The Santa Dimension

When I was about five years old, I was excited to learn that Santa Claus was going to appear at my house early on Christmas Eve to personally hand Christmas gifts to my little brother and me. My parents explained that Santa was doing this as a special treat for us since we didn't have a chimney. Sure enough, Santa showed up. Although he was an hour late, according to my mother, I was thrilled to see him. I quickly rushed outside into the cold Wisconsin night but stopped several feet short. Something wasn't right. Santa was clearly wearing a mask on his face. I asked him why he was wearing a mask and he told me it was to keep warm. Later that holiday season, I overheard a conversation between my parents whereby I learned it was my grandfather pretending to be Santa and that my mother was very upset with him for showing up late and drunk. When my mother realized I had discovered the great Santa deception, she explained that Santa had so many houses to visit that evening that he didn't have time to make special stops and that my grandfather was just pretending to be Santa to make us happy. Once again, being a young innocent squirt, I bought the explanation. My grandfather was always a great guy, drunk or sober, and I appreciated him for stopping by on such a cold night just to please my brother and me. A few years later, in the second grade, I was hanging out with a couple of my buddies during recess. Usually we would shoot marbles behind a big oak tree so our teacher couldn't see us. Mrs. Henderson didn't like it when her boys would participate in games of chance, especially when marbles would change hands. Instead of playing marbles, we got into a discussion about Santa Claus. There had been some speculation that Santa Claus didn't really exist so the three of us tried to figure it out logically. Duncan Jones was the brains of the group, Vinny Gagliardi was ever so inquisitive, while I was more action oriented, preferring to play games of chance (marbles) rather than attempting to fathom the unfathomable. It all started when curious Vinny came up with a series of intriguing questions. • How does Santa visit so many houses on a single night? • How can he get all those presents in his sleigh? • How can reindeer fly? • How does a hefty guy like Santa manage to slip down a chimney and get back to the roof? • What does Santa do when there is no chimney? • How does Santa know whether you were naughty or nice? • And so on and so on. Duncan made some quick calculations. He figured if there were a billion houses and Santa took only a minute per house, or 60 houses per hour, it would take about 17 million hours, not counting flying time. Then there was the flying reindeer problem. Duncan and I were fairly certain reindeer couldn't actually fly, but Vinny wasn't so sure. He had seen an elephant fly in a Disney cartoon and it looked feasible to him. Soon a light bulb went off just above Duncan's head. Suppose there was a parallel universe. Santa could pop in and out of our reality almost instantaneously while doing most of his work in a parallel dimension. This would impose an anomaly in the continuum of time and space whereby a few seconds of our reality could be a year of Santa reality. This could also explain the reindeer problem. They don't actually fly -- there're merely transported to our reality directly onto the roof and disappear the same way. Santa makes his way into the house in the same manner. Apparently, according to Duncan, it's simply a matter of hyper-dimensional travel between simultaneous planes of existence. The bell rang and we had to go back inside where Mrs. Henderson made us print the alphabet all afternoon. She wanted to make sure we slanted our letters at the proper angle. Mrs. Henderson always emphasized penmanship and seating posture, but had a phobia about teaching math. Numbers greater than 20 made her nose bleed. It's strange how so many parents are unaware of parallel dimensions. They tell their kids the most ridiculous tales to make up for their lack of knowledge about the anomalies of the continuum of time and space. Merry Christmas y'all. ___________ Quote for the Day – "I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked me for my autograph." Shirley Temple ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 12 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a couple of dogs and many fond memories of Christmas Past. ___________ - -

