Greetings Science, Reason, and Critically Thinking Friends Who Care,
It's been quite a week. Science and seemingly the world have been spinning together. It seems most of what was promised by the new administration in Washington DC has not been produced. I don't want to get too political but it does seem like the assault on science is well underway (There is such wealth of writing far better than mine... I'll keep my words short!)
Firing of CDC vaccine advisors not supported by evidence
Humanity eradicated smallpox 45 years ago. (Great video!)
It’s Not a War on Science is an interesting reflection from eight years ago!
There is hope in many places though...
Contra Costa Science Workshop,
Will AI Save the World or End it? Geoffrey Hinton, also known as the godfather of AI,
Can a crowdsourced map of the world help save millions of people from climate disaster?,
Setting Up Community Connections for Science Classes. Seven years old but still important! The success of the No Kings marches is very encouraging for me. I wore one of my pro-science t-shirts "Science doesn't care what you think", and it got a lot of compliments and an interview!
Don’t worry, there’s a lot of great opportunities to dive into science and not the controversies this coming week. Here’s some that really tickle my curiosity…
-Exciting Results with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope - 06/18/2025 07:00 PM
San Francisco Amateur Astronomers San Francisco
-History on Tap: Steinbeck, Ricketts, & the Sea of Cortez - 06/19/2025 05:30 PM
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History Pacific Grove
-Nerd Nite SF #152: Juneteenth Celebration! - 06/19/2025 07:00 PM
Rickshaw Stop San Francisco
-Stewardship Saturday: Experiencing Fish Kitchen - 06/20/2025 11:30 AM
Marine Mammal Center Sausalito
And now for some lighter material…
I hope you appreciate this… It's Father's Day but...
The Absurd Bromance | William Shatner & Neil deGrasse Tyson
Andor v. Star Trek: How Star Wars gets government right
Have a great week.
Keep up the faith (in science).
Learn more about how science is why we survive.
herb masters
“Through our scientific and technological genius we’ve made of this world a neighborhood. And now through our moral and ethical commitment we must make of it a brotherhood. We must all learn to live together as brothers—or we will all perish together as fools.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Upcoming Events:
Note that what you see here is a very brief title and description to get you interested. Please check the link to read more details.
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Monday, 06/16/2025
Astronomy on Tap Santa Cruz: Engineering in Astronomy and The Gaia Revolution - 06/16/2025 07:30 PM
Abbott Square Market Santa Cruz
Engineering in Astronomy Speaker: Cristian Rodriguez (UC Observatories) will share his distinctive path in astronomy, revealing how it has deepened his understanding of the intricate process of building scientific instruments.
The Gaia Revolution: What to Expect When You’re Expecting 20,000 Exoplanet Candidates Speaker: Sarah Blunt (UC Santa Cruz) focuses on advancing computational and statistical techniques in exoplanet astrophysics, and also thinks about technical education for astronomers
Tuesday, 06/17/2025
Museum educators, interaction designers, and game-studio partners from Switzerland and the United States share insights from developing 20 open-source game prototypes through Project AMI (Art + Museums Interacting). Built in swift 30-day sprints and refined through public play-tests, the examples show how gamified experiences transform visitors from passive observers into curious explorers - while offering a process any institution can adopt.
Cyber Resilience Corps Report Launch Webinar - Livestream - 06/17/2025 10:00 AM
Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity
Please join us for the official launch of the Cyber Resilience Corps’ Roadmap for Community Security. Community organizations - nonprofits, rural hospitals, schools, local utilities, municipalities, and small businesses - are vital to delivering essential services to the public, but they are often the least prepared to protect themselves from cyberattacks and are often held wholly responsible, leaving them particularly vulnerable to attacks that could disrupt the delivery of essential social and public services.
Astronomy on Tap Tucson #108: Massive Binaries & Supermassive Black Holes - Livestream - 06/17/2025 07:30 PM
Astronomy on Tap
Tucson’s local flavor of Astronomy on Tap, Space Drafts, is excited to present its 108th edition! On tap this month, we have talks from two Steward Observatory professors: Dr. Jianwei Lyu will be delving into the mysteries and marvels of supermassive black holes and Dr. Mathieu Renzo will be exploring the explosive lives of massive binary stars.
