Ian Palmer – The Gray Nomad

May

A cosmic mystery, Part 1: Gamma Ray Bursts.

TWO COSMIC MYSTERIES. I have personally encountered two cosmic mysteries early in my career – like about 40 years ago. They both involved massive, unprecedented sources of energy. The mysteries continued for decades and occasionally the two encounters kept popping up in my memory. Only in the last few years have both these mysteries been solved – and both explanations involve black holes. This is Part 1. Part 2 will come later.

GAMMA RAY BURSTS. I flew into Los Alamos, New Mexico in 1972 to work at the famous scientific laboratory there (only an hour and a half drive from where I now live in Albuquerque). My job was to study data recorded by satellites (called Vela) that looped around the earth – data on high energy protons and electrons specifically.… More

May

Stuck in Tucumcari – again

I DROVE INTO TUCUMCARI A FEW DAYS AGO. Tired, after eight hours on the road from Kansas, I pulled over and called my hotel, meaning the one that I found when I was stuck in Tucumcari a previous time (see HERE to read about that adventure.)

A small voice answered, “Would you mind holding for a minute…” After 10 minutes of waiting, I hung up. I drove away from Amarillo for 30 minutes and tried again. Nobody picked up. I drove another 30 minutes… still nobody picked up. After another 30 minutes I tried once more but nobody answered. I gave up.

I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT, I WAS STUCK AGAIN IN TUCUMCARI. As I drove into town, tired and upset, I mulled over what to do.… More

May

Climate change: Part 7. Science and faith

I WAS IN STARBUCKS IN LUBBOCK, CLOSE TO TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY. Waiting for a woman I had never met. I told her I was tall and with a gray beard. After sipping a decaf mocha frappe, she tapped me on the shoulder and I stood and shook hands.

She was young (at least compared to me) with brown hair, attractive, and her face held a perpetual smile. Her voice and movements were filled with enthusiasm. She had just flown in from Wisconsin, where she had given a talk about the intersection of faith and climate change.

She opened her laptop and showed me a picture of Science in one circle and Faith in a second circle. The two circles were not touching.… More

Apr

Puppy thoughts at Easter

It’s the day before Easter Sunday, 2019, and I took Chanel for a walk. I’m very fond of Chanel, although she belongs to my good friend Mary Ann. She’s a Morkie, which is a cross between a Maltese and a Yorkie. A really pretty dog – she’s small like a puppy but she’s not young like a puppy anymore.

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Chanel makes me think about love. There is no question she loves me, and this makes me feel good. When I approach her after being absent, her tail wags like crazy and her eyes light up. Is she thinking about the joy and comfort of our personal relationship? Do I wag my tail when I meet other people, even strangers?

During our walk this morning, Chanel reminded me of how much she appreciates exploring the world.… More

Apr

I was an uncertain Samaritan

Last Sunday after church and lunch at a Mexican restaurant, I drove past a broken-down car with the owner, a young woman, sitting on the ground with a grubby child by a flat tire. The contents of her trunk were strewn in the dirt. She was speaking on her cell phone.

I thought about stopping. But I had a full suite of things on my ToDo list. I had noticed that many other cars just drove on by. The scene reminded me of the Good Samaritan story.

I turned the car around and came back. Rolled down my windscreen and asked the woman if I could help. She was talking on her cellphone when I interrupted her. She asked me if I had a spare tire donut, which I did not.… More

Mar

Imagine what heaven is like

WHATS IN THIS BLOG: • Heaven in country songs. • Heaven in hiking. • How to imagine heaven by Max Lucado.

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HEAVEN IN COUNTRY SONGS I enjoy country & western music – to listen to or to dance to. Here are some words from a song by Tanya Tucker: When I die I may not go to heaven I don’t know if they let cowboys in If they don’t just let me go to Texas, Boy! Texas is as close as I’ve been.

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Another country song about heaven is by Hank Williams, Junior. If heaven ain’t a lot like Dixie I don’t wanna go If heaven ain’t a lot like Dixie I’d just as soon stay home If they don’t have a Grand Ole Opry Like they do in Tennessee Just send me to hell or New York City It would be about the same to me

HEAVEN IN HIKING These songs are cute and humorous.… More

Mar

Hiking toward heaven: Ghost Ranch

GHOST RANCH is 21,000 acers in the midst of red rock country about an hour north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. There are five terrific hikes through spectacular scenery. We took the hike called Chimney Rock – a moderate hike of 3 miles which took about 3 hours round trip. Photos of this hike are interspersed above and below.

Ghost Ranch was originally in the wild west, as quoted below: The canyon was first inhabited by the Archuleta brothers, cattle rustlers who enjoyed the coverage and invisibility that the canyon provided as well as their ability to see for miles down the valley. They created two jacal homes and would move stolen cattle throughout the night to Box Canyon. By transporting the cattle through streams, footprints would be lost and they could not be tracked.… More

Mar

Fracking and Global Warming: What’s the Connection?

