Free Republic

These two word-clouds give us a view of the contrasts between the acceptance speeches of Obama and Palin. Created using Wordle, I tried to match them, in terms of layout, as closely as I could. It is interesting to note that there are many personal words in Palin's speech. I look forward to the comments.

[...snip...] But on to antimatter, a cloud of which has been known to exist around the galactic center since the 1970s, when balloon-based gamma-ray detectors first located it. Gamma rays are significant in terms of antimatter because electrons encountering positrons (their antimatter equivalent) annihilate each other, with their mass converted into high energy gamma rays. So the cloud’s presence is well established. The question since its detection is what could have caused it. Now a new paper in Nature may offer an answer, noting the asymmetric distribution of the antimatter cloud, which extends further on one side of galactic center...

A strange blue cloud seen floating and darting around customers, freezing for 30 minutes and then speeding from an Ohio gas station, remains unexplained even though it was caught on security cams. The ghostly image was seen moving near and over cars at a Marathon gas station located near the corner of State Road and Pleasant Valley in Parma on Sunday. Surveillance video of the image showed it flipping and then sitting in the same location for 30 minutes. It then flies off the screen at a high rate of speed. "It gives me the chills," a witness said. Security...

SIERRA VISTA — A funnel cloud Friday afternoon raised eyebrows of police, residents and weather spotters. Another smaller funnel was reported by Sierra Vista police personnel about 10 minutes after the first one retracted into the thunderhead. The funnel clouds were seen by enough people to have an advisory put out on it by the National Weather Service’s Tucson office. Marshall Bryan was mowing his yard on Shawnee Drive in Hereford when he stopped about 1:55 p.m. to look up and see how much time he had before the rain. Instead he saw a funnel cloud to the east of...

Kuelap – the Machu Picchu of Northern Peru.The mysterious super fortress of the Chachapoyan Cloud PeopleKuelap is the largest building structure of the Americas. It is estimated to contain 3 times more material than Egypt’s largest pyramid. Peru considers Kuelap to be as good as Machu Picchu and is trying to make this its equal 2nd major destination. It is twice as old as the Incas and in remarkably better condition before restoration. Kuelap is an unknown giant just waking up. Peru is a huge country the size of the 5 west coast states, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Montana....

HOBART, Australia - Some of the coldest temperatures on Earth brought a rare cloud formation to the skies over Antarctica, scientists said Tuesday. Meteorological officer Renae Baker captured spectacular images of the nacreous clouds, also known as polar stratospheric clouds, last week at Australia's Mawson station in Antarctica. The clouds only occur at high polar latitudes in winter, requiring temperatures less than minus 176 degrees Fahrenheit. A weather balloon measured temperatures at minus 189 degrees Fahrenheit on the day the photos were taken. Resembling airborne mother-of-pearl shells, the clouds are produced when fading light at sunset passes through water-ice crystals...

New Trojan asteroid hints at huge Neptunian cloud 19:00 15 June 2006 NewScientist.com news service Kelly YoungThe four known Neptune Trojans are shown in their position 60 degrees ahead of Neptune. The known clusters of Trojan asteroids on either side of Jupiter are also shown (Illustration: Scott Sheppard) A newly discovered asteroid in Neptune's orbit indicates the existence of a much larger, but as-yet-unseen, cloud of rocks in that region. The asteroids in Neptune's orbit might even outnumber those in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, the new research suggests." The asteroid was discovered by Scott Sheppard of...

Who is David Cloud, one may ask? He is the visible leader of Way of Life Ministries, a literature and (ostensibly) preaching ministry for Independent, Fundamental, KJV-only Baptists. OK, so that's not very important, but my relationship with David Cloud is long and complex. The reason I'm bothering to address him at all might not be readily apparent to any thinking individual, since he's mostly irrelevant to almost everybody on the face of the earth, but it will become apparent as I continue. Allow me to recount my history with David Cloud. When I first became a Christian, way back...

Two views from the Space Station of a short minor eruption from Cleveland Volcano: Smaller image below: click for the bigger one:

Cloud of scholarly dust rises over ancient footprints claim Tuesday, April 25, 2006 BRADLEY T. LEPPER Are the footprints of surprisingly ancient Americans preserved in 40,000-year-old volcanic ash in southern Mexico? In December, an article in the journal Science cast a cloud of doubt over that claim. The authors, Michael Waters and Paul Renne, argue that the ash dated to 1.3 million years ago, much too old for humans on this continent, and that the so-called footprints were nothing more than marks made by the tools of modern workers quarrying the stone with crowbars. Now, Silvia Gonzalez, an archaeologist from...

