"Thou Art God . . ."

Tucson Weather Today

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A few days ago I received, via email, the following:

RELEASE: 12-131

NASA'S WISE CATCHES AGING STAR ERUPTING WITH DUST

WASHINGTON -- Images from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) reveal an old star in the throes of a fiery outburst and spraying the cosmos with dust. The findings offer a rare, real-time look at the process by which stars like our sun seed the universe with building blocks for other stars, planets and even life.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

I shook my head and wondered how many U.S. citizens would read that and then be even more convinced that Mankind was a truly wondrous creation to have evolved into beings who can be so easily led to believe that such insignificant guesstimates are, in the long run, meaningful.

Or that it has any effect on the price of a cup of coffee.

Or whether J. Proctor Witherspoon gets laid tonight.

Or not.

Read all about WISE here

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WORD FOR TODAY

hubris [hyoo-bris]
noun
excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance.

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Engelbert Humperdinck

Born May 2, 1936

ALSO

Hedda Hopper

Born May 2, 1885

Died Feb. 1, 1966

Hedda Hopper was one of America's best-known gossip columnists, notorious for feuding with her arch-rival Louella Parsons.

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The discovery of truth is prevented more effectively, not by the false appearance things present and which mislead into error, not directly by weakness of the reasoning powers, but by preconceived opinion, by prejudice.
--Arthur Schopenhauer

The Best Laid Plans . . .

Tucson Weather Today

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NASA and the Library of Congress have just announced the selection of David H. Grinspoon to be the first Baruch S. Blumberg NASA-Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology.

Astrobiology is the study of the origins, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe. It addresses three fundamental questions: How did life begin and evolve? Is there life elsewhere? What is the future of life on Earth and beyond?

Grinspoon will examine the choices facing humanity as we enter the Anthropocene Era, the epoch when human activities are becoming a defining characteristic of the physical nature and functioning of Earth. His research will include studies of the role of planetary exploration in fostering scientific and public understanding of climate change and the power of astrobiology as a model of interdisciplinary research and communication.

More about Astrobiology . . .

Good Golly Miss Molly! "...fostering scientific and public understanding of climate change..." Will this include Ice Ages and an understanding of how, when, and why huge portions of the Earth's surface periodically become covered by ice?

Somehow, I doubt it.

Answering the question "What is the future of life on Earth and beyond?"

A bit of hubristic gobbledegook, I'd say.

Oh well . . .

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WORD FOR TODAY

Hubris {HYOO-bruhs}
Extreme pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power.

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The TV news anchor yesterday told me that this year no Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded. What does that mean? That there was no fiction written deserving of the prize, or... what?

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Benjamin Tucker

(Anarchist)

Born April 17, 1854
Died June 22, 1939
(1 month after I was born)

From August 1881 to April 1908, from age 27 to 54, Tucker published the periodical, Liberty, widely considered to be the finest individualist-anarchist periodical ever issued in the English language.

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It is not wise warfare to throw your ammunition to the enemy unless you throw it from the cannon's mouth.
--Benjamin Tucker