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| Santa Cruz Mountain chain along the coast of north-central California |
Why do massive mountains and relatively small mountains usually look so similar in elevation?
This is one of those questions which one occasionally ponders over, but is afraid to ask! Often mountains which are over 4,000 feet in elevation appear--when gazing at their peaks--quite similar to smaller mountains of about 1,500 feet in elevation. The larger part of the answer is very simple. A person can forget that when looking at many huge mountains, they are already viewing them from a high elevation; whereas when viewing the small mountain peaks from sea level, they both may appear at about the same elevation in our perception.
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| The skyline of Denver, with stunning Rocky Mountain peaks in the background |
A mile is 5,280 feet, therefore Denver, Colorado was built upon a mile high plateau. Lake Tahoe is at 6,234 feet elevation. The level of elevation in which a person views something will affect how something in the distance will appear. I live at about 500 feet elevation, and it does appear like a big drop when looking outward and down at sea level. The skyline of San Francisco appears small, although it's highest buildings are at higher elevation. The buildings themselves appear small at this distance and from this elevation. However, when looking at the skyline from about 1,000 feet (up on the trail beyond where I live), the buildings appear at least twice as large! The nearby peak of San Bruno Mountain is 1,319 feet elevation, taller than the tallest building in San Francisco (the Salesforce Tower is 1,070 feet).
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| Mt. Kilimanjaro in tropical central Africa |
Mt. Kilimanjaro's peak is 19,341 feet elevation. That is nearly four miles high! However, from the above picture, it merely appears "big," and with a simple ice-domed landscape. This is also a false perception. The surrounding landscape must be at a high elevation as well. Although the mountain appears simple in it's landscape from that angle, when a person is walking upon it, 90% of the time they can't even see the surrounding countryside. They're so immersed in it's environment of ice and snow along the rolling hills of it's high plateau, that if a person were blindfolded and flown to the area and dropped off on top, they might think they're in Alaska. It's so massive that there's no possible way to correctly perceive it's dimensions and size by the above view from that distance. Even with small mountains, there could be small groves to trees all about them, but this would not be visible from a distance. It might only look like grass and shrub. Within those groves of trees, one could get the feeling that they're in a flatland forest for certain stretches.
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“Your actions and your thoughts are dictating your future.”
-- Wes Watson
Wes Watson is an ex-con who has become something of a self-help guru for tough guys on YouTube. He uses more four letter words than Tony Montana. He even used one at the end of the above quote which I took off. This great concept is nothing new. I first heard it from Tony Robbins years ago, and many others have their own version of it. There's a such thing as quote-overload, but this one can be almost priceless.
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"What we give to the poor is what we take with us when we die"
-- William Peter Blatty
Actually that quote was from the text of the novel 'The Exorcist'. I believe that it was based on a quote by Peter Maurin (1877-1949), who apparently was some type of French Cathloic socialist activist: "What we give to the poor for Christ's sake, is what we carry with us when we die." I don't believe it's all just so simple. I think there is a type of karmic merit and demerit. I once gave $25 to a donation for a little girl in NYC who had some type of muscle disease where she needed braces to walk, and was traveling to Poland for treatment. The electrical treatment was not yet licensed in the U.S. I donated this at a time when I would have had a good case in saying that I couldn't afford it. I suppose I received a karmic token for that.
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Down 'n Dirty (2000) | Full Movie | Fred Williamson | Bubba Smith | Gary Busey
39,616 views - July 16, 2021
Films 4 You
Dakota Smith is an experienced policeman with a problem: his partner was shot dead, and corrupt cops are responsible. Dak's investigation leads him to widespread corruption in the department, as well as a corrupt district attorney. Smith finds an unlikely ally in timid photographer Nick Gleem. While Gleem unearths clues about the bad guys, Dak fends off attacks on his own life. While he's not in gun battles with these local villains, divorced father Dak has no shortage of lady friends to keep him happy.
Director: Fred Williamson
Writer: Aubrey K. Rattan
Starring: Fred Williamson, Bubba Smith, Gary Busey
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| An 83 year old action film star? |
This is one of my fave "good" bad movies! This movie is puuure Fred "The Hammer" Williamson ego! A friend once told me after watching it: "It had no plot!" He's made well over a hundred films mostly outside of Hollywood, so he's only a household name in B-film circles, martial art fim circles, or in Europe. A legend in some circles, sort've like Mel Novak. Also, the film is stocked with veteran actors "his age" that he takes on, such as Tony LoBianco and Gary Busey. If you're 63, you can't be taking on anyone under 40 or so!
