RenoVous

 The world's oldest pool of water has been found deep within the Kidd Creek Mine of Ontario, Canada. Geologist/Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar led a team into the rock, 1.8 miles below the surface. She even tasted the water, explaining that she was looking for a salty taste.  Saltier tends to be older.  She confirmed it is much saltier than seawater.  Bitter too. The team found traces that indicated life had once been present. "By looking at the sulphate in water, we were able to see a fingerprint...the signal we are seeing in the fluids has to have been produced by microbiology - and most importantly has to have been produced over a very long time scale." Without light, the microbes survived using substrates produced from radiation. As long as the water and rock are in contact, the reaction that creates the sulfate will continue to occur naturally and persist potentially billions of years.

The Rainbow Bridge is part of a beautiful meadow where our beloved pets wait for us after they've passed away.  The original story was written in 1959 by Edna Clyne-Rekhy of Scotland, following the death of her dog, Major.  It was a loosely referenced thing until 1994, when "Dear Abby" printed the piece in full. Next month will be a year since our Chewber passed. One of my favorite forever movies is All Dogs Go to Heaven.

  Carling Weekend: Reading and Leeds Festivals. Since 1999 it's been more of a rock, punk, hip hop festival, but it's been active since 1955 as a jazz festival. This year's show took place last weekend, but I came across a nod to 2004, and a band I haven't thought about in a while. Kerrang! Magazine is always on site, and in 2004 they awarded The Darkness best live band. This was awarded best single, and this song really feels 2004. And of course, the best band on the planet award goes to.... They performed in 1997, 2003, 2008, and 2015.

  "No matter how little money or how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich." -Louis Sabin Our two boys bring us so much joy and companionship.   We're actually a house of four dogs right now, as my cousin is staying with us for a beat. They're all good boys. As it popped into my head.... The dog days of summer were historically following the heliacal rise of the Dog Star, Sirius. Lasting 40 days, from July 3rd to August 11th.

  We're going with magazines this week because the promo tours were lacking. Gigi Hadid Kirsten Dunst Rosalia Archie Madekwe Madelyn Cline Dua Lipa Emma Stone Okay, there were a few cute looks. Joy Sunday Helen Mirren Lupita Nyong'o

  Extracting memories is something we've seen in movies before, but neuroscientists are split on whether this can actually be done. A survey evaluated beliefs on how memories are stored and on the structural basis of long-term memories. Over 45% of respondents agreed that it would be possible to extract a memory from a static synaptic connectivity map.  (This is the physical wiring of the brain).  When asked what additional information may be needed for memory readout, the most common response was "measurements of dynamically changing neuronal activity." 70.5% of participants agreed that long-term memories are maintained by synaptic strengths and neuronal connectivity patterns.

If you follow the old Kit Carson Trail, until the desert meets the hills. Oh you certainly will agree with me, it's the place of a thousand thrills. Just a small history walk in Carson City. Our 11th governor, Denver Dickerson, resided in this house, and his daughter June was born here in 1909. We missed the Dat So La Lee House though, so here's a shot from Wikipedia. She was a well known Washoe Indian basket weaver, who died in 1925.  The house had been built in 1914, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.  

On this day in 2000, the peregrine falcon was removed from the endangered species list. On the Great Spirit Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in Minnesota, four were hatched in May. Falcons will stay in the nest for 5-8 weeks before fledgling.  They remain dependent on their parents for another 4-6 weeks for food and to learn hunting skills. So this cam isn't actually live anymore, but it seems to be playing through different stages. The banning of DDT helped play a role in the recovery of peregrine populations.  The pesticide accumulated in their bodies through the food chain, which led to thin-shelled eggs that would break during incubation. Peregrine Fund

  The ancient Armenian New Year is celebrated from August 11th-September 9th. It is the first month of the Armenian calendar, marking the start of a new cycle. The Navasardian deity represents the new harvest and hospitality, protector of the crops and feeder of the hungry. Festivities include athletic games, such as horse racing, hunting, and fire jumping. The great center of Navasard was the temple in Bagavan. Today it is considered a pagan sanctuary, but Christianity did take it over.  It was pillaged in 1877, and then destroyed completely in 1915 during the Armenian genocide. St. Hovhannes Cathedral was later built on the site.

  Aubrey Plaza Danielle Brooks Lucy Liu Emma Myers Quinta Brunson Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley Hannah Einbinder Zooey Deschanel

 There is an active volcano underwater, off the coast of Oregon. The Axial Seamount is known for frequent eruptions and hydrothermal vents, and it has been a key area for studying volcanic activity at mid-ocean ridges. It is currently showing signs of a pending eruption, potentially before the end of this year. The Ocean Observatories Initiative has been monitoring the seafloor, with real-time data on earthquake activity, seafloor deformation, and hydrothermal activity.  The Regional Cabled Array is a network of over 660 miles of undersea cables with more than 140 instruments. It has detected magma reservoir inflation and increased seismic activity. Any eruption is not expected to create tsunamis due to its depth and distance from shore. OOI

An oasis in the desert, the elbow of the Walker River. We enjoyed not just the water, but the life all around us. There were so many butterflies. I followed this guy around. I believe it will become a Nevada buck moth, Hemileuca nevadensis. The night chorus.  

Willa Mae "Big Mama" Thornton. She started her professional career at age 14 in 1941.  Ten years later, she signed her first record contract.  She was paired with Johnny Otis, who asked a couple songwriters to write something specifically for Thornton. Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller got to work. On this day in 1952, "Hound Dog" was recorded for the first time. Freddie and the Bellboys performed the song with changed lyrics, and this is the version Elvis saw in Las Vegas in 1956. Thornton's "Hound Dog" is listed as one of "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll." It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013. It was Big Mama's only hit record, sold over 500,000 copies and spent 14 weeks on the charts - 7 of those at number one. This is one of my favorite songs that Janis Joplin sings, but Big Mama did it first, and she wrote it. Though it didn't chart, it is also listed as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll. The band wit...

 Aceball! Our minor league team represents the Arizona Diamondbacks, and we beat the Dodgers team this night. But I went with this topic today as a baseball fan who simply hates preseason football.  When sports bars are airing some pointless game as we're entering the deep end of baseball season.  We've only got these two months before post-season, (and a fight against football then too). My Giants are falling back though, from what felt like a strong start.  We had some back and forth near the top, but now the Padres have pulled ahead.  I will root for them to beat the Dodgers. The Brewers have snatched best team for now, with 74 wins.   Unfortunately, we're at the bottom of the Pacific Coast League West. But it doesn't matter - I'll always love baseball.

  First, a few from the Las Culturistas Awards. Mindy Kaling Joel Kim Booster Jamie Lee Curtis Allison Brie Moving on. Julia Garner Catherine Zeta-Jones Selena Gomez Joy Sunday Lindsay Lohan Regan Aliyah