Daffodil Lane

June 21, 2007

How Does And Entire Lake Disappear Virtually Overnight?

100-foot deep Andes lake disappears

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- A five-acre glacial lake in Chile's southern Andes has disappeared -- and scientists want to know why.

Park rangers at Bernardo O'Higgins National Park said they found a 100-feet-deep crater in late May were the lake had been in March. Several large pieces of ice that used to float atop the water also were spotted.

"The lake had simply disappeared," Juan Jose Romero, head of Chile's National Forest Service in the southernmost region of Magallanes, said Wednesday. "No one knows what happened."

A group of geologists and other experts will be sent to the area 1,250 miles southeast of Santiago in the next few days to investigate, Romero said.

One theory is the water disappeared through cracks in the lake bottom into underground fissures. But experts do not know why the cracks would have appeared because there have been no earthquakes reported in the area recently, Romero said.

Given that there was no seismic activity leading up to the disapperance this is just more than a bit odd. It will be interesting to see what/if they discover the true cause. Most definitely something to keep an eye on.

Found via CNN.

Update: 1:38 PM: The BBC is saying that scientists in the area do think it may have been seismic after all. They are eyeing a large earthquake in nearby Aysen in April that may have opened up a crater that drained the lake.

Posted by Dianne at 1:30 PM

May 31, 2007

New Loch Ness Monster video

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) -- Like tartan, bagpipes, and shortbread Scotland's Loch Ness Monster is as much an emblem as a tourist draw.

And now Nessie's back.

An amateur scientist has captured what Loch Ness Monster watchers say is among the finest footage ever taken of the elusive mythical creature reputed to swim beneath the waters of Scotland's most mysterious lake.

"I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this jet black thing, about 45-feet (15 meters) long, moving fairly fast in the water," said Gordon Holmes, the 55-year-old a lab technician from Shipley, Yorkshire, who took the video this past Saturday.

He said it moved at about 6 mph (10 kph) and kept a fairly straight course.

"My initial thought is it could be a very big eel, they have serpent-like features and they may explain all the sightings in Loch Ness over the years."

Loch Ness is surrounded by myth and mystery, as it is the largest and deepest inland expanse of water in Britain. About 750 feet (230 meters) to the bottom, it's even deeper than the North Sea.

Nessie watcher and marine biologist Adrian Shine of the Loch Ness 2000 center in Drumnadrochit, on the shores of the lake, viewed the video and hopes to properly analyze it in the coming months.

"I see myself as a skeptical interpreter of what happens in the loch, but I do keep an open mind about these things and there is no doubt this is some of the best footage I have seen," Shine said.

He said the video is particularly useful because Holmes panned back to get the background shore into the shot. That means it was less likely to be a fake and provided geographical bearings allowing one to calculate how big the creature was and how fast it was traveling.

While many sightings can be attributed to a drop of the local whisky, legends of Scottish monsters date back to one of the founders of the Christian church in Scotland, St. Columba, who wrote of them in about 565 A.D.

More recently, there have been more than 4,000 purported Nessie sightings since she was first caught on camera by a surgeon on vacation in the 1930s.

Since then, the faithful have speculated whether it is a completely unknown species, a sturgeon -- even though they have not been native to Scotland's waters for many years -- or even a last surviving dinosaur.

Shine doubts that last explanation.

"There are a number of possible explanations to the sightings in the loch. It could be some biological creature, it could just be the waves of the loch or it could be some psychological phenomenon in as much as we see what we want to see," he said.

Unfortunately they don't have the actual video itself, but perhaps it will surface in the next few days/weeks. The whole Loch Ness aura is intriguing. No, I don't think it's a dinosaur, but it is possible that there may be some unknown and/or undocumented species lying in the depths. New species are found often.

Via CNN.

Update 6:02 PM: Now they have video!

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March 30, 2006

Loose Change - 2nd Editon

For years I've had a lot of doubts about what actually went down on 9/11. The pieces of the puzzle just don't fit together and as evidence continues to come out daily it shows that those of us who have had some doubts were right to do so. How did a plane crash into a 16 foot hole in the side of the Pentagon? Where did the wings and the rest of the plane go? Why were there no big plane pieces left? Why did the buildings implode down on themselves in New York? Why were there so many reports of other explosions especially right before the buildings imploded? Where is the wreckage from flight 93? When a plane crashes there is always debris, even planes that were blown up in mid air like the one over Lockerbie leave large chunks of aircraft, so where were the pieces of flight 93? These are but a few of the questions that need to be answered, so why is there such a cover up?

