Going on Vacation

 

I have gone through 4 phases of going on vacation...

Before graduating from high school, our family vacations lasted anywhere from 2 weeks to four weeks depending on where my dad was doing his naval reserve obligation of 2 weeks of active duty.  If his training was somewhere near where the rest of the family could vacation, we would stay there for 4 weeks.

The next phase took place during my first marriage and since neither one of us earned that much of an income, our vacations were spent at home doing chores around the house.  Interestingly, we did not feel that we were missing anything.  We would drive down to the Outer Banks every once in a while and spend the week at my parent's beach house for free.

The next phase took place during my second marriage. We traveled to all sorts of places like Vegas, New Orleans, NYC, Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale, the Gulf Coast, Canada, Vancouver, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, and Europe.  We also went on 12 cruises that took us to Alaska, Hawaii, the Mediterranean, and all over the Caribbean...  But, no matter where we went, we always made time to spend a couple of weeks at Myrtle Beach.

The last phase (that I currently know about) is currently taking place during my second marriage and it seems that we have burned ourselves out with vacations and now the only place that we want to go is Myrtle Beach and even then, we are not all that keen on going so it is more or less just a change of scenery for us.

We will be in Myrtle Beach this year in September as our June visit was postponed due to my back surgery.  We have an ocean-facing condo that has a living room with a balcony, a kitchen and eating area, a bathroom, and a back bedroom with a door so that I can go to bed early and not be disturbed and my wife can sleep in a little in the morning and not be disturbed.

What do we do differently down at Myrtle Beach that we do not do at home, besides sitting under an umbrella watching the Atlantic Ocean?  Not much at all other than in the evening, we get "cleaned up" as the saying goes, and venture out for dinner.  And, while we can certainly do this at home, we typically don't do it every night.

While 6 hours in the car does not seem like a lot of time, it will be this time because of my back surgery and I have been mildly ordered by my Orthopedic Surgeon to stop every two hours so that I can get out and walk for 5-10 minutes.  We normally stop once for gasoline, so the inconvenience which is not really an inconvenience is only stopping a second time since the third time to stop will be at our hotel.

Rising Moon

 

One Vitamin Keeps Brain Healthy

As a nutritional psychiatrist, I always make it a point to maintain a well-balanced diet. Much of that has to do with making sure I get all the right vitamins, especially because it’s essential to preventing cognitive decline.


And given that the risk of neurological diseases increases as we get older, one question I often get from my patients is: “What is the best vitamin for protecting our aging brains?”


Each of our microbiomes is like a thumbprint, so a truly effective eating plan is personalized to the unique needs of an individual. But the vitamin group I prioritize the most to keep my brain young and healthy are B vitamins.

The brain benefits of B vitamins
Depression, dementia and mental impairment are often associated with a deficiency of B vitamins, a study from the Wayne State University School of Medicine found.

“A B12 vitamin deficiency as a cause of cognitive issues is more common than we think, especially among the elderly who live alone and don’t eat properly,” says Rajaprabhakaran Rajarethinam, a psychiatrist and the lead author of the study.

There are eight different B vitamins, each with its own primary health benefits:

1. Increasing your energy.
Vitamin B1, or thiamin, is crucial for the basic function of our cells and the metabolism of nutrients for energy.


The brain is one of the most metabolically active organs in your body, which means it needs the support of thiamin to prevent the deficiencies that can lead to neurological problems down the line. READ MORE...

Underwater Turtle

 

Heart Medications Linked to Heart Attacks

According to a new study, patients taking beta-blockers and antiplatelet medications (such as aspirin) are at high risk of suffering a heart attack during very hot weather.

For people with coronary heart disease, beta-blockers are important medications that can improve survival and quality of life. Likewise, aspirin and other antiplatelet drugs can reduce the risk of a heart attack.

However, those protections could backfire during hot-weather events, a time when heart attacks are already more likely. A new study published on August 1 in the journal Nature Cardiovascular Research found that, among people suffering non-fatal heart attacks associated with hot weather, an outsize portion are taking these heart medications.

“Patients taking these two medications have higher risk,” said Kai Chen, an assistant professor in the Yale School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology (Environmental Health) and first author of the study. “During heat waves, they should really take precautions.”