Rally at Israeli consulate features pictures of Muslim flags flying over White HouseA New York rally by the Islamic Thinkers Society outside the Israeli consulate yesterday featured chants of "The mushroom cloud is on its way! The real holocaust is on its way!" The demonstration by the Queens-based group was monitored by the Investigative Project on Terrorism whose members noted signs including "Islam will Dominate" and a picture with an Islamic flag flying over the White House. The chants were in Arabic and translated by the Investigative Project on Terrorism, headed by Steve Emerson, a former reporter for CNN. Here...

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, England - Firefighters used chemical foam to extinguish part of the inferno raging Monday after explosions at a fuel depot north of London, while a huge oily smoke cloud from the blaze drifted over northern France and headed toward Spain. The blasts Sunday, which injured 43 people, sent balls of fire into the sky and blew the doors off nearby houses, also contributed to a surge in oil prices to above $60 Monday. The explosions came just four days after an al-Qaida videotape appeared on the Internet calling for attacks on facilities carrying oil that it claims has...

July 2005: USAF B-2 Spirit with vapor cloud and two USAF F-15E Strike Eagles fly in formation over the Pacific Ocean. Andersen Air Force Base, Territory of Guam, USA PhotographerTechnical Sgt. Cecilio M. Ricardo, 36th Communication Squadron, 36th Air Expeditionary Wing, United States Air ForceSourceshttp://www.af.mil/weekinphotos/050708-01.htmlhttp://www.af.mil/media/photodb/photos/060707-F-3961R-003.jpgB-2 Stealth version of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean"http://linkfilter.net/?id=94946

PLANET-DISSOLVING DUST CLOUD IS HEADED TOWARD EARTH!Monday September 12, 2005 By MIKE FOSTER CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Scared-stiff astronomers have detected a mysterious mass they've dubbed a "chaos cloud" that dissolves everything in its path, including comets, asteroids, planets and entire stars -- and it's headed directly toward Earth! Discovered April 6 by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the swirling, 10 million-mile- wide cosmic dust cloud has been likened to an "acid nebula" and is hurtling toward us at close to the speed of light -- making its estimated time of arrival 9:15 a.m. EDT on June 1, 2014. "The good news...

Energy: China's burning ambition Source: Copyright 2005, Nature Date: June 30, 2005 Byline: Peter Aldhous Abstract The economic miracle that is transforming the world's most populous nation is threatened by energy shortages and rising pollution. It also risks plunging the planet's climate into chaos. Peter Aldhous reports. China is booming, and its hunger for energy is insatiable. For its people, the dismal air quality across much of the country is a constant reminder of its reliance on coal and other dirty fuels. When Nature visited Beijing to meet the technocrats responsible for China's energy policy, the city was blanketed in...

United States Navy (USN) F-14B Tomcat assigned to the "Swordsmen" of Fighter Squadron Three Two (VF-32)with its stylish Prandtl-Glauert condensation cloud on March 30, 2005 in the Mediterranean Sea. The PhotographerPhotographer's Mate 3rd Class Justin S. Osborne, USNThe SourceNavy NewsStand - Eye on the Fleet Photo Gallery, USNhttp://www.news.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=23503, USN Image ID: 050330-N-0382O-503 The Big Image Linkhttp://www.news.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/050330-N-0382O-503.jpg

"This view of the shock wave condensation collars backlit by the sun occurred during the launch of Atlantis on STS-106 and was captured on an engineering 35mm motion picture film. One frame was digitized to make this still image. Although the primary effect is created by the Orbiter forward fuselage, secondary effects can be seen on the SRB forward skirt, Orbiter vertical stabilizer and wing trailing edges (behind SSME's)" Source: NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Kennedy Media Gallery, Photo No.: KSC-00PP-1416, September 8, 2000, http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=4720 Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-106) launch video, September 8, 2000 http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-106/html/fd1.htmlhttp://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-106/net56/sts106launch_56.asf (video) http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-106/real56/sts106launch_56.rm (video) FreeRepublic.com: "Boing...

