Tag: Apollo 11

It’s all a conspiracy!

On By StevoIn climate change, conspiracy, COVID-19, critical thinking, earth, NASA, religion, Science, UncategorizedLeave a comment

No, actually – it is not…I was just trying to get your attention 😉

I am sharing this link not because I was one of these people, I am sharing because many people have found themselves in this position and have been able to recognize the trap they were in and then get themselves out of it before it was too late. The link is a story of great advice from one of these individuals who recognized the danger and got out – others, however, are not so lucky and will need help from friends and family in finding their way out of the deep, dark, pit of conspiratorial thinking they have fallen into. Without a ladder or a rope of loving support from their loved ones – and sometimes the long arm of the law – they will dig themselves in even deeper and the ever-increasing depth of the pit will increasingly prevent them from escaping the gravity well they have fallen into – a gravity well that is crushing the life out of them and often, everyone around them.

IMHO, intentionally denying verifiable, peer-reviewed evidence and instead choosing to support conspiracy “theorist” “thinking” and belief systems – is one of the most dangerous threats we face in working toward a prosperous future for us all.

Have you unfortunately found yourself stuck in that bizarre world of conspiracies where you actually fully believe everything is a lie, a cover-up, a hoax?

You know what I’m talking about – but just in case you need a refresher – here are a few of the more common examples:

Area 51 is hoarding and hiding alien bodies/artifacts

The Apollo moon landings were staged/produced by Stanley Kubrick…

The earth is flat…or hollow…

Australia does not exist…

Lizard people are controlling our government…

Giants once existed…

Dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time…or dinosaurs never existed and their bones are a manufactured to give scientists a job…

Chem-trails are real…

Pizzagate…

911 was staged…

The “deep state”…

Climate change is a hoax…

Covid 19 is a bioweapon and was manufactured in a lab by Bill Gates and friends, and/or Bill Gates is putting tracking devices in vaccines to track/follow/control you…

Vaccines cause autism…

The democrats/republicans/greenies are plotting to take your freedoms…

The virus is not real and mask mandates are about control…

College brainwashes people to become liberals…

All that Qanon nonsense…

…yada, yada, yada…


If you believe any of these and/or similar bizarre claims and beliefs – without seriously analyzing and questioning the authenticity of those claims and beliefs…the what and the why of what and why you believe what you believe – and especially if you believe these things without any verifiable evidence to support your claims and beliefs – then you may have inadvertently become stuck/trapped in a cultish following that has hijacked your brain.

Ask yourself some serious questions:

Is this belief system taking up a large portion of my time?

Have I ended friendships or am I fighting with family members over it?

Have I dropped out of school or lost jobs because of it?

Am I living in constant fear of friends/family/neighbors/strangers that I once respected?

Am I afraid – terrified – of what may happen next?

Am I stockpiling food and weapons?

Am I always online “learning” and “researching” the latest claim, “theory” or “truth”?

Am I worshiping an ideal or a person in power/politics/prestige as a “savior” of humanity or our “tribe” or way of life?

Am I worried that friends who listen to and support the recommendations of science are the ones who have been duped?

Am I concerned and/or do I believe that education and knowledge are work of “the left,” “evil” or “the devil?”

Do I believe that I am 100% right about my beliefs because simply my belief system, my friends online, and/or that loudmouthed “woke” guy on YouTube, or my favorite end of the world/prepper/echo chamber website (that interestingly is always asking for money to support their cause) – tells me so?

If any of this sounds like you then please, get professional help now before it is too late.

The fact is this: if no evidence exists to support their/your claim, “theory,” or belief system – then in all the probability that exists – that claim, “theory” or belief system is – most likely – simply wrong/erroneous and/or manufactured – probably to make some slimy, smelly, troll in a dim, dank basement somewhere – loads of money – your money.

Sadly, you may have already lost your freedom to whatever the belief system it is that is controlling you and you will see everything and everyone as a lie, a hoax, a threat to you and your freedom.

Again, if any of this sounds like you then please, get help now before it is too late – before the gravitational pull of the lunatic fringe pulls you past the point of no return and you disappear over the event horizon into the black hole of darkness never to return to the land of the living.

If you can find the inner strength to realize you made a mistake – as the brave woman in this story did – then you can rescue yourself from the toxic world of conspiracy theorists and lies. Next is a story of a man who realized he was conned by the Qanon crazy and got out before it totally controlled his life.

Personal freedom comes when you find the inner strength to break the molds imposed upon you by the conspiratorial, religious, and political conditioning that ended your childhood trust in others and destroyed the insatiable curiosity all children have in the natural, real, observable, measurable, and so very fragile connections between all things in the cosmos.

