Coffee Klatch

There are some interesting stories in the news right now about some European scientists who are working on preparing for the first manned trips to Mars. One of the things they’re doing to prepare is developing a ton of robotic probes (only fair since so many Martians have done it to us, eh?) to do more extensive testing of the planet’s surface. Another cool thing is that they’re going to have six people “simulate” a trip to Mars, isolating them in the same way they’d be in the ship for 500 days! Of course there will be “situations” and scenarios that they’ll have to run through, trying to simulate what could actually happen on such a trip.

Here are some links to stories about this:

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2187362/european-scientists-plan-land
http://www.arcamax.com/technology/s-178326-631976
http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2007/04/space_agency_wants_mars_volunteers.php

And of course you can always go to Google News and search for ESA and Mars.

Yes, it’s true. The famously neutral country invaded another country that doesn’t even HAVE an army! And it was an accident! “What began as a routine training exercise almost ended in an embarrassing diplomatic incident after a company of Swiss soldiers got lost at night and marched into neighboring Liechtenstein.”

Read all about it at FoxNews.

While there have been people for ages theorizing that Jesus was married and had children (some Gnostic gospels (not accepted as inspired or part of the Bible) claimed this and the Merovingians even claimed to be descended from Jesus), the whole Da Vinci Code craze has brought it to mainstream thought. Even though it was written as fiction and is full of research errors, many people take the Da Vinci Code as truth. That topic has been discussed ad nauseum by bloggers, theologians, newspaper reporters, and the general public, mostly being disproven, so I’ll let that lie.

The big news today was that somebody is claiming to have found Jesus’ “real” tomb, complete with tombs of his mother, wife, and at least one child. James Cameron (of Titanic infamy) has produced a documentary movie called The Lost Tomb of Jesus, which accompanies a book called The Jesus Family Tomb. They’re based on the discovery of this tomb that has similar names to people in the life of Jesus. It is quite the controversy and has been discredited by eminent archaeologists, but the contronversy continues.

The claim is based on there being a 2,000-year-old cave with tombs with the names of “Jesus, son of Joseph,” Mary, Mariamne (supposed to be Mary Magdalene), and “Judah, son of Jesus.” They’ve even tried to link this tomb through forensic “evidence” to the one of Jesus’ supposed brother, that turned out to be a fake.

Problem: Jesus, or Yeshua or Joshua, was the 6th most common name in Israel at that time. But “Jesus, son of Joseph” alongside a tomb of someone named Mary is supposed to raise the certainty to near-fact. Except for the actual fact that “Joseph” was the 2nd most common name then and Mary was also one of the most popular girl names. (See Ilan, Tall. (2002). Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity: Part I: Palestine 330 BCE-200 CE. Tubingen: Mohr.)

That would be like saying that a grave in England with the name William, son of William, found alongside a grave named Mary conclusively would have to be William of Orange.

The spouse and child information would be relevant IF THERE WERE ANY RECORD OF JESUS BEING A HUSBAND AND FATHER. But there isn’t because he wasn’t and so this movie and book are simply another example of shoddy research attempting to capitalize on the success and popularity of other fictional stories.

Here are some external links of interest:

• Reuters: Filmmaker shows relics from disputed Jesus tomb
• Jerusalem Post: Israel may open ‘Jesus tomb’ to public
• Associated Press (via mlive.com): NewsFlash - Scholars criticize new Jesus documentary
• Singing in the Reign: A Titanic Claim: Jesus’ Body Found?
• Kath.Net: Jesus’ Family Tomb Discovery is a Titanic Fraud

[tags]Jesus, Talpiot, Da Vinci Code, archaeology[/tags]

Looks like there’s another Google application that I haven’t particularly blogged about before. It’s Google News. It’s been around for a while now–so long, in fact, that it doesn’t say BETA underneath the logo any more!

This is another one of those cool Google sites where you can just use it the way it is, with selected headlines and browsing and searching capabilities, or you can personalize your news page. Just like for your Google home page or the Google calendars or groups, you’ll need an account with Google, but if you don’t already have one, it’s worth your while to Create a Free Google Account since you get access to so many cool and customizable things.

And of course you can also set up RSS and Atom feeds for anything you want in Google News. Again, you can take advantage of the news categories that Google already set up, or you can create your own categories (with corresponding feeds) by just doing a search within Google News and then clicking the RSS link on the resulting page. Want something more complicated? Do an Advanced Search to create complicated searches or even to limit your results to news from a particular country or news source.

Since Google News references 4,500 news sources and is constantly updated, this is an excellent way to get the latest news from around the world on whatever topic you want.

And because Google products are always developing and evolving, there’s a new feature available: the News Archive Search, where you can search for news stories through history and see how the stories developed. They even have timelines that are created based on your search!

[tags]news, Google, Google News, technology[/tags]

Next week begins a dreaded yet necessary road construction project in Indianapolis. It involves repairing much of a six-mile stretch of I-70, which is one of the main highways running through town. Specifically it will close the east side, from downtown to the ring highway (I-465). This is half of my daily trip to work! Which means I’ll be looking for new ways to work for the next 8-9 months.

