Melissa's Idea Garden

Huge blob of Arctic goo floats past Slope communities - It isn't oil. It is biological. It may be some sort of algae bloom, but no one remembers ever seeing anything like it. I am wondering if it is the Blob! After all, they did find the remains of a bird (bones and feathers) in it....

The tiddler who caught a monster: Schoolgirl angler nets record catch that's twice her size and weighs 14stone - This is an amazing story! This young English girl has broken the world's record too!

H1N1 pandemic spreading too fast to count: WHO - This story just scares me! I am not only worried about the overall affect on the world of a pandemic, but I have plans to go to Australia and New Zealand in two months...geez!

Treatment neutralizes muscular dystrophy in mice - This is an awesome story! I once worked with a child with muscular dystrophy. She died when she was 4 years old. She was an amazing little girl. I know Jerry Lewis must be smiling.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

National Geographic is reporting about "Nanofoods" that may be just over the horizon. Nanofoods could be a nutritional break through in that they allow for us to have the flavor of the foods (isn't that what we are after when we eat) without as many calories. There is still a lot of research to be done, but it is a very interesting concept. Slip over to National Geographic to learn more!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rosalia Lombardo, a two-year-old Sicilian girl who died of pneumonia in 1920. "Sleeping Beauty," as she's known, appears to be merely dozing beneath the glass front of her coffin in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Italy.

Can you believe this little beauty died and was buried in 1920? It's amazing!

Now an Italian biological anthropologist, Dario Piombino-Mascali of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, has discovered the secret formula that preserved Rosalia's body so well.

If you are interested in looking this good 88 years after you are buried, check out the rest of the article!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We don't have this game yet, but it is on our list of games to get! Who thought Physics could be so much fun???? Check it out!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Daniel sent me this link yesterday and I had to share it. These look like some fun and very interesting experiments to try!

It's amazing how we can trick our brains!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

...or hot chocolate or tea...whichever your favorite warm beverage is. I love this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere. The days are getting shorter, the leaves are beautiful, chilly winds chase falling leves across the yard (and puppies scamper after them in delight). These are great days to sit by a fire, read a book, and enjoy a warm cup of ___________________ (fill in the blank with your favorite warm beverage).

Well, I was reading an interesting article at National Geographic that says holding a warm cup of beverage can give you a warmer outlook. People who are physically warmed were found to be more likely to buy a gift for a friend than themselves and to think more favorably of the person they are meeting with during or after the hand warming time.

I am thinking Starbucks should tune into this study to improve business during these economic times...invite your interviewer to Starbucks (or date or whatever) and you treat. Between the fact they aren't picking up the tab and everyone is sitting around with a warm beverage...great things are bound to happen!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When I was growing up, I spent one week each summer for several years with my maternal grandmother. She and I always had fun shopping, visiting, and sight seeing. Every year, she would take me to tour one of the local caves in the Shenandoah Valley, and over the years, I have visited almost every cavern in Virginia. The most well-known one, with the most amazing formations to view, is Luray Caverns. But all the caverns in Virginia are beautiful and if you are in our fine state, here are the Caverns you can look for.

Dixie Caverns
Natural Bridge Caverns
Grand Caverns
Endless Caverns
Skyline Caverns
Shenandoah Caverns

Ironically, there is a cavern in Virginia that I haven't visited. It has only recently opened, and wouldn't you know it...it is in my parent's hometown of Strasburg - the very same town where I spent those summer weeks with my grandma. It is located on Hupp's Hill (which is named after relatives on my mom's side). One day, I'll have to stop in and take a tour of Crystal Caverns.

The only other cavern I have ever visited was one in Colorado, Cave of the Winds. Daniel and I visited in during our honeymoon. We didn't see the normal sights, though. We took what they called "A Walk on the Wild Side". We dressed up in our most raggedy clothes and crawled on our hands and knees through places where the roof of the tunnel was just about against our back. It was amazing (and I was younger then). Not sure I would do that again.

I hope someday to visit Carlsbad Caverns and Ozark Caverns is because of a Trixie Belden book I read as a child. The Carlsbad Caverns are supposed to be spectacular.

What got me thinking about all of these caverns? Well, today I was reading about a Gigantic River Cave that has been recently mapped in Laos. Click on the link...the photos are amazing!

From the National Geographic website:

An expedition in February 2008, co-led by veteran caver John Pollack, comprehensively mapped and photographed the 5.9-mile (9.5-kilometer) length of the little-known cavern for the first time.

"It's also extremely well decorated with spectacular formations," Pollack said.

Who knows, maybe someday, I will be so lucky to visit such a cavern!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Peru archaeologists have found what may have been a pre-Inca pregnant woman sacrificed for an important religious event. It is highly unusual to sacrifice pregnant women.

Village of Twins Is a MysteryA small village in India has about a hundred pairs of twins, mostly same sex and 90 percent born in the last 20 years. No one can explain the phenomenon.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I know it has been a while since I have shared any interesting National Geographic Headlines. I am trying to get back in the swing of it because I enjoy reading and sharing the interesting stories. I recently restarted up my RSS feed (after the great computer wipe in August) and there has been a lot going on this week, so without further ado....

Giant Underground Fossil Forests Show Record of Warming - this story is very interesting. Not only is it neat to think that in the past there have been 40 foot tall trees in Illinois, but it is giving scientists an opportunity to use our past to learn about our present and give us insight into our future. These finds also serve to remind us that global warming has gone on before.

Worst Case: Collider Spawns Planet-Devouring Black Hole - Now most of you have heard about the firing up of the Hadron Collider this past week that scientists are very excited about and hope to gain insight about the way our universe works from what happens with the experiement. Fortunately, no black holes have appeared yet (and wondering if anyone would actually tell us if they did....)

And as if that is cool enough for you, check out this video...scientists rapping about the Hadron Collider.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From the beginning of this Presidential Election year, things have been exciting. The sitting VP not running. All new candidates. The months of not knowing who would be the Democratic and Republican candidates. It wasn't cut and dried early on like it often is. What an awesome season it has been.

Picking the Vice Presidents has been something that has kept us on edge. I was a bit disappointed with Obama's safe pick of Biden. Biden is a good guy, but for a man who is campaigning on change, to pick an old timer, Washington insider...seems to be a safe choice.

McCain has set things on ear this morning by choosing Governor Sarah Palin, from Alaska as his running mate. She is the first Republicn woman to run for this spot. She is young. She is a mother of 5. She is a businesswoman. She has a child with Down's Syndrome. And she has lots of interesting real life experiences under her belt.

McCain has done an awesome job! He has pushed Obama's speech from last night out of the news today with speculation as to who the VP would be. And now the excitement over it being a woman...fascinating! And did you see the McCain ad that he released yesterday congratulating Obama on his historic moment of being the first black presidential candidate. McCain has class and awesome campaign managers.

The next 60 days are going to be exciting!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Breast cancer is something that all women worry about. We gripe about having to have Mammograms done. We set up pals to help us remember to do self-breast exams. We check our family tree. But when most of us think about breast cancer, we think the sign to look for is a lump. Most of us aren't aware that there is another type of breast cancer that we should be on the look out for. It is called Inflammatory Breast Cancer (or IBC).

What makes IBC so dangerous is a combination of things

1. people, including doctors and cancer research facilities, not really having it on the top of their mind when they are asked about breast issues.
2. IBC is often misdiagnosed when first seen as a bug bite.
3. IBC is very, very aggressive.

I had never heard of IBC until today when a friend sent me an email with a link to a video about it.

Please take a few minutes to watch the video and here are some other links you can check out as well. Being informed is half the battle when it comes to our health. Please share this information with other women you know.

National Cancer Institute IBC Fact Page

Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation

Mayo Clinic IBC Fact Page

Inflammatory Breast Cancer Foundation

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Okay...you may be asking what these two things have in common. Well, today, two articles came to my attention that were very interesting and I thought I would share them with you.

First of all, as I was perusing the Drudge Report and ran across this title: Brrr! Farmers' Almanac says cold winter ahead. Well, for those of you who know me, you are probably aware that I love snow and the winter and cold weather when I can wear sweaters and sweatshirts. Last winter, Bruce, who worked for a local news station at the time, said that the meterologist there was predicting that the winter of 2008-2009 would be a doozy. He said he was basing this on last summer and last winter. I thought that was interesting and filed it away...hoping that he was right. Well, The Farmer's Almanac, which is accurate 80-85% of the time has predictions for cold, wet and snowy for much of the U.S. this year. I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Second, my friend, Jen, sent me an email about the Colossal Squid being a Colossal Wuss . She knows I love animal stories (and she knows this because she is a faithful reader of my blog). So she sent me an article that she thought I would be interested in. And indeed I was. Turns out there are theories that the bigger the Colossal Squid grows, the less agressive it is because it is too big to be fast and aggressive. Thanks, Jen, for thinking of me! I haven't posted any animal news for awhile. I've been too busy with travel posts, but I hope to get back to animal news this fall.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have long been fascinated with the legend of Bigfoot (I prefer the name Sasquatch). I remember back in the 70s seeing video of Bigfoot. It never seemed a stretch for me to beleive that in the wilder areas, such a creature could exist.

Well, now some Bigfoot hunters from Georgia have killed one and will be releasing more information about it today! This is one for the record books folks and if all pans out, will have scientists scrambling!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My husband is a private pilot and he loves to fly. I have a love/hate relationship with flying. I love getting places quickly, but being up in the air leaves me feeling so out of control (though I know it is way safer than driving).

My husband had one tricky flight that involved flying into a thunderstorm after being given inaccurate weather information. He did a heck of a job flying (as attested to by the fact that he landed safely and that one of his passengers, another pilot, said he did a great job!)

I would like to hand out kudos to the pilots who were flying the Spirit of Australia when a 3 meter hole appeared in the side and the plane dropped 20,000 feet! All of the 346 passengers and 19 crew members were able to disembark the plane normally. Way to go pilots! And Praise God for the outcome!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now this is a story!

