Stars, Plague, Freezing and Forgiving
So yesterday was alternately clear, bright and sunny and raining. Around sundown it was clear, so I went outside to have a look at the sky and lo! There was Venus doing it's duty as evening star, well up above the 'ahses, but the sky was still too bright for Mars to show up. Back indoors for half an hour or so then try again. This time there was but a green glow to the west, to the east the sky was completely dark, and there, shining out were, from west to east:- Venus and Mars, not on top of each other but still close, higher up the sky the crescent moon, to the south Orion with Aldebaran, the eye of the bull, up from his belt and Sirius, the dog star, twinkling red/white/blue, down from his belt, thento the southeast, bright and clear, Jupiter. H checked with the Stellarium program and said that, had we a telescope, we'd have been able to see Uranus above Venus and Mars - think we'd probaby need dark skies too, and if the telescope was pointed at Jupiter we'd have been able to see the rings side on and some of the moons.
There now, just occasionally everything lines up, up above the line of the 'ahses in between, the clahds in between have the decency to part and we can do some star and planet spotting. I'm particularly chuffed that we got three in one go! *Satisfied and wondering smile* Ok, bring on the clahds! Did you get to see anything, Dear Reader? Were you even interested enough to bother looking? We didn't hang around too long, it was chilly!
Slightly differently, you remember in history lessons, Dear Reader, how the plague (aka Black Death) spread across Europe in the Middle Ages and left the continent severely underpopulated? In fact so underpopulated that peasants in the fields found their labour at a premium and thus got a wage increase! Anyhew, you may remember that the disease was thought to have been spread by black rats coming home from the East with returning Crusaders. No longer. Scientists in Norway now reckon that gerbils were to blame. Srsly, Dear Reader, Gerbils!
Apparently they have found correlation between outbreaks of plague in Europe and warm temperatures in Asia causing the gerbil population to rise and fleas to spread.
All of which is interesting but I remember my 'A' Level Statistics teacher telling us that just because two, or more, things appeared to be correlated didn't actually mean that they were. You have to look at your data VERY carefully first. The scientists are going tho check DNA from skeletons across Europe to see whether the correlations are real. Meanwhile if you have a pet Gerbil, Dear Reader, you might want to ensure that a) it is flea free and b) it isn't in contact with other gerbils, particularly if they have fleas! Although modern medicine might actually be in a position to cure anyone of plague - provided they recoginsed the condition in time!
Then you may have heard that this winter Canada is experiencing Seriously Cold temperatures. I mean, a lot of Canada gets Really Cold winters but this year is colder. So one Canadian has suggested that his city - Edmonton, Alberta, flood some roads, let them freeze, making a 'skateway' so that Edmontonians can skate their way to work, the shops, school and ice-hockey games. It would be fun, he reckons, it would give our citizens opportunities to exercise (important at this time of year) and it would encourage people to come out and move about (also important, though not too popular at this time of year). Whether Edmonton takes him up on his suggestion remains to be seen. Should you be travelling to Edmonton, Dear Reader, I'd suggest getting in some ice-skating practice and, maybe, hiring some skates when you arrive!
And Finally - you heard of the killing of Egyptian Christians in Libya last week. There were various outraged reactions. There were several anti-whoever-did-it reactions. There was (at least) one Christian reaction. You see, Christians are told to forgive. To bless those who persecute them and to pray for those who harm them. To hand the whole sorry situation over to God and to leave it there. "Vengeance is Mine!" Says the Lord, "I will repay." And personally, given the choice of having a human enemy coming after me or having the Living God . . . Besides which, continually taking vengeance on one's enemies merely perpetuates the vendetta. Forgiveness stops it. Forgiveness can make friends of enemies. Goodness only knows we need more friendship in the world.
Y'all have a good, and forgiving, day now!
There now, just occasionally everything lines up, up above the line of the 'ahses in between, the clahds in between have the decency to part and we can do some star and planet spotting. I'm particularly chuffed that we got three in one go! *Satisfied and wondering smile* Ok, bring on the clahds! Did you get to see anything, Dear Reader? Were you even interested enough to bother looking? We didn't hang around too long, it was chilly!
Slightly differently, you remember in history lessons, Dear Reader, how the plague (aka Black Death) spread across Europe in the Middle Ages and left the continent severely underpopulated? In fact so underpopulated that peasants in the fields found their labour at a premium and thus got a wage increase! Anyhew, you may remember that the disease was thought to have been spread by black rats coming home from the East with returning Crusaders. No longer. Scientists in Norway now reckon that gerbils were to blame. Srsly, Dear Reader, Gerbils!
Apparently they have found correlation between outbreaks of plague in Europe and warm temperatures in Asia causing the gerbil population to rise and fleas to spread.
All of which is interesting but I remember my 'A' Level Statistics teacher telling us that just because two, or more, things appeared to be correlated didn't actually mean that they were. You have to look at your data VERY carefully first. The scientists are going tho check DNA from skeletons across Europe to see whether the correlations are real. Meanwhile if you have a pet Gerbil, Dear Reader, you might want to ensure that a) it is flea free and b) it isn't in contact with other gerbils, particularly if they have fleas! Although modern medicine might actually be in a position to cure anyone of plague - provided they recoginsed the condition in time!
Then you may have heard that this winter Canada is experiencing Seriously Cold temperatures. I mean, a lot of Canada gets Really Cold winters but this year is colder. So one Canadian has suggested that his city - Edmonton, Alberta, flood some roads, let them freeze, making a 'skateway' so that Edmontonians can skate their way to work, the shops, school and ice-hockey games. It would be fun, he reckons, it would give our citizens opportunities to exercise (important at this time of year) and it would encourage people to come out and move about (also important, though not too popular at this time of year). Whether Edmonton takes him up on his suggestion remains to be seen. Should you be travelling to Edmonton, Dear Reader, I'd suggest getting in some ice-skating practice and, maybe, hiring some skates when you arrive!
And Finally - you heard of the killing of Egyptian Christians in Libya last week. There were various outraged reactions. There were several anti-whoever-did-it reactions. There was (at least) one Christian reaction. You see, Christians are told to forgive. To bless those who persecute them and to pray for those who harm them. To hand the whole sorry situation over to God and to leave it there. "Vengeance is Mine!" Says the Lord, "I will repay." And personally, given the choice of having a human enemy coming after me or having the Living God . . . Besides which, continually taking vengeance on one's enemies merely perpetuates the vendetta. Forgiveness stops it. Forgiveness can make friends of enemies. Goodness only knows we need more friendship in the world.
Y'all have a good, and forgiving, day now!