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csziggy

csziggy's Journal
csziggy's Journal
October 1, 2017

The Biggest School Massacre America Forgot

The Biggest School Massacre America Forgot
By Annie Garau on September 28, 2017

When a terror attack hits the headlines, you can usually expect it to remain there for weeks. Media outlets revisit the biggest of them — 9/11, Sandy Hook, Pulse Nightclub — frequently, even as months, years, and decades go by.

It’s surprising, then, that the largest school massacre in American history is one that most of us have never heard of. It’s called the Bath School disaster and it took place on May 18, 1927 in Bath, Michigan.

Seven adults and 38 children died on that day, because a man named Andrew Kehoe was upset about his taxes.

<SNIP>

He tightly packed hundreds of pounds of dynamite into the school’s basement, surrounded the explosives with gunpowder, and then wired the setup to a battery and an alarm clock set for 8:45 a.m.

More: http://all-that-is-interesting.com/bath-school-disaster


In addition to blowing up the school filled with children, Kehoe also blew up his house - with his wife inside - and his truck as he drove it past the destroyed school, killing himself and more people.

All because he did not want to pay taxes to pay for the school in his community.
September 30, 2017

All those threads about favorite songs from different years made me wonder

What the top hits from various years had been. And I found this:

September 29, 2017

NOT asking medical device - talk to me about aortic valve replacement

Last November at my wellness check they heard a heart murmur. Ever since then I have been on a slowly accelerating series of tests to narrow down what it is - echocardiogram, cardio-MRI with contrast, stress echocardiogram, and today a cardio caterization to measure blood flow in the heart

I have a severely stenotic aortic valve. The doctor's comment to my husband was that he is surprised I am doing as well as I am. He could not get the cath through the valve to measure the pressure inside the chamber. I will be getting a replacement valve.

My choices are a bioprosthetic valve (pig valve) or a mechanical valve. The bioprosthetic lasts 10-15 years, a mechanical one about 30 years. I am 65 with a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years or more (my Dad died at 90, Mom is still going at 96 WITH the same kind of valve problem I have that she has refused to have treated) so the first choice might seem to be a mechanical valve.

The bioprosthetic valve can - in medium to high risk patients - be inserted with a trans arterial valve replacement (TAVR) procedure. They go through a vein or artery from the groin, stick the valve in and it pops in place like a stent. Most patients can go home in a day or two.

The mechanical valve has to be placed with open heart surgery, cracking open the chest to place it. Plus with it I would have to take blood thinners the rest of my life - with the bioprosthetic I should only have to take them for a short time after the surgery or procedure.

BUT - there is good news! The local hospital is doing a clinical trial of using the TAVR procedure on low risk patients. I am a good candidate for getting in and that will give me a 50% chance of getting the TAVR procedure since half are control patients getting the regular open heart surgery.

So, has anyone here had a valve replacement? What was your experience like? Anyone with medical knowledge have anything to say? Do I have my information correct?

Thanks!

September 28, 2017

Antinomian - and entirely new word to me - but VERY relevant today

A guest on Chris Hayes All In just used this word and Chris kind of chuckled and said it was a good word in these days. So I looked it up - and it is decidedly relevant!

Antinomianism (from the Greek: ????, "against" + ?????, "law&quot , is any view which rejects laws or legalism and is against moral, religious, or social norms (Latin: Mores), or is at least considered to do so.[1]

In Christianity, an antinomian is one who takes the principle of salvation by faith and divine grace to the point of asserting that the saved are not bound to follow the Law of Moses.[2] The distinction between antinomian and other Christian views on moral law is that antinomians believe that obedience to the law is motivated by an internal principle flowing from belief rather than from any external compulsion.

<SNIP>

Antinomianism has been a point of doctrinal contention in the history of Christianity, especially in Protestantism, given the Protestant belief in justification through faith alone versus justification on the basis of merit or good works or works of mercy. Most Protestants consider themselves saved without having to keep the commandments of the Mosaic law as a whole; that is, their salvation does not depend upon keeping the Mosaic law. However, salvific faith is generally seen as one that produces obedience, consistent with the reformed formula, "We are justified by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone," in contrast to rejecting moral constraint.[6]

The term antinomianism was coined by Martin Luther during the Reformation to criticize extreme interpretations of the new Lutheran soteriology.[7] In the 18th century, John Wesley severely attacked antinomianism.[8]

A general consensus has been historically reached as to which laws of the Old Testament Christians are still enjoined to keep. These moral laws, as opposed to civil or ceremonial laws, are derivative of what St. Paul indirectly refers to as natural law (Rom. 2.14–15). Mosaic law has authority only insofar as it reflects the commands of Christ and the natural law. Christian sects and theologians who believe that they are freed from more moral constraint than is customary are often called "antinomian" by their critics. Thus, classic Methodist commentator Adam Clarke held, "The Gospel proclaims liberty from the ceremonial law, but binds you still faster under the moral law. To be freed from the ceremonial law is the Gospel liberty; to pretend freedom from the moral law is Antinomianism."[9] Contemporary evangelical theologian J. I. Packer states that antinomianism, "which means being anti-law, is a name for several views."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomianism


An interesting term with a very interesting history!
September 23, 2017

Finally, some eclipse photos I took in Brasstown, North Carolina (LOTS of photos!)

Only a month after the fact....

We had to recover from a disastrous end of our vacation (do not EVER stay at the Crowne Plaza in Asheville North Carolina!), lots of health checkups, and some very bad health news.

For the eclipse we met family at the John C. Campbell Folk School, had a picnic lunch and a great time watching the eclipse.

