Category Archives: Science / Engineering

A Stock Tip For The Science-minded

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Jim Wheeler

Last Sunday I saw a new CBS 60 Minutes segment about how the Earth’s supply of fresh water is being rapidly depleted. This might seem to be a non-problem, but it isn’t. Then, today I read on a blog by … Continue reading →

Posted in Science / Engineering | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

A Matter of Perspective

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Jim Wheeler

Fellow blogger, A Frank Angle recently treated us to a review of Carl Sagan’s famous video clip on “the blue marble”. It is one I never tire of.  Thanks, Frank. I too greatly admire Carl Sagan. He was not only … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Science / Engineering | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

A Choice: Skepticism or Dogma?

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Jim Wheeler

A news item today presents a useful example of the difference between science and religion, something that continues to confuse many people. The announcement, confirming that the oldest fragment of the early Earth is 4.4 billion years old, is based … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion, Science / Engineering | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Curious Fuel

Posted on August 4, 2012 by Jim Wheeler

Thanks to fellow blogger Pied Type who sent me a link to a good WeatherChannel site describing NASA’s Curiosity Mars mission, about to enter its active phase Sunday night. The Curiosity rover is about the size of a MiniCooper car, … Continue reading →

Posted in Science / Engineering | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

On The Human Condition

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Jim Wheeler

An interesting thing about science is that while it is sometimes profound it is always incomplete. Science approaches complete understanding asymptotically, denouement denied but progress usually satisfying nonetheless. Our species, Homo Sapiens, young at some twenty millennia, has made enormous … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Science / Engineering | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Final Frontier?

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Jim Wheeler

I am indebted to Indiana Jen for reminding us of the one-hundredth anniversary of Robert Falcon Scott‘s fatal expedition to the South Pole. Scott’s poignant last written words were found frozen beneath his arm eight months after his demise. There appears … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Science / Engineering | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Sorry Jean Luc, We’re Stuck At Warp One!

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Jim Wheeler

I have had a lifelong interest in science and reading in general. As a youth, thanks to Andrew Carnegie and public libraries, I devoured all the science-related material I could find. It may have begun with Tom Swift, I can’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Science / Engineering | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

A Geezer’s Short Intro to the iPad

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Jim Wheeler

I like reading on the iPad2. Despite some misgivings but fearful I might be missing something I got Santa to give me one for Christmas.  I’m glad I did. It was not clear to me beforehand just what it would … Continue reading →

Posted in Science / Engineering, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Curiouser and Curiouser

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Jim Wheeler

How must come before why.  Before we humans try to answer the question, “Why are we here?”, it is necessary to ask, “How did we become thinking beings?”. Now, if you don’t believe in evolution, dear reader, you may stop … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Science / Engineering | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Information Please

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Jim Wheeler

The world is awash in information.  It is nothing less than astonishing, when you think about it, that the written word has come so far from the invention of the printing press around 1440 to the internet in present times.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Science / Engineering, Sociology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments