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WHEN IS A BEAR NOT A BEAR?

9/25/2020

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​​​​​​WHEN IS A BEAR NOT A BEAR?
There are a number of answers to this question, but the primary one is: When it's a Koala. (If you wonder what a "Water Bear" is, that's another subject entirely.)

Actually, the koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae -- You really needed to know that, right? -- and its closest living relatives are the wombats. In fact, the koala is more closely related to a kangaroo than a bear.  What a buzz kill!


The koala and the bear share scientific classification to the point of both being mammals, but from there they part ways. Marsupials give birth to their young at a very small and immature stage (about 2 centimeters long, blind, and hairless). The baby, called a Joey, is then transferred to the mother's pouch for six or seven months, where it matures, nourished by the mother's milk. When the Joey outgrows its safe little pouch-home, the mother carries the juvenile on her back like a backpack.
         Koala at birth ▼                          One week old ▼                   Pouch Juvenile ▼                   Back Juvenile ▼


FROM WHENCE THEY CAME
Forty-five million years ago, the land mass which is now the Australian continent, drifted northward and gradually separated from the Antarctic land mass.
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Scientists believe Koala-like animals first evolved on the Australian continent where fossil remains of Koala-like animals have been found dating back to 25 million years. There are at least six (and possibly eight) extinct species.
Australia's indigenous people are believed to have arrived in Australia 60,000 years ago, and they found the ancestors of the koala a readily available source of food. Part of the Aboriginal philosophy is to never take more than is needed, and all animals were important to their cultures. Each Aboriginal tribe had a different name for the koala, including koala, kaola, koolewong, colo, colah, koolah, and more.


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Koalas and humans co-existed peacefully until Europeans came to Australia.

John Price was the first European to record Koalas in 1798. The animal was given its scientific name in 1816. After that, it was discovered that the Koala was not a bear at all.
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◄ Koala pelts - Photo from John Oxley Library, Brisbane, Australia

In addition to clearing the Eucalyptus trees for farming, the new European settlers discovered that the Koala was a source of fur that could be traded. Millions of koala were killed for their pelts. By 1924, the animal was extinct in South Australia, and almost extinct in other locations.

In 1927, the public was outraged by the slaughter of 800,000 koalas in one month and, by the late 1930s, all states in Australia had declared the koala as a protected species. However, no laws to protect their habitat, gum trees (the only source of food for the koalas), were enacted.
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Loss of habitat has continued to be a serious problem and, in 2012, Koalas were declared as a 'Vulnerable Species' under the Environmental Protection and  Biodiversity Conservation Act. Still, nothing was done to protect the habitat.
 
INTERESTING FACTS
These facts are almost word for word what is listed on the "Save The Koala" website. There aren't too many ways to express these facts. https://www.savethekoala.com/

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● Koalas can only live in the wild in one place in the world: Australia.

● Koalas eat only Eucalyptus leaves (also called gum leaves), and they smell like Eucalyptus. The koalas climb the trees and hop from tree to tree to get the leaves. Adults eat 2.5 pounds of food a day. These leaves are a very low-energy diet and renders the animals susceptible to stress.

​● Koalas have a fiber-digesting organ called a caecum -- Other mammals have them, including humans – which contains millions of bacteria to break down the fiber into substances easier to absorb. But the Koala can still only absorb 25% of the fiber eaten. This is the reason they have to eat so many leaves.

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● Most of the time, except in cases of drought, Koalas don’t need to drink water because they get all the moisture they need from the gum leaves (Eucalyptus).
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● Koalas have 5 digits on each front paw, two of which are opposed to the others, much like our thumbs are able to be moved differently from the fingers. This helps them to hold firmly onto the branches and grip their food. The 2nd and 3rd digits on their hind paws are fused together to form a grooming claw.

● Koalas also have finger prints which resemble human finger prints. Finger print experts are known to have had difficulty being able to tell if the prints are from a human or koala. Any kind of finger print is rare among mammals that climb trees.

● Koalas are primarily nocturnal. While most nocturnal animals are awake at night and asleep during the day, koalas sleep for part of the night and also sometimes move about in the daytime. They often sleep for up to 18-20 hours each day (16 hr. average) because it requires a lot of energy to digest their toxic, fibrous, low-nutrition diet.
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● Koalas live in complex social groups and are not migratory, but highly territorial. In stable breeding groups, individual members of Koala society maintain their own "home range" areas.

