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Minnesota Teens Hook Wallet Full of Cash on a Lake Then Return it to Iowa Farmer–WATCH

By
Andy Corbley
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Connor Halsa (left) and Jim Denny (right) credit - WDAY News
Connor Halsa (left) and Jim Denny (right) credit – WDAY News

This summer Connor Halsa reeled in the fishing story of a lifetime when he went searching for walleye and got a wallet.

Inside there was $2,000 cash, wet and soggy, but nonetheless cold and metaphorically hard. Still, Connor and his dad agreed immediately they needed to find the owner.

Out on Lake of the Woods, the sixth-largest freshwater lake in the US—over 70 miles of water—Halsa and his dad were planning a ‘drift’ for walleye, and after casting their lines, Connor felt something decently heavy on the other side.

Reeling in fast, he found a brown billfold.

“My cousin opened the wallet up, and he said some words you probably shouldn’t say, and he showed everyone, and we took the money out and let it dry out,” Connor told WDAY 7 news.

Inside was a presumably soggy business card with a number on it and they used that to track down the owner—600 miles away in Iowa. Jim Denny lost it on a fishing retreat, but that was over a whole year ago if one can believe it.

The resort Denny was staying at had to advance him the stay on credit, embarrassing him terribly, and he suspected the wallet jostled itself loose in the choppy waters.

AGAINST THE ODDS STORIES: She Lost Her Father’s Ashes but a Stranger Digs 4 Hours Through Trash to Find Them

WDAY 7 reports that Denny came all the way up from Iowa to Moorhead, Minnesota to reunite with the old billfold and the cash it contained. Young Halsa refused any amount of the cash inside, saying it was what any decent person would do.

“To meet people like that, who are that honest, I tried to get them to take the money, and they wouldn’t do it,” Denney told WDAY. “I would take Connor as a grandson any day, and I would fight for him any day.”

MORE GOOD DEEDS LIKE THIS: Dock Worker Brings Stranded Ferry Passengers Home: ‘You’re All Staying at My House Tonight’

The two also shared a moment to contemplate what the odds were of finding the billfold. Lake of the Woods is 1,679.5 square miles, half the size of Yellowstone National Park, and 210 feet deep in places. The water volume is measured in the tens of cubic miles, and in all that space, Halsa’s line managed to pierce the hide of a wallet just a few cubic centimeters; the phrase one in a million doesn’t even come close.

WATCH the story below from WDAY 7… 

SHARE This Young Angler’s Big Catch And Big Heart On Social Media…

Robot Named Sorty McSortface Uses Mechanical Claws and AI to Sort Tons of Recyclables in Minutes

By
Andy Corbley
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AMP Robotics / YouTube
Amp Robotics released

Conversations about artificial intelligence took off in the media after the debut of ChatGPT this year, but AI had already been coiling its industry-changing hands around all sorts of applications for years, from conceptual art and design to these robot trash pickers, Sorty McSortface and Sir Sorts-a-Lot.

Working all day long at 80 recycling facilities across the US, Amp Robotics’ smart sorting machines pluck contaminants from waste conveyor belts or sort various plastics into bins with the accuracy of a search engine and the mechanical speed of a chameleon’s tongue catching flies on the wing.

Sorty McSortface and Sir Sorts-a-Lot ply their trade at the Boulder County Recycling Center in Colorado where they do a job that the USA has typically been bad at doing when averaged across states.

Very few recycling facilities can manage to produce sorted waste streams of the kind needed to provide companies with high-quality raw materials for reuse.

Along with that, perhaps only 9% of all plastic in America even makes its way into recycling facilities in the first place; rising as high as perhaps one-third of all glass waste.

Amp Robotics’ Cortex sorting machine can pick out 80 separate items from waste streams per minute while recognizing billions of different shapes, sizes, granular specifics, colors, logos, and even SKU numbers among the garbage that would often remain hopelessly entangled.

MORE ROBOTICS LIKE THIS: Robot Medic Can Roll Into Hazardous Environments to Provide Medical Treatment Where Doctors Can’t (WATCH)

It’s already 99% accurate and becomes more accurate every year the waste is being sorted.

AMP Robotics / YouTube

In a brilliant piece by Joe Fassler at The Atlantic, the CEO of Amp Robotics explained that robots like Sorty McSortface and Sir Sorts-a-Lot can read an SKU number of an item moving down the conveyor belt and recognize that as something manufactured by Unilever or SC Johnson for example, and know immediately what chemicals are used in the fabrication of the identified plastic.

MORE ROBOTICS LIKE THIS: New AI-Powered Farming Robot Trundles About Inspecting 50 Acres of Crops per Day for Pests and Disease

Amp Robotics is just one of several companies pioneering various recycling sorting robots, and Fassler details that the industry is set for some incredible advancements including spectroscopy being brought into directly analyze chemical makeups of trash, as well as jets of air to push trash into various bins.

WATCH an explanation of the industry and these robots below… 

SHARE This Huge Innovative Advancement With Your Friends… 

Tiny Italian Town Dug Up an Extremely Rare Roman Temple while Trying to Build Supermarket

By
Andy Corbley
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Credit - Ministry of Fine Arts, Archaeology and Landscapes.
Credit – Ministry of Fine Arts, Archaeology and Landscapes.

While unquestionably quaint and surrounded by gorgeous scenery, Sarsina in Italy’s Emilia Romagna region has never been accustomed to drawing in hordes of tourists.

