MY WRITING JOURNAL

Saturday, September 18

This morning I awoke at 4:00 am and after lying in the bed for 30 minutes feeling wide awake decided to get up... my thyroid pill came first, then a treat for our 3 cats, then a couple of pods of coffee, Cappuccino Mix and a YETI mug, then onto to the backporch with my Lenovo listening to the falling rain until it was was light enough to type.

The first day of the weekend starts on Saturday but some feel that the weekend for them begins as soon as they leave work friday afternoon... and, I remember feeling like that a time or two myself...

Humidity lingers around my body like wet clothes, infiltrating my head and sinuses with congestion and yet I remain outside to get a little bit of fresh air no matter how unbearable it may be for me... the sound of a train horn off in the distance... the dripping of rain off the leaves of trees... the muted chirping of birds sharing thoughts of the day... a lone rabbit crouches in a shallow gully as a light blue sky (some people refer to as Carolina Blue) pushes the dingy clouds off to the side.

The smell of fresh cut grass is camoflauged by the humid rain and the puddles of rain unable to be perked by the hard ground. Lights in nearby houses have all been extinguised, using only the light-of-day to navigate their movements inside. Ripples of water from the pump push across the surface of our above ground pool that was just vacuumed out yesterday.

A five year old photograph was sent to me by email... of my siblings and their spouses... it's a keeper, I informed the sender, asking who had taken it... as if that old memory was as recent as the email... we live and die by our questions... about that of which we do not know or remember... it was a silly question at best.

Not a thought of politics has flowed through my mind in the last two hours... I should feel blessed not to be disturbed by it all... there is no light at the end of the tunnel because there is no tunnel through which we must pass... unless we can assume that life is a tunnel of time so-to-speak but at the end of that tunnel is supposed darkness... the darkness of not being alive... and yet, our universe is full of darkness as well which has never been perceived or misconstrued as a tunnel.

Ocean Waves

Cancel Culture

The vast expansion of online learning forced by the coronavirus crisis has led to a high-tech crackdown on free speech by teachers and students, according to a groundbreaking review of America’s new classrooms.

The report by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni found that the rapid shift to Zoom-type learning preceded a new wave of bullying by participants who cut and paste comments they didn’t like into social media posts, in some cases leading to firings, bullying, and shaming.

In one noted case, a Georgetown University professor was fired for stating that black students tend to cluster near the bottom of her classes. In another, the report said that “Marquette University even threatened to rescind an admissions offer to a student because she posted a video to TikTok expressing support for President Trump.”

The report, shared with Secrets prior to its release later today, warned that free speech is being threatened by the new and selective social media shaming that comes with online learning.

“The lifeblood of the liberal arts is debate, dialectic, inquiry, and challenge,” said Michael Poliakoff, the president of ACTA, a nonprofit organization that promotes academic freedom.

“In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that has threatened the strength and even the survival of so many institutions, online education moved to the fore. We have seen that it can bless us with access to a vibrant exchange of ideas, but it also has the potential to eliminate the opportunity for growth of character and intellect,” he told us.

Over 44 pages, the report showed examples of the "canceling" of speech on campus and the muting of those who don’t want to be shamed for speaking their mind.

“Why is the crisis getting worse? Simple: Self-censorship is a perfectly reasonable reaction when students and faculty are being investigated, harassed, or punished for their speech,” it said in comparing the reactions to a “public stoning.”

What’s more, the report found that rules put in place to protect free speech are being junked because institutions are too afraid that their reputation might be hurt by a rogue comment.

The group also provided survey data to accompany its guide, titled “Building a Culture of Free Expression in the Online Classroom” READ MORE

Cymbol

Our National Debt

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday warned congressional leaders that the U.S. is on track to default on the national debt in October if the White House and Congress are unable to raise the debt limit.

In a Wednesday letter, Yellen said that the Treasury Department would likely run out of cash and exhaust “extraordinary” measures to keep the federal government within its legal borrowing limit at some point next month.

"Once all available measures and cash on hand are fully exhausted, the United States of America would be unable to meet its obligations for the first time in our history," Yellen said.

“Given this uncertainty, the Treasury Department is not able to provide a specific estimate of how long the extraordinary measures will last. However, based on our best and most recent information, the most likely outcome is that cash and extraordinary measures will be exhausted during the month of October,” she continued.

Yellen wrote the letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

The Treasury Department has taken so-called extraordinary measures to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on the national debt since the federal debt limit was reimposed on Aug. 1. If the Treasury Department runs out of ways to stave off a default without borrowing more money, the inability of the U.S. to pay its debts could send debilitating shockwaves through the financial system. READ MORE

Spacewalk

Pea and Ham Soup

Ingredients

6 - 8 servings

1 +1/2 Cups of Split yellow peas
1 lb Bacon miss shapes or 1 lb Gammon bits
4 Carrots chopped up into bite size pieces
2 Dried veg stock cubes
1/4 tsp Black pepper

Steps

1. Soak the split peas for a couple of hours or overnight the night before cooking. Then rinse thoroughly.

2. Add the split peas to a large pan also add 4 pints of Water bring to the boil and cook on low heat, also add the chopped bacon or Gammon, 2 veg cubes and carrots stir to mix.

