Mind Over Matter...!

I know that all of us have heard of the monks that can control their minds and all through meditation, but just how much control they have really surprised me!

The very fact that this was studied by scientist and couldn't be explained any other way says a lot! Sometimes even the most educated folks have to admit that the mind has capabilities that just can't be explained away. Must be hard to admit that mind control of this magnitude can be achieved without the "help" of modern science, ya know? Me...I'm a believer!

Drying Sheets

Judging by their ability to meditate for hours on end, to abstain from food for days, and their vows of silence, most us would agree that Tibetan Monks have better control over their minds and bodies than the average person. Still, what’s particularly amazing is some of them can control physiological processes, such as blood pressure and body temperature – feats many medical doctors find astounding.

In one of the most notable exhibits of their skills, a group of Tibetan monks allowed physicians to monitor the monk’s bodily changes as they engaged in a meditative yoga technique known as g Tum-mo. During the process the monks were cloaked in wet, cold sheets (49 f / 9.4 c) and placed in a 40 f (4.5 c) room. In such conditions, the average person would likely experience uncontrollable shivering and would shortly suffer hypothermia. However, through deep concentration, the monks were able to generate body heat, and within minutes the researchers noticed steam rising from the sheets that were covering the monks. Within an hour, the sheets were completely dry.

Although, the display was fascinating to the doctors, for the monks it was an ordinary occurrence. In fact, new monks use g Tum-mo as a way of proving their meditative strength and hold contests to see who can dry the most sheets in one night.The Buddhists say the heat they generate is a byproduct of the meditation, since it takes energy to reach a state of alternate reality – a place unaffected by our everyday world.

Most folks I know don't have any where near that much control over their minds. In fact, some of them have no control at all! Come to think about it, they might have even lost their minds long ago!

Coffee in the kitchen this morning. I'm baking bread and need to keep an eye on it! Don't worry, I'll share!

Western Wednesday Again...!

Many of our readers have mentioned that they really enjoy Western history here at the Hermit's, so today they should be happy!

The main character in today's piece is a man I haven't heard of before I found him at History.com. They always have some good stuff for the history buffs, ya know? Sites like this help us all to understand a little more about where we came from and how our country got to where it is today! Unfortunately, it isn't always pretty!

May 24, 1863:

Henry Plummer is elected sheriff of Bannack, Montana

The good citizens of Bannack, Montana, elect Henry Plummer as their new sheriff, not realizing he is a hardened outlaw who will use his office to rob and murder them.

Born and reared in Maine, Plummer went west in 1852 and settled in the California gold mining town of Nevada City. There he opened a bakery and became active in the Democratic Party. Well-spoken, friendly, and ambitious, Plummer won election to sheriff in 1856 and performed well enough to win re-election the following year. Later in 1857, however, Plummer suffered two setbacks. First, he lost his bid to win a seat on the California legislature. Then he was convicted of second-degree murder for killing an unarmed man in the line of duty. Plummer claimed he had acted in self-defense, but the jury apparently believed witnesses who said the true motive lay in an affair he was having with the murdered man's wife.

Plummer served six months in San Quentin prison before the governor pardoned him. When he returned to Nevada City, he won reappointment as an assistant marshal. In 1861, however, he fatally wounded a man in a whorehouse brawl and fled to avoid prosecution. During the next several years, he wandered through the gold country of Nevada and Idaho. Eventually, he took up with a band of desperados who were robbing and killing miners in Idaho. When a blunt and brave saloon keeper named Patrick Ford began to voice suspicions about Plummer, the outlaw arranged for him to be killed in a shootout. Misgivings about Plummer continued to grow, however, and he fled once more.

When Plummer arrived in Bannack, Montana, in October 1862, the people of the booming little mining town knew nothing of his record. With the Idaho gold fields beginning to give out, many of Plummer's old partners in crime followed him to Montana. Plummer quickly reorganized his gang and called the motley band "The Innocents." Skillfully maintaining his public role as an honest citizen, Plummer then managed to convince 307 inhabitants of Bannack to elect him sheriff in May of 1863.

Plummer's office of sheriff was the perfect cover for operating an effective and deadly criminal ring. Plummer provided his henchmen with information on the movements of gold shipments and ensured that they avoided capture. During the next six months, road agents ruthlessly terrorized the people of Bannack and the nearby town of Virginia City. To the dismay of the townspeople, Sheriff Plummer seemed unable to stop them. After more than 100 people were robbed or murdered, the settlers organized a vigilance committee of nearly 2,000 members in December 1863.

The Montana vigilantes destroyed Plummer and his gang in a surprisingly short time. Among their first victims was Erastus "Red" Yeager, who revealed Plummer's complicity and the names of the other gang leaders before he was hanged. Early on a bitterly cold Sunday morning, January 10, 1864, the vigilantes arrested Plummer and two of his lieutenants. While his cronies swore and resisted, Plummer reportedly wept and begged to be spared, but to no avail. All three men were hanged at once on a Bannack gallows Sheriff Plummer had prepared for another. The vigilantes rode away, "leaving the corpses," as one contemporary wrote, "stiffening in the icy blast." By spring, all of Plummer's Innocents were either dead or departed.

Guess I was right about the truth of our history, at least parts of it, not being pretty. It doesn't appear to me that much has changed in human nature since the Old West. I reckon there will always be those that abuse their power to preform evil. Like I said, not much has changed!

Coffee out on the patio this morning. So far there are no signs of stormy weather!

The Surprising Raven...!

I've been fascinated by the raven for a long time!

This short article from Listverse doesn't begin to cover all the strange and wonderful talents in the bird, believe me! If any bird ever deserved more research, this guy is the one!

