Mysterious Map For Monday Mystery...!

With times being hard for most folks, here is a map that could help the old pocket book!

The only problem is that you have to decipher the map first! Lots of folks have taken a shot at it, but as of today the treasure connected to the map remains hidden! Nice way to start a Monday mystery, right?

Lue Treasure Map

The only legendary treasure to have a map that directs you to 14 tons of gold is the Lue. As mystifying as the code is, it has long been assumed the only tools needed to decode the Lue is a one dollar bill, a key and a sound understanding of Masonic symbolism. Published by Karl Von Mueller, some speculate the “map” consists of various mathematical formulas.

Believed to be in the United States, the legend of the Lue claims the treasure is 14 tons of gold. The gold was brought to the US by the Nazis in a plan to sabotage the US economy and prevent Americans from entering World War II. After hearing the plan, the Gold Act was instituted to circumvent the Nazis’ plan. Failing to prevent the US from entering the war wasn’t the only failure in Nazis’ grand scheme. They also failed to decipher the Lue and the Nazi loyalist that created had died. Ultimately they were unable to retrieve the treasure and returned to Germany.

I have to admit that I got this from the folks at Listverse. If I've posted this before, I apologise. Still, it makes for a good mystery!

Better have coffee out on the patio this morning.Anyone bring cookies today?

And The 'Toons Continue...!

Here at the Hermit's place, there is no shut down. We're just taking care of business!

Of course, for us that means that the Sunday 'toons, right? Right! No reason that all the silliness should be confined to Washington, is there?



Ya know, those guys remind me of someone. Wonder who it was?



I know, I know...mixing them up this morning! Keeps us from getting bored!



That last one was in honor of Halloween coming up soon! Besides, Dizzy said that he used to like Casper, so there ya go!

Coffee out on the patio this morning. Maybe the weather will cut us a break!

Hermit's View On The Shut-Down...!

I figured that the old adage of "A picture is worth a thousand words" applies here. This is for the PTB that let this circus continue!

Notice that I did keep the Fall colors? Seemed like a good idea at the time!

Coffee on the patio this morning. No rain in the forecast until this afternoon!

The Art Of Rock, Paper, Scissors...!

The game of rock, paper, and scissors seems like a children's game, but some folks take it very serious!

Come to find out, there is actually an art to being successful at this. I found an article that explains some of the finer points of playing and possibly winning!

The Strategy Behind Rock Paper Scissors

The rules are simple: Rock smashes scissors, scissors cut paper, paper covers rock. Each option perfectly balanced. The strategy? You’d think there is none, but you’d be wrong. There is a bit of psychology behind our choices, which Rock Paper Scissors (RPS) “experts” exploit to their advantage.

According to the World RPS Society, which ran the 2009 World RPS Championships last fall, there are a few factors which, if exploited, can help you win. Men tend to open with rock, but that’s only typical of beginners. Another bad habit of the uninitiated? New players rarely toss the same thing three times in a row. So if your opponent plays paper twice, you should drop a rock the next time — it’s most likely safe. And finally, inexperienced players tend to “replay” the last hand after a loss or draw, throwing the option that would have just beaten them. For example, if your opponent played a rock in the previous round and lost, they are much more likely to go with paper (which beats rock) than with the other two options.

There are tips that work on more experienced players, too. The World RPS Society notes that in competitive play — yes, there are lots of rock paper scissors tournaments – scissors appears only 29.6% of the time. And regardless of skill (to use the term loosely) or experience, all players are somewhat susceptible to implicit suggestion — simply talking about one option more than the others can subconsciously cause your opponent to play that suggested move.

These tips just might come in handy the next time you play. You never know what kind of information you'll find at the Hermit's place, right?

Coffee in the kitchen this morning. I have some lemon bunt cake I'll share!

The Plan To Shoot The Moon...!

Of all the crazy things our government has come up with, this might just be the craziest!

This obviously was a case of wanting to show just how smart and bad our weapons were. In my opinion, the whole plan was just stupid! To me it's a wonder we haven't blown ourselves up...YET!

America’s Plot To Nuke The Moon

At the height of the Cold War, the United States Air Force considered a plan to detonate a nuclear weapon on the surface of the moon. The project was deemed too risky and kept top secret for over 40 years, eventually coming to light in 2000, when former NASA executive Leonard Reiffel provided details of the plot.

The Space Race was an important part of the Cold War, the two superpowers of the USSR and the USA competing to become the first to discover the mysteries of the universe. In 1957, the Soviets took a commanding lead when they put the Sputnik satellite in orbit around the Earth. Not to be outdone, the Americans developed Project A119, “A Study of Lunar Research Flights,” a gambit to explode a nuclear weapon on the surface of the Moon.

