Skip to main content

Controversial Discoveries

Friends,

With Colorado hosting one of the nation’s most competitive senatorial races, science news has been a welcome source of relief from political coverage and mud-slinging advertisements. Deep space exploration and deep sea discoveries are a great escape from the deep divide our politicians like to cultivate and exploit. Hmmm… sounds like a challenge. Maybe, I can be the one to politicize these discoveries. Challenge accepted!

  • Have you checked-out the new comet? Look northwest an hour after sunset, and just below the big dipper you’ll see NEOWISE comet! If you are in the northern hemisphere, that is –sorry southern hemisphere folks. How does this comet get away with discriminating against half the planet? Literally!
  • There’s a new X-Ray map of the sky with twice the X-Ray sources as its predecessor. On closer examination, it looks suspiciously like POTUS watching a solar eclipse (I’ve augmented the original SRG spacecraft image to highlight the resemblance). BTW, the spacecraft that took the photo is part Russian… coincidence?
  • Did you catch the article about “Vantafish”? The nickname, a play on Vantablack, refers to the fact these ultra-black fish can absorb up to 99.956% of the light aimed at them, making them invisible in the ocean floors where they dwell. Unfortunately, the process of catching, cataloguing and photographing them kills these odd-looking critters. This needs to stop folks. Black fish matter #BFM.
Yeah... no! Sorry for my pathetic attempt to make controversy where none should exist. Like donuts, cool new discoveries should be something that can bring joy to everyone’s day, regardless of which side of the aisle you’re on. Whether you're left, right, upside down or turned around, I hope you can enjoy a sweet treat –and if you find a cool story to go with it, by all means, share with me. 



Happy Friday!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Donut Doodle Dandy

Dear Members and Constituents, In trying to figure-out Wednesday’s cool-looking Google Doodle ( Jorge Luis Borges’ 112 th birthday ), I stumbled across a list of Google Doodles you’ll never see. This, and a Rockies game later that day, were sufficient inspiration to get my head spinning around what other doodles Google might never noodle? I’m sure you’ll probably have a few ideas of your own, but I was able to come-up with a couple. How about a former Colorado Rockies player whose unfortunate encounter with a moth put him in the news this week? The Matt Holliday doodle might look something like this… Another item which, surprisingly enough, has not been made into a doodle are donuts. Although I was slightly taken aback to find this delicious pastry has not been featured, after the initial disappointment, I decided to take matters into my own hands and take a stab at one (perhaps Google can use it next year for national donut day )… or to celebrate Greek police having “ blown a ho...

Donut Hole Alignment

Friends, My predawn attempts to watch the planetary alignment have thus far been met with cloudy skies. The weather forecast through the end of the cosmic event suggests I shall not witness it. And yet, my futile attempts have been rewarded in other ways. The chorus of birds, frogs and insects singing in anticipation of the sun’s glorious rising complement the river’s steady churning. The crisp, fresh air in a desolate town whose citizens are still bidding Morpheus “adieu” caresses my skin while the sweet aroma of petrichor fills my lounges. Deep shadows of centenarian eucalyptus trees slowly recede and give way to the imperceptible progress of the brightening skies. Sure, witnessing those tiny bright spots lined-up in the sky would be pretty cool —like sprinkles on a donut. Speaking of donuts, if you’re ever in Cuenca around the feast of Corpus Christi (which ended yesterday) you need to try the Huevos Chilenos (Chilean Eggs) —think of them as less sweet donut holes. And, if like me t...

Where in the world is Kate Middleton?

Friends, There’s a perfect storm brewing and I’m not talking about the massive amount of snow falling over the Denver area. I’m referring to the mixing of two highly reactive ingredients. On one hand Kate, princess of Wales, absent from the public limelight following her mysterious surgery allegedly posted a clumsily edited photo. On the other “swifties”, whose penchant for following mysterious clues left behind by Ms. Swift has been in need of a new challenge due to a break in Taylor’s schedule. The poor handling of royal communications followed by the ensuing wild speculation by the hoards of bored gen Zers has been fun to watch. Is she horribly disfigured? Is she leaving William? Is she dead? While the truth is probably more mundane (she’s convalescing), conspiracy theories are so much more fun. And, since all one really needs is a fig leaf of plausibility to create one, I’d like to fabricate my own: I believe Catherine had a compliance chip implanted against her will. The chip’s pu...