Ninety miles from the South Eastern tip of the United States, Liberty has no stead. In order for Liberty to exist and thrive, Tyranny must be identified, recognized, confronted and extinguished.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

10 Greatest Unsolved Mysteries

The last hundred years have borne witness to humankind’s extraordinary technological advancements. Man has walked on the moon, ventured deeper into the oceans than ever before and even uncovered the building blocks of life, DNA. But even with our inexorable progress as a species there are still mysteries and enigmas the solutions to which elude us. Below is a selection of 10 of the most puzzling mysteries in history.

10) The SS Ourang Medan

In June 1947, a chilling SOS message was picked up: “All officers including captain are dead lying in chartroom and bridge. Possibly whole crew dead." This was followed by some indecipherable Morse code, and one final grisly message... "I die." Then, silence.

It was picked up by nearby ships and listening posts, who identified the vessel as the Dutch freighter SS Ourang Medan and located it within the Strait of Malacca that separates Indonesia from Malaysia. The nearest merchant ship, The Silver Star, raced to her aid. The Silver Star was soon alongside the Dutch ship and their boarding party found a macabre sight: every member of the crew lay dead, their corpses scattered on the decks. More than this, their eyes were still open and expressions of sheer terror were etched on their features. The Silver Star’s party found the radio operator dead too, his hand still on the Morse sending key, eyes wide open and teeth bared. There were no sign of wounds or injuries on any of the bodies.

The decision was made to tow the mysterious ship back to port, but before they could get underway, smoke began emanating from the decks below. The boarding party hurriedly returned to their ship and barely had time to cut the tow lines before the SS Ourang Medan exploded and swiftly sank.

It has been claimed that clouds of noxious natural gases could have bubbled up from fissures in the seabed and engulfed the ship; even aliens and ghosts have been cited as possible explanations for the Ourang Medan’s macabre and mysterious demise. To this day, the exact fate of her crew remains an impenetrable mystery.

9) The Aluminum Wedge of Aiud

In 1974 (or 1973 depending upon which source you believe) a curious aluminum wedge was discovered on the banks of the Mures River in Transylvania, near the city of Aiud. It was found buried deep beneath the sand alongside two mastodon bones.

Upon examination, the object – which resembled a hammer head – was found to be encased in a one millimeter thick layer of oxide which suggests that it is some 300-400 years old. A second, Swiss investigation confirmed the results of the first examination. Furthermore, as it was found with mastodon remains it could even be as much as 20,000 years old.

Aluminum is abundant in the earth’s crust but it is always combined with other minerals and the wedge predates the technology used to extract it. An aeronautical engineer suggested that the wedge is similar to the foot of landing gear used on spacecraft. The scientific community believes ‘the wedge was made on earth and its purpose is not yet identified’. Unfortunately, the Aluminum Wedge of Aiud is currently locked away in a secret location; however, some photographs of the curious, unexplained object do exist online.

8) Dulce Base

Supposedly, a top secret subterranean complex is carved into the rock below the Archuleta Mesa in Dulce, New Mexico. Claims that the base is a ‘genetics lab’ in which humans and extraterrestrials cooperatively conduct disturbing experiments have been made by various ‘leaked documents’, witness reports and even an ex-employee.

Strange humming sounds that seem to emanate from the earth near the town of Dulce have added to speculations of an underground facility, as have the presence of military helicopters that have been spotted around the area.

An author with the nom de plume of Branton claims to have interviewed former workers at the base who said: "[There] are experiments done on fish, seals, birds and mice that are vastly altered from their original forms. There are multi-armed and multi-legged humans and several cages of humanoid bat-like creatures up to seven feet tall. The aliens have taught the humans a lot about genetics, things both useful and dangerous." The U.S. government denies the base’s existence, but that doesn’t stop the speculation.

7) BEKs

Chances are you have not heard of BEKs (Black Eyed Kids) yet. Sightings of them are few and far between but via the internet they are growing in number, and the reports describe close encounters that are not only weird, but also frightening.

The stories almost always start with a ring of the doorbell. One, two or more children appear on a ‘victim’s’ doorstep and ask for help: they need to use the toilet, make an urgent phone call or relate another tale of distress. They ask to come in, plead in some cases, but the homeowners never let them in due to an unexplained feeling of terror that overcomes them. Perhaps it is the BEKs’ entirely black eyes that induce the overwhelming horror; perhaps it is because, as one ‘witness’ described, their faces appear as slightly blurry. The mysterious encounters don’t stop there, either: “For a period of three days straight, [the BEKs] kept showing up on my driveway. When the police came they were nowhere in sight. After that, they never showed up on my driveway, but every once in a while, I will see them in the downtown area, like they are following me. They will be behind a tree, I will drive to another section of Sacramento and I would see them again or I will see them on the side of the road as I am driving by and they will stare at me.”

One man did let the children in. They claimed to need to use the toilet and phone, but it was only when they entered into the house that he saw their peculiar eyes and felt the full force of dread. The BEKs moved towards him, saying that ‘they had come to collect him’. He fled the house in terror.

6) The Piri Reis Map

Currently located in the Library of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, the Piri Reis map is a puzzling enigma. It outlines the coast of western Africa, the eastern coast of South America, and even a section of the northern coast of Antarctica (thought to have been discovered 300 years after Piri Reis’s lifetime). Furthermore, the map shows the coastline without its glacial covering. Geological evidence suggests that Antarctica was last in this ice-less state in 4000 BC. Reis was a famous Turkish admiral whose passion (understandably for a seafarer) was cartography. Taking advantage of his rank and his privileged access to the Imperial Library of Constantinople, his 1513 gazelle skin map was built upon the work of others, with some of his cartographical sources dating back as far as the time of Alexander the Great. The map also seems to detail more about the topographical features of South America than Europeans were thought to have in 1513, such as the Andes.

5) Commandment Rock

An 80 ton boulder on the side of Hidden Mountain in New Mexico bears a puzzling inscription. Carved into the stone’s flat side is what has been interpreted by some to be a version of the Ten Commandments in a form of ‘Paleo-Hebrew’.

Discovered by academia in 1933 by archaeology Professor Frank Hibben, it had been known to locals for decades, and the guide who led Hibben to it said he had known of it since the 1880s – a date which, if genuine, means the rock’s authenticity is likely, as the Paleo-Hebrew script was then unknown. This means it outdates Columbus’s discovery of America and suggests that people from Israel or Phoenicia (who used a similar language) discovered the continent centuries before it was thought possible. Skeptics draw upon punctuation and grammatical ‘errors’ as evidence of it being a fake, while others still doubt this debunking.

4) The Somerton Man

In the early hours of December 1, 1948 a dead body was found lying on Adelaide’s Somerton Beach. The man was judged to be in his early forties and in good physical condition. Curiously, all the labels were missing from his clothing, he had no identification and his dental records did not match any known person.

Even the coroner and Scotland Yard had no luck finding out the man’s identity or cause of death. The mystery deepened when a piece of paper with the printed words “Tamam Shud” on it was discovered in a secret pocket concealed within the dead man’s trousers. The scrap of paper was traced to a rare edition of a book entitled The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, the back of which contained some kind of a code. Numerous unsuccessful attempts by amateurs and professional codebreakers to crack it have failed. The identity of the deceased man and even the cause of death remain unsolved to this day. The case was never closed by the South Australian Major Crime Task Force and many individuals continue to work on it.

3) Gef the Talking Mongoose

Also referred to as the Dalby Spook, Gef was said to be a creature resembling a mongoose. It was reported to live with the Irving family in their farmhouse near the hamlet of Dalby on the Isle of Man. Gef’s true identification remains shrouded in mystery. It has been interpreted as (among other things) a poltergeist, a cryptid and of course, a hoax.

In September 1931, the Irvings started hearing strange scratching noises coming from their farmhouse’s attic. Soon the scratching became more like a baby ‘gurgling’. The gurgling then evolved to ‘resemble a baby learning to talk and shortly after to mimic certain words that the ‘animal’ seemingly picked up from the Irving family’. If that wasn’t weird enough it described itself as a “an extra, extra clever mongoose,” an “earthbound spirit” and “a ghost in the form of a weasel.” It could even sing.

The case was investigated by Harry Price, but aside from a few grainy photographs of a strange animal roaming the fields outside the house, nothing substantial was ever recorded.

2) The Black Mausoleum – Tomb of ‘Bluidy’ MacKenzie

Edinburgh is a ghost hunter’s paradise. It seems that there is barely a nook or cranny of the Scottish capital that doesn’t lay claim to spooky goings-on of one kind or another, and there is one hot spot in particular that boasts inexplicable activity which is unusually well-documented.

George MacKenzie (1638–1691), Lord Advocate of Scotland, was a merciless persecutor of the Presbyterian Covenanters in life, and now it seems that he (or something else) has returned from parts unknown to take up residence in his tomb and continue his nefarious deeds.

In 1998, a vagrant broke into his tomb and fell through a rotten lower floor into a plague pit filled with skeletons. Since then, there have been over 450 reports of strange incidents, from people having lost consciousness to inexplicable fires breaking out and an unusually high number of dead animals having been found around the tomb. Visitors have had their fingers broken, hair pulled and been punched or kicked by an invisible assailant. Unexplained bruises, scratches and burns, skin gouges, nausea and numbness are all commonly reported.

The physical signs of attack often go unnoticed until people arrive home and relax or return to their hotels for the night. Witnesses have even reported activity following them home. Whatever lurks within the Black Mausoleum, it is certainly active.

1) DB Cooper

The solution to one of the greatest mysteries of all time still eludes America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation. On the November 24, 1971, a man in his mid forties and giving the name Dan Cooper (he is also known as DB Cooper due to a ‘press miscommunication’) hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft and demanded $200,000 in ransom and two parachutes. His claim of having a bomb in his briefcase was verified by an air stewardess.

Cooper was given the ransom money at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport. He allowed passengers and some members of the flight crew to leave before ordering the plane to be flown to Mexico.

Soon after the plane took off, Cooper then opened the rear airstairs and parachuted into the pitch black, rain-lashed night. A five month manhunt – said to the most extensive and expensive of its kind – was immediately launched. Despite $5,880 of the ransom being discovered by a boy in 1980, no other trace of the hijacker was ever found.

In 2007, the F.B.I. reopened the case, saying that it does not believe Cooper survived the jump, but expressed an interest in ascertaining his identity, saying: “Would we still like to get our man? Absolutely.”

Despite there being hundreds of leads since 1971 (including many deathbed confessions), Cooper’s identity remains a mystery and the world's only unsolved skyjacking case.

5 comments:

Fucking thanks man. Read this before bed about midnight last night. Didn't sleep for shit. I kept expecting black eyed kids to appear at the foot of my bed and and take me away. Had to get up and watch Duck Dynasty after that. Thanks!!!


(San Diego, CA) – For all of the attention that Green Flash has been getting over the past month, it may not even be the fastest growing brewery in its own town.

But it is close…

Ballast Point Brewing National Sales Director, Earl Kight, tells BeerPulse that the company is planning to produce between 50,000 and 60,000 barrels of beer this year at Scripps Ranch. That comes off of a year in which Ballast Point grew 45% to produce 29,000 barrels.

Early in the year, the company projected that it would expand capacity to 60,000 barrels but that wouldn’t have been enough with the rate at which the brewery is growing. Kight says that they are planning to increase capacity to 80,000 barrels by the end of 2012 but even that will not buy the brewers much time.

Looking long-term, Kight says that Ballast Point is currently negotiating a long-term lease to build a new brewery in San Diego County. What will be the company’s third location will house a large production facility that could reach as much as 100,000 square feet. They are aiming for production to begin in 2013.

For now, Ballast Point is doing its best not to run into “out of stocks” in its home base of California, says Kight, a challenge now that Ballast Point ships beer to at least twelve states (and five countries).