When it formed part of Rome’s defensive perimeter, it was once a fortified outpost at a strategic mountain pass, and also birthed the famous Roman playwright Plautus.

Little if nothing of that heritage remains today however, and the sleepy town of 3,000 was all set to welcome a new sports complex and supermarket when groundbreakers intending to lay the foundation stumbled upon an ‘extremely rare’ relic of Republican Rome, and returned a spotlight to Sarsina for the first time in almost 2,000 years.

A pagan-Roman temple, known as a Capitolium, dedicated to Jupiter, Minvera, and Juno has Roman researchers very excited, as it’s very well preserved and dates back to the last century BCE.

At 6,200 square feet (577 square meters) in size, the sandstone and limestone blocks that make up its foundation and podium still remain in a state of preservation typical of Roman monumental architecture.

“We have unearthed three separate rooms, likely dedicated to the triad of gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva,” lead archaeologist at the excavation site Romina Pirraglia told CNN.

Credit – Ministry of Fine Arts, Archaeology and Landscapes.

“The excavations are still underway… and we have already identified an older, deeper layer of ruins dating back to the 4th century BC, when the Umbrian people (an ancient Italic tribe who predated the Romans) lived in the area. The entire temple could be even larger than what we now see.”

MORE ROME STORIES: The Only Piece of Roman Pottery Inscribed with Poet Virgil’s Verse Discovered

Federica Gonzato, superintendent of fine arts, archaeology, and landscapes for the provinces of Ravenna, Rimini, and Forlì-Cesena in eastern Emilia Romagna, described the temple as “extremely rare” and said there will undoubtedly be space for shopping and recreation, but the existing plans will have to be changed to preserve this glorious monument.

“The marvelous quality of the stones has been spared from sacks, enemy invasions, and plunders across millennia thanks to the remote location of Sarsina, a quiet spot distant from larger cities,” Gonzato told CNN. “Temples such as this one (were) regularly plundered, exploited as quarries with stones and marble slabs taken away to be re-used to build new homes.”

MORE ROMAN DISCOVERIES: 2,000-year-old Roman House Uncovered in Malta Reveals Ancient History of Wealthy Society

Gonzato said that the seemingly endless discovery of new ancient buildings and treasures is part of what makes Italy so special. In nearby Ravenna, the Umbri were incorporated as Italian tribal allies of the Roman Republic in 89 BCE, and it was from that city that Julius Caesar marshaled his forces and crossed the Rubicon creek on his march to Roman dictatorship.

It was also the capital of the Western Roman Empire after Rome itself had been sacked. It’s likely that plenty of secrets still lie underground in the area.

SHARE This Amazing Roman-Era Discovery With Your Friends… 

Pole Vaulters Agree to Share Gold Medal in Unexpected Twist at High Stakes World Championship–WATCH

By
Andy Corbley
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Pole vaulters Nina Kennedy and Katie Moon – Youtube / NBC Sports
Pole vaulters Nina Kennedy and Katie Moon – Youtube / NBC Sports

After matching each other in normal rounds, two Olympic pole vaulters continued to battle it out over three tiebreaker rounds to see who would get gold at the World Athletics Championships.

However, the tiebreakers proved inconclusive, with both Australia’s Nina Kennedy and American Katie Moon both making it over the 4.90 meter bar, but failing to get over the 4.95 meter one.

So with a kiss and a hug, the two athletes and longtime friends decided to share the gold medal, a choice which in such circumstances can be made if there’s a dead heat between two competitors.

“I didn’t think she’d want to share it, I thought we might have had to keep jumping,” Kennedy said afterwards, according to Olympics.com. “But, you know, I kind of looked at her and said, ‘Hey, girl, you maybe wanna share this?'”

“And the relief on her face — and you could see it on my face — and it was mutual. And yeah, absolutely incredible to share a medal with Katie Moon. You know, we’ve been friends for so long so it’s super special.”

Moon agreed, noting that it had been a long battle and that for four jumps they had done basically the same thing.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Player’s Honesty Costs Him the Match, But Wins Hearts w/ Sportsmanship

The medal is Moon’s second world championship gold and Kennedy’s first.

The last time a gold medal was split was at the Tokyo Olympics, where Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi split the gold medal for the men’s high jump final.

WATCH the back and forth and ultimate decision below…

SHARE This Inspiring Moment In Athletics With Your Friends… 

“To see things in the seed, that is genius.” – Lao Tzu

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Good News Network
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Star anise by Mae Mu

Quote of the Day: “To see things in the seed, that is genius.” – Lao Tzu

Photo by: Mae Mu

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?

Entire Family Shares Same Birthday as Twins Are Born the Same Day as Both Their Parents

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Good News Network
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Scierra Blair and José Ervin with twins – SWNS
Scierra Blair and José Ervin with twins – SWNS

A couple with the same birthday is thrilled after their twins were born—on the same day. The entire family now shares the same birthday.

Scierra Blair couldn’t believe it when her doctor revealed their babies were ready to be born ten days earlier than their due date, and she was told to go straight to the hospital to deliver the twins.

She and her partner José Ervin welcomed the babies, José Jr. and Aria, 30 minutes after midnight on August 18 in Cleveland, Ohio.

The 30-year-olds were told one of the babies were breached, Scierra would have to have a C section.

“At this point it was around 5pm and they were healthy,” recalled José, “so I suggested we wait for a few hours so they could be born on our birthday.”

They met last year when Jose “kept seeing her around” and took it as a sign to speak to her. When she revealed her birthday to be the same as his, José thought she was joking until he saw her ID—then took it as another sign they should be together.

