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News Briefs 31-03-2006

Most of us English-speakers weren’t able to see the recent total eclipse first hand, but we may yet get our chance to stare upward in awe from the path of totality – in Oz on Nov. 13, 2012, from Darwin to near Cairns and onward across the Great Barrier Reef; and in the U.S. on Aug. 21, 2017, in a 70-mile wide path beginning in Salem, Oregon, reaching the eclipse maximum near Paducah, Kentucky, and onward to Charleston, South Carolina. Thrill-seekers with ample funds have more opportunites. Also, watch out for Jeff’s curve balls at Rigorous Intuition – he rarely ends up where you think he’s going.

Thanks Greg

Quote of the Day:

Eclipse Dance

The Sun and the Moon are dancing, circles in the sky,
The shadow is advancing, the dragon passes by.
And in the darkest moment, in the soul’s dark night,
Great Mystery reveals itself, and the darkness turns to light.

Bryan Brewer, author of Eclipse.

  1. Warbots!
    Er, these warbots aren’t being manufactured by a company called “SkyNet” by any chance, are they?

    yer ol’ pal,

    Xibalba
    (This post was brought to you by “Realm of the Dead”)

    1. SkyNet
      >>Er, these warbots aren’t being manufactured by a company called “SkyNet” by any chance, are they?

      As I was busily copying and pasting, etc., similar thoughts occurred to me:

      Haven’t these people ever watched The Terminator or The Matrix?

      Oh, no, maybe they did watch those movies, and that’s what inspired them.

      Naugh, they were probably working on warbots long before those movies were made. Maybe the movie scripts were inspired by someone who leaked info about the warbot research.

      Naughhh – The Wachowski Brothers couldn’t be that hooked up, could they?

      But then – you never know… Remember that ex-Army guy you used to know, who’d been stationed somewhere in Europe (Germany, I think he said) – the one who claimed he was the person who spotted those camoflaged strategic nukes that the Russians had hidden in a tree-line on the border that he patroled every day – and mere minutes after he reported it, the US and NATO went on top alert? Somebody like that could have told the Wachowski brothers about their ‘concerns’ for the future. Yeah, right – or they could have dreamed it up themselves, like they said.

      Ah, hell, (in this epoch, at least) warbots have been a technological imperative ever since somebody first dreamed up the idea of a computer – and that was back before the abacus was invented. And now it looks like we’re in for a helluva race, clear to the finish line, between the evolution of human consciousness and our DNA-driven biological instinct toward internecine clan warfare.

      Come on, Kat – don’t be so pessimistic. Like Who said, at least a few of us really should ponder the possiblity that the human race will survive.

      Then I clicked ‘back’ for the physorg.com homepage, to look at another article. That’s why it takes me so long to do the news – as I read, I get sidetracked by musings and daydreams. 😉

      Kat

  2. Jesus’ crucifixion
    … a study which says there is no evidence to prove Jesus was crucified in this manner.

    This assumes Jesus existed at all – and he probably did not.

    You have to be suspicious of research which leaves the basic tenets of faith untouched.

    1. I Totally Agree With You; But,…
      Lee

      I think that it would be more accurate to say that there is no verifiable evidence to prove or disprove anything about Jesus!

      What do you think?

      kennc

      1. romans
        The Romans kept records of executions, as they did of many things.

        A guy remarkably fitting the description of Jesus was executed, at about the time consistent with his story.

        So it is generally accepted that Jesus did exist, as a historical figure. Of course whether he was the son of God, and resurrected from the dead and all of those things – that is next to impossible to verify.

        But the man did exist. And apparently he was very convincing.

        1. ‘Remarkably Fitting’ Proves Nothing!
          earthling

          All I’m saying is that we have no varifiable evidence and we don’t! If we ever have varifiable evidence, I’ll go with the evidence! Furthermore, there is no extant detailed discription of what the historical/mythological Jesus was supposed to have looked like. So, how could we know if anyone looked remarkably like the historical/mythological Jesus? I respect your opinion; but, we disagree on this one.

          What do you think?

          kennc

          1. it’s not about looks
            As far as I know, what makes this believable is the beaviour of the guy they executed. The reasons why they killed him, not what he looked like.

