“Low-Suds”

A Highly Concentrated Laundry Detergent

Friends and Family, as most of you know, one of the few benefits of writing a Blog, is that as the author of the Blog I get to write about anything that I choose to. This day I have elected to utilize this “stage” to submit to each of you a simple request …

Please read this publication and submit / post a comment below (an anonymous comment will be just fine) or in the very least check the little box located near the bottom of the page that documents reactions to the given topic of the post or subject matter. There are just 3 little boxes (funny, interesting, and cool) to consider, you only need to check one of the 3 … If you think this topic / idea is a silly idea, then check ‘funny’; if you think the concept just may work, then check ‘interesting’; if you want, just leave the ‘cool’ box alone, as even I can’t think of anything cool about this subject.

If you only arrived here to be entertained and you absolutely refuse to assist, then feel free to click on any of the 75 critiques I have posted since June 14, 2011. But this is not a hard read, and by giving a little help here, rest assured the next several posts will be much more interesting.  In fact I have the next 4 posts / critiques already drafted and waiting to be published.

My wife and I have jointly developed, tried & tested a Home Made alternative to the high priced laundry detergent that is currently sold in stores.  Use less to clean more, and save $ $ $.  In this application, less really can = more! 

Hopefully, within the very near future, I will have figured out how to implement the necessary tasks associated with providing, for your convenience, an on-line store through which you will be able to purchase all your laundry detergent needs; at a fair and reasonable price.

Yes, you can also make your very own; you can even obtain the recipe from one of my previous posts; but you will be required to scurry about town to search out and purchase each and all of the necessary products that are required to make this superior concentrated mixture; in addition it will be vital that you measure, combine, and blend these new found products so as to develop the ultimate laundry product.  I, on the other hand, am willing to save you the trouble, and there is a chance that I may earn a few dollars in the process as well.

I currently plan to offer a few product sizes, by limiting shipment quantities (up to 64 ounces / 4 pounds) I hope to reduce the total product price which includes a shipping fee of $4.95 for items weighing 16 ounces or more. In other words, 4 pounds is all I can place inside a flat rate priority mail package with a shipping cost of $4.95.

Beyond that, the aforementioned rate jumps to $5.20 for a tiny box (the USPS calls it a small flat rate box) that will only hold 24 or 25 ounces in a pinch; the shipping rate then leaps to $10.95 for what the postal service calls a medium flat rate box which will hold about 8 to 10 pounds of Low-Suds detergent, but the shipping rate is in itself cost prohibitive, at least in my opinion.

I have yet to locate an outlet store that will sell me ½ ounce scoops or spoons I hope to include in each sales package which contains at least 16 ounces or more of the Low-Suds Laundry product.  This aspect of the endeavor ultimately depends on the costs associated with shipping. For example one popular supplier offers to ship in ‘lots’ of 20 scoops, at $9.95 per lot (20 scoops) but they insist that shipping requires an additional $5.45, therefore totaling $15.40 which equals 77 Cents per scoop.   In my view, this additional cost is best described with one word: Ridiculous!

You may recall that I’ve voiced my dismay within a couple of previous post’s regarding detergent products that are typically sold in the market place, who provide a ‘free’ 8 ounce shovel; in my view this is a genuine insult to those of us who are only slightly intelligent, not to mention everyone else.  In my view, if you are providing the added convenience of a scoop, make sure that it is at the very least reasonable.  After all, if a half ounce will do in the majority of cases, why have anything larger.  Most folks would consider such an action as wasteful but apparently the vast majority of the marketers / producers of Tide, Gain, Cheer, Era, etc. expect that it’s just a good “trick of the trade”.

In summary, I hope to offer a “2 packet” package for less than $2.00 for those of you that would rather try a couple of laundry wash loads before committing to a larger volume order … I expect that I can ship these inside a couple of  sealable plastic ‘Snack Bags’, each placed inside a legal size envelope for a penny less than 95 Cents including postage of 88 Cents and the two bags … then there is a small cost associated with enough detergent inside each snack bag to wash at least one load of laundry each.