Lincoln and JFK Assassinations

John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln each attempted to extract American currency away from the private banking interests (who eventually formed the Federal Reserve in 1913) and back into the U.S. Treasury. The banking interests in the Kennedy years (through today) are the same intergenerational dynasty of foreign banking families in the Lincoln years, in the 1800s. On February 25, 1862, President Lincoln authorized the printing of greenback notes from the U.S. Treasury, backed by silver, in the form of silver certificate notes. This fostered growth that could not be taxed and controlled by foreign banking interests. Needless to say, this action angered the international banking dynasty families. Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865. In 1886, a group of millionaires purchased Jekyll Island, off the coast of Georgia, and converted it into a retreat, the USA’s most exclusive club. By 1900, the club’s roster represented 1/6th of the world’s wealth, with members such as Astor, Vanderbilt, Morgan, Pulitzer and Gould on the club’s register. In 1908, J.P. Morgan (purportedly) created a national money panic, whereby, Congress established a National Monetary Authority. In 1910, a secret group was formed consisting of the chiefs of major corporations and banks in this country. The group left secretly by rail from Hoboken, New Jersey, and traveled anonymously to the hunting lodge on Jekyll Island, where they laid the groundwork, primarily drafted by (international German banker) Paul Warburg, for what would eventually be called the Federal Reserve System (the Fed) -- the new central bank could not be called a central bank because America did not want one, so it had to be given a deceptive name. A majority of Fed members were to be selected by the private banks that would own its stock. To keep the public from thinking that the Federal Reserve would be controlled from New York, a system of 12 regional banks was designed. Given the concentration of money and credit in New York, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York basically controlled the system, although, it was portrayed as a regional concept, which was a ruse. Thus, the Federal Reserve System was created (orchestrated) in 1910 and codified by Congress in 1913 to become a reality. Also, in 1913, the personal income tax system went into effect as part of the new system. This allowed the banking interests to inflame the nation's citizens to become involved in the European War in 1914 (World War I). The bankers financed and profited from both sides of the war -- just as they had also financed and profited from both sides in World War II, a couple of decades later. Since 1776, the USA has been at war 222 out of 239 years. International bankers and many others prosper from global conflict, much of which they manipulate into occurring. For some, war is good. President Kennedy often made remarks about the negative covert influence of the Fed and of the nefarious covert actions of the CIA. He had expressed the desire to abolish the Fed and curtail (renegade) CIA activities. "The very word Secrecy is repugnant in a free and open society… There is a plot in this country to enslave every man, woman and child. Before I leave this high and noble office, I intend to expose this plot." John F. Kennedy In November of 1961, President Kennedy halted the sales of silver from the U.S. Treasury. Until then, the silver within the U.S. Treasury was rapidly being sold off at very low prices. President Kennedy then drafted a bill (H.R. 5389) to authorize the printing of silver certificate notes from the U.S. Treasury to replace the depletion of silver from the Treasury. In June of 1963, the same day the bill became law, Kennedy issued Executive Order 11,110 which authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to issue silver certificate notes, without any input from the Federal Reserve. On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. President Lincoln angered the banking dynasties and was assassinated -- President Kennedy angered the banking dynasties and was assassinated. Perhaps, it was simply a coincidence? Ironically, there is an additional remarkable set of coincidences between President John Kennedy and President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946. Lincoln was elected President in 1860. Kennedy was elected President in 1960. Lincoln’s secretary was named Kennedy. Kennedy’s secretary was named Lincoln. Sometime prior to Lincoln's assassination -- he was in Monroe, Maryland. Sometime prior to Kennedy's assassination -- he was with Marilyn Monroe. Both Presidents were shot in the head on a Friday. Lincoln was assassinated in a theater named Ford. Kennedy was assassinated in a limousine made by Ford. Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson. Andrew Johnson, succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808. Lyndon Johnson, succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908. Both alleged assassins had three names of 15 letters. John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839. Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939. Booth ran from a theater, was caught in a warehouse. Oswald ran from a warehouse, was caught in a theater. Both assassins were assassinated before their trials. In 1976, the House Select Committee on Assassination investigated the Kennedy assassination, concluding that President Kennedy was probably assassinated by a conspiracy involving the mob, and potentially the CIA. And if that is true, the mob or the CIA could have conspired to do it at the behest (under the direction or manipulation) of the banking dynasty cabal. Or perhaps, a coincidence is merely a coincidence? Sometimes it's hard to believe in coincidence. Perhaps, a coincidence or synchronicity is a supernatural way of drawing our attention to hidden truths. Follow the money. ___________ Quote for the Day – "We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values." John F. Kennedy ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 12 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a few dogs and an imaginary girlfriend named Tequila Mockingbird. ___________ - -

