Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Dawn became the first spacecraft to orbit two asteroids or planets other than Earth last week. More to the point, we're learning more about these survivors from the early Solar System. Meanwhile, from the world of infotainment , "chaos" and the early Solar System.... ...Either way, Vesta and Ceres are — most likely — the last remaining large protoplanets : which makes them valuable samples of the early Solar System. Apart from size and distance from our sun, they're very different: which also makes them intriguing places to study. Scientists have working ideas about how Vesta and Ceres ended up where they are, but those hypotheses may change when we learn more from the Dawn mission. There's quite a bit of data to work with already, from Dawn's stopover at Vesta.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Events like the Pinatubo eruptions of 1991 happen about once a century — on average — roughly. Some scientists say that next time there's a Pinatubo-scale eruption, we should deploy a fleet of instrument-carrying aircraft, balloons, and satellites: to see exactly what happens when sulfur dioxide and other chemicals get dumped into the upper atmosphere. We know that the stuff causes regional and global climate changes: but we don't know exactly how the process works. There's more than pure scientific curiosity behind wanting this knowledge. Earth's climate is changing, which is par for the course: but we're at a point where our actions can affect climate. The job at hand is leaning how Earth's climate works, how it changes, and what causes the changes. Then we'll decide what to do about that knowledge.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

DNA evidence in a court case isn't new: but deer DNA in a poaching trial is. Less than two decades after a cloned sheep 's birth, British Members of Parliament okayed human cloning: using DNA from three people. Scientists who think this is a good idea may be right: at least for some versions of the new tech. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Today's second reading reminded me of Harold Camping's high-profile End Times predictions, a few years back.... ...I've read that Hero of Alexandria used Pythagorean cups in his robotic systems. That's probably a reference to Heron's fountain , Heron is another version of Hero's name, and I am not going to wander off-topic again. Not for another paragraph or two, anyway. Pythagoras of Samos didn't invent the Pythagorean theorem , but he's the first chap to show why it works - -- Let's try this again. It's one of those days. A Pythagorean cup is a thinking person's dribble glass , sort of.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

European officials seem to think that planning about what to do when an asteroid heads their way is a good idea. I think they're right. A SpaceX cargo run to the International Space Station arrived on time, but the flight's experimental reusable booster didn't land properly. Actually, it crashed.... I started writing about asteroid impacts, which reminded me of ice ages, dodos, and responsibility. This isn't the most tightly-organized post I've ever done. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

As I'm writing this, 19 folks in France have died because — it's complicated. Assuming that the Kouachi brothers had religious motives for killing folks at the Charlie Hebdo offices is, I think, reasonable: but it's an assumption. Assuming that Charlie Hebdo's distinctly irreverent treatment of Islam led to this week's attack is — that's complicated, too.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

(From John William Waterhouse, via FineArtAmerica.com , used w/o permission.) This morning's Gospel reading is Luke 1:26 - 38 . That's the bit that starts with.... ...This comes a little after an account of Gabriel's interview with Zachariah, Luke 1:10 - 20 . That's when Gabriel personally delivers God's response to Zachariah's prayer: and Zachariah demands proof. Zachariah got proof, all right. He wasn't able to talk for for months. That didn't stop until he agreed with his wife about his son's name: in writing. Elizabeth's name for the boy was John, the same name Gabriel had specified More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

" ...'What else can I be,' returned the uncle, 'when I live in such a world of fools as this? ... If I could work my will,' said Scrooge indignantly, 'every idiot who goes about with "Merry Christmas" on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!'... " (" A Christmas Carol ," Charles Dickens (1843) via www.gutenberg.org) 'Tis the season to be frazzled. Advent is when some Americans max out their credit cards, buying presents and setting up holiday parties: while others kvetch over bright lights and holiday music played in stores.... More, or less, at A Catholic Citizen in America .

When a scholar of the law asked Jesus for the greatest Commandment, my Lord gave two.... ...The Samaritan: An Unexpected 'Good Guy' After two millennia, the shock of a Samaritan being the 'good guy' in this sort of story has worn off. Jews and Samaritans did not get along: at all. These days, it'd be like telling a story in a redneck bar: where a coal miner, poor farmer, and truck driver wouldn't help the accident victim: but an east Asian immigrant did.... ...Okay: I've had a cup of coffee, walked around a bit, and calmed down. Let's see, where was I? The greatest Commandment, the good Samaritan. Right. The rules are simple, but not easy.... ...I'd like to end world hunger, establish a lasting peace, and cure the common cold. That's not gonna happen. For starters, I don't have the connections or power to get any of that done. Besides, things take time.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Robot explorers observed a comet as it whizzed past Mars, there's something very odd about a moon of Saturn, and Earth's magnetic field will probably flip much sooner than predicted. About Earth's magnetic poles switching places: I'm pretty sure we'll notice the event, but it won't be 'apocalyptic.'... ...Earth's magnetic field is weakening a whole lot faster than scientists expected. Our planet's north and south magnetic poles will switch places "soon:" on the geologic time scale. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Some mainstream news isn't "journalistic infotainment-like art-product," as Hyraxx , the alien reporter in Buck Godot, described her work. That said, there's a reason for my concentrating on News.va , the Vatican's official news source, for Synod 14 coverage.... ...Emotions are part of being human. We're supposed to feel happy, sad, or whatever. But God gave us brains: and expects us to think , too. I have no problem with emotions: which is a good thing, since I'm a very emotional man. I've enjoyed shows like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Revenge of the Cybermen , but that's entertainment.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