Also, cops--even detectives--never operate like lone-wolves such as is depicted here. It was almost as if he was just paid to walk and drive around, hang out, be cool, ask some questions, and have some skirmishes with some of those aged strawman bad guys. He didn't even use a standard issued police handgun, but carried a fancy Israeli-made 44 magnum "Desert Eagle" revolver. He has played this "Dakota Smith" character numerous times over the years. All in pure ego driven films where he wastes the bad guys and literally drives off on a motorcycles with the pretty girl at the end.
He's 83 years old now, and will begin filming yet another Dakota Smith film either later this year or early next year. He actually has, at his age, eight acting roles in films that he's going to start filming soon! This man literally believes that he is a living legend right along with Muhammad Ali. In fact, he has said that Ali got his ideas from him and his antics as football player. He went on one of those paranormal programs last year and told an account of when he was in Rome, that he had powerful flashback visions while walking by the Colosseum of him in a previous life as a gladiator. When it comes to ego films, I think he's got Burt Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, and Sylvester Stallone beat. One thing that is true is that he was probably the first really famous "hard-hitting safety" in pro football.
ATOMIC EDEN (2021) David vs. Goliath Clip | Fred “The Hammer” Williamson Action Thriller Movie
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44 Magnum Desert Eagle
Apparently this 44 magnum is so powerful that it can kill a 600 pound grizzly bear; presumably with a direct shot in a vital area. The above is a standard Desert Eagle, but there are different models; some rather fancy. The cost of a .50 caliber magnum is anywhere from $1,500 to $2,200, depending on the model.
The custom made one to the right with the light blue hexwave grip really caught my eye. Looking at this revolver, I wonder how and why so many home robbers even take the chance? If they broke in and say the owner had this in her hand, it's... over! It's too bad that Ted Bundy, Samuel Little, Gary Ridgway, Rodney Alcala, or Richard Ramirez didn't meet up with a 44 Magnum Desert Eagle.
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Magic and Demons | John MacArthur | 1973
Timesless_teachings
John MacArthur of Grace Community church in Sun Valley California in 1973. Grace to You!
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More from John MacArthur's soapbox
In the above audio from 1973, the Pastor John MacArthur really outdoes himself; everything is "The Devil." Below are a few other examples of the not-so-tolerant long-time Evangelical preacher from southern California.
The Damning Power of False Religion (John 5:1–16)
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The Virgin Mary as the Goddess Diana
Aside from his denunciation, this is one area where basically Pastor MacArthur is factually correct.
Pastor John MacArthur: Exposing The Idolatry of Mary Worship p1o4
Pastor John MacArthur: Exposing The Idolatry of Mary Worship p2o4
Pastor John MacArthur: Exposing The Idolatry of Mary Worship p3o4
Pastor John MacArthur: Exposing The Idolatry of Mary Worship p4o4
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The Pastor finally spilling the beans
Pastor MacArthur somewhat sarcastically criticizing the "progressive" Christian Charismatic Movement, while divulging what his believes is the answer for the world. In other words, if you just omit the words "Charismatic Movement," he is just simply confessing his dream for the world.
"If the Charismatic Movement was being produced by the Holy Spirit, the glory of Christ would prevail everywhere. It would be Christ dominated, and everyone in the movement would be bowing the knee to the true Christ in belief of the true Gospel. The people would be humble. They would be joyful. They would be sacrificial. They would be confessional. They would be declaring Jesus as Lord, and themselves his slaves."
-- Pastor John MacArthur, 'Testing the Spirits', 2013
Source: Testing the Spirits (John MacArthur) (Selected Scriptures)
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We don't see ourselves as slaves to a cosmic dictator. Our deities are seen as a part of our family clan. Maybe a little bit like a parental figure in some cases.
The very worst type of religious dynamic is one where its fanatical followers live vicariously through their monotheistic god, and simply will not tolerate anyone who ignores them. Their collective-narcissistic ego is flexed through their god.
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Olivia Newton-John - A Little More Love (1978)
1,352,775 views
retroj25
Promo video for Olivia's classic track from the 1978 album "Totally Hot".
This was one of three promo videos made for this song ... it is the rarest and I think the best !
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