[NOTE: Some of my comments have been published earlier in the New York Times and elsewhere: ( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 )].

Human astronauts traveling to the planet Mars seems to be within reach - but traveling much further, especially to the stars, may not be possible. The stars are simply too far away. (According to my calculations, a space ship traveling 60,000 mph, considerably faster than any human endeavor at the moment, would take about 50,000 years to reach the nearest star (Proxima Centauri) beyond our solar system.) ( 5, 6, 7 ). (Note: Use of a workable nuclear-powered propulsion system, similar perhaps to those considered in the Orion Project, might make the interstellar journey somewhat shorter of course.)

Interestingly, there seems to be many more stars in the known universe than there are grains of sand on the planet Earth ( 8 ). Nonetheless, it doesn't seem like the USS Enterprise (and Spock) will be making any real journeys between the stars any time soon!

Also interestingly, other life-forms may already exist on worlds far beyond the Earth. I tend to agree with Stephen Hawking who noted in a recent speech at GWU (one of my alma maters) that primitive life-forms are likely to be "very common" in the universe. My own related notions have been published in the New York Times and elsewhere: ( 9, 10, 11 ).

Incidently, visionary auteur Werner Herzog made a film, "The Wild Blue Yonder (2005)" about visitors from Andromeda Galaxy, a group of (seemingly) densely-packed stars very similar to our own Milky Way Galaxy, coming to Earth to establish a new home - one of the first things the visitors tried to do was build ... a Shopping Mall! The Mall didn't catch on and the visitors were stranded. Oh well ... so much for such romantic notions?

Finally, and of possible interest - "SpaceShip" Planet Earth is moving *Very, Very Fast* - nearly 2 Million Miles Per Hour in fact! -> [Daily rotation (1,000 mph) + Revolution around the Sun (66,000 mph) + Revolution around the Galactic Center (483,000 mph) + Our Galaxy's motion in Deep Outer Space (1.3 Million mph) -> ( 16 )]

Also of possible interest - "COSMOS" (Classic PBS-TV Series by Carl Sagan) may now be on YouTube ( 12 ) and Google Video ( 13 ). The related "UNIVERSE" (PBS-TV Series by Stephen Hawking) may also be on Youtube ( 14 ) and Google Video ( 15 ). "THE UNIVERSE" (History-TV Series) (List of Episodes) is worthy as well..

PS --
UPDATE (06/11/2009):
Published a related Comment (New York Times - "Found In Transit," Comment 20 - June 11, 2009) to a science news article (written by Dr. Oliver Morton, a well-known science writer). The actual published Comment is as follows:

"Excellent Essay about a fascinating subject.

Since there may be more stars than there are grains of sand on planet earth (http://tinyurl.com/drb-stars) and since some of the relatively few stars studied so far seem to be associated with exo-planets of one sort or another, it seems reasonable to me (at least at the moment) that a certain number of stars may be associated with earth-like exo-planets in fact - of these [earth-like exo-planets], a certain number may even occupy a “habitable zone” and support life-forms of some sort - of these, a certain number may even contain clever life-forms, much like ourselves, perhaps. A possibility - very, very remote perhaps - but a possibility nonetheless.

That said –

Actually “connecting-up” with such life-forms, if any, might be quite a challenge - after all, the distances between worlds is really, really enormous. According to my calculations (http://tinyurl.com/drb-calc), a space ship traveling 60,000 mph, considerably faster than any human endeavor at the moment, would take about 50,000 years to reach the nearest star beyond our solar system. [Note: A Project Orion-type propulsion system (http://tinyurl.com/drb-orion) might make the interstellar journey somewhat shorter - but considerable journey times might be expected to be involved in any regards.]

All in all, a quixote quest of sorts?

Dr. Dennis Bogdan, Pittsburgh, PA
http://drbogdan.livejournal.com"

-Actual Publication By Dr. Dennis Bogdan.

---

PUBLICATIONS (Selected)

Bogdan, D. P.:
Internet Author and Editor (1995 - Present):
(Includes Wikipedia/MyBio, Citizendium/MyBio, LiveJournal/MyLJ/MyBio.)

Bogdan, D. P.:
Recent Newspaper Letters:

Comment 0150 (05/20/2008), ("Enter, The Cybrids") [Re: Dr. Olivia Judson/Science Article], New York Times.

( Click Here For MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS And More. )

---



--
| Dr Dennis Bogdan * Computer DataPro Consulting
| drbogdan at comcast.net * drbogdan at yahoo.com
| Journal: http://drbogdan.livejournal.com
| WebSite: http://home.comcast.net/~drbogdan
--

Tags: news, publication

To All,

Seems Methane Gas, Reported Earlier, Has Now Been Confirmed On The Planet Mars By NASA Scientists.

The Source Of The Methane Gas May Be From Life-Forms Living On Mars (Either "Methane-Producing" Life-Forms And/Or "Methane-Consuming" Life-Forms) *OR* From Some Unknown (And Perhaps Unfamiliar) Rock-related Process According To NASA Scientists Announcing The Discovery Today (01/15/2009).

A Video Overview Of The NASA Discovery Is Below.

(Full-Screen and Regular-Screen)

A Video Summary Of The Actual NASA Findings Is Below.

(Full-Screen and Regular-Screen)

Related Links:
New York Times (01/15/2009).
Wikipedia (Life On Mars).

Enjoy,
Dennis

UPDATE (02/16/2009):
According to a recent BBC news story, scientists have determined that there may be Billions of Earth-like Planets with simple life-forms, and Thousands with intelligent life-forms (and civilizations), in our own Galaxy alone. However, none of these Earth-like Planets are likely to be within actual Human reach since they are all much too far away - according to my calculations, a space ship traveling 60,000 mph, considerably faster than presently possible, would take nearly 50,000 years to travel to the nearest star - with no known place to land!

---

To All.

If interested –

Seems that our very modest Letter To The Editor about "Progress" has been Published in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Newspaper afterall. (See copy below.) (The Letter is also noted online on our Publications WebPage.)

-
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/letters/send/s_601710.html
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Monday, December 8, 2008

HUMANKIND'S "PROGRESS"

“I greatly enjoyed Dimitri Vassilaros' column 'Shop till you drop' (Nov. 28 and PghTrib.com), which suggested that ‘wanting more’ encourages ‘progress.’

“Yes, but ...

“Apparently, for about 6 million years, mankind was confined to a relatively small area (northeastern Africa) of planet Earth. About 50,000 years ago, mankind seems to have wandered to other areas -- mostly to places that are colder. Mankind was able to survive these colder, less-hospitable climates by being clever -- it would seem.

“Currently mankind is planning, by again being clever, to wander out from Earth to the Moon, Mars and beyond -- mostly to places that are even more cold and even less hospitable.

“But is this march into the cold and the inhospitable ‘progress?’ Has ‘wanting more’ duped mankind into a colder, less-hospitable future? Are humans bright or are humans just naturally not very bright after all -- at least in terms of the overall scheme of nature and the universe?”

Dr. Dennis Bogdan

-Actual Publication By Dr. Dennis Bogdan.

Enjoy,
Dennis

---

To All,

Truly Awesome! - The First-Ever PICTURE of a Planet outside of our own Solar System has now been taken. The newly-viewed Planet (scientifically, an "ExtraSolar Planet" or, more simply, an "ExoPlanet") is named Fomalhaut b and the ExoPlanet's PICTURE was taken using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).

For more details, read an Overview of the accomplishment, as well as an Abstract of the original Science Report and Supporting Materials.

The actual PICTURE of the newly-viewed ExoPlanet can be viewed HERE and an excellent Video Presentation of the accomplishment can be viewed below.

(Full-Screen and Regular-Screen)

Enjoy,
Dennis

UPDATE (12/11/2008):
Pictures of other ExoPlanets have now been reported. Chemicals important to life, including water, have been detected on ExoPlanets. The latest details about ExoPlanets can be found on The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia WebSite as well as the official (and impressive) NASA ExoPlanet WebSite.

UPDATE (01/22/2009):
Published a Comment related to a recent ExoPlanet News Article.

UPDATE (02/16/2009):
According to a recent BBC news story, scientists have determined that there may be Billions of Earth-like Planets with simple life-forms, and Thousands with intelligent life-forms (and civilizations), in our own Galaxy alone. However, none of these Earth-like Planets are likely to be within actual Human reach since they are all much too far away - according to my calculations, a space ship traveling 60,000 mph, considerably faster than presently possible, would take nearly 50,000 years to travel to the nearest star - with no known place to land!

---

To All,

If interested --

An *Inexpensive*, Truly-All-World, All-Region, Universal DVD Player That Plays Nearly *ANY* Major Movie and Music DVD Disc, CD Disc and Computer File On The Planet May Now Be Available.

The Player (PHILIPS MODEL DVP5990/37) costs only about $60 from local Wal-Mart and Best Buy Stores and seems capable of Playing Movie DVDs from *ANY* Country (and not just the Region 1 DVDs for the USA) as well as PAL-Movie DVDs (and not just the NTSC-Movie DVDs made for the USA).

The Player *UP-CONVERTS* a Standard DVD Movie to a "HIGHER-DEFINITION" Video Quality. (Note: The Player does *NOT* Up-Convert a Standard DVD Movie to the highest High-Definition Video Quality of a BluRay [or HD] DVD Movie.)

Computer Movie Files (AVI, MPG, MP4, WMV, DivX, DivX Ultra), Music Files (MP3, WMA) and Still-Picture Files (JPG), from DVD Discs, CD Discs or USB Memory Devices (including Digital Cameras and Flash Drives) can also be easily played with this Player.

Features of the Player may be easily improved with Free FirmWare Upgrades from the manufacturer and/or elsewhere (1,2,3,4,5,6) if you like. Please follow the manufacturer's Firmware Upgrade Procedure *exactly* as described. If interested, an Excellent FAQ about Player Modifications is HERE. (Note: Modifying a manufacturer's original equipment is always at the user's own risk of course - if necessary, there seems to be Procedures [1,2] to revive an unresponsive Player.)

Several other Similar Players seem to be available (1,2). However, other Players seem less capable and/or pricier than the PHILIPS MODEL DVP5990/37 Player (amazon).

Enjoy,
Dennis

UPDATE (01/24/2009):
Similar, but Less Expensive (about $40), PHILIPS DVD PLAYERS, like MODEL DVP3962/37 (FirmWare:1,2) and MODEL DVP3140/37, are also available. These Players may lack certain abilities (like WMV-FilePlay, USB-Input) that might not be missed by many.

---

To All,

If Interested --

My Present Choices For The World's All-Time Best Films (Also Posted Elsewhere On The Internet) Include The Following:

* 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968,US). (Interpretations).
* ALEXANDER NEVKSY (1938,RU).
* AMADEUS (1984,US).
* CASABLANCA (1942,US).
* CITIZEN KANE (1941,US).
* GREED (1924,US).
* METROPOLIS (1927,GE).
* POTEMKIN (1925,RU).
* RULES OF THE GAME, THE (1939,FR).
* WIZARD OF OZ, THE (1939,US).