He is “beyond happy” that they can share their big day with their children now too.

WOW: Co-Workers Become BFFs, Then Discover They’re Actually Biological Sisters

“It’s the best birthday gift ever. I truly feel like it was a blessing from god and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“To have my son with my name and the same birthday is amazing. The only difference is that I was born in 1992 and he was born in 2023.”

José said the twins and their mother have been resting and doing well.

Sister and brother already seem to have a close bond.

“Last night I saw my son was asleep and laid my daughter next to him.

”She noticed he was asleep and kind of kept trying to wake him up to speak to him.

LOOK AT HIM! Man Buys School Bus So He Can Take All 10 of His Grandkids to School Every Day

“I want them to be best friends forever and really close. This is my family and I feel so blessed.”

DOES ANYONE Else Know a Family Like This? Ask Your Friends On Social Media…

Ocean CleanUp Launches Huge System in Pacific Garbage Patch to Clean a Football Field Every 5 Seconds

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Good News Network
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‘System 03’ is nearly three times as long as the previous system – Pictured surrounding System 2 – The Ocean Cleanup
‘System 03’ is nearly three times as long as the previous system – Pictured surrounding System 2 – The Ocean Cleanup

Last week, The Ocean Cleanup organization that has been tackling the Great Pacific Garbage Patch deployed their System 03 for the first time—nearly three times larger than the previous technology and capable of cleaning the area of a football field every five seconds.

This follows testing of their two smaller systems which succeeded in extracted over 275 tons of plastic from the Garbage Patch since 2021.

The arrival of System 03 marks a huge leap forward for the Dutch CEO Boyan Slat and his team, and their mission of ridding the oceans of at least 90% of the plastic trash by 2040.

System 03 consists of a floating barrier approximately 1.4 miles (2.2 km) long, which is towed between two slow-moving vessels. This barrier suspends a screen extending 13 feet (4 meters) below the surface of the water, where most floating plastic is encountered.

Once the trash is removed, an onboard crew sorts it to ensure the plastic is put to good use, by recycling it into sustainable new products.

Watch a video to see how it works…

Most recently, they teamed up with automaker Kia to incorporate the salvaged plastic into their new electric vehicles, with the first batch delivered to Kia on System 002’s final return to port earlier this summer.

To prove we could turn this trash into treasure, we used our first ocean catch to produce The Ocean Cleanup Sunglasses – made from plastic extracted directly from the GPGP with System 001/B in 2019. These sold out within 18 months and helped fund future cleanups.

ALOHA HAUL: Hawaii Group Sets Record For Largest Haul of Plastic Removed From The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

“By making System 03 so much bigger than our previous efforts (alongside the multiple upgrades we’ve implemented) we can cover a much larger area of ocean in less time and using fewer resources,” says The Ocean Cleanup. “This brings down our cost per kilogram of plastic removed and maximizes our benefit on the marine environment.”

There is even a Marine Animal Safety Hatch on the new model, which is monitored by underwater cameras, letting crew members provide any animals with a clear exit from their plastic Retention Zone.

What about trash flowing out from rivers?

Simultaneously, Slat and his engineering team are also tackling a related issue—a facet that is just as critical to the overall plastic pollution problem: the world’s most littered rivers. By “turning off the taps” and catching plastic along the river’s course, the much more difficult task of capturing it in the ocean can be mostly avoided.

Boyan Slat with his River Interceptor – The Ocean Cleanup

Their Interceptor machines are efficient solar-powered barges that gobble up plastic river garbage. At top performance, the Interceptors can extract 220,000 pounds (100,000 kilograms) of trash per day

Indonesia announced an ambitious goal to reduce plastic litter in its waterways by 70% in three years—and got help from The Ocean Cleanup river barge.

After positive results in Jakarta, the Interceptor was deployed in other locations—Malaysia, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, and Jamaica—and most recently, in Los Angeles on Ballona Creek which flows next to Venice Beach carrying plastic into the Pacific Ocean.

River Interceptor in Jakarta – The Ocean Cleanup

CHECK OUT THIS IDEA: City Pays Homeless to Learn Job Skills While Beautifying Riverbanks

“It’s very encouraging to see this positive collaboration between our two governments and The Ocean Cleanup continue, ” said Lambert Grijns, Ambassador of the Netherlands in Indonesia. “Despite the scale of the plastic challenge, the endorsement of these innovative solutions and partnerships gives me hope that we can work together to finally solve this problem for the benefit of all.”

Explore the ways you can help on their website.

FLOAT This Amazing News to Ocean Lovers on Social Media…

Top 10 Tips for Getting Over a Breakup – Advice From 2,000 Adults Finds Much Agreement

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Good News Network
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By Kelly Sikkema
SWNS/OnePoll

The best advice to get over a breakup was compiled in a new poll of 2,000 people who have a few opinions on the poignant topic.

A huge majority—77 percent of respondents—believe it’s best to consider a breakup as a fresh start rather than dwelling on the past, and 72 percent agree it should encourage you to push yourself to try new things.

Two of the top tips suggest immediately getting rid of their belongings in your home, and blocking your ex on social media.

Getting lots of sleep, reigniting old hobbies, and getting friends together for a night out were other pearls of wisdom to help deal with the end of a romance.

Seven in 10 think it’s important to have no contact with someone you’re moving on from, while 44 percent see dwelling on a breakup as a waste of time.