● Each koala’s "home" is made up of several trees called "Home Trees" which they visit regularly. The area covered by these trees is called the Koala’s "Home Range". Each koala had its own Home Range which may overlap those of other Koalas.
              Mature Male                                                                                                    Kola communicating with howl
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​​● A mature male has a dark scent gland in the center of his white chest which exudes a dark, sticky substance. He rubs this on his trees to indicate to other Koalas that this is his territory.
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Unless breeding, they don’t normally visit another koala's home trees. The size of each home range depends upon a range of factors including the quality of the habitat and the sex, age and social position in the population of the Koala.
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● Koalas also communicate with each other by making a range of noises. The most startling and unexpected of these in such a seemingly gentle animal is a sound like a loud snore and then a belch, known as a "bellow".


CUDDLING KOALAS
One of the highlights of my trip to Australia was a visit to the Brisbane Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, a facility dedicated to the rescue of injured and abandoned koalas and kangaroos. Some can be released back into the wild, others remain residents of the sanctuary. Some of the koalas can be held. Laws limit the handling of a koala to 30 minutes a day, so there is constant rotation of the animals.

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Studies show that koalas are far more stressed by human encounters than previously thought. The animals become stressed by noisy and up-close encounters with human visitors.
​

Cuddling a koala is only possible in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Unfortunately, it is illegal in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania or the Northern Territory.

Who wouldn't want hold one of these cute, cuddly animals? This was the highlight of my granddaughter's trip to Australia.

Koalas have brownish-grey or silver-grey fur and a big pink and/or black nose. They look so cute and cuddly and soft. But actually they aren't soft and furry. The texture of their hair is coarse and rather stiff, which surprised me. In contrast, the area between a kangaroo's ears is extremely soft.

While holding the koala, the handler is feeding the animal constantly. There are about fifteen locations where the hands-on experience of holding a koala is available. If you ever get the opportunity, don't miss out. It is a "bucket list" experience.


Resources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_bear
https://www.savethekoala.com/about-koalas/interesting-facts
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koala
http://www.koala.net/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2633081/The-Koala-bear-humans-Researchers-warn-animals-far-stressed-encounters-previously-thought.html
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g255055-i120-k464102-Holding_Koalas_and_Wombats-Australia.html
http://www.koala.net/
https://news.experienceoz.com.au/where-to-cuddle-a-koala-in-australia/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_Pine_Koala_Sanctuary
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/k/koala/
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koala
https://scitechdaily.com/study-of-koala-virus-epidemic-uncovers-innate-genome-immune-system/
https://www.theanimalspot.com/koala/
https://www.livescience.com/27401-koalas-facts.html


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Venetian Mask Tradition Comes Home To Roost

9/18/2020

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San Marcos Square, Venice-Pigeons come home to roost
Photo Source:
thestar.com/news/venice_for_the_birds
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THE NEW NORMAL
In our world today, 2020, we think of wearing masks – at least some of us do – as the “new normal.” Although we’re all hoping this phenomenon is temporary, wearing masks for a specific purpose is almost ingrained into our DNA. The oldest face mask in existence is deemed to be a stone mask from the pre-ceramic Neolithic period dating back to 7000 BC.
                                                                                     
Image Credit: Gryffindor - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
                                                                                                           Photo Source: commons.wikimedia.org/index.php7387782
                                                                                                           Location: Catholic Institute, Bible Museum and Holy Land.

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​In addition to using masks for rituals and ceremonies, humans have used them for protection, for identifying with a group, in hunting, in sports, in feasts, in wars, in performances, as ornamentation, and to hide one’s identity for whatever reason. Some masks are not even intended to be worn.

Human societies have donned masks for almost every motive possible, so wearing them for protection from a virus isn’t anything new as far as big ideas go.

FAST FORWARD TO MEDIEVAL VENICE
To the Venetians, masks have a special importance for two reasons. Of course, the best known is the famous Carnival of Venice. The lesser known reason is the way in which the Venetian royalty and aristocracy considered themselves -- very special, ultra elite, and way above everyone else in all respects.

CARNIVAL
The Carnival of Venice is a festival which most historians believe evolved from the Roman feast of Saturnalia. It was a mid- December event whose roots precede Christianity, a time of partying, gift giving, and role reversals when masters served their workers and commoners, and gave them gifts.

