Along Ocean Drive, the ritzy area of town on the bay shore, I spotted this privacy fence. I can't figure out the reason behind the sections that have the lattice parallel and the one section angled...can you?---
...at the end of Ocean Drive, we turn off to head onto Interstate 37 and go a short distance onto Chaparral to spend a couple hours here:
Bud is a History Buff. I, on the other hand, enjoy the science of Nature! Earlier this week, on a cold, wet, drizzly, gray day, we decided to spend a few hours perusing the museum. The HISTORY and SCIENCE museum. That way, we both have what we like and could spend a goodly time walking the sections of the museum while remaining dry and out of the rain and cold. Can't go birding on days like that!!! Tho we both started off walking the exhibits together, Bud, eventually entered the History section...ME? Yep...I meandered a bit longer in the Science section.
In both the history and the science of our area, there were shipwrecks along the coastal waters during exploration, the wild west of outlaws, cotton smugglers, Native Americans that were reputed as cannibalistic, ranching, pirates, etc. In the science from our area, we have oil, fossils, gems unearthed, reptiles, shells/shellfish, and the like. And since history and science along the coast pertains to the Gulf, we're greeted once we enter the facility, by a colossal wooden ship of the days of yore......
This area, behind the entrance, is devoted to ships' histories of sorts...from battles fought, to relics retrieved from the deep. Ships' artillery, coins, gold, etc. Also, panoramas depicting the hardships and loss of life while traveling to a more 'free, new world' aboard those wooden vessles!! This replica ship you see here, has, more or less, hands-on of life on deck; within it's hull.
So, I begin sharing the SCIENCE side today. I did the best I could with photographing these exhibits...most were UNDER GLASS. From birds, to Paleontology...Later, I will conclude with the history section in another upcoming post:
Sandhill Crane - Lesser Scaup
Wood Duck - Lesser White-fronted Goose
Fragmented fossils of T-Rex dinosaur - Barite mineral...I thought it resembled a frog!!
Loch NESSIE? No...Bone fossils of Dinosaur - Mexican Ground Squirrel
...at the end of the day the skies cleared and the cold air brought a cacophony of indigo blues, lavenders, and mauves:
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THURSDAY THUNKS....
1. Mad Cow disease, Bird Flu, Swine Flu...what barnyard animal will cause the next big outbreak of disease? Oh boy....I haven't a clue. Well, how 'bout Goatesque Gastrointestinal Disease [The Federal Food and Drug Admin would call it GGD]. You may ask, is that contagious? YES!!! And I ask then...have you had your Goat shot yet? [lol...just a pun on words of course, don't want any PETA dudes banging down my door]
2. Sesame Street turns 40 this month. If you were to be on Sesame Street, which character would you want to be in a scene with? Kermit. It's not easy being green y'know. Danged if I know just where that came from...off my head....I love green...Greenbacks. And Kermit has a green back! Oh....move to the next question please.
3. We are out shopping for a new laptop. Which one do you pick and why? Depends on who's buying. Are you buying or being?
4. Have you ever dried a flower in a book (pressing)? If so what was the flower and the name of the book? I have two only. A yellow mum...from homecoming. And it's in my school's year book. And the other one is a single red rose...from Bud before we were married! It's pressed in our honeymoon book.
5. Do you think it's important to study other planets? If so, why or why not? Oh yes indeed. Learning about OUR solar system and those beyond just fascinates the heck outta me. Why? Dunno why.
6. Have you ever walked out of a movie at the theater? What was the movie, how much was the ticket and why did you walk out? Yes...The Verdict. Every other word was the "F" word. I go to movies to be entertained, not hear that. And I demanded my money back. I can't remember what the cost was, that was years ago.
7. Does the city/town you live in have traffic enforcement cameras? Have you ever gotten a citation/ticket/fine from one? If so, did you pay or fight it? They're now en vogue here. Are you kidding me? I wouldn't use the intersections that have 'em. LOL....I'd drive clear 'round about to avoid 'em. Long, long ago, I had my license revoked for a summer 'cause of speeding tickets. I've learned to stay away from trouble.
8. If your neighbor is having a baby would you buy a baby gift for them? Of course. Babies are our future. Besides, I'd want to see how they decorated their house and what's in their med's cabinet; when I take the gift over to them.
9. How many questions are too many questions? If it's coming from a little kid....never too many questions. If it's from a lawyer...most likely I'd take the 5th on their questions. If it's on an exam, I loathe too many questions. If it's here on any given meme...maybe anything over 15 or 20 tops.