Loose Change - 2nd Edition is an excellent documentary! Get a copy. It's points out a lot of inconsistencies with the "official" 9/11 "story" that have bugged me all along and puts together information that may surprise you.

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February 25, 2006

Justin Timberlake Do You Have An Alibi?

You look an awful look like the composite sketch of the London Hiest person...I'm just saying.

Read more at Sky News.

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August 9, 2005

Lobster Boom and Bust

NEWPORT, R.I.

When marine biologists think about lobsters, here is what they want to know: Why are there so many of them, and why are there so few?

The American lobster, Homarus americanus, seems to be thriving in the Gulf of Maine, where in recent record-breaking years fishermen have annually pulled 70 million pounds or more of lobster from their traps, sending them to markets as far away as Tokyo.

Off Vinalhaven, Me., where Walter Day goes lobstering, the lobster population is booming, for reasons only partly understood. The Gulf of Maine has abundant lobsters, but farther south, off Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the population has crashed.

"The last 10 years have been banner years in Maine, with more lobsters landed than ever," said Linda Greenlaw, who fishes for lobsters from Isle au Haut (pronounced I'LL-oh-ho), at the mouth of Penobscot Bay. "Nobody can believe it." But even as fishermen applaud these catches, they are looking nervously to the south. Off Cape Cod, along coastal Rhode Island and in Long Island Sound, lobster populations that soared in the early 1990's had plunged by 2000 and have only slightly recovered. After seasons of pulling up almost empty traps, some lobster fishermen in the region have sold their boats and sought other work.

Those who remain "are nervous for the future," said Dennis Ingram, who has been fishing since the 1980's and whose lobster boat, the Blue Moon, is based here. Like other lobstermen in the region, Mr. Ingram is helping scientists and fishery experts in trying to assess and restore lobster stocks. Although things have improved a bit in the last few years, he said, "I want to know what's coming down the road, to plan my business."

There are many possible causes for this lobster crash, just as there are a number of competing theories to explain the abundance farther north. To try to sort things out, marine biologists and other scientists are assessing lobster larvae levels, tracking juvenile lobsters with underwater robot cameras, and tagging them with magnetic chips or banding them the way that ornithologists band birds. They are watching them fight and mate in laboratory tanks. They are even designing underwater reefs they hope will turn into attractive shelters for lobsters.

"It's very clear that south of Cape Cod, particularly inshore, the resource is suffering and so are the fishermen, while the Gulf of Maine is going great guns," said J. Stanley Cobb, a biologist at the University of Rhode Island and a leader in lobster research. Asked why, Dr. Cobb scratched his head. "If I could answer that question, I'd be famous," he said.

This is a fascinating issue. It will be interesting to see what information their study uncovers.

Read more here.

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April 27, 2005

Exploding Toads Puzzle German Scientists

And what did I do at work today??? Nothing as cool as researching mysterious exploding toads!! Some people have all the luck! No bacteria or fungus as a source, no difference in the fundamental pollution levels in the water source. Interesting to say the least. I'm going to have to think about that one. Maybe a toad virus? Do toads even have viruses??? I'm open to suggestions on this one, Dianne you're the biology person of the family any suggestions?

Read more here.

Posted by ManDrake at 8:09 PM

November 4, 2004

F-16 Fighter Fires At School In New Jersey

"LITTLE EGG HARBOR, N.J. -- A National Guard F-16 fighter jet on a nighttime training mission Wednesday fired 25 rounds of ammunition that tore through an intermediate school. No one was injured.
The military is investigating the incident that damaged Little Egg Harbor Intermediate School shortly after 11 p.m.
Police were called to the area when a custodian heard what sounded like someone running across the roof of the school. The custodian was the only person in the school at the time.
Police Chief Mark Siino on Thursday said police officers noticed punctures in the roof. Ceiling tiles had fallen into classrooms and there were scratch marks in the asphalt outside the building.
The 2-inch long bullets are made of lead and do not explode, said Col. Brian Webster, commander of the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard.
It was unclear why the shots were fired, Webster said."

Why in the world would you fire at a school even if it was in the middle of the night and you were just being stupid?? Training mission or not this is uncalled for! They should thank their lucky stars they didn't hit anyone!

Read it all here.

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October 23, 2004

Woman Back From Vacation Finds Stranger Living In Her House

How's this for down right bizarre?:

"DOUGLASVILLE, Georgia (AP) -- A woman came home from vacation to find a stranger living there, wearing her clothes, changing utilities into her name and even ripping out carpet and repainting a room she didn't like, authorities said."