Whether or not any of the role reversal ideas in Saturnalia involved masks, I was unable to discover, but the Romans did have another event in the spring where cross dressing was part of the fun.

As happened often with pagan festivals, Christianity found a way to work the rather wild revelries into its liturgical year and overlay them with Christian ideas with the intent to restore a semblance of decency. The Roman celebrations of Saturnalia, Bacchanalia, and the Kalends of January gradually merged into what now call Carnival, a season which occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. Of course, there are historians and scholars who disagree with this theory of the origin of Carnival, but this seems to be the theory most subscribe to.

As Christianity spread through Europe, the hedonistic festivities of masquerading, dancing, and drinking were doused with a heavy dose of religion and subsumed as a prelude to the Lenten season. The first such Carnival celebration took place in Rome in between 1140 and 1143 and was attended by the Pope.

Photo Source: Wikipedia Commons
By Johannes Lingelbach - Self-photographed, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12438133

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The first historical mentions of Carnival in Venice date back to 1092 when it appeared in the charter of Doge Faliero. According to verbal history, the military victory of the Venetian Republic over the Patriarch of Aquileia, 1162, gave birth to what eventually became the Carnival of Venice. To honor the victory the people of the city began to sing, dance, and celebrate in San Marco Square. This appealed to the Venetians and became an annual event. Carnival was designated as an official public holiday starting the day before Lent by the order of Senate in 1296.

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​THE REPUBLIC OF VENICE
The Republic of Venice was a seafaring nation and a significant financial and maritime power during the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance. Their navy and fleet of merchant marines dominated.

Venice traded freely with the Byzantine Empire and the Muslin world, making Venice very wealthy, very quickly. Opulence became the standard of the day among the aristocratic families of Venice, and they constantly vied for status and power through visible lavishness, including public events, parties, and patronizing artists and artistic performances.      

                                                                                                                              The Republic of Venice, Colonies, and Territories - 697 through 1797
                                                                                                       Photo Source:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Venetian_Republic_evolution_en.png


From 1172 through 1797, the Republic of Venice was governed by a Maggior Consiglio [Great Council] – similar to our Congress -- which consisted of members of the most influential families. The council appointed all of the public officials within Venice and elected a representative senate consisting of 200 to 300 people. Fairly democratic in concept, except that all representatives were from the aristocracy.
​
From this senate came the election of the Council of Ten, a secretive and powerful group which held the key to the administration of the city. From this council a Doge was elected – the ceremonial head of the Republic. 

AN ARISTOCRACY OBSESSED WITH EXCESSES
There is little hard evidence which explains why wearing masks began in Venice, but historians contend that covering the face in public was a uniquely Venetian response to a one of the most inflexible class hierarchies in European history. The reason is simple: anonymity.

Unlike most Europeans during the middle ages, all Venetians enjoyed a higher standard of living. Everyone was part of the economic machine and, after all, the city of Venice is small in land area. Masks served to keep every citizen on an equal playing field.

Remember, the Republic of Venice was founded in 697 and lasted until 1797. The city amassed wealth from trading early on and those in power had centuries to enjoy their privileged positions.
Photo Source:
dailyartmagazine.com/venice-carnival   
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This same aristocracy made a great deal of hoopla to present the appearance of propriety to the public and the church – aristocratic women never appeared in public – and even women of other social status were required to cover their faces in public. Considering the fact that the Venetians traded with the Muslims and a great deal of foreign traffic moved through in Venice, that isn’t surprising.

Behind closed doors, however, sexual promiscuity was commonplace and acceptable; so were gambling, political assassination, cutting of questionable “deals”, dancing, drinking, and attending elaborate parties all night. Wearing masks was a big part of the debauchery.
​
Important to note is the fact that Sumptuary Laws were suspended during carnival. A free for all.


By the 1200s, the influence of the Catholic Church had grown enough to limit the wearing of masks in Venice. Although the church entwined the custom of masks with Christian liturgy, Venetians could still go masked nearly six months out of the year…and they did.

The masquerade experienced the rise and fall of popularity, and was even outlawed by the church, particularly on holy days. This ultimately led to the Church declaring the months between Christmas and Shrove Tuesday (the day before the beginning on Lent) as free for mask wearing.