Note that NASA's rebuttal did claim that Dr. Mitchell was on medication or seeking any kind of mental health treatment. Merely that they didn't agree with his opinions. Dr. Mitchell doesn't appear to be voicing opinions, but facts....

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I have a dear, dear, dear friend who I met when I first started homeschooling. Though we have some very different political and religious views, we enjoy one another's company and she has taught me all I know about Ebay. She is smart, funny, and a treasure trove of knowledge. I have mentioned to her about blogging before, but she has never given it a whirl. Well, there is a list that she is on and one of the gals decided to start up a blog called 365 days in Islip. Everyday, she posts something about her area of the world. After some other of my friends list buddies pressured her, my friend, Carole decided to give it a whirl. Her blog is called 365 Days in The Moonshine Capitol of the World. At the bottom of her blog, you can link to others who are jumping on this band wagon. It looks like a lot of fun and I can assure you that you will enjoy reading Carole's witty posts!

She invited me to join in the fun, but I just can't imagine running another blog, this one keeps me busy enough. But I may try to do a weekly post about where I live once I return to Virginia.

Anyway, this is a great way to get a birdseye view of other parts of the world. So go check out 365 Days in The Moonshine Capitol of the World and other similar blogs. (Cause I know you don't already have enough blogs to read!)

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A friend of mine just sent me an email about a wonderful program by a company Jeld-Wen Windows and Doors. This company chooses one lighthouse a year to restore its windows and doors. The lighthouse is chosen by popular vote. And you can vote for the lighthouse of your choice by visiting this website. BTW, you can vote, even if you are not in the U.S.

I am not going to tell you which lighthouse I voted for because I don't want to influence your opinion, but I will tell you it was a tough choice. I was drawn to some lighthouses for their architectural properties, to other lighthouses for the support they were receiving from their community, and other lighthouses for their history.
Take your time, look at the lighthouses and read their story.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Watch this video from National Geographic. It shows a senisble idea that is being considered to help cut back on food costs. How do you feel about the proposal? Personally, I am all for it!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WOW! This toilet exudes pleasant scents, provides cover up sounds, checks your blood pressure, tests your urine and more! Check it out with this video from National Geographic

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I heard about this the other day. Check out the video on National Geographic. I suffer a bit from motion sickness when I am a passenger in a car...I can't imagine what it would be like to be in this building!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I read this article in the July 2008 edition of Good Housekeeping.

"Studies have shown that when towns ban smoking in public places, the number of heart attacks drops significantly. Now research from Indiana University pinpoints that it's nonsmokers who benefit first. In the 22 months after Indiana's Monroe County outlawed smoking in restaurants, workplaces, and stores, hospital admissions for heart attacks fell a whopping 70 percent - but only among nonsmokers. Admissions stayed the same for smokers. A halt on lighting up in public helps nonsmokers most quickly, says lead researcher Dong-Chul Seo, Ph.D., because "whithin 30 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke, blood becomes stickier and more prone to clotting. Plus the level of carbon monoxide rises, so heart cells get less oxygen." But Seo expects that smokers would see a payoff "as they cut quit or cut down." If you're a smoker who would like to kick the habit, look for a program with in-depth counseling. That, plus a supply of nicotine-replacement patches, gum, or lozenges, almost doubled smokers' quit rates versus only brief counseling with the nicotine replacements, reports a study from Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research."

I knew that second-hand smoke was bad, but I was really amazed to see these kind of figures!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday I received a comment on my post Today I Get to Meet Two Bloggy Friends regarding an upcoming Writer's Conference in Texas.

I went and checked out the website of the Writer's League of Texas. The conference is taking place in Austin June 20-22. I think one of the reasons I didn't get further with my writing was because I didn't network enough and attend conferences, but it just wasn't the right time in my life to do that. If you are in the area, check out the conference.

If you are from another state, see if there is something similar near you! I googled VA and there is The Virginia Writers Club. I will definitely be checking them out if I return to writing.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today I was reading an article in Good Housekeeping about a mom whose son was constantly encouraging her to decrease their families carbon footprint. This mom drives a VW bug and keeps her house at a chilly 62 degrees in the winter time. She recycles. She turns off lights when she leaves the room. But when she went to the carbon calculator it informed her that she was using 12 tons more carbon a year than the average family in the United States.

I wanted to get my own number. I have to say, I was surprised. As you know I was gifted with a SUV this year, not exactly friendly to the environment, but it was a most wonderful gift. My number showed that we are only 6 tons over the national average.

Now, my gripe with this little calculator is this....

Continue reading "ClimateCrisis.net Needs A Better Carbon Calculator" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Have you ever heard someone say Guiness tastes like a chocolate shake? Or how about tabasco that tastes like donut glaze? Vinegar that resembles apple juice?

What, have I gone mad? Nope, but I have been reading about something called a Miracle Fruit that was discovered almost 300 years ago in Africa, but isn't very well known. This fruit has the ability to make sour things sweet (and to make sweet things almost unbearable to eat).

I am thinking this could be the diet secret of the century! I mean...eat lemons and have them taste sweet...don't you see? We could eat the berry, then eat a low calorie meal (like a salad) which would suddenly take on a new taste sensation. The berries tricks last for about up to an hour and each berry sells for about $2.00. I think it would be fun just to try out! Perhaps I will get to experience a Flavor tripping party, or maybe I will just order a couple of berries to see!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I was fascinated to learn that there are some 100 tribes in the world with people who have not been contacted by modern day people. I didn't know there were any such people, let alone 100 tribes of them.

Below is a picture of tribe that lives in the area of the border between Peru and Brazil. The government is attempting to provide proof of these isolated tribes existence so that they can help protect the land the tribes live in.

I can only begin to imagine what these people thought when the plane was flying overhead. Wouldn't it be amazing to learn from them what they know? And to see how they talk about and draw pictures about their encounter with the metal bird?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our rising food prices are not unique in the world. Food prices are at an all time high around the globe, striking riots and leading to a food crisis that hasn't been seen since the 1970s. Check out this video from National Geographic that talks about the reasons and the future of food prices.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's a bird....it's a plane...it's Swiss pilot and inventor Yves Rossy testing out his jet-powered wing flying up to 186 miles (300 kilometers) an hour after jumping from an airplane at 7,500 feet (2,300 meters). That's so cool!

Continue reading "Cool National Geographic Photos for the Week" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I always find it interesting how a catastrophe or something that adversely affects the environment for one can be a boon for another.

According to National Geographicthe grassy prehistoric Sahara turned into Earth's largest hot desert more slowly than previously thought, a new report says—and some say global warming may turn the desert green once again.

Just like flooding along the Nile provides for green vegetation and life in the desert, global warming could return life to the Sahara.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Since I sat down in the 1970s every Sunday night and watched The Six Million Dollar Man, I have watched for the science fiction to become science fact. And while the super powers that Steve Austin had haven't been duplicated to our knowledge, we have seen amazing advancements in limb replacement.

Now Australian doctors believe the bionic eye they've created is safer than similar devices developed in other countries. To see the complete video, visit this National Geographic link

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A month or so ago, while driving into town and listening to the radio, we heard the D.J. ask the following question:

What is the most purchased item at Walmart?

Katrina and I kept trying to come up with an answer, as did the people calling in. Finally someone provied the answer "bananas" and I wanted to kick myself. After all, I buy bananas pretty much every week and it is the only thing I buy every week besides milk.

So it was with interest that I read a National Geographic article on 'Green' Banana Farming. Banana trees are disease prone and must be sprayed constantly with pesticides and fungicides.

For example, standard banana plantations tie plastic bags around budding bunches to protect the fruit from scarring and to keep out unwanted pests.

But innovative approaches have been working at recycling the plastic bags and finding ways to not use the pesticides and fungicides. Every bit helps and it is big companies like Dole leading the way that will really help to make a difference!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Video from National Geographic: Greensburg, Kansas was basically destroyed last May when a F-5 tornado touched down. Today they are making lemonade out of lemons. They could have given up and moved away, instead, they are rebuilding their town, and they are rebuilding Green! Way to go, citizens of Greensburg! You are a shining example to us all!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Video from National Geographic - An Australia company is testing what could be the undersea equivalent of a wind farm. Their devices would capture wave energy and convert it to electricity.
Makes sense to me! Our planet is 3/4 covered with water....we need to figure out a way to put this vast resource to use. Way to go Aussies!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

According to National Geographic the United States is leading the world in wind power growth. Of course, when you are a country as large as ours and have used it as little as we have in the past, it is not hard to beat other countries in your growth. But I am glad to see it! I have told Daniel we should check into getting a wind generator. We have a lot of wind here where we are.

From the article: "Wind resources in just three U.S. states could, theoretically, meet all of our nation's electricity needs," she said in an email.

Unfortunately, despite these excellent projections, there are some who are not convinced:

Continue reading "Wind Power - Growing in Usage in the United States" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Can you imagine getting stuck at the top of this 500 foot tall ferris wheel? Can you imagine the view?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a small village in India, a child has been born with two faces due to an extremely rare condition known as craniofacial duplication. She is being worshipped as the reincarnation of an Indian goddess.

You can watch a video about this unusual child and you can read more about her as well.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Today my hubby sent me a link to a cool blog article from Modern Mechanix. This article was taken from Mechanix Illustrated and was originally written in 1968. You will love reading it, I think!

There are things they were right on the money about...flat screen televisions, laptops, locator systems in cars, robots, smart appliances, and televisions that take up entire walls.

There are other things that they really missed out on, like the air cushion cars that can drive 250 mph! And the domed climate controlled cities...for example.

I wonder where we will be 40 years from now and what the vision is that someone has for our future?