10. Do you have a handwritten journal you write in everyday? Nope...just my blog. That takes a lot of time also. There is a life outside of writing.
11. Have you already made plans for 2010? No, I live for the day.
12. Thursday Thunks has a huge party for all those who play along each week. Where is the party, how long does it last and does Kimber fall off the roof dropping crayons? If so, what color of crayon does she fall on? Well, I'd think it'd last at least 24 hours given that some Thunkers live on the other side of the world also...right? And if Kimber was dropping crayons, the one that she would fall on would be the newest color sensation to come across Crayola in a century-----------Kimber Dust. It's a deep ashen rose color, like the Sterling Rose Color. Here....here's the Kimber Dust Rose color I'm talkin' 'bout...right HERE
13. We may have "blogger celebrity" questions in the near future. Are you excited? Yes....like I said, I got dibs on Johnny Depp!!! When is this? I need a tummy tuck first before he shows up as a thunker questioneer tho!!!!
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THURSDAY 13
Let's go back, back in time!!
I'm sitting here, laughing and thinking OMG....we used to wear this stuff. And thought we were the coolest! Remember back to the 1960s? When this was the fad----
1] Leisure suits? [OMG! ---hideous -actually, even back then, I didn't like 'em. But the big stud muffins that our fathers were in that decade, they considered themselves 'hot'!!---let me reiterate, OMG!] Why on earth did the men like 'em. Some women too, I imagine, but just look at 'em...polyester, not 'breathable', gaudy, and oh so many odd color combinations. My oh my.
2] Remember back when....all the top grossing movies for us teens were the Beach movies? With Frankie and Annette? Oh dear. Some like, Beach Blanket Bingo, Bikini Beach, Beach Party? Not to mention THE place to go see these were not in a theater, but back then....the drive in theaters. With the window speakers and the huge screen as the rows of cars were slightly lower in the next row. And lots of steamed over windows from back seats? LOL
3] Bouffant hair styles? The higher the hair style the more 'in' you were? Like ringlets on top of ringlets. Remember 'ratting' your hair to make it even higher on the crown of your head? I'm sure it was all because of Jackie-O. Don't you? Like beauty and the beast bouffant.
4] Oh I remember this one very well....do you? Gum Wrapper Chains? It too was a fad. Kids in school would be chewing gum constantly. It became a competition to see just who could make the longest ever. Girls used to make gum wrapper jewelry too. OMG! Life was so simple back then...and simple is the key word. Dunno whether our minds were not functioning right, simple minded, or life was just too carefree back then. Here's how to MAKE a gum wrapper chain. And speaking of gum....remember the Doublemint Twins from Wrigley gum?
5] Toys like: Kangaroo ball [which are popular once again today---even in gyms for exercising equipment], hula hoops, playing cards on bike spokes, Twister, Barbie dolls, Slinky. Speaking of Slinky the toy...have you seen the dazzling show from Britain's and America's Got Talent? The HUMAN SLINKY? Check it out---
By the way, I had to have one of course. A Slinky that is. [And for my kids!!! Not me. LOL] And I can still remember the little commercial jingle/song:Original Lyrics: Who walks the stairs without a care It shoots so high in the sky. Bounce up and down just like a clown Everyone knows its Slinky.
The best present yet to give or get The kids will all want to try. The hit of the day when you are ready to play Everyone knows it's Slinky.
It's Slinky, It's Slinky for fun the best of the toys. It's Slinky, It's Slinky the favorite of girls and boys.
6] In the summer....tanning cream was a big thing to carry around. Like Coppertone. Remember how it would turn your skin orange-ish. Wow...what could be better than that for a summer tan? OMG.
7] Dancing? Remember the Twist by Chubby Checker? Everybody was doing it.
8] And don't forget the craze of tye-dye shirts!!! The more colorful and the more psychedelic, the better!
9] This may be hard to believe...our now emoticon " :) " the 'smiley face' actually has a history and it all began back in the 1960s!!! Yes indeedy! It was originally a design for an insurance company...first penned in 1964 by Harvey Ross Ball. And it became a symbol, an icon for decades.
10] Ouija Boards were something too. They were kinda eerie if you ask me. But, you weren't with the 'in crowd' if you didn't have a Ouija Board. They more than likely have been around [according the sites found on the 'net] for over a century. Too mysterious for me to have any fun with them. Well, if I'd believe that there wasn't someone actually MAKING it move.
