What are some good things that we've gotten out of the Space Program:

Hubble has shown the world Trillions of things that are too far away to see with a regular, backyard telescope.
NASA invented Velcro and a ton of things we use everyday.
The International Space Station (ISS) brought several countries together to work on a very big, expensive, Scientific project. We have made a lot of Scientific discoveries in Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Geography, Astronomy and other branches of Science and Math on the ISS.
It's very expensive to launch a rocket into space. NASA has to spend over 1 Billion dollars every time they launch a rocket. That is money that goes to companies and people all over the US and the rest of the world. That's "trickle down economics".
NASA and other space agencies have proven from space that the world is not flat. Scientists can watch the weather from space. They can spot hurricanes, tornadoes, Tsunamis and other things long before they can harm anyone. They can see lightning hitting Earth. They have discovered that lightning actually strikes Earth between 50-100 times per second!
They have sent spacecraft's to every single planet. They learned that all the gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have rings around them. The only one you can see with a regular telescope at home is Saturn's ring.
They've discovered signs of possible life on Mars and a few moons in the Solar system, but no proof yet.
They've put military satellites in space, as well as others for GPS, Astronomy, Geology, Google Earth, Weather, Earth's atmosphere, and other things.
They've sent signals to other planets, in hopes of aliens intercepting the signals a Million light years away. They are also listening for signals from aliens.
Metiors and other things are headed toward Earth. NASA wants to find a way to stop them from hitting us and preventing a mass extinction of humans. (That's what killed the dinosaurs.)
If we are no longer able to live on Earth, we must find somewhere else to go.
The government has set off nukes in space for Scientific and military purposes. (Maybe nukes can be used to save Earth from being hit with a Metior.)
A lot of new technology had to be invented to build rockets powerful enough to get humans to space and be able to survive up there. New, advanced technology had to be invented to communicate with Astronauts from the ground.
Voyages I and II are in interstellar space, going far away from Earth. They now know how big the Heliosphere is.
The temperature of space is close to Absolute Zero. Scientists have done experiments on the Space Station to get even closer to Absolute Zero than the temperature of space. They can get closer to that temp on the ISS than they can on Earth.
They have talked about sending regular civilians like you and me to space for vacation. I'd love to go up, but, it will be too expensive.
Scientists know the appropriate size and composition of all the planets.
Probes have been sent to Venus. They landed on the surface and they stopped working within a few hours. Probably because it's so hot that they all may have melted or the acid rain may have damaged them as well. Either way, NASA knows that they can never send humans up there.
Spy satellites have been sent up for military purposes over countries like Iraq. They also have some over the US for: Military, law enforcement and Science. (Who knows, the government of the US and other countries might be watching you right now!)
It is really a lot of fun to watch a rocket launch.
There's a lot of things that were built Thousands of years ago which nobody can figure out how to replicate them and build them the same way today, including the Great Pyramids. They probably had help from aliens.
Some of the Pyramids line up perfectly with Orion's belt.
This is only scratching the surface of all the good things that have come from the Space Program.

Dumb Laws:

Here are some weird laws from around the US and Canada. Some are really old and just have not been taken off the books yet. Others are trivial and unenforceable. But, some of them are often enforced. People do get arrested and fined for some stupid things!
1. In Ohio, it's illegal to get a fish drunk.
2. In Minnesota, it's illegal to have sex with a fish or a bird.
3. In Middleborough, Massachusetts, there's a $20 fine, each offense for swearing in public.
4. In Alaska, it's illegal to get drunk in a bar.
5. Everywhere in the US, it's illegal to sell a drunk person alcohol.
(I was in the Army in Ft. Hood, TX and I was trying to buy a case of beer in the PX. I was really drunk and trying to act sober.
The cashier said, "I can't sell you this because you're drunk."
I said, "No I'm not! Bitch, you better let me get this beer! Come on, don't be stupid!"
She said, "You're drunk! I can smell it on your breath!"
I said, "So what! You better let me get this beer or else we're going to have some problems!"
A friend of mine who was with me and sober came in, told me to calm down and go wait in the car.
She said, "I'll sell it to him, but not you."
I said, What difference does it make? I'm still going to be drinking it you stupid, ugly, **** ***** ****** ******* ***** **** ***!")
6. All over the US and Canada, it's illegal to spit on the sidewalk.
7. In Arkansas, it is illegal to pronounce the name of the state incorrectly.
(Why don't they pass a similar law in Michigan, making it illegal to mispronounce or misspell the word: "MACKINAC". For those who don't live in Michigan, it is pronounced: "Mack-en-aw".
8. In New Orleans, it is illegal to wear a mask at any time of the year, except during Mardi Gras.
(Technically, you aren't even supposed to wear a mask on Halloween.)
9. In Georgia, it's illegal to eat Chicken with a fork! By law, you have to eat it with your fingers!
(People have been arrested for violating this law!)
10. In French Lick, Indiana, Black cats are required to wear a bell around their neck all day on Friday the 13th.
(What a dumb name for a city!)
11. In Maine, it's illegal to post advertisements on another person's tombstone.
12. In Massachusetts, you can't dance to the National Anthem.
13. In Massachusetts, they can't have a "Happy Hour"at bars.
(They should have a "Drown Your Sorrows hour" or a "Sad and Depressed Hour" instead.)
14. In S Carolina, up until 2014, it was illegal to sell alcohol on Election Day. They thought politicians might bribe citizens with free drinks.
(So that's how Obama got elected!)
15. In Arkansas, Underage drinking will get you a fine and in some cases, minors have to write an essay about alcohol.
16. In UT, AZ, CO and OK, it's illegal to collect rain water on your own property or anywhere else.
17. In Oklahoma, it's illegal to Wrestle a Bear.
18. In S. Carolina it's illegal to work or dance on Sunday.
19. California has banned plastic drinking straws.
20. In Ocala, Florida, it's illegal to "sag" your pants.
(There is a $500 fine or 6 months in jail for this!
I wish that were illegal everywhere! Nobody wants to look at your underwear!)
21. In Memphis, Tennessee, homeless people need to get a permit to panhandle.
22. In Galveston, Texas, it's illegal to throw trash out of a plane.
23. In Virginia, no pet Skunks.
24. In Washington State, you get a $1,000 fine for poaching Bigfoot.
(Because, if he really exists, he's an endangered species.)
25. In Michigan, you can't tie an Alligator to a fire hydrant.
Also in Michigan:
You can't paint Sparrows to sell them as Parakeets.
You can't be drunk on a train.
It's illegal in MI to swear around women and children.
(I know some women who should be arrested for that!)

In Canada:

1. You can't swear in French.
(Ach scheisse! (Oh shit! German) I swear in German all the time!)
2. It's illegal to turn Right on a Red light.
3. You do have the right to remain silent and not answer any questions and the right to an Attorney. BUT, you do not have the right to have an Attorney present during questioning.
4.  It's illegal to eat an Oyster if you don't make sure it was treated humanely.
5. It's illegal to consume fake maple syrup.
6. It's illegal to show public affection on Sunday.
7. Businesses must have rails for tying up horses.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Was Texas Chainsaw Massacre really based on a true story?
NO! IT WASN'T!
The movie was released in 1974. It was, at that time, the most popular horror movie of all time. It is also one of the biggest urban legends of of all time as well.
The Producers of the movie decided to release it as a "true story" . However, there never was a guy named, Leather Face.
However, it was inspired by a real psycho killer named: Eddie Gein.
Eddie Gein was from Wisconsin, not Texas.
He was a very nice and easy going person, according to his neighbors. They never suspected that he was a psycho killer.
Over several years, he killed several people. But, he never used a chainsaw. He usually used a gun.
Not only did he kill people, but, he was suspected of being a cannibal, Grace robber and a Necrophiliac (someone who has sex with dead people).
Gein was suspected of committing several murders, including his own Brother!
After several years, several murders and several missing persons cases, neighbors were suspicious of Gein. They heard strange noises, seen strange things and strange smells were coming from the Gein farmhouse. Rumors were going around town about him and people even called the police and reported him.
Over the years, the police tried but couldn't get enough evidence to get an arrest warrant or a search warrant.
But, eventually, a police officer's mother came up missing. Then there were a few other murders around town. The police finally got enough evidence to secure a search warrant.
They searched the main area of the house and didn't find anything. But, they could smell a strong odor.
They went to the back room in the house and the offices were horrified by what they saw.
They found a large, bloody meat hook hanging from the cealing, a bunch of dead animals laying around on the ground, human body parts, a mask made from human skin, knives and and other horrifying things. The one thing they didn't find was a chainsaw used as a murder weapon.
Remember the police officer I mentioned above whose mom came up missing? They found her dead body in the house!
When the police arrested him, they took him to the police station and locked him in a room with that police officer for about Five minutes. All other officers turned their backs and pretended they didn't hear anything. That officer beat the hell out of him! When they went to court, they just made up an excuse to tell the Judge. Someone else attacked him before we ever arrested him, he fell down the stairs or something. The Judge acted like he believed the story.
In the end, Gein was was committed to a mental health institute for the rest of his life. He died of Lung Cancer in 1984 at the age of 77.
After Fein was arrested, his house mysteriously caught on fire. It was suspected arson. But, when the fire Department was called, they were in no hurry to get there. They just let the house burn.
Gein was abused by his Dad. But his Dad died before Gein started killing people.
The creator of the movie was in Sears, Christmas shopping one day and he was looking at chainsaws. He noticed that all the checkout lines were full and the lines were really long.
He thought, "I'd like to take this chainsaw and cut everybody up so I can just get to the front of the line and get out of here!"
Then he thought, "Wait a minute! I am going to make a movie about a guy who cuts people up with a chainsaw!"
When a movie is: "Based on a true story, they take a true story and actually use the real facts to write a story around everything that actually happened.
However, if it was: Inspired by a true story, that means they got the idea of what to write about from true events. Nothing in the movie has to be true at all.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre was INSPIRED by the true story of Eddie Gein, not based on the true story.
Other movies that were INSPIRED by Eddie Gein include: Psycho and Silence of the Lamb.

