How Einstein Imagined Spacetime

Something happened in Europe at the start of the 20th century. What happened was, human beings began to sense the reality of hyperspace. The thing called hyperspace, in movies like Star Wars, the thing that you reach by traveling faster than light—it started to shimmer into existence in the early 1900s. 

Like a gorgeous mirage, hyperspace wavered into being, in philosophy, science, literature and art. The science is Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. There are two kinds of art I want to share. First, the water lily paintings of Claude Monet. Secondly, there’s that amazing innovation in narrative prose—the stream of consciousness. Let’s start with the paintings. They make it so obvious.

The Orangerie is quite an experience. “Orangerie” means a place where they grow oranges. But this is a place where they grow experiences of gorgeous paintings.

The Orangerie is a pair of oval-shaped rooms in the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris. In these rooms, you can visit Claude Monet’s astounding water lilies paintings. It’s more than visiting. It’s being inside them. It’s not an experience you can forget. 

Immersive, strangely anticipatory of VR, you find yourself surrounded by gigantic ovals of color. An oval is a circle that’s been squeezed, just like spacetime isn’t totally regular but is squeezed and stretched by gravity. An oval is also an egg, an obvious container that isn’t just a container, but a living habitat for an embryo. The visitors are the embryos. And Monet’s paintings are the yolk, a gorgeous, mauve-blue-green yolk.

Floating in the yolk are little blobs, the water lilies. The water lilies appear not as objects in empty space. They melt into the water. It’s as if they are manifestations of the warp and flow of Monet’s beloved pond at Giverny. It’s as if the water lilies are an intrinsic part of their habitat: go figure. 

Ecological thought holds this to be true, a truism, even. But imagine what it was like to see that, first. You’re Claude Monet, and you’re seeing the slowly rippling, smooth, transparent liquid of your pond at Giverny. The pond contains so much else—water weeds, shadows, the sky… and water lilies.  TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE...

Cat Attack

 

The Kitchen

This deeply savory cauliflower soup is so creamy and comforting, you’d never guess it’s dairy-free. Rather than milk, cream, or even a dairy alternative like coconut milk, this soup gets all of its richness from cauliflower itself. You’ll roast it first to deepen its naturally nutty flavor, then blend it with broth to create ultra-smooth results. This is the soup you’ll want to eat all fall long.

How Do You Thicken Cauliflower Soup?
There are many ways to thicken cauliflower soup. Some recipes lean on heavy cream, half-and-half, milk, or coconut milk to thicken the soup and make it creamy. Others blend in cooked potatoes with the cauliflower. My favorite way to thicken cauliflower soup, though, is to simply let the cauliflower do the work. When cooked and blended with chicken or vegetable broth, cauliflower’s natural starches make the soup plenty thick, rich, and creamy without the need for much else.


How Do You Fix Bland Cauliflower Soup?
Bland cauliflower soup is a result of a lack of seasoning. Here’s how to ensure every bowl is packed with flavor.

• Season twice with salt and pepper: You’ll start by seasoning the cauliflower florets with salt and pepper before roasting. Then, season again when the roasted florets are combined with broth on the stovetop. Your soup should be well-seasoned if you follow this approach, but it’s always a good idea to taste it before serving in case your personal preference is a little more salt, pepper, or both.
• Add lots of aromatics. Leaning hard on aromatics is another way to load cauliflower soup with flavor. Here, garlic, onion, and fresh thyme lend tons of savory flavor to the soup. Since cauliflower is such a mild vegetable, it can handle a heavy hand.
• Finish with lemon. A big squeeze of lemon juice stirred into the soup right before serving brightens it up. Acid helps draw out flavor and ensures every spoonful of this soup is balanced and interesting.

TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS CAULIFLOWER SOUP, CLICK HERE...

Climbing

 

Laergest Comet Ever

Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein offers a rare opportunity for a generation of astronomers to study an object from the extreme edges of the solar system.

More than 2.7 billion miles from the sun—29 times farther than Earth treads—a tiny sliver of sunlight reflected off something plummeting toward our home star. Something icy. Something unimaginably old. Something big.

