struck by lightning

https://apnews.com/article/vatican-hercules-statue-restoration-7ef7141d4d8abde9f473d6a9134a11db

By FRANCESCO SPORTELLI
May 13, 2023

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Scaffolding in a niche of the Vatican Museums’ Round Hall conceal from view the work of restorers who are removing centuries of grime from the largest known bronze statue of the ancient world: the gilded Hercules Mastai Righetti.

For more than 150 years, the four-meter-tall (13-foot-tall) figure of the half-human Roman god of strength has stood in that niche, barely garnering notice among other antiquities because of the dark coating it had acquired.

But it was only after removing a layer of wax and other material from a 19th-century restoration that Vatican experts understood the statue’s true splendor as one of the most significant gilded statues of its time. Museum-goers will be able to see its grandeur for themselves once the restoration is finished, which is expected in December.

“The original gilding is exceptionally well-preserved, especially for the consistency and homogeneity,” Vatican Museum restorer Alice Baltera said. (snip)

or only predictive pseudo-sciences? Yeah, yeah...testing, testing, testing and scientific methodologies on the "whole" body and minds of the human species versus goal motivation reward of those we call "expert" or perhaps many that give experientially "expert testimony?" as indesputable fact?

Are those we call sociopaths, psychopaths, and the criminally insane just "naturals," experts in determining how others' minds choose their "free will"? What roles do trauma and abuse play versus metabolic/physiologic chemical and physic-al structure(s) of genetics?

Is the phrase "who could imagine?" not unlike "If you can imagine it, just do it" not just write it down, receive a stipend, a grant, or a contract for remuneration/emolument?

Love some of the sentences - so analygous! This genuine problem has obviously made some lose their minds...just crazy! Laugh and learn, folks!

https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/texas-feral-hog-problem-swine-country/

Apocalypse Sow: Can Anything Stop the Feral Hog Invasion?
They’ve overrun nearly the entire state, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage annually in spite of widespread attempts at eradication—including traps, contraceptives, and a heavily armed Ted Nugent.

Even in our carefully ordered world, there remain avenues for chaos to thrive in its purest form: the wild pig. Groups of them, called sounders, cavort across golf courses at night like drunken teenagers. Security cameras catch them careering through suburban neighborhoods, where they dig up gardens and lawns. They create shambolic crop circles in fields—Texas’s agriculture industry alone suffers $118.8 million in damages annually. The most recent estimates suggest that tens of thousands of them are involved in car accidents each year. They affront us even in death, vandalizing graves as they barrel through cemeteries.

Like giant, pungent bedbugs, wild pigs provide little value to the ecosystem. Though they have been in North America since the sixteenth century, the population began compounding itself in recent decades and reached a tipping point, rendering the limited control efforts—including trapping, fencing, and hunting—cartoonishly insufficient. A 2003 publication by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department estimated that there were 1.5 million wild pigs in Texas. In 2012 a group of scientists estimated that the population had swelled to between 1.8 and 3.4 million. John Tomeček, an associate professor at Texas A&M University and a wildlife specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, recently put the number at 3 or 4 million. “Probably more,” Tomeček said, “but that’s a conservative number.” (For perspective, the combined human population of Houston and Dallas is about 3.6 million.)

Pigs reproduce uncommonly fast, and Tomeček attributes the population spike in part to the animal’s natural growth rate. “Think of it like getting a large vehicle up to speed on the highway,” he said. “It takes a while and a lot of energy at first, but once you’re cruising, it’s easy to keep going.” Pigs also have spread across much broader swaths of the state and country thanks to humans transporting them for hunting purposes.

[Snip]

Oh, and get this: Last year’s Hog Fest was circus themed (“Cirque du Sooie”) and featured a wild pig cookoff and the crowning of a “Hog Queen.”

There's more, of course. Have fun with this one!

John Tufts and Jen Guadarrama, Indianapolis Star
Tue, April 11, 2023 at 9:17 PM EDT·3 min read

https://www.yahoo.com/news/richmond-industrial-fire-evacuation-ordered-205607218.html

(Photos)
Smoke rises from an industrial fire April 11, 2023, at 358 NW F St. in Richmond.

(snip)
"Evacuation orders for residents and persons within 0.5 miles of the incident has been issued. Those outside of the 0.5 mile and east/northeast (downwind) of the incident are encouraged to shelter in place. To shelter in place, turn off HVAC units, keep windows and doors closed, and bring pets inside until advised further," an alert from the Wayne County Emergency Management issued minutes before 4 p.m. stated.

"We have a serious, large-scale fire with a very thick plume of black smoke in the air," Richmond Mayor Dave Snow said. "Buses are being utilized to evacuate residents who need it."