One of the things that I think is funny about the article is the similarity to the Jetsons. The Jetsons first first aired in 1962. Wonder if the author of the article was a fan?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Clarence and Maymie Vail were married in 1925 in Hugo, MN. Today he is 101 and she is 99 and they have been married for 83 years. Isn't that absolutely awesome!

Read the rest of the story at MSNBC and find out what their secret for such a long lived marriage is.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My Hubby sometimes finds the coolest stories to send me links to and today there were a few, so I thought I would share them with you, my faithful reader! Enjoy!

1. Temperature Monitors Report Widescale Global Cooling - The two things I have to contribute to this is that a few months ago I read an article that reported that there was also global warming on Mars and it was due to solar activity (since there aren't people there to mess things up). And as a sociology major in college, numbers can be manipulated to say whatever you want them to say.

2. Easy Do-It-Yourself Ghost- This is so cool! And you will want to mark it for your next Halloween party!

3. Maze Design - I enjoy doing mazes on paper. And when we first moved here I thought it would be neat to build our own shrubbery maze, but we never did. Here are some mazes that make my head spin! They were created to be complex and interesting.

4. My Favorite Liar And lastly, here is a brief post about a professor who kept his students attention from day one and helped them learn rather dry material!

Happy reading!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you have read my blog for any length of time, you know that i love learning about animals, space and anything to do with archaeology. I have been so busy with cleaning and homeschooling and life, that I am a bit behind with sharing the interesting things from National Geographic. I have over 90 stories to wade through. I only share the ones most interesting to me here, and currently, I don't link to the videos because my computer is getting a tad ancient and I can't watch the videos anymore (there is a new laptop in my future...probably April), but I don't want to link to videos when I don't know what is in them. Anyway, since I don't want to right up a kazillion posts to catch up, I am going to briefly share links that interest me in this post in order to get caught up. And maybe some photos to.

1. Mysterious Pyramid Complex Discovered in Peru - what fascinates me about stories like this is the fact that we find pyramid and pyramid shapes all over the world. This vast ceremonial site is believed to have been used by a little known ancient culture, Vicus.

2. Ancient Maya Used "Glitter" Paint to Make Temple Gleam - A new study of paint flakes taken from masks on the temple's exterior found that the Maya used mica to make the temple's colorful paint glimmer in the sun. It appears, glitter paint has been around for a long, long time! We love glitter paint in our house. We used it on our snowmen, our pine cones and whatever else we want to give an extra sparkle!

Continue reading "National Geographic Headlines: Archaeology, Astronomy, and Animals" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Yesterday, I visited Barbara Frank's blog and found a very interesting article there on the Gloomy Stats about Colleges and Jobs. Before you read my piece further, I encourage you to read what she has to say. She has some great stats and comments that will make a jumping off place for this post. Go ahead, click. A new window will open up and then you can come back here when you are done. Don't worry, I'll wait.

There, are you back now? Are you depressed now? Have you had in the back of your mind that college is the way for your children to achieve the American dream? Don't be depressed, you have just gained a great advantage, you have been told that there are other options. That you don't have to spend the family fortune or push your children deep into debt for a degree that may not be anything more than a lovely piece of paper for the living room wall and experience in the latest drinking games.

Now, don't get me wrong, I went to College. The College of William and Mary to be exact. I was the first person on my father's side of the family to attend college and graduate with a four year degree. I had known my whole childhood that I would be going to college. I am an only child and my parents worked hard to put me through college. I worked in college but it was for extra money and when I left college, we owed about $10,000 (which was 1/2 the cost of my stay in college). I treasure the time I spent at William and Mary. I learned a lot about life there, was able to learn independence within a protected setting and I have a really great degree in Latin to hang on my wall.

Continue reading "Is A College Education The Way to A Successful Future?" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Name recognition is very important for companies. Think how many names we hear every day that automatically bring images to mind: Coca-Cola, Orkin, Bayer, McDonald's, and Ethan Allen are words we can speak that give us all an idea of what is being discussed. Visual images even come to mind. But sometimes, where you live in the world can skew the image that comes to mind. Or depending on what you do for a living.

When I hear the name Baldwin. My first thought is pianos. We have a piano. My husband and my children play and my mother plays. The next thing I think of when I hear the name Baldwin is General Hospital. I was a big fan back in the 1980s and if you were too, you will remember Lee, Gail and Scotty. Scotty was such a scoundrel! When my dad hears the name Baldwin, he thinks of quality interior and exterior door hardware. My dad is a carpenter. This just goes to show that while name recognition has it limitations, name recognition does work...after all, images did come to our mind!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you have watched the 'newer' Star Trek series, then you are aware of the term "holodeck" and "holosuite". These are rooms that the people of the future can go into for a variety of purposes. Mostly these rooms are used for recreation. People simply put in a program and viola they are experiencing the roaring twenties, walking through the pages of their favorite novel, or going hiking through astounding vistas. It is like they are really there, with the added benefit of they can't be harmed. There are other people in the programs (who are holograms) and they will interact with you. Pretty cool really except when there is a malfunction and the safeties get turned off, but that is another story.

Anyway, as with so many of the ideas in the various Star Trek series, this one seems to be coming a bit closer to reality.

From National Geographic

Within a few decades movie-goers may be able to watch their favorite flicks in 3-D without the need for glasses, a new study says. University of Arizona optical sciences professor Nasser Peyghambarian and his colleagues have created what may be the first rewritable 3-D display surface, , one in which an image can be replaced with another within a few minutes.

Peyghambarian's team is working to get the time needed to rewrite the surface down to a fraction of a second.

"The ultimate goal would be some sort of 3-D video that doesn't require eyeglasses to view," Peyghambarian said.

Continue reading "Are Holodecks and Holosuites in Our Relatively Near Future?" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Research has found that by culturing skin cells in a laboratory and injecting them with a bioluminescence gene found in fireflies. They can determine if the person is a night owl or an early bird!

It turns out that our genetic make-up is probably responsible for our sleeping habits, what is really amazing scientists as that they can make this determination by testing our skin cells.

I can't help but wonder if employers will find a use for this kind of testing. If you have a job that needs a person who is going to be bright and chipper in the morning, they can require a skin test...hmmm are we making the way for 'skin discrimination'?

And that is what I am thinking about today, what's on your mind!?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

WHAT! Weren't the scientists just saying that global warming would make us have worse hurricanes? I know we need to be better to our planet! But to me, this article is just another example of how much we really don't know about the forces that are at work in our own environment! Scientists sometimes lead us to believe that they have it all figured out, but in reality, they are doing the best they can with what information they have.

My husband and I often discuss the question of how does anyone know what the proper temperature for the planet is? We know what temperatures we are used to and expect, but are those the 'proper temperatures'? I don't know and I don't think anyone else really does either.

At any rate, check out National Geographic for what the latest studes are showing about hurricanes and how globabl warming can be expected to influence them.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A huge palm in its own genus has been discovered in Madagascar. The palm tree grows to be 6 stories tall and 1.5 feet in diameter. Then it blooms, hundreds of thousands of blooms. These blooms drip nectar when they open. Once pollinated, each flower turns into a fruit. The palm's nutrient reserves then become depleted, the crown collapses, and the tree dies a prolonged death.

Talk about a spectacular ending to a life!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you are having a hard time sorting out which of the political candidates believes what, here is a great link from CNN that tackles the big issues and shares what each of the candidates is saying.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

China joins other countries and cities who have already made the move to banning plastic bags being handed out by retailers. Internationally, legislation to discourage plastic bag use has been passed in parts of South Africa, Ireland, and Taiwan, where authorities either tax shoppers who use them or impose fees on companies that distribute them. Bangladesh already bans them, as do at least 30 remote Alaskan villages.

Last year, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban petroleum-based plastic bags in large grocery stores.

In France, supermarket chains have begun shying away from giving away plastic bags, and German stores must pay a recycling fee if they wish to offer them.

Ireland's surcharge on bags was imposed in 2003 and has been credited with sharply reducing demand.

It has been estimated by The Sierra Club that if every one of New York City's eight million people used one less grocery bag per year, it would reduce waste by about 218,000 pounds. WOW!

I am all for seeing this same type of legislation take place here in the United States. I am curious though, how retailers feel about this for shop lifting purposes. I walk in with my 6 or 7 reusable bags (an estimate as it would depend on the bag size and the amount of shopping I do, but I shop once every week or two and I usually come home with 10-20 of those flimsy plastic bags. So I walk in with my reusable bags, seems like this would make it easier for people to shoplift. Just pick up one or two small items, leave without paying, it would be hard for the stores to know unless they set up security at the doors to check. Also, how does this affect the cashiers with their bagging? Since some people are already using the reusable bags, I would love to hear how it works for you!

If you are thinking about purchasing reusable bags, one place on the internet that I found while googling is Resuable Bags.com. This is just one of many such sites, but one thing I like about them is that they use fair trade and fair pay products.

Don't forget to tell me how reusable bags are working for you!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Do you tend to use the same words over and over again? Maybe you always say 'walk' when you could use more interesting verbs like strolled, scampered, crept, and skipped. Or maybe you always say 'said' when you could use more interesting verbs such as retorted, scolded, whispered, cried.

When we use more descriptive terms (for instance Golden Retriever versus dog), then we give the reader more information. Our reading becomes more entertaining and by using better words, we can use fewer words. When we use the verb 'whisper' then we don't have to write 'said quielty'. And whispered, because of its definition gives the reader an understanding of something being said quietly, perhaps secretively, perhaps to keep a person concealed. It just is a richer word by far.

A thesaurus is a handy tool for helping to choose better words. But a thesaurus isn't always on hand and you have to be careful with a thesaurus. You have to know what the word means before you can go picking a word to replace it. If you are using walking as a verb, you don't want to choose a word that turns it into a noun.

