Category Archives: miscellaneous

miscellaneous, Space

The Goldilocks Zone—Part 3

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What if Earth were in the center of the galaxy instead of a far away arm? How would gravity be different, and could human life be sustained or develop?

Continuing our discussion about the Goldilocks Zone—that area of a planet where conditions are just right to sustain life, especially human-like life—I move now from conditions on the planet itself to things in the planet’s neighborhood. I’ve already discussed the general concept of a Goldilocks Zone and factors affecting the temperature, which must be just right for human life to thrive.

The first of two things off the planet to discuss is gravity. Gravity? you say. Isn’t that on the planet? Well, yes, it is. Perhaps “off the planet” is not the best term. Anyone who has taken fundamental science in school has learned about gravity: the pull two objects exert on each other. It holds air close to Earth, creating the atmosphere we need for life. It’s what keeps our feet firmly planted on Earth, and why we can’t jump off of it. It’s why we fall if we lose our balance.

But we know it takes two bodies to gravitationally tango. This is demonstrated by the tides, which have been shown to be related to the moon’s gravitational tug on earth. Those tides are variable based on the lunar cycles.

I’m not saying we need a moon-ocean connection for human life to form but simply using the moon as an example of something in the neighborhood that affects our gravity. I’m trying to talk through the likelihood of another planet being out there somewhere in the Milky Way or another galaxy being able to sustain human life. Some people believe, given the number of galaxies and stars out there, the existence of finding other life-sustaining planets is a virtual certainty, including planets where human-like life could have developed. I’m simply talking through that scenario.

The Goldilocks Zone concept, as I’ve seen it presented, is usually posed as a question of temperature and nothing else. But could gravity play a factor? What if you had a planet with the moon’s gravity. If it could hold an atmosphere in place, could humans live in only that little gravity? Could human life have developed in only that little gravity? I sort of doubt it. Some different kind of life would have developed. You wouldn’t see a bunch of Armstrongs and Aldrins bounding around. But will wait for scientific experts to weigh in.

What about other celestial objects, such as the sun and other planets? Obviously the sun plays a big roll, its gravity holding Earth in orbit. Could you find a planet with a sun, say, three times the mass of ours, and place a planet in orbit around it so that a Goldilocks temperature could exist, would the gravity properties be such that human life could exist? Or what if the planet were twice as big as Earth? Same question. Would that planet hold so much air in place that the atmospheric pressure would be too great for humans to live in it?

Let’s go a little farther afield in the celestial neighborhood. What about a planet rotating around a star near the center of our galaxy. Would all the other stars around it combined exert so much gravitational force that it would be so different from ours that human life couldn’t exist? or not develop in the first place? I realize we are talking about four or five light years between stars. But what if you had bunches and bunches of stars?

I’m asking questions I don’t know the answers to. I suspect scientists, somewhere on Earth, understand gravity so much they can tell what conditions are an a supposed planet twice Earth’s size rotating a sun thrice our sun’s size in a celestial neighborhood 100 times more cluttered than ours. What are the “G” forces on a human at that equator, and could they exist there in that gravity if the temperature were right?

We have learned from long-term periods in space that it’s almost impossible for humans to maintain muscle mass and tone in Zero G, even with lots of exercise. What will happen on a theoretical exoplanet with G forces so foreign to our bodies? A biologist might—or might not—be able to answer that question.

The next post in this series will discuss one more celestial neighborhood factor in the presence of a Goldilocks Zone.

miscellaneous, Space

The Goldilocks Zone—Part 2

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Does this galaxy, of a billion or more stars, have an exoplanet that includes a Goldilocks zone?

So, we are talking about planets outside of our solar system, exoplanets, and whether we might find among them a so-called “Goldilocks Zone”—a place on the planet where the amount of sunshine, atmosphere, and water could sustain human-like life.  A side question would be whether such a planet could sustain any type of life. But, for the sake of this series of articles, we are discussing only human life.

