Recently, I have learned that there is such a thing as The Armed Forces Open Chess Championship, open to qualifying chess players in all branches of the U.S. Military. This is particularly interesting to me as I have decided that I would like to join the Navy and just so happen to love chess. This annual championship began in 1960. From the Wikipedia page United States Armed Forces Chess it doesn’t appear that anyone from the Navy won the individual portion of the competition until the 1990’s. Prior to then it seems that the competition was dominated by individuals from the Air Force and Army. The most recent championship was won by retired Petty Officer Larkins, who has also won this competition in the past quite a few times (go Navy!). For the team portion though, the Navy did come in second place to the Army. I am not sure of the previous team placings.
I’m currently subscribed to the Chess Life magazine and this research reminded me of the February 2017 issue which included this match. In addition to covering Petty Officer Larkins’ personal commentary of the moves of his match, there was a section featuring brief interviews of some of the contestants in the championship. It was really interesting to get a glimpse of chess incorporated into navy life and why they chose to play.
Speaking of magazines and chess… In my searches, I came across this amazing old archive from the August of 1976 of ALL HANDS magazine of the US Navy and on page 25 found an add for the Chess Championship. That isn’t really all that significant concerning chess but OMG I am so fangirling this magazine and am really glad I found it. Like on page 4… that boat though. Some of the pictures in this magazine are just fabulous.
So… I’ve decided to join the Navy. I came to this decision after finding myself unenthusiastic about my previous plan of attending university, becoming stuck with a bunch of loans, finding a desk job, paying off my loans, saving money and then becoming a travelling nomad of sorts; living a few months in some country, then journeying on to do the same in another, then another, and then another, etc, etc, etc and so on. Now the nomad part really excited me, and still is part of my plan, but that was the only part. My goal, after all, is to be like David (click HERE to observe David in his natural habitat). The first part of my plan, for my personality type, seemed the sloowww road to nowhere exceptional.
Nevertheless, I was continuing along with this plan until one day I was approached by the Navy, concerning career opportunities I too could have. Shortly after, I agreed to an appointment with a recruiter. At first, my interest was merely in attaining a copy of my ASVAB scores which, apparently, were pretty good. But as it so happened, my family has a military background; various generations, various wars. My father, specifically, served in the Navy and both my mother and father worked with the Navy in various government contracting projects. It, to say the least, made significant appearances in my life over the years. All of which I had found to be very exciting (plus, I way loved the memorabilia my father would bring home for me, especially the pens). So, after some thought, I began to actually seriously consider joining. I researched what exactly enlistment would entail and various other things about what life would be like whilst boating about. I eventually reached the conclusion that I was surer than not that joining the Navy would be something I could very much enjoy, and would be something I could do while still attending university.
After attending the appointment and then experiencing some fleeting thoughts of “omg, like what even am I doing”, my mind was entirely made up that I would indeed join the Navy. Now I am SOOO EXCITED!!! I plan on blogging daily (or nearly daily) updates on my progress on my preparations towards joining the Navy. At the time of writing this, it is the third day after my decision to join. The following is my updates for those days.
Day One:
One thing I was advised to do was retake the ASVAB. The first time around, I took it only to get out of history class, didn’t really put effort into the test and definitely did not study beforehand. This time around, I have already bought an ASVAB for Dummies book and have studied harder then ever before in my life, for a whole five or so hours.
Also, I began working on my upper body strength, specifically on my push-uping abilities, which currently are non-existent. My attempts at even a girl push-up go something like this: going, going, going, THUNK (face smashes into ground). So I decided to get some help from online people and found the site Can’t Do a Pushup? Here’s Where to Start. The first exercise, a table top push-up. Well, in a positive light, the going, going, going part ended up in less of a thunk and more of a slide. Apparently even modified girl push-ups are not the starting place for this girl. I resorted to doing the arm movement while standing. I did about 40 and this proved to make my arms quite sore.
Day Two:
Continued studying for the ASVAB. As I read new chapters in the ASVAB for Dummies book, much to my delight, I found that the physics and chemistry classes I recently took at a local community college seemed to completely apply. The section I feel most yikesy about is definitely the Auto and Shop portion. Like whoa dudes, tools tho.
