Please Note: This is an old blog post that I relocated here from a website of mine that I recently deleted. The original date of this post is September 10th, 2012.
Random Twaddle
...Just a variety of random tidbits, informative posts, inane drivel, senseless twaddle, and anything else that falls under the blogging provisions of randomized sanity... Disclaimer: This blog may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something within this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Monday, March 21, 2022
Fractals anyone? Can you imagine being an Ant in a Micro-World?
Friday, March 18, 2022
The Power of Thought, Projections, Imagination...
Please Note: This is an old post that I relocated here from a website of mine that I recently deleted. The original date of this post is July 10th, 2012.
Saturday, March 12, 2022
Does having higher levels of oxygen in the body help prevent Cancer?
Please Note: This is an old blog post that I relocated here from another website of mine that I recently deleted. The original date of this post is July 11th, 2012.
Friday, March 11, 2022
Genetically Altered Animals & Cultured Meat
Please Note: This is an old blog post that I transferred here from a website of mine that I recently deleted. The original date of this post is September 7th, 2012.
…This particular subject dawned upon me today, after re-reading a brief blog post that I wrote in the past (about 1.5 years ago) about the "Chupacabra – Goat Sucker" on a Myths, Legends, & Folklore Blogspot. While perusing over this old material, I was trying to not get hit broadside with folklore while I kicked the legends and pushed the myths far away. …This left me in a critical thinking mode, and I no longer needed some mythical creature as a focal point, as it was plain as day that we have our own genetically altered animals of today that beckons for a closer look. To make this even more troublesome, we got people trying to grow meat products in a laboratory, hence forth the “cultured meat” part of the title for this post.
Before I provide any related links and information about this subject, please get this simple word embedded into your brain, which is MONEY! Yep, the true culprit for these bizarre genetic experiments is about money, no matter what lovely reason of utter humanitarianism they try to feed you.
Anyway, the first article I’m about to link to, speaks about genetically modified animals.
It starts off by saying how it is a slow and tedious process that needs a lot of money to get off the ground. Oh, but ain’t the sole purpose of this to make a lot of money? Remember the old saying, “ya gotta spend money to make money.” Think about it: If you can grow meat in a lab along with animal-based organs for human transplant, wouldn’t that be a mega-money maker? Who cares about our health and/or if it is natural or how much antibiotics and growth hormones these “things” are pumped with or where it comes from, as if we can sell this crap in bulk, we got some rich folks in the making…
At any insane rate, after that article mentioned how this “genetically altered animals” stuff was a slow process, they went on to say: “Behind the scenes, though, a quiet revolution has been taking place. Thanks to a set of new tricks and tools, modifying animals is becoming a lot easier and more precise. That is not only going to transform research, it could also transform the meat and eggs you eat and the milk you drink.”
Toward the end of that page, they sort of spilled the beans by asking this question: So, in 20 years will GM (genetically modified) animals be as widespread as their botanic counterparts are now? “Technologically, nothing is standing in our way,” says Fahrenkrug. “Really, the issue is coming down to: what are you going to make?” You can read more about this, here: http://www.brainwaving.com/2010/07/28/genetically-modified-animals/
I think most of you will find that last article to be somewhat interesting, but not necessarily in a good way.
Hey, just think of the possibilities! Do you want a cool pet that glows in the dark? You want some cheap prime cuts of beef that was grown in a petri dish via not-so-natural methods? Yada-yada… They also tend to blame some of this type of research for the long journeys that space flights may have in the future, but I know that is one big load of baloney. I mean, NASA doesn’t have to provide their astronauts with a never-ending supply of lab-grown steaks, right? Get real…
I planned on covering more ground about the genetically altered animals, but I see (I sort of write as I go) that the main concern of mine at the moment, when concerning this subject, is this cultured meat stuff. I went to the glorious Wikipedia to get additional info and terms, and they seem to mainly call this junk “in vetro meat” but they mentioned how it is also called “cultured meat,” “laboratory-grown meat” and “shmeat” which is short for sheet meat, so go figure…
Back to NASA, Wikipedia states: “Modern research into ‘in vitro’ meat arose out of experiments conducted by NASA, attempting to find improved forms of long-term food for astronauts in space. The technique was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1995, and NASA has been conducting experiments since 2001, producing ‘in vitro’ meat from turkey cells. The first edible form was produced by the NSR/Touro Applied BioScience Research Consortium in 2000: goldfish cells grown to resemble fish fillets.”