Runners-Up Choices Include The Following:

* BAND WAGON, THE (1953,US).
* BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, THE (1946,US).
* BICYCLE THIEF, THE (1949,IT).
* BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE (1935,US).
* BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1947,UK).
* CHILDREN OF PARADISE (1944,FR).
* GENERAL, THE (1927,US).
* GONE WITH THE WIND (1939,US).
* LADY VANISHES, THE (1938,UK).
* MALTESE FALCON, THE (1941,US).
* NAPOLEON (1927,FR).
* REBECCA (1940,US).
* SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952,US).
* STAGECOACH (1939,US).
* STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN (1946,UK).
* THIEF OF BAGDAD, THE (1940,UK).
* THIRD MAN, THE (1949,UK).
* ZAZEL (1997,US,X-Rated). [HomePage; My Review].

Also, The Totally Awesome FELLINI FILMS:

* VOICE OF THE MOON, THE (1990,IT).
* INTERVISTA (1987,IT).
* GINGER AND FRED (1986,IT).
* AND THE SHIP SAILS ON (1983,IT).
* CITY OF WOMEN (1980,IT).
* ORCHESTRA REHEARSAL (1978,IT).
* CASANOVA (1976,IT).
* AMARCORD (1973,IT).
* ROMA (1972,IT).
* CLOWNS, THE (1971,IT).
* SATYRICON (1969,IT).
* SPIRITS OF THE DEAD (1968,IT).
* JULIET OF THE SPIRITS (1965,IT).
* 8 1/2 (1963,IT).
* BOCCACCIO '70 (1962,IT).
* LA DOLCE VITA (1960,IT).
* NIGHTS OF CABIRIA (1957,IT).
* IL BIDONE (1955,IT).
* LA STRADA (1954,IT).
* I VITELLONI (1953,IT).
* LOVE IN THE CITY (1953,IT).
* WHITE SHEIK, THE (1952,IT).
* VARIETY LIGHTS (1950,IT).

Enjoy,
Dennis

PS --

Incidently --

CRITERION (Manufacturer Of *Very* High-Quality DVDs) HAS NOW BEGUN RELEASING BLU-RAY DVD VERSIONS OF IT'S HIGHLY-REGARDED FILM COLLECTION.
( Click Here For A List Of The First Films Released. )

---

To All,

If interested --

NEW!

The Mars Lander Phoenix Has Confirmed The Presence Of WATER On The Planet Mars Accordiung To A Recent NASA Report (07/31/2008) .

Enjoy,
Dennis

PS --
UPDATE (12/30/2008):
Recent Evidences To Date (12/30/2008) That Confirms The Presence Of Water On The Planet Mars - Especially In The Planet's Past - Is Summarized HERE.

---

To All,

If interested --

An impressive TV Documentary, "AfterMath: Population Zero (2008)," was recently broadcast on the National Geographic Channel. The TV Documentary considered hypothetically (and in some seemingly responsible detail) what might happen if *all* Humans suddenly disappeared from Planet Earth. Such a consideration (according to the Program) may help explain the influence Humans are now having on the Planet. Apparently, nature may not take very long to erase every trace of Humanity from the Planet. In fact, the very last remains of Humanity may not be found on Planet Earth at all - but may be found on the Moon (in the form of Apollo Space Program "left-overs") instead!

VIDEO: PROGRAM PREVIEW.

(Full-Screen and Regular-Screen)

LINKS:
- AfterMath: Population Zero (HomePage).
- National Geographic Channel (HomePage) .

Enjoy,
Dennis

PS --
Incidently, a Classic (and somewhat related) Science-Fiction film, "The Quiet Earth (1985,NZ)," tells the intriguing story of a Scientist who suddenly finds himself alone after other Humans have mysteriously disappeared from the planet.

---

To All,

If interested --

A Classic Film, "The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951,US)," has now been remade and the NEW 2008 Film Version has now (12/12/2008) been released to Theaters. To mark the occasion of the New Film's Theater Release, the New Film has been Broadcast To The Stars. In any case, we greatly enjoyed the New 2008 Film Version and think the Film's a Worthwhile View - although with some reservation.

Oh yes, remember "Klaatu Barada Nikto?"

(Full-Screen)

LINKS:
- Wikipedia: (1951 Version and 2008 Version).
- Movie DataBase (IMDB): (1951 Version and 2008 Version).
- Trailers: (1951 Version / Full-Screen and 2008 Version / OfficialSite).
- ORIGINAL FILM (1951): (YouTube/10-Parts + YouTube and Google).
- ORIGINAL MUSIC (1951): (Full-Screen and Regular-Screen).
- ORIGINAL STORY (1940): ("Farewell To The Master" by Harry Bates).
- Tribute Sites (joannebogdan): (HomePage and LiveJournal).

Enjoy,
Dennis

---

To All,

If interested --

Lists of the World's All-Time Greatest Books (many *FREE* on the Internet) are at the following:

The Harvard Classics (Wikipedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Classics

Great Books Of THe Western World (Wikipedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books_of_the_Western_World

Great Books Curriculum (Wikipedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books

Western Canon (Wikipedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_canon

Great Books Reading List (St. John's College):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John's_College,_U.S.#The_Great_Books

Great Books (GB Index):
http://books.mirror.org/gb.titles.html

Greatest Books (Gutenberg):
http://gutenberg.net.au/greatest-books-a.html

Greatest Novels (Modern Library):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Library_100_Best_Novels

Greatest Novels (The 100 Best):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Time_100_Greatest_Novels

Greatest Books (elorin):
http://elorin.livejournal.com/221576.html

Greatest Books (luvbight):
http://luvbight.livejournal.com/25656.html

*FREE* Online World's Best Books - TEXT:
http://bartleby.com

*FREE* Online World's Best Books - AUDIO:
http://libravox.org

*FREE* World-Class VIDEO and AUDIO Lectures:
http://drbogdan.livejournal.com/6463.html

Incidently, Click "Introducing Books During The Dark Ages" For A Humorous Video Clip.

