Go, Dawgs!!! The University of Georgia is Playing For the National Championship

Go, Dawgs!!! The Georgia Bulldogs are playing today for the national Championship. At the half they are ahead 13 to nothing.

My wife Beth went to Georgia, so as you can imagine we are excited.  She also went to the University of Florida - the Gators, and she was born in October.  So I am married to a Bulldog/Gator/Scorpion. This terrifies me.

The First Solar Powered Town in America

Click to read more about Babcock Ranch.

babcockranch.com

Southwest Florida will have our own solar-powered city. 

Seventeen thousand acres of land will be developed into a new town with its own solar plant. The town is located next to the 73,000 acre  Babcock Ranch Preserve.

Click to read more:

https://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/floridas-eco-city-of-tomorrow-today-babcock-ranch-to-be-solar-powered-have-smart-grid-more.html

Blue Zones

"Blue Zones describes the characteristic lifestyles and the environments of the world's longest-lived people. The term first appeared as an international concept in the November 2005 National Geographic magazine cover story "The Secrets of a Long Life" by Dan Buettner. Buettner identified five geographic areas where people live statistically longest:Okinawa(Japan); Sardinia (Italy); Nicoya (Costa Rica); Icaria (Greece) and among theSeventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California. He offers an explanation, based on empirical data and first hand observations, as to why these populations live healthier and longer lives."

"The people inhabiting Blue Zones share common lifestyle characteristics that contribute to their longevity. The Venn diagram above highlights the following six shared characteristics among the people of Okinawa, Sardinia, and Loma Linda 

Blue Zones:

Family – put ahead of other concerns
Less smoking
Semi-vegetarianism – the majority of food consumed is derived from plants
Constant moderate physical activity – an inseparable part of life
Social engagement – people of all ages are socially active and integrated into their communities
Legumes – commonly consumed

In his book, Buettner provides a list of nine lessons, covering the lifestyle of blue zones people:

Moderate, regular physical activity.
Life purpose.
Stress reduction.
Moderate calories intake.
Plant-based diet.
Moderate alcohol intake, especially wine.
Engagement in spirituality or religion.
Engagement in family life.
Engagement in social life."

Click to read the full article on Wikapedia:

  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Zone

Row, Row, Row Your Boat, 

Gently Down the Stream

Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily,

Life is but a Dream

From the ponds near Benderson Park, Sarasota, Florida

2017 Happy Holidays, Merry XMAS and Happy Hanukka

Christmas Eve 1969

Vietnam

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Twas the Night Before Christmas,

When all through the House

The Creatures were stirring

etc etc

On Christmas Eve 1969 I arrived in Vietnam. It was gently raining. Hill 327 loomed inland over the Danang airport looking beautiful swathed in bright perimeter lights like a halo in the mist. There was a great deal of firing and flares from the hill and some of the new guys thought we were under attack. 

We ran into a large building, One Marine shouted, "They're really getting hit up there. Take cover!"

After I moved to Hill 327 I found out that there had been no attack, It was simply a "lighting it up" impromptu firex to celebrate Christmas. Of course no one would openly admit that. You could fire at noises or sounds, so the troops were firing on Christmas eve at numerous noises and sounds. Nice fireworks.

Merry Christmas

Craig Hullinger  craighullinger@gmail.com

Photos source: 1970 Vietnam
http://peerintothepast.tumblr.com/post/71201382953/usmc-merry-christmas-vietnam-war-1970-via-seal

Hope everyone can make it to the 50 year reunion. Please check our recall roster on the blog and send me any emails that are missing.

http://mass-3.blogspot.com/

Semper Fi

Galileo's Hypothesis

Cannonball and Feather

Galileo's Hypothesis

Do you remember learning about Galileo, the father of physics, who was born in Pisa,Italy, in 1564 and discovered the Rings of Saturn, among other things? Galileo lived until 1642 and in the 15th century discovered that any object falling to earth, falls at the same rate.

He mentioned that a cannonball and a feather, if dropped from the same height, will touch the ground at the same time provided there is no air resistance. I always found this hard to believe.

Even Galileo had difficulty explaining it for quite a long time. Four centuries later, with the current technology, it has been experimentally demonstrated. Open the attachment, watch full screen to view / listen to the verification experiment. Now I believe!!!!!

Click to view the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43-CfukEgs

Thanks to my cousin Walter Anderson for sharing.

Romeoville, Illinois - New Train Station

Romeoville breaks ground on new Metra station

(May 16, 2017) - 

Romeoville Mayor John Noak, U.S. Congressman Dan Lipinski, Will County Executive Larry Walsh and Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno officially broke ground today on the Romeoville Metra Station, a new stop along the Heritage Corridor Line.

“Getting a Metra stop has been a village goal for a long time, so we’re very excited to break ground today,” Noak said. “Having another transportation link to the city will be a great benefit for residents as well as businesses.”

Located near the intersection of 135th Street and New Avenue, the Romeoville Station will be the first new stop on the Heritage Corridor since Metra’s creation in 1984 and the first new stop on any Chicagoland Metra line since 2011. Construction is scheduled to be completed in the fall of this year, giving Romeoville residents a direct connection to downtown Chicago just in time for the holiday season. 

The Heritage Corridor Line runs between Joliet and Chicago Union Station. 

“Once completed, this new station will mean more people in Romeoville and the surrounding area will be able to spend less of their valuable time each day driving on congested roads or traveling to less convenient Metra stations,”  Lipinski said. “As the most senior member from Illinois on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and co-chair of the Congressional Public Transit Caucus, I would like to thank Mayor John Noak, the village of Romeoville, Will County Executive Larry Walsh and Metra for their hard work on this important project.”

https://metrarail.com/about-metra/newsroom/romeoville-breaks-ground-new-metra-station

___________________________________

We first planned this METRA Train station in 1982 and then again in 1997. The 1982 plan was an effort by Will County and the Regional Transportation Authority of Northeast Illinois, while the 1997 effort was part of the Will County Transportation Plan. The need for the station was clear - there is a large distance from the existing stations in Lockport and Lemont. The commuter line did not have enough ridership and too little service, which the new station should help.

It takes a long time to get things done. Good thing we were not in a big hurry!

METRA Timeline 1960's - Chicago commuter rail is deteriorating under individual railroad operation. Equipment and motive power is old. 1970's - Railoads want out of commuter business. 1974 - Chicago forms Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) to run public transpotation needs. 1984 - The RTA's rail operations were reorganized into METRA (Northeast Illinois Railroad Corporation). and all commuter rail operations were handed over to Metra