As for where else the company might ship beer, “We are discussing completing distribution in a few states, Texas and Florida, and entering new states of Washington, Oregon, Alabama, Maryland and DC.”


function testAxis()
% Copyright 2010, Joseph O. Deasy, on behalf of the CERR development team.
%
% This file is part of The Computational Environment for Radiotherapy Research (CERR).
%
% CERR development has been led by:  Aditya Apte, Divya Khullar, James Alaly, and Joseph O. Deasy.
%
% CERR has been financially supported by the US National Institutes of Health under multiple grants.
%
% CERR is distributed under the terms of the Lesser GNU Public License.
%
%     This version of CERR is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
%     it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
%     the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
%     (at your option) any later version.
%
% CERR is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY;
% without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
% See the GNU General Public License for more details.
%
% You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
% along with CERR.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

hFig = figure;
hAxis = gca;
table('init', hAxis);
table('data', hAxis, dir);
set(hAxis, 'units', 'normalized');
set(hFig, 'resizefcn', 'myResize');


It's time to rethink rising costs of higher education

Chris Murphy is 40. Brian Schatz is 41. Both still are paying off student loans and both are concerned about the ever-rising cost of higher education in the U.S.

Both also are U.S. senators. That means they are in position to do something. Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, and Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, want to use federal funding as leverage to slow down the cost spiral.

"Like so many other families across the country, we and our spouses continue to pay off our own student loans at the same time we are saving for our children's college funds," the two wrote in an article published by politico.com. "We need aggressive reform whereby federal dollars do not simply subsidize out of control costs, but instead create real incentives for schools to lower the cost of college."

They want institutions to question the assumption that every program has to consist of a given number of credit hours over four years. They also want schools to experiment with awarding degrees based on competence and giving credit for prior learning. Undergraduate and graduate programs should be consolidated whenever possible, they wrote.

"President Obama was correct in saying that it's time for America to talk about whether it should take seven years to become a lawyer, or whether students must spend a decade learning before they can be a certified physician," the two wrote.

The points are well-taken, though we must note that there already is a lot of innovative thinking going on, especially at the community-college level. Early College is a five-year program leading both to a high-school diploma and an associate degree. Many vocational programs offer certificates rather than degrees with curricula geared to workplace needs.

Still, there is room for more reform. The senators want a commission of students, education experts and others to recommend minimum standards for colleges to remain eligible for federal student-aid money. Murphy wants schools to pay back 10 percent of that funding if they fall short for two years and 20 percent if they fail a third year. Fail four years and aid would be cut off.

One obvious criterion would be loan default rate. The danger here is that penalizing schools based on default rates could work against schools that serve low-income students, said Debra Humphreys of the Association of American Colleges and Universities.

"You run a real risk of building into the system an incentive to only serve the easiest to educate," she said. "We have to do a better job educating poor kids. ... The last thing you want to do is to incentivize an institution to not serve those students."

The senators are on target, however, when they cite for-profit outfits with sky-high default rates. "About 40 percent of students who take out loans to attend for-profit universities end up in default, either due to the enormity of their debt or their inability to gain employment," they wrote. "We must demand that schools achieve reasonable benchmarks."

One thing the commission should consider is the proposed legislation by Sens. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, that would forbid schools from using student-loan money for advertising. Some for-profit entities get as much as 90 percent of their income from student loans and use 20 percent of their income for advertising. They are using loan money not to educate the students they have but to advertise for more students.

Reform won't be easy, but it must be undertaken if we do not want to risk "putting college out of reach for millions of American families," as the Senate's two loan-paying members put it.

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It's time to rethink rising costs of higher education

Chris Murphy is 40. Brian Schatz is 41. Both still are paying off student loans and both are concerned about the ever-rising cost of higher education in the U.S.


