Author Archives: johndiestler

en·tro·py /ˈentrəpē/ noun: entropy; plural noun: entropies; symbol: S 1. PHYSICS: a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system’s thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system. 2. … Continue reading →

Some of our students just returned from a week at our nation’s capitol. Can you imagined what they must have learned? What a perfect opportunity to witness history, to actually see the government in action, to hear live presentations from … Continue reading →

I have recently been intrigued by the classic black and white headshots of the 1940s. I’m not familiar with any names of the photographers, but I am admiring their work. Wikipedia sometimes gets the actual names of the actors wrong, … Continue reading →

I once saw a man with a tattoo of a watch on his wrist. Periodically it had the correct time, at least twice a day. The theoretical concept is that if he had more tattoos, it will increase the ratio … Continue reading →

I am inspired by his work http://www.youtube.com/watch

Well, in simplistic terms, I make art. It is art because I say so, not because I have mastered any particular media. It is art because I have recognized that in the making, that the image has crossed the threshold … Continue reading →

A good friend posted an article by Dennis Praeger and suggested that I read it. I’m good with that. I have several of his books and I have enjoyed his writing. No red flags there… Well, maybe one. Praeger has … Continue reading →

Encouragement can be found in a vast mountain lake. A reservoir filled to the brim, more encouragement than you can receive in several lifetimes. And yet it is untapped for most of us, for most of our lives. It is … Continue reading →

I have lost count of what I have done and how many. Apparently my storage system is a little wacky, because I remember working on the image, and then I can’t find it. Later, it pops up like an Easter … Continue reading →

I can’t leave it alone. Gotta try reworking. And I’m really only using two different brush styles. Okay, the last one is my grandson’s.

I wanted to revisit Egon with my Apple Pencil.

I wanted to focus on the Mucha women, mostly their expressions, so I removed the background.s. Then I could see the faces, and naturally I took some liberties to make some changes. Changing color and line weight was a good … Continue reading →

Steve Jobs had very strong opinions. Way back when the Newton was a thing, he liked it but couldn’t stand that it had a stylist. “It could get lost!” Well, yes, Steve. It could get lost, and it did get … Continue reading →

I finally upgraded an old iPad that cracked a screen. On the way to better vision, its getting hard to see detail. the doctor says its all good but I struggle. So i busted for a 12.5 iPad Pro, and … Continue reading →

“The Big Island Today I stepped on new earth. Earth that rose from magma, Mother giving birth to child, As unlovely to look at as can be imagined. Yet time will pass and the child Will change, gaining the Rainaments … Continue reading →

I’m back in the land of new earth. Dirt that is younger than I am. Yes, I know, composting trees, brush and vegetables creates new earth. But this place belches new earth from the core of the world. The Big … Continue reading →

Diogenes was noted for holding a lamp during the day, saying he was looking for an honest man. He often disrupted the teachings of Socrates and Plato, by bringing food and drink to their lectures. He even criticized Alexander the … Continue reading →

Jerusalem We have been back for two or three days. Somehow with the international date line, we may have missed a day. The last few days were a blur but I will try to summarize. It was a great trip, … Continue reading →

Jerusalem I’ve been here several days, and I will stay several more. It is a city of contrasts. In many was it is like most modern cosmopolitan centers. It has traffic, noise, the bustle of people. It also has history, … Continue reading →

Jerusalem The city is filled with wonder, places of history, places suspected of history. When the British general Charles Gordon was here, he brought a piece of land that he felt was important. People had said that this was Golgotha, … Continue reading →

Okay, I have three things to ponder; living water, being hopelessly trapped and living the good life. I am currently in the Judean Wilderness, it’s not sand dunes, it’s ankle twisting, barren brown desert rock. It’s an intimidating place, made … Continue reading →

This is a place of conflict. Conflict in the past, and likely conflict in the future. We were brought to an outpost that looks over the natural path for an invasion of Israel from Syria. It was used in 1948, … Continue reading →

The church in the air. I am in Capernaum, the famous village on the shore of the Galilee Sea. It is the town of Peter and his fishing home port. There is a ruin of a Beit Knisset, or synagogue, … Continue reading →

On the shore for several days. Ruins, boats and a kibbutz. Largest body of fresh water below sea level. It’s the truth, but I’m not certain of the meaning. Clearly in scripture this was an important area. Even in a … Continue reading →

Many people believe that something unique happened here. They believe that Joseph, the carpenter had his shop here, and raised his family. They believe that his wife Mary was visited by an angel and something wonderful was told to her. … Continue reading →

My readings of crusader history always mentioned Acre. I did not know that it was known before, and later, as Acco. We are in Acco, on the shore of northern Israel. The area is beautiful, the sea is warm, enticing, … Continue reading →

We are on the famous Via Maris, the Way of the Sea. For thousands of years, people, traders, and armies, moved from Egypt to Lebanon, and Phoenicia to Damascus, keeping the Mediterranean on the left, or the right, depending on … Continue reading →

Landed in Tel Aviv on Saturday early evening, I bet it took two hours to get off the plane, through passport, and through baggage. And then it was another hour to get to the hotel up north. We are on … Continue reading →

In less than a week, actually in four days, we will climb into a tube, breathe recycled air, rise in the atmosphere. and the Earth will spin beneath us. It will spin showing us the Sierras, it will grow dark … Continue reading →

Something has gone wrong. It’s okay, nothing works forever, it isn’t a perfect world. And we have gifts, talents, abilities… We can fix things! All we have to do is to have the right perspective. We need to approach the … Continue reading →

It was a good day, all my children remembered, and wished me well. Mostly they remembered good things, some even great things. Some things were suspicious. For a lot of years I had a later start in my day, so … Continue reading →

At the moment of the physical death of the body, the ancient Greeks thought that the essence of the person was separated from the flesh. The eidolon. First, we know that death is complicated. Sure, the heart stopping is clearly … Continue reading →

I dunno, I think I was a sophomore in high school, so that would be 1964, or there about. I had spent the summer going without the monthly haircut. It wasn’t long by today’s standards but wow, it was long … Continue reading →

The power is off… again! The utility company warned us that it would cut power in case of fire danger. There is no fire, or fire danger. Power is just gone in a patchwork pattern through the countryside. We have … Continue reading →

Okay, so this is basic driving 101. If you hit a pedestrian you immediately fail the driving test. Seems fair. If you fail to yield you also immediately fail the test, even if you didn’t hit anyone. Ha, and if … Continue reading →

I have a headlamp. I haven’t always had a headlamp, but I was told I should get a headlamp. Because it is dark in Hezekiah’s Tunnel. I am going to walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel… well, wade through the tunnel. There … Continue reading →