The Drake Equation:

The Drake Equation was created in 1961, by Frank Drake.
(N=R* × f p × n e × f l × f i × f c × L).
This was his attempt to estimate the number of other intelligent life forms in the Universe.
His original reason for creating this equation was not only to figure out how many other planets have life, but, also to promote Scientific discussion about extraterrestrial life in the Cosmos.
N= The number of intelligent life forms in the Milky Way Galaxy with advanced technology, who would be able to communicate with us.
(For example, they would have a radio telescope which can send and receive messages to and from other planets far away.)
R= The rate at which new stars form in our Galaxy.
Fp= The fraction of stars with planets.
Ne= Number of planets in each solar system with an environment that could support life.
Fe= Fraction of planets that could support life on which life actually appears.
Fi= The fraction of life-bearing planets that actually have intelligent life.
Fc= The fraction of civilizations that release detectable signs of their existence into space.
L= Length of time such civilizations have been releasing detectable signals into space.
This equation is only a "guesstimate" (Combination of a guess and an estimate) of how many planets in ONLY THE MILKY WAY GALAXY would possibly have intelligent life with whom we could possibly communicate.
The Milky Way is the name of the galaxy in which we live.
Each Scientist that has used this equation has used different numbers. It is just each person's individual guesstimate of how many planets in our galaxy might have intelligent life.
By using different numbers, each Scientist has come up with different answers. Some Scientists have estimated: 1,000 planets. But the most common answers have been around 2 or 3. With Earth being one of them.
Anyway, you take the number that you come up with for the amount of planets in the Milky Way and guess that more than likely, most other galaxies that support life will have approximately the same number of planets with intelligent life. 
There are over 1 Trillion galaxies that Scientists have observed in the Universe. However, that to is a guesstimate. Because nobody can count to 1 Trillion.
I would guess that about half of all galaxies don't have any life at all. That leaves 500 Billion galaxies that might have life. Of those, only half of them will have a planet or Two with intelligent life. Leaving us with 250 Billion galaxies. Then, only half of those will be sending detectable signals into space. That is 125 Billion. 
Galaxies only contain a small amount of everything that is in the Universe, around One percent (1%)! Everything else is just in open space. This fact was not taken into consideration in the equation. So, there could be Octillions of more planets in open space that are not in a galaxy.
With my figures, each galaxy with intelligent life would have Two planets with life forms who are trying to communicate with us or aliens on other planets. My guess would be about:
125 Billion galaxies times Two planets in each with intelligent life, which equals 
250 Billion. Plus all the planets with intelligent life in open space:
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,(Octillion) more planets!
However, we will never know for certain how many other alien life forms are out there.
Radio signals travel at the speed of light: 186,282 Miles per Second. 5.878 Trillion Miles/year.
The nearest star is "Proxima Centauri" is about 4.2 light years away. It is part of the Alpha Centauri star system.
Most other stars are hundreds, thousands or even Millions or Billions of light years away.
Scientists on Earth have been sending signals to other stars and other galaxies for about 60 years as of this writing (August, 2019). That means our signals have only traveled a maximum of 60 light years. They have gone way past Alpha Centauri. But, all radio signals from Earth will take over 2,537,497 Million years to get to our nearest, large galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy! 
More than likely, no intelligent, alien life forms will ever receive our radio signals in your lifetime. 
If a signal from Earth takes 1,000 years to get to a planet and someone can interpret it, figure out where it came from and send a signal back in the exact same direction that it came from, their signal will take 1,000 years to get back to Earth.
They can only receive, read the signal and send a signal back IF they have a Radio Telescope or something similar.

