Staring At The Sun

*click to enlarge

Up close, the solar surface is a striking patch work of granules in this very high resolution picture of the quiet Sun. Caused by convection, the granules are hot, rising columns of plasma edged by dark lanes of cooler, descending plasma. But the high-resolution view reveals that the dark lanes are dotted with many small, contrasting bright points. Constantly present on the solar surface, the bright points do not seem to be related to sunspots that come and go with the magnetic solar cycle. Nonetheless, the bright points are regions of concentrated magnetic fields and are bright because the magnetic pressure opens a window to hotter deeper layers below the photosphere. For scale, the white bar at the lower left corresponds to 5,000 kilometers across the Sun’s surface. The sharp, narrow-band image was recorded in September, 2007 using the Swedish Solar Telescope on the astronomical island of La Palma.

In honor of this Astronomy Picture of the Day, I’ve decided to make a little sun-themed playlist.

» Click here to download

Or simply enjoy one of my favorites right here:

The Shadow Proves The Sunshine — Switchfoot

You can view more intergalactic greatness here.

Filed under: Music, Science

Sunset on Mars

As part of their Image of the Day series, NASA posted a beautiful image of a sunset on Mars sent by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on May 19, 2005.

(ht: BoingBoing)

Speaking of Mars… The Robot Designed to Master Mars

Filed under: Mars, NASA, Science, Space

Archaic Theology III

While I was out on vacation I received the following email…

I hope you don’t mind an email from a complete stranger, but I am not what you would call a “blogger”. You made a comment on AC180.com that you do not believe that the earth is 6,000 years old. This was a blessing to me, let me explain briefly. I too am a Christian, but I am also a scientist. Therefore it is very difficult for me to accept the young earth theory simply based on what I know as scientific fact. I still believe the Bible as the divine word but feel that God does not want us to worry about things such as the age of the earth. This has become quite a conundrum for my wife and I as most of our Christian friends feel we are wrong. We have even left a church over things that were said to my wife questioning our faith. I have recently began worrying that perhaps I was in fact wrong for believing the way I do, so it was nice to read I am not alone in my way of thinking. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for stating what you truly believe and would enjoy hearing your reasoning for believing in an “older earth”.

It makes me feel good to get stuff like this, and reminds me how important our words and actions are. It also reminds me how much better life is when I don’t act like I know everything.

Because I don’t.

If you’ve followed this blog from the beginning you’d see a slow change in a lot of my perspectives. That came simply by being willing to listen to other views without judging them up front. That has truly changed my life. I challenge you to do the same. It could change yours as well.

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” —Aristotle

“People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic.” —Tim Keller, The Reason for God

» Archaic Theology I
» Archaic Theology II

Filed under: Aristotle, Christianity, Evolution, Listening, Quotes, Religion, Science, Tim Keller

Movie Reviews

Speaking of culture, It’s been a couple weeks since my last set of movie reviews, and I’ve really had a nice run of decent movies this time. But these reviews shall be brief.

The Negotiator — 4/5 Really Liked It
Amazingly this is only the second Nicole Kidman movie I’ve ever seen, but for having popped this on at 11:30pm one night, I really enjoyed it.

Lions For Lambs — 4/5 Really Liked It
I’m not a Tom Cruise hater, so I went into this one with eyes wide open (lame I know). Anyway, I’m not sure about the bad press. I thought this was a great flick.

The Assassination of Jesse James — 3/5 Liked It
Holy cow did this one make me want to sleep. The acting and filmography was superb. The story was even great, but at 3 hours it was dreadfully slow.

This Is Spinal Tap — 4/5 Really Liked It
I know, can you believe I’ve never seen this before? I was rolling with laughter all the way through. I really want to watch this movie again soon.

American Beauty — 3/5 Liked It
Loved Kevin Spacey and the stories that wove this movie together to make it the film of the year in 1999, but I really could have done without a lot of the scenes contained within.

There Will Be Blood — 5/5 Loved It
Wow. Totally blind-sided by this movies greatness. I know it was nominated and all that, but I didn’t know anything about it going in, and simply loved it going out. Watch this movie.

Proof — 3/5 Liked It
The cover intrigued me so I picked it up. Short story, this was probably a better book.

