Does your two-year-old need a winter coat for a skiing holiday that they will outgrow before the following winter? What if there’s a cosmic phenomenon that’s taking place you want to see but you have no interest in owning a telescope? Have you ever thought about taking up photography but felt a $1,000 camera investment was risky?
A new retail phenomenon is addressing concerned consumers who are looking to escape spending for waste creation by developing a concept called a “library of things” (LoT) where people can come and rent just about anything, from baby clothes to air fryers.
There are over 2,000 LoTs located in the English-speaking world and Central Europe, and some have been in operation since 1976. Half of them though only sprang up in the last five years.
E-waste, or the tossing of electronic items without repairing them, has become a real challenge for landfills and recycling companies around the world, as has ‘fast fashion’—the world of low-cost, kitchy, or single-use garments and textiles which have piled up in landfills.
If you find yourself frustrated with this kind of throwaway culture, perhaps it’s time to check if there’s a LoT near you.
Every LoT will have different regulations and systems, but essentially the concept works by setting up an account and paying a rental fee for each day or month in which you check out one of their items. The cost may vary based on season (gardening equipment might be more costly to rent in summer) or availability.
“In summer we see a lot more garden items being used: strimmers, hedge trimmers, lawn mowers, tents for adventuring, ice cream makers, and gazebos for barbecues,” Rebecca Trevalyan, co-founder of an LoT in London, told the Guardian.
“We really want to make rental go mainstream, make it more affordable, convenient and socially rewarding than buying something from Amazon.”
The list of product classes that seem to lend themselves to this sort of a rental model is significantly extensive, and in every case, one can imagine buying an item only to use it two or three times before deciding whether going through the trouble of selling it second hand or binning it.
“We have items that have been used more than 300 times by more than 200 different people,” Gene Homicki, co-founder of LoT organizer myTurn, said in a recent podcast interview. “Some examples of “radical reuse” from Libraries of Things on our platform include a DeWalt table saw that has been loaned out 321 times to 211 different people… and tents and camping sleeping pads that spent over 250 days in use in the last year”.
Camping equipment, sporting goods, fast fashion and acessories, baby clothes, baby supplies, gardening equipment, beach supplies, tools, machinery, all manner of toys, home electronics, specialty cooking pieces, extra furniture to accomodate visitors, pet supplies, classroom supplies, hobby supplies, musicial instruments, fitness equipment, optics, and probably others, can all be kept out of the landfill by first admitting that we’re not sure if we will use the product more than a few times, and then going to an LoT to rent it.
Most LoTs will also permit renters to buy outright the products they have checked out, making the service ideal for an adult looking to try out a new hobby, or a child who wants to get into a sport (we all know how fickle children can be).
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Quote of the Day: “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” – Joseph Campbell (Honoring Memorial Day in the US)
Photo: by Aaron Burden, public domain
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
A third of your month is bound to be ‘extraordinary,’ according to a new survey.
The poll of 2,000 Americans found the average person has 10 extraordinary days per month—that’s 120 every year.
And if you live in Hawaii, Idaho, or South Dakota, you can bump that up to 13 days per month.
Living a joyful lifestyle is subjective and unique to everyone. However, big majorities agreed on several things that would define a joyful life:
What is a Joyful Life?
Feeling happy (77%)
Being healthy (71%)
Having positive personal and family relationships (69%)
Feeling comfortable (69%)
The survey—commissioned by Santa Margherita and conducted by Talker Research—aimed to figure out exactly how often Americans treat themselves, and which occasions call for indulgence.
Results found half believe “any day is a good day” to treat themselves, and they enjoy spending their most joyful days with family and friends (62%). Fully 76% said they prefer sharing their joyful feelings with others whenever they can.
Respondents reported certain times when they’re most likely to treat themselves to something nice:
When Are You Likely to ‘Treat’ Yourself?
During my birthday (66%)
While on vacation (59%)
When I’m having a good day (48%)
Sixty-one percent say they consider a nice meal to be the perfect treat for an extraordinary day, alongside a nice beverage.
More than seven in 10 (71%) said indulgences like these are best shared with others — especially their significant others (75%), family members (72%) and close friends (65%).
Over three-quarters (78%) like to host family and friends in their home for dinners and a similar 80% believe pairing food and wine typically enhances the overall dining experience and makes the meal feel fancier.
“The answer to what makes life sweet and extraordinary is a little different for all of us, but at its core, it’s about appreciating the simple things around us,” said Jane Scott, Marketing Vice President at Santa Margherita USA.
Cheaper and greener batteries for electric cars and mobile phones could use our common element iron, rather than scarce, expensive ones, shows new research.
A collaboration co-led by an Oregon State University chemistry researcher is hoping to spark a green battery revolution by showing that iron instead of cobalt and nickel can be used as a cathode material in lithium-ion batteries.
“We’ve transformed the reactivity of iron metal, the cheapest metal commodity,” he said. “Our electrode can offer a higher energy density than the state-of-the-art cathode materials in electric vehicles.
“And since we use iron, whose cost can be less than a dollar per kilogram – a small fraction of nickel and cobalt, which are indispensable in current high-energy lithium-ion batteries – the cost of our batteries is potentially much lower.”
At present, the cathode represents 50% of the cost in making a lithium-ion battery cell, Ji said. Beyond economics, iron-based cathodes would allow for greater safety and sustainability, he added.
As more and more lithium-ion batteries are manufactured to electrify the transportation sector, global demand for nickel and cobalt has soared. Ji points out that in a matter of a couple of decades, predicted shortages in nickel and cobalt will put the brakes on battery production as it’s currently done.
