Each encounter with 'Chippy' gets closer and closer! Soon he'll/she'll be eating from my hand.
Monday, May 14, 2018
Some Great Science News
Long Lost Asteroid is Rediscovered Just Before Making a Close Pass by Earth
(outerplaces.com) - - Asteroid 2010 WC9 was first detected way back on November 30, 2010 by the Catalina Sky Survey at the University of Arizona, who ended up losing track of it a couple weeks later. Eight years later, we found it again.
WC9 was finally rediscovered last week on May 8, 2018, being given a temporary name until astronomers realized that they'd seen this giant rock before. And while there's no danger of it hitting Earth, part of the reason it was so easily spotted is because it's coming within 0.53 lunar-distances from the planet, which means it will be passing midway between the Earth and Moon this coming Tuesday, May 15, according to EarthSky.
Although it will be passing at a distance of 126,419 miles (203,453 kilometers), it will be visible with even a small telescope. Mostly because it's large: estimates on the size of WC9 range from 197 to 427 feet (60 to 130 meters), and it's extremely rare for asteroids that big to make such a close encounter with Earth (although it's not a large asteroid in general).
If you want to see the asteroid as it's going by, you can either attempt to see it yourself if you have the right equipment - again, your naked eye won't cut it - or you can check out a live broadcast from Northolt Branch Observatories in London. Its approach will begin at 6:05 p.m. Eastern time, and the window of time to see it as it flies past will be about 25 minutes.
While this asteroid will be extremely large and incredible close by our standards, it's far from the first time that big asteroids have brushed past the planet, and there's nothing to worry about. This year alone, we've had plenty of other asteroids come "hazardously" close to Earth, and we're still here, aren't we?
And if WC9 had to pass in between Earth and the Moon before we could find it again, then that's fine - better that we know where an asteroid is than not, just in case.
Source
Could A Multiverse Be Hospitable To Life?
(phys.org) - - A Multiverse—where our Universe is only one of many—might not be as inhospitable to life as previously thought, according to new research.
Questions about whether other universes might exist as part of a larger Multiverse, and if they could harbour life, are burning issues in modern cosmology.
Now new research led by Durham University, UK, and Australia's University of Sydney, Western Sydney University and the University of Western Australia, has shown that life could potentially be common throughout the Multiverse, if it exists.
The key to this, the researchers say, is dark energy, a mysterious "force" that is accelerating the expansion of the Universe.
Scientists say that current theories of the origin of the Universe predict much more dark energy in our Universe than is observed. Adding larger amounts would cause such a rapid expansion that it would dilute matter before any stars, planets or life could form.
The Multiverse theory, introduced in the 1980s, can explain the "luckily small" amount of dark energy in our Universe that enabled it to host life, among many universes that could not.
Using huge computer simulations of the cosmos, the new research has found that adding dark energy, up to a few hundred times the amount observed in our Universe, would actually have a modest impact upon star and planet formation.
This opens up the prospect that life could be possible throughout a wider range of other universes, if they exist, the researchers said.
The findings are to be published in two related papers in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The simulations were produced under the EAGLE (Evolution and Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environments) project—one of the most realistic simulations of the observed Universe.
Jaime Salcido, a postgraduate student in Durham University's Institute for Computational Cosmology, said: "For many physicists, the unexplained but seemingly special amount of dark energy in our Universe is a frustrating puzzle.
"Our simulations show that even if there was much more dark energy or even very little in the Universe then it would only have a minimal effect on star and planet formation, raising the prospect that life could exist throughout the Multiverse."
Dr. Luke Barnes, a John Templeton Research Fellow at Western Sydney University, said: "The Multiverse was previously thought to explain the observed value of dark energy as a lottery—we have a lucky ticket and live in the Universe that forms beautiful galaxies which permit life as we know it.
"Our work shows that our ticket seems a little too lucky, so to speak. It's more special than it needs to be for life. This is a problem for the Multiverse; a puzzle remains."
The videos shows a time lapse of the simulated universe, from the initial condition -- equivalent of the initial density fluctuation of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), and through 13.7 billion years to what it would become today.
Dr. Pascal Elahi, Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia, said: "We asked ourselves how much dark energy can there be before life is impossible? Our simulations showed that the accelerated expansion driven by dark energy has hardly any impact on the birth of stars, and hence places for life to arise. Even increasing dark energy many hundreds of times might not be enough to make a dead universe."
The researchers said their results were unexpected and could be problematic as they cast doubt on the ability of the theory of a Multiverse to explain the observed value of dark energy.
According to the research, if we live in a Multiverse, we'd expect to observe much more dark energy than we do—perhaps 50 times more than we see in our Universe.
Although the results do not rule out the Multiverse, it seems that the tiny amount of dark energy in our Universe would be better explained by an, as yet, undiscovered law of nature.
Professor Richard Bower, in Durham University's Institute for Computational Cosmology, said: "The formation of stars in a universe is a battle between the attraction of gravity, and the repulsion of dark energy.
"We have found in our simulations that universes with much more dark energy than ours can happily form stars. So why such a paltry amount of dark energy in our Universe?