You know, in a way, I could say “good for y’all.” Personally, I don’t want Lab Meat that has to be pumped full of growth hormones and antibiotics, just so they can mass produce it and make tons of money while neglecting our health risks. Yes, they have admitted to that, as well, and you can read about it, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_meat [link is no longer active, but as the years went by, it now re-directs to this URL with modified information, here: Cultured meat - Wikipedia]
To make a long complaint short, everything that man has done to the food that isn’t natural, has never been good. Artificial this, artificial that, chemical injection here, a word I can’t pronounce in the ingredient list there, etc. Hell, when you think about it, cakes, pies and “junk food” aren’t natural either [I can hear the moans now…], as I have never seen a twinkie or cupcake grow from the ground yet; ha! I’m not trying to come off as a technology hater, but some things need to be left to Mother Nature. It is hard enough now, to find quality meat & produce that hasn’t been totally abused by human input. The last thing we need right now is genetically altered animals and stupid cultured meat that was grown from a petri dish.
Maybe I’m the oddball here, but what do you think?
At times, a Petri Dish is best when it's empty...
Image Credit: perpendicularity.org/blog/ [link is no longer active]
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Saturday, March 5, 2022
Has the Earth’s Axis Shifted? Polar Ice Melting...
Please Note: This is an old blog post that I relocated here from another website of mine that I recently deleted. The original date of this post goes way back to January 18th, 2013.
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
Black Holes & Spiral Galaxies
This is an old blog post that I transferred here from another website of mine that I recently deleted. The original date of this post is January 9th, 2012.
Well, I’ve just been running into debatable subjects all week it seems, like I mentioned on my last post about Altruism & Conscience. I never thought there was much to debate about on whether or not black holes exist, but that the questions would be more about understanding them and how they work. One of the biggest questions non-scientific people often ask doesn’t really have to do with the concepts behind it, by what scientists theorize. That question would be: What is on the other side of a black hole? Of course, a creative science fiction answer would be: Another dimension or perhaps another universe. Sounds great, but is that true? [Nah, probably not. Sure, there could definitely be other dimensions and universes, but a "black hole" is a doubtful portal to such.]
Well, it seems more like black holes create or shall I say “form” spiral galaxies for this 3-dimensional universe, and that black holes are formed from large dying stars. It sounds more like a recycle bin, galactic garbage can, and a galaxy creator, if ya ask me. I noticed many years ago, before I ever heard such talk (before the Internet was available and everybody was a genius or a feign online scientist), while looking through my space books and encyclopedias, that spiral galaxies appeared as if they were spiraling down a toilet, as if a hole or vacuum formed it, etc. Now, many years later, scientists are openly stating such things. Damn, all I did was look at the pretty pictures, and came to that conclusion as a kid. Well, I’m not going to blog about the joys of intuition, as that would be another subject; ha!
The universe is so vast that the sheer size of the cosmos is beyond our comprehension, as we can only theorize, use deductive reasoning, logic, and rational thoughts to a certain point. …And after a while, it all becomes land of the woo-woos for us humanoids, but ain’t it fun, though?
Now, back to this black hole stuff… Here’s an excerpt from NASA’s website: “Don’t let the name fool you: a black hole is anything but empty space. Rather, it is a great amount of matter packed into a very small area – think of a star ten times more massive than the Sun squeezed into a sphere approximately the diameter of New York City. The result is a gravitational field so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. In recent years, NASA instruments have painted a new picture of these strange objects that are, to many, the most fascinating objects in space.”
I mentioned earlier that they are formed from large dying stars, going by what I have read and studied in the past. Personally, I haven’t buzzed around the cosmos lately, since my high-tech flying saucers are all out of order at the moment and in desperate need of repair. But, as NASA states on their website: “Most black holes form from the remnants of a large star that dies in a supernova explosion. (Smaller stars become dense neutron stars, which are not massive enough to trap light.) If the total mass of the star is large enough (about three times the mass of the Sun), it can be proven theoretically that no force can keep the star from collapsing under the influence of gravity.” Sounds good to me… You can read more about this subject, here: https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/black-holes/
Anyway, one of the main reasons why I’m doing this post, is because some clown (along with several others) that was on a discussion forum while claiming to be knowledgeable in all subjects related to science, space, astrophysics, etc., said that black holes are fairy tales and voodoo for stupid mathematicians. WTF? This is the same guy that also has to “Google” everything for most of his replies, but somehow got lost in his/her own black hole on that particular subject. Once again, the word “hole” is what screws some people up, as it does sound like they are describing something that rips a hole through the fabric of space and whatnot, but that’s not what they mean – at least at the moment, but then again, scientific understandings of the universe tend to change over time, so who really freakin’ knows?