And remember how earlier I mentioned you might be using a word frequently? It would be helpful to have a program that would point out if you have a word you are using a lot. You might want to take a peek at
TextMorph Jan. 08. This is a website where you can type in your sentences and it will give you options of other words you can use via drop down boxes. It will also make suggestions about whether your sentences are too long or too short and will point out words you may be using too frequently. And the site is free. This is a beta site so it has its shortcomings. A lot of the word choices I was offered aren't improvements and aren't even the same form (like it shows me nouns when it should be a verb that I am choosing). But it is still kind of fun to use and as more people check it out and make suggestions, hopefully the program will get better.

What I found most useful about it was it gave me an idea if my sentences were too long or short and it pointed out the words I was using too often.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

5 Minutes for Mom will be sharing ideas about New Habits for the New Year and they will be offering giveaways right along with those suggestions. The fun begins January 1st and lasts until January 8th! Go check out their tips and join in the fun!

Do you have any New Year's Resolutions this year? I have some. I plan to lose weight. I plan to spend more time in The Word. I plan to get back to work reading my HTML books and web design books.

There are other things I need to improve of course, but I know if I try to change too many things at once, I will fail miserably. I hope that by keeping my goals for change to reasonable proportions, I will succeed.

What are your New Year's Resolutions?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Did you know that seeds from the foods we eat are being saved in seed banks around the world so that in the event of a catastrophic event, we will be able to start anew? But these seed banks may not just save us in the event of a catastrophe, they may keep lesser used species from being lost and these lesser used species may save us from other problems.

For example, did you know that 70% of today's fresh water usage is used for agricultural purposes? When I read that I was floored! I mean, think of the water we drink, the showers, the baths, the car washes and the swimming pools and the laundry...and all of that adds up to only 30% of the fresh water use? That amazes me!

Some of these lesser used species don't require as much water, so they may come in handy for changing our current crops and decreasing our freshwater usage (I'll be honest, I am very concerned about the decreasing levels of freshwater available around the world as creeks and lakes and rivers get lower and lower).

Another way, these seed banks are eing utilized is that they are now going to be keep the seeds from the top 10 % of endangered plants in the world. Hopefully, that number will continue to grow. I wonder how long the seeds stay viable. The article didn't say.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tonight we were watching The Dog Whisperer on National Geographic. An interesting show though the skeptic in me wonders if these people really follow through with what Cesar suggests for them. But that is not the topic of this post. During a commercial, I learned of an offshoot sight that National Geographic is running. It is called Preserve Our Planet. This site has a Green Guide with tips on how you can help the environment. It also has information on global warming. And a listing of Environmental Topics in alphabetical order.

If the topic of the Environment interests you, you will definitely want to spend some time on this site.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check out this headline: A High Price for Healthy Food...it turns out researchers at the University of Washington did a survey that showed healthier foods cost more and that people on limited incomes tended to stock up on high calorie, inexpensive items! Hmmm...wonder how much they paid for that survey?

The survey found that higher-calorie, energy-dense foods are the better bargain for cash-strapped shoppers. Energy-dense munchies cost on average $1.76 per 1,000 calories, compared with $18.16 per 1,000 calories for low-energy but nutritious foods.

I didn't realize the difference was that great! WOW! The article goes on to say that fruits and veggies are becoming a luxury item...I think meat is too.

So, is this news to you or had you already figured it all out? And how do you get your fruits and veggies in?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As the year winds down, everyone gets busy making their top 10 lists or top 50 list or top 100 lists depending on what their preference is. We always have to come up with the best of the best of the worst of the worst because it helps us to encapsulate what happened during the year. National Geographic is no different! Earlier I shared their top ten news photos...I guess that category was great photos with top news stories? Here I will share the links for what they have picked for their top ten stories and top ten photos of 2007.

Top Ten Stories of 2007 A dinosaur "mummy," mass plague graves in Venice, and a stone box that might have held Jesus' remains were just some of the blockbuster stories covered this year by National Geographic News. Personally, the number one story of 2007 has me the most intrigued and still waiting to hear more.

Mars Melt Hints at Solar, Not Human, Cause for Warming, Scientist Says (February 28, 2007) Simultaneous warming on Earth and Mars suggests that our planet's recent climate changes have a natural—and not a human-induced—cause, according to a controversial theory.

Top Ten Photos of 2007 Just like with the top ten news photos, I have posted several of these top photos on my blog in the past year! Yeah me! The strange owl from Peru, new leopard species, the smiling bird in Columbia, the Goblin Shark, The Giant Squid, the 100 year old Rockfish, and the Colossal Squid. Somehow I missed the photo of the crocodile that had bit off the vet's hand and forearm! YIKES!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is it time to be thinking abou moving from the west coast? The Hayward Fault, which runs under Oakridge and San Francisco has a 45-75% chance of letting loose in the next 30 years. This fault, which has recently been discovered to be longer than previously thought has a history of quaking about every 170 years. This October will see the 140th anniversary of the last big quake on this line which occured in 1868.

Though the 1868 quake was eclipsed by the 1906 San Francisco quake (which was related to the San Andreas fault), it still caused plenty of damage and with 100 times more people living in that region now than there were 140 years ago, the results of such a quake would no doubt be catastrophic. Scientists believe the quake would probably be a magnitude of 7. Due to building code changes, there is a high probability of survival of the quake, but experts predict life would not be easy and people should be prepared.

Continue reading "Potential For Big San Francisco Quake in the Next 30 Years" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We hear a lot about global warming these days. I just read an article that adds other causes to our planet's warming and the soaring use of natural resources. Divorce, people remaining single longer, and the move away from mult-generational households are all adding to the toll on our planet. Take a married couple....they divorce and now you have two households.

Instead of one refrigerator, you have two. Two hot water heaters. Two dishwashers. And then there are the raw materials that go into creating two separate domiciles (wood, glass, metal). If one family sits in their living room watching TV together and making use of the living room lights, that is less electricity than that same family divided into two homes and both of those homes watching different TVs and using different lights.

It definitely provides food for thought! I wonder if the political bandwagon is going to start advocating making it harder to get divorces and a return to multi-generational home. Maybe we will be required to get married by 20 or we will have to move into an apartment with others to preserve resources.

Just something to think about! Be sure to read the National Geographic article for more information.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Real Estate is without a doubt, the best investment you can make. Land pretty much always increases in value, and even if you have a property in an area that stagnates for awhile, somewhere down the road, the price of that property is probably going to increase. Would you like to be able to figure out where the smart places are to buy and what prices are for homes in your area? Then you should visit REmapper and get information from their real estate forecast.

REmapper has taken a variety of sources of information and combined these reports and data into a format that will keep you informed on real estate trends. Read the press release below for more information.

Continue reading "Check Out the Real Estate Forecast Before You Buy" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Do you have an interest in law? Do you enjoy following celebrity legal cases? Then you may want to spend some time checking out the Los Angeles Criminal Defense Blog | California Criminal Attorneys Law Blog. When you visit that blog, you can get information about all kinds of legal situations. Such, as what do you do when approached by a police officer? What is a grand jury?

Learn more about Internet crimes, prosecutor's burden of proof and celebrity or high-profile cases. There are categories that cover drug offenses, DUIs, Domestic violence, white collar crime, and more. It is not always easy to obtain legal information and if you go directly to an attorney, they want to charge by the hour. This blog is one way that you can get some valid legal information from real people that will respond to your comments.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MSNBC is reporting that Germany Security Leaders are trying to ban Scientology. They believe that the goals of Church of Scientology are be in conflict with the principles of the nation’s constitution and they will seek to ban the organization.

Germany has had Scientologist under surveillance for over 10 years.

The Scientologists have long battled to end the surveillance, saying it is an abuse of their right to freedom of religion. They point to several lower court rulings in favor of their right to practice in Germany as a religious organization.

The U.S. State Department regularly criticizes Germany in its annual Human Rights Report for the monitoring practice.

The interior ministers gave no specific examples for their decision, but the most recent annual report on extremism compiled by their agencies criticized the organization for disregarding human rights.

“From a number of sources, some of them not available to the public, it has been determined that (the organization) seeks to limit or rescind basic and human rights, such as the right to develop one’s personality and the right to be treated equally,” the report said.

Continue reading "German Leaders are Trying to Ban Scientology" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As my parents and in-laws grow older, I hear the same complaints from them. Their cell phones aren't meeting their needs. They are too complicated for them to understand. The volume doesn't go up loud enough. They can' see the buttons. The bills are even hard for them to figure out. It is difficult enough to be trying to learn a new technology, but when you add to that tiny buttons and hard to understand menus, cell phones may seem not worth the effort.

However, I feel greater peace of mind with them having a cell phone. That way, if they are on the road and break down, they will have a way to get in touch with others. Or if their phones go out during a bad storm and they need to reach someone, there is a good chance their cell phones will work. Depending on their location, cell phone may serve to save them money as well. Why pay for a land line when they can use their cell phone and know that people will always be able to get in touch with them.

Did you know there are cell phones for senior citizens? I only recently learned of the Jitterbug cell phones. My husband had mentioned them and I became curious. There are two models of Jitterbug phones that you can choose from.

Continue reading "Jitterbug - The Perfect Phone for the Senior Citizen on Your List" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Do you ever use a search engine and search for your name? You know to see how many times you pop up (and how close to the top of the searches?). As a writer, I do it from time to time. I will also search for people I know, but with some search engines you don't just get links to people, you get links to a larger variety of informaiton that you are having to wade through. And it doesn't always tell you 'where' that person is. However, Spock.com - The Best Way to Search People returns people oriented links and is easy to use. So I have signed up and I have been enjoying playing around with this fun site.

First I tried the name of a friend and author, Dotti Enderle. I enjoyed visiting the different sites that she is linked up to. Though, I do know there are more links to her on the web than showed up. So then, I checked out my name of Melissa O. Markham. I love seeing my name in print! What I found interesting is that when I took the 'O' out (which stands for my maiden name, Orndorff, btw), a lot more hits appeared and there are a lot of Melissa Markham's in the world! Maybe we should create a club! And it even shows pictures!

