It can be a time of
fantastic rebirth of the knowledge that drives consciousness to greater levels
and opens up new vistas of understanding of this magnificent space we occupy.
According to a study
published in Nature’s Scientific Reports, the universe may be growing in the
same way as a giant brain – with the electrical firing between brain cells
‘mirrored’ by the shape of expanding galaxies. The results of a computer
simulation suggest that “natural growth dynamics” – the way that systems evolve
– are the same for different kinds of networks – whether its the internet, the
human brain or the universe as a whole.
Not only that but new
evidence points more and more to the broader space that we occupy called the
“multi-verse”. Stephen Hawking
submitted the final version of his last scientific paper just two weeks before
he died, and it lays the theoretical groundwork for discovering a parallel
universe.
The
highly theoretical work posits that evidence of the multiverse should be
measurable in background radiation dating to the beginning of time. This in
turn could be measured by a deep-space probe with the right sensors on-board. Thomas
Hertog, a physics professor who co-authored the paper with Hawking, said the
paper aimed "to transform the idea of a multiverse into a testable
scientific framework."Imagine the consternation among the religions to find that not only is there the possibility of infinite life forms throughout our universe, we now have the possibility of billions of other universes moving through space and time along with us……and any life forms out there are also not aware of our earthly myths. That should go a long way towards changing the paradigm……and not one moment too soon!
https://www.sciencealert.com/stephen-hawking-submitted-a-paper-on-parallel-universes-just-before-he-died?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Branded+Content&utm_campaign=ScienceNaturePageSign
Something a little
closer to home. This is a real photo and gives an idea of the actual size
relationship of our earth to it’s all important moon. The moon passed between
Nasa's Deep Space Climate Observatory and the Earth, allowing the satellite to
capture this rare image of the moon's far side in full sunlight. We normally
don't see this side of the moon. As the moon is tidally locked to the earth and
doesn't rotate, we only ever see the one face from the earth. Awesome shot!
All that grandeur does
not make us any less significant but does suggest we reexamine the place of man
at the pinnacle of everything, no?
Here are a few
critters that give flavor to that circle of life that is the real evolutionary
picture.
I could go on forever!
Kind of along that line I would like to recommend this book:
Some local real time
stuff:
Once again I had to
say goodbye to my dear friends and land partners, The “Q’s”. I was however
treated this year to 6 weeks of their presence instead of the usual 4. I love
them dearly. One day they will be the soul of Shangri-La.
Brigitte and Jean-Luc
The weather and
paucity of whales has prevented me from going out to look for my whale friends
but the 23rd was a beauty. The weather was perfect, good boat & pangero, 4
lovely ladies to help spot ( one of whom wanted the experience of a “whale
swim”) and damned if we didn’t get word of a whale down by Punta Pescadero
almost immediately. All the local pangeros know that when El Ballenero (my local nick name) goes out,
to call my boat if they spot anything. Took a while to find him and then get
in position for a photo. It was a single, medium sized blue whale cruising
south. For blue whale identification side shots are more valuable than fluke
shots so here is my first ID of the year – B # 1 18!
And here’s my old and
dear friend Becky Kress after jumping from the boat to swim within the “whale
presence”. She was within 50 yards so she has joined the elite group of whale
swimmers – congrats Becky! There are three hurdles to overcome to be a whale
swimmer. One: the internal psychic decision to want to, two: the preparation of
the gear (suit, snorkel, mask), three: setting yourself up to jump in as the
whale approaches, four: jumping in and feeling the “essence” of the whale. Once
in the water and within 50 yds of the whale, you are in it’s essence…..you have
become a whale swimmer! Each step demands the question; “do I really want to do
this”?
Becky Kress "Whale Swimmer"
And here’s the days
crew:
Left to right: Jessie,
Cindy, Cathy, Berna, Becky
Yep, still at it!!
Something special – a gift.
Melissa and Jesse Conger
These are two of my
students from years ago just before the birth of their first child. They were
wonderful students; front row, courteous, attentive – sharp. They now have two
children and their love for those two brings me deep and fond memories of my own
experience as a father. Thank you Jesse and Melissa.
Change of pace:
history & anthropology
During the 19th
century, the sun did not set on the globe-spanning British Empire. It was not
an inherently evil institution, and much good was brought from the spread of
modern technology and new ideas across the world. Plenty of men, however, used
the Empire to suit their own interests. This was very much the case when large
amounts of diamonds were discovered in South Africa, prompting British
Imperialists to scheme a way into ruling the region.
What ensued was very
similar to the “Manifest Destiny” used by the Americans to eliminate the the Native Peoples of the plains
and mountain tribes of North America.
The great Zulu leader
Shaka had died fifty years earlier, but his military revolutions were still
largely in place. The Zulu were organized in regiments by age, creating a
strong bond and easy organizational system.
Cetshwayo, the Zulu
leader during the war.
Before the battle he
sent the army out with this simple order “attack at dawn and eat up the red
soldiers.”
