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Yellowstone Eruption Sends Tourists Running for Cover (yahoo.com)
'A “localized” hydrothermal explosion at Yellowstone National Park sent terrified people running and forced officials to close Biscuit Basin, which contains several geysers, on Tuesday, July 23, parks officials said.'
There is a video in the story. That explosion might have soiled a few pants.
A second story below it shows the damage to the boardwalk.Leave a comment:
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Found this interesting. I admit I don't fully understand the importance, but it's apparently a very big deal.
Massive Helium Reservoir in Minnesota Is Even More 'Mind-Boggling' Than Thought - Valuable for Rockets and Med
An American company is in possession of a “world-class,” and “mind-boggling” deposit of subterranean helium gas, which has them excited for way more than just the potential to sell it to party supply stores.
Despite being the second most abundant gaseous element in the universe, helium is rare on Earth, and in Babbit, Minnesota, a reservoir has been identified that is being described as one of the most lucrative ever found.
Helium is an excellent coolant, and in engineering and technology, the gas is used to cool rockets, nuclear power reactors, and medical imaging technology like MRI machines. Apart from occasional deposits found underground, the only way to produce it, according to Shiran Genzi, writing for Bored Bat, is through nuclear fusion or skimming it off decaying radioactive material like uranium and thorium.
Pulsar Helium, the exploration company that is currently working at the Babbit reservoir, recently obtained results of a survey showing that it’s currently larger than earlier estimates gathered in March.
It shows that maximum concentrations are 14.5% of the total underground area, which when considering how helium reservoir can be declared economically significant with as little as 0.3% concentration, one understands why it was described in March as “mind-boggling;” even when it was believed to be less dense.
Furthermore, helium gas is coming up to the surface at a rate of 821,000 cubic feet 23,250 cubic meters per day, meaning there’s no need for fracking.
“These results are considered world-class,” Pulsar Helium representatives wrote in a statement shared with Live Science in early July.
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The link below is to a thread on an overlanding forum that contains one of the most awesome real life adventure stories out there. It is a true story about a guy and girl that take a Landcruiser across a part of the Congo on a one month journey. You won't want it to end ...
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I love these guys. I believe I posted about their Atlantic crossing a few years ago.
Scottish Brothers Prepare for Record-breaking Fastest Row Across the Pacific Ocean in Boat They Designed
They do this in an effort to help raise money for charity. Regardless of that or any other reason, it's an impressive feat they're attempting.A trio of brothers are on a quest to row across the Pacific Ocean in a custom made boat—completing a record-breaking voyage with the goal of raising tens of thousands for charity.
Ewan, Jamie, and Lachlan Maclean are planning to row 9,000 miles from Peru to Australia (14,400-km) in a boat they designed and built to go faster than any before.
The trio from Edinburgh broke records in January 2020, when they became the first three brothers to row across any ocean, and the youngest—and fastest—trio to row across the Atlantic Ocean in their 35 day trip. (That GNN story is here)
Today, the brothers range in age from 26-32 and on their upcoming trip they hope to become the quickest to cross the Pacific—within 120 days—shaving 42 days off the current record.
They “thoroughly enjoyed” their previous ocean-crossing experience, and came up with the idea of starting a charity foundation during the long hours rowing. After setting up the Maclean Foundation, once they returned home, the brothers quickly decided to complete an even longer row to raise money.
“Even before we’d set foot back on land, we’d decided that we’d like to go on to do another challenge – but we didn’t know what that would be,” said Jamie, 30.
“Pretty soon, we came back around to the idea of doing another row. We’ll be doing a full Pacific row from South America to Australia, approximately 9,000 miles, after we add-in wiggling around islands.”
The brothers made several trips to Amsterdam to help fellow ocean rower Mark Slatts build the boat—which they described as the “lightest and strongest ocean rowing boat ever made”.
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Perfectly Preserved 250-Year-Old Cherries Found in George Washington's Cellar at Mount Vernon
Kind of cool. Possibly picked before General Washington left to take command of the Continental Army.Archaeologists have unearthed an astounding 35 glass bottles from the 18th century in the cellar of George Washington’s home.
The five storage pits buried in the dirt under Mount Vernon included 29 intact bottles of perfectly preserved cherries, a fruit associated with America’s first president who was touted as telling the truth after he cut down a cherry tree.
Workers discovered the stash amidst an ongoing renovation of Washington’s manor to repair sections of the framing and masonry.
“Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine this spectacular archaeological discovery,” said Mount Vernon President & CEO Doug Bradburn. “We were ecstatic.”
“To our knowledge, this is an unprecedented find and nothing of this scale and significance has ever been excavated in North America.”
The contents of each bottle, some of which contained berries like currants, have been carefully extracted and refrigerated at Mount Vernon, and will undergo scientific analysis. The bottles are slowly drying in the Mount Vernon archaeology lab, so will be sent off-site for conservation. (WATCH the video below…)
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Doyle Lane needs to meet his maker ASAP and begin his real sentence, times 2 or a million.Leave a comment:
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Another piece of **** down!
KAKE - Man who kidnapped Wichita girl Nancy Shoemaker dies at 60
The Kansas Department of Corrections confirmed the man convicted of kidnapping 9-year-old Nancy Shoemaker has died.
A spokesperson for KDOC says Donald Wacker died Friday of natural causes. Shoemaker's family was notified of his death Thursday morning.
Wacker was convicted for his role in the kidnapping of the Wichita girl in July 1990. Nancy Shoemaker disappeared while walking to a convenience store near her home. Her disappearance sparked massive searches in the Wichita area.
Wacker was sentenced to 16 years to life and first became eligible for parole in December 1999.
In 2021, Wacker was released from prison. Authorities at the time said he would be living in and supervised in the Kansas City, Kansas area.Leave a comment:
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