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Thursday/ twilight 🌆

It’s either real or it’s a dream
There’s nothing that is in between
Twilight
I only meant to stay a while
Twilight
I gave you time to steal my mind
Away from me

Lyrics from the song Twilight, from the studio album Time (1981) by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)

This twilight photo is from last night.
Sunset is now at 6.08 pm.

Photo taken at 6.43 pm with iPhone 16 Pro telephoto lens and with Dramatic Cool filter added.
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Wednesday/ out of this world 🪐

These out-of-the-world stamps arrived today in the mail from Japan.
The four miniature sheets issued from 2018-2021 fit together left-to-right, but I broke it into two images to show more detail.

There is a stamp with a refreshing view of Earth in the bottom right below, showing all of Asia and Japan (instead of Europe or the Americas).

Japan – Astronomical World Series No 1 Miniature Sheet
Issued Feb. 7, 2018
Die Cut Perf. 13×13¼, Die Cut Perf. Round Stamps | Self-adhesive | Design: Satoshi Maruyama (丸山 智) | Offset lithography combined with a special hologram finish | No watermark | Print Run: 3,500,000 sets printed
Sakura Cat. No. C2350 a. 82y Horsehead Nebula (denom. at LL, 22×27 mm), b. 82y Orion Nebula (Messier 42) (denom. at LR, 22×27 mm), c. 82y Pillars of Creation in Eagle Nebula (denom. at UR, 22×27 mm), d. 82y Star-forming region S106 (denom. at UL, 22×27 mm), e. 82y Iota Orionis star cluster (denom. at UR, 22x27mm), f. 82y Hale-Bopp Comet (26x30mm oval), g. 82y Sun & solar flare (denom. at UR, 22x27mm), h. 82y Orion Nebula. (denom. at LL, 22×27 mm), i. 82y Mercury (denom. at UR, 22×27 mm), j. 82y Venus (denom. at UL, 22×27 mm).

Japan – Astronomical World Series No 2 Miniature Sheet
Issued Feb. 6, 2019
Die Cut Perf. 13×13¼, Die Cut Perf. Round Stamps | Self-adhesive | Design: Satoshi Maruyama (丸山 智) | Offset lithography printed on special transparent hologram foil | No watermark | Print Run: 3,000,000 sets printed
Sakura Cat. No. C2397 a. 82y Starburst open cluster, red at right (32mm diam.), b. 82y Pleiades star cluster (32mm diam.), c. 82y Mars (denom. at LR, 22x26mm), d. 82y Ceres (dwarf planet) (denom. at UL, 22×26 mm), e. 82y Sirius (the brightest star in Earth’s night sky, 8.6 light-years away in the constellation Canis Major) (denom. at LL, 22×26 mm), f. 82y Moon (denom. at UL, 22x26mm), g. 82y Io (Jupiter’s innermost Galilean moon) (denom. at UL, 22x26mm), h. 82y Europa (Galilean moon) and Jupiter (denom. at LL, 22x26mm), i. 82y Earth (43mm diam.), j. 82y Great Red Spot of Jupiter (32mm diameter).

While Series No 1 focused heavily on deep-space nebulae and broad celestial charts, Series No 2 narrows its design lens onto specific solar system entities paired with classical astronomy elements.

Japan – Astronomical World Series No 3 Miniature Sheet
Issued Feb. 5, 2020
Die Cut Perf. 13×13¼, Die Cut Perf. Round Stamps | Self-adhesive | Design: Satoshi Maruyama (丸山 智) | Offset lithography combined with a special hologram finish | No watermark | Each stamp has a denomination of 84 Japanese yen | Print Run: 3,000,000 sets printed
Sakura Cat. Numbers C2444 a. Betelgeuse (artist’s impression) (32mm diam.), b. Crab Nebula in Taurus (detail) (32mm diam.), c. Ring Nebula in Lyra (21.5×25.5mm), d. Butterfly Nebula in Scorpius (detail) (32.0×21.5mm), e. Titan (25.5×21.5mm), f. Amalthea (artist’s impression)(25.5×21.5mm), g. Thebe (artist’s impression)(25.5×21.5mm), h. Enceladus (25.5×21.5mm), i. Ganymede (32mm diam.), j. Callisto (32mm diam.)
Background: Image of the Milky Way, Jupiter (detail)