Why is Michigan called: The Wolverine State?

WHY IS MICHIGAN CALLED THE WOLVERINE STATE:

Wolverines are not native to the state of Michigan. Wolverines do, however, live in Canada, Alaska and other really cold places. But, not MI. The few that live in MI are either in a zoo, owned illegally by people as pets or escaped from peoples houses who had them as illegal pets, etc. The ones in MI and all other Northern states were either brought there by people or they walked over the Canadian boarder by themselves.
The real reason for the nickname comes from the: Toledo War between Michigan and Ohio in 1835.
The city of Toledo is in Ohio, but, it is right on the edge of Michigan.
In 1835, the government of Michigan said, "I don't think that city officially belongs to Ohio. We need to claim it as part of our state!"
Wolverines have a reputation for being extremely aggressive animals. They will often attack other animals that are just minding their own business and not trying to harm anything. The Wolverine will attack the other animal for seemingly no good reason at all.
The state of Ohio was just minding their own business and not posing a threat to anybody. One day, the government in Michigan told the state Militia to attack Ohio.
It was quite a surprise when the Michigan Militia invaded Toledo and said, "We, the people of Michigan are taking the city over! The city belongs to us now!"
In 1936, President Jackson put an end to the war. He decided that since Ohio was already a state and Michigan wasn't and since he wanted Ohio's electoral votes in the upcoming election, he would let Ohio keep the city. In exchange, Michigan became an official state. The state also was given about Two Thirds of the Upper Peninsula. It sounded like a bad deal at the time, because nobody wanted the Upper Peninsula. But, it has a lot of: Copper, Iron and Timber. So the state took advantage of that.
After the war, some people in Ohio said, "The state of Michigan has the mentally and temperament of a Wolverine! MI should be known as: The Wolverine State!"
The name Wolverine State stuck. Michigan has had that name ever since.
Eventually, The University of Michigan adopted the name: "Michigan Wolverines".
That's how MI got that name.

Guns are not the problem. Humans are the problem.

We lose a lot of people everyday to accidents around the home, suicide, the Flu, Pneumonia, AIDS, Hepatitis, Cancer,
Animal attacks, malnutrition, etc.
More people are killed everyday by: Knives, forks, broken glass bottles, rocks, baseball bats and similar things than by guns.
Drunk driving and even worse yet, texting and driving are very dangerous and they both kill more people than guns every day. Why aren't people complaining about rocks, baseball bats and texting while driving as much as they complain about guns? Those things pose a much bigger problem!

Also, video games don't kill people. Violent movies don't kill people either. They also don't encourage people to kill people. Psychotic people are responsible for their own actions.
There is no such thing as an "Assault Rifle". The term doesn't make sense.
Assault is a threat.
Battery is an act.
If you tell someone you are going to punch or shoot them, that is assault. Also, if you shake your fist at someone or point a gun at them, even if the gun only holds one bullet or a realistic looking toy gun, it is still legally considered: Assault!
If you carry out the threat and either punch or shoot someone, that is legally considered: Battery.
You can shoot the same amount of people with a pump action shotgun as you can with a semi automatic AK-47.
Guns are not the problem! The problems are the people who own the guns. Or people who have mental problems and shouldn't have a gun, but, they steal one.
Another big problem is bullies, kids that have bad parents and bad Teachers. Or even grown adults that have problems with other people. It's been proven time and time again that kids under 18 are not always the problem. Half the time it's adults committing crimes!
Hitler, Manson, Hussein, Bin Laden, Capone, Bonnie and Clyde and Bundy just to name a few.
A lot of shootings are gang related.
Most murders are not planned out. They are committed in the heat of the moment. Two people arguing, one gets mad enough at the other person, he grabs a pool stick, hits the other person then stabs him in the head with a pencil! (This is Second Degree Murder, not First Degree Murder.)
Most murders are drug and alcohol related.
You cannot take away people's right to own guns or drink alcohol. Those are both protected by the Constitution.
The 2nd Amendment gives people the right to own a gun.
21st Amendment gives people the right to drink alcohol.
Changing the laws on guns, banning certain types of guns, taking peoples guns away and all that is not solving the problem! Every time someone gets shot, people complain and tell the government to ban more types of guns and pass more gun laws. Then people go out in the street and protest against guns. PEOPLE NEED TO LEARN: NONE OF THAT WORKS TO STOP PEOPLE FROM SHOOTING OTHER PEOPLE!
GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE! PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE!
A gun is just a tool. It takes a person to fire a gun. If you set a wrench on the hood of a car, it will not get up on its own and fix the car. Same concept with a gun.
 I was in the Army and I've been to Iraq and I've never seen a gun get up on its own and shoot someone! That's physically impossible!
My point is: Guns are not the problem at all! Humans are the problem!

