hmmm.. the little things

There once was a man from Nantucket who had a.... wait.. can't do that here.

Life is interesting don't you think? It's funny how little things that happen you don't put much weight in them just to find out that those little things have a big impact on people. Some say it may be karma or fate or a grand design or maybe just coincidence.

Take for example a man back in the early days of this country is heading out west on his horse. He gets hungry and pulls out an apple as he makes his way across the rolling hills and open country. He gets done eating that apple and just tosses it aside. Several years later a small family is making their way through the Great West and having planned poorly are out of food. The young children are crying from hunger. They happen along this apple tree in the middle of nowhere. Seeing it as a blessing they pick as many apples as they need. Once getting their fill and loading some on their wagon they move on. Several more years go by and a man making his way into the West sees this small grove of apple trees. He picks a few and heads over the rise to see a very large stand of apple trees. Taking a minute and being a cunning businessman stakes ownership of that land and all the apple trees that are there. Over the years the man becomes rich from selling his apples, cider and other apple products to the hoards of people coming to the west to settle. Generations later the same company now sells apple juice and apples to people worldwide.

See it's the little things you do that count. Not the big blow out things or grandiose presents or the big things that you do wrong. It's the little things. A simple act of eating an apple and tossing the core aside can save a families life or even start a grand company. Do you think the man on the horse had any idea how his little action would have such a big impact?

People in general don’t take the time anymore to look or think about how what they do can impact others around them whether they know those people or not. What you do today can affect people you don’t even know for generations in the future.

The Governments of the world need to step back and think about that. Instead of thinking about “How am I going to get re-elected next term?” “What groups do I need to woo to get the votes I need?” “What pork project do I need to throw into a war bill so I can get funding for a project in my home town?” and took the time and said “How is this going to impact people today and what are the consequences for tomorrow?” “How is this going to impact the lives of people I don’t even know?” “What if I stepped up and said something to that other official to see if he would start thinking about the people he didn’t know?” What do think might happen? Certainly government would fall to pieces. It might change to be something that we are not accustomed to sure but do you think it would be for the better? What if they stopped thinking about their retirement, the 3 houses in 3 different states, the yacht, the private jet and all the other perks? What if they honestly and truly thought about the people that put them there and got back to thinking about the little things they could do to help the people?

Kinda makes you go.. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Phoebe -- See I told you

See I told you it wasn't an original Saturn Moon!!!! (see earlier post - Wednesday May 4,2005 Saturn Revisited)

"Cassini is showing us that Phoebe is quite different from Saturn's other icy satellites, not just in its orbit but in the relative proportions of rock and ice. It resembles Pluto in this regard much more than it does the other Saturnian satellites," said Dr. Jonathan Lunine, Cassini interdisciplinary scientist from the University of Arizona, Tucson. (Cassini-Huygens website)

Keep in mind they are saying it is Pluto like and indications are that it may be from the Kuiper Belt region.

See.. even this arm chair scientist knew that it wasn't orginally supposed to be there and I pointed it out before the scientists did!

Domesday Asteroids

I’m sure you have all heard about the Asteroid that, when announced, had a very good chance of hitting the Earth? Later scientists recanted and said that further study shows that the asteroid’s chances of hitting the Earth are greatly diminished. Now I have to call into question the accuracy of those measurements and calculations. Any of you that hike and use a compass know that if you are off even an 8th of a degree over a long distance of say a mile or so you will be WAY off from your target. All the computations done on the orbits of these objects and the Earth are based on mathematics, physics and supposition. Now mathematics is very clear and concise – for the most part. But physics tend to be not quite so precise (i.e. chaos). When you have to create a theorem or something that has no basis or substantiation to try and “fill in the gaps” to make your theory viable then I have to really question its validity.

Now taking that into account there are some theories and “facts” that truly are based on supposition and best guess. How fast is the Earth really moving in its orbit? Who’s to say that at certain points it doesn’t speed up slightly or slow down? Now how fast is that asteroid actually moving? Have you ever looked at a car in the distance that is coming at you? How fast is it going really? How about an airplane flying overhead? You can make educated guesses based on some known facts but it would be a best guess without having instruments on the plane telling you.

Recently we found that the Voyager spacecraft were not traveling as far as one might think. There is an unseen force that was affecting them. We also recently found out that the solar wind has an impact on larger bodies in space.

SO… How certain can we be that that asteroid won’t impact the Earth in 2029? Going back to the earlier analogy of the compass that is over a mile. How accurate is the path known being that it is MILLIONS of miles away? Being off in a calculation or best guess by even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent could put that asteroid on our doorstep and we wouldn’t be the wiser until it was too late. Not too long ago an asteroid passed the earth within 26 THOUSAND miles. That is not a large margin of safety.