Those safety precautions include cooling strategies like using air conditioning or visiting a public cooling center.

Air pollution, cold weather, and other external environmental factors can trigger heart attacks. There is growing evidence to suggest that hot weather can do so, too. However, epidemiologists are still working to identify which groups of people are most vulnerable to these environmental extremes.  READ MORE...

Cave Road

 

Mortgage Market Resets

U.S. mortgage rates are tumbling even after the Federal Reserve hiked its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points last week.

In fact, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has dipped below 5% for the first time since early April, a new report shows.

This is still significantly higher than last year — and the combination of high prices and interest rates is “driving a reset in fundamentals,” says George Ratiu, senior economist with Realtor.com.

“With borrowing costs setting an affordability ceiling for many buyers, home sales are dropping,” says Ratiu.

“In addition, as many homeowners rushed into summer ready to list their property and capture the equity brought about by record-high prices, inventory has improved. This brought a welcome sign in this year’s real estate markets — price cuts.”  READ MORE...

B17 in Flight

 

Millionaires and Billionaires and the Rest of Us

 

One of my faults my family says is that I am too critical of things and people...

Well, that is probably true...  but there are certain things that one must be critical about and for me that is TAXES...

So, here's the question:

SHOUlD THE WEALTHY BE TAXED MORE AND EXPECTED TO PAY FOR SOCIAL PROGRAMS THAT WILL CAUSE US TO DO EVEN LESS WORK?

In other words, if I were a millionaire or a billionaire, I would be expected to pay millions of dollars that I created myself to pay for:

• higher unemployment benefits
• higher social security benefits
• higher medicare benefits
• housing and food for the poor
• free college education
• a guaranteed minimum income

Why should I be forced to pay more taxes simply because I am wealthy?

And, if I am going to be forced to pay more taxes to pay for this shit, then guess what...  I'm hiding my income in the Grand Caymans where it cannot be taxed.

Then, who is going to pay for these programs?

NOT ME!!!

If this little scenario sounds somewhat silly...  it is about to happen...  and I would be willing to bet you that 90% of all millionaires and billionaires have already hidden their money so that it cannot be taxed.

If we cannot get the money from taxes, then our only other choices are:

• borrow the money
• print more money

Both of these choices ain't too smart because some future generations will have to pay if we borrow...  and, printing will simply devalue our dollar, and cause inflation...

But...  hey...  what the hell do I know?

Conspiracy

Why would the Democratic Party and Mainstream Media be pushing a climate agenda, going GREEN to combat climate change...  when wealthy Americans who support the GREEN MOVEMENT have refused to give up their private jets?

And, when there are only a few countries that are going GREEN?

In order for GOING GREEN to work, the entire world MUST GO GREEN...  countries NOT GOING GREEN:

• Russia
• China
• India
• North Korea
• Indonesia
• Africa
• Central America
• South America

The other interesting aspect of GOING GREEN is that commercial aircraft will not be involved in this process...  and, commercial aircraft fly all over the world to EVERY DAMN COUNTRY...

Looks like those of us who are GOING GREEN are spitting in the wind, and wasting time and resources...

Line Dancing

 

Extinct Pathogens Destroyed Civilizations

Thousands of years ago, across the Eastern Mediterranean, multiple Bronze Age civilizations took a distinct turn for the worse at around the same time.

The Old Kingdom of Egypt and the Akkadian Empire both collapsed, and there was a widespread societal crisis across the Ancient Near East and the Aegean, manifesting as declining populations, destruction, reduced trade, and significant cultural changes.

As usual, fingers have been pointed at climate change and shifting allegiances. But scientists have just found a new culprit in some old bones.

In remains excavated from an ancient burial site on Crete, in a cave called Hagios Charalambos, a team led by archaeogeneticist Gunnar Neumann of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany found genetic evidence of bacteria responsible for two of history's most significant diseases – typhoid fever and plague.

Therefore, the researchers said, widespread illnesses caused by these pathogens cannot be discounted as a contributing factor in the societal changes so widespread around 2200 to 2000 BCE.