Until you are able to shed the toxic skin of your past – or the mind predators of your present – you will run the risk of remaining easily controlled, divided, fearful, and under the thumb of the charlatans who want to own your life for their own personal gain.

True freedom does not come from without, it comes from within. It comes from letting go of all the things that have a hold on you, that control your thought process – and replacing them with only reality – even if the reality is that no one is really in control and we are all working, fighting, clawing to exist on a tiny, inconspicuous, remote, wet rocky speck of a rather ordinary planet orbiting just another ordinary star in just another ordinary galaxy in this vast ocean we call the cosmos.

We may not be all that special when it comes to the vastness of the cosmos, but each and every one of us are unique, special, one of a kind individuals and we each have wonderful gifts, talents, generosity, compassion, and love to offer to those around us. Let go of the imaginary things that control you and open your eyes and see reality as it really is – and then you will truly be free to live, share, and enjoy the life and time you have.

Life is not about the ending, it is about the living.

Live, laugh, love, learn.

Do good things.

One Love.

Be Like NASA

On By StevoIn climate change, critical thinking, earth, NASA, Science, UncategorizedLeave a comment

NASA is amazing.

In the late 1960 and early 1970’s they put a total of 12 human beings ON THE MOON with the

Apollo mission series.

NASA not only landed a dozen humans on the moon but they also put several different experiments on the moon – some that are still working to this day…

…and three Lunar Roving Vehicles – yes, NASA put “cars” on the moon…and they are all still there waiting for our return.

They then brought the astronauts, and hundreds of pounds of moon rocks they collected, safely back to earth for study – and they did this 6 TIMES!

Buzz Aldrin looks back at Tranquility Base and the Lunar Module Eagle.
Credit Neil Armstrong and NASA.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/apollo11-gallery

…oh, and they rescued three stranded astronauts who had a terrible mishap in space (Apollo 13) and brought them home safely.

Everyone cheers, waves American flags, and worships the astronauts and NASA as the amazing heroes they are.

Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin ticker tape parade. Credit NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/apollo11-gallery
Earthrise. Credit NASA.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1249.html

NASA sends multiple space probes, landers, and rovers to the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and many of their moons and then, sends back photos and videos and lots of science of these amazing places that astounds the inhabitants of our world greatly increasing our knowledge of our place in our home solar system, our galaxy, and in the cosmos.

The first Pale Blue Dot image. Credit Voyager Space Probe.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/540616main_pia00452-43_full.jpg
The second “Pale Blue Dot” image of Earth from Saturn by the Cassini spacecraft: http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2013/07/Cassini_s_Pale_Blue_Dot

People all over the planet are astonished, amazed, and humbled at the beauty and reality of this outstanding scientific knowledge drop.

NASA’s car sized Mars Science Laboratory “Curiosity” takes a “selfie” on MARS. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html

NASA works with the ESA and other space agencies to land a space probe on a comet!

Yes, you read that correctly – a COMET!!!

Comet 67PCG as imaged by the Rosetta Space Probe. Source: http://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Rosetta

After taking almost a decade to arrive at comet 67PCG the people of planet earth watched in awe as the tiny spacecraft Rosetta rendezvoused with the comet and then, released its even more diminutive lander Philae which later briefly touched down and later came to rest – albeit at an unusual angle – on this ancient wandering body in space. Amazing data on the origins of the solar system was gathered, people of earth were astonished at the preciseness of the calculations – the coding, the math, and the science – required to make all this awesome discovery happen for our species.

NASA (and many other space agencies) have put several massive space telescopes into orbit that reveal the existence of countless galaxies, solar systems, and over four thousand exoplanets – some similar to our homeworld – orbiting other suns, and many other amazing hidden secrets of the cosmos.

The Hubble space telescope above earth. Credit NASA.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

People are again speechless and agape with awe at NASA’s skills at this science thing.

The Hubble Extreme Deep Field Image. Credit NASA. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/xdf.html

NASA builds a fleet of reusable “space planes” – the Space Shuttle.

Shuttle Discovery in orbit with a piece of the ISS. Credit NASA. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

…and then teams up with 15 other nations to build a massive space station – the International Space Station (ISS) – that is now orbiting 250 miles above our planet and moving at a speed of 17,500 mph.

The ISS above earth. Credit NASA. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/overview/index.html

This ISS has been continuously occupied by different astronauts from many different countries for over 20 years.

ISS Pizza Party. Credit NASA. Source:

It is an outpost in space that allows us puny fragile humans to live and work in a weightless environment in order to further our knowledge of our species and its place in the universe – and to prepare for deep space missions back to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Expedition 24 flight engineer, looks through a window in the Cupola of the International Space Station. Credit NASA. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/overview/index.html

BTW: This is a space station that you can use a smartphone locator app (ISSonLive, ISSLiveNow, ISSDetector and more) to find in the night sky and then see with your own eyes from your own backyard. People are enlightened and astounded to the reality of it all.

