Monday, August 31, 2020

INTERESTING FIND: How Multiplications is done in Japan

Screenshot from video

Not all countries teach the same methods when learning and below is a video of how they do multiplication Japan. 

xx

Sunday, August 30, 2020

INTERESTING FIND: STAR TREK STREETLIGHTS

Streetlights shaped like Star Trek ships in a town called Vulcan from r/mildlyinteresting
If you are a fan of "Star Trek" you might want to make a trek of your own to see the e Star Trek street lights are installed in Vulcan, Alberta, Canada.

The Vulcan Advocate stated in an article:
  
"Town of Vulcan public works staff are installing 43 new decorative LED street light standards on Centre Street and Second Avenue, and by the pool. Last year council approved a motion for the Town to spend up to $227,136.60 on the project, with half of the money coming from Federal Gas Tax funding and half from the Street Light Capital Reserve."

Saturday, August 29, 2020

INTERESTING ANIMAL - A SHEEP ON A TRAMPOLINE

Photo:  Screenshot from video


I never thought I would find a sheep jumping on a trampoline so adorably enjoyable until I saw this video.

Playful sheep discovers how to use a trampoline from r/aww

Friday, August 28, 2020

WEATHER: HURRICANE LAURA - MOST POWERFUL STORM TO EVER MAKE LANDFALL IN SOUTHERN LOUISIANA

Screenshot from video below

The below video by The Weather Channel of the aftermath of Cameron, Louisiana and it indicated:
"Hurricane Laura will go down in history as the most powerful storm to ever make landfall in Southwest Louisiana."
Despite COVID-19 concerns, 75% of the population heeded the warning it was not a survivable storm and fled the area.

My heart and prayers go out to those that have been affected.




This is a video from CBS this morning.   




Video from the Today Show of Hurricane Laura making landfall yesterday with 150mph winds and projected "unsurvivable" storm surge of up to 20 feet.



Thursday, August 27, 2020

SEA LIFE: Tropical Reef Camera


If you need a relaxing view after a hard day of working at home or want to keep children entertained for a while, Explore.org has a camera in a tropical reef exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA.

From the post on Youtube:

"This tropical reef exhibit is modeled after the coast of Palau and houses more than 1,000 animals. Find out the best times to watch live diver presentations and learn more on Explore.org @ https://goo.gl/8YJOZL."

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

#LOCKDOWN2020: HOME SCHOOL MARCHING BAND

Corona Extracurricular Activities from r/funny
I know from playing drums in a school band that it is a different experience if you are marching.

As many parents have opted to school their children from home for the time being due to COVID-19, many parents and students have had to come up with creative options, such as this drum on a treadmill to keep in practice for marching band.

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Monday, August 24, 2020

SEA LIFE: OCTOPUS ON A BEACH

Screenshot from video

Did you know that you could run across a live octopus on a beach?  

Octolab.tv indicates that they can live out of water for a few minutes and typically this allows them to move from one tidal pool to another during low tide or look for food and it describes how they can do this:

"Being aquatic, octopuses rely on gills to extract oxygen from the water. Octopuses have three hearts. Two of these organs are used to pump blood specifically to the gills in order to remain oxygenated. In case you were curious, the other heart circulates the blood to the rest of the octopus’ body.
Unlike other marine creatures, such as fish, which rely entirely on gills for oxygen transfer, an octopus has an advantage. They can also absorb oxygen from the water through their skin. This is accomplished through a process known as passive diffusion.
 When an octopus is at rest, over 40 percent of its oxygen requirements can be met by this form of gas exchange between its skin and the surrounding water. When it is swimming or engaged in other activity, the oxygen absorbed through the skin drops to less than 30 percent.
The lowest that oxygen absorption through the skin gets is immediately after an octopus eats. Even if motionless, during digestion, the oxygen absorption drops to the single digits. Sometimes as low as 3 percent"
National Geographic reported an interesting story where, Inky, an Octopus at the National Aquarium, in New Zealand escaped through a small opening, slinked across the museum floor at night and down a drainpipe and back to the ocean.