"The occurrence of these two virulent pathogens at the end of the Early Minoan period in Crete," they wrote in their paper, "emphasizes the necessity to re-introduce infectious diseases as an additional factor possibly contributing to the transformation of early complex societies in the Aegean and beyond."  READ MORE...

Classic Car

 

Giant Squid Hunt For Prey

First-of-Its-Kind Video Shows How Giant Squid Hunt Their Prey Deep in The Ocean...

In the permanent twilight of the mesopelagic, a silent predator hunts.

The enigmatic giant squid is rarely observed in its natural habitat. In the first videos of their kind, unveiled in 2021, marine scientists caught its hunting behavior in the wild – revealing for the first time how these monsters of the deep stalk and attack their prey.

Although the crushing pressures and darkness of the oceanic depths are hostile to us air-breathing humans, we've slowly but surely been learning more about them, thanks to the wonders of robotic technology. Most of our underwater vehicles, however, are best suited to studying slow or immobile organisms.

For giant squid, the bright lights mounted on underwater vehicles can be uncomfortable for their sensitive, low-light eyes, which can grow to the size of dinner plates; the sound and vibration can also scare off more mobile animals. And, of course, bringing giant squid to the surface won't record their behavior in their natural environment.

That's why a team of researchers led by Nathan Robinson of the Oceanographic Foundation in Spain devised a different solution: a passive deep-sea platform, equipped with a camera. Because giant squid eyes are optimized to see shorter-wavelength blue light, they used longer-wavelength red lighting that won't annoy them, in order to see the animals on video.  READ MORE...

Sea Creature

 

Ancient Panda in Europe

An illustration of Agriarctos nikolovi, an ancient relative of the modern panda. (Velizar Simeonovski/Chicago)

Six million years ago, a relative of today’s giant panda roamed ancient forests — but in Bulgaria, not China, scientists say.


Researchers used a set of fossilized teeth discovered in the 1970s to uncover a new species of panda. The teeth were first discovered by paleontologist Ivan Nikolov, and the species bears his name — Agriarctos nikolovi.


The find is described in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.


The teeth are shiny and black because they fossilized in coal deposits in Bulgaria. Researchers believe they date from the Messinian age — 7.2 million to 5.3 million years ago — and that the animal lived in humid forests and swamps. It was probably comparable in size to modern pandas, which can weigh up to 250 pounds.

The fossilized teeth are less robust than those of modern-day pandas, which chomp on woody bamboo, and researchers think the ancient bears relied on softer plants instead.  READ MORE...

Parachute Fails

 

Learning Never Stops

 

I attended college from 1966 until 1968 and then again from 1972 to 1974 and then again from 1980 to 1981...

From 1969 to 1971, I was employed by the US Navy because I did not think college was that important...

And, I still have those doubts about attending college and you will have a productive life and earn more money are simply NOT ALWAYS TRUE...

BUT WHAT IS TRUE...  is the fact that one never stops learning or one should never stop learning.   I say it this way because many people after leaving whatever school they attended do not want to learn anymore...

About college these days and I have been a college instructor full time for 3 years and part-time for over 12 years...   is that today's student does not want to retain the knowledge...  while most of the knowledge that high schools and colleges teach is pointless, the student should still practice RETENTION.

My transcripts (and GRADES) were never used to hire me during the 45 years that I worked even those colleges and universities that hired me to teach.

Learning on the other hand is an on-going lifelong process that should never stop.  At 74 years old, I still want to learn...  forget the fact that it is exercise for my brain...  but, I really enjoy learning...  and I am learning shit that I will never use or never get quizzed about.

Right now, I am learning about:

• Theoretical Physics
• String Theory
• Cosmology
• Astrology
• History
• Archaeology
• Comparative Religions
• The Vikings
• Polical Science
• Cooking

Can you imagine that if you spent your entire life learning one item a day, let's say how smart you would be if you were to die at age 80?  You would know 22,995 pieces of information and 26,645 if you lived 10 years more to the age of 90.

What would it mean to know that much knowledge?

Probably not a damn thing...  except for personal satisfaction.