Japan – Astronomical World Series No 4 Miniature Sheet
Issued Feb. 3, 2021
Die Cut Perf. 13×13¼, Die Cut Perf. Round Stamps | Self-adhesive | Design: Satoshi Maruyama (丸山 智) | Offset lithography combined with a special hologram finish | No watermark | Each stamp has a denomination of 84 Japanese yen | Print Run: 3,000,000 sets printed
Sakura Cat. Numbers C2492 a. Neutron star (artist’s impression) (25.5×21.5mm), b. Black hole (artist’s impression) (21.5×25.5mm), c. ‘Oumuamua asteroid (artist’s impression) (25.5×21.5mm), d. Saturn (partial view) and Mimas (32.0×44.0mm), e. Arrokoth asteroid (21.5×25.5mm), f. Rhea (21.5×32.0mm), g. Pluto (32mm diam.), h. Uranus (partial view) and Miranda (32mm diam.), i. Neptune (partial view) (32.0×21.5mm), j. Triton (32.0×21.5mm)
Background: Imagery of space, Barnard’s Loop (partial view), Titania (partial view), Charon (partial view).

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Tuesday/ two weeks to go 🗳️

Two weeks remain until Nov. 3.

We won’t know exactly what Nov. 3 will bring until the votes are counted, of course, but Trump’s approval ratings are in the dumpster.
He is rarely mentioned by any of the Republican candidates, because they know that he is as radioactive as a piece of plutonium.
And in the run-up to the 2026 Midterm Elections, the President of the United States is again showing— clearly— that he is a Putin ally.

From the Editorial Board of the New York Times, under the heading ‘Trump’s Betrayal of Ukraine’:

On Oct. 9, Mr. Trump announced he would lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports to the United States, a step that will help Russia’s economy and war production. On Friday, he went further, signing an executive order that waived other sanctions. He has also taken steps that do not have a clear economic rationale and instead seem designed simply to please Mr. Putin. Among them are new service restrictions for Starshield, the Elon Musk-run satellite network that Ukrainian forces use to defend against Russian airstrikes. Although the White House denies involvement, Mr. Musk said that only the U.S. military, and ultimately the president, could order service restrictions.

Let us be clear about the scope of Mr. Trump’s cynicism. He is aiding an autocratic leader and dangerous adversary of the United States who is waging a brutal war against a democratic neighbor. Mr. Trump is doing so partly in the faint hope that gas prices, which have jumped because of his reckless war in Iran, will fall over the next two weeks and help Republicans avoid big losses in the midterm elections. He is damaging America’s national interest, and likely sacrificing Ukrainian lives, for his own political interests.

Headlines like this is the crap that we have to deal with every day.
Maybe the press briefing room should be closed for this administration, anyway.
There is no White House Press Secretary.
Karoline Leavitt resigned in August after a spectacular stint of lies, obfuscation and propaganda. Her successor (Katie Zacharia) lasted just five days: Monday to Friday last week. She held a single, brief, stumbling press conference on Tuesday, October 13, before being dismissed.
[Headlines and photo from The New York Times]
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Sunday/ my vote is in 🫏

I donned my woolen gloves and skull cap this morning as I went for a walk (45°F/ 7°C).
A thick fog bank obscured the Olympic Mountains.

By afternoon the mountains were out, in soft shades of blue.
I walked down to Capitol Hill’s Broadway to reach the graffitied ballot box at Seattle Central College to deposit my mail-in ballot.
We don’t have dramatic House or Senate races here in Washington State that feature on the national stage, such as the James Talarico (D) vs. Ken Paxton (R) showdown in Texas, or the Susan Collins (R) vs. Troy Jackson (D) race in Maine.

Our ballot does have an initiative (I-645) that seeks to repeal the so-called “Millionaires Tax”— a 9.9% flat state income tax on household earnings exceeding $1 million per year, which was signed into law by Governor Bob Ferguson in March.

Fogbank seen from Capitol Hill’s 13th Ave East, 9.03 am.
An updated view, 4.26pm.
The ballot box is in rough shape on the outside, but I like to drop it in here instead of putting it in the mail.

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Thursday/ the ‘747 sandwich’🥪

Here are up-to-date pictures of the ‘747 sandwich’ at 1200 Stewart Street in the Denny Triangle, courtesy of The Seattle Times.
The Boeing 747 is sandwiched between the podiums of the two residential towers there, and will contain a little bit of office space.

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Wednesday/ inflation— still untamed 🐎

Colby Smith reports for the New York Times:
Higher energy prices drove up inflation in the United States in September, a warning shot to President Trump ahead of midterm elections that have centered primarily on affordability concerns. The uptick in consumer prices will also keep the Federal Reserve under pressure to raise interest rates for a second time this year.
The Consumer Price Index report, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday, showed that overall prices rose 0.6 percent, the largest monthly increase in five months. Compared with the same time last year, prices were 3.7 percent higher.

Also from Colby Smith’s reporting:
“Average hourly earnings, adjusted for inflation, fell 0.5 percent in September, and were down 0.7 percent from a year earlier. It was the sixth straight month of year-over-year declines in real earnings.
Average hourly earnings are now back to almost where they were when Mr. Trump was sworn into office for the second time in January 2025, meaning that, on average, Americans have experienced zero wage growth, in real terms, since he returned to the White House.”
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Tuesday/ three weeks to go 🗳️

Former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene* (Georgia’s 14th District) provided this summary of what Trump has done this year and last.
(Just to be clear: he has done a lot more in terms of corruption, and damage to America’s democratic norms, and its standing with its allies, that Greene does not mention).

*U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (Republican Party) had announced her resignation from Congress in Nov. 2025—and left Congress on Jan. 5, 2026—following a severe public fallout with Trump and growing frustration with congressional leadership.

Post from Marjorie Taylor Greene on X, on Sunday Oct. 11.
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Monday/ Indigenous Peoples’ Day 🪶

Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day and happy Columbus Day.
(In Seattle we celebrate both. Some cities have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day.)

Humans have roamed North America for at least 21,000 to 23,000 years, with some archaeological studies suggesting an even earlier presence.
Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas on October 12, 1492 (534 years ago).

U.S. #2501-05
25¢ Indian Headdress
Folk Art Series
Issue Date: August 17, 1990
City: Cody, WY
Quantity: 123,825,600
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Lithographed and engraved
Perforations: 11
Color: Multicolored
The Indian Headdress stamps were the first in the Folk Art Series to be issued as booklets. The headdresses were prized personal possessions, generally created by the warrior himself, and were usually buried with their owner at death. The headdresses were made from such materials as eagle and turkey feathers, beads, fur, hair tassels, and animal skins.
[Source: mysticstamp.com]
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Saturday/ national chess day 🐴

Happy National Chess Day (here in the United States).

I asked Gemini AI to give me an overview of the history of chess machines. Supremacy for humans was already over some 30 years ago— in 1997.
That was the year in which IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue defeated reigning world chess champion Garry Kasparov in a six-game match.

The history of chess machines spans from 18th-century mechanical hoaxes to modern supercomputers and AI.

