Hurricane Sandy Sinks HMS Bounty off Coast of North Carolina, Captain Lost with Ship

While trying to navigate around hurricane Sandy the vessel started taking on water, its engines failed and the crew of the stately craft had to abandon ship as it went down in the immense waves. One crew member died and Walbridge was still missing.

Most of the sailors were plucked from life rafts shortly after the ship went down, but Claudene Christian was found hours later, unresponsive and floating in the water. She was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital, Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class David Weydert said.

Click image for full story

NASA: Total Eclipse Visible Over Australia November 13th

Totality of the 2012 solar eclipse will only be visible from Australia - specifically in parts of Queensland and Northern Territory The remainder of totality will only be visible from large portions of the southern Pacific Ocean - so it's likely that many cruises will be operating in this area.

click map for full story

What Exactly is Obamacare?

  In my circle this question has come up lately. I hope that this explanation is easy to understand. I will try to leave out any political slant and just give it to you straight.

WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR OF ENACTMENT

*Insurance companies will be barred from dropping people from coverage when they get sick. Lifetime coverage limits will be eliminated and annual limits are to be restricted.

*Insurers will be barred from excluding children for coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

*Young adults will be able to stay on their parents' health plans until the age of 26. Many health plans currently drop dependents from coverage when they turn 19 or finish college.

*Uninsured adults with a pre-existing conditions will be able to obtain health coverage through a new program that will expire once new insurance exchanges begin operating in 2014.

*A temporary reinsurance program is created to help companies maintain health coverage for early retirees between the ages of 55 and 64. This also expires in 2014.

*Medicare drug beneficiaries who fall into the "doughnut hole" coverage gap will get a $250 rebate. The bill eventually closes that gap which currently begins after $2,700 is spent on drugs. Coverage starts again after $6,154 is spent.

*A tax credit becomes available for some small businesses to help provide coverage for workers.

*A 10 percent tax on indoor tanning services that use ultraviolet lamps goes into effect on July 1.

WHAT HAPPENS IN 2011

*Medicare provides 10 percent bonus payments to primary care physicians and general surgeons.

*Medicare beneficiaries will be able to get a free annual wellness visit and personalized prevention plan service. New health plans will be required to cover preventive services with little or no cost to patients.

*A new program under the Medicaid plan for the poor goes into effect in October that allows states to offer home and community based care for the disabled that might otherwise require institutional care.

*Payments to insurers offering Medicare Advantage services are frozen at 2010 levels. These payments are to be gradually reduced to bring them more in line with traditional Medicare.

*Employers are required to disclose the value of health benefits on employees' W-2 tax forms.

*An annual fee is imposed on pharmaceutical companies according to market share. The fee does not apply to companies with sales of $5 million or less.

WHAT HAPPENS IN 2012

*Physician payment reforms are implemented in Medicare to enhance primary care services and encourage doctors to form "accountable care organizations" to improve quality and efficiency of care.

*An incentive program is established in Medicare for acute care hospitals to improve quality outcomes.

*The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the government programs, begin tracking hospital readmission rates and puts in place financial incentives to reduce preventable readmissions.

WHAT HAPPENS IN 2013

*A national pilot program is established for Medicare on payment bundling to encourage doctors, hospitals and other care providers to better coordinate patient care.

*The threshold for claiming medical expenses on itemized tax returns is raised to 10 percent from 7.5 percent of income. The threshold remains at 7.5 percent for the elderly through 2016.

*The Medicare payroll tax is raised to 2.35 percent from 1.45 percent for individuals earning more than $200,000 and married couples with incomes over $250,000. The tax is imposed on some investment income for that income group.

*A 2.9 percent excise tax in imposed on the sale of medical devices. Anything generally purchased at the retail level by the public is excluded from the tax.

WHAT HAPPENS IN 2014

*State health insurance exchanges for small businesses and individuals open.

*Most people will be required to obtain health insurance coverage or pay a fine if they don't. Healthcare tax credits become available to help people with incomes up to 400 percent of poverty purchase coverage on the exchange.

*Health plans no longer can exclude people from coverage due to pre-existing conditions.