In addition, those elements’ energy density is already being extended to its ceiling level – if it were pushed further, oxygen released during charging could cause batteries to ignite – plus cobalt is toxic, meaning it can contaminate ecosystems and water sources if it leaches out of landfills.
Put it all together, Professor Ji said, and it’s easy to understand the global quest for new, more sustainable battery chemistries.
A battery stores power in the form of chemical energy and through reactions converts it to the electrical energy needed to power vehicles as well as cellphones, laptops and many other devices and machines. There are multiple types of batteries, but most of them work the same basic way and contain the same basic components.
Oregon State University
A battery consists of two electrodes – the anode and cathode, typically made of different materials – as well as a separator and electrolyte, a chemical medium that allows for the flow of electrical charge. During battery discharge, electrons flow from the anode into an external circuit and then collect at the cathode.
In a lithium-ion battery, as its name suggests, a charge is carried via lithium ions as they move through the electrolyte from the anode to the cathode during discharge, and back again during recharging.
“Our iron-based cathode will not be limited by a shortage of resources,” said Ji, explaining that iron, in addition to being the most common element on Earth as measured by mass, is the fourth-most abundant element in the Earth’s crust.
“We will not run out of iron till the sun turns into a red giant.”
Ji and collaborators from multiple American universities and national laboratories increased the reactivity of iron in their cathode by designing a chemical environment based on a blend of fluorine and phosphate anions—ions that are negatively charged. The blend, thoroughly mixed as a solid solution, allows for the reversible conversion – meaning the battery can be recharged – of a fine mixture of iron powder, lithium fluoride and lithium phosphate into iron salts.
“We’ve demonstrated that the materials design with anions can break the ceiling of energy density for batteries that are more sustainable and cost less,” Ji said. “We’re not using some more expensive salt in conjunction with iron – just those the battery industry has been using and then iron powder. To put this new cathode in applications, one needs to change nothing else – no new anodes, no new production lines, no new design of the battery. We are just replacing one thing, the cathode.”
Storage efficiency still needs to be improved, Ji said. Right now, not all of the electricity put into the battery during charging is available for use upon discharge. When those improvements are made, and Ji expects they will be, the result will be a battery that works much better than ones currently in use while costing less and being greener.
“If there is investment in this technology, it shouldn’t take long for it to be commercially available,” said Ji. “We need the visionaries of the industry to allocate resources to this emerging field. The world can have a cathode industry based on a metal that’s almost free compared to cobalt and nickel. And while you have to work really hard to recycle cobalt and nickel, you don’t even have to recycle iron – it just turns into rust if you let it go.”
The U.S. Department of Energy funded this research, with participation from the Argonne National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, Stanford University, the University of Maryland, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
BHISHM airdropped hospital debuts in India–released Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and IAF / SWNS
BHISHM airdropped hospital debuts in India–released Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and IAF / SWNS
Developers showed how the mobile hospital, named the BHISHM Cube, can quickly fall to the ground and allow on-the-spot treatment for patients during mass casualty incidents and other emergencies.
This cube is a part of the broader initiative named “Project BHISHM” – Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog, Hita and Maitri – and is tailored to treat up to 200 casualties simultaneously, emphasizing rapid response and comprehensive care.
It incorporates advanced medical equipment, AI, and data analytics to improve the efficiency and coordination of medical services.
The Indian air force tested the device in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, on May 14, and upon landing, the hospital was operational within 12 minutes.
“It positions India as a key player in international aid efforts, showcasing its capability to extend assistance beyond its borders in times of need, fostering goodwill and partnerships globally,” said the project in an announcement.
The robust, waterproof, and lightweight unit consists of 72 components that can be easily transported by hand, cycle, or drone, demonstrating unparalleled flexibility.
BHISHM cube portable hospital – India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting / IAFBHISHM cube portable hospital contents – India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting / IAF
Each of the cubes weighing 1,500-lb (720kg) includes solar-powered equipment like x-ray machines, and ventilators, along with blood testing devices and provisions for treating a wide range of injuries such as gunshots, burns, fractures, and major bleeding.
Project Bhishma was launched in February 2022, following which the Defense Ministry set up a task force towards this initiative.
Students surprised with cash at graduation from UMass Dartmouth
Students surprised with cash at graduation from UMass Dartmouth
The commencement speaker at a Massachusetts university turned the gray rainy weather into a bright sunshiny day when he announced a surprise gift for every graduating student.
Robert Hale Jr., the founder and CEO of Granite Telecommunications, accepted the UMass Dartmouth Chancellor’s Medal for his philanthropy work in the community—and, at the end of his speech, his generosity revealed itself once again.
Hale began the commencement speech telling the crowd about his career, including losing $1 billion nearly overnight, and urged them not to let failure define them, using his own life as an example of resilience and perseverance.
Before the undergraduate degrees were handed out, Hale came forward and let the graduates know he had more than advice to offer them.
Two large duffle bags were brought on stage by security—and they were packed with envelopes full of cash.
He then announced that each graduate who crossed the stage would be given two envelopes containing $1,000 in cash. The shocked Class of 2024 was told that one envelope with $500 was theirs to keep as a gift.
They would also receive a second $500 envelope to give to someone in need, or a charity or cause close to them.
He described that for him and his wife Karen, “the greatest joys we’ve had in our life have been the gift of giving.”
“These trying times have heightened the need for sharing, caring, and giving,” Hale concluded. “Our community and our world need our help now more than ever.”
Watch the surprise moment in the UMass Dartmouth video below…
Quote of the Day: “Every good garden may have some weeds.” – Thomas Fuller
Photo by: Gaetano Cessati
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
For most Americans (80%), there is a distinct difference between a ‘trip’ and a ‘vacation’. That’s according to a survey of 2,000 U.S. adults with travel plans this summer.