Napoleon conquered the Venetian Republic in 1797, leading to the City’s political, cultural, and economic decline. The new leader outlawed wearing Carnival costumes, including masks, except at private parties and one designated event, Ballo della Cavalchina. Quickly it ceased to exist, until revived in 1967 by the Italian government as a revival of Venice’s cultural heritage.

There is inconsistency among references about the dates when masks were and were not permitted or worn, and when the actual practice ceased to exist or didn’t stop.

SUMPTUARY LAWS
Sumptuary Laws, which have existed in nearly every culture since ancient times, are intended to restrain luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expenditures for apparel, food, furniture, etc. Historically, they were an attempt to regulate and reinforce social hierarchies and morals through restrictions on clothing, food, and luxury expenditures, often depending on a person's social rank.
​

During the middle ages, sumptuary laws were enacted to keep the main population dressed according to their "station". Although they applied to everyone, the regulations targeted women and the middle classes. Their curbing of display was couched in religious and moralizing terms, yet was affected by social and economic considerations aimed at preventing ruinous expenses among the wealthy classes and the drain of capital reserves to foreign suppliers.
​
15th Century Courtesan Dress                                                                                                      Venetian courtesan ca. 1589, engraving by Pietro BertelliPhoto Source: sumptuarylaw.blogspot.com/15th-century-italian                                                           https://lauramorelli.com/venetian-fashion-16th-century/

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In the thirteenth century, the Republic of Venice enacted such laws and appointed magistrates to enforce regulations. Italian sumptuary laws were more designed to restrain the aristocrat then keep down the peasants.
~ veniceevents.com/enice-carnival

Despite their ancient origin, there is general agreement that sumptuary laws were difficult or impossible to enforce over the long term and did not change anything anyway.

BACK TO MASKS
The first documented use of masks in Venice goes back to the 13th century when the Great Council enacted laws against masked people throwing scented eggs. Who knew?
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Pietro Bertelli: "Mascare usate in Venetia che Tirano Ovi odoriferi" - engraving (1642)

Photo Source: http://www.delpiano.com/carnival/html/eggs.html
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These were eggshells -- ovi odoriferi – originally filled with rose water perfume and tossed by young men at their friends or at young women they admired during Carnival. However, masked pranksters also threw them filled with ink or other damaging substances, so they were prohibited.

In 1339 Venetians were forbidden to wear vulgar disguises and to visit convents while masked. The law also prohibited painting one's face, or wearing false beards or wigs.
There is evidence that in the 16th century 'commedia dell'arte' – performances (plays and theater productions) where actors wore masks – rejuvenated Venetian masks designs.

By the late 16th century the Venetian Carnival began to reach its peak and eventually lasted a whole season from January until Lent. By the 18th century, it was a tourist attraction, and mask wearing was restricted to three months. [
This is an example of conflicting dates.]

James Johnson, a CAS associate professor of history, researched how masks were used by 18th-century Venetians. His take on the situation was that Venetians wore masks six months out of the year, from when the theater season started in the fall through Carnevale (Carnival). More important, his research shows the Venetians were not wearing masks to disguise themselves or for intrigue or corruption, as people visiting Venice at the time thought. It was a custom, a fashion statement. The fashion, he writes, is related to the absolutely hierarchal society.
     “The etiquette was that when you came across a noble and you were a commoner, you had to do these formal, involved salutes. If you have masks on, you don’t have to go through that. That didn’t mean that people were disguised and that they didn’t know each other’s rank, but it’s a token anonymity that allows nobles and commoners to mingle in close quarter in theaters, cafes, and in the street without all this rigmarole. Masks encouraged people to talk who normally wouldn’t have because of their difference in rank. It started with nobles wearing masks to the theater so they could intermingle with commoners there.”  http://www.bu.edu/articles/2012/unmasking-the-past/

During the Reformation, carnival customs began to die out in Protestant regions, although some survived in Catholic areas despite the opposition of the ecclesiastical authorities. Eventually they succumbed.

