I have always been in the camp of those that think that there is life elsewhere in the universe.  Statistically, the universe is too vast, practically beyond human comprehension, for there not to be some form of life elsewhere.  Those that have argued otherwise always come from the point of view that Earth and its’ biosphere is unique and have a definition of life that is completely Earth centric.

It was therefore with great interest that I read the report published last week by the National Research Council.  This report suggested that life with an alternative biochemistry to that of life on Earth may be possible elsewhere in the universe. It went on to say that the search for extraterrestrial life should be broadened to consider this possibility and recommended research and missions in which the federal government should invest to increase our knowledge in this area.

Using the phrase “weird life” the Council suggested that “the fundamental requirements for life as we generally know it — a liquid water biosolvent, carbon-based metabolism, molecular system capable of evolution, and the ability to exchange energy with the environment — are not the only ways to support phenomena recognized as life”. The chair of the committee that published this recommendation, John Baross, professor of oceanography at the University of Washington said “”Our investigation made clear that life is possible in forms different than those on Earth,”.

The assumption that “life” should be defined by what we know about life on Earth has always impressed …

Water is necessary for life.  It has been said that a human can go weeks without food, days without water and minutes without oxygen before there is death.  I have written here before about water and the need to look more closely at how we use it.  The two prior blog posts about water were triggered by the prolonged drought in the Southwestern United States and the fact that what was thought of as a temporary drought is now thought to be the new normal.

There is now severe drought across not only the Southwest, but also the Southeastern U.S. and across northern Minnesota.  Lake Okeechobee in Florida, the second largest body of fresh water in the country is in danger of ceasing to be a lake in the years ahead.  In fact, part of what used to be the lake was subject to a large brush fire in May. There are now states that are almost entirely enduring drought conditions.  Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia and Utah are all at 98-100% at drought level.  In Florida, officials said that it would take 50 inches of rain to begin to restore Lake Okeechobee.

Global warming is educating all of us to the reality that we are damaging the planet.  It is also deepening our understanding of the critical need to accelerate conservation and recycling efforts as they are the single greatest immediate effort we can bring to fight climate change.  We must now start to look at the way we use water, …

People started using computers outside the corporate research lab in the 1950s.  The early computers created in garages were brought to market in the mid 1970s.  The PC came out in 1981.  The 1990s saw the early explosive growth of the laptop and the current decade is when the PDA and other wireless devices took off.  This 50 year history is punctuated by various breakthroughs in the computer human interface.  Each one of these breakthroughs changed usage, behavior and ultimately society.

Mainframe computing of the 1950s looked like a technological religion.  Well lit, air conditioned rooms housed large computers that were run by systems analysts and operated by trained computer operators.  Access was highly restricted.  It felt like one was entering the church of computer.  The output was printed on reams of computer paper (remember?) that was largely illegible to the average person.  Interpretation was provided by professionals. 

When the Apple, and later the PC came out humans could interact directly with small computers that sat on desktops with keyboards and screens.  The screens were largely monochromatic and filled with alphanumeric language that needed some training to understand.  Later the mouse was added which allowed windows, screens and scrolling.  Color and high resolution screens soon followed.  It was no longer necessary to have training to run a computer.  This increasing ease of use, as much as small size, portability and lowered cost is what drove the incredible explosion in computer sales.  When using a computer became easy and fun, sales took off.  …