"I think we should be looking for a new law of physics to explain this strange property of our Universe, and the Multiverse theory does little to rescue physicists' discomfort."
Source
(outerplaces.com) - - Asteroid 2010 WC9 was first detected way back on November 30, 2010 by the Catalina Sky Survey at the University of Arizona, who ended up losing track of it a couple weeks later. Eight years later, we found it again.
WC9 was finally rediscovered last week on May 8, 2018, being given a temporary name until astronomers realized that they'd seen this giant rock before. And while there's no danger of it hitting Earth, part of the reason it was so easily spotted is because it's coming within 0.53 lunar-distances from the planet, which means it will be passing midway between the Earth and Moon this coming Tuesday, May 15, according to EarthSky.
Although it will be passing at a distance of 126,419 miles (203,453 kilometers), it will be visible with even a small telescope. Mostly because it's large: estimates on the size of WC9 range from 197 to 427 feet (60 to 130 meters), and it's extremely rare for asteroids that big to make such a close encounter with Earth (although it's not a large asteroid in general).
If you want to see the asteroid as it's going by, you can either attempt to see it yourself if you have the right equipment - again, your naked eye won't cut it - or you can check out a live broadcast from Northolt Branch Observatories in London. Its approach will begin at 6:05 p.m. Eastern time, and the window of time to see it as it flies past will be about 25 minutes.
While this asteroid will be extremely large and incredible close by our standards, it's far from the first time that big asteroids have brushed past the planet, and there's nothing to worry about. This year alone, we've had plenty of other asteroids come "hazardously" close to Earth, and we're still here, aren't we?
And if WC9 had to pass in between Earth and the Moon before we could find it again, then that's fine - better that we know where an asteroid is than not, just in case.
Source
Could A Multiverse Be Hospitable To Life?
Artistic impression of a Multiverse -- where our Universe is only one of many. According to the research varying amounts of dark energy have little effect on star formation. This raises the prospect of life in other universes -- if the Multiverse exists. Credit: Jaime Salcido/simulations by the EAGLE Collaboration
(phys.org) - - A Multiverse—where our Universe is only one of many—might not be as inhospitable to life as previously thought, according to new research.
Questions about whether other universes might exist as part of a larger Multiverse, and if they could harbour life, are burning issues in modern cosmology.
Now new research led by Durham University, UK, and Australia's University of Sydney, Western Sydney University and the University of Western Australia, has shown that life could potentially be common throughout the Multiverse, if it exists.
The key to this, the researchers say, is dark energy, a mysterious "force" that is accelerating the expansion of the Universe.
Scientists say that current theories of the origin of the Universe predict much more dark energy in our Universe than is observed. Adding larger amounts would cause such a rapid expansion that it would dilute matter before any stars, planets or life could form.
The Multiverse theory, introduced in the 1980s, can explain the "luckily small" amount of dark energy in our Universe that enabled it to host life, among many universes that could not.
Using huge computer simulations of the cosmos, the new research has found that adding dark energy, up to a few hundred times the amount observed in our Universe, would actually have a modest impact upon star and planet formation.
Image credit: Volker Springel and the Max-Planck-Institute for Astrophysics.
This opens up the prospect that life could be possible throughout a wider range of other universes, if they exist, the researchers said.
The findings are to be published in two related papers in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The simulations were produced under the EAGLE (Evolution and Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environments) project—one of the most realistic simulations of the observed Universe.
Jaime Salcido, a postgraduate student in Durham University's Institute for Computational Cosmology, said: "For many physicists, the unexplained but seemingly special amount of dark energy in our Universe is a frustrating puzzle.
"Our simulations show that even if there was much more dark energy or even very little in the Universe then it would only have a minimal effect on star and planet formation, raising the prospect that life could exist throughout the Multiverse."
Dr. Luke Barnes, a John Templeton Research Fellow at Western Sydney University, said: "The Multiverse was previously thought to explain the observed value of dark energy as a lottery—we have a lucky ticket and live in the Universe that forms beautiful galaxies which permit life as we know it.
"Our work shows that our ticket seems a little too lucky, so to speak. It's more special than it needs to be for life. This is a problem for the Multiverse; a puzzle remains."
Dr. Pascal Elahi, Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia, said: "We asked ourselves how much dark energy can there be before life is impossible? Our simulations showed that the accelerated expansion driven by dark energy has hardly any impact on the birth of stars, and hence places for life to arise. Even increasing dark energy many hundreds of times might not be enough to make a dead universe."
The researchers said their results were unexpected and could be problematic as they cast doubt on the ability of the theory of a Multiverse to explain the observed value of dark energy.
According to the research, if we live in a Multiverse, we'd expect to observe much more dark energy than we do—perhaps 50 times more than we see in our Universe.
Although the results do not rule out the Multiverse, it seems that the tiny amount of dark energy in our Universe would be better explained by an, as yet, undiscovered law of nature.
Professor Richard Bower, in Durham University's Institute for Computational Cosmology, said: "The formation of stars in a universe is a battle between the attraction of gravity, and the repulsion of dark energy.