The majority of respondents agreed that a vacation is defined as ‘travel for relaxation’.
A trip was defined as travel for a purpose—such as a special event or going somewhere nearby.
Arriving at the destination and getting the first breath of ocean air are two indicators that “vacation mode” is turned on, agreed 60% of those polled.
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Motel 6, results revealed that for their summer getaways, overall, travelers are attending events such as family or friend reunions (48%), while others look to explore a new city (36%) or simply kick back and relax (60%).
Whether on vacation or taking a trip, three-fifths (60%) are opting to drive to their destinations this year and 23% are doing so because they’re hoping to spend more time bonding with their travel companions.
Taking that a step further, nearly eight in 10 (77%) of those who are planning to travel by car said driving to their destination makes their travel experiences more enjoyable.
Americans are contributing to their travel adventures by taking on various roles, such as “trip coordinator” (28%), “activities and excursion guide” (22%) or simply a “relaxation reminder” (23%).
“Whether you’re the planner or just along for the ride, there’s nothing better than to relax, enjoy the journey and focus on creating memories,” said Julie Arrowsmith, President of G6 Hospitality, which owns Motel 6 and Studio 6.
For their getaways, most summer travelers will stay at a hotel (61%), followed by rental homes (27%) and family member’s homes (22%).
When considering the cost, almost nine in 10 (87%) travelers said that cost will impact their travel plans this summer, with 40% saying discount codes or other deals which can offset prices are important. Nearly a quarter of those polled said they aim to plan trips in advance to find the best deals.
“Summer trips should be memorable, but they shouldn’t have to break the bank,” added Arrowsmith. “For those paying closer attention to their budget this year, you can still book an exciting trip for yourself or with loved ones, and affordable accommodations as well as rewards programs are a great place to start.”
HOW RESPONDENTS DEFINE A TRIP
● Traveling for a purpose or event — 32%
● Getting out of my city/town — 30%
● Somewhere I can drive to — 18%
● When I will only be away for two days or less — 15%
HOW RESPONDENTS DEFINE A VACATION
● Traveling for relaxation — 53%
● Spending more than three days away from home — 36%
● Completely disconnecting from work — 25%
● Getting out of my city/town— 17%
(Originally published by Knowable Magazine – Written by Ula Chrobak)
Though studies are still mixed, and products inconsistent, many scientists have hope that cannabidiol can help dogs and other furry patients suffering from arthritis, allergies and even anxiety.
A13-year-old Norwich terrier, previously limping and stiff, able to enjoy walks again. A toy poodle with epilepsy, finally relieved from seizures. In case reports, these and other dogs had their ailments eased with CBD — cannabidiol — after scant success with conventional treatments.
Evidence is growing that CBD, a non-psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, is potentially effective in treating various pet maladies, from pain and itching to seizures, says Chie Mogi, lead veterinarian of the Animal CBD Research Society in Japan, who has reported such cases in veterinary publications.
The positive reports also extend to more rigorous trials with placebos. “This was exciting to me because, quite honestly, I was worried that, despite the hype, it wouldn’t show a difference when studied more objectively,” says veterinary neurologist Stephanie McGrath of Colorado State University, coauthor of a review of CBD for dogs and cats in the 2023 Annual Review of Animal Biosciences.
Though the evidence for effectiveness is still mixed, and pet owners and researchers must contend with inconsistent ingredients, many scientists have hope that CBD can expand the therapeutic options for furry patients.
The CBD boom follows relaxed cannabis regulations over the past decade that opened the door both for the cannabis industry and research. In 2018, the US Farm Bill legalized hemp containing 0.3 percent or less THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the cannabinoid mainly responsible for marijuana’s high). Companies could now sell products consistent with that guideline, including supplements containing CBD. Since then, hemp pet products have proliferated, and the global market is expected to hit $3.05 billion by 2025.
Although CBD does not create a high, it does interact with numerous receptors in the brain, providing a rationale for therapeutic effects. Plus, CBD is processed more slowly in dogs and cats than in people, making any effects last longer, says Cornell University veterinarian Joseph Wakshlag, who also serves as the chief medical officer for ElleVet Sciences, a pet CBD company. Surveys suggest many owners have tried treating pets with CBD, mostly for issues related to pain, sleep, anxiety and seizures.
Only recently have a few states passed laws explicitly allowing veterinarians to recommend CBD products, leaving prescription of hemp products a gray legal area in other parts of the country. Although many vets remain skeptical, recent research has shown benefits for specific conditions.
Two 12-week clinical trials, totaling 30 dogs, reported that CBD eased symptoms of epilepsy, picking up the slack in cases where other drugs haven’t adequately helped. In both trials, dogs that were already taking anti-seizure medication were dosed twice daily with CBD — one study with 2 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, the other 2.5 milligrams. Compared with placebo treatments in which dogs received only the regular medicine, CBD-dosed dogs, on average, experienced about 30 percent fewer seizures over the course of the trial.
Some dogs and cats are very itchy, seemingly allergic to the world, and sometimes even veterinary diets and medications don’t make much impact. In one 2021 study, 24 kenneled shelter dogs were dosed with up to 4.5 milligrams (per kilogram of body weight) of CBD daily for three weeks. The canines wore activity monitors on their collars that logged how long they spent walking, running, shaking their head, scratching and resting. The study reported that dogs given CBD scratched up to 50 percent less, though some of the results did not reach statistical significance.
