How to Entertain the Nation one Catastrophe at a Time

The only potentially interesting thing these days is that I've read that NASA is starting to create panic (yes, the politically correct expression is "caution", please replace according to your language sensitivity) linked to the potential of meteorites destroying habitable land to the size of an average US state [1]. 

[2]

So, I guess after we'd enough of pandemics (I'm literally dying from boredom), we'll get into the mode of avoiding Space danger (because astronomers also need to make money, biotechs are fine now - thank you to all who made contributions, due to fear or other more pragmatic reasons). But I guess it might take another 10 years to get to that new thing (sigh).

In 2000s we had terrorism, in 2010, we had market crash, now pandemic, 2030 might be a space attack.

(to give you more of history: 1990s were Iron Curtain collapse, 1970s - oil crises, in 1980 I was born, so I skip that one as an obvious event of the century; and before 1970 my memory of the history is not sufficient 😊).

And by the way, I'm gonna help NASA (as a good citizen):

"[a 20 m asteroid] has a .41% chance of hitting Earth. That means there is a 1 in 240 chance that it will make an impact or a 99.95% chance that it will miss Earth." [3].

Notice that's more than risk of dying from COVID (not that it's a fair comparison, for many reasons, don't ask...).

References:

[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/30/threat-to-earth-posed-by-meteors-must-be-taken-seriously-nasa-warns.html

[2] https://media-pi.fr/agora-pi/le-poing-de-feu/

[3] https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2020/08/21/is-earth-really-in-danger-of-an-asteroid-impact-in-november-heres-what-we-know/

SC: Tout a commencé un beau jour

Je viens d'obtenir mon doctorat et je ne savais pas trop quoi faire. Je n'avais pas besoin de travailler, alors j'ai pu choisir. Cependant, j'ai hésité. Rempli de ces pensées, j'ai écrit à mon ami L. : "Je n'arrive pas à décider ce que je veux faire. Ou plutôt, dans quel ordre j'aimerais faire les choses. C'est vraiment gênant pour les gens de vivre de manière séquentielle - je pense que j'aime toutes les périodes de la vie, mais il serait beaucoup plus amusant de les mélanger, par exemple : aller à l'école pendant un mois, prendre sa retraite ensuite pendant un mois, se marier pendant un mois, avoir des enfants pendant un mois, et aller refaire tout cela, mais dans un ordre différent. ". Et L. répondit : "Fais-le". 

 Et je l'ai fait. Bien sûr, ce n'était pas une affaire d'un jour. J'ai planifié, expérimenté, échoué, encore et encore. J'ai étudié la physique quantique et la biologie, puis j'ai échoué encore plus parce que j'avais besoin de sources d'énergie économiques et renouvelables. J'ai étudié la physique des planètes et des étoiles. Finalement, la technologie était prête. 

L'idée principale était simple.Je créerai des copies de l'univers chaque fois que je sauterais dans une autre ligne d'espace-temps. Contrairement à la croyance conventionnelle, les copies s'unissent au bout d'un certain temps, et les souvenirs des personnes qui se trouvent dans les copies unies se mélangent pour créer une version bien adaptée à la majorité. Ainsi, chaque fois que je laisserai une copie, celle-ci gravitera vers la copie la plus proche pour se réunir. Et moi, en fait, je n'existerai que dans ma propre mémoire. 

Et je me suis préparée pour mon long voyage en écoutant la chanson: 

Nous on fait l'amour on vit la vie 
Jour après jour nuit après nuit
À quoi ça sert d'être sur la terre 
Si c'est pour faire nos vies à genoux
On sait que le temps c'est comme le vent 
De vivre y'a que ça d'important 
On se fout pas mal de la morale 
On sait bien qu'on fait pas de mal

Exactement: "À quoi ça sert d'être" si ce n'est de faire ce qu'on veut?

This is how my Canadian story started:

(Shhhh...I just wanted to own a Canadian, don't tell anyone)

"In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance.

The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, written by a US man, and posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law.

I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can.

When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offence.

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your adoring fan.

James M. Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus,

Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education

University of Virginia

PS (It would be a damn shame if we couldn't own a Canadian)"

I AM NOT THE AUTHOR and I'm not sure if Prof. Kauffman is BUT I LOVE IT

Sans consequances

Je suis dans le laboratoire. Du sang dans une boîte, des virus dans le congélateur, l'ordinateur qui traite les données. Les dernières minutes avant le coucher du soleil. Il est temps de rentrer à la maison. Je jette un dernier coup d'oeil à l'écran et, à ma grande surprise, les graphiques sont prêts. Je m'assois encore une fois. Ça a marché ? Le taux de détection est de 95%, l'écart type de 5%. Aussi bon que possible. Mon équipe va finir le reste. Je m'en vais.