Just before the total eclipse - light through open leaves:


Partial eclipse taken with eclipse glasses held over the camera lens:

(I did not have the budget to buy a filter for my old DSLR and can't put one on the FujiFilm FinePix S9900W I'm currently using.)

Almost totality!


Totality (hand held, taken with my husband's older Fujifilm FinePix S4500)


My husband hiked to the top of a hill and took photos from there with my camera. He caught the shadow of the moon on the clouds:


I caught the diamond ring effect!


We'd also set up a video camera to catch the changes in light. It should have been set up on the hill where my husband was, but the last eight minutes of the hour and a half did come out kind of cool. I compressed it to thirty seconds and added music:
http://www.woodswell.com/family/Family_Photo_Albums/2017%20Solar%20Eclipse/index.html#201708271534_audio.mp4
(At bottom right is icon to enlarge to full screen.)

Oh - at the very end of the video you seen a glimpse of someone dashing past. A couple had walked past before the eclipse with their cat on a leash. At totality, the cat freaked out and got away from them. The person dashing past is the husband chasing the cat. The cat's leash got caught on a tree and he was rescued, safe with no injuries.

September 20, 2017

Canoe Found After Hurricane Irma Eyed As Piece Of Florida History

Canoe Found After Hurricane Irma Eyed As Piece Of Florida History
The dugout canoe is believed to have surfaced from the bottom of the Indian River, along Florida’s east coast.
By Nina Golgowski

Hurricane Irma left a lot of destruction in its wake, but it may have also unearthed a piece of history.

A wooden canoe that scientists say could be hundreds of years old has reportedly emerged from the bottom of the Indian River along Florida’s eastern coast following last week’s powerful storm, leading some to speculate that it could have once belonged to Native Americans.

Local Cocoa photographer and self-proclaimed history buff Randy Lathrop said he was riding his bike along the river earlier this week when he came across the unusual piece of wood washed up near the shore.

“As soon as I saw it, I knew exactly what it was,” he told ABC News.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/canoe-hurricane-irma-historical-artifact_us_59be70a6e4b02da0e1429d17?utm_campaign=hp_fb_pages&utm_source=main_fb&utm_medium=facebook&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063


It is not ancient since the construction used cut nails but those date it at least a hundred years old. If you follow the link to the Facebook account of the Florida Division of Historical Resources one of the comments mentions a collection about dugout canoes which is available for museums to rent. The link to the information about that collection includes some photos and information.
September 17, 2017

Monarch Butterfly Good News

St. Marks and St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuges

A little monarch news and predictions: Monarch Population Status - by Chip Taylor
----------------------------------------------------------------
To make projections for each fall migration and overwintering population, I start with the numbers of monarchs measured at the overwintering sites in Mexico. Next, I focus on overwintering mortality, followed by the spring conditions that prevail as monarchs move northward from the overwintering sites to the milkweed areas in south and central Texas, and then the conditions in the South Region (Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas) during the growth of the first generation in March and April. That is followed by attention to the conditions during the period from 1 May-9 June that allow (or don’t allow) first-generation monarchs to reach the northern breeding grounds. Summer temperatures along with the seasonal distribution and amounts of rainfall are also in focus when estimating the fall and winter numbers.

The above provides the context for a number of hypotheses or projections concerning the coming migration and the opportunities to tag monarchs this fall. First, this should be a GREAT tagging season. It will certainly be as good as the 2015 season and probably better. The overwintering numbers should match or exceed the 4.01-hectare population measured in the winter of 2015-2016 (see Monarch Population Status from February). Further, several fall monitoring sites (Peninsula Point, MI; Long Point, ONT and Cape May, NJ) are all likely to record much higher numbers of monarchs than in recent years. Specifically, the migration through Cape May has the potential to be stronger than any migration since 2012. While the numbers at Cape May will probably not be as high as 2012, they are likely to rank within the top ten seasonal averages in the 25 years of that program. Fall monarchs should be abundant in the Upper Midwest from the eastern Dakotas east to Wisconsin and Illinois with good numbers present from Michigan through Ohio as well. Production of monarchs should also be higher than it has been for many years for all of the Northeast from New York and Pennsylvania through Maine. The Mid-Atlantic region hasn’t been heard from in recent months, but the flow south and southwest through that region by monarchs originating further north should present some good opportunities for tagging in that region as well. Taggers located south of the northern breeding areas, particularly those located in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, should also have a greater opportunity to tag monarchs than in recent years.

In sum, this looks to be a good year for monarchs – with a stronger migration in most regions and a good prospect that the overwintering population will increase from the 2.91 hectares of last year to 4 hectares or better this coming winter.

For a more detailed discussion of the current monarch population status please visit http://monarchwatch.org/blog/

To determine the timing and anticipated peak of the monarch migration in your area please see our “Peak Migration Dates” page at http://monarchwatch.org/tagmig/peak.html

https://www.facebook.com/SMSVNWRS/?hc_ref=ARR88PCGOOKYqT_rDbozz_gigBMndasghoY1uwm34rGzB9gAx2evU50HYvfcCokwY2k&fref=nf
September 10, 2017

MSNBC showing water GONE from Tampa Bay! UPDATE

No link - live just now. Tampa Bay is EMPTY of water. Winds from the east may have pushed it out along with the storm pulling water into the center.

AMAZING!

UPDATE - my sister who has lived in the Tampa area since the 1960s says that is normal low tide, nothing to see here.

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Hometown: Leon County, Florida
Member since: Tue Feb 12, 2008, 10:18 PM
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