Cartoons were inescapable in the 1980’s. Saturday mornings‚ weekday afternoons and even on cable TV‚ colorful animated characters were everywhere we looked. While the majority were shoddy productions conceived as part of carefully constructed marketing CONTINUE READING... The post 10 Best Cartoons of the 80’s appeared first on The Retro Network.

Author of How to Prep When You’re Broke and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course Are you convinced that you can’t prep without spending a whole lot of money? That couldn’t be further from the truth. There are all sorts of ways you can become better prepared without spending a dime. The thing to remember is that there is a lot more to prepping than just feverishly filling mylar bags with food or stacking ammo to the ceiling. You need to think outside of the consumer mindset. How to prep without spending a lot of money Prepping on a dime is something I got good at by necessity. If you want to learn more‚ check out my paperback book How to Prep When You’re Broke. I know that it feels like prepping is a costly endeavor but there are so many things we can do and learn without spending money. You can’t necessarily buy your way out of a disaster or a collapse. Skills and mindset can be as important – if not more so – than physical goods. Here are ten ideas to get your wheels turning. #1) Fill containers with water If you haven’t taken out the recycling yet this week‚ don’t!  You can use those empty two-liter soda pop bottles and gallon water bottles to stock up on a drinking water supply. Count on a gallon a day per human and pet. (Two 2-liter bottles are approximately a gallon). But don’t stop there. If you have other containers that shouldn’t be used for drinking water‚ you can fill them with water for other uses‚ like sanitation‚ flushing the toilet‚ and keeping clean. Add to your supply each week‚ and soon you’ll have a month supply‚ quietly sitting there in your basement. Here’s an infographic to get you started on safely storing water. If you want to be more serious about your water supply‚ I have a book about it that you can get on Amazon. #2) Do a drill The absolute best way to know what you need during an emergency is to simulate a crisis.  Get your family on board and spend a weekend without power and running water. Keep a list going for the entire weekend so that you can note what needs arose. (Leave the breakers on for the refrigerator and freezer – you don’t want to potentially have your food spoil.) Can you make coffee and food? Can you keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer? Can you keep the kids entertained without the internet or phone service? #3) Learn what edibles are wild in your area Go to the library and grab a book on foraging. Then begin to explore your local area to find out what food grows wild there‚ formerly unbeknownst to you. Go on a nature walk and come home with goodies! The fun doesn’t stop with just bringing the food home. Next‚ research how to best prepare the wild edibles you’ve acquired. You may find this at the library or you may be able to search for recipes online.  Be sure to jot down in a notebook what you found and how you prepared it. #4) Put together important information Organize your essential papers and documents into a folder so that you can grab it quickly if you ever have to bug out. Include things like medical records‚ veterinary records‚ deeds‚ mortgage papers‚ insurance policies‚ social security numbers‚ and identification. Don’t stop at just putting it in a folder. You should also scan these documents and save them in the cloud. Here is a preparedness based article on the topic and another article on whether or not this is a safe action. #5) Prep for an evacuation Now you need to pack a bug-out bag. If budget is a concern‚ use bags you already have along with supplies that you already have. The important thing is to have this stuff organized and be ready to go at a moment’s notice. Have a list of last minute items so that you know what you need. It’s better to think this through when you’re calm‚ not when the clock is ticking towards disaster. You’ll want things like personal documents‚ extra medication‚ comfort items for children‚ and survival supplies that could get you through 3 days away from home.  To take a look at the ultimate prepper’s bug out bag‚ look at this one from Graywolf Survival. Don’t forget sentimental items. They are truly the only things that could never be replaced. Figure out where you’ll go. Is there a friend or family member in another area who would welcome you? Is there a pet-friendly hotel (if you have pets?) Where is the usual shelter in your area during natural disasters? Knowing all this ahead of time and mapping routes will help you to evacuate faster. #6) Bookmark some websites The internet is a wonderful place‚ and best of all‚ this knowledge can be found for FREE! The more you know about crisis situations‚ the more ready you will be to face them. Some sites are friendlier to beginners than others‚ so if you stumble upon a forum where people seem less than enthusiastic about helping people who are just starting out‚ don’t let it get you down. Move on and find a site that makes you feel comfortable. Following are some of my favorites‚ and the link will take you to a good starting point on these sites. In no particular order: The Organic Prepper (obviously – and subscribe here for the daily newsletter) Mind4Survival Graywolf Survival SurvivalistPrepper.net Survival Weekly AreYouPreparedMama Survival Blog #7) Learn a skill A huge part of prepping is your skills. In a big enough disaster or one that lasts much longer than expected‚ there’s every possibility your supplies will be destroyed or run out. Knowing what to do then is vital to your survival. Your public library and the internet are great resources. I learned to run a homestead with videos from YouTube. Seriously‚ there’s nothing you can’t learn to do if you have access to these things. So think about a skill you’d like to acquire that doesn’t require expensive equipment. I already mentioned foraging but there are loads of other things to learn. A few suggestions: sewing by hand mending things repairing things that are broken building a shelter using found items cooking over a campfire grow food from scraps trapping with a snare cooking from scratch research first aid and basic medical information learn to upcycle the things you’d generally throw away into something useful take free classes You get the idea. Anything that is an old-fashioned skill would come in handy during a survival situation. #8) Map out your local area It’s a good idea to locate important resources in your area well before you need them. Here are a few reasons why: You may plan to travel or may unexpectedly be required to travel to another location during a disaster‚ which may require you to use alternate routes. You can use maps to determine these routes for yourself rather than just following the crowd You may want to determine the location of dangerous weather (tornados‚ hurricanes‚ winter storms‚ etc‚) in relation to where you are Determine the location of resources that you might want to travel to and alternate routes to get there (Part 4 will provide more information on this topic) Determine locations and direction of travel of mobs‚ crowds‚ or potential enemy forces that you might hear about on the radio or TV Locate military intelligence type information about potential or actual threats to your location that you might discover talking to fellow travelers (source) There are many free maps available for download. You can find them with a quick internet search. #9) Meet like-minded people Now‚ when I say you should meet like-minded people‚ I’m not necessarily talking about preppers. There’s a broad array of folks that could be the makings of a fantastic survival community. Get to know folks in your area who garden. Meet your local farmers. Make friends at the shooting range. Members of local homesteading groups are already independent thinkers Community watch members on social media Attend free county extension office classes on canning‚ gardening‚ and food preservation As I’ve written before‚ you are shortchanging yourself if you think only preppers will be likeminded. Here’s an article on finding a community. #10) Get fit. One thing preppers often overlook is the importance of their physical abilities. Even if you are disabled‚ there are things you can do to improve your fitness and stamina. Search for exercises online that you can do whatever shape you are in or limitations you have. And‚ if you DO have disabilities‚ you need to figure out smart ways to work around your limitations. (Find more info for disabled preppers or those with a chronic illness here.) The easiest way to start your journey to fitness is by lacing up your most comfortable and supportive shoes and going for a walk. You can begin to challenge yourself to lift and carry heavier things. You can stretch using an online yoga video. The big goal is to just get started. And‚ if you are carrying around too much weight‚ you may want to work on losing a few pounds to make things easier on your joints during a crisis situation. (If you are really serious about getting fit‚ here’s a great book on the topic‚ written just for preppers.) You can prep without spending a fortune. You just need to be smart about it. Don’t let your budget get you down. Of course‚ we’d all love to be able to grab a five year supply of freeze-dried foods‚ load up on guns and ammo‚ and move to our fully-stocked bug-out retreats in our Hummers‚ but for most folks‚ that isn’t at all feasible. What IS feasible is focusing on the things we CAN do. (If you have a little bit of money to spend‚ check out this article on $1 preps.) The most important ways to prep are to keep learning‚ keep organizing‚ and be alert. If you do those three things‚ even without spending a lot of money on supplies‚ you’ll be far‚ far ahead of the unprepared masses. Sometimes I think those of us who live with a very tight budget may just be better off when things go sideways because we already know how to sacrifice and get by on less. Do you have any other ideas for free ways to prep? Are you prepping on a tight budget? Share your suggestions and ideas in the comments section. About Daisy Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging‚ adventure-seeking‚ globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites.  1) The Organic Prepper‚ which is about current events‚ preparedness‚ self-reliance‚ and the pursuit of liberty; 2)  The Frugalite‚ a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com‚ an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews. Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books‚ 12 self-published books‚ and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides‚ printables‚ and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook‚ Pinterest‚ Gab‚ MeWe‚ Parler‚ Instagram‚ and Twitter. The post 10 Smart Ways to Prep Without Spending Money appeared first on The Organic Prepper.

We present you funny dog posts from Jan 07 to Jan 13 that will paws-itively make you through the rest of the week!

Looking for a reason to show your dog some extra love this 2024? Here's a complete list of dog holidays you can celebrate with them in 2024!

Did Fani Willis Just Admit to the Charges Against Her?

Many lunar deposits are curiously high in titanium‚ with TiO2 accounting for up to 18 percent of some samples by weight. As interesting as that may be to future miners‚ this fact has also intrigued planetary scientists‚ who for more than fifty years have been unable to explain how these rocks could form – let alone reach the lunar surface. Now the puzzle has apparently been solved.When the Apollo astronauts returned from the Moon with 380 kilograms (840 pounds) of rocks‚ some of their samples were familiar to geologists. Others were not‚ but only because they required unearthly conditions‚ such as an absence of water or air‚ to be produced. However‚ some lunar substances defied obvious explanations. The volcanic basalts that make up the lunar “seas”‚ for example‚ turned out to be much more diverse in composition than their Earthly equivalents‚ with a hundred-fold difference in titanium concentrations standing out. High-titanium basalt has remained a mystery ever since. Mapping from orbit that revealed these rocks were quite widespread deepened the puzzle.The Clementine mission to the Moon revealed how widespread the high-titanium basalts‚ at least on the near side.Image Credit: Lunar and Planetary InstituteNow‚ a team co-led by Professor Tim Elliott of the University of Bristol has come close to recreating the mystery basalt in the lab‚ in the process providing an account of how they could have formed on the Moon.“The origin of volcanic lunar rocks is a fascinating tale involving an ‘avalanche’ of an unstable‚ planetary-scale crystal pile created by the cooling of a primordial magma ocean‚” Elliott said in a statement. “Central to constraining this epic history is the presence of a magma type unique to the Moon‚ but explaining how such magmas could even have got to the surface‚ to be sampled by Space missions‚ has been a troublesome problem. It is great to have resolved this dilemma.”The problem wasn’t just that the basalt is high in titanium‚ but its low density compared to the most similar rocks on Earth. This lightness contributed to widespread eruptions 3.5 billion years ago‚ before the Moon ceased to be volcanically active – but geologists had trouble explaining how this composition arose‚ and why only on the Moon.Some geologists suggested the titanium-rich basalts came from materials in the lunar mantle known as ilmenite-bearing cumulates. However‚ partially melted cumulates in the lab don’t match the basalts in question. Moreover‚ the product is so dense it’s considered improbable it could have reached the surface.Elliott and colleagues have now shown that when ilmenite-bearing cumulates react with the common mineral olivine and orthopyroxene‚ the melted product matches the titanium-rich basalts people have been struggling to explain. The match extends to its low density‚ making the widespread eruptions make sense.A high titanium basalt from Apollo 17 used for the study.Image Credit: NASA“Although this model does not fully replicate lunar melt–solid interaction‚ we suggest that titanium-rich magmas erupted on the surface of the Moon can be derived through partial melting of ilmenite-bearing cumulates‚ but melts undergo extensive modification of their elemental and isotopic composition through reactive flow in the lunar mantle‚” Elliott and co-authors write. “Reactive flow may therefore be the critical process that decreases melt density and allows high-Ti melts to erupt on the lunar surface.”The work is published in the journal Nature Geoscience