While exactly a third of those polled think you need to focus on yourself and not how your ex is feeling, and 24 percent reckon a vacation is the best medicine.

The survey conducted by OnePoll was commissioned by Costa Coffee.

Respondents were speaking from experience too, as on average they experienced three breakups in their adult life.

However, two-thirds also believe a breakup can lead to something better in the end.

As autumn approaches, 26 percent consider the season to be a good time to start afresh.

“Breakups can be tough, but after those initial feelings of loss, it’s often the start of moving on to better things,” commented Sandra Ferreira from Costa Coffee, who said that six in 10 thought a coffee shop was a great location for your next first date.

TOP 10 WAYS TO MOVE ON AFTER A BREAKUP:

1.    Spend more time with friends and family
2.    Focus on yourself and–not how the other person is feeling
3.    Get rid of their belongings in your home
4.    Block or unfriend them on social media
5.    Avoid rebound relationships at all costs
6.    Work on rediscovering your identity
7.    Make as many plans as you can so you’re not alone with your thoughts for too long
8.    Book a holiday
9.    Listen to empowering, upbeat music
10.   Get lots of sleep

Implantable Artificial Kidney That Frees Patients From Dialysis On Horizon After Successful Trial

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Good News Network
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UCSF / The Kidney Project
UCSF / The Kidney Project

Sufferers living with kidney failure can soon look forward to a future without dialysis or a long waits for an organ transplant, thanks to efforts from the University of California in San Francisco that produced an implantable device that mimics the organ’s daily functions.

Their first clinical trial showed that kidney cells, housed within the device called a bioreactor, can work quietly in the background, like a pacemaker, and does not trigger the recipient’s immune system to go on the attack—a major stumbling block for patients who need to take harsh immunity-suppressing drugs after receive donor transplants.

More than 500,000 people in the U.S. require dialysis several times a week, whereby their blood is filtered by a machine. Many seek kidney transplants, but there are not enough donors, and only about 20,000 people receive them each year. An implantable artificial kidney would be a boon.

The device, developed by the university’s Kidney Project, has been successfully implanted and tested in pigs for seven days. The next step will be a month-long trial—first in animals and then humans.

The scientists plan to fill the bioreactor with additional kidney cells that can mimic all the functions, such as balancing the body’s fluids and releasing hormones to regulate blood pressure—then, a full artificial kidney will be born.

LUCKY KIDNEY FIND: Woman Saved After Her Dog Found a Kidney Donor at the Beach: One-in-22 Million Odds

“The bioartificial kidney will make treatment for kidney disease more effective and also much more tolerable and comfortable,” said Dr. Shuvo Roy, a bioengineering professor in the UCSF School of Pharmacy.

“We needed to prove that a functional bioreactor will not require immunosuppressant drugs, and we did. We had no complications and can now iterate up, reaching for the whole panel of kidney functions at the human scale.”

In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, the team details how the engineered bioreactor can connect directly to blood vessels and veins, allowing the passage of nutrients and oxygen, much like a transplanted kidney would. (See the video below.)

Silicon membranes keep the kidney cells inside the bioreactor safe from attack by the recipient’s immune cells.

The team used a type of kidney cell called a proximal tubule cell, which regulates water and salt, as a test case. Co-author H. David Humes, MD, from the University of Michigan, had previously used these cells to help dialysis patients in the intensive care unit with life-saving results.

ALSO CHECK OUT: First Artificial Kidney That Would Free People From Dialysis and Transplants Runs on Blood Pressure

They tracked data from the kidney cells inside the bioreactor and the recipient animals for seven days after transplantation and both did well.

See how it works…

DON’T FORGET to Share The Incredible Breakthrough on Social Media…

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Brault

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Brault

Photo by: Erik Mclean

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?

Man Used 80 Discarded Vape Batteries to Power an Electric Scooter Proving the Importance of E-Waste

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Good News Network
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Tobiasz Stanford and his e-scooter – SWNS
Tobiasz Stanford and his e-scooter – SWNS

A clever graduate has used 80 discarded vape batteries to power his e-scooter—and to make a point about waste.

The 23-year-old Brit says disposable vape devices are marketed as expendable, but still have plenty of power—and people need to know that.

It didn’t cost any money to pick up 80 discarded vape batteries and he wired the lithium-ion batteries to a scooter purchased on eBay for $37 (£30).

Tobiasz Stanford from Wiltshire now uses the e-scooter everyday and calls it “very reliable”.

“It can go up any hill, has been used in rain, and has been driven through puddles. The only downfall is that it’s quite noisy but other than that the performance is crazy.”

“These vape batteries are very active still, yet they’re marketed as disposable. It needs to stop”

Having a lifetime fascination for electronics and moving parts, the grad student saw his friend smoking a vape and wondered how it worked. He researched different types of vapes and found some could be recharged and reused five times before the vape liquid ran out. After taking them apart, he discovered they used a rechargable lithium-ion battery.

MORE Good: She Turns Old Leather Sofas into Chic $200 Handbags to Cut Down on Waste–And They’re Flying Out the Door

He began recharging the batteries and found after one cycle they could function “almost like a brand new battery”—and decided to try powering a scooter with them.

The one he bought on eBay didn’t have good range and could only go 10 mph (16 km).

“I had to be careful wiring up the batteries but now the scooter works better with the vape batteries than it did before. It goes up to 15 mph (25km), can go up any hill, and can charge in about three hours.

“Once it’s fully charged I go around six miles everyday on it.”

