From the East Wing with Galileo, Indian Summer and the Red Cat Republicans

Greetings to all and welcome new friends to the East Wing.

It was with some interest that I read last week the Catholic Church is convening a conference to explore the concept of alien life. Now being both a Catholic and a stargazer, I’m excited at that prospect. It seems the Catholic Church has been on the wrong side of this question for some 400 years. Not everybody remembers, but the church almost kicked a guy out one time for even thinking stuff like that.

Back in 1633 there was a fellow by the name of Galileo Galilei . Now Galileo was not your everyday Italian be any means, he had an idea and with that idea created the telescope. Galileo became the very first stargazer.

At this time, 1600’s the official position of the Catholic Church was that the earth was the center of the universe. Galileo looked at the stars and had a different point of view. He concluded the earth was not the center of the universe, and said so in public. Well, Galileo must’ve not been a democrat, else he would have taken a poll to see if that was the right thing to say in public, anyway when the Catholic Church got hold of this crap from Galileo they gave him a choice, either eat his words or hit the road

Now getting kicked out of the Catholic Church in 1633 was a big deal. Sad to say but many look differently on the same thing today. Galileo chose to recant on this statements that the Earth revolves around the sun. From that point on in Galileo’s life things went downhill. He died almost completely blind. Blinded by the sun, the sun through the telescope. Galileo looked at sun spots. He also was the first to see the moons of Jupiter.

In 1992, Pope John Paul II declared the church ruling against Galileo’s statements of fact was an error resulting from "tragic mutual incomprehension." So ya know who got the last laugh on that one even though Galileo had to wait a while to laugh.

The Vatican Museums opened an exhibit last month for the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first celestial observations. I can only imagine what Galileo Galilei would think if he could see my telescope today. But I’d have to explain why my telescope moves by itself. And of course that would lead to having to explain about computers and global positioning satellites and how that all works. Wow ! I can see right now it’s gona take some time to bring Galileo up to speed before he can look into my telescope for the first time.

Galileo Galilei was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher, he played a major role in the Scientific Revolution of his time. He was most famous for the telescope but his many other inventions were even more important than the telescope. Now not only did Galileo create the instrument to look into the sky, he also created the microscope, the instrument to look at the unseen world right here on Earth. It would be hard to say which has served mankind more, the telescope or microscope. Having looked at both for a long time, I could not choose.

I really don’t think it’s gona take Galileo much time to be ready to look through my eyepiece to the sky. And unlike many he already knows where a lot of the sky stuff is. Has been there, seen that, although the locations would have shifted a little by now, but Galileo could find ‘em with my scope. Seems it took me forever to remember where things are at up there, and I just know a little bit of star stuff. But it sure would be fun to visit with Galileo in the East Wing and then go out on the North Deck to look at the stars. I hope he likes the 2girldogs. I think Sophia will get along fine, 2 republicans and all.

As the night temperatures cool down stargazing heats up, but only on clear nights. There have been some really good nights in the last two weeks. But not tonight, rain on and off all day, with a heavy overcast means no stargazing this night. All is not lost I am going to realign my smart finder on the telescope. That’s a way to allow you to easier find star positions when the telescope is not being directed by computer. It’s kinda like when ya had to write with a pencil to put words on paper.

Speaking of stargazing, the Vatican has its own observatory. Founded in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII in Castel Gandolfo, a little town in the hills outside Rome. They also do star stuff research at the University of Arizona in Tucson. It’s interesting to note that the Vatican Observatory has also been at the forefront of efforts to bridge the gap between religion and science, and its meteorite collection is considered one of the world's best. Never much press about the stargazers of the Vatican, but they’re there, have been for a long time, and even picking up the space rocks wherever they can find ‘em. What would really be interesting is the history behind the meteorite collection. How did the church get so many? Was it a penance ? Maybe there was a time that when, as a Catholic, ya went to confession, it ya had sinned (and Lord knows there’s a lot of that going on) and ya had a meteorite, then for your penance the priest told ya to send your meteorite to Rome. Looking back, I sure wish I had had some to send. Could still use some from time to time. I wonder if I sent just a really neat rock?

How did ya like Indian Summer? It officially starts on November 11th each year. St. Martin’s Day is considered the beginning of Indian summer, that period of warm weather following a cold spell or hard frost. An old saying is “If All Saints’ brings out winter, St. Martin’s brings out Indian summer.” Indian summer can occur between St. Martin’s Day and November 20. Now if we don’t have some really good weather between now and November 20th, oh well! No Indian Summer. But this year we did have Indian Summer, a few days of 60°+ temperature. On the way home from work the other day, I heard the weather on the radio saying the temperature was 12° above average for the day, I thought Uh Oh, Indian Summer.

This Indian Summer thing goes back a ways, way back to the Indians before Tonto. Now these ole boys thought Indian Summer was just warm wind sent from their southwestern god, Cautantowwit. We find out much later that Cautantowwit was just a smart Indian who left the cold country of Northern Indiana to spend the winter in Arizona much like some Hoosiers do to this day, but they don’t send back warm weather. Come January we’ll be looking for it.

The 2girldogs have started to settle into their winter mode. Gray Lady James doesn’t stay outside very much anymore. 10 – 15 minutes tops and it’s back to the East Wing for that dog. The pup baby, Mustina, continues to stay outside in dry weather. But does not spend any long time outside after dark, and now it’s dark by the time I get home.

With last Wednesday being Veterans Day, I’m surprised that some dumbo in Washington hasn’t tried to change Veterans Day to a Monday. The democrats are saving that one for the second Obama Presidency.

She sets on the back of my chair as I write. When I wrote the “second Obama Presidency”, she just reached over and sunk three little sharp knives into the back of my neck, saying “wash your fingers out with soap for writing such things”.

After Sophia somehow got on that White House email listing, her email address continues to circulate to this day. She gets anywhere from 4-10 emails a day. Last Thursday she got one looking for a sexy single republican calico. She spent two days washing up. Don’t know if she answered or not, but she sure looks extra clean to me. It’s hard to tell ‘bout that cat, with that perpetual smile and all. Too bad she can’t read a teleprompter, with her looks she could be a darling democrat in a heartbeat.

With that base of Red Cat Republicans Sophia has put together I don’t see her going to the dark side anytime soon. It now appears that Sophia has convinced the Angel that she has a position in the Red Cat Republicans, ‘cause last week the Angel helped lick the envelopes for the Red Cat Republican Newsletter that goes out bimonthly. And today she was helping Sophia write a speech Sophia will give somewhere, have no idea where, but she did ask me did I know Mitch Daniels, and then she smiled, she and the Angel just smiled and walked away. (Damn Republican Cats)

Stay safe in Baghdad, South Iraq and Afghanistan

From the East Wing With Galileo, Indian Summer, and Red Cat Republicans
I wish you well,
BobbyRay