Taomeow

Humans and monkeys -- and just one more species, the guinea pig. Another genetic experimentation favorite?.. -- to this day, by the way. Yes, I've researched the vitamin C story in much detail, beginning with Linus Pauling's take, and also had the audacity to compare the RDA for humans according to the FDA (75 mg for adult females, 90 mg for adult males) and the amounts zoo keepers give their apes -- 3500 mg to prevent deficiencies, and up to 10g if they want them to thrive. Interestingly, books for MDs and medical students, which I used to read for fun for many years (I have some stranger hobbies), describe in gnarly and very, very scientifically presented detail how exceeding the RDA even by 50 mg will destroy you. (On occasion I've taken up to 17 grams in a day -- 1000mg every hour -- to stop a cold, Linus Pauling of two Nobel prizes told me to. There were no ill effects whatsoever, and 9 times out of 10 it stopped the cold in the space of the same day when it started. The trick here is not to stop taking it abruptly and taper off gradually instead, because at such high orthomolecular* doses the body sets the metabolic mechanism for removing it higher and takes a few days to wind it back down, so if you stop abruptly, you might wind up with a deficiency.) *Orthomolecular medicine, a branch of "alternative," advocates using certain natural substances which normally act as nutrients in "unnatural" amounts, effectively turning them into drugs. This is used as temporary interventions for various health problems, not as a nutritional strategy.

Everything of top/stupendous value and of narrative-devaluing controversy is in private collections... and I'm not talking Egypt only. Museums have very little compared to that. Although the Vatican might be an exception -- here's what Grok tells me: The Vatican Apostolic Archive (formerly the Vatican Secret Archive) and the Vatican Library house vast collections. The Library alone has about 1.6 million printed books, 75,000 manuscripts, and 8,600 incunabula (books printed before 1501). The Apostolic Archive contains around 85 kilometers (53 miles) of shelving with documents dating back to the 8th century. Access to these is heavily restricted—only accredited scholars can enter, and even then, they must request specific items without browsing. General public access is essentially nonexistent, except for rare exhibitions like the 2012 Lux in Arcana, which displayed 100 documents, a tiny fraction of the total. The Vatican Museums hold roughly 70,000 works of art and artifacts, of which about 20,000 are on display at any given time. This suggests around 70% of the museum’s collection is not publicly shown, stored in reserves or used for research. However, this doesn’t account for items too fragile, sensitive, or controversial to ever be exhibited. Combining these, a conservative estimate suggests 80-90% of the Vatican’s books and artifacts (across the Library, Archive, and Museums) are never shown to the public, with the Archive and Library being far less accessible than the Museums. This is driven by the need to protect fragile items, maintain security, and control historical narratives.

Traditions that maintain that "there is no self" never asserted that "there is no selfie."

Heard several stories already about shelters catnapping cats from people's yards to re-"adopt" them for profit. (In our neck of the woods, e.g., adoption fee was around $200 a few years ago, don't know what it is now but I'm sure it went up like everything else.) Some people reportedly go wild when this happens to their cat.

$cience

From my conversation with Grok: Very briefly summarize speculative evidence for alien design of humans undertaken for alien purposes rather than for our thriving Speculative evidence for alien design of humans for alien purposes, not human thriving, includes: High Mutation Rate: Elevated genetic variability (e.g., diverse MHC genes) suggests humans as a testbed for alien experimentation, prioritizing diversity for alien utility over stability, leading to disease susceptibility (Nature Genetics, 2003). Loss of Body Hair: Absence of fur, unlike most mammals, implies engineered vulnerability to environmental stressors, possibly to enforce dependence on alien-controlled environments or technology (Journal of Human Evolution, 2006). Loss of Tail: Vestigial coccyx and lack of tail indicate deliberate reduction of physical agility, potentially to limit autonomy or escape in alien-managed settings (Evolutionary Biology, 1999). Continuous Sexual Receptivity: Unlike seasonal estrus in most mammals, permanent fertility could maximize reproduction for alien labor or subject supply, fostering social conflict to weaken human unity (American Journal of Primatology, 2001). Menstruation: Energy-intensive, overt menstruation, unique among primates, may serve as a biological marker for alien monitoring or to periodically weaken females, reducing resistance (Quarterly Review of Biology, 1996). Genetic Quirkiness: Unstable genetic elements (e.g., retrotransposons) and rapid adaptability suggest humans were designed as versatile tools for alien genetic or environmental experiments, at the cost of health inconsistencies (Genome Research, 2007). Interpretation: These traits—seemingly maladaptive for thriving in isolation—could imply an alien agenda valuing human malleability, population control, or experimental utility over resilience.

