No, this isn't my first poem ever, just the first poem on this blog. Also it's not mine - it was written by a friend of mine.
I wish I could live it again
But this time without the pain
I wish I could make a new beginning
This time a life worth living
I'm stuck in this life
One I didn’t want
Theres no way out
I wish I knew what it was all about
I wanna crawl into my bed
And forget the thoughts running through my head
Forget about this life I’ve led..
I sit alone
And I wonder why its gotta be this way
I was born to try
But I wonder why when all I find is pain
Is there more or did I lose it all before?
Remember when I said I'd had enough?
And I couldn’t go on?
But you made a promise
One you didn’t break
You said you'd be here
When I thought the end was near
Tuesday, 24 July 2007
Thursday, 19 July 2007
The Worst Show in the Entire World
No, I'm not referring to Big Brother. I'm not referring to Home and Away. I'm not even talking about Pokémon. I am, of course, talking about Family Guy. Now I want to make it clear that I never watch American cartoon comedy, apart from the Simpsons. So I had never seen Family guy until long after it became seriously popular. The first episode I watched had me gagging after just a few minutes. I was at my friend's place with a bunch of other people and we were going to go to my house, so I implored them all to get going. But anyway, I sat through that one show. The only two things I can remember are little "imagined" snippets that the show is well-known for. The first one approached the German persecution of the Jews in a humorous way, with a group of hiding Jews being revealed to the SA because of the dad's unwillingness to stop eating potato crisps. The second involved a humorous depiction of incest. Anyway, after seeing that, and deciding that never again in my entire life did I want to see another second of it, many months passed and recently I was on a Christian camp, with the boys. One night we watched it, and it wasn't that bad, until it got about two thirds of the way finished. There was a little sketch involving Jesus Christ which was most irreverent, defaming, ridiculing. I almost couldn't believe my eyes.
I'm telling you now that show is the work of Satan and no conscientious Christian should watch it for a moment. I have rarely seen the like of it in terms of making the most grievous of sins the subject of humour. If you have any regard for God, I implore you DON'T WATCH IT.
I'm telling you now that show is the work of Satan and no conscientious Christian should watch it for a moment. I have rarely seen the like of it in terms of making the most grievous of sins the subject of humour. If you have any regard for God, I implore you DON'T WATCH IT.
Monday, 16 July 2007
Extra Terrestrial Life
So, aliens then. Lots of people are obsessed with the search for extra terrestrial life, and whenever a new molecule of water is discovered on an interstellar planet they do a press release so people think progress is being made. I for one do not see any reason why there should be extraterrestrial life, but I can think of a very good reason for finding earth-like xenoplanets. But, first things first.
The idea of life arising on other planets because it clearly has done so on this planet is a bit of a conundrum. No one really knows how life began on this planet in the first place, so no one can attest the the probability of it arriving spontaneously on other planets as well. Personally I don't think it's probable enough to expect any form of life other than earthlife in any part of the universe. However I do expect some earthlife on other planets in the solar system, and perhaps beyond.
Life on this planet has been going on for a fair few billion years, and any large meteorites hitting would result in a sort of ejecta cloud of bacteria and rock heading out of earth's gravity well. To reach Alpha Centauri, our nearest neighbour, in two billion years, a rock need only travel at about half a meter per second (on average). Which is possible. So I do expect that we might find some earthlife on moons and planets in this solar system, perhaps even others.
We will not, however, find intelligent, moral beings on other planets. There are several reasons why. The first is God. The creation account states that we are the only creatures made in God's Image, and if there are other moral beings this would be a rather glaring omission. Also, we were given the creation to "fill and subdue". If they are moral creatures too they would have the same mandate which would thus clash and would prove that the Bible was not the word of God. However it is the word of God, so we may be confident that no such first contact will ever be made.
And now we're getting to the second reason why there are no other civilised life forms. For any civilisation even slightly more advanced than us, colonising the Universe would be so easy that the fact we see no evidence of them is very strong evidence that we are the most advanced, if not only, civilisation currently in the Universe.
Now we come to the reason why it's good we're looking for planets that can sustain our kind of life: we can use them. When we learn to manipulate spacetime we will be able to travel anywhere in the Universe, so those planets are bound to come in handy some time.
The idea of life arising on other planets because it clearly has done so on this planet is a bit of a conundrum. No one really knows how life began on this planet in the first place, so no one can attest the the probability of it arriving spontaneously on other planets as well. Personally I don't think it's probable enough to expect any form of life other than earthlife in any part of the universe. However I do expect some earthlife on other planets in the solar system, and perhaps beyond.
