The Pace Of Change

Professor Thomas Parnell

In 1927, Professor Thomas Parnell wanted to show his physics students a simple truth:

Some things that look solid… aren’t.

So, he began an experiment that would outlive him—and most of his students.

He poured a thick, black substance called pitch into a glass funnel. It looked like a rock. But pitch is a liquid—just an incredibly slow one.

He waited three years for it to settle. Then, in 1930, he cut the tip of the funnel.

And waited.

It took eight years for the first drop to fall.

And every drop since has taken about a decade to follow.

To date, only nine drops have fallen. That’s it.

It’s called the Pitch Drop Experiment, and it’s still going today at the University of Queensland in Australia.

It holds the Guinness World Record for the longest-running laboratory experiment in history. And it’s taught us that pitch is 230 billion times thicker than water.

Scientists tried filming the eighth drop with a webcam.

The camera glitched. The drop fell… unseen.

Even now, the setup remains—quiet, undramatic, but still moving.

And maybe that’s the point.

That in a world of instant everything, there’s beauty in patience.

That science isn’t always explosions—it’s also the hush of time passing.

And that even the slowest things… still move.

(Tom: This is particularly relevant to how we maintain our bodies and the speed at which we age them. Most changes, constructive or destructive, occur so slowly that in this age of 15 minutes of fame most people do not pause long enough to contemplate the long term consequences of their actions.

And what is a criminal? A person who does not predict the consequences of or take responsibility for their actions.

Am I saying that I have been criminally irresponsible for some of my past actions? Tough pill to swallow, but yes, I am.

I continue to assess my planned actions and modify them to improve outcomes.

This last week I have added some weight training and a rest day to my exercise regime and started eating even less in order to lose the next lot of weight to take me to my target level of fitness.

What are you changing this week?)

The Way Things Work

Three Young Ladies

(Tom: The principle here is deeper than just liberal or conservative. It is that one should not steal what rightfully belongs to one who has more generated from their own production to donate to one who has less.

Rewarding non-production increases non-production.

Penalizing production reduces production.

You get what you reward.

Certainly their are injustices and inequalities that any right minded person would wish remedied but they are best handled by raising the competence and production of those less endowed rather than by a constant flow of charity which evolves them into slaves.)

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be very liberal, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth.

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch conservative, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn’t even have time for a boyfriend, and didn’t really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, “How is your friend Audrey doing?”

She replied, “Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She’s always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn’t even show up for classes because she’s too hung over.”

Her father asked his daughter, “Why don’t you go to the Dean’s office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.”

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father’s suggestion, angrily fired back, “That’s a crazy idea, how would that be fair! I’ve worked really hard for my grades! I’ve invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!”

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, “Welcome to the conservative side of the fence.”

If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test!

If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he doesn’t buy one.

If a liberal doesn’t like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn’t eat meat.

If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation. A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him..

If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels. Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church. A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and Jesus silenced.

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.. A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a conservative reads this, he’ll post it. A liberal will delete it because he’s “offended.”

Quote of the Day

“He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.” – Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor (121 -180 AD)

Harrison Ford and Sean Connery

Harrison Ford and Sean Connery

On the set of “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade“ in 1988, Harrison Ford and Sean Connery found themselves in a tight space, literally. During the iconic biplane escape scene, both actors had to squeeze into the tiny cockpit of a World War I-era plane, crammed shoulder to shoulder. Ford, already used to performing stunts and working in difficult conditions, cracked a joke to lighten the moment. Connery, wearing his thick costume, leaned over and quipped, “This is not what I thought archaeology would feel like.” The chemistry that shone on-screen as father and son was not a creation of editing or dialogue, it had been alive from the first day of shooting.

Steven Spielberg had originally considered other actors to play Indiana Jones’s father, but George Lucas pushed for Connery. He argued that only the former James Bond could convincingly play the father of cinema’s most famous adventurer. Ford didn’t hesitate when Connery was brought on board. He admired Connery’s legacy and charisma, saying in an interview, “You bring someone like Sean in, and it raises the level for everybody. The respect is real. We were all aware we were working with a titan.”

Sean Connery, born on August 25, 1930, was 12 years older than Ford, who was born on July 13, 1942. Though the age gap between the actors didn’t leave much room for a believable father-son dynamic at first glance, their offscreen camaraderie and the smart script filled in the gap. Connery made the relationship feel authentic, grounding it with a blend of stern warmth and light-hearted humor. Ford once revealed, “Sean didn’t play the character like a dad from an action film. He played him like a man who loved books more than bullets, and that tension is what made it real.”