3. Add pepper, be careful with salt as the bacon misshapen maybe salty soak bacon in cold water before cooking to remove excess salt.

4. Cook for 1 hour in pressure cooker. 2 - 3 hours on the hob simmering and stirring occasionally it will thicken as it cooks. Turn off leave it to thicken for a while then heat up when needed.

5. When cooked the split peas turn mushy so it thickens. it is best after it cools to add to the fridge for the next day as it lays there the flavours come out better its also thicker. You can have it as soon as it cooks too, just nicer the next day.

6. Serve hot with crusty Bread to dip in

NOTE:

Recipe from Maureen Maureen in Liverpool, England - on September 2, 2021

I love this Cookpad Site, Recipes, friends, interesting people and outstanding recipes, and able to see and to taste food from all over the world. i have learned so much more here, spices , herbs and lovely recipes of different cultures. also experimenting mixing different herbs and spices and making my own creations

Skeletons

Friday, September 17

Against Big Government and Their Controls

There are basically two groups of people living here in the United States and each group has their little spinoffs... these two groups are:

Those who favor BIG GOVERNMENT (50%)

Those who favor SMALL GOVERNMENT (50%)

It would appear that the United States is equally divided in what it believes and what it wants which in a way is damn near perfect because one side does not control more than the other side...

However,

our Federal Government SHOULD NOT TELL US what we should or should not do with our bodies...

that is to say:

if a woman wants to get an abortion she should be allowed to get an abortion
if a male/female does not want to get a COVID vaccine they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female want to take illegal drugs they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female wants to drink alcohol they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female wants to smoke cigarettes they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female wants to own a firearm they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female wants to become a terrorist they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female wants to sell illegal drugs they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female wants to speak out against the government they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female does not want to pursue an education they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female wants to get themselves into endless debt they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female does not want to pay higher taxes they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female wants to change genders they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female wants to believe in communism they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female wants to worship their God(s) they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female hates other races or ethnic groups they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female wants to organize a movement to defund the police they should be allowed to do so
if a male/female believes the US Constitution should be written they should be allowed to believe that way
if a male/female steals something from someone else they should be allowed to do so (but punished)
if a male/female wants to be homeless they should be allowed to do so

The United States... IN ALL ITS GREATNESS... has not been able to prevent the WEALTHY from CONTROLLING all of those individuals and couples that are NOT WEALTHY...

The BIGGEST PROBLEM in the United States is NOT politics, employment, education, or healthcare... it is all the MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES who invest their monies in CONTROLLING AMERICANS...

Saluting Biden's Leadership

The Supreme Leader of the United States and her military forces is President Joe Biden... who has been accused of NOT BEING RIGHT ON FOREIGN POLICY FOR THE LAST FOUR DECADES...

Be that as it may, our President Biden has accomplished the following in less that 10 months in office:

Opened our borders to non stop immigration
Spent so much money that it has caused inflation
Slowed down our economic recovery after COVID
Mandated COVID Vaccines
Botched the Afghanistan withdrawal
Caused our global allies to lose respect
Raised taxes on everyone
Censored the conservative voices
Promoted Critical Race Theory and being WOKE
Caused Americans to be more divided
Failed on climate change

We have 3 more years of this clown and there is no telling what he has yet to accomplish... and, this comment in tongue-in-cheek and is more surreal than bestowing praise... and, what bothers me more than anything else about this country, is the fact that so many people we against TRUMP and did everything they could to remove him from office...

We have gone from BAD TO WORSE...

The Second Amendment

The amendment itself contains 27 words:

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

This provision references both the collective right of a militia and an individual right.

As a Vietnam Era Veteran, I defended the US Constitution and the freedoms contained therein... two of which I am particularly keen about: The First and Second Amendments indicating our:

Freedom of Speech
Right to bear arms

While I will never hold another gun in my hand as long as I live, I am NOT OPPOSED to everyone in the United States owning a firearm and going through a weapons safety class followed by firing range practice... and, if they want to, apply for a carry permit.

Not only should law enforcement and criminals like drug dealers be armed with weapons, so too should our general public be armed with weapons.

Not only should white supremacist groups and black lives matter groups and ANTIFA be armed with weapons, so too should the general public be armed with weapons as well.

As we continue to promote DEFUND THE POLICE movements, we should also promote ARM YOURSELF WITH WEAPONS movements because it is necessary to meet force with an equal (but never greater) than the force being applied against us.