I gave a talk this past week called Fracking and Global Warming: What’s the Connection? I appreciate the invite by Dr John Korstad who teaches two different courses on Sustainability at Oral Roberts University (ORU).

Sustainability is getting to be a hot subject: it implies conserving the present environment for our grand-kids, to use a simple definition. For businesses the application is People, Planet and Profits: People meaning quality of life and employee retention, Planet being environmental stewardship and waste reduction, and Profit meaning responsible economic growth. At ORU, staff like Dr Korstad are leading the way.

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The world-class lecture room at ORU, where I was video’d automatically.

I did a lot of research on the topic and decided some critical slides would be of interest and make a good summary.… More

Feb

How to balance science and faith.

WHATS IN THIS BLOG: • My talk on Fracking and Global Warming at Oral Roberts University. • The faith of a neurobiologist. • Tensions he sees between science and faith. • Deciding to marry – science or faith? • Netflix challenge of the week. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PREAMBLE: I’m giving a talk this coming week called Fracking and Global Warming: What’s the Connection? This is a new topic for me and I had to put some research into it. The talk is at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Wednesday 27 February at 1:15 pm and at 2:15 pm (same talk at both times in room 102 of the Global Learning Center). I appreciate the invite by Dr John Korstad who reaches two different courses on Sustainability at the university.… More

Feb

Oil and Gas Boom may boost New Mexico’s lifestyle ranking.

WHATS IN THIS BLOG: • The Delaware basin. • How much oil? • Budget surplus. • Will the shale oil boom improve New Mexico living conditions? • What about wind and solar?

THE SAN JUAN BASIN. We’ve always had the mighty San Juan basin, in the northwest of the state, but that’s been predominantly a natural gas basin. Then in the 1980’s coalbed methane came on and that boomed for quite a while. While working at Amoco, I was lucky to be able to work on coalbed methane in the San Juan basin in the late 1980s and most of the1990s.

The San Juan basin was ranked at the top of natural gas basins in the USA. But that was before shale-gas became a revolution in the 2000 years – which pushed the San Juan down to fifth by 2015.… More

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Weed and Water (Paperback)

Weed and Water Reviews

Sit back, relax, clear your head and then prepare yourself for an entertaining journey. I loved the book, and found it hard to put down. When you are finished, ponder the Truth which was woven into the whole story. The Truth that I received.... Don't give up on God because He won't give up on you. I actually had tears in my eyes the last few pages. The book is very well done. -- Garland W. Ray (General Manager, Pep Boys).

I really enjoyed the book and I look forward to seeing it published. This is a book that taught me a lot about myself and a book that challenged me to grow spiritually. Definitely a book I would recommend. -- Trevor Taylor (Junior in Construction Management Technology at Oklahoma State University).

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Hiking Towards Heaven Reviews

"I read the book and it was very inspiring….. a must read!" — Ann Wasp, Houston

"Wow! I thoroughly enjoyed your book. What a blessing to read the words you wrote as you share your love of hiking with your love and belief in God. You depict God as someone approachable (which He is) and someone who understands us. Your book gives me the desire to go hiking and look at God's creation in a different way.Thank you. You did a great job!" — Bonnie Covington, Medical Supplies Sales, Albuquerque

"I enjoyed reading the book. The book's core theme is religious and moral philosophical concepts. The theme is developed through a girl's childhood. The scenery is beautifully described in the hikes. You are a silver-tongued orator, and I liked how you captivated the reader with conflict, then presented your thoughts via discussion." — Don Smith, County Judge (ret.), Houston.

"I read your book a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it! I liked the way you kept the story moving with the hiking adventures and challenges, the details about your hikes, and the very interesting character Michelle. You did a great job with dialog and interspersing the message of faith. It reminded me how much I like to hike, and how beautiful it is there in New Mexico. I would recommend your book to others" - Gayle Pearson, Attorney and Homemaker, Houston.

"What an amazing story! Michelle fascinates me enormously in all that she represents. Further, it strikes me that you brought something very unique to the relationship between Kara and Michelle, much more so than any other relationship in the story. I like Kara very much; you are very fortunate to have her in your life. I loved the way that you weave your love of hiking with Michelle’s lessons on the trail. My favourite poem in the book was “Don’t Quit”….. it resonated especially well with my own personal circumstances." - Genevieve Young, Petroleum Reservoir Engineer, London.

"I really enjoyed your book. It gives vivid verbal descriptions of fascinating hiking areas, and weaves intriguing adventures around you and your fellow hikers. It was instructive as to geography/topography, geology, and flora/fauna. The reader gets all of this plus spiritual guidance, so reassuring in times of need. The use of the coangel added a mysterious element to tie all this together. You wrapped up your book well in demonstrating the resources available through God. With all the low-level reading available regarding sorcerers and vampires, it is nice to see a book like this with a positive spiritual approach but which is educational as well. Good work!” - Joy-Marie, Real Estate Agent (ret.), Albuquerque.

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