Tag archive: Panacea

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Asteroid Sleuth: The Case of the Battered Buggy

On 5 February 2024, Samantha Jo Petersen, 34, was indicted on 21 counts relating to an accident that occurred the previous September, when Petersen crashed her car into an Amish buggy in southeast Minnesota, killing two children and seriously wounding two others.  Petersen, high on meth and texting at the time, tried to switch roles with her twin sister Sarah, fearing jail time.  The charges include vehicular homicide and driving under the influence.  Killed in the September 25th crash were Irma Miller, 11, and her sister Wilma, 7.

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Aster-Obit: David Crosby

On 18 January 2022, music fans across the globe were saddened to hear of the death of singer/songwriter David Crosby, a leading light of the American music scene in the 1960s and ‘70s.  As a founding member of popular groups, the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash, David Crosby’s music became the soundtrack of many peoples’ lives during the turbulent period, with such mega-hits as “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!”  Crosby passed at the age of 81 after a long illness, with cause of death undisclosed as of this writing.

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Home for the Holidays: Brittney Griner’s Harrowing Russian Adventure

WNBA star Brittney Griner’s unexpected release from Russian custody on December 8th, after almost ten months in detention for a drug trafficking violation, sent waves of relief through family, friends and fandom.  Griner had been arrested February 17, 2022 on smuggling charges after customs authorities found vaporizer cartridges containing less than a gram of hash oil in her luggage.  Griner had a prescription for medical marijuana use from the state of Arizona, but all forms of the drug are illegal in Russia.

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RIP Emmett

On April 4, 2022, a dear feline friend, Emmett, passed away.  Emmett was the daughter of Embers, my cat Ashes’ sister, and thus her niece and a close relation, part of our extended family.  She was fur baby to my longtime friend, former landlord and cat rescue partner John Mignone, and is survived by her sister Maxine.  Emmette passed of complications from failing kidneys due to hyperthyroidism.

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The 2022 Winter Olympics

As the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing begin to wind down, let’s take a quick look back at memorable moments from the competition.  A chart set for the opening ceremonies (8 PM local time, 4 February 2022, Beijing, China) shows an exact conjunction of the Sun with Saturn at 15 Aquarius, pulling focus (Sun) to acknowledged masters and top achievers (Saturn) in their fields, in a quest for professional (Saturn again) recognition (Sun).

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The Aaron Rodgers Vaccination Controversy

On Wednesday, November 3, 2021, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19, sparking a controversy over his previously unrevealed unvaccinated status.  Rodgers had earlier described himself as “immunized” for the coronavirus, parsing his words carefully so as not to expose his actual vaccination refusal.  The NFL superstar experienced COVID symptoms Tuesday, and tested positive the following day, triggering a mandatory 10-day suspension from play.

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