Coast to Coast Radio tonight is discussing the claims from several military personnel who have openly discussed the fact that their nuclear missile systems were affected at different times and in different ways by UFO's. I know... sounds crazy. I'm not saying that I believe that this set of accounts represents the truth, but experience has taught me that you definitely can't trust the official story all of the time.

Researching strange sounding stories is just another way to practice leaving the mind open to new potential realities. I certainly can't say that I know for a fact that these claims are beyond the realm of possibility. I am not a zealous believer in anything; I'm also not a zealous denier of anything. If nothing else, this topic is good for entertainment purposes when conversation has run dry. Here are some links to more information.

UFOs and Nukes

UFOs and Nukes - Book

OpenMinds TV - UFOs and Nukes Author Creating Documentary

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Wednesday, July 06, 2011

"Haboob" Hits Phoenix

If you haven't watched these time-lapse videos of this storm making its way across the city of Phoenix, they are definitely worth watching. This storm looks like something supernatural out of a Harry Potter movie. For another view worth watching, check out this great clip of the storm from Scott Wood Photography. Finally, from a slightly different perspective, and the video that I think is the best of all, a clip of what it looked like to drive into the storm.

I had never heard the word "haboob" used to describe a dust storm in the U.S. before. As an Arabic linguist, I was very familiar with a similar word in Arabic which can be used to refer to grains, cereals, seeds, kernels (among other things like berries, acne, pustules and pimples). Probably the closest approximation of that word in English would be (huboob). I thought that maybe the word "haboob" had something to do with grains of sand or dust flying through the air, but that is not where this word comes from.

It turns out that the term "haboob" is also from a very similar term in Arabic, but it is spelled with a different "H." While "haboob" is a term that I may have heard a couple of times to describe a very specific wind in the Sahara, I don't remember hearing it used to refer to dust storms in general before. It's always fun to find a new Arabic word being used in English. I will have to ask some of my friends who are native speakers of Arabic about the root word, which is "habb" (which has all sorts of meanings dealing with movement, one of which apparently is: "to gust," as in wind).

It's so interesting how even after so many years I can still find words that seem so basic, but which somehow haven't yet been placed into my memory banks. It seems that I often retain only the first word that I learned for a particular concept. After that, I get into the habit of using that word exclusively, and others that come up wind up being looked up in the dictionary many times before becoming a part of my repertoire.

In this case, the Arabic word that I've always used for wind is "rih, pl: riyah / arwah," which, interestingly enough, comes from same root as a common word for "soul" (not to mention the words for "fart," and conveniently enough "smell" and "odor" as well). A fascinating language indeed, and one whose nuances and connections never cease to fill me with wonder at its complexity and its beauty.

Anyway, I witnessed a dust storm very much like this Phoenix storm when I was living in Yuma, Arizona back in the late 80's / early 90's time-frame. I was probably trucking along in our family's '73 Dodge "hippy" van (that had a moonscape on the side, a 17' aluminum canoe top, and a converted interior, complete with sink, refrigerator, and a bed). I loved that van... It was fascinating to watch the valley disappear bit by bit beneath the storm as it moved from east to west. I had a great, elevated vantage point near Arizona Western College from which to watch the storm's advance down-river, across the irrigated farmlands, towards the city. It was a fantastic sight that I will never forget.

Here is a video from The Weather Channel on YouTube of the live coverage that occurred when the Phoenix storm first hit.

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Sunday, July 03, 2011

Sunday Links - 4th of July Weekend 2011

Some links that got my attention this week:

I found Chuck's Adventures when I was looking for information on the Grand Junction Riverside Trails. This guy seems to have been just about everywhere in the United States. Reading through his posts definitely gave me some ideas about things to do and places to visit. Great blog. I'll be checking it regularly.

This is a sad story about a 7 year old who took his step-father's car for a drive. He was trying to visit his biological father. He drove about 20 miles before being stopped. According to this article, the boy was crying as he was driving. A heart-breaking story. Luckily, nobody was hurt.

Today we watched the BBC documentary Kids Behind Bars. It examines the difficulties of dealing with troubled children and teenagers. Some disturbing scenes and some uplifting scenes. The whole program was very interesting.

I really enjoy the OrganicGardening.com website. Lots of good information and ideas here.

The least expected thing that I watched this week was the courtroom drama that ensued after a guy flipped off the prosecutor during the Casey Anthony trial. Another video worth watching if you haven't seen it yet. I bet that this guy couldn't believe this was actually happening. I couldn't believe it as I was watching it live.

This CNN video of an alligator feeding frenzy is over a year old, but I hadn't seen it until earlier this week. If you haven't seen it yet, it's definitely worth watching. Here is a link to a longer version of the video clip.

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Sunday, June 05, 2011

Hummingbirds, Music and Flooded River Bike Rides

We're finally seeing hummingbirds at one of our feeders in the back yard. We put it out last Saturday. We saw our first hummingbird on Thursday evening. A week later (yesterday) we had four hummingbird sightings in one day. Because of the light and the skittishness of the birds, we're not sure what kind they were.

