Let me borrow a few paragraphs from a classic children's Christian magazine we get at our house called Nature's Friend, http://www.naturefriendmagazine.com/. I wonder how many of the Conservative Mennonites out there know this magazine has a website (the plain folks that is - women wear head covering, congregations shy away from the internet, no musical instruments, etc.)? I just realized myself that they have a website. While both I and the folks at the Conservative Mennonite Church I attend love each other with God's rich abundant love, and, love the internet, I'm the only one who uses it. Well, who admits to it anyway.
What a fine magazine though, and here is what they had to say on, "How Far Are Those Stars?" September, 2010 (Oh man. . . they are rrrrreally far.)
"It is difficult to comprehend the vast distances across space, but if we shrink everything down to a more manageable size, we can better realize the vast distances between Earth and the stars.
We'll start by making everything in the universe a billion times smaller. Now the Earth is a bout the size of a pinhead, about .05 inches across (which is a lot bigger than a pinhead by the way) or less than 1/16 of an inch across. At this scale, the Moon would be less than 1/64 inch in size and would be 1.5 inches away. The Sun being much farther away, would be about 49 feet in the distance and would be about 5 1/5 inches in diameter. The planet Jupiter would be about 255 feet away from the Earth, Pluto would lie at almost 2,000 feet.
Now we are ready to go to the nearest star. This is where we take a big jump. Proxima Centauri, the star nearest to us, would be 2,470 miles away. . . "
O.k., this is where I need to get off until I can process.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Genetics/Mother Nature/Voice Check
Here are a few off-the-cuff remarks on a Sunday morning. (The server refused to put spaces between my paragraphs so I had to take matters into my own hands with a little star. Please bear with.)
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We are learning how to make more and more things grow the way in which we would like them to; though, it is a bumpy road. Here is one strangely colored little red/green cherry tomato that showed up on the shelves the other day. Whoever made it however, did so at the expense of it's flavor. Thankfully we still have the old blueprint.
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Mother nature appears to have made man with the capacity to effect his environment and then turn on her and ultimately destroy it. Mother Nature, left to her own devices, can really mess up. Even science says that one day the world must come to an end. Science sure helps put into proper perspective what God confided to us already several thousand years ago.
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Isn't Mother Nature hard to define. My Anatomy and Physiology (A & P) professor refers to her once in a while for an answer to those really tough questions. The ones he can't answer. I am not going to rain on his parade and ask him to come up with a sensible scientific definition for Mother Nature. Oh, he would come up with one, but, isn't it interesting that it would not stand up to critical analysis. Because she (Mother Nature) has never spoken to nor has she made herself known to anyone (that we are aware of). She does not fit then as a very reliable source of truth. I like good scientific reasoning much better. However, I would guess it may not phase him much that Mother Nature may not exist at all. It doesn't phase many folks. And this life is usually too full of enough distractions and amusements, fascinations, and even hardship, to guarantee that most of us will never even have the time to be bothered by that thought that, nature may not be our mother at all. But the idea of Mother Nature as being some ultimate source of power has nonetheless surely condemned many of us to a life of partial answers. Mother Nature is simply the natural system of things created by, and to be used by, it's creator. Very insignificant and even self-destructive when left to itself.
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For instance, we like our science of Genetics and suppose that it will give us the insight needed to answer the tough questions on the origins and workings of this world. Yet, it's hard to admit to the fact that the more we discover about it, the more there is to it than we 'can know'. We never will get outside of our universe, and if there were a "Big Bang", then, what did explode, and, where did that originate from? Most everything we believe which holds the 'real clues' as to what really constitutes matter, is just too infinitesimally small to see (neutrinos for one). We will never actually see nor explain spiritual matter, and, can surmise that it gets even much smaller than that(spiritual particles that is ), and so, we really can't claim to know much about anything.
*
Mother nature appears to have made man with the capacity to effect his environment and then turn on her and ultimately destroy it. Mother Nature, left to her own devices, can really mess up. Even science says that one day the world must come to an end. Science sure helps put into proper perspective what God confided to us already several thousand years ago.
