The
Squamidian Report – Aug. 4 / 12
Issue #532
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
I tend to like science and nature type programming on TV (yes, I know, the weather network too). But something that keeps coming up over and over is how fragile and unique our environment is. The program or article will go on and on about how incredible it is that our planet is perfect for the life that has sprung up here and how high the odds are against this environment being so perfect for us. Well, here’s the thing… that is completely backward. Our environment is not perfect of life here, but rather, life here is perfect for the environment. It’s a perfect fit because it evolved here, within the conditions that were here. If it were a bit colder or hotter life would have evolved under those conditions. If the atmosphere was toxic, some form of life would have happily evolved within it. If carbon and iron were not some of the main building blocks, some other things would have been. We are in a gravity well and it happens to be just right for us… no, we evolved in this gravity well and we are just right for it.
The chances of finding another planet that perfectly duplicates every aspect of this one is obviously very small and therefore the chances of finding other life forms just like us is very small. However, there is no reason to think other kinds of intelligent life has not or will not evolve within other, different environments. Those life forms will simply be different from us, perhaps too different for us to even recognize them. After all, we would be looking for things that look somewhat familiar and behave somewhat familiar. We seem to think that liquid water is the most important key to the formation of life. It is here but it doesn’t have to be somewhere else. There is no reason some kind of life could not evolve within a liquid nitrogen, or liquid lead or whatever. Our tunnel vision tends to limit our view. With two hundred billion stars in our galaxy, and probably close to two hundred billion galaxies in the universe, we are pretty arrogant to think this is the only way it can be.
There was life on this planet long before it was habitable by anything like what is here now. We evolved in an oxygen environment, but that same oxygen was deadly to earlier forms, and very corrosive and toxic as well. Had circumstances not changed as that very dangerous gas we call oxygen became prevalent, an earlier, very different version of life may well have become dominant on this planet. Just some interesting stuff to think about.
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I don’t own very many different pairs of shoes, and the ones I do own I tend to wear right out completely before discarding them. My current pair of running shoes, or walking shoes because I certainly don’t run anywhere, were starting to fall apart. The rubber soles that normally wrap up over the toe end had separated and were beginning to flop a bit. There is a repair glue available around here called ‘Shoe Goo’ and it looks like clear silicone caulking but smells like melted down horses hooves. I’ve used it before and it seems to work pretty good. I had already glued the sole on one of the shoes and it was holding nicely. That goo glue stays flexible so it can bend along with the shoe. When it came time to glue the other shoe, I needed to prop it up on its toe end so that the sole would stay tight to the rest of the shoe toe. I stood it up on my work bench and then used some stuff to prop it in place. Next morning I went to get my shoe. I removed the stuff that was propping up the shoe, and the shoe just stood there on end. I couldn’t pull it off the bench surface. The glue had oozed out a bit and had firmly stuck the shoe to the bench top. I had to use a knife to separate them and free up the shoe. Anyway, its fixed and working just fine now.
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Oh, here’s another song I’ve recorded. But, it will not be showing up on any future CD projects. ‘The Wife’ had wanted me to do a song for Kyra and the one she wanted was the John Denver song, For Baby For Bobbie. So, it is available on my MP3 web page, where you would simply click the song title link, or, you could go right to it by clicking this link:
http://www.thedougsite.net/Songs/For%20Baby%20For%20Bobbie.mp3
But, like is said, it’s a song for a grand daughter and should be listened to accordingly.
doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello Everyone!
Well, I haven’t heard anything about the Hydro One situation as of yet so I guess I just have to be patient. I’ll be dropping an e-mail to my council member if I don’t soon hear back from him on the matter.
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Not much else new to report these days but I did find that the back grass was grown enough to cut it this morning. However, the front lawn hasn’t grown much at all most of the summer. I think I’ve cut it about twice since the first week in July. With half of it still brown and crispy there isn’t much sense in mowing any of the green part of the front lawn. We are only allowed by law to water it once a week and our turn is one Tuesdays in the early AM or the late PM. This little bit of watering doesn’t do much more than keep the roots alive (I’m hoping) so it will regenerate once we get back to receiving a normal rainfall come Sept. They keep forecasting thunderstorms and with them when they do get here, the rain is so fast and furious that it just runs off the surface of the lawns and down the storm drains. This sort of watering does no good at all for the most part! What we need is a good long soaking drizzle of a rain, one that will soak into the lawns for hours on end. It’s also the type that we need to replenish the water table so we have a topping up of our Regional water supply! It’s getting so the Grand River is darned near down to a trickle in most spots. I love the long hot summer but we also need the water desperately so it’s time for the Big Guy up above to bless us with some long hours of beautiful rainfall to green everything up once again. They say we’re in for a soaking over the next few days so let’s hope it’s a rainfall of the right proportions and duration to bring everything back to normal.
I was up to the Farmer’s Market again this afternoon and talked to a few of the farmers. One of the guys there happened to be a fellow I went to high school with and he owns a large farm near Heidelberg. He said that he’s got a crop of each vegetable that he grows but it’s not near half the yield he usually has this time most years. With everything so dry the crops are stunted for the most part.
I asked about carrots and onions and all he could tell me was to wait another two weeks or so and with some rain in the meantime he said we should have enough to bring to market. He said the carrots he does have are only finger sized and they are usually 4 to 5 times that size by now. It’s also a little early for the onions yet but he said most farmers have nothing so far worth even bringing to market to tempt the shoppers. He’s been getting a lot of people asking for both carrots and onions and can only ask the people to be patient. I guess by the sounds of it, we’ll be able to buy onions and carrots of a decent size within a couple of weeks. Let’s hope we start to get some regular rain soon so the farmers can at least make a living this year. I also noticed that the prices of the available vegetables are on the high side because of the shortage of rain and size of the crops so far. August is supposed to be a wetter month so keep your fingers crossed that we get the kind of nice gentle rain needed for growth and not the deluge type that does little to no good crop wise!
That’s it for now folks!
Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now …. Greg
PS: Something To Think About>
The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran!
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Have a good one..
the doug
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