Mysteries and Marvels of Supermassive Black Holes - Jianwei Lyu and The Explosive Life of Massive Binaries - Mathieu Renzo viewable on-line
Wednesday, 06/18/2025
Managing Commercial Spyware Through Export Controls - Livestream - 06/18/2025 10:00 AM
UC Berkeley
A round-table style discussion of Dr. Elaine Korzak’s new paper Managing Commercial Spyware Through Export Controls co-sponsored by the UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity. D. Korzak will moderate a discussion between guests
Rethinking Our (Deep-Sea)World - Livestream - 06/18/2025 11:00 AM
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
The deep sea, long imagined as a realm of eternal stillness and slow change, is telling a different story through new research - one of rapid transformation, ancient yet accelerating life strategies, and ecological revelations that challenge our fundamental understanding of life on Earth. The North East Pacific Deep-sea Exploration Project (NEPDEP) - a United Nations Ocean Decade collaboration between federal, academic, and Indigenous scientists in Canada - is uncovering evidence that reshapes how we think about the resilience and fragility of life in our rapidly changing world.
Speaker: Cherisse Du Preez, University of Victoria Register at weblink to receive connection information
Understanding how diverse and productive freshwater habitats contribute to species resilience in the Anthropocene - Livestream - 06/18/2025 03:00 PM
Bodega Marine Laboratory
Join us for the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory Seminar Series, featuring speakers from within the marine sciences community and beyond.
Speaker: Rob Lusardi, UC Davis
Register at weblink to receive connection information
Birdy Hour: Beautiful California Biodiversity, Understanding and Protecting It - Livestream - 06/18/2025 05:30 PM
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
We share the Earth with millions of other species. But, our planet is experiencing a biodiversity crisis in which a significant portion of these species are in danger of extinction in coming decades. While the Earth has undergone mass extinctions in the past - such as when a meteor strike doomed the dinosaurs - the current mass extinction event is caused by humans. This loss of species is a tragedy for the Earth’s ecology and non-human inhabitants, but will also have significant impacts on human societies. We will discuss what species are most endangered, what we can do to try to limit the loss of species, and efforts in our region to preserve our local biodiversity, especially endangered plants, invertebrates and animal species.
Speaker: Lynne Trulio, San Jose State University Register at weblink to receive connection information
Exciting Results with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope - 06/18/2025 07:00 PM
San Francisco Amateur Astronomers San Francisco
JWST, the largest telescope in space, detects infrared (heat) radiation, providing information not available to the Hubble Space Telescope. It allows astronomers to study the birth of stars, newly formed dust in the gases ejected by dying stars, and the atmospheric composition of planets orbiting other stars. Among JWST’s most surprising results so far is the very early formation of galaxies after the Big Bang.
Speaker: Dr. Alex Filippenko, UC Berkeley
Cleaner Stormwater, Cleaner Bay - Livestream - 06/18/2025 07:00 PM
City of Sunnyvale
Josh Quigley, Policy Manager at Save The Bay, discusses an important source of pollution in the San Francisco Bay: stormwater. Discover how policy and nature-based solutions help keep trash, microplastics and other pollutants out of our Bay. Explore how you can help make a difference.
Register at weblink
Digital Storage And Memory for the Earth and Beyond - 06/18/2025 07:00 PM
Valley Research Park Mountain View
More intense computing applications, including various AI training and inference, the Internet of Things as well as higher resolution rendered content for VR and AR applications are driving demand for digital storage and memory. These developments will improve the efficiency and reduce the energy consumption for computing operations from the data center to internal medical devices.
Speaker: Tom Coughlin, Coughlin Associates Attend in person or online (see weblink)
Thursday, 06/19/2025
Lunch Break Science - Livestream - 06/19/2025 11:00 AM
The Leakey Foundation
Lunch Break Science is a dynamic live web series featuring fascinating short talks, engaging interviews, and lively Q&A with Leakey Foundation scientists. Each episode digs deeper into the latest human origins discoveries, with topics like Neanderthals, chimpanzee behavior, and more! Even better, you can interact with researchers during the show and have your questions answered on air.
See weblink to join
Resilience-Oriented Distributed Generation Siting and Sizing Considering Energy Vulnerability - Livestream - 06/19/2025 12:00 PM
Stanford Energy
The EARNEST Consortium, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is dedicated to identifying and advancing solutions for the future of the U.S. electricity system.
