Ha! You probably clicked here because you thought this diary was about you-know-who. But it's not. And now you've wasted all of 5-10 seconds of your life on something else. But what?
I'm writing about something I personally find to be very cool. Scientists recently have found what amounts to the world's oldest rock in Northern Quebec. The rock dates to about 4.28 billion years ago. (Kind of puts these 10 seconds into perspective, eh?)
The BBC has a story about it here.
Now, don't get me wrong... I don't normally write diaries about rocks. But I think this is pretty neat. Occasionally, I walk by the earth sciences building here on campus and stop and marvel at the boulders they have on display out front, each with a little plaque. I think the oldest one I've seen there is 1.7 billion years old, if I recall correctly.
At 4,280,000,000 years old, or something like 1.56 trillion days on this planet, this particular rock must have been through a lot. Oh, the stories it could tell if it could talk! Think about it. (If you can!)
And what is possibly even cooler is that this particular rock, in its infancy, may have seen life. Indeed, this rock provides a clue that could lead to answers to "very big" (and political too!) questions. (Read the BBC link above for more.) But I won't go there right now, save for the innuendo of the title and this:
So, why did I write this diary here? Because contemplating this rock sobers me. 4.28 billion years. We sacks of mostly water are so, so, so insignificant. Really. And yet... we're so, so, so powerful. Way too powerful for our own good.
What happens in this year's election is meaningless. Really. And yet... it is the most important thing in the world, right now, when it matters.