As I was saying: pay attention

 

Just a couple of posts ago, I featured the new Pompeiian discovery of two victims of the eruption, found in a home, with some coins they never got to spend and jewelry that they couldn't wear again. 

In that article, I counseled that if the Naples region starts rockin' and rollin' with volcanic temblors, that would indicate the prudence of going to visit your Italian aunt in Bergamo. 

In this Washington Post article, the reasons for relocating the domicile are described.

Europe’s most dangerous volcano rumbles, and Italians weigh the risk

"A number of scientists are warning of a possible tipping point — but no one more so than Giuseppe Mastrolorenzo, a senior researcher with Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) who is engaged in a public fight with the agency he serves, arguing it is not taking the threat seriously enough. He describes a worst-case scenario in which a deep fissure opens in the earth, spewing a mushroom cloud of noxious gas, superheated ash and pyroclastic material. At night, emissions would be wreathed in lightning bolts. The view of the coastline would be shrouded by a deadly black veil. In the aftermath, white-gray ash and rock would blanket the land.

Even a significantly smaller but still strong eruption, he said, “could devastate the entire metropolitan area of ​​Naples, with its 3 million inhabitants.”

“The pressure could release like a bomb,” he said, standing under the scorching sun and gazing down at a massive crater lake formed during the last significant Phlegraean eruption in 1538."

However, according to what I can find out about the 1538 eruption, a crater lake did not form during that eruption -- a cinder cone named Monte Nuovo did, and it also reduced the size of nearby Lucrine Lake (Lago di Lucrino). So I'm not sure what the writer is talking about, but he could mean the nearby Lake Avernus (Lago d'Averno), which is the nearest big volcanic lake around.

So a bit of an error there. But still, the whole region could go boom! or BOOM!, and that would constitute a major problem. 

Keep watching that seismometer.  And it's probably a good idea to keep an eye on Vesuvius, too.

Monte Nuovo:

A really big stone

 

In case you missed it, the second-largest diamond ever found was found a couple of weeks ago in Botswana.  Bonus -- it's a blue-white diamond.

(Actually, though, I think it's the second-largest clear diamond. Because the "Sergio", a black diamond (a carbonado), appears to have been the actual largest -- at least according to this: List of largest rough diamonds)

All I can say is, somebody better start making a crown.

This one was just discovered, so I doubt that any plans have been made for it yet. My first question, which may be on the minds of many people, is:  do they go for the record?

The world's largest cut diamond is the Golden Jubilee, 545.67 carats. The second-largest, and more famous (and also blue-white, aka colorless) is the Cullinan I, in the scepter of the British Crown Jewels, 530.2 carats.

So given the size of this new one, will they consider trying to cut at least one chunk into a faceted diamond heavier than the Golden Jubilee?  Because opportunities like this don't come along very often.

Second-largest diamond ever, 2,492 carats, unearthed in Botswana

"Lamb [president and chief executive of Lucara Diamond, the Canadian mining company] credited X-ray technology that has been used by the company since 2017 for the detection of the massive diamond, which was retrieved intact."

There aren't too many pictures of it yet; there are a couple in the article, one of which is the same as shown below.

OK, she's a little bigger, but still ...

 

For many years, my blog celebrated the astonishing combination of body and beauty found in the singular existence of Kelly Brook. As the years have progressed, Kelly, still very lovely, has gained a bit of weight and roundness. She's still a very gorgeous woman, now curvier.  (She got married, to her personal trainer, Jeremy Parisi, and they recently did a travel adventure show together.)

And then, apparently, they went on a safari and Kelly posed naked in a bathtub (with her back to the camera).  Of course, Kelly posed nude for Playboy a few years ago, so if you still want to see that, look it up. But this picture is still invigorating. Because she's still Kelly Brook.

