Pluto has ocean?
by CJ | Sep 24, 2016 | Journal | 25 comments
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Hey, that would mean Mickey’s dog, Pluto, is actually more of a sea dog. But wouldn’t that fit Donald Duck’s sailor suit more? Heh. Sorry, these things just occur to me. LOL!
More seriously, if Pluto, so far from S0l and a dwarf planet nowadays, would have to be pulled by tidal forces to maintain a liquid ocean of anything? The article mentions the pull of the moon Charon. I’mnot clear on if the ocean is saltwater or some other salty liquid.
Huh, so, Pluto is maybe a rocky / dirty ice ball outside and salt water inside? But that would be more like what is most oftenconjectured for comets, but stuck in a planetary orbit. Huh. Interesting. Or am I misunderstanding or assuming something incorrectly?
Neat, we are learning new things about our own Solar System all the time now, and extra-solar star systems’ planets too. (I can’t help but think that “exoplanet” won’t have much meaning anymore, once we’re out past this system. Note: presuming we will do that.)
My guess is carbon monoxide, but it’s only a guess.
Earth gets warmer as you go down. It’s not clear (last I checked) how much of this is due to tidal warming (like Io) and how much is radioactive decay, like a nuclear “battery”. Unless Pluto’s moons fly lower than I expect, radioactive decay seems more likely to amateur me.
Yes, it’s a very long time since the formation of the Solar System, but maybe Pluto was quite different earlier. It’s also very eccentric: maybe it sweeps up enough dust to stay stable at its current size and chemistry.
I’m eccentric and been around a fair few years, but my size and chemistry is pretty stable. 😉
I’m also voting for radioactive decay. There’s one ‘hot spot’ in western Africa as I recall, a natural reactor that just tootles along doing its thing, bothering nobody unless they decide to build a subdivision there…
I remember reading about that in Science when I was still a member of AAAS. It’s at Oklo in Gabon, just west of the Congo.
Ah, thank you, Paul. Then at nearly 2 billion years ago, we may be well sure that oven is definitely out and cold. 😉 Smokey-bear need not be concerned.
IIRC, reading about it mumble years ago in a science magazine, the situation at Oklo worked only because not much free oxygen in the atmosphere and there was an unusually high concentration of uranium. (It would fire up, then water would get in and shut it down again.)
Aside: While doing some much-needed cleanup toward move prep, I came across where I’d bought Rider at the Gate, sequel to CLoud’s Rider. I think the other is beside my bed and will move the two books together in the to read stack. I just started rereading Tripoint.
Aside, other side: Eye Update. I went in for a prelim. eye exam today, as part of getting my case re-established, and so I can be offficially recognizd for help from federal, state, and local agencies. My case had lapsed while out working and then during my grandmother’s illness and after. I’ve always been legally blind; I was von prematurely. But you have to have current records, and I no longer had those.
It seems during that lapse, the U of H low vision clinic had had system changes and records purges, and so…all records from my childhood, adolescence, college, and young adulthood are gone. Just gone.
However, in about 2004, I[d gone in to an eye doctor separately for eye trouble, had an exam, and eye surgery at her office (from her associate) and then folllow-up by the doctor herself. Fortunately, her office probably still has those records, so there should be a connection point. But they are paper, before computerization, thus old archives, thus a heroic search by her staffers is underway. I hope they find them. (My records, or perhaps the staffers too!)
Today, I had a prelim. exam from the official low vision clinic at the Houston Lighthouse for the Blind, which is connected with the U of H center for enhanced vision. (Unsure on exact styling of nomenclature, there.)
Aha! Good news ; bad news. Baji-naji. Inmy prior exam, there had been no evidence of cataracts. But now, the exam shows they are there, and dense. Oh, wow. I hadn[t thought it was that, and didn[t think it was as severe as it is. Now, because preemie babies with vision-impairmnet often have retinal issues, eye movement (nystagmus, if I recall the right word and spelling), and oxygen damage, it means they (we) are prone to other complications as we age. So onerisk is retinal detachment. I[ve noticed no such symptoms and could tell the doctor a lot about my prior condition, which helped her judge how it[s changed. So I might be a good risk there, butit is a ris, more so than with the average patient.