 

Path Less Taken

 Sometimes...  walking through a wooded area on a seldom used path can be invigorating as it reduces one's stress comuning with nature...  but, then there are the spiders...  the ticks...  the bees...  and the snakes that one may have to contend with...  and, the experience becomes not enjoyable at all...

THIS IS THE ROAD LESS TAKEN...

When I left high school, one of the lessons that he shared with me (and there were many) revolved around learning from those who came before you...  and, while that does make a lot of sense, it negates a lot of valuable experience on which you might miss out.

And, while I did learn a lot of valuable experience, my decision put me a good 10 years behind my peers who decided that they would get very little from those experiences...  looking back...  perhaps they were right...  but, I am still glad that I did what I did.

I don't know if you have heard this lesson or not but it's kinda like the turtle and the rabbit.  

Most days when I am in the car and going through a city, whether urban or rural, there is always a driver who has to take off fast from the red light...  so, he can get green on the next one and maybe green on the next one, but on the third one he catches the red.  

Interestingly, I am right there with him...  maybe a few cars behind...  but, I did not jump off the red light quickly, nor did I exceed the speed limit...  yet, I always catch up with them...  when going through a city.

It is humorous to watch these drivers because they never see me and know that I am right behind them and THEY HAVE GAINED NOTHING...

The same issue is present between me and my peers because even though I am 10 years behind them, I always catch up with them, and oftentimes surpass them...  sometime around half way through their careers.

It's true that I worked a little harder because I was behind, but that working harder is normal work for me...  at least during my career...  I am not that same kind of person now that I am retired.

My retirement is a little better or maybe the same as my peers because during the last 15 years of my career, I started planning for my retirement.  I planned for my retirement because that was one of the lessons that I learned when I took THE PATH LESS TAKEN.

What makes the photo at the beginning of this article a good one is not so much the subject matter but the use of light and dark to create contrast and depth of field...  this is what I learned from the path less taken.

Tug-of-War

 

Unleashing Nuclear Fusion

LASERS ARE useful for a lot of things. They made CDs work (when they were still a thing). They also provide hours of entertainment for cats (and their humans). 

But they can also create magnetic conditions similar to the surface of the Sun in a lab, according to new research by scientists at Osaka University. And that might help a wide range of other scientific disciplines, ranging from solar astronomy to fusion.

The experiment used a high-power laser, known as Gekko XII, at the Institute of Laser Engineering at Osaka University. Originally designed for fusion experiments, this laser is powerful enough to vaporize a piece of plastic if it is focused on it. 

Or, more accurately, it is powerful enough to turn it into plasma.

That is just what the researchers did. They zapped a small piece of plastic with Gekko XII that sat on top of a magnet emitting a weak magnetic field. 

The laser blast, which only lasted for about 500 picoseconds, created a high-energy plasma that distorts an already weak magnetic field over the sample. 

That combination of a weak magnetic field and plasma created a situation known as a “pure electron outflow.”  READ MORE...

Watercolors

 

More From the Webb Telescope

We previewed our uncrewed Artemis I mission to the Moon during a pair of briefings. On August 3, agency officials at our NASA Headquarters and at other NASA centers provided a “big picture overview” of the mission.

“Artemis I shows that we can do big things. Things that unite people, things that benefit humanity. Things like Apollo that inspire the world.” — Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator

That was followed two days later with a deeper dive into the mission’s timeline and operations from our Johnson Space Center. 

The agency is currently targeting no earlier than Monday, August 29, for the launch of the Space Launch System rocket to send the Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back to Earth. 

Artemis I will take place over the course of about six weeks to check out systems before astronauts fly aboard the spacecraft on Artemis II.

This image of the Cartwheel and its companion galaxies is a composite from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), which reveals details that are difficult to see in the individual images alone.

This galaxy formed as the result of a high-speed collision that occurred about 400 million years ago. The Cartwheel is composed of two rings, a bright inner ring, and a colorful outer ring. 

Both rings expand outward from the center of the collision like shockwaves. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team.  READ MORE...

