ROTC -- Maxwell Air Force Base -- Alabama -- July 31, 2026

 Three-week field training begins.

Olivia's bag.

ROTC -- Edwards Air Force Base -- California -- June 17, 2026

June 12, 2026:

Grandchild #2 -- jet fighter flight today. Some weeks ago, Olivia, shaved her head to the scalp. Think Demi Moore. LOL. 

I see she is letting her hair grow out. T-38 jet / F-5. She's at the USAF test flight base, Edwards Air Force Base. She arrived at Edwards AFB the day the B-52 crashed, killing eight members on board. She was scheduled to take this flight on June 15, 2026. Because the runway was closed after the B-52 crash, her training took her back into the simulator. 

Her jet fighter instructor start out in life as a helicopter pilot. What an incredible model.

I flew many, many flights / sorties in the F-15D practicing air combat maneuvers, the F-5 fighters from  RAF Alconbury, England. So, "it has" come full circle.

Later:

Four USAF ROTC cadets on the ramp of a C-17.

 

 

June 15, 2026:

Olivia is attending Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, studying electrical engineering, on an AF-ROTC scholarship.

This summer she was selected for a highly-sought-after three-week tour of Edwards Air Force Base, California, a test site for the Air Force.

She drove down from Palo Alto, California, on Sunday, June 14, 2026.

On Monday, while being fitted for a helmet and g-suit to fly in a jet fighter -- probably an F-16 or F15, the ROTC students were hustled out of the building, change in plans.

Because the runway was closed and due to other requirements following the mishap, the planned jet fighter flight was postponed. However the students got to "fly" in a jet fighter simulator.

Olivia's grandfather was a crewmember of a B-52 back in 1982 or thereabouts when he was stationed at Grand Forks AFB, ND, as a flight surgeon / pediatrician. 

He had only flight in the B-52. It was a night mission, eight hours long, flying low-level (500 feet off the ground) through the Rocky Mountains. Terrain-folllowing, night flight.  

YouTube report: link here. 

Olivia On Her Way To Edwards AFB -- Three-Week Summer Program -- Posted June 15, 2026

Lewis Terman -- Stanford Psychologist -- Posted June 15, 2026

Lewis Terman. 

Link here. 

Father and son.

Lewis Terman. The father.

Frederick Terman. The son. President of Stanford.  

The lede: 

To the Los Angeles juvenile authorities in 1923, Edward Dmytryk was an ordinary runaway trying to escape a vicious father who tore up his schoolbooks and clubbed him with a two-by-four. Mr. Dmytryk wanted his 14-year-old son back—if only, as the caseworker suspected, because Edward brought home vital income.

While the authorities deliberated, a letter arrived from Professor Lewis Terman, the nation's most famous psychologist and the man who had planted the term "IQ" in America's vocabulary. He wasn't a relative or family friend; he had never even met the boy. But the Stanford professor believed Edward deserved a break because he was "gifted"—a word Terman coined to describe the bright kids he devoted his life to researching.

Edward's high score on an IQ test had qualified him for Terman's pathbreaking Genetic Study of Genius. Terman, who had grown up gifted himself, was gathering evidence to squelch the popular stereotype of brainy, "bookish" children as frail oddballs doomed to social isolation. He wanted to show that most smart kids were robust and well-adjusted—that they were, in fact, born leaders who ought to be identified early and cultivated for their rightful roles in society.

Though the more than 1,000 youngsters enrolled in his study didn't know it at the time, they were embarking on a lasting relationship. As Terman poked around in their lives with his inquisitive surveys, "he fell in love with those kids," explains Albert Hastorf, emeritus professor of psychology. To the group he always called "my gifted children"—even after they grew up—Terman became mentor, confidant, guidance counselor and sometimes guardian angel, intervening on their behalf. In doing so, he crashed through the glass that is supposed to separate scientists from subjects, undermining his own data. But Terman saw no conflict in nudging his protégés toward success, and many of them later reflected that being a "Terman kid" had indeed shaped their self-images and changed the course of their lives.

Thanks to Terman's timely letter, for example, Edward Dmytryk went to a good foster home. You may have seen his name in the titles for The Caine Mutiny, one of the 23 films he later directed.

Forty-four years after Terman's death, the study is still going on. About 200 of his "kids" are alive, still completing periodic questionnaires on their health and activities and returning them to Stanford's psychology department. The Termites, as they're fondly nicknamed, have been tracked for nearly 80 years now, through nearly all the milestones of life. It's the longest-running survey ever carried out. And although Terman didn't conceive it as such, the study established a powerful new research approach: the longitudinal investigation, in which scientists follow a group of people over many years to learn how factors in early life influence later variables such as health and longevity.

