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and...*Angels Grayce, KonaKitty, and Sylvester* always loved, never forgotten




Sunday, September 16, 2012

Sunday with a Nuclear Powered Sheebie

"Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on."
Jimmy Page & Robert Plant


Friends and Kitties!

I work in the water treatment industry here in Las Vegas, splitting my time between two facilities.  The work is basically the same at both places with a few minor details excepted; the real difference for me is the drive to work in the morning.  The Henderson facility is in town about ten minutes away, no great shakes.  Just a bit of town driving; stop lights,  a little traffic, school buses.  The other plant--out at Lake Mead--is a whole 'nother story, located smack dab in the center of a National Park. On the drive to the second plant is a long stretch that faces East, spooling downhill towards the lake.  My favorite part of the fifteen minute trip is when I crest the hill, turn the corner, and behold the sun, rising from behind Fortification Mountain.  It's dazzling.  And it makes me wonder.

I don't know how many (or how often) people stop and think about the fact that our Sun is a star, just like those little lights twinkling in the night sky.  I actually think about this a lot, and often; in fact a lot of my Life Philosophy revolves around our star, the one we call "The Sun".  Who knows what other life calls it--in the Universe it's a picayune little thing, really.  But for me, for us, for the Earth, it's everything.

Take, for example, matter.  The dirt, the rocks and trees, the animals and atmosphere.  All of that came from a star's death throes, collapsing cataclysmically to form the heavier and larger elements that compose me, you, and everything else.  Everything we are and see, no matter how it has been transmogrified (with the exception, perhaps, of  fleetingly short-lived man-made elements) is dead star detritus.  Everything.  I think that is absolutely awesome, that something so mighty has become me.  And it comforts me, to know that one day, billions of years from now, my atoms may be reused into something as grand once again, albeit they will go through many transformations and recyclings before that time.  For me, that's the best life after death I can envision.  Maybe I won't know then, but I know now, and that's enough for me.

But back to our Sun.

My field of study in college was Biochemistry, which deals with how things live, on a molecular level.  It's a fabulous subject, and one of the core concepts is energy transfer from one form to another, enabling a thing to sustain life, the source of energy being our Sun.*   A single photon, after spending a million years traveling up and out from the core of the Sun hurtles through space and nine minutes later strikes a cell on a leaf, providing the needed energy packet for the plant to take carbon dioxide from the air and water from the ground to form a molecule of sugar--photosynthesis.  The scale of this boggles my mind.  All the oil reserves, all the coal, all the greenery, every living thing, is sunlight, condensed.  Everything we eat, use, or otherwise consume is derived from a star and powered by the sun.  We are the miraculous product of thermonuclear energy and explosions.

Our Sun affects us in other, more subtle ways.  We need the sun's ultra-violet energy to synthesize Vitamin D from the cholesterol in our bodies.  Our circadian rhythm is dictated by exposure to sunlight, as well as brain hormone production that determine our moods.  In fact, the DNA sequence that enables plants turn toward the light for maximum light exposure is the same one in us humans (and other species, surely) that determines, among other things, jet lag.  No wonder it feels so good to have the Sun on your face, it's programmed into our base sequencing.  But I simply enjoy the warmth, and the long view to the East driving into work, watching the sun rise over the mountains.

The ancients worshiped the Sun as the giver of all life.  They weren't far wrong.

And dudes, it's a STAR!  Nine light-minutes away.
How cool is that?


Now, have a Happy Sunday, a Good Week, and be a Ray of Sunshine.  Because we are!

XX  Sheebie  XX


*Yes, there are other sorts--at volcanic vents, ect...work with me here!

40 comments:

  1. Well - huh -

    And what I think about on the way to work is generally the fact that I am late, and the guy in front of me is only going 25 mph in a 40 zone...

    You've totally given me something new to think about. T.

    P.S. No wonder I enjoyed sitting with the warm sunshine on my face so much this afternoon. :-)

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  2. I just look for cats on my walk to work, never bother to contemplate the universe! Glad someone is though, you keep it up for both of us.