In addition I hope to offer, with all shipping costs included:

16 ounces of Low-Suds Detergent for under $10.00;  32 ounces at just under $15.00;  48 ounces at less than $20.00;  and 64 ounces at just under $25.00.

Keep in mind that this product is highly concentrated so for a normal load of laundry; a 16 ounce package will very effectively clean 32 loads. In addition, I do not call this product "Low Suds" without reason; in fact there is hardly any soap suds produced.

The pricing estimates I’ve submitted depend upon my costs associated with the ½ ounce Scoop I mentioned above.   So please leave a comment regarding your thoughts on the on-line store in general as well as to what your thoughts are regarding the scoop. In the alternative, simply check the little ‘interesting’ box located below, thus indicating that you consider this endeavor worthy of pursuing.  

Here’s to thanking you in advance, you are practically finished with this little favor.

With Warmest Regards,

TG

Sources …

http://tgsfree4allinfo.blogspot.com/2011/07/home-made-laundry-detergent-benefits.html

http://tgsfree4allinfo.blogspot.com/2011/07/somehow-of-late-one-of-my-few-duties-as.html

The Vikings

The term Viking, once struck terror in the hearts and minds of Europeans who dreaded the looting, pillaging, kidnapping or raping of the women folk, and other such negative events that are said to have occurred through out the many villages and towns that the Vikings were once noted for raiding.  

Before we go further, let’s clear up at least one misleading notion about their typical attire or dress code.  They really did not (men or women) wear hats or helmets with horns sticking out on top; nor did they have horns growing out the top of their heads.

Vikings are customarily referred to as Norse or Scandinavian explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates; who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and several North Atlantic islands such as Greenland, dating from the late 8th to the mid-11th century AD.

These Norsemen or Vikings are best known to have used their famous long ships to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia, as far west as Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland, and as far south as Al-Andalus (Moorish Iberia) which now includes Portugal and several other surrounding countries.

The early Vikings were not noted for leaving a huge written account of their era but the Scandinavians did write inscriptions upon stones that are called runes; most of which have been found in Sweden.  They are however, usually very short and mechanical in their over all style and nature. Such rune stones have become important sources in the study of Norse / Viking society and have even been found as far west as Kensington, Minnesota located in the USA as is indicated by the now very famous Kensington Rune Stone found in that area by a local farmer in 1898.

I would not be surprised to learn that the well known Minnesota Professional football team whose mascot and nick-name is no other than the ‘Vikings’ obtained such from this very same rune stone.

Sources …

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking             http://www.wpclipart.com/world_history/sea_vessels/Viking_ship.png.html

http://tgsfree4allinfo.blogspot.com/2011/07/kensington-rune-stone-hooked-x.html

Ancient Egypt

The Early Pyramids

Djoser’s Pyramid

constructed between 2630 and 2611 BC

Exactly what is an Early Egyptian Pyramid and what was it used for?   It’s a very large stone tomb typically used for ancient Egyptian rulers / pharaohs with a square base and triangular walls that slope to meet in a point at the top.  In other words, it could be called a pretty big head stone.

The ancient Egyptians are noted builders of pyramids that were used as tombs for the pharaohs and their queens. The pharaohs, along with their queens, and occasionally their servants, were buried in pyramids of many different shapes and sizes from before the beginning of the Old Kingdom (about 2686 BC to 2181 BC) to the end of the Middle Kingdom (about 2055 to 1650 BC).

As of 2008, there have been 138 pyramids discovered in Egypt. We all know about the three largest and best-preserved of these that were built at Giza. The ‘Great Pyramid’ of the pharaoh Khufu is unquestionably the most well-known of these.

