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.
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Tuesday, January 6, 2015
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.
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