Wind Turbines for your Home - Free Electricity?

I was browsing through an outdoor/sporting goods type of catalog earlier today when I came across an interesting product for home use. It was a Nature Power brand that was selling Wind Turbines for free electricity. Yeah, nothing is free, let me tell ya; ha!

Anyway, they suppose to provide you with "extra juice" for your home or perhaps even meet all of your power requirements if you were a loner that was stuck in a remote area. The first one they were selling wasn't very powerful. The thing was rated at 400 watts with a monthly energy output at 12 mph of only 38 kWh. Well, okay, this must be close to free, right? Nope. Even this little baby wind turbine costs nearly 400 dollars! Wow, this really blows me away!

The second one illustrated in the catalog looked fairly impressive. It boasted about its maintenance-free design that would provide years and years of free service. This one was rated at 2,000 watts with a monthly energy output at 12 mph of 350 kWh. Hey, they said that was about 37% of the average household consumption. Not bad, I'll just buy three of these "free electricity" thingies just to be safe. Oh, they are over $2,000 dollars each and, well, the inverter is sold separately at nearly 200 bucks each.

Okay, so I can buy 3 separate wind turbines for about six thousand and five hundred dollars, plus another 5 or 6 hundred dollars for the inverters. From there, I should have enough free electricity for my home by only spending $7,000 dollars total! LOL! But hey, after 4 or 5 years of using 'em, the electricity would then become free. That is, if the damn things really did hold up to the test of time. Hmm...

Image Credit: Pixabay - Free to use & share.

---End of Post "Wind Turbines for your Home - Free Electricity?"

Muscle Memory: Strength Training

On occasions, I like to re-research old topics to see what all has changed over the years and/or how much incorrect crap is being published now, etc. I was recently searching for a seemingly age-old topic called "muscle memory," and I was a little surprised to find out that this subject now commonly gets confused with 'motor learning' skills. When I use the terms muscle memory, I'm referring to strength training, not fundamental motor skills and procedural memory processes found within our subconscious minds. Sure, I guess you could call things like crawling, walking, riding a bike, etc., "muscle memory," but that means nothing to somebody that is involved in strength training. Even some of the ones online who are properly accrediting this phenomenon correctly, are acting like this is some recently discovered thing; ha-ha!

The primary concepts behind true muscle memory, is when the subconscious mind, brain, whatever, remembers all the months and months and/or years of training that you have ever endured, no matter if it's aerobic or for increased strength and muscle mass. The benefit of such, for example, is a person that has lifted weights for 10 years. Then, that very same person has a long layoff for, say, 3 years. Well, that particular person can start strength training again and gain muscle mass and strength much more quicker than the average person who has very little weight-training experience. Yeah, that's pretty cool, eh?

This subject popped into my head a few days ago, when I was listening to somebody stress-out over not working out for a few weeks. I told them that you usually don't lose any muscle tissue after the first couple of weeks from not working out, unless you just quit eating. I also mentioned to them about muscle memory and said that if they have trained for a lengthy period of time, your body will remember and quickly try to get you back to where you were - before the layoff. Of course, factors like aging and hormone levels can work against you, regardless of your muscle memory, but it's an interesting subject nonetheless.

Image Credit: http://health-fitness-guru.blogspot.com/2010/11/mystery-of-muscle-memory.html

---End of Post "Muscle Memory: Strength Training"

Lost Technology from German Scientists

I've wrote about this before on one of my own websites in great detail; well, not really too elaborate but it was probably like a thousand words or more. Anyway, this is a pretty cool subject for the ones that know their history and also like to mix a little bit of alien stuff and conspiracy theories into the mix. The primary reason for this post, is to mention the book entitled "Hitler’s Suppressed and Still-Secret Weapons, Science and Technology."

I enjoyed that book very much when I read it a while back (which is saying a lot, considering that I rarely read anything informative outside of my current UFO dock station), as it was nice to go over some of the basics about how there was definitely a lot of technology achieved from the German scientists of that particular time era. It was also a nice reminder of how much was lost, from that war. Yeah, of course there were lots of lives lost, but I'm talking about the technology, right now. During times of war people have to act fast, and back then that meant the scientists were very busy with coming up with advanced technologies that would help them triumph in their goals of global domination or whatever.

