Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tornado Damage
Saturday, April 7, 2012
The Coral Castle
Built by Edward Leedskalnin (1887-1951) in Miami-Dade county. The Coral
Castle is an amazing enigma. The Castle was built by a Latvian American emigrant named Edward Leedskalnin. Leedskalnin claimed to have built the
castle using secret knowledge of
magnetism. Made from numerous megalithic limestone coral blocks
weighing 1100 tons. Such was Leedskalnin's masonry skill that the
blocks held without mortar allow no light to pass between the joints.
Leedskalnin claimed he knew the
secret of the pyramids. The castle features many sculpted pieces and furniture cut from the same coral sedimentary rock known as oolite.
Leedskalnin's living quarters were located in the castles two story tower
which stands out as a featured element
of the castles design. Another famous feature is a huge 9 ton eight foot tall
gate that was balanced with such precision that a child could easily push it open with a finger. In 1986 the gate stopped working, with the help of a
50 ton crane the gate was removed and it was discovered that Leedskalnin
had used a truck bearing that it pivoted on. Billy Idol's song " Sweet Sixteen" was inspired by Leedskalnin's
reason for building the castle, being jilted by former love Agnes Scuffs who left him at the altar. Listed since 1984 on the National Register of Historic Places the Coral Castle formerly known as Rock Gate is a mysterious piece of Americana. Billy Idol used the castle as a backdrop for his music video for "Sweet Sixteen" which is still open to the public and can be seen online at
Coralcastle.com
Castle is an amazing enigma. The Castle was built by a Latvian American emigrant named Edward Leedskalnin. Leedskalnin claimed to have built the
castle using secret knowledge of
magnetism. Made from numerous megalithic limestone coral blocks
weighing 1100 tons. Such was Leedskalnin's masonry skill that the
blocks held without mortar allow no light to pass between the joints.
Leedskalnin claimed he knew the
secret of the pyramids. The castle features many sculpted pieces and furniture cut from the same coral sedimentary rock known as oolite.
Leedskalnin's living quarters were located in the castles two story tower
which stands out as a featured element
of the castles design. Another famous feature is a huge 9 ton eight foot tall
gate that was balanced with such precision that a child could easily push it open with a finger. In 1986 the gate stopped working, with the help of a
50 ton crane the gate was removed and it was discovered that Leedskalnin
had used a truck bearing that it pivoted on. Billy Idol's song " Sweet Sixteen" was inspired by Leedskalnin's
reason for building the castle, being jilted by former love Agnes Scuffs who left him at the altar. Listed since 1984 on the National Register of Historic Places the Coral Castle formerly known as Rock Gate is a mysterious piece of Americana. Billy Idol used the castle as a backdrop for his music video for "Sweet Sixteen" which is still open to the public and can be seen online at
Coralcastle.com
Secretariat
One of the greatest race horses of all time Secretariat was raised at Meadow Stables in Virginia. In 1973 Secretariat became only the ninth horse to win the Triple Crown, his legendary accomplishment was highlighted by
the style of his victories. Nicknamed
Big Red the chestnut colored horse
set records in two of the three legs of the triple crown that still stand today.
Starting with the Kentucky Derby a mile and a quarter or 10 furlong race set on a dirt track, Secretariat's time
of 1:59.4 is not only the derby record but the Churchill Downs record as well.
Only one other horse Monarchos in 2001 has run the Kentucky Derby
in a time better than 2 min flat, 1:59.97
was the time posted by Monarchos in
2001. The second leg of the Triple Crown is the Preakness Stakes run on a dirt track at Pimlico Race Course in
Baltimore Md.,the 1 and 3/16 of a mile race is the shortest of the three races.
Secretariat won the Preakness easily and may have actually broken the
record time but the tracks electronic timer was off by so much that it's time of 1:55 was thrown out. Pimlico officials gave Secretariat a hand timed
1:54 and 2/5. This time will forever be mired in controversy because CBS who televised the event showed footage of Secretariat's race alongside
record holder Canonero's 1:54 flat timed race and Secretariat gets to the finish line first. Finally the Daily Racing Form entered a time of 1:53 2/5 for Secretariat's Preakness time.In the final leg of the Triple Crown Big Red
cemented his legacy by both smashing
the Belmont Stakes time record and winning the race by an astounding
31 lengths. Secretariats time in the 1.5 mile race was 2:24 which is a full 2 seconds better than the next fastest time. Some of Secretariat's honors are:
U.S. Racing Hall of Fame 1974
U.S. Postal Stamp 1999
#2-Top U.S. Race Horses of the 20th
Century
Statue at Belmont Park & Kentucky Horse Park
Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park
Secretariat Street in Napa, California
Secretariat Street in Howell, New Jersey
the style of his victories. Nicknamed
Big Red the chestnut colored horse
set records in two of the three legs of the triple crown that still stand today.
Starting with the Kentucky Derby a mile and a quarter or 10 furlong race set on a dirt track, Secretariat's time
of 1:59.4 is not only the derby record but the Churchill Downs record as well.
