On Sept 26, 1983 Stanislav Petrov saved the world. The Soviet computer systems signaled that a full scale missile attack had been launched from the United States to Russia. According to the computers, a first strike of several hundred missiles was on it’s way to Russia. With literally seconds to decide, Petrov trusted his gut, which told him this was a false alarm, and did not order the counter-strike. If this man had followed standard procedure, twelve thousand Russian nuclear…

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Rarely in my life have I seen such non-confront, business as usual, someone else’s problem as with the drought going on in California. Estimates are California will run out of water in 12 to 18 months. It doesn’t really matter about the weather anymore. The drought is that bad. Think about California with no water. What’s being done about it? Voluntary rationing. Some noise from the politicians. A bond is being placed on the ballot in November (all the way…

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I had glorious plans for the day: get up early, drive up to Fresno, meet three beautiful ladies all dressed in pirate outfits, photograph them all over the renaissance faire, then make the long drive home overnight. It started off well and early. Fresno was a four hour drive from my house, so I had to get up before the sun was up, jump in the car with my cameras and costumes, and make the long drive. But it was…

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I hate most of the advertising today, because it’s so insidious and pervasive in the western world. It seems like you cannot go anywhere or look at anything without seeing more stupid ads than can be counted. The problem with so many advertisements is not that the products are not worth purchasing. The problem is the advertisements use emotional buttons to get you to purchase something which you would not normally purchase. You are pressured, unconsciously, day in and day…

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