pink_trike

Thanks, iNow. Do you think it would be safe to assume that at 500 miles due east the clouds of gas and ash would still have been pretty thick?

Before we start attempting to prevent volcanic explosions we might want to give some very serious thought to whether volcanic explosions in some way serve to protect and renew the ecosphere upon which life (all life, not just human life) depends. The processes that take place within Earth are much more than just inconveniences to human beings (who myopically perceive themselves as the center of all existence).

Hello, I have a question I'm hoping someone can help me out with re: a volcanic explosion that took place in Death Valley approx. 800 years ago, carving a half mile wide crater. This explosion has been described as: "would have created an atom-bomb-like mushroom cloud that collapsed on itself in a donut shape, then rushed outward along the ground at some 200 miles an hour, while rocks hailed down. Any creature within two miles or more would be fatally thrown, suffocated, burned and bombarded" My question is: Taking into account west to east wind patterns, what would be an estimate for how far east the cloud of ash and gases might have traveled before dissipating? Thanks, Jeff

Howdy, I've got a few questions about whatever it is within which "the universe" appears... Is there a distinction between the "universe" and "space"? I see the two terms used interchangeably quite a lot. If the universe is the definition of "space"... then what is the formal scientific name of what the universe is expanding "into" or "out of"? Is the term "universe" just a convenience used to describe patterns and processes of energy/movement taking place within space? If this is the case, then is there any reason why there wouldn't be other, even many universes? Simple, please...I realize there really isn't any boundaries to the universe, and that space is inseparable somehow from time, which complicates any answers there might be to my questions...but I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Or just let me know that I'm asking all the wrong questions, if that's the case. thanks.

Is there a dedicated branch of science that researches the physiological and neurological effects that astrophysical patterns and processes may have on living organisms that exist on Earth? Is this type of research considered a subcategory of astrobiology?

In the field of psychology this is known as internalizing the aggressor, and it is a common development for individuals and groups of people that have been victimized...they become that which they fear and hate without being aware of it, and then go to great lengths to rationalize and project their aggression onto "enemies" and perceived threats.

It would be interesting to see what % of that 4.06% results in execution. That might not be so easy to live with.

How did my posting this cnn.com article interfere with "finding the facts"? How is it indicative of a lack of caring about facts? How is contributing this article evidence of a preference for "rumor that fits our opinion". It may not be compatible with the story you tell yourself and vigorously defend, but others may find what this witness had to say interesting.

Evidence? Merged post follows: Consecutive posts merged http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/06/01/gaza.raid.eyewitnesses/index.html

CNN.com June 1, 2010: ***** Hanin Zoabi, a member of the Israeli parliament, was on board the Miva Marmara, the ship that was the scene of a confrontation between activists and Israeli soldiers. That clash left at least nine people dead. The Israeli Navy fired on the ships five minutes before commandos descended from ropes that dangled from helicopters, Zoabi said during a press conference in Nazareth, Israel. She said passengers on board the ship were unarmed. ***** If they did indeed fire before boarding the ship, then their claim that they fired in self defense is a load of rubbish. Firing at ships from helicopters in international water is an illegal provocation.

It seems to me to be a disrespectful gesture toward women. It could be argued that this gesture contributes to and reinforces a general pattern of disrespect toward women that could easily morph into violence against women if it is regarded as socially acceptable. I would think that a civilized society would want to inhibit such a disrespect for precisely this reason.

Television "News" isn't "reporting"...I thought everyone knew that these days. It's a grab for mind-share and revenue, using whatever marketing strategy works.

In the same way that Earth's atmosphere has an "end"...even though the atmosphere is ultimately inseparable from the larger context within which it exists.

Buddhism doesn't "require" anything of anyone (with the exception of ordained monks). It teaches the reality of cause/effect, impermanence, and relativity, and that we are the heirs of our own actions. Even the concepts of "good" and "bad" are ultimately understood as stumbling blocks on the path to being awake and present. Nor does it require forgoing material possessions (unless one is ordained into a monastic life). There are no rules against material possessions for lay people...the teachings simply ask us to see material possessions clearly for what they are and are not. The same goes for our patterns of thought and our behavior...it asks us to examine carefully the true nature and skillfulness or non-skillfulness (the cause and effect) of our thoughts and actions. There are no strict dogmas, because it is understood that the state of being awake includes the absence of concretized beliefs. Merged post follows: Consecutive posts merged Not all practitioners of Buddhism regard it as a religion. For some it is a philosophy, for some a psychology or science of mind, for some it is just a way of life. While the institution has taken on a heavy religious flavor since Westerners discovered Buddhism and projected a western concept of "religion" onto it, many teachers of Buddhism use skillful means in determining how to present the essence of the teachings which are easily transmitted through the conceptual structure of however it is regarded...for example: to those who see it as a science of mind, they will teach it as a science of mind. It's the principles that are important, not the package. If they need to use religion to deliver the principles, they will - but "religion" itself is just another concept to be let go of.

Perceptually, we've moved from clans to villages to states/nations to an understanding of continents, the Earth, the solar system, the galaxy, multiple galaxies, and the universe. I think the next perceptual step with be multiversal awareness - dissolving what I believe is an inaccurate perception that "space" and "the universe" mean the same thing. I know this is a "science only" room, so I'll only mention without elaborating that the idea of multiple universes exploding in the vastness of infinite space certainly isn't a new one...it is found in several very complex ancient cosmologies. I think it's likely that in a couple of decades we'll look back at our single universe perceptions as quaint and archaic. And we'll understand that the only "finite" related to space takes the form of mental constructs that block our perception of "infinite", just as "global' and "universal" perception is still difficult for many people to grow into.