It seems to me, the biggest factors in the presence of a Goldilocks Zone are the location away from its star and movement relative to that star and how those impact the planet’s surface temperature.

A just-right temperature is the most obvious need. But that’s a fairly wide range. With environmental adaption and bodily protection, humans live from the lower polar regions to the hot deserts. Not the coldest parts of the poles, and not the very hottest, dryest deserts, but close to them.  As I say, that’s a pretty good range, indicating that humans are adaptable in a broad range of temperatures. That means we should have a pretty good chance of finding a suitable exoplanet, right?

Not so fast. On Earth, part of what determines the temperature is the Earth’s rotation. If it didn’t rotate, not much of the world’s surface would be habitable. The tropics would be out, for without 12 hours rotated away from the sun’s rays, the temperature would be too hot. I don’t know just how much Earth’s own Goldilocks Zone would shrink, but I would think it would shrink significantly.

Then, what about the tilt of Earth’s axis, that thing that gives us seasons? This results in a change in temperature between winter and summer, but does it also impact average temperature? Good question. And if the tilt impacts the Goldilocks Zone, does the wobble of the tilt also have an impact?

Then, what about the elliptical nature of Earth’s orbit? We aren’t always the same distance from the sun. Does that have an impact? I’m not sure it does, but it’s one more factor in Earth’s movements relative to the sun to think about.

Another obvious factor in maintaining temperature is the atmosphere. The heat from a star would radiate away at those parts of the planet not receiving sunlight except that the atmosphere holds some heat in. We know this because of how much colder it gets on a clear winter night compared to a cloudy winter night. And does the amount of moisture in the atmosphere affect this? I think it does.

What else is involved? I suspect the color of the planet makes a difference. Certain colors will reflect heat; certain other colors will absorb heat. And does the color of the Earth’s oceans, i.e. the reflection vs. absorption factor of the color of major water bodies, (not the heat retaining factor) affect the overall temperature? I suspect so.

One other factor occurs to me, which is the temperature of the inner core of the planet. Earth’s core is molten, covered with a thin, colder crust. Some of this inner heat finds an exit via volcanos, but it seems to me that some of this heat, perhaps just a little, must move up through the crust. I kind of suspect this is a minor factor, or maybe an Earth scientist will tell me it is no factor at all. If so, fine; I stand corrected.

All of this tells me that the factors that determine Earth’s temperature are very complicated. Distance. Rotation speed. Rotation angle. Orbit shape. Surface color. Interior temperature. Some of these factors are obviously major, some perhaps minor.

And temperature is not the only factor in a planet’s ability to have a Goldilocks Zone. The next couple of posts will discuss other possible factors in an exoplanet that may affect support of human lfe.

 

 

miscellaneous, Space

The Goldilocks Zone—Part 1

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Images from the James Webb telescope are fascinating.

New telescopes, positioned in earth orbit and not hampered by earth’s atmosphere, have shown amazing pictures of space, both far and near. We now see further and further into space and, based on how long light takes to travel, closer and closer to the beginning of the universe, with greatly clearer images. Hubbell and Webb are creating quite a stir.

This once again has resulted in a discussion of what’s out there. Is there any kind of life on other planets, planets we now know exist outside our solar system? What about human-ish life, with human constitution, mobility, and ability to think, reason, and build, to refashion their environment to better suit who they are?

Or looked at another way: is there a planet out there, somewhere in space, to which mankind can flee should we despoil out planet to such an extent—or if natural processes proceed to a point—that earth becomes unlivable? That’s assuming, of course, that we overcome the time-based limitations of space travel and get to the point where humans can physically travel to that planet and arrive there not only alive but also healthy enough to set up their new habitation.

What do we need in another planet to be able to live there? Scientists talk about a planet needing a so-called “Goldilocks Zone”—that is, a part of the planet where the climate is just right: not too hot and not too cold. For example, life can’t exist on Venus, as it’s too hot and we would all fry. Nor can it exist on Mars, which is too far away from the sun, hence too cold and we would all freeze. Oh, I know some say we could adapt the Martian environment sufficiently to  create a source of heat and thus develop a suitable habitation. Maybe. I’d have to study that one more.

