(I’m posting this here, as a copy of a comment I’ve left on a couple of astronomical websites.)
Walking to work the other day, I was thinking about the “recent” supernova that was calculated to have exploded 150-odd years ago (from our perspective) when a car alarm a few blocks over went off. Of course, many ignored it, but enough turned toward it to suggest an idea.
Aside from all the technical possibilities for alerting ETIs to our presence, what if we used a natural cosmic phenomenon as an attention getter.
What else in a galaxy would get the attention of anyone with even a basic level of astronomical technology than a supernova? That would be a perfect time to aim transmissions in the direction of any potential SN observers.
On our end (or others, if we were the transmitters), imagine a few dozen radio and optical telescopes casually turning toward a new supernova or similarly rare phenomenon to gather the details, and a few days later, also capturing a “Hey, you’re looking in this direction anyway… just wanted to say hello” signal.
(Of course, the civilization broadcasting would be aiming their “..hello” 180 degrees away from the phenomenon for this to work!)
I have no idea if this idea is simply ridiculous as I’m no expert, just a casual space and SETI buff, but I thought I’d share and I would welcome your thoughts. What can be done to get SETI folks to start observing SN more?
“If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.”
When God said it’s a sin to take your Saviour’s Name in vain
That applied to silly selfishness like public prayers for rain.
If mortal I can see through this, then God can ascertain
The inherent self-aggrandizing political campaign.
When the pastors, priests, and politicians joined in one refrain
Asking God to drop some water on this bit of his domain
(Having checked the weather channel–they’re not totally insane–
To determine if their gamble had a decent chance at gain).
Then the Governor emoted–see his face contort and strain,
Till the casual observer might suspect he’d popped a vein
In a deep, important crevice in some structure in his brain;
And then one by one the ministers would join the daisy-chain,
With their practised voices, sonorous, impeccable sustain,
The sort of voice that speaking from a pulpit can attain,
And spoke until each had his turn, and no one did remain
Then waited for Almightly God their pleas to entertain.
Their aim was true, but God’s was not–I really should explain–
A quarter inch in Georgia, but there’s flooding up in Maine.
and just in case you forgot your Sunday School lessons:
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” - Jesus, Matthew 6:5-6
The front yard of our home is open to direct sunlight, which has made it difficult to keep the grass green and the flowers colorful. There used to be a tree in front, but it was removed, for reasons unknown, by the previous owners. It’s been something we’ve wanted to remedy since we moved in.
I mentioned it again this morning while Laure was tidying up the front yard, but we didn’t know if fall was the right time to introduce a new tree, particularly given the drought we’ve had recently. I went by Lowes to get a sense of price and inventory for doing so next spring. But they had a good selection and suggested that planting in the fall would allow the tree to develop a good root system before spring.
So we took the plunge and purchased an October Glory Maple. After dancing back and forth around the yard, we chose a spot and starting digging using a post-hole digger and shovel. Just under the surface, our soil is mostly a compact clay loam. A few times, we hit some very hard clay deposits, scraping the blade of the shovel and making a fingers-on-a-chalkboard screech. Fortunately, the spot we had chosen had few rocks and roots to dig around or cut through.
About an hour later, we had managed to dig down sufficiently to sink the root ball. We filled in the hole with planting soil for new trees, covered it all over with mulch and wet it down thoroughly. About three meters tall now, we expect it to grow almost a meter over the next year. More importantly, we are hoping the new addition to the family will grow a wide canopy and help us maintain a healthier, or at least less brown, front lawn.
I let a little more time pass between this post and Part I, but I do want to jot down a few thoughts and share some pictures from my couple of days in Geneva. I’m not much of a vacation-taker, but I decided to give myself a birthday present this year of two days peace and quiet in a foreign city at my own pace. No expectations, no obligations, no schedule. It was soooo nice!
Even less than a month later, I only barely recall what I did each day, so unstructured and care-free the days were. I had thought about taking a boatride around Lac Leman to a medievel town, but blew that off as I’m not much a boat person and there was plenty to keep me entertained in Geneva itself. On my birthday, I took off in a random direction, ending up over by the Jet d’Eau and the marina and strolled along its edge into the Jardin Botanique.At one point, I just sat down on a bench - just beyond where this photo was taken - and watched the horizon for almost an hour it was so relaxing.
I meandered through the Jardin, taking pictures here and there (see below), and came out just below the Palais des Nations, where I’d attended a symposium during the previous week.