Kelly Brook strips NAKED and teases a glimpse of sideboob while enjoying a scenic bath with very hunky husband Jeremy Parisi amid lavish safari getaway

The torpedo bomber gets an update

If you remember your World War II aerial combat vs. battleships, aircraft carriers, and such, one of the carrier-based aircraft was a torpedo bomber. A torpedo bomber, as you might guess, carried a torpedo, and when close enough, dropped the torpedo to zip through the water until it hit an enemy ship (likely an aircraft carrier, as those were the most critical targets) and blew a hole in it.

Here's a picture of one:

The U.S. Navy recently provided an update of the technology. 

USAF B-2 bomber demonstrates new anti-ship technology in Gulf of Mexico

"The US Air Force (USAF) has successfully demonstrated a new low-cost method for neutralizing surface vessels with an air-delivered strike known as QUICKSINK. 

The test took place in the Gulf of Mexico near Eglin Air Force Base during RIMPAC 2024, the world’s largest international maritime exercise, which involved 29 nations and over 25,000 personnel. 

During the test, a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber successfully sank the M/V Monarch Countess, a decommissioned cargo vessel now resting 180 feet (54 meters) below the water off the coast of Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida."

This is QUICKSINK.

You can't take it with you

A recent discovery in Pompeii found two unfortunate inhabitants who apparently died wealthy. Or at least with spending cash for their inadvertent unscheduled vacation on the Mediterranean coast, for which they did not make the cruise departure. 

As for all of the residents of Pompeii who perished in the cataclysmic eruption of Vesuvius, it was a sad and likely frightening ending to their lives. I am glad we live in a time when there should be sufficiently interpretable signals that a massive eruption is going to take place, allowing residents to hopefully evacuated safely. I say this knowing that Naples and vicinity sit on top of a number of volcanic features that could potentially wreak their geologic havoc on the nearby neighborhoods. So, my advice to the local residents of one of these features really starts acting up, surely repeated by many of the governmental officials in the area:

GET OUT OF TOWN. 

Two bodies unearthed in ancient Pompeii with ‘small cache of treasure’

"The small room [where the two victims were found] was probably used as a temporary bedroom during the renovation of the wider house, archaeologists believe. The impressions left in the ash by decomposed organic matter have made it possible to reconstruct the furnishings by casting the voids and therefore identify “their exact position at the time of the eruption,” the statement from the park said."

 

Not as old, but still old

 

Back in early August, I posted about a message in a bottle that might be the oldest ever found. Now, still catching up on the news, I'm posting about a message in a bottle that's definitely old, and definitively dated. Not as old as the potential record-holder, but still tossed into the ocean decades ago.

Florida woman finds a message in a bottle after Tropical Storm Debby

It's a bit mysterious; the letter can be read, addressed to someone named "Lee". The letterhead is from a base in Virginia. Now, the currents don't flow that way, but conceivably it could have spiraled into the Sargasso Sea from the Gulf Stream (if it was tossed into the ocean off Virginia), floated slowly around there for years, then drifted south to the flow that goes into the Caribbean, and henceforth into the feeders to the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico. That's a long trip. Alternatively, maybe the person that wrote it took the letterhead with them to a new posting (like somewhere on the Gulf Coast) and tossed it in. 

The fact that it's addressed to "Lee" is intriguing. As the article notes, why is it addressed to a specific person?  I speculate (and it seems to me I saw other speculation) that perhaps it was written before the writer found it that something had happened to Lee, perhaps something tragic, and put the final message into the bottle as a living memorial.

It would be very interesting to know more.

Lighthouse of the Week, September 8-14, 2024: Point Vicente, Rancho Palos Verde, California, USA

 

It occurred to me a couple of days ago that while I have featured several lighthouses in California, I hadn't featured lighthouses near Los Angeles. So I'm going to address that this week and in subsequent weeks, because there is a great deal of variety in the lighthouses around Los Angeles.