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  3. The sun is an amazing object.

    I've always been fascinated with the moon. In pictures and even looking up into the sky, it appears flat. But I like to take time to remember it's a big sphere, orbiting our planet, helping keep our world intact.

    The universe, and its infinite rearrangements of matter and energy are awe inspiring.

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  4. That's a lot of observation so early in the morning.. How much coffee do you drink before driving in? MOL

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  5. Very deep thoughts for a Saturday night. I got nothing; been canning tomatoes all day.

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  6. That's a lot of deep thinkin fur a 15 minute drive. Our Mommy just usually tries to remember if she should pick up extra kitteh litter on the way home. MOL! (we use a crap-load of that stuff)

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  7. OMC! OMC! OMC! You have tapped DIRECTLY into the brain of the Human (well, what's left of it anyway). This is practically her favorite line in all of literature: “For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you” (Section 1, Song of Myself--Whitman) This is what she always believed: At the most basic physical level we ARE ALL reincarnated all the time! My Human wants to spend eternity as an infinitesimal speck of a panda and then a redwood and later a ring of Saturn. Maybe she'll pass your Human on her way to Jupiter someday. Coolio!

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  8. Well at least we know now that our mama is not the only one who talks about chemical reactions and thermo..thermon...whatever! She studied chemistry and physics in that college place.

    Deep thoughts for early morning. Our mama says 'well said'.

    Purrs,
    Cindi Lou & The Kitty Krew

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  9. Brilliant post, and great responses! Äiti here -Punapippuri is off to find some mousies to prematurely reincarnate.

    I confess to such feelings too, but maybe not when driving through amazing places - then it's just appreciating the here and now, or in winter wishing to see the sun! But in my lessons I inflict this view on my kids. Grade 9 chemistry - the carbon cycle and how we could all be diamonds. And if not diamonds then our atoms go off somewhere else.... And then I look at the gold rings I wear and say that they are on my finger despite the fact they are made from stardust, and how over half the periodic table comes from dead stars exploding........ At that point the kids are either asleep or mindblown.

    Have you read Primo Levi's The Periodic Table ?

    Thanks for this inspirational post !

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  10. Brilliant post, and great responses! Äiti here -Punapippuri is off to find some mousies to prematurely reincarnate.

    I confess to such feelings too, but maybe not when driving through amazing places - then it's just appreciating the here and now, or in winter wishing to see the sun! But in my lessons I inflict this view on my kids. Grade 9 chemistry - the carbon cycle and how we could all be diamonds. And if not diamonds then our atoms go off somewhere else.... And then I look at the gold rings I wear and say that they are on my finger despite the fact they are made from stardust, and how over half the periodic table comes from dead stars exploding........ At that point the kids are either asleep or mindblown.

    Have you read Primo Levi's The Periodic Table ?

    Thanks for this inspirational post !

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  11. Thank you!

    Wow man, what a perfect read to wake up to on a Sunday morning.

    We should all be so lucky.

    I think about it all the time too. My favourite documentary is 'Journey to the Edge of the Universe' - I prefer the English narrator. If I am having a bad moment I always just think about that and the general nature of things and then everything is ok.

    That was just perfect and I couldnt agree more.

    Thanks,
    Marc

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  12. Clean up on aisle 5... another thermonuclear energy and explosion just happened all over the lunar litterbox, a mere 3 kitty-seconds from the feline freezer. no. srsly.

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  13. Mummy sure wishes she had a journey like that to work, sounds wonderful. You know what, mummy often worries that the sun will start to go out one day :0 xx

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  14. Mom loves this post of yours. What an amazing view you have going to your one workplace. Interesting how your Biochemistry background led you to Water Treatment plants. Mom's background is also in Biochemistry. So super small world.

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  15. Well, you've given me something to think about this Sunday morning. And the sun is shining here...I think I'll go out and worship it today. :)

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  16. Janey read this and said "Wow...cool..brilliant" and other stuff. We cats know all of this because we worship the sun..catch up humans!!!!
    The Maple Syrup Mob
    xxxxx

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  17. What lovely thoughts to stir me awake this Sunday. Thank you. : )

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  18. Wow, what a brilliant post! I kind of new my atoms will be reused but I never thought about it on such a large scale.. it certainly provides a better after life possibility than just being just dust forever. Thank you for the inspiration!