CARNIVAL OF VENICE TODAY
In the 21st century Carnivale and masks are thriving in Venice, Rio, New Orleans and elsewhere. No doubt the revelers and tourists taking part in Venice have little notion of the history of either the carnival or the significance of the masks. I would guess some may use masks to remain anonymous while they act like idiots, commit crimes, and otherwise engage in questionable activities.

http://www.vera-frisch.de/venice2.htm     https://globalnews.ca/news/6586238/italy-venice-carnival-coronavirus/      venicehotelcadoro.com/venice-carnival

https://www.venicehotelcadoro.com/venice-carnival-tips-how-to-get-the-most-out-of-it/

The Carnival for 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID 19 pandemic. The regional governor of Veneto said the COVID-19 outbreak was "absolutely [the] worst problem that Veneto has faced." ​ In the past, Venetians wore masks because they wanted to. Now, they have to.

Just Sayin'

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Photo credit: Getty Images / ANDREA PATTARO / Contributor
Photo source: businessinsider.com/coronavirus-covid-19







​Sources:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7387782
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mask#:~:text=In%20China%2C%20masks%20are%20thought,rock%20paintings%20along%20the%20Yangtze.&text=Shigong%20dance%20masks%20were%20used,masks%20protected%20from%20bad%20spirits.
https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/venice-carnival-in-paintings/
https://www.glassofvenice.com/blog/2014/02/history-and-present-of-venice-carnival/
https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-covid-19-covid-symptoms-outbreak-italy-prevent-spread-2020-2
https://www.butterfield.com/blog/2013/07/08/venetian-masks-veiled-in-history/#:~:text=The%20Venetian%20Carnival%20itself%20began,a%20rare%20and%20restricted%20practice.
https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1484/J.EMD.2.302030?journalCode=emd
https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-covid-19-covid-symptoms-outbreak-italy-prevent-spread-2020-2
http://www.bu.edu/articles/2012/unmasking-the-past/
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/mardi-gras-fat-tuesday-history/index.html
http://magicofvenezia.com/history-of-venetian-masks/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumptuary_law
https://veniceevents.com/news-blogs/venice-carnival-everything-you-could-want-know-about-venices-masks#:~:text=Over%20the%20last%20few%20centuries,visited%20houses%20of%20ill%2Drepute%E2%80%A6&text=Hundreds%20of%20years%20ago%2C%20however,over%20half%20of%
Photos only
https://www.venicehotelcadoro.com/venice-carnival-tips-how-to-get-the-most-out-of-it/
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2019/02/venice-carnival-2019-photos/583063/
https://globalnews.ca/news/6586238/italy-venice-carnival-coronavirus/
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2008/06/08/venice_is_still_for_the_birds.html


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SPACE ZOMBIES AND THE LOST SPATULA: Space Debris

9/11/2020

1 Comment

 
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​SPACE – THE FINAL FONTIER
Although one’s respect for the environment and for other people may vary between cultures and between individuals within cultures, humans, as a whole, haven’t been an outstanding example of cleaning up after themselves. No matter when or where they go, there is always evidence of their presence left behind. The same is true in space.

◄Photo Source:  http://www.lushforlife.com/2006/07/spatula-crisis-strikes-nasa/

WHAT’S UP THERE?
Over the past sixty or seventy years plus we have been sending things into space, a more-or-less undefined boundary somewhere out there around a thousand miles from earth’s sea level. As we ventured into the unknown to meet the last frontier, we’ve left behind a trail of all kinds and sizes of space zombies.


Not the science fiction kind of space zombie but real junk… dead articles and pieces of things which once had a life, now left behind either by accident or necessity.                                Image Credit: NASA JPL- Apollo 17, December 1972: Blue Marble
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◄So, what do you see when you look at the sky on a beautiful clear day with a few light clouds? A beautiful blue sky?

►What do you see when you look at a photograph of the earth taken from the moon? A round ball. No Space debris that I can see.
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And what do you see when NASA simulates the pieces of space zombies they track?
Photo Source: esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2019/space_debris_in_orbit
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Unfortunately, there is no way to photograph what the debris looks like, just individual pieces, but the simulation model gives a pretty good sense of what it might reveal.

NASA doesn’t know exactly what’s up there, and many smaller items will die a fiery death as they fall through the atmosphere, but the scientists believe 95% of the objects are leftovers or inoperative satellites.

As far as how many objects, in 2019 the US Space Surveillance Network reported nearly 20,000 artificial objects in orbit above the Earth, including 2,218 operational satellites and natural space debris. These are large enough to be tracked. According to Wikipedia, in the same year, “more than 128 million pieces of debris smaller than 1 cm (0.4 in), about 900,000 pieces of debris 1–10 cm, and around 34,000 of pieces larger than 10 cm were estimated to be in orbit around the Earth.” en.wikipedia.org/Space_debris
​

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Image Credit: NASA - Photo ID: STS088-724-66
​
Source of Photos: Wikipedia
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◄To the left is a drifting thermal blanket photo-graphed in 1998 during STS-88.

►In 1958, the US launched Vanguard I into a medium Earth orbit. According to Wiki-pedia, as of October 2009, it, and the upper stage of its launch rocket, are the oldest surviving human-made space objects still in        
Image Credit: NASA photo retouched
orbit.                                                                     National Space Science Data Center

Even if the pieces are small, they travel at great velocity. At 17,500 mph, it doesn’t take much to create significant damage. Even tiny paint flecks can damage a spacecraft when traveling at these velocities. In fact a number of space shuttle windows have been replaced because of damage caused by material that was analyzed and shown to be paint flecks. ​nasa.gov/mission_pages/orbital_debris                       Damage to Space Shuttle Endeavour from collision with space debris or micrometeorite
                                                                                                                              Image credit: NASA - Photo Source: www.nature.com/d41586-018-06170-1
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​​WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT IT?
Astronomers and others have worried about space junk since the 1960s, and today the space agencies take space zombies very seriously as a hazard to active satellites and spacecraft. It has been theorized that Earth orbit could even become impassable if the risk of collision grows too high. There have been many near and actual collisions, although they may not hit the news media, and as the amount of junk increases, so do the risks.

SPACE-TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
Space-traffic management is a new field in its infancy. Specifically targeting management of space debris, the problem is being approached from a variety of directions by scientists. The current strategy is one of evasive action in actual space, i.e. maneuvering to nudge objects out of the way by various methods to avoid collisions.

Although there are agencies and government departments in several nations addressing this issue, the topic hasn’t risen to the level of political intervention; i.e. it hasn’t become politically “sexy”. Hopefully, the scientists and related industries involved will be left alone long enough to accomplish something. Currently, areas of feasibility study and experimentation include some of the following:
   ● Better Tracking Of Debris Location
Some scientists are tackling the problem of space junk by trying to understand where all the debris is to a high degree of precision, accurately enough to avoid the need for touchy maneuvers in space. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to identify what every piece of debris is or where it is.
   ● Better Tracking Of What Debris Is Made Of
Once researchers know what an orbiting object is made of, they often have several potential ways to reduce its threat. Some methods can force objects into the atmosphere to burn up or into less heavily trafficked orbits called graveyard orbits.
   ● RemoveDEBRIS Remediation Technology
RemoveDEBRIS is a satellite research project intended to demonstrate various space debris removal technologies. It is the only project presently being tested in space. The space craft -- launched in June, 2018, from a SpaceX rocket and activated through the Internation Space Station -- to hone in on a cluster of debris in orbit and release a wide net of Remove Debris modules using robotic net and harpoon tethering technologies, laser beams and eledtrodynamic tethers.
   ● Space Debris Elimination Project
This NASA program proposes shooting atmospheric gasses into space to destabilize the debris' orbit and send it plummeting back to Earth, where it will burn up in our atmosphere. This proposal presented questions about the potential increase in carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

NO INTERNATIONAL TREATY
So far, no international treaty for minimizing space debris [Personally, I like space zombies better] has been negotiated. A set of voluntary guidelines was published in 2007 by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) based on earlier attempts to negotiate a treaty. Based on current political trends, I’d wager that it will be a long time in coming.

LOST IN SPACE
The most entertaining part of this research was an article written by Clara Moskowitz entitled “Lost in Space: 8 Weird Pieces of Space Junk” and published on February 13, 2013 by wired.com/2009/02/spacestuff/. This list of articles lost in space and part of our space zombies in the sky. I’ve summarized, but this is entirely Moskowitz’ work.


● "Spatula
While spreading some goo as a test of heat-shield repair materials, spacewalking astronaut Piers Sellers accidentally lost a spatula he had been using. The mishap took place during the space shuttle Discovery's 2006 STS-121 flight to the International Space Station, on a mission to test new safety techniques after the 2003 Columbia disaster. "That was my favorite spatch," Sellers reportedly said. "Don’t tell the other spatulas."
outube.com/watch?v=QYS4HrMji8U&feature=youtu.be
​
● “Tool bag
Astronaut Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper lost her grip on a tool bag while doing a spacewalk in November 2008 to try to repair a jammed gear on a space-station solar panel. The 30-pound bag, filled with grease guns, a scraper tool and a couple of bags for debris, cost about $100,000. Amateur astronomers spotted subsequently spotted the bag in orbit. Watch the bag float away below. http://www.spaceweather.com/flybys/?PHPSESSID=v5r9ilmkqgek0vcqoq2svcenr2
​● “Tank of ammonia
This one was lost on purpose. In July 2007, NASA instructed astronauts to throw an unneeded 1,400-pound tank full of ammonia overboard. The device used to be part of the space station's cooling system, but when the A/C was upgraded, it became obsolete. Deeming that it would take up too much cargo room to carry it back to Earth, mission managers decided to have it trashed. More than a year later, the tank burned up over the South Pacific Ocean as it hit the atmosphere.”

● “Gene Roddenberry's ashes
A portion of the ashes of Gene Roddenberry, creator of the Star Trek series, were delivered to space in 1992 by the space shuttle Columbia on its STS-52 mission. The lipstick-sized capsule containing his ashes orbited the Earth before eventually disintegrating in the atmosphere.”
● “Pee
Over the years, most of the urine produced by astronauts has been simply dumped overboard. Once pee hits the cold vacuum of space, it quickly freezes into tiny crystals which then float around as debris. (Astronauts have described watching urine being released into space as one of the most beautiful sights in orbit). Recently, however, a new pee-recycling system was brought up to the International Space Station to turn urine into drinking water, cutting down on the pee debris.”
● “Pliers
While repairing a damaged solar array during a November 2007 spacewalk, astronaut Scott Parazynski accidentally lost a set of needle-nose pliers, which were spotted floating away below the station.”
● “Camera
Astronaut Suni Williams was tussling with a stuck solar array on the space station in June 2007 when her camera came untethered and drifted away. Rather than astronaut error, this incident may have been caused when the button holding down the camera broke. Watch video of the mishap below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTBFlSwtBKc&feature=emb_title


LARGEST EVER
The largest space zombie known so far was a Chinese rocket that eventually took its last gasp of atmosphere and landed in the Atlantic Ocean on May 11, 2020. The rocket’s empty core stage, weighing nearly 18 tons, is the largest piece of space debris to fall uncontrolled back to Earth since 1991. And by the way, on the way to its final resting place, the rocket core flew over Los Angeles and New York.

It’s a good thing we have a lot of people tracking this kind of event.
Just sayin’.

□‘
Sources:
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/615172/space-flashes-earth-satellite-photo-explanation-science
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/orbital_debris.html
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2019/02/Distribution_of_space_debris_in_orbit_around_Earth
https://medium.com/@zeel.patel/space-debris-in-the-21st-century-3a51a8cd87f
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/forgotten-piece-space-junk-headed-earth-180957072/
https://iannuccihistory.weebly.com/class-blog/scientist-want-to-clean-up-space
https://phys.org/news/2019-05-space-sustainability-aims-amount-debris.html

https://phys.org/news/2018-09-image-small-satellite-solution-space.htm
https://phys.org/news/2018-09-video-net-successfully-snares-space.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_debris
https://archive.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/web/html/
https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials#:~:text=The%20total%20generation%20of%20municipal,27%20million%20tons%20were%20composted.
https://www.technewsworld.com/story/86542.htmlhttps://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2019/02/Distribution_of_space_debris_in_orbit_around_Earth
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06170-1
https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a26885/space-junk-cleanup/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-quest-to-conquer-earths-space-junk-problem/#:~:text=The%20space%20around%20Earth%20is,or%20pieces%20of%20inactive%20ones.&text=To%20assess%20the%20risk%20of,little%20information%20about%20many%20items.
https://www.businessinsider.com/where-does-space-begin-2016-7
https://www.wired.com/2009/02/spacestuff/