Reports say Space Shuttle Discovery's July 25 liftoff generated a Prandtl-Glauert condensation cloud (the mysterious "now-you-see-it-now-you-don't" formations sometimes observed in relation to jets in transonic flight). Link: http://www.BoingBoing.net/2005/07/27/shuttle_makes_spooky.html

USAF B-1B Lancer's Prandtl-Glauert condensation cloud is an additional cloud in Southeast Asia's blue sky. Photographer: Staff Sgt. Shelley R. Gill, Still Photography Journeyman, 125th Fighter Wing, Florida Air National Guard Sources: http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20041217.htm , http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20041216.htm , http://FluidMech.net/tutorials/sonic/prandtl-glauert-clouds.htm NASA's Hubble Space Telescope zooms in on spiral galaxy NGC 3370 and thousands of distant galaxies. Photographer: Dr. Adam Riess, Astronomer, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Sources: http://HubbleSite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2003/24/image/a , http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20041212.htm The sharp eye of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is on the Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543). Photography: NASA, ESA, HEIC, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Sources: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2004/27/image/a , http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20041218.htm...

On our way back home from a family drive on 8/29/04 my wife and I noticed a peculiar mushroom cloud just east of our home in Wellington, UT. We ran into the house and brought our both of our digital cameras and started snapping pictures. Within 2 hours there were three different “explosions” resulting in mushroom clouds. We emailed a local news station; they looked into the pictures but to no avail. There were truck drivers parked at the gas station just down from our home, the drivers did not dare drive the road for fear of whatever was happening...

Pre-Inca Ruins Emerging From Peru's Cloud Forests John Roach for National Geographic News September 16, 2004 On the eastern slope of the Andes mountains in northern Peru, forests cloak the ruins of a pre-Inca civilization, the size and scope of which explorers and archaeologists are only now beginning to understand. Known as the Chachapoya, the civilization covered an estimated 25,000 square miles (65,000 square kilometers). The Chachapoya, distinguished by fair skin and great height, lived primarily on ridges and mountaintops in circular stone houses. Sean Savoy, leader of the Gran Saposoa-El Dorado IV Expedition (July-August 2004), points out a stone...

Scientists Find Another Huge Mini-World in Outer Solar System The most distant object ever seen orbiting the Sun is nearly as large as Pluto, expanding astronomers notions of how the solar system formed and what resides in its outskirts. The round world is currently three times farther away than Pluto from the Sun, a distance that expands even further on its 10,000-year orbit. It sits in a part of the solar system that some astronomers had thought empty. It is redder and brighter than anything astronomers have seen in the outer solar system, and scientists don't know why. The object...

<p>Advisers to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sought to distance him Friday from reports that an international bodybuilding event he co-founded was visited by federal authorities last weekend as part of a widening probe into steroid distribution in the sports world.</p> <p>The Governor's Office declined to respond to an ESPN report that at least five subpoenas were issued at the Arnold Fitness Weekend in Columbus, Ohio. The event, which drew an estimated 80,000 spectators and participants, includes the Arnold Classic bodybuilding competition and dozens of exhibits advertising a range of nutritional supplements, hormones and steroids.</p>

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2004 February 18 Anvil Cloud Over Sicily Credit & Copyright: Christina Carlton Explanation: The cloud poses no danger to the building. Appearing to float above a remote monastery in Sicily, Italy, the anvil cloud's shape shows several classic cloud features. The cloud itself is composed of millions of very small droplets of water and ice. The dramatically flat cloud bottom is caused by temperature falling in the lower...

'Hole in sky' amazes scientists By Dr David Whitehouse BBC News Online science editor A giant hole that appeared in a uniform layer of cloud over Mobile, Alabama, in the US, has produced some intriguing photos. Local resident Joel Knain said as he took pictures: "I immediately realised that I was seeing something unique." Meteorological experts believe the hole formed when ice-crystals from a passing plane fell through the cloud, causing the water droplets in it to evaporate. Experts say the process involved is related to that of cloud seeding, which is used to make rain over crop fields. The...

Russian volcano spews out huge cloud of ash January 14 2004 at 08:03AM Vladivostok - One of the main volcanoes in Russia's far eastern Kamchatka peninsula erupted on Wednesday, spewing out a huge cloud of ash and steam, local vulcanologists said. The plume rose about 8 000m above the Bezimyanny volcano, with dirt and snow avalanches streaming down its slopes and numerous tremors registered in its depths. The 2 900m Bezimyanny is subject to frequent eruptions, the latest registered in July. Such eruptions are frequent occurrences in the almost-uninhabited Kamchatka where there are about 120 volcanos, 28 of them active....

