After reading an article emailed to us a couple weeks ago BU resorted to the ubiquitous Wikipedia to understand the term Genetic Sexual Attraction. The article highlighted the story about a Penny Lawrence, 28 who tracked down her father, Garry Ryan, 46 after her mother died. The father left Penny Lawrence’s mother when she was pregnant. To get to the gist of the matter, “upon meeting, they felt an instant physical attraction, which resulted in a sexual relationship. Ms Lawrence is now pregnant with her father’s child.”
The BU household immediately thought, oh my gosh, how disgusting! On further reading we were ‘enlightened’ that what we thought to be an illegal and immoral act could actually be a documented condition. Although the BU household readily accepts the label of being conservative on family values, on the flip side we have been exposed to life enough not to immediately dismiss strange occurrences.
Explaining the act of a father impregnating his daughter under the diagnosis of GSA, no way José!
To the old fashion BU household we believe what we have here is incest, pure and simple. Older Barbadians would understand the term inbreeding and the attendant issues of physical defects passed on often times to the offspring. Some will offer the excuse that this kind of thing has been happening for a long time. What we have here is the in your face deposit of the matter. The public’s ready acceptance by the parties. In days of old when it did occur those involved knew it was wrong and would do all humanly possible to manage it away from the public eye. Nowadays it appears the same behaviour is worn as if it were a badge of honour.
As we enter the important Christian season of Holy Week the role of the Church seems to be waning. There was a time when the Church’s role was to ensure a high moral standard was maintained. Today the moral compass seems to be quivering with indecision. No doubt the endtimes cadre resident on BU will interpret the obvious moral decline as the sign of things to come.
The challenge for modern society is accepting the right of the individual to freedom of choice while establishing a societal standard. How do we manage the two conflicting positions?
Barbados Underground 
Whopee!!!!!!!!! 4, I’ve found the article – among a set I’ve kept, in this case, for 12 years because I found it so interesting. It’s titled ‘Landing Soon, the Star Trek spaceship that flies to Mars in a week’! After you’ve read the article please tell me if that proposed technology has already been superceded by another. That’s the kind of speed I can appreciate. I’ve never fancied staying up in the air for whole eight hours while I visited Bim – too long a time! You’re lucky just there in Uncle Sam!
4, I’ve just read the opening para, it reads: ‘A spaceship that could carry people to Mars in a week is being built by Nasa, ….
fascinating, eh? I wonder if it’s the same prog. to which u referred! Let me know!
Also 4, another subject altogether: do you think the Bajans could ever achieve the economic miracle of the Singaporians, an ambition which I have always had for them. However, it’s probably too late for me now. Time’s running out on me. Anyhow, let us know what you think. They’d prefer it coming from you! I can b a bit indiscreet at times!! 🙂
Oh, just noticed, ‘……………..based on the technology that powers Star Trek’s Starship Enterprise.’…………….
4, in case u ever respond, I watched the most interesting prog. about the periodic table on BBC tv last night. Wish you could have seen it. You can’t beat those BBC documentaries! Anyhow, wait to hear from u, if u ever reply!
@ Man wiv no name. Sorry to take so long to respond to your questions. Interplanetary travel by manned vehicles poses some daring challenges and the best we can hope for in the future is to visit mars . Mars minimum distance from the earth is roughly 40 million miles. And with our current technology, it would take us almost a year to get there. Apart from the propulsion system challenges, the other risky challenge to overcome is the exposure to gamma and cosmic radiation in deep space. Presently there are ongoing researches in this area to find the best solution to this challenge.
Travelling at the speed of light ( 186,000 miles per second) is impossible.Why? because object with mass cannot attain the speed of light. I last heard that NASA is trying to build a vehicle that can travel at 100, 000 MPH. With this speed we can reach mars in 17 days. But then again, we donot know how the effect of this kind of speed will have on the human body.
Ghost. I personally do not believe in ghost per se, howere, I do believe we are living in a parallel universe and people who have those paranormal experiences are people with extra sensory perception and thus are able to communicate with others on the other side. Crazy stuff . I would surely like to view that article.