The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found northwest of Memphis, Egypt (now in ruins) which was once the Capital City of Egypt and located near the mouth of the Nile River Delta.  The earliest among these is the Pyramid of the Pharaoh Djoser which is believed to have been constructed between 2630 and 2611 BC and is said to be the first “step Pyramid”.

It originally stood 203 feet tall (62 meters) and was covered in polished white limestone. This step pyramid (or proto-pyramid) is believed to be the earliest large-scale cut stone construction project in all of Egypt.

Djoser was the first or second king of the 3rd Dynasty of the Egyptian Old Kingdom. He is believed to have ruled for 19 years, but some Egyptologists insist that he ruled twice that long (38 years).  Regardless, he reigned long enough to have the grandiose plan for his pyramid to be completed within his lifetime.

Djoser is relatively famous because for this innovative tomb.   Of significant note though is that it has been discovered inside this tomb that he was referred to by his Horus name (sun and sky god name), Netjerykhet, not Djoser; which was a name given to him by visitors from the New Kingdom thousands of years after his demise.

His step pyramid is astounding in that it departs from all earlier Egyptian architecture. Several important precedents are set in fact; perhaps the most important is the fact that it’s the first colossal structure made of stone. The social implications of this carefully sculpted stone structure are considered staggering by the vast majority of modern archaeologists.

The process alone for building this type structure would be much more labor intensive than earlier monuments that were all made of mud and brick. This suggests at the very least that the royal government had acquired a new level of control over resources, such as building material and especially human labor.  

The step pyramid style set the stage for the later pyramids built during the 4th, 5th, and 6th Dynasties, including the great pyramids at Giza.  Finally, another intriguing fact is the identification of Imhotep; considered to be the first architect of all Egypt, and is credited with the design and construction of the Djoser complex.

By today’s standards, such a “leap” in design and construction methods may seem insignificant, yet this single advancement (which technologically speaking was enormous) has sparked the argument by some historians that these early Egyptian builders had a little help from a place far, far away.

Sources …

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/pyramids/home.html                    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_pyramids                           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_of_Djoser        

AKA … Billy the Kid

In early 1948, William V. Morrison, a probate investigator, was sent to Florida to work on the case of an elderly man named Joe Hines. Hines was claiming that the land of his late brother now belonged to him entirely, because he was the only living heir.

When Morrison and Hines meet and talked, Hines admitted that he was really Jessie Evans, who had “disappeared” after being released from a Texas prison in 1882.   Having acknowledged this, Hines preceded by telling Morrison of his colorful experiences in the Lincoln County War and with Billy the Kid no less.  

When Morrison related to Joe Hines that the Kid had met his death at the hands of Sheriff Pat Garrett in the house of one of his long dead relatives, he was stunned to have Hines reply that the Kid had not been killed by Garrett or by anyone else because Billy the Kid was still living.

Mr. Hines proceeded by saying that besides himself and Billy, there was only one other surviving veteran of the Lincoln County War, who was named Jim McDaniels, and was a former member of the Jessie Evans Gang.  Intrigued, Morrison probed Hines for “the Kid’s” name and address and the old man finally relented, the following information:  William “Billy the Kid” Bonnie was now known as Ollie L. “Brushy Bill” Roberts and his address was Hamilton, Texas.

Immediately following the Hines case, a few months later (Mr. Hines was right about his brother’s land), Morrison was able to contact Brushy Bill Roberts by U S Mail.

When writing to Brushy, Morrison told him that he would like to meet him in person but was careful not to disclose the reason he was so interested in the life of the older man. Brushy reluctantly agreed to a meeting and in June 1949, thus Morrison was able to visit the old man at his small shack in Hamilton, Texas.

Morrison kept a journal regarding the meeting in which he described Brushy as being about 5 foot 8 inches tall and weighing about 165 pounds; blue eyes, small hands, large wrists, heavy shoulders, thinning grey hair, a high forehead, a prominent nose, and rather  large ears.