The GREAT CONCEPT about the United States is that we have the First and Second Amendments and as long as we have both those amendments and a willing general public to take advantage of those amendments, we SHALL NEVER BE CONTROLLED by either a foreign or domestic threat.

The General

Dog Noses

Triple Qubit Entanglement Achieved

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Researchers with the Riken Center for Emergent Matter Science in Japan have demonstrated a triple-qubit, silicon-based quantum computing mechanism - opening up the road for increased scalability beyond a mere increment in total qubits on a given system. Previously, qubits had only been shown working in entangled pairs -- and this research demonstrates that entanglement (and thus computation) can actually be divided between three qubits.

Quantum computing rests atop qubits - the quantum equivalent of the modern transistor. But while typical transistors can only represent one value at any point in time (with that value being either zero or one), qubits benefit from the superposition mechanic of quantum physics, meaning that they can represent both states at the same time.

Until now, quantum computing systems worked by entangling two distinct qubits, which allowed them work in tandem in solving any complex workload (entanglement meaning that the qubits perfectly mirror each other, and any changes to one qubit's state are instantly replicated in the other).

If you think of each qubit as a single core, the research now increases the maximum amount of qubits ("cores") that can work in synchrony to be three, from its previous two-qubit maximum. Theoretically, you can now build multiple triple-core quantum computing subdivisions, instead of dual-core ones. READ MORE

Dog Pulls Horse

The Color Blue is Rare in Nature

In poison dart frogs,
bright blue colors broadcast a warning to predators
that the animal is toxic.
(Image credit: Lillian King/Getty Images)

When you look up at the blue sky overhead or gaze across the seemingly endless expanse of a blue ocean, you might think that the color blue is common in nature. But among all the hues found in rocks, plants and flowers, or in the fur, feathers, scales and skin of animals, blue is surprisingly scarce. But why is the color blue so rare? The answer stems from the chemistry and physics of how colors are produced — and how we see them.

We're able to see color because each of our eyes contains between 6 million and 7 million light-sensitive cells called cones. There are three different types of cones in the eye of a person with normal color vision, and each cone type is most sensitive to a particular wavelength of light: red, green or blue. Information from millions of cones reaches our brains as electrical signals that communicate all the types of light reflected by what we see, which is then interpreted as different shades of color.

When we look at a colorful object, such as a sparkling sapphire or a vibrant hydrangea bloom, "the object is absorbing some of the white light that falls onto it; because it's absorbing some of the light, the rest of the light that's reflected has a color," science writer Kai Kupferschmidt, author of "Blue: In Search of Nature's Rarest Color" (The Experiment, 2021), told Live Science.

"When you see a blue flower — for instance, a cornflower — you see the cornflower as blue because it absorbs the red part of the spectrum," Kupferschmidt said. Or to put it another way, the flower appears blue because that color is the part of the spectrum that the blossom rejected, Kupferschmidt wrote in his book, which explores the science and nature of this popular hue. READ MORE

Dog Meets Camel

Healthy Lifestyle - Balanced Diet

Highlights

The key to a good and long life starts with what we eat
It is important to choose the right nutrients for the body
Add these 5 foods in your diet for healthy living

The key to a good and long life starts with what we eat. From a handpicked range of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and non-vegetarian options, such as fish and meat, the necessary nutrients for a balanced diet come through a lot of food items.

It is important to choose the right nutrients for the body and lead the way to a healthy lifestyle. Packaged foods should be avoided and more focus should be laid on fresh food. Junk foods and oily food are to be avoided as they can harm the heart. But it also gets a little confusing on what to eat and what to avoid.

We have curated a list of the 5 must-haves for a daily diet so that the body is taken care of and the cravings of the taste buds are also attended to.

5 Foods To Add For A Healthy Lifestyle

1) Nuts
Nuts are a blessing in disguise. While they are great for a daily snack, the range of nuts also adds to the nutrients in the body. From proteins to carbohydrates, and magnesium, nuts contain a range of nutrients and provide multiple health benefits. Have nuts such as walnuts or peanuts daily. For you, we have a few recipes, too, where you can use nuts. While these cashew nut cookies, which you can enjoy with your cup of tea, are full of protein, vitamins, and minerals, the nutritious date and pistachio muffin boasts of high fibre and is a great treat for diabetics. TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE OTHER 4, CLICK HERE...

Sliding Dog

Thursday, September 16

Russians

Stuffed Peppers

The flavors you love in traditional stuffed peppers are all here in this easy Stuffed Pepper Skillet. You can have this satisfying meal on the table in 30 minutes!

