Daryl's Journal

What Happened Today? Kay, Jenn and I went to see Chris. Very hot. Chris and I played gin most of the day. Dale Jared won the Pepsi 400 in Michigan. Jeff Gordon came in 19th. He also started 19th. Changed the format of my daily letter to Chris. Added about 1/2 page per day from the Druids by Morgan Llewelyn, Measuring the Universe and 7 Habits.

GAIA- Planetary Management:

86. Over billions of years, the particles, atoms, and elements of matter formed and were processed and reprocessed in the heart of stars, until a higher order emerged, life.

87. Our probes into space have found life’s chemical precursors widely distributed– indeed, space seems to be littered with the “spare parts of life” awaiting the right conditions for assembly.

88. On our primeval planet, these conditions were found: hence the fierce energies of radioactivity and ultraviolet radiation, the abundant presence of hydrogen, methane, ammonia, and water.

89. In Earth’s oceans, the first strands of DNA, and then the self-replicating double helix, must have formed and broken countless times.

90. But once the seed was set, the birth of the biosphere had begun.

What Happened Today? Went for a walk with Kay. Kay gave me a haircut. Went to the Clearwater Library. Poor choice of large print books. Next stop at the Largo Library. Found 3 more Stuart Woods books. Sandy’s Joe came over to curt some branches off a few trees. Paid him $300 for the work. Went to the races with Jen to see School Bus Figure 8. We also were supposed to watch a 50 Lap Late Model race. Partial rain-out. We saw the bus race but no late models.

GAIA- Planetary management:

81. The fact that these conditions appeared to have arisen and persisted alongside life led to the Gaia hypothesis– the proposal that the biosphere, like a living organism, operates its own “life-support” systems through natural feedback mechanisms.

82. Accelerating Evolution: Though we wake to a largely humanized world of suburbs and cities, governments and wars, each of us carries within us the birth and death of stars, and the long flowering of Gaia.

83. Evolution is usually dated form the emergence of life, that “almost utterly improbable event with infinite opportunities of Happening” (J. Lovelock).

84. But this event itself was a stage in a process that has continued since time, as we know it began– when, some 15 billion years ago, the big Bang sent pure energy flooding out into a waking universe.

85. As this energy dispersed and the universe cooled, a patterning set in, and stable “energy structures” emerged as in a new order, matter.

What Happened Today? We left the hotel around 10:00 AM. When we arrived at Key Largo, the road (US 1) was blocked. We found another way (route 905). When we arrived at the Hampton Inn in Naples at 3:00 PM we decided to continue home. Stopped at Cracker Barrel for late lunch. Home by 7:00 PM.

GAIA- Planetary Management:

76. In contrast with the overall trend towards disorder or “entropy” evident in the universe, life creates order from the materials around it, exporting waste in the process.

77. This life has the capacity to influence its environment.

78. When space scientists began devising life-detection experiments, one group suggested that a life-bearing planet might show an unexpected mix of gases in its atmosphere if life’s chemistry were at work.

79. When they looked at Earth in this light, their predictions were borne out with a vengeance.

80. Earth’s mix of gases, and temperature, were hugely different from what they predicted for a “non-living” Earth, as well as from neighboring planets.

What Happened Today? Our 29th wedding anniversary. We signed up for an all day Dry Tortuga trip. Boat held about 90 people. Rough 2 hour ride to Fort Jefferson. Lots of people got sick. Me too, almost. We arrived around 10:15 AM. We took the tour. Fascinating! Fort Jefferson was abandoned in 1874. It was never completed. Dr. Mudd, who was accused as a co-conspirator of the Lincoln assassination, was a prisoner here. I walked around the fort while Kay went snorkeling. She saw a small starfish and a conch. Trip back to Key West was brutal. Many people got sick again. I thought it was a great trip but I was nervous a few times. Kay ended up with a severe sunburn. For dinner Kay had Czech Goulash and I had blackened Mahi-Mahi.

GAIA- Planetary Management:

71. Most of Gaia’s albedo value comes from ice caps and oceans.

72. Microflora in the oceans and plants on the land can darken or lighten these areas, thus altering their albedo.

73. Atmospheric pollution raises carbon dioxide levels, while forest clearance and desertification raise albedo.

74. We must all act with care.

75. The Unique Planet: The most remarkable characteristic of living matter is that it is self-organizing.