I'm going to start with a simple one, the Point Vicente light on the Rancho Palos Verde peninsula. This place has been in the news very recently due to the unfortunate state that some of it, including houses and roads, is landsliding toward the Pacific Ocean. I don't think the lighthouse is endangered by that process, but we should keep an eye on it. If you're unfamiliar with the area, this is where the lighthouse is. I zoomed out so it can be discerned where it is in relation to the greater Los Angeles area.

Now we get the basic information about it from the Lighthouse Directory:

"1926. Active; focal plane 185 ft (56 m); two white flashes every 20 s, separated by 5 s. 67 ft (20 m) cylindrical reinforced concrete tower, painted white. The original Barbier, Bernard and Turenne 3rd order Fresnel lens (1886) is on display at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center near the lighthouse. The 2-story concrete Spanish revival keeper's house houses a small museum; additional buildings were formerly used as Coast Guard housing. This is a very well preserved light station; members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteer to maintain it. ... The light station was well maintained for many years but Anderson reports that it has deteriorated in recent years. The site is popular for whale watching. Located on a cliff overlooking the Pacific on Palos Verdes Drive in Rancho Palos Verdes."

The website for the Rancho Palos Verde government, which unfortunately is currently running alerts about the state of emergency due to the landslides, features an aerial pan around the lighthouse.

Point Vicente, CA (Lighthouse Friends)

Drone aerial overflight:

After all that, pictures!  More artistic and scenic shots are available; this one has been photographed frequently. 

Oh really?

 

Prince Albert of Monaco has divulged that his romance with Charlene Wittstock (now Princess Charlene), which succeeded despite the fact that he has a few non-heirs on his list of progeny in addition to the twins birthed by Charlene, which are officially heirs -- was not exactly love at first sight.

Given that it was widely reported she had to be persuaded not to be a runaway bride on their wedding day, and also a apparent mental health episode from which she has thankfully recovered, this does not hit me as a big surprise.

Prince Albert of Monaco, 66, says it was not love at first sight with Princess Charlene, 46, but recalls her 'cheerful' and 'approachable' nature

"Now, in a rare joint interview, Albert revealed his uncertainties of whether they fell in love at the 2011 [swimming] competition, he told Paris Match: 'I don't know if we fell in love back then,' adding that it was several years before they would meet again.

But while romance might not have been on the cards at first, Charlene still made an impression on Albert, with him recalling: 'I thought that she was an excellent swimmer and that she was friendly, cheerful, and approachable'. "

And pretty easy on the eyes, too.

By the way, I should mention that she and they were recently in the news, and she's looking well.

Princess Charlene of Monaco joins husband Prince Albert at annual picnic alongside their two children - as the European royals dazzle in their classy outfits

Italian cuisine has a new ingredient

 

A very intriguing article here about how blue crabs, the kind familiar to U.S. citizens on the East and Gulf Coast, particularly in Maryland, are an invasive species in the waters around Italy.

And surprisingly, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Italian chefs are incorporating the invaders, of which there appears to be plenty, into Italian seafood dishes.

Yes, there does appear to be plenty:

Blue crab invasion upends Italy’s culinary traditions and ecology

It's apparently somewhat good for the chefs and the consumers of what the chefs prepare:

"Zennaro says the blue crabs, once considered tasteless by many Venetians, have adapted to the local environment, developing more flavor as they feast on their version of the Mediterranean diet. “Their meat is much more savory,” he says. “The versatility of the blue crab meat allows you to have a good base for working and studying new pairings and bolder dishes.” He’s now serving a blue crab dish with ponzu caramel sauce and trout caviar, and has plans for frying it as a soft shell or using it “as a condiment with fresh egg spaghetti.”

But what are they doing to the ecology/environment?