Waves at Sunrise

 

Common Viruses and Alzheimer's

Varicella zoster virus (VZV), which commonly causes chickenpox and shingles, activates herpes simplex virus (HSV) from dormancy in neural tissue grown in vitro, which then leads to an increase in plaque deposits and decrease in neural signaling — hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. Credit: Tufts University

Shingles infection may awaken dormant neurological herpes viruses, causing inflammation and accumulation of Alzheimer’s associated proteins in the brain.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in older adults and the 7th leading cause of death in the United States, according to the National Institute on Aging. 

It is a debilitating progressive illness that slowly destroys cognitive function and memory.

It can begin almost imperceptibly, often masquerading in the early months or years as forgetfulness that is very common in older age. What causes Alzheimer’s disease remains largely a mystery.

But researchers using a three-dimensional human tissue culture model mimicking the brain, have shown that varicella zoster virus (VZV), which commonly causes chickenpox and shingles, may activate herpes simplex (HSV), another common virus, to set in motion the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. 

The study was conducted by scientists at Tufts University and the University of Oxford.  READ MORE...

Catch & Release

 

Living in Tennessee

This morning, FOX News had a segment on the hundreds of people that were leaving Democratic-controlled states and moving to Tennessee, specifically NASHVILLE.  But, the state of Tennessee is not just about Nashville...

• When I think of Nashville, I think of the home of Country Music...
• When I think of Memphis, I think of the home of Elvis Presley...
• When I think of Bristol, I think of the home of NASCAR....
• When I think of Knoxville, I think of the home of Oak Ridge National Laboratories...
• When I think of Chattanooga, I think of  Glenn Miller's Chattanooga Choo Choo and the revitalized riverfront, similar to the riverfront in San Antonio, Texas...

Tennessee is also the home of Jack Daniels whiskey and has the nickname of "Volunteers" that dates back to the Alamo and Davy Crockett...

And, what is not mentioned often is the Great Smoky Mountains which is the NUMBER ONE TOURIST ATTRACTION in the entire US of A...   imagine that?

Tennessee has a HUGE system of LAKES thanks to the TVA and the public works projects of the 1920s that put people to work because of the Great Depression.  And, where I am currently living, I have access to two lakes on either side of me, Cherokee and Douglas...  I can get to either lake in about 10-15 minutes.

About 40-60 minutes (depending upon traffic) away from my location, there is:

• Pidgeon Forge
• Dollywood
• Gatlinburg

Each of these tourist attractions went from just being opened in the summer months (circa 1990s) to being open 12 months a year (circa 2000s)...

Oak Ridge National Laboratories just outside of Knoxville, receives 80% of the Department of Energy's budget each year to work on a variety of projects for the Federal Government...  Currently, ORNL works on protecting nuclear materials to secure the peaceful use of energy production, medical applications, and scientific discovery around the world...

I moved over to TN in 1990 and 32 years later not only am I still here but I have no desire to live anywhere else...  I wear a t-shirt from April through December...  that's 8 months out of the year...  not bad.

Do yourself a favor...  come to TN for a visit...  stay a week or two, maybe three...  spend your money, but don't stay!!!

Relax... Don't Worry...

Dan Bongino took Rush Limbaugh's spot on talk radio and moved from NYC to Florida and is a regular guest on FOX News...  Today he was interviewed on FOX News as a result of the FBI's raid of former President Trump's home in Florida...   claiming that Trump took classified documents when he left the Whitehouse, knowing that his defense would be, I declassified them before I left office...  but they did the deed anyway.

Dan was LIVID, to say the least and while he said that he was a conservative and therefore a Republican but not because of the current Republicans in Congress because they are a DO NOTHING group of politicians and need to immediately be removed.  Dan said the GOP now TALKS BOLD AND BIG but when it comes to action, they accomplish nothing.

Dan Bongino pretty much reflects my sentiments about all of the Congressional Republicans except for Lindsey Graham and a couple of others that FOX News interviews regularly...

The Democrats play dirty but piss, bitch, and moan when others play dirty against them...

The Democrats lie and really do not feel guilty about their lies as they continue to make these lies daily...

The Democrats are moving closer and closer to a Socialistic form of government where the government provides you with everything -- just like the movie/show STAR TREK...

The Democrats have mainstream media covering the ASSES, networks like CNN, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, PBR...

If this is the kind of government that you want...  then have it...  and, the reason that I say this is because HISTORICALLY all socialistic governments FAIL...