Marred by design flaws, the genius study yielded few momentous conclusions beyond reassuring Americans that it's okay to be smart. Yet the archives have a value that Terman never envisioned: they provide an unmatched record of lives that spanned almost all of the 20th century. Researchers have pored over the Terman files to explore historical phenomena (did World War II veterans suffer lingering effects of combat?) as well as broader questions (does personality influence life span?). Social scientists have called the archives a national treasure because they tell the life stories of so many Americans.

A story of a different kind emerges from Terman's own writings—a disturbing tale of the beliefs of a pioneer in psychology. Lewis Terman was a loving mentor, yes, but his ardent promotion of the gifted few was grounded in a cold-blooded, elitist ideology. Especially in the early years of his career, he was a proponent of eugenics, a social movement aiming to improve the human "breed" by perpetuating certain allegedly inherited traits and eliminating others. While championing the intelligent, he pushed for the forced sterilization of thousands of "feebleminded" Americans. Later in life, Terman backed away from eugenics, but he never publicly recanted his beliefs.

Looking back, what are we to make of the man and his work? That's a question Al Hastorf has been grappling with. The former Stanford provost and vice president is the third director of the Terman study (he succeeded psychology professor Robert Sears), overseeing the project from his office in Jordan Hall. An amiable and restless man with a wry sense of humor, Hastorf has been pondering Lewis Terman's legacy for a chapter he's writing in a book on pioneering psychologists.

"There's a certain delicacy about talking about him," Hastorf begins, "because he was probably one of the first really big names Stanford had."

To most people at Stanford, the name Terman evokes another person entirely: Fred Terman, '20, Engr. '22, the engineering professor, dean and provost who helped launch California's electronics industry in the 1950s and who was Lewis Terman's son. But while Fred got his name inscribed on buildings on and off campus, Lewis probably had as much impact on people's lives, because he almost single-handedly introduced IQ testing in America.

**********************************
Gemini

Query:

Recent articles on Lewis Terman. How is he viewed in 2020s? 

Reply: 

AFROTC Achievement Award -- May 14, 2026

 A note from Olivia, May 14, 2026:

I got an the AFROTC Achievement Award (given to about 6 cadets) and a pin from the Reserve Organization of America (given to 2 cadets) recognizing my contributions to the detachment. The last certificate was given to many students for maintaining 3.5 GPA in college and a 4.0 in our ROTC classes.

The whole night is awards, but it was nice to get a few recognizing my time as PFO. 

In ROTC (specifically Air Force ROTC), PFO stands for Physical Fitness Officer. They are cadet leaders responsible for planning, organizing, and executing PT (Physical Training) sessions to prepare cadets for their physical fitness assessments. PFOs focus on leading workouts, including running, strengthening, and calisthenics.

Marshall Islands -- Summer Of 2026

Update, May 14, 2026: this will have to wait. AFROTC interfered with Olivia's plans.

Original Post 

When we learn more about it, find out if the professor is from Stanford's Doerr School of Sustainability or the Haas Center. 

AI Query: What's the likely flight route from SFO to the Marshall Islands?

Reply: 

Flashback -- Date Unknown -- Probably Middle School -- March 25, 2026

 

****************************
Papa Reading to Olivia

Flashback: Olivia -- Fourteen Years Old -- CRISPR -- From 2018 -- February 16, 2026

From another blog this date.

Reading this week:

• Matt Ridley's Genome, 1999; and, 
• The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race, Walter Isaacson, c. 2021. Notes here.
• an early post on CRISPR: link here. This was back in 2018! Whoo-hoo!
• CRISPR was all the rage in the 2010s. All of a sudden, the acronym is seldom heard/read in mainstream media. 

I had forgotten I wrote this in 2018:

***********************************
Bonus Note For The Granddaughters

CRISPR.

CRISPR-Cas9.

Until this week, I knew nothing of significance about CRISPR. For whatever reason I mentioned CRISPR to our 14-year-old granddaughter on the way to school the other day, and she became incredibly animated. She loved "CRISPR" and knew more about it than I did.

Whatever she knows about CRISPR she learned on her own. I doubt they have yet studied it in high school, although it's possible it's been mentioned

I'll have fun talking to her about CRISPR over the next few weeks.

CRISPR is part of the DNA genome. Back in 1993, a biologist studying bacteria in Spanish swamps, found bacteria whose DNA contained repeated sequences of DNA that did not correspond to anything previously seen.

Because of the nature of these repeated sequences (clusters, regularly interspersed, and short palindromic repeats) he labeled them CRISPR for short.

It turns out that these palindromic repeats of "meaningless" genome were actually pieces of viral DNA -- viruses that had invaded bacteria as pathogens (bacteriophages -- to eat bacteria).

