Category Archives: Uncategorized

Topics: Civics, Civil Rights, Existentialism, Fascism, Human Rights Munchausen Syndrome was named after a German cavalry officer Baron von Munchausen (1720-1797), a man who traveled widely and was known for his dramatic but untruthful stories. In 1951 Richard Asher described a pattern of self-abuse, where individuals fabricated histories of illness. These fabrications most often led toContinue reading “Munchausen Oligarchy…”

Topics: Astrobiology, Evolution, Existentialism, Exoplanets About 15 million years after the big bang, the entire universe had cooled to the point where the electromagnetic radiation left over from its hot beginning was at about room temperature. In a 2013 paper, I labeled this phase as the “habitable epoch of the early universe.” If we hadContinue reading “Habitable Epoch…”

Topics: Mars, NASA, Space Exploration, Spaceflight NASA is targeting no earlier than Sunday, April 11, for Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s first attempt at powered, controlled flight on another planet. To mark a month of Ingenuity flights, the agency will host several events to bring people along for the ride. A livestream confirming Ingenuity’s first flight isContinue reading “Ingenuity…”

Topics: Civics, Civil Rights, Existentialism, Fascism, Human Rights, Politics To split the baby is a reference to a story in the Old Testament in Kings 3:5-14, regarding a decision of Solomon that shows his wisdom when given a difficult task. Solomon as king was often asked to judge between people with difficult problems, and hisContinue reading “Splitting Babies, Washing Hands…”

Topics: Existentialism, Global Warming, Nuclear Power Please understand my perspective: I am an Air Force veteran, and I think this is over-the-top. Related post: It is 100 seconds to midnight. America is building a new weapon of mass destruction, a nuclear missile the length of a bowling lane. It will be able to travel some 6,000Continue reading “Tick Tock…”

Topics: Civics, Civil Rights, Existentialism, Fascism, Human Rights “The human understanding is no dry light, but receives infusion from the will and affections; whence proceed sciences which may be called ‘sciences as one would.’ For what a man had rather were true, he more readily believes. Therefore, he rejects difficult things from impatience of research;Continue reading “The Lethality of Magical Thinking…”

Topics: Astrobiology, Astronomy, Cosmology, SETI I would extend his theme to cover something that comes naturally to us all, which I’ll call Pseudo-exceptionalism—the unearned conviction that we are exceptional, superior to others because we were born…us. We simply assume that we’re kinder, more honest, more realistic, more wholesome than those around us. After all, we’re married to ourselvesContinue reading “Meh…”

Topics: Civics, Civil Rights, Human Rights, LGBT Rights, Women’s Rights Terrorism is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations as “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives” (28 C.F.R. Section 0.85).Continue reading “Conditional Sedition…”

Topics: Artificial Intelligence, Biology, Research, Science Fiction “Deep Thought” was the name of the computer in “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” where it took millions of years to find the answer to “life, the universe, and everything” is 42. An artificial intelligence (AI) network developed by Google AI offshoot DeepMind has made a gargantuan leapContinue reading “Deep Thought, to DeepMind…”

Topics: Astronautics, International Space Station, NASA, Space Exploration, Spaceflight Happy Veteran’s Day. Expedition 1 and Crew-1. These historic International Space Station missions lifting off 20 years apart share the same goals: advancing humanity by using the space station to learn how to explore farther than ever before, while also conducting research and technology demonstrations benefiting life backContinue reading “Crew-1”