Apparently she even moved some of her things in and took some of the owners things out while she was on a 2 1/2 week trip to Greece. Since she lived alone so no one noticed. (But you've got to wonder about the neighbors?? I would hope my neighbors might take notice of someone removing things from my house!) Nothing like a surprise upon arriving home. You've got to wonder what this woman was thinking??

Read it all here.

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August 17, 2004

Demonic Duck

I was reading over at AMCGLTD as I usually do each day and I came across this weird EBay listing that Scott had posted. Kind of makes you wonder doesn't it?

Alexis loves ducks. Thank goodness none of hers seem to be possessed. Or maybe they are. Maybe that's how she keeps getting scratches on her legs. It can't be because she keeps toppling over since she's walking like crazy these days and doesn't always get the balance thing down pat. Yeah that's it...it's not the walking, the ducky did it! ;o)

As Scott pointed out the listing will probably be moved so click below to see it in its entirety if that is the case.

This is a crazy story that I wouldn't have believed had it not happened to me. I am not prone or drawn to the supernatural, and in fact I have a strong Christian support system, but what I experienced has no other explanation than the unexplained. This is a true story about a Rubber Ducky. I don't feel that in good conscience I can keep this thing in my house, it wouldn't be fair to my family and frankly I've lost enough sleep over it as it is. I spoke at length with my Pastor and together we came up with the idea to sell it with full disclosure, any other method and we would risk the Duck falling into unsuspecting hands. We knew that the only way to get rid of him without personal condemnation was to be open, honest and forthright. We knew the person getting the duck would have to know the whole story and accept the consequences freely. We felt the only way to do this was to be sure the story would be read, understood and accepted.

So here it is. My son, now 2, received this rubber ducky as a gift from an Aunt when he was approximately 10 or 11 months old. He was very enthusiastic about his bath time and loved the new addition to the tub. He named the duck "Yella", his personal pronunciation of Yellow and of course the color of the duck. Now as with most kids their tastes change and can be at times fickle, in fact suggesting that all kids have some level of ADD would not be a stretch. Soon Yella had lost some of his appeal in the eyes of my son, he requested the ducks company less and less as time wore on, until such a time where Yella was all but forgotten. We originally thought nothing of it, then as time went on my son began to speak more and was able to articulate his thoughts he started referring more and more to his old friend Yella. The problem was that it wasn’t in a positive or childish manner. In fact it was really quite disturbing, he repeatedly made reference to fights he and Yella had, and a subsequent scar inflicted on the left side of the ducks head. At first we just figured he had an active imagination and that eventually he would forget about Yella, but he never did. In fact each time he told the story he did it with more detail and more emotion until his Mother and I finally forbid him from telling the story at all. In fact my wife was so distressed she searched out the duck and vowed to dispose of it. At this point our son had an unnerving attachment to Yella, he would never let the duck out of his sight. He was never affectionate towards the duck, he just insisted that the toy always be around no matter what. He was about a year and half by now and there was certainly no bargaining with him, every time we tried to take the toy our son would lose it, literally crying bloody murder. Needless to say there was no way of coaxing the duck away and despite our best efforts the stories continued. We hoped and prayed that his obsession with Yella would pass with time, we even found ourselves spoiling him in an effort to replace the duck. It was useless.

One night our Son and Yella were having a bath together with several of the other bath toys collected over the course of the previous year, there was a boat, a whale, a starfish, a small action figure and some miscellaneous plastic tools. Our Son's overall interest in Yella had dwindled to the point of sheer indifference. In fact if he had his way the duck wouldn't have even been in the tub, instead it was because of his Mother's lapse in judgement that Yella was included at all. He went about playing and splashing with his other toys, all the while ignoring the duck, intentionally or not. It was at this point our son noticed the other toys in the tub changing shape, distorting and losing their color into the water. He didn't understand what was happening but he knew something wasn't right, he also noticed that Yella was eerily positioned at the end of the tub, dead center and facing him directly. He also noticed the ducks shape hadn’t changed and his color appeared to be as bright as ever. It seemed as though the toys were melting before him. It was at this point that he reached out to grab the duck, almost mesmerized by his yellow body. As he grabbed the duck he felt a piercing pain in the palm of his hand and immediately threw the toy back into the water, he was sure he had been bitten. Anger flooded our son and again he grabbed at Yella and this time he wasted no time in throwing the duck across the room. The duck crashed against the raised corner of the toilet paper holder, bounced off the wall and came to rest at my feet as I now stood in the doorway of the bathroom. By now my wife was aware of our son's rage and the events taking place, she threw down her magazine, jumped off her stool and lunged across the washroom toward our son. She scooped him up into her arms. My wife and I looked at each other as we tried desperately to process the evidence before us, all the while our little one cried and shouted at the Rubber Ducky on the floor.

