Sci-Reality: Mars Vs. Olympics

I figure that as interesting as things are shaping up in science in recent time, that why not have something nerdy like this to point out neat happenings, and/or explain what's going on in the world? That being said...

It's been a rather interesting week, and probably will continue the trend, as we have the Perseid meteor shower on the horizon, and we've just (successfully) landed a rover on Mars. Though it's ironic that most people would have no idea that we landed a rover on Mars if not for facebook. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that, but then again, such cool happenings have stiff competition right now, as we have the London Summer games going on..



Be that as it may, how do you feel about the fact that such an accomplishment is almost relegated to the back burner? There was a time and place where schools would effectively shut down so that they could watch moon landings, or even to simply see a space shuttle take off. Every kid knew what NASA was, and most of them would dream of being weightless in space, eating astronaut ice cream.

I guess it bugs me on a personal level to see things like the discovery of the Higgs-Boson Particle go for the most part unnoticed with exception to some random internet Meme. Most don't know that it has anything to do with the LHC, or even have any idea of what the LHC actually is. Perhaps we're starting to hit such an information overload that we don't notice the big things anymore. Thoughts?




JWJacobs

Eclectic Evenings: Madhouse

Good day, and welcome to my first real contribution to this fold. I've decided to initially forgo anything that is really subject or theme related. And while I'm at it, I suppose this gives me a chance to explain why I was so slow in starting things up.



As of the last 4 weeks, I've truly had the chance to learn what being a single parent entails. Let me preface this by saying that I don't hold any true grudge with my ex. I know that if she had the ability, she would be doing more. But that isn't the point of this particular diatribe. Personal time doesn't really exist much. There is always something going on, and things start to grind your nerves when there isn't much of a break to look forward to. It has given me a ton of time with both of them, and that has been fantastic. But still. I know there are those out there that have done this for years. I don't envy that position.

I've readjusted a few of my priorities, and possibly delayed some changes that I would have made otherwise.  It isn't to say that this won't happen, but I suppose that it is what it is. Obviously, this has had a bit of an effect on me getting this project up and running quickly. But fear not!

I intend on having a theme article up very soon.

JWJacobs

Eclectic Evenings: I have a topic....

So, this is going to be a fairly vague post but I decided that I wanted to hear what intelligent people think about the topic of forgiveness: How do you do it?  What does it take for you to forgive somebody?  How hard is it for you to trust them again?  What about varying degrees of forgiveness?  This question is interesting to me because there definitely are degrees of forgiveness and there are certainly people I am more willing to forgive than others.  I was thinking about this at length tonight and came to the conclusion that I don't even need an apology or a sense that the person is apologetic in order to forgive them.  For me it's more a matter of whether or not they understand why I was upset or even if they acknowlege my feelings that's generally good enough.  I find apologies make me feel awkward and almost forced into forgiveness because that's what you're supposed to do.  The problem with an apology is that it is often just empty words.  I don't believe in doing things because they are what you are supposed to do.  I believe in doing something because you believe it is right.


There is my blurb. :)  I may have done this wrong but I posted it because somebody has been too busy slicing their fingers off to get this underway.....

Snozzberry

But wait... There's more!

Good day gentlemen and lady folks!

You're probably asking yourself, "Why am I here? What lame link have I been sent to?"

Graciously allow me a moment of your indulgence. This blog/e-zine was set up out of pure boredom and random thought process by myself. I figured that while I loved writing random thought processes, generally when I focused, there was a good deal of interest as to what I was writing. And then I took note of the fact that I had quite a few friends with as much or more on their minds than I did.

So... Why not do something that took advantage of those different perspectives and subject matter? Even better, why not take advantage of those different audiences that we all could give each other? And really, why not take advantage of the fact that this gives us the opportunity to speak to what we're passionate about, and to see the responses from new people that don't really care as much about who we are, but what we are putting out there?

And thus we have this. Our monument to the eclectic lifestyles that we find ourselves in.

So come on in. Enjoy. Take a seat. Grab a beer. Or a smoke. Or whatever floats your boat.

Oh. And by the way. We love feedback, discussion, and debate. One of the great advantages of an electronic medium.

-JWJacobs

Pardon our mess.

I am working at a breakneck pace (i.e. I'm procrastinating) to bring everything up and running, while hopefully making this all look prettier. Please indulge me :)

Actually, what I'm doing is something similar to cutting my finger off because I was busy daydreaming about the most amazing person in the world while cutting carrots.