Re 'Armageddon' warning ...etc.., this referred to something called 'quantum systems ',we're getting in really deep now,a quote from the article by John von Radowitz...''Quantum systems can shift their energy state at random , as occurs when a radioactive atom decays.Generally,the probility of an energy shift occurring increases as time passes.
But if a system lasts long enough without one , a point is reached where the chances of it happening plummet dramatically.''
The article seems to suggest that by the very fact of astromomers poking around in the cosmos they '' may inadvertently have nudged the cosmos into a more dangerous state ''
Then he refers to something called ,''Schrodinger's cat thought experiment (please stay with me ),in which ''a cat in a box whose fate is decided by subatomic particles is both alive and dead until someone lifts the lid and observes it . Only then is the cat discovered to be either "alive " or "dead".''
According to the ''quantum Zeno effect'' whenever we observe or measure something at the quantum level we set its decay clock back to zero .
"Incredible as it seems , our detection of the dark energy may have reduced the life expectancy of the universe ".
How's that....and we were wondering and worrying about a little thing like Global Warming...
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Armageddon and beyond......
Two newspaper articles caught my eye today,well actually one caught my eye ,the other was blazed across both the front page headlines and the financial page headlines . These headlines were of course what is happening to the Stock Markets and in particular to the Irish Stock Exchange . The article that 'caught my eye ' was headed " 'Armageddon ' warning sent to astronomers ".
The stock market news was to do with financial institutions or in some cases 'maverick'groups who engage in hedge fund dealings.These people , in what seems to me to be complicated manouvers with shares , can cash in on falling share prices on the various exchanges and in fact excentuate and excellerate the fall . Apparently these ' boyoes 'targetted the whole Irish Stock Exchange (ISEQ) and are largely responsible for a drop ,which at present is, approx. 30% down on the peak in Feb. of this year.
This state of affairs should not affect very many of us directly , and the very-rich can just wait it out until prices rise again , as they inevidibly will or even absorbe losses if necessary.But those who will be immediatly hurt and in some cases may it appear like an Armageddon , are those men and women who are reaching pensionable age and whose pensions are , what is now described as 'Defined Contribution' as apposed to 'Defined Benefit'....( who in the name of God dreams up these definations )...all that means is that some pensions guarantee the pensioner-to-be what the pensioner will be paid on retirement in relation to his or her salary when finishing ( Defined Benefit)....Defined Contribution basically means...you are on your own mate.....These definations seem only to have emerged recently (since 9 ,11 ?) when pension funds were badly hit.Defined Contribution means nothing.....all prospective pensioners should be guarenteed some payment that they can relate to their present income.....let the pension fund managers do the job they are generously paid to do and let would-be pensioners have some well-deserved financial security.
The stock market news was to do with financial institutions or in some cases 'maverick'groups who engage in hedge fund dealings.These people , in what seems to me to be complicated manouvers with shares , can cash in on falling share prices on the various exchanges and in fact excentuate and excellerate the fall . Apparently these ' boyoes 'targetted the whole Irish Stock Exchange (ISEQ) and are largely responsible for a drop ,which at present is, approx. 30% down on the peak in Feb. of this year.
This state of affairs should not affect very many of us directly , and the very-rich can just wait it out until prices rise again , as they inevidibly will or even absorbe losses if necessary.But those who will be immediatly hurt and in some cases may it appear like an Armageddon , are those men and women who are reaching pensionable age and whose pensions are , what is now described as 'Defined Contribution' as apposed to 'Defined Benefit'....( who in the name of God dreams up these definations )...all that means is that some pensions guarantee the pensioner-to-be what the pensioner will be paid on retirement in relation to his or her salary when finishing ( Defined Benefit)....Defined Contribution basically means...you are on your own mate.....These definations seem only to have emerged recently (since 9 ,11 ?) when pension funds were badly hit.Defined Contribution means nothing.....all prospective pensioners should be guarenteed some payment that they can relate to their present income.....let the pension fund managers do the job they are generously paid to do and let would-be pensioners have some well-deserved financial security.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Beyond humour....
Until comparativly recently , writing Blogs or occasionally , getting letters published in the newspapers , on the problems , injustices , dis-honesties , stupidities and lazyness(es?) of people in public life ,was a great outlet for frustrations of a retired 50 -year-taxpaying - citizen of a state still less than 100 years in existence.One could use humour,parody , sarcasm , etc , generally having a go at our inept ,self-serving 'establishment'. All the time believing that one was seriously exaggerating what was happening 'at the top' of our society.
In recent weeks the litany of ineptitudes and downright dis-honesties has become so all-encompassing as to leave no room whatsoever for humour.Even our opposition parties seem to be suffering from inertia.
From our Taoiseach , who is suffering from a fixation with houses and other peoples wealth and is , literally , allowing himself to be carried along by events without any purpose or direction , via our Tanaiste , who is now in the process of forming our first Budget for the past 1o years , that requires intelligent thought....God Help us !...to our Minister for Health determined to force through her agenda no matter what !....and when things go wrong , as they inevitably will , (because Senior Civil Servants will only do what they want to do .)...each of those mentioned will point the finger of blame at some poor fool down the line move him or her sideways and damn them with faint praise and the pantomime will carry on , no one will resign , no one will be blamed and the obscene bonuses and pensions will be paid out to all concerned as if nothing happened , up to , and possibly beyond , the grave.....
I heard someone today , on RTE , praising Todd Andrews........it was his son David Andrews.....as I say the pantomime goes on ..........
In recent weeks the litany of ineptitudes and downright dis-honesties has become so all-encompassing as to leave no room whatsoever for humour.Even our opposition parties seem to be suffering from inertia.
From our Taoiseach , who is suffering from a fixation with houses and other peoples wealth and is , literally , allowing himself to be carried along by events without any purpose or direction , via our Tanaiste , who is now in the process of forming our first Budget for the past 1o years , that requires intelligent thought....God Help us !...to our Minister for Health determined to force through her agenda no matter what !....and when things go wrong , as they inevitably will , (because Senior Civil Servants will only do what they want to do .)...each of those mentioned will point the finger of blame at some poor fool down the line move him or her sideways and damn them with faint praise and the pantomime will carry on , no one will resign , no one will be blamed and the obscene bonuses and pensions will be paid out to all concerned as if nothing happened , up to , and possibly beyond , the grave.....
I heard someone today , on RTE , praising Todd Andrews........it was his son David Andrews.....as I say the pantomime goes on ..........
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