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2004 January 12 A Hole Punch Cloud Over Alabama Credit & Copyright: Joel Knain Explanation: What could create a huge hole the clouds? Such a hole, likely hundreds of meters across, was photographed last month from a driveway near Mobile, Alabama, USA. Very unusual to see, hole-punch clouds like this are still the topic of meteorological speculation. A leading hypothesis holds that the hole-punch cloud is caused by falling...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 December 1 A Lenticular Cloud Over Hawai'i Credit & Copyright: Peter Michaud (Gemini Obs.) Explanation: Can a cloud do that? Actually, pictured above are several clouds all stacked up into one striking lenticular cloud. Normally, air moves much more horizontally than it does vertically. Sometimes, however, such as when wind comes off of a mountain or a hill, relatively strong vertical oscillations take place as the air...

CNBC: “On Many Issues” Dean “Centrist,” But Lauer: Too Liberal? Monday night on CNBC, David Shuster delivered another effort to portray Howard Dean as less than liberal. On the News with Brian Williams, Shuster contended: “On many issues, Dean is a centrist. He supports the death penalty, gun ownership and balanced budgets." As if supporting massive new spending and further government intervention into peoples’ lives makes you a centrist so long as you raise taxes to pay for it and, therefore, maintain a balanced budget. But Shuster’s story did go on to recount how competitors Joe Lieberman and John Kerry...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 April 30 A Lenticular Cloud Over New Hampshire Credit & Copyright: J. D. Rufo, J. Koermer, Plymouth State College Explanation: Why does this cloud look so strange? Actually, pictured above are several clouds all stacked up into one striking lenticular cloud. Normally, air moves much more horizontally than it does vertically. Sometimes, however, such as when wind comes off of a mountain or a hill, relatively strong...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 March 26 A Lenticular Cloud Over Wyoming Credit & Copyright: Mark Meyer (Photo-Mark.com) Explanation: Is that a cloud or a flying saucer? Both, although it is surely not an alien spacecraft. Lenticular clouds can be shaped like a saucer, and can fly in the sense that, like most clouds, they are composed of small water droplets that float on air. Lenticular clouds are typically formed by high...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 February 14 The Heart in NGC 346 Credit: Y.Nazé (Université de Liège) et al., CXC, NASA Explanation: Yes, it's Valentine's Day (!) and looking toward star cluster NGC 346 in our neighboring galaxy the Small Magellanic Cloud, astronomers have noted this heart-shaped cloud of hot, x-ray emitting gas in the cluster's central region. The false-color Chandra Observatory x-ray image also shows a strong x-ray source just above...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 February 2 Molecular Cloud Barnard 68 Credit: FORS Team, 8.2-meter VLT Antu, ESO Explanation: Where did all the stars go? What used to be considered a hole in the sky is now known to astronomers as a dark molecular cloud. Here, a high concentration of dust and molecular gas absorb practically all the visible light emitted from background stars. The eerily dark surroundings help make the interiors...

<p>California governor Gray Davis is fine-tuning a new budget proposal that could raise taxes for some and slash some public service programs for others.</p> <p>SACRAMENTO - In the afterglow of the technology boom, Sacramento was the land of plenty. The state could slice sales taxes on farm machinery by $40 million a year while providing hundreds of millions extra to expand health care for poor children.</p>

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 December 20 Colorful Clouds of Orion Credit & Copyright: Robert Gendler Explanation: Revisiting one of the most famous nebulae in planet Earth's night sky, astrophotographer Robert Gendler has constructed this stunning, color-enhanced mosaic of the region surrounding the Great Nebula in Orion. As seen here, the clouds of Orion are dominated by the reddish emission nebula M42 near the bottom of the image, with blue reflection nebulae,...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 December 10 M17: Omega Nebula Star Factory Credit & Copyright: Jean-Charles Cuillandre (CFHT), Hawaiian Starlight, CFHT Explanation: In the depths of the dark clouds of dust and molecular gas known as M17, stars continue to form. The similarity to the Greek letter capital Omega gives the molecular cloud its popular name, but the nebula is also known as the Swan Nebula, the Horseshoe Nebula, and M17. The...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 September 26 Rocket Trail at Sunset Credit: James W. Young ( TMO, JPL, NASA) Used With Permission Explanation: Bright light from a setting Sun and pale glow from a rising Moon both contribute to this stunning picture of a rocket exhaust trail twisting and drifting in the evening sky. Looking west, the digital telephoto view was recorded from Table Mountain Observatory near Wrightwood California, USA on September...