Tobiasz says people are “wowed” when he tells them the small scooter is powered completely by disposable vape batteries.

“Everyone’s quite surprised. My family and friends are completely shocked when they see what I’ve done.

LOOK: Kenyan Woman’s Startup Recycles Plastic Waste into Bricks That Are 5x Stronger Than Concrete

“It’s a very small scooter and most people can’t even tell it’s even powered – never mind powered by vapes.”

Tobiasz says he wants others to know that disposable vapes can in fact be reused and believes there needs to be more restrictions on the reuse of disposable vapes—especially because if they’re dumped in a landfill the chemicals would eventually leach out.

CHECK OUT THIS RIDE: California Man Builds Solar-Powered Trike with Stuff in His Garage—And it’s Catching On

“We need to think about ‘ewaste’ with greater importance. These batteries are very active still.”

LOOK at it go in the SWNS video below….

ROLL THIS Valuable Tech Tip to DIYers on Social Media…

Couple Who Won 100,000 in Lottery Plans to Spend Money on Fostering Children

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Mark and Kathleen Reece of Stourport, Worcestershire - SWNS
Mark and Kathleen Reece of Stourport, Worcestershire – SWNS

A kindhearted couple who won £100,000 on the Euromillions is planning to spend their winnings on fostering children.

Already parents to three children, the couple in their 40s will now convert their garage into extra bedrooms to begin fostering kids in need, a dream they’ve always shared.

Kathleen Reece admits she’s often moaned in the past about her husband Mark playing the Euromillions every week, believing they weren’t lucky enough to ever win.

And she thought Mark was playing a practical joke on her when he asked her to check the winning ticket while he went out to get some milk in North Worcestershire, England.

But her daughter helped her double-checked the numbers online. “We called out the winning numbers to each other and, as the realization of what this meant hit us, we sat there in disbelief.”

“I decided to call the number on the back of the ticket and was talking to a lady from The National Lottery when Mark came home with the milk.

“I told him to shush, as I was on the phone to The National Lottery. His jaw dropped.

“He looked at me in disbelief so I put the phone on speaker and the lady confirmed we’d won £100,770.”

Kathleen, Mark and their daughter and two sons all sat in the kitchen staring at each other before hiding the winning ticket in Mark’s passport for safekeeping.

“I’ve always wanted to foster children,” said Kathleen. “Mark and I discussed it many years ago and then we had our own.

LOOK: NICU Nurse Adopts 14-Year-Old Teen Patient with Triplets, to Keep Their Family Together

“My three kids will be leaving home soon and I have too much love to give. I’ve always wanted to foster, however having enough space has always been an issue.”

Kathleen, a full-time teaching assistant said the win was a brilliant way to finish off her summer break.

MORE LOVE: Mother’s Love Has Granted 250,000 Wishes for Foster Kids–And Now She Surprised 9 With New Cars

“Thanks to the win it’ll no longer be a problem. I’m so happy we can finally fulfill our dream.”

SHARE The Luck and Love on Social Media…

Your Weekly Horoscope From Rob Brezsny: A ‘Free Will Astrology’

