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Are we alone in the universe?

ARE WE ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE?

The Kepler space mission has produced data that suggests that “based upon the number of M-class stars in the galaxy, that alone represents about 10 billion potentially habitable, Earth-like worlds.”  Our sun is a G-class star.  M-class stars are fainter, cooler stars called “Red Dwarfs.”  To understand the conditions on a planet circling a Red Dwarf, refer to my post here.  Meanwhile, today’s question is “Are we alone in the universe?” Ten billion worlds.  That’s a lot.  Of course, that number is the top end.  Let’s dig into the...

Artificial Intelligence (SWOT)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (SWOT)

Vladimir Putin on artificial intelligence: “The one who becomes the leader in this sphere will be the ruler of the world.” Artificial intelligence (AI) is something that (to me) has floated around for quite a few years, when all of a sudden, in the last twelve months or so it has crashed in the midst of us with a heavy thud.  Now, it is everywhere.  I think the proverbial cup started overflowing with ChatGPT and the use of AI in computer graphics,...

Via appia in Italy. The breadcrumbs trail in Romans

THE BREADCRUMB TRAIL IN ROMANS

The featured photo in this post is a famous road in Italy called the Via Appia or sometimes the Appia Antica. The road you see in the photo is the same as it looked when Caesar rode on it. In fact, the road was built (in 312 B.C.) by Roman civil engineers before Caesar’s grandfather was even born. It ran from Rome 162 miles (261 km) to Tarentum (now Taranto.) The flagstones in the photo were carefully chosen and placed by...

Your spiritual needs as you get older

YOUR SPIRITUAL NEEDS AS YOU GET OLDER

Early this morning well before sunrise, I had a period of sleeplessness. I had time to reflect on how I have been feeling, on upcoming appointments with my cardiologist, my urological oncologist, podiatrist, physical therapist and so on. I should mention that I’m six months beyond my seventy-fourth birthday. Or, as Jack Benny might have said, “I just celebrated the fortieth anniversary of my thirty-fourth birthday.” This post will examine your spiriual needs as you get older. Knowing when you...

Iroquios equinox

IROQUOIS EQUINOX

The summer is slowly but surely coming to an end in upstate New York.  The birds, chipmunks and squirrels have feasted on the last of the blueberries, strawberries and grapes in our back yard, and even a gentle breeze will dislodge nuts from the black walnut tree.  Sitting outdoors on a summer night in upstate New York is at once both soothing and exhilarating.  Fireflies are everywhere, creating a carnival-like festival of light.  But now the fireflies have disappeared until next June when...

Kepler 16

KEPLER 16

A word about galaxies before I get into Kepler 16.  Our galaxy is called the Milky Way.  There is no technical designation for it because no one discovered it.  It was always there. It is classified as a barred spiral galaxy, which suggests that it is a very mature galaxy.  This is because it takes billions of years for the barrel-like “bar” to appear in the center of the core of the galaxy (see the second illustration beneath to see what a bar looks...

Broken

BROKEN

  • August 24, 2023
  • /
  • Faith

People today behave differently about things than people in the past.  In fact, many words that were familiar only a century ago are a mystery to people today.  Back in the days of the Great Depression, and the years before and after, mothers used to “darn” socks and sweaters.  That meant closing holes in the sock or sweater with a needle and threat.  I remember iron-on patches for the knees of boys’ jeans because the child would wear out the fabric playing.  Tires on a...

Oceans between us

OCEANS BETWEEN US

I like many different forms of music. I enjoy light rap, pop, easy listening, some country, some jazz and a bit of opera, even. But fundamentally, I like rock and roll; U2, the Boss, REM, Journey, Loverboy, Bryan Adams and of course, Bon Jovi. One of my favorite rock bands years ago was Survivor.  They just knew how to rock out.  This was maybe the only group where I liked every single song they did.  They had one song in particular called “Oceans”...

The mysteries of Europa

THE MYSTERIES OF EUROPA

On January 7, 1610, the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei peered at Jupiter through a primitive telescope he had fashioned.  He described what he saw as “three fixed stars, totally invisible by their smallness,“ but over the next few nights, he noticed one more point of light, and that they changed positions.  Moreover, they moved in a direction that was opposite that of the other stars.  He eventually concluded that these were not truly “stars” but were actually four moons of Jupiter and they were subsequently called Io, Ganymede, Callisto and...

What Would Jesus Do?

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?

These are difficult times for our nation, for many reasons.  We know this from public opinion polling, from the lyrics of recent country music songs, from the angst, anger and confusion in people’s eyes.  We know this from the several civil and criminal indictments that have been filed against the previous president. We are inudated with choices, but what would Jesus do? In the worst of times, people will sometimes, perhaps wisely challenge their assumptions.  “What went wrong” they may ask?  People, patriots all...

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