my 1,270th post is the 400th anniversary of the birth of modern science.

on august 25th, 1609, observational science, not religion, ushered in a new way of understanding the world around us.

what reward did this individual receive for such towering achievements?

house arrest by the catholic church. his crime? by stating that the sun is the center of the solar system, not the earth was "false and contrary to scripture".

and contrary to popular belief, galileo DID NOT invent the telescope.

excellent wiki page can be seen here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei

amazing that 400 years later, i am writing and posting this blog using a computer that operates under the absurd 'reality' of quantum mechanics.

400 years ago there were no lighbulbs, no electricity, no tv's, no cars, no cell phones, no computers, and not even a fucking pen that you didn't dip in ink. and no internet! imagine the horror if we were disconnected from the internet for even a week...

no fast food, no fast-food chains, no burgers or hot dogs, no supermarkets, no gasolene, no united states of america, and no motorcycles. no plastic, no human-induced climate change, and 50,000 people didn't die each year because of guns.

it's quite impossible to imagine living in such a world, although i would happily like to see a night sky free of light pollution. i would also like to live in a world without guns, but that is a daydream. luckily, i can ride my ducati, and i have no thoughts of killing anyone because they differ from me.

there was plenty of culture 400 years ago though, and italy was dripping with it.

i spent the morning in rockville, today, and it has none whatsoever.

such is 'progress'.