The National Weather Service (NWS) runs a system of WSR-88D Doppler radars across the USA, Guam and Puerto Rico. On our local northern California maps we often see a bright cluster of precipitation over Rio Vista CA, often on a sunny day with no rain. I’ve always thought that this was due to some local … [Read more…]
Seems that themes come in batches, the newest theme for me is the old Jetson’s promise of leisure time replacing work, somewhere in the future we’d all work at what we’re good at and there would be enough (food and other goods and money) to go around. I’m firmly convinced that since the dawn of … [Read more…]
The Guardian published the contents of a speech by Cohen: In a speech last night at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen attacked Facebook and other social media platforms for enabling the proliferation of hate speech and misinformation. The speech was striking in its sincerity – Baron Cohen appeared as … [Read more…]
From the California Digital Newspaper Collection: Sacramento Daily Union 25 January 1861 https://cdnc.ucr.edu/ Pressed into the Slave Trade.— New York, December 30.—By the arrival of the steamer Canark, from Nassau, N. P., on the 24th, we have accounts of the wreck of the American ship America, on Cape Lobos, with 500 Africans on board, destined … [Read more…]
It all started innocently enough, a good review of an old classic and then another and another, soon I was hooked. They are all free as I check them out from the library and few are in great demand so renewing was easy enough. I always know they are there and can go back and … [Read more…]
In the November 2019 Smithsonian Magazine is a fine essay The Untold Story of the Secret Mission to Seize Nazi Map Data, about HOUGHTEAM headed by U.S. Army Maj. Floyd W. Hough. It explores the exploits of Major Hough and his team and I immediately thought of the parallels between him, Maj. Duane Marvey and … [Read more…]
New Yorker Magazine Culture Desk The Heavy, Meditative, and Tender Music of Les Filles de Illighadad By Amanda Petrusich November 11, 2019 If you listen long enough, and make yourself open enough, it is possible to reach a kind of holy place while experiencing the music of Les Filles de Illighadad. Les Filles de Illighadad … [Read more…]
Few thought it would arrive so quickly. Now we’re facing consequences once viewed as fringe scenarios. New York Times By Eugene Linden Nov. 8, 2019 So far, the costs of underestimation have been enormous. New York City’s subway system did not flood in its first 108 years, but Hurricane Sandy’s 2012 storm surge caused nearly … [Read more…]
From SwissInfo: Telecommunications: Switzerland calls time on phone booths On the move The first box was installed in 1881 in the Fraumünster post office in Zurich. Peak booth was reached in 1995, when more than 58,000 could be found dotted around Swiss villages and cities. However, the success of mobile phones at the end of … [Read more…]
From the Washington Post, 10/31/19 – Paul Barrere, guitarist and singer-songwriter for Little Feat, dies at 71. His band confirmed the death in a statement and said he was being treated for liver disease, which forced him to miss a 50th anniversary tour that ended the day after his death. Mr. Barrere, who had battled … [Read more…]