As for the push-ups, I continued doing the general arm movement while standing. I also added some other arm movements and core exercises to my routine. I feel pretty good about my abdominal and leg strength/capabilities thanks to my previous career in Irish dancing. My music choice for this ordeal was Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke –
Day Three:
Continued Studying for the ASVAB. I feel like I may be getting to be pretty solid on the auto part of the shop.
So far, I have successfully managed two sets of five table top push-ups!!! I feel really good about this progress and hope to manage a girly push-up or five in about two weeks time. I have discovered however that my Irish dancing career is giving me wee bit of issues in dropping the dancyness from my movements in exercising. The struggle of ditching the dance posture, ballet hands/fingers, hip/foot turnout, toe pointing, dance timing(hearing everything hop 123 style) and general bounciness, is real.
So… I’m back. Many, many moons later.(yikes) New, improved and ready to get down to business. After a dreary winter, spring has officially sprung. I’m feeling excited and motivated to start new ventures and adventures.
I’ve finished with my Egyptian pyramid research. My interest in discovering the technology used to build the pyramids was lost, due to my rediscovery of proposed evidence suggesting that if indeed they were power plants, it is likely they underwent a meltdown annihilating those responsible for them. Buut, that’s a story for a later post… Soo, in the meantime, I have been in a limbo of sorts, waiting for a new topic to capture my attention.
Finally, one did. At last resort my topic became yours truly, Me. I have realized that despite all of my interest in history, ancient cultures and other various ethnicities, never once did my attention turn to any of my own! I am perpetually on a path of self discovery and believe this course of investigation will take me a step or three further in a good direction. I believe one’s personality and behavior is significantly influenced by one’s own ethnicities.
Art, animals, music and nature have been slipping through my thoughts lately as well…
To continue on in my research into the functioning of pyramids, I am studying the works of Sir Issac Newton. Sometimes I find it a challenge to find good, valid reference materials from which to study but for Newton, my search was met with great results. I found the site The Newton Project . I absolutely can not say enough amazing things about this site!!!! The contributors to this site are striving to collect, translate and transcribe all of Newtons work; published and unpublished alike. They have amassed thousands of his documents on science, religion, history and more. I have begun my research into Newton starting with the page Notes on Ancient History and Mythology. Oh my god!!!! Just this one page has made all of my dreams and wishes come true and has made me entirely motivated. I am excited to read more of his work.
Pythagoras made multiple appearances in this work of Newton’s. Apparently the Egyptian priests and himself greatly esteemed each other and Pythagoras even went on to adopt their method of explaining topics through symbols and riddled remarks. This leads me to wonder about Pythagoras’s Pythagorean theorem and studies of triangles. Why did he investigate the triangle and could it possibly have been due to Egyptian influence and perhaps even related to knowledge behind the pyramids? Another interesting section I found in the article states that Egyptians accumulated the work of many of their people onto walls and pillars under the the one name of Mercury. Also it said that pythagoreans adopted a similar practice, compiling their eclectic works under the single name of Pythagoras. My reaction to this was all like “wooah I didn’t know there were pythagoreans”. I had my doubts about this but upon further research their was indeed a school founded by Pythagoras which resulted in a school of thought named Pythagoreanism. This is interesting because many philosophers have based the start of their work off of his. I am planning to further research Pythagoreanism.
Next, I noticed that the Egyptian gods Osiris and Isis are heavily mentioned, and their stories are a focus of Newton’s. Especially one in particular that has previously been of great interest to me: the story of when Set destroyed Osiris and blasted him to smithereens resulting in Isis, his wife, and Anubis (Newton disagrees that this was Anubis and argues it was another scribe of Osiris) resurrecting him. I want to know why this story in particular held importance in his mind.
What is Alembrot?
Who is Sanchuniathon?
This article discussed the terms of length of time sarus, nirus and sasus. Sarus is 3600 years long, nirus 600 years and sasus 60 years. I wonder if the derivation of the measure of sarus is linked with equinoctial procession?
Is there a relation between the snakes that invaded Egypt and the snakes that invaded Ireland?
