Posts Made By: Daryl Crowley

February 17, 2004 02:59 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

No sky in Michigan

Posted By Daryl Crowley

It's warming up now of course since I decided to send my telescope in for a cleaning and collimation check, also a little work on focus, which seems to move a little on me. Anyways, I packed it up and I'm ready to send it out, so of course the weather immediately warmed up. I would expect over the next few weeks, while me scope is gone, you all will have clear skies in Michigan and I trust you will thank me. (Shhhh.... Don't tell anybody but it may work to my advantage too, I can still get out the 15x70s which are a lot more fun in warmer weather.)

Anyway, enjoy the fine weather I'm sure I will be providing you ;-)

Daryl

February 19, 2004 09:08 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

M101 tries to hide

Posted By Daryl Crowley

My easist views of M101 are with my 15 x 70 binoculars. My Mak requires the very best of nights. M33 not quite so bad but a lot the same. Easy in the binoculars, tough in the scope.

Daryl

February 23, 2004 08:46 PM Forum: Religion

Personal Belief and Astronomy

Posted By Daryl Crowley

Chirstine,

Astronomy and physics certainly did not lead me to any organized religion. But the more I came to understand some small part of the wonder of our universe, from the subatomic to the galactic scale, I began to realize that there is something more wonderful here than any religion has ever come close to describing.

I think there is something at the root of it all, something beyond our ability to comprehend. It's all too slick, too wonderful to be totally without some purpose, albeit beyond our ability to grasp; I can't believe something so fantastic is pointless. I think that purpose is certainly not understood even remotely by any current organized religions. While I think the ancients were equally ignorant, they may have had a better feel for the magical wonders of the universe than modern man has.

So, astronomy and physics have given me a perspective that has caused me to think higher thoughts. Without it, I would never have come to think the universe was anything more than an anomaly at best. I don’t think there is a God like that describe in the Bible, but neither do I think the existence of this wonderful universe could be a total random fluke. There is a magic here beyond our understanding.

I have been into astronomy since I was 5 years old. 48 years ago I got my first book on astronomy, it’s been an increasingly intriguing rides ever since.

Daryl

March 22, 2004 09:56 PM Forum: Religion

Passion is Down in the Ratings

Posted By Daryl Crowley

Hey, the whole point of me bringing up Dawn of the Dead was to illustrate how the masses are like sheep. I didn't really expect anyone to discuss the movie or talk about going to see it!

Hey, is your radio on a Top 40 station? Are you grovin' to what they tell you is hip?

Daryl

April 1, 2004 01:21 PM Forum: Religion

To a friend, part 1

Posted By Daryl Crowley

I am truly sorry and unfortunately just one of many murders that took place this week here in America. Another example of just how many jerks there are in the world and even in our own country. From Spammers to hackers, to scammers, to robbers and murderers. People who bilk old folks out of their retirement money and people who just like to be ornery with their fellow humans.

The older I get the more disenchanted I become with the world and my fellow humans. I guess it's part of growing old; we reach a point where we don't understand the world and of course our years increase the odds that we will experience unfortunate tragedies like you just have.

I have had similar earth shaking experiences and I can imagine what must be going through your head.

All the more reason to enjoy life and appreciate the good people in your life. Make every moment with them count and don't sweat the small stuff. Life is too short and there are too many bad things in this world to not make the most of every good moment and the time spent with good people, even though it seems there are fewer and fewer good people. I'm turning into my father, I don't understand the world anymore and I just want to check out to someplace in the wilderness and get away from the crime and the craziness of this world.

Kind of long winded but hopefully you get the drift. It's times like these that you hope the religious believers are correct, so that the guilty parties can get the proper kind of retribution. If not, let's hope the judicial system makes their lives hell while they are still here.

Daryl

April 15, 2004 03:34 PM Forum: Religion

My Future Home

Posted By Daryl Crowley

Death is a concern for the living, not the dead.

Daryl

April 27, 2004 12:06 PM Forum: Religion

Informal poll: is she right?

Posted By Daryl Crowley

You're right, this is a tough call.

I would suggest that they let them go forward and see if there really is any basis for complaint.

The womans complaint seems unfounded and self-centered from a logical basis. I would say let it go forward and then see if there are any legitimate issues.

Daryl

April 29, 2004 12:06 PM Forum: Religion

OK Lets Try It

Posted By Daryl Crowley

The best postulate I've read is "Quantum Evolution" by John Joe McFadden. The title actually should read Quantum Creation. McFadden has a lot of credentials in both biology and physics. Given that the most basic replicator (something even far simpler than a bacteria) requires a combination of molecules that if drawn from Darwin’s warm pond, would require 10 to the 16 odds (10000000000000000).

These odds are so great that if happened once in the Universe that would be a miracle, let alone twice.

He proposes that all 10 to the 16 combinations exists in superpositions. If this is true then there might be a way to favor the state that would create a replicator, causing that state to collapse into reality. There must me some mechanism that elevates life to much better than 10 to the 16 odds.

The anthropic principal is challenged because even IF we were just lucky and were the only ones to hit the 10 to the 16 odds in this universe, how did it happen so quickly on Earth? Life sprang up on earth almost immediately (by geological standards). I find the fact that biological fossils appear almost as soon as the Earth was stable enough to support life as being one of the prime factors for supporting a theory that would make life LIKELY to appear in the right conditions. The warm pond scenario, while possible, seems unlikely that it would have hit so quickly in Earth's history.

Daryl

April 29, 2004 08:16 PM Forum: Religion

GREAT WEB SITE: GodAndScience.org

Posted By Daryl Crowley

Have you read Show Me God by Fred Heeren? I found it interesting and a good read although for me it was not compelling but did offer some interesting perspectives.

Daryl

April 29, 2004 08:21 PM Forum: Religion

"Observe the Ant..."

Posted By Daryl Crowley

You raise some good questions.

How can we be sure what an ant knows, or thinks he knows? What does the colony know as a whole? We humans are often taken with ourselves and think that our technology proves that we are the only thinking animals. But we have found the ancient primitive people were a lot smarter than we used to give them credit for. And can animals love? Is an animal mother's reactions all instinct or does she care? Just because she doesn't act like us doesn't mean she's an automaton. Dolphins don't have technology, but then again they don't have hands, but they do have brains.

Daryl