I’d seen what I wanted of the Palais already and decided to tour the Museum of the Red Cross/Red Crescent across the street. I highly recommend this if you visit Geneva. The history of the organization, its strict non-political creed and its involvement in conflict zones is remarkably told through photos, videos, artifact displays and other exhibits. Unlike the typical audio guides, the one for this was useful, informative and easy to use.
After an afternoon nap back at the hotel, I walked back down to Lac Leman, treated myself to a coconut ice cream cone (”Now… I am happy.”) and ventured out to the Jet d’Eau to enjoy a view of the lake (which you can see here). The rest of the day I spent wandering around la Vieille Ville (Old Town) part of Geneva. I didn’t go into any shops, but enjoyed peering into store windows and just seeing what was there. That evening, I came back out to an Irish pub I discovered that afternoon. Sadly, my birthday hopes of enjoying a shepards’ pie and Bulmers while listening to Irish drinking songs was not to be; dinner consisted of a barely adequate panini and a Strongbow in one of the quietest pubs I’ve ever been in.
The next day, I visited the Archeaological Site Museum near St. Pierre’s Cathederal. I usually really go for these attractions, but the confusing layout took away much its appeal. The few models of the city over the centuries were nice, if amatuerish.
The most interesting exhibit was the remains of an ancient pagan chieftain, still laying where he was buried and discovered. Some decades after his burial, a mausoleum had been built over his gravesite and a hole dug to exhume his skull. Centuries later, the mausoluem was enlarged again and again, until it was eventually converted into the Christian cathedral currently centered over his final resting place. (But seriously, did the archaeologists have to leave it to look like there’s a toilet over the guy’s head?)
That afternoon, I enjoyed crepes with apple compote and a cappucino for lunch, excusing the rather enjoyable treat as part of my birthday treat to myself. I blew off the rest of the day, resting in my hotel room, watching Back to the Future in Italian and Tom and Jerry in French.
Pangea Day is the latest call for the use of short films as a tool to inspire global unity and world peace. I support these efforts, but they are a bit old-hat these days. The use of film, flash, videos and poetry has been used - very successfully in the beginning - to inspire awareness about global issues, but it’s “cutting-edge-ness” is long over.
If I read the propaganda right, the spin with this event is the promotion of a worldwide live video-conference highlighting the best contributions and celebrity hosts. Hmm…great, but didn’t Al Gore just wrap up something like this, and how many people are still psyched up about that event?
The effort is noble, but it’s recycling old and tired tools that will not gain more than a day or two’s attention in the media let alone the wider public. Sorry to be a cynic - I really have been supportive of such efforts by some great organizations and individuals - but we need to find the next great medium to inspire.
The week before being offered a new job, I was in Geneva, Switzerland attending the membership Congress of the World Federalist Movement. The photo here is of Prof. Lucio Levi, a scholar and vehement proponent of European and world federalism from Italy, and myself following one of the Congress’s discussions. Prof. Levi and I have had some constructive arguments at meetings, but highly respect each other’s commitment to the Movement’s vision and mission.
I have been involved with the organization for almost a decade now, having been appointed by my former employer as a delegate until being elected in my own right five years ago. I was re-elected to the governing board in Geneva and successfully defended my chairmanship of the credentials and statutes committee against a challenger (from within the committee no less!). Over the next couple of months, I’ll put together a diverse team, with tentative offers already having been made to delegates from Mexico, India and Japan to join the committee.
It wasn’t all meetings and elections however. At left here is a view of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva to tourists), taken from the balcony of a hotel where members enjoyed a day off to celebrate the Movement’s 60th anniversary.
In my next post, I’ll share some photos and thoughts on the couple of days I was able to spend simply enjoying Geneva after the conference.
This Monday, I’ll start a new position at InterAction as their new New Media Manager. As such, I’ll responsible for all aspects of their website, intranet and online activities as well as supporting staff on the communications, media, marketing, member relations, community outreach and advocacy teams. It will allow me to put to more gainful profit the skills I developed in producing UNSG.org and CivicYouth.org and in working with member organizations as I continue to do with the World Federalist Movement.
It’s been a long eight months, filled with dozens of resumes and not a few first and second interviews. I’m glad it’s over!
As such, I’ll responsible for all aspects of their website, intranet and online activities as well as supporting staff on the communications, media, marketing, member relations, community outreach and advocacy teams. It will allow me to put to more gainful profit the skills I developed in producing 
