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The Club PUBlication  12/27/2021

12/27/2021

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​Largest space telescope ever may see beginning of time
It’s set for launch Saturday for deeper cosmos probe.

By JUSTIN BACHMAN Bloomberg News

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James Webb Space Telescope
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The largest, most expensive and certainly most sophisticated space telescope ever built is scheduled to lift off Saturday from the north coast of South America. Upon reaching its orbital station some 932,000 miles from Earth, the massive James Webb Space Telescope just might be able to see the beginning of time.

More than 30 years after NASA launched the Hubble Space Telescope, its giant successor is designed to see through the most ancient mists of deep space. The farther one looks into the cosmos, the further back in time one goes.

When Webb begins work in mid-2022, it will help scientists study some of the earliest light in the universe, as well as peer more closely at planets in other galaxies.

The almost $11 billion telescope, more than two decades in the making, is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration collaboration with the European and Canadian space agencies. It's set to blast off from the European Space Agency's spaceport in French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket.

For science, the Webb telescope's ultimate promise is a greater understanding around two fundamental questions for humanity: Where did we come from and are we alone? But for NASA, it's also a huge risk, given everything that could go wrong.

The telescope is "a shining example of what we can accomplish when we dream big," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Tuesday at a prelaunch briefing, calling it "one of the great engineering feats for the people of this planet."

Webb will examine the infrared spectrum — thermal radiation humans can't see and which is often obscured to ground-based telescopes.  While Hubble is still working from an orbit much closer to Earth (340 miles away), it collects data in the visible light spectrum. It had to be repaired after launch because of a flaw in its mirror, but has been repeatedly updated and could last another two decades.

Researchers say Webb, named for NASA's administrator during the heyday of its Mercury, Gemini and Apollo rocket programs, is crucial to a deeper understanding of the early universe and how stars and galaxies formed. New insights are expected from discoveries dating back 13.5 billion years, only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. Webb will also be able to peer more closely at objects first uncovered by Hubble, many of which are obscured by interstellar dust and gas that the newer telescope can pierce.

One Webb target is the Andromeda galaxy, the closest to our Milky Way, which reveals far more of its nature in the infrared spectrum than in visible light. The telescope has multiple forms of spectrograph imaging to study stellar composition, and its skill set includes the observation of planets — some possibly like Earth — orbiting stars in other galaxies.

But before any of this research can happen, Webb must arrive at its destination functioning and undamaged.  First, the launch itself must be successful.
Then the telescope must execute a daunting series of maneuvers, with the first 13 hours of flight including two of its most critical tasks. About 33 minutes after liftoff, Webb must deploy its solar array to begin generating power. Then about 12 hours later, the craft must initiate a course-correction rocket burn to fine-tune its trajectory.


                   (Christmas day launch was successful.   So far so good)  Harv
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The Club PUBlication  12/20/2021

12/20/2021

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Sometimes communication is as simple as singing ‘White Christmas’


​G ARY GILSON

Communication is more than grammar. It’s about getting through to people who matter to you. So, for now, ’tis the season to forgo parsing paragraphs, and to relax.
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True story: I knew a New Yorker named Phil who worked in Manhattan’s Diamond District, along 47thStreet between 5th and 6th avenues. He traveled to and from work by subway from his home in the Bronx every weekday for years.
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One day, in the week before Christmas, Phil entered the subway car on his way home and, as a veteran rider, immediately sensed something was off: only one passenger in the car, a drunken, disheveled man, ranting and cursing and flailing his arms against the world.

Phil felt tension in the air. Then he noticed a group of passengers huddled at one end of the car, cringing in fear.  Phil went right over to the man, sat down, put his arm around the man’s shoulders and began to sing. “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas ...”
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The man slowly calmed down, and soon he was singing along with Phil, “where the treetops glisten, and children listen ...”

And then, just as slowly, the passengers at the end of the car started drifting toward Phil and the man, gathered around them and joined in, singing, “with every Christmas card I write ...” And they all kept belting out holiday songs as the train barreled northward toward the Bronx.

These people had never known each other before, and now they were singing and laughing and hugging, if only for this brief moment in time.  They were so connected that some riders chose to stay on the train past their stops .

The troubled man brightened; he seemed to be feeling part of something larger than himself. And all it took was an arm around the shoulders, a familiar song, a gathering of humanity and, above all, a man named Phil.


Twin Cities writing coach Gary Gilson, who teaches journalism at Colorado College, can be reached through writebetterwithgary.com.
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The Club PUBlication  12/13/2021

12/13/2021

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Kenny Chermak

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Kenneth Charles Chermak, Sr. 79 who lived on Blanche Lake, BattleLake,MN; died Friday, December 3, 2021, at hishome surrounded by his loving family.


Kenneth was born on December 30, 1941, in Manitowoc, Wisconsin the son of Anton and Agnes Howard) Chermak.  He graduated from Lincoln High School, Manitowoc, WI, in1960.

While at Lincoln High, he was captain of the football team, played basketball, tennis and was a member of the rifle club as a great left-handed shooter. He
furthered his education after receiving a scholarship to play football at the
Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan. While attending
Michigan Tech, he received a mechanical engineering degree, was a
member of the Kappa Delta Psi fraternity, and has remained an active
alumnus for both the fraternity and the football program for many decades.
 
While attending Michigan Tech, Ken met the love of his life, Patricia (Pat)
Ann Gemignani, with many family ties to Hancock, Michigan where her
father founded Gino’s Restaurant. Ken and Pat were married on April 24,
1964, in Ishpeming, Michigan and they celebrated 57 beautiful years
together.
 
Ken and Pat lived in various places, during the 35 years Ken was employed
as a Regional Manager with Graco, Inc. The last twenty-one years of his
career in Plymouth, MN. In 1994 Ken and Pat retired to their Blanche Lake
Home in Battle Lake, Minnesota. They were also blessed to enjoy 15 years
wintering in Arizona.
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Ken had a zest for life and was a wonderful friend to anyone who knew
him. He enjoyed summer and winter fishing, hunting, golfing, cooking and
gardening.  He will be remembered for his integrity, honesty and loyalty.

He is survived by his wife, Pat; two sons, KC (Kippen) Chermak,
ofWayzata, MN; Tony Chermak ofOrono, MN, five grandchildren, Grace,
Charlie, Robbie, Kate and Siena; a brother, Michael Chermak of
Manitowoc, WI; and by numerous relatives and friends.
 
There will be a Celebration of Ken’s Life at a later date in 2022.Family
requests donations be made to the Kenneth C. Chermak, Sr. family for a
memorial to be created in his name.


​
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The Club PUBlication  12/06/2021

12/6/2021

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​More seniors turn to cannabis
Even where medical use is legal, questions remain about its effectiveness.

By HANNAH CRITCHFIELD Tampa Bay Times

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Marvin Yeoman, 74, had tried cannabis as a young adult, but for his wife, it was new.

“I never, never, ever even thought about marijuana when I was growing up,” said Rene Yeoman, 71.

The Land O’Lakes, Fla., residents had both undergone recent major surgeries, so they gave in to their daughter’s suggestion to use the drug to treat chronic pain. Rene liked how edibles helped her sleep through the night and avoid the use of other medications.

As seniors, the couple is in good company. Marijuana use is on the rise among older adults.

Last year, the proportion of adults 65 or older who reported recent cannabis use jumped by 18%, according to the recently released 2020 National Survey of Drug Use and Health, rising from 5.1% in 2019 to 6% in 2020.

The rise comes on the heels of a steady trend of increased cannabis use among seniors over the last five years. In more than half of the country, including Florida, use of cannabis for medical purposes is legal.

More research is needed on the impacts of marijuana use on older adults.

Dr. Juan Sanchez-Ramos, a professor of neurology at the University of South Florida, said studies show marijuana may help reduce symptoms like insomnia and irritability in Alzheimer’s patients, improve motor symptoms from Parkinson’s, diminish arthritic pain and combat sleep disorders, conditions that are all common among older adults.

Too high a dose of THC can cause confusion and short-term memory problems in older adults, however, Sanchez-Ramos said. CBD in excess doses can in turn interact with the metabolism of other drugs in the system, so it’s important for seniors to consult with their doctor before using cannabis products.

Both THC and CBD are compounds found in cannabis.  Sanchez-Ramos said he still recommends more traditional treatments before referring patients to a cannabis expert.
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“This is basically an alternative treatment for when individuals aren’t doing well with the standard pharmaceuticals,” he said. “In some people, it may be actually much better, but it isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.”
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