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nasa-astronauts-pee-and-poop-in-space-2018-8
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/16/chinese-rocket-falls-to-earth-space-debris-problem-worsens.html#:~:text=A%20Chinese%20rocket%20that%20became,back%20to%20Eart
Photos Only
https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/outside-the-spacecraft/online/floating.cfm
https://www.celestis.com/blog/countdown-to-celestis-16-the-heritage-flight/
http://www.lushforlife.com/2006/07/spatula-crisis-strikes-nasa/
http://www.spaceweather.com/flybys/?PHPSESSID=v5r9ilmkqgek0vcqoq2svcenr2
https://www.fanboy.com/2008/11/tracking-heidemarie-stefanyshyn-pipers-lost-tool-bag.html
 



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how AT&T, Yahoo, or Someone Ruined My Life

9/4/2020

0 Comments

 
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​​​TROUBLE WITH E-MAIL
I may be exaggerating just a little, but my problems with e-mail have been more than just stressful. They have managed to affect my credit score, which is no small thing.

How is that possible? Easy. I never received a couple of on-line billings and, thus, made a couple of late payments. Voilá! A drop of 120 points. Ouch!
All Cartoons below by Ron Lieberman.

THE CULPRIT
I’m not even sure who is responsible – AT&T, Yahoo, or maybe the Celestial Computer Controller in the iClouds – but I had been experienced a good relationship with my e-mail partner punkyc@pacbell.net for more than twenty years.

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Sure, we had our ups and downs, as most couples do, but all in all we were compatible and never had disagreements we couldn’t solve. Then the mysterious someone intervened.

SABATOGE
All at once ​​punkyc could no longer send an e-mail. She tried but the message kept coming back with a message that it could not be transmitted because it looked like spam. What?
​
                                       I could forward, but not send. 
Well, darn. That was inconvenient!

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Then, after failing to receive a lot of e-mail that people had sent and asked me about, I discovered almost everything new was going directly to Trash. Not everything, mind you. In order to trick me, some communications actually made it to my in-box so I thought I was getting all of it.
​
Rats! Now I had to check the in-basket and the trash basket.

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At that point, I realized I was being sabotaged by the AT&T or PacBell or Yahoo or whomever, because they no longer wanted to handle personal accounts – that’s according to my personal spy at AT&T.
​
You would think common courtesy (which isn’t so common, I guess) would demand they send me a “dear John” letter ending it all. But I received not a word of warning.

​Heartbroken, but understanding I was destined to be separated from my beloved companion punkyc, I created a g-mail account on the sly and started transferring things I wanted -- sort of like taking some of your most important possessions out of your boyfriend’s apartment before you give him the bad news.

Alas, I didn’t take the impending danger seriously enough. After all, I still received mail and could access the account, so I took my time and continued my relationship with punkyc.
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​​​​BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO
The breakup was disastrous and unexpected. I’d been finding ways to sign-in on the Yahoo account for weeks and thought l had everything under control. Pride goeth before a fall.

One day in June, Yahoo refused my password. There had been no change in either e-mail address or password, but I was out on my keester. No entry. No more e-mail. 

Desperate, I tried every password I’d ever used with Yahoo. No dice. Together, Yahoo and punkyc had rejected me.

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CHANGING YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS IS EVEN HARDER TO DO
This has been one of the most frustrating experiences of my life, and I’m not kidding here.

Every account I have from my bank, to Pay Pal, to social media, shopping, ad infinitum is set up using punkyc. Trying to get them changed to my new e-mail address has been a nightmare. For some reason, none of them will accept the password I’ve used for lo these many years.

N O N E  O F  T H E M  ! !  [I apologize for raising my voice.]

But luckily so, in one respect!

“Why?” you gasp, trying to imagine the reason.

“Because,” I answer, “as soon as I had business cards printed up and let a lot of people know the new g-mail address, somehow I screwed that up and had to settle for a modified version.”

My newest and current e-mail address is this:    rannsiracusa3@gmail.com

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Worst of all, only part of contact list transferred over to the g-mail. I’m not sure how I’m going to get everyone back into a Google address book. Alas, I don’t have 3,000 memorized and I can’t contact you to tell you I have a new g-mail address, because I no longer have yours.

If you still want to communicate and don’t mind, drop me an e-mail with your addy.

In the mean time, I still have all my accounts to struggle with. Whether or not I succeed in straightening things out, my life is ruined and will never be the same.

image credits: All Cartoons by Ron Lieberman.


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Here lies Author R. Ann Siracusa
If not, call the undertaker immediately!
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    Author R. Ann Siracusa

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