This year's Ebola outbreak has killed thousand of folks in West Africa: and one in the United States. By any reasonable standard, it's a very serious health problem.... ...As I've said before, being healthy is okay. ( June 13, 2014 ) Not being healthy is okay, too: but I'm expected to take care of my health: within reason.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

After nearly five hundred years, the Roman Republic had grown from a small city-state to a major world power: and it was a mess. I'm not talking about the chronic SNAFUs perpetrated by America's Congress. If America's government was like the Roman Republic's, we might see the House ways and means committee lead an armed assault on the Senate: while their assassins took care of a filibuster the hard way. Yes: things could be worse. Run-ins like the Catilinarian Conspiracy and Second Catilinarian conspiracy made the worst Washington mudslinging seem like a sedate poetry reading. The Roman Senate finally named one of their members " dictator perpetuo " ("dictator in perpetuity") — hoping that Julius Caesar would solve their problems. A few Senators got nervous: cutting the term, and Caesar's life, short. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

1,024 little robots got together at Harvard, making the letter "K" and drawing a star. What they do doesn't look as sophisticated as many marching band halftime formations — but it's a good start on collective artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, Harvard and MIT's angular automatons don't do much except fold themselves into crablike shapes, and scuttle away: today.... ...I'm not troubled that we make increasingly lifelike imitations of living creatures. Somehow, I don't think the Almighty is going to be offended by cuckoo clocks or robot dogs playing soccer. Tightly-would folks of a grimly pious bent might have qualms about mechanical birds, music boxes, and other frivolities. I'm convinced that gloominess is not next to Godliness, and that's another topic. Besides, many automata help make this a safer world for humans.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

IBM's neurosynaptic cores may not show up in home computers for years. Their circuits emulate a brain's neural circuits: and require an entirely new sort of software. Retinal implants are another matter. Thanks to new tech, several folks who would have been blind can see: a little.... ..."Metropolis," Tsukumogami, and the Roomba Revolution that Wasn't The inventor Rotwang in Fritz Lang's " Metropolis " is more 'evil wizard' than 'mad scientist:' my opinion. It's still a good movie: but not, I think, a particularly realistic look at what we'll see in 2026. Rotwang's maschinenmensch looked more like the human she was built to impersonate after a high-tech makeover, but even without upholstery she was remarkably — human.... But so far, artificial intelligence has been quite obviously "artificial:" and emphatically not up to the task of leading a Roomba revolution. More at A Catholic Citizen in America

A man trying to organize a men's choir said I had a fine voice. Given a choice, he asked, wouldn't someone prefer a beautiful voice to a powerful mind or athletic body? I agreed, but was a bit embarrassed: since I've got two out of the three. My wife's opined that if bad hips hadn't kept me from excelling at sports: I'd be insufferable. She's probably right. Self-Esteem Run Amok Since pride is a sin, is it wrong to be proud of my voice? Yes — and no. It depends on what sort of "pride" is involved. When "pride" is self-esteem run amok, it's one of the seven capital sins: along with avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1866 ) Ancient Greeks called it hubris . It's a bad idea in stories, from " Oedipus Rex ," to Milton's " Paradise Lost " and Paul Ryder's " Cosmic Monsters ." Most of us don't get the sort of reality check

" The avenger of blood may execute the murderer, putting him to death on sight. " ( Numbers 35:19 ) I ran into that bit from the Pentateuch in "Judas on a Pole," an episode in the second season of Bones . The writers used an 'Olde Englishe' translation that many Americans perceive as 'Biblical,' and that's another topic. If someone murdered a member of my family, I would be very angry. There'd be something wrong with me if I wasn't. Anger, Sin, and Getting a Grip Anger is a "capital sin," a sin that's particularly serious because it leads to other sins. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1866 ) That doesn't mean that I've committed a sin every time I experience anger. I'm human, so I experience emotions. Emotions aren't good or bad by themselves. What matters is what we do with them. (Catechism, 1767 ) If I hang on to anger, let it build into a desire to harm or kill someone else: that's

Scientists at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo's Planetary Habitability Laboratory simulated Kepler-186f's sunsets. Others studied possibly-habitable regions in Jovian moons and around double stars. Meanwhile, some chap at Oxford trotted out opportunities for angst and dread.... ...Over the last million years, we've learned to use fire without killing ourselves, weren't cut to shreds by flint tools, and developed an alternative to horse-drawn wagons before burying London in manure. If anything, we're smarter now than we were in the 'good old days:' so I don't think that steam engines or integrated circuits will kill us all. ( November 22, 2013 ; July 9, 2011 ) The trick is using humanity's accumulated wisdom, and applying it to everyday life. Most of the time, we do a pretty good job: my opinion. Sometimes mistakes are made. Then, most of the time, we clean up the mess and move on.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America

Maybe some folks still have religious scruples about 'defying God' with lightning rods: but I haven't run into any, and I'm certainly not one of them. My house has a lightning rod , installed by a previous owner. I made sure it's in good working order, since our chimney is one of the taller structures in the neighborhood. Ben Franklin and Prokop Diviš 's invention is on most tallish structures in my part of the world. Lightning rods have apparently joined movable type and the moldboard plow as technology that 'we've always had.' Even the Internet seems to be gaining grudging acceptance: although I regularly encounter folks who don't seem at all comfortable about social media: and express their grave misgivings in online posts. My guess is that every generation has included a few with profound misgivings about newfangled technology: or change of any sort, and that's almost another topic. I grew up in a world of AM radio and dial te