In the 1850’s, Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace independently developed speciation, or how new species develop. Darwin proposed that evolution was a really slow process over several hundred million years. The physics of the time begged to differ as it stated the Earth was roughly only twenty million years old. Lord Kelvin, formally known as William Thompson, made a then reasonable assumption that the Earth, when initially formed, was a sphere of molten rock bubbling away at 7,000 F. Lord Kelvin, famous for his transatlantic cables, thermal conductivity calculations and the Kelvin... Read More

The first portable phones were the size of a small suitcase. Today, a mobile can be held in a closed fist, or even located in a tooth. The price has come to a level that almost everyone can afford, and everywhere you go, addicted individuals have mobiles attached to their ears, or are doubled over texting messages to other addicts.

The phone has the power to take precedence over real people. Watch how everyone responds to the ringing of a phone, and watch the same people respond to a call from the people around them. A house can be on fire, and you will see people texting or talking... Read More

My wife has informed me, and her doctors, we are doing another minus tide Duxbury Reef trip this summer. One of my wife’s doctors complained to me that my wife doesn’t always follow his orders let alone advice. He then asked me what was the best advice I ever got. I answered, "To marry the girl I did." The doctor then asked me who gave me that advice. I, with a perfectly straight face, replied, "My wife." My wife’s doctor laughed and said, “Your wife gives me as much advice as I give her.” I asked, “Do you follow it?” He looked at me more than... Read More

In a 24 hour period, our immediate perception of our world will change as on March 8th the sun sets at 5:58 that evening and on March 9th, it sets at 6:59 that evening. Prior to that our perception of our world had been gradually changing from every day after the Winter Solstice. The reason is that after the Winter Solstice the sun is rising approximately one minute earlier each day and setting approximately one minute later each day.

Daylight Savings Time is another version of Descartes' account of our perception of the world. Rene Descartes, born March 31, 1596 in La Haye, France,... Read More

You've probably seen your neighbor doing it recently, or at least heard about it somewhere. It's called clicker training and it refers to using a clicking device to train animals. The clicker is a handy little tool that animal behaviorists and trainers alike are realizing is a more healthy and effective way to teach our pets. Clicker training is based on many things but one of the fundamental elements is “Operant Conditioning." When an animal intentionally performs a behavior in order to bring about a desired consequence, as clicker trained animals do, they are learning in a way... Read More

Remember in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s when banning smoking on flights became the hot topic with airlines. Once this was enforced and you heard the ‘ding’ of the no-smoking sign, you were free to enjoy the rest of your smoke free flight. Which meant people either read a book, a magazine, watched the in-flight movie, used their earphones for music, or simply took a nap.

Well that is about to change this year. Cell phones and the Internet are officially being used on international flights in several countries and looking to be approved here in... Read More

If you happen to be looking at the sky tonight at about 7.26 p.m. pacific standard time, the moon will turn into a psychedelic red-orange color with hints of turquoise.

So if it's a clear night with no clouds, by all means get out of the house (if you are on the freeway don't get into any accidents) and indulge in the beauty of this rare universe moment called a "full moon eclipse" because the next one won't be visible till December 2010.

Here's the code behind the magic (from the bits and pieces I read): The "total eclipse" occurs when a full moon moves in the earth's shadow... Read More