After analyzing minerals in fossilized ash from the most recent mega-eruption, researchers at Arizona State University think the supervolcano last woke up after two influxes of fresh magma flowed into the reservoir below the caldera.
A 2013 study, for instance, showed that the magma reservoir that feeds the supervolcano is about two and a half times larger than previous estimates. Scientists also think the reservoir is drained after every monster blast, so they thought it should take a long time to refill. Based on the new study, it seems the magma can rapidly refresh—making the volcano potentially explosive in the geologic blink of an eye.
In 2011, scientists revealed that the ground above the magma chamber bulged by up to 10 inches in a span of about seven years.
I’m not much of an alarmist, but I think we need to take this very seriously. Obviously scientists like to lay out worst-case-scenarios so their studies get published, but I don’t think that’s what’s happening here. Think about it. If anyone knows about 10-inch bulges, mega-eruptions, and monster blasts, it’s researchers from Arizona State University.
Our only option is to set the SuperNerds on the case. Elon Musk, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Gavin Belson, all of them. Maybe they can dig down and diffuse it by harnessing the geothermal energy. Or something. I dunno. But what we CAN’T do is just sit around doing nothing while sitting on a ticking timebomb. But the government doesn’t seem to be taking this as seriously as I am.
The 108-year-old Stanley Hotel is no stranger to the supernatural. Visitors to Estes Park, Colorado can even take a “spirit tour” of the historic hotel that inspired the bone-chilling Stephen King 1977 book “The Shining.”
Photography is encouraged during the tour of Colorado’s most haunted hotel, so John Mausling and his wife, Jessica Martinez-Mausling, took several snapshots along the way.
Unfortunately for those hoping this is all just a Halloween prank, Ben Hansen, a former FBI agent and host of Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files, says the photo doesn’t appear to be fake.
“I really like this photo,” Hansen told HuffPost. “Assuming that it’s not doctored, it ranks up there as one of the best photos of possible paranormal evidence I’ve seen…”
I apologize for the click-baity headline but that is DEFINITELY a picture of a ghost. 100%. As they mention, this hotel was the inspiration for (and the setting of) Stephen King’s ‘The Shining’. There’s a good podcast episode about it here.
I’m very much a what-can-you prove kinda guy. I don’t take things on faith. I don’t suffer half-baked conspiracy theories. I’m a skeptic. I’ve never had any paranormal experiences (and I’d like to keep it that way, thank you very much), but I’ve heard too many stories from people I trust and respect to outright deny the possibility that ghosts exist. And when I see a photo like that I feel… well, I feel terrified. But after the terror, I feel vindicated for believing in ghosts.
A visit to a holiday corn maze turned into a truly scary scenario for a 3-year-old boy after police say he was left behind by his parents, who didn’t realize until the next day.
A good Samaritan is being credited with escorting the child to staff members at the Crazy Corn Maze in West Jordan, Utah, after finding him alone and scared around 7:40 p.m. Monday
As far as what happened, the child’s parents were described as living in a dwelling with multiple families and several little children. “They left with so many and came back one less,” he said.
My first thought when I saw this headline was, “I’ve been there.” Not literally to that specific corn maze, but who among us hasn’t gotten blasted at a corn maze? It’s awesome! And while I certainly don’t condone getting wasted and leaving your kids out in the wild… I understand.
But then I noticed some important details; “Utah…” “dwelling with multiple families…” “several little children…”
Mormons!
They weren’t drunk, they just had too many fucking kids! Eeeeeeevery once in a while you might think to yourself that having multiple wives would be awesome. There are certainly some obvious benefits. But as soon as you do the math you realize it would be a fucking nightmare. Case in point: this story. I can’t imagine what the scene was like when they finally figured it out the next day. The husband may have even dropped an audible “gosh darnit!” That wife won’t be getting into his magical underpants for a while.
The unthinkable has happened. For the first time in 30 years the US will not be going to the World Cup. Coming into the games, there was a 40-to-one chance this would happen. FORTY TO ONE!!! I keep vascillating between two emotions – anger and despair………
FUCK! This is the worst thing to ever happen to America. Worse than the civil war (620,000 dead? Chump change.). Worse than 9/11 (all it did was shake our country to its very core, leaving us forever changed? So what.). I can’t think of anything more harmful or embarassing than this.
Never mind that we would be hosting the World Cup (and getting an automatic berth) had not SuperMidget Putin bribed the corrupt assholes at FIFA. Never mind that we got FUCKED in the Panama Costa Rica game by the goal-that-wasn’t. The only reason CONCACAF even gets 3 1/2 spots is to give the US the best possible chance of making the tournament every cycle! The US Soccer system is broken.
So who is at fault and how do we fix it?
1. Sunil Gulati – President of the United States Soccer Federation
Deep breath… be cool… maintain… Since 2006, Gulati has been the head of US Soccer. By all accounts he’s a bright guy, but a lot of the blame has to fall on his shoulders. Growing the game domestically and getting better athletes to play soccer is VITAL to the success of our national team. Unfortunately, to play high-level soccer in this country usually comes with high fees (joining teams, attending tournaments, etc.). This pay-to-play system stops many of our best young athletes from even having a chance to play.
Also, I think he should be throwing his weight around more with FIFA. In 2013 he was elected to a 4-year position on the FIFA Council (you’ll see he’s pretty far down on that chart). With the amount of money coming from the US, he should have much more influence than that. Comcast/NBC and Fox are spending a combined $1 BILLION for the broadcast rights of the next two World Cups. With that kind of cash coming from the US, Gulati shouldn’t have the same influence as Turks and Caicos (no offense).
Finally, he panicked after the team lost 2 games (against tough opponents) and fired Klinsmann. That’s bad enough, but he compounded the problem by bringing back Bruce Arena (more on him later).
2. Bruce Arena – Head Coach of the US Men’s National Team
I can’t even pretend to be rational on this one. Arena sucks. He’s always sucked. He was the coach from 1998-2006, when he got fired for sucking. I don’t know WHY Gulati thought bringing him back was a good idea. He hates Klinsmann’s German-born players even though they’re really good. Fuck Bruce Arena. I want him gone and I want to know that he’s never coming back.
SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH HIM?
3. The Players
Obviously a lot of the blame must fall on the players, too. Other than our wonderkind Pulisic, they underperformed. There isn’t much that can be done to fix this, other than by the guilty parties listed above.
SO HOW DO WE FEEL ABOUT THE PLAYERS?
Except you, Michael Bradley. You STINK!!
That’s it. Did I just fix US Soccer? Of course I did. But we still won’t be going to Russia next year. Now that we don’t have anyone to root for at the next World Cup, we get to pick teams to root against: Russia and Mexico are obvious choices, and it’s always fun when England falls apart.
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