On Friday afternoon we went for a bike ride along the Audubon portion of the Grand Junction Colorado River Trail. We saw the flooding that is happening around the bridge on Broadway. From where we were on the road, it looked as if the homeless camp that had been set up in the trees in that area must have been completely immersed. We also rode along the river and saw the huge log of a fallen tree traveling at high speed, carried by the swift currents. We went as far as we could, until the point where the trail was closed due to flooding.

There were several small rabbits visible along the trail at that time of the evening, and we also saw a great blue heron flying across one section of the river. Other than that, we didn't see anything particularly noteworthy, except the constantly changing colors of the plants along the river, which continue to grow and present a whole spectrum of green hues.

Last night Rachael and I practiced our guitar / flute duet (unnamed for the moment) and we even worked on a new piano / flute arrangement. We also started experimenting with Abigail Washburn's version of the song "A Single Drop of Honey." It is sung a-capella and is a beautiful piece. She had a glass of wine, I had a Scrumpy Cider (my favorite). I can't think of a more pleasant way to spend the evening.

A few links over the last few days caught my eye:

The first is one that is exciting because it is close to home for me. This article in the Denver Post describes the latest discoveries at Ziegler Reservoir near Snowmass Village in Colorado, where researchers have been digging up all kinds of prehistoric bones. Bones of mastodons, mammoths, ice age bison, and a Jefferson's ground sloth.

One of the strangest stories I read this past week was this one about Chinese prisoners forced to play World of Warcraft after a full day of hard labor. They were forced into this "gold farming" by the guards in order to earn between $700-$900 a day in real-world money for their real-life prison bosses, who were earning more money from this enterprise than from their prison salaries. The prisoners never saw any of the real-world profits of course.

Then there was this sad story of a boy that sold his kidney to be able to afford an iPad2. As Rachael said, "He won't be doing that again."

Perhaps the most enlightening and open-minded article that I've seen over the last few days was this one by 1984 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Desmond Tutu entitled, "God is Not a Christian."

The most motivating piece by far was this article about Ernestine Shepherd, the world's oldest bodybuilder. She will be included in the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records. At age 74, she is a regular on the Musclemania circuit.

This article about how US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were trying to set up an operation in which ICE agents would monitor prison visitors to try to identify illegal aliens seemed ominous. According to the article, the proposal involved allowing ICE agents to "sit alongside Bexar County (Texas) staff and keep an eye on the logbook, picking out and running immigration checks as deemed necessary. 'Once reasonable suspicion has been substantiated, we can attempt to interview further in the back of the Visitor area discretely,' . . . agents could issue visitors a notice to appear in immigration court or, if necessary, detain them on the spot."

Did you hear about the guys that got into a fight on a plane over a reclined seat this week? Their tussle resulted in the pilot turning the plane around and an escort from a couple of F-16's.

Are you interested in bees? Did you know that native bee populations are in decline in many areas, and you can help. Native bees don't have gigantic hives with thousands of members. Most native bees are solitary. You can create a "Native Bee House" to help your native population thrive and contribute to the pollination of our plants. Here is a blog post that will teach you how to build your own bee house. Follow the simple instructions and let the bees do the rest.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Old Leather Man and a Mean Cat

The Old Leather Man

I started off this morning taking Bean, the mini-dachshund to the vet. On the way, I listened to an NPR article on the Old Leather Man. I'm surprised that I had never heard of him before. In the 1800's, this guy started walking a 365 mile circle in a clockwise direction. He passed through 40 towns on his route, which he completed every 34 days. He wore a 60lb suit made of leather boot tops, tied together with leather laces. He was so punctual on his monthly trek that residents of the towns he passed through could set their clocks by his arrival time. He walked for 30 years, over 100,000 miles. This link will take you to an NPR report about the attempt to move his grave and gather more details about who this Leather Man actually was. Here is a link to a YouTube video with some additional information about the Leather Man.

Mean Kitty

A friend's son found this cat video. If you're anything like me you're a sucker for them. Although it looks like everyone else on the planet has watched these already, there may be someone out there who hasn't yet. The song will get stuck in your head.

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Friday, April 15, 2011

Not Tax Day

If you haven't heard and are rushing to do your taxes today... relax. They're not due today. You're still a serious procrastinator like me. I bet that you cram for college exams too.

