Author: eidolon

Yesterday, the first annular solar eclipse in 18 years to be visible from within the United States passed straight over my house (thanks to Steve Halter for that link). 

While a partial eclipse was visible from many parts of the country, the region for viewing a true annular eclipse fell along a long rectangular strip of the western United States.  For those of us in the southwest, the eclipse was even more unusual because it happened during sunset.  The center of the eclipse path happened to slice right through Albuquerque, just a short drive south of me.  So we packed up the lawn chairs, iced tea, and sunscreen, and took a drive. 

We needed to find a spot with good views of the western horizon.  The Albuquerque Astronomical Society had just the place: it’s called Mesa del Sol.  How could we resist something so perfect?

I recently picked up the newest book by James Gleick, which is titled The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood.  This one caught my eye because I’ve been fascinated by information theory for a number of years, and also because I’ve read and enjoyed some of Gleick’s other books.  (I’m keen to check out his biography of Newton, too.) 

And then, on Monday, serendipity struck.  Through sheer accident, I stumbled across a list of upcoming “public lectures” sponsored by the Santa Fe Institute.  And right there, front and center, an advertisement for a talk by James Gleick: The Information:  How We Came to be Deluged by Tweets.

So there was a free talk, given by the author of the book I was reading (and enjoying), just down the road from me.  How could I not check that out?  And did I mention it was free?