Enjoy,
Dennis

UPDATE (11/16/2008):
Many, many more Books may be available soon on the Internet: reportedly, Google will now be digitizing "Out-Of-Print" Books. Project Gutenberg has already digitized many "Out-Of-Copyright" Books and the resulting E-Books are now Freely Available on the Internet. Related Links include: Europe's Digital Library, Gutenberg.Com, EBooks, FictionWise, and the *very impressive* US Library Of Congress.

---

To All,

If interested --

The Phoenix Spacecraft (launched August 4, 2007) landed successfully on the Planet Mars (May 25, 2008).


VIDEO: Phoenix Mars Landing (Full-Screen).

Details of the Phoenix Mars Landing (and more) can be found on the following Links:

LINKS - NASA Phoenix Mars Lander:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_spacecraft
http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/
http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix
http://jpl.nasa.gov/news/phoenix/main.php
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/present/phoenix.html
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Mars#Google_Mars
http://mars.google.com
http://drbogdan.livejournal.com/#item7468
http://drbogdan.livejournal.com/7468.html

VIDEO - NASA Phoenix Mars Landing and Mission:
Phoenix Landing (Full-Screen).
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/videos/phoenix/phx20080327/
http://www.deepanjannag.com/2007/07/phoenix-mars-mission.html

VIDEO - NASA-TV And Related:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
http://drbogdan.livejournal.com/#item3690
http://drbogdan.livejournal.com/3690.html

Enjoy,
Dennis

PS --
REAL SCIENCE FACTS:
Please note (as earlier) the following for some perspective on our present Space Ship adventures:

A Space Ship Traveling 60,000 mph (faster than any known real Space Ship at present, including the fastest ever, Voyager I, presently being "sling-shot" out of the solar system at 38,400 mph as of May, 2008) Would Take About 47,167 Years (my calculations) To Reach The Nearest Star, Proxima Centauri, 4.22 light-years away. Please understand that the calculated trip time is for a *one-way* adventure - and also - there's *no known place to land* once there! Proxima Centauri, 4.22 light-years away, seems to be the nearest Star (besides the Sun, 8.32 light-minutes away) to Planet Earth.

Interestingly, there seems to be many more stars in the known universe than there are grains of sand on the Planet Earth according to several responsible calculations. Nonetheless, it doesn't seem like the USS Enterprise (and Spock) will be making any real journeys between the stars any time soon!

UPDATE (01/22/2009):
Published some of the above as a Comment regarding a recent Space News Article.

---

VIDEO: NASA'S PLAN FOR FINDING ALIEN LIFE-FORMS. (03:18)
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/videos/phoenix/phx20070724/phx-20070723-480cc.swf

To me, at the moment, finding a fossilized alien microbe (or related) would be a much better way of proving the existence of alien life-forms than finding a living alien microbe. Afterall, living microbes, alien or not, could always be considered the result of some kind of contamination, even if highly unlikely. Digging up a fossilized microbe on some alien world, especially if found deep underground, would be much less likely to be the result of some kind of contamination in my view.

The unequivocal finding on an alien world of a living microbe embedded deep underground, like the archae life-forms that seem to make up a substantial amount of the total living matter found on Planet Earth, would also go far in minimizing the issue of contamination I would think.

Interestingly, some known hardy microbes (1, 2) found on Earth may be well suited for surviving a variety of challenging conditions that may be found on alien worlds, as well as surviving, perhaps, actual outer space journeys (via meteoriods and/or comets?) between such alien worlds.

Consistent with such notions, exposing bacteria, commonly found on Earth, to actual space conditions seemed to make such bacteria more hardy (and more space-travel worthy?) in some ways according to recent NASA studies. Interestingly, tardigrades (tiny invertebrates called "water bears") seem to be sufficiently hardy to survive space conditions according to recent studies and news reports (1,2).

In any case, the "possibility that life can voyage from planet to planet inside rocks blasted off one planetary surface by impact, to land on another planetary surface" (1), called the Transpermia Hypothesis, is planned to be tested soon in an upcoming Mission to Mars. [Added 01/07/2009db]

Stephen Hawking (well-known astrophysicist) spoke recently at The George Washington University (one of my alma maters) about alien life in the universe and noted that: "Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare," quickly adding, "Some would say it has yet to occur on Earth."

In any case --

Enjoy,
Dennis

PS --
UPDATE (06/04/2008):
Published a related Comment (New York Times - "The Weird Sisters," Comment 74 - June 3, 2008) to a science news article (written by Dr. Olivia Judson, an evolutionary biologist) about a life-form that is *very, very* unusual in several ways including being able to successfully survive, in a kind of suspended animation of sorts, without any apparent water whatsoever. The actual published Comment is as follows:

"Excellent Article - fascinating subject - just wondering - if these asexual bdelloid rotifer life-forms are really able to be thoroughly dried-up ("desiccated" as noted), and survive successfully in a completely waterless state ("suspended animation" as noted), and then later be fully reconstituted with water or the like, could they also be sufficiently resilient (and hardy), as a dried-up (dust-like?) life-form, to be worthy space-travelers of sorts and travel among the stars, via comets and meteorites perhaps, seeding the universe? Can the life-forms presently on our planet be the evolved descendants of these, or similar, space-traveling dust-like, waterless life-forms, settling on our planet billions of years ago? Afterall, the earliest evidences of life on our planet are apparently the fossilized remains of very, very simple life-forms. Maybe life on our planet, rather than having a very special (and exclusive?) beginning here on our planet, was the result of dust-like, waterless life-forms falling from the stars instead?

