A little background before we start.. I am a partner at ForTheWeb.com, but I also own my own design studio (no website - gasp) and do jewelry / CAD design over at Images Jewelers..
I came back from lunch today to my office at Images to see some mail sitting on my desk.. It’s addressed to our PO Box in San Jose for ForTheWeb.. My office at Images is in Elkhart, Indiana.. Now I have to ask you, why would a mailman in Elkhart, IN., know to deliver a letter addressed to ForTheWeb in San Jose, CA.?? And when he made that delivery, didn’t he think it was a bit strange that it didn’t even have my name on it, just ForTheWeb??
I’ve had neighbor’s mail misdelivered, I’ve had mail totally unrelated to me misdelivered.. But what are the odds that a misdelivery in Indiana would find the one person here that would know where the mail “should” have gone??
I think I need a new tin foil hat.. This one doesn’t seem to be working any more..
The Templar Meridians by William F. Mann is an interesting, if dry, book that goes in to some detail about what exactly the Templar treasure was.. In Mann’s opinion the true treasure of the Templars was knowledge.. Knowledge of navigation and metalurgy more than anything else..
The Templars relearned lost knowledge when they occupied Solomon’s temples.. They aquired the ability to travel great distances, across oceans, with a great degree of accuracy.. Enough accuracy that it was quite possible for them to travel back and forth between Europe and what would become Canada as early as the 1350s.. Yes, more than 100 years before the fabled adventure of Columbus.. This ability to travel back and forth gave the Templars, and many that followed them, access to the great wealth of North America, iron ores, gold, silver, and much more.. This was their true wealth in the opinion of Mann..
The book goes a long way toward tieing loose threads together with documented acheological information, painting, writings, and a whole lot of “if”.. I’m a firm believer that there were quite a few visitors to the North Americas long before the Columbus “discovery”, but Mann puts a lot of effort in to making the argument that North America was intended to become the new Jerusalem.. This is where I have trouble following the book and the strong scent of “if” starts to roll off of it..
All in all it’s a good read, but as I said, a bit dry.. If you are a fan of the Templars and exploration of the new world, you may find the ties between the Templars, the Masons, and the new and old worlds raised by this book entertaining..
The end of the cold war may finally be here as the hot wars are getting hotter.. It has been announced that the cost overruns and the lack of performance of updated early warning systems and various communications devices have finally forced the Air Force to relocate to an above ground facility at Peterson AFB..
The base will not be entirely closed, it will be put into a standby mode with minimal functionality until needed again.. Like many major military installations I see this simply a measure to appease local politicians to maintain some level economic contribution to the areas.. I’m sure that I’m wrong, but I’ve seen so many base closings and restructuring of units with the ‘intention’ of them being in standby only to never be used again and eventually shut down after more millions are poured in to them..
I’m all for military spending.. In fact I would support more military spending if it were up to me.. But I am always disappointed to see these types of things happen.. A decision needs to be made and stood by when it comes to impostant decisions like base closures.. Close the base.. Don’t waste millions maintaining a location that will never be used again.. It serves little military value any more.. Close it.. Weld the doors shut.. Or better yet, weld them open, take out the top secret material and make it a tourist attraction.. I’d pay $20 to go through it..
Or even better, finally admit that Stargate SG-1 is a documentary and tell us about the Asgard..