History always repeats itself whether we like it or not and regardless if this is what some of want or don't want...

In order to have a socialistic government, two things have to happen.

First - the government must insure that it can collect taxes from the WEALTHY in order to pay for the socialistic society...  USA millionaires and billionaires already have their money shelter away from taxes in the Grand Caymans.

Second - the government must insure that ALL BUSINESSES will be willing to pay their fair share of whatever...  or be taken over (OWNED) by the federal government...  then the government can manage the business any way they like.

Do you really think first or second will happen in the US of A?

Right now, about 70% of what we receive is considered to already be SOCIALISTIC in nature, such as:

• Public Education
• Public Transportation
• Public Parks and Recreation
• Social Security
• Medicare
• Unemployment Insurance

These programs already cost the country so much money that we are ASSHOLE deep in debt with CHINA owning ONE-THIRD of that debt...  can you imagine that China owns 1/3 of our debt?

What do we do when they DEMAND their money back?

What I do...

 I have been writing poetry since 1972, opinion articles since 2000, and novels since 2015...  but, I am not saying that any of my writing is actually any good because none of it has been published yet and I doubt that it ever will but that does not deter me from writing.

I have also had professional art classes at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington DC in: charcoal, oils, acrylics, and oils.  I also spent 8 years (4-5 hours a week) receiving training in photography from a professional photographer who had a studio connected to the building in which I was working.

So...  what all did this do for me?

Not much of anything actually...  although, I have something to do each day that I have been retired and continue to be retired.

I suppose that the more I write the better I get at communicating both orally and written...   and, I am sure that has helped me in my career and personal life...  but, other than that, I don't suppose it has made any difference at all...  still, I am obsessed with writing every day.  

Do I think having an ability to write is important?

YES!

But....  verbal communications is much more important...  as when one speaks, one can motivate or demotivate people...  using the wrong word can send the wrong signals.  I remember a northern plant manager came down here to the south and made some comment about his employees being "rednecks" because he thought that was an appropriate word to use...  and, 1,500 people held that against him for over a year.

This plant manager did not know his audience...

When you get to be my age you have all kinds of stories to tell based upon one's experiences...  these stories can be learning experiences if the listener is open-minded and willing to learn.

All Around Me

 

Dead at the age of 73...  is Olivia Newton-John...  only one year younger than me...

I saw a video clip online today of a middle-aged woman holding a sand crab in her hand that started to walk up her arm...

Another photo of a younger female laying on a tree limb twice as big as she was with both arms wrapped around hugging it...

An advertisement flashed on my monitor screen that I could rent a two-bedroom, 800-1000 square feet for about $1,000 in Knoxville, TN...  based upon the location because the range of prices for the same basic apartment went from $800 to over $1,500...

Life is operating all around me...  the good...  the bad...  and the indifferent...  and, I can see it if I want to look for it...

I went to therapy for my left hip area today and was told that I have bursitis...  I was shown an exercise to do that immediately helped me walk up steps...   I was impressed...

How often do we take for granted that which we have all around us?  And, why is it, do you suppose, that we do this?  Are we just too busy to see?  Do we not care about life around us, instead focusing on ourselves?

It seems, at least to me, that all we care about these days is:

• getting out of school
• finding somewhere to work not necessarily a career
• finding a spouse and having children
• drinking alcohol and having sex
• watching sports of all kinds
• owning a pickup truck or SUV
• having fun when not working
• not worrying about getting a serious disease
• not thinking about one's future nor really planning (or caring) about retirement

And, when one really thinks about it, that is really not a bad list to have...  unless you are financially well off, really wealthy, or a billionaire...  then your priorities are a hell of a lot different, but even then you don't really appreciate the life that is all around you...  because you are ABSORBED IN AND WITH SELF...

Did you know?

• millions of people around the world live in poverty
• millions of people around the world do not have enough to eat daily
• millions of people around the world are homeless
• millions of people around the world have had no education

I betcha none of these millions are worried about climate control or going green or that the polar ice caps are melting...

WHY DOES IT TAKE GROWING OLD TO CHANGE ONE'S CARING ABOUT LIFE AROUND THEM?