Tag Archives: getting a grip

ChatGPT and the End of Civilization as We Know It

I’ll be talking about ChatGPT, artificial intelligence, and why I don’t think we’re doomed. Search Engines, Iron Gall Ink and Me I’ll start by admitting that I’m a human. Furthermore, I like technology. I’ve been using software and search engines … Continue reading

Posted in Being Catholic, Creativity, Discursive Detours, Series | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Peril in Orion! Beware Betelgeuse?

Betelgeuse, the bright red star in Orion’s right shoulder, is a semiregular variable star, with small periods of 185 days and 2,100 days and a main period of around 400 days. It will explode at any moment, and we’re right … Continue reading

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Pax Romana, Caligula: Fiend, Monster, or Baddie?

Caligula is currently famous, or infamous, for being a stark-raving-mad monster with no redeeming qualities. Although scholars have been acknowledging that we don’t actually know much about him. I’m not about to try rehabilitating Caligula’s image. But I’ve got suspicions … Continue reading

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JWST: Names, Claims and Attitudes

NASA launched the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) December 25, 2021. By July of 2022, the JWST had settled into position at the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point: about 1,500,000 kilometers, 930,000 miles from Earth. Then, after deploying its heat shields … Continue reading

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Climate, Neighbors, Bogeymen and Responsibility

Last weekend I started re-reading “Laudato si’, on care for our common home,” AKA the “environmental encyclical” and the “Green Encyclical,” by Pope Francis. Calling the 2015 encyclical “green” and “environmental” isn’t mere marketing. But there’s more to “Laudato si’” … Continue reading

Posted in Being a Citizen, Being Catholic, Discursive Detours | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments