Skip to main content

Posts

THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE FIRE HORSE

 As the USA will be 250 years old on July 4 this year, I asked Google AI, how old is China? Only 76 years old as the People's Republic of China, founded by Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949. As a Unified Imperial State, 2247 years old.  Qin Shi Huang in 221 BC unified the country. However, widely cited figures trace the roots of Chinese civilization back to the semi-mythical Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, starting with the Yellow Emperor around 2698 BC.  Or 2724 years. Dating back to the Shang Dynasty, between 3200 and 3700 years old. Analyzing archeological culture, sites like Liangzhu show complex societies and evidence of rice farming in the Yangtze River valley 8000 years ago.  This was perhaps 2000 years after very early evidence.  So, 10,000 years? Oxford University considers China to be the world's oldest continuous civilization. Watch a video  suggesting wars in ancient China going back to 10,000 BC.  Thus, perhaps 12,000 years old? Then, of c...
Recent posts

TODAY IS PRESIDENTS' DAY

Today is a national holiday for the USA, but let me start with the Winter Olympics, and more specifically how our neighbor to the north is doing, Canada.   President Donald has certainly had his moments so far.   Here is a  status report from  Time  magazine . At one point they were near the bottom in medals earned. Both their women's and men's curling team were accused of cheating, which might be too strong a word for accidentally touching a stone. As of this afternoon, Canada has only 10 medals (one gold), putting them in 10th place. Mind you, when they hosted in Vancouver in 2010, they won 14 golds and topped the world with 26 medals. Their figure skating team has not done much. Their women's hockey team has already lost to the USA, 5-0.  However, there will almost surely be Canada vs U.S. gold medal games for both their men and women teams, so chances remain. And, oh, even with the curling accusations, the Canadian men's curling team is 4-1 in roun...

DO YOU BELIEVE IN EXTRATERRESTRIAL ALIENS?

But first, the  latest Winter Olympics medal count: 1. Norway: 24 Total (11 Gold, 6 Silver, 7 Bronze) 2. Italy: 22 Total (8 Gold, 4 Silver, 10 Bronze) 3. United States: 17 Total (5 Gold, 8 Silver, 4 Bronze) 4. Japan: 17 Total (3 Gold, 5 Silver, 9 Bronze) 5. France: 15 Total (4 Gold, 7 Silver, 4 Bronze) 5. Germany: 15 Total (4 Gold, 6 Silver, 5 Bronze) 7. Austria: 13 Total (4 Gold, 6 Silver, 3 Bronze) 8. Sweden: 11 Total (5 Gold, 5 Silver, 1 Bronze) 8. Netherlands: 11 Total (5 Gold, 5 Silver, 1 Bronze) 10. Switzerland: 9 Total (4 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze) 10. Canada: 9 Total (1 Gold, 3 Silver, 5 Bronze) 12. South Korea: 5 Total (1 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze) 12. Australia: 5 Total (3 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze) 14. Czech Republic: 4 Total (2 Gold, 2 Silver, 0 Bronze) 14. China: 4 Total (0 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze) 16. Great Britain: 3 Total (3 Gold, 0 Silver, 0 Bronze) 16. Slovenia: 3 Total (2 Gold, 1 Silver, 0 Bronze) 16. Poland: 3 Total (0 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze) 16. Finland: 3 Tota...

THE 2026 WINTER OLYMPICS....Plus some BASEBALL

Baseball for men and softball for women just started their seasons, softball a week ago.  I don't really cover these sports in this blog, and there is little general interest from the general public compared to football and basketball.   I do, though, regularly field fantasy Major League Baseball fantasy teams, and will again this year.  However, the season begins in an unusual fashion this time, featuring the New York Yankees against the San Francisco Giants in a night game on March 25, the earliest start in league history.  Netflix will stream the game also to its international audience.  However, you can still watch it on your home station if you don't subscribe to Netflix. Then, the traditional Opening Day follows on Thursday, March 26, with all teams in action. All-Star Game on July 14 in Philadelphia, beginning of the postseason on September 29 and World series on October 23. The Los Angeles Dodgers are heavy favorites to win the World Series.  A...