Here is a video from the BBC:

Saturday, August 22, 2020

WEATHER: ASPERITAS CLOUDS


Photo:  Screenshot from video

While the above may look like waves in an ocean, they are actually clouds with a turbulent underside, but not 

What Is This Cloud indicates this type of cloud has only been officially recognized since 2017 and very rare and described it as:
"The best way to describe these clouds would be if you jumped into the ocean wearing goggles, swam down 5 to 10 feet, and looked back towards the surface of the water. It’s still up in the air how asperitas clouds are formed, but they usually appear in an unstable atmosphere where shear is present. As a cloudspotter, note that they’re usually paired with the stratiformis cloud species. They’re sometimes confused with mammatus clouds (mamma cloud feature) since both cloud features appear to be sinking from the cloud base."
It further indicates there are two types of these clouds:  

  • Altocumulus (Ac) - mid-altitude heaps of clouds
  • Stratocumulus (Sc) - puffy low clouds.
Below is a video:

The very rare Asperitas Clouds look like ocean waves in the sky from r/gifs

Friday, August 21, 2020

2020: If 2020 WERE A PIZZA



While the pizza has a sauce, bananas, pineapples, fish topped with an egg, 2020 has COVID-19 lockdown, layoffs, business closings, rioting, and a hurricane.

As there are over 4 months left in the year, that pizza may need more toppings.


Thursday, August 20, 2020

UNUSUAL ART: JOKER PHOTOSHOPPED INTO OLD PAINTINGS

I like to photoshop people into old paintings. Here are my Joker ones from r/pics
A  user on Reddit by that goes by mandal0re like to play with photoshop and the above ones of different versions of "The Joker" from "Batman" into old paintings are above.

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

BEVERAGE: FRENCH'S MUSTARD BEER

Photo: Source

From a post on Cool Material this beer was created to celebrate National Mustard Day, which was August 1st.  

The ad indicates it is a wheat beer and that it is:
 The result of a collaboration between French’s and Oskar Blues Brewery, French’s Mustard Beer has notes of key lime, lemon, tangerine, passion fruit, and of course, a mild mustard twang to liven things up even more. This limited-release craft brew also boasts the visual punch of French’s mustard and a mild 5 percent ABV. "
I have not tried it, but mustard beer sounds better than some fruity beer options I have tried in the past.

I imagine it might be an interesting option for marinating meat or used in cooking or baking, but the price is a bit steep; A 6 pack can be purchased online for $19.99 and available for only a limited time. 

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

#LOCKDOWN2020: INEFFECTIVE FACE MASK BINGO

Photo:  Source

This "Bingo" is a humorous and clever way to remind people how not to wear their masks, or for the rest of us to try to find humor when we come across those on the bingo sheet.

Mostly I see the schnoz or the wadded up in their pockets.   

Monday, August 17, 2020

Sunday, August 16, 2020

TREND ALERT: LAUNDRY DETERGENT REFILL MACHINES


As refillable water jugs where you can bring in your own jugs have been in grocery stores for two or three decades, I am surprised there have not been machines like these that have not been put into place sooner.

This Persil laundry detergent refill machine is in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Reusing a jug can save the water and energy it would take to recycle or create a new plastic bottle.


In the display, like there are with water bottles, it is likely you make your first purchase of bottle there and fill it and when empty, you can refill it at a lower price.







Saturday, August 15, 2020

UNIQUE MUSIC: MAN PLAYS "FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE WITH A WATERCAN

Screenshot from video

As people are still staying in due to COVID-19, they have to figure out ways to entertain themselves and others.   

A post on Laughing Squid reported that Martyn Stroud, a brass instrument teacher in the UK and donned a yellow and put black tape on it too look bee-ish and used the mouthpiece off a brass instrument on a water can to play  Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Flight of the Bumblebee" in the video below.

Actually, I think it sounds more "bee-like" than a violin and it is creative.

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Monday, August 10, 2020

CUTE: BABY TURTLE EATING HIS FIRST STRAWBERRY

Screenshot from video

 Isn't this adorable? The strawberry is as big as the little baby turtle, but he tries to tackle it anyway! Video is below:
Baby turtle eats his first strawberry from r/aww

Sunday, August 9, 2020

UNUSUAL AD: WALGREEN'S BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIAL




Photo: Source
Perhaps the beer is for the teachers that will have to try to keep masks on all of their students due to COVID-19.

