CAROLINA NATURALLY: Dec 13, 2016

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

The Daily Drift

Welcome to Today's Edition of
Carolina Naturally

The 12th Xmas Tree ...!

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He's got the look ... !

Today is - There is no particular celebration today

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Today in History

1789		The National Guard is created in France.
1812		The last remnants of Napoleon Bonaparte‘s Grand Armeé reach the safety of Kovno, Poland, after the failed Russian campaign.
1814		General Andrew Jackson announces martial law in New Orleans, Louisiana, as British troops disembark at Lake Borne, 40 miles east of the city.
1862		Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeats Union Major General Ambrose Burnside at the Battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia. A witness will later describe the battle to President Abraham Lincoln as a “butchery.”
1902		The Committee of Imperial Defense holds its first meeting in London.
1908		The Dutch take two Venezuelan Coast Guard ships.
1937		The Japanese army occupies Nanking, China.
1940		Adolf Hitler issues preparations for Operation Marita, the German invasion of Greece.
1941		British forces launch an offensive in Libya.
1945		France and Britain agree to quit Syria and Lebanon.
1951		After meeting with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, President Harry S. Truman vows to purge all disloyal government workers.
1968		President Lyndon B. Johnson and Mexico’s President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz meet on a bridge at El Paso, Texas, to officiate at ceremonies returning the long-disputed El Chamizal area to the Mexican side of the border.
1972		Astronaut Gene Cernan climbs into his lunar lander on the moon and prepares to lift off. He is the last man to set foot on the moon.
1973		Great Britain cuts the work week to three days to save energy.
1981		Polish labor leader Lech Walesa is arrested and the government decrees martial law, restricting civil rights and suspending operation of the independent trade union Solidarity.
1985		France sues the United States over the discovery of an AIDS serum.
2001		Terrorists attack the Parliament of India Sansad; 15 people are killed, including the terrorists
2003		Deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured; he is found hiding near his home town of Tikrit.

What Personal Characteristics Do People Usually Choose at the Sperm Bank?

What Personal Characteristics Do People Usually Choose at the Sperm Bank?

The MDMA Being Used to Treat Trauma is Different From the Street Drug Ecstasy

The MDMA Being Used to Treat Trauma is Different From the Street Drug Ecstasy

Bathtubs With Unbelievable Views

Sometimes the best thing in the world is a nice, relaxing bath, but you know what could be better? A nice, relaxing bath with an unbelievable view.

Sure, some people might not feel comfortable bathing out in the open, but for those who dare to bare their bare skin, the reward can be very, very worth it.

If you dream of a bath with an unbeatable panorama, you won't want to miss this great Travel and Leisure article with 19 bath tubs with incredible vews.

Amazing Photos of New York from The Great Depression

During the recession of 2007, many statistics said that the economy was actually worse than the Great Depression and while that might be right as far as financial losses, our security nets prevented it from being nearly as bad on a human level. A look at these amazing photos from New York during the Great Depression show just how bad things were during the 1930s.

The article is a slideshow but the pictures are still pretty impressive, so while scrolling through it might be annoying it is worth the effort. So if you have the time, don't miss this collection of historically fascinating photos.

Evil Supervillain Lair or Fire Station?

This imposing ultramodern design does resemble the headquarters of an evil empire, but it's a fire station in Italy. Where I live, building anything against a rock face is just asking to be crushed by falling rock, and a glass building even more so, but this is a natural cliff instead of a carved mountain. The building is in Margreid, in the Alto Adige/Suedtirol region of northern Italy. The design is from the firm Bergmeister Wolf.

The architects were approached in 2010 to build a fire station in a cliff of sheer rock. The reason such a challenging spot was chosen was to conserve the small amount of arable land in the area. “The building could have been placed on a normal lot,” explained the architects, “but the community decided to build the fire station into the rock, saving valuable land for use as agriculture.”

There are caverns behind the rock face, which were enlarged and reinforced with concrete for use by the fire department. You can explore the site via Google Street View.

How To Debunk Perpetual Motion Machines

Remember that little drinking bird toy that fascinated us when we were young because it would "drink" all day long without batteries or an obvious power source?Many of us think these perpetual motion machines run on magic when we're young, but then we become better educated on the laws of thermodynamics and discover the drinking bird is a thirsty little liar.

(YouTube Link)

Jon Farrow of the Royal Institution joined Tom Scott to discuss how to debunk perpetual motion machines by locating their hidden power source, starting with that basic water drinking bird:

There are two major systems at play here- the first is an external one to do with evaporation- the bird's head gets loaded with water, and then this water is allowed to evaporate. As you'll know if you've ever worked up a sweat when liquids evaporate they cool down their surroundings. The second one is an internal one to do with the red fluid here. This fluid is quite volatile, and has a boiling point close to room temperature- it's being pushed and pulled up the neck of the bird depending on the temperature of the head. When the head is cold the liquid is sucked up, and when it's warm the liquid drains into the base. This shifts the center of gravity of the bird allowing it to continue rocking so long as it has a ready supply of water.

Sneak and Peek: The Outrageous War on Terror Tool Being Wielded Against Alleged Drug Dealers

Protect Yourself in These Orwellian Times

Protect Yourself in These Orwellian Times: A Hacker's Guide to Being Cyber-Safe

The Worst False Equivalencies of 2016

The Worst False Equivalencies of 2016

8 Strategies for Confronting Hate

8 Strategies for Confronting Hate (That Don’t Involve a Safety Pin)

Capitalism in the Time of Dumbass Trump?

Capitalism in the Time of Dumbass Trump?

Normalizing fascists

Normalizing fascists: How mainstream media covered 20th century dictators

How to cover the rise of a political leader who’s left a paper trail of anti-constitutionalism, racism and the encouragement of violence? Does the press take the position that its subject acts outside the norms of society? Or does it take the position that someone who wins a fair election is by definition “normal,” because his leadership reflects the will of the people?