Expelled — 4/5 Really Liked It
I like Ben Stein and I believe in a Creator, so going in I had a bias. But as a documentary I enjoyed the show. I thought it was clever enough. There were plenty of holes and loose assumptions, but you’re going to get that in documentaries. I thought the overall message was good however—science should be open to honest discussions that includes talk of an intelligent designer. I know the arguments about ID simply being a guise for religion in school, and for me that’s an argument for another day (or for this post). Not for the sake of trying to prove an existing assumption (that there is a God), but because we need to exhaust all options available to us. I truly believe that most in the science field won’t honestly approach this line of thinking simply because they feel it is a religion issue, instead of a truly scientific approach to the beginning of existence. (For the record, I think the religious community should embrace science more than it does. It is simply fascinating, and for me it only furthers my belief in God.)

Filed under: Ben Stein, Culture, Evolution, Intelligent Design, Kevin Spacey, Movies, Nicole Kidman, Religion, Reviews, Science, Tom Cruise

Reproductively Relevant Currencies

I swear, science has been making some huge strides recently.

Did you know…

New research shows that even affluent college students who don’t need resources will still attempt to trade sexual currency for provisions, said Daniel Kruger, research scientist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

and

Men are more likely to attempt to exchange investment for sex, females were more likely to attempt to exchange sex for investment.

Learn more about this fascinating study here.

Filed under: Currency, News, Science, Sex, University of Michigan

Laminin

Back in February 2007 I went to a Chris Tomlin & Matt Redman concert, and Louie Giglio gave a talk about the expansiveness of the universe (video clip). The climax of his talk came when he revealed a picture of Laminin. Laminin is a protein in our body that literally holds our skin, organs, and everything else in our body, in place. It is described as rebar of the human body—it holds us all together.

In the last 12 months more people have come to my site as a result of searching for Laminin than by any other term. Actually if you add up the results of the next ten searches you’d get the total for that one word search. It’s kinda bananas.

I always love listening to Louie speak, and the visuals he had of the universe were amazing, but I remember distinctly asking my buddy on the drive home about the idea of Laminin being the stuff that holds us all together shaped as a cross. While I enjoy the coincidence of it, thinking that God designed it that way on purpose leads me to believe that he expected man to fall at the very start, making the cross necessary. Did he know all along? Did he alter our chemistry after the fact? Was it just a coincidence that made for a nice visual?

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. —Colossians 1:15-17

Do you have any search engine terms that rise above the rest?

Filed under: Chris Tomlin, Faith, God, Hope, Jesus, Laminin, Louie Giglio, Matt Redman, Redemption, Science, Sin, Universe

Archaic Theology II

Since we’re on the subject…

Ben Stein’s new documentary, Expelled, covers the taboos of intelligent design in a Darwinism rich society. It is scheduled for release on February 12, 2008.

Do you plan on watching it?

Anyone? … Anyone?

(ht: inWorship + Neal)

Filed under: Ben Stein, Creationism, Darwinism, Evolution, Faith, Intelligent Design, Science

Cloned Meat + Multiple Personalities

In case you missed it, the FDA recently said it’s OK to eat meat and drink milk from most cloned animals.

We’re all guinea pigs.

On a related note, I just finished watching Multiplicity again, and it continues to be one of my all time favorite movies. I think it’s a great commentary on all of the different personalities that make up each one of us. It also dives deep into situations that every marriage has to deal with. Not to mention, Michael Keaton is outstanding in all four rolls!

Watch it again, and tell me it’s not great.

**UPDATE**
I forgot to mention, they don’t have to label the meat as cloned.

Filed under: Cloned Meat, Cloning, FDA, Food, Michael Keaton, Movies, Science

Edenews: January 2008

This month’s Edenews encourages you to enjoy intestinal fortitude with Eden Bifa-15, and offers a 20% discount on any Bifa-15 you order through February 29, 2008.

Eden Bifa-15 is a one-of-a-kind probiotic food supplement harnessing state of the art food science technology to help us restore vital balance. Its most unique feature is its patented tiny seamless micro capsules, designed to deliver bifidobacteria alive to the large intestine, their natural home address.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Bifidobacteria, Eden Foods, Intestinal Fortitude, Organic, Science, Technology

Archaic Theology

I was reading this article on WIRED yesterday about evolution and Mike Huckabee. It takes exception to Mikes answer of an evolution question during a recent debate. Despite the fact that most scientists claim that the earth is 4.5 billion years old, Mike said he doesn’t know.

The church seems to have a hang-up with the idea of an earth that’s been around for millions of years, but can’t that be true and still fall within the concept of a creator?

Do you believe that the earth is 4.5 billion years old?

How does your answer mesh with your faith or beliefs? …with science? …with your ability to make decisions? Do they make a point about Mike denying scientific evidence?

Filed under: Creationism, Evolution, Faith, Mike Huckabee, Politics, Science, Theology, WIRED