Science fiction books talk a lot about terraforming other planets: the hypothetical process of modifying another planet’s or moon’s environment to make it suitable for supporting human life, transforming it into an Earth-like world. Check out a discussion of that here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming.

But just how rigid or flexible is the Goldilocks Zone? To look at how well humans have done in adapting to the wide range of climates Earth has, from the frigid polar regions to hot, humid tropics and hot, dry deserts, it seems we ought to be able to live on any planet that comes close to the conditions on Earth.

And, given the number of stars out there, and the number of galaxies, and the number of exoplanets we have already seen using our new telescopes, surely there’s a new earth for us. Heck, given the billions or maybe trillions of stars we can see, finding an exoplanet with a Goldilocks Zone is virtually assured. So the experts say.

Or maybe it’s the dreamers, not the experts, who are saying that.

In this series or posts, I’m going to explore the concept of a Goldilocks Zone, and talk through what it would have to include to support a transplanted human existence—or to have supported life in a way that resulted in another intelligent existence parallel to ours,

miscellaneous, stock market

Friday—A Non-Post

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Oh my, it’s Friday and I haven’t posted yet. I started the day a little early, got involved in my special projects, including a couple of stock trades, and forgot to post. I had nothing planned, and consequently didn’t get one written.

I had a good day, getting much done. I have two letters ready to go to the P.O., and one long one sent by e-mail. Now waiting for a pie (of the frozen variety) to come out of the oven.

So, I’ll try to have something more meaningful to say on Monday.

Decumulation, memories, miscellaneous

Photos

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It’s so nice to have photos, isn’t it? Of family. Of the house. Of that big snowstorm in winter. Of the beautiful landscape scenes you see on summer vacation. Family Christmas celebration.

Then there’s the old photo album that your grandparents had and gave to your parents. Aunt Jane, great-aunt Elizabeth, photos of croquet games, unknown children. How great it is to have all that family history.

Until, that is, 50 years or more have passed. You are the only one still alive who remembers great-aunt Elizabeth, and you aren’t quite sure the woman you remember was actually great-aunt Elizabeth or a neighbor lady. You take stock after a cousin comes by with a box of photos and says, “Keep what your want and do what you want with the rest.” And you realize the box probably has 5,000 photos in it.

And you further realize you have similar boxes of photos of your own family, you dad’s family, your mom’s family, your spouse’s dad’s family, and your spouse’s mom’s family. Is it really possible that you have 20,000 photos in the house?

That’s where we’re at. We thinned out the book collection down to a manageable number for when we downsize. The photos come next. Digitize them, you say? That removes the stacks, but doesn’t really solve the problem. Someone, sometime, will have those digital files and wonder “who the heck are these people and why do I have these files?” No, they don’t take up a lot of physical space, but they are a type of clutter, a possession passed down that is not needed and probably not wanted. Something to leave to your children to make the decision on.

This is where we are. Probably 20,000 physical photos to do something with. At some point I’ll maybe count enough to see if my estimate is close.

 

Bible study, miscellaneous, Writing

Progress As Hoped For

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Back when I was a working man—that is, working for a company—making to-do lists was both a blessing and a curse. The tendency for me was to make a comprehensive list of daily tasks, around 10 to 20 items. These often became a distraction. Which should I do next out of the twenty on the list? Most of the time I would tackle the easier, less important item just to cross something off the list, rather than the harder but most important task.

At some point I learned a trick from some efficiency expert. Your daily to-do list should have only four items on it. They should be the most important ones. Do them, cross them off your list, and then, if you have time, move on to other things. I adopted this practice with one modification: I put the four most important tasks above a line and four other tasks below the line. This gave me more of a plan to make the day really full of accomplishment.