Morrison stated that he wasted little time before asking Brushy whether he truly was Billy the Kid or not, to which Brushy quickly denied, saying that his half-brother who lived in Mexico, was the real Billy the Kid. Disappointed, Morrison decided to leave, but asked Brushy if he would consider a trip to Mexico so as to o interview his brother. When no response was given, Morrison started out the door, Brushy stopped Morrison and quietly ask him to come back the next afternoon, when his wife would be absent.

Morrison return the following afternoon and Brushy admitted to him that he truly was Billy the Kid, but he said he didn’t want his wife to know.         

Naturally Morrison asked if he had evidence to support his claim.   Brushy proceeded by removing most off his clothes, exposing no less than twenty-six bullet and knife scars on his body, several of which matched known locations of wounds Billy the Kid allegedly had. He also displayed the ability to make his hands smaller than his wrists, which the earlier Billy was known to do in order to slide handcuffs off his wrists.

Soon the events of the evening of July 14, 1881, came up and Brushy stated that a young man named Billy Barlow was killed by Pat Garrett that evening. Barlow, according to Brushy, was partially Mexican, had a beard, looked a lot like him in those days, but was a little younger.  Brushy acknowledged that he doubted that Billy Barlow was the dead man's real name and after Barlow was killed, he fled Fort Sumner in a hurry.

During the early fall of 1949, the pair went to New Mexico and while there, visited sites such as Fort Sumner and the Lincoln courthouse.   While in the courthouse in Lincoln, Brushy described to Morrison how he, as Billy the Kid, made his famous escape and killed deputies Bob Olinger and James Bell.

By the time they had completed their trip and returned to Hico, Texas to where Brushy had moved in the summer of 1949, they had managed to meet with Severo Gallegos, Martile Able, Jose Montoya, and Bill and Sam Jones; each of which were known to be acquaintances of the Kid. All signed affidavits attesting to the fact that Brushy Bill and Billy the Kid were one and the same except the Jones brothers, who refused to sign an affidavit (claiming fear of possible publicity) but they both verbally acknowledged their agreement.

Brushy always insisted that he was born on Dec. 16, 1859 (some say The Kid was born on this date while some say it was November 23 of the same year) but according to a Texas woman by the name of Geneva Pittmon who was apparently the niece of Brushy Bill Roberts who wrote a letter dated Dec. 16, 1987 regarding Robert “Brushy” Roberts; things were a little different. The letter was addressed to the Billy the Kid Outlaw Gang Museum founder and owner, Joe Bowlin, who openly supported Brushy's claim to fame; in the letter she stated that according to records in the family bible, Brushy Roberts was really born on Aug. 26, 1879 and therefore could not have been the famed out-law Billy the Kid.

Keep in mind that Pat Garret, supposedly at least, killed Billy the Kid on the evening of July 14, 1881.  So if Ms. Pittmon is correct, then Brushy would have been more than a month short of being 2 years old on that date.

Ms. Pittmon’s statement is further supported by U S Census records that were taken in the area: In 1880 Oliver P. Roberts (aka Brushy Roberts) was listed as being aged 1 year; in 1900 he was listed as 20; and in 1910 we see apparently the same Oliver P. Roberts listed as being age 30.

I expect that it’s certainly possible that the young man that Pat Garrett killed on that mid July evening of 1881 was someone other than Billy the Kid; could have even been someone called Billy Barlow; after all there was a $500.00 reward offered for the individual responsible for “getting” the Kid … and in 1881 $500.00 was a lot of cash.

Having thought about that, how can anyone explain the unusually detailed knowledge that Brushy Roberts possessed regarding the daily activities of the Kid as well as specifics regarding certain buildings or structures in which his is known to have plied his unsettling activities.  

Theirs always the possibility of re-incarnation; May-be all those scars (26) were really birth marks and the detailed information Brushy possessed were simply memories from a life separate from his own … He just didn’t know it.  But if the niece is right, the dates  sure don’t work!