"On a somewhat related matter - could the search for water (as a way of discovering life-forms) on the Planet Mars with the Phoenix Lander be too limiting since there may be life-forms that can, apparently, survive quite successfully without any water whatsoever?

"In any case, just a few thoughts.

"Incidently, and if interested, a similar discussion, with somewhat different hardy (and resilient?) simple life-forms, may be found at the following: http://drbogdan.livejournal.com/7419.html ."

-Actual Publication By Dr. Dennis Bogdan.

UPDATE (02/16/2009):
According to a recent BBC news story, scientists have determined that there may be Billions of Earth-like Planets with simple life-forms, and Thousands with intelligent life-forms (and civilizations), in our own Galaxy alone. However, none of these Earth-like Planets are likely to be within actual Human reach since they are all much too far away - according to my calculations, a space ship traveling 60,000 mph, considerably faster than presently possible, would take nearly 50,000 years to travel to the nearest star - with no known place to land!

---

To All,

If interested --

Thousands of *FREE* World-Class Video and Audio Lectures and Courses, in nearly *Every* Subject Area and at nearly *All* Educational Levels, are currently available Online at the Internet Links copied below.

*FREE* VIDEO AND AUDIO LECTURES AND COURSES:

MIT UNIVERSITY
http://ocw.mit.edu

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
http://princeton.edu/WebMedia/lectures

YALE UNIVERSITY
http://open.yale.edu

UC-BERKELEY UNIVERSITY
http://webcast.berkeley.edu/courses.php

UC-BERKELEY UNIVERSITY - YouTube
http://youtube.com/ucberkeley

UC-BERKELEY UNIVERSITY - GoogleVideo
http://video.google.com/ucberkeley.html

FREE VIDEO LECTURES - LEARNERS-TV
http://learnerstv.com

( CLICK HERE FOR MANY MORE *FREE* LECTURE LINKS. )

In any case --

Enjoy,
Dennis

---

To All,

If interested --

According to scientists, one consequence of quantum theory is that the basic nature of very, very small things, like subatomic particles, are significantly changed simply by being "observed."

Apparently, another consequence of quantum theory, is that the basic nature of very, very big things, like the universe, are also significantly changed simply by being "observed."

It's not presently clear if the changes require people to do the "observing."

Hmmm...

Perhaps things are getting "curiouser and curiouser" and the universe is not more complex than we imagine but is more complex than we *can* imagine? Is it possible that Humans contemplating the universe are like ants, with a presumed *very* limited capacity, trying to contemplate Humans?

Humbling in any regards it would seem.

In any case, details of all this can be found at the following:

-
MANKIND "SHORTENING THE UNIVERSE'S LIFE"
November 21, 2007
Telegraph/UK Internet News
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor

Forget about the threat that mankind poses to the Earth: our very ability to study the heavens may have shortened the inferred lifetime of the cosmos.
[snip]

Enjoy,
Dennis

---

To All,

If interested --

Top Scientists chose "BLADE RUNNER (1982,US)" as the *Very Best* Science-Fiction Film ever made several years ago. http://drbogdan.livejournal.com/#item1575

This Classic Science-Fiction Film has finally been fully restored, remastered and updated to the Director's original vision.

The new Director's version is *different* from the Theatrical Film release and clarifies significant loose-ends in the story-line. (For example, was Harrison Ford's character, Deckard, a replicant himself?) Essential missing and deleted scenes were located and fully restored to the film.

[Update 12/18/2007db: Actually Viewed the New Final Version and found it truly Excellent in every way.]

More details about the latest film version can be found in a recent news item (see New York Times Link below).

Click HERE For An *Excellent* Wikipedia Write-up.
Click HERE For A Worthy Audio SlideShow.

ON-LINE DVD PURCHASE (Released 12/18/2007):
STANDARD DVD ($14.58) - FINAL VERSION.
BLU-RAY DVD ($66.95) 5-DISC EDITION.

-
A CULT CLASSIC RESTORED, AGAIN
September 30, 2007
New York Times
By Fred Kaplan

IT’S been 25 years since the release of “Blade Runner,” Ridley Scott’s science fiction cult film turned classic, but only now has his original vision reached the screen.
[snip]

Enjoy,
Dennis

---

To All,

If interested --

IN THE EYES OF THE UNIVERSE, ARE LIFE-FORMS, INCLUDING HUMANS, SPECIAL? IS THE PLANET EARTH SPECIAL?

At the moment I think that Life-forms - basically, a chemical that can reproduce itself - began somewhere in the universe but not necessarily on planet Earth.

I presently believe that a single chemical molecule (perhaps a type of molecule presently detected in far-away galaxies like a glycoaldehyde, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, some protein component, some DNA component, some prebiotic RNA component or related material) chanced on reproducing itself (in a kind of abiogeneic process, making itself "immortal" - much like, in a sense, other matter in the universe). This single chemical event evolved over time to more elaborate molecular forms - eventually seeding the entire universe (via comets and the like), including planet Earth, with Life-forms where-ever possible. There sure seems to have been a lot of time for all of this to have happened - afterall, the present universe is estimated to be nearly 14 Billion years old - that's really, really a whole lot of Time I would think.