2024’s Apocalypse Bingo Card can put a big fat cross through "insect invasion" as America is scheduled to have the first double brood emergence of cicadas in 221 years. How can we know that? Because these peculiar insects have a passion for prime numbers.Periodical cicadas don’t emerge often – once every 13 or 17 years‚ to be precise – and when they do they arrive in their millions‚ and even billions. This year‚ fate has aligned so that two broods will emerge from the ground‚ marking the first time this has happened in over two centuries.Brood XIII makes an appearance every 17 years‚ while Brood XIX pops up every 13 years. This year‚ they’re going to have to learn to share‚ as they’ll be wriggling topside together.The numbers might seem random‚ but there’s method to the madness.“Thirteen years and 17 years are special because they’re both prime numbers‚ which means it’s really hard for a predator to have a cycle that syncs up with them‚” explained mathematician Professor Hannah Fry in a TikTok video. “Also‚ they almost never synchronize with each other – 13 and 17‚ kind of missing each other – apart from every 221 years.”       The last time we got such a bumper brood of cicadas was back in 1803‚ so while we’re seeing in the double brood with the likes of Taylor Swift and Lil Nas X‚ the last Brood X double bill was going down to the tune of Beethoven. When it’s time for cicadas to emerge‚ they wriggle from where they’ve been lurking in the ground for over a decade and shed their exoskeletons. The once-in-their-lifetime event is what has to happen so that they can reproduce‚ and it’s a short-lived mass orgy that unfortunately isn’t excused from the threat of sexually transmitted pathogens.A fungus called Massospora cicadina is well-known among the scientific community‚ an opportunistic pathogen that crashes the cicada orgy and spreads from insect to insect via sexual contact. Effectively an STI‚ the fungus can spread from an infected female to other cicadas as they attempt to copulate.“It’s a sexually transmitted fungus‚” said John Lill‚ a cicada expert and chair of biology at George Washington University‚ to IndyStar. “They engage in normal courtship behavior‚ yet their abdomen is a big fungal mass. Instead‚ the attempted copulation results in spreading the fungus even more.”It’s a different beast to the fungi that inspired The Last Of Us‚ but it’s still a mind-altering one that changes the cicadas behaviors. Infected males will sing for female mates‚ but they’ll also flap their wings‚ which attracts males. As the fungus continues to eat away at the cicada’s reproductive organs‚ the insect will pass it on to every other cicada they encounter. Eventually‚ the eating away becomes so severe the cicada’s butt actually falls off. Lucky you for landing on this Earth at just the right time to see it all unfold in real time. Popcorn at the ready‚ chaps.

In the morning of Sunday‚ January 14‚ the Earth opened up again in the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland. A new eruption took place in the active region‚ and this time the lava reached the town of Grindavík. After the eruption of last month‚ defenses were built to direct the lava flow away from the town‚ which was evacuated in November. A new fissure opened up beyond the barriers and the lava reached the town‚ setting some houses alight.The lava as it reached the town of GrindavíkImage courtesy of the Icelandic Coast Guard  “The southern most part of the fissure is about 900m [2‚953 feet] from the town of Grindavík. The opening is south of lava flow deflection barriers that are being built north of Grindavík. Lava is now flowing towards the town‚” the Icelandic Meteorological Office said in a statement yesterday morning. IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Gas flowing from the eruption was blown towards the sea‚ which was at least a silver lining. The experts believe that the magma dike intrusion responsible for these eruptions moved underneath the town of Grindavík. It is believed that existing faults and fractures in the town were reactivated and new faults likely formed as the intrusion propagated underground.The eruption as seen from over the blue lagoonImage courtesy of the Icelandic Coast GuardThis region has been the center of volcanic activity since 2021 after laying dormant for six millennia. With the latest one‚ there have been five eruptions in the Reykjanes Peninsula. The amount of magma in the intrusion had scientists worried that the region was just getting started and this new eruption is proving their concerns were correct.

Private American space company Astrobotic has announced its doomed lunar lander is now on a path back towards Earth. Peregrine has been leaking fuel since last week‚ and any hopes for a "hard" landing on the Moon have been dashed. Instead‚ Astrobotic is aiming for a controlled burning up in Earth's atmosphere.After a successful launch on January 8‚ the world has been watching what was billed as the first-ever private US mission to land on the Moon. Unfortunately‚ the lander hit trouble shortly after heading out of the Earth's atmosphere‚ leaving it unable to point its solar panels at the Sun.Without enough energy to get to the Moon and make a soft landing‚ the team has been working hard to deliver its payloads‚ successfully delivering power to all 10 experiments that needed it. As well as communicating with the ground‚ some even achieved science objectives‚ according to Astrobotic.But there was still the matter of what to do with the lander itself‚ a decision which had to be made quickly as the propellant continued to leak‚ albeit at a slowed rate."Yesterday afternoon‚ we test-fired one of the main engines for the first time. We achieved a 200-millisecond burn and acquired data that indicated Peregrine could have main engine propulsive capability‚" the team wrote in an update on January 14. "However‚ due to the anomaly‚ the fuel-to-oxidizer ratio is well outside of the normal operating range of the main engines‚ making long controlled burns impossible. The team projects that the spacecraft has enough remaining propellant to maintain Sun pointing and perform small maneuvers."Currently‚ 376‚500 kilometers (240‚000 miles) away from Earth‚ Astrobotic is working with NASA to return the spacecraft for a controlled re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. This may seem a little dramatic‚ but burning it up in the Earth's atmosphere‚ and controlling its path‚ is preferable to leaving potential debris floating around‚ which could make its way to Earth in an uncontrolled path‚ or cause problems for other spacecraft.  The team believes the lander could have a few weeks of operational time left in it‚ but ultimately the decision was taken to put the craft on course to re-enter our atmosphere."While we believe it is possible for the spacecraft to operate for several more weeks and could potentially have raised the orbit to miss the Earth‚ we must take into consideration the anomalous state of the propulsion system and utilize the vehicle’s onboard capability to end the mission responsibly and safely‚" Astrobitc said."We do not believe Peregrine’s re-entry poses safety risks‚ and the spacecraft will burn up in Earth’s atmosphere."

