‘Okay buddy…just put down the ray gun and step back!’

Good Day Humboldt County!

Our lives would be truly boring without science fiction stories. I can’t tell you how many roads I traveled in my imagination after watching an episode of Flash Gordon, or a Jules Verne film like 20000 Leagues Under the Sea.

And ray guns were cool. My brother and I played with cheap plastic ray guns and wore capes (towels) tied around our necks. Hey! It worked for us. We would make up things that our ray guns could do. Even with our fervid imaginations we could never have imagined ray guns would some day become part of our America’s arsenal! It’s not just us however. Our old Cold War foe Russia has the same aspirations as we do when it comes to developing some mind-numbing ray guns. Don’t just take my word for it, check out the following story: 

“The Americans as well as the Russians have been looking into psychotronic weapons for more than 15 years. You can find ample references to the subject on the Internet, including a feature published by U.S. News and World Report in 1997 and a report written for a U.S. Army publication in 1998.

Such weapons purport to take advantage of the effect that pulsed microwaves can have on brain activity. Some researchers have reported an effect known as microwave hearing, in which a directed beam of radiation produces a sensation of buzzing, clicking or hissing in the head. "This technology in its crudest form could be used to distract individuals," according to a declassified Army review of non-lethal weapons.

Theoretically, electromagnetic beams could cause an epileptic-type seizure, or involuntary eye motion leading to dizziness and nausea. Military researchers have also looked into using infrasound or laser beams to confuse or incapacitate a foe — but when you start going down this road, before you know it, you're talking about remote viewing, ESP and all the way-out concepts chronicled in "The Men Who Stare at Goats."

Full story here

Time for me to walk on down the road…

This really happened: an oblivious texter walked into a marauding bear today

Just when I was sure I’d heard every variation of stupid people walking and texting until something bad happens…this pops up!

Imagine leaving your house in the morning, checking something on your phone and then running smack into a black bear strolling down your driveway. This unlikely scenario was captured by Los Angeles CW affiliate KTLA: An unwitting, texting man, looking at his phone, suddenly spots the 500- to 600-pound bear, which, according to state wildlife officials, had been wandering around the La Crescenta neighborhood for the previous month. The bear in question also stands accused of stealing frozen meatballs out of a refrigerator and breaking into a garage. As the video makes clear, the texter escapes without injury (save panic). The bear, meanwhile, was "contained" in a nearby backyard after this incident. (Source)

Doomsday Plans for the Wealthy and Hardcore Survivalists

     Good Day Humboldt County!

A lot of people believe we (the human race) are in the path of an upcoming cataclysmic event – possible this year. The Mayan Calendar story seems to have captured the interest of millions because there are numerous documentaries on the subject.

The general mood of impending doom reminds me of the sixties when a lot of middle class Americans were preparing for war with Russia and family bunkers were being sold in kits. I remember people flocking to supermarkets to buy up canned foods during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It always seemed like there would be hope for the majority of Americans if something bad happened. Like we were all in it together.

In some ways things have changed in the 21st Century. We’re still worried about an impending nuclear war, and are looking at going underground to survive. The big difference: the options for survival are for the elite who can afford to spend millions to survive a nuclear holocaust, a complete breakdown of society, or to be sheltered from deadly solar flares.

The middle class has been cast to the curb when it comes to who survives and who doesn’t. The politicians and the wealthy are busy building more secure areas for themselves underground every day. In our new national reality, there is no “we” when it comes to the common people sharing the same fate as the elite or hard core survivalists that have dedicated their lives to an apocalyptic vision. 

                          Here’s an interesting story that illustrates what’s happening today:  

“If you happen to be both a survivalist and a millionaire, have we got a find for you: luxury condos that are being built in Kansas … inside abandoned missile silos. The $1 million to $2 million condos feature top-end appliances, walk-in closets, high ceilings, and your other basic necessities like a barbed-wire-topped fence that can stun would-be intruders, an elevator that will only open to the correct fingerprints, nine-foot-thick concrete walls, and electronic windows featuring "views" of Paris or the beach.

Developer Larry Hall—who owns one of the condos himself—already has four buyers, who "worry about events ranging from solar flares, to economic collapse, to pandemics to terrorism to food shortages," he explains to the AFP. But the condos aren't just good in a doomsday scenario: Hall plans to use his as a vacation home until disaster strikes, and the silo will ultimately include a pool, a movie theater, a library, and a farm. Click for more on the very elaborate plans.”        (Newser)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

There’s more than meets the eye in the Machu Picchu Illusion

Can you see the face in this picture?