Sources …

http://www.angelfire.com/mi2/billythekid/brushy.html      http://www.aboutbillythekid.com/billy_vs_brushy.htm         http://www.angelfire.com/nm/boybanditking/page30.html

Living to Die? … Try Being a Ghost!

OK ladies and gentlemen, as you might guess during my disabled twilight years I find my self spending to much time thinking about the age old issue of living and dying… After all dying is something that everything that lives will eventually get to try at least once … trees, garden vegetables, cats, dogs, horses, and people are all included.  As I mention in an earlier post about near death experiences I tried it once but it didn't 'take'.

I think it’s likely that some wise old Indian (or such) once said only the rocks and dirt live forever … but when he said it he probably didn’t realize that neither of the two actually have a life of any kind anyway.

The fact remains that if you live, even if you do not particularly want to, you will surely die … The age old question that most of us have is not do we die but the real mystery and # 1 question is what happens, if anything, after we die.

Thank about this: Can you think of a single living thing that does not start-out living, if for no other reason, to produce additional living thing things that will have the same qualities or characteristics (I'm speaking in general here) … This includes all plants and animals to the best of my knowledge.  Plants for example produce seeds which, if subjected to the right circumstance are certainly capable of eventually growing into a plant that’s very much like the parent plant.  About the same analogy can be applied to the animal kingdom; including humans.

I have heard reincarnationists insist that this is conclusive evidence that their theory for past lives exist and therefore future other worldly lives must exist as well.  Well I guess they are right about that at least up to a point; while this new living thing (plant or animal) is most certainly very much like the original, no one has or is likely to argue that it’s the same exact living entity.   Depending in a large part to the environment it is subjected to, this “new life” form is going to have many similar characteristics but yet a bit different from good old mom or dad.  I guess it all depends on how you look at it…Some might say that only the essence or spirit of the tree (or whatever) lives on for example.

It would be nice (I guess) if that was the end of the story but the truth is it’s much deeper than that.  The very first and most complicated issue that comes to mind is (and the secondary topic I’m trying to address here) is what can be said about all these stories we so often hear about living people seeing and sometimes even talking to human beings we know to be dead people.  Practically every human society speaks about such things either in written records of folk lore; so you would certainly expect there to be at least a little something to it.

So here I attempt to incorporate a little common sense into the subject by offering this analogy: When you burn by fire a dead sheet / piece of paper that was once a living plant of some kind, the remaining result is ashes and smoke … technically the paper is still with us but it’s in a different form.  You see the paper is actually composed of a lot of tiny atoms that are transformed into ashes and smoke when subjected to fire.  The concept or rule here is simple … you can not really completely destroy that sheet of paper … but you can convert it into what appears to be something else entirely.

So in short, my life after death theory is about the same.  When human beings die, we may very well be transformed or converted into what we call “Ghosts” which are simply a different form of a dead human; and on more occasions than you might think such ghosts figure a way to communicate with the living.

Most societies like to think that such Ghosts have the opportunity to go to a ‘happy’ place where they can be with other dead people that were former friends and family, during the “living era” and remain there for evermore; and some variation to that is apt to be true. After all, such an event would explain the inviting “light” that we all have heard about which ghosts are allegedly attracted to.

Not all ghosts, it seems, elect to enter the light however, I’m sure for a large number of reasons, ranging from a failure to recognize the fact that they are dead, to a deep seated fear of what the light has to offer.

I doubt that the scientific community will ever figure out exactly what or how everything really works after we die but I think it’s reasonable to believe that humans are in fact a form of energy that could very well be transformed into something quite different; just like that sheet of paper I mentioned as being set on fire a few paragraphs above.

Source…

http://www.trueghosttales.com/ghost-pictures.php

http://tgsfree4allinfo.blogspot.com/2011/08/near-death-experience.html

Were the Mayans Wrong about 2012?