So, then I had to look for Daniel and he was only fifth down in line! When I clicked on him, I found some more specific information and I can actually add more links to his profile.

Continue reading "Spock - A People Search Engine That is Fascinating!" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Human Development Report 2007/2008 rated the countries in terms of their "human development index": a statistical analysis of factors that influence a person's quality of life, such as per capita gross domestic product and life expectancy. Here is a list of the top 10:

1. Iceland
2. Norway
3. Australia
4. Canada
5. Ireland
6. Sweden
7. Switzerland
8. Japan
9. the Netherlands
10. France

The United States ranked 12. Now the list seems pretty accurate to me, except for number 10. With all of the civil unrest in strife in France, how the heck did they make the top 10?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Interesting new studies show that exercise is not enough to help get rid of that bludgeoning body fat. It turns out that standing up and puttering around is just as important. Apparently when we sit down, the enzymes that are responsible for burning fat just shut down. Can you believe it? They just stop doing their job! So for those of us who make our living sitting down, we are keeping our bodies from working properly.

Lots more studies need to be done, but in the meantime, it would probably behoove us to see if we can't get up and move around more during our days. I wonder if an invention will be forth coming where we can ride a bike while we work or find some other way to move our lower body around while we use our computers. I am sure Microsoft will be on top of inventing the next computer generation that will enable us to do our work and be on our feet at the same time!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My hubby sent me this cool story about rocks that slide across the Death Valley floor in an unknown manner. There are theories about how it occurs. The one that is most prevalent is that it is a combination of ice and wind that helps these rocks on their way. But the kicker is no one has ever actually seen them move! We can only see the trail that is left behind....Yes, you are now entering the Twilight Zone....

For more cool photos and interesting theories, check out the story at Geology.com

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Okay, you are wondering where I am going with this after reading that bizarre title...well, follow along and you will see.

Actually, a busy afternoon isn't correct. It was a busy day. I spent my morning blogging, reading emails and RSS feeds and teaching the children. We are reading about Greek Gods and Goddesses right now. For science, Katrina and Jack spent some time with their rabbits. We continue to try and get them to like us! Then they worked on alphabetizing and defining this week's spelling words. Followed by learning more about verbs and how they work in sentences. Then this was followed by math. Jack is learning about decimals and Katrina is learning about adding and subtracting three digit numbers (she doesn't like this section very much).

After lunch, we headed to town for our Tuesday errands. We stopped at the dump first. While Jack was unloading our trash, I popped the hood and tried to get a better handle on why my car has smoke coming out from under the hood when I stop. Well, there have been two problems. One is that a hose that goes into the valve cover had popped loose. My dad fixed that a couple of weeks ago, but I was still steaming and couldn't figure out why. Then I realized I wasn't steaming all the time. Turns out that there must be a leak involving my air condition thingy. When my AC or defrost is on, fluid drips onto the manifold and burns. Since we can't spend money on repairs, I simply turned off the defrost and viola....no more smoke! COOL! Now I know that there are times when I will have to use the defrost, but at least, I know my car isn't going to burst into flames...

Continue reading "A Busy Afternoon And Information on the Twenty Worst Foods" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am always looking for ways to add to our household income. My main criteria is that it be something I can do and still be home with my children. So I always have my eye out for innovative ideas. Today I read an article about a lady who was learning to build a website. She lives in Kansas, so as a joke, she offered tumbleweeds for sale on her website! Imagine her surprise, when people started buying them!

She is now making at least $40,000 a year selling weeds that blow across her yard. People have bought tumbleweeds for dramatic productions, parties, and to remind them of their home on the plains. I guess the joke is on this entrepreneur!

A couple of years ago, my husband had a couple of suggestions for things for me to sell on ebay. One was for a bag of nothing...you know a lunch bag with a fancy label to sit around as a conversation starter... The other idea was to sell rocks we pick up from the Blue Ridge mountains...I am still not sure about the bag of nothing, but the rock idea may be a winner!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My husband knows I love a good mystery. He also knows I spent several weeks researching the famous local mystery, The Beale Ciphers, a couple of years ago for an article or book I was thinking about writing. If you have never heard of The Beale Treasure and the ciphers that supposedly lead to it, there is lots of interesting information out there to be had. People have come to Bedford County from around the world trying to figure out this puzzle. Some claim it has been found. Others claimed it was all a big hoax. Others claim that some of the most prominent people of the time were involved in this huge conspiracy...it really does make fascinating reading. Oh dear, I have wandered a bit, haven't I?

Anyway, my husband, who knows I love a good mystery sent me a link the The World's 10 Most Famous Uncracked Codes. The Beale Ciphers is number 6 on this list. Go check out the other famous uncracked codes! It makes for interesting reading.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When my father got remarried, he and Dianne had purchased disposable cameras from Sam's and set them on the tables at the reception. I thought this was such a cool idea! And what a great way to get a variety of pictures and to increase the chances of getting a decent photo or two! The idea is that the guests will leave the cameras on the table and the bride and groom will get the photos developed. This is a swell idea for those getting married, but the photographers don't get to see their handiwork. And sometimes the cameras disappear...perhaps by a well meaning guest who plans to develop the photos or perhaps by a not so well meaning guest. Either way, there are flaws with this plan.

Enter ITheeSnap.com! You simply sign up for how many wedding cameras you want to have delivered to you for your wedding. They arrive in a box, you set them out. People take the pictures and you return them in the provided postage paid box. You get to even choose the design on the camera so they will match your wedding colors! The film will then be developed and 4 x 6 prints as well as a photo DVD will be sent to the newlyweds. There will also be a secure website where your guests can view the photos, download them and comment on them. The really cool thing is you pay up front for the cameras. All of the rest...the shipping, the developing, the prints, the DVD, the website are FREE! This is a great help when dealing with a wedding budget.

Not only is this service as easy as 1, 2, 3...there aren't hidden costs or extra money for you to come up with when you return from your honeymoon! Just great candid shots that you and your family and friends can enjoy!

For more information, read this recent press release!

Continue reading "One Less Wedding Hassle - ITheeSnap.com!" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is not the 'most tilted building' anymore. A 13th century German church with a wooden foundation sitting on sodden ground actually a little more than a degree more than the Tower of Pisa. Both were stabilized a bit in the 1990s and that stabilization may have cost the Tower of Pisa the record.

I hope to get to visit them both before they topple over someday.

Photo and information are courtesy of National Geographic.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Isn't that a pretty picture? Grand Prismatic Spring is one of Yellowstone National Park's many hot springs and geysers fueled by underground thermal energy.

A new study has found that Yellowstone is rising faster than has ever been measured before, due to an influx of magma several miles beneath the surface. It has been rising three inches a year since 2004! The surface is inflating like a bellows due to an infusion of magma about 6 miles (10 kilometers) underground.

Yellowstone sits on a volcano that is hundreds of times bigger than Mt. St. Helens. While there is no sign of an imminent eruption, it would certainly be something to see. Much of Yellowstone sits in a caldera that is 40 miles across! The caldera was formed when the cone of the massive volcano collapsed in a titanic eruption 640,000 years ago. The most recent flare up was 70,000 years ago. Volcanic heat continues to fuel the park's famous geysers and hot springs.

I had no idea that there was a volcano under Yellowstone. It is a place I have always wanted to visit. Isn't it amazing that such beauty can arise out of the ashes of destruction? Just like Hawaii...It gives added understanding to the legend of the Phoenix.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If studies continue to receive the same findings, expect to see this man's face a lot...in places like Times Man of the Year or as a Nobel Prize winner.

Who is he? What has he done? This man is John Kanzius, a former broadcast executive from Pennsylvania. He is 63 and has a background in physics and radio. In his retirement, what has he done with the skills that makes him so remarkable?

He has invented a machine that uses gold or carbon nanoparticles and radio waves to destroy cancer cells in just minutes. Please, take a moment and read that sentence again.

Do you realize how wonderful that is? Do you understand how amazing it is that a man, who has no medical background, other than the fact that he himself is battling cancer, may have created a cure?

My grandmother died from cancer when she was 66 years old. My husband's father died from cancer before he was 50. Children, uncles, aunts, friends, cousins, grandparents, parents, and pets all can die from this insidious disease and if they don't, if they are cancer survivors, the survival often comes through a long and difficult treatment with painful side effects.

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy...lose your hair, lose your appetite, throw up, have your nails grow hard as rock, fear, anxiety, loss of strength, loss of jobs. What if Mr. Kanzius has created a treatment that will save lives and prevent people from having to deal with these kinds of issues? This would be a miracle guided by the hand of God.

Mr. Kanzius' treatment involves injecting the patient with the nanoparticles. The nanoparticles make their way through the body and attach to the cancer cells. Then the patient steps into the machine and after a few moments of being bombarded with the radio waves, the cancer cells are destroyed, completely.

So far they have tested 6 rabbits that had liver tumors. No side effects. Cancer destroyed completely, all other cells left untouched. In two minutes! Of course more tests will be needed before this amazing invention is put into use. The complete article will be in the December issue of Cancer, The American Cancer Society's journal.

Wow!

Hat Tip: MSNBC

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Terschelling, a Dutch island that was molded into its current shape by a violent storm in 1296, often is the recipient of treasures from the sea. This week, 6 crates of bananas washed ashore after they fell off of a cargo ship. In February 2006, tennis shoes and aluminum brief cases littered the beach.

Terschelling is about 70 miles north of Amsterdam and is surrounded by polders (which is land that has sunk beneath the waves). The unique surroundings have been causing cargo to wash up on the beaches for centuries and the island is surrounded by famous shipwrecks. The islanders have taken advantage of their location and make use of the treasures from the sea.