Extreme weather events can cause widespread power outages and huge economic losses. Low-income customers are more vulnerable to power outages because they live in areas with poorly equipped distribution systems. However, existing approaches to improve grid resilience focus on the overall system condition and ignore the outage experiences of low-income customers, which leads to significant energy inequities in resilience. Therefore, this work explores a new resilience-oriented planning method for distributed generator (DG) siting and sizing, by embedding an additional energy vulnerability constraint (EVC).
Speaker: Fangxing Li, University of Tennessee Register at weblink
History on Tap: Steinbeck, Ricketts, & the Sea of Cortez - 06/19/2025 05:30 PM
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History Pacific Grove
Come to the Museum for a special evening with local historians. Dive into the history and incredible impacts of the work of John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts as they took the Western Flyer through the Sea of Cortez.
Your ticket entitles you to entry to the event, participation in the happy half-hour with one drink ticket and food selection, and a seat in the lecture.
NightLife - 06/19/2025 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
When the lights dim, the museum comes alive at NightLife. With live DJs, hand-crafted drinks, glowing lights, and 60,000 live animals (including familiar faces like Claude, our alligator with albinism), the night is sure to be wild.
Nerd Nite SF #152: Juneteenth Celebration! - 06/19/2025 07:00 PM
Rickshaw Stop San Francisco
This Juneteenth we have an incredible lineup of Black speakers sharing their passions and work with you! Join us at 7pm on June 19th at the Rickshaw Stop to celebrate Black nerds in the Bay!
There’s too much to list! See weblink for tickets
Friday, 06/20/2025
Stewardship Saturday: Experiencing Fish Kitchen - 06/20/2025 11:30 AM
Marine Mammal Center Sausalito
This free program for high school students features rotating events along our 600-mile range exploring various realms of conservation.
Join us for an extra Stewardship Saturday in the month of May! During this exclusive behind-the-scenes opportunity you will have the chance to support our hard-working volunteer crews during our pup season. Our patients are consuming up to 1,000 pounds of fish per day during this time of the year - that’s a lot of mouths to feed and a lot of fishy dishes. We will be preparing food for these animals and upkeeping kitchen sanitization tasks, allowing you a glimpse into what it is like to be one of our committed animal care volunteers. Our hope is that you leave this event with an increased understanding of patient needs, and some goals for what you can do to support our ocean.
See weblink for additional information and to register
In Town Star Party - 06/20/2025 09:30 PM
San Jose Astronomical Association San Jose
Come join San Jose Astronomical Association (SJAA) for an evening of stargazing.
Event details:
Events are held at the parking lot of our headquarters, Houge Park San Jose. The event duration is 2 hours. SJAA volunteers will share night sky views from their telescopes. Please refrain from bringing your own telescopes (Binoculars are welcome). If you like to be a volunteer with or without a telescope please email us.
Saturday, 06/21/2025
BubbleFest - 06/21/2025 10:00 AM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Get ready to be blown away at Bubblefest! Step into a world of wobbly wonders and popping surprises as bubble experts showcase the coolest tricks and mind-blowing science behind bubbles. From rainbow-colored bubbles to bubble art masterpieces, find something awe-inspiring for everyone! Dive into the action with hands-on bubble experiments, watch bubbles dance with dry ice, and experience the thrill of being inside a giant bubble! And did you know bubbles hold secrets about stars and outer space?
TechFest - 06/21/2025 10:00 AM
Computer History Museum Mountain View
Computer History Museum’s all-day TechFest events offer special family-oriented experiences included in the price of Museum admission. We’ll be bringing you tech-themed demos, performances, hands-on activities, and more. Explore CHM exhibits, shop in the Museum store, enjoy a tasty treat from the Cloud Bistro, and have fun at TechFest!
Summer Solstice Celebration - 06/21/2025 10:30 AM
Lawrence Hall of Science Berkeley
Celebrate the Summer Solstice with The Lawrence Hall of Science and discover the cosmic connections between science, art, and Indigenous knowledge! Mark the longest day of the year with hands-on immersive activities, expert talks, and cultural perspectives. Create a model of the Earth and Sun system, discover the special gestures of our astronomical sculpture Sunstones II, and explore Ohlone traditions tied to the seasonal cycles of Earth and Sun.