Snow said the inferno at the facility was caused after a tractor-trailer truck caught fire and the blaze spread to the nearby building, which was storing plastic and other recycled materials.

Officials have said the smoke is toxic to breathe.

Apparently, it's now under control, but EPA and IDEM to investigate.

one's way. She's a creative graphic design artist who has become disabled that was then further worsened by injury; she has experienced losses and lived on the streets in her vehicle which was lost when a tree fell on it, but the worst was the loss of her beloved Golden Retriever, Ally. Her extreme grief finally opened her heart to a new little Yorkie, little baby bear, Osito. Her latest projects are specially designed pet-themed cards in which you can write your own note of support to family or friends experiencing similar grief and loss, in celebration of a birthday, graduation, Gotcha Day, etc...or any time you are just thinking of someone to express yourself or in gratitude for a gift in a personal way. She has also designed holiday coloring books, or digital self-print files, for any age that can handle a gel pen, marker, or crayon -- it's not too early to shop for a unique present one can't buy elsewhere because they're all limited editions and affordable for the custom work she's created for your special someone. Although challenged everyday, she works hard on these projects and is honest and expressive about the perfection she expects to deliver to her customers. She wants these projects to grow into a better life for her and her companion, so driven is she for a place of her own; personal transportation; and an independent life.

Please visit https://www.mamabearandbabybears.com to shop.
UPDATE for NEW apparel: https://thebabyyorkiebearshop.creator-spring.com

Join her FB groups to follow little Osito's daily antics; what a sassy delight: PAWS THE MOMENT or MAMA BEAR AND BABY BEAR. (When we're not on DU, LOL)

Thanks for taking a look!

As Chapter 4 to be released 3-24

https://www.10tv.com/article/news/nation-world/lance-reddick-john-wick-dies/507-fb46b83a-b2ca-4507-bce7-3fe2c470f1f7\

WASHINGTON — Lance Reddick, an actor best known for his roles in the “John Wick” franchise and HBO’s “The Wire,” has died, according to multiple media reports.

Reddick's representatives confirmed the actor's death to Variety on Friday. TMZ was the first to break the news.

No cause of death has been revealed, but TMZ reported that its law enforcement sources said the actor's death appears to be natural. Deadline said Reddick's rep confirmed the news as well, saying he died of natural causes.

According to multiple media outlets, the actor was 60.

In the "John Wick" franchise, Reddick played Charon, a concierge at The Continental Hotel.

If you've ever wondered what Chef Jose Andres and his team cook or how long it takes to gather and set up their emergency kitchens when he receives word to feed the hungry refugees of war or disaster, I got a notice from the Jose Andres FB page that spotlights the World Central Kitchen's very first travel memoir cookbook with the recipes the World Central Kitchen chefs have served up to the hungry in several recent countries. It features a Forward by Stephen Colbert with Sam Chapple-Sokol is now available by pre-order. The cookbook will be ready for shipping as well as your reading and use by or before mid September of this year. You can pre-order on the WCK's web site or (it's a .org) link to the publisher's page. All authors' proceeds from this, their very first cookbook, will go to the WCK. As Chef Andres says, "Together, we can keep building longer tables." Of course, after printing it will be available on many large retail bookseller sites for purchase or gift-giving. Make a note to check this out to get your 1st editions?

Cross-posted from Ohio group, but many other groups and places where folks might find issues to point out - civil liberties, national security and/or local enforcement, education - as these thoughts within the letters move through public awareness. I have not received any comments thus far as placed...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10717010

Ohio School Boards Assn cut ties w/National School Bd
https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/ohio-school-boards-association-cut-ties-with-national-school-boards-association-over-request-for-federal-intervention/530-2142e402-09ea-4616-b901-0434baed8fa3

The following are .pdf formatted:

NSBA letter: https://nsba.org/-/media/NSBA/File/nsba-letter-to-president-biden-concerning-threats-to-public-schools-and-school-board-members-92921.pdf

OSBA response letter: https://www.ohioschoolboards.org/sites/default/files/uploads/NSBA%20Letter-102521.pdf

Wow, another snit over current "issues" in the national conversation.

Cross-posted from Ohio forum; trying here:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10717010

https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/ohio-school-boards-association-cut-ties-with-national-school-boards-association-over-request-for-federal-intervention/530-2142e402-09ea-4616-b901-0434baed8fa3

The following are .pdf formatted:

NSBA letter: https://nsba.org/-/media/NSBA/File/nsba-letter-to-president-biden-concerning-threats-to-public-schools-and-school-board-members-92921.pdf

OSBA response letter: https://www.ohioschoolboards.org/sites/default/files/uploads/NSBA%20Letter-102521.pdf

Wow, another snit over current "issues" in the national conversation. Please carry it to other DU forums if it needs wider or more specific topical views or discuss here.