Out There...

122 AU's from Earth (that's 11 billion, 346 million miles) and traveling at 38,120 mph, or 635 miles per minute, Voyager 1 is the farthest man-made object from Earth. It's also on the verge of leaving our solar system and flying through interstellar space.

Think about it. Think about getting in your car and driving a mile and then imagine being able to travel 635 miles in a minute! No turns, no lights, no stop signs. Just open space. Then try and imagine just how far 11 billion miles is! Then realize that even at that distance our sun still has some influence!

Even though Voyager 1 isn't heading toward any particular star, at its current speed, it would take Voyager 1 73,775 years to reach Proxima Centauri, the closest star next to our sun. That's over 700 centuries!

There are two reasons I bring this up; 1) It gives you an idea how BIG our Universe really is (Hell, it gives you an idea of how big our Galaxy is!) and 2) It certainly explains why we haven't been visited by any ET's and probably never will be (barring any miracles from unknown super-advanced cultures). I've been pondering alien civilizations on other planets and, while certainly feasible, they probably aren't any more advanced than we are.

Bear with me here.

The Earth is 4.5 billion years old and this is how advanced we are now (if you want to call this "advanced"). Since the life of our star (the sun) is only about 10 billion years, it would have to take a planet that's at least 5 to 7 billion years old and for their advanced thinking culture to have been around for at least a billion years longer than we have to even have a shot at interstellar travel. It's possible BUT, due to the size of the Galaxy as mentioned above, it could still take millions of years, if not tens of millions, for any alien race to find us, contact us and reach us.

That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

I'm sure that I created quite a stir in my last post by stating that I don't believe in God. I just have to share this video, that's below, which explains the Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism. There are 15 parts or so and, I believe, all are on youtube. The guy did a great job putting the ten minute episodes together and made it entertaining but, man, does he talk fast. Listen close and pay attention.

I had to laugh when I saw that Victoria's Secret removed its Asian-inspired lingerie from its website because bloggers deemed it racist (bloggers, really?)! Picture below.

Apparently, this little outfit comes with a fan and chopsticks and certain bloggers got all up in arms that it depicts Asian women as sex-starved things that are just there for the enjoyment of males.

I don't think that's what it depicts. It's lingerie! Women wear it to turn their man on! Right? Am I missing something here? Of course, all bloggers that were complaining were, you guessed it, females. Nuff said!

For the record, the movies Lincoln and Wreck-It Ralph look real good.

It's been a while....

    I noticed the other day that it's been almost two years since my last blog post. It went quick. A lot of stuff has happened in the two years since my last post about Wikileaks.
   
    Maybe you were beginning to think I was abducted by some shadowy covert operation, who tortured me for information for several months before I escaped and skirted death several times before outwitting my opponents and exposing them for the villains they really are!

    No, not even close.

    Chalk it up to a little laziness, a little bit of life and a little bit of Writing work that took up a bunch of time and then collapsed faster then a dying star (how fast do stars collapse into black holes? Info for another post!).

    I've decided to start writing more prose work and publish it as e-books through Amazon (Thanks, Tom!). If I can sell a short story through normal channels every now and then, so much the better. I'll keep everyone posted.

    Add to that my normal work schedule, trying to get to the gym three times a week and doing stuff around the house, I'm going to need to be organized about this. Right now, I'm looking at one post per week here so check back every week or so.

    I ran across this article last night. The Star Trek-like warp drive is more likely than scientists ever thought and that's good news. Our sun won't last forever. We need to be a space-faring race in order to survive and, who knows, maybe by being a space-faring race we'll actually realize what Star Trek has been trying to tell us for 40+ years; that human beings, regardless of race, can work together for the common good of all.

    Another interesting article I came across is this one. A scrap of ancient papyrus that mentions Jesus' wife. That's right, wife. I don't see what the big deal is. It makes sense that Jesus would have a wife. He was a human being with the same urges and needs that all human beings have. No, I don't believe that he was the literal Son of God. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure that "God" exists.

    Which brings me to another article I came across! A lot of good stuff happening on the Science front!

    I'm sure many people who read this post will be up-in-arms about my non-belief in God. In my mind, it just doesn't make sense. Yes, I still catch myself saying things like, "God bless" or "God only knows" but I chalk that up to my Catholic upbringing. Does my personal belief that "God" doesn't exist make me an evil person? Of course not. I'm still me. A nice guy with a wacky sense of humor with an affinity for comic books, British humor and cartoons.

    Talk to you soon.

WikiLeaks: The Truth or A World Danger?

I'd like to say up front that I always thought Julian Assange's rape charge was something Sweden did under pressure from America because of WikiLeaks. You can believe that World Governments act this way or not but it's one Hell of a coincidence, isn't it?

The problem I have is that Mr. Assange was supposedly getting these highly classified cables from some Private in the Army. Let me say that again; A Private in the Army. A Private? Really?? Do Private's normally have access to documents that are this classified? Yeah. No, I'm not sure I'm buying that one either. There's obviously a leak high on the command ladder and this poor Private is going to be the fall guy.

Hey, remember that TV show The Fall Guy with Lee Majors? Shedding his Six Million Dollar Man image to play a Hollywood Stuntman who...solves...crimes. He did have a kick ass truck, from what I remember. I'm digressing, though.

Jemima Khan had this to say about Assange's rape charge:
"Assange has not even been charged, let alone convicted. Swedish prosecutors do not have to produce any evidence that he committed the alleged sexual offences to justify the warrant. On the basis of the allegations that I heard read out in court, the evidence seems feeble, but I concede that I don't know the full facts. Neither does Assange. Stockholm's chief prosecutor, Eva Finne, who heard the evidence against Assange in August, threw the case out of court, saying: 'I don't think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape.'"

Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore has lended Julian Assange a variety of help stating, "We were taken to war in Iraq on a lie. Hundreds of thousands are now dead," Moore wrote on his website. "Just imagine if the men who planned this war crime back in 2002 had a WikiLeaks to deal with. They might not have been able to pull it off. The only reason they thought they could get away with it was because they had a guaranteed cloak of secrecy. That guarantee has now been ripped from them, and I hope they are never able to operate in secret again."

Love him or hate him, the guy has a point.

Our final bite comes from John Ziegler (pictured below):

"I agree that there are important speech issues involved here, but I think it really has far more to do with the fact that Hollywood types love celebrity, danger and anti-Americanism. Assange now represents all three of those."

Huh?? Danger and Anti-Americanism? Why because he published documents about things that American Politicians said about other World Leaders?? Yeah, don't see that, either.

The moral of this story is don't write down unflattering things about other people! Just say it quietly behind their back. THAT'S the American way!!

On the lighter side; Chernobyl is going to be opened to tourists next year!
Yeah, that's where I want to go. What, do they give you a free geiger counter when you book your trip? "It perfectly safe. Pay no attention to two-headed dog." I'll pass.

My Prediction

For those who read my blog about what the Cleveland Indians had to do to contend, let's take a look at what actually happened...and what didn't.

The pitching had to be there and, so far, it really hasn't. Fausto Carmona HAS returned to 2007 form posting an 11-8 record, 3.78 ERA and really only having about 3 or 4 non-quality starts. Mitch Talbot has been a nice surprise but walks way too many (not surprising for a young guy). Jake Westbrook has come back from major elbow surgery and contributed innings but not quality innings. Surprisingly, the Cardinals traded for him and his first start for them was pretty good so maybe a league change will work.
Not much complaint about the bullpen. They've been steady and I was actually happy to see them trade Kerry Wood to the Yankees. He blew too many games for my liking.

Well, the Indians didn't trade Travis Hafner but he still isn't hitting. .267, 9, 33 in the fourth and fifth spot just doesn't get it done. I'm sure there were no teams willing to take on Hafner's contract but when the year ends they may have to eat the rest and release him. Use the money to try and get Carl Crawford!

They needed to start hot and finish hot. A 9-13 April wouldn't necessarily constitute starting hot, especially when followed by a 9-18 May. Injuries are starting to pile up again. Santana and Hafner just went on the DL and even with all that the Indians could leapfrog out of last place over the Royals. They're 5-6 in the last 11. Playing .500 ball the rest of the way WILL get them out of the basement and allow them to play spoiler down the stretch with their last 16 games against divisional opponents.

They've got a super-young lineup but the promise is there, as long as the front office does the right thing. Let's see how the rest of the year goes. Go Tribe!

The First Amendment in the Computer Age

According to an opinion piece in the July 20th USA Today, students in schools are turning to blogs, Facebook and all kinds of Internet sites to voice their displeasure over Teachers, Principals...and other students.

A girl in Pembroke Pines, Fla. was suspended after complaining about "the worst teacher I've ever met." Now that she's graduated she's pursuing civil claims.
The story intrigued me so I did some digging (if only the author of the article did likewise [sigh]) The REAL story, according to a NY Times article published February 2009, states the girl DID start a Facebook page about the teacher and got a few responses. Some students even stood up for the teacher. At any rate, the page was taken down within a few days. Two Months later, the girl was called into the Principal's office and suspended for "cyberbullying."
Unfortunately, what the girl did doesn't really fall under the guidelines of cyberbullying.
StopCyberbullying.org, an organization dedicated to Internet safety, security and privacy, defines cyberbullying as: "a situation when a child, tween or teen is repeatedly 'tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted' by another child or teenager using text messaging, email, instant messaging or any other type of digital technology." (Thank you, Wikipedia!)
Of course, the Principal couldn't very well call her to the office and say, "We're suspending you for exercising your right to free speech." So, I'm thinking the Principal must have taken up to a month to figure out how he could suspend the girl and cyberbullying was the only thing he could find, even though, it appears, the teacher had no clue about the Facebook page to begin with!
Pamela Brown, assistant director for the Broward County School District who oversees expulsions says “You can express an opinion on whether someone is a good teacher, but when you start inviting people to say that they hate a teacher, that crosses the line.”
Huh?
So, it's fine to follow the herd and say good things about people but as soon as you disagree and invite others who also disagree, well, then you're crossing a line. Of course you are! Because you're inciting rebellion against the status quo, isn't that right, Ms. Brown. Can't have that, can we??
Somehow, I can picture Ms. Brown sitting in her office with a huge swastika hanging behind her.
Sieg Heil!

So, does the student from Pembroke Pines, Fla. have protection under the First Amendment? I say 'yes.' If after school she was with a group of friends talking about how terrible this teacher was and the Principal happened to overhear, yes, he could try to suspend her (and the rest of the group) but he wouldn't get very far because her speech is protected by the First Amendment. Putting it down on an Internet page makes it different? Nope. She doesn't have First Amendment rights because she wasn't legally an adult? Nope.

As an update to this story: As of Feb. 2010, a Federal Judge has ruled that the former student can go ahead with the lawsuit AND has rejected the former Principal's claim of qualified immunity. You go, Girl!!

Are there any violations of Free Speech in your area? Let me hear about it!