Plus de raison de rentrer "chez moi", cet endroit que j'appelais chez moi n'est qu'une minute dans le continuum espace-temps de ma vie. Je quitte le bâtiment de la biotechnologie. Où est-ce que je veux aller ? Les possibilités sont illimitées, mais je continue à marcher devant. Il commence à pleuvoir. Je sens la pluie sur mes joues. Ou est-ce des larmes ? J'ai fait tout ce que je voulais dans cette vie, j'ai créé de la vie, des machines, des idées... et j'ai laissé le mérite aux autres. La pluie laissera le sol nourri, quelque part dans les éléments qui atteignent le sol seront mes larmes. Ma vie est...ma vie n'était que des larmes dans la pluie...

Chapitre 2. Tout a commencé un beau jour

...à suivre

La vie en roses..;)

Parfois, la chose qui nous donne l'espoir n'est qu'une rose, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry avait raison, comme toujours:

Je dors sur des roses
Qui signent ma croix
La douleur s'impose
mais je n'ose pas
Effleurer les choses
Écloses sans toi
Oh! ma rose
Ne fane pas
je manque de toi
Dans mes nuits
Dans la pluie
Dans les rires
Dans le pire
De ma vie

(par quelqu'un autre)

It's Good to be Mad

[2016-04-27] Let's be honest, I wrote this more than 4 years ago and now I don't remember why and in what context. But evidence shows that over the past 4 years, I've done everything I could to eliminate any hint of normality in my life. Now, I'm fully ready to meet Zaphod Beeblebrox (or an alternative, I'm as un-picky as Trillian) and leave the boundaries of the solar system...

Athens and Dissertations

[2016-08-14] I am in Athens. I am writing my thesis. How awesome is this?
It is so ironic that I am sitting here thinking about values and virtues, 600m away from the prison of Socrates.
Eventually, I went to this prison and found a dead Socrates right there. Well, most probably just sleeping drunkard, not sure if his name was Socrates. But it's fairly close: someone drank some poison and passed out by Socrates' tomb.
It is so fantastic here, I just can't describe: the warmth of the sea, the feel of the sea salt on my skin, the wind, the white stones of buildings. How can one explain? It's happiness imprinted on Earth.

Literary Inheritance

[2016-11-04] I am living at the time when my favourite authors are dying: Gabriel Garica Marquez, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Douglas Adams, to name a few (shown by Google search on the first page). I wonder if it is time to take up their craft? Isn't it how inheritance works? Current authors are writing inspired by previous generations of writers; every generation builds on some time interval that inspired them.
On the other hand, I had almost 40 years, in which my life overlapped with some of my favourite writers. It is interesting to think of it now. I remember those days in my childhood when I approached a bookshelf to pick up some "very old" book by some "ancient" author who was probably older than my parents...
My perception of time changed over this last year. I remember I was very motivated to get to some position in life urgently. The urgency came with the feeling that nothing else can be considered, every hindrance was to be fought off. Until I suddenly realised that I have arrived. Time to "settle" and look around...

Paris and Dissertations

[2016-sometime in November] Sitting in Paris. It's quite fun to work here. Actually, it is quite fun to be editing and summarizing.
Paris is miserably cold. I don't know how people wear summer sandals and tourists are in t-shirts. I am freezing in my winter jacket. Now, sitting in Paris, I think that I am not that much of a city girl - much to the contrast of my thinking back at Wits.
Let's just be honest: I'm comfortably uncomfortable in any situation...

Explosions

I am a captain in the hi-tech terrestrial transport unit at the Army. Today, I am taking my first leave as a fully qualified professional. Mike is going with me. He is the technical specialist. My feeling is he's planning to stay at that rank for the rest of his life due to the complete lack of the initiative.

I'm going to visit my dad, my only surviving family. He's looking after a small hangar for private aviation.

Mike and I are driving an old truck through dusty roads. We stop at the garage to get gas. Suddenly, something unexpected happens. The end of the road disappearing at the horizons suddenly shows a cloud of dust, which grows bigger moving in our direction. No more hangars, no more road, in a moment the landscape is transformed into a marsian desert where no sign of life is possible. But we are alive. It was planned...

We Need New Stories

Based on Habermas's observation that our individual human histories do not fit any more with the traditional expectations, we need new ideals disassociated with ethnic heritage and national identity. That is if we want life stories to fit in with the ideals of a good and meaningful life. I think most people still want traditional utopia as it relieves the pain of multiple options in life decisions.
I wanted to put forward an example of family structure but that is already boring. Let's consider work. When I was growing up, work was considered honorable. Those who worked were respected, those who did not want to work - were looked down upon. But do we still need so many people going to work every day? It creates a structure that supports state and social organization. But this organization is far from ideal (consider environmental degradation, wars, governmental corruption scandals as a hint to what I mean). Do we still want to be hard-working and rational?
I suggest to focus on robots :)