Monday, December 22, 2014

Daily 2 Cents: Creepy, F**ked-Up Santas -- Nuking Rogue Asteroids -- Another 'Angel' in the Sky

Creepy, F**ked-Up Santas

Hey kid...that's the guy who's coming down your chimney late at night while you're asleep!

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Plan to protect Earth from rogue asteroids with nuclear weapons

The ultimate weapons of mass destruction could one day save us from complete annihilation.

For years campaigners have been attempting to encourage world leaders to decommission all of their nuclear warheads, a move that would presumably help to establish peace, yet there is one threat to our civilization that might warrant keeping some of them around.

New research at Los Alamos, the government's space research center in Mexico, has been attempting to determine the best way to either destroy or deflect an incoming space rock.

"The goal is to study the effectiveness of using a nuclear explosive to alter the orbit, or destroy, a potentially harmful object," said Robert Weaver in a report for the American Geophysical Union.

The study follows on from the recent realization that even relatively small asteroids can still have a devastating effect on our planet, especially if one happens to hit a major metropolitan area.

"Because we don't know where or when the next major impact will occur, the only thing preventing a catastrophe from a 'city-killer' sized asteroid has been blind luck," said former astronaut Ed Lu. Read more at Plan to protect Earth from rogue asteroids with nuclear weapons

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Another 'Angel' in the Sky

A woman on her way to a Christmas get-together to remember her late father was astonished when she looked up to the clouds and spotted what looked like an angel.

Sherrie Abbott, 40, was driving to see her 44-year-old sister Georgina Barron when the winged figure appeared in the sky.

The carer's daughter Laranca Cunningham, 17, snapped a picture of the celestial vision, which hung in the otherwise cloudless sky for 30 minutes.

She believes it was a festive message from her father Colin Abbott, who died 20 years ago.

Single mother Ms Abbott, from Boston, Lincolnshire, said: "I just started sobbing. It was absolutely stunning.

"It was an angel, sent down for me, and nothing else. It was a sign to tell me everything was going to work out.

"As I was driving I quickly told Laranca to take a picture on her phone before it disappeared."

The pair were driving along the A17 between Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, and Kings Lynn, Norfolk, towards her sister's home in Great Yarmouth, when the apparition appeared.

She said the image gave her hope, despite recently being told her son William Cunningham, 15, who has a connective tissue disorder, also has a serious heart condition.

"When I saw the angel, I knew in an instant that Christmas was going to be all right, and that my son's health would improve," she said.

"It was truly a breath-taking and overwhelming experience." - 'Angel' spotted in sky in 'sign from late father'

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Looking for some light reading on a cold winter's night. You've got 3 titles to choose from. (Oh...don't forget to lock your doors)

Just released! 'Phantoms & Monsters: Bizarre Encounters'