*Employers with 50 or more workers who do not offer coverage face a fine of $2,000 for each employee if any worker receives subsidized insurance on the exchange. The first 30 employees aren't counted for the fine.

*Health insurance companies begin paying a fee based on their market share.

WHAT HAPPENS IN 2015

*Medicare creates a physician payment program aimed at rewarding quality of care rather than volume of services.

WHAT HAPPENS IN 2018

*An excise tax on high cost employer-provided plans is imposed. The first $27,500 of a family plan and $10,200 for individual coverage is exempt from the tax. Higher levels are set for plans covering retirees and people in high risk professions.

The fine for not having insurance would be a minimum of $695 per person per year, with exemptions for financial hardship and other special cases.

Featured: Neo-Minstral Michael Hedges,Guitarist Extrardinair

I discovered Michael Hedges in 1989 while I was living on Hilton Head Island. He has been my musical secret for all those years. With nothing but a six string this man covers some of the most difficult music with ease. When I ask anyone if they've heard of him their answer is usually 'I don't think so'. Well, once they listen to this one man show they never forget.

So without further ado:

Michael hedges does Lucky Star by Madonna

Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones

She Drives Me Crazy by The Fine Young Cannibals

Cinnamon Girl by Neil Young

Come Together by The Beatles

Eminence Front by The Who

and my personal favorite:

A Love Bizarre by Sheila E

Click image for wedsite

Hurricane Sandy: What Deegle the Weather Dog has to Say.

When a tropical event happens anywhere near my home here on the east coast of North Carolina I turn to 'News from Deegle' for her uncanny ability to call the strength and direction of tropical storms and hurricanes.

Here are her last few posts on hurricane Sandy, if she predicts it I believe it.

(compare her predictions to those of the Weather Channel and see for yourself)

Hurricane Sandy, could this be the Perfect Storm??

Monster Storm has Meteorologists Spooked !!!

NEW FROM DEEGLE

Space Exploration: Is it a Waste of Tax Dollars?

Comments on CNN Light Years consistently flood in about how the money spent on the space program isn't worth it. We often see the word "waste" in connection to the tax dollars that go toward exploring the rest of the universe beyond our planet.

So, we ran a story this weekend about what innovations space exploration has delivered. Examples included digital image processing used in medical scanning, GPS and state-of-the-art tires.

As expected, readers expressed a variety of opinions upon reading this story. Some were sympathetic with the viewpoint of the middle-class mother interviewed for the article, who cringes when she thinks about tax dollars going to NASA, and wishes she had more funding for her daughter's college tuition.

Click here for reader opinions on CNN Light Years.

So, what is my reader's opinions? Here is your chance to comment!

Star Gazers: View the Orionid Meteor Shower this Sunday Night

According to NASA's website: "Earth will pass through a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, (the) source of the annual Orionid meteor shower. Forecasters expect 25 meteors per hour when the shower peaks on Oct. 21."

So, all you star gazers out there will want to be looking upward this weekend: The Orionid meteor shower is one of the best meteor showers of the year and should not be missed.

The best part of this cosmic display: No telescope required—but you may need an alarm clock. According to L.A.'s Griffith Observatory, the brightest displays will fall between 11 p.m. Saturday and 5:40 a.m. Sunday, Pacific time.

Bill Cooke, the head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, noted in a statement, "With no Moon to spoil the show, observing conditions should be ideal." He added, "The Orionid meteor shower isn't the strongest, but it is one of the most beautiful showers of the year."

Nine Reasons Cab Drivers Think You are Nuts!

We all have our gripes with the taxi system in Boston. It’s over-regulated, there aren’t enough cars and the customer service can be just plain awful.

But that doesn't mean you’re an angel when you hop into the backseat of a taxi. In fact, you probably act like a fool most of the time, especially after a night at the bar. Here are nine things we've all done at one point or another that make our taxi drivers shake their heads at our stupidity.

You have no idea where you’re going. You get in the cab and then Google the address of the bar you’re headed to. It’s 2012, people, you could have probably gotten that information before you hailed the taxi.

You swipe your credit card the wrong way – six times in a row. I swear, every time I get into a taxi, the the credit card machine was different than the last time. Strip to the left? Press a button? Add tip first? You could be stone cold sober and still look like a fool when it comes to paying.

You believe him when he says he’s Mitt Romney’s driver. OK, so maybe this isn’t really a universal thing… But it did happen to me a few weeks ago. My roommate and I hopped into the backseat of a taxi and in an animated discussion about the upcoming election (because what else is there to discuss when you’re tipsy on a Thursday night?!). “Do you know Romney?” the driver asked. “Because when he’s in town I’m his personal driver.” Impressed, we began asking questions about what the Governor is like. It was only after we paid and got out of the taxi that we realized he tricking us. Well played, sir.

You ask your driver where he’s from. And when he says Mali, you reply, “Oh, my best friend studied abroad in South Africa! I’ve heard it’s a beautiful place.” *Face palm* That’s the equivalent of telling someone you’re from Toronto, and having her reply, “Oh I’ve been to South Carolina, it’s lovely there.”

You ask him to change the radio station. You’re in a taxi for 10 minutes, max. Is it really necessary to have the driver flip through channels until you find one that’s playing “Call Me Maybe?” Not only will you hear it at the bar in a few moments anyways, you now just gave your driver the worst headache imaginable. Way to go, Carly Rae.

You’re making out in the back seat. You hop into the car with the dude you just met at the bar and start ferociously sucking face, as the cab driver clears his throat and asks you for the umpteenth time where you’re headed.

You’re crying in the back seat. Ditto. Minus the dude.

You complain about the temperature. First, you’re too hot and ask him to turn on the AC. Five minutes later, you’re freezing, and ask him to turn it down. Then you open and close the windows three times. Just take off you’re jacket bro, and you wouldn’t have these issues.

You swear you dropped your phone on the floor of the cab. Then you insist the driver pull over, turn on every light in the car and help you search for it, backing up his entire schedule. You work yourself into a tizzy thinking about how much a new iPhone 5 is going to cost…only to hear your phone ring from the bottom of your massive purse. Sorry, cabbie!

See? You’re not perfect either. That being said, I’d like to offer an apology to Boston taxi drivers on the behalf of your customers. We’ll be sure to tip well this weekend.

NASA:Planet Discovered Around Nearest Star to Our Sun-Only Four Light Years Away

“Close,” of course, is a relative term. No one’s getting there anytime soon: The newly found planet, which orbits a star called Alpha Centauri B, is about 4 light-years, or 23.5 trillion miles, away.The hunt for planets like our own has come up with a striking discovery: There’s a planet about the same size as Earth in the nearby Alpha Centauri system, and it's the closest planet found outside our solar system.

Based on its mass, the planet is a rocky world and not gaseous, said Xavier Dumusque of the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland. He and his colleagues published the findings in the journal Nature.

The hunt for planets like our own has come up with this striking discovery:A planet about the same size as Earth in the nearby Alpha Centauri system, and it's the closest planet found outside our solar system.

Click on image of WISE satillite/telescope for more

NASA: Five Missions Canceled Because of Expence

Winning the Space Race wasn't cheap. The year of 1966 marked the largest space expenditure in government history with nearly 4.5% of U.S. government spending committed to NASA. From 1964 to 1967, more than 3% was committed to winning the Space Race.

Since the days of the Cold War, government funding of NASA has slowly declined. The 2012 projections call for only 0.5% of spending to go to NASA. Numerous missions were canceled because of the falling budget since the Cold War:

Pluto Kuiper Express

The Pluto Kuiper Express was a spacecraft that was planned for launch in 2004. It was slated to arrive at Pluto in 2012. The goal of the mission was to study the Kuiper Belt that sat beyond Neptune. The price tag in 2000 was $350 million. This cost was too steep for Congress to stomach. In 2006, plans to explore Pluto were again impacted when its status as a planet was removed. However, later that year NASA launched a spacecraft that will reach Pluto in 2015.