Raven

The raven is a huge, unnerving, and extremely intelligent bird, which can outperform eagles in the air and, on occasion, kill mammals as large as young sheep. Though they can be found almost worldwide, few people give much thought as to where they might fit into the evolutionary tree.

The answer may astound the amateur bird lover: rather than being allied with hawks or the vultures, ravens are actually the world’s largest member of the Sparrow order, Passeriformes. Though they have a wingspan of more than five feet, and an apparently hoarse voice, ravens actually have extremely well-developed vocal structures and can form a variety of surprisingly beautiful, high pitched notes. These “super songbirds” are also capable of extreme aerobatic maneuvers, and are one of the three most intelligent birds worldwide. It’s suspected that they’ve learned how to lead wolves to their prey, so that they can scavenge the kill later on.

If I had to chose just one member of the bird family to be on my team, this would be the one! Heck, even Poe wrote about this bird!

Coffee on the patio this morning. We'll share some peach cobbler, OK?

A Cold Place For Monday Mystery...!

I think that for most of us, the best mysteries are those with no clear answers! That's what we have today!

This is a little different because the RCMPs are involved! That's right...the Mounties! How cool is that?

Lake Anjikuni

Not content with just a few individuals disappearing, Lake Anjikuni decided to take things to the next level and provide the locale for the disappearance of an entire village. It all happened in November 1930, when a trapper named Joe Labelle was looking for shelter for the night. Labelle was familiar with the Inuit village, whose population ranges from 30-2000, depending on who you believe. He made his way there and found quite an eerie scene—the villagers were nowhere to be found. Everything else, including food and rifles, had been left behind.

Labelle telegraphed the RCMP and an investigation began. In the Village Burial Ground it was discovered that at least one (sources vary) grave had been opened, clearly not by animals, and emptied. Furthermore, about 300 feet from the village, the bodies of around 7 sled dogs were found, having starved to death despite open stores of food at the village. Some versions of the story even report strange lights being seen above the lake around the time of the disappearance.

So what really happened? There have been all sorts of claims about the cause for the disappearance, including aliens (of course), ghosts, and even vampires. The RCMP’s own website disregards the story as an urban legend, but with so many versions of it floating around from so many years ago, it’s hard to be certain. Except about the vampires, I think we can be certain it wasn’t vampires!

I can ojnly imagine what an eerie place this was, with all the folks gone and the dogs being dead! I'd say spooky doesn't begin to describe it!

Coffee out on the patio this morning! I have some apple pie to go with the drinks!

Chip And Dale For Sunday...!

Many of the cartoon characters we remember most were created way back in the 40s and 50s. The fact that they survived this long is pretty amazing!

Some of characters we don't see very much anymore, but some still pop up now and then. Such is the case of Chip and Dale!



Half the time it was hard to understand these guys, especially when they teamed up with Donald Duck! Well worth the effort, most of the time!



Every time I watch one of the older cartoons, it takes me back to when my sisters and I were kids. Ah, those were the days...!



Well, watching these older 'toons has made me realize it's about time for lunch and then a nap! I do love nap time!

Coffee out on the patio this morning! How about some angel food cake to go along with it?

How About A Flying Car...?

The idea of a flying car goes back a lot farther than you would think. Way, way back!

The idea of a flying vehicle that you could drive on the road has even been in the mind of the tgovernment, but you can bet that what they want to use it for isn't to commute back and forth to work, ya know?

Jess Dixon’s Flying Auto

This flying car is almost a legend, and besides this photo and a brief mention of the vehicle in a newspaper clipping from Andalusia, Alabama, it might as well have not existed at all. According to the story, the photo above is of Jess Dixon; it was supposedly taken sometime around 1940. Although it’s considered a flying car by aviation history buffs, the machine is actually closer to a “roadable helicopter,” due to the two overhead blades spinning in opposite directions. In other words, it’s a gyrocopter that can also roll.

The Flying Auto was powered by a small forty-horsepower engine, and foot pedals controlled the tail vane on the back, allowing Mr. Dixon to turn in mid-air. It was also supposed to be able to reach speeds of up to one hundred miles per hour (160 kph), and was able to fly forwards, backwards, sideways, and hover. Not bad for a flying car that was never heard from again.

The research into flying autos was still being seriously studied and prototypes built as recently as 2009. If you want to see some of the others, check out the list at listverse right here!

You would think that after all these years, we would have something more exciting than what we have now. Hey, just saying...!

I'm thinking maybe we should try the patio for coffee this morning, if that's alright with you!

Another People Paper Story...!

Sometimes governments just don't get the message that they can't forcefully control some things!

Even though this isn't in our country, it is a good example of why price controls by the government just flat don't work to anyone's advantage. It's no surprise that the public is nervous about shortages like this, caused by actions of the PTB! Most of us can remember sugar shortages, coffee shortages, and oil shortages here at home...many if not all caused in part by government forms of price control. Something like this could happen here!

Venezuela running out of toilet paper

9:51 am, May 16th, 2013

QMI AGENCY

Venezuela has a potential poopstorm on its hands if it can't wipe out a toilet paper shortage.

Officials said they will have to import 50 million rolls to meet the demand of what Trade Minister Alejandro Fleming called a "nervous population," according to a translation of an article from the state-run AVN news agency.

The government blames the media for provoking fears about scarcity, which prompted consumers to hoard TP.

But businesses and political opposition blame the government's policies, like price controls on basic goods - many of which are reportedly in short supply.

After meeting with Venezuelan paper company PAVECA, which agreed to increase its output, Fleming told AVN he will move to "saturate" the market to alleviate the problem.

AVN reports the typical monthly consumption of toilet paper in the country is 125 million rolls.

Let's hope that price controls by our PTB are a long way off. You never know, though! Nothing would surprise me anymore, ya know?

I think that coffee in the kitchen is a good idea this morning. Some nasty weather is all over the place!