I’ve never adopted that practice for the many things I have to get done in retirement. But since my health problems of last year, with the Dec. 22 seizure being the concluding event, severely interrupted my work, I’ve had trouble getting back to it. As I posted before, I began writing again not so long ago. I’m still working on decumulation. And our stock trading partnership taxes are due March 17. It was all becoming overwhelming. When I made a to do list, it didn’t help.

Then I remembered the four-task rule. About three weeks ago I started to begin each day making a four-task to-do list. The things I thought most important to that day went on the list. While I had big, on-going tasks, each day’s four were different. Partnership taxes were on it every day after about 3 March. But on 1 March, the first item was “Call Ezra”, #2 grandson on his birthday. I put one writing/publishing task on the list each day, and one decumulation task.

Yesterday’s four were:

  1. finish partnership taxes
  2. AWTHW V2 cover
  3. transcribe journal sheets
  4. storeroom organization

Alas, due to most of the morning being taken up with five errands, I didn’t have the full day to complete them all, and I did only 1 and 3.

Today, my four tasks are:

  1. AWTHW V2 cover
  2. mail partnership taxes
  3. mark boxes in storeroom
  4. Cheney fam photos

We’ll see how it goes. Meanwhile, I have found a use for all these pads that accumulate from unsolicited give aways. The one I’m currently using, with enough space for six days on a sheet, was given to us by the realtor who sold us our house before this one in 1991. I found it in the desk in The Dungeon a couple of months ago, and decided it was high time to use it. From the size of the pad still left, it will probably last for 3 or 4 months.

Decumulation, goals, home improvements, miscellaneous

So Busy, So Tired

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Tonight is the alignment/parade of the planets. Just after sunset, we are supposed to be able to see seven planets, a highly unusual event. Except, if you read the fine print, Saturn will be so close to the setting sun you really won’t be able to see it. The one further out from Saturn (Neptune or Uranus, I forget which), will only be visible by telescope. You need to have a cloudless sky to see it, and a rural area not beset by light pollution will help quite a bit.

I don’t know what our cloud cover will be tonight, but all the other conditions are right for viewing in my area. The light pollution is to the east of us, and the viewing will be in the western sky. But we have one pesky problem: trees. We live in a forest. Mercury and Saturn will likely be below the tree line. I’m not sure about Venus, Mercury, and Saturn.  So for us to see the planetary parade, we need to go somewhere that gives us a vista to see the four, or maybe five, planets.

But the bigger problem for me is the busyness and tiredness of the last few day, which will continue today. By the time sunset arrives, I will certainly be too tired to drive the three miles to the best venue close to me.

What’s making me so busy. In a word, decumulation. In another word, decluttering. In a third word, cleaning and organization. The last three days I’ve been working hot and heavy at these three thing, and will continue today. I’ve been purging business records, and stacking the paper for shredding. Other papers go straight into the recycling pile. I’ve also been transcribing old handwritten journal sheets into my electronic journal, and checking the odd genealogy paper against my electronic files.

I could write pages and pages about this, but I need to get to decumulation and decluttering work. I’ll let these few words speak for themselves.

Oh, by the way, yesterday I got back to writing. Editing old stuff instead of writing new stuff, but it’s part of the writing process—the first I’ve done in over a month.

family, home improvements, miscellaneous

Still Too Busy

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Yes, between decumulation and getting ready for a trip and dealing with health issues, finding time to write a meaningful blog post just isn’t there. I thought of it Thursday night, but was dealing with purposeful sleep deprivation for an EEG on Wednesday that effectively took three days out of my week. Friday found me too busy trying to wrap up several decumulation tasks. Last night I sorted through two 3-ring binders, and got rid of one and all the papers it held.

Work continues on that decumulation, but I see lots of progress. I’m hoping that this week we will take a load of miscellaneous things to the new Goodwill donation center that opened just a mile from our house. I’m hoping also this week to begin going through old family photos of Lynda’s paternal family, take electronic pictures of those we want copies of, and send the rest on to relatives. That depends, however, on Lynda being well enough to look at them.

Today I will do two main tasks. First, create electronic forms for 2025. I didn’t do this in January because I didn’t get December’s finished. So to do his, it means first finishing December, copying the files to 2025 files, making the few alterations for the new year, and entering January’s data. I’m talking about family budget, book sales, and stock trading records. This will take about two hours, I think. Second will be filing a mass of papers that have accumulated on my worktable in The Dungeon. A lot of these are health papers, and I hope they go into place fairly easily. Still, this is probably an all-day task.

Whether I get to do a little writing or not is up in the air. It would be nice to find an hour to write, but I make no promises.

miscellaneous, Writing

Too Busy This Week

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Friday snuck up on me. I have no blog post ready. It’s been a busy week, as I’ve been overwhelmed with things to do.  I had medical appointments every day. Been working on decumulation tasks every day. One day I was able to sneak in a little writing.

I’ll try to be back with a real post on Monday. And maybe later today I’ll drop back in and add a little to this post.

books, home improvements, memories, miscellaneous

So Sick Of Books

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The legacy books on the built-in shelves in the living room.

No, not sick of reading. I’m in the midst of reading two different books, one print book and one e-books. Actually, it’s 3 books. There’s one other one out in the sunroom that I’ve almost given up on. Maybe I’ll read a little more in that. And, when I’m done with these two, or three, I’ll transition into two more. Wait, it’s four. There’s also the book I read in the mornings for devotions.

The books on the left are waiting for the buyer to pick them up. The books on the right are waiting for reshelving.

No, not sick of writing books. This last week I finished the first chapter in my next Bible study. I enjoyed doing it, though after almost two months of writing nothing due to my health problems. And the two months before that I was writing at reduced capacity due to the two freak injuries I had in mid-July. So I’m having to get re-used to taking a portion of my day for writing. And working through my fine motor skills for typing. Yes, re-learning the elements of being an author.

Keepers to go back on a shelf, or possibly to be revaluated, but right now adding to the decor in the dining room.

No, what I’m sick of about books is selling them. You see, in the interest of a future downsizing, which after this year of health problems is much closer than we though, we decided to make a big dent in the 2 or 3 thousand books in our house.

That includes what I’ve been calling my legacy books, or more properly termed heirloom books. These include a large number of books published in the 1800s. This has been a lot of work. Looking up the books at on-line sales sites, deciding on a price, placing an ad on Facebook Marketplace, fielding queries, scheduling buyers in, dealing with no-shows, etc. It’s a lot of work.

Books on the dining room table.

I could also say gathering books from various places in the house. We had many boxes of books on shelves in the basement storeroom. Lynda was the one to identify the boxes and carry them upstairs (since I wasn’t allowed to go on stairs after my operation). Our daughter, Sara, also helped carry books upstairs while she was here. The basement is now much cleared of books. Yet, the bookshelves in the basement living room still have lots of books. We have no shortage of building material.

Books on the garage worktable.

The garage worktable is covered by boxes of Christian novels, mainly for women. The dining room table is covered with boxes of misc. books, a cross between legacy and modern books. All those are for sale. Then we have boxes of books in the living room and dining room that Lynda hasn’t yet made the keep/get rid of decision. We also have a pile of books on the hearth, waiting for the buyer to pick up, and another, smaller pile near of books we have decided to keep but haven’t yet looked where to reshelve them.

Why not just give the books away, you ask? It may come to that, especially with the modern ones. But for the legacy books, it seems a shame to not first try to get something for them. Some of them have been in the family for 130 years—first on bookshelves of some kind in the houses David Sexton rented, later in boxes in the boxes in the basement of the house I grew up in in Cranston, Rhode Island, then finally on the bookshelves or in boxes in our house. All that storage and transporting deserves compensation, don’t you think?

At some point, the inventory will be small enough that donation will be more likely. Or the few that are left will be manageable to keep. We’ve already done that with children’s books, 400 of them donated to our church for a special event.

But at some point, I’ll be glad for the dining room table to be clear, the living room clear, and the garage clear of book boxes and loose books to be gone, either sold, donated, or re-shelved.