"We have found in our simulations that universes with much more dark energy than ours can happily form stars. So why such a paltry amount of dark energy in our Universe?
"I think we should be looking for a new law of physics to explain this strange property of our Universe, and the Multiverse theory does little to rescue physicists' discomfort."
Source
Sunday, May 13, 2018
Dream Logs |||| & |||||
So, you'll notice I skipped from Log 3 to 4 & 5. Log 3 didn't happen. Not that I didn't dream, but I just fell back asleep and lost that one.
Dream Log III: I almost lost too:
May 12th - Fuck, wrote down... a little upset with myself. I had woke up close to the early hour that I get up to take my anti-inflammatory ( I do this so the medication is in my system when I get up for the day later on). So when I woke up I knew it was close to the time that I usually wake up and started to go back to sleep - Because I figured I'd just be getting up to take my meds in about 15/20 minutes). Then the dream that I just had, really started to form in my head, so in a start, I grabbed my phone and opened the diary to jot down what I could remember. I wrote down a good paragraph and then I don't know what button that I pressed, but I lost everything I had just written down.
The dream was some kind of maze or obstacle course. But it was underwater. I was watching or competing against someone else.
There was like a Plexiglass tank and I and the other person had to flip ourselves upside-down via these handles in this tank to be able to get air.
There was of course a lot more to the beginning of the dream, but I don't remember it.
Dream Log IV:
This was a short one. When I'm waking up, I'm kinda confused as most of us generally are. Then it's a matter of remembering, 'Did I just wake up from a dream?' or 'Had I dreamed a bit earlier, woken up and then went back to sleep again?'
So this one is short, there was as always a lot more to it.
Was just walking with someone to whom I quipped, 'Break dancing on a VHS tape? That's got to be as embarrassing as holy fuck!' -
Sadly, that's it, all I remember.
Normally I throw in a photo or a music video. I am NOT a big Tragically Hip fan, never have been. In Canada, there's two things that'll get your ass kicked at a party or social gathering;
If you say you hate The Hip or AC/DC..... and I really dislike both.. So fuck it!
Dream Log III: I almost lost too:
May 12th - Fuck, wrote down... a little upset with myself. I had woke up close to the early hour that I get up to take my anti-inflammatory ( I do this so the medication is in my system when I get up for the day later on). So when I woke up I knew it was close to the time that I usually wake up and started to go back to sleep - Because I figured I'd just be getting up to take my meds in about 15/20 minutes). Then the dream that I just had, really started to form in my head, so in a start, I grabbed my phone and opened the diary to jot down what I could remember. I wrote down a good paragraph and then I don't know what button that I pressed, but I lost everything I had just written down.
The dream was some kind of maze or obstacle course. But it was underwater. I was watching or competing against someone else.
There was like a Plexiglass tank and I and the other person had to flip ourselves upside-down via these handles in this tank to be able to get air.
There was of course a lot more to the beginning of the dream, but I don't remember it.
Dream Log IV:
This was a short one. When I'm waking up, I'm kinda confused as most of us generally are. Then it's a matter of remembering, 'Did I just wake up from a dream?' or 'Had I dreamed a bit earlier, woken up and then went back to sleep again?'
So this one is short, there was as always a lot more to it.
Was just walking with someone to whom I quipped, 'Break dancing on a VHS tape? That's got to be as embarrassing as holy fuck!' -
Sadly, that's it, all I remember.
Normally I throw in a photo or a music video. I am NOT a big Tragically Hip fan, never have been. In Canada, there's two things that'll get your ass kicked at a party or social gathering;
If you say you hate The Hip or AC/DC..... and I really dislike both.. So fuck it!
Reminiscing.... Another Story From The Past....
rem·i·nisce
ˌreməˈnis
verb
gerund or present participle: reminiscing
indulge in enjoyable recollection of past events.
synonyms: remember, remember with pleasure, cast one's
Beautiful walk today downtown to grab a few things at King's Place... Usually on the weekends I come in KP via Carelton/King St. but today I had walked down Westmorland, so I had entered KP via York and King. I notice, 'what the?? Shoppers Drug Mart is open Sunday's?' I asked the cashier how long that had been going on and she said since like "last November"... 'Oh'.... So they are open from Noon to 3, just for a plug haha.
As I'm walking through King's Place I'm reminded of my past with the place.
George Street Jr. High School was probably the only 'school' in town that didn't have a playground, I mean the place has property and today they actually have some playground equipment, but back in the day, they had nuttin'.
So our 'playground' was downtown. Not like kids from Albert st. didn't take the hike downtown, but it was really ours. For some of us it opened up access to some great places; Tony's Music Box, Strange Adventures (which originally was in a building on York st. upstairs) and of course Backstreet Records.
But back to King's Place, and this was ages before they had a food court. On our lunch hours, much like the kids at FHS, we did the 'Mall Crawl', endlessly walking up and down Kings Place (especially in the Winter). There was of course 'Bill the security guard', a near permanent fixture of King's Place for probably 30 years... If you stopped walking to 'congregate', Bill was on ya, "You kids move along, keep moving" he'd say... No one really ever argued with Bill and so we just kept moving, from grades 7 to 9.
