May
20
I think most everyone is now aware of the devastation left behind by the recent earthquake in Sichuan China. I am lucky to have never experienced an Earthquake of that magnitude. One thing I never became familiar with is the earthquake lights phenomenon or earthquake lights folklore. Apparently for years and years there have been reports of strange lights in the sky before Earthquakes have occurred. I don’t think these observations have ever really been associated with earthquakes, but it certainly is an interesting occurance.
Earthquake lights usually appear as either blue or red colored lights, somtimes similar to prism colors. Some are bright, some are dark. The types of lights reported have varied over the years. Some of these lights have been said to appear as if they have risen from the ground, while others have been seen above the seas. The lights will usually appear days, or sometimes weeks before an earthquake. There are all sorts of theories as to why these lights appear, but to my knowledge, none of them have been confirmed as the actual cause.
There have been videos now showing these types of lights before the China earthquake. I’ve posted one of these videos below. This particular video footage was apparently captured 30 minutes to an hour before the powerful quake.
May
15
Wow! I found this interesting. It looks like Brijit, best known for their abstracts of everyday articles, has run out of money. I really didn’t know what Brijit exactly was until a freelance writer friend of mine told me to check it out. Well, in fact, that’s exactly what I did a few days ago. I thought I would take a stab at submitting an abstract to see if it would get accepted. If my abstract was chosen, I’d be paid $5. I was wondering why it was taking so long to hear back, because the site said you’d be notified fairly quickly after the submission date ended. Well, now I find out that Brijit has ran out of money. Oops!
After visiting the main page of Brijit this morning, I get the following message:
You’ve reached this page because, at the moment, Brijit is out of money and can no longer afford to bring you the world in 100 words. We’re working hard to find a way forward for our service and hope to relaunch in the not-too-distant future. Thanks to all our loyal readers and writers. And to our Brijit writers: payments in full for all abstracts published through May 15 will be made next week.
To access Brijit and our nearly 16,000 abstracts, click here.
To email Brijit with any questions, click here
For more on what’s happening with Brijit, please visit our blog at brijit.wordpress.com
That’s too bad. I actually thought this was an interesting concept. Definitely a big downer for all the serious Brijit contributors who spent a great deal of time at the site.
May
8
Texas Sinkhole: Huge Sink Hole in Texas
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Residents of Daisetta Texas were able to get a glimpse of a sinkhole, a massive sinkhole. I’ve seen these things in person a few times, but I must say I have never seen one quite this large. The gigantic sinkhole has grown well over 600 feet long and over a couple hundred feet deep as of last night. Those numbers are very likely to change since sinkholes can take as many as a couple weeks to stabilize.
Photos of the Texas sinkhole are amazing, showing the destruction that it has left behind. No injuries have been reported, but the sinkhole easily swallowed up some oil field equipment that was on the location. Investigators are currently trying to figure out what exactly caused the sinkhole. This doesn’t come as a major shock to the community of Daisetta Texas however, since Daisetta is located on a salt dome. Salt domes are used to store natural gas and oil brine underground. This very likely attributed to the whole situation.
May
4
Yangon Myanmar Cyclone Kills Hundreds
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World News Briefing: Early Saturday, communities have quickly become disaster zones as a result of a powerful Cyclone that tore through regions of Southeast Asia. Hundreds of fatalities are being reported throughout Yangon, the biggest city of Myanmar. Winds in excess of 120 miles per hour left incredible amounts of damage, creating a frightening situation for those who lived through Tropical Cyclone Nargis. It has been reported that many villages have been wiped out, buildings have collapsed, and much of the roadways have become impassable. Limited amounts of food and water, accompanied with the loss of electricity and communication have created an extremely difficult situation.
May
1
United States Postal Service Rate Increase
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In case anyone is not aware, the cost for a postage stamp will be increasing from 41 cents to 42 cents on May 12, 2008. It’s not a bad idea to purchase the Forever stamps that remain at the current price for as long as you have them. There are several other rate increases that are taking place as well. You can expect an increase of 3 cents on items sent to Canada and Mexico, while an increase of 4 cents is in place for items sent to other countries around the world.
While many are quick to complain about the increases, I still believe it’s a bargain to mail something for that price. That is of course if it arrives at it’s destination properly. Luckily I have never had any serious problems with the United States Postal Service. You can read all the details at USPS about the rate increases and any other changes that are taking place.