Barbados vs Singapore. Well look at it this way, we have achieved a lot given the limit resources we have compare to some other countires. We have ranked favourably year after year on the various UN indices. Singapore, which is just twice the size of Barbados, was able to accomplish their miracle by a strong political leadership in Lee Kwan Hue. People will say that he was a dictator and that there is no democracy in Singapore. Well democracy is not for everybody and I will tolerate a benevolent dictator over a corrupt demoractic leader any day. The asian philosphy of confucianism coupled with a mixed economy contribute greaty to the economic miracle of Singapore.Barbados will never reach the economic staus like Singapore because our economic , political and leadership system is too laissez- faire , divisive and tribal .
Agree, BBC has some amazing documentary. The development of the periodic table is one of the greatest achievement not only in chemistry but in human civilisation.Which I seen that myself.
40, thank you for that again, so interesting and very informative reply. I shall save this thread and refer to it in the future.
I’m going to begin by giving you a link to the story about the ghosts. I could swear there was a video to go with it but there doesn’t appear to be sadly. Anyhow, there has been so many instances of ghostly-occurtences. Even I have had a couple that, in my view, it’s definite evidence of another dimension of life! These occurrences happened to me recently, and I certainly don’t have any extra paranormal sensitivity!
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/859867-my-son-plays-with-ghosts-and-weve-got-the-picture-to-prove-it
Vis-a-vis space travel and the artice to which I referred. I can’t type it all out now but I’ll give you a taster and some more later today! Mind you, the article was written in ’99, so may have been overtaken by more recent technology, or could even be the space programme to which you referred, earlier:
“A spaceship that could carry people to Mars in a week is being built by Nasa, based on the same technology that powers Star Trek’s Starship Enterprise.
They hope to harness enough antimatter – tiny amounts of which unleash almost limitless energy – to send a rocket into space within five years. And the new energy is so powerful that man could soon be travelling to the stars and back.
Until recently, using antimatter was the stuff of science fiction because there was no way to harness it. But the Nasa team have now developed a “trap” to hold it and control its release.
They have started building an antimatter engine at the Nasa research lab in Alabama that could be ready for testing my next year.
more soon 4!
As for the periodic-table: as a layman, it’s difficult for me to see what all the fuss is all about. So there’re various elements which can’t be broken down of which the Earth, we and everything else is made! It’s like – so?!!! lol! 4, but then when you’re a layman!! 🙂
Another question: how near do you think we may be to finding a cure for all diseases and guaranteeing people, at least, a minimum number of years of life? It seems such a shame when, especially a young person, loses their life so early to some terrible disease! – more soon!
4, just before I continue with the article, another question for you, on politics this time – more my area!
Another instance of racism here, yesterday, reminded me of this experience which I had several years ago. I was giving a lift to some African woman here in the UK (only a shortish distance) when she told me that she’d recently returned from the US and how much better Africans are treated over there compared with Afro-Americans and Afro-Caribbeans. As you live in the US could you comment on this? Have you noticed any difference in the way in which the two groups are treated over there?
the article cont:
Dr George Schmidt, chief of the Propulsion Research Division, said: “One gram of antimatter produces as much energy as the fuel tanks of 23 Space Shuttles. A kilogram would be enough to build an interstellar probe.”
Antimatter – the exact opposite of the ordinary matter which makes up our universe – is created by smashing atoms at incredible speed in a machine called a particle accelerator. When matter and antimatter come into contact, they annihilate each other in a flash of energy that dwarfs even nuclear fusion.
The antimatter trap is a hollow tube about half a metre long. After sucking the air from it to create a vacuum, powerful electrical fields hold the antimatter away from the sides. By lowering the voltage at one end, a beam of antimatter can be directed out of the trap and made to collide with ordinary matter.
– final paras soon!
cont:
The problem with sending a manned rocket to Mars is the huge quantity of fuel needed. But a small antimatter engine could maintain fantastic speed over long periods, cutting the nine-month journey to a matter of days.
Two particle accelerators – in Chicago and Switzerland – are capable of making enough antimaatter for the tests, which begin in spring. In a few months scientists hope to take the device to Chicago to “fill up”.
At present, world-wide production of antimatter is between one to 10 nanograms a year. But Dr Schmidt hopes that in five years the microgram needed to achieve detonation could be made. If production reaches a milligram, it would be enough for 100 missions a year.
Dr Schmidt said: “The chemical rockets took us to the Moon – to go further we are going to have to use new technologies.” End.
Caption which accompanies graphic says: Proton guns fire a constant stream of antimatter into the ship’s fuel core. It reacts with the Deuterium and Helium-3 in the core producing a series of mini explosions propelling the ship forward!