GROWTH ADDICTS

An addict is someone who is obsessively devoted to something. People can become addicted to all sorts of things, such as alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, sweets, sports, gambling, sex, travel, TV, gardening, gossip, etc. They can even be addicted to community growth. Most people with common sense realize there is an optimal size to almost anything. A garden won’t flourish if plants are too close together or too far apart. A forest won’t flourish if trees are too close together or too far apart. An animal herd won’t flourish if there are too many animals for their range. Bigger isn’t always better. However, Growth Addicts are unaware of the ramifications of overpopulation. These are people who have some sort of inane behavioral quirk whereby they simply can’t accept the size and scope of the community in which they live. They are compelled by some sort of neurological disorder to stimulate community growth. If you ever ask one of these Growth Addicts at what point the growth should level off, they’ll look at you as if you’re crazy. To a Growth Addict, there never is enough growth. To a Growth Addict, growth is a way of life. Many local politicians are afflicted with this disorder. They promise to lure industry into their area under the preposterous notion that this would have a positive impact on the entire community. Many real estate folks are also afflicted with this disorder. They travel to far away locations and attempt to persuade people to relocate to their area. Some local business owners are also under the delusion that community expansion will benefit them. I lived a few miles outside a small town in Arizona in 1986-1992. It had a population of about 3,000 and seemed like an ideal place to live, especially after having spent nearly 12 years in Los Angeles. However, it didn’t take long to sour on the place. The city council was made up of bankers and real estate brokers. They had this simple-minded notion that bigger was better and that if they didn’t do something drastic the world would pass them by. Their idea of progress was to attract industry so they could grow at a much faster rate than would normally take place. Their first course of action was to spend huge sums of taxpayer funds building an industrial park near the airport. Naturally, as bankers and land brokers, they all got a piece of the action. When no one would build a business in their overpriced industrial park, they spent huge sums of taxpayer funds promoting the fiasco, including expensive advertisements in business publications in such places as Taiwan and Hong Kong. To date, the industrial park still remains empty. During another brainstorming session, the city council determined the town would be more attractive if it had “funky” pink sidewalks, just like the ones in a popular ski resort town in Colorado. Tons of taxpayer dollars went into the project. All the concrete sidewalks in town were ripped up and replaced with pink, inlaid bricks. When the dust finally settled, it looked like cowboy town with pink sidewalks. Progress, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. One person’s idea of progress is another person’s nightmare. Promoting business and encouraging population growth should not be a function of local government, which has enough problems simply keeping up with the natural flow of change. The flaw in this thinking is obvious. As more industry is added to an area, more people will move there to take advantage of the expanding economy. Suddenly, you’re back to the same old problem of needing to add more industry to support the growing population. Local business won’t benefit from this ploy. As the area grows, new businesses will pop up, creating more competition -- a bigger pie with smaller slices. Eventually, local businesses will become overrun by national chains. Nothing will be improved -- there will just be more of everything, including more traffic, more crime and a need for more solutions, requiring more tax revenue. Most people live in a certain area because they like it there. For those who yearn for a larger community, it would be easier to move elsewhere than scheme to make the area grow faster than it would otherwise grow naturally. Rather than move on, Growth Addicts insist upon spoiling things for everyone else. Bringing more business, more industry and more people into a community doesn’t benefit anyone, including those who have an insatiable urge to hasten progress. Most areas will grow at a nice steady pace without Growth Addicts forcing their will upon the natural flow of progress. Perhaps, Growth Addicts dislike their community because they subconsciously dislike themselves. Instead of taking responsibility for their own happiness they manipulate the world around them in a vain attempt to alter a reality they blame for their own perceived misfortunes. If so, Growth Addicts are in dire need of psychological help. Some of my best friends are growth addicts. Even members of my own family are infected with this insidious malady. They can’t seem to help it and don’t even appear to be aware of their dysfunctional condition. If you’re not a Growth Addict, read no further. An intervention is a confrontation, usually initiated by family and friends, directed toward an addict in an attempt to rid the addict of his or her harmful addiction. Consider this to be an intervention. I am your friend. You have a serious mental disorder. I want to help you get well. STOP IT. STOP IT. STOP IT. We don’t need your guidance and control. You’re obsession for growth only makes things worse. More industry means more people, creating more problems that will be solved by bringing in more industry. Then more industry will attract more people, requiring even more industry, which will again attract more people, and so on, and so on. This is a vicious cycle without end. Bigger isn’t better -- it’s just bigger. You have an unhealthy addiction. It’s unhealthy for you and everyone around you. Get over it. Your problem isn’t the size of the community; your problem is you. If you have a compulsion to make changes, look inward. Stop and smell the roses. Or move to a bigger city. ___________ Quote for the Day -- "Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it." Milton Friedman ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 12 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a few dogs and an imaginary girlfriend named Tequila Mockingbird. ___________ - -

