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Science is Fun Fridays!

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  The sugar in raspberries is called erythrulose, and it has been found near the center of our Milky Way. "It opens up the possibility of discovering in space other sugars such as ribose, which is part of RNA, and other important molecules for the origin of life," says co-author, Carlos Briones.  Erythrulose can change into the ingredients that create nucleic acids, which are essential to life. There were previous reports of a dust cloud, called Sagittarius B2, that radio telescopes determined smells like raspberries, (caused by ethyl formate), but this is the first time sugar has been found in the interstellar medium - the space between star systems in a galaxy.

Throwback Thursday

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  We found a time capsule in the middle of the desert. Some filming for Independence Day  took place in Rachel, NV. Specifically, the mobile home park Russell Casse lived in with his kids. And it was during this time that SR 375 officially became known as the Extraterrestrial Highway. The studio is now owned by Disney. It's important to note that when Will Smith is walking towards Area 51, he is on the Bonneville Salt Flats.  Not even Nevada desert.

Hump Day Horror

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  Casa Casuarina, the home of Gianni Versace, and the scene of his death. On this day in 1997, the fashion designer was shot on the front steps, twice in the head. Andrew Cunanan was in the midst of a killing spree. It started on April 27th in Minneapolis, where he bludgeoned Jeffrey Trail.  On May 3rd, he shot an ex-lover, David Madson.  Trail had been an acquaintance of his. Two days later in Chicago, he killed Lee Miglin and stole his car.  This was abandoned in New Jersey, after Cunanan killed William Reese for his pickup truck.  He then drove down to Florida. There was an FBI manhunt already underway, and a fast food worker in Miami Beach called the tip-line on July 11th.  Police arrived too late though. Cunanan was found on July 23rd, having broken into a houseboat less than 40 blocks away from the Versace mansion.  He had shot himself. It is now a hotel. The Villa

Drina Regatta

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 An event held annually on the Drina River in Serbia, it is the largest and most popular water event of its kind. It is a carnival on the river, with a non-competitive descent ending with live music on Raca Beach.  You can row solo or with a team - or you can just float along on a traditional raft, called a splav . Throughout the day in the town square, there are cultural programs, such as folklore dancing.  Food stands offer local treats like cevapi - a grilled dish of minced meat sausages. There is also a fish soup cook-off, which is a competition called the "Golden Kettle."  The event is a celebration of the old timber rafters and honors the scenic heritage of the Drina. *** We saw quite a few people floating the Truckee River over the weekend.  We did it once years ago and had fun - but it's not usually high enough to avoid all the rocks, and then my sister's raft got caught by some old rebar.

Best Dressed!

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  Cardi B Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week Emma Corrin Bad Bunny Cole Escola Maura Higgins Fan Bingbing Ruth Negga Alexa Demie Lupita Nyong'o Cate Blanchett

Science is Fun Fridays!

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  Diana's Punchbowl is a vase-shaped depression located along a small fault in the Nevada desert. It is also called the Devil's Cauldron. There is a geothermal pool about 30 feet down, and it runs around 180-200 degrees. Over thousands of years, mineral-rich groundwater rose out of the fault line, creating a travertine hill with this crater in the center. Nye County is one of the most seismically active regions in the state, situated in a geologically deforming zone known as Walker Lane.  It accommodates 25% of the shear motion between the Pacific and North American tectonic plates.  

My Shots - Death Valley

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  Father Crowley Vista Point before you start driving down, down, down. You hit sea level at Stovepipe Wells. Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. We turned into the Harmony Borax Works site. Now below sea level. The mountains were seriously mosaic.