Am inclined to agree with you about Bim’s inability ever to equal Singapore’s dizzying economic heights. Partly, as you say, for reasons of lack of the right leadership, but also because the Barbadians don’t seem to could ever be as ‘driven’ as the Asians. Mind you, they seem to have taken ‘driven’ to a ridiculous level, where working seems to be the be all and end all of their existence. I guess it’s to the Bajans’ credit that that isn’t the case with them. However, I still feel they could be far more productive!
Please tell me what you think about the antimatter vehicle. Does it sound feasible to you?
magnetoplasma, or antimatter? I wonder which system will win!
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Theoretically, Einstein special relativity show us that it is possible to go into the future. Our GPS system is modelled off Eintstein concept of time dillation so the concept of the relativity of time is real.
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Wow, now that IS mind-boggling!!
Best wishes with your Caribbean ambitions!!
I heard about anti-matter production at the Fermi lab a few years ago. The only advantage that anti-matter will have over the ionize hydrogen plasma is that the aircraft would be much lighter.But the challenge to make enough anti-matter is a long process and costly one. It requires a lot of energy to produce. I will have to do some catching up on my reading in this area to see how the technology is progressing in order to judge the pros and the cons of anti-matter vs plasma. I know one the great advantage of using hydrogen as a fuel source is that it could also be used as a shield against cosmic radiation .
The history of the development of the periodic table is way up there in terms of mankind greatset discovery in unlocking the secret of the universe. We now know that all matter on earth is made up of only 92 elements and we can predict their behaviour and make new elements from them. Imagine the Greeks thought everything around them were just fire, air, water and earth. All the materials things we enjoy in the world today is due to us understanding the elelments.
That african lady is delusional. I have never experienced what she is talking about. When you are a minority in this country and especially black, people with racist tendency will treat you like crap. They don’t care where you are from.
I am not sure if we will ever cure all the diseases that inflict mankind, however with the present technology and advances in the medical sciences the average life expectancy will definately increase.
Ok 4, thanks for those exchanges and you’ve certainly given me a good deal to think about. I hope you enjoyed reading the newspaper article as much as I did.
Best wishes!
Hi 4, don’t mean to continue this indefinitely but, just by chance, saw another amazing BBC documentary about the human body, last night which I thought I’d share one small aspect of with you for your comment, or otherwise and it’s: did you know that the egg which your Mum supplied to help create you was provided to her by your grandmother, which means that a part of you could be as much as twice your current age? I didn’t know that and certainly found it mind-boggling! Are we to believe that all of that just occured naturally over millions or billions of years, or were we created by a god? What’s your opinion?
Also, and hopefully finally, I don’t know if, like me, you’re a fan of the Star Trek series. Well, to me the scenarios in many of those just seem so plausible that I’m inclined to think an alien from outer space must have provided the stories to Rodenberry (now deceased)! Could an ordinary human have thought of such amazing scenario plus the accompanying technical language?!!
@man wid no name
It makes perfect sense that women and men carry the genetic codes of our forbares in our DNA, GENES that then passes to our offspring through sperm and egg, thats why we’re still black. Even mixed race children still carry the features. They could be totally white in appearance but the nose, lips, eye colour, body shape and colour of the skin all give hints.
Hi bajan, I’m not going to argue with you about this one as I don’t feel qualified to do so. I suppose the thing which I find really puzzling, is that your eggs were supplied to you by your grandmother and not your mother, or some such thing! And, you still didn’t answer my other question which is, is it all down to an accident of evolution or were we created by a god!
@Jack Spratt You forget that your victims were not all related to you. You are a pedophile. You’ve sexually abused countless young girls. 5 felony convictions and you have the nerve to write child porn! The state should have given you the death penalty!
I missed most of the discussion in relation to Maths and being someone with an Arts brain I am always fascinated by people who can conquer Mathematical problems easily.
Not withstanding Fermat’s Theorem I read that the Poincaré conjecture was the most difficult Math problem that remained unresolved and it was finally conquered by the Russian mathematician Gregori Perelman.
Perelman refused to attend the ceremony to collect his $1million dollar prize for solving the problem and has turned down other awards and prizes. From reading his bio he seems to be a man who marches to the beat of his own drum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poincar%C3%A9_conjecture
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