Photo: Liquid Water Recently Seen on Mars?

Too bad the lander's mass spectrometer can't reach this stuff or they'd soon find out that it's some fine Martian Jack Daniels (those Martians party like it's 50,099).

How much would you bet that those square JPL guys still wear skinny black ties?

I don't believe that he/she/it has been around forever, with ultimate power, but only made life on one planet. Even the best inventor changes and improves on his task. There are also different levels of life and intelligence. There are germs that live in the arctic and creatures living at the deepest depths of our oceans and none are even nearly as intelligent as we are, but they obviously survive in places where we could not hope to live on a regular basis. Living in a different type of atmosphere, be it temperature or pressure or even gas, does not mean superior intelligence it just means that they are different. And they could have been around for billions of years, like the cockroach, and not be superior to us.

We are all entitled to our own beliefs. I truly respect your belief of ours being the only life anywhere, but I still choose to hope and believe that somewhere out there live others who may also be searching for us.

Please accept this in the spirit that it is meant, as a friendly comment, not an argument or challenge.

Both you and Langyaw may be on to something. One has merely to change perspective a little - between time and eternity.

If time (and this is something I believe) is just a blip on the wheel of eternity, looking at this in an eternal aspect (hard to get our finite minds around) may give a broader view.

So then, what if earth is a seed planet meant to mold a people with the 'character' to properly populate the universe through eternity.

Just something to think about.

God made Man on the last day of creation -- when He was tired.

I guess our concepts of God are different.

Although it (the Bible) does say he rested on the seventh day, I see that as 'coming to rest' as in a wheel that has stopped.

That same Bible states that he is omnicient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful) and omnipresent (he's everywhere).

As man was the culmination of the creation it stands to reason (mine at least) that man is also his greatest triumph. The fact that a refining process was necessary is mitigated by the fact that one was provided.

I will stop here so I don't get pulled down by the censors.

Relax, dude. It was a joke.

No offence taken, really.

I appreciate the opportunity to pontificate.