Many rumors involved extraterrestrial help and Hitler is well known for studying the occult along with anything involving supernatural, extraterrestrial, and mystic possibilities - you name it! I mean, was there actually super-metals, laser weapons and cold bombs in 1944? That books definitely covers a lot of subjects, although some of them were rather lame and unnecessary for today's time, of course. Time travel was also an experiment in the making by these people, but, like with many things, it got cut short during their defeat. They may have failed miserably at time travel anyway (only the cool people can utilize time travel), but just search online for the "Nazi Bell Project - Time Travel Experiments" for more info. At any rate, Hitler stalled, for some reason, and that cost him the war - going by rough estimates. I'm not pro-Nazi or anything, I'm just talking about the lost technology. Many of you have no clue how many technological advancements occurred from that time period and the German scientists ended up leaking a lot of stuff to us, after the war. Well, the ones that didn't die during the process, of course...

Believe it or not, Hitler was also curious about the "Hollow Earth Theory," as well, which is probably why it was thought by some, that he had secret underground bunkers in Antarctica. If you are not aware of this outlandish notion, the Hollow Earth Theory involves entering the Earth at the poles (totally different subject, there) and it basically equates to a world inside of a world, without going into detail. I've wrote about that, too, but I'm not sure about what works on this site, albeit I'm still testing the waters here. Anyway, I may chatter about some of this later.

Image Credit: http://perpendicularity.org/blog/2013/03/03/german-scientists-hitler-aliens-secret-weapons-lost-technology/

---End of Post "Lost Technology from German Scientists"

Speed Bag Training is Useless

Yes, you heard that right... Sure, it is fun, but speed bag training is practically useless when it comes to boxing and/or building strength & endurance. I thought I'd quickly write about this also, since I just finished a post concerning human-shaped punching bags. Anyway, I used to own a big stand a long while back that had both the heavy bag and the speed bag. Well, the water-filled heavy bag was fun until it busted and pounds and pounds of water started gushing out into the floor, but that's another story that I don't care to talk about today. The speed bag was also cool, except I couldn't help but notice how pointless and useless it was.


For one, most people use terrible form when hitting the speed bag. Most people, including myself, end up looking like some retarded jackass while throwing numerous sideward hammer fists into the bag in a speedy, capricious fashion. Well, some folks might think it looks great, but I'm talking in a MMA or Boxing sense. At any rate, that is the common way people generally use this bag. You don't really improve your timing like some claim, either, as it is more or less like tap dancing with your hands. I find the whole process to be super easy and useless as it doesn't improve any aspect of your body. A person would be better off shadow boxing with weighted gloves, for example, as opposed to using the speed bag training method. Other than just doing it for fun, the only thing it is good for is when you use it as a cool down exercise toward the end of your workout, but you can walk around aimlessly for that; ha!


Image Credit: http://health-fitness-guru.blogspot.com/2016/11/alternative-options-for-speed-bag.html

---End of Post "Speed Bag Training is Useless"

Punching Bag: Human Dummy

I don't know how many of y'all have pent-up frustrations or need something to punch from time to time, but if so, these human-shaped punching bags are a decent target. These dummy targets are fairly expensive, though, but they are a good alternative to the traditional heavy bags if you don't have a strong enough ceiling to hang one from, that is. More commonly known as BOB (Body Opponent Bag), the XL version is the way to go. Expect to pay about 350 dollars or more, but that is still cheaper than what the doctor bill would be if you continuously beat a person like you would this human dummy and/or punching bag mannequin.

The one I bought a few months ago is standing in the corner of my garage right now. I like it in the corner because if you have very much power at all, BOB will move around quite a bit. Since I had a couple extra vests, I ended up putting a weighted vest on this human-shaped punching bag to add some additional stability. You will also have to fill the base with 270 pounds of either sand or water. I elected to fill it with water, since I wasn't by the beach with free sand available, but you can purchase some of that, I'm sure. Now, since I used water to fill mine, I may have a problem when it gets cold this winter. I'm not sure how the hard plastic base will react if it freezes and expands, but something tells me that the outcome may not be favorable. Which is probably why they recommended it for indoor use only; oops!

Overall, I'm satisfied with my human-shaped punching bag dummy, but I do wish the thing was a bit heavier so it didn't move around so much. Of course, while buying this thing, I ended up buying extra stuff to go with it like boxing gloves, weighted gloves, another weighted vest, etc. Well, if you're into this type of sport or style of working out, you may want to check it out. I just posted this in case there are people out there that hasn't heard of this but are interested in such things. Some people claim to also use this target for martial arts and kicks, as well, but I only use it for boxing moves, punches, etc.




Image Credit: http://health-fitness-guru.blogspot.com/2011/02/body-opponent-heavy-bag.html

---End of Post "Punching Bag: Human Dummy"

Freaky Creature - Aye-Aye

No, I'm not talking about the typical Naval response, such as: "Aye aye, Captain!" This quick post is about the freaky creature known as the Aye-Aye. It is a nocturnal lemur, which is related to a monkey albeit I've never seen a primate look like this! It looks more like a genetically altered rodent with rabies, if ya ask me. Ha! Anyway, the image above should do most of the talking...

Unfortunately, this not-so-attractive animal is on the "near threatened species" list. The main reason it's on such a list, is due to silly superstitions and local folklore. Yes, some folks think that this critter is the harbinger of evil and a symbol of death per ancient Malagasy legend. Within such folklore, lies the reason why it is often killed on sight. Some people believe that if the Aye-Aye points at them, they are destined for death in a very timely fashion or if they see one in their town or village, somebody will die soon. I mean, how ridiculous can some of these beliefs get? I think the poor creature is getting penalized just for looking freaky. Dang, some people are crazy... LOL! Anyway, enjoy the image shown above. It should give you that warm, fuzzy feeling like, "oh, how cute; can I pet it?" Hey, I would've posted this in the 'beauty category' to see what type of responses I'd get, that is, if I actually had blogging categories on here... Ha!

Image Credit: http://exotic-life-creatures.blogspot.com/2013/05/images-of-freaky-lemur-aye-aye.html

---End of Post "Freaky Creature - Aye-Aye"

Do you believe in the 'full moon' effect?

More commonly known as the "lunar effect," many people swear to it, that such things exist. The scientific community begs to differ, and blames all of this on pseudoscience and poorly informed full moon enthusiasts. This is particularly hard to rule out, in my opinion, especially since many police officers and emergency room workers have often noted an obvious increase in activity within their job tasks during this lunar madness. Personally, I believe that this type of effect does exist. In fact, there are certain creatures on Earth that prefer to mate during a full moon, for example. A full moon does seem to elevate the positive ions in the air, going by scientific data I have read in the past. However, it is well established that negative ions have a positive impact on your mood, so what's the deal? Is that the reason for the madness?

I actually think the lunar effect doesn't have to primarily result in enhanced crime rates and/or crazed bouts of drunkenness, as psychological reasons and just the idea of the sun reflecting from a full moon that creates a romantic setting or an open invitation for late-night fun, is enough for me. There is just something about it that gives me extra energy and, unlike common scientists, I can't say that this belief is a pseudoscientific theory. Then again, science doesn't really like studying 'feelings'...as they generally look at us as just a bag of chemicals firing neurons and brain synapses like a crazed talking robot on the loose. Anyway, what do you think?

Image Credit: http://myths-legends-folklore.blogspot.com/2010/05/lunar-effect-full-moon-madness.html

Related Posts: http://random-twaddle.blogspot.com/2015/02/how-did-moon-form.html

---End of Post "Do you believe in the 'full moon' effect?"

Radiation is Everywhere - Common Sources

As if we don't have enough problems with pollution, food additives, chemicals and increasing cancer rates, radiation radiates from the background like a glowing inferno of death. I've known about this for a long while, but after skimming over some old posts that I wrote a few years ago on other sites, it was a good reminder to run across this subject. The primary "common sources" are simple stuff like wireless technology/cell phones, televisions, fluorescent lights, computers, etc., tobacco (as if the tar and smoke wasn't enough), security scans at the airport (I never fly in planes, just in my bedroom; thank god), microwaves (duh!), power lines, radon gas (which is also everywhere), dental & medical X-rays (I try to avoid them at all costs), cosmic radiation that hits earth (I'm not living in a cave), and so on.

