We had no sooner crossed the New Mexico border than a text appeared on my phone telling me that my COVID vaccine awaited me.  So tomorrow I get Jab #1, which I expect will reduce my sense of anxiety. Since returning home I’ve mainly been trying to get my head into the right time zone. […]

Here you see the Parthenon in snow. If you’ve been paying attention to the international news, you’ll know that Greece and many parts of the Mediterranean have been hit with arctic cold this season about the same time that Texas was, and you may have seen pictures of the Parthenon standing there in a snowfield. […]

Hey, it’s Mardi Gras time, and there’s no better way to lighten your lockdown spirits than to get down with some fine New Orleans music! First up, get your buzz on with “If You’re a Viper” by Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers, part of the Jam in the Van series. Next up, it’s Trombone Shorty […]

Back in the days of my youth, optical astronomy was done with telescopes, and the sky recorded on dry glass plates.  Starting in the 1890s, millions of glass plates were viewed, then stored in archives throughout the world.  They’ve been largely ignored in the years since— there are so many, where do you start?  Yet […]