Carl Sagan had a crystal ball!

The passage comes from Sagan’s book Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, first published in 1995:

Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time—when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.

Sound familiar? 

Still here

I just realized that I have not posted since we returned from Tahoe.  I don't really have anything to say, except that the reality of Trump being sworn in in a couple of days is bumming me out.  Oh well, I do have the Warriors basketball team to cheer me up.  Don't give up on me.  I'll try to post more often.

Plenty of snow

Hello from Tahoe/Donner.  We got up here on Sunday and it started to snow that evening.  Then, it snowed all day Monday, all day Tuesday, and it's still snowing on Wednesday at at 5 pm as I write this.  So we're pretty much house bound.  Here are a couple of shots that I took at about noon today.  One is a view of a neighbor's house up the hill a bit, and the other is a view of our side deck.  Supposedly it will be finished snowing by tomorrow morning.  The snowshoeing should be excellent.

Sinatra could dance too!

Hey all.  We got up here to our Tahoe/Donner place at about noon yesterday.  The drive up was uneventful except for a stretch of pretty heavy fog.  Then, (per the forecast) it started snowing in the late afternoon and snowed all night.  As I look out the window now at around 9 am, I see that it is still snowing fairly hard with no let-up in sight.  Looks like some snowshoeing is going to be in order once the storm has passed.  I'll post some pictures later.

On the the main topic:  I was surfing the channels and ran across a showing of "That's Entertainment 2" and of course got hooked and ended up watching the entirety of what was left.  As part of that, I saw a number with Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly from "Anchors Aweigh" wherein they sang a duet.  But what floored me was that about 1:40 into the number, they broke into a serious dance number with Frank coming amazingly close to dancing as expertly as Gene.  I never thought of Frank as a dancer, but he was terrific in this number. Fortunately, the whole thing is on YouTube.  You gotta check this out.  Leave a comment if you enjoyed it.

Mayans were cool

I was stumbling around on the Internet and ran across this very interesting illustrated history of the Mayan's written language.  It only takes about five minutes to read it, and it's well worth it.

Heading up to the Tahoe/Donner place on Sunday for a week long stay.  I'll post some pictures of the winter wonderland.

A kakistocracy -- indeed!

I have been searching for the right term to define the impending Trump government, but nothing seemed quite adequate or accurate.  Then I read this terrific article by Sophia McClennen. There is no doubt about it:  we are going to experience a kakistocracy first-hand.

Grace at Daryl's House

A couple of months ago we watched an episode of "Live From Daryrl's House" featuring Grace Sewell, a 19 year old Aussie singer and song writer.  I recorded the show on my DVR, but until just recently it was not up on Daryl's site, or on YouTube.  The good news is that it is now up on Daryl's site where you can play the entire show or just certain segments.  Check it out right here.  I recommend playing the entire show if you have the time because you will see how Grace, Daryl, and the band grow more appreciative of each other as the session goes on.  By the end of the session the respect on all sides is palpable.  This turned out to be one of the very best shows of the current season of LFDH.  I hope you enjoy it as much as Eileen and I have.  This young lady can really sing up a storm -- nobody owns her, as evidenced by her rendition of "You Don't Own Me."