Interestingly, all known Life-forms are composed of the same chemical (basically, a very particular form of phospho-sugar-nucleic acid - capable of astronomical variation - with only variants suitable to the environment surviving from one generation to the next).

Although it might be possible that Life-forms began uniquely on planet Earth, I think it unlikely - especially since there may be innumerable Life-friendly areas in the universe-at-large. Hey, the universe is very,very large - my understanding is that there is estimated to be more stars in the known universe than there are grains of sands on the planet Earth - that's really, really a whole lot of Stars (and StarStuff) I would think.

-
In any case --

Comments Welcome.

Enjoy,
Dennis

PS --
UPDATE (06/23/2008):
Published a related Comment (New York Times - "Darwinmania," Comment 341 - June 17, 2008) to a science news article (written by Dr. Olivia Judson, an evolutionary biologist). as follows:

"Thanks for another *Excellent* article - just wondering - seems many may regard man as the very best result of evolution ever (or, at least, so far) - more advanced, more superior, more excellent, more special even - than any other life-form to have ever lived on the planet (or perhaps anywhere else in the universe in the view of some) - but doesn't this notion rest on the idea that "human cleverness" is being used as the benchmark for the determination? Is this seeming anthropocentricism a human conceit (and/or arrogance) of sorts? Not surprisingly, other life-forms would hardly measure up to the standards of "human cleverness" that humans are in fact so well able to do. Afterall, being human is very easy for humans to do but not so easy for other life-forms I would think.

"But if the benchmark for being an advanced species were "bird-like" flying or "fish-like" swimming instead, how would humans then measure up? - perhaps not as well I would think.

"Have humans biased the notion of life (and/or existence) via "human cleverness" to favor only the human lot in life so-to-speak? Perhaps there's other (maybe even better?) ways to view man's role in the overall scheme of things - maybe humans (and even other life-forms perhaps) aren't quite as special in the eyes of the universe as some may think?

"If interested, related notions can be found at the following:
http://drbogdan.livejournal.com
http://drbogdan.livejournal.com/#item5861 "

-Actual Comment Published By Dr. Dennis Bogdan.

UPDATE (02/16/2009):
According to a recent BBC news story, scientists have determined that there may be Billions of Earth-like Planets with simple life-forms, and Thousands with intelligent life-forms (and civilizations), in our own Galaxy alone. However, none of these Earth-like Planets are likely to be within actual Human reach since they are all much too far away - according to my calculations, a space ship traveling 60,000 mph, considerably faster than presently possible, would take nearly 50,000 years to travel to the nearest star - with no known place to land!

---

To All,

If interested --

GOOGLE EARTH Now Includes GOOGLE SKY!

Click For FULL-SCREEN VIDEO.

Click For MORE DETAILS.

Click To DOWNLOADThe New Google Earth And Sky Program.

Also, Click To DOWNLOAD The New Microsoft World Wide Telescope Program.

Enjoy,
Dennis

---

To All,

If interested --

According to a recent News Item (Thu Aug 23 2007 11:30:10 ET):

"The soil on Mars may contain microbial life!

Joop Houtkooper of the University of Giessen, Germany, will declare on Friday [Aug 24, 2007] the Viking spacecraft may have found signs of a weird life form based on hydrogen peroxide on the subfreezing, arid Martian surface.

His analysis of one of the experiments carried out by the Viking spacecraft suggests that 0.1 percent of the Martian soil could be of biological origin.

That is roughly comparable to biomass levels found in some Antarctic permafrost, home to a range of hardy bacteria and lichen."

In any case --

Enjoy,
Dennis

---

To All,

If interested --

Holographic Versatile Discs (HVDs) seem to be the next generation of DVDs with nearly 4000 GB of memory.

This is about 5,500 times the capacity of today's usual CDs (0.5 GB) and about 830 times the capacity of today's usual DVDs (nearly 5 GB).

In comparison, Blu-Ray High-Definition DVDs are 50 GB.

Every book in the U. S. Library of Congress, one of the largest libraries in the world, could be stored on less than six HVDs!

Further Details about HVDs are here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_Versatile_Disc
New developments with HVDs were reported recently (04/27/2009) in the New York Times.


Enjoy,
Dennis

---

To All,

If interested --

Space Pictures, mapping some of the presummably enormous amounts of invisible dark matter making up the universe, have now been taken according to The Independent News, Nature Magazine and NASA.

The actual three-dimensional Space Pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope can be viewed at the following: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2007/01/image.

Enjoy,
Dennis

---

To All,

If interested --


*FREE* NASA-TV LINKS are available at the following:


NASA-TV SCHEDULES:

Breaking News Schedule:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Breaking.html

Daily Program Schedule:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Schedule.html


NASA-TV DIRECT LINK-UPS:

Windows Media Player (WMP) (Video):
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
Full Screen: (Right-Click In WMP -> Zoom -> Full Screen).

Windows Media Player (WMP) (Video):
http://www.nasa.gov/55644main_NASATV_Windows.asx

RealPlayer (Video):
http://www.nasa.gov/ram/35037main_portal.ram

RealPlayer (Audio Only):
http://www.nasa.gov/ram/55643main_NASATV_Audio_Only.ram


Enjoy,
Dennis

---

To All,

If interested --

Stay Healthy.

Links to the DASH DIET from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are noted below.

DASH refers to a "Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension."

