Vincent

Rick Thues December 20, 2023 Uncategorized 3 Comments

Episode #777 December 23, 2023 “The Starry Night” is one of the most beloved paintings of all time.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxHnRfhDmrk “The Starry Night,” by Vincent Van Gogh, is alive with the movement of the Universe. The stars and planets move in the sky. The trees reach upward, longing to be a part of the sky. The church spire can only hope to reach the heavens. The village is a static linear thing, confining its residents to the earth. The moon, Venus and the stars are not astronomically correct in Van Gogh’s painting. He saw the night sky through the lens...

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Key to the Kingdom

Rick Thues December 13, 2023 Uncategorized 4 Comments

Episode #776 December 16, 2023   I was given a key to Disneyland. It no longer gets me in for free. It doesn’t even give me a discount on tickets. It does make me part of history.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcZUPDMXzJ8 In the fall of 1982 the owners of Walter and Cline architectural mill bought a race horse. They were known gamblers. Bill and John used to lead the craps game in the alley after hours. Their luck at craps convinced them that they could make a fortune gambling on their race horse. “The best way to make a small fortune on...

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Demise of the Dial

Rick Thues December 8, 2023 Uncategorized 3 Comments

Episode #775 December 9, 2023 I grew up with dials. Rotary phones, volume knobs, speedometers, analog clocks and wiz wheels were everywhere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMinaeFzSNw   A wheel for a dial was a natural evolution of sun dials, fibonacci moon phases and yoga Surya Namaskar (sun salutations). A sundial is a kind of analog dial with the only moving part being the spinning of the earth. The earth spinning is the wheel engine of a sundial.   A fibonacci moon phase chart is a circle of the 28 moon phases. It includes paisley fibonacci shapes to calculate the rising, setting and the...

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Anagram

Rick Thues November 28, 2023 Uncategorized 5 Comments

Episode #774 December 2, 2023 I have a tradition, started by a friend on my 50th birthday.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-eWMYe-ss8 Carey sent me 50 postcards. They arrived in my mailbox, one or two a day finishing a couple days before my birthday. They were interesting art postcards which he collects from museum gift shops and antique stores. On each card was a single letter. Together the 50 cards spelled out a message. It was up to me to decode the anagram. Spaces between the words were not included.  As the cards arrived I tried making words of them. Most of the...

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Christmas trees

Rick Thues November 22, 2023 Uncategorized 5 Comments

Episode #773 November 25, 2023 Paula and I have had a living Christmas tree for the last 6 years. They are always fresh and fit nicely in our little house.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDnw7yrI1hY Each year we decorate our little tree with a few of our favorite ornaments. Some are mementos from our life. Others are gifts from friends. Many are made by Paula’s sister, her tradition. The small tree allows us to enjoy each decoration. It only requires one string of lights. The best part of having a living Christmas tree is enjoying it for years afterward. Six years ago, our...

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Barter

Rick Thues November 15, 2023 Uncategorized 1 Comment

Episode #772 November 18, 2023 For eons humans have used barter to trade what they have for what they want or need. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYBNoFcvcWI Cave men hunted by hand, banding together as a team (bartering their cooperation with each other). The team traded hides with the leather-smith for clothing. Some of the clothing was traded to the spear-maker to make hunting more efficient. Meat was also shared with women who gathered vegetables. The campfire was the grocery store. What was left over after eating was bartered with craftsmen to improve everyone’s life. Early services rendered were compensated with certificates of bartered...

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