It is hypothesized that by incorporating this "meaningless" viral genome, bacteria are more quickly able to defend against a virus from attacking it (a second time).

And like everything else in biology, there is more to the story.

Molecular biology dogma: DNA makes RNA makes protein.

CRISPER makes RNA but this RNA does not make a protein. By itself, the CRISPR-RNA is worthless.

But, as it turns out, as in a Rudyard Kipling "just so" story, bacteria also contain an enzyme (or protein) called Cas9 -- short for CRISPER-associated protein 9. If the biologists had had a sense of humor, it would be easier to remember as"Mama Cass protein" -- CRISPR-associated protein that loves to eat.

But a very special way of eating.

As noted above CRISPER-RNA by itself is worthless.

But with the Cas9 enzyme "stuff happens." Cas9 enzyme is a "cutter."

CRISPER-RNA guides Cas9 enzyme to the virus with the corresponding DNA genome.

At the viral DNA genome, the Cas9 enzyme gets to work, cutting out the viral genome that corresponds to CRISPR-RNA.

Pretty clever, huh?

Know who connected the dots, figured this out?

A Danish yogurt company. Yup, Danisco -- a Danish yogurt company.

Danisco is now owned by Dow Dupont.

Researchers now use CRISPER-Cas9 to target any region/gene in any DNA genome and cut it out / remove it. By removing a gene, researchers are better able to discern the purpose of a previously non-understood gene.

If a bacteria is able to do what a bacteria normally does and now loses a certain function because it has lost a certain gene, scientists have a pretty good idea of what that gene must be responsible for.

Likewise, researchers can do that to any mammalian genome.

Much, much more to the story but I now have enough to share with our granddaughter and still be able to keep up with her.

This was from "Diary" in the current issue of London Review of Books. Another source is here. 

That 14-year-old granddaughter is now a sophomore STEM student at Stanford University, California, ROTC. 

 

Academic Calendar -- Overview -- December 13, 2025

Olivia is home from Stanford on break. 

Will went out deer hunting. Got at least one buck. Is allowed up to eight deer, a mix of bucks and does. His goal: two or three. 

Deer steak from Will, one year ago: 

Looking at the Stanford website calendar, this is Stanford's quarterly system:

• Olivia started in autumn, 2024: in general
• 1st quarter: Sept - Dec
•  Flavio, Cindy visit on Family Day
• 2nd quarter: Jan - Mar
• 3rd quarter: Apr - Jun
• 4th quarter: July - Aug
• 2025 - 2026
• Autumn quarter: Sept 22 - Dec 12 (just completed; Olivia home on break)
• Olivia passes her ROTC PFA (physical fitness assessment); 91.2%;  
• Winter quarter: Jan 5 - Mar 20
• Spring quarter: Mar 30 - Jun 10
• Summer quarter (generally somewhat shorter): July 22 - Aug 15 (optional)
• 2026 - 2027

Olivia Asked For Papa's Christmas Gift List -- December 13, 2025

 

On Amazon:

Lego, Speed Champions, 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Race Car, Amazon, $26. Click on link. 

Lego, Speed Champions, 2023 Pagani Utopia Race Car, Amazon, $27. Click on link. 

At Belk next to our house, Grammy will help you if necessary:

1. Lights for bike. These are very expensive but they've been 60% off; now selling for maybe $20 on sale. I don't know. But if not on sale, don't consider. Walmart always has nice selection. These are Belk in the dad's gift selection; kind of hard to find; may need to ask.

4. My favorite choice, just one set of four, about $36; again at Belk, in the kitchen section:
 

Thanksgiving Break -- To Portland, OR -- Via The Cascade Mountain Range -- Mt Shasta -- November 23, 2025

Olivia's visit. Olivia and friend(s) drove up to Portland, OR, from Palo Alto, CA, to visit Judah and Levi.

 Cascades.

 

Mt Shasta in the background.

Olivia in the white jacket. 

Fact-Checking Stories On Acceptance Rates At The Elite Schools -- November 23, 2025

Google Gemini prompt: 

Stanford suggests it is loosening its acceptance standards because the pool of students is getting smaller? Is there a source for that statement? 

Google Gemini reply:

There is

no evidence to suggest that Stanford is loosening its acceptance standards because the pool of students is getting smaller; in fact, its admissions process remains extremely selective. The number of applicants has generally increased over the years, though there was a slight decline in a recent cycle. 

Key points regarding Stanford's admissions:

• High Selectivity: 
• Stanford consistently maintains one of the lowest acceptance rates in the U.S., with recent data showing rates as low as 3.68% for the Class of 2026. Olivia is in the class of 2029 (?).
• Application Numbers:