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Our partner Rob Brezsny provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of September 2, 2023
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Virgo journalist Anthony Loyd has spent a lot of time in war zones, so it’s no surprise he has bleak views about human nature. He makes the following assertion: “We think we have freedom of choice, but really most of our actions are puny meanderings in the prison yard built by history and early experience.” I agree that our conditioning and routines prevent us from being fully liberated. But most of us have some capacity for responding to the raw truth of the moment and are not utterly bound by the habits of the past. At our worst, we have 20-percent access to freedom of choice. At our best, we have 70-percent. I believe you will be near the 70-percent levels in the coming weeks, dear Virgo.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Libra poet T. S. Eliot wrote the iconic narrative poem “The Wasteland.” One part of the story takes place in a bar near closing time. Several times, the bartender calls out, “Hurry up, please—it’s time.” He wants the customers to finish their drinks and leave for the night. Now imagine I’m that bartender standing near you. I’m telling you, “Hurry up, please—it’s time.” What I mean is that you are in the climactic phase of your astrological cycle. You need to finish this chapter of your life story so you can move on to the next one. “Hurry up, please—it’s time” means you have a sacred duty to resolve, as best you can, every lingering confusion and mystery.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Addressing a lover, Scorpio poet Margaret Atwood says, “I would like to walk with you through that lucent wavering forest of bluegreen leaves with its watery sun & three moons, towards the cave where you must descend, towards your worst fear.” That is a bold declaration. Have you ever summoned such a deep devotion for a loved one? You will have more power and skill than usual to do that in the coming months. Whether you want to or not is a different question. But yes, you will be connected to dynamic magic that will make you a brave and valuable ally.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Sagittarian theologian N. T. Wright writes, “The great challenge to self-knowledge is blind attachment to our virtues. It is hard to criticize what we think are our virtues. Although the spirit languishes without ideals, idealism can be the greatest danger.” In my view, that statement formulates a central Sagittarian challenge. On the one hand, you need to cultivate high ideals if you want to be exquisitely yourself. On the other hand, you must ensure your high ideals don’t become weapons you use to manipulate and harass others. Author Howard Bloom adds more. “Watch out for the dark side of your own idealism and of your moral sense,” he writes. “Both come from our arsenal of natural instincts. And both easily degenerate into an excuse for attacks on others.” Now is a good time for you to ponder these issues.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Capricorn playwright and novelist Rose Franken said, “Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly.” That’s interesting, because many traditional astrologers say that Capricorns are the *least* likely zodiac sign to be silly. Speaking from personal experience, though, I have known members of your tribe to be goofy, nutty, and silly when they feel comfortably in love. An old Capricorn girlfriend of mine delighted in playing and having wicked good fun. Wherever you rank in the annals of wacky Capricorns, I hope you will consider expressing these qualities in the coming weeks. Romance and intimacy will thrive if you do.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
As I work on writing new books, I often draw on inspirations that flow through me as I take long hikes. The vigorous exercise shakes loose visions and ideas that are not accessible as I sit in front of my computer. Aquarian novelist Charles Dickens was an adherent of this approach. At night, he liked to walk around London for miles, marveling at the story ideas that welled up in him. I recommend our strategy to you in the coming weeks, Aquarius. As you move your body, key revelations and enriching emotions will well up in you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
The coming months will be an excellent time to build, discover, and use metaphorical bridges. To get in the mood, brainstorm about every type of bridge you might need. How about a connecting link between your past and future? How about a nexus between a task you must do and a task you love to do? And maybe a conduit between two groups of allies that would then serve you even better than they already do? Your homework is to fantasize about three more exciting junctions, combinations, or couplings.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Climate change is dramatically altering the Earth. People born today will experience three times as many floods and droughts as someone born in 1960, as well as seven times more heat waves. In urgent efforts to find a cure, scientists are generating ultra-creative proposals, including planting mechanical trees, creating undersea walls to protect melting glaciers from warmer ocean water, dimming the sun with airborne calcium carbonate, and covering Arctic ice with a layer of glass. In this spirit, I encourage you to incite unruly and even unorthodox brainstorms to solve your personal dilemmas. Be wildly inventive and creative.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
“When love is not madness, it is not love,” wrote Spanish author Pedro Calderon de la Barca. In my opinion, that’s naive, melodramatic nonsense! I will forgive him for his ignorance, since he worked as a soldier and celibate priest in the 17th century. The truth is that yes, love should have a touch of madness. But when it has more than a touch, it’s usually a fake kind of love: rooted in misunderstanding, immaturity, selfishness, and lack of emotional intelligence. In accordance with astrological factors, I assign you Tauruses to be dynamic practitioners of genuine togetherness in the coming months: with hints of madness and wildness, yes, but mostly big helpings of mutual respect, smart compassion, tender care, and a knack for dealing maturely with disagreements.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Gemini author Iain S. Thomas writes, “There are two things everyone has. One is The Great Sadness and the other is How Weird I Really Am. But only some of us are brave enough to talk about them.” The coming weeks will be a favorable time to ripen your relationship with these two things, Gemini. You will have the extra gravitas necessary to understand how vital they are to your full humanity. You can also express and discuss them in meaningful ways with the people you trust.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
A self-fulfilling prophecy happens when the expectations we embrace actually come to pass. We cling so devotedly to a belief about what will occur that we help generate its literal manifestation. This can be unfortunate if the anticipated outcome isn’t good for us. But it can be fortunate if the future we visualize upgrades our well-being. I invite you to ruminate on the negative and positive projections you’re now harboring. Then shed the former and reinforce the latter.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
The holy book of the Zoroastrian religion describes a mythical mountain, Hara Berezaiti. It’s the geographic center of the universe. The sun hides behind it at night. Stars and planets revolve around it. All the world’s waters originate at its peak. Hara Berezaiti is so luminous and holy that no darkness can survive there, nor can the false gods abide. I would love for you to have your own version of Hara Berezaiti, Leo: a shining source of beauty and strength in your inner landscape. I invite you to use your imagination to create this sanctuary within you. Picture yourself having exciting, healing adventures there. Give it a name you love. Call on its invigorating presence when you need a sacred boost.

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

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” – Rachel Carson

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Good News Network
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Credit: Damian Patkowski

Quote of the Day: “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” – Rachel Carson

Photo by: Damian Patkowski

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A Thrift Store Shopper Joked She’d Found a Famous Artist’s Work for $4 – and Actually She Really Had

By
Andy Corbley
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NC Wyeth's Ramona - credit Bonhams Skinner

A painting found in a New Hampshire attic could fetch between a quarter-million and three million dollars after the owner had bought it at a thrift store for just $4.00

That’s because it’s a lost work by prolific Maine artist N.C. Wyeth, whose signature was on the painting itself, but which the buyer assumed was simply a forgery.

NC Wyeth’s Ramona – credit Bonhams Skinner

The painting is one of four that Wyeth, patriarch of the Wyeth family of painters, completed for a 1939 edition of Helen Hunt Jackson’s book Ramona, originally published in 1884.

According to Bonham Skinners, the auction house handling the sale, the woman unknowingly purchased the valuable work after finding it leaning against a wall in Savers thrift shop in Manchester, NH. It was stacked alongside posters and prints, and she selected it only because she was looking for frames to reuse.

After not being able to find any information on the work, the buyer hung it on her bedroom wall, but after a few years ended up stashing it in the attic. During some May cleaning, she came across the painting yet again, and this time posted pictures of it on a Facebook group dedicated to people finding things lost in walls, attics, dug up from under floorboards, or salvaged from “that abandoned house across the street from your grandma’s.”

She connected with a former curator who had handled paintings from 3 generations of the Wyeth family and knew almost immediately the piece was legitimate.

“While it certainly had some small scratches and it could use a surface clean, it was in remarkable condition considering none of us had any idea of its journey over the last 80 years,” Lewis told the Boston Globe, who covered the story.