Saturday, August 8, 2020

ASTRONOMY: MARS TO BE VISIBLE AT PRE-DAWN AUGUST 9, 2020

My artistic interpretation of Mars

Something interesting and free, if you can stay up late Saturday or get up early enough Sunday morning, is to see Mars.

NASA has posted:
"On Saturday night into Sunday morning, the planet Mars will appear near the waning gibbous Moon. For the Washington, DC area, the Moon will rise in the east Saturday night at 11:04 PM EDT, with Mars appearing less than 3 degrees to the left of the Moon. They will appear at their closest to each other early Sunday morning in the hour or so before morning twilight begins at 5:13 AM, with Mars appearing above the Moon. On Sunday morning, August 9, 2020, at 9:51 AM EDT, the Moon will be at apogee, its farthest from the Earth for this orbit." 

Below is a video posted by NASA from Twitter of other astronomical events in August:

Friday, August 7, 2020

VEHICLE; Dad Turns Child's Cozy Coupe Into Adult Hot Rod


A post on Laughing Squid reported engineer/car restorer Paul Redshaw turned a classic kid's toy, a Cozy Coupe into an adult-sized hot rod over a period of two months for £150.

Below is a video of him driving the vehicle.

xx

Vintage Video: The Flying Train (1902)



This train with overhead tracks looks more like something you would expect to see in the future, but this video is from over 100 years ago.

This unique video is posted on Youtube by MoMA FILM VAULT SUMMER CAMP.


From the post on Youtube:

"The Flying Train" depicts a ride on a suspended railway in Germany in 1902. The footage is almost as impressive as the feat of engineering it captures.


Screenshot from video - notice the chicken and a horse and carriage on the road!
An article on MSN.com indicates it was filmed by German Filmmaking company Deutsche Mutoskop und Biograph GmbH during a time when the leader of the country was Emperor Willhelm II.

It is known as the 'Schwebebahn' with the station in Vohwinkel, Germany, and believed to built over the river to save space.  The Monorail still in operation today.

The article further indicated:
"The electric suspension railway is the oldest elevated train in Germany. Designed by Eugen Langen, construction on the project began in 1898. Wilhelm was one of the first to catch a ride on the innovative train, during trial runs in 1900. The train began operating in Wuppertal in 1901, and it continues to be a source of transportation for locals today, carrying about 25 million passengers annually."

Thursday, August 6, 2020

2020; MASSIVE BLAST IN BEIRUT, LEBANON

Screenshot from video

Two days ago there was a massive explosion in Beruit, Lebanon which Yahoo News reported today has left 135 dead, over 5,000 injured and 300,000 homeless and the numbers are going up as rescue attempts continue.  Reports of homes up to 6 miles away 85% of Beruit's grain stored was destroyed and that the area is like the blast in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan at the end of WWII.

Both Yahoo and CNN are reporting while the cause has not been identified for the original fire, but a large explosion is potentially the result of around 2700 tons of Ammonium Nitrate, a fertilizer headed to Africa in 2014 that was abandoned and stored in a warehouse.

From the videos below, there is a fire and extreme blast with a visible shockwave.

Please keep the people affected in your prayers.









A post shared by PLANETA TIERRA 🌍 (@planetatierraok) on




Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Monday, August 3, 2020

GREENERY: Man Spends 13 Years Turning Boring Hedge into a 150 Foot Long Dragon

(Screenshot from video below)

Per an article on Vision Times, John Brooker of East Rudham got the idea when at his kitchen sink that his hedges were boring and he decided to sculpt it into a dragon

It is 6 feet high and 150 feet long.

In the article Brooker stated:
"I think the dragon came from my days in the Army. I did two tours in Malaysia so the dragon must have been in my subconscious."
He also said his wife, who was a former graphic designer, helps him with the design, which he continues to work on.
He indicated he has spent three days every two weeks to maintain the dragon, which is a popular attraction that is near a footpath.

xxx

Sunday, August 2, 2020

CATS: SPHINX KITTY

Photo:  Souce

Looks like kitty is dreaming big and pretending to be the Sphinx that is in the background.