1.  Mechanical Automata & Early Inventions (Pre-Computer Era)

    • 1770 – The Turk: Built by Wolfgang von Kempelen, this famous life-sized wooden figure dressed in Ottoman clothing appeared to play chess autonomously. In reality, it was a mechanical hoax with a skilled human chess player hidden inside the cabinet. It famously played against historical figures like Napoleon Bonaparte and Benjamin Franklin. 
    • 1912 – El Ajedrecista: Invented by Spanish engineer Leonardo Torres Quevedo, this was the world’s first true automated chess-playing machine. Using electromechanical electromagnets, it could play an endgame (such as a king and rook against a lone king) without human intervention. 

2. The Dawn of Computer Chess (1940s–1950s)

    • 1948 – Turochamp: Alan Turing and David Champernowne designed the first theoretical chess-playing algorithm. Because early computers were not yet powerful enough, Turing calculated the moves manually by hand on paper. 
    • 1951 – Ferranti Mark 1 Program: British computer scientist Dietrich Prinz implemented a basic chess algorithm on the Ferranti Mark 1 computer, allowing it to solve “mate-in-two” chess problems. 
    • 1957 – IBM 704 Engine: Alex Bernstein created the first fully functional computer program capable of playing a complete game of chess from start to finish on an IBM 704 mainframe (taking about 8 minutes per move). 

3. Dedicated Chess Computers & Robotic Boards (1970s–1980s)

    • 1980 – Boris Handroid: One of the earliest commercial chess computers featuring a rudimentary robotic arm to move pieces. 
    • Early 1980s – Milton Bradley Chess Robots (Phantom, Grandmaster, Milton): Mass-market boards that used internal electromechanical systems and magnets under the board to pull and slide pieces automatically in response to human moves. 
    • Commercial Dedicates: Standalone electronic chess computers (such as The Chessmaster series) became popular household gadgets in the 1980s. 

4. Grandmaster and World Champion Defeat (1990s)

    • 1988: Deep Thought became the first computer to defeat a chess grandmaster (Bent Larsen) in tournament play.
    • 1997 – Deep Blue: IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue defeated reigning world chess champion Garry Kasparov in a six-game match, marking the first time a machine beat a human world champion under standard tournament time controls. 

5. Modern Neural Networks & AI (2000s–Present)

    • Engine Dominance: Traditional engines like Stockfish utilized deep calculation trees and advanced heuristics to surpass human capability by vast margins.
    • 2017 – AlphaZero: Developed by DeepMind, AlphaZero used reinforcement learning and neural networks rather than human-programmed heuristics.
      It taught itself chess from scratch in just a few hours and overwhelmingly defeated top engines like Stockfish.
I took this picture at the MIT Museum in Cambridge, MA, in 2024.

Endgame
In 1950, Claude Shannon published the groundbreaking paper “Programming a Computer for Playing Chess.” About this time, he invented a chess machine called Endgame. The name refers to the machine’s ability to manage a maximum of six pieces, so he focused its computing power on the endgame, or the final moves of a chess game. Going through dozens of relay operations for each play, including a random element that changed its move in certain circumstances, Endgame could respond to an opponent’s move in roughly 10 seconds.

Claude Shannon
Endgame base, circa 1950
Gift of Mary Elizabeth Shannon on behalf of the family of Claude E. Shannon
MIT Museum Collections
Endgame game board, circa 1950 Courtesy of IBM Corporate Archives

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Friday/ gray and cold ☁️

Happy Friday.

There was rain on and off today here in the city in Seattle, with a high 59°F (15°C). That is a far cry from the blazing sun and 100°F (38°C) highs we had in Palm Springs.

Fall colors and the evergreen artificial turf of Miller Playfield in Seattle’s Capitol Hill.
A soft drizzle was coming down and even the pickleball courts nearby were deserted at about 6 pm tonight.
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Thursday/ arrival home: day 3 of 3 🛣️

We started out in Bend, Oregon, a little after 8 am this morning.
We first stopped by the very last Blockbuster video rental store in all of the United States (and all of the world, in fact).  We made another stop at the spectacular Smith Rock State Park.
After that we made our way north and west to Ellensburg, and across Snoqualmie Pass to Seattle.