For more information, check link
Discovering the Sun - 06/21/2025 07:30 PM
East Bay Astronomical Society Oakland
It has taken people thousands of years to figure out what the sun actually is, more or less. We finally have the basics figured out, but a lot of detailed questions remain unanswered. Tim will review the basic physics of the sun, and the sun-Earth connection. Along the way he will correct a few misconceptions about the sun, which are wrong, despite now being “common knowledge”.
Speaker: Tim Thompson, Mount Wilson Observatory
Starry Nights Star Party - 06/21/2025 09:30 PM
Rancho Canada Del Oro Open Space Preserve Morgan hill
Join the San Jose Astronomical Association (SJAA) and Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (OSA) for an unforgettable night of exploring the night sky. Our knowledgeable docents, members of SJAA, will be your guides to providing valuable insights into the wonders of our universe.
Registration required (at weblink). See weblink for additional information.
Sunday, 06/22/2025
BubbleFest - 06/22/2025 10:00 AM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Get ready to be blown away at Bubblefest! Step into a world of wobbly wonders and popping surprises as bubble experts showcase the coolest tricks and mind-blowing science behind bubbles. From rainbow-colored bubbles to bubble art masterpieces, find something awe-inspiring for everyone! Dive into the action with hands-on bubble experiments, watch bubbles dance with dry ice, and experience the thrill of being inside a giant bubble! And did you know bubbles hold secrets about stars and outer space?
Raptor Encounter in Coyote Valley - 06/22/2025 09:30 PM
Laguna Seca San Jose
Join Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) and Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority (OSA) in welcoming master falconer and educator Antonio Balestreri to Laguna Seca in North Coyote Valley! Guests will experience several of our native raptor species, including an American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl, and the Red-tailed Hawk.
This educational presentation will focus on the roles raptors play in our environment, some of the day to day challenges they face, and of course raptor biology and conservation. Sign up for this unique opportunity to see these rescued and captive-bred raptors up close.
Important details and registration at weblink. Location sent after registration.
Monday, 06/23/2025
Every Day, Computers are Making People Easier to Use - 06/23/2025 10:00 AM
UC Berkeley Extension Berkeley
Summer Shorts are one-time events open to OLLI @Berkeley members and non-members. Each Short features acclaimed speakers discussing issues impacting the state of our country, Constitution, and shared humanity.
Doors open at 9:30
See weblink for additional details
Tuesday, 06/24/2025
The Biology of Behavior: The Science of Desire and Faith - 06/24/2025 05:30 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco
An Evening with Jennifer Pahlka - 06/24/2025 06:00 PM
Manny's San Francisco
Wonderfest: Heartstrings and Brainwaves: Decoding the Science of Love - 06/24/2025 07:00 PM
Hopmonk Tavern Novato
32 Years of Observing North Pacific Blue Whales - what their body conditions tell us - livestream - 06/24/2025 07:00 PM
American Cetacean Society
Wednesday, 06/25/2025
The Nuts and Bolts of Teaching Astronomy 1: The Telescope and Multiwavelength Astronomy - 06/25/2025 10:00 AM
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
June LASER Event - Livestream - 06/25/2025 12:00 PM
Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous
Courtrooms & Cocktails: What Ecology can teach you about keeping a moral compass - Livestream - 06/25/2025 03:00 PM
Bodega Marine Laboratory
Thursday, 06/26/2025
SETI LIVE: LaserSETI Update - 06/26/2025 02:30 PM
SETI Institute
After Dark: Pride: Queer Science - 06/26/2025 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
PRIDE NightLife - 06/26/2025 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: connections and complexity - Livestream - 06/26/2025 07:00 PM
Golden Gate Bird Alliance
Friday, 06/27/2025
California Lizards & Where to Find Them - 06/27/2025 06:00 PM
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History Pacific Grove
Storms Fast and Slow: How Planets Form and Evolve - SOLD OUT - 06/27/2025 07:30 PM
Lick Observatory Mt. Hamilton
Saturday, 06/28/2025
Stewardship Saturday: Organizing Oysters - 06/28/2025 10:00 AM
REAP Climate Center Alameda
Foothills Family Nature Walk - 06/28/2025 11:00 AM
Foothills Nature Preserve Los Altos
Music of the Spheres - The History of the Cosmos (and our understanding of it) - 06/28/2025 07:30 PM
Lick Observatory Mt. Hamilton
Jazz Under the Stars - 06/28/2025 09:00 PM
College of San Mateo Bldg 36 San Mateo