in the last five years alone, with a further 3,700 kilometers due to open in the coming months of 2021.
The network is expected to double in length again, to 70,000 kilometers, by 2035.

With maximum speeds of 350 kph (217 mph) on many lines, intercity travel has been transformed and the dominance of airlines has been broken on the busiest routes.

By 2020, 75% of Chinese cities with a population of 500,000 or more had a high-speed rail ink.
Spain, which has Europe's most extensive high-speed network and occupies second place in the global league table, is a minnow in comparison with just over 2,000 miles of dedicated lines built for operation at over 250 kph.

In contrast, the UK currently has just 107 kilometers while the United States has only one rail route that (just about) qualifies for high-speed status -- Amtrak's North East Corridor, where Acela trains currently top out at 240 kph on expensively rebuilt sections of existing line shared with commuter and freight trains.  TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE...

NON VIOLENT PROTESTS

One of the biggest lessons that I learned from my 45 years in the marketplace was the fact that there is always a BEST PRACTICE going on somewhere...  but, by the time you adopt that best practice, a new best practice has taken its place...  kinda like a spousal lover.

It is a fact-of-life especially in the USA that as of the 2020 Presidential Election, that the United States is clearly POLITICALLY DIVIDED, not to mention the other divisions that already existed in this country.

Looking at 2020 and searching out BEST PRACTICES, one can clearly see that the Black Lives Matter movement has created a quasi best practice...  that is to say, it has been and currently is, using PROTESTING as a political leverage of sorts, to not necessarily get their way, but to force the public to pay attention to them.

PERFECT...

and this is what the 50% of this country who are conservative should start doing immediately.  But, with one exception, conservative protests MUST BE NON VIOLENT like MLK Jr suggested.

PROTESTING is the new name of the game...

Let the DEFUNDED Thin Blue Line stand in between the LIBERAL PROTESTS and the CONSERVATIVE PROTESTS...

The CONGRESS cannot pass laws fast enough to stop NON VIOLENT PROTESTS...

The SUPREME COURT will not agree to adjudicate NON VIOLENT PROTESTS...

Am I What I Am or Not?

The French philosopher Descartes once said,  "I THINK THEREFORE I AM." and the world decided that this was proof enough to explain and justify mankind's existence.  However, some later explained that Descartes comments continued with the words that he believes this thinking is always done in the capacity of doubt...  therefore, one could say that proof of existence is in doubt as well...  and we are back to the proverbial first square.

Why do we even care about our own existence in the first place which to me is the first square?

We live...

We die...

and in between the two we accomplish stuff or we do not...  it is just as simple as that.

But, there are those of us who still want to know what we really do not need to know...  and, the concept of philosophy was created...  with each global culture having their own unique and different sets of philosophical beliefs.

There are four major branches of philosophy:

• Metaphysics
• Epistemology
• Axiology
• Logic

But, only three schools of thought:

• Classic
• Religious 
• Modern

Currently, the major educational philosophies are:

1. Existentialism
2. Essentialism
3. Perennialism
4. Progressivism
5. Social Reconstruction
6. Behaviorism
7. Constructivism
8. Conservatism
9. Humanism

So...  where does this actually take us to an understanding of our own existence and the proof that we even exist at all?

Sadly...  it does not take us anywhere other than to explain why we may or may not do what we do...  which revolves around purpose.

Birth is not proof of existence

Life is not proof of existence

Death is not proof of existence

Yet...  we are here nonetheless...  and, for a certain amount of years continue to life until that life is taken away from us by some explained or unexplained methodology...

HOWEVER, no one can explain why we were given life and actually experienced birth in the first place, other than the male sperm fertilizing a female egg.

But, why me?

and not someone else?

and why am I who I am and not another?

and, am I real or a figment of one's imagination?

or, am I simply a computer program operating in a galactic computer system?

and, why are there UFO's?

and, why is there evidence of alien extraterrestrials?

and, why is it recorded that Jesus declared his kingdom to be not of this world?

and, why do I possess a consciousness?

and, is there a cosmic consciousness?