Mars Telecommunication Orbiter

In 2009, to service its growing population of rovers and other planned science vehicles, NASA was to launch an orbiter to arrive in 2010 called the Mars Telecommunication Orbiter. Its primary duty was to provide a better means of communication between Mars and Earth. Think of it as an upgrade to the planet's Wi-Fi system at a cost of $500 million. This project was canceled in 2005 because NASA shifted priorities. No longer was the anticipated volume of data enough to justify the high cost.

Comet Rendezvous and Asteroid Flyby

This project had big goals. This spacecraft, set to launch in 1995, was going to perform an asteroid flyby, but it had the loftier goal of piggybacking on an asteroid and firing a sensor into its core. The project was canceled in 1992 as a result of congressional funding cuts. Later, NASA realized some of the goals of this mission with its Stardust and Deep Impact missions.

ExoMars Mission

The ExoMars Mission was to be a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency that would have landed a mobile scientific platform on Mars. The craft was supposed to then drill deep into the subsurface of Mars and analyze those samples. Scientists know that because of the hostile environment of the planet, proving that life once existed on Mars would require drilling into the planet where erosion hasn't had an effect. The platform was to land on Mars between 2016 and 2018. According to Space.com, the United States will likely tell the ESA that it can no longer provide a launch vehicle for this mission due to budget cuts.

The Moon

In 2003, President George W. Bush laid out a vision to return human beings to the moon by 2020. In 2010, President Obama shifted the vision from landing astronauts on the moon to developing lower-cost vehicles that could act as space taxis. This vision included provisions to incentivize NASA and private companies to develop lower-cost vehicles to reach space. This emphasis came in the wake of the high-dollar space shuttle program that proved to be more costly and less versatile than originally planned.

The Bottom Line

The biggest of NASA's accomplishments and its failures are well known. Who could forget the "one small step for man" event or the Challenger and Columbia disasters? Opponents of the nation's space policy argue that the space program has gone backwards. Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics at the City University of New York, argues that NASA's priorities are in desperate need of a new vision.

Priorities are often dictated by money. In a global economy where there is little room for discretionary spending, funding for space exploration has been put on hold around the world.

Copyright (c) 2012 Investopedia US. All rights reserved. Investopedia.com is a division of ValueClick, Inc.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/business/investopedia/article/5-NASA-Missions-You-Didn-t-Know-Were-Canceled-3950797.php#ixzz29QG10Xa8

Nuclear Weapons: The Development of the Atom and Hydrogen Bombs

   The atomic bomb -also called the A-Bomb- is a destructive weapon, marked by its great explosive power. It works on the principle of nuclear fission, in which uranium-235 or plutonium-239 is used to undergo fission.   When a neutron strikes the nucleus of an atom of uranium-235 or plutonium-239, the nucleus fissions or splits.During such process, a great deal of gamma rays and thermal energy are produced, in addition to two or more neutrons that set out to split the surrounding nuclei, forming what is referred to as a chain reaction.

Click image for more facts on 'The Bomb'

 The hydrogen bomb (mankind's most destructive weapon -also known as the H-Bomb or thermonuclear bomb) works on the principle of nuclear fusion, where isotopes of hydrogen (namely Deuterium and tritium) combine or fuse under extremely high temperatures to form helium. Hydrogen atoms are "ideal candidates" here for their very light nuclei that carry very weak positive charges serve well in the process of fusion. The conversion of mass into energy in the hydrogen bomb is actually an application of Albert Einstein's famous formula E = mc². As mentioned before, Hydrogen nuclei fuse only under extremely high temperatures, accordingly, the hydrogen bomb requires tremendous heat in order to detonate. Such heat is attained by the explosion of an atomic bomb, i.e: it takes an atomic bomb just to initiate the process of fusion.

One Definition of Intelligence-Scientifically Speaking

Man once thought that the Earth was flat, they thought that it was the center of the universe, they thought that everything was made up of only four elements; earth, air, water and fire.

But, the thinkers of the age were not satisfied with these explanations of the world around them. They were thinkers,reasoners and still curious.

Thank Goodness!