Followers of Followers

When I was a young corporate stooge, I always wore a dark three-piece suit with a flashy necktie. Now that I’m older and wiser, I wonder what took me so long to burn all my neckties. The necktie dates back to 1660 when a crack military regiment from Croatia visited France. They had recently defeated Turkey and were presented to King Louis XIV in Paris where they were honored for their glorious victory. King Louis XIV apparently had an eye for men’s fashion. He was particularly enchanted with the brightly colored silk handkerchiefs adorning the necks of the Croatian officers. Being a man of power and whimsy, he soon created his own regiment of silk-handkerchief-adorned soldiers which he called the Royal Cravattes. France has always been a country of pretentious snobs and girly-men. Their major accomplishment for the betterment of mankind was the invention of the soufflé. Before long, the new fashion statement made its way across the channel to England. By 1700, no man in Britain was considered a gentleman without a cravat or necktie. Some cravats were even worn so high that a man had to turn his whole body just to turn his head. Unfortunately, this fashion folly eventually drifted across the Atlantic Ocean to the colonies. To this very day, men in America, although a fairly enlightened species, still wear neckties. The only conceivable logical reason a man would wrap a fabric around his neck is to keep warm. Short of that, the only other plausible explanation is that men wrap a fabric around their necks because other men wrap a fabric around their necks and they desperately want to be associated with them. Obviously, men are followers of followers, like a flock of sheep. And if you're a sheep following other sheep, you only get one view of the world and it isn’t pretty. A man who wears a necktie is a man who cannot think for himself. He's merely playing a role. If his attire is dishonest, perhaps he is dishonest as well. Politicians all wear neckties. So do bankers, lawyers and used car salesmen. None of them would score very high on a Trust-O-Meter. The biggest idiots of all are the men who wear a bow tie. They consider themselves to be rebels. But in reality, they are merely followers with bad taste. A man who wears a bow tie is a man in serious need of a brain transplant. The functionless necktie, worn by men under the illusion of being socially acceptable within the circle of men who wear neckties, is overwhelming proof that men are shallow seekers of approval. They do what other men do simply to blend in with the crowd. Men dress to be like other men. On the other hand, women have a flair for fashion, which changes with the seasons. They don't want to blend in, they want to stand out and be noticed. A man is as good as he has to be, a woman is as bad as she dares. Women dress to be annoying to other women. Men are sheep -- women are from Venus. ___________ Quote for the Day – "Men are so willing to respect anything that bores them." Marilyn Monroe ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 12 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a couple of dogs and is the proud owner of zero neckties. ___________ - -

