What a difference!

Last night I watched a program on the Hubble telescope project, a scientific collaboration that led to one of mankind's greatest achievements. Not only to go into space but also exploit some of its possibilities. The program detailed the story starting with the flawed first telescope and then the repairs and upgrades that brought previously unimaginable pictures of the universe to the public. Simply, it was an awe inspiring demonstration of man's ingenuity and capacity for innovation and problem solving.
In contrast, I thought that just a few thousand kilometres away in the jungles of South America, lived peoples, human beings, genetically no different from the astronauts, who lived a stone age existence, unhappy only with the worry of disappearing habitat. Hitherto, their lifestyle required no amendment. They had all they required in the jungle around them and therefore had no needs. Bearing in mind that 'necessity is the mother of invention' we may surmise that these tribes have had no incentive to develop an inquiring mentality. If folk are comfortable with what they have, they have no requirement to change and do not, therefore, develop technically or scientifically.

Kismet

As the world struggles to contain the covid19 viral outbreak, the capacity for economic misery seems inexhaustible. We humans are fighting to resist the attack with whatever science and technology is available but none can ensure that a covid20 or 21 will not follow. Lockdowns cannot sustain for much longer than we have already had and successive killer viral attacks will prevail. Only those genetically disposed to survive will resist. Nature will have had its way.
I postulated in an earlier post that covid19 might have been introduced via panspermia as the planet passed through a 'perseid' shower but their capacity to evolve and mutate on earth suggests a purpose with a Natural agenda.
If the Davies Hypothesis is correct our universe is a duality comprising that which we inhabit and can perceive and another we can't. The hypothesis also suggests that the relationship between the two parts is symbiotic thereby automatically correcting problems such as over population or climate change. If this is so then mankind's puny efforts will be in vain. It is nothing to do with God's retributions or any such mythical nonsense. It is Nature that will have its way.

Prince Harry

I post this as a concerned supporter of the UK Monarchy.
Newspaper reports suggest that Prince Harry is struggling in his new life. No one doubts that he still loves his wife and young child but he must have come to the realisation that this isn't all there is to life. Putting aside for the moment his own  estrangement from his family, friends and regiment, there is also his own personal fulfillment and, as father and husband, the provision for Meghan and Archie. His father, Prince Charles has given Harry £1 million to cover the first year but he needs to earn this money and I don't know how he'll do it. As usual, it comes down to money and we had a clue about its likely source when he whispered to a Disney executive that 'my wife also does voice-overs'.
Meghan couldn't settle to a royal life, always playing second fiddle to the Queen, William and Kate; always aware that, in the background, detractors in the press and aristocracy were scrutinising her every move. So it was Harry who had to move; to abandon the role he had been groomed for over thirty years. I wonder if when the passion of the early years of marriage wear off, as they will, whether he will wish he'd found a woman, cultured and educated closer to his UK home, sympathetic to the role. Will he wish he'd listened to the advice of 'walking out with actresses; not marrying them', and persevered with Chelsy or Cressida accepting his well defined role as a much loved and admired member of the Royal Family.
We shall see.

Covid19 Medal for NHS staff

When the armed forces are sent into harm's way it is right and proper that their efforts are recognised and a medal is forged and awarded to those who confront the enemy.
The present covid19 viral epidemic is widely regarded as a war on humanity and the question is: should those fighting the menace be similarly rewarded with a 'gong'? One is asked to go outside on a day at a certain time to show appreciation for the NHS but why not do so with something more tangible. Everyone signed up the NHS from Jan 1st 2020 until the declared end of the crisis should be eligible for an award, a medal and a ribbon to be sewn on work gowns etc. One side of the medal should be the queen and the other open to suggestions from the public. A special posthumous attachment should be available for those who have tragically died of covid19 whilst on active duty.

Source of Covid 19

The Covid 19 epidemic is widely thought to have originated in Wuhan, China as a consequence of the practice of dissection of bats and pangolin for food. The virus was able to make the animal-human jump through mutation.
But what if it wasn't? Could it be that Covid 19 is an example of 'panspermia', the transmission of living matter through outer space. In the middle of August 2019, as every year we passed through a shower of extra-terrestrial material known as the 'Perseids'. It is known that viruses can survive outer space when protected from fatal star radiation (rays) by cosmic dust or rocks. As the earth passes through this shower of dust, water and rocks could the viruses 'float' down to earth and become subject to the prevailing winds and weather, carrying it towards eventual landfall.
From the middle of August there is ample time for the viruses to reach earth in December when the first signs of the outbreak emerge. As the planet rotates, so more zones become infected with first  Asia, then the middle east, Europe, the Americas and finally the Pacific islands.
If the planet passes through this cloud of fragmenting material every year why haven't we come across Covid 19 before?  Good question but perhaps the previous mutations were unharmful. and we were lucky in the same way the earth is fortunate to have avoided major asteroid bombardment. But one day we may not be so lucky.
Remember Horace: 'Carpe Diem quam minimum credula postero'. Seize the day and don't put your trust in the future.