11] The Hippie Generation!! And Flower Children. The sexual revolution, the love beads, the peace symbol, LSD and marijuana. The only thing I would be caught dead following in this category would be the love beads. I swear!!!
12] Mini this, and mini that. Mini series for TV, mini coats, mini skirts! Whoa, some of those skirts didn't cover much and left NOTHING for the imagination, I'll tellya that much!
13] Today, NASCAR...back some 40+ years ago, it was SLOT CARS. Why they're just what they say they are. Miniature cars, made movable with slots in the race tracks.
This concludes my Thursday 13 --- Can you Dig it? Far Out! Peace,Love, Unity! Make Love Not War! ---Okay, NOW I'm done. Gr-o-o-o-o-v-y!!!
POSTED: Thursday, November 5th, 2009 12:15 A.M.
IN THE NEWS:Scientists [more specifically, Geologists] are predicting a NEW OCEAN! How amazing is this? Of course I'll never see it come to be in my lifetime, but it's an awesome discovery. READ more HERE and HERE Wander if it'll be named "The African Ocean"?!!
....AND The New York Yankees win the World Series! Yay!!!! I was very happy. Tho, not happy to see Baseball Season end, I like the sport that much. Let's see, we have to wait until February for the sports pages to be filled once again with something good to read. LOL Not quite SIX MONTHS for Spring Training to begin. [Oh, and I read that in 2010, the Yankees will be pitted against the Red Sox in their opening game. Ho boy!!! Bring it on.]
[photos above courtesy of news site and photobucket search for leisure suits]
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First, Friday's Show n Tell. Below that is my Flash 55 and added below that is a little scientific hypotheses indulgence of mine today.....
These three clay receptacles we purchased one day we drove from Tucson, Arizona USA to Nogales, Old Mexico and shopped. For me it was always a lot of fun to walk through the old towns and peruse the shops. Most of them are outdoors, where they sell their wares. And the best part of my shopping for fun is how you can bargain with the hawkers. They'll sometimes come up to you when they see you looking through their inventory...and they'll tell you in broken English [sometimes speaking fluently!] their price. Sometimes I would shake my head 'no' and continue to walk around...they'll follow and say "How much?" Then, I would always knock off about 30% of what they originally told me...then, again give a negative motion and say "I'll take it for....then, tell them 50% of what their aksing price." I would get such great Southwestern stuff this way. I really can't remember the EXACT price of these three...but it was something like $12 or less!! For all three.
Kokopelli is one of my favorite Native American symbols. Two of the three have the same. They are supposedly associated with fertility in lore. The one on the left and the on the right is the Kokopelli. The one in the middle is a marriage urn...here the bride and groom would drink on the 'wedding' day from the same vessel. They've never been used for any other purpose other than decor. If you'd like to read more on the symbol, click here.
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A haunting reverie; a song Resounding through my mind. Eternal, a place, for which I long ...ageless, constant; tender & kind! Yet, still, those words outlast. Lyrics carry me; a distance far away of time lingering; past... as if, only yesterday. Words within, will remain. The haunting reverie of a song... Love's harmony, forever; once again.
I love trivia...my favorite board game is trivial pursuit...we have three editions now in our house. Still, my best is the Genus I version. And therein, playing that game, my favorite category? Yes...Science and Nature...the green tab!!! [I rarely miss on that one---oh, and Bud's best of the best of the best is....history!] I love to read articles on such scientific findings and hypotheses also. While logging out of my Yah** email, there pops up this one:----
WASHINGTON – Astronomers have found what appears to be a gigantic suicidal planet. The odd, fiery planet is so close to its star and so large that it is triggering tremendous plasma tides on the star. Those powerful tides are in turn warping the planet's zippy less-than-a-day orbit around its star. The result: an ever-closer tango of death, with the planet eventually spiraling into the star. It's a slow death. The planet WASP-18b has maybe a million years to live, said planet discoverer Coel Hellier, a professor of astrophysics at the Keele University in England. Hellier's report on the suicidal planet is in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. "It's causing its own destruction by creating these tides," Hellier said. The star is called WASP-18 and the planet is WASP-18b because of the Wide Angle Search for Planets team that found them. The planet circles a star that is in the constellation Phoenix and is about 325 light-years away from Earth, which means it is in our galactic neighborhood. A light-year is about 5.8 trillion miles. The planet is 1.9 million miles from its star, 1/50th of the distance between Earth and the sun, our star. And because of that the temperature is about 3,800 degrees. Its size — 10 times bigger than Jupiter — and its proximity to its star make it likely to die, Hellier said.