*
Isn't Mother Nature hard to define. My Anatomy and Physiology (A & P) professor refers to her once in a while for an answer to those really tough questions. The ones he can't answer. I am not going to rain on his parade and ask him to come up with a sensible scientific definition for Mother Nature. Oh, he would come up with one, but, isn't it interesting that it would not stand up to critical analysis. Because she (Mother Nature) has never spoken to nor has she made herself known to anyone (that we are aware of). She does not fit then as a very reliable source of truth. I like good scientific reasoning much better. However, I would guess it may not phase him much that Mother Nature may not exist at all. It doesn't phase many folks. And this life is usually too full of enough distractions and amusements, fascinations, and even hardship, to guarantee that most of us will never even have the time to be bothered by that thought that, nature may not be our mother at all. But the idea of Mother Nature as being some ultimate source of power has nonetheless surely condemned many of us to a life of partial answers. Mother Nature is simply the natural system of things created by, and to be used by, it's creator. Very insignificant and even self-destructive when left to itself.
*
For instance, we like our science of Genetics and suppose that it will give us the insight needed to answer the tough questions on the origins and workings of this world. Yet, it's hard to admit to the fact that the more we discover about it, the more there is to it than we 'can know'. We never will get outside of our universe, and if there were a "Big Bang", then, what did explode, and, where did that originate from? Most everything we believe which holds the 'real clues' as to what really constitutes matter, is just too infinitesimally small to see (neutrinos for one). We will never actually see nor explain spiritual matter, and, can surmise that it gets even much smaller than that(spiritual particles that is ), and so, we really can't claim to know much about anything.
*
Nonetheless, there are those who feast on 'what we can know' as though they are on the trail of some tenable 'final answer'. But, that final answer which they seek is finally unknowable. We can know that very fact both through scientific logic, and through the logic of God's Spirit, which, thanks to Him, He has been revealing to us since the beginning of this world.
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That is not to discount the beauty, the vastness, and the worth, of 'what we can know' in this world; trying to search and to know everything we can find out in this world. It's real accessibility is just in ones approach. Since we 'can' know that God was on the earth in Jesus revealing Himself to us, then it only stands to reason that we go with what we know for sure, and look in His direction for any meaningful answers to the tough questions.
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Yes, the only way we will know the answers to the tough question is to seek answers from the Creator Himself. Everything has a Creator. Man, who can in a unique and limited sense himself, 'create', did not just rise from the dust haphazardly. So, with 'man', the quasi-creator, who in some people's imaginations might be capable of knowing, in time, nearly everything; why would there then not be a larger 'being' responsible for all of creation who has attributes similar to man's only vastly greater?
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The existence of that Creator is self-evident in this world. And like any Creator would do, He has made His existence known to His creation. While we are down here wondering what the big answers are, He is up there, with exclusive ownership of them; having shown Himself to us, and proven to us that the search for the answers need go no further than Him. So ours is the next move. Got to see Him for the answers.
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Answers freely offered. The Spirit of Truth. Jesus did not just make that up.
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God Himself, the irrefutable one, while coming to the world in the flesh, and proving to us that He is who He says He is, both told us, and showed us, that His ways are indeed higher than our ways, that He's got the final answers, and that, 'that', is where they are going to stay until we make it all the way back to Him. He 'has' shown us that He alone possesses the answers, and, He, 'has' told us where we can find Him.
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-"Then you'll know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it, said the Lord."(NASB)
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We recognize that there are spiritual things in this world, spiritual matter; and thus, spiritual logic. Science has now recognized that there is a type of invisible energy that passes right through the earth. Spiritual-like things have now gained a different place in the 'world scientific conversation', and the Lord has therby 'upped' the pressure a little bit on men to know that He is God.
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Well, I did re-sing these two hymns during the last couple of days. My voice is still no violin. I was fortunate enough to get an A & P test out of the way (50/53, yes!) and have a few hours to see how the voice was progressing. Plus, the singing on these two hymns was pretty bad. Now it's only bad.