            So there is very good reason to believe that a guy who preached the kind of things attributed to Jesus, was executed for preaching those things.

            Someone preached those things, and a man was executed for it in the traditional way, at about the time that Jesus is supposed to have lived and died. The Romans didn’t think he was important at the time, just another little Jewish revolutionary. You know how those middle eastern types are 🙂

            What he looked like is really not important, and there is no reliable record of that, you are correct.

            But his ideas most certainly were convincing.

            Whoever he was, and whatever he was, Jesus was a remarkable man.

            All that I am saying is that there was one man like this, who preached these things, and suffered the consequences. Mohammed knew of him, the Romans knew of him. The religion may be complete fiction, but that is a seperate question – or it should be. There are many people who disagree with the Christian religion, so one of their arguments is that the central historical person did not exist. That is too easy, since obviously nobody can prove this, on way or another.

            It is generally accepted that Mohammed is a historical person, and so is Bhudda. We don’t have birth certicicates on either of those. Gilgamesh is almost certainly a historical figure, a king of that has lived in Uruk a long time ago. I think that the statements that Jesus never lived, that all of that story is just fiction, is motivated by negative feelings towards the Christian religion. Or perhaps by the negative behaviour of some of the Christian churches (take your pick).

            On the lighter side: not so many years ago, I had long blond hair and a black beard. Some people (Christians actually) didnt like that, and told me “man you look like Jesus”. Of course I had to ask them – is that supposed to be bad ?

          2. I See Your Point!
            earthling

            The problem is that research has shown that the themes in the proported message of Jesus were similar to the messages of other Rabbis at that time in history. The guy would not have been unique if he existed. You have a point and I’m not saying that you don’t; but, I have always had questions about the existence of a historical Jesus! One reason for this is that the very early church could have documented this and it didn’t! Paul, the true founder of Christianity, probably knew more than he was telling. There is never a focus on the historical Jesus to establish his historicity. In other cases, there are, from the beginning, attempts document and establish the historicity of the central religious figure, i.e. Mohammed! Maybe some varifiable evidence will turn-up. So, we will see!

            What do you think?

            kennc

        2. Jesus Christ
          A guy remarkably fitting the description of Jesus was executed, at about the time consistent with his story.

          This is false. The only records we have of any Jehoshuas being crucified are from Josephus, and the closest date to 33 AD of a Jehoshua being crucified is 21 AD.

          Christianity is a lie from start to finish – Jesus never existed.

          Christianity sucks and atheism rocks!

          1. Jesuses, or it it Jesi?
            The name Jesus is from the Hebrew Yeshua or Yeshu, meaning ‘God saves’.

            Josephus mentions no fewer than nineteen different Yeshuas.

            In his Antiquities, of the twenty-eight high priests who held office from the reign of Herod the Great to the fall of the Temple, no fewer than four bore the name Jesus: Jesus ben Phiabi, Jesus ben Sec, Jesus ben Damneus and Jesus ben Gamaliel. Even Paul makes reference to a rival magician, preaching ‘another Jesus’ (2 Corinthians 11:4).

            Perhaps the most significant of these was Jesus ben Pandira, a supposed wonder-worker during the reign of Alexander Jannaeus (106-79 BC), one of the most ruthless of the Maccabean kings. Imprudently, this Jesus launched into a career of end-time prophecy and agitation which upset the king. He met his own premature end-time by being hung on a tree – and on the eve of a Passover. Scholars have speculated this Jesus founded the Essene sect.

            Jesus ben Pandira seems to have been the model of the wonder-worker and prophet of the gospels.

          2. I didn’t know this Lee
            Can you advise me of some books I can read on the subject? Thanks.Then I will be ready for my mind-blowingly stupid inlaw that spouts religion.

            shadows

          3. Malkovich
            If I survive first-year university, I’ll take the Jesus: Fact or Fiction? class. Then we can have a merry discussion in 2007!

