New Planets

Friends,

Thanks to the work of the Kepler spacecraft with telescope, scientists are discovering...on practically a daily basis...new planets orbiting stars outside of our solar system. There has been the recent discovery of a star with perhaps seven planets orbiting it. Most of these discoveries are taking place in our own Milky Way galaxy between 100 and 2500 light years away...relatively close in the grand scheme of things.

Astronomers believe this is all part of a growing body of evidence that the universe is full of planets. It is difficult to discern much about many of these worlds at this time, because they are so small in comparison to their home stars... and that the stars' brightness just dwarfs the reflection of the planets. Although most of the recent discoveries are of worlds many times larger than our own Earth, there is the possibility that several are like our home world...including one that may only be one and half times larger than Earth. Below is an artist's conception of a "super-sized" earth-like planet. (Note the blue-dot :-).

Blessings, Don

The Global Village

Friends,

Here is some interesting perspective on life. It is good to consider...

Globalvillage12_1.pps

Blessings,
Don

Sweet Lou Retires

Friends,

I've always thought this was a funny designation for such a feisty, fiery fellow. But "Sweet" Lou really is the man. Lou Pinella, manager of the Chicago Cubs, was planning to retire at the end of the year, but he is retiring today because his elderly mother is ill and needs him. This may say more about him than anything else...more than the 67 ejections as a major league manager...more than the 1800+ hits and 1700+ wins as a major league player and manager (the only other person to do this in history is Joe Torre)...more than the temper tantrums he has thrown, for certain. His name is synonymous with passion, but I believe it really is more so because of his love than his wrath. I believe that he would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. Lou Pinella is a unique man in so many ways. I really don't think that any major league baseball manager has more or better videos than Lou venting his anger and frustration...and, I hate to say it, they really are funny. He, along General Manager Pat Gillick, turned around a terrible franchise in the mid-90's -- the Seattle Mariners. Mariners fans owe much to Lou for giving us a good decade of baseball, including a 116 win season in 2003...a major league record for the regular season. Like the Mariner that he was connected to for a number of years, Ken Griffey Jr, he will always be at the very top of important people in Seattle Mariners history...and how ironic that they both retire the same year -- actually, it is fitting. Enjoy your retirement, Lou...you have earned it...and deserve it. I don't know how he will be able to stay away from baseball...it has been a part of his for the vast majority of his life. Perhaps, he won't. :-)

Blessings,
Don

The Test of Sincerity

Friends,

Someone once said, “It makes no difference what you believe, just as long as you are sincere!” Right? Wrong! But, as we have been discussing in our Bible class, the above statement expresses the personal philosophy of many people today. Is sincerity the “magic formula” that makes something true? Well, let’s say that I want to drive from here to Fort Worth…no amount of sincerity will get me there if I am heading the other direction on Hwy 67 toward Brownwood!
Contrary to the philosophy of popular culture, it is not sincerity that makes something true, rather it is truth that is always proven to be greatest form of sincerity. Faith in a lie can have serious consequences, whereas faith in the truth is never misplaced. It does make a difference what we believe.

Blessings,
Don

The Big Four Debut

Friends,

The four rookie quarterbacks -- Tim Tebow (Broncos), Jimmy Clausen (Panthers), Colt McCoy (Browns), and Sam Bradford (Rams) -- opened to mixed reviews, predictably, in their first preseason games. Tebow is the biggest name with the biggest following. In fact, I don't know that there has ever been a rookie with this much publicity and hype to begin a career...not that he might not deserve every bit of it. He is an impressive human being and athlete. Tebow played the last part of the Broncos game the other night and did reasonably well. He has been roundly criticized for his slow delivery, but he has an iron will and is an undeniable winner. I believe he will, ultimately, be the starter for Denver...and he will be great. Clausen looked good as well. I have to say that I have been skeptical of Clausen, not so much because of his ability -- it is just that Notre Dame has not put out a quality QB since a guy named Montana...and he was pretty good. :-) Clausen may very well supplant first year starter, Mat Moore, not only before the season is over, but perhaps before the PRE-season is over.