If you like this kind of art where things are hidden in photos I suggest you take a tour of Mighty Optical Illusions.

I’m always searching for more examples and if you know of some, please share!

If nothing else it’s a good reason to stare!

AS IT STANDS POETRY CORNER: ‘THE POLITICAL POLLSTER’

                            Good Day Humboldt County!

In an attempt to travel as many creative roads as possible, I sometimes write bad poetry. I paint and draw too, both equally unspectacular attempts at mastering the arts, but fun to do nevertheless. Besides writing my own mediocre poetry, I like parody. Today, I’m going to share an example. Fair warning: you may want to go to another website immediately to save your sanity! 

 

                                                                    The Political Pollster 
                                         (With apologies to Edgar Allen Poe‘s classic The Raven) 
                                                                         By Dave Stancliff

This year’s election is so dreary, I can’t help already being weary.
Voters listening to many a quaint and curious partisan issue are becoming leery.
While I nodded, nearly napping during the 6:00 news, there came a tapping,
As if some one gently rapping, rapping at my front door -
Only this, and nothing more.

Ah distinctly I remember, hoping it wasn’t a Tea Party member,
And how sick I was listening to them last December, an didn’t want to hear any more.
Eagerly I hoped they would go away, and never come back another day.
From my book of gripes - I knew their types, and that’s why I posted on my front door -
Political Hacks Not Welcome here, now or evermore!

And the person rapped again louder than before
Suddenly I got up from my chair and walked across the floor
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
‘Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my front door; -
That’s it, and nothing more.

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
Hey man,’ said I, or lady, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, while watching the news and didn’t hear you rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my front door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more!

Deep into the darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing
Listening, for the footsteps of The Pollster who had come here once before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
The only word two words I spoke were the whispered words, Political Pollster?
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back two words, …Political Pollster.
Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the house turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard that tapping somewhat louder than before.
‘Surely,’ said I, surely there is someone outside my window;
Let me see then, what it is, and this mystery explore; -
‘Tis the wind and nothing more!’

Open here I flung the shutter, and saw the startled face of a Pollster who began to mutter,
“If I could just have some of your time…”
Political Pollster! Said I, thing of evil - false prophet for the masses! -
Whether tempter sent, or political party driven, I don’t want you at my window or door,
‘Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!
Don’t leave a token, or written track, that would show you’ve been here before,
Political Pollsters will never be welcome here, now… or forever more!

AS IT STANDS: ‘People Power’ is more than a slogan today

                    By Dave Stancliff/for the Times-Standard
  For the first time in my sixty plus years, the phrase “Power to the People” is more than just a slogan. When I was a teenager in the sixties, it seemed like every group was using it. The Black Panthers, hippies and radicals had that in common.

It’s not like people didn’t join them, it’s just that most of the time the slogan was more of a siren call than anything really effecting change. The hippie’s philosophy of free love and flowers floating in air faded away with too many LSD trips, quietly disappearing into the “Me” seventies.
   The radicals, like the “Weather Underground” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_Underground) called on anarchists and disenfranchised minorities to wage war in America’s streets. Their version of people power was more like a scene from the apocalypse. In the end the group perished in a fiery shootout with police.
   Then there were the Black Panthers. Their message of “Power to the People” carried revolutionary tones and called for a new society where African-Americans would be treated equally. Their mission was to help struggling black communities. 
   African Americans are still fighting a race war for equality. The killing of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year old black male, by a neighborhood watch captain
highlights the deep racial divide that exists in Sanford, Florida and other parts of the country today. 
  His senseless death last month also proved something else; people have found a way to protest injustice and get results though the power of social media like FaceBook and Twitter. Both have galvanized millions to protest Martin’s death, forcing the local sheriff to step aside for a special investigation by a DA from another county. The FBI began a "parallel investigation" on April 2, focusing on whether Martin’s civil rights were violated.
  The Justice Department got involved at the request of Martin’s parents. They want the Justice Department to look into possible interference with the Sanford police investigation by State Attorney Norm Wolfinger's office.
  When Martin was killed it wasn’t front page news in Sanford. Despite having his cell phone, the police didn’t even contact his parents to notify them of his death. After three days the parents thought their son was missing and called the police for help. That’s when they were informed of his death.

