Well it all worked out perfectly in the end yesterday - an amazing trip, with great results - but there were some disturbances in the force, for sure.  Wow.

That's Meg at right, awaiting the tour.

Loved (!) this ... an impressive cello cover of Guns N' Roses 'Welcome to the Jungle'.  Most surprising thing about this was realizing this song dates back to 1987.  Wow. 

So tonight we have the Oscars ... which means many should be reading this: How to accept an Oscar properly.  I always thought John Wayne set the standard.  Honestly upon rewatching that, and looking at the stars, their dress, and their class ... how the mighty have fallen.  Few among tonight's award presenters or recipients can rise to that standard.  But they can at least try! 

Racism in America: some minorities are more equal than others.  So if I read this correctly, Asians need SAT scores 140 points higher than comparable whites (to receive admission to Princeton), while hispanics only need scores 185 points lower, and blacks 240 points lower.  How can this be anything except blatant racism? 

At least one Supreme Court justice agrees with me: Clarence Thomas, the second black justice, is now leading the national debate on race.  "His opinions are rooted in the premise that the 14th Amendment - guaranteeing equal rights for all - cannot mean different things for different people."  Does not seem especially controversial, but yet in 2015, it is... 

This is excellent: what's useful about the long lines at the California DMV?  In which an independent game developer used people waiting in line to test his games :)