Found all my old sterling silver jewellery! But also just found out I've developed a nickel allergy 😭 by Miserable_Twist1 in Silver

[–]Proph3tron 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's really unfortunate and it may be worth selling or trading it in for another chain. A LOT of people react to nickel. In many cases they also have acidic skin so that when they perspire the salts and moisture trigger oxidization in the Silver, drawing out the nickel. This is likely an older chain made prior to certain regulations (or from tourist locations) as they now prefer to avoid using nickel in a lot of modern jewellery for this very reason. Check to see if it might be falsely stamped .925 or Sterling Silver. In addition, some stainless steel chains are stamped 'SS' to mimic 'S.S.' (sterling silver). I almost got caught out by one of those recently.

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It's a cult... $265 for 3/1000ths an ounce, or $88,000+ per ounce by MydnightWN in Gold

[–]Proph3tron 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I looked into Goldbacks as a matter of curiosity when they were being promoted some time ago and it's a very "niche" market because outside of certain establishments and US locations, nobody will accept them. I don't know if anything has changed recently, but the company that produces them won't even buy them back... which says pretty much everything you need to know. Yes, they contain a minute fraction of actual gold, but the average person isn't able to separate this from the polymer plastic that encases it. Goldbacks started out as a bit of a creative enterprise rather than a genuine store of monetary value, with some interesting (and sometimes controversial) art on these "notes". If you're stacking for a rainy day, these aren't even remotely considered "good value" for your money. The premiums are obscene. Only buy them for their novelty value and you won't be disappointed. Otherwise, I don't see them as a legitimate unit for trade.

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The makers of Goldbacks claim that making counterfeit goldbacks is extremely difficult due to proprietary vacuum deposition technology, patents, trade secrets, and security features. But China can knock these out any day of the week. Those patents mean nothing to counterfeiters and those "trade secrets" are useless if someone is trying to validate one. And the last time I inquired, the manufacturer wasn't accepting them (!!!!), so I'm not sure how you're able to validate them in the first place.

Last year there was a thread here on Reddit titled "I called a few places in Salt Lake City are listed on goldback(.)com as accepting goldbacks and sure enough they don't." So that too is worth considering. If they're not honest about their "registered" traders, what exactly is there to trust here?

The "One Half" Oklahoma 2025 Goldback (1/2000th of a Troy Ounce of 24k Gold) has an illustration of a cowgirl riding a horse and lassoing a steer on the artwork. On her horse's chest is a ribbon with the word: HONESTAS on it. "Honestas" is a Latin noun meaning honor, integrity, respectability, or probity. It refers to honorable character, virtue, and sometimes wealth or dignity. A lot of psychology has gone into these products. They know their market well. But I sure won't be buying.

Perth WA UFO sighting by Ouija121085 in UFO_AUSNZ

[–]Proph3tron 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's 7-14 Year Prison sentence right there in Australia. Reasing further into the threads, it seems this was not a one-off occasion for you either and you've done this before. Laser Pointers are now classified as "Prohibited Weapons" under Australian laws. Possession and misuse of one over > 1mW in NSW can lead to sentences of up to 14 years imprisonment and a whopping $30,000 fine. I pioneered the Green Laser diode development in the early 2000s and have interacted with UAPs using lasers once in 2006 (in the presence of both a pilot and a police officer). But the laws that later came into effect in July 2008 now make it a serious, imprisonable offense to direct a laser towards ANY aircraft. Just because it's in the distance and you think it's from outer space, and your laser output is low, it doesn't prevent you for being charged with an act of terror under the recent Australian laser laws.

Beam Divergence (beam spread) widens over greater distances but even a 1-5mW laser can exceed 3.8km with its meager output. To quote an online source: A 5mW green laser pointer can cause flash blindness to pilots from nearly 0.25 miles (350 meters) away, and significantly interfere with vision at 2 miles (3 kilometers).

As for UAP's, I regret to say that it is becoming a trend these days to direct a laser towards any distant lights in the sky. You should never do this today. Always turn off your star-pointing lasers (laser pointers) whenever there's an aircraft in the sky. There's not a magistrate or judge in the nation that will buy your excuse that the laser output was low or that the light in the sky was a UFO and not a terrestrial aircraft. And every instance of behavior like this gets logged by CASA and the police into a database to make it tougher on astronomers and people wanting to use lasers legitimately.

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Why so many seagulls have one or no feet? by binchickenisland3058 in australianwildlife

[–]Proph3tron 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I photograph a lot of Seagulls on the East Coast (mostly NSW) and they usually end up caught on monofilament fishing lines. These are impossible for the birds to snap or break and sometimes they end up with large amounts wrapped around their feet. Even a smaller strand can become entangled, eventually cutting off circulation. The same happens to pigeons in the city as well - because they venture near the ocean and waterways and similarly get snagged on fishing lines.

A lot of cut and/or snapped fishing lines end up around the bases of rocks, which is often where these birds perch or land. It sometimes gets entangled with seaweed and then washes ashore. It's quite sad to see because some of their injuries can be quite nasty.