So, now we are sure and somewhat satisfied with the laws and history of the universe as we see it. I personally think that the 'Big Bang' theory, or Quantum Physics , or Dark Matter or the limits of the speed of light will someday be looked back upon with a smile and quaintness as the scientific community now looks upon the ancient theories of their predecessors.

Featured: Professor Brian Cox-very cool young scientist

I really like to listen to this scientist and teacher explain in layman's terms, some of the Universe's most  interesting features.

Professor Brian Cox-no relation(too bad) looks like a 27 year old kid you'd find hanging around the beach or at a rock concert. But it seems this deep thinker is a little more interesting than that, check this out:

Click image for Brian Cox's Bio

Click image for more on Prof. Cox's Discovery series

Click image for more on this fascinating man

What IS the Difference Between a 'Street,Avenue,Drive,Lane,Etc.'?

Although people can sort of name things what they want, in general....

A boulevard is two lanes in each direction with a median of trees or greenery running the length of it.

An avenue is often two lanes in each direction and in a nicer part of the area.

A street can be any number of lanes in each direction, but is generally associated with a town or city or suburb.

A road is getting a little more rural, generally one lane in each direction, but not necessarily.

We live on a 'lane,' which is definitely rural and does not even have to be paved.  I don't think lanes come in more than one lane in each direction and there are some dirt ones which don't even have that -- just pullovers occasionally so a car can pass going the other way.

Then there is 'way', which is often used with fanciful names chosen by the contractor constructing the subdivision or the people who live on it:  "My Way," "Your Way," and "Some Way" are all names I have seen!

Galaxies: Just How Many are there in the Universe?

“It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.” –Joseph Campbell

One of the bravest things that was ever done with the Hubble Space Telescope was to find a patch of sky with absolutely nothing in it—no bright stars, no nebulae, and no known galaxies—and observe it. Not just for a few minutes, or an hour, or even for a day. But orbit-after-orbit, for a huge amount of time, staring off into the nothingness of empty space, recording image after image of pure darkness.

What would we find, out beyond the limits of what we could see? Something? Nothing? After a total of more than 11 days of observing this tiny area of the sky, this is what we found:

Click image for full story

To Break Sky Diving Record Daredevil to Jump from Edge of Space

An Austrian helicopter pilot and daredevil by the name of Felix Baumgartner decided he’ll try to break the world record for highest skydive this coming August.

That record, by the way, is 102,800 feet and was set in 1960 by U.S. Air Force colonel Joe Kittinger. Baumgartner hopes to shatter that by jumping from an altitude of 120,000 feet.

A mile is 5,280 feet.

So how high is 120,000 feet? Well, if you were to go skydiving, you’d jump from somewhere between 12,500 and 14,500 feet. Commercial airliners, meanwhile, cruise at about 35,000 feet. And those videos made by amateurs sending HD cameras into space reach somewhere between 80,000 and 90,000 feet—which is as high as commercially available weather balloons can get without popping.

In other words: yeah, 120,000 feet is pretty much the edge of space.

Andromeda Galaxy: The Furthest Thing from Earth that can be Seen with the Naked Eye.

The Andromeda Galaxy is roughly 2.9 million light years from our planet. To view the Andromeda Galaxy, you first must locate it within the boundaries of the constellation Andromeda. With a pair of binoculars, the Andromeda Galaxy shows up as a hazy, oval patch of light.

How to Use the Big Dipper to Spot Andromeda

• 1
  Locate the Big Dipper in the sky, then follow the handle down to the opposite side. There are two stars that form the side of the bowl.
• 2

  

  Follow the two stars on the edge of the bowl until you reach Polaris, or the Northern Star, which is the brightest star in the sky.
• 
  

  • 3
• Use Polaris as a guideline, and continue on in the same direction until you reach Cassiopeia, the W-shaped constellation.
• 4
  Follow the bottom-right star of Cassiopeia's W until you reach The Square of Pegasus.
• 5
  Look between Cassiopeia and The Square of Pegasus to spot the Andromeda galaxy and constellation.

  Using Binoculars to spot Andromeda

   1

Wait until a clear and moonless early-autumn night. Late September or early October is prime-viewing time for Andromeda and the galaxy that it contains. Dress against the chill and venture out at about ten at night.