Abundant Black Gold

The USA controls three percent of the world's proven oil supply yet consumes 25 percent of the world's oil, thereby allowing foreign governments, corrupt political leaders and terrorists to have leverage on our economy. Plus, the USA production of crude oil has been stymied due to environmental concerns. Under these conditions, oil industry insiders reap large profits and cause economic instability. The USA has become dependent on foreign crude oil suppliers, particularly from the Middle East where self-centered sheiks and tyrants squander zillions of dollars on themselves while their subjects struggle in poverty. But suppose the supply of oil was somehow regenerating itself and not in danger of being depleted after all. Dr. Thomas Gold is a physicist at Cornell University. Some of his accomplishments include landmark research on the workings of the ear, developing the mathematics of the rules of cosmology, and overseeing the construction and operation of the world's largest radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Dr. Gold is also a proponent of the abiotic theory of oil. Developed by the Russians in the 1950s, the abiotic theory states that oil is not derived from decayed plant and animal life, but is rather a bio-product of a continual biochemical reaction below the surface of the earth that is forced to attainable depths by the centrifugal forces of the earth's rotation. In other words, oil is continually being produced (created) deep within the planet and "seeps" toward the surface by the centrifugal force of the rotation of the planet, which rotates at a speed of over 1,000 miles per hour at the equator, as Planet Earth travels through the Universe at 67,000 miles per hour. THE DEEP HOT BIOSPHERE: THE MYTH OF FOSSIL FUELS is Dr. Gold's groundbreaking book, published in 1998, promoting the idea that oil is not a fossil fuel and, contrary to popular belief, is a renewable resource. While conventional scientific wisdom dictates that life is formed on the Earth's surface, with the aid of the sun, Dr. Gold believes that most living entities reside deep within the Earth's crust at temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Celsius, living off of methane and other hydrocarbons. Although highly regarded as a physicist, Dr. Gold has had a history as being a maverick. In the 1950s, the first radio astronomers discovered odd radio sources in the sky and thought they were unusual stars. Dr. Gold claimed they were actually distant galaxies. Years later, with new technology, Dr. Gold was proven to be correct. In the 1960s, a different type of radio source was detected in the skies, flashing on and off with regularity. Dr. Gold wrote that these pulsars were neutron stars, the existence of which had been predicted but had never been seen. Although many of his colleagues scoffed at this explanation, once again Dr. Gold was proven to be correct. Jerome R. Corsi (PhD from Harvard) is the author of 18 books, including ATOMIC IRAN and UNFIT FOR COMMAND. Craig R. Smith, Chairman of the board of Swiss America Trading Company, is the author of 24 scholarly books. Corsi and Smith have co-authored a book titled BLACK GOLD STRANGLEHOLD, which shares the notion that oil is continually created deep inside the planet and contends that the so-called scarcity is a marketing ploy to charge higher prices. For example, researchers at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, as well as other studies, have demonstrated that fossils from plants and animals are not necessary to create crude oil or natural gas. It's a fact that numerous capped wells which were formerly dry have been discovered to be plentiful once again after many years. Perhaps this is newly created oil "seeping upward" by the pressure of the expansion of newly created crude oil (and centrifugal force). According to various sources, including NASA, USGS and many oceanographic institutes, there is a "natural" oil seepage into the earth's oceans, estimated to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 75 million gallons of crude oil per year. Once again, this is clearly an example of "seeping upward" on the ocean floor from lower depths below the floor surface -- highly unlikely to be extinct dinosaur juice "trapped" under the depths of the ocean. In 1542, Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo used tar from natural oil seepage, known to sailors as asphaltum, off the coast of North America to waterproof his ships -- just as the Native American Chumash Indians did with their canoes. In 1792, English explorer George Vancouver noted in his log that parts of the Pacific Coast were covered in all directions "with an oily surface so thick that the entire sea took on an iridescent hue." Natural seepage of oil under the ocean, which is currently monitored by NASA, continues to this day. And 75 million gallons of crude oil seeping upward from the ocean floor every year is no small amount -- additional evidence of the possibility of oil perpetually regenerating itself. The Middle East is in continual extreme turmoil. World War III may be on the horizon. And it's all about the availability and production of crude oil, supposedly a limited resource formed millions of years ago by decaying vegetation and extinct animals. However, all of this bloody unrest in the Middle East may be unnecessary. Perhaps oil is a renewal resource, continually generating additional crude oil deep within the earth whereby it seeps upward toward the surface on a regular basis. Perhaps there are those within the oil industry (and elsewhere) who are aware of the abiotic phenomenon but remain silent (or prevent disclosure) of this fact in order to remain highly profitable. ___________ Quote for the Day – "Truth will rise above falsehood as oil above water." Miguel de Cervantes ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 12 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a few dogs and where chiggers seem to seep up from the ground. ___________ - -