Today, my studying took place at this adorable coffee shop, Big Dog Coffee Shop, in Pittsburgh’s South Side area. I love the brick patio outdoor seating. It is beautifully gardened with draping vines, an antique fence, pots overflowing with green leafy plants, ferns and autumn flowers and beautiful wrought iron cafe tables and chairs. It is a refreshing environment change from increasingly barren trees and dry crispy grasses, weeds, leaves and flowers. I love watching the birds, especially chickadees, and feeling the crisp air. The scenery is inspiring. Also, the coffee is delicious and I loved the chocolate scone. I feel like a Victorian era princess. My plan is to visit many unique, beautiful cafes in the city pf Pittsburgh this fall and winter season.
Further researching the work of Dr. Volodymyr Krasnoholovet I found an article he wrote “The Great Pyramid as an Aether Wind Trapping Site” about his research of Inerton waves and addressed their relationship to the function and function of the Egyptian pyramids. This article seems very promising, however my math skills are not advanced enough to understand the specifics behind his reasoning. I believe his work to still be the correct path I should investigate. However, first I am going to pursue the knowledge I need to fully understand his articles. The starting point I am selecting is aether winds. Upon searching “aether winds” I discovered that Sir. Isaac Newton had first studied these. I am so excited by this! I love Sir. Isaac Newton and have been meaning to research his various works anyway. What excited me further was that Newton also conducted research on the Egyptian pyramids in regard to their intended purpose.
This makes me feel and believe the power plant theory of the pyramids is actually correct. So many well known scientists I highly esteem, and even the Russian and Ukraine cultures I idolize, are very interested in the pyramids and are leaning towards this conclusion. In addition to my interest in the pyramids and their contributions, I am excited by finding these new people to study. At a brief look, it appears I share similar hobbies and interests to them. I hope to research their work in these other fields as well and am encouraged that this will also aid my progression in these fields.
Today, I reviewed some past knowledge I held of the Giza pyramids by rereading part of the book The Giza Power Plant by Christopher Dunn. I specifically focused on the first few pages of chapter eight. I am now once again aware of why it is logical that the Giza pyramid is likely a power plant and, again, the necessity of water in its functioning. I recalled having seen a model created by Dunn demonstrating how a specific aspect of the pyramid created power. I had thought it was a complete model fully demonstrating the entire function of the pyramid, however it only modeled a chemical reaction occurring in a specific chamber. Investigating his site further, in search of more information, I found a comment made about his book by Ukrainian physicist Dr. Volodymyr Krasnoholovet. This comment page allowed me to discover that Russian and Ukraine scientists are actively researching the functioning of pyramids and are in agreement that the pyramids are used for the generation of energy. I also discovered that they apparently are making progress with their studies. My new focus of study is the developments made by these eastern European scientists and their continued focus of research.
Since the age of eight years, I have self-studied ancient Egyptian culture and technology; with specific emphasis on the pyramids of the Giza plateau. I am in belief of the theory stating that the ancient pyramids were used for the purpose of generating energy. How they accomplished this and why, is the object of my research. As of late, I have learned of the existence of under water pyramids, which I will be including in my study. The sea has been a passion of mine since a young age as well, and I am interested in what the connection between the pyramids and water is all about. Also I have decided that studying circuits and transistors will also help me in my research. The pyramids, at least in my current knowledge, are mainly found in groupings of three. Similar to how our power is run through three cords/transistors across the country on telephone poles.
My current list of questions:
Where are all of the pyramids specifically located?
What is their spacing in relation to other pyramids?
Are they found grouped in three’s?
Do internal structures vary? and if so, in what way?
What building materials were used?
What are the energetic properties of these materials?
Did different civilizations use the same materials?
What did they believe about these materials?
Have people tampered with/altered the pyramids?
If so, when were the pyramids altered?
If so, what major events in the area coincided with the tampering
What are the astrological alignments of the pyramids?
Has equinoctial procession changed the original alignments?
What is found in the areas of seabed around the submerged pyramids?
If the earth’s magnetic poles were to flip, would submerged pyramids be in locations that would re-emerge?
My cats, Whiskers and Scrappy, love to spend time in my room with me as I work. They are hilarious, and if not sitting with (or on) me, they soon find much to get into mischievous trouble with. Whiskers LOVES stuffed animals, especially ones that match his tuxedo fuzz coloring, and his mission in life is to swipe my stuffed animals for his very own. I believe he feels bad for them; thinking I don’t take care of them enough. The ones he has successfully stolen, he takes charge of their care, giving them quality lives; lining them up for food and water, circling them about the sliding glass door for fresh air, lining them up outside my door, etc, etc, etc. It all began when he was a wee kitten and observed my dad and I playing auction. We would each gather things that we didn’t want and auction them to each other. Whiskers, who had been eyeing up a little furry stuffed I had just gotten, left the room and came back with a stuffed animal of his own, placed it beside mine and grabbed mine and took off running. It was the most adorable thing, and thinking back on the day made me wonder about cats that have become famous in history.