The asteroid of 2029 can still be a factor. We know there are many, many, many smaller asteroids floating around out there and even big ones we haven’t detected yet. What happens if one of them collides with 2029? Won’t that change the orbit of the asteroid? Even a small impact can be enough to nudge the asteroid in the right direction putting it on collision course that may not be noticeable until it is too late. What about when it passes the Earth? The effect of gravity, disruption of solar winds and other things can influence the orbit of that asteroid. So it doesn’t strike the Earth in 2029… What happens a down the road? Don’t you think the orbital influence might change the orbit enough that it can be an issue later on?

Many things are best guess in this type of science. When there are potential collisions no mater how small the chance they need to be watched and reported constantly. Who knows … maybe July 4th when Deep Impact hits the comet we will be in for a bigger show than we expect.

Saturn Revisited

I was perusing a few photos on the internet and ran across some spectacular images of Saturn’s moon Phoebe. What struck me was the absolute clarity of the photos and the detail that can be seen. As I was looking at them I saw some things that were very odd.

The moon ISN’T round! It’s oblong in shape almost with a bulge on one side. How could a moon be shaped in such a way naturally? We all know that no matter how cratered a body is a moon is supposed to be round! There are very large and deep “craters” on this moon. By their position it’s obvious that they were the “exhaust” ports for some great driving engines to move the “moon”. There is a large chunk of the moon missing as well which some could say is why the moon is shaped as it is but even if you put the missing chunk back the moon is still oblong. (Take a look at Iapetus - very similar features)

Then I noticed in a series of photos that there are places on this “moon” that are virtually devoid of any craters at all! How could a “moon” that shows so many impact craters have places where there are none at all? How is it possible? Then as I looked closer at these devoid areas I saw them – ruined structures that could in no way be naturally occurring. They had to be made by someone or some being. Smack dab in the middle of the plains there they stood brilliant and shining. Structures also built on the floor of some of the craters on the fringe of this area had structures too! In some instances they are grouped together like a small city! How could these get here? How is it possible?

Then I dug deeper. Analyzing data that is readily available on the internet I found other oddities. Surface analysis shows water frost on the surface. How can this be? In order to support the frost on the surface there has to be an atmosphere otherwise the water frost will sublimate into space. Much like on Mars the atmosphere is thin enough that water will not remain on the surface as ice or liquid because it is sublimated into space. So one of two things has to be happening on the “moon.” Either there is a constant supply of water being pushed to the surface or the moon actually has an atmosphere that keeps the water frost on the surface.

Further analysis shows that there are unknown minerals or substances on the surface. How can this be? Through years and years of study we know what elements are out there and can look at the composition of virtually any body in space using a variety of tools from spectrographic studies, radio waves, infrared, lasers and a host of other things. We know there is Ferrous Iron, water frost and carbon dioxide. What? Carbon Dioxide AND water? How? There has to be life in some form on that moon or had been. Is it possible that in the depths of the moon there is still living beings? Or maybe the carbon dioxide is left over fuel or material that was used by the beings that brought it here. But this still doesn’t explain the unidentified material on the surface. How did they get there or better yet what are those materials?

The answer – Phoebe isn’t a moon. It was a habitat that was created by another race to travel to this small solar system. This race was escaping a catastrophe and they created this moon or modified a small body from their solar system and moved what they could of their race to this habitat. Then they targeted our solar system and launched it here. Over millennia they finally reached this solar system and found Mars. They left the “moon” in Saturn’s orbit and boarded ships bound for Mars. Once there their civilization thrived and over a few millennia Mars’ ecosystem began to fail due to a cataclysmic collision with the planet. Ironically enough the very “moon” that they road into the solar system with was struck and fractured. Part of the moon stayed in orbit around Saturn and the other found its way to Mars impacting on the planet. Once again the race was made to leave their home world and they moved on to Earth. Leaving technology behind they lived simple lives communing with nature and living off of what was around them.

Look at the pictures of Phoebe. It is quite evident what is going on there. Why isn’t any f this in the mainstream media? Why isn’t this investigated further? Why aren’t more studies being done to find out what the unidentified material is? Look at the pictures. The facts are there in plain sight. Check these links.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=906

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpegMod/PIA06069_modest.jpg

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpegMod/PIA06068_modest.jpg

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpegMod/PIA06070_modest.jpg

Admetus “crater” – engine port (very similar to the one on Iapetus)
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpegMod/PIA06118_modest.jpg

Identity and the Terrorist

There has been a lot of noise out there recently about identity theft and Homeland Security. The most recent bill that has been going through Congress is that of requiring more ID to get a Driver’s License. For those of you that aren’t aware they want the Motor Vehicle departments to require Social Security card, Birth Certificate, a recent piece of mail with name and address on it and a photo ID.

Honestly I don’t know which is more absurd –

That you need to have a photo ID

1) To get a photo ID you need to show proof of whom you are which in NY could mean any of 40 other pieces of identification that are point based.

2) I have a photo ID from where I work. Will that work?

The bill was attached to another bill for funding the war in Iraq.

HEELLLLOOOO!?!?!?!?! Let’s address one absurdity at a time.

Photo ID – If there is already a program in place to verify who we are when we get a Driver’s License or any other photo ID then WHY in the world would we need to require a photo ID to get a photo ID? If anything maybe require more information as to proof of whom you are? Many people in this country do not have a photo ID of any kind including a driver’s license. If I didn’t have my license the only photo ID I have is from my place of employment. Would they accept that? That brings in the question of what constitutes a valid photo ID? My work ID could very easily be duplicated. Pretty much any ID from an employer could be duplicated. What about Veterans ID cards for the VA? Those could be duplicated easily as well. So what sense is there in having a photo ID to get a photo ID? I believe every state in this country has in place a way to get a non-driver’s photo ID. By presenting specific information they determine the person is who they say they are. Like I said earlier in NY there are some 40 pieces of information you could provide in any combination as long as you meet certain point criteria. Even to get a new Driver’s License with no photo ID there are specific things they need to see. Now if the process is already in place and it works then why try to change it? However in either case a number of the things on the list could easily be faked like utility bills, birth certificates, Social Security cards, and a host of other things. Maybe people should be finger printed at birth and that put in a database and that is how identity is proven. But if the current process is working and you are concerned about people faking ID’s and passports and a number of other things that terrorists might use then maybe the ID it self needs to change to eliminate the possibility of being faked.

The Congress – Here is a PRIME example of how screwed up Congress can be. You sit there and complain about the fact that the cost of the war in Iraq is in the billions and probably trillions and then you go and attach a bill that is going to cost another $500 million at least. Not to mention – HOW IS GETTING A DRIVER’S LICENSE ANYWHERE NEAR RELATED TO IRAQ? Talk about PORK! If Congress would actually work a full day and 7 days a week and didn’t try to maneuver this congressman or that congressman into voting and would actually look and vote on each bill WITHOUT all the other things that are added on they would probably find that things would be much more productive and the government would run so much better. Not to mention budgets would probably be better as well.

Do people in this country even realize what is attached to any one bill in Congress? I will bet that if you took a look at any bill passed in Congress (which by the way will probably consist of about 20 volumes each volume being about 18 inches thick) and took out everything but what the original bill was the cost of that original bill would be a 10^th of what was passed. I’ll bet if you looked at the spending bill for Iraq you will find there are things in there like money that is spent to repair a road in some county in one of the states or maybe a few counties in different states. You will probably find money that is tagged for stupid environmental things like setting up a preserve for a certain species of earthworm or some other absurd thing like that.

If you really want to do something about security and the whole issue of who is who and from where why doesn’t the government just have chips placed inside us at the time of birth? You walk up, they scan the chip and they have the information they need. Get the other governments involved and every human being on the planet would be tagged. Put information on the chip such as date of birth, location of birth, parent’s names and their places of birth and dates, blood type, genetic information and of course an ID number. Now there will be no question as to who is who. Say the person changes countries. Say someone from Ireland changes their citizenship to the US. Simple – replace the chip. The chips though would have to be hard coded. No soft EPROM or anything like that. It would have to be hard coded in the chip. Otherwise it would be very easy for some hacker to change the programming and identity on the chip. Then in order for you to change any information on the chip it would have to be surgically removed and replaced. I think they should be so deeply imbedded in the body that they should be almost impossible to get out.

Better yet, why don’t we come up with a chip that is coded with the information and genetic information and tie that to nano technology that is in the bloodstream so that once the chip and nano bodies are in the body they can’t be changed or separated or the person will “expire”. This would keep people from changing identities, countries of citizenship and a host of other things.

BUT – and there is always a but -- then we have the other side. Big Brother. How much information and identification should Big Brother have? If every human on the planet were to be implanted with the ID tag then wouldn’t it be easy for Big Brother to set up monitoring all over the planet to constantly scan those chips and know exactly where any one individual is at any given time? Wouldn’t they be able to know when you went to the bathroom or had sex with your significant other? How much is too much? Then we also have the Civil Liberties groups that would most certainly be opposed to that.

The government has a big job and yes so do people. We all want security and to be safe but we also don’t want to give up our rights and privacy. Somewhere there is a middle ground that has to be found. I don’t have the answer and I don’t think any one man has the answer. There has to be give and take on both sides and people have to talk to their representatives and let them know.