Most of us wonder when looking at the sky – into the infinite blackness of space — if there could be intelligent life out there, other beings we could communicate with, learn from, or even meet one day. In spite of decades of Hollywood films depicting E.T.s we have yet to find solid evidence of … [Read more…]
It was April 25, 1953 when Watson, Crick, and Wilkins published their seminal paper on DNA and today a group of us crazy people celebrate what that knowledge has done for human well-being. Happy DNA Day! We covered last year’s DNA Day in another blog post and this year we return to give it more … [Read more…]
The icy mountains of Norway are the perfect hideyhole for preserving anything important against time, the elements, maybe even alien invasion. The Svalbard Seed Vault, which we talked about here and also here, isn’t the only cool archival project in the region. Surrounded by glaciers, permafrost, and polar bears, GitHub is readying to store valuable … [Read more…]
In 2008, Norway gifted the world the Svalbard Seed Vault, also known as the “Doomsday Vault.” This self-sustaining facility, carved into a mountainside and surrounded by permafrost, protects heirloom seeds from future apocalyptic conditions. The idea is if we ever need to restart society these precious plant species will not be lost and our food … [Read more…]
I wrote about Giving Tuesday last year and this year I do it again. For those who wonder at the idea of a Giving Tuesday or Giving Wedensday, rest easy knowing that Giving Whenever is usually a good time indeed. Pick your favorite person or charity, show them some love. The truism that you cannot … [Read more…]
Living north of the equator it’s three short months between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox. Summer comes and goes quickly and when mid-September comes, we know it’s all nearing a close. The heat of summer often lingers while the light declines and the withering leaves crackle underfoot as the trees begin their seasonal … [Read more…]
Every April 25 some of us commemorate the day in 1953 when Watson, Crick, Wilkins, et al (particularly Rosalind Franklin who received little credit at the time) published their paper on the structure of DNA. Today we celebrate the scientific advances that the understanding of DNA has made possible. I met Francis Crick in the … [Read more…]
It’s Memorial Day in the USA, a time the country honors those fallen in wars. Here’s to the day when there are no more wars and no further need for Memorial Days. Last year and the year before I wished the same. Another Memorial Day Wish A Memorial Day Wish Carl Krusehttps://carlkruse.org Email: carl AT … [Read more…]
A MLK Tradition: Reading A Letter From A Birmingham Jail by Carl Kruse It was on a Martin Luther King Day in 2006 that I first thought of reading some of King’s original work to honor the man behind the U.S.A. holiday and remembered an essay that was in a Norton anthology back in college … [Read more…]
Help SETI Answer The Question: Are We Alone?by Carl Kruse Every year the good people at SETI @ HOME make a fundraising drive to support their efforts in tackling what is one of the great remaining questions of humanity, is there intelligent life besides us in the universe? While the answer to the question is … [Read more…]
Happy Winter Solstice by Carl Kruse Since before anyone kept records people have celebrated Winter Solstice, the shortest day-longest night of the year, and that happens to be today. And every year around now I share a quick note to celebrate the solstice ( See https://carlkruse.org/happy-winter-solstice/ for a similar solstician greeting.) In prehistoric times people … [Read more…]
Here’s To A Great Summer Solstice By Carl Kruse The ebb and flow of the seasons is one of life’s constants and today is the Summer Solstice, the longest day, shortest night of the year, marking the beginning of summer. Some say it marks mid-summer, but no matter. Water flows, flowers bloom, trees sashay, the … [Read more…]
Yet Another Memorial Day Wish By Carl Kruse It is Memorial Day once again in the U.S.A., that time the nation honors its soldiers who died in combat. As I do every Memorial Day, I take some time to reflect on war and death, wishing that in some future — which seems impossibly distant — … [Read more…]
Melting Permafrost Floods Svalbard Seed Vault By Carl Kruse On Friday, March 19, a stream of nervous reports warned that water had entered the doomsday seed repository known as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Temporary panic ensued because Svalbard is humanity’s last line of defense against a major catastrophe or doomsday situation that might imperil … [Read more…]