Another report documented reduced skin redness and hair loss in eight dogs with atopic dermatitis, or chronic skin irritation. Cannabinoids may be able to protect against inflammatory responses in the skin — and thus itchiness, other research has suggested.
Some studies have reported a benefit in arthritic dogs, though the results are mixed. In one paper, 16 dogs with osteoarthritis were given CBD oil twice a day for four weeks. At two weeks and four weeks, owners responded to surveys about their dog’s pain and activity levels. Compared with a placebo treatment, owners reported greater decreases in their pets’ pain, alongside increases in activity, while taking CBD. In one measurement, a subjective rating scale with a maximum score of 40, pain ratings went down from an average of 21 to an average of 14. “Dogs that jump in the car again … they climb the stairs, they jump on the bed — all these things are what the owners notice,” says Wakshlag, a coauthor on the paper.
But another pain study reported no improvement in arthritis in 23 CBD-dosed dogs. In this report, the researchers relied on veterinary assessments of mobility, which included having the dogs walk on a treadmill-like device that measured the force of their paws — making it possible to detect subtle differences in gait, such as reduced limping.
Credit: Enecta – Cannabis extracts
Testing CBD’s effectiveness in calming pets has also produced mixed results. In a 2020 study during which 16 dogs listened to an audio track of fireworks, CBD showed no effect on signs of stress such as blood cortisol levels and tail-tucking. But in a more recent study, dogs taking CBD showed fewer stress signs on car trips, including lowered cortisol and less frequent lip-licking and whining.
Conflicting results don’t necessarily mean that CBD is ineffective. For one thing, every measurement method and protocol has limitations, says Pernille Holst, a veterinary oncologist at the University of Copenhagen. Doses used in studies also vary widely — in the car-trip study, for example, dogs received doses nearly three times higher than did dogs in the firework-noise study.
Even the chemistry of the hemp product used may make a difference, says Wakshlag. Full-spectrum hemp extracts that contain cannabinoids in acid forms may act differently than do CBD isolates.
More research could clear up these questions and also help fill in the CBD picture for cats, for which research is especially scarce. But large-scale clinical trials are not cheap, and pet CBD companies don’t have the same resources as human pharmaceutical companies, says animal science researcher David Harmon of the University of Kentucky, who coauthored the firework-noise study. “There’s no conglomerate with large capital to accomplish these things,” he says.
Further complicating matters for owners is the fact that pet cannabis companies have little oversight and sometimes produce questionable products. In one study of 29 hemp products, more than half were outside the advertised range of CBD by 10 percent or more. In four products, researchers detected heavy-metal contamination. “I wish there was more oversight and regulation to ensure the labels match the product, but currently there is not,” says McGrath.
Kris Paige, a retired veterinary technician, enrolled her dog Purdy in a Colorado State University clinical trial for CBD treatment after the Anatolian shepherd began having grand mal seizures about every three weeks. Over the six-month trial, Paige observed Purdy’s seizure frequency go down — albeit not as much as she’d hoped — to an average of one every four weeks. These days, she no longer gives Purdy hemp oil daily but only after a seizure, which appears to lessen the dog’s confusion and anxiety.
Paige is glad Purdy participated in the research. “While the results weren’t what we were hoping for,” she says, “it added to the knowledge.”
Knowable Magazine, a new digital magazine from Annual Reviews. (PRNewsfoto/Annual Reviews)
Artist’s concept of Gliese 12 b with a thin atmosphere – Credit: NASA/JPL Caltech/IPAC by R. Hurt
Artist’s concept of Gliese 12 b with a thin atmosphere – Credit: NASA/JPL Caltech/IPAC by R. Hurt
Scientists have discovered a new Earth-sized planet 40 light years away which could potentially support human life.
The planet, named Gliese 12 b, was spotted by astronomers at the University of Warwick who made the exciting discovery using NASA satellites.
With an estimated surface temperature of around 42°C (107°F), experts say it is one of the few known rocky planets where humans could theoretically survive (if the transportation existed).
Scientists are still unsure of the composition of the atmosphere of Gliese 12 b, but it has a similar depth to the one on Venus.
In a report published Thursday, the team, from universities in the UK and US, described Gliese 12 b as “the nearest transiting temperate, Earth-sized planet found to date.”
It confirmed the planet’s existence and characteristics like its size, temperature, distance from Earth, and that it orbits its ‘Sun’ every 12.8 days.
“This is a really exciting discovery and will help our research into planets similar to Earth across our Galaxy,” said Warwick Professor of physicist Thomas Wilson.
“Thrillingly, this planet is the closest Earth-sized and temperature planet we know.
“The light we are seeing now is from 1984 (40 years ago)—that’s how long it has taken to reach us here on Earth.
“Planets like Gliese 12 b are very few and far between, so for us to be able to examine one this closely and learn about its atmosphere and temperature is very rare.”
Artist’s concept of Gliese 12 b compared to Earth – Credit: NASA/JPL Caltech/IPAC by R. Hurt
The scientists are part of an international team who have worked with NASA to discover the planet using data from NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite).
At first, they discovered the planet’s sun, called Gliese 12—a cool red dwarf located in the constellation Pisces. That star is about one-quarter of our Sun’s size, with about 60 percent of the surface temperature. And the distance separating Gliese 12 and the new planet is just 7 percent of the distance between Earth and our Sun.
The planet receives 1.6 times more energy from its star as Earth does from the Sun.
“We know of only a handful of systems to date that are both close enough to us and meet other criteria needed for this kind of study, called transmission spectroscopy,” said Michael McElwain, a research astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, and a co-author of the paper.
“To better understand the diversity of atmospheres around temperate planets similar to Earth, we need more examples like Gliese 12 b.”