All I hear from people, including many friends, is just how terrible Colt McCoy is and is going to be. Well, by golly, he might as well just hang up his shoulder pads right now! I am not buying the negative criticism about him or Vince Young of the Titans, who is also routinely criticized. Where is the love for former Longhorn quarterbacks? Granted Chris Simms is a game or two away from likely hanging it up, but Young and McCoy have been winners wherever they have been and are just getting their professional careers underway. Young, despite his personal struggles, has done nothing but win when he has been the starter of the Titans. And granted, McCoy no longer has Jordan Shipley (who is going to be a good player in his own right for the Bengals), but...he has Mohammed Massaquoi. Who? Ok...so McCoy threw a couple of picks in his debut -- he has no receivers -- but I believe that he, ultimately, will be fine. It may take a few years, but I believe that McCoy will be a part of turning the Browns into a winner. Finally, it is going to be a long season and career for Bradford, if the Rams do not get him some blocking. Bradford was harassed continually in the Rams opener. The same thing that ruined former Rams starter, Mark Bulger, is going to create problems for St. Louis' rookie quarterback. It will be amazing if his historically fragile body holds up under the pounding that he is likely to receive...but I am pulling for him. These four young quarterbacks may not have the same success as the quarterback class of 1983, but they should represent themselves and their teams well. All in all, it should be a very interesting 2010 NFL season.

Blessings,
Don

Basebrawl

Friends,

I am certain that many of you have seen coverage of the brawl yesterday in the first inning of the Reds and Cardinals game. Some would ask if it was justified...and it is hard to say "yes" to such a question. Yet, Brandon Phillips, the Reds second baseman, had ridiculed the Cardinals team using expletives after the first game of the series Monday night, and said that he hated them on a number of occasions in a rant to reporters. All of this brought an already tense interdivision rivalry to a boiling point for game two. Perhaps the second game could have been played without incident, if not for the fact that Phillips went up for his first at bat and tapped the shin guards of Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, concerning which Molina took exception...he saw it as Phillips showing him up. So, it quickly became a stare down, jawing match and escalated into the brawl. It didn't help that managers Tony LaRussa of the Cardinals and Dusty Baker of the Reds plain don't like each other. Some would say that they escalated the affair. Who really knows...it was ugly, but then again -- that's baseball, in so many ways. So, to come back to the question, "is it justified"...there are just some things you do not do -- ridicule a family member of a rival, spit on a rival or...tap on the rival catcher's shin guard after going off on a tirade about said catcher's team. Here's to hoping that these two teams figuratively fight it out right down to the last week of the season...it will be good for baseball and better than actually fighting it out.

One quick comment about Nationals rookie Stephen Strasburg. He is a very good young pitcher, but he has no chance! Every little thing that he does is getting scrutinized to the nth degree. He is going to have to Hercules, physically and mentally, in order to deal with this constant scrutiny...especially regarding every mistake that he makes. I feel bad for the kid...and I really hope he succeeds and becomes a solid major league pitcher. Back off media...and let this young man develop. I am pulling for him.

Blessings,
Don

A Rip in the Universe

Friends,

At least this is what the recent photo from the Hubble Space Telescope looks like to me -- the boomerang shaped light in the nebula at the center of the photo...something like a triangle tear in some denim jeans...defies imagination and looks as if someone tore a hole in space and then tried to put it back together. It is likely the remnant of some star that escaped the nebula, but its unique shape is quite the enigma.

Blessings, Don

Southern Lights?

Friends,

Most of the news and internet broadcasts are talking about the giant solar eruption (some are calling it a solar tsunami -- see picture below for a similar one from April) that is going to be showing up in our night sky this evening. It took place Sunday, and...most of the time...these prominent solar events are such that they can be seen up north and are known as the Northern Lights. These lights occur when the plasma wave from the eruption mixes with the magnetic field in our atmosphere creating what appears to be a beautiful neon light show in the sky. This event is so large that even those of us who live in the south may be able to see the effects. It will certainly be worth keeping an eye on the night sky this evening.

Blessings,
Don