Another carbon copy day--calm, clear, high of 101. I'm assuming the monsoon season is over for another year since it feels like the humidity has dropped down to desert percentages. We should have really wonderful days ahead for at least another month and a half.
I'm reading a book by Alan Boss called The Crowded Universe.
I can't remember where I first heard about it, probably in a short news items in the paper or maybe in Newsweek. He is making the case that in the next year or two, either of two space station telescopes will confirm once and for all the existence of earthlike planets in our universe. I say either of two, because the United States has put one such telescope into space and European scientists, three years ahead of the U.S., also put one in space. How they'll determine where these planets are located is complicated. They'll be looking at sun systems about the same size as our sun, hoping to spot a Jupiter-like planet revolving around the star. They can tell it's there by the wobble it creates on the star's rotation. They also assume correctly, I hope, or incorrectly possibly that if a star has a Jupiter-like planet in orbit, then it's very likely there will be a rocky planet with surface water somewhere between the gaseous planet and the star, a rocky planet very similar to earth. And once they find such a system, they'll go on to find more . . . and more. They will then assume there could be a limitless number of systems with earth-like planets that have life forms either like us or some other species that came to dominate the planets. I hope I live long enough for this to be determined. I'm enough of an old science-fiction fan to say that I've always believed in the existence of other intelligent life in the universe. I also hope they're more intelligent than we are, we who are doing our very best to destroy the planet we call home.
We watched the much anticipated opening of The Jay Lenno Show last night. We weren't among those who were waiting for it with bated breath. We just thought it would be interesting to see what he'd come up with for his new comedy hour. Not much, it seems. We quit watching The Tonight Show when he was hosting because each night was a copy of the previous night, and not very funny. His new show is the same, not very funny. Even Jerry Seinfeld couldn't save it. I'm happy that we switched it off before Kanye West showed up with a tearful apology for what he'd done on the MTV awards show. What I don't need to see is Kanye West shedding tears.
I need to include some pictures of my favorite friends, Dusty and Squeakie.
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