Fame

Fame should never be confused with accomplishment.

My new mandolin is ready

Tomorrow I get my new mandolin made by Craig Wilson, it's a beauty. You can see at Mandolin Cafe click here

The Scientific Method

One of the greatest legacies of the European Enlightenment is a scientific methodology that allows us to make increasingly accurate observations about the world around us. This methodology is based on the assumption that all we need in order to comprehend nature is a solid understand of the laws and processes that we can observe and test in the natural world. The supernatural does not enter the equation, because it does not rovide us with any explanations that can be test empirically.

This morning at 4:05:06

You probably weren't up when this happened but at 5 minutes and 6 seconds after 4 A.M. the time was: 04:05:06 07-08-09

THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN UNTIL THE YEAR 3009!!

The Southern Cross - The Constellation Crux

Because it is not visible from most latitudes in the Northern hemisphere, Crux is a modern constellation and has no Greek or Roman myths associated with it. Crux was used by explorers of the southern hemisphere to point south since, unlike the north celestial pole, the south celestial pole is not marked by any bright star.

Dolphins

from "Two Years Before the Mast" by Richard Henry Dana . . . . 'there is nothing more beautiful than the dolphin when swimming a few feet below the surface, on a bright day. It is the most elegantly formed and also the quickest fish in salt water; and the rays of the sun striking upon it, in its rapid and changing motions, reflected from the water, made it look like a stray beam from a a rainbow.'

photo taken on a return trip from the Channel Islands

Shibboleth

I see this word a lot so I'm guessing that you all do too. What does it mean?

Shibboleth is any distinguishing practice which is indicative of one's social or regional origin. It usually refers to features of language, and particularly to a word whose pronunciation identifies its speaker as being a member or not a member of a particular group.