My global audience for the past 6 months

 

Extraterrestrial amino acids from the Murchison meteorite and their possible uses (HMT - hexamethylenetetramine as the precursor)

Original paper:  Extraterrestrial hexamethylenetetramine in meteorites—a precursor of prebiotic chemistry in the inner solar system

Diagram from here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20038-x?fromPaywallRec=false

All nine alien (forgive the hyperbole) amino acids contain a complex ring structure with four nitrogen atoms. 

In my dictionary of important organic compounds, I noted that similar molecules containing only CHNO with only four nitrogen atoms include: pentamidine, telmisartan, irinotecan, rifampicin, vinblastine, and others.

https://platedlizard.blogspot.com/2023/11/dictionary-of-useful-organic-compounds_11.html

The aforementioned compounds are mostly either antifungals or antibiotics derived from fungi, yet their chemical structures are totally different from the alien amino acids. 

It would be worthwhile to see what medicinal purposes these alien amino acids and related compounds might have. HMT (was discovered in 1859 by Butlerov and an industrial process for its synthesis exists.

While some medical uses of HMT are known (it has been used to treat urinary tract infections), I do not think the properties of its amino acid cousins have been studied to the same extent. 

Hired Raygun - part 7

I could go on forever about what happened out there, but since life is short, I'll skip to the end. 142 and I fought side by side in many more battles in our perilous journey across the stars. He, my best friend, died horribly. We were fighting our way out of the digestive tract of a gigantic alien beast when he stumbled into a pool of its gastric juices. He was dissolved alive while I frantically tried to pull him to safety. When my mind told me he was dead and gone, I flew into a berserker rage and shot my way out of the monster's guts with my machine gun and a few warp grenades.

When I got back to the ship, I got a brain scan from the psychologist machine and was found to be unfit for further service. Thus, I was quickly discharged and unceremoniously dumped like a bag of trash at the interstellar spaceport from which I came.

At least my brother was there to pick me up. Since he was a military test pilot, our family agreed he should be the first human I met once I got back to earth.

We didn't say much as we drove home, but he read my mind. We stopped at a late-night diner. When I got out of the car, I couldn't help but look up at the stars. The sky will always be my favorite souvenir.

My Facebook page - WAY MORE POPULAR THAN MY BLOG

 Check it out! You won't be disappointed. 

(20+) Facebook

A collapse in my online dating popularity

What goes up must come down. After 14 years of online dating, I'm now qualified to be a tour guide in hell.

From January:

From last week:

The Idiot Presidents of My Lifetime

I'll start with Reagan, who took office a few years after I was born. I wonder how many people my age know he co-starred with a chimp in a movie called Bedtime For Bonzo.

link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVd5xiA8_QY

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall...after I get done making a movie with a monkey!"

Since the advent of TV, Americans have consistently voted for the man I'll call the Homer Simpson Candidate for lack of a better term. In the US, stupid people have been more popular since about 1960. 

Granted, Homer's antics are fun to watch, but would anyone actually want to be his neighbor or coworker? Most likely not, yet Americans by the tens of millions want men like Homer to be the commander in chief.

Why does Bill Clinton wear boxers? To keep his ankles warm. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeXGnSpjgNM

He also did NOT have sex with that woman...but turns out he did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aGbdni7QNs

Good grief, how stupid do you have to be to get caught cheating? And his is idiot wife stuck with him anyway! Hence her unpopularity in less permissive cultures:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjCv_JpZVQY

Below is a picture of George W Bush dressed as a cheerleader at a private high school. He is 4th from the left. Perhaps if he had spent some time studying there and elsewhere, he would not have been forced to order the shootdown of Flight 93 or authorized the invasion of the wrong country, Iraq.

It's a shame he went into politics instead of simply living for pleasure as most spoiled, dumb rich kids do. Hundreds of thousands of people would still be alive. 

Yeah, I bet you do you fucking war criminal. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNSQgZGhJkE

On to The Big Zero, Captain Noodle Arms. Behold his grimace and he struggles to lift monstrous 1-pound dumbbells. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0mTVax2-1w

The female anchor's reaction is priceless:

She goes on to say "I think I use heavier weights". Yes, my dear, our president is a pathetic weakling. But don't worry, he's very, very smart, as seen below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhVgTn2WEqI

2 years later, Russia annexed Crimea. Speaking of which...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiMDmtcQEEM

Well kids, that's all you get. READ A BOOK!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1uc7ohS7cU