So, I have catracts, but these days, asCJ and others know, it[s a much more simle and routine surgery, with usually a good outcome. The doctor is going to send me to a specialist to assess how my retinas are doing, to assess my suitability for cataract surgery. If that goes well, we[ll go for the worse eye, my left. Then if I don[t have complicatins, if there is a good outcome, then we’ll go for the better eye, my right or master eye. Once that ‘s dne, we’ll see how a folllow-up exam goes, to see about new eyeglasses and other vision aids. This is very good news overall. I[m surprised I didn[t know how bad my sight had become. But cataract surgery might restore meto my previous level, legally blind, but as it was before, more or less. Oh, I’d be thrilled to see that well again. I don’t expect to see better. If I do, that would be amazing. There are new vision aids out there now that were not there before, comuter-assisted technology solutions with glasses to read text aloud or magnify, all sorts of high-tech and interesting things. So I’m encouraged there also. — As yet, no “bionic eyes” or Terminator or Data or Borg style artifical eyes, and a neural interface is problematic, but would likely be needed for artficial / bionic / prosthetic vision.
So, I’m still encouraged.What I’m facing has a pretty good probabilyty of a good outcome. The doctor said they can’t be certain, but we’ll go through it and find out.
So I am verfy hopeful., but it will take a while to get it all done. It’s key that nwI have that offficial paperwork saying, yes, he’s sen an eye doctor, and yes, he[s really legally blind.
Most states and many large cities have Lighthouses for the Blind now. Houston[s is one of the oldest. I’d expect Boston would have one. As Boston also has great medical and university facilities, they likely have a low vision center that works in tandem with the Lighthouse there.
@Raesean, you’d said a family member had had a baby boy who was born peemie and likely would have eye impairment? when he has his first eye doctor visit, if you know he’s vision impaired, low-vision, or leally blind, you and the family could get real help in parenting and adaptive skills for him as he grows up, and it would hook him up with help agencies. These folks are usually at the op of their game on care skills, teaching for cregivers, and what[s available for the child and parent, training and adaptive tech and all. — You[re welcome to email me at my Yahoo email, best chance, or my website[s email, more iffy. Or b regular mail. CJ and Jane and Joe here have those.
More news as I find out. — I grew up with this, and so I have an adult blind/impaired person’s perspective on what it is to grow up this way, as a differently-abled kid and what it’s like to deal with parents, teachers, other kids, and so on. I can see some things my parents did that were very right in my case, and others that were honestly mistakes, meant well, but sometimes driven by their own inexperience or advice at the time, or sometimes by personal quirks. (Overprotective or controlling, sometimes.) Other times, outstandingly good. And even today, there is not enough out there for parents or teachers or adults or kids, or teenns, either as caregivers or patients. Much of it is learned by experience.
Best wishes, all. More to come.
Aside from getting you linked up with the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, there is a program we have on our computers here at the library called ZoomText. It will magnify the images on a computer screen up to 8x, and can also read text out loud if you mouse across it, in a Stephen Hawking-like voice. I don’t know if it’s available non-commercially, but several of our patrons use it.
When the Lighthouse counselor asked today if I was signed up with the Talking BOoks program, I’d said no, but didn[t add that I had been back when they used very old (even for then) cassettes and players. I told her I was signed up with Audible.com. Hmm, I think I should call back and ask futher about Talking Books. “Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped?” That sounds different than whatever the Talking Books service has become. Is that through a third party or through the Public Library System? That is, do I need to inquire at my local branch library? (There should be two branches somewat near me, and a third that I think moved locations.)
