Category Archives: General

‘Oumuamua, interstellar probe?!

This …interesting… bit has been making the news of late.

You remember ‘Oumuamua, no?  It’s that strangely shaped object that flew by the solar system and exhibited some strange motions and may have looked like this:

Meet 'Oumuamua, the first observed interstellar visitor to our solar systemThe object bewildered scientists, as I mentioned above, not only because of its odd shape but also because its motion seemed odd as well.

Now, we have this:

‘Oumuamua: Cigar-shaped interstellar object may have been alien probe, Harvard paper claims

The money lines from the article, complete with links:

Now, a new paper by researchers at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics raises the possibility that the elongated dark-red object, which is 10 times as long as it is wide and traveling at speeds of 196,000 mph, might have an “artificial origin.”
“‘Oumuamua may be a fully operational probe sent intentionally to Earth vicinity by an alien civilization,” they wrote in the paper, which has been submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The theory is based on the object’s “excess acceleration,” or its unexpected boost in speed as it traveled through and ultimately out of our solar system in January 2018.
“Considering an artificial origin, one possibility is that ‘Oumuamua is a light sail, floating in interstellar space as a debris from an advanced technological equipment,” wrote the paper’s authors, suggesting that the object could be propelled by solar radiation.

 

So the object’s acceleration as it left the solar system was… odd… and this (among other things) was the reason why these Harvard researchers felt it was possible the object was an artificial creation, one which used “solar sails” to move.

I wonder.

Frankly, it would be beyond exciting to think that there may be probes out there looking in on us.  Exciting… and terrifying.

I suspect that there may eventually be a more “down to earth” (so to speak) explanation for this object’s strange acceleration, but we’ll see.

We’ll see.

Image result for alien invasion gifs

Elections are right around the corner…

…tomorrow to be exact.

I don’t want to get partisan nor engage in that old finger wagging, but the fact of the matter is that everyone should vote.  You should make your opinions known, even if they are opinions I may personally oppose.

To those who don’t vote yet complain afterwards about this political issue or that… truly, you blew it.

Make your opinions known and, who knows, maybe things get better.

Get rid of those negative thoughts…

Alright, let’s move away from all the negative and look at something positive and, yes, quite beautiful…

From zoonooz.com and written by Eston Ellis, the story of how domestic dogs are being used as companions for five young cheetahs and two young wolves to help them as they grow, and why such companions are helpful to them…

Meet the domestic dog ambassadors at the Zoo and Safari Park

Lovely stuff!

All the negative news of late…

…I mean, it’s exhausting and depressing and you feel so freaking bad about the way this country is going and then to see the “Commander in Chief” actively try to ignore all the fires he’s stoked, then switch gears and “blame” the media as if somehow they’re the ones culpable for the extremists and their actions.

The darkness exposed and, sadly, reinforced by the statements and non-statements of Mr. Trump are bad enough, but to see people die and find themselves in life threatening situations… it makes you despair.

But all is not lost.

I know its a cliche, but if you don’t like what’s happening, if you want change –real change- and a country and politicians you can be proud of who work for the good of people instead of those with the darkest of dark impulses, then VOTE.

It’s a cliche, I know, but VOTE.

Make yourself heard.

Make yourself count.

You should be doing this EVERY election.

Periscope up…

As I said in my last posting, I’ve been immersed in the latest Corrosive Knights novel and that’s why I haven’t been posting as much as I usually do of late.

But the events of the last day or so…

It’s disheartening, to say the least, even as it isn’t unexpected.  When you have someone sowing the seeds of anger as fervently as Donald Trump does, it shouldn’t be a surprise when some unknown -and deranged- person out there takes all that rhetoric to heart acts on it.

Thank the Gods no one has been injured yet it is terrifying to think that a series of what look like pipe bombs were floating around post offices and were delivered to various people who are on the so-called leader’s enemy list.

What’s even more depressing is that many of those right wing pundits who carry Trump’s water are so quick to label these terrorist attacks (and that’s what they are, even if none of the bombs so far went off and killed/injured someone) some kind of “false flag”, ie bogus operation intended to slap mud on them and their daily rants.

Actor James Woods, an actor who frankly I’ve enjoyed in many roles (though the movies I enjoyed him in appeared a very long time ago) has turned into one of those repellent angry right wing types.  Upon hearing the news that the Clintons, one of, if not the first family reported to have received these bombs, tweeted that the bomb sent to them was somehow “an obvious political stunt”.

Those last four words in quotes are actually from Mr. Woods, people.

He has since then deleted that tweet.  I guess once subsequent news reports revealed the Clintons were but one of many people to receive these terrorist bombs over the mail (this morning there’s breaking news that one of Robert DeNiro’s restaurants received such a device as well) there was no longer the possibility -even for someone as hog tied in right wing politics as he is- to still excuse this as a “political stunt”.

Maybe there’s hope for you yet, Mr. Woods, though I doubt it.

(You can read about Mr. Woods’ tweet about these mailed bombs here.  The article is by Aris Folley and found on TheHill.com)

Fun times we live in, eh?

Hurricane Michael…

To the folks in Florida’s Panhandle and places which will be impacted by Hurricane Michael…

At this hour, the storm is quickly approaching land and seeing the images on my TV of the heavy waves hitting those beaches and the beginnings of the storm surge fill me with incredible dread.