2

Use the Great Square of Pegasus to identify Andromeda. The Great Square is an asterism--a group of stars that forms a shape--and it cannot be mistaken in the eastern sky in northern latitudes. It rises in the eastern sky and Andromeda "shares" a star with it on the upper left-hand side of the square. The constellation Andromeda consists of two lines of stars that grow out from the corner of Pegasus. Andromeda the constellation has few bright stars; the galaxy is inside the two lines that go out like the letter “V."

3

Count out two bright stars from the one that both constellations share on the corner of the Great Square. You will be working down the lower of the two lines of stars that make up Andromeda. When you get to the second of these stars look up, but only a short distance. You will see two dimmer stars. The Andromeda Galaxy is right above them.

4

Find Cassiopeia if you are still having trouble. It is a little bit above Andromeda and shaped like a “W.” The right side of the W points downwards toward the galaxy, but not directly at it. Hold your thumb and index finger about three inches apart and hold them up in front of you with the index finger “on” the point of the right side of the W. The area where the Andromeda Galaxy is in will be where your thumb is.

5

Sweep this area with your binoculars. Go slowly so that you will not miss anything. Make sure your eyes have adjusted to the dark. When you do get the Andromeda Galaxy in your view, you will not mistake it for a star. However, you will probably pass by it a few times before being able to fixate on it exactly. Binoculars are better suited for finding the galaxy than a telescope, as they can be held up to your eyes and are easier to scan a region of the sky with. The Andromeda Galaxy will appear as a fuzzy spiral patch. Realizing that through binoculars it will not be defined as in the beautiful pictures of Andromeda that are out there.

Attention All Men! October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month-So Get Her and the Guys in for a Mammogram.

 Alright all you breast lovin' men out there, it is time to make sure the one that you love takes good care of the two you love! October is national breast cancer awareness month So, suggest to your better half that she should make and keep a check up with her doctor. I would think that they are just as important,if not more, to you than they are to her. 

I'd guess that you think about them more often than she does! :) 

They have been important to you fellows since the day you were born. So thank your woman for being such a gracious keeper of your favorite play things, then show her how much you love her by getting her an appointment.

Click image  for much more on Breast Cancer awareness

Star Gazing: This Week the Three brightest Celestial Bodies in Your Night Sky

 Tonight look into the east-northeast sky after about 11 p.m. local time late Friday evening (Oct. 5) for a changing celestial array involving the moon, a bright planet and a bright star, weather permitting.

The planet in question is Jupiter, usually the second brightest planet next to Venus. At a dazzling magnitude of -2.6 on the astronomers' brightness scale (the lower the number, the brighter the object), Jupiter shines three times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star. Whenever it's above the horizon, Jupiter, the solar system's biggest planet at 88,800 miles in diameter -- always attracts immediate attention; to the eye it resembles a brilliant silvery white, non-twinkling "star."

Currently, Jupiter is 419 million miles from Earth. Although primarily an after-midnight sight right now, Jupiter is rising an average of just over 4 minutes earlier each night.  By Dec. 3 it will arrive at opposition and be visible all night from sunrise to sunset.

Lately, Jupiter can be seen in the constellation of Taurus, the Bull. It's positioned between the Bull's horns, and not far from the Bull's V-shape face which is composed of the stars of the Hyades star cluster. [Gallery: October 2012 Night Sky Guide (Sky Maps)]

Click image for full story

One star in the V stands out far more than the others. That's Aldebaran, marking the Bull's angry orange-red eye. This star seems like it's a member of the Hyades, but in reality, it's only an innocent bystander; it's lined up almost perfectly with the other neighboring stars to fill out the V-shaped pattern, but it's actually much closer to the Earth at a distance of 65 light-years, compared to the Hyades, which is more than double that distance at 153 light-years away.

The moon is currently on the wane, with full phase having occurred this past weekend; last quarter (or half phase) will come early on Monday (Oct. 8). So a gibbous moon will be interacting with Jupiter and Aldebaran late this Friday night.