Printed books are currently more of a challenge for me, but if my vision levels can return to previous, I’ll still be able to read with a new glasses prescription without too much trouble. That said, I also really enjoy audiobooks and podcasts. I notice my learning style, retention, and attention span can differ with audio, though,. Meaning, if I’m tired, distracted, or have some other ideas going, I can get distracted off onto that, and realize my attention has wandered, even from something I want to listen to and retain. But I expect to use more of a mix of audio and printed or ebooks now, for sue during the transition, until after any cataract surgery is completed.
One thing: tome, it[s going to be hard to gauge improvement with the first, left, weaker eye, whih has never been much help. My right eye is much more helpful, so when it’s done, I expect to notice much more benefit.
I’;; need to look about ZoomText. Looking at various vision aids will be part of the process, going forward. — Looks like I have some Google checking to d, and a couple more questions for the Lighthouse counselor.
Not sure yet about thelatest morph of the state[s blind services, now under the “Texas Workforce Commission” umbrella. It may be the same agency, just a different umbrella, but the emphasis on work, when services for differntly-abled folks needs to encompass so much more, has me a bit concerned. I’ll know once I’ve met with them and have my case restarted.
Chonddrite, as always, you’re still welcome to email me. 🙂
I wonder, is there a larger percentage of folks in the handicapped community there, and is there a different style of how they are included, cared for, in the mainstream, wider community? More of an “all in this together” spirit? Or am I making assumptions? 🙂
Can get into further detail in a PM; do you prefer your Yahoo email, or the shinyfiction one?
My Yahoo email is usually more reliable. You’d think the shinyfiction one would be. Thanks! N.B.: Typos are partly from this tiny Win7 laptop keyboard. No space between the alpha keys and the cursor/numeric keypad, and almost no pips for the home keys for touch typing.
I have no idea whether this technology would be helpful for you (and it’s currently not covered by insurance companies, Medicare or Medicaid, so the cost is surely prohibitively high), but the BrainPort V100 Vision Aid by Wicab captures images of objects and “displays” them on the tongue with bubble-like patterns that represent the objects. The tongue acts like a “400 point refreshable Braille display”.
“The technology works best for individuals who have no useful vision (light perception or no light perception), have already completed traditional blind rehabilitation programs, and are committed to training and practice. Individuals with medical electrical implants or oral health issues should consult a physician prior to BrainPort V100 use.”
It reminds me a bit of the early OCR technologies (mid-1970s) where a person would run a reader over a line of text with one hand and would rest the fingertips of the other hand on a pad that would tingle the fingers in the shape of the letters of each word.
Truth in ‘advertising’ — I helped the company with some NIH grant applications that helped to fund their early-stage research, but I have no financial investment in the company. Have remained in touch with several of the people I worked with there, however.
WKafryn – Hi and thanks. That sounds like an application best suited to folks who are more vision-impaired than I am, or fully blind, and sounds like it would be also suited to para- and quadruplegic folks, people with neuromuscular issues like MS or CP or ALS and so on.I don’t know Braille, as I’m partially sighted and previously my vision was better, though still (always) legally blind.
I had no idea a system like BrainPort V100 was out there. I don’t know if either the counselor (case worker) at the local Lighthouse for the Blind, or the local city office for my state’s Division of Blind Services, know about such a system, but I’d be happy to let them know about it. Is there a website URL for the system or company/organization? I’d be happy to pass that on t them, in case it would be of help to their other clients. I’ll have another appt. with a low-vision specialist ophthalmogist upcoming, and I’d be happy to let her and her office partner know also.
I think such a system would frustrate and confuse me, because I’d want to rely on what sight I have, and tongued input/output sounds like a big adjustment \ to me. But for someone who needs that due to blindness or lack of hand control, I think that might really help them.
I’ll be happy to pass on the info, and thanks for the suggestion. Even something that seems off the wall is a possible help to someone in the community.
Hi, BCS! Sorry to have taken so long to respond; I don’t spend a lot of time on social media these days.