MORE LUCKY THRIFT PICKS: Artwork Found in Shed Covered in Bird Droppings Turns Out to be Early Van Dyck Now at Auction for $3 Million

The company that published Ramona is believed to have passed the work on to an editor or to the author’s estate at some point, and only one other of the four paintings that were made has been found.

Discovering lost famous pieces happens so often, it’s common from a news media perspective. In 2021, seven masterpieces were found in various parts of the West.

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China’s War on Pollution Improved Air Quality 42%, Reduced Global Pollution Average, and Returned 2 Years of Life to Citizens

By
Andy Corbley
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The 'Beijing Blue'
The ‘Beijing Blue’

Proving that change is possible if the will to create it is present, Chinese megacities like Beijing that were once famous for their apocalyptic grey skies are enjoying the lowest levels of air pollution they’ve experienced in the 21st century.

Falling 42% from an average high in 2013 when Chinese air pollution was higher than 50 particles per cubic centimeters of city air, the change has increased the lifespan of Chinese urbanites by 2.2 years.

The news comes from a report published by the University of Chicago called the Air Quality Life Index which listed some of the actions taken by the Chinese government to reduce air pollution, described by the CCP as a “war on pollution.”

This has included reducing the presence of heavy industry like steel production in city centers, as well as restricting coal power plants from being built inside cities while shuttering those that were already there.

Some cities like Beijing have reduced the number of cars allowed on the roads during peak hours, similar to London’s congestion charge. Lastly, China’s mass urban tree-planting campaigns have been well documented.

While the life expectancy has risen on average 2.2 years, some cities have seen far more drastic increases. Citizens living under the new “Beijing Blue,” are predicted to live 4 additional years, while those 11 million in the north-central city of Baoding are predicted to gain 6.

MORE VICTORIES AGAINST POLLUTION: Simple Bacteria Spray Can Solve India’s Air Pollution and Also Enrich Local Farmers

“At the foundation of those actions were common elements: political will and resources, both human and financial, that reinforced each other,” the report said. “When the public and policymakers have these tools, action becomes much more likely.”

In fact, the decline in China’s pollution levels has been so drastic that it lowered the world average, which the report says would have increased if not for the Middle Kingdom’s war on pollution.

OTHER ASIAN AIR SOLUTIONS: Honda to Introduce 10 New Electric Motorcycles and Scooters to Ease Air Pollution in Asia’s Megacities

Although Chinese city air is still several times higher than the WHO’s recommended minimum, it shows what’s accomplishable with political and civic effort—particularly to its neighbors in South Asia where the report warns air quality is worsening.

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Stray Dog Escapes Animal Shelter 3 Times to Claim Sofa in Elderly Care Facility–Now He Calls it Home

By
Andy Corbley
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credit Meadow Brook Care Facility - facebook
credit Meadow Brook Care Facility – facebook

Every so often, it’s the shelter dog that adopts the humans.

Scout was a mutt and a stray and was kept at a shelter in Michigan until the pooch with no past decided he was tired of waiting to be adopted and went trotting out looking for someone to adopt, successfully escaping the shelter and its fences 3 separate times in pursuit of a permanent home.

From the Detroit Free Press comes the story of Scout’s adoption of an entire nursing home, and the invaluable partnership formed between the determined dog, the residents, and the nurses.

One day in mid-July, Antrim County Animal Control was called to Meadow Brook Medical Care Facility where they found one of their shelter’s dogs, Scout, curled up on the couch in the waiting room.

He had escaped last night from their shelter just down the road, and somehow managed to scale the 10-foot chain link fence, another 6-foot solid privacy fence, cross a busy highway without being run over, find the nursing home, go in through the front door undeterred and curl up on the couch to sleep.

It was a puzzling story, but without any satisfactory way of answering the question, they took Scout back to the shelter only for him to escape again a few nights later and turn up on the couch in the Meadow Brook waiting room. Then, a few nights after that, there Scout was again, and the staff felt they had a decision to make.

“I’m a person who looks at outward signs, and if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be,”  Marna Robertson, the nursing home’s administrator, told the Free Press. “He did that one time, two times, three times, and obviously that’s something that you should pay attention to. And I asked the staff, ‘Well, he wants to be here. Would anybody like to have a dog?’”

Formally adopted by the nursing home, Scout, who the staff says clearly had been abused in his past life, quickly set about the business of making friends with the residents. A long-term/permanent care facility that houses dementia patients, elderly without any other family support, and those in the end-of-life stages, having the dog around has turned out to be a priceless addition.

OTHER DOG ADOPTION STORIES: Magician Performs Tricks for Shelter Dogs So Their Enthusiastic Reactions get Them Adopted–Watch

“To each and every one of them, it’s their dog,” said Jenni Martinek the nursing home’s household coordinator.

He patrols the halls in a manner that’s part security guard part professional greeter, routinely visiting those who are passing away, or popping in on residents who still have the energy to play with him, and always stopping by the rooms of those who keep dog treats in their walkers.

He’s not big, nor menacing, but if someone who doesn’t live there rings the doorbell he barks and jumps up on the wall just to let them know to behave.

MORE DOG/ELDERLY NEWS: Cats and Dogs May Protect Owners From Memory Loss in Later Life, Study Finds

The speed at which he has adapted himself to all these roles is remarkable, and when paired with the fact that he simply kept showing up there, gives the staff and the residents the feeling like he was meant to be at Meadow Brook.