So a guy in San Francisco formed a fake army unit and convinced over a hundred Chinese nationals to pay him between $300-450 to join the team. His personal title in this army was the "Supreme Commander." Folks could pay him more to gain a higher rank. Craziness... http://reut.rs/fRvOBo

Wisconsin is investigating "irregularities" in Waukesha County election results going back 5 years. This does not surprise me at all. Neither side is innocent when it comes to voting irregularities. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the whole thing is a scam. The reported numbers of "found" votes were just too perfect. I'd bet the whole thing is as cooked as a crawfish in May. http://bitly.com/hICiJo

This is another article that is not at all surprising to me, but just plain cool nonetheless. Male whales in a particular population all sing the same, ever-changing song. Now research has proven that new whale songs spread over vast distances between different populations. http://bbc.in/eVQSJD

My home state of Arizona... Their government is just so absolutely misguided. Gotta love em. http://n.pr/ib46l7

Quote: "If it can't be determined whether candidates who provided documents in place of their birth certificates are eligible to appear on the ballot, the secretary of state would be able to set up a committee to help determine whether the requirements have been met.The names of candidates can be kept off the ballot if the secretary of state doesn't believe the candidates met the citizenship requirement." -

Let's just add this article in for good measure:

Ex-Hawaii official denounces 'ludicrous' birther claims- MSNBC

http://on.msnbc.com/f9ioxa

If you need some inspiration, this dog named "Can Do" will provide it.

http://bitly.com/fxBHH7

Honey Bee Festival in Palisade, CO today and tomorrow. This article discusses the effects of the dwindling honeybee population and why it would be good for people to get back into raising hives for a hobby.

http://bitly.com/hKVcU2

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Friday, February 25, 2011

Two and a Half Brain Cells

My friend Scott Russell created this today. It's brilliant.
Sheen, Qaddafi and Gov. Scott Walker- Peas in a pod.

Who said it? Maummar or Charlie?

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The Sumerian Planisphere

Last night I watched a really interesting program about the Sumerian Planisphere, a cuneiform tablet from Southern Iraq dating to 700 BC.

Apparently, it is an early astronomer's observation of an unusual celestial event, possibly an asteroid streaking across the sky, originally recorded in 3123 BC.

The program postulated that an atmospheric explosion of this asteroid may have led to both the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as well as a previously unexplained mini-ice-age.

True or not, astronomers can pinpoint the date of these observations, recorded in cuneiform, by the positioning of the planets and the constellations on the tablet alone.

Links:

http://www.physorg.com/news126183668.html

http://www.amazon.com/Sumerian-Observation-K%C3%B6fels-Impact-Event/dp/1904623646

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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Bird Sings With Its Feathers!

Bird sings with its feathers! "...But when the nine feathers closest to the special feathers were still attached to the ligaments, they vibrated at around 1500 hertz, harmonized with the club feathers, and amplified the volume of the sound."

Thanks to Chelsie for passing on this really fascinating article.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/11/091111-birds-sing-feathers-wings.html

Thursday, November 12, 2009

and so it begins...

the craziness

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article1050707.ece

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

A couple of cool finds

Here are a couple of cool archaeological finds reported in the last few days. Thanks to Annaliese for the one about Nero's banquet hall via Facebook.

Nero's rotating banquet hall unveiled in Rome.

and

Ancient Roman statues found in Blue Grotto Cave

and... most recent but definitely not least...

Fossil of bird-like dinosaur with four wings discovered in China

Monday, September 28, 2009

850 Mostly Blind, Pale Creatures Discovered Underground

850 Mostly Blind, Pale Creatures Discovered Underground
By Charles Q. Choi, Special to LiveScience
posted: 28 September 2009 12:31 am ET
http://www.livescience.com/animals/090928-new-species-underground.html

Another cool discovery of multiple new species.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Largest Anglo-Saxon Treasure Ever Found!

This is an exciting story. Amazing stuff! One of my memories from the 3 years that I lived in England is of the large number of older men that could be seen scouring the countryside (usually alone or with a dog of some kind) with their large and unwieldy metal detectors either early in the morning or late at night. What an ultimate uber payoff for this guy!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6847081.ece

Another similarly peculiar memory from England is of the "plane-spotters" that were always parked outside the fenced-in Air Force bases' runways. They were busy jotting down tail numbers and unique plane information, trying to piece together what was happening I guess. I believe that I read somewhere that information from these amateur observers is what led to the revelation that the government's secret rendition flights were happening. Bravo!

Moral of this post... even when you think what others are doing around you is a bit odd, when you can't understand what they get out of it... there might be an unimaginable payoff just around the corner.

Now if the folks that wore ten gallon hats, leather chaps, cowboy boots with spurs, fake pistols, and checkered cotton shirts to the Garth Brooks concert in London in the mid-ninety's wind up getting anything out of dressing in that fashion to go to another American country music concert... I'll be really impressed.

~ All that said... I really enjoyed living in England for 3 years. I was privileged to get to know many wonderful Brits, and I will always have especially fond memories of participating in music nights at the pubs! There were so many things to fall in love with, and just a few to be amused by, and I think that a little bit of light amusement is healthy for the soul.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Harmonics - Salt on a Vibrating Table

Now THIS is neat!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOMiowrff0Y

Lost world of fanged frogs and giant rats discovered in Papua New Guinea

Isn't it wonderful that we are alive at a time when discoveries like THIS are still possible? I feel sorry for my soul's next iteration, when the world will probably filled to the brim with trash (maybe not so bad if I come back as a cockroach), and all that exists will already have been discovered.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/07/discovery-species-papua-new-guinea