Only one other horse Monarchos in 2001 has run the Kentucky Derby
in a time better than 2 min flat, 1:59.97
was the time posted by Monarchos in
2001. The second leg of the Triple Crown is the Preakness Stakes run on a dirt track at Pimlico Race Course in
Baltimore Md.,the 1 and 3/16 of a mile race is the shortest of the three races.
Secretariat won the Preakness easily and may have actually broken the
record time but the tracks electronic timer was off by so much that it's time of 1:55 was thrown out. Pimlico officials gave Secretariat a hand timed
1:54 and 2/5. This time will forever be mired in controversy because CBS who televised the event showed footage of Secretariat's race alongside
record holder Canonero's 1:54 flat timed race and Secretariat gets to the finish line first. Finally the Daily Racing Form entered a time of 1:53 2/5 for Secretariat's Preakness time.In the final leg of the Triple Crown Big Red
cemented his legacy by both smashing
the Belmont Stakes time record and winning the race by an astounding
31 lengths. Secretariats time in the 1.5 mile race was 2:24 which is a full 2 seconds better than the next fastest time. Some of Secretariat's honors are:
U.S. Racing Hall of Fame 1974
U.S. Postal Stamp 1999
#2-Top U.S. Race Horses of the 20th
Century
Statue at Belmont Park & Kentucky Horse Park
Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park
Secretariat Street in Napa, California
Secretariat Street in Howell, New Jersey
DNA News-Israeli Scientist Discover Anti ageing gene
Scientist at Bar-llan University in Israel have discovered
that the SIRT-6 gene can help increase the life
span of humans and mammals by up to twenty
years. Lab testing on mice led to the discovery,
through gene manipulation the life span of mice
was increased by fifteen per cent. The gene
works by protecting ageing cells in mammals
The SIRT-6 gene is as close as eighty per cent
similar between mice and humans. The Israeli scientist
are now searching for a chemical switch to turn
the gene on in humans.
that the SIRT-6 gene can help increase the life
span of humans and mammals by up to twenty
years. Lab testing on mice led to the discovery,
through gene manipulation the life span of mice
was increased by fifteen per cent. The gene
works by protecting ageing cells in mammals
The SIRT-6 gene is as close as eighty per cent
similar between mice and humans. The Israeli scientist
are now searching for a chemical switch to turn
the gene on in humans.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Tasmanian Tiger
Tasmanian Tiger the Thylacine
was an apex predator that went into extinction in 1936. Prior to Australia's colonization the Thylacine was already extinct in Australia remaining only in
Tasmania and New Guinea. The Thylacine was the largest carnivorous
Marsupial in modern times.
was an apex predator that went into extinction in 1936. Prior to Australia's colonization the Thylacine was already extinct in Australia remaining only in
Tasmania and New Guinea. The Thylacine was the largest carnivorous
Marsupial in modern times.
Pillars of Creation the Eagle Nebula
One of the most famous Hubble images, stars can be seen forming from huge gas pillars. The pillars are no longer there they were destroyed by a supernova shockwave 6000 years ago, however this event will not be visible for another thousand years from Earth or the Hubble telescopes vantage point as the Eagle Nebula is 7000 light years from Earth.
The left pillar in the image alone stands
at a distance of 4 light years across!
The left pillar in the image alone stands
at a distance of 4 light years across!
Crazy Horse Monument
Black Hills South Dakota Crazy Horse monument is huge. Just the head has been completed from the project that began in 1948. The artist Korczak Ziolkowski was invited to carve the
statue in the Black Hills by Chief Standing Bear who initially contacted
Korczak in 1929.
statue in the Black Hills by Chief Standing Bear who initially contacted
Korczak in 1929.
Vietnamese Rhino Horn Craze
The demand for rhino horn as a panacea long sought after in China,
has reached craze level in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese interest needs to be
widely publicized as it brought it's own Java Rhino to extinction in 2010. The last known Java Rhino was found shot with it's horn hacked off in 2010.
The horns are ground up and sold as powder on the street like cocaine.
The powder from rhino horn sells at the price of 55,000 dollars per kilo or 25,000 per lbs. making it more expensive than cocaine. This ignorant
practice has no proven medicinal value,
and has become a real threat to the worlds dwindling Rhino population .
has reached craze level in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese interest needs to be
widely publicized as it brought it's own Java Rhino to extinction in 2010. The last known Java Rhino was found shot with it's horn hacked off in 2010.
The horns are ground up and sold as powder on the street like cocaine.
The powder from rhino horn sells at the price of 55,000 dollars per kilo or 25,000 per lbs. making it more expensive than cocaine. This ignorant
practice has no proven medicinal value,
and has become a real threat to the worlds dwindling Rhino population .
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina
Is a floor mosaic by first century Roman artist rendering of Egyptian life on the Nile. It is a huge piece measuring 5.85 meters by 4.31 meters.
There are many typical animals of the
Nile depicted in the mosaic such as crocodile, hippo, lion to name a few.
The very unusual animal that looks to be a dinosaur is labeled in Greek with
a word that translates to crocodile leopard.
There are many typical animals of the
Nile depicted in the mosaic such as crocodile, hippo, lion to name a few.
The very unusual animal that looks to be a dinosaur is labeled in Greek with
a word that translates to crocodile leopard.
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