During one lunch break in Almería, Spain, where parts of the tank chase were filmed, Ford sat down with Connery to talk about acting choices. The casual conversation turned into a storytelling session, with Connery reminiscing about working on “Dr. No“ and what it meant to carry a global franchise. Ford listened intently, absorbing every word. “He had this way of talking where every line sounded like a secret. Like he was letting you into something ancient and true,” Ford later said.

The two actors also shared a bond over their skepticism of celebrity culture. Connery, who had dealt with tabloid attention for decades, advised Ford on how to maintain privacy. He once told him, “Your work is for the public, not your life. Never forget the difference.” Ford carried that wisdom forward, becoming one of Hollywood’s most elusive stars off-camera.

On set, Connery’s improvisation during the motorcycle chase scene left everyone in stitches. In one take, after they escape the Nazis, Connery added the line, “It’s a new experience for me, happily, one I hope never to repeat.” Spielberg laughed so hard he insisted the line be kept. Ford loved those unscripted moments. “He knew when to deliver the gravitas and when to make it fun,” he said.

What made their bond unique was their mutual humility. Neither tried to outshine the other. Connery often praised Ford’s work ethic, telling a reporter from Empire magazine in 1989, “He’s not in love with the camera. He’s in love with the story. That’s why he’s Indiana Jones.”

Their last day filming together was on a chilly morning in Utah. Spielberg gathered the crew to shoot the final shot of the movie, with the four main characters riding off into the horizon. Connery shook Ford’s hand and then pulled him into a hug. A crew member overheard Connery saying, “Thank you, lad. You made it a joy.”

Ford later described that as one of the most meaningful compliments he had ever received on set.

Their on-screen bond was rooted in something deeper, a shared respect for the craft, a love for story, and an unspoken understanding of what it means to carry iconic roles without letting them define the man behind the character.

In a film filled with ancient myths, the real treasure was two icons laughing side by side between takes, sharing wisdom and warmth beneath the desert sun.

Olga Korbut and Redefining Limitations

Olga Korbut

In Munich, 1972, a whisper became a roar. Olga Korbut—just 17, slight as a breeze, yet fierce as a flame—stood on the uneven bars and did the unthinkable. In front of a breathless global audience, she launched into a standing backflip atop the high bar—a move never seen before, a move the code of points hadn’t even imagined.

It wasn’t just that she landed it. It was that she dared. That flip, immortalized as the “Korbut Flip,” didn’t just break gymnastics convention—it broke it open. The sport, once rooted in balletic delicacy, was suddenly alive with danger, risk, and raw emotional energy. And in that moment, a Soviet schoolgirl from Minsk became the spark that redefined women’s gymnastics.

Korbut would go on to win three gold medals and one silver at the 1972 Munich Games, but medals were only a footnote to her legacy. What she offered was something deeper: vulnerability on the mat, joy in motion, tears without shame. “I wasn’t perfect,” she once said, “but I was real.” She returned in 1976, adding another gold and silver to her collection, but by then her revolution had already taken root. Little girls around the world weren’t just dreaming of winning—they were dreaming of flying.

Her influence reverberates in every daring release, every boundary-pushing routine. Without Olga, there might be no Comaneci 10.0, no Biles twisting through space with unapologetic audacity. She didn’t just raise the bar—she made us question where it should even be. Her story reminds us that greatness isn’t always about dominance; sometimes, it’s about disruption. It’s about choosing to leap, knowing the world might never be the same when you land.

Shinrin-Yoku or Forest Bathing

Practicing Shinrin-Yoku

Originating in Japan, shinrin-yoku, forest bathing, is a practice or process of therapeutic relaxation, walking in the forest focusing on sensory engagement to connect with nature.

Japan, being two thirds covered in forest, is filled with greenery and a vast diversity of trees. Residing there is the Hokkaido region, Japan’s last great wilderness, and the Japanese Alps, filled with mountain ranges and thick pine forests. The term shinrin-yoku was coined in 1982 by Tomohide Akiyama, who was the director of the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. After several studies were conducted in Japan during the 1980s, forest bathing was seen to be an effective therapy method. Akiyama knew of these studies along with the findings that showed the beneficial health effects of the compounds, such as phytoncides, and of the essential oils that certain trees and plants emitted. Thus, he officially put forward shinrin-yoku as a recognized practice, promoting its benefits to the Japanese public and establishing guidelines for its implementation.

Shinrin-yoku was developed as a response to the increasing urbanization and technological advancements in Japan and was put forth to inspire the Japanese public to reconnect with nature within Japan and as a means to protect the forests. It was reasoned that if people spent time in forests and were able to find therapeutic comfort within it, they would want to protect it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinrin-yoku