NASA said in a statement, “One important factor in retaining an atmosphere is the storminess of its star. Red dwarfs tend to be magnetically active, resulting in frequent, powerful X-ray flares”, but both teams concluded that Gliese 12 shows no signs of such extreme behavior.
“This is a unique candidate for further atmospheric study that may help unlock some aspects of our own solar system’s evolution,” said Larissa Palethorpe, co-lead of the study and doctoral student at the University of Edinburgh and University College London. “Earth remains habitable, but Venus does not due to its complete loss of water. Gliese 12 b’s atmosphere could teach us a lot about the habitability pathways planets take as they develop.”
The report also states the discovery will help astronomers “find our own place in the Universe”.
“Gliese 12 b also represents one of the best targets to study whether Earth-like planets orbiting cool stars can retain their atmospheres, a crucial step to advance our understanding of habitability on Earth and across the Galaxy.”
“Further analysis of the Gliese 12 system will allow us to understand evolutionary and compositional trends, which is important as we try to infer the number of true-Earth analogues on our journey to understanding our own place in the Universe.”
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of May 25, 2024
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
When I first got my job writing a horoscope column, I wasn’t looking for it. It found me. My bike had been stolen, and I was looking for a new one in the classified ads of the Good Times, the local Santa Cruz newspaper. There I serendipitously spied a “Help Wanted” ad. The publisher of the *Good Times* was hiring a new astrology writer to replace Robert Cole, who had just quit. I quickly applied for the gig and got it. Ever since, Robert Cole has been a symbol for me of an accidental and unexpected opportunity appearing out of nowhere. I mention this, Gemini, because when I meditate on you lately, I see the face of Robert Cole.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
In myths and legends, the consummate spiritual goal has various names: the Holy Grail, philosopher’s stone, pearl of great price, nirvana, alchemical gold, key of life, and many others. I appreciate this profusion of sacred symbols. It encourages us to not be too literal about identifying the highest reward. The old fables are equally equivocal about where the prize can be found. Is it in an empty desert or dark forest? In the deepest abyss, on a mountaintop, or in the backyard? I bring these thoughts to your attention, Cancerian, because the coming months will be an excellent time to conduct a quest for the marvelous treasure. What do you need most right now? What’s the best way to begin your search?
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
I have good news for any Leos who are devoted to pragmatism and rational analysis. Just this once, my horoscope will offer no lyrical teasers or mystical riddles. Your pressing need for no-nonsense grit has moved me to offer straightforward, unembellished counsel. Here it is, dear: Cultivate connections that will serve your passionate ambitions. Make vigorous use of your network and community to gather information that will serve your passionate ambitions. Meditate on what course corrections might be necessary to serve your passionate ambitions.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
For many of you Virgos, your health seems chronically unsettled. You may be constantly hyper-vigilant about the next glitch that could possible affect your well-being. There’s a problem with that approach: It may intensify your fear of frailty, which in turn saps your vigor. But I’m happy to report that in the coming months, you will have an enhanced power to break out of this pattern. To get started, try this: Every morning for four minutes, picture yourself overflowing with vitality. Visualize every part of your body working with joyful heartiness. Send streams of love and gratitude to all your organs. Do this for the next 21 days.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Many people regard the word “faith” as referring to delusional hope or wishful thinking. But I ask you to rethink its meaning—and consider the possibility that it could be an empowering force in the coming months. How? Imagine a faith that’s earthy and robust. You actually feel it vibrating in your heart and gut. It literally alters your brain chemistry, fortifying your natural talents and attracting needed resources. It liberates you to feel pragmatically excited as you pursue your goal of fulfilling your soul’s code.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
When I was born, my parents gave me the name “Robert.” It’s derived from an Old North French word meaning “shining” and “bright with glory.” In Middle English, though, “robert” was a designation for “a wastrel, a marauder, a good-for-nothing.” I use this dichotomy as a reminder that my own nature is a mix of brightness and darkness. A lot of me is shining and inspirational, but there’s also a part that’s ignorant and confused. And what’s true about me is true about everyone else, including you: We are blends of the best and the not-so-best. Now is a good time to draw strength and wisdom from meditating on this reality. Your shadowy aspects have important and interesting truths to reveal to your brilliant aspects—and vice versa.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Here are some meditations on emotions. They are as key to our intelligence as our thoughts! But it’s crucial that we distinguish between emotions generated by delusions and emotions that are responses to true perceptions. Let’s say I get angry because I imagine a friend stole money from my room while visiting, but then later I put on my vest and find the supposedly stolen cash in the vest pocket. That is a delusional emotion. But if I am sad because my friend’s beloved dog is sick, that is emotion based on an accurate perception. I bring this to your attention, Sagittarius, because I believe it is essential that in the coming weeks you discern between the two types.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
As an adjunct to the Ten Commandments, I have formulated the Ten Suggestions. Here’s Suggestion #1: Wash your own brain at least three times a year. I’m speaking metaphorically, of course. What I mean is that like me and everyone else, you are always accumulating junky thoughts and useless feelings. Some are generated by our old, conditioned responses, and some pour into us from the media and entertainment industries. And it’s best to be proactive about the toxic build-up—not allow it to become monumental. In my astrological opinion, now is an excellent time for a regular mind cleanse.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
So many writers have said terrible things about our existence on planet Earth. “Life is a disease,” wrote George Bernard Shaw. “Life is a bad dream,” declared Eugene O’Neill. Life is “a vast cold junkpile,” says Stephen King. There are thousands more of these unnuanced disparagements. Why? Here are the facts, as I see them: As tough as it can be to navigate through problems and pain, being alive in our miraculous bodies with our dazzling awareness is a sublime gift. We are all blessed with a mysterious and fascinating destiny. In accordance with the astrological omens, Aquarius, I invite you to celebrate being alive with extra gratitude and ebullience. Begin the jubilee by feeling amazement and awe for your mysterious and fascinating destiny. Second step: Identify five sublime gifts in your life.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
In the coming weeks, I ask you to refrain from indulging in extreme nostalgia. On the other hand, I encourage you to explore the past and sift through memories with the intention of clarifying what really happened back then. Pluck new lessons from the old days that will help you forge smart decisions in the near future. Use your history as a resource while you redefine the meanings of pivotal events. For extra credit, create a new title for the book you may someday write about your life story.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
In the coming weeks, you will experience uncomfortable weirdness if you do the following: 1. Meander without focus or purpose; 2. give yourself permission to postpone, procrastinate, and engage in avoidance behavior; 3. ignore the interesting though challenging truths that are right in front of you; 4. hang out with people with mediocre ambitions. But you will experience healthy, uplifting oddness if you do the following: 1. Trust your instincts and intuitions; 2. authorize your spontaneity to invigorate and guide you; 3. take the straightforward path that gets you to the destination most efficiently; 4. be crisp and nimble.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Mysterious energies will soon begin healing at least some of the wounds in your financial genius. As a result, I predict new powers of attraction will awaken in you, making it likely you will add to your wealth in the coming months. To synergize these happy developments, I recommend you give yourself permission to have joyous fun as you lust for more cash. More good news: I will supplement your good fortune by casting a benevolent spell to boost the flow of riches into your bank account.
WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com
Quote of the Day: “Tears of joy are like the summer rain drops pierced by sunbeams.” – Hosea Ballou
Photo by: dspindle (CC license)
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
The inside of the anechoic chamber, credit - Julian Walter
The inside of the anechoic chamber, credit – Julian Walter
If you were asked where the most silent place on Earth is, you might respond Antarctica or somewhere in the Sahara Desert, but you’d actually be wrong.
It’s in Minnesota—where among the many buildings of Orfield Laboratory lies the Anechoic Chamber, a place so scientifically configured to absorb sound, that a mere blink becomes deafening.
The ambient noise inside the Anechoic Chamber is at negative decibels—minus-24.9 dBA to be exact—which is a Guinness World Record and so quiet that it’s actually below the threshold of human hearing. With zero sound of any kind, visitors, who sometimes can hardly stand the silence, report hearing their body’s minute functions like blood pumping and eyes blinking.
“When it’s quiet, ears will adapt,” Steven Orfield, the lab’s founder, told the Daily Mail’s Ted Thornhill in 2012. “The quieter the room, the more things you hear. You’ll hear your heart beating, sometimes you can hear your lungs, hear your stomach gurgling loudly. In the Anechoic Chamber, you become the sound.”
Part of what creates ambient sound is the reflection of it on walls and glass—the typical stuff rooms are made out of. If one steps into a foam-lined recording booth, they may notice the audible sound levels drop or seem significantly muffled: that’s because the foam is inhibiting the reflection of soundwaves; but some are still able to bounce off and create sound.
The Anechoic Chamber is a steel box suspended on springs inside a larger steel box. The interior box is lined with brown fiberglass ridges of different sizes that completely neutralize soundwaves of all different frequencies coming from any direction. These ridges even cover the floor, and so visitors stand on a suspended mesh.
Orfield says that some people, probably city dwellers, can’t take it for long. The typical tour is 90 minutes, 20 of which are in the chamber. He claims that what most people don’t realize is their coordination of movement is deeply informed by subtle sounds, and removing them entirely means that some people have difficulties even walking.
“You take away the perceptual cues that allow you to balance and maneuver,” he said. “If you’re in there for half an hour, you have to be in a chair.”
Some companies have used the chamber to test various things, for example, Harley Davidson used it to chill out the engine noise on a recent model, while NASA has used it to help astronauts get accustomed to the vacuum of space.
It’s a rather unique attraction for those visiting the Minneapolis area, and a whole hour with up to four people in the chamber costs $400.
WATCH the Action Lab Explore the Anechoic Chamber, especially at 3:00 when they pop a balloon inside…
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Marine veteran Richard Remp gets High School diploma from Superintendent Justi Glaros – Family photo
Marine veteran Richard Remp gets High School diploma from Superintendent Justi Glaros – Family photo
When a dying veteran’s last wish was to receive a high school diploma, a superintendent teamed up with an American Legion Outpost commander to make it happen.
Thanks to their tireless effort on behalf of a man who had given his all and more for the country’s armed forces, his final moments would be those of pride and joy as he was handed the honorary education he never received.
At Sharon School District in Pennsylvania, Superintendent Justi Glaros got a call from Legion Post 247. The caller, 247’s second vice commander, James Cappuccilli, explained that a marine who had given up higher education to fight in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, was hoping to receive an honorary diploma.
The marine, Richard Remp from Sharon, but who then lived in Poolesville, MD, had watched when another elderly marine was presented with a diploma, and thought he might like to have one too. Glaros did some research and found out that it was a simple procedure provided that the veteran had fought in one of those three wars.
Remp had fought in all three, but he had attended a neighboring high school, making it a longer chore for Glaros to get everything in order.
In the meantime, Remp suffered a fall, and when he was brought to the hospital it was discovered he had stage 4 prostate cancer that was aggressively attacking his liver. The prognosis was not much time.
