Washing Toys

 

$70 Million of Stolen Art Surrendered

Michael Steinhart, a billionaire investor and antiquities collector, agreed on Tuesday to surrender 180 stolen relics worth a combined $70 million, reports CNN. 

But that’s not all. Steinhardt, a hedge fund manager who accrued one of the world’s largest collections of ancient art, also agreed to a lifetime ban on acquiring antiquities.

Steinhardt had been under investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit, according to an official press release. 

The team looked into over 1,000 items acquired by the collector since 1987 and found him to be in possession of stolen artifacts that had been smuggled out of 11 countries by 12 different criminal networks. 

Some of the more noteworthy items (pictured above) include Stag’s Head Rhyton, a ceremonial vessel valued at $3.5 million; the Larnax, a small chest for human remains valued at $1 million, and a trio of death masks dating back to 7000 BCE that are valued at $650,000. The items will now be returned to their rightful owners.  READ MORE...

Wake Up

 

Mood Foods

With the sun showing up late and leaving early these days (seriously, why can't we get away with that), feeling not-so sunny yourself lately isn't an uncommon experience. For some, the dip in mood is minimal, but for others it can be debilitating. (If that's the case for you, it's a good idea to talk to a therapist who can give tips specific to managing seasonal depression.)

If you've looked into ways to boost your mood even a little bit, you've probably heard about serotonin, aka a neurotransmitter in the brain that's linked to better mood and overall satisfaction. Serotonin is a chemical made by nerve cells and communicates with other cells in the body. While it's certainly not the only chemical connected to mood regulation (dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins all do too), it is an important piece of the feel-good puzzle. And get this: There are ways to boost your serotonin naturally through what you eat.

Neuroscientist and Cleaning Uo Your Mental Mess ($17) author Caroline Leaf, PhD, explains that serotonin is made from the amino acid tryptophan. (Yep, the same amino acid that can make you sleepy after eating Thanksgiving turkey.) "Tryptophan is found in many foods and may support the production of serotonin," she says, adding that more research needs to be done to really solidify the connection between diet and mood. (Although the research that does exist is extremely strong.)

With this in mind, there are five serotonin foods that are high in tryptophan that can easily be worked into your meals, according to Dr. Leaf.

5 serotonin foods to eat during winter and always
1. Eggs
Eggs top Dr. Leaf's serotonin foods list not only because they contain tryptophan but also because they're high in choline (a B vitamin) and protein. Choline is directly linked to supporting brain health, including mood, and protein gives the body energy. (Feeling run-down and sad often go hand-in-hand.)  READ MORE...

The Borg

Remembering

Three days ago, we celebrated the 80th anniversay of the bombing on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by the Japanese Royal Navy...  many civilians and military lost their lives that day and the attacked pulled the USA into WWII...

But how many of us really remember that happening?  Not very many of us because we were not even born yet...  but, as we celebrate that date, we are trying, I suppose, to force people to remember.

Three months ago tomorrow, is the 20th anniversary on the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City by Islamic Terrorists in which several thousand people were killed...  mostly civilians were killed this time and other than what the media tries to get us to remember, we pretty much don't think about it during our day-to-day lives...

Why do we not think about that horrible event?

For me, it does not impact my life currently nor did it impact my life 20 years ago.  I felt sorry for the families of those who died, but I did not end up hating Muslims nor did I hold any animosity towards people who were of the Islamic faith.

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY SIX years ago, our Civil War ended after four years of fighting and killing fellow Americans.  We were told that the war was because of slavery and has bascially laid the foundation for all our racism here in America.  

I did not own slaves because I was not born yet.  My parents and grandparents did not own slaves either...  and if, my great grandparents or great, great grandparents owned slaves, what difference should that make to me?

We don't really celebrate the end of the Civil War, nor do we celebrate the end of WWI or the end of the Korean War or the end of the Vietnam War...  maybe we should...  but, we don't.

And yet, there are many black people in America who think people like me should be punished for what my ancestors may or may not have done, simply because I am white.

It is a common sentiment among radical Islamists that ALL CHRISTIANS should be killed because they are Christians and should be held accountable for what happened hundreds of years ago.

What happened hundreds of years ago, just like what happened 20 years ago or 80 years ago or 156 years ago, is not my concern and will never be my concern.  While I may be responsible for what happened ONE MINUTE AGO, there is not a damn thing that I can do to change what I did ONE MINUTE AGO...