"Just as tourists overcrowd hyped vacation destinations in Italy, the blue crabs have become an invasive species, particularly in the Veneto region because its bay hosts no known predators. The crabs prey on young clams, mussels and oysters, and have destroyed up to 90 percent of the area’s young clams, causing severe damage to future production. This invasion prompted the Italian government to allocate 2.9 million euros (about $3.2 million) to protect local fisheries from the crabs. The damage is extraordinary, not only to the marine ecosystem but to small fisherman families whose livelihood depends on providing local shellfish to markets and restaurants."

Yeah, that doesn't sound too good. So just as I've recommended eating as much lionfish as is possible down south, I guess I have to recommend eating as much blue crab as possible in Italy.

Should we ship them some Old Bay?

All grown up and doing it well

 

Dafne Keen was just a young kid in Logan, and a young teenager in the His Dark Materials series. If you didn't know, she was in Deadpool & Wolverine, and still looked quite a bit like her character in Logan.

But as the red carpet pictures indicate, she's grown up. (This was for the It Ends With Us premiere, as the headline says.)

Dafne Keen stuns in a red figure-hugging halterneck dress as she steps out for the It Ends With Us London screening in yet another Deadpool and Wolverine crossover

Beat the traffic

 

Traffic in Los Angeles is terrible. But if you've got the money and don't want to waste the time, there's going to be a new way to get around the city in a remarkably short period of time, and it's going to happen soon.

Archer plans Los Angeles eVTOL network to supersede one-to-two-hour drives

eVTOL stands for "electric Vertical TakeOff and Landing". 

Here's the cool eVTOL that is planned to get you around LA in a jiffy.

For some reason, I see a resemblance.

Yes, it is indeed melting

 

A couple of weeks ago, the Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau, Alaska, released a meltwater flood that put a lot of water into parts of Juneau, which is obviously downriver. 

As the Washington Post article notes, it's a problem that's getting worse, because yes, global warming means more melting.

A melting Alaska glacier keeps inundating Juneau. Floods are getting worse.

"Glacial outburst floods have poured out of Suicide Basin more than 30 times since 2011. It is challenging to predict exactly how large they will be, since conditions change each year. The jumble of icebergs in the basin keep melting — adding more liquid water to the pool — and the glacier that acts as a dam keeps thinning and retreating as the atmosphere warms, so scientists don’t know exactly when the pent-up water might release."

The picture below shows the basic problem. Juneau is both in the Mendenhall Valley and to the east and south of it, but much of the city population lives in the valley.

Another Olympic note, this time on volleyball

 

Not every USA team won a gold medal at the Olympics. Obviously the two basketball teams did. I was pulling for the men's volleyball team, but they ended up with the bronze medal. I was also pulling for the women's volleyball team, but they didn't strike gold either, which Italy did with a dominant performance over the American women.

But this isn't about that. To get to the final, the USA women had to defeat Brazil in a very tight match. And Brazil took the bronze medal by defeating Türkiye. I happened to watch the semifinal match, and Brazil featured a VERY tall player wearing a big knee brace. She was also quite striking in appearance -- not exactly traditionally gorgeous, but hard not to notice. She was tall and had quite an outgoing competitive personality, and she kept showing up in the shots of the Brazilian side.

After a bit of searching on her name, I finally hit upon her identity. She is Thaisa Daher de Menezes, a Brazilian volleyball legend.  (Sorry, I don't really follow international volleyball, so that wasn't something that was obvious to me, but it probably would have been to anybody that follows international women's volleyball.)

So, if you didn't know who she is, like me, here's a couple of links and short quotes about the magnífica Menezes. And pictures, obviously.

"Thaísa Daher de Menezes is a Brazilian professional volleyball player. She won back-to-back gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. She has won numerous Best Spiker and Best Blocker Awards and is often singled out as one of the greatest Brazilian players of all time." (Wikipedia)

Fortunately For Curious Fans, Thaisa Menezes Has Been Quite Open About Her Surgeries(personally I think she's had a bit too much work done)

Brazil reveal star-studded roster for Paris 2024

She's the tall one.

Doing one of the things she's noted for

In case you were wondering. 

U.S. Open: Well, almost

 

So I did something rare and posted on-time about the U.S. Open tennis championship last week. On the women's side, I said that the odds would favor Swiatek and Sabalenka at the time.  I also said that Jessica Pegula, who had yet to fulfill her promise, could win too.  Well, if you've been following along, Sabalenka did win, and she defeated Pegula, who made the final, so that was much better performance in the service of fulfilling her promise. 

Pegula might still win a Slam, but she suffers from lack of size and power, something that Sabalenka has a lot of.  With her, Swiatek, Rybakina (when she's healthy), a resurgent Naomi Osaka (maybe), Coco Gauff, and lots-of-potential Emma Navarro all in the mix, along with the usual assortment of players with names ending in "-ova" who always seem to show up in the draw, Pegula might not make it back to a Grand Slam final ever. But I hope she does. Same goes for Rybakina.

On the men's side, I said that I wanted one of the three T's:  Francis Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, or Tommy Paul -- to get into the final. Lo and behold, one of them did. And it was the one that I think the network brass would have wanted, along with many of the male heterosexual fans of the game, because by Taylor Fritz being in the final that means they can intersperse the coverage of the play on the court with shots of Morgan Riddle in the friend's box. 

Unfortunately, Fritz has to play Jannik Sinner, so like Pegula vs. Sabalenka, the American is decidedly lower-ranked than the opponent. It'd be nice to get the upset, but the smart money is on the currently better player.

By the way, I found out that Taylor Fritz got married young and had a child with his then-wife, before they divorced a couple of years ago, which allowed him to connect with Morgan. It turns out that the ex-wife tennis player Raquel Pedraza was also an attractive blond young woman.  I guess he's got some consistency in that game.

Now I'm not going to post another picture of Morgan Riddle. Here's Fritz doing what he's paid to do.

Lighthouse of the Week, September 1-7: Cape du Couedic, Australia

 

After last week's lighthouse on Kangaroo Island, Australia, the posting of which alerted me to the fact that Kangaroo Island has six of them, I decided to do one more. This is the lighthouse which is at the top of the page for lighthouses of South Australia in the Lighthouse Directory.

The name of the lighthouse is Cape du Couedic, which actually looks a bit French (or Dutch?). It's on the same island as the last one, near Adelaide, which is shown on the map here. Kangaroo Island also has some remarkable wind-carved rock formations, which I may have included on a post somewhere in the past.

I will turn once again to the Lighthouse Directory for the basics.

"1909. Active; focal plane 103 m (339 ft); two white flashes, separated by 2 s, every 10 s. 25 m (83 ft) round sandstone tower with lantern and gallery. Tower is unpainted sand-colored stone; lantern painted white with a red roof. 2nd order (?) Chance Brothers Fresnel lens in use. ... The keeper's houses were restored in 2000; historically accurate slate roofs were added. This is one of the most historically authentic light stations in Australia; all its original buildings are preserved and even the surroundings are little changed. Located on the southwestern point of Kangaroo Island, south of Rocky River."

This is the Lighthouses of Australia page for it, with lots and lots of historical information: Cape du Couedic Lighthouse (includes a picture of the Fresnel lens)

Four pictures are provided beneath this line.

\

A sonnet for September

 

I haven't done this for awhile, but I might start posting one a month. And I'd like to do some with photographic background on my Instagram. Stay tuned.

Fusion's fates

Intangibility divides the void
between the seen and known, and mysteries
that twist and flow from ancient stars destroyed
within their globed gravitic histories
and by the crux of iron that they bear. 
They whisper in the distance of demise,
the fated endings born within the rar-
ity of plasmic depths, from which arise
the spectral host in blues and reds and whites,
the sparkling rings of elven queens and kings,
the blazing eyes of mythic bulls -- and lights
of fierceness famed as diamonds over strings; 
it is destruction which ignites their flame,
a nakedness created without shame.