This is a new proposal to establish a training program at Columbia University focused on training physicians in research techniques that will form the basis of careers in translational investigation of cancer biology, diagnosis and treatment. We will identify and recruit individuals with outstanding research potential who have completed clinical training in medical oncology and prepare them for productive careers as translational investigators in oncology. We will utilize a comprehensive two-year program comprised of didactics, workshops, small group sessions, coursework, including a possible master's degree, and individualized training within the research programs of Columbia University faculty to develop the careers of the participants. Funds are requested in a graded fashion to support up to 4 trainees annually. The Molecular Oncology Training Program faculty is comprised of 26 independent investigators who will provide direct supervision of the trainees. The faculty members are uniformly funded by the NCI, other branches of the NIH and other cancer-focused research organizations and have established themselves as thought-leaders in a broad range of cancer-related disciplines. Participating faculty have been identified on the basis of their research productivity and quality, demonstrated collaboration with other investigators, often across research disciplines, and a history of supporting and developing research careers that transition beyond the post-doctoral level. The trainees will be chosen competitively from a highly select group of committed physician researchers on the basis of past accomplishments and their potential to develop careers as productive, independent translational investigators. The Molecular Oncology Training Program will be supported by the diverse research resources at Columbia University and the ongoing expansion and commitment to oncology that has included both laboratory and clinically focused research. The expansion was heralded by the opening of the Irving Cancer Research Center a 300,000 square-foot building within the Columbia University Medical Center that is entirely dedicated to cancer research and the ongoing recruitment of leading clinical-translational research faculty to the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology. These changes have significantly broadened the diversity of research at Columbia University with a concomitant increase in quality that has established Columbia in the top tier of oncology programs and has attracted a pool of consummately trained physicians committed to careers in translational cancer biology.


Q:

Dynamic casting pointer to Reference and reference to pointer

I am new to CPP and trying to learn dynamic casting . Unfortunately, am getting the below error
main.cpp: In function 'void PRINT(A&)':
main.cpp:30:40: error: cannot dynamic_cast 'Ref_A' (of type 'class A') to type 'class B*' (source is not a pointer) B *Ref_PTR = dynamic_cast<B*>(Ref_A);

If some one can teach me, what is going on ?
Can we cast reference to pointer or pointer to reference ?
Can we cast only Base reference to Derived reference ?
Can we cast only Base pointer to derived pointer ?
========================================================================
#include <iostream>
#include <exception>
#include <typeinfo>

using namespace std;

class A {
public:
  virtual void dummy() {cout<< "Am in Base Class \n"; }
};

class B : public A {
public:
  virtual void dummy() {cout<< "Am in first Derived Class \n"; }
};

class C : public B {
public:
  virtual void dummy() {cout<< "Am in second Derived Class \n"; }
};

void PRINT(A &);

int  main()
{
   B b;
   C c;
   PRINT(b);
   PRINT(c);
   return 0;
}

void PRINT(A &Ref_A )
{
    try
    {
        B &Ref = dynamic_cast<B&>(Ref_A);
        Ref.dummy();
    }
    catch(std::bad_cast exp) { std::cout<<"Caught bad cast in the Second catch \n"; }

    B *Ref_PTR = dynamic_cast<B*>(Ref_A);
    if (Ref_PTR)
     Ref_PTR->dummy();
    //Ref_A.dummy();
}

A:

Can we cast reference to pointer or pointer to reference ?

Nope. A reference and a pointer are different beasts in the C++ type ecosystem.

Can we cast only Base reference to Derived reference ?
  Can we cast only Base pointer to derived pointer ?

Generally yes. We cast references to references or pointers to pointers. But that's not to say we can't obtain a pointer from a reference. That's what the address-of operator is for:
B *Ref_PTR = dynamic_cast<B*>( &Ref_A );


Wading Pool / Above Counter Vessel Sinks: Designed to accentuate the movement of water. Above Counter Vessel sinks are a freestanding basin that sits on the counter, as opposed to within; to create a dramatic centerpiece for any bathroom.

Enameled Cast-Iron: Kohler Enameled Cast-Iron combines the strength, durability, and insulation benefits of cast-iron with the scratch, chip, and burn resistance of a baked, powder coat finish and comes with an exceptional Lifetime Limited Warranty. These materials combined give the sink or tub the strength to last a lifetime of use. Another benefit is that Kohler Enameled Cast-Iron is available in a wide variety of specialty colors to truly customize your home.