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  20. Did you ever see "Cosmos" when it was on in the 80's?
    Carl Sagan said everything is made of "star stuff." He made everything understandable for english majors like me!

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  21. Felix we love your hairy eye look!!

    OMCs your mom is a very deep thinking mom we thoroughly enjoyed today's post. Sheebie thank you
    Hugs Madi and Mom

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  22. That's pretty deep for a Sunday! We just know the sun makes us feel so good and so alive and we really miss it when it's under the rain clouds in the winter. Thanks for this thought provoking post Sheebie!

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  23. I'm just sure that *some* of us have more stardust in us than others.

    I'm off the white plastic chair in the back, under the bush thing, next to the water thing and if I'm really luck a smaller speck of stardust will land on the rim of the birdbait.. I mean, birdbath, and i can then injest yet MORE stardust. Because after all, I'm worth it.

    xoxo
    Ms. Stella O'Houligan

    just sayin.


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  24. Us kitties love to look out the windows and stare at the moon at night. It is so beauitful and big and round... just like cat's eyes!

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  25. We loved the post today! We were all born to be stars!

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  26. Glogirly calls me her sun, her moon and her stars.
    Whoa! I guess that's makes me pretty special!
    ; ) Katie

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  27. I like Brian's idea. That was a great post. We really should take lessons from the cats. They all sit in the sun when they can. Thanks for all these good thoughts. Made me think too. Yikes. Take care,

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  28. I had no idea...science was never my strong suit in school and I avoided it at all costs. Thanks for the lesson!

    I love the sun (as do the cats!) and spend as much time in the light as I can. I knew it helped my moods but I wasn't aware of how much.

    Your drive to work sounds lovely...mine is more like Tina T-P...being annoyed with the slow poke in front of me. Soon I'll be driving to work in the dark, and missing the sunlight.

    Happy Sunday!

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  29. The Big Thing here: Lovely post. I have been fascinated by astronomy since childhood, and my favorite DVDs are 'The Universe' series. So I understand what you are saying here.

    The things that were learned about the physical universe before my time were amazing. The things that have been learned IN my lifetime are astonishing. I deeply regret never getting a chance to learn the things that will be discovered after I am gone...

    However, much as I treasure our personal star, I have always made sure to live north or east of places I worked. Daily commuting into sunrise and sunset is difficult... LOL!

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  30. OMC, what an amzing post. Gives me insights, makes me feel part of ONE collective on Earth. Keep thinking while driving! :P

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  31. What a great post Sheebe. Mommy loves the morning and when she walks the dogs in the mornings she loves to watch the sun's rays as they stream over the top of the mountain, then as she turns west, watching the light move down lighting them up! Now she will think about particles...
    Kisses
    Nellie

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  32. Aaahhhh...such universal concepts...how beautiful is the morning su rising giving us all kinds of energy just through its very presence...Mom has always been a sun worshipper

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  33. plus it inspired one of my all time favorite songs, 'here comes the sun.'

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  34. What? You mean even nip is actually a little bit of stars? Is that why everything seems so shiny after I had some?
    Purrs

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  35. when we visited many Inca ruins, including the infamous Machu Picchu in Peru, it was amazing what the Incas did to track the Sun over hundreds of years, with no written language, to allow them to construct religious places that do certain things when the Sun touches them at certain times of the year, incredible.

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  36. Awesome post!!! People should look up into the sky and THINK a little more often. I find it amazing to look at galaxies in my telescope. Also terrifyingly freaky, :)

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  37. Wonderful post! I am so behind (once again) with reading posts but so glad I didn't miss this one. I often wonder where we came from and where we will end up but this has given me a lot to think about.So many things are taken for granted. Nine light minutes away and my seedlings are able to grow towards the light.That is awesome!

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Oh Boy...this is gonna be GREAT!