They’ve put together a really nice website, anyway, that lets you know exactly what’s getting closed when: super70.in.gov. They have a timeline, fact sheet, and maps of everything.

The highlights of the project include:

• Replace 75 lane miles of pavement (inside and outside shoulders and travel lanes)
• Replace 28 bridge decks
• Widen inside shoulders
• Reconstruct I-70 over Sherman Drive
• Add new signs and lighting
• Add new pavement markings

There’s also a cool video clip that shows how the movable road barrier system will work. It’s amazing how that work, although I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised. Technology should allow this kind of thing already. Glad to see them using it.

Since it’s been over 30 years since this highway was built and it hasn’t ever been rebuilt, it’s quite due. From the sounds of things, and the information they’re providing on the website and through local TV news, this promises to be as smooth a project as possible. At least they’ve planned well, provided alternate routes, and made sure that communication is prolific and widespread. That really helps.

[tags]construction, highway, Indianapolis, road construction[/tags]

Okay, I just had to post a little writeup since it’s the biggest sporting event in the world (except maybe, arguably, soccer’s World Cup) and it’s the biggest sporting event in the history of our city.

It was a little scary right at the first, when, on the first play of the game, the Bears ran the kickoff return back for a touchdown. That was the first time an opening kickoff has been run back for a touchdown in the Super Bowl. It was also, apparently, the first rainy Super Bowl. It was also the first Super Bowl won by a team with an African-American head coach. Of course, that part was inevitable this year, since both coaches were African American.

But the Colts settled into a rhythm after a while and were able to capitalize more than the Bears on all the turnovers that the rain helped induce.

So the Indianapolis Cots have their first Super Bowl win ever! The franchise did have win, back in Super Bowl III, when they were still the Baltimore Colts, but that was a totally different team, for all intents and purposes.

Hopefully this will give Indianapolis an edge in the bid for hosting Super Bowl XLV in 2011. And in the brand new stadium that’s scheduled to be finished in time for the 2008-2009 season.

Final score: Colts 29 - Bears 17

Woo-hoo!!

[tags]Super Bowl, NFL, Indianapolis, Indianapolis Colts, Indy, Chicago Bears[/tags]

Lately I’ve been hearing complaints in the news by people who are friends and family of military personnel, saying that we need to get them home so they can be with their families. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that they’re wrong. Do we have a draft on? Are people being forced to join the military? No! They’re signing up because they want to and because they feel it’s the right thing for them to do.

Military service is a job. When you take a job, especially one like this, you know what you’re committing to because it’s explained up front. Military jobs have a high possibility of being transferred to different locations or to dangerous locations. Sometimes the family cannot come along. People in the military understand this because it’s part of what they signed up for. They may decide to go ahead and have a family, which is fine, but they have to understand that it will be difficult and that their military service may require them to be separated from their family at times.

People, especially non-military people, have no right to tell the world or their country that their loved ones in the military should be at home with their families. They’ll be there when they can, but they signed up knowing that there could very well be times that wasn’t possible. This is one guilt trip that anyone responsible for military action should not have laid on them.

UPDATE: (1/26/07) This morning there was a story on NPR about a homecoming celebration in Fort Drum, NY, that was having to be postponed because of redeployment. While some people were saying how unfair it was, it was nice to hear the military families being interviewed say that it was part of the job and, while it’s tough right now, they’ll deal with it and get through it like they have in the past. Quite admirable!! Nothing but kudos for them!

[tags]military, family, separation[/tags]

After waiting several months, Indianapolis has finally gotten its first real snow of the season! We had about four inches by 9:00 this morning. So the boys are now outside making a snow fort and enjoying the snow. Of course, it’s now lightly drizzling and is supposed to continue doing that off and on today. And then tonight it will all freeze, so commuting tomorrow morning should be really exciting!

Isn’t winter weather FUN in the midwest??

Nineteen years ago, an 8-year-old girl disappeared in a remote northeastern jungle area of Cambodia while she was herding buffalo. Now 27, she has been found, being called “half animal.” They’re having difficulties figuring out what happened to her, since she doesn’t speak any real language any more. Read the whole story at Fox News.

Current music: Allegri Miserere - The Sixteen 25th Anniversary Edition

The Herald-News, from Joliet Illinois, recently posted a story about a middle school student who got in trouble for reporting a gun on campus.

Seems Ryan Morgan heard a rumor about there being a gun in the boy’s restroom. He checked it out and found a pellet gun in the garbage there. So, being a good student, he put it in his pocket and took it to the assistant principal to turn it in. And what thanks did he get? He got expelled!

Audrey Morgan said her son tried to do the “right thing.” The couple asked the board to give their son a 10-day suspension instead of sending him to an alternative school.

The school board’s lawyer said that the administrators were “bound by state law” to recommend expulsion to the board, but after the outcry following his parent’s talking with the media, they changed their minds and decided to just force him to be home schooled instead.

So it’s not “expulsion,” it’s “forced home schooling.” Semantics??

[tags]zero tolerance, guns in schools, public schools, idiots[/tags]