   It wasn’t until someone tweeted a short message about a 17-year old boy shot dead by a neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, that word started circulating about the circumstances of Martin’s death. When people discovered Zimmerman hadn’t been arrested, they started asking questions; like why? They’re still asking that question today. 
   Millions of Americans have united to seek justice for Trayvon Martin. Instead of being a footnote in a small town newspaper, his case has cast doubt about the fairness of Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law and put a spotlight on the racial divide that exists in Sanford. 
   If it wasn’t for social media, I don’t think you would have heard about this young man’s death and the ensuing injustice of letting his killer walk free after a few questions downtown.
  The on-scene investigator, Chris Serino, filed an affidavit on the night of the shooting stating he was unconvinced by Zimmerman's account, according to ABC News.
  Whatever physical evidence that did exist (like his clothing), walked out with Zimmerman the night of the shooting. No blood samples were taken to see if he was drinking alcohol. Nothing. His word was good enough to let him walk.

 That is, until people started talking on FaceBook and Twitter. A perfect example of the power that common citizens now have. Another example, is what happened with the Susan B. Komen Foundation when they tried to play politics and not fund Planned Parenthood. The backlash is still being felt as the foundation struggles to recover lost donations,  membership, and credibility with women across the country.

  I trace this new found recognition of  people power to last year’s so-called “Arab Spring,” and the  Egyptian uprising that toppled the government of Hosni Mubarak.
  Since then, a new found confidence has sprung up worldwide, as citizens feel more empowered. A good example of how to tap into that power can be found at Change.org, a website with a platform dedicated to letting anyone start a petition.
   For better or worse, people can organize almost instantly now, and get their message across loud and clear. Standing on street corners and waving signs, hoping people will notice and perhaps honk their horns in support, doesn’t cut it in this new age of technology.
   The age of people power is here. You are part of a revolution that will forever change the way things are done by local and national governments. 
   As It Stands, it’s exciting to see the ascension of the common man, but now the question is; where will it eventually lead us?

Staying Alive: Camouflaged Toads Optical Illusion

 

How many toads do you see?

Its amazing how they almost disappear on this forest floor in Panama.

There’s a good reason.

For them to stay alive in the tropics (where nearly everything is food for something else), such trickery is necessary to fool a hungry predator’s eye.

Source

Stupid Sayings: ‘Guns don’t kill…people do’ Really?

          Good day Humboldt County!

One of the realities we all face in our journey through life is the possibility of facing violence involving a gun. I have heard the phrase “Guns don’t kill – people do,” and frankly consider it a cop out. The U.S. has the most open gun laws of any society on the planet. The result is predictable; more innocent bystanders are killed daily with bullets than in any other country in the world.

You can’t go one day looking through the daily news without finding incidents of gun play resulting in murders. People of all ages have access to weapons in our gun-happy society. Groups like the NRA play on people’s fears. They promote easy access to weapons in the name of self defense and lobby against any laws restricting the use of any weapon. Laws like the controversial “Stand Your Ground” law in Florida allows people to pull guns and shoot first – and then say they were afraid for their lives.

Cases like the shooting of Trayvon Martin illustrate how easy it is to kill an unarmed person in a scuffle and claim self defense. Despite the fact that the shooter, George Zimmerman, pursued Martin and created a confrontation, then claimed self defense. Zimmerman brought a gun to a fist fight that he started himself, and when Martin hit him he used the gun.

Innocent people, children, teens, and adults die every day from gunshot wounds. Yet, nothing can be done about it when you have groups like the NRA lobbying consistently to keep the flow of guns and ammo steady. They fight any laws meant to restrict sales, or the use of weapons, and get real ugly when asked to do so. It’s no wonder we lead the world on having the most murders of civilians by weapons.

 First here’s an excellent opinion piece on the subject:

Some examples ripped from the headlines today:

Shooter targeting blacks in Tulsa, Oklahoma?