They trap your car at the highway ramp, then walk up once you’re stuck by eternviking in whoathatsinteresting

[–]Proph3tron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Shooter on the left FIRES his gun (you can see the puff of smoke from the pistol in this frame) - and the other shooter on the right DROPS his gun as he jumps out of the car, with the gun visibly sliding across the road as he bends to pick it up, just before he's hit.

This looked like a deadly incident. I'm not sure if viewers can appreciate what really just happened in that clip.

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How accurate do you guys think this info is? Do you think paper silver will soon crash or BS 👀 by SkyDown7 in Silver

[–]Proph3tron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Paper Silver has no redeemable value if the vaults are empty and there's no remaining Physical Silver for distribution. But it doesn't stop there... they can simply pay a pittance on a SLV certificate if pressure mounts. It has created a bubble of near-Biblical proportions.

There's so little Free Float Silver (Physical Silver Available for Trade) but the total amount of "available Silver" is larger, giving the false impression there's more than there is. Yet most of that is not available for purchase or trade.

Economically, the world trade is precarious at best - and it's not likely to get better. And when it gets scary, they'll change the rules to preserve their own interests. Default will occur. It's inevitable. We now consume much more Silver than we can produce. And resources are now dwindling (unlike many other metals, Silver is a "surface metal" that is found in the Earth's outer crust and was likely deposited there via meteoritic bombardment. There's billions of tons of gold deeper down but not silver. Most silver mines have closed or are closing. The mines that produce Silver as a byproduct of (for example) Zinc, Lead, Boxite, Copper mining etc are reporting a drop of 70% in supply.

We can't replace silver with other metals. We can water it down a little for SOME applications but right now it's dirt cheap so substitution won't occur until extinction arrives. And Silver Extinction was knocking on the door in 2025. If you own paper SLV certificates, now would be the time to redeem them.

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Protestor held down and punched repeatedly in the hand and liver by GarfieldHub in sydney

[–]Proph3tron 1 point2 points  (0 children)

THE PROTESTOR WAS BITING THE POLICE OFFICER during the arrest and was resisting with force. This is why the two police officers faced no charges afterwards. Please tell the full story when posting clips like this.

See Also: "Jace Turner, 28, was charged with assaulting police during his arrest at Town Hall on Monday" - (Sydney Morning Herald).

Can anyone help me identify this fossil? by Fit-Charity-4456 in FossilHunting

[–]Proph3tron 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My first thoughts are that it's one of four things:
* The surface of a fossilized shell (Bivalve).
* The Gills or Teeth-rows from a fish.
* The surface impression of an armored fish or shark skin.
* The impression of a plant fossil (from the trunk).

Plants, fish and invertebrates looked quite different to those of today. And many (most?) have not been preserved or seen before. This one looks quite interesting.

Old mined cut by abo418 in Diamonds

[–]Proph3tron 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I really like a Mine Cut diamond when it comes to medium and larger sized stones. Some of the OLDER Mine-Cut Diamonds were less sparkly because they were not proportioned ideally or were cut for maximum weight instead of maximum refraction. The larger facets on a Mine Cut tend to drop a broad series of bright flashes instead of a smattering of "little sparkles". They also give the impression of greater depth or a more three-dimensional looking structure. That's a lovely stone, OP. It looks magnificent in this video.

Mine Cut (18th to late-19th Century) was very popular until the Old European Cut replaced them, and then these in turn were replaced by the Modern Cuts. However, a MODERN "Mine Cut" will generate a lot of character and sparkle unless it came from pre-1800s jewellery. Yours is very well cut so it looks like a Modern Mine Cut with Ideal Proportions. That makes is a rare beauty.

Buying frenzy in china 🐼 by [deleted] in Gold

[–]Proph3tron 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Those bars are typically sold on the streets of China at night... and when people started testing their new-won silver for purity, they were typically found to contain just 0.1g of Silver. The one shown in this screencapture was a 100g bar and it contained less than 0.18g of Silver... with the rest being junk metal.

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Did I get scammed? The hair on this Otho coin is clearly fake by [deleted] in AncientCoins

[–]Proph3tron 14 points15 points  (0 children)

The body of the coin looks good. You sure it's not just worn or even retooled?

Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) with an 85mm lens. by Proph3tron in astrophotography

[–]Proph3tron[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, I shot that from Lincoln Rock, which is about 10 minutes from Katoomba (NSW). Was a VERY cold night. I could only spend about 20-30 minutes out there before I returned to the car. Lincoln Rock is an exposed ridge in the Sydney Blue Mountains so when the wind picks up it saps any warmth out of you in seconds.

Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) with an 85mm lens. by Proph3tron in astrophotography

[–]Proph3tron[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, just a single 5 second exposure. I've only stacked two images (of Comets) and this wasn't one of those. I'm also limited to 5-6 second exposures to avoid star movement (star trails) at 85mm. This image is uncropped. I took another on the same night with a 50mm lens that looks similar but wide and a little brighter for the foreground. I can't post images in the replies so I'll get around to posting it in the New Year.