I’m a stuffed pepper lover from way back. My mom made them on a regular basis so the flavors hold so much nostalgia for me. I’ve cooked lots of yummy variations, like my Mexican Stuffed Peppers. But honestly, they aren’t on regular rotation in my kitchen because they take a little more time than I typically have to give most weeknights. Enter these fabulous “unstuffed peppers”.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
This easy ground beef recipe is ready in about 30 minutes.
Everything cooks in one skillet which means easy cleanup.
It includes wholesome, easy to stock ingredients.
It is hearty and satisfying.
The flavors are family-friendly, even for little ones who don’t think they love bell peppers.

INGREDIENTS LIST

Olive oil
Ground beef – I use 90% lean ground beef.
Onion – Sweet yellow onion is my favorite for this recipe.
Minced garlic – Either fresh or the jarred variety will work just fine.
Tomato paste
Bell pepper – I like to use a combination of red and green peppers for that traditional stuffed pepper flavor. Keep in mind that if your kiddos are unsure of their feelings about bell peppers (or dead set against them), you might have more luck with red, yellow, and/or orange peppers which are sweeter and milder than green.
Fire roasted diced tomatoes
Rice – Long grain white rice, like Jasmine rice.
Low sodium beef broth
Worcestershire sauce
Fresh parsley – I’m a fan of old school curly parsley. It’s inexpensive and works well in this recipe.
Seasoning – Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Cheese – A mixture of shredded pepper Jack cheese and sharp cheddar cheese.

TO FIND OUT HOW TO COOK THESE STUFFED PEPPERS, CLICK HERE

Cat Jump

Cannabus Linked to Heart Attacks

Frequent cannabis use among young adults was associated with an increased risk — albeit low — of a heart attack, researchers found, adding that more data is needed to confirm the results.

Findings published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal drew from an annual CDC-led survey, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), among 33,173 adults aged 18 to 44, of which 4,610 reported recent cannabis use.

Study authors found that recent cannabis users were more likely to have a history of myocardial infarction, or heart attack, at 1.3% (61 of 4,610 cannabis users), compared to people who didn’t use cannabis, at 0.8% (240 of 28,563 nonusers).

Participants who reported using cannabis over four times each month, with smoking as the main route (versus vaporization or edibles) were more likely to have a history of a heart attack.

"Increasing cannabis use in an at-risk population could have negative implications for cardiovascular health," study authors wrote.

Survey participants were asked how many days they consumed cannabis in the prior month, and whether a doctor or nurse ever informed them of a heart attack. The study indicated that males, unmarried respondents, cigarette and e-cigarette users and heavy drinkers were more likely to report recent cannabis use. READ MORE

Have a Laugh

Fall Allergies

As summer comes to a close, millions of Americans can reportedly expect the fall allergy season to be in "full force" this year.

According to AccuWeather meteorologists, fall allergies are often triggered by ragweed and the presence of mold.

"Fall allergies are typically triggered by ragweed, and the pollen from these types of plants that are common in North America can travel as far as the wind carries it," AccuWeather wrote. "Another cause of fall allergies is mold, which can grow in piles of damp leaves."

The Philadelphia Inquirer said Monday that ragweed plants are expected to produce pollen to torment residents over the next couple of weeks.

"In purely coincidental sync with the hurricane season, this is the peak period for the ragweeds," the paper wrote, noting that the impact of climate change – and drought in the West – has extended pollen season by pushing back first-frost dates.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says shifts in precipitation patterns, more frost-free days, warmer seasonal air temperatures and more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can affect the length of pollen season, how pollen impacts human health and how much pollen plants create. READ MORE

Interesting Read

The Benefit of Flour (Worth The Read)

Interesting! Who knew?

Some time ago, I was cooking some corn and stuck my fork in the boiling water to see if the corn was ready. I missed and my hand went into the boiling water!

A friend of mine, who was a Vietnam vet, came into the house, as I was screaming, & asked me if I had some plain old flour... I pulled out a bag and he stuck my hand in it. He told me to keep my hand in the flour for 10 minutes.

He said, in Vietnam , there was a guy on fire and in their panic, they threw a bag of flour all over him to put the fire out... Well, it not only put the fire out, but he never even had a blister!!!!

Long story short, I put my hand in the bag of flour for 10 mins, pulled it out and did not even have a red mark or a blister & absolutely NO PAIN.

Now, I keep a bag of flour in the fridge and every time I burn myself. *Cold flour feels even better than room temperature flour. I use the flour and have never ever had even a red spot/burn mark, or a blister! I even burnt my tongue once, put the flour on it for about 10 minutes .... The pain was gone and no burn.

Try it . . . Experience a miracle! Keep a bag of flour in your fridge and you will be happy you did!

Flour has heat absorbent property and also has a strong antioxidant property, thus it helps in burn patients if applied within 15 minutes.

Have a Blessed Day!!

"When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you should share it with others"