 …  or …

Are We Simply Mistaken?

 

Remember all the “Y2K” hype that was preached just prior to the year 2000?  You would a’ thought the computers of the world some how knew the dawn of a new century was rapidly approaching and they were unable to figure a reasonably way to count beyond 1999 … The truth is that all really smart computers (and those not so smart) probably didn’t know it was 1999 and if they did they could have cared less!

Today’s hype comes from an ancient calendar that is typically called The Mayan Calendar and how it predicts the end of time … at least as we know it … There have been articles, books, documentaries, TV shows, and at least one feature film on the subject; all about how the end of time must be December 21, 2012 because that’s when the Mayan Calendar stops … Ha, how much more proof do you need?

The Maya calendar is a system of calendars and almanacs that were used in the Maya civilization and are based upon a structure which had been in common use throughout the region, dating back as far as the 5th century BC.   This particular calendar shares many aspects with calendars that were commonly used by earlier Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the ancient Olmec culture, and later civilizations such as the Aztec. This historic calendar (Maya Calendar) should correctly be called the Mesoamerican calendar as it did not even originate with the Maya, but in light of their extensions, improvements, and refinements which were most sophisticated; probably lends justification to the calendars notable significance that we see in today’s society but should we give the Maya credit for its development and design?

Scholars most certainly disagree about what humankind can expect on December 21, 2012, because that’s when the Mayan "Long Count" calendar marks the end of a 5,126 year period or age.  If we take into account  the teachings of the Mayan prophet Lord Pacal (603-683 AD) on the subject:  "this date will mark the end of time as we know it, not the end of the world but the time of a tremendous change in human consciousness," little room is left for the dooms day crowd.

The Maya civilization, which is best known for its advanced writing, mathematics, astronomy, and the calendar that was used during the era, flourished for centuries in Mesoamerica, they reached there peak between A.D. 300 and 900. The Mayan “Long Count” calendar was discontinued under Spanish colonization (yes, they were still around when the Spanish arrived), which tracks more than 5,000 years, and then resets at year zero (0), the reset year 0 then begins on the day after 12/21/12, that is displayed on he Gregorian calendar most of us use today.

When considering all modern astrological findings, when the winter solstice of 2012 occurs, our sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in nearly 26,000 years. This will happen on 12/21/12 at 11:11 p.m. Universal Time no less.

Try using your imagination a bit and look into our future say, 5000 years, some archaeologist stumbles across several Gregorian style calendars that we use today … He can not help but notice that the very last day depicted is December 31 on each calendar …Do you suppose he will think we all believed the world would end on that day as well?

Or in the alternative will he think we simply quit printing calendars because a different system for keeping track if time was introduced …

Sources …

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_calendar                               http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-03-27-maya-2012_n.htm           http://tgsfree4allinfo.blogspot.com/2011/06/roman-colosseum.html                    

http://www.soulsofdistortion.nl/2012_4.html

The Spanish Inquisition

1478 to 1834

The Spanish leaders of the day (Ferdinand and Isabelle of Christopher Columbus fame) originally obtained permission to set-up and conduct an inquisition from the Catholic Pope as early as 1478 but it didn’t establish its notoriety for torture and death until they appointed Tomas de Torquemada as its General-Inquisitor in 1483.

An inquisition can be established and operated by either or both civil and church authorities and its purpose is generally an attempt to remove non-believers from a nation or a specific religion. Although the Spanish Inquisition was one of the most deadly inquisitions in history it was modeled after several earlier versions called the Medieval Inquisitions, the first of which began as early as 1184.

The Spanish Inquisition primarily revolved around a religious foundation although it was independent of the Catholic Church.  In other words, the Catholic Church had no say so in the day to day operations of the Spanish Inquisition and that included the Pope. It was the job of the General-Inquisitor alone, to shape the Inquisition into the extremely organized, ruthless, torturing witch-hunt that it turned in to.