After my first bomb of an attempt to break out on my own as a kid of 17 and living on the streets in Victoria BC (ok, I lived in my best friend's car, but it was ON the street) and returning to Fredericton.
I didn't really finish grade 10 the year before and I had no desire to go back to that place. It wasn't that I was a bad kid or that I was dumb, I just didn't like school and my Father knew it quite well. Our discussion on NB's educational system back then was that my Father, then teaching Economics at the University of New Brunswick, was getting in students that he'd have to teach math to. So he saw first hand that the NB education system was failing it's kids.
Just because it's a great glaring example, my grade 10 math teacher was a 'shop teacher', who would leave the class and go to the math department to ask teachers there how to teach US math.... Yeah, what the hell eh?
Anyhow, so upon my return from the West coast, I didn't go back to school and of course to live at home, I had to have a job.
My good friend Mike Field's got me my first 'job' (in New Brunswick) at CFB Gagetown in Oromocto doing janitorial for Modern Building Cleaning. It wasn't a bad job, but the commute was brutal.
I had to get downtown from the upper Golf Club road for like 6 or 630am and then catch a bus to the base. The bus didn't leave Oromocto for Fredericton until I think 4:30 or 5PM, so by the time I got to Fredericton it was pushing 6/6:30 and by the time I got home it was around 7/7:30 and by the time I got showered, eaten and to bed it was around 10ish... That sucked.
So I got the foreman on the base for Modern Building Cleaning (MBC) to put in for a transfer to ANYWHERE in Fredericton. it wasn't long before I got the call.
The phone rang at home and it was my soon to be boss Randy Arbeau and he told me that he had work for me at King's Place. So back to my old stompin' grounds it was.
The first night at King's Place was a killer. I was hired with this older guy Doug Kennedy and our job, was to clean the mall of King's Place... This included, the bathrooms, the garbage cans and garbage the stores put out, the doors and entry ways, light bulbs, glass and the mall's floor.
So, we divided up the tasks and of course, I got stuck with cleaning the entryways while Doug got to run the floor machine (because he was older)... So, off we went, cleaning King's Place mall...
It was after midnight and I was on I believe the entryway at King and York, when I noticed Doug had stopped working. He was messing around with the floor scrubber down by where Shopper's is now. I stopped what I was doing and went down to see what was up. The floor machine had broke down. Neither Doug or I knew what was wrong nor how to fix it (obviously) and I don't remember, don't think Randy had left us his pager number (this was 1989, so no cell phone's for anyone that wasn't uber rich)... We began to question, 'What do we do now?'
The best I could come up with was that we were there to clean the mall by hand, Doug helped me finish the rest of my work and then we broke out the mops and buckets, we'd have to clean the floor by hand. Doug was grumbling the whole time.... You'd think a young insolent jackass like me would have been the whining... But no, twas not I.
So, since the machine had broken down by where Shopper's is, that's where we started. We had got just about to the corner in King's Place where it turns (by the York and King entrance), when Doug gave up.
"Fuck this!" he exclaimed, "This is fucking ridiculous" and with that, Doug walked away, went and got his stuff and left.
So now, it was one. I continued to mop the floor, at some point the mall night time security guard had found Randy's pager number and finally got a hold of him. I was past 'Cig's'N'Things' by the time Randy and Allen (Randy's boss) showed up. They were kinda blown away that I had stuck it out and had mopped nearly the entire mall by hand, by myself. When they asked what had happened to Doug, I told them, 'Well, he said "Fuck this" and walked out...' They both just shook their heads and gave me some props for sticking it out by myself. I came from a family that we had a huge double driveway, a single driveway and no snowblower, we all had to shovel. Likewise we had a massive yard, we did have a ride on lawnmower until Gordie near drove it into the swimming pool one Summer, so Mom told Dad to get rid of it and since then we had to use the push mower, then the Fall, the fucking Fall and all those leaves! We were (my Brother's and I), no strangers to hard work. Plus we all one time or another delivered the morning and evening newspapers. So, we knew hard work and some responsibility.
So that was my first night. I went through a couple of mall cleaning partners, one guy, and get this, Modern Building Cleaning was allegedly a "bonded company". They did almost every single government office in the downtown core and then some. In fact, I think at the time MBC had the most contracts in the city. I had, at 17 and to this day, never been arrested, never been charged, had NO criminal record.... So it was kinda baffling to me when they told me that my new 'partner' cleaning the mall was a recent release out of prison... For killing his wife! 'Adrian Parsons' I believe his name was!
The murderer didn't last much longer. I admit it, cleaning that mall was hard labor, it was a lot to do, but at 17, I was rarin' to go. I loved working, cleaning the bathrooms wasn't all that fun of a chore, but it had to be done and I did my job as best that I could. I think I did pretty good because Randy began to give me other work when I was done at KP. Sometime's I'd work 12 or more hours and when yer making $4.50 an hour, you want all you can take. I ended up doing jobs in King's Place, Carelton place, Centennial building, the experimental farm (I got some stories from that place!), the old SEAR's building on Queen st. and more. I was an MBC monster.