Now, back to this multiple dimension stuff… If we are talking about a possible way to travel through the cosmos by way of a shortcut and/or possibly into another universe, dimension, whatever, I would at least use a theory involving wormholes, artificial or natural, but not black holes, unless I just felt like being funny and wanted to get in touch with my inner science fictional fantasies…
I suppose there is no reason for me to delve into the land of wormholes, since there is, at the time I’m writing this, no observational evidence for such, just theory, etc. If you’re interested, just do what a lot of these self-professed gurus do online and perform Internet searches for it so you can be an expert within minutes and can call yourself a “scientist,” as well. After you copy & paste some material into the comment sections and/or use ’em for forum replies, you can achieve the credit that took some people years to learn. Ha-ha! Okay, enough jokes about that asinine crap…
Spiral Galaxies… What a beauty they are to look at, thanks to NASA. Another good thing about their images, is that they are not copyright material and can be posted and shared by anyone. Speaking of such, I was going to end this post with a few images of these spectacular spiral galaxies. Oh, by the way, in case you’re really young or not very educated, we live within a spiral galaxy called the Milky Way, just saying… LOL!
Oh, and one more thing before I drop down the galactic depictions: If you’re interested in a book that elaborately covers several topics related to black holes, wormholes, and time warps along with many other interesting subjects, all in an easy-to-understand fashion, go here: “Kip S. Thorne – Black Holes & Time Warps – Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy – The Book” [link is no longer active]
Images of Spiral Galaxies via NASA; click to enlarge:
Related Blog Link: “Galactic Cluster – Images from the Cosmos” [link is no longer active]
Image Credits: NASA - Not under copyright - Free to Share & Use
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Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Solar Storms & Flares – NASA Video
This is an old blog post that I moved here from another website of mine that I recently deleted. The original, exact date of this post is lost, but it was sometime during the fantastic year of 2012.
Well, many of you have most likely heard a lot of talk about doomsday, end of the world babble, Mayan Prophesies, Dec. 21, 2012 chatter, and a lot of other verbiage concerning global disasters, mega earthquakes, storms, solar flares, a polar shift, and the works.
Now, before we get too excited, one must realize that the weather is about as unpredictable as a woman (Ha-ha! Just kidding…). No matter what year it is, natural disaster can strike, and cataclysmic events can occur. This “end of the world 2012” talk has sort of got hyped up by the media and uneducated drama queens, for example. On this post, I’m not getting into any of that other stuff, as this particular blog entry is intended to be a quick video post via NASA, about solar storms and flares.
Now, you may ask: Should I be worried about major solar flares and/or storms from the sun during the next several months? Well, I would say that it isn’t a bad idea to be prepared for an electrical blackout, if the worst-case scenario takes place. You know, like stock up on canned goods, ammunition for your guns, alcohol (if you like booze), etc. Most likely, since we have the technology to detect the flares and solar storms while knowing when they are coming to Earth a couple days before impact, we will have a better chance for taking preventative measures that may help protect our power grids, etc.
But, in fact, scientists are warning that when they hit, if large enough, they could potentially knock out power grids, GPS satellites, airline communications and incite nuclear meltdowns. The solar flare cycle occurs about every 11 years and is expected to reach its peak of activity (on this current cycle) around June 2013 or thereabouts. The cycle starts with the flares slowly calming down, becoming relatively dormant, then picking back up until it peaks near the end of its 11-year cycle. This has been going on, as long as we can tell, for a very, very long time.
Here’s an example of the effect they can have: In 1989, a solar flare damaged a power grid in Quebec, Canada, cutting power for hours to millions of people. [Blog Insert: Do they make bicycle-based generators?] But, it could have been worse…
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft captured this image of a solar flare as it erupted from the sun early on Tuesday, October 28, 2003. This was the most powerful flare measured with modern methods. Credit: NASA/SOHO:
Okay, well, NASA says that “killer solar flares are a physical impossibility,” but they can obviously cause major problems if they are big enough in today’s world. I’m sure we have had some really big ones down through the history of mankind, but there wouldn’t have been much of an effect then, since we didn’t have all that technical stuff, electrical devices, communication systems, and so on, back then. One good thing, when it comes to solar storms, is that we have a fairly thick atmosphere that protects us from outside radiation.
Anyway, instead of reading about what I may have to say about this tempestuous/stormy subject, check out the video from NASA, below:
Related External Links: “Solar Flares threaten to disrupt devices…” [link is no longer active] and “NASA – 2012: Killer Solar Flares Are a Physical Impossibility”
Semi-related Blog Link: “The Mystery of Fire – who in the hell discovered it?"
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