Journal Entries
Squidoo!
Posted Jan 16, 2006
I just came across an intersting site to share with the rest of the hith-hikers: it's called Squidoo.
The idea is great - everyone is an expert on SOMEthing - so why not create a lens about that something to share your expertise and potentially earn a little cash. A "lens" is their term for a set of collected reviews, links, maps - everything you know about a subject captured in one place.
I have launched a few lenses of my own - mainly about a couple of my passions: Bryan Talbot and the city of Birmingham: check them out at http://www.squidoo.com/bryantalbot/ and http://www.squidoo.com/birmingham
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Latest reply: Jan 16, 2006
Am I the only person to have ever considered the fact that because Solar eclipses are visible from Earth is conclusive evidence of the existence of alien life...?
Posted Oct 30, 2005
Consider these facts:
The Earth is the only planet in the solar system where from the surface a satellite appears to be exactly the same size as the Sun. The planets that are closer to the Sun than us - Mercury and Venus do not have satellites at all or they are too small to cover the sun in the sky; further out from us - starting with Mars - and the Sun is not really a disk in the sky, more of a bright point.
The Moon is 400 times smaller than the Sun - but the Sun is exactly 400 times further away.
The Sun and the Moon will appear to be the same size in the sky for an amazingly short space of time (in geological terms): in the four billion year life span of the Earth, the Moon and the Sun will only appear to be the same size for the current hundred thousand years or so - before that and after that their different orbits will make them appear to be different sizes.
Now - the current one hundred thousand years as a percentage of the total lifespan of the Earth is 0.25% - and it just so happens to coincide with one species - us - achieving civilization, science and sentience.....
So: we are left with the fact that on the ONLY planet in our solar system where life can evolve, and on the ONLY planet in our solar system where the satellite can appear as the exact same size of the Sun, at the ONLY time the satellite will appear to be the same size as the sun, and at the EXACT time that conscious, sentient beings arose we have eclipses of the sun!
Now this is a fantastically bizarre and unlikely series of events: each one is on the order of one in 10 billion chance - so you have a series of four one in ten billion chances happening one after the other: and that is WITHOUT factoring in the original chance that life would evolve here and then stay around long enough to evolve into sentient life. All of this has happened in the only sequence possible to make eclipses visible from the surface of the Earth.
Now the question becomes this: is it pssible to design a process MORE likely to make a sentient species aware of the fact that they live on a planet, and that their satellite and sun are both also spheres?
What is more likely to make the curious monkeys look up in wonder and awe than the utter majesty of a solar eclipse? What is more likely to make a sentient being think about what those things in the sky are, apart from having one pass in front of the other and exactly blot it out?
What mechanism could you possibly engineer that is more likely to create a star-faring civilization?
All that remains to be answered is who did this and why?
The only two possible contenders that the Chairman can see are - an alien civilization or a supreme being....
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Latest reply: Oct 30, 2005
Birmingham Carnival
Posted Feb 9, 2003
I am relaunching the Birmingham Carnival website and I would love feedback on what people think.
The Birmingham Carnival will be on Sunday August 3rd, with a street parade through Handsworth, and then a huge party in Perry Park.
The website is at http://www.birminghamcarnival.co.uk - let me know what you think!
Please tell me what you would like to see at Carnival and what you think would make a good day. Carnival is also supporting the Capital Of Culture bid by Birmingham for 2008.
James
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Latest reply: Feb 9, 2003
The Peoples Democratic Republic of Birmingham!
Posted Mar 28, 2002
Well - I finally launched the PDRB site today at http://www.peoplesdemocraticrepublicofbirmingham.co.uk
I have no idea where this will go - a lot of friends have indicated a desire to get involved with the story and history of a future, invented, world empire of Birmingham website.
This all started in conversations with other Brits, emphasising that Birmingham is neither North or South, but unique and central; also from annoyance at the continual misrepresentation of Birmingham, brummies and our accent in the media, and the total ignoring of Birmingham!
In terms of size and economic output Birmingham should be mentioned SECOND after London - but so often they put Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Hull, Oxford and any number of other places in there before us.
After using the phrase "the peoples democratic republic of Birmingham - dammit!" for the 37th time in a single day I looked up the availability of the domain name out of sheer curiosity. When I saw it was available I just had to have it and the whole thing has had a certain aura of innevitability around it since then.....
James
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Latest reply: Mar 28, 2002
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