Tomas held the leadership position for the first fifteen years and is believed to be responsible for the execution of around 2,000 Spaniards. The Catholic Church under the direction of the Pope attempted to intercede in the bloody Inquisition but was unable to pull the extremely useful political tool from the hands of the Spanish rulers.

This little known fact is evidence enough that The Spanish Inquisition was used for both political and religious reasons.  You see, Spain as a nation-state of the era was born out of religious struggle between several different belief systems including Catholicism, Islam, Protestantism and Judaism.   Ferdinand and Isabella decided to use Catholicism to unite Spain as I stated above, so they could “purify” the people of Spain. They kicked this action off by forcing Jews, Protestants and other non-believers out of the country.

I guess the system worked pretty well for the few who were in charge; all in all, the Inquisition was run or implemented by the inquisitor-general’s plan who also would have established local tribunals for each of the various cities located throughout the land.

“Heretics”, who could be about anyone who held views opposing the church or state, were identified by the general population (their neighbors) and brought before the tribunal. They were typically given the chance to confess their heresy against the Catholic Church or the state shortly after a brief torture session.   In the mix of things the heretic was encouraged to indict other heretics. If they admitted to their evil ways and turned in other agitators they were occasionally released  but they were usually sentenced to a rather stiff prison term.   If, on the other hand, they would not admit their heresy or indict others the accused were publicly paraded in a large ceremony before they were publicly killed, often times by fire at the stake, or sentenced to a lifetime in prison.

The nightmare began in began in 1478 and lasted until 1834, spanning over a period of 350 years.  Naturally, there were no "alleged" heretics; only those who confessed and repented and those who did not.  

Sources …

http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/westeurope/spaninqui.html           http://www.enforex.com/culture/spanish-inquisition.html

The Nazca Lines of Peru

The area in the Peruvian desert where the Nazca Lines were drawn is located inside that area called the Pampa Colorada, of southern Peru; these fascinating lines or drawings are believed, by most archeologists / anthropologists, to have been drawn by the native Nazca Indians sometime between 200 BC and 600 AD.

They exist today because conditions of the landscape upon which they were drawn are a bit unusual: The desert is extremely dry with very little to no rain or wind; the temperature is typically around 75 degrees (that’s 25 Celsius) the entire calendar year; the soil which makes up the surface is not sand (as in a traditional desert environment) but made up of a top layer of dark red soil and stones with a much lighter colored second layer (some might say, a sub-soil) beneath / below the top layer … The lines were drawn by clearing away a portion of the top layer so as to expose or display the second, lighter layer.

Some of these lines are over six (6) miles long and others display such images as monkeys, birds, lizards, and spiders (to name a few) which can only be viewed in there entirety from the a considerable height because they are so large, the largest ones being over 650 feet wide (more than 200 meters) in fact.

It wasn’t until the 1930s that they were even noticed as possessing some unknown or significant meaning, and only then because flying over the remote area became quite frequent; only then did anthropologists start studying them, with a focus on trying to understand how they were created and why.

Just as you would expect, most scholars hold opposing views when it comes to interpreting the purpose of the designs, but primarily they attribute a religious significance to them.

There is however at least one other line of thought that disagrees with the “religion explains all things” theory; as you  have probably by now guessed, that other theory has most recently been called the “Ancient Astronaut” Theory.

Sources …

http://peru-facts.co.uk/nazca-lines-facts.html                          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Lines                                          http://en.bestpicturesof.com/nazca%20lines%20of%20peru/4#Google

Sport for a King … …

The 2 chief things that the state of Kentucky has been noted for, during the past hundred years or so, are the extremely competitive sports of college basketball and horse racing.   Horse racing is in the forefront because of the annual event held on the first Saturday of May (for the last 136 years & running); this event is called the Kentucky Derby and is held in Louisville, KY.