You can read the whole saga of Scout’s journey to Meadow Brook at the Detroit Free Press.

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Ultrasound Scanners Inside of a Bra Could Detect Breast Cancer Earlier, and Between Screenings

By
Andy Corbley
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The bra insert that can detect cancer, credit Canen Dagdeviren, MIT - released
The bra insert that can detect cancer, credit Canen Dagdeviren, MIT – released

A miniature ultrasound device, fitted to a flexible polymer strap, can be slipped into a bra and detect breast cancer tumors among those most at risk of developing one.

The invention is significant for several reasons, and if perfected and developed, could save hundreds of lives.

The first reason it could be a major medical advancement is that developing breast cancer tumors in their earliest stages leads to a nearly 100% survival rate. The second is that developing a tumor even in the space between mammograms does happen, and not at a small rate. Depending on the country, 20-30% of all tumors are found in people who were in between routine screenings.

The device was developed at MIT, and once worn, it allows the user to move an ultrasound tracker across the bra and check for tumors.

“We changed the form factor of the ultrasound technology so that it can be used in your home. It’s portable and easy to use, and provides real-time, user-friendly monitoring of breast tissue,” says Canan Dagdeviren, an associate professor in MIT’s Media Lab, senior author of the study demonstrating its functionality, and inventor of the device.

Dagdeviren drew inspiration for the device from her aunt, Fatma Caliskanoglu, who died after developing aggressive breast cancer tumors between routine screenings after just six months. Sitting by her bedside, Dagdeviren sketched out her idea for the wearable ultrasound bra insert.

In the study, the researchers tested the device on a 71-year-old woman with a history of breast cysts. They confirmed that it could detect the cysts, which were only 0.3 centimeters long, or around the size of an early-stage tumor. They also confirmed that it provided a depth of vision comparable to traditional ultrasound machines used to look for tumors in a hospital or cancer center.

OTHER HEALTH WEARABLES: ‘Wearable Muscles’ Restore Mobility in Those Who Have Trouble Moving Their Arms

The ultrasonic bra has won Dagdeviren high praise from her colleagues, including Anantha Chandrakasan, the Dean of MIT’s School of Engineering, who also co-authored the paper on the device.

“This technology provides a fundamental capability in the detection and early diagnosis of breast cancer, which is key to a positive outcome,” says Chandrakasan.

“This work will significantly advance ultrasound research and medical device designs, leveraging advances in materials, low-power circuits, AI algorithms, and biomedical systems.”

MORE BREAST CANCER DEVELOPMENTS: Tiny Battery Obliterates Breast Cancer Tumors in Mice by Creating Oxygen-free Target to Better Kill Disease

Similar devices are being pioneered in Nigeria, the Guardian reports, where an entrepreneurial robotics graduate is developing a product called the Smart Bra to help reduce cancer rates in Nigeria where breast cancer is the most common type. Other wearable tech bras are being developed in Mexico and Switzerland.

It won’t be praise from colleagues, though, which Dagdeviren hopes to achieve, but rather increasing breast cancer survival rates from 95% to 98%. It’s not a big number, but it represents hundreds of women like her aunt Caliskanoglu—beloved family members.

WATCH how it works below from MIT…

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“I always entertain great hopes.” – Robert Frost

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “I always entertain great hopes.” – Robert Frost

Photo by: Kristopher Roller

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New Blood Test Could Diagnose Parkinson’s Before it Begins Damaging the Nervous System

By
Andy Corbley
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Karolina Grabowska
Karolina Grabowska

American scientists developed a test that focuses on damage to mitochondrial DNA in the blood linked with Parkinson’s disease.

Current diagnoses of Parkinson’s are largely based on clinical symptoms after significant neurological damage has already occurred, and researchers hope this new test could be used to diagnose patients prior to such damage occurring.

Parkinson’s is the second most common neurological disease behind Alzheimer’s. The progressive disorder affects the nervous system and parts of the body controlled by nerves and afflicts around ten million people across the globe.

The study team, led by neuroscientists at the Duke University School of Medicine focused their work on DNA damage in mitochondria.

Mitochondria contain their own DNA, which can undergo damage separately from the nuclear DNA that encodes most of an organism’s genome, and previous studies have shown the association between mitochondrial DNA damage and an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease.

Duke University researchers have previously reported an accumulation of such DNA damage in the brain tissue of deceased Parkinson’s patients, and that this was reflected in the mitochondria.

OTHER CLEVER DIAGNOSES: Protein Changes in Blood Could Become New Test for Catching Breast Cancer Up to 2 Years Early

“A simple blood test would allow us to diagnose the disease earlier and start therapies sooner,” said Duke University neuroscientist and senior author Dr. Laurie Sanders. “Additionally, a clear-cut diagnosis would accurately identify patients who could participate in drug studies, leading to the development of better treatments and potentially even cures.”

This new test also identified high levels of the damaged DNA in the blood samples of people who carry the genetic mutation LRRK2—which has been associated with an increased risk of the disease and was able to detect patients with Parkinson’s disease with and without LRRK2 mutations.

MORE PARKINSON’S DEVELOPMENTS: Parkinson’s Disease Symptoms ‘Reversed’ by Mini Implant Bringing Hope

“This disease takes a terrible toll on people… It’s important to get new, effective treatments over the finish line,” said Dr. Sanders. “Our hope is that this assay could not only diagnose Parkinson’s disease but also identify drugs that reverse or halt mitochondrial DNA damage and the disease process.”

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