Yellowstone has become dangerously restless. But it's not the volcano eruption that has long been anticipated, it's an "intense earthquake swarm," consisting of 250 separate quakes, that could lead to an eruption.

Linda writes, "This energetic sequence of events was most intense on December 27, when the largest number of events of magnitude 3 and up to 3.9 occurred. The Yellowstone Caldera erupted about 640,000 years ago in a 'super volcano' that produced 240 cubic miles of ash distributed in a radial pattern from Lava Creek around the caldera."

Fox News reports quotes geophysicist Robert Smith as saying, "They're certainly not normal. We haven't had earthquakes in this energy or extent in many years…This is an active volcanic and tectonic area, and these are the kinds of things we have to pay attention to. We might be seeing something precursory" (In other words, things can change at any time, in a major way).

"Could it develop into a bigger fault or something related to hydrothermal activity? We don't know. That's what we're there to do, to monitor it for public safety."

I am still here, but taking care of my 88 year old mom, who has liver cancer, please pray for her !!

Do those milk carton photos of missing kids really help locate them? If you saw the photo of a missing child in the newspaper or on TV, would you recognize that child if he or she was standing next to you in the line at the grocery store? A psychologist wants to find out.

In 1999, there were an estimated 58,200 child victims of non- family abductions, the most recent national estimates available on missing children. Of that number, 115 were stereotypical kidnappings. More than 200,000 other children were the victims of family abductions during the same period. Researcher Vicki S. Gier decided to find out what type of photo is most likely to help in the recognition of a missing child. Adult participants viewed photos of children similar to their school photos, along with photos of the same children appearing unkempt, tired, bruised, sad or angry. Afterward, they were asked to recognize the children from different photos in which their appearances had been altered.

Gier says, "If an adult sees a picture of child who is clean in appearance and at a later time sees another picture of the same child with the same appearance, then recognition is good. Likewise, if an adult sees a picture of a child with a dirty face and later sees a picture of the same child with a dirty face, then recognition is also good. However, if the child appears very differently between their original appearance and the later appearance, recognition is poor." The problem is that pictures of children are usually from school photos, where the child is clean, well-dressed and smiling, while abducted kids are likely to be unkempt and unhappy.

Gier got the idea for her research after watching an episode of the CBS television show "Without a Trace." She says, "At the end of the show, they always show a photograph of a real person who is missing. On this particular evening, the missing person was a young child. I noticed that the picture which had been given to the FBI was a school-like photo. The little girl was clean, well-groomed and smiling. So, I wondered what picture my sons would give to the police if, heaven forbid, any of my granddaughters were missing or abducted."

A stash of marijuana almost 3,000 years old has been found in an ancient Chinese tomb—and it's still just as potent as the day it was picked. In Salem-News.com, Tim King quotes neurologist Ethan B. Russo as saying, "To our knowledge, these investigations provide the oldest documentation of cannabis as a pharmacologically active agent" and that it was obviously "cultivated for psychoactive purposes."

The more researchers study the effects of marijuana, the more evidence scientists find that specific elements in it can be good for the aging brain by reducing inflammation and possibly even stimulating the formation of new brain cells. Development of a legal drug that contains certain properties similar to those in marijuana might help prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Though the exact cause of Alzheimer’s remains unknown, chronic inflammation in the brain is believed to contribute to memory impairment.

Any new drug's properties would resemble those of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the main psychoactive substance in the cannabis plant, but would not share its high-producing effects. THC joins nicotine, alcohol and caffeine as agents that, in moderation, have shown some protection against inflammation in the brain that might translate to better memory late in life.

Psychologist Yannick Marchalant says, "When we're young, we reproduce neurons and our memory works fine. When we age, the process slows down, so we have a decrease in new cell formation in normal aging. You need those cells to come back and help form new memories, and we found that this THC-like agent can influence creation of those cells."

Psychologist Gary Wenk adds, "It's not that everything immoral is good for the brain. It's just that there are some substances that millions of people for thousands of years have used in billions of doses, and we’re noticing there’s a little signal above all the noise."

Well it should be nine, I was born in the 9th month, my birthday is 18.. 1 + 8 =9, my first name has 9 characters in it, I lived the 9th house off the corner -
So .. 9 is it !!!!

I just answered this Featured Question; you can answer it too!

WHEN I REFLECT ON MY LIFE AT THE MOMENT, I FIND THE FOLLOWING THINGS I CAN BE THANKFULLY FOR ....

• My mom, who is 87 years young ... She is in the hospital now, and she is getting tested for liver cancer ....
• Having a job, even though I work 10 hours a day, 6 days - I am glad to be working.
• A roof over my head and a car in my driveway, even though gas will probably top out at $4 a gallon again.
• Someone who loves and adores me.
• Animals to share my life with and love me unconditionally.
• Once in a while a dinner out and a drink
• and finally .... my health, even though I have diabetes - Things could be worse
• *****  PRAY FOR AMERICA****

Well .. did anyone like this ??

Wow, I never thought I would see it in this day and age,  I am hoping this show's to other countries that the American  people spoke, and we are not afraid to change this country -
   

I just answered this Featured Question; you can answer it too!

Engineer Peter Clark thinks that gasoline prices will continue to drop. He says, "The price of oil has dropped into the $60 to $70 a barrel range, and therefore there is no real price pressure on gasoline prices for the moment. For the holiday season, gas prices should stay about the same as they are today or even a little lower. Lower gas prices will probably encourage people to travel, although I've been encouraging conservation because if consumers would lower their gasoline usage by 5%, the price of gasoline would drop significantly."

World demand for gas and oil has decreased. With the global economy down, people throughout the world are using less energy, which is part of the reason OPEC is considering reducing production. A new president taking office will not immediately impact the price of oil and gas.

And drilling for oil in new places won't save us. Clark says, "Even if new drilling began immediately, which I think we should do, it will be five to ten years before we see that oil production. I believe energy independence will come from additional conservation and alternative methods for powering vehicles."

That’s why Michigan medical professionals, law enforcement officials and parents and taxpayers are uniting to say “No” to Proposal 1.

Doctors and hospitals warn…

…that Proposal 1 allows the so-called “medical” use of marijuana without requiring a prescription from a doctor.
…that a flaw in Proposal 1 might lead to a flood of lawsuits over things such as whether doctors and hospitals must allow patients to smoke marijuana in a doctor’s office or hospital room, despite every other law banning smoking.

Law enforcement officials warn…

…that Proposal 1 could lead to a dangerous increase in the number of people driving under the influence of marijuana.
…that a deliberate loophole in Proposal 1 allows anyone arrested on any offense involving marijuana to offer a “medical” defense in court.

Worried parents warn…

…that when a similar law passed in California, hundreds of marijuana smoking clubs opened in neighborhood strip malls all over the state, and there are now more marijuana clubs in one metropolitan area of the state than there are Starbucks coffee shops.

Taxpayers warn…

…that the language of the proposal requires a costly new Lansing bureaucracy to license marijuana users, and will result in vast new regulatory expenses – all coming at a time when the economy is on the rocks, the budget is in the red and taxes are going up.