A Space shuttle above Florida, USA – photo taken from the ISS.
Credit NASA.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/overview/index.html

NASA launches thousands of satellites that allow us to monitor the weather to plan our day, know our exact location and navigate better upon the surface of the planet (GPS), communicate across the world (global satellite communications, satellite TV, satellite internet, satellite phone etc.) – people are like

YAY NASA GO NASA WOOT WOOT!

NASA tells the world – several years early – a total eclipse of our star – the sun – will be happening on a certain day, at a certain time down to the second on a future date – so you better be there in a very narrow zone of totality across the continent or you will miss this once-in-a-lifetime “Great American Eclipse” event. Everyone takes NASA’s word as gospel and a mass migration of humans moves into position along the described zone of totality and all witnesses this totally amazing total solar eclipse.

Crowds gathered nationwide to watch the spectacle.
Everyone was ready and in place for the once in a lifetime event.

The solar eclipse during totality, seen from outside Crowheart, Wyoming; the photograph uses exposure bracketing to show both the Sun’s corona and the surface features of the new moon itself, illuminated by earthshine. A few solar prominences are visible around the lunar limb. Credit: Michael S Adler

Just as NASA scientists had stated several years before the event – the moon passed between the sun and the earth and at the exact times and locations as NASA had previously predicted – the Great American Eclipse happened.

Mike drop.

——————————–

NASA and many, many other scientists (all the way back to Clare Patterson – who not only discovered the age of our planet but may very well have saved all of us from lead poisoning) tells us that our earth is very, very, very old – on the order of 4.55 billion years to be as exact as scientifically possible.

Earth gif. Source – the “interwebs.”

This astonishing fact is supported by tons of geologic evidence in the crustal rocks of the planet and our Moon as well as evidence from ancient asteroids and comets as well as in the chemical/geological makeup of all planetary bodies in our solar system.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale

More on this topic: https://www.space.com/24854-how-old-is-earth.html

and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_the_Earth

Yet today, even with all the before mentioned NASA awesomeness, and all the piles of evidence…

…many humans continue to choose to claim our planet is less than 10,000 years old…see: Young Earth Creationism.

This topic would not be complete without debunking the bizarre myth that we humans lived alongside dinosaurs. Put simply – no, we did not. If we had, we probably would not be here because they were DINOSAURS!

Stated a bit more clearly and with awesome animations.

________________________

NASA uses its best science and technology to confirm our home planet is in fact round…and many, many, astronauts and spacecraft with cameras go into space and report that yes, our planet is in fact round.

Astronaut Mike Massimino over Earth. Credit NASA and Mike Massimino.

…and some people are like – NOPE. I just don’t believe it because from my point of view on the surface of the planet it just looks flat.

Riiiiiiight.

Some insight into the roundness of our planet.

Furthermore…

Imagine you are a bacterium on a beach ball – “Small sections of large curved surfaces will always look flat to little creatures that crawl upon it.” – NDT

I’ll let Neil Degrasse Tyson take it from here…

Source: NASA Blue Marble 2012. Credit NASA. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-earth-58.html

___________________

NASA uses its best space and earth based tools (satellites, aircraft, ice cores, historic temperature readings, atmospheric monitoring stations, tree rings, lake and ocean sediments, and the peer-review process, etc.) to generate solid evidence supported by the vast majority of the planet’s scientists who study the earth’s climate systems to reveal their evidence to the world that our human activities are driving climate change by burning too many fossil fuels way too fast…

…and some people have chosen to totally ignore and deny this peer-reviewed evidence and are like –

“NOPE. I just don’t believe it.”

!!WTF humans WTF!!

If we do not want to have our home planet become another Venus…

Venus – Source NASA: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/venus/overview/

…if we do not want our beautiful round planet to continue to be populated by a growing number of willfully ignorant, science and evidence doubting, conspiracy supporting, myth and legend preaching humans…

…if we do not want our species and many others to go the way of most of the dinosaurs…

…then, as we have done in the past in all matters of space and earth science, when it comes time to make the big decisions that impact us all and our shared environment – then we really need to start listening to NASA and the other experts who study our planet, our environment, and our climate and we need to fully trust them to guide us in our decision making process.

This is not rocket science but it is the definition of critical thinking: Disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, informed, and supported by evidence .

We need to be more like NASA.

We need to unite behind the science.

The future hinges on the decisions that we make today.

Choose Wisely.