Life on this planet has been going on for a fair few billion years, and any large meteorites hitting would result in a sort of ejecta cloud of bacteria and rock heading out of earth's gravity well. To reach Alpha Centauri, our nearest neighbour, in two billion years, a rock need only travel at about half a meter per second (on average). Which is possible. So I do expect that we might find some earthlife on moons and planets in this solar system, perhaps even others.
We will not, however, find intelligent, moral beings on other planets. There are several reasons why. The first is God. The creation account states that we are the only creatures made in God's Image, and if there are other moral beings this would be a rather glaring omission. Also, we were given the creation to "fill and subdue". If they are moral creatures too they would have the same mandate which would thus clash and would prove that the Bible was not the word of God. However it is the word of God, so we may be confident that no such first contact will ever be made.
And now we're getting to the second reason why there are no other civilised life forms. For any civilisation even slightly more advanced than us, colonising the Universe would be so easy that the fact we see no evidence of them is very strong evidence that we are the most advanced, if not only, civilisation currently in the Universe.
Now we come to the reason why it's good we're looking for planets that can sustain our kind of life: we can use them. When we learn to manipulate spacetime we will be able to travel anywhere in the Universe, so those planets are bound to come in handy some time.
Friday, 6 July 2007
Low-Level Stressors
Low level stressors are slight stresses to one or more of your body's systems or organs. These stresses can be caused by anything that would be harmful to your health in a large dose, for example X-rays, sunburn, carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals), other toxins, high temperatures, heavy excercise and the like. Virtually everyone will tell you that these things are bad for your health, and they are right - a large dose of X-rays can kill within a few weeks, prolonged heavy excercise will dramatically shorten your lifespan and so on. But research has shown that for some of these, the exposure/risk relationship is not linear. In other words, exposure at high levels is harmful, but at low levels it may not be, or may even be beneficial.
The effect is called hormesis, and it is well known in the drug industry. Research has shown that some drugs which stimulate at low doses suppress at high doses (paracetamol, asperin), and vice versa. Some scientists now think that other stresses can act in much the same way, by stimulating your natural repair and defense systems and so increasing their effectiveness. You may have heard that people whose immune systems are not stressed are often sickly, whereas country dwellers who are exposed to a range of bacteria enjoy enviable health and freedom from allergies. It is now thought that other body systems work in the same way - a "use it or lose it" idea. A simple analogy is callousing. If your hand's skin is not stressed, it remains soft and pliable, and relatively easy for a thorn to enter. If you rub that spot on and off for a couple of weeks with a rock, the skin will thicken in response and sharp objects will have a much harder time getting through it. You may not want callouses on your hands, but people who play guitars without a pick need them to prevent their skin wearing through. Other organs and systems respond in the same way. Using your mind a lot will sharpen your perception, excercise strengthens your muscles and stimulates your heart and lungs to work more efficiently. So small doses of toxins, radiation and other stressors can build up the repair systems to be more robust and even reduce the effects of aging. Animals have shown important increases in longevity as a result of caloric restriction, which is now thought to operate as a low level stressor.
But there's no need to go on a near-starvation diet if you want to live longer. Just enjoy life a little closer to the edge.
The effect is called hormesis, and it is well known in the drug industry. Research has shown that some drugs which stimulate at low doses suppress at high doses (paracetamol, asperin), and vice versa. Some scientists now think that other stresses can act in much the same way, by stimulating your natural repair and defense systems and so increasing their effectiveness. You may have heard that people whose immune systems are not stressed are often sickly, whereas country dwellers who are exposed to a range of bacteria enjoy enviable health and freedom from allergies. It is now thought that other body systems work in the same way - a "use it or lose it" idea. A simple analogy is callousing. If your hand's skin is not stressed, it remains soft and pliable, and relatively easy for a thorn to enter. If you rub that spot on and off for a couple of weeks with a rock, the skin will thicken in response and sharp objects will have a much harder time getting through it. You may not want callouses on your hands, but people who play guitars without a pick need them to prevent their skin wearing through. Other organs and systems respond in the same way. Using your mind a lot will sharpen your perception, excercise strengthens your muscles and stimulates your heart and lungs to work more efficiently. So small doses of toxins, radiation and other stressors can build up the repair systems to be more robust and even reduce the effects of aging. Animals have shown important increases in longevity as a result of caloric restriction, which is now thought to operate as a low level stressor.
But there's no need to go on a near-starvation diet if you want to live longer. Just enjoy life a little closer to the edge.
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