About four hours later, in the predawn hours of October 20, 2014, a telescope in Chile’s Atacama Desert turned its gaze toward the heavens and snapped an enormous picture of the southern night sky, capturing hints of this reflected light.

However, it would take nearly seven years for researchers to identify that strange dot of light as a huge primordial comet—possibly the biggest ever studied with modern telescopes. 

Called Bernardinelli-Bernstein, the comet was announced in June, and researchers have now compiled everything they know about it in a discovery paper submitted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

“My phone didn’t stop ringing—I wasn’t expecting the reception the [scientific] community gave to the discovery,” says Pedro Bernardinelli, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington. 

He co-discovered the comet during the final weeks of his Ph.D. research at the University of Pennsylvania with his then-adviser Gary Bernstein. “Overall, it’s been pretty overwhelming.”  READ MORE...

Tax Dollars

 

Fat Dog

 

Women to Register for Draft

The Senate Armed Services Committee included language in its version of the fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act to require women, for the first time, to register for the draft.

Congress has debated for several years whether to require women to sign up with the Selective Service, as men must do between the ages of 18 and 25. No American has been drafted in nearly a half century, but the Selective Service provides the government with information that could be used if a new draft were to occur in a time of national emergency.

Six years of debate
Congress’ previous efforts to require women to register for the draft have fallen short despite widespread bipartisan support for the move.

The debate over registering women picked up steam in 2015, when women were permitted to perform so-called combat roles in the U.S. armed services.

In 2016, both the House and Senate Armed Services panels approved the change, but it did not make it into the final fiscal 2017 bill.

In the House that year, Republicans effectively stripped the provision out of the defense authorization measure on the floor without a vote, when the Rules Committee adopted a so-called self-executing rule that turned the required registration into a mandate for a study of the issue.

Last year, a National Commission on Military, National and Public Service, which was created by Congress, recommended that women register.

Politico reported earlier this week that Rhode Island Democrat Jack Reed, the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, would push to include the provision requiring women to register for the draft in this year's bill.

House push
On the Selective Service website, one of the "frequently asked questions" is: "Why aren't women required to register?"

The response is: "The Military Selective Service Act, as it is written, only authorizes the registration of 'male persons.' In order for the Selective Service to be authorized to register women, Congress would have to pass legislation amending the current law."  TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS, CLICK HERE...

Classic Sunday Newspaper Cartoons

 

Welfare Benefits & Government Salaries

Have you ever wondered why very few Hawaiians are working when you visit those islands? All but a few States on the following list are strongholds ---so go figure!

The Cato Institute released an updated 2016 study showing that welfare benefits pay more than a minimum wage job in 33 American states, and the District of Columbia.

Even worse, welfare pays more than $15 per hour to stay home in 13 states.

According to the study, welfare benefits have increased faster than minimum wage. It's now more profitable to sit at home and watch TV than it is to earn an honest day's pay.

Hawaii is the biggest offender, where welfare recipients earn $29.13per hour, or a $60,590 yearly salary for doing nothing.

Here is the list of the states where the pre-tax equivalent "salary" that welfare recipients receive is higher than having a job:

1. Hawaii : $60,590
2. District of Columbia :$50,820
3. Massachusetts : $50,540
4. Connecticut : $44,370
5. New York : $43,700
6. New Jersey : $43,450
7. Rhode Island : $43,330
8. Vermont : $42,350
9. New Hampshire:39,750
10. Maryland : $38,160
11. California : $37,160
12 Oregon : $34,300
13. Wyoming : $32,620
14. Nevada : $29,820
15. Minnesota : $29,350
16. Delaware : $29,220
17. Washington : $28,840
18. North Dakota : $28,830
19. Pennsylvania : $28,670
20. New Mexico : $27,900
21. Montana : $26,930
22. South Dakota : $26,610
23. Kansas: $26,490
24. Michigan : $26,430
25. Alaska : $26,400
26. Ohio : $26,200
27. North Carolina : $25,760
28. West Virginia : $24,900
29. Alabama : $23,310
30. Indiana : $22,900
31. Missouri : $22,800
32. Oklahoma : $22,480
33. Louisiana : $22,250
34 South Carolina : $21,910

Hawaii, DC , and Massachusetts pay more in welfare than the average wage folks earn there. Is it any wonder that they stay home rather than look for a job. Time for a drastic change... Americans are not stupid . Note that California is $18.50 an hour. Are we Nuts or what? How do we un-do this type of stupidity . 