To begin my exploration, I’ll start with a cat named Tabby. Tabby made history because he was the pet of Abraham Lincoln, and the first cat to ever set paw in the White House. At the White House, he was shortly joined by another feline addition to the Lincoln family, Dixie. Unfortunately, I can’t find many specific facts about Tabby himself. I have, however, found a quite hilarious quote from Abraham Lincoln, in regard to him having fed Tabby at the table during a formal dinner, “if that gold fork was good enough for President Buchanan, it is good enough for Tabby”. Apparently, he was quite the cat person. Despite lack of facts about Tabby’s care and personality, I believe it’s safe to assume he was supremely pampered. Especially because Mrs. Lincoln remarked that cats were a major hobby of his. I don’t believe Tabby was Lincoln’s favorite cat though; I think he loved Dixie best. I believe Dixie to have been his favorite, based on a comment he made about Dixie being more intelligent than his presidential cabinet. Also, probably because Tabby was his son’s cat. I’m very possessive of my special pets and can completely relate to this.
Researching this information I came across an amazing site the “Presidential Pet Museum“. I have always loved stories about the pets of the presidential families. Before Tabby, I had known about George Washington’s horses and the Caroline Kennedy’s pony Macaroni. I’ve always had a special fondness for these pets. I’m absolutely sure the Presidential Pet Museum is about to become one of my favorite websites.
Today, my mother and I were having one of our usual philosophical discussions, and the topic fell upon the word “Opossum”. We had been talking of the difficulty and idiocy of sounding out words for spelling. This has been a lifelong struggle for us both; one simply cannot hope to spell correctly using this technique if one does not speak correctly, and this reminded me of a story; one of Opossums.
A long time ago, in a land far, far, away, a friend and I were seated in a park talking. Dusk had fallen, and friend was yammering on and on about the threats and dangers posed by the wild creatures lurking in the wilderness of this particular man-made park situated in a busy, Pennsylvanian suburb. The most fearsome beast, claimed friend, the Opossom. I laughed and laughed, and laughed some more, recently having pilgrimaged from far, far, up and away, in the rocky mountains. A place where beasts are in fact beasts, and not critters. What stood out in my mind: friend pronounced the word “Possom”. I was like “duude, no dude, no, its OOOpossum”. Friend was all like “actually, its possum”. I was like “dude… I’m pretty sure “pawsum” is like the hick term for Opossum”. Friend was all like (mad phone skills) “look”. And sure enough, the term was pronounced Possum.
I told my mother this story, and we came to some conclusions: During the creation of the word Opossum, the O was in fact pronounced. The trouble fell in that the natural habitat of the Opossum, is in fact with hicks in the hills. The hicks, being ill-versed in the finer intricacies of the English language, dropped the o and (through grass chomped on with teeth, both crooked and missing) set forth the new pronunciation: pawsum. The detail of how to properly pronounce the word became lost knowledge, because of lack of use by other, more literate, members of the general public. When the word was once again discovered and used by the general public, it came straight from the hicks’ mouth, and the O was pronounced to be a silent letter. The word then phonetically became possum.
Doing some research into the truth of the matter, I found that Opossum and Possum are actually two different classifications of marsupial. As far as pronunciation goes, I’m still clueless. Some say Oopossum, some say Possum, some say uhPossum. From what I can determine, uhPossum seems to be the correct phonetics of the word in reference to Opossum’s. Yet if the O actually is silent, I think I may now spell it, ipossum. That’s it from me on the legend of the opossum. Power to the opossums, people!
Today, my mother and I were having one of our usual philosophical discussions, and the topic fell upon the word “Opossum”. We had been talking of the difficulty and idiocy of sounding out words for spelling. This has been a lifelong struggle for us both; one simply cannot hope to spell correctly using this technique if one does not speak correctly, and this reminded me of a story; one of Opossums.
On a new path 