            It’s quite amazing that not many people know there was more than one person called Jesus Christ. Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich …

          4. Actually It Was A Rather Common Name!
            Rico

            Most names used in the Christian Scriptures, not all, were rather common!

            kennc

  3. moon and alien bases
    A few years ago i had come across the view that the moon was unatural and posibly an alien base in my readings. However i still don’t know how truthful the evidence for this theory is and as much as i would like to believe that it is, as that would explaim much of the oddities i have observed myself concering the moon I simply feel that its a bit too far fetched considering its basically based on speculation as there is not much known of the moon.

    What do you guys(and girls) think?

    1. Cow jumped over the Moon
      There’s quite a few anomalies that makes me wonder about the moon. Is it a coincidence the moon is at the exact distance from the Earth needed to create a total eclipse of the sun? Quite amazing when you think about that, especially in context of eclipses in human history, and their impact upon religion. Imagine how different history may have turned out if there were no lunar eclipses of the sun? It’s also never been explained sufficiently why the moon orbits the Earth’s equator perfectly, and doesn’t rotate (creating the constantly dark side of the moon).

      Incidentally, 2006 sees the Lunar Standstill. You may notice the moon becoming abnormally large or small during its orbit. This is due to the precession of the equinoxes, and every 18 years the moon travels just a bit further than normal due to the precession. We’ve already had a few, but be ready for some mindblowing moonrises and moonsets this year!

      1. Good Questions!
        Rico

        The Moon rotates slowly at a speed that has kept the same surface of it facing the Earth during recorded history. But, its rotation will eventually slow down and then people will eventually be able to see other surfaces of it. According to studies, the Moon started out much closer to the Earth and has been moveing away for over a billion years and it is still moving away from the Earth. Recorded history is a speck of time and what is just happened! Personally, I wish it was a base for an intelligent alien life form or two. Maybe they could teach us how to live together peacefully!

        What do you think?

        kennc

        1. it’s fake
          I think the rotation of the moon has reached steady state, meaning that tidal forces will keep it facing this way.

          Of course, we all know that the moon landings were faked.

          Not just that, NASA also tricks us, until this very day, to believe that there is a moon.

          1. You Can’t Be Serious!
            earthling

            I assume that this is an April Fools post! If not, I totally disagree with you about everything! Greg got me ; but, you won’t! Happy April Fools Day!

            kennc

  4. Poor little cat
    Doesn’t your heart just ache for the poor little cat that was trapped.They are amazing creatures, cats, and I am pleased that it attracted attention to itself and was released.

    Can’t say the same for cockoaches, although I realise I should be more compassionate.

    I loved the story about alien bases on the moon, it made me shiver.I think if we were able to see and understand the vastness and wonder of the entire universe we would realise how naive we human beings are.
    And how totally insignificant in the whole scheme of things.

    You did a wonderful job on the news Kat, thanks.

    shadows

    1. Not so poooooor kitty cat
      I posted the story about the cat under the story about why some animals are so smart, because I thought it was quite bright of the cat to realize that a human would be able to help him. 😉

      Kat

  5. My favourite anagram concerns…
    … Spiro Agnew, which rearranged becomes ‘grow a pen**’
    (I’m sure you can all work out the missing letters!)

    Nostra

    1. anagrams
      >>… Spiro Agnew, which rearranged becomes ‘grow a pen**’
      (I’m sure you can all work out the missing letters!)

      Ha! That’s almost as funny as Shadows’ and my recent exchange about alien probes!

      Did the software come up with any good anagrams of your name? And have you tried tricky Dick’s proper name yet?

      I’ve been playing around with it a bit more, and it works much better if you go through the word list and increase the rankings of words that are more significant to you, while decreasing the rankings of words that aren’t. Assuming all the letters are in the name or whatever you’re checking, you can also add words to the list, including proper names, that aren’t included in the abreviated list that comes with the trial version. For instance, while looking for anagrams for my name, I found that I could add several Harry Potter-related proper names, such as Ron, Ginny, Rowling, and Nagini. And of course, I changed the rankings of some words, such as ‘Harry’, from ‘poor’ to ‘excellent’ or ‘ideal’. So, if you’re looking for anagrams of a political figure’s name, you’ll have better luck if you add a few pertinent political words and names that the trial software lacks.

      Thanks Nostra – It’s good to know somebody had a bit of fun with it.

      Kat

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