A native cockroach that helps break down leaf litter, not the imported ones that live in garbage, but a cockroach none the less. You know, the ones who actually do all that science stuff with data and what not. I doubt that physicist Jensen would cite Crichton for information on nanotechnology (despite “Prey” being a good airport novel, the nanotechnogy stuff is well, farfetched shall we say), so why quote him on climate science? Well, since the Australian’s shameful anti-science editorial, there have been a total of three letters published, all of them supporting the editorial. Well, the objective of this article is to come to the rescue of the last of the SETI astronomers, to tell them where they can find E.T. Can you tell which letter it is and why? Now, I find it hard to believe that every Australian letter writer supported the editorial, but the letters that were published are rather sad. The first letter was concerned that the IPCC consensus discourages critical examination.

Getting researchers to agree on something is like herding cats, and if they do agree, it is after long and exhaustive examination of the data and theories. First, science advances through critical examination (some would say scepticism) of theories to see whether they really do adequately explain observable facts and events in the real world. For a real Christmas beetle, see the image to the left, taken around Christmas last year. Did you have a White Christmas? We did, Christmas day started off with a fairly heavy hail fall, so the ground was covered in white hard spheres, a sort of romantic (if cold) styrofoam. I didn’t get a picture as I was too busy showing the boys to locate the camera, as well as being caught up with the general excitement of unwrapping Christmas presents. Most people will evacuate, because the harm caused by being right (having your city flattened by a cyclone) greatly outweighs the harm caused by being wrong (the chaos of evacuation when the cyclone passes “harmlessly” to one side).

If you want to see the latest Nova picture, go here, and if you have a clever way to stop the Earth being consumed during the Sun’s Red Giant phase, go here. The milky way galaxy is also centered near the constellation Sagittarius, what is more commonly referred to as the teapot to amateur and professional astronomers alike. Parents should remember, however, that science doesn’t have to be limited to the school classroom, and that at-home science activities can go a long way in keeping a child interested in the world around him. However, snakes tend to keep to themselves and often prefer their own company. However, we did visit Scienceworks, so I’ll write about that later. Towards the end of the Christmas period we stayed with friends of ours for an overnight visit. Please be sure to visit our New Online Astrology Video learning center. A team led by researchers out of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, has confirmed traces of water vapor above the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. Thought-seeds planted at the New Moon will grow, so be careful what you wish for!

In terms of climate change, we are at or near the failsafe point now, the greenhouse gasses we emit now will affect the climate for decades to come. Since I don’t know how to make “below the fold” type posts in Blogger, this one will go on for a while and scroll some of the Astronomy posts ways down the bottom. The key in unlocking the “Goldilocks Zone” is the satisfying feeling of doing profitable and meaningful work while still having enough time and energy for other aspects of your life. While Jensen, as a physicist, may be disparaging of 90% certainty, many scientific fields would be envious of a 90% certainty. One may was well rail against physicists pushing relativity on the basis of their concensus. Tuesday morning may have better prospects for astronomy, lets hope that the fires are under control by then. And, you are saying “I haven’t been around that long. Unlike vCJD or toxic E. coli, the major harms lie in the futures of our children and grandchildren (between 2040 to 2060), so we are somewhat less exercised about them. As for astronomy software, there are a wide range of astronomy software which can be educational.