Melissa's Idea Garden

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.

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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!

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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!

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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....

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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!)

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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.

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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!

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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

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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) | TrackBacks (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!

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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?

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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.

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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" »

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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.

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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

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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" »

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

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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!

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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) | TrackBacks (0)

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) | TrackBacks (0)

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!

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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) | TrackBacks (0)

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) | TrackBacks (0)

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.

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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!

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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) | TrackBacks (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) | TrackBacks (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) | TrackBacks (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?

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