Miami cops: Girl, 15, shot as she sleeps in her bed

Cops: Dad dies after shielding son, 8, from barrage of bullets

Walmart employee killed during robbery in Phoenix

For black parents in Pasadena, shootings give fresh relevance to 'The Talk'

I could go on, but I’m sure you get my point. Anyone in this country that wants a weapon can get it. Law abiding people, and criminals have no problem getting the weapon of their choice. The ensuing result is has gotten completely out of control. I wish there was an answer, a way we could cut back in the accessibility of weapons, but I know that’s not going to happen when you have gun and ammo makers getting rich and the NRA blocking any attempts to stop the deadly stream of weapons from being accessible.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Man's horse-themed 'Pimp My Ride' parody goes viral

No doubt, this will be a trend setter among the horsey set…

The mysterious forces of YouTube have crowned a new viral video: Pimp My Horse, a parody of "Pimp My Ride" that flosses out a guy's mediocre nag with a styling unicorn horn, shutter shades and spinning rims. The spoof is spot on, and the horse owner's reaction to his new ride to "the clubs" is hilarious, but extra credit has to be given to the special effects that allowed them to seamlessly install a mini-fridge in the horse's flank and also place a bass speaker. Hopefully, the horse enjoys the attention and gets a little extra hay for generating all this buzz.

The Venus Project: Beyond Politics Poverty and War

   Good day Humboldt County!

Since the dawn of time mankind has strived for a civilization that allowed people to live in harmony and peace. It hasn’t happened yet.

We’re a war-like species that traditionally accepts the philosophy “Might makes right.”

Still, there are those of us that would like our journey through life to be peaceful. We try to attain a societal peace through various methods – forms of government and creating places that are model communities with peaceful values. Some of these communities are really offbeat. I ran across this “Venus Project” and thought it would be an interesting thing to share. I am in no way endorsing this project. My curiosity just led me here.

According to the creators, “The Venus Project offers a comprehensive plan for social reclamation in which human beings, technology and nature will be able to coexist in a long term, sustainable state of dynamic equilibrium.”

Excerpts:

“The Venus Project is an organization that proposes a feasible plan of action for social change, one that works towards a peaceful and sustainable global civilization. It outlines an alternative to strive toward where human rights are no longer paper proclamations but a way of life.

We operate out of a 21.5-acre Research Center located in Venus, Florida.

When one considers the enormity of the challenges facing society today, we can safely conclude that the time is long overdue for us to re-examine our values and to reflect upon and evaluate some of the underlying issues and assumptions we have as a society. This self-analysis calls into question the very nature of what it means to be human, what it means to be a member of a "civilization," and what choices we can make today to ensure a prosperous future for all the world's people.

At present we are left with very few alternatives. The answers of yesterday are no longer relevant. Either we continue as we have been with our outmoded social customs and habits of thought, in which case our future will be threatened, or we can apply a more appropriate set of values that are relevant to an emergent society.

The Venus Project advocates an alternative vision for a sustainable new world civilization unlike any social system that has gone before. Although this description is highly condensed, it is based upon years of study and experimental research by many, many people from many scientific disciplines.” (Go here to read more and to see videos on the subject)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

EVER WONDER WHAT YOUR VOICE WOULD SOUND LIKE ON ANOTHER PLANET?

        Good Day Humboldt County!

 Sound is one pathway to the brain. If we’re blessed we have other pathways like sight, taste, touch, and smell.

Back in the day (hint early 60s), when tape recorders were pretty crude by today’s standards, I recall hearing my voice and asking who the hell was that?

The drone on that machine sounded like Alfred Hitchcock with indigestion! I couldn’t believe it was my voice, despite being there when it was recorded.

I remember speeding up the RPMs on records and listening to people sound like chip monks. It’s probably where they got the idea for the voices for Alvin and the gang. Despite the many advances in recording sound…my voice still sounds funny. Not like I think it should. You know what I mean?

Along those same lines, I ran across this interested article:   How would you sound on Mars?

Excerpt:

“If you could speak on Venus, you might sound like a deep-voiced Smurf — while on Mars, your voice could have the shallow ring of a higher-pitched Shrek. And if you enjoy the sound of a waterfall on Earth, wait until you hear what that tinkling would sound like on Titan. Researchers at the University of Southampton have simulated all these sounds, based on the physics of planetary atmospheres.

"This is the real deal," Tim Leighton, an acoustics professor at the British university, said in a news release. "It's as close as we can get to the real sound of another world until a future probe or astronaut actually goes there and listens to what it really sounds like." The sounds are being shown off over the next week at the Astrium Planetarium at INTECH, near Winchester, as part of a show titled "Flight Through the Universe."

Time for me to walk on down the road…