As I mentioned before, if it had not happened to us I would've never given it a second thought and I certainly would have dismissed the author as a quack and the story as a farce. We immediately checked the temperature of the water, it was luke warm. We searched the bathroom high and low for chemicals or agents which may have caused this reaction in the toys, nothing was found. Our son was not burned and with the exception of a small cut on the palm of his hand, there was no sign of injury. Being cautious we packed our son in the car and headed for the emergency room, as expected nothing was found to be abnormal. We then rushed to the home of our Pastor, We've never been fanatical with respect to our religious beliefs, but we felt like there was something unholy and unexplainable hear that needed to be addressed. Our Pastor assured us there had to be an earthly explanation, but at the same time he had an unsettled look that left us feeling doubtful. We left and headed home, exhausted and anxious to put this night behind us. At home we rushed upstairs to our sons room, got him into his pajammas and said our good night prayers. Our son seemed distant and agitated but soon relented to his own exhaustion. My wife and I returned downstairs to the main floor bathroom and the scene of this evenings event. Everything was as we left it, with one exception, Yella was back in the tub, dead center and facing us directly. We looked at each other in the hope the other would appear calm and composed, it didn't happen, instead we starred at each other waiting for an acknowledgement of who had put the duck back in the tub. That didn't happen either. I immediately grabbed up the duck and without hesitation placed him in the closest container I could find, a Tupperware style container on the counter in the kitchen. I then stormed out the garage and tossed the container on the workbench while I headed back in the house to try and comprehend what had just happened. It was at this point I picked up the phone and called our Pastor and how we find ourselves in the position we are in today.

I can't explain what happened, and the sooner I can put the events of that night and this duck behind me, the better off I'll be.

I will not be responsible for the duck after shipping, I will not field questions or help to explain its unusual mystique. I want nothing to do with it. The winning bidder must understand this. I don't want someone to find this thing in a Dumpster or buy it at a garage sale, I want the person who gets it to understand what they have and not to take it lightly, and for Gods sake I don't want it near children. I'd be just as happy if you buried it in the Tupperware container it's still in.

I hope you can respect my wishes.

Thank you.

************

This is the story from the original listing. I myself, a headstrong idiot, bought it from a third party. This duck is truly inhabited by the devil himself. I cannot live with it. The OUjia board that was in my house kept setting itself up at night. I threw it outside went to bed, and woke up the nest morning. The board was sitting on the table, set and on the word YES. The next morning, after i had decided not to touch the board, i was skipping through channels. As i skipped quickly words from ramdom tv shows begain to form a word. The word i could of swore i heard was Lucifer. This story is true to what i have told you. I do not know about the outer-world, but what i have seen and experienced is true. The picture i have listed was a picture i took with my child. I did not know this was the duck until my wife told me. The next morning there was a burn mark on my childs hand. I cannot, aloow this to be in my house any longer.

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Posted by: Monica at August 17, 2004 6:52 PM

Posted by: ManDrake at August 18, 2004 1:44 PM

July 20, 2004

Honey Bees, Alexis and Homework

Alexis is taking a nap. I should be working on homework but I just can't get my mind in gear. Why you ask? Because my precious baby girl is possessed by some evil being that is keeping her up all night or maybe she just wants to play. I don't know, but regardless for the past three nights she's been up, and consequently I've been up, much of the night. This is very unlike Alexis since she usually sleeps 13-14 hours a night. So now my brain doesn't have the energy to do homework.

I'm sitting here at my desk looking out the window and what do I see but a little honey bee flying around the point on top of the roof of our porch which is right outside my window. I have no idea what he is looking for as there are no plants there so he certainly isn't going to find any pollen. Today he is much more fascinating than homework which can wait until tomorrow after hopefully I get a good night sleep!

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June 29, 2004

Rance

Have any of you heard about this mysterious blogger by the name of "Rance" that may or may not be a famous Hollywood star incognito. The rumor mill is rampant with who this person might be. The name that comes up most often is Ben Affleck and who knows it's possible. Another name that has been bandied about is Owen Wilson but he comes off as too much of an air head I think to be as eloquent as Rance can be from time to time. He's really funny. I pop over to his blog several times a week to see if anything new has been posted. You should check it out if you haven't heard about it. And like I said he could be Mr. Famous (or heck maybe it's a woman instead of a man!) writing in from Hollywood or somewhere exotic or to quote Rance himself he could be some high school kid who "never left [his] parents’ sweltering basement in Rochester" and just keeps up with the trades. You decide.

Check it out here.

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