The neighboring school needed a month to fulfill the order for the honorary diploma, at which point Glaros jumped into action. Summoning the schoolboard, she explained the situation and got the go-ahead to print a diploma from their own high school.
“I’m blessed to be in the position to be able to do it for this man,” Glaros said. “The opportunity to give the diploma to him is what I wanted.”
It was an opportunity she had to hurry to take, driving four-and-a-half hours down to Remp’s home and delivering the diploma by hand as part of a graduation ceremony last weekend in the man’s living room.
“The last thing he remembers is the fact that she came down and gave him the diploma,” American Legion Post 247 Commander Julian Singh told the Sharon Herald. “That was his last waking moment.”
Remp passed away Sunday at the age of 98. He had received a combat commendation ‘V’ for valor.
60 years after passing Air Force selection as a candidate to be the first African-American astronaut, Edward Dwight fulfilled that dream by blasting off with Blue Origin on Sunday for a short trip into space.
Riding aboard the New Shepherd rocket from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ private space company, Dwight flew into space for a 10-minute jaunt above the Kármán Line, the imaginary barrier that separates Earth’s atmosphere from outer space.
“Fantastic! A life-changing experience. Everyone needs to do this!” Dwight told NPR. “I didn’t know I needed this in my life, but now I need it in my life.”
Beating out Star Trek actor William Shatner to become the oldest person ever to enter space at 91 years of age, Dwight nearly fulfilled the ambitions and dreams of a generation of black Americans when, during the Kennedy Administration, it was announced that NASA was keen on sending a black man to space, and that Dwight was the best-trained candidate to do so.
Recalling those days to Smithsonian Magazine, Dwight said he used to get 1,500 pieces of mail a week, all addressed to ‘Astronaut Dwight, Kansas City.’ By then, he had spent 6 years quickly climbing through the Air Force’s ranks to become a captain while accruing 9,000 hours of flight time, 2,000 of which came in high-performance jets.
Holding an aeronautics degree from Arizona State University and enough flying hours to qualify for the flight test school at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, Dwight was one of 136 people who applied for NASA’s Astronaut Group 3, and one of 26 specifically recommended by the Air Force.
The Kennedy Administration, Air Force Chief of Staff Curtis LeMay, and others felt that a black astronaut would be a fantastic public relations and political demonstration of the country’s progress. By April 1961, the USA had already lost out to the Soviets in the race to put a man in space, but putting the first black man in space, they thought, would be maybe even more inspirational.
“Why don’t we put the first non-white man in space?” Edward R. Murrow, a former broadcast journalist who had become Kennedy’s director of the United States Information Agency, wrote to NASA administrator James Webb “…we could retell our whole space effort to the whole non-white world, which is most of it.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. Dwight wasn’t selected, but rather proceeded to have a long and prosperous career as an artist and sculptor until a group of deep pockets paid for his seat aboard the New Shepherd launch in honor of his service and inspiration to the country.
Feeling like now he has “bragging rights,” Dwight has no plans to stop pursuing the stars even at his advanced age. Compared to his training back at Edwards, he said the separation of the capsule from the rocket was “more dynamic” than he expected.
“I want to go into orbit. I want to go around the Earth and see the whole Earth. That’s what I want to do now,” he told NPR, which has a board member who helped pay for Dwight’s ticket.
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Pair of brown noddies (by Phil Guest, CC license); and red-footed booby (by Gregg Yan, CC license)
Pair of brown noddies (by Phil Guest, CC license); and red-footed booby (by Gregg Yan, CC license)
18 years after rats were eradicated, Tromelin Island off the coast of Madagascar is a thriving colony of seabirds once again.
The same story happened over and over during the age of exploration: Europeans brought rats or rabbits on board their ships and dumped them on delicate, pristine island ecosystems.
Hundreds of islands became desolate wastelands this way, damage that has for the most part been reversed, as GNN has reported, in one of the greatest conservation stories ever told.
Now, this small teardrop of sand, rock, and palm trees in the southern Indian Ocean, is the most recent example of conservationists being able to completely rewild a landscape back to a period before European contact.
Spanning just 1 square kilometer, Tromelin Island is now home to thousands of breeding pairs of 7 seabird species like the masked and red-footed boobies.
By 2013, these two species had doubled in number from the precarious, rat oppressed lows of just a handful in 2004. In the subsequent 9 years, white terns, brown noddies, sooty terns, wedge-tailed shearwaters, and lesser noddies all came back on their own initiative.
Matthieu Le Corre, an ecologist at the University of Reunion Island, told Hakkai Magazine how, in some cases, restoring seabird populations can be a tricky thing based on the particular species’ nesting habits.
On other islands where Le Corre has worked, they’ve had to install robotic bird calls and life-size replicas to convince the birds the island is a safe place to nest again. But Tromelin Island needed no such help, since these terns, noddies, and boobies are much more dispersed in their nesting patterns.
“In terms of conservation, it’s a wonderful success,” Le Corre says.
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Quote of the Day: “Imagination is the eye of the soul.” – Joseph Joubert
Photo by: Jr Korpa
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
A fat cat that weighs more than double his healthy size has been thrown into the deep end on a mission to lose weight by swimming.
Moses, who weighs as much as a French bulldog, started the unusual hydrotherapy sessions in a bid to slim down in much the same way that people with bad knees, a bad back, bad hips, or too great a body mass index use pools to start exercising.
The nine-year-old cat piled on the pounds after refusing to go outside or exercise despite his owner putting him on countless diets.
At Avonvale Veterinary Centre in Wellesbourne, Warwickshire, staff say that his weight loss mission is going ‘swimmingly.’