ROAD TO TOLUCA LAKE

At age 30, I left the harsh Minnesota winters for the land of fruits and nuts. I soon found a job as a senior systems analyst for a large computer complex near downtown Los Angeles and rented a house on stilts in the Hollywood Hills, overlooking Universal Studios in the San Fernando Valley. Six months later, I found a better job at a small computer software company next door to Warner Brothers studios. My office was officially in Los Angeles and the movie studio was officially in Burbank, both bordering the tiny community called Toluca Lake -- a small, quaint area within the Los Angeles metropolis. Soon I begin looking for a house to purchase. One day I spotted an ad about a fixer with a pool, within my price range, that was “less than 20 blocks from Bob Hope.” I didn’t know it at the time but the real estate agents in the area used Bob Hope as a point of reference – the closer to Bob Hope’s house, the more exclusive the property. In real estate, location is everything. Apparently, this particular real estate agent had a sense of humor. I bought the house. The pool was basically a swamp and cost several thousand dollars to get back into shape. Every day I drove to work, I passed by Bob Hope’s estate which was a couple of acres surrounded by high walls. I was told he had his own golf hole in the backyard – about a nine-iron shot. Not long thereafter, I married. We sold the house and bought a yacht. We lived on the yacht for six months, then sold it and bought a condo in Sherman Oaks. Next we sold the condo and rented an A-frame in Topanga. Then it was time to buy another house. This time, we found one in an area real estate agents refer to as Toluca Woods, south of Cahuenga Boulevard and north of Riverside Drive, "within 10 blocks of Bob Hope." It was a nice area. William Holden once owned the house at the end of the block. My wife and I often dined at the local hangouts where we would bump into some of the more famous Toluca Lake residents such as Jonathon Winters and Andy Griffith. The fellow I worked for was a member of Lakeside Country Club in Toluca Lake, Bob Hope’s home course. I played a few rounds of golf and occasionally lunched there. Then we divorced. My wife, bless her heart, kept the Toluca Woods house and I moved back into the Hollywood Hills. Oddly enough, I rented a place on the very same street, a little further uphill, as the house on stilts I had rented when I first moved to Los Angeles. Back to square one once again. Anyway, that’s my Bob Hope story. I never met him, or even saw him, yet he seemed to have an impact on my life. Leslie Towne Hope was born in Eltham, England on May 29, 1903. His father was an English stonemason and his mother an aspiring Welch concert singer. In 1907, Leslie’s father moved the family to Cleveland, Ohio. By way of his father’s naturalization, Leslie became known as “Bob.” In 1920, Bob and his brothers became U.S. citizens. During the 1940s and 1950s, Bob Hope was a star of radio, television and the films. He and crooner Bing Crosby were featured in several “Road” pictures and carried on a famous comic feud. Hope was also a frequent host of the Academy Awards ceremonies in Hollywood. Although he never won an Oscar for a film performance, he received five honorary Academy Awards for his contributions to the motion picture industry. Bob Hope will always be remembered for his tireless service to our military troops. He spent much of World War II traveling the globe to entertain Allied Forces. He continued this practice during later conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East and elsewhere, well into the 1990s. Bob Hope traveled off on the Road to the Great Beyond on July 27, 2003, at age 100. When his grandson asked him at his deathbed where he wanted to be buried, he remarked, "Surprise me." Thanks for the memories. ___________ Quote for the Day -- "I love to go to Washington -- if only to be near my money." Bob Hope ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 12 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a few dogs and an imaginary girlfriend named Tequila Mockingbird. ___________ - -

Beyond Earth

Planet Earth is orbiting the sun at 67,000 miles per hour -- it is also rotating on its axis (spinning) at 1,000 miles per hour at the equator. Our solar system (the sun and its 9 planets) is travelling through space at 515,000 miles per hour. Our sun is a single star within a galaxy of stars, called the Milky Way. Our Milky Way galaxy, home of our solar system, is 100,000 light years across -- it would take about 230,000,000 (230 million) years at the speed of light to travel all the way around the outside perimeter of the Milky Way galaxy. There are about 300,000,000,000 (300 billion) stars within the Milky Way galaxy alone, a modest-sized galaxy compared to most other galaxies in the known universe. Our known universe contains some 100,000,000,000 (100 billion) galaxies, with each galaxy potentially containing multiple billions of stars. On a clear night, the average person is able to view approximately 3,000 stars with the naked eye. On July 22, 2003, CNN News reported that astronomers announced there are 70 sextillion stars in the visible universe. A sextillion is a 1 followed by 21 zeroes -- that's 70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 known stars in the universe, more than all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the entire Earth. This is not the total number of stars in the universe -- it's the number within the range of present day telescopes. The true number could be a zillion times higher. Our single star (the sun) contains 9 planets -- imagine how many potential planets are contained within 70, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000 known stars (other suns). Keep that in mind the next time you complain about finding a convenient parking spot. Also, keep that in mind if you assume that Planet Earth is the only spinning orb in the universe that contains intelligent entities, such as human beings, whose intelligence is often highly questionable. ___________ Quote for the Day – “Something deeply hidden had to be behind things.” Albert Einstein ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 12 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a few dogs and where the universe is a fairly large place. ___________ - -