But, the voice is coming along. I have no idea if it will ever come around far enough. It's the only voice I have. It shows a little promise here and there. But anyone who knows me knows how stubborn I am and I've got another good ten years or so to keep at it. I've thought of having some muscles grafted from my biceps to the voice box. If not, then I would love to find someone else to sing on these piano pieces (even if). I had to redo each line in these tunes 30-40 times before I could get a take where my voice did not crack or jump around on me. But it's simply a conditioning thing and I have many hours of driving in my average work day during which to practice.
And the piano playing I miss. There's been no time for that for the last year or so. I will get back to that and will just have to fake it in the meantime. It does seem to stick with me well.
I Sing the Mighty Power of God
(With this tune I'm just trying to make the vocal presentable until I can redo the music - and if you feel adventurous you can check out the music that just recently has started to play when you open up the Home Page of my website at http://www.toddsaunders.us/ . There you will find a 'little too-speedy' new upstart recording of this tune.
He Hideth My Soul
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This music needs much more time than I'm able to give it. But here it is anyway. I'll be into nursing in a few years and then maybe things will settle down and I can get to it more. Take it up another level. If not, then perhaps it will just be a little time well spent. I do sort of have my eye on a nursing job at the Catholic hospital in Merrill which has a nice big baby grand piano in their foyer!
But, the voice is coming along. I have no idea if it will ever come around far enough. It's the only voice I have. It shows a little promise here and there. But anyone who knows me knows how stubborn I am and I've got another good ten years or so to keep at it. I've thought of having some muscles grafted from my biceps to the voice box. If not, then I would love to find someone else to sing on these piano pieces (even if). I had to redo each line in these tunes 30-40 times before I could get a take where my voice did not crack or jump around on me. But it's simply a conditioning thing and I have many hours of driving in my average work day during which to practice.
And the piano playing I miss. There's been no time for that for the last year or so. I will get back to that and will just have to fake it in the meantime. It does seem to stick with me well.
I Sing the Mighty Power of God
(With this tune I'm just trying to make the vocal presentable until I can redo the music - and if you feel adventurous you can check out the music that just recently has started to play when you open up the Home Page of my website at http://www.toddsaunders.us/ . There you will find a 'little too-speedy' new upstart recording of this tune.
He Hideth My Soul
_______________________________________________________________
This music needs much more time than I'm able to give it. But here it is anyway. I'll be into nursing in a few years and then maybe things will settle down and I can get to it more. Take it up another level. If not, then perhaps it will just be a little time well spent. I do sort of have my eye on a nursing job at the Catholic hospital in Merrill which has a nice big baby grand piano in their foyer!
Probably more to add but this will have to do for now.
Thursday, October 07, 2010
6 Hardboiled eggs a day: Culinary dream come true or coronary nightmare?
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Experiment time:
Question: Affect on arterial cholesterol level after eating approximately 6 hardboiled eggs a day for one year?
Supplies:
1) 6 Eggs (farm-grown) varying in size and shape from, freakishly large(XXXL - can't even get whole thing in mouth at one time), to, very small(barely a mouth full - may just as well have two at a time).
Question: Affect on arterial cholesterol level after eating approximately 6 hardboiled eggs a day for one year?
Supplies:
1) 6 Eggs (farm-grown) varying in size and shape from, freakishly large(XXXL - can't even get whole thing in mouth at one time), to, very small(barely a mouth full - may just as well have two at a time).
Beginning with a couple in the morning, topped with one large dab of Miracle Whip (sometimes also a squirt of mustard or honey, maybe horseradish. . .), and then the rest throughout the day.
2) One large Corel cereal bowl 3/4 full of raw oatmeal, raw cow's milk topped with 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of evaporated cane sugar.
Hypotheses:
Yummy! Wow.
Prediction:
1) Energy level high.
2) One large Corel cereal bowl 3/4 full of raw oatmeal, raw cow's milk topped with 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of evaporated cane sugar.
Hypotheses:
Yummy! Wow.
Prediction:
1) Energy level high.
2) Feel good.
3) Protein very good.
4) Only slightly high cholesterol level at the present is predicted to stay about the same (hope I'm right?).
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Duration of experiment is subject to findings of new cautionary information during Microbiology course next semester.
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