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Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Global Warming: Are We Doomed?

Ancients stood on shore and watched the tall masts of ships appear and disappear over the horizon. They observed the shape of the moon. They, also, observed lunar and solar eclipses. The educated people who were astute knew that the Earth was curved, hence round. This, combined with other observations, enabled them to then calculate the size of the Earth. The average common man could have understood that the planet was round if it'd been explained properly, though he'd not have necessarily understood the geometry used to determine its size. The simple minded person would not have been able to comprehend these inferences.


Today, we see ancient glaciers and Greenland melting away, ocean levels rising, world temperatures slowly and steadily increasing as weather patterns shift. We observe increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere and the acidification of the oceans. We find that methane hydrate is gassing out from ever deeper depths of the ocean as well as from the melting tundra. The inference that increasing levels of greenhouse gases being released can only amplify the temperatures now and in the future is hard to ignore.

Evangelicals should note that though God promised us that he would not destroy mankind again, He did not indicate that He would stop us from destroying ourselves.

Moon: Why Same Side Always Faces Earth

The Moon has two distinct sides and one is always facing Earth. Why?

One reason is that the moon exhibits very slight oblateness with the fact that the “side” of the moon that faces Earth is bit larger than the side turned away from us. This is enough to cause this side to have greater mass, hence greater gravitational pull towards Earth.

Another factor to consider is the fact that
when a Mars-sized object, dubbed Theia, smashed into Earth over four billion years ago, it sent massive amounts of debris into space from both Theia's and the Earth's crust and mantle which had to have different densities. As the moon coalesced, the side facing the Earth received heat from our planet that was still radiating energy resulting from the collision and from the Earth's now exposed molten innards. This kept the near side of the moon from cooling as fast as the far side, thus resulting in the crust of the near side being thinner than the far side's. Then when large meteors impacted the moon on the near side, large lava flows occurred (which are not found on the far side). Crust is lighter than mantle or core material.

In short, the near side of the moon is larger and is denser than the far side. Hence it has the greater gravitational pull than the far side does.



Assisted Living: Room Temperature Issues

If your loved one is not able to manage controlling the thermostat, then you have to rely on the caretakers to do so. Generally speaking, they will do a good job --- but not always. I went to see my mother every single afternoon and occasionally found the temperature to be awful. So, I put a large digital display thermometer in her room. I taped over the display face so that you could only read the room temperature. Then I put up a big big sign stating the desired temperature range for all to see. Then when I called her in the evening and in the morning, I'd ask her to tell me what the digital number was. If necessary, I'd call the assisted living desk and advise them of the situation.

Once again, the usual problem with the caretakers was that they were new and unfamiliar. Assisted living facilities have a hard time retaining their better employees. And then there's the assisted living management's inexplicable tendency to rotate the caretakers. Thus, too many things "fall between the cracks", especially in the larger facilities.

Note: Level of spending is no assurance of increased quality of care. Smaller facilities that are on a single floor level are your best bet overall. And daily visits are most helpful.

Insidious Synthetic Marijuana, K2, Spice

Synthetic Cannabis Destructiveness


I greatly appreciate the Media now headlining details about the sale and abuse of synthetic cannaboids. As a retired secondary school teacher, I can attest to the foolish naievete of many teens that puts them in danger from easy access to such insidious "herbal incense" products. Until we take drastic legal measures to intensify our response to this, we will all continue to share the blame for the damage being wrought. Research the subject of Synthetic Cannabis. Recall your own youthful misdirections and then talk to the young people you know about this.