“When he first came to us, Moses was nearly 10kg in weight,” said Olivia Stokes, veterinary hydrotherapist, meaning 22 pounds. “His owner said he had been on diets and been encouraged to exercise before but had still not been able to lose weight.”
“So, we decided to try a different approach with hydrotherapy. I have been in the industry for five years and a qualified hydrotherapist for almost two years, and I have never experienced hydro with a cat before, so Moses was a first for me.”
Obviously this was because Moses didn’t like water, as is true for so many cats. Stokes tried a variety of toys and treats to get Moses started but eventually switched to tougher methods, including starting him on a moving treadmill before adding water.
Now she says that Moses sits and waits on the treadmill for the water level to come up before starting.
“Once he has been walking for 13 minutes, I then lift him up, raise the water level further, and swim him for a couple of minutes to give him a full body workout,” she added.
Moses is now starting to shape up, and as well as losing weight has become far more active and livelier at home. He is already down 2.2 pounds, and the vets see an increase in muscle tissue as well.
Avonvale Veterinary Centres via SWNS
“That’s a loss in body weight of almost four percent in about six weeks, which is perfect as we don’t want to lose the weight too quickly,” said Stokes. “The important thing is that his body shape is clearly changing as he loses the fat and builds back muscle.”
“I am very proud of Moses’ progression; he’s even walking with the incline on the treadmill now.”
Moses’ owner Jenna Joshi is thrilled with her pet’s progress.
“I could see a difference almost straight away,” she remembers. “After his first hydro session, he came through the cat flap, which he hadn’t done in a long time.”
“We are still having regular weight checks, still doing hydrotherapy, and making good progress. It was difficult at first but now he doesn’t complain and knows exactly what he needs to do when he goes for his sessions.”
The best treatment for overweight animals is to monitor their food intake and don’t let them get fat in the first place. It can take far more time for a housepet to lose weight than even a semi-determined human being, but fortunately Moses has a strong will and a determined human.
If This Cat Can Lose Weight, Your Friends Can Too: SHARE This Story With Them…
Diamonds made with the new technique are mostly pure — but they're too tiny to fit on your finger. (Image credit Institute for Basic Science)
Diamonds made with the new technique are mostly pure — but they’re too tiny to fit on your finger. (Image credit Institute for Basic Science)
In South Korea, chemists have recently developed a way to grow artificial micro-diamonds in minutes, rather than days.
Furthermore, the technique doesn’t require high temperatures or intense pressure, and are made “from scratch” with the potential to revolutionize the diamond industry by providing unlimited micro-diamonds for polishing and cutting uses.
Gemstones are formed typically by intense heat, intense pressure, natural catalysts, or some combination of the three. Diamonds require an awful lot of the first two to manufacture artificially, but Rodney Ruoff, a physical chemist at the Institute for Basic Science in South Korea, has eliminated the need.
Instead of gigapascals of pressure and temperatures as high as 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit (1,500 degrees Celsius), Ruoff and his colleagues needed graphene, silicon, gallium, iron, and nickel—and that’s it.
“For over a decade I have been thinking about new ways to grow diamonds, as I thought it might be possible to achieve this in what might be unexpected (per ‘conventional’ thinking) ways,” Ruoff told Live Science by email.
Ruoff started with gallium, which had been shown in a previous, unrelated paper to catalyze the formation of graphene. Graphene is pure carbon, just like a diamond, but the chemical structure is straight and flat rather than the latter’s tetrahedral formation.
At that point, the experiment met its most expensive component—a home-built chamber designed by co-author Won Kyung Seong—that could house the gallium-nickel-iron mixture in a graphene crucible and withstand the introduction of hot methane gas. When all these elements came together—with a pinch of silicon—diamonds were formed in 15 minutes at sea level pressures inside the chamber.
The chemical minutiae of how the experiment succeeded is still murky, and it will be at least another few years before the scientists or others working with similar methods will know for sure whether Ruoff’s process can produce diamonds for jewelry, because the ones described in their study were thousands of times smaller than lab-grown diamonds used for jewelry.
However, the ‘film’ of micro-diamonds could very well serve to take the place of larger diamonds for the purpose of being crushed into powder. Because diamond is the hardest substance known, diamond dust is the tool by which diamonds are polished, and Ruoff’s 15-minute micro-diamonds (copyright available) may save jewelers thousands of dollars in the cost of diamond dust.
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Grandpa sees truck restored – Blake Kincheloe / YouTube
credit – Blake Kincheloe CC 3.0. ND-SA
A son recently surprised his grandfather by repairing his 70-year-old pickup truck to a fully functioning automobile, and the video will bring a tear to your eye.
“50 dollars and a hog” is what Richard Kincheloe’s mother paid for a red, 1954 International Harvester pickup truck, which Richard, now a grandfather, drove around for years until it broke down.
His grandson Blake Kincheloe, grew up thinking of the International as his own little truck, even giving it the nickname “Cannonball”, however it has served as a multi-ton paperweight and spider hotel, sitting broken and idle on Richard’s property.
Coming of age, Blake contemplated what a swell idea it would be to have the old truck up and running again.
Taking it into C&J’s Classic Cars, he first planned for nothing more than a set of modern brakes, but soon a full restoration was ongoing, adding parts all over the car from brake lights, which the original didn’t have, to a bathroom door latch because the door handle mechanism was unsalvageable.
“What’s that pappa?” a female voice can be heard asking Richard in a video made by Blake and other family/friends as the truck approached. “Well, I’ll be danged!” he exclaimed.
As for his priceless response, it’s best to listen for yourself (NOTE: Some word choices may not be for children.)
WATCH the short USA Today video below (with ad), OR the longer original video at the bottom…
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