In a groundbreaking cosmic quest‚ the SETI Institute’s Commensal Open-Source Multimode Interferometer Cluster (COSMIC) at the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is expanding the search for extraterrestrial intelligence‚ reports seti.org. This cutting-edge technology is not a distinct telescope; it’s a detector. COSMIC searches for extraterrestrial signals and paves the way for future science using a copy of the raw data from the telescope’s observations. At the heart of COSMIC’s mission is pursuing the age-old question: Are we alone in the universe? Project scientist Dr. Chenoa Tremblay and the team detailed the project in a paper published in The Astronomical Journal. What sets COSMIC apart is its adaptability to the future. The system is designed for future upgrades‚ ensuring it remains at the forefront of cosmic exploration. With the potential to expand its capabilities‚ COSMIC could soon cover more stars‚ explore new frequencies‚ and enhance our understanding of the vast cosmic tapestry. It is important to note that COSMIC’s capabilities go beyond searching for extraterrestrial intelligence. Future upgrades could unlock new explorations‚ from finding fast radio bursts with a submillisecond temporal resolution to studying spectral line science and axionic dark matter. Image showing the positions of all the stars targeted by COSMIC thus far with data recorded into a database of potential signals. We have collected data on over 485‚000 sources across the frequency range of 2 to 45GHz. The coordinates of each small dot are a targeted star and the filled-in patches of the sky represent regions mapped through the VLA Sky Survey‚ which surveyed the sky at a rate of 2000 sources per hour. “COSMIC introduces modern Ethernet-based digital architecture on the VLA‚ allowing for a test bed for future technologies as we move into the next generation era‚” said Tremblay. “Currently‚ the focus is on creating one of the largest surveys for technological signals‚ with over 500‚000 sources observed in the first six months. However‚ the flexibility of the design allows for a wide range of other scientific opportunities‚ such as studying fast radio burst pulse structures and searching for axion dark matter candidates. “We hope to open opportunities for other scientists to use our high time (nanoseconds) or our high spectral resolution (sub-Hz) to complete their research. It is an exciting time for increasing the capabilities of this historic telescope.” COSMIC stands on the shoulders of giants like Project Phoenix‚ with the capacity to search millions of stars and the potential to expand to tens of millions—a leap in scope and sensitivity. Currently operational on the VLA‚ COSMIC is searching using observations from the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS)‚ which will map 80% of the sky in three phases over two years and catalog approximately 10 million radio sources. COSMIC’s Ethernet-based system adds a new collaborative element to the cosmos. The multicasting technology allows other commensal systems to access COSMIC’s processing power‚ enabling a collaborative scientific ecosystem to develop. Imagine multiple telescopes working together to unlock the universe’s most profound mysteries. “The COSMIC system greatly enhances the VLA’s scientific capabilities. Its main goal of detecting extraterrestrial technosignatures addresses one of the most profound scientific questions ever. This topic was previously not possible with the VLA‚” said Dr. Paul Demorest‚ National Radio Astronomy Observatory. “By operating in parallel with projects such as the VLA Sky Survey‚ COSMIC will accomplish one of the largest SETI surveys ever while still allowing the VLA to carry out its usual program of other astronomical research.” The post SETI is unlocking the mystery of aliens with breakthrough technology appeared first on Anomalien.com.