Let's all storm Area 51!

WHAT IF YOU DO STORM AREA 51:

What will happen on Sept 20, when people storm Area 51?
There's no way to know for sure what's going to happen. So far, about 2 Million people worldwide have signed up for the raid. I have even signed up, just for fun. I'm not really going to go! However, there's still a lot of time before the event. I'm sure there will be a lot more people signing up before then.
Hypothetically, if 4 Million people sign up and only a quarter of them show up, that's 1 Million people! The Air Force will certainly have a lot more security on that day. They will probably have the police out there, Navy Seals, FBI and a bunch of other people, including the top secret, Men in Black!
If you have enough people there to overpower the Security forces, they will get in the gate. However, that is only the beginning of the journey. The enterence gate is a long ways away from the actual base. Probably about Ten. Miles or more away from any of the buildings! They are not dumb enough to have anything right in front of the gate.
Most people that actually work there are flown in from Las Vegas or other air ports close by. Area 51 is a long, 2 hr and 45 minute drive from Las Vegas.
So, when people do get through the gate, I hope they have a lot of water and desert camouflage. Be prepared to walk very slowly and carefully and be ready to run when you have to. Have something to distract the dogs and wear clothes that will cover up your"heat signature". Be prepared for a very long walk or drive. You will have to travel at least Ten Miles! Probably even more to get to the buildings on the base.
Rumor has it that they have motion detectors, a sisemograph (An instrument used to detect the vibration of earthquakes), satellites in space that can track you, night vision goggles and other ways to detect you.
The penalty for even going through the front gate is about a $600 fine and possible jail time!
But, if you do get past all that and you manage to walk 10 miles or more and get to the buildings, there will be armed guards at the door. They are also taught hand to hand combat in Basic Training.
When you get to the actual buildings, you'll have to choose wisely, because, you will only get to enter ONE building! After that, you will get caught or you'll be so tired that you won't be able to go any further.
Assuming you did get inside the building that has the aliens and UFOs in it, you'd have to act very quickly and grab an Alien and try to start and fly the UFO. Maybe you'll get lucky and the alien will fly it for you. S/he will have to fly it out of the building and way up in the air, so the Air Force won't be able to shoot it down and they will have to fly higher than the Air Force jets can go. Then, hopefully, the radiation from space won't fry you like a microwave!
More than likely, you won't get a UFO, just an Alien who doesn't speak English.
Now, you will have to run under the radar, for lack of a better expression, to get out. That will be another Ten mile walk to get out. This time with an alien that probably will have a GPS tracking device embedded in its skin.
Believe me, I know from experience, it's not fun or easy to walk long distances in the desert! I've been there and done that, in Iraq and the Mojave Desert in California. I never had to walk Ten Miles out there, but, I have walked and ran pretty far out there a few times. I probably would not have been able to walk Ten Miles in the desert any way!
Most people will probably walk Five miles and give up. Some people will get Heat Stroke or Heat Exhaustion, others will get bit by snakes or other animals. Those people will not make it all the way to the aliens.
I will just say that you, the person reading this, actually do make it to the building that has the aliens. I hope you brought bolt cutters, because you will have to cut the lock off the door and quickly run inside. You will be on video and have people chasing you with machine guns, shooting at you the whole time!
Now, inside the building, if you choose the correct door, cut the lock off that and the next door, you will have to get past the motion detectors and video cameras as well as all the human guards inside the room. Then, grab an Alien, refill all your water bottles and very quietly make your escape from that building.
Now, you will be tired and sore from walking in to the base. But, you have to remember exactly where the gate is and how to get there. Walk another 10 or 20 mile journey to get out.
They will have a lot of people looking for you and even several airplanes in the sky searching for you now. You can't hide from their Inferred cameras. Also, part of my military Basic Training was: How to identify a camouflage target. Trust me, they will find you!
But, if you did make it to the gate, they will have razor wire in front of it and armed guards. They will throw teargas at you and 100 police officers, soldiers and airmen will tackle you to the ground or possibly even shoot you! The only way you will be getting out now is in handcuffs, in a police car! They will take you to the hospital in handcuffs. After a Doctor treats your wounds, you will probably spend the rest of your life in a maximum security prison!
Once they take care of you, they will get their alien back and live happily ever after.
Good luck to anyone who actually does try to storm Area 51!