Now, this brings on a question of those infamous "what if's" that I always daydream about after reading such words as quoted from the site above. Hmmmmmm, instead of the greenhouse effect that we humans are supposedly creating ourselves [which to some extent I can't agree on for one specific item throughout history ---storm, temps, mother nature...there HAVE been worse scenarios in our past weather patterns that have been lethal before ---yet, the 'green' of saving the planet without wasting and tons of refuse, I DO agree] --is it all possible for our own planet Earth making a billion or more year jaunt in our solar system....traveling closer and closer to OUR NEAREST star? The sun? Of course...I say, ANYTHING's possible!!!! Maybe, just maybe that explains the long trek of millenniums to the hotter, longer days that we have experienced. Are the Aztec's prediction of the world ending in 2012 feasible? I keep thinking to myself secretly on this statement...."Of course the world AS WE KNOW it will end....even from day to day it ends...only logic tells me this." But really, will Earth burn? How will it all end?
[italicized contents of quoted article is not intended to infringe copyright - photo of burning planet from fotosearch]
POSTED: Friday, August 28th, 2009 5:45 A.M.
Trivia, huh? Which reminds me of a student's answer on a history quiz: Solomon had three hundred wives and seven hundred porcupines. and The first world war, caused by the assignation of the Arch-Duck by an anahist, ushered in a new error in the anals of human history.
Mama Drama ladies are our hosts this week for Fun Monday. And we have a doozie category this week! A "Fun" one, and I can't wait to sit and read what others have for their trivia remembered..... Are you ready for the topic?
Here goes: Remember way back in elementary school when you had to do a report on James Garfield, the 20th President of the United States and you told the class all about how he was shot after only four months in office? You also remember that he recovered after a week, but doctor's continued to probe at the healed wound causing complications and resulting in his death almost three months later? Okay, we all knew that about Garfield, but you also remember that James Garfield could write with both hands at one time and in different languages.!!! Why do you remember that? Maybe for you it wasn't James Garfield, but somewhere in your past education, you picked-up some little bit of useless information that you've never forgotten.
What funny trivial fact do you remember that you probably should have forgotten a long time ago?
This was a particular thing that I learned in Biology. Biology was one of my favorite subjects in school. Not to mention one hunk of a teacher! Mr. Robert Webb. Oh yummy! Come to think of it, that in itself is a bit of trivia that should have been long forgotten...his name. But, yep, I still remember his name, AND his dark, handsome features. I was so into that class. Sitting in the front row [normally, being the class clown, I'd sit in the back!] Okay, now, where was I?
Oh yes...science.
We were doing the human anatomy. Learning names of muscles, bones, functions, differences in the male/female bone structure, etc. etc. etc. When we came to studying the human brain, I was enthralled. And the trivia I remembered was a section of the brain.
The story begins after I had married tho. Just so you can have a background of my trivia coming up later in the blog today.
When I first married Bud, and he was trying to continually impress me with his book smarts [back then, I wasn't much of a reader on history as I am today]. He was talking about some dude from History of America. His name was General George Armstrong Custer. I said something to him like "Who's he?". He of course, was flabbergasted that I graduated with a diploma and still never heard of him. Well, I said whooptie doo to that nonsense. Like, how am I gonna use Custer in my life? Why should I learn about him? [I did tho, a LOT! --for instance a bit of trivia that I can now remember and won't forget is: George Custer and Libby married on February 9th 1864. Of course that's easy to remember because February 9th is my birthday!] You don't know how many times we've traveled to Custer's Battlefield - now known as Little Bighorn Battlefield, in Montana! [why I even went as far as purchasing a piece of land IN the battlefield and put the deed in Bud's name! It was a Christmas present. Long long ago.] Okay, that WAS a bit of nonsense trivia about the marriage date of the two, but that wasn't where I was headed now, was it?
Science, Biology, Mr. Webb, human anatomy.