Hat tip: photo and information courtesy of National Geographic.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On June 30, 1908 an explosion occured in Siberia that released 15 megatons of energy(a thousand times of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima). This explosion occured about 6 miles above ground and flattened 770 square miles of forest (this is about how much land burned in the recent California fires and it is an area 1/2 the size of Rhode Island) ! An expedition in 1999 explored Lake Cheko which is about 5 miles north of the suspected epicenter. This lake has an unusual funnel shape and it is long and narrow. By testing the sediments, it is believed that this is where the largest piece that was left after the explosion impacted the earth and slid in as it were (kind of like Superman's pod when he was a baby.

There are still a lot of questions. Why aren't there bits and pieces of extraterresterial matter found around the lake as is normal in other crater impacts? Other scientists had previously ruled out the lake as a possible impact crater filled in with water because their studies of the sediments led them to believe it was a centuries old lake.

The team of scientists that believe this is indeed the impact spot plan to go back this year and take more sediment sample from the lake bottom and hopefully provide a final solution to this century old mystery!

Hat Tip: National Geographic.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I take voting very seriously. I have never missed a major election and haven't missed many of the 'minor' ones. I have tried to instill the importance of voting in my children. So much so, in fact, that I spent an hour during the last presidential election getting my oldest stepson to vote(his car was broken) even though he was going to vote for 'the other guy.'

A dear friend of mine and I sit on the opposite sides of the political fence. We don't talk about politics too much because we don't want it to harm our friendship. But there are some things we agree on and that is that every single vote counts.

The other day she passed me a couple of articles that I want to share with you. There is still plenty of time for you to get out and vote today! If you aren't registered, make it a top priority this coming year. We are so blessed to live in a country where we can vote for candidates. It is appalling how many people throw that priviledge and right away. Other citizens around the world are dying to have what we take for granted.

Continue reading "Reasons to Vote" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As an undergraduate student, Emily Habinck, noticed that soil affected leaf color. Where there are more nutrients, the leaves tend to be yellow, but where the soil has less nutrients the leafs tend to be red.

While Habinck was at work on the project, William Hoch, a plant physiologist at Montana State University, wrote a paper suggesting an additional link between the red-leaf pigment anthocyanin and autumn sunlight.

I always thought that the leaf color had to do with the species of tree. Learn something new everyday! For more information, be sure to hop over to National Geographic!

So what color leaves dominate in your neck of the woods?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We constantly hear some politicians telling us we shouldn't be in Iraq. They tell us we have failed there. The news only shares stories of war and strife and of the citizens of Iraq fighting among themselves and being unable to stop the terrorists. Thank God, the media didn't have the same voice during and after the Revolutionary War, who knows where this country would have ended up.

Here is a a neat article from Military.com.. I am going to print it here because I couldn't say it any better than the press release that the writer shares.

Continue reading "Iraqis Send Donations To California Fire Victims" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I ran across a very thought provoking article in my web ramblings

While the writer, Mark Morford, does not once mention home schooling, this article could be a 'poster child' for homeschooling. He sums up very nicely many points about the problems that our country is going to face in future years due to the education (or lack thereof) that our children are receiving. Combine that with the constant bombardment of television, video games, and other electronic gadgets, then stir in the fact that many children today have never gone for a walk in the woods or learned how to build a simple thing for themselves...and what you have is a recipe for disaster.

He shares insight that he has obtained from a teacher he knows. A teacher who says he gets high school students that don't know how to form a sentence. A teacher who is thinking about moving out of the country when he retires because he is afraid that the generations coming up aren't going to have a clue to manage the current infrastructure, much less change it for the better. As I was reading his post, I kept thinking about the movie Idiocracy that I did a movie review on recently. This movie could very well depict our future. It's scary!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was just reading this interesting story. A man in New Mexico, won a $1.6 million dollar jackpot at the Sanida Resort, but when he went to collect his winnings, he was told that the nickle slot machine had malfunctioned and he would not be receiving the $1.6 million dollar jackpot.

Now there are several interesting aspects to this story. First of all, the nickel slot machine has a disclaimer on it that says the maximum payout is $2500.00 and that any amount over that is a malfunction of the machine.

Second of all, the Sandia Resort and Casino is owned by Native Americans which makes it very difficult for the winner of the jackpot to do much against them legally speaking. They are considered nations and the U.S. and state governments don't often get involved.

Continue reading "Man Wins Jackpot in New Mexico...or Does He?" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since the 1950's, currents and prevailing winds have been collecting trash and depositing it into an ever growing island in the Pacific between San Francisco and Hawaii. This floating island of trash weighs approximately 3 1/2 tons and is twice as large as the state of Texas.

There is currently no way to clean it up, but there are suggestions of things we can do to prevent the island from growing any larger:

Limit your use of plastics when possible. Plastic doesn't easily degrade and can kill sea life.

Use a reusable bag when shopping. Throwaway bags can easily blow into the ocean.

Take your trash with you when you leave the beach.

Make sure your trash bins are securely closed. Keep all trash in closed bags.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A friend of mine sent me this cool dancing girl. See if you are left-brain or right-brain dominant and see if you can control the dancing girl with your mind! What blows me away is that Daniel and I looked at the image at the same time and saw her dancing in different directions! Very cool!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

FBI raids illusionist Copperfield’s warehouse - apparently this raid occurred as part of an investigation against Copperfield for sexual misconduct. In the process of the raid, the FBI seized a computer and $2 million in cash...hmm, wonder what the cash was hanging around for? I bet Copperfield is wishing that the ability to disappear wasn't just an illusion.

‘God breathed his warm breath down on us’ (Family of autistic teen lost in woods for 4 days thankful for good weather) - this is the story of the autistic teenager who spent 4 days lost in the woods and was found in good condition. Jacob had wandered away during a family picnic/hike. Jacob has the mental capacity of a 3- or 4-year-old and is not verbal. When he was found, he was hungry and thirsty, but otherwise okay. The weather was chilly the day he got lost, but grew warmer on the successive days, providing the best weather conditions possible for a lost child.

Storms, tornadoes hit Southeast, Plains; 5 dead (3 die in Michigan, baby found alive under debris; 2 killed earlier in Missouri) - what caught my attention with this article was not the tragedy (and the lost lives are truly a tragedy), but the miracle of the baby who survived. According to the story: In Millington Township, a year-old baby in a crib escaped injury after apparently being tossed about 40 feet by a tornado that destroyed a home early Friday, fire officials said. I just can't fathom how something as destructive as a tornado can leave behind such miracles.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today, October 15th, is Blog Action Day. The topic for Blog Action Day this year is Environmental Awareness. There are over 15,000 participants! The purpose of Blog Action Day is to use the strong voices of bloggers around the world to reach out and make a difference! I got in about mid-way on the sign up process and you can find me listed in the section of blogs between 7,001 and 8,000. I am honored to be a part of this!

For my voice in this great adventure, I am going to write a post about the things we do in my home to help improve our environment. My belief is that if every single person makes an attempt to change things about their lifestyle and their own impact on the planet, then that would mean billions of people making changes and that would make a difference.

Continue reading "Blog Action Day: Environmental Awareness" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

What do you do with items that no longer function in the way they were originally designed, but you don't necessarily want to get rid of?

For instance, I have a glass goldfish bowl (actually I have two of them). They are very nice bowls, cost around 5.00 I think and once we moved up to an aquarium with filters and such, they were no longer necessary. I set them in my cabinet and waited. One day the beautiful ceramic large utensil holder that I had on my counter was knocked to the floor and broke. Ah ha...out came one of the goldfish bowls and it makes a wonderful container for those large utensils. And I have a spare!

Continue reading "Unusual Uses for Everyday Household Items" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From time to time, I will run across an article or see something on television in regards to people's photos being airbrushed to enhance their appearance. One I remember fairly recently was Katie Couric in a magazine (can't remember which one) and they had airbrushed the photos bo make her look a bit thinner. A few years ago, I saw a segment on Opera about a mom that had appeared in Playboy. Now let me just say, that the woman that I saw on stage did not resemble the woman in the photos.

So do you wonder how it is possible to do this? Check out this airbrushed lady that I found in my web meanderings. It will show you step by step how a beautiful woman is created out of thin air and it looks like a photograph. It is absolutely amazing!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the most awesome things about blogging is that we have the ability to reach so many people with our words and thoughts. We can touch the lives of others in ways we never suspected! We may inspire people, we may encourage people to think, we may give people an idea of how to do something they had always wondered about. Maybe we will make someone laugh or make someone cry or maybe we will make someone feel less alone by sharing our own journey.

Blog Action Day works on this principal. This years project is to have as many blogs as possible write something about the environment on October 15th. The goal is to get others thinking, talking and hopefully acting. Right now almost 8,000 bloggers are signed up to participate and it is anticipated that those blogs will reach a potential 5,000,000 people! That is incredible! So be part of something that will make a difference! Go sign up today and work on your environmental post to be published on October 15th!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My husband spends even more time on the computer than I do and he often sends me links for stories he believes I will enjoy or that he thinks are just very cool. Today, I thought I would share some of those links with you, in case you want to see some unusual and neat stories too!

Duane Hanson makes amazing life like sculptures. You will think these are real people when you look at them! But, as a warning, parents you should look first. No nudity, but one statue is of a drug addict.

Do you like to swim? Do you exercise by swimming laps, perhaps? Well check out the world's largest swimming poo. One lap will do you for your daily exercise!

Here you can see some really cool elevators from around the world! Some are very creative, a couple are a bit scary....and not to be ridden in if you have a problem with heights.

You never know what treasure your metal detector might turn up. One treasure hunter found a 500 year old sword!

This has got to be one of the coolest things I have ever seen! Watch a five minute video of South Korean Soccer fans using their jackets to make cool displays. You would swear you were watching an LCD screen!

Hope you enjoyed these cool links!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Researchers have learned that egg shells help produce hydrogen for fuel cells. Normally, carbon dioxide gas is given off, but with the egg shells thrown in, all that is exuded from the process is water vapor. So the process will cut down on green house gases.

