As an introductory side-node, it is interesting that I found this article not via any of the intelligent-design sites I read, but via slashdot.

Anyway, the article says that a group of scientists have found that we need to “[rethink] how geologists interpret varations in the ¹³C/¹²C ratio throughout Earth’s History.”¹ Or in other words, we really do not know how old anything that has been carbon-dated is.

I am amused to find myself quoted here as an example of what all creationists argue. I would have thought that he could have found a better source. I am not really sure what he was trying to accomplish by quoting me though.

This seems to be the summer of Luke movies.

We watched the new Indiana Jones movie tonight. I very much enjoyed it. We also need to see the new Incredible Hulk movie and the new Batman movie. I’m also told that the Iron Man movie is worth watching, and I expect that the new Hellboy movie might also be worth watching. A super-hero summer indeed. ☺

Why is Jupiter getting warmer near the equator?¹ I thought all climate change was due to humans. It is not even worth considering whether nor not whatever is warming Jupiter might also be affecting Earth.

Yesterday I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the Papal Mass at Nationals Stadium. It was an awesome experience that I cannot well put into words.

It was an exercise in organized chaos. Thankfully everyone had assigned seats, or I cannot imagine the mess it would have been. We took Metro in, and the green line was so utterly packed that Lauren and I were not sure that we would fit into the car, and from what I gather from my mom, it only got worse, though she was apparently only a few minutes behind us. The Metro people were nice in a busy way, directing people towards the right platforms, and helping when the special tickets they sold for those going to the Mass had issues. There were a surprising number of issues with what where essentially day passes.

At the ball park, it took people so long to get settled that I do not think all that many (relatively speaking) people took much notice of the procession of bishops into the stadium. There were so many of them. I wonder how many of them are “only” auxiliary bishops. There were a handful of bishops in gold with what looked like (to my eyes, without binoculars, and not seeing it on the TV screen) crowns. Were these cardinals, or eastern rite bishops? I am unsure. Also, there were priests down on the field in full vestments, and others only wearing an alb and stole, what is the difference? The deacons were distinguishable, naturally, because they wear their stole diagonally. Also, some of the non-priest/deacon people (presumably seminarians) were in black cassocks, and others in red/scarlet. Is there a significant difference, or was it just representative of the role they were playing in the day’s events?

During the Mass itself, at Communion, many (but not all) of the Communion stations had yellow umbrellas that volunteers in their red jackets held somewhat but not really over the priest or deacon’s head. What was the thinking?

The Pope spoke very good English, but between my lack of skill at accents, and the degrading effect of the speakers, it was a little bit hard to understand him at times. I am thankful that today I was able to download the full text of his homily.

But really, with all these questions and comments, I am not at all getting across my emotions. I am so very glad that I was able to go, that I did attend.

As of the 28th, I will be working with CACI, the 25th is my last day with Accelerated. Let the countdown begin! I submitted my two weeks notice yesterday. While I felt some for Dan, as Eric submitted his the day before, the overwhelming emotion is excitement (about the new job) and relief (no more Danish days).

According to the most recent figures from the Vatican yearbook of statistics, the number of the world’s population that are Muslims is 19.2%, with the number of Catholics trailing behind at 17.4 %. ¹

This is attributed to the failure of Catholics and other Christians to reproduce, a failure that is not shared by Muslim families. This will have huge societal implications as we age.

My score on The Deep and Meaningful Winnie-The-Pooh Character Test:

/tnote[Bypass]/ Rabbit (You scored 15 Ego, 16 Anxiety, and 14 Agency!)

“IT was going to be one of Rabbit’s busy days. As soon as he woke up he felt important, as if everything depended upon him. It was just the day for Organizing Something, or for Writing a Notice Signed Rabbit, or for Seeing What Everybody Else Thought About It. It was a perfect morning for hurrying round to Pooh, and saying, “Very well, then, I’ll tell Piglet,” and then going to Piglet, and saying, “Pooh thinks–but perhaps I’d better see Owl first.” It was a Captainish sort of day, when everybody said, “Yes, Rabbit ” and “No, Rabbit,” and waited until he had told them.

You scored as Rabbit!

ABOUT RABBIT: Rabbit is generally considered Clever by his many friends and relations. He is actually a much better reader and writer than Owl, but he doesn’t consider it worth mentioning. Instead, Rabbit’s real talent lies in Organizing Plans. He organizes rescue parties, makes schemes to reduce Tigger’s bounciness, and goes on missions to find out what Christopher Robin does when he’s not at the Hundred Acre Woods. Sometimes, however, his Plans do not always go as Planned.

WHAT THIS SAYS ABOUT YOU: You are smart, practical and you plan ahead. People sometimes think that you don’t stress or worry, but this is not the case. You are the kind of person who worries in a practical way. You think a) What are my anxieties about and b)what can be done about them? No useless fretting for you. You don’t see the point in sitting around and waiting for things to work out, when you could actually work them out today and save yourself a lot of time and worry. Your friends tend to rely on you, because they know that they can trust you help them work things out. You sometimes tend to be impatient with people who are less practical in their ways. You don’t have much patience for idiots who moan about things but never actually DO anything about them. You have high expectations of everyone, including yourself. When you don’t succeed at something, or when something goes wrong despite your best efforts to prevent it, you can get quite hard on yourself. You need to cut yourself some slack and accept that everyone has their faults, even you, and THAT IS OKAY. Let yourself be faulty, every now and then, for the sake of your own sanity.”

Take it! http://www.okcupid.com/tests/7755608336260521742/Deep-and-Meaningful-Winnie-The-Pooh-Character

View My Profile - : http://www.okcupid.com/profile?u=

I have posted what should be just about all of the pictures I have from our wedding. You can find them in the Wedding directory of my website.