The tomb of the high priestess Hetpet, built 4,400 years ago, unearthed in Egypt near the Great Pyramids of Giza
Despite all the discoveries that have been made about Ancient Egypt, archaeologists are confident that there’s more to be found, new riches sleeping under the vast dunes of the desert. They seem to be right, as a tomb was recently unearthed that belonged to an important ancient priestess, a precious discovery that provides insights into the life of an ancient Egyptian woman of high rank more than four millennia ago. The recent find happened close to the country’s renowned Pyramids of Giza and roughly 12 miles to the south of the capital of Cairo.The newly uncovered tomb, as old as 4,400 years, includes rare decoration such as intriguing wall paintings. Some of them feature portrayals of what is believed to be the high priestess named Hetpet, Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry officials stated while announcing the discovery on February 3, 2018. One of the spokespersons, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri, remarked that the site was found in “very good condition.”
“There are colored depictions of traditional scenes: animal grazing, fishing, bird-catching, offerings, sacrifice, soldiers, and fruit-gathering,” Waziri said of the paintings that adorn the tomb of the priestess.
Hetpet was a priestess to Hathor, the Ancient Egyptian deity of fertility, motherhood, dance, and music. In general, female priestesses were not common in that era, but worshiping Hathor was well known. Typically represented with a head of a cow, Hathor had a number of priestesses. Hetpet, as one of them, is considered to have been closely affiliated with the royal family of the Fifth Dynasty. Though a notable figure of antiquity, her mummy was never found.
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/02/07/tomb-unearthed-in-egypt/
Another surprise!
Snow falls in Egypt. For the first time in 112 years. Snow falls in Egypt. For the first time in 112 years. February 26 at 1:28pm ·
The worlds languages
are slowly disappearing. A richness and a way of describing things will be lost
forever.
"There are 600
potentially endangered languages in India… each dead language takes away a
culture system..."
"When a language dies, its speakers decide to migrate. First, they migrate to another language and then they physically start migrating to another region. The second thing that happens is that their traditional livelihood patterns go down. They may have some special skills and that disappears. Thirdly, a unique way of looking at the world disappears. Every language is a unique worldview."
When a language dies,
as Devy notes, “a unique way of looking at the world disappears”. On the
occasion of International Mother Language Day, the critic spoke to
Indianexpress.com about the dying and the dead languages of India. In the
interview, he also dwells on how some languages gain popularity while others
remain marginalised, and the impact of colonization on the language system of
India.
http://indianexpress.com/article/research/international-mother-language-day-2018-ganesh-devy-indian-languages-5072487/Neanderthal artists believed responsible for 65,000-year-old paintings in Spain, which leads to new thinking about Neanderthals’ sophistication
“Our dating results show that [some of] the cave art at these three sites in Spain is much older than previously thought,” said team member Alistair Pike from the University of Southampton.
“With an age in excess
of 64,000 years, it predates the earliest traces of modern humans in Europe by
more than 20,000 years.”
The markings on these
two mummies, which date anywhere from 3,351 to 3,017 B.C., are the oldest known
examples of figural tattoos, or tattoos representing images.
Only “Ötzi the Iceman,” the mummified body of
a cave man dating back to around 3,370 B.C, has been found to have older
tattoos. However, the tattoos found on Ötzi are mainly geometric in shape.
http://news.ntd.tv/2018/03/04/these-5000-year-old-tattoos-are-among-the-worlds-oldest/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=0304-CAM-1-MIKE&utm_content=2018-03-05+226+%2810%2123842733989940555%21qwaya%210%29&utm_term=country+MXBabylonians figured out trigonometry 3,700 years ago, and their “simpler” math techniques could help students today.
Up to now, trigonometry has been based on study of angles and irrational numbers. The analysis of Plimpton 322 reveals that the Babylonians used ratios. “This gives us a different way of looking at trigonometry,” Dr. Mansfield told journalists. “The beautiful thing about it is that it’s much simpler.” His paper, co-authored with UNSW associate professor Norman Wildberger, is published in Historia Mathematica.
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/03/06/babylonians-tablet-2/
A little “connections” fun.
The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number.Why was that gauge used?
Well, because that's the way they built them in England, and English engineers designed the first US railroads.
Why did the English build them like that?
Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the wagon tramways, and that's the gauge they used.
So, why did 'they' use that gauge then?
Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used for building wagons, which used that same wheel spacing.
Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?
Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break more often on some of the old, long distance roads in England . You see, that's the spacing of the wheel ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads?
Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (including England ) for their legions. Those roads have been used ever since.
And what about the ruts in the roads?
Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match or run the risk of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome , they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. Bureaucracies live forever.
So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process and wonder 'What horse's ass came up with this?', you may be exactly right. Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses. (Two horses' asses.)
Now, the twist to the story:
When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah . The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses' behinds.
So, a major Space Shuttle design feature, of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system, was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ass. And you thought being a horse's ass wasn't important? Ancient horse's asses control almost everything and....
CURRENT Horses Asses are controlling everything else.
Until next time - peace!