While the two of us were wrestling and goofing off [Bud and I, not the teacher and I!], he took his elbow right into my neck! Tho it didn't hurt...I milked it! I stopped reaching for his arms...and grasped my neck! [now keep in mind he's a history buff and always trying to impress me with his knowledge---] I grabbed my neck and hissed and oooooo-ed and ahhhhhh-ed like I was in terrible pain! Of course, Bud was startled! He immediately rolled off and sat up with fear in his eyes and expression. I said: "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, my medulla oblongata!!!" "The pain! Owie...."
Ha!!! I had him by the balls so to speak!!
My learnin' payed off! Thank you Mr. Webb. You certainly got your money's worth teaching this ol' girl!!!
Love it!!! [why, even the spell check doesn't know what it is!!! Ha!!]
[I was really just fine. But it was a big 'gotcha' and I am now known, lovingly, as the Science Queen. ----hmmmmm, when we play trivial pursuit, that is my favorite subject.] And after 40 years the wrestling has stopped too. We're lucky if we can roll out of bed in the morning.
Oh, and one more thing. I just told Bud the category for the week, and I said "I learned a bit of useless trivia from you. He said "What?" I said February 9th 1864. And then I also added, "And I remember June 25th 1877!" I knew, I just knew what his comeback would be --it was: "1876!" I said nope, another gotcha! It WAS 1877 on the 25th of June that my grandfather was born! HA!! I love those 'gotchas' so much when it comes to U S History. rofl [Custer and his men all died on the fateful June 25th 1876 in Montana.] See? Useless.
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Charlotte at "At Home in Scottsdale" awarded me with this! She writes in her blog:Hootin' Anni at Hootin' Anni's. This may be the most creative blog I know of. She even does all of her art work and graphics. I blush! You really know how to make this ol' gal feel good. You made my day, and I'm filled with thanks for you thinking of me. Thank you kindly!!
Scientists [more specifically, Geologists] are predicting a NEW OCEAN! How amazing is this? Of course I'll never see it come to be in my lifetime, but it's an awesome discovery. READ more HERE and HERE Wander if it'll be named "The African Ocean"?!!
....AND The New York Yankees win the World Series! Yay!!!! I was very happy. Tho, not happy to see Baseball Season end, I like the sport that much. Let's see, we have to wait until February for the sports pages to be filled once again with something good to read. LOL Not quite SIX MONTHS for Spring Training to begin. [Oh, and I read that in 2010, the Yankees will be pitted against the Red Sox in their opening game. Ho boy!!! Bring it on.]
These three clay receptacles we purchased one day we drove from Tucson, Arizona USA to Nogales, Old Mexico and shopped. For me it was always a lot of fun to walk through the old towns and peruse the shops. Most of them are outdoors, where they sell their wares. And the best part of my shopping for fun is how you can bargain with the hawkers. They'll sometimes come up to you when they see you looking through their inventory...and they'll tell you in broken English [sometimes speaking fluently!] their price. Sometimes I would shake my head 'no' and continue to walk around...they'll follow and say "How much?" Then, I would always knock off about 30% of what they originally told me...then, again give a negative motion and say "I'll take it for....then, tell them 50% of what their aksing price." I would get such great Southwestern stuff this way. I really can't remember the EXACT price of these three...but it was something like $12 or less!! For all three.
Kokopelli is one of my favorite Native American symbols. Two of the three have the same. They are supposedly associated with fertility in lore. The one on the left and the on the right is the Kokopelli. The one in the middle is a marriage urn...here the bride and groom would drink on the 'wedding' day from the same vessel. They've never been used for any other purpose other than decor. If you'd like to read more on the symbol, click here.
Resounding through my mind.
Could Earth be a suicidal planted also?
When I first married Bud, and he was trying to continually impress me with his book smarts [back then, I wasn't much of a reader on history as I am today]. He was talking about some dude from History of America. His name was General George Armstrong Custer. I said something to him like "Who's he?". He of course, was flabbergasted that I graduated with a diploma and still never heard of him. Well, I said whooptie doo to that nonsense. Like, how am I gonna use Custer in my life? Why should I learn about him? [I did tho, a LOT! --for instance a bit of trivia that I can now remember and won't forget is: George Custer and Libby married on February 9th 1864. Of course that's easy to remember because February 9th is my birthday!] You don't know how many times we've traveled to Custer's Battlefield - now known as Little Bighorn Battlefield, in Montana! [why I even went as far as purchasing a piece of land IN the battlefield and put the deed in Bud's name! It was a Christmas present. Long long ago.] Okay, that WAS a bit of nonsense trivia about the marriage date of the two, but that wasn't where I was headed now, was it?
