Rancho Santana was recently recommended by Forbes as one of eight great places to go to for Spring Break.

Read about it here.

What Is the Multiverse?

And Why Does It Matter? 

I’ve heard the term. Many times. But from different sources, in different contexts, and with what seemed like different definitions. One definition, for example, is “a collection of universes, much like our own, but somewhere else.” That makes no sense to me, because “the universe,” as I was taught, includes everything. As in (from Wikipedia), “all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy.”

I introduced you to theoretical physicist Sean Carroll in the Feb. 25 issue.[LINK] In this video, he provides his explanation.

Click here.

Talking About Time

I’ve written one book and dozens of essays on time management. That’s partly because I’ve always been bad at it and wanted to learn how to improve. After hundreds of hours of research and years of trial and error, I feel like I’ve arrived at a place where I know what it takes to manage my time, even if I don’t always follow my own advice.

That’s the pragmatic side of time. But there’s another side that I am equally interested in and have spent years studying, but failed to learn all that much about it. I’m talking about time from the perspective of, say, theoretical physics – the way Einstein understood it.

I’ve read several books and dozens of magazine articles. I’ve attended (or watched) at least a dozen lectures. I’ve even asked questions of a few college professors that claimed to understand the physics.

What I’ve learned is the definition of a few terms, like space-time, entropy, and thermal equilibrium. But so far, that’s about it. I did, though, come across this small video presentation by theoretical physicist Sean Carroll (John Hopkins University) that helped me inch along my way.

Maybe you will be able to get more from this than I did. If you feel like you understand what he’s saying, please let me know. (You must explain it to me at the comprehension level of a third grader.) I’m eager to learn!

Global Superlatives: The World’s Most Extreme Countries 

Though it’s always more rewarding to read essays that go deeply into a subject rather than widely and superficially, I can’t resist reading listicles. And sometimes, I run into one that has some very satisfying surprises. Like this one from a website called KiteKey.

For your amusement, I’ve turned it into a little self-quiz.

Test Yourself 

Which country has the:

1. Longest life expectancy?
2. Highest personal net worth?
3. Largest GDP?
4. Fastest growing economy?
5. Largest military?
6. Most languages?
7. Happiest citizens?
8. Least corrupt government?

Answers:

1. Japan (85 years)
2. Monaco
3. United States
4. Guyana
5. China (2 million active-duty soldiers)
6. Papua New Guinea (840)
7. Norway
8. Denmark

Cops Monitoring Cops 

I’ve been following this guy lately. He’s a cop. His YouTube bailiwick is police misconduct, and his thing is to call out the bad behavior of cops, whether it is verbal intimidation, bullying, or breaking the law.

Click here to see him criticizing a cop for a tactic that you can see a dozen times a day on social media: trying to intimidate someone into submission when he has no legal right to treat the person that way.

I have several cop and ex-cop friends and acquaintances. One has told me stories about how, when he was new to the force, he was shunned by his fellow officers after he made it clear to them that refused to play this sort of game.

What’s interesting about the above exchange is that the layman is standing up for himself, quite strongly. By refusing to move as the cop presses up against him. And by raising his voice as the cop raises his. He is certainly within his rights to do so. But IMHO, this isn’t something I would do or advise anyone else to do. Keep in mind: If a cop feels justified in bullying you this way when you’ve done nothing wrong, you don’t want to find out what he feels justified in doing after you’ve pissed him off… if, for whatever reason, his body cam shuts off.

Another Example of Bad Policing… 

Click here.

Speaking of Oscar-Nominated Movies… 

After praising Cate Blanchett for her acting in Tár, I happened to see this essay by Calum Russell in Far Out: “The 10 Worst Oscar-bait Performances of All Time.”

I’m not sure I agree with all of Russell’s criticisms of these movies. But his thesis makes sense to me. It occurred to me, though, that Tár fits his definition of Oscar-bait.

So now, I’m not sure how good the film was. Nor how good Blanchett’s performance was. I’m going to think about it. You should too!

COVID Update: England Reduces Vaccine Mandate 

As I’ve been reporting since the beginning of the COVID shutdown, it’s clear that the virus was a serious (i.e., lethal) threat to people older than 65 that are also overweight and diabetic. For everyone else, the threat was about the same as the common flu.

And yet, the WHO, the CDC, and the FDA recommended vaccines for everyone. Despite the fact that the testing of the vaccines was rushed and limited, and that there were reports of harmful side effect soon after their initial distribution.

There’s no question now that their recommendations should have been tentative. And recently, they have been gradually revising them, making them more narrow and more tentative.

The same thing has been happening with government mandates. The latest example is from England, where it was announced early this week that healthy people under 50 in the country can no longer get seasonal booster shots as part of the government’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

Click here.

And here’s an interview with a doctor that’s been sounding the alarm about all the COVID falsehoods since the beginning.

The Difference Between Values and Morals 

I found this in a recent issue of Classical Wisdom. It’s a reader’s response to an article about “conscience.” Although values and morals have their own individual meanings, I thought he did a good job of making a simple and useful distinction between them.

“Our ‘values’ are created in our early middle adolescence – 12-16. Our ‘morals’ alter with time and place, our ‘values’ never change. Indeed, we go to the grave with our values. If you cross your values, the internal pain is not worth the thought and or deed.”