Greatest Wonders

"Kizzy, Behold! The only thing greater than yourself!" cried Kunta Kinte, in the life story called "Roots". For a very long time before that 1970's TV series, a much younger Mark Willis had stared into the night sky and wondered what was out there.

Most people are humbled by the awesome majesty of the cosmos. Our tiny pale blue planet circling it's local star, called simply, the Sun, seems so fragile, like our own lives. The distance between our existence as living beings and being departed, seems so hair's breadth sometimes, when you reflect upon it. Our planet, being hurled around the Sun at 67,000 miles per hour, while we turn at 1,000 miles per hour, seems unreal. And yet, we live our lives, most of us, as though we are quite impervious to any dangers out there.

Kunte Kinte must have reflected upon what was in the heavens above him and his lovely daughter, like so many people before him and since. For centuries, people with inquiring minds, have always wondered that when they look at almost any star in the sky, it could well be the host sun to another planet like our Earth and on that planet too, there'll be people driving around in their cars, being late for work, getting married, getting sacked, dying and being born.

We cannot actually see stars that are the same size as our Sun, because our Sun, is a main sequence star. Our Sun becomes quite a lot dimmer, even just outside our own solar system, a few billion miles distant. Our Sun is a bit of a stellar nobody really. Not too small, not too big, but just right. I've learned that there are stars that are like ours, classed as a G2V star on the astronomer's stellar league table called the "Hertzsprung-Russell diagram".

It is fascinating to speculate on the possibility of life on other planets. What do we know so far? Well, from life in our universe, we know that in one solar system, 8 out of 9 planets, (I still count Pluto), seem unlikely to have life on them like us. One planet does have intelligent, (well the potential of intelligence at any rate), life on it. To look for life like us, it seems reasonable to look for another G2V star, with say, 8 or 9 planets around them. Find one planet that is, like Goldilocks and the three bear's porridge, not too hot, not too cold, but... just right.

Further, the same size, or nearly, as Earth and also, in order to have the porridge just right, be about 149 million kilometres or 93 million miles distant from it's Sun, which of course will have two different names. The name we've given it and also the name that the locals have given it.

With only one known planet bearing life, we simply have no way of being able to determine very intelligently, just how likely life is on other planets. It could be that there are 20, 100 or even 1,000 solar systems without any life in them at all. Equally, unlike our solar neighbourhood, there could be 5 out 8 planets inhabited with alien life.

There are stars about 11 light years away that are very like our own sun. Superimposing our own solar system knowledge over that 11 light years distant one, it might seem reasonable to assume that we could have another "Earth" quite nearby. If so, they may be able to, if they've developed technology like ours, be able to hear our radio and see our television, although with an 11 year delay. Programmes being broadcast today in 2007, therefore won't be picked up by them until 2018.

With only that one template of the only solar system we have, our own, to go on, it is very difficult to make anything but a best "educated" guess.

So from the dramatic proclaimation of Kunte Kinte, we end with Patrick Moore saying "Frankly, we just don't know!"

Schools to teach feelings

About flippin' time, too!

For too long, boys have been victim to this feelings trap. To put it another way, boys aren't supposed to have feelings to discuss. Even if they experience feelings they can't handle alone, even in 2007, it's still not "masculine" to discuss or share their feelings. Let alone 1961 to 1965 when I was of secondary school age!

Many boys are born, who are sensitive, caring and gentle. You can't expect to automatically become a competitive, hunter gatherer, just because because people say you must be, just because you're a male!

I've seen so many men, who've bought into this thinking, and as a result, they experience severe emotional problems and even poor mental health. You should always be who you are and be who you like being.

Remember these people who say you shouldn't, you should be more "manly" (their version of manliness); will they appreicate you being in pain all your life?
They won't even know, they won't even care and they certainly won't like you any better anyway. And you wouldn't want someone like that who doesn't like who you are, as a friend, why the hell should you?

This new education is brilliant and hopefully will save young men from suffering the way I did.

Took me a while, but I am getting there!

A momentous week!

Yes, I know what's on everyone's lips right now. Mark is finally on the Internet at home!

It's so handy being able to look up your calendar, the work one and your personal one. The paper ones become that bit less central. The joy of being able to chat to friends on the other side of the planet. I e-mailed a very dear friend in the United States. It feels so different somehow. I was cooking a veggie burger while I was chatting too. That is a peculiar experience.

Usually, it's work, or a library that I use to surf. I connected it myself too.

Oh yes, we have a new Prime Minsiter too. That happened this week too....

Played Tennis and then a radio show

I played tennis today. We all did pretty well. Had a meal around my son's and then later Mark's Lazy Sunday on HRC (Hospital Radio Chelmsford) - What a full life I lead!

Epilepsy

I first encountered epilespy when I was 17, in 1967. I was walking in the town on the way home from work. Now, here's the funny thing, you don't remember you were walking on your way home.... until .... you come round! Losing conciousness is indeed a wierd experience!

Facts about epilepsy:
No-one really knows what causes it (in cases like mine where the cause wasn't physical)
Many great historical figures had epilepsy (epilepsy didn't stop Julius Caesar from conquering Britain!)
We know so little about it
The best fact: 70% of people diagnosed with epilespy go on to become seizure-free, once their specialists have got to grips with the individual's particular condition!

I haven't had a fit since June 4th 1971 - (only had one then, because during some exploratory procedure, it was necessary to take me off my prescription)
I can drive a car!
I lead a perfectly normal life.

The only drawback is that the drugs make me tired, just a little more quickly than I would otherwise be.

The solution? To immerse yourself in enriching hobbies and interests that challenge you!
Challenging your brain and your intellect .... I am told, is also a good anti-Alzheimer's strategy!