What me Know?

Happy Saturday – and even though, on occasion, it might seem like I’m standing in my own dung – you would be very wrong.
Opinionated, yes.
Stubborn, yes.
Doctrinaire, yes!
Even Cocksure, yes!
And on occasion, Pigheaded, yes!

But standing in dung, NO!

There, now that is out of the way I’ll take a moment, head for the kitchen, and pour my first mug of coffee. I suggest you do likewise (but do come back to enjoy these Ramblings).

National Anthem Day – is a minorly celebrated day, celebrated last Tuesday March 3rd. Nevertheless, for many of us it is an important day.

About six years ago U.S. Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant violinist Peter Wilson (of “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band) played the anthem at the start of a university basketball game. His rendition is stunningly beautiful! I immediately locked in on this rendition because of its beauty by only using the violin. I too took violin lessons as a kid. And although I loved ‘playing’ the instrument it never took hold, sadly.

WOW, what a Universe – Part 1 (Dianna Cowern story)
Quite a while ago I began watching a YouTube show narrated by an outgoing, vivacious young woman who seemed to have amazing insight into many things touching on physics. The show? ‘Physics Girl’ begun, developed, and content created by Dianna Cowern.

Dianna is a grad from MIT (2011) and “a research fellow at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center forAstrophysics.” It wasn’t that long before awards and top prizes in video creation began pouring in. That was about the time I made her video output part of my regular fare. Even her early works are both a joy to watch as well as a serious learning experience – I’d urge you to look them up.

Fast forward to that horrible bug-a-boo, Covid.

In July 2022, Cowern developed long COVID. She was “hospitalized in March 2023 as her symptoms, similar to ‘myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome’, continued to worsen.” Bottom line, she was bedridden for 2 years.

July 2025, her health again declined, leading to her being bedridden again. As of January 2026, she has improved somewhat, and hallelujah, again was able to produce wonderfully her first new science video for 2026. Below you’ll find her first release.

WOW, what a Universe – Part 2 (what is a Neutrino?)
We are so smart. Especially during the last 75 years the acceleration of our knowledge universe has blossomed. It’s almost to a point where we believe we understand every nook and cranny of our world, our solar system, our Milky Way, and the universe in its totality. Not just all of that, but we’re ‘uppity’ enough to believe we understand it all, from the bottom of the ocean to the smallest particle of grey matter inside our skull.

Let me posit that in the grand scheme of things we’ve hardly scratched the surface of all of that which is under, in, and above us; billions of years, trillions of stars, our body’s cell count almost too numerous to count, and it goes on and on. Even with tools such as Lasers, space-based observatories, management of plant life, Ai, and self-driving vehicles to name a few we’re not yet on the cusp of truly grasping and understanding all that is about us.

Ever heard of something called a neutrino? It’s a recently identified particle a billion of which pass through an area the size of a fingernail every second. Watch Dianna Cowern explain and whet your appetite for more.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Tomorrow morning our clocks will adjust for summertime – Daylight Savings Time. Much water cooler discussion will take place on Monday morning with complaints about the loss of sleep. However, one location will adjust their time for the last time. After the time change tomorrow morning they’ll stay at that new time forward. Which one location has said, “enough” and will be done with this twice a year event.

1. Luxemburg
2. Monaco
3. Nepal
4. Prince Edward Island
5. Croatia
6. British Columbia

Last week answer – #1