At the end of the article it says this will keep eggshells from going to landfill, thereby saving the company money. Great! I am all over recycling.

But the paragraph before that it says, the eggshells will have to be buried to keep the carbon dioxide out of the air. Does that mean that the eggshells act as a sponge to the carbon dioxide and that if dumped in a landfill, the gases then ooze out? And if we still have to bury the eggshells, are we really getting ahead in this endeavor?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two years ago, my right knee started making a lot of ominous popping sounds. And then one day, while I was squatting down, it gave way with a wrenching, tearing kind of feeling. I went to the ER. The doctor prescribed ice and pain meds. He said I probably had a torn meniscus, but a MRI of the knee would be needed to be sure. He suggested I give it three weeks and then go see an orthopedic surgeon.

Continue reading "Great News for Those Suffering From Meniscus Tears" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Because my husband is a computer guru, he is always trying to keep us ahead of the curve. Because of this we often are the ones experiencing the bugs that haven't been worked out of programs.

We got Windows Vista pretty soon after launch and the new Office 2007. Overall, I really like both. I find them to be easier to use and set up more the way I would have set them up (usually, I am fussing because I don't like the way things work and they don't make sense to me).

But as I have been doing more and more blogging and visiting more blogs and opening more windows to deal with photos, word documents, etc. I have noticed that I am running into a problem. My computer refuses to open more windows! I will click on something and it will pretend like it is thinking about it and nothing appears.

Continue reading "Windows Vista Problem and Solution" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I prefer to pass on happy news, but when I read this article I was shocked and felt like it was something I wanted to make more people aware of. Apparently there is a heat loving amoeba that lives in lakes and dirty pool water and hot springs that can get into the human system and it eats the brain. If a person is infected with this amoeba, they do not recover. Death usually follows in a couple of weeks.

The amoeba gains access to the body via water going up into the nose. And it usually rests in the muddy, silty bottoms of the lakes. So kids are playing, stirring up the bottom, get water up their nose and they could become infected.

This is horrifying! Scientists believe that as temperatures continue to grow warmer, there will continue to be an increased number of deaths associated with this lethal amoeba. At this point, this disease is rare. Considering the numbers of people swimming in lakes and the number that actually became infected. For prevention, it is best to steer clear of algae filled areas and to wear nose plugs.

For more information on this situation, read this article at PhysOrg.com.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Dramatic Irony is when you know something that is going o in a story or in a program that the character does not know.

Irony - a discrepancy between what is said and what is meant.

We all have visions about the way our lives will play out, but what we don't know is how the end will come. I think if sometimes we knew, we would either die laughing or crying. Check out these unexpected ends and the irony of them.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The kids and I have been reading a biography of Marco Polo by Olive Price. This is an older book that I picked up at a book sale. It was published in 1953. The kids have enjoyed playing Marco Polo in the pool, so I thought it would be fun to read the book. He led a fascinating life, but what really threw me was when we were reading last night and came across this statement:

"It was on Sumatra that he first saw an animal called the unicorn. It looked like a white horse. but it had one straight horn growing out from its forehead."

I was taken aback. This is a nonfiction book. I didn't believe anyone had ever actually seen a unicorn...so I of course had to google it:

Continue reading "Did Marco Polo See Unicorns?" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It turns out that costs the government more to make a penny than a penny is worth...so why do we keep making them?

Well there is the old saying...a penny saved is a penny earned...

Or maybe it is because when we save up enough pennies, they can be turned into dollars.

But, i think the reason we keep making pennies is because there are people who have a talent with them! Check it out!

Here are some interesting stories from National Geographic:

80 Cloud Warrior Skeletons were found in a fort in Peru. These bodies look like they were left where they fell which leaves current historians, archeaologists and scientists trying to figure out if they died from violent acts or disease. This find will hopefully give tons of new information into a culture we know relatively little about.

Continue reading "Cloud Warriors, Bird Vision, Pharoah Temple, Mammoth Hair, and Polynesian Sailors" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have been busy workig on getting my Bison and Hummingbird ebooks ready for my month-long promotion/charity/prize event that starts on October 1st. These books I had actually researched and written a few years ago. So in order to turn them from a print manuscript into ebook form, I had do the layout and verify that all of my links were still working and I had to find pictures. Well, I hit a real treasure trove when I ran across the First People website. Not only did I find all of the Bison photos I needed (and they were fine with me using them), but there is so much information on this website, that I have spent some time perusing!

I have an intersting heritage. On my father's side I get German and Native American. On my mother's side, I get English, Irish, and Scottish. The Native American heritage has always been what has fascinated me the most(perhaps because so many in my dad's family have the Native American look about them - my great grandmother was a full-blooded Indian). At any rate, any time I see a chance to learn more about Native Americans, I take it.

Continue reading "First People of America Website" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Are you working on your website? Do you want to change the colors, but are having a hard time deciding which color to use? Here is a fun websitethat provides you with a neat color wheel and the CSS Hex # codes for the color you like. It also provides you with the name of the color.

Not really designed to be used for something you want to take to the printers and have printed off. But it is perfect way to come up with those color schemes for your website! Have fun!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It used to be that when a person was ill, they were cared for by their relatives. They died in their own homes. They were lovingly bathed, dressed and put on view for the family members and friends to come and pay their last respects. People remembered the life of the deceased. They had a last opportunity to touch their loved one, to sit next to them and reminisce. This way of caring for our sick, dying and dead, made us more of a part of the circle of life. We weren't afraid of death, we were at peace with it.

But things changed. Our medical institutions got better at prolonging lives, families got smaller due to there not being a need for large families in order to survive. When our parents or grandparents needed care, we started looking to the medical establishment. To nursing homes and hospitals. We were all busy. Working, being involved with whatever it was in our lives that filled up our time. Plus we weren't experts...what did we know about caring for the sick or dying? We needed professionals for that. And for the whole funeral process...again, we relied more and more on professionals to prepare the body for death.

Continue reading "Caring For Our Dead" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On September 26, 1983, I was a senior in highschool. I had filled out my applications for the colleges of my choice. The College of William and Mary and Lynchburg College. I was dating a college fellow, working at the local grocery store and driving my beloved first car.

Australia II, the first non-American winner, wins the Americas Cup.

International A cease-fire in Lebanon was announced by the Governments of Syria and Lebanon.

And in a Russian bunker, the possibility of the end of life the way we know it loomed as nuclear war was a just a button away.

Continue reading "September 26, 1983 - Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov Saved the World" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What amazes me about this story is that a group of experts from different fields examined the human remains discovered two years ago buried inside an iron coffin. The coffin was discovered by utility workers in Washington.

The body was that of 15-year-old William Taylor White, who died in 1852 and was buried in the Columbia College cemetery, they announced Thursday.

To determine who was buried in this coffin, information was gathered and analyzed by forensic anthropologists, pathologists, DNA specialists, and clothing historians. Besides the physical attributes of the coffin, information about they coffin and when it was available, information from newspapers and other historical documents came into play. It took more than three dozen people two years to identify this body. For more information, check out the Discovery Channel.

Amazingly the iron coffin made it such that the body was practically mummified as if it had been embalmed in Ancient Egypt.

May he rest in peace.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This move of NBC is guaranteed to make some TV viewers very happy and to get under the skin of other networks!

NBC will start offering limited free downloads of shows such as "Heroes" and "The Office" as part of its bid to expand the digital distribution of its programs and compete with Apple Inc.'s iTunes Store, the network announced Wednesday.

The new service, dubbed "NBC Direct," will allow users to download episodes to computers running Microsoft Windows software for up to a week after the show has aired on television. The file will contain embedded advertising that cannot be skipped.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It just doesn't pay to try and eat healthy! Dole has announced a recall of bagged salads "Hearts Delight" .

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thirty years ago today, the Voyager 1 spacecraft rocketed into the sky to join its sister craft, Voyager 2, on a mission to boldly go where no Earth-based creations had gone before.

The probes were originally meant to visit just Jupiter and Saturn, but NASA scientists decided to extend the mission to include other planets after receiving stunning images and other data from the two gas giants.

Today both Voyager probes are still going strong and are speeding toward the outer reaches of the solar system to explore what lies beyond our sun's sphere of influence. Now about 10 billion miles (16 billion kilometers) from the sun, Voyager 1 is farther from Earth than any other humanmade object. (Above information and photo is from National Geographic. Be sure to visit their site to see other things that Voyager has found during its travels).

2 years, 3 months, and 2 days later, Star Trek: the Motion Picture was released. In this movie, a huge cloud is heading towards Earth and everything that gets in its way is drained of all power and then vanishes...Kirk, Spock, McCoy and crew head off on a newly refitted Enterprise with a young crew to face this threat. In the end what is discovered is that at the center of the crowd is Voyager 1.

Voyager 1 had been damaged during its exploration of the universe. The machine civilization discovered it and repaired it as best as they could to continue with its mission which was to gather information and share with its creator. Along its journey, Voyager gained intelligence and when it returned to the solar system it had orginated from, it could not beleive that the 'carbon-based' units on Earth were its creator. Instead, they were seen as an infestation that had to be terminated. In the end a new life form was created and the first of many Star Trek movies was ended (and James T. Kirk had saved us once again!).

It is an interesting idea to contemplate though. What exactly will Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 run into on their travels?

I wish both Voyagers good travels! Live Long and Prosper! And bring back exciting information!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New Undersea Cable will link the Ocean to the Internet. The first step of NEPTUNE, a joint U.S.-Canadian effort to create the world's first regional cabled ocean observatory, was made last week when the French ship Ile de Sein laid down submarine fiber-optic cables in the Pacific Ocean. This will enable scientists to gather information never before gatherable!