(Side story: Not to brag, haha, who brags about being a great janitor lol, I do! So, can't remember what year it was, but ALL the contracts MBC had came up and this time, MBC lost out on nearly all of them. At the time, I was in the old Sears building which had recently been renovated and was now a satellite to NB Power. So when MBC lost the contract, I think it was Peter Lint's Father who got the contract. For the life of me, I can't remember his companies name, but he kept me on with a decent raise... So, I was mopping the hall one night and I look up, way down the hall to the front and there's Randy Arbeau sitting in his van... So, I really liked Randy, he's a great guy, funny as fuck and I got stories lol, man I got stories, but anyhow, I put down my mop and went up to see him. I gotta admit, being asked to come back to MBC was kinda cool, especially since they offered me even more money than Mr. Lint was paying, I was a hard worker).
I really enjoyed cleaning. Especially when I was cleaning places alone. I was in Dreamkick at the time, so locked away by myself in huge buildings was the perfect time to practice our 30+ song set lists. I had a good walkman and had our sets on cassette. so I'd just work and sing, sing and work.
Back to King's Place again, so, yeah, walking today, I was looking at the floors, the exact same tiles as when I cleaned it, trust me, I cleaned that floor by hand, by machine, stripped and waxed those floors, if anyone knows those tiles, it's me. I walked up and down that mall so many times, I had wondered later if all the walking I did was part and parcel to the pain I have today.
I remember night's being so tired, I was walking with my eyes shut and still knew exactly where I was.
I ended up working so many hours for MBC that one night while cleaning KP, I decided I'd take a 'Wake Up' pill to keep me going.... First time and last. I remember mopping in the entry way that leads out to York street. then I moved up to the next entry way, the one for York and King, I had just put my head down, began to mop and when I looked up, I was in the NEXT entry way (the one that leads out to King street proper).... So either I'd teleported or I'd blanked out and had NO recollection of moving between the two... No more 'Wake Ups' for Chris.
End of Flashback....
Just got done with Backyard clean up II. Cleaned off the patio furniture set, the table and all the chairs. Moved the bird feeder.... then moved it pretty much back to where it was.
Sat down with a Pepsi and the remains of my Cuban cigar.... It's kinda neat, there's a couple small local birds, I dunno, finch's? Who knows, but they don't mind me being around. I was out there working and they are on the fence, hoppin' around on the lawn... Even the chipmunks warming up to me, mind you, I didn't see him/her today.
ˌreməˈnis
verb
gerund or present participle: reminiscing
indulge in enjoyable recollection of past events.
synonyms: remember, remember with pleasure, cast one's
Beautiful walk today downtown to grab a few things at King's Place... Usually on the weekends I come in KP via Carelton/King St. but today I had walked down Westmorland, so I had entered KP via York and King. I notice, 'what the?? Shoppers Drug Mart is open Sunday's?' I asked the cashier how long that had been going on and she said since like "last November"... 'Oh'.... So they are open from Noon to 3, just for a plug haha.
As I'm walking through King's Place I'm reminded of my past with the place.
George Street Jr. High School was probably the only 'school' in town that didn't have a playground, I mean the place has property and today they actually have some playground equipment, but back in the day, they had nuttin'.
So our 'playground' was downtown. Not like kids from Albert st. didn't take the hike downtown, but it was really ours. For some of us it opened up access to some great places; Tony's Music Box, Strange Adventures (which originally was in a building on York st. upstairs) and of course Backstreet Records.
But back to King's Place, and this was ages before they had a food court. On our lunch hours, much like the kids at FHS, we did the 'Mall Crawl', endlessly walking up and down Kings Place (especially in the Winter). There was of course 'Bill the security guard', a near permanent fixture of King's Place for probably 30 years... If you stopped walking to 'congregate', Bill was on ya, "You kids move along, keep moving" he'd say... No one really ever argued with Bill and so we just kept moving, from grades 7 to 9.
After my first bomb of an attempt to break out on my own as a kid of 17 and living on the streets in Victoria BC (ok, I lived in my best friend's car, but it was ON the street) and returning to Fredericton.
I didn't really finish grade 10 the year before and I had no desire to go back to that place. It wasn't that I was a bad kid or that I was dumb, I just didn't like school and my Father knew it quite well. Our discussion on NB's educational system back then was that my Father, then teaching Economics at the University of New Brunswick, was getting in students that he'd have to teach math to. So he saw first hand that the NB education system was failing it's kids.
Just because it's a great glaring example, my grade 10 math teacher was a 'shop teacher', who would leave the class and go to the math department to ask teachers there how to teach US math.... Yeah, what the hell eh?
Anyhow, so upon my return from the West coast, I didn't go back to school and of course to live at home, I had to have a job.
My good friend Mike Field's got me my first 'job' (in New Brunswick) at CFB Gagetown in Oromocto doing janitorial for Modern Building Cleaning. It wasn't a bad job, but the commute was brutal.
