RenoVous

  Agate is a rock formation, often within volcanic and metamorphic rocks.  Consisting of chalcedony and quartz, they can come in a wide variety of colors. The above was registered to the Natural History Museum's Mineralogy Collection 175 years ago.  The particular pink and white interior caught the eye of Robin Hansen, a mineral curator.  The specimen was taken to a mineral show in France, where Hansen saw an agatised dinosaur egg that had many similarities... The piece was picked up in India, and has features that are the same as Titanosaur eggs, the most common dinosaurs in the area 60 million years ago. Hansen and the dinosaur experts now involved believe volcanic activity led to the egg being encased in volcanic rock.  The internal structures would have internally decomposed, and the silica-rich water would have made its way into the egg cavity, creating the banded agate specimen. Or, "eggate." IFL Science

  Game starts at 10:05 and I'll be listening online. KNBR I have an old shirt that says "Jesus hates the Yankees." ^_^ In other news, Metallica dropped a new song. Being a Bay Area band, they have a long relationship with the Giants. Play Ball!!

  The International Space Station looking down on Lake Tahoe and the snow pack of the Sierras. This was a few weeks ago, and it has snowed since. In January, we had already exceeded records since 1995, and we're at least 200% of the average for March.  The Southern Sierras have the largest snow pack in recorded history! It should be a long season for the ski resorts, and we're already seeing some reservoirs fill up.  There are concerns that a rapid melt won't replenish the groundwater, but rather cause a flash flood in the Sacramento and San Joaquin systems. The Truckee River is flowing pretty good, but we took a drive last weekend and it's the Walker River that's really hustling right now.  Washoe Lake is spreading itself out to touch the highway. And here is Miss Mt. Rose. Do you see her face?

  Celebrating scribbles! "A story about kindness and inclusion." The main character is Scribble, and he teaches his drawings to accept each other, and themselves, for who they are.  This inspires their own creativity.  Art can come in many forms and anyone can be encouraged to be an artist. And so I was reminded of some doodle art I've been holding onto since high school. It may be a children's book, but the message is for everyone. Encourage, inspire, scribble!!

  Jodie Turner-Smith Florence Pugh Kate Beckinsale Justice Smith Ella Purnell Daisy Head Kendall Jenner Megan Thee Stallion Mae Whitman I could only find a Getty image, but I couldn't turn away from this outfit. Cynthia Erivo

 Beetle Butt! That's right, that pretty magenta center is actually poop.  The gray layer is the intestine, and the purple is the malphigian tube, (an excretory organ). Researchers are studying this to understand how beetles use their butts to stay hydrated. Beetles are able to open their rectums and take in moisture from the air.  They convert this into fluid that they can then absorb into their body.  Their specialized organs can also extract water from food, so that beetles often go their entire lives without drinking liquid water. Such as the Scarab, or Dung Beetle, of the Sahara. "There is twenty times as much insect biomass on Earth than that of humans.  They play key roles in most food webs, have a huge impact on virtually all ecosystems and on human health.  So we need to understand them better," says lead researcher, Kenneth Veland Halberg.

  This is Leo, and he's the only puppy available at the Nevada Humane Society. But all dogs are pups in my eyes, so we should never leave out the older ones. Link Of course puppies are the more popular to adopt - and I want to emphasize ADOPT - as you should never buy a puppy from a pet store.  If you're looking to buy for pedigree, make sure the breeder is reputable. Our pups were personal rescues, people we knew needed help, and we got the best boys in the world. Days of the Year

Sorry folks, I'm off today for some Niece Time during Spring Break. See you tomorrow!

  Memory is a process of encoding, storing, and retrieving information. Long-term: Episodic memories are the details of past events you have experienced. Semantic memory comprises your knowledge about the world. Procedural memory allows you to learn and execute tasks. Short-term: Working memory is what holds a limited amount of information for immediate mental use.   Sensory memory is our perceptions of the world, and will sometimes persist in long-term memory. Prospective memory is to recall an intention to do something, a more future-oriented memory. The hippocampus and other parts of the medial temporal lobe are critical for many forms of memory, and the amygdala integrates emotional responses into memory. A memory engram is the set of changes in the brain, tracing the synapse connections as they are formed and strengthened. Research has shown that our first memories begin in the womb, but we're unable to recall them.  Most people tend to remember things from abou...

  It's the first day of Spring!   This brave daffodil popped up over the weekend and caught some nice sunshine in between the wind and the rain. In fashion, we'll take a small sampling from some Spring 2023 collections. Stéphane Rolland Valentino Giambattista Valli Chanel Boss

  Cymatics is the science of visible sound, discovered by Robert Hooke in 1680.  The term wasn't coined until 1967 though, by Hans Jenny in his book Cymatics: The Study of Wave Phenomena. But it is Ernst Chladni who is credited as the father of acoustics.  He invented the technique to study the motions of vibrating plates in 1787.  Starting with a metal plate, you sprinkle some sand, and then strike a violin bow.  This would produce characteristic patterns, and Chladni was able to produce a formula that successfully predicted the patterns found on the plate. Experiments now include other means of tone making. Chladni's patterns have long been used by violin makers to test the resonance.

  Seester and I finished our first 5K over the weekend!  But we definitely did not beat the leprechaun. Luckily the rain was done though. We had to start in the back with the strollers, and we took turns pushing Neephew. These girls were Irish dancing for us. And of course, there were bagpipes. End in sight! We were supposed to get a free beer, but the truck ran out.  So I had to go get my own stout. Cheers!

  On this day in 1901, brothers Gaston and Joseph Bernheim presented 71 Van Gogh paintings, and he was finally recognized as a truly important artist. He had died by suicide in 1890 after years of struggle with mental illness and dementia.  During his life, he only sold one painting, the above Red Vineyard. While living in Arles beginning in 1888, he produced his sunflower series.  Nearly 100 years later, in 1987, one would sell for $40 million at a Christie's auction. The gallery is especially noted for its 1907 retrospective of Cézanne.  Works included unfinished canvases which proved pivotal in the development of Cubism. The brothers continued to celebrate Cubism with an exhibition titled "Italian Futurists in Paris" in 1912. This included works from Umberto Boccioni and Gino Severini. The gallery closed its doors in 2019.

  I don't really like math, but I do love pie! Pi is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, and after measuring objects for thousands of years it has been determined that a circle is a little more than 3 times its width around, or 3.14159 Mmm, raspberry pi? It is a single-board computer designed to teach programming skills, build hardware projects, do home automation, and explore industrial applications of computer technology.  The Raspberry Pi Foundation wanted to bridge the gap for students who lack access to advanced technology. They promote the study of basic computer science, and sales from the device fund charitable work that promotes the use of technology in education and developing countries. Pi Day