Now if you think that's bad, read about these salaries:

• Salary of retired United States Presidents $180,000 FOR LIFE
• Salary of House/Senate...$174,000 FOR LIFE.
• Salary of Speaker of the House ..$223,500 FOR LIFE!
• Salary of Majority/Minority Leader $193,400 FOR LIFE!
• Average Salary of a teacher ... $40,065
• Average Salary of Soldier DEPLOYED IN AFGHANISTAN.. $38,000 

Nancy Pelosi will retire as a Congress Person at $174,000 Dollars a year for LIFE. She will retire as SPEAKER at $223,500 a year Plus she will receive an additional $193,400 a year for when she was Minority Leader, the fact that she has become rich while in office notwithstanding. That's $803,700 Dollars a year for LIFE including FREE medical which is not available to us.... the taxpayers. She is just one of the hundreds of Senators and Congresspersons that float in and out of Congress every year I think we found where the cuts should be made!

If you agree ....please pass this on, I just did.

AND , can you imagine paying AOC these sums for life ?

Parrot

 

Taste of Home

This recipe for sweet Cinnamon Crunch Bagels will bring Panera to your kitchen. It's time to get your crunch on!

Few decisions in life are as stressful as bagel selection at Panera. OK, we might be exaggerating a bit, but when you’re faced with choices like chocolate chip, blueberry and Asiago before 8 a.m., it can get overwhelming.

When in doubt, we think a Panera Cinnamon Crunch Bagel is always a great choice. There’s something magical about that crunchy, cinnamon-sugar topping once it’s toasted and slathered with a smear of flavorful cream cheese. Delicious!

Re-create a bit of that bagel magic at home (and avoid bagel decision stress) with this copycat Panera Cinnamon Crunch Bagel recipe, complete with that addicting crunch topping. Keep reading to learn how to whip up a batch of homemade bagels that are better than the bakery.

Panera Cinnamon Crunch Bagel Recipe
This recipe makes 12 heavenly bagels.
Ingredients

• 2-1/4 cups (530ml) water, between 105-115°F
• 3-1/4 teaspoons (10g) instant or active dry yeast
• 6 cups (720g) bread flour, plus more for dusting
• 1-1/2 tablespoons (19g) light or dark brown sugar, packed
• 3 teaspoons (18g) salt
• 8 cups water
• 1/4 cup (60g) honey
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water

Cinnamon Crunch Topping:

• 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup (134g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon (8g) ground cinnamon
• 2-1/2 tablespoons (20g) all-purpose flour or bread flour

Editor’s tip: While all-purpose flour can be used in a pinch, we don’t recommend it. To achieve the right chewy bagel texture, stick with a high-protein flour, like bread flour, for the best results. 

FOR THE DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO PREPARE AND COOK THESE CINNAMON BAGELS, CLICK HERE...

Diving Pelicans

 

Fake Friends

Pond Sailing

 

SEX in SPACE

Houston, we have a problem! Love and sex need to happen in space if we hope to travel long distances and become an interplanetary species, but space organizations are not ready.

National agencies and private space companies — such as NASA and SpaceX — aim to colonize Mars and send humans into space for long-term missions, but they have yet to address the intimate and sexual needs of astronauts or future space inhabitants.

This situation is untenable and needs to change if we hope to settle new worlds and continue our expansion in the cosmos — we’ll need to learn how to safely reproduce and build pleasurable intimate lives in space. To succeed, however, we also need space organizations to adopt a new perspective on space exploration: one that considers humans as whole beings with needs and desires.

As researchers exploring the psychology of human sexuality and studying the psychosocial aspects of human factors in space, we propose that it is high time for space programs to embrace a new discipline: space sexology, the comprehensive scientific study of extraterrestrial intimacy and sexuality.