I've even read about eating Brazil nuts being the highest radioactive food that you can consume and whatnot. Good grief, what isn't radioactive? If it wasn't for radiation, we wouldn't be here, especially since we are people of the sun. Anyway, there are many nutrients out there that help protect us from such things, but I'm just saying that radiation is everywhere and it is not something new. Being in deep space is an uncommon radioactive event, not just when you fly on airliners, albeit you don't hear much about that - I wonder why? Yeah, for the people that are planning on going to planet Mars, don't be shocked when your fertility has been nullified during the process, just saying... Okay, so, who's going to join me for our next radioactive event? LOL!
If you'd like to read about the radioactive Brazil Nuts, go here: http://health-fitness-guru.blogspot.com/2015/01/brazil-nuts-are-radioactive.html

Related Link: http://mundane-blog.blogspot.com/2011/10/common-sources-of-radiation.html

---End of Post "Radiation is Everywhere - Common Sources"

If Bigfoot exists, is it really the ancient ape Gigantopithecus?

I've recently been hearing more and more about Bigfoot again. It seems that this legend never goes away... I should have entitled this post "the sasquatch that never dies," instead. Anyway, most of the sightings of this massive creature are in the northwest region of the U.S., like Washington. On the other side of the world, they have a similar mystery beast that supposedly roams around, called the abominable snowman (also known as the Yeti Monster). Although many critics say that all of these sightings are bogus, etc., I'm starting to wonder if we may be dealing with an ancient ape that never went extinct. One such possibility is the Gigantopithecus. If you want more information about that prehistoric ape, feel free to do a quick web search online.
The point is, if this is true, it wouldn't be the first time something was discovered after being thought to be extinct by the scientific community. One of the more popular examples is the Coelacanth fish, which was thought to have gone extinct 65 million years ago, only to be found alive, swimming and well, in 1938. But anyway, after reading a bit more online about bigfoot stories, I came across a cool video that tried to enhance the well-known film from a few decades ago, that claimed to have actual video footage of a sasquatch in motion. The YouTube video is only a little over 12 minutes and if you're interested, you can find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKUwdHex1Zs

So, what do you think? Is Bigfoot just a big joke? Is it an ancient ape that never went extinct, such as the Gigantopithecus? Does Bigfoot even exist at all? Hey, this subject does remind me of the movie "Harry and the Hendersons." Ha!

Image Credit: http://myths-legends-folklore.blogspot.com/2011/04/bigfoot-sasquatch-dvds-harry-and.html

---End of Post "If Bigfoot exists, is it really the ancient ape Gigantopithecus?"

Side Note: I actually think that all of this hoopla & ballyhoo about Bigfoot (especially the TV shows like "Finding Bigfoot") is a load of crap.  I see these type of creatures every time I go into a grocery store... LOL!

Areas with the most Acid Rain in the U.S.

I used to hear more about acid rain, but I guess the world has so many issues going on at the same time, that it is hard for any certain one to stay in the spotlight. Anyway, acid rain is not limited to the U.S., of course, but I was curious about which areas in this country had the most. Oh, if you don't know, acid rain is an acidic precipitation of any form (rain, sleet, snow, fog, whatever), that is primarily produced by the release of sulfur oxides into the atmosphere. The main sources of such things are human pollution - like electrical power plants, industrial boilers, big smoke stacks, automobile emissions, and so on. Natural causes are from events like volcanic eruptions, for example.
The term 'acid rain' was first coined by an English chemist, way back in 1872. I had to look up what his name was: Robert Angus Smith
Anyway, if you are curious about this subject, feel free to go here:
https://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Acid_rain

I included an image for this post that shows a rough estimate of the levels of acid rain in the U.S., 4 years ago. Yep, the Northeast looks like the worst areas for this type of precipitation. Hey, you should have seen the one from 20 years ago! It was a bit worse, nationwide, believe it or not. Anyway, don't drink the rain water from certain areas unless you are really thirsty; ha!

Image Credit: Is already provided in the link above.

---End of Post "Areas with the most Acid Rain in the U.S."

Ventless Gas Heaters increase moisture in home...

This is something I found out a few years ago. At first, I found it hard to believe because I have always heard that gas heat will dry out the air. Yeah, well, that is for the old-style gas heaters that have a vent, flute, chimney, etc. The ventless version is a bit different. Yes, they are more efficient, as they don't waste any heat or air during the heating process, but they do increase the moisture in your home. There is a simple solution for this, but first, you may be wondering why it would matter. Well, if you use ventless gas heaters as your primary heat source, you will end up with excessive amounts of moisture and if you have a cold winter and use a lot more gas, this prolonged time of high moisture content, can cause mold problems in your home, for example. And mold is sneakier than you may think, trust me. Mold doesn't just grow out in the open for you to see or remove it, as it often develops behinds things. In fact, I've even seen it growing in drywall, behind the walls. The other thing I don't like about ventless gas heaters, is their oxygen consumption. The old fashion gas heaters use outside air, and do not effect the oxygen level in your home.

On a good note, I do like the fact that all gas heaters, whether they are ventless or not, don't require electricity to operate. In my opinion, ventless gas heaters should only be used as backup heaters or as a supplemental heat source. Plus, I was told that once, by a guy that worked at a gas company. Even he recommended the vented ones for a primary heat source. To read more about this, visit: http://mundane-blog.blogspot.com/2011/10/does-ventless-gas-fireplace-or-stove.html

Image Credit: ebay.com

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Farm-Raised Swai Fillets are Tasteless

You will often see these farm-raised swai fillets in the frozen food section within various grocery stores and supermarkets. Even though they are a species of catfish native to the rivers of Southeast Asia, it doesn't taste anything like any catfish I've ever had in America. In fact, they are basically tasteless! You will often hear people say that they are really mild and how you can add flavor by spicing up the breading or adding additional seasoning, marinades, etc., but com'on! Well, when I say something is mild or bland, I would hope that it would still at least include some taste, right? LOL!

I'm sure the wild-caught swai (also called iridescent shark) have more flavor than the farm-raised ones, but dang! I would much rather pay the extra few dollars and eat regular channel catfish from around here or some other flavorful fishes that are still fairly cheap like tilapia, pollock, etc. Oh, I've tried to eat the farm-raised swai fillets both baked and fried, but they still came out tasteless every time! Well, there were times that I did taste the breading and a bit of the seasoned salt, but no fish flavor! I suppose I can honestly say that they don't taste bad at all, since they have no flavor. I don't know... Maybe they are experimental fish that have been replicated via some molecular transport machine? Ha-ha!

Related Post: http://perpendicularity.org/blog/2010/08/01/baked-or-fried-what-are-swai-fillets/

Image Credit: Creative Commons 3.0 License - Source = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridescent_shark

---End of Post "Farm-Raised Swai Fillets are Tasteless"

Black Cherries for Arthritis

I've been lucky so far, and haven't suffered from this pesky ailment yet. However, it seems that many people either do or eventually will suffer from some type of arthritis during their lifetime (whether they are young or old), but who really expects this to be a completely pain-free ride? Ha! Anyway, several years ago I heard about this possible alternative for arthritis treatment, and many people claimed that it was an incredible natural remedy that either allowed them to take way less of their arthritis medicine or, in some cases, get completely off of the drugs.
With common sense being applied, it is fairly obvious that this isn't a cure-all wonder supplement, but it may help a great deal (in some cases) since black cherries are an excellent source of anti-inflammatories. The real question to me is, does the black cherry extract work as effectively as consuming lots of cherries the natural way? Of course the consumption of real whole foods will always be better than taking supplements, extracts, and so on, but not everybody wants to eat a bowl of cherries every day.
I have read before that black cherries also help neutralize your body's uric acid level, which would be of great benefit for people that suffer from painful gout. Going by what I've read, one would have to supplement with black cherries for a couple of weeks to balance out the uric acid levels, so taking a few pills would not be enough to truly determine if it works or not. Anyway, I'm just rambling about this subject just in case anybody out there was curious about trying natural alternatives for their arthritis issues and whatnot; cheers!

Additional Reading:
* http://www.naturalnews.com/026091_cherries_gout.html
* http://health-fitness-guru.blogspot.com/2011/03/fight-arthritis-inflammation-black.html

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons - Source = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_serotina

---End of Post "Black Cherries for Arthritis"