Sixty-three years ago, February 20, 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the planet Earth.
He went on to become a United States senator and flew to space again on the Space Shuttle STS-95 mission.
John Glenn passed away at the age of 95 on December 8, 2016; a true American hero.
The Right Stuff is what made America great......
One of the age-old existential of questions of countless generations of our forebears all the way back to the origins of fermented malt beverages has been:
Is there beer in heaven?
I'm here to offer evidence affirming its existence. Depending-upon your belief traditions.
The Vikings held firm to the belief that a goat dispensing endless beer awaited them in heaven.
It's true. The belief anyway.
So, while it wasn't exactly beer, it was a never-ending supply of mead—pretty close! This endless feast and drink were part of the reward for warriors who fought bravely and earned a place in Valhalla.
The national Museum of Denmark describes current knowledge of Viking's pre-Chrisianity belief system as a patchwork quilt of information. However, the two most most renowned sources on the old religion are the collection of poems on Norse gods and heroes in the Poetic (or Elder) Edda and the retelling of the Nordic myths in the Prose (or Younger) Edda. The latter was written by Snorri Sturluson around the year 1220 AD. Both describe Heiðrún, the goat in heaven.
Of note is the fact that is was Viking influence, during their rule over the Emerald Isle, that Christianity was introduced to the pagan Celts. Which may explain why many of us refer to Guinness Stout as: Mothers Milk. But that is a story for another time.
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*That's what's so cool about the blog. Come for the occasional politics and opinion; stay for the arcane....
In the unlikely event that you haven't got enough things on your mind to worry about; here is a tidbit that crossed my news feed recently.
Asteroid 2024 YR4 was discovered on December 27 of last year and is estimated to be 196 feet wide - about the size of the Statue of Liberty and 27 million miles distant. If it were to strike planet earth there is a high probability that it could result in significant damage; likely similar to the 1908 event which flattened a vast forested area in Tunguska Siberia.
Yesterday NASA announced that this chunk of galactic rock had an estimated 3.1% chance of impacting earth on December 22, 2032 - a 1 in 42 chance of collision.
It is useful to note that the probability of an impact can change as additional data is collected. Asteroid 99942 Apophis was initially considered at high risk of colliding with earth; and with continued monitoring these worries were ruled out.
NASA and other space agencies are actively monitoring 2024 YR4 as the asteroid is currently rated as a 3 on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale ranking this as a close-enough encounter with a 1% or greater chance of impact capable of causing localized destruction. Who knew? As events unfold the asteroid's trajectory and probability of impact will be updated.
If the impact probability remains significant there are further options. NASA could attempt to deflect the object by means of altering its trajectory. NASA mounted a successful DART mission in 2022 to test the feasibility of this as a defense strategy.
With a 3.1% probability of an impact this is worth paying attention. Of course there is a much higher probability that Elon Musk will dismantle and defund NASA, furlough all of the agency's slothful and ungrateful workers, disappear the NASA.gov website, strike the name from all of the empty buildings and for good measure supplant it with his own company.
In which case I recommend you interview a contractor who can construct for you a sturdy bunker.
You can learn more about the science of tracking a predicting all of these near-earth objects that keep you up at night.
The sun continues its relentless march north as we slog our way towards spring.
Shot an azimuth of the setting winter sun.....
From a Face Book friend I've known for a very long time there is this:
The Real Luxuries In Life
Time
Health
A quiet mind
Slow mornings
Ability to travel
Rest without guilt
A good night's sleep
Calm and routine days
Meaningful conversations
Home-cooked meals
People you love
People who love you back
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