We took U.S. Route 97 (US 97) from Bend all the way to the Washington-Oregon state line (the Columbia River), and from there to Toppenish in Washington. From Toppenish we took Interstate 82 to Ellensburg, and then Interstate 90 that runs across Snoqualmie Pass to Seattle.
This is the the very last Blockbuster video rental store in the whole world (in Bend, Oregon). It was a Pacific Video store before converting to a Blockbuster franchise in June 2000. It became the last Blockbuster store in the U.S. in 2018 and the last Blockbuster store in the world in March 2019.
Smith Rock State Park is a state park located in central Oregon’s High Desert near the communities of Redmond and Terrebonne. The day-use area of the park is open daily from dawn to dusk.
The sheer cliffs are the result of a major volcanic eruption in the area millions of years ago. The stone material is called Smith Rock tuff.
This charging stop is in Madras, Oregon.
Here is Oregon’s Mount Hood, seen from U.S. Route 97.
Mt Hood is an active stratovolcano and the highest mountain in Oregon, standing at 11,249 feet (3,429 meters). It is located about 50 miles east of Portland.
Still in Oregon here, but now approaching the Columbia River Gorge and the Washington-Oregon state line.
Hello Washington State. We had just crossed the Columbia River. This is still U.S. Route 97.
Here is the Columbia River Gorge and the mighty Columbia River— the Washington-Oregon state line.
Look for the Stonehenge Memorial (round brown structure, middle of the picture) perched on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River Gorge.
It was built as a World War I memorial dedicated to soldiers from Klickitat County, Washington, who died in the war.
Wind turbines dotting the hills, very similar to the ones we had seen in California.
This Stars and Stripes flag on a tall pole is in Toppenish.
Here is the Yakima River, a stone’s throw from our charging station in Yakima.
Our last charging stop for the day was in Yakima.
On the way to Ellensburg. Light from the setting sun behind us is refracted on the car’s display screen.
Late afternoon in Snoqualmie Pass over the Cascade Mountain Range, on Interstate 90.
Crossing Lake Washington for the last few miles to Seattle. The light rail train on the left is still a new sight, in operation since late March 2026.
The end of our day’s journey on U.S. Route 97, Interstate 82 and Interstate 90 is coming up with the Rainier Avenue exit.
The lettering in the cement at the tunnel entrance says ‘Seattle — Portal to the Pacific’.
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Wednesday/ going back: day 2 of 3 🛣️

Here is our drive for today: about 475 mi and just under 8 hours.

We took Interstate 5 through Sacramento and Redding, and then at the little town of Weed, went on to U.S. Route 97 to cross into Oregon, and go through Klamath Falls to Bend. 
Morning rush hour near Sacramento. It helped a lot to have an HOV lane that we could use.
Our first charging stop for the day at Anderson, CA, was the same one we had used on the way down to Palm Springs. Check out the olive green Cybertruck.
Interstate 5 winding through the mountains near Redding.
One of the arms of the sprawling Shasta Lake north of Redding.
The souvenir store in Weed, CA, does not actually sell weed (cannabis) products. It does have t-shirts, sweatshirts, key chains, shot glasses and all kinds of other souvenirs.
Weed is also where we made our second charging stop.
Beautiful Mt Shasta, with very little snow this time of year. Mt Shasta peaks out at only 200 ft lower than Washington State’s Mt Rainier.
Mount Shasta is easier and simpler to climb than Mount Rainier, serving as a non-technical steep snow-mountaineering peak, whereas Mount Rainier is a massive, heavily glaciated objective requiring rope-team and crevasse-rescue skills.
[Source: Global Summit Guide]
Paraglider near Mt Shasta.
Trees in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
Now approaching the California-Oregon border, and this is the little town of Dorris on U.S. Route 97.
A vista of the tranquil waters of Upper Klamath Lake, as seen from U.S. Route 97 that runs alongside it.
Trees at a last rest stop in southern Oregon, at about 4 pm.
We have arrived in Bend, OR. Giving the car one more charge before we head to the hotel.
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Tuesday/ going back: day 1 of 3 🛣

We left Palm Springs shortly after 8 am this morning.
We made two charging stops, a lunch stop in Bakersfield, and two additional stops, and arrived at Lodi, California, shortly after 6 pm.

