The Daily Dose/July 27, 2023
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience.
HERE WE GO AGAIN: Yesterday here we talked about the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and its prospect of finding evidence of other life in the universe. It’s advanced enough so this is hardly out of the question and got us thinking about, among other things, how such discovery might happen and some of the other questions that will remain unanswered.
Thank You, Carl Sagan: We strongly suspect the JWST won’t catch an alien waving at it from a flying saucer. In fact, it may not discover an actual life form at all, merely evidence of one. For example, the JWST is already detecting water vapor in a star system’s inner disk less than 100 million miles away from a sun and when you consider Earth is 93 million miles away from the sun, well, you do start to wonder.
Dry, Technical, Matter: Now, we’re not Mr Science, but our thinking is the discovery would be something along these lines. Or maybe JWST does take pictures of flying objects around a planet. Or maybe it finds nothing at all.
Well, That Helped: Regardless, other questions will remain. The telescope’s mission is to take pictures of stars and other matter close to the formation of the universe, and it probably is not capable of telling if the universe ever stops and even if it did, it would probably be unable to tell us what is on the other side. And it is unlikely to shed any light on what there was before creation/the big bang.
Oh Yeah: And we probably shouldn’t hold our breath waiting for snapshots of entrances to heaven and hell. Whether this is because they don’t exist or they are not to be found can be discussed later.
The Bottom Line: Our latest search for knowledge – time immemorial’s irresistible revolution – may or may not provide the ultimate insights. It probably won’t, honestly, but the prospect that it might is enough to keep us exploring. And it’s fun to ponder. Or at least we think it is, which may be why we don’t get invited to many parties.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow tells a guest no one has turned in a phone. Today’s Diary.
He seemed surprised and said, well, someone will probably be by in the next “few minutes” to turn it in, saying this in a manner that indicated the entire hotel should immediately go on full tactical alert…No one had turned the phone in by the time I left…
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On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1789 – The first federal agency under the new US Constitution is formed when President George Washington signs legislation forming the Department of Foreign Affairs. The department would be renamed the State Department in September, with John Jay serving as interim secretary until Thomas Jefferson got around to taking office the following March. Today the US has diplomatic relations with 171 countries and roughly 75,000 employees.
In 1919 – Joe Wilhoit of the Wichita Jobbers of the Class-A Western League establishes a new professional baseball record for the longest hitting streak in a game in a 14- 1 win over the Tulsa Oilers. It was the 46th consecutive game with a hit for Wilhoit, breaking the record of 45 established by Jack Ness of the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League in 1915 and Wilhoit would eventually hit in 69 consecutive games, a record that still stands. Some sources say this was the 50th consecutive game with a hit for Wilhoit, however, three Wichita newspapers all have it as his 46th.
In 1940 – Billboard magazine publishes its first pop music chart with Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra with Frank Sinatra and the Pied Pipers at #1 on the National Best Selling Retail Records chart for the first of twelve consecutive weeks with I’ll Never Smile Again. The survey had ten spots, with Mitch Ayers and His Fashions In Music at #10 with Make-Believe Island, Ayers only appearance on a Billboard pop music chart.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Not daring to put myself ahead of everybody
I can take the time to perfect my abilities.
Lao Tzu
The Tao Te Ching #67
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Clint Eastwood’s only Hot 100 song was Make My Day, with T.G. Sheppard, which peaked at #62 in March 1984.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was the first and the most recent country the US established diplomatic relations with? – Answer next time!