I had to get downtown from the upper Golf Club road for like 6 or 630am and then catch a bus to the base. The bus didn't leave Oromocto for Fredericton until I think 4:30 or 5PM, so by the time I got to Fredericton it was pushing 6/6:30 and by the time I got home it was around 7/7:30 and by the time I got showered, eaten and to bed it was around 10ish... That sucked.
So I got the foreman on the base for Modern Building Cleaning (MBC) to put in for a transfer to ANYWHERE in Fredericton. it wasn't long before I got the call.
The phone rang at home and it was my soon to be boss Randy Arbeau and he told me that he had work for me at King's Place. So back to my old stompin' grounds it was.
The first night at King's Place was a killer. I was hired with this older guy Doug Kennedy and our job, was to clean the mall of King's Place... This included, the bathrooms, the garbage cans and garbage the stores put out, the doors and entry ways, light bulbs, glass and the mall's floor.
So, we divided up the tasks and of course, I got stuck with cleaning the entryways while Doug got to run the floor machine (because he was older)... So, off we went, cleaning King's Place mall...
It was after midnight and I was on I believe the entryway at King and York, when I noticed Doug had stopped working. He was messing around with the floor scrubber down by where Shopper's is now. I stopped what I was doing and went down to see what was up. The floor machine had broke down. Neither Doug or I knew what was wrong nor how to fix it (obviously) and I don't remember, don't think Randy had left us his pager number (this was 1989, so no cell phone's for anyone that wasn't uber rich)... We began to question, 'What do we do now?'
The best I could come up with was that we were there to clean the mall by hand, Doug helped me finish the rest of my work and then we broke out the mops and buckets, we'd have to clean the floor by hand. Doug was grumbling the whole time.... You'd think a young insolent jackass like me would have been the whining... But no, twas not I.
So, since the machine had broken down by where Shopper's is, that's where we started. We had got just about to the corner in King's Place where it turns (by the York and King entrance), when Doug gave up.
"Fuck this!" he exclaimed, "This is fucking ridiculous" and with that, Doug walked away, went and got his stuff and left.
So now, it was one. I continued to mop the floor, at some point the mall night time security guard had found Randy's pager number and finally got a hold of him. I was past 'Cig's'N'Things' by the time Randy and Allen (Randy's boss) showed up. They were kinda blown away that I had stuck it out and had mopped nearly the entire mall by hand, by myself. When they asked what had happened to Doug, I told them, 'Well, he said "Fuck this" and walked out...' They both just shook their heads and gave me some props for sticking it out by myself. I came from a family that we had a huge double driveway, a single driveway and no snowblower, we all had to shovel. Likewise we had a massive yard, we did have a ride on lawnmower until Gordie near drove it into the swimming pool one Summer, so Mom told Dad to get rid of it and since then we had to use the push mower, then the Fall, the fucking Fall and all those leaves! We were (my Brother's and I), no strangers to hard work. Plus we all one time or another delivered the morning and evening newspapers. So, we knew hard work and some responsibility.
So that was my first night. I went through a couple of mall cleaning partners, one guy, and get this, Modern Building Cleaning was allegedly a "bonded company". They did almost every single government office in the downtown core and then some. In fact, I think at the time MBC had the most contracts in the city. I had, at 17 and to this day, never been arrested, never been charged, had NO criminal record.... So it was kinda baffling to me when they told me that my new 'partner' cleaning the mall was a recent release out of prison... For killing his wife! 'Adrian Parsons' I believe his name was!
The murderer didn't last much longer. I admit it, cleaning that mall was hard labor, it was a lot to do, but at 17, I was rarin' to go. I loved working, cleaning the bathrooms wasn't all that fun of a chore, but it had to be done and I did my job as best that I could. I think I did pretty good because Randy began to give me other work when I was done at KP. Sometime's I'd work 12 or more hours and when yer making $4.50 an hour, you want all you can take. I ended up doing jobs in King's Place, Carelton place, Centennial building, the experimental farm (I got some stories from that place!), the old SEAR's building on Queen st. and more. I was an MBC monster.
(Side story: Not to brag, haha, who brags about being a great janitor lol, I do! So, can't remember what year it was, but ALL the contracts MBC had came up and this time, MBC lost out on nearly all of them. At the time, I was in the old Sears building which had recently been renovated and was now a satellite to NB Power. So when MBC lost the contract, I think it was Peter Lint's Father who got the contract. For the life of me, I can't remember his companies name, but he kept me on with a decent raise... So, I was mopping the hall one night and I look up, way down the hall to the front and there's Randy Arbeau sitting in his van... So, I really liked Randy, he's a great guy, funny as fuck and I got stories lol, man I got stories, but anyhow, I put down my mop and went up to see him. I gotta admit, being asked to come back to MBC was kinda cool, especially since they offered me even more money than Mr. Lint was paying, I was a hard worker).
I really enjoyed cleaning. Especially when I was cleaning places alone. I was in Dreamkick at the time, so locked away by myself in huge buildings was the perfect time to practice our 30+ song set lists. I had a good walkman and had our sets on cassette. so I'd just work and sing, sing and work.