I have never been a student of history nor did I ever want to be a student of history.  We learn about history, I suppose, so we don't make the same mistakes again...  and, I would submit to you that SLAVERY will never again happen in America whether I like that fact or not...  so, there is no reason that I should give a damn about slavery.

I would suspect that something like Pearl Harbor will happen again, and I suspect that something like NINE ELEVEN will happen again...  and, I can guarantee you that America will go to war again and no doubt it will be a war in someone else's country...

And, when and if that happens, it will be none of my concern as well...  although, it might indirectly impact me, I will not be responsible for what our leadership does or does not do.

I have a hard enough time remembering my own life...

Let's Be Nice To Iran Now

 

Message

 

Breaking Bad Habits

Best- selling author James Clear notes most of your actions are influenced by your surroundings. He says you can manipulate those surroundings to make your desired habits obvious, attractive, easy to do, and satisfying.

James Clear first experienced the power of habits when he was seriously injured during a high school baseball game. Struck in the face with a baseball bat, he fell into a coma. He was determined to play baseball again one day and went through painstaking physical therapy. When he was able to walk again, he made a habit of hitting the gym and going to sleep early. In college, he continued working out and going to sleep early—and eventually, these habits paid off. Clear joined the college baseball team, and he was named to the ESPN Academic All-America Team at the end of his college career.

Having taken painstaking notes, Clear saw the true power of minute habits. And in his bestseller, Atomic Habits, Clear synthesizes everything he’s learned about habits—from keeping good ones to losing bad ones—and illuminates the transformative power of tiny, everyday behaviors.

1. Habits are compound-interest gains
On its own, an action like flossing your teeth or buying a cup of coffee seems pretty insignificant. After all, one missed night of flossing won’t immediately give you a cavity. And one cup of coffee, even a fancy $5 latte, won’t break your budget.

But what if you got a $5 coffee every day for a month? What if you got one every day for a year? That adds up to more than $1,800 a year to feed your coffee addiction! When actions become habits, they gain exponential power.  READ MORE...

Bowwhip Master

 

Embracer Phenom 300

It’s been the best-selling light jet for nine years running: the Embraer Phenom 300 series. And now a newer, faster, and safer version — the enhanced Phenom 300E — has entered the picture. We dive into what makes this twin jet so desirable.

It’s slick, innovative, comfortable, efficient, safe. If you ask a Phenom 300 series operator what they love about the plane, these are some of the answers you’re likely to hear. It’s been the best-selling light jet for nine years running, and it’s no coincidence. More than 600 Phenom 300 series aircraft have been delivered since the aircraft entered service in December 2009, and the type is flying in more than 30 countries.

So, what makes this twin jet so desirable?

Embraer brought the Phenom 300 to market just over a decade ago, with the goal to challenge the status quo of the light jet category.

“They accomplished that well, and that’s why it’s popular,” said Glenn Thorpe, director of sales and marketing at Canadian private charter and aircraft management company, Flightpath.

One of Flightpath’s Embraer Phenom 300s in flight. Nearly half of Flightpath’s fleet is composed of Embraer products, including the Phenom 100 and 300 series. Rod Dermo Photo

“‘Embraer’ immediately implies a more modern product,” he added. “That innovation is there to make the pilot or the owner/operator’s life easy.”

Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) PW535E turbofan engines, the Phenom 300E can fly distances up to 2,010 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 464 knots, with a 45,000-foot service ceiling. It’s a clean-sheet design, compared to other business jets. And best of all, it’s simple.

“Embraer really got all the automation right in their design,” said Flightpath Captain Osama Arafat. “Ninety percent of all the switches in the cockpit are in auto-mode, and they stay there. It’s very simple from a design perspective. . . . [Embraer’s] pedigree is airliners, and they brought that level of safety innovation into the business jet market when designing the Phenoms.”

The first Phenom 300 series aircraft was added to Flightpath’s fleet in 2015, followed by a second in 2020, with a third (the new Phenom 300E) on its way later this year. The company’s total fleet today is 14 aircraft — nearly half of which are Embraer products, including the Phenom 100; each aircraft is owned by a private individual, and managed by Flightpath.

Headquartered at the Region of Waterloo International Airport (YKF), with locations across Ontario and Quebec, the luxury charter flight company had a vision 15 years ago to offer a better experience for both aircraft owners and their management and acquisition services, as well as charter clientele. “We wanted to offer a very personalized approach to that,” described Thorpe.  READ MORE...

