Recently, scientists have discovered a solar system that is much like our own.
"It looks like this may have formed in a similar way to our Solar System. And if this is the case, it looks like [our] Solar System cannot be unique in the Universe. There should be other similar systems out there which could host terrestrial planets."
Perhaps they'll make the trekkies happy and adopt the Star Trek classification system. Are there any Class M planets in that solar system?
Oh gosh, 2 Trek references in the past 3 blogs. I am such a geek sometimes -- please excuse the pocket protector!Labels: news
According to The Economist: Europe is, in theory at least, now just three years away from one of the biggest overhauls of higher education in its history. By 2010 the Bologna Process is scheduled to sweep away idiosyncratic national systems and replace them with a standard Anglo-Saxon progression of Bachelor’s degree-Master’s degree-PhD.
This represents a major paradigm shift in education. It's completely unprecedented too, since the European model hasn't changed much since the middle ages.
Labels: news
The first baby boomer has officially filed her paperwork for Social Security. This event signifies the beginning of the end. A whole generation of naval-gazing baby boomers who thought they were entitled, are going to find out that the entitlement programs aren't worth the paper they were written on.
We are about to see a lot of people scramble to live the best life that they possibly can on a smaller amount of income than they have ever lived on before. They didn't save, neither did they raise their kids with a sense of responsibility to take care of them in old age.
The government realistically can't help very much. Politicians and institutions will break their promises (by drastically cutting benefits), and they will raise taxes (which will eventually harm the economy) and even if doesn't break the economy, there's no way of 'growing' our way out of this one.
Don't believe me? Read: "America's Fiscal Future: A Call for Citizen Involvement" by David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the USA. It is a wake up call. A quote: "We aren't going to close our fiscal gap through strong economic growth, massive spending cuts, or huge tax increases. The gap is simply too great, and the math and politics don't work."
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
If Mr. Walker is right, Atlas Shrugged might very well occur. The producers within society, weary from the taxation and constant nagging of the entitlement junkies, will cast off their burden and move to another country. It is already happening... with some well heeled folks already getting dual citizenships to places like Australia and Costa Rica.
I wonder if there will be a massive move toward changing the value system along-side the exodus to John-Galt-land. Maybe some sort of shuffling of American values such that individualism is downplayed and communal living (resource pooling) is thought more highly of. This would make people's lives better even though they are poor. And the baby boomers can harken back to their flower-child, hippie, utopian roots.
Bull's Eye Investing: Targeting Real Returns in a Smoke and Mirrors Market by John Mauldin
MAS leans more toward the efficiency theory cited in John Mauldin (Bulls Eye Investing, page 137. There is a knowledge gap combined with a population gap (there are simply fewer Gen X-ers and those GenX-ers don't have the wisdom of years of business knowledge.) If the Boomers just take some anti-depressants and trudge to work a few more years, then go home to 200 stations of cable TV, then everything will work out. As for the inevitable inefficiencies along the way? Well, they can be exploited by enterprising Gen X-ers like us.
So which will it be, Bulls Eye Investing or Atlas Shrugged?
Labels: news
Unfortunately, it is a little difficult to **find** the 7 points of the anti-global warming 7 Point Pledge on the Live Earth.org website. Harrumph! I've excerpted from this MSNBC article and reprinted them here.
The Seven Point Pledge related to Global Climate Change
- Demand that my country join an international treaty within the next two years that cuts global warming pollution by 90 percent in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth.
- Take personal action to help solve the climate crises by reducing my own C02 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become “carbon neutral”.
- Fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the C02.
- Work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation.
- Fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal.
- Plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests.
- Buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crises and building a sustainable, just and prosperous world for the 21st century.
Labels: news
Lots of parents think that their kid is gifted. By definition most kids can't be above average. That said, it is great when parents find something to promote and praise within their child's development of identity.
Here's one documented case of a very very smart two year old.
Recently, I was around another smart kid: Dillon (Kelli and Chris's progeny.) His IQ probably hasn't been measured yet, but my assessment of this kid is that he's well above average. I don't know if he's Mensa material yet, but he's probably in the running.
Labels: news
The Great Turtle Race is a fantastic idea for many reasons, including the following:
- It speaks to the non-scientist person's human concern for the world. Conservation is presented as something that can be helped by an incremental contribution.
- It elicits a feeling of membership as we gather in groups to root for one turtle or another. A sense of ownership and/or membership is a powerful component of a conversation for action.
- It is an affirmation of life; these female turtles just laid eggs, after all. This positive message underscores the threat of extinction at the same time that it focuses on the goal of life.
- It utilizes the human predilection for competition, rather than bemoaning it. When you stop to think about it, the turtles aren't racing each other. The human narrative, however is one of competition, therefore we're calling it a race. Understanding the human situation and working within it is a wise move on the part of people who desire to change the course of huge populations of humans who are affecting ever smaller populations of leatherback turtles.
I applaud the race organizers, especially TOPP Tagging of Pacific Predators. It looks like they led the charge and essentially came up with the idea. Brilliant strategic marketing!
Labels: news