The Squad Made Me Do It

 

Explaining Consciousness

Explaining how something as complex as consciousness can emerge from a grey, jelly-like lump of tissue in the head is arguably the greatest scientific challenge of our time. The brain is an extraordinarily complex organ, consisting of almost 100 billion cells – known as neurons – each connected to 10,000 others, yielding some ten trillion nerve connections.

We have made a great deal of progress in understanding brain activity, and how it contributes to human behaviour. But what no one has so far managed to explain is how all of this results in feelings, emotions and experiences. How does the passing around of electrical and chemical signals between neurons result in a feeling of pain or an experience of red?

There is growing suspicion that conventional scientific methods will never be able answer these questions. Luckily, there is an alternative approach that may ultimately be able to crack the mystery.

For much of the 20th century, there was a great taboo against querying the mysterious inner world of consciousness – it was not taken to be a fitting topic for “serious science”. Things have changed a lot, and there is now broad agreement that the problem of consciousness is a serious scientific issue. But many consciousness researchers underestimate the depth of the challenge, believing that we just need to continue examining the physical structures of the brain to work out how they produce consciousness.  TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE...

An Impossible Crystal Formed

According to Michelle Starr, a journalist for Science Alert...

An 'Impossible' Quasicrystal Was Forged in The World's First Nuclear Bomb Test.  At 5:29 am on the morning of 16 July 1945, in the state of New Mexico, a dreadful slice of history was made.

The dawn calm was torn asunder as the United States Army detonated a plutonium implosion device known as the Gadget - the world's very first test of a nuclear bomb, known as the Trinity test. This moment would change warfare forever.

The energy release, equivalent to 21 kilotons of TNT, vaporized the 30-metre test tower (98 ft) and miles of copper wires connecting it to recording equipment. The resulting fireball fused the tower and copper with the asphalt and desert sand below into green glass - a new mineral called trinitite.

Decades later, scientists have discovered a secret hidden in a piece of that trinitite - a rare form of matter known as a quasicrystal, once thought to be impossible.

"Quasicrystals are formed in extreme environments that rarely exist on Earth," explained geophysicist Terry Wallace of Los Alamos National Laboratory.

"They require a traumatic event with extreme shock, temperature, and pressure. We don't typically see that, except in something as dramatic as a nuclear explosion."

Most crystals, from the humble table salt to the toughest diamonds, obey the same rule: their atoms are arranged in a lattice structure that repeats in three-dimensional space. Quasicrystals break this rule - the pattern in which their atoms are arranged does not repeat.

When the concept first emerged in the scientific world in 1984, this was thought to be impossible: crystals were either ordered or disordered, with no in-between. Then they were actually found, both created in laboratory settings and in the wild - deep inside meteorites, forged by thermodynamic shock from events like a hypervelocity impact.  TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE...

Tantalizing Tuesday in the Valley

Currently (1942), the temperature outside the house is 87 degrees Fahrenheit with 60% humidity and a 10% chance of rain...  inside the house, we have our central air operating at a temperature of 78 degrees and it is very comfortable inside...  not too hot and not too cold...  however, I am dressed in shorts and a t-shirt.  Our home is well insulated so the heat or cold loss is minimal.

I mention this only because the weather forecast for the rest of the week is going to be even higher as it approaches the mid 90's.

On the big screen is the Food Channel's show CHOPPED which is interesting to watch every now and then, but it becomes rather redundant if watched for several hours in one sitting.  While the baskets are different, cooking is cooking...  at least to me.

What is different today for me is the fact that I have created an account on PARLOR which is a conservative social media forum that is competing with Facebook...  but, unlike Facebook, Parlor is basically a site for people who want to read a lot of conservative opinions.  It does not allow for much interaction..  It is like FOX News but instead of listening to people you are reading what people have written...  and those people are people with reputations rather than the common everyday individual which is what I was expecting.

I pretty much already know what conservative talking heads are going to say or write...  so, I'm not gaining that much since it is basically a reiteration of what FOX News has already conveyed to me...  but with some new twists and turns.