I know. I meant absence of access is, for practical purposes, equivalent to "deleting everything." That theoretically this "everything" is still there is not the same as it being practically accessible. Google is great (insert a sarcastic emoji) -- in any event better than nothing -- but one has to know the exact title of the thread they're looking for? Or not?

Walking without legs, flying without wings, longing without an object. Without an object to flesh out in a haiku, it gets so Western. It gets so Western, a haiku set in the mind instead of nature. Instead of nature, we observe figments of our indoctrination.

One woman I know said exactly the same thing -- that it seemed as though a huge animal was trying to rub and scratch itself against the house walls. Everybody had a different impression and came up with all sorts of metaphors -- in part because the distance, the which floor people were caught on, and who knows what other factors besides imagination contributed to perceptions. Quite a few reported what I thought it was like -- a bomb exploding, but only because a bomb seemed easier to imagine and describe than a dinosaur falling on the roof, with a demolition ball tied to its tail and rolling about after the initial impact. Which, on second thought, comes closer to describing the immediate personal impressions. And to think that this one was still benign and didn't destroy anything. Can't imagine what a destructive one might feel like.

Elephants' reaction

4 billion years of stability... That's because you're down under, and stuff under our feet is always more stable than what's above it. Here, on the out-of-balance edge of everything (you can't go any farther West, e.g., without it turning into East... and politically, you can't go any farther left without finding yourself on the right), it's different. I lost track of a local meme but it was a chart explaining earthquakes magnitudes for non- San Diegans. Beginning with 10 -- "congrats on your new beach, Santa Fe!" (in case you don't know exactly where Santa Fe is, it could realistically get a beach if California fell into the ocean), down to 2 -- "did the dog fart?" with all the in-betweens.

Well, usually in our parts it's like, yawn, what else is new... but this one felt, subjectively, like the strongest ever! Even stronger than the one in 2010 that was 7.2, though reports about the magnitude inconsistently give it anywhere between 5.2 and 6.7, with the average consensus at 6.0. My local acquaintances and friends reported the same impressions -- have never felt anything like it. Someone even threw up and a couple more people reported nausea and dizziness. Maybe it was just "the nerves," maybe some physiological effects, who knows. The interesting part is, I was in the process of reviewing an old video of our taiji camp from the time I was learning pao chui aka cannon fist. It's a fast and furious martial form, with jumps and stomps and war cries -- and just as me and the teacher and the whole group in the video did one of the most intimidating, thunderous hard-landing jumps, suddenly it was like a bomb exploding under the house, everything rumbled and shook and rattled. Whoa, didn't expect that! -- for a second it totally seemed as though what we did in the video caused it. But in the next second or two Emergency Alert on my phone started blaring. Take cover yada yada. My cat, who was already taking cover as a matter of fact, sleeping peacefully on my meditation cushion under the bed, jumped out goggle-eyed. I'm told people who were caught in the process of shopping at supermarkets were instructed to run to the center of the building but everybody rushed to the door anyway. I also ran outside, where my intrepid pot-smoking neighbor, an old hippie, was already braced and holding on -- to a cup of coffee in her hand, with a glimmer in her eyes (she likes commotion -- any kind). She seemed disappointed that it was over so quickly. Me, I wasn't. I don't like commotion...

Which reminds me of the peculiar instance of Edgar Cayce ("the sleeping prophet") saving his wife's life. He was a very pious religious man who never smoked, drank, or used any drugs, so it shocked the socks off everybody present (including a concilium of doctors) when he went into one of his trances and emerged with a prescription of cocaine for his wife. The wife was in the end stage of tuberculosis and the doctors gave her two hours left to live. But due to Cayce's reputation -- no one suspected any foul play -- the remedy was reluctantly administered. The lady recovered and the happy marriage lasted for many more years. Now it makes me wonder if she would ever contract tuberculosis to begin with if she had the coca leaves habit from the start. Incidentally, natural opium (not heroin and not synthetic opioids) cures diabetes...