NIH WEBSITE:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/

PDF DOCUMENT (Detailed Brochure):
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf

THE DASH EATING PLAN (quoted from the NIH WebSite): "Get with the plan that is clinically proven to significantly reduce blood pressure. It's not enough to tell hypertensive and prehypertensive patients to, "Watch your diet." Give them a week's worth of sample menus, recipes, heart healthy dishes, and an easy-to-read summary of the findings from the "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension" clinical study that showed how elevated blood pressure levels can be reduced with an eating plan low in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, and rich in fruits, vegetables, and lowfat dairy products. It even has a form to track food habits before starting the plan and a chart to help with meal planning and food shopping. Facts About the DASH Eating Plan 24 pages. NIH Publication No. 03-4082."

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this posting is for educational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for personal care by a licensed physician. Please see your physician for diagnosis and treatment of any concerning symptoms or medical condition.

Enjoy,
Dennis

---

To All,

If interested --

Be on Time.

ATOMIC CLOCK TIME (accurate to 0.2 second)
http://nist.time.gov/timezone.cgi?Eastern/d/-5/java

Enjoy,
Dennis

---

To All,

If interested --

Evidence of present life on the Planet Mars may have been found according to a recent news item (see Link below).

Enjoy,
Dennis

---
EXCLUSIVE: NASA RESEARCHERS CLAIM EVIDENCE OF PRESENT LIFE ON MARS
February 16, 2005
Space Internet News
By Brian Berger, Staff Writer

WASHINGTON -- A pair of NASA scientists told a group of space officials at a private meeting here Sunday that they have found strong evidence that life may exist today on Mars, hidden away in caves and sustained by pockets of water.
[snip]

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To All,

If interested --

Present DVDs obsolete - already??

Apparently, new High-Definition Blue-ray DVDs will soon replace the present Red-ray DVDs and are expected to be released next Christmas (2005) according to a recent news item (see Link below).

New DVDs have over 10-times the quality of the present DVD format. Present DVD Players may Not be compatible with the new format.

Enjoy,
Dennis

---
TOSHIBA WINS HD DVD SUPPORT
November 29, 2004
CNN TV Internet News

Four film studios are expected to release movies on the new HD format in the last quarter of 2005.
[snip]

---

To All,

If interested --

A recent news item suggests that newly available LCD TVs are better than Plasma TVs (see Link below).

Enjoy,
Dennis

---
DREAM TV SCREEN, NOW IN SIZE LARGE
November 18, 2004
New York Times
By David Pogue

---

To All,

If interested --

MAYBE SAVE THOSE OLD COMPUTERS??

Will your own personal digital writings, pictures, music (CDs), movies (DVDs) be around, so-to-speak, 20 years from now? Even 10 years from now? Is today's knowledge being stored in a way that will simply "disappear" in the *very* near future? Like some kind of "disappearing ink"?

Major Libraries are *really* concerned about today's digital content (writings, pictures, music, movies, etc). Today's digital content may simply Not be viewable in the near future. There may Not be the "right" kind of play-back equipment available in the future to view today's digital content - maybe not even in the next 20 years or so.

Will current digital content be as inaccessible tomorrow as the content on piano rolls, wax cylinders, 8-track tape cartridges and vinyl records may be today?

Content (text, pictures, etc) written-in-stone lasts for the ages - in human terms at least. Even content on paper is a hard act to follow. Afterall, writings and pictures stored on paper thousands of years ago continue to be easily viewable today. Would content stored in some digital way today be still viewable a thousand years from now? Even 20 years from now? Even 10 years from now?

A recent news item describes this problem in more detail (see Link below).

Comments Welcome.

Enjoy,
Dennis

---
EVEN DIGITAL MEMORIES CAN FADE
November 10, 2004
New York Times
By Katie Hafner

---
UPDATE (12/15/2008):
Recent related Postings include "No Silver Bullet: Archive Challenges" as well as "The Challenges Of Archiving" from the MoonViews WebSite.

---

To All,

If interested --

The Internet was created nearly 35 years ago (September 2, 1969) by computer engineers working at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

More details on the history (and possible future) of the Internet are described in a recent news item (see Link below).

Enjoy,
Dennis

---
INTERNET TURNS 35, STILL WORK IN PROGRESS
August 29, 2004
My Way Internet News
By Anick Jesdanun

---

To All,

If interested --

TOP SCIENTISTS CHOOSE THE BEST SCIENCE-FICTION FILMS. "Blade Runner" and other Sci-Fi films chosen (see Links below).

Enjoy,
Dennis

---
SCIENTISTS' FAVORITES (08/26/2004 - CNN-TV):

01. BLADE RUNNER (1982,US). **BEST**
02. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968,US).
03. STAR WARS IV: A NEW HOPE (1977,US).
04. STAR WARS V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980,US).
05. ALIEN (1979,US).
06. SOLARIS (1972,RU).
07. THE TERMINATOR (1984,US).
08. TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY (1991,US).
09. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951,US).
10. WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953,US).
11. THE MATRIX (1999,US).
12. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977,US).

-
PUBLIC'S FAVORITES (06/14/2000 - CNN-TV):

01. ALIENS (1986,US). **BEST**
02. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968,US).
03. STAR WARS TRILOGY (1977-1983,US).
04. FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956,US).
05. ALIEN (1979,US).
06. SOLARIS (1972,RU).
07. STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME (1986,US).

-
TOP "SPACE SHIPS" (11/18/2006 - Wired Internet News):

01. MILLENIUM FALCON ("Star Wars"). **BEST**
02. U.S.S ENTERPRISE ("Star Trek").
03. NOSTROMO ("Alien").
04. HEART OF GOLD ("The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy").
05. APOLLO 13 ("Apollo 13").
06. DISCOVERY ONE ("2001: A Space Odyssey").
07. KLINGON BIRD OF PREY ("Star Trek").
08. MOTHERSHIP ("Independence Day").
09. GUNSTAR ("The Last Starfighter").
10. THE THUNDER ROAD ("Explorers").


