RenoVous

  Astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned home yesterday after a record-breaking 355 days in single spaceflight. Despite conflict here on Earth, he was able to hitch a ride with Russian cosmonaut, Pyotr Dubrov (355 days) and Anton Shkaplerov (176 days). Vande Hei's mission will provide researchers an opportunity to observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on humans as NASA plans for the Artemis program to return to the Moon and prepare for Mars exploration. He completed about 5,680 orbits and traveled more than 150 million miles, or roughly 312 trips to the moon and back.  While on board, he conducted experiments from plant research to physical science studies.

  The marina side of the island became one of our favorite places to walk and wander. The ocean side is pretty nice too though. San Francisco there in the distance.

  It's been a hell of a morning at work, so I haven't had much time to look around, but I did see that it's Piano Day, and then this song popped into my head. Piano Day Playlist

  Olivia Colman Simu Liu Kelly Marie Tran (and Carlos Lopez Estrada) Penélope Cruz Cynthia Erivo Zendaya Jada Pinkett-Smith Serena Williams Kristen Stewart Jessica Chastain Ariana Debose Timothee Chalamet Tati Gabrielle Troy Kotsur Kirsten Dunst

  The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was used during WWII to calculate ballistic trajectories.  Six women were hired and became the first modern coders. Jean Bartik, Betty Holberton, Frances Spence, Marilyn Meltzer, Kay Mauchly Antonelli, and Ruth Teitelbaum. For decades, historians had no idea who they were, or that they were instrumental in the computing process. When the ENIAC was introduced in 1946, the male designers were applauded, but no mention was made of the women who would be working it.  They weren't invited to the Army dinner celebrating the machine, and when pictures appeared in the press, their names weren't even mentioned.  It was assumed that if women could do it, it must not be that difficult. However, when men returned from war, they didn't know how to operate the computer, so the women were kept on to teach, and new women began to enter the field. Since it was "women's work," pay and prestige remained low.  Programmer,...

 I was recently made aware of this genre that includes some bands I've already enjoyed listening to. Murder ballads have long been part of folk music, and now it is merging with neoclassical and industrial music. Also known as dark folk, folk noir, or southern gothic, here are some examples: You may recall how much I love Larry and His Flask. Playlist

  After finishing Shadow of the Wind , which is now an all time favorite - and before April, when I like to read Shakespeare - I decided to look for some female authors in this collection to end Women's History Month. First I read Dorothy Parker's Big Blonde.   An interesting, sad story. I'm now reading Willa Cather's Paul's Case. This one is more intriguing.  Not that I knew what was going to happen with Hazel in Big Blonde , but Paul is a bit more haphazard and unpredictable.  I am more curious about the end. Next up: Bliss  by Katherine Mansfield (Book is a 4th printing from 1961)

 Held on this day since 1993, we celebrate water and raise awareness of the 2 billion people living without access to safe water for drinking and/or sanitation. This year's focus is on sustainably managing groundwater. "As climate change gets worse, groundwater will become more and more critical." Making the Invisible Visible The Weather Channel is bringing attention to the importance of our watersheds. Flood, drought and water pollution are crises that "are merely symptoms of a broader syndrome - watersheds in poor health." These are essentially our drainage basins.  Here, it's the Truckee River, and all the mountain streams that flow into it.  The Parks Foundation taught me why undesignated trails contribute to water pollution, in paving a way, so to speak, for water in an area that hasn't been cleared of other debris. A healthy watershed needs an intact ecosystem, such as forests, wetlands, grasslands and streams which help regulate the quantity, qual...

  Miss Dior, Natalie Portman Issa Rae Oscar Issac Gabrielle Union Renate Reinsve Zazie Beetz Anne Hathaway Zoey Deutch Rita Moreno Paloma Elsesser Vogue

  Did you know an octopus has nine brains?? They have a central brain in their head that controls the nervous system, and also a small brain in each arm, which allows them to work independently toward the same goal. Scientists have found that the octopus brain contains high levels of regulatory RNA molecules, which could help them develop lots of different neurons and greater neuronal complexity. "The only comparable [microRNA] expansions happened, strikingly, in vertebrates.  Thus, we propose that [microRNAs] are intimately linked to the evolution of complex animal brains."  MicroRNA regulate gene expression by binding to mRNA and preventing it from being translated to protein. The team studied 18 tissues of the common octopus, expecting to find RNA editing behind the cognitive abilities.  Instead, they found the miRNA as a contributing factor, most strongly expressed in nervous tissues and present in the brains of developing hatchlings. While brain size and texture...

 Just up the road, the puppies can run free. And then I had some coffee with my sister and friends at a new cute place called The Garden. Pixelated my friend here because I still want to share how gorgeous the setting was.

  Today's Google Doodle honors the artist's 200th birthday. Born in Bordeaux, France, Rosa started painting at a young age, encouraged by her father, an artist himself.  The family followed a Christian-socialist sect that promoted the education of women alongside men. She became especially interested in painting animals, so her father would bring live animals in for her study.  At one point in her life, she had a lion, a lioness, a stag, a wild sheep, a gazelle, horses, and more. In 1849, the French government commissioned her work, Ploughing in the Nivernais. Her most famous work, The Horse Fair, was completed in 1855. It is 8 feet tall and 16 feet wide. This piece led to international fame and recognition.  She met Queen Victoria in Scotland, where she sketched Highland Shepherd, completed in 1859. Around this time, she bought a home in Fontainebleau named Chateau de By, where she died in 1899.  The home is now a museum. In 1893, she exhibited her work at the ...