The US Air Force commissioned NASA to crunch the numbers, a research project helmed by executive Leonard Reiffel. Young astronomer Carl Sagan was also on the project. Indeed it was Sagan’s rather loose method of keeping national secrets that led to the public recognition of the project. While researching a biography on Sagan, a writer named Keay Davidson reviewed Sagan’s scholarship application for the University of California Berkley’s Miller Institute. Bizarrely enough, the late Sagan provided highly classified details about his involvement of the project. When the 1999 book Carl Sagan: A Life was published detailing the plan, Reiffel emerged to set the story straight, claiming that “the foremost intent was to impress the world with the prowess of the United States,” and “It was a PR device, without question, in the minds of the people from the Air Force.”

The bomb used would have been small, around the same size as the one used on Hiroshima. The explosion would have been visible from the surface of Earth and would have made a serious statement about the capability of the US. However, the risks involved in the launch, as well as the possibility of creating nuclear fallout on the Moon and halting the chances of manned lunar exploration, caused NASA and the Air Force to scrap their plans. Due to the Freedom of Information Act, the plans were eventually made public, though the Air Force denies any involvement with the ill-fated Project A119, even to this day.

Funny, but I never figured that Carl Sagen would get mixed up in something like this! Guess I had him figured all wrong!

Back in the kitchen this morning. How about some blueberry muffins this A.M.?

Yosemite Founded But You Can't Visit...!

In one of the smartest moves by the government, the Yosemite Valley area was declared A national park.

In the establishing of national parks, the government actually did a favor to all Americans by saving some of these areas from becoming developed. Thank goodness for small favors! Now we can all enjoy them...if we go when the government isn't shut down!

Oct 1, 1890:

Congress creates Yosemite National Park

On this day in 1890, the United States Congress decrees that about 1,500 square miles of public land in the California Sierra Nevada will be preserved forever as Yosemite National Park.

Once the home to Indians whose battle cry Yo-che-ma-te ("some among them are killers") gave the park its name, Anglo-Americans began to settle in Yosemite Valley as early as the 1850s, eventually driving out the native inhabitants. Early settlers quickly recognized the unique beauty of the narrow Yosemite Valley with the sheer-faced Half Dome Mountain looming nearly a mile above the valley floor and three stunning waterfalls. At that time other awe-inspiring natural wonders like Niagara Falls were already becoming popular American tourist destinations, and a few early settlers tried to profit from the wonders of the Yosemite Valley by charging tourists hefty fees. But thanks to the popular paintings of Albert Bierstadt and the photographs of Carlton Watkins, Americans who would never see the magnificent valley in person began to call for its preservation from crass commercial development. In June 1864, President Abraham Lincoln agreed, signing a bill that ceded the small Yosemite Valley area, along with the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoia trees, to the state of California with the requirement that it be held as a national public trust "for all time."

But in subsequent years, the state of California proved a less than vigilant caretaker of the Yosemite, inspiring the famous naturalist John Muir to publish several widely read articles exposing the destruction of the valley by large herds of sheep that Muir called "hoofed locusts." In 1890, Muir's efforts, as well as those of the newly founded Sierra Club, convinced Congress that Yosemite would be better protected as one part of a 1,500-square-mile national park. Though later reduced in size to 540 square miles, Yosemite National Park has ever since been one of the most popular nature preserves in the world. Today the park receives more than four million visitors annually.

In spite of all the infighting and childlike antics of Congress, the National Parks are the treasures of our country that can be shared and enjoyed by all visitors. Of course, the doors will remained locked until the pissing contest is all over in the Capital. No telling how long that will take! On the best of days, it takes forever for the PTB to agree on anything!

Coffee in the kitchen this morning. The patio is still wet and may stay that way for a while!

A Dangerous Religion...!

Now, by dangerous I mean dangerous to practice. Shows what can happen when the governments get to choose what you do!

I have no idea why the government in China is so against the the things that this religion stands for, but they are determined to wipe out the followers, that's for sure!

Falun Gong Persecutions

Falun Gong is a relatively recent Chinese quasi-religion based around core values of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, as well as exercises designed to improve health and energy. But for millions of its followers in China, their beliefs can get them put in prison or even killed.

Since July 22, 1999, practicing Falun Gong in China is against the law. China even has their own security department, 6-10 Office, which deals exclusively with suppressing the religion. Among other horrors, the 6-10 Office has been accused of sending people to work 20 hours a day in “reform camps,” force-feeding saline solutions into prisoner’s noses, and tying people in excruciating positions for days on end. There have even been accounts of people practicing Falun Gong having their organs removed for quick, in-demand organ transplants.

Over the past 14 years, since the ban on the religion began, over 3,428 deaths have been reported, with the numbers continuing to rise. The persecution continues to this day.

Living in a country that allows us to worship in any fashion that we want seems better every day when you hear about something like this, don't you think?

Coffee out on the patio today. I'm hoping for a clear morning, but showers in the afternoon!