Back to King's Place again, so, yeah, walking today, I was looking at the floors, the exact same tiles as when I cleaned it, trust me, I cleaned that floor by hand, by machine, stripped and waxed those floors, if anyone knows those tiles, it's me. I walked up and down that mall so many times, I had wondered later if all the walking I did was part and parcel to the pain I have today.
I remember night's being so tired, I was walking with my eyes shut and still knew exactly where I was.
I ended up working so many hours for MBC that one night while cleaning KP, I decided I'd take a 'Wake Up' pill to keep me going.... First time and last. I remember mopping in the entry way that leads out to York street. then I moved up to the next entry way, the one for York and King, I had just put my head down, began to mop and when I looked up, I was in the NEXT entry way (the one that leads out to King street proper).... So either I'd teleported or I'd blanked out and had NO recollection of moving between the two... No more 'Wake Ups' for Chris.
End of Flashback....
Just got done with Backyard clean up II. Cleaned off the patio furniture set, the table and all the chairs. Moved the bird feeder.... then moved it pretty much back to where it was.
Sat down with a Pepsi and the remains of my Cuban cigar.... It's kinda neat, there's a couple small local birds, I dunno, finch's? Who knows, but they don't mind me being around. I was out there working and they are on the fence, hoppin' around on the lawn... Even the chipmunks warming up to me, mind you, I didn't see him/her today.
If ya look close ya can see the 'lil twerp
Backyards now open, drop me a line sometime and pop by!
I just need to get the sunberlla out from the garage and it's all set for Summer relaxin'
Mucho Gracias to my neighbors. Not the first BBQ of the season, but the first out door dinner. Corn, chicken and potato's! Myum Chicken of course done without gas, just charcoal! So good, so much thanks!
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Cooler Days
Well yesterday and today were much cooler days than most of the Spring has been. I was completely taken off my guard yesterday. I'm usually pretty on the ball with the weather and I think I'd taken the nicer days for granted. I had seen it was going to be nice out, not the hottest of days we've had, but it was lookin to be a shorts day. So i got up, ate, freshened up and threw some shorts on and headed out the door for an afternoon walk.
Our house is situated so that the driveway is shielded from the evil and satanic North wind, so I had been outside and since the Sun shines down, it was nice and toasty warm. So when I took off on my walk, I got out past the house and it was windy... Kinda cool... By the time i was about a block away, I was thinking, 'Fuck! I am NOT properly dressed for this weather. It was so cold that I did see people with toques, gloves and Winter jackets on! But, I sucked it up, it wasn't -30° so, on I went.
Today wasn't AS cold, it was cool, but nice enough for shorts still. Got up, cleaned up and then decided to finish off cleanin up the back yard.
During the cleaning I had some company from Chippy the chipmunk. he'she is pretty chill, just fills it's cheeks with food as I cleaned up around.
Our house is situated so that the driveway is shielded from the evil and satanic North wind, so I had been outside and since the Sun shines down, it was nice and toasty warm. So when I took off on my walk, I got out past the house and it was windy... Kinda cool... By the time i was about a block away, I was thinking, 'Fuck! I am NOT properly dressed for this weather. It was so cold that I did see people with toques, gloves and Winter jackets on! But, I sucked it up, it wasn't -30° so, on I went.
Today wasn't AS cold, it was cool, but nice enough for shorts still. Got up, cleaned up and then decided to finish off cleanin up the back yard.
During the cleaning I had some company from Chippy the chipmunk. he'she is pretty chill, just fills it's cheeks with food as I cleaned up around.
'Chippy' doing erm... His or Her thing.
'Chippy' has been getting more and more bold and used to me being around. When I was a kid, we toured to the Grand Canyon and there the chipmunks were so tame that you could 'pat' your leg, like at a dog, and they'd run right up your pant leg. I dunno, if 'Chippy' and I will work towards that close of a relationship
So yeah, raked, cleaned up the chairs, moved the bird feeder, it seemed to me that a couple of local trouble making squirrels were getting on the bird feeder via a good jump off the fence, so I moved the feeder to where I don't believe they'll be able to jump... Mind you, if they watch 'Chippy' they can just run up the pole cleaned up my 'Shack Out Back' and pretty much all set for Summer.
Are YOU ready for Summer?
My neighbor saw me doing some yard work and had asked if I was sore,,, and I said, "Well I'm always feeling pain, but I felt good enough to get this done and tomorrow is when I'm really going to play for this!" - Hopefully I'm wrong. I just have to try to keep moving. Otherwise I'll end up like the 'Tin Man' from the Wizard of Oz!
Friday, May 11, 2018
Lamb Of God 'Hardcore' Covers
Well that was kinda neat. I think somewhere back in my skull I may have had heard that Lamb of God was going to be covering some Hardcore/Crossover bands on a tribute album.
Today poppin' in to Blabbermouth they had posted Lamb Of God's cover's of 'The Bad Brains' - 'I Against I', and 'The Accüsed's' - 'Inherit The Earth'....
Pretty great stabs at them in my opinion!
Happy Friday! Crank it!