On the other hand, the sport of basketball has best been exemplified most often by The University of Louisville (U of L), KY and The University of Kentucky (UK) located in Lexington, KY.  U of L has 2 NCAA Championship wins (with 4 Final Four appearances) and UK has a total of seven (7) NCAA Championships (with 14 Final Four appearances) … UK holds no less than 46 over all Conference Championships and also holds the record for most the wins in all of college basketball throughout the United States.

Kentucky is in often called the “Bluegrass State” primarily I think because of the lush Bluegrass horse farms located throughout a large portion of the state.  Kentuckians are also occasionally called “Briar Hoppers”, especially those of us who are from the mountains located in the southeastern section of the state … there the king of sport is basketball …

As most any Briar Hopper will tell you, Kentucky’s source for the love of the game is none other than high school sports and originates in the hills and small communities located throughout southeastern Kentucky; from London (Laurel County) to Ashland (Boyd County)…

Although typically, high schools located here are tiny when compared to other areas of the state; historically this is due to the lack of decent roadways in the area and therefore consolidation of schools didn’t catch on until about 20 years ago when roadways began to improve as well. Regardless, the game of basketball is played within these mountains with such intensity; it’s often referred to as being a second religion to some.

This line of thought can best be understood by reviewing a few of the outstanding state wide tournament results concerning the game of high school basketball as they relate to southeastern Kentucky. All things considered, they’re quite impressive:

KY Boys State Wide Tournament Results …

Ashland High School won in 1928, 1933, 1934, and 1961 (Boyd County)

Hazard High School won in 1932 & 1955 (Perry County)

          Hindman High School won in 1943 (Knott County)

          Inez High School won in 1954 (Martin County)

Carr Creek High School won in 1956 (Knott County)

Laurel County High School won in 1982 (Laurel County)

Clay County High School takes the honors in 1987 (Clay County)

Paintsville High wins the tournament 1996 (Johnson County)

South Laurel enters the winning circle in 2005 (Laurel County)

And most recently in 2010 enter Shelby Valley (Pike County)  

And then there’s the All “A” boy’s teams … (for small schools which have 570 or less students) ...

          Carr Creek High School won in 1928 (Knott County)

Dilce Combs took the honors in 1993 (Perry County) only a few years after the special state wide tournament was re-instated following a long absence.

And not just the boys … in fact when the Kentucky girls “Sweet Sixteen” tournament came into play in 1975, it didn’t take long for the female variety of the Briar Hopper to step up … As a matter of fact in :

1977, 78, & 1979 the Laurel County High School girls got things started by winning 3 years in a row.

In 1989 the Clay County High girls won

In 1994 the girls from M C Napier (Perry County) won

Then in 1997 the young ladies from Hazard High (Perry County) brought the trophy home.

It is I believe of significant note, that M.C. Napier lady Navajo great Kristie Combs has been awarded her well deserved status as a high school basketball legend as she is set to be officially inducted into the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2011.

As reported by a local news paper, The Hazard Herald, “Combs led her Lady Navajo team to the 1994 state championship in girls’ basketball, setting several state records along the way.”

I for one, can testify to the nothing short of great level of play that Kristy was noted for, as I knew her quite well at the time … In fact I believe her athletic skill can only be out matched by her superior personality.  And yes, I was in Bowling Green, Kentucky to watch her and the rest of the team during every game of the tournament in 1994. 

Sources…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_teams_with_the_most_victories_in_NCAA_Division_I_men's_college_basketball

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_Wildcats_men's_basketball

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisville_Cardinals_men's_basketball http://www.knottcountyadventure.com/sports-legend.html             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Sixteen_(KHSAA_State_Basketball_Championship) http://fieldsnotes.wordpress.com/category/ky-sports-history/page/2/                                 http://www.hazard-herald.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Kristie+Combs-+Hall+of+Famer%20&id=8860042&instance=secondary_stories_left_column