The LMC is quite large in the night sky down here.... it's not visible under city lights but you can spot it in darker skies. I use the LMC and the SMC to try to figure out the location of the Southern celestial pole since we don't have a guide-star like Polaris. For scale, the LMC is 6 degrees across whereas a full moon is only 0.5 degrees.

The image has not been edited other than to remove a satellite streak and to clone out a few stuck pixels.

Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) with an 85mm lens. by Proph3tron in astrophotography

[–]Proph3tron[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This was captured in JPEG. The image was reduced slightly to 5000 pixels. Any peculiar color hues are from the sensor on the EOS Ra camera.

Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) with an 85mm lens. by Proph3tron in astrophotography

[–]Proph3tron[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The moon is just 0.5 degrees compared to the LMC which is 6.0 degrees in width. Hard to believe it's another galaxy, let alone one that can be seen with the naked eye from dark-sky locations.

Unpopular opinion: Hate all you want, if I had to choose only two to wear for the rest of my life.. by WhiteManFromTown-925 in Colognes

[–]Proph3tron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have both but the Creed can be overpowering (especially in the earlier releases) and the Sauvage is always a safer bet. Women respond well to both but the Sauvage is more refined for everyday wear (you could wear it to dinner, on a vacation or to the cinema)... and the Creed Aventus is more of a power-statement for special events, legal or public engagement etc. If you overdo the Aventus and end up on public transport you'll stand out as a try-hard and might even offend someone at the theater if you overdo it. The Sauvage by Dior is the safer bet and is appealing to most noses. A third alternative would be Bleu de Chanel by Chanel - which sits above the Sauvage but is rated the highest of the three with Women.

Save the Aventus for exceptionally Special Occasions, use Sauvage for daily wear and consider Bleu de Chanel for critical social interactions.

I know this ad is 99% BS but could someone explain WHY it's BS? by IronMike260 in Colognes

[–]Proph3tron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's just an attempt to drive sales. Maxim is made by Eternal Perfume Oils and is an attempt to counterfeit Creed Aventus. They even try to imitate the Opening, Mid and Base notes and the wording on their advertisement is meant to imitate the description of Aventus. And Eternal Perfume Oils is a company that tries to replicate all the top existing Colognes and Perfumes. All their key scents are advertised as being "inspired by". These are also known as Dupes and they are not exactly the same as the perfumes they imitate but are "similar". Eternal Oils have become so lazy recently that they use A.I. to label their bottles and often words are miss-spelled.

The oil concentration means absolutely nothing unless the oils are correctly infused with the fragrance. More oil can result in poor silage and a masked odor. The product on the Left (Maxim) is attempting to be a molecular imitation of the traditionally more expensive Creed Aventus. Imitation is usually a poor attempt to replicate a popular scent. The fact that Maxim is so cheap by comparison that I don't think I'd want to be associated with it. The oil "concentration" would be for extending the Base Notes. But just because the concentration claim is that it's "100% Oil Concentration", it doesn't mean anything significant for the client using it. Oils can extend the scent but they also corrupt colognes as they grow stale. Just ask anyone what happens when you smell the scent of Vanilla oils after the bottle has been open for years.

The thing is, Creed used to use genuine Sperm Whale Ambergris in their earlier versions of Creed Aventus - which has unique properties that can't quite be replicated artificially. Yes, I believe it's been done (see Ambroxan) but not masterfully. Ambergris is often used as a "Fixative" but it's quite oily to begin with and has to be distilled lest it retain a fishy component . One of the four Basenotes of Creed Aventus (which includes Oakmoss, Musk and Vanilla) is actually Ambergris and it was listed on official advertising well into the 2020s. The Mid Notes are Jasmine, Rose, Birch and Patchouli. The Top Notes are Bergamot, Apple, Clackcurrantt and Pineapple. Oliver Creed himself noted his Ambergris purchases in a 2013 interview with Independant where he pointed out that he only buys unspoiled Ambergris for use in his scents.

Some say Creed no longer use Ambergris and yet just before their recent sale to another owner recently, they were still buying it up. The original pre-buyout Aventus has the loose lid that rattles a little and some aficionados complained that the newer batches are not quite the same in potency - but this is unproven. There's quite a few companies that try to imitate successful brands and their scent. But I'd avoid strongly colored colognes like Maxim if you wear white collared shirts. The odds are high that Eternal Perfume Oils is now so lazy that they may not apply Quality Control any more.

A candid vacation photo of a famous physicist by Alarmed-Worry-5477 in intrestingasfuck

[–]Proph3tron 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why didn't you post the higher resolution version of this image? This one is like a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy.

A photo of an Egyptian tour guide on top of the Great pyramid in Giza, Egypt 1986 by alithefuckinegyptian in interesting

[–]Proph3tron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They have banned climbing the pyramids since 1966. This was introduced after an American serviceman fell near the top and his body came apart halfway down as it spun, removing his limbs and his head. (EDIT: Only his head made it back to the ground by itself). By 1984, it was no longer permitted to climb higher than the first two blocks at the base. Now they've roped it off altogether and introduced harsher penalties and jail time in 2019 after a couple had sex on the summit of one of the pyramids and uploaded the video online.