Birds

 

NASA's Rover

WHAT’S A MARS ROBOT to do with its downtime? The hard-working Perseverance rover takes a break from searching for signs of habitability on Mars every once in a while to just stare at the sky. But in a fortuitous turn of events, something stared back: Deimos, the smaller of the planet’s two moons.

NASA’s Perseverance rover captured the gorgeous footage of the moon sparkling in the sky earlier this year — and NASA did us all a favor and released the video via the rover’s Twitter account.

“Sky watching is fun no matter where you are,” the Perseverance team writes on Twitter. “I took this short time lapse movie to watch for clouds, and caught something else: look closely and you’ll see Deimos, one of two moons of Mars.”

“Perseverance was busying capturing images of Mars’ clouds when it caught something else: Deimos,” Inverse’s Passant Rabie wrote in August. “This is the smaller of the two Martian moons and is shaped a bit like a potato.”

DEIMOS: A BRIEF HISTORY
Deimos, named for the Roman god of panic, is one of the smallest moons in the Solar System, measuring a mere seven miles in diameter. That is smaller than the length of Manhattan.


Deimos orbits Mars once every 30 hours and has a sibling moon, Phobos, that’s somewhat closer to Mars. American astronomer Asaph Hall spotted both the moons in 1877.

The moons seem to be made of the same materials, but their origin remains murky. They could be captured asteroids, but other evidence suggests that they could be pieces of Mars kicked up by an impact. Some scenarios even suggest that Deimos formed from a larger former moon.  READ MORE...

Cold Morning

Let's Be Honest Here

Darkside

Guide to Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park stretches over 500,000 acres across Tennessee and North Carolina, and is known for its wildlife and historic homesteads. It’s the most visited national park in the country (yes, beating Yellowstone), with 12 million visitors in the last year alone.

With six park entrances to choose from, it’s important to base yourself near the sites you most want to see. Each gateway town has its own personality, but most don't get as much press as well-known Gatlinburg. Here, we break down what each of the six towns has to offer to help you decide where to stay for your Smokies getaway.

All listings featured in this story are independently selected by our editors. However, when you book something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Bryson City and Cherokee, North Carolina
Bryson City is the hub for the North Carolina Smokies and is popular with families riding the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, as the best-known route snakes through the mountains between Bryson City and Dillsboro. Train tickets include admission to the Smoky Mountain Trains Museum, which has over 7,000 model train engines and cars.

Neighboring Cherokee is an essential stop for learning about the Native people who were forcibly removed from this land in 1838. The tribe still has a presence here, and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian details their 11,000-year history. Support the community by shopping for Cherokee-made crafts at Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc.

When you’re feeling peckish, Naber’s Drive In is like stepping back in time, complete with carhop service and a simple menu featuring burgers and hot dogs. Anthony's Restaurant, in the heart of downtown Bryson City, is known for its white pizza and garlic knots (you'll need to fuel up for all that hiking, after all).

Cozy up at Sky Ridge Yurts, located just across the river from rafting outfitters like Nantahala Outdoor Center. The permanent tents have porches overlooking the forest, fire pits, full-sized bathrooms, WiFi, televisions, and kitchens (some come with kitchenettes, others offer full set-ups).  READ MORE...

Baby Turtle

 

Fusion Reaction Creates More Energy Than It Absorbs

A major milestone has been breached in the quest for fusion energy.

For the first time, a fusion reaction has achieved a record 1.3 megajoule energy output – and for the first time, exceeding energy absorbed by the fuel used to trigger it.

Although there's still some way to go, the result represents a significant improvement on previous yields: eight times greater than experiments conducted just a few months prior, and 25 times greater than experiments conducted in 2018. It's a huge achievement.

Physicists at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will be submitting a paper for peer review.

"This result is a historic step forward for inertial confinement fusion research, opening a fundamentally new regime for exploration and the advancement of our critical national security missions. It is also a testament to the innovation, ingenuity, commitment and grit of this team and the many researchers in this field over the decades who have steadfastly pursued this goal," said Kim Budil, director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

"For me, it demonstrates one of the most important roles of the national labs – our relentless commitment to tackling the biggest and most important scientific grand challenges and finding solutions where others might be dissuaded by the obstacles."

Inertial confinement fusion involves creating something like a tiny star. It starts with a capsule of fuel, consisting of deuterium and tritium – heavier isotopes of hydrogen. This fuel capsule is placed in a hollow gold chamber about the size of a pencil eraser called a hohlraum.  READ MORE...

Illusion