Our route took us to Yucca Valley, and through the Mojave Desert to Barstow and then to Bakersfield. From Bakersfield we followed California State Route 99 (SR 99) to Stockton and then drove a few miles on Interstate 5 to get us to Lodi for our overnight stay.
An array of solar panels and a Joshua tree on the right.
Wind turbines on the way to Barstow.
A closer look at the solar panels.

A glimpse of the Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV). This 3,300-acre site houses over 100 commercial and experimental aircraft. Planes are stored here for temporary holding, part-stripping, or scrapping.
Evidence of wildfires that scarred the hills.
It was 1.02 pm and 102°F (39°C) when we rolled into Bakersfield.
Our first charging stop was in Bakersfield at the Double Tree Hotel there.
Evidence of the construction of the California High-Speed Rail infrastructure.
Construction of a 171-mile segment between Merced and Bakersfield, with revenue service projected between 2031 and 2033 is underway, but to date the project has seen massive funding shortfalls, complex land acquisition, and severe political and legal delays.
Our second charging stop at Madera.
California produces about 80% to 82% of the world’s almonds.
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Monday/ last day in Palm Springs 🌴

We ran out to the Sunny Dunes Antique Mall today.
By evening it was time to take the EV pony to the Tesla Supercharger station at The Downtown Park.

We took an evening stroll along Palm Canyon Drive while the car was charging.

Sunny Dunes Antique Mall is packed with ornaments, books, pictures, and almost everything else found inside an old home.
Vintage framed picture from inside the antique mall. I don’t believe the names of the men in the picture are known. The picture was featured on the cover of a book titled ‘Loving II: More Photographic History of Men in Love, 1850s to 1950’ by Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell.
It’s about 6.15 pm, and here is the view of the mountains we had from our rented house.
At the Tesla Supercharger station.
The Marilyn Monroe statue is nicely lit up at night.
Charles (Charlie) Manuel Pasarell Jr. (born February 12, 1944, now 82 years old) is a Puerto Rican-American former tennis player, tennis administrator and founder of the current Indian Wells tournament.
We had dinner last night at this restaurant: Lulu California Bistro. I had Pacific sanddab (a medium-sized flatfish) with mashed potato and vegetables.
Here is the Plaza Theatre at night.
The Plaza Theatre.
The Hyatt Palm Springs looks a little better at night. (Drab colors in daytime).
Artwork at the entance of the Hyatt Palm Springs.
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Sunday/ along Palm Canyon Drive 🌞

We braved the blazing mid-day sun today for a walk along Palm Canyon Drive. This boulevard is the primary commercial, retail, and hospitality thoroughfare through the downtown area of Palm Springs.

There is a Tesla Supercharger station inside the parking garage by The Downtown Park.
North Museum Drive ends at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
This sign at Ground zero for downtown Palm Springs offers a few statements about art.
Here and there misters along the sidewalk offer a brief respite from the heat.
Welwood Murray Memorial Library originally opened in February 1941. It is the home to the Palm Springs Historical Society archive.
The David Clark Lee Plaza Theatre is an intimate, renovated 1930s landmark offering live concerts, theatrical productions, film festivals, and community events with exceptional acoustics.
David Clark Lee is a longtime Palm Springs resident and the writer and producer of television shows such as Frasier, Cheers and Wings.
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Saturday/ an early morning walk 🚶‍♂️

These pictures are from our early morning walk in the Tahquitz River Estates neighborhood of Palm Springs.

The neighboring cities of Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta and Indio lie in the Coachella Valley between the San Jacinto Mountains and Santa Rosa Mountains to their southwest, and the Little San Bernardino Mountains to the northeast.