GOLLY MR. WIZARD

A WRINKLE IN TIME
Maybe that take on the Mayan Calendar is right
and this is the year for the end of time.
OK, OK, I'm not serious. 
But in a way I am.
More in a moment.
CONSIDER RECENT SCIENCE
Government labs that create a new form of bird flu, without an antidote.  Stupid!!  That could be an "incurable" problem. Maybe time marches on minus the human race.
Can there really be time if there is no one there to observe it?
Higgs Boson research detects, maybe, evidence of the God particle or dark matter.  
The discovery of possibly inhabitable planets hovering hear a black hole and more of that dark matter.
All of this sounds like variation of down the rabbit hole
with Alice, into some strange new world.
Then I read that researchers at Cornel University have created a tiny hole in time where things occur that 
are entirely undetectable. A few years ago physicists found a way to do "spatial cloaking," that is make things
disappear.  Now they've done it with time.
According to David Brown in the Washington Post
"the extreme bending of light that makes spatial cloaking possible requires so-called optical metamaterials made through nanotechnology.  Temporal cloaking depends on special lasers and optical fibers that disperse or undisperse light in predictable ways."
If you are at all curious, I urge you to read about
the Cornel research.  Yep, it is mind bending. (Where is 
Don Herbert, Mr Wizard, now that we really need him?)
Anyway, here is my proposition:
If the Cornel researchers have made time invisible,
then maybe that saw about the Mayan Calendar
predicting the end of time was right.
So relax, that's out of the way.  You can quit worrying
about Apocalypse 2012.
Unless that damned bird flu gets out of the lab.
Oh, I can hear this old lyrics now
"...when will they ever learn?"
DAY BOOK

TEXTURES

See you down the trail.

WHY NOT RELEVANT COVERAGE? & TREES AT SUNSET

IT IS ABOUT MORE THAN A HORSE RACE
Election night was as much fun as Christmas morning. I was always amped up by the prospect of our hours long unscripted coverage, both on radio and for many years on TV. I'm a political junkie, as you might expect after decades of journalism covering campaigns for school boards to the White House. So, with that as prelude--
WHY CAN'T WE GET BETTER COVERAGE?
We don't need more. It seems wall to wall now, but
the focus is almost exclusively on the horse race.
Oh, we have marvelous polls and data sets and awe inspiring graphic displays, but somehow it misses the point.
Ultimately the voter will decide, regardless of how
pollsters handicap or predicatively prophesize.
Don't you think we need better analysis of how
these candidates will behave as Chief Executive and
Commander in Chief?  I'd rather know how they
propose to handle the latest Iranian saber rattling and what will they do, specifically, rather than how much money
they've raised, and what their strategy is to win New Hampshire.
We have a disconnect.  There is the business, and a sleazy one it is, of getting elected.  Then there is governance.
Our media attention is almost exclusively on the  business of
campaigning, which is an important story, but not as
important as understanding who these people are.
What about their personality and beliefs?  How might they affect political decisions?  What is their competence in 
dealing with the Joint Chiefs of Staff?  How much do they know about the American Intelligence Community?
What do they really know of American history?
What do they know of previous Presidents?
Do they understand how government bureaus operate, or Weber's laws of bureaucracy?  How effective are they at managing?  Can they manage a budget?  Do they know how to hold people accountable?
 Can they, measure outcomes or articulate a vision? How do they make decisions? What experience do they have at 
working with varied special interests? Etc, etc.
I'd much rather see a few months of microscopic 
examination of character, decision making, experience, 
personality, philosophy, than canned sound bites
in predictable debate scenarios where everyone, even the panel is playing to the camera, or reportage about 
the horse race that has all the hype and speculation
of a Super Bowl lead up.
Maybe the current crop of reporters have seen too much
American Idol or Dancing with the Stars.
Oh how I miss Tom Petit, Herb Kaplow, Douglas Kiker, David Brinkley, Walter Cronkite,  Bob Clark, John Chancellor, Marvin Kalb, Cassie Mackin, Dan Rather, Lynn Sherr, David Broder, Tom Wicker, Joseph Alsop, Johnny Apple, Richard Reeves, Walter Mears, Adam Clymer, I.F. Stone, Scotty Reston, Bill Bradley, etc, etc, etc. 
DAYBOOK

TREES AT SUNSET

This series captures the texture and

magic of watching the sun dance behind

a tree in wine country.

My English uncle told me, when a boy, this is 

the time of evening of myths, legends, visions,

dreams, fairies and goblins.

See you down the trail.

TIDES OF CALIFORNIA-Money $ Surf

CASH FROM THE UNDERGROUND

Trend setting California vows to go after an additional $7 Billion a year in lost tax revenues by going after companies that pay cash under the table.  Businesses that pay cash wages don't pay worker's compensation insurance or withhold payroll taxes for Social Security, Medicare or unemployment compensation. California officials says the problem is pervasive in the building trades.  
$7 Billion a year, just in California!  Calculate the impact on government budgets if such a move were implemented nationwide.  Though savings and new revenue could be
much higher yet.  
Reefer Madness-Sex, Drugs, Cheap Labor in the American Black Market written a few years ago by Eric Schlosser 
opened my eyes to the Billions in lost revenue.  But Schlosser's study did not account for software piracy, music downloading, prostitution, off shore banking and gambling
where billions and billions more go unaccounted for and  more importantly, untaxed. 
If we really care about government funding and deficits, and if as a nation we are averse to more taxes, then
why not go after the black market dollars which could 
swell government revenue lines. Of course we would need
some accord on things like recreational drugs, gambling, prostitution and ways of policing cheap labor, software piracy, off shore banking and gambling.  But the 
debate on those might be worth the resulting income stream and/or enhanced enforcement.
We'll see where the Golden State goes with this opening initiative.  

DAY BOOK

BIG SURF

The shores of California today are awash in High Surf advisories.

The waves are 10-14 feet with some local sets at 16 feet.

Behind each frame is a roar and growl of the Pacific.

The picture fails to do justice, but those white caps in

distance are way off shore.  They are large enough to 

break a couple of times before hitting the beach.

Especially so today.
See you down the trail.

SOME DIVERSION, HUH?

PRIORITIES

First the Colts

then the Paradise Walkers

My blog mentor, The Catalyst, shot a missive, noting no blog yet, nor on New Years day and wondering as to "too much New Years eve?"

Not the case.

I got sidetracked by the decision of Indianapolis Colts owner Jimmy Irsay to fire vice chairman and football operator

Bill Polian.  I know both men and I hate to see the parting, but after winning only 2 games, there is a fever in the bunkhouse. Polian brought football knowledge, and eventually greatness to a then foundering Colts organization.

But things and times change.  And not having an 

active Peyton Manning makes a difference.

So I was offering my unsolicited advice to Jim and the fans of the Colts.  

Make Peyton Manning a player coach, and draft 

Andrew Luck.  If Peyton is still able to play, allow him to take few snaps, share playing time with the brilliant young quarterback, and gradually assume the position of offensive coordinator. Eventually he can transition to full time coaching, maybe someday to be head coach.

Manning is a brilliant offensive strategist already and

would be the ideal heir to the great offensive coordinator

Tom Moore.  I think it would make a great

story line for the franchise, the kind of thing of

legends. I'm confident Colts fans would love it. I hope Jimmy Irsay also sees the "brilliance" of the idea.  

Jimmy, I'll be in town in a few days, if you want to talk.

NOW TO THINGS CALIFORNIA

The first day of the new year gave the new

Paradise Walkers a chance to 

do their thing.

  The always beautiful San Simeon Creek  Road

was the perfect setting for an ideal

Central Coast day.

 No play for this Californian

The merry band of Paradise Walkers.

See you down the trail.

THE YEAR ENDER :) BE OF GOOD CHEER

WE'LL TAKE A CUP OF KINDNESS YET
It is only appropriate THE WEEKENDER :)
make way for this YEAR ENDER :)
and permit you to have it your own way.
First-NEW FACES ON AN OLD TUNE

The Scots blood in me body compels me thus.
Begin the new year with Robert Burns classic.
Your choice. Or a wee dram of them all-
ENJOY
Instrumental

Traditional

Sinatra and Martin

Smooth Jazz

With Pipes

Thanks for making LightBreezes part of
2011.  I look forward to continuing our 
relationship.
Here's to your health and happiness in 2012.
See you down the trail.

CAMBRIA ECCENTRIC

THE DINING MOB GETS CLASS
Frequent readers of the blog have seen
previous posts about our Friday Lunch Flash Mob
that assembles in San Simeon at the bottom of the
mountain of Hearst Castle.
First we outgrew the deck and moved to the
picnic table compound.  Then we added
table cloths.  Now, thanks to Jeanie,
we've gone to lace and a candelabra.

Here two of our distinguished number seek to protect their identities while enjoying the "elegance" and
the looks from other customers.  We do get stares.

It is one of the joys of our eclectic and eccentric
village life.  
DAY BOOK
THE NAMESAKE
Cambria-Pines by the Sea

See you down the trail.

CONTEMPLATIVE AT YEARS END

MOMENTS AT THE SHORE

As a high school kid I'd take this holiday break 

week to evaluate. What about the year ending

and how would I do things differently in the 

new year?  It's akin to making resolutions, but 

the point is the time to ponder.

It is a habit that stuck. Back then I'd hike

off through a field behind the house between

corn or soybean fields to a little copse of trees

where an old tractor bridge crossed a creek.

Quiet, solitary and a great place to contemplate.

Today, the nearby big blue of the Pacific with

its sound, smell and energy serves the purpose.

 From personal experience, this is a great spot to watch the whales in their winter migration south.

South of here, off Rancho Palos Verde, large pods of
Gray whales have been sighted already. This is
earlier than normal.
Regardless of where on the planet you find yourself,
I urge you to spend a few quiet minutes outside,
in nature, working on your emotional, psychological
and/or spiritual balance sheet. Or just relaxing
looking at something that is not of human hands.
See you down the trail.