Today poppin' in to Blabbermouth they had posted Lamb Of God's cover's of 'The Bad Brains' - 'I Against I', and 'The Accüsed's' - 'Inherit The Earth'....
Pretty great stabs at them in my opinion!
Weird, I can post the Accused cover, but not the Bad Brains... lol Maybe they got sued... The video played via the Blabbermouth link, but doesn't come up in a Youtube search...
Oh well, here's the original 'I Against I'
Happy Friday! Crank it!
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Moving Target: Civilization's Real Age
I know, I know, I rant and rave about this place, but truly, it's completely turned huemahn history on it's head. And since it's been uncovered, more finds have continued to turn our history on it's head.
See, we go by what the books say, we go by what the TV says, and those people have a lot of money invested in the status quo. So when things like Gobekli Tepe pop up, or when they find that huemahns were in North America thousands of years before the books say so, well, it fucks with their plans.
AND... When you look at these photo's, just remember, these were done at a time, 6000 years before the pyramids, before Stonehenge.. Built, carved at a time when we huemahns were 'Hunter gatherers' and by 'history's' books, were NOT supposed to be able to pull this off. AND, this enclosure that you see is just ONE, there's over 6 football fields burried here with other enclosures yet to be unearthed
Moving Target: Civilization's Real Age
(newsmax.com) - - For many centuries the prevailing scholarly opinion has been that the dawn of civilization could be dated to approximately 5,000 years ago. The invention of writing was the seminal event in that calculus, with both the earliest hieroglyphics and cuneiform in Egypt and Mesopotamia respectively going back to circa 3,200 BC.
Generations of humans prior to that arbitrary date have tended to be categorized somewhat dismissively, more in the vein of cave-dwellers, nomadic wanderers, and primitive farmers and shepherds. They were considered literally "pre-historic," as they existed before stylus was ever put to papyrus or clay tablet.
The recent archaeological finds in Turkey at Gobekli Tepe however have turned that perspective on its head. The site was first noted in 1963 by a joint Turkish/American survey, but only unearthed and properly documented by a team led by Klaus Schmidt of the German Archaeological Institute beginning in 1995.
The work is ongoing at present, but what is known already is that the complex at Gobekli Tepe is extensive, sophisticated, colossal and ancient beyond belief — pre-dating the Fertile Crescent societies by some 6,000 years. Gobekli Tepe was built around 9,000 B.C., just after the last ice age ended.
Everything that was thought to be known about the role of the earliest religions, the invention of agriculture, and the birth of sedentary society has to be rewritten in the light of these discoveries of the last few years in the Eastern Anatolian region of Turkey.
The astounding mastery of engineering, construction techniques, project management, and the artistic and aesthetic nuances exemplified in the architecture of this complex point to skill sets that are many thousands of years ahead of their time. The massive pillars at Gobekli Tepe, displaying intricately carved stylized figures in bas relief, weigh between twenty and sixty tons, and are crowned with capstones which themselves tip the scales at ten tons.
Specialists in quite a few fields are having some difficulty giving apt explanations for these enigmatic ruins.
Hard on the heels of one shock in Turkey comes yet another even more mind-boggling stunner from North Africa. According to the experts, Homo sapiens had been deemed to be 200,000 years old — but that was last years’ reckoning. Paleoanthropologists in June of 2017 published their findings in the esteemed scientific journal, Nature, concerning human fossil and bone specimens found in a cave at Jebel Irhoud in Morocco.
The pronouncement of the researchers was sufficiently eye-opening; they had come to the flabbergasting realization that these particular Homo sapiens lived some 300,000 years ago. This conclusion has pushed back the timeline for our species to "a time and a half older than anything else put forward," says John Fleagle of the State University of New York (SUNY).
The astonishing results from Jebel Irhoud have graced mankind with an immediate upgrade in seniority — the human race is now judged to be close to one-third of a million years old.
"These dates were a big wow," commented Professor Jean-Jacques Hublin, of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, where the radioluminescence dating on a tooth and stone tools found at the site was performed. "This material represents the very root of our species."
And such a sea-change in how far back those roots stretch may give rise to a change in perception about ourselves.
Humanity, we now realize, has been on Earth long enough to have seen multiple ice ages come and go, along with the interglacials between them, as well as the current span of 12,000 years of clement climate currently enjoyed. In all that time billions of outbreaks of disease, drought, famine, earthquakes, volcanoes, wildfires and every other mode of fatality has taken constant aim at Homo sapiens, who remains standing in spite of it all.
Since a Tunguska-sized asteroid/meteor collision event occurs on average every 10,000 years — the kind that shook a great portion of Siberia in 1908 — our forebears have also withstood some thirty such assaults even from outer space.
And, as our Moon inches away currently only at the rate of 3.8 centimeters per year, since those earliest humans lit their campfires at Jebel Irhoud our gutsy ancestors looking up at the sky have witnessed it wheel out some 11.5 kilometers further away from the Earth, the same planet over which they established their utter dominion in all that time.
In contrast to the dystopian outlooks that foretell the eventual demise of the human race, the abiding evidence over seemingly interminable ages is that the one immutable attribute of our kind is the ability to endure.
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