The BrainPort didn’t seem like a good fit for you, but, as you noted, it’s nice to know that some off-the-wall inventions exist!
Without my glasses, I’m legally blind, but with them my vision is pretty good. Friends have suggested that I have Lasik surgery to improve my vision, but I am quite content with my glasses (I always carry an extra pair with me) and have no interest in potentially losing what vision I currently enjoy (I’ve known folks for whom the surgery worked wonders and others for whom the surgery was anything but successful). I haven’t indulged in prescription goggles, but do not swim alone outdoors because I simply can’t see well enough for safety. Using floatable Croakies (the eyeglass straps) is OK if you’re on the water or just splashing around, but actively swimming while wearing eyeglasses doesn’t work well.
Here’s the website for Wicab: http://www.wicab.com/
Here’s a link to the webpage on that site that describes the BrainPort: http://www.wicab.com/brainport-v100
Here’s a newspaper article about the BrainPort, which discusses some of its background and mentions Erik Weihenmayer, the only blind man to reach the summit of Mt. Everest: http://www.acb.org/nebraska/extras/seeing-with-your-tongue.html
I know what you mean by learning / retaining information differently when you hear or see text. One of my college friends was blind since birth, and could absorb info by hearing far better than I ever have. That said, I use sight, sound, and action (writing or practicing) to help me learn new things–the brain lays down multiple pathways for the memory.
Good luck with the cataracts!!!
Odd. Smoke, Mr. Assertive, why does your head now smell like spices, maybe curry powder, maybe some allspice? cat, what have you been into in the pantry? I think I should go look….
“I iz Dunecat: the spice must flow.”
ROFL…….
😀 😀 Well, I suppose, catnip being a “mint”…
Ooooo, that’s ominous.
BCS, so hope they can do that surgery and with good result!
I hope so, but I expect it will go well. The eye doctor was supposed to get back with me about an appt. to see a retinal specialist, to judge if I[m a good candidate for cataractsurgery. Waiting to hear back on that. If the doc says yes, then we’ll proceed with the weaker eye. If that goes well, which I expect, we’ll do the stronger, master eye. Once that’s done, I’ll have a follow-up exam to see what my vision is. There’s a chance it will be close to my previous level, plus or minus. I was shocked at her description of how “dense” the cataracts were. I’ve noticed the change, but it’s been gradual enough, and I’d attributed it to other factors, so that I hadn’t really realized how much it has changed. So — I have a good expectation about this. If it didn’t work out, then, eek, yes, that would be bad. Knowing about my condition as it was prior to this, I’m guessing I’ll be a good candidate. I’ll update as I know more.
The eye doctor said the changein my vision was about half what it had been, from 20/200 down to 20/400. So cataract surgery could restore my backto 20/200, a significant change for the better.
Your eye surgery isn’t ominous: it should go well! your cats smelling of spices is ominous.
Ahh, now I get it! 😀 Haven’t found where or what he’s gotten into. Nothing in the pantry apppears disturbed, and it[s not (thank goodness) the upper cabinet. I’m thinking in moving things recently, I must’ve left something. But it;s twice now. As long as he isn’t hurt, I guess. Smells like curry powder or allspice, something sweet-savory.Dunecat,eh? Welll, his eyes are still green-gold, so….nThey’re mystified and have been hiding some lately, with more activity and visitors. But cats being cats, they approve of cleaning and boxes and things to investigate.And spices, apparently. LOL.
@BCS: I will indeed inquire from my sister if her now coming on two (in a few months) boy and my nephew seems to be having any vision problems. she hasn’t mentioned any hints. I too was born premie (1 month premature, just like nephew Leo, but a hefty 5 lbs) but have luckily not had vision problems other than one eye being far-sighted and one eye near… so I don’t wear glasses as they compensate for each other unless I am tired.
@Raesean – Sounds good. Here’s hoping Leo is just fine. 🙂 Almost two? Time flies!