Today is the beginning of summer.  From  Condé Nast:    How Summer  Solstice is Celebrated Around the World : The summer solstice occurs in each hemisphere annually, when one of the earth's poles has maximum tilt toward the sun. The result is the sun reaching its highest position in the sky, causing the longest day of the year. For thousands of years, the solstice has drawn people together for ancient celebrations, from gatherings at Stonehenge to romantic rituals in Belarus . I yesterday featured red wines, and particularly spotlighted Paso Robles and Petite Sirah.  I have one more story that has nothing to do with either, but is relevant because of close proximity and utter fear.  In these drives between Stanford and Oxnard up and down Highway 101 from 1958 to 1962, we also always passed by Atascadero.  Here is located the  Atascadero State Hospital . This all-male maximum-security forensic institution houses mentally ill convicts on its 70...

Yesterday was the shortest day of the year....in the northern hemisphere.  Which means it was also the longest day of the year in the southern hemisphere.  This day can be on June 22, today, but that is rare.  Happened in 1975 and will next occur in 2203.  In 2024, this summer solstice, will occur on June 20, and will repeat through 2026, returning to June 21 in 2027.  D-Day, or  The Longest Day  of World War II, actually occurred on June 6, 1944. That missing Titanic-viewing sub  Titan  leads me to space tourism.  This underwater tour cost $250,000/person, and unless a miracle occurs, will signal the end of this form of adventure for awhile. Space tourism is becoming widespread for the truly rich, starting at a mere $125,000 for a relaxing 6-hour ride to the stratosphere in a ballon, to Virgin Galactic's $450,000 suborbital joy ride of 90-minutes to experience a few minutes of zero-gravity experience during descent, to  Blue O...