Building the LEGO Millennium Falcon from Gizmodo on Vimeo.

-

REAL SCIENCE FACTS:
A Space Ship Traveling 60,000 mph (faster than any known Space Ship at present, including the fastest ever, Voyager I, presently being "sling-shot" out of the solar system at 38,400 mph as of May, 2008) Would Take About 47,167 Years ( My Calculation ) To Reach The Nearest Star, Proxima Centauri, 4.22 light-years away. Please understand that the calculated trip time is for a *one-way* adventure - and also - there's *no known place to land* once there! Proxima Centauri, 4.22 light-years away, seems to be the nearest Star (besides the Sun, 8.32 light-minutes away) to Planet Earth.

An excellent (and thought-provoking) Film dealing with such an awesome interstellar journey is "The Wild Blue Yonder (2005)" - but with a Science-Fiction twist of sorts - the space journey described in the Film is all about coming *TO* Planet Earth (from a far-distant world), rather than *FROM* Planet Earth (to a far-distant world), instead!

UPDATE (01/22/2009):
Published some of the above as a Comment regarding a recent Space News Article.

---
ANOTHER WORTHY SCIENCE-FICTION FILM?

"WORLD ON WIRES" (orig "WELT AM DRAHT," 1973/GE).
This Film is based on the Science-Fiction Novel "Simulacron Three," written by Daniel F. Galouye, which described, for the first time ever in literature apparently, the notion of Virtual Reality.
The Novel, "Simulacron Three," Also Likely Inspired (Much Later) The Following Films:
"THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR" (1999)(also based on Galouye's writings).
"THE MATRIX" (1999) (and related Sequels).
And *May Have* (It's A Memory Thing And More) Somewhat Influenced These Films:
"BLADE RUNNER" (1982).
"DARK CITY" (1998).
"eXistenZ" (1999).
"PRIMER" (2004).

---

To All,

If interested --

The long-awaited "DOOM" Computer Game is now available. Details and contact informations are copied below.

Interestingly, there's suggestions that a 512mb video card would be best for the ultimate in game play. Unfortunately, such a card may not yet be fully ready for common use.

Enjoy,
Dennis

---
REFERENCES:
ID Software
Official Doom3 WebSite

VENDORS:
Best Buy - Doom3 Game
EB Games - Doom3 Game

MINIMUM PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
ID Software Specifications WebPage

---

A BANANA is Clearly Sexy.

Primates, including Apes and Monkeys, Love Eating BANANAS - and are, seemingly at least, the Better For It in fact.

But People are Primates too. Should People Be Eating More BANANAS - to be Better - and to be Healthier?

( CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE MANY, MANY HEALTH BENEFITS OF EATING BANANAS.  )

Comments Welcome.

Enjoy,
Dennis

PS --
Incidently (and at the moment), I think that very early Humans may have been, like other apes (Bonobos, Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Orangutans), primarily fruit-eaters (fruitarians or fugivores) - meat and veggies were probably NOT basic food sources for very early Humans - as far as I know, apes in the wild don't usually chase after rabbits or dig up veggies - picking and eating berries (and related fruits) seems much more usual - afterall, Gorillas seem to be well-known to wander from berry patch to berry patch (or equivalent) in the wild and not at all well-known for chasing down rabbits or digging up carrots.

Further, Bonobos, our closest non-Human relatives, seem to eat fruits almost exclusively according to Wikipedia.

In any case, my thinking at the moment. :)

---
Also --

10 SUPER FOODS YOU *SHOULD* EAT!
http://nutritionaction.com/nah/10foods_good.html
NUTRITION ACTION

1. ORANGES.
Great-tasting and rich in vitamin C, folic acid, and fiber.

2. WHOLE-GRAIN BREAD.
It’s higher in fiber and about a dozen vitamins and minerals than enriched white bread or “wheat” bread.

3. CANTALOUPE.
A quarter of a delicious melon supplies almost as much vitamin A and C as most people need in an entire day.

4. BROCCOLI.
Lots of vitamin C, carotenoids, and folic acid.

5. SWEET POTATOES.
A nutritional All-Star - one of the most nutritious vegetables you can eat. They’re loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

6. WATERMELON.
Excellent source of vitamin C and carotenoids - and it tastes great!

7. BEANS.
Inexpensive, low in fat, and rich in protein, iron, folic acid, and fiber. Choose garbanzo, pinto, black, Navy, kidney, or lentils.

8. SALMON OR OTHER FATTY FISH.
The omega-3 fats in fish, especially fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and rainbow trout, can reduce the risk of sudden-death heart attacks.

9. KELLOGG'S ALL-BRAN OR POST'S 100% BRAN.
A half-cup serving of these cereals provides about one-third of the fiber you need for an entire day - to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease.

10. SPINACH AND KALE.
Loaded with vitamin C, carotenoids, calcium, and fiber

---

To All,

If interested --

The "STAR WARS" Sextuplet is nearing completion.

The final episode, Episode III, has just been named:

"STAR WARS-III: REVENGE OF THE SITH"

Enjoy,
Dennis

---
THE COMPLETE "STAR WARS" SAGA:

Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Episode IV: A New Hope
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

---

Hello World --

This is my very first LiveJournal Entry.

Hope it works ok.

Well, here goes... [Clicking "Update Journal" Button]. whoooosshh... hmmm... looks ok. I wonder if all this can be deleted or edited? Maybe I'll just keep it - but I think I should probably get out more often.

In any case --

Comments Welcome.

:-)

Enjoy,
Dennis

---