The final, intimate frontier
Love and sex are central to human life. Despite this, national and private space organizations are moving forward with long-term missions to the International Space Station (ISS), the moon and Mars without any concrete research and plans to address human eroticism in space. It’s one thing to land rovers on another planet or launch billionaires into orbit — it’s another to send humans to live in space for extended periods of time.

In practice, rocket science may take us to outer space, but it will be human relations that determine if we survive and thrive as a spacefaring civilization. In that regard, we argue that limiting intimacy in space could jeopardize the mental and sexual health of astronauts, along with crew performance and mission success. On the other hand, enabling space eroticism could help humans adapt to space life and enhance the well-being of future space inhabitants.  READ MORE...

NOTE:
This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Simon Dubé, PhD candidate, Psychology of Human Sexuality, Erobotics & Space Sexology, Concordia University

Dave Anctil, Chercheur affilié à l'Observatoire international sur les impacts sociétaux de l’intelligence artificielle et du numérique (OBVIA), Université Laval

Judith Lapierre, Professor, Faculty of Nursing Science, Université Laval

Hummingbirds

 

Strengthening the Brain

The MIND diet is a hybrid of the Mediterranean diet and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet (its name is a combo of those two diets). And it just passed its latest test.

In a study published in September in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease scientists show the MIND diet can slow cognitive decline and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease dementia.

This held true despite the fact that study participant’s brains still developed the abnormal clumps of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

First author Klodian Dhana is an assistant professor at Rush University. His focus is on identifying risk factors of dementia. In the absence of a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, scientists aim to identify which modifiable lifestyle factors can lower the risk of cognitive decline. Nutrition, he tells me, “has gained interest because it can be readily modified.”

“I hope the findings of this study motivate people to practice a healthier lifestyle through nutrition, exercise, and cognitive activities,” he says.

HOW THE DISCOVERY WAS MADE — Dhana and colleagues examined data pulled from Rush University’s ongoing Memory and Aging Project representing 569 participants. These individuals lived in the greater Chicago area and began sharing their vitals in 1997. In 2004, an annual food frequency questionnaire was thrown into the mix, which evaluated how often they ate specific foods. All participants agreed to undergo clinical evaluations while they were alive and a brain autopsy when they died.

Each participant was assigned a MIND diet score based on how closely they adhered to meals within it. Within the MIND diet are 10 brain-healthy food groups and five unhealthy groups: The unhealthy group includes butter and stick margarine, cheese, fried and fast food, pastries and sweets, and red meat.  READ MORE...

Scratcher

 

Rule of Reappraisals

"It's 6:00 p.m. already???"

I was in disbelief. The day was over and I still had a mountain of tasks on my desk. Where had the time gone?

The day was a failure.

Or was it?

As I sat back in my chair, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work ahead of me, I remembered a lesson a friend taught me some years ago.

It's a lesson I now like to call:

The rule of reappraisal

What's the rule of reappraisal?

As a young man, many years ago, I embarked on a major undertaking: I began learning Tagalog (Filipino), my father's native language.

It was exciting and rewarding to learn a new language, especially one that taught me so much about my father's culture and my own roots. But it was also extremely frustrating -- because as hard as I worked, I couldn't always express myself the way I wanted. The word I needed often seemed to be just beyond my grasp, and my grammar was full of mistakes.

After one especially challenging day, I broke down in frustration to a close friend. He told me something I've never forgotten, and his advice is what I refer to today as the rule of reappraisal:

Don't focus on what you have ahead of you. Instead, look back on what you already accomplished.

This pearl of wisdom helped me to change my perspective. Learning a language is a never-ending journey -- even for native speakers -- so focusing on the path ahead is self-defeating. After all, there will always be more to learn.

But what happened when I took a look behind?

Just a few years before, I could barely say a few words in Tagalog. Now, I could hold a full conversation. I could enjoy Filipino movies and humor (although I didn't get every joke). I even took a trip to the Philippines, by myself, which turned out to be a life-changing experience.  READ MORE...