Some young spotted salamanders risk their lives by foraging most actively where the risk of predation is highest, a new study says. By living dangerously during their first weeks of life, the spotted salamanders can grow more quickly and thus become too big for predators to eat, the study concludes. Photo and article courtesy of National Geographic.

Australian jellyfish have been found as far north as South Carolina this year. There was a previous invasion in 2000 that was mostly centered in the Gulf of Mexico, but now there are fewer in number, but the population is more spread out. Scientist have several speculations...the babies come over attached to ships, they are drifting this way on ocean currents, they are taking advantage of the food supply. Of course there is concern how this will impact native ocean life.

Jupiter has been theorized as a protector of the planet Earth. It's gravity has been thought to be responsible for throwing invading comets out of the system so they don't hit Earth. Well, Jupiter does that, but most of the asteroids that are a danger to Earth lie in the asteroid belt . If Jupiter wasn't in existence or was smaller, those asteroids probably would have formed into a planet and then we wouldn't be bothered with them. \

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It was with great interest that I read an article over at National Geographic about the proposal to build a lunar ark (on the moon), in the event of an ELE (Extinction Level Event). Ever since I saw the movie Deep Impact, I have wondered about how we can protect our world from these events that we really have little control over. (as an aside, there are some shooting/location flaws with Deep Impact, but it still is a great movie!)

In Deep Impact, they build an ark deep under the mountains and have a national lottery to decide who gets to go there. Since there are only 1 million spots in the U.S.A.'s ark and for the sake of getting the best, they choose scientists, artists, etc and then they decide anyone over 45 is automatically disqualified...it was very emotional, but I digress.

I think we should always be working on planning how to save what we have here and the Lunar Ark sounds like a great idea! I also hope the powers that be are working on ways to move killer meteors away from our planet and that we see it coming in time to actually do something about it.

What disturbs me is how little progress we are making in our endeavors to get into space. I applaud private companies that are now taking strides to do this themselves. I know they are motivated by money, but often great strides forward appear out of our Capitalist Society. We have to be willing to take risks in order to move forward and there are plenty of people willing to take the risks. We have become afraid in many ways in our country. We place human lives at a great value (and don't get me wrong, that is a good thing), but we can't let our fear tame us or worse diminish us.

America is great because our founders risked everything and in the years that followed, these risk takers continued to lead the way in our country. I was horrified and saddened by first the Challenger explosion (I was in college and remember clearly the day I saw this event live on tv) and then by the Columbia Explosion. I believe that the last thing any of those astronauts would want is for exploration into Space to stop! That makes their sacrifices pointless. The space program has a history of disasters and deaths to mix in with its successes and new knowledge we have obtained. We need to move forward.

The Lunar Ark is a great idea, but we need to be working on our transportation into space, our exploration of space. In recent years, astronomers believe they have found more and more evidence of other planets that may resemble our own. We need to find them, and particularly if they are uninhabited, make plans to move ourselves there if need be. Like in the movie Mission to Mars, we need to be prepared to abandon ship if the need arises. So it is not just a place to go that we need to be working on, but a way to get there.

I grew up on science fiction. My first favorite television show was Star Trek. I have seen ideas introduced on that show in the 60's that have come to fruition. Dreamers dream the dreams of our future, it is up to the scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs to turn those dreams into reality.

So let's stop letting our fear get in the way of our exploration and of a better tomorrow!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I found four interesting stories today as I was browsing around and wanted to share them with you.

1. Mysterious Night-Shining Clouds Photographed over Budapest, Hungary. They are among the first such noctilucent clouds pictured this year.

The clouds form in the upper layer of the Earth's atmosphere in summer.

Scientists don't know much about how the clouds form, or why they have been appearing more often at lower latitudes and glowing brighter.

To find out, NASA has employed a satellite, named AIM (Aeronomy of Ice in Mesosphere) to observe two cloud seasons over both of Earth's Poles. On June 11, AIM captured its first images of night shining clouds (not shown). The satellite will also provide scientists with data on the size and shape of the particles that make up the clouds.

"It is clear that these clouds are changing, a sign that a part of our atmosphere is changing and we do not understand how, why or what it means," AIM principal investigator James Russell III said in statement.

The clouds "could represent an early warning that our Earth environment is being changed."

Continue reading "Today's Interesting Science News" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We all like widgets for our blogs. We like to see who is reading our blog and where they are coming from...well, check this out! A new widget is in town! Be on the cutting edge and add it to your blog:) Increase your visibility and find other blogs like your own! Criteo Widget.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am always amazed by people who seem to think we know everything there is to know about the world and the universe.

It seems to me that things are changing all the time. Every month we get more information about Mars. A planet we have studied for centuries. Pluto is no longer a planet...all of us who learned the nine planet recitation now have to change.

Continue reading "The Amazon River May be Longer than the Nile River" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I read an interesting story today about a gentleman who bequeathed 12,000.00 a year to the First Lady of the United States to be used as she chooses. What a neat idea!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There are several interesting articles in the science world today, so I'll provide links here so you will be sure to get a chance to read them.

Goggles Offer 3 D Views of Storms: This is very cool! In Japan, scientists have taken data from past storms or other natural phenomenoa and plugged it into a system that literally enables them to be inside the storm and make new observations. They also say they are better at predicting the weather than the weather people are.

Examples of Early Roman Dental Work Discovered.

Get Out there and Clean those dirty windows or you could be contributing to air pollution!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today I was reading about all of the events occuring in Jamestown this week as part of the beginning of their 400th anniversary celebration. Along with the opportunity for visitors to watch archaeolgists at work, the chance for people to tour the reconstructed town and a large variety of other events including a speech by President Bush, there is a crew that set off yesterday to follow Captain John Smith's trail of exploration around the Chesapeake. They are sailingin a boat designed like his and made by many of the same tools. They are going to attempt to complete the 121 day journey using only sails and oars. And they will be christening the first National Historic Water Trail. It sounds like a great adventure!

So I read to the bottom of the article and there at the end was a blurb about 70 protestors outside of Jamestown shouting "Black Power" and "Red Power" and protesting the fact that we were 'celebrating' the anniversary of a town that was the beginning of the decimation of Native Americans and where the first slaves in the United States were brought to.

Continue reading "Jamestown's 400th Anniversary" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here are three stories I ran across today that I thought might be interesting to others.

Stay At Home Mom's Work Worth $138.095 (and I am wondering where my paycheck is!)

Mona Lisa's Identity Revealed

Jack Ripper Id'd? Still this mystery continues to taunt criminologists and historians.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is an interesting story about a couple who built a town from scratch with their own money and hard work. It is inspiring and a good reminder of what we can accomplish!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My children and I have recently joined the Lynchurg Gem and Mineral Society. The group is for adults interested in geology and they have an offshoot group called Rock Raiders where kids learn aout geology. The group is a great group, full of adults who are interested in teaching the children what they know and sharing their own interesting rocks with the group. Today, this article was passed around to the group via email (isn't email a wonderful thing?).

Giant Gypsum in Mexico's Cave of Crystals

These Gypsum crystals were found in a cave discovered in 2000 (and who says there aren't wonders left to discover right here on earth?). They are as much as 11 meters (33 feet) tall. They have been able to grow so large due to perfect conditions in the cavern.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have long believed that we are not alone in this universe. There are simply too many planets out there. Too many solar systems for our planet to be the only one with living inhabitants. Even in our own solar system, the search is on for possible life. Microscopic in some situations, definitely different from life here on earth, but life nevertheless.

This image of an alleged extraterrestrial event, or of a natural phenomenon linked to lightning, was among 1,600 files posted on the French space agency's Web site.

Continue reading "France Makes UFO Files Public on the Web" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We are already counting the days until the release of the 5th Harry Potter movie, The Order of the Phoenix and the release of the 7th book, Deathly Hallows. I am not actually sure that I want to read the last book, because then this wonderful saga and journey will be at an end. My children and I have enjoyed reading these books together and watching the movies. We have been to midnight parties to get the books...

Continue reading "Harry Potter Tidbits and Quiz" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have my own personal feelings about global warming. I admit to not having seen the movie, though I am planning on borrowing it from a friend to watch it. The whole swirl of information around global warming is very interesting to me and I have been trying to read more about it. At this point, I do wonder if this isn't just another end of the world scare (remember global cooling in the 70s? Y2K? Acid Rain?) But I am trying to keep an open mind and my family works to do what we personally can to limit our pollution in the environment. Today, I read a very well written article from the New York Times about An Inconvenient Truth and the pros and cons of the movie and the presentation of it. I urge you to check out the article yourself. This is an important topic and it is up to each of us to research it it to the best of our ability and be informed.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My mother's father died June 15, 1966. It was my mother's 20th birthday and six weeks before I entered this world. She awoke in the pre-dawn hours and heard a strange noise from her parents' room, but went back to sleep. When she got up he was gone. He died of deep vein thrombosis. As a child and even now into my adult years, this killer of my grandfather has scared me...

Continue reading "Deep Vein Thrombosis, Not Just a Hazard In Economy Class" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There has long been a list of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. But now people are thinking that since many of these wonders no longer even exist, it is time to vote for a new list. Millions of people have already voted and the results will be announced on 07/07/07 (fitting, eh?). The choices are down to 21 and you get to go pick what you think are the top 7. I look forward to seeing how it turns out. Check out New Wonders and make your vote be heard! And in case you can't remember what the 7 wonders of the ancient world are, check out this vitual tour at CNN

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When I was growing up, I had no idea that there might be career choices that would be better than others based on the trends of the economy. I knew I wanted to do something that helped people and went through thoughts of being a lawyer, a nurse and a journalist before ending up in the Early Intervention Field and later ending up at home as a full time mom. Did I know if those fields were overfilled? Heck no. But now, either due to technology and record keeping or because I follow these things more closely than my parents did, I have some information to share with my children...

Continue reading "Where is the Job Growth Expected Over the Next Decade?" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)