Product Specifications:

Overall Length: 17-1/2" (measured from the left outer rim to the right outer rim)

Overall Width: 17-1/2" (measured from the back outer rim to the front outer rim)

Height: 6-3/4" (measured from the bottom of sink to the top of the rim)

Basin Width: 13" (measured from the back inner rim to the front inner rim)

Basin Length: 13" (measured from the left inner rim to the right inner rim)

0 Question from the Community

Kohler

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Kohler Dolce Vita Collection

The incredibly beautiful shape, unsurpassed depth of color and distinctive raised pattern on the underside of the Dolce Vita lavatory can only be created from KOHLER Cast Iron. This self-rimming lavatory is without faucet holes; complete the look with a wall- or counter-mount faucet.


Q:

Unable to push Django app to Heroku - push rejected

I encounter several errors each time push my Django app to Heroku, I'm walking through Getting Started with Django on Heroku tutorial on Heroku's website.
I can see the it worked page locally, but Heroku won't accept the push, the errors are show below:
$ git push heroku master
Counting objects: 14, done.
Delta compression using up to 2 threads.
Compressing objects: 100% (10/10), done.
Writing objects: 100% (14/14), 2.64 KiB, done.
Total 14 (delta 1), reused 0 (delta 0)

-----> Python app detected
-----> Preparing Python runtime (python-3.3.2)
-----> Installing Distribute (0.6.36)
-----> Installing Pip (1.3.1)
-----> Installing dependencies using Pip (1.3.1)
   Exception:
   Traceback (most recent call last):
     File "/app/.heroku/python/lib/python3.3/site-packages/pip-1.3.1-py3.3.egg/pip/basecommand.py", line 139, in main
       status = self.run(options, args)
     File "/app/.heroku/python/lib/python3.3/site-packages/pip-1.3.1-py3.3.egg/pip/commands/install.py", line 240, in run
       for req in parse_requirements(filename, finder=finder, options=options):
     File "/app/.heroku/python/lib/python3.3/site-packages/pip-1.3.1-py3.3.egg/pip/req.py", line 1354, in parse_requirements
       line, comes_from=comes_from, default_vcs=options.default_vcs)
     File "/app/.heroku/python/lib/python3.3/site-packages/pip-1.3.1-py3.3.egg/pip/req.py", line 76, in from_editable
       res = cls(name, comes_from, source_dir=source_dir, editable=True, url=url)
     File "/app/.heroku/python/lib/python3.3/site-packages/pip-1.3.1-py3.3.egg/pip/req.py", line 43, in __init__
       req = pkg_resources.Requirement.parse(req)
     File "/app/.heroku/python/lib/python3.3/site-packages/distribute-0.6.36-py3.3.egg/pkg_resources.py", line 2681, in parse
       reqs = list(parse_requirements(s))
     File "/app/.heroku/python/lib/python3.3/site-packages/distribute-0.6.36-py3.3.egg/pkg_resources.py", line 2606, in parse_requirements
       line, p, specs = scan_list(VERSION,LINE_END,line,p,(1,2),"version spec")
     File "/app/.heroku/python/lib/python3.3/site-packages/distribute-0.6.36-py3.3.egg/pkg_resources.py", line 2574, in scan_list
       raise ValueError("Expected "+item_name+" in",line,"at",line[p:])
   ValueError: ('Expected version spec in', 'Django-origin/HEAD', 'at', '/HEAD')

   Storing complete log in /app/.pip/pip.log

!     Push rejected, failed to compile Python app

To git@heroku.com:grantcontrol.git
! [remote rejected] master -> master (pre-receive hook declined)
error: failed to push some refs to 'git@heroku.com:grantcontrol.git'

Here is my requirement.txt [Django Development trunk and Python is 3.3.2]
-e git://github.com/django/django.git@f4e9804567ce45ef01f6613ce194e96d293ac04b#egg=Django-origin/HEAD
dj-database-url==0.2.2
gunicorn==17.5

Thanks in anticipation of your help.

A:

I modified the requirements.txt entry for Django to
-e git://github.com/django/django.git#egg=Django
This fixed the issue.


Yesterday Breitbart.com attempted to pass off a different photo of the Cavs championship parade as an image of a Trump rally, subsequently blaming the error on credulously taking the image from social media without confirming it was actually of the rally.