Please be careful out there, people.  If you can still do so, evacuate.

I can’t help but also dread what the news will show us tomorrow.

What a weekend…

The weeks are hard and filled with work.

By the time I hit the bed on Thursday night, I feel it and can’t wait for the weekend.  Not that I stop working on the weekend, mind you, but at least I can ease up on the accelerator just a bit.

Not so the past weekend, beginning with taking the car into the shop (and paying much, much more than I thought) and having to deal with picking the car up later on in the day (essentially freezing out any sort of activity I would have wanted to do that Saturday afternoon), and then, on Sunday, our AC goes out in the sweltering afternoon/early evening.  We got that fixed, for even more $$$$, but at least it was something that could get fixed without replacing the whole damn thing.

If I get any more weekends like this past one, I’ll start looking forward to the work week! 😉

Hurricane Florence

I’m just one lonely voice in the vast internet but for those in the path of Hurricane Florence, whose effects will be felt starting today in the Carolinas, please heed all the warnings issued and keep yourself informed of the latest track.

On the good side, the storm appears to have weakened to a Category 2 (it was up to a Category 4, which is devastating).  Category 2 storms, however, are nothing to be trifled with.  The rain alone is going to prove a very big problem and, again, heed whatever warnings are issued.

Good luck out there and keep safe.

There are two websites I recommend for those who track these storms.  The first is only too obvious, the National Hurricane Center.  This website offers the official government tracks of these systems.  The latest, as of 8 AM this morning, is presented below:

cone graphic

These prognostications are updated every five or so hours usually but when a storm approaches landfall the updates are issued more frequently.

The other really good site is this one:

Cyclocane.com

This site presents the so-called “spaghetti” models of all storms throughout not only the Atlantic, but also the Pacific.  This site is also updated frequently and it offers a good behind the scenes look at what will eventually show up on the NOAA site above.

17 years gone by…

It’s incredible to think its been that long.

September 11, 2001.  Or, as it’s better known today, “9/11”.  The day four commercial jet airlines were commandeered by several people loyal to Al Queda, and its leader Osama Bin Laden, and were used as weapons against the two World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon.  The fourth plane wound up crashing into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  The people on that final flight were aware of the hijacking and fought back but ultimately lost their lives in the crash.

I watched the event as it unfolded way back when and, frankly, the whole thing was beyond surreal.  If my memory serves, I started watching the coverage only moments before the second airliner hit the World Trade Center.

Yeah, I watched in horror as it hit the building.

I watched on, in growing horror, as the two buildings’ top floors were engulfed in fire.

I watched in horror as the announcer -I believe it was the late Peter Jennings- was talking about the situation and was unaware as the first building fell.

It was hard not to throw up.

Grim and horrible as those events were, the time immediately after 9/11 had the country, and the world, coming together in a way we hadn’t seen in a very long time.  Despite the deaths, despite the destruction, despite the madness and fear, there was a feeling we could do well and come out of this -as a nation and a world- better and stronger.

It was not to be.

Sadly, George Bush, perhaps egged on by VP Dick Cheney, used the tragedy to demand an invasion of Iraq, a nation which had nothing at all to do with Osama Bin Laden and Al Queda, who were stationed in Afghanistan.

Even more sadly, too many on both sides of the aisle felt invading Iraq and ridding it of Saddam Hussein was a worthwhile goal despite the questionable intelligence presented to justify it.  George W. Bush, whose father was involved in the first invasion of Iraq and who was targeted subsequently by Hussein for assassination, was even quoted at one point stating he wanted to do this because of what Hussein tried to do against his father.  One couldn’t help but wonder how much of that war was a result of a personal vendetta.

The Bush administration, riding high on the polls, got their war but the public would soon enough turn against it.  George W. Bush lost faith in Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.  When Bush left office, his approval ratings, sky high immediately after 9/11, were in the toilet and even the Republicans didn’t mention his name much in the subsequent Presidential election.

And today, we’re still dealing with the repercussions of 9/11.

The loss of life and horror of 9/11 should never be forgotten.

The heroism of those who lost their lives, including the fire fighters who climbed the stairs of the World Trade Center and lost their lives in its collapse, must never be forgotten.

The evil perpetuated by people like Osama Bin Laden must be fought and eradicated.

It goes without saying.

September the 10th…

For those living ’round the parts I’m living in, September 10 represents something pretty big.  The below graph shows you why…

Image result for hurricane season number of hurricanes by date graph

This graph, as you may surmise, shows the average number of hurricanes/storms encountered during a hurricane season.  September 10, today, looms quite large because this date is often referred to as the “peak” of the hurricane season.

And, ho boy, is that turning out to be the case this year.  After a very tranquil hurricane season 2018, things have gone into a super-overdrive these last few days, with a whopping THREE active hurricanes in the Atlantic as of this morning…

Yikes.

In the United States, the one that’s of particular concern is Florence.  She’s projected to hit along the South/North Carolina coast by a the end of this week:

cone graphic

She’s also predicted to be a MAJOR hurricane when she does hit.  Her wind speeds are projected to be in/around 140 mph.

Ladies and gentlemen: This is a VERY dangerous storm.  If you’re living in the general areas predicted to face it, please, please, please take this storm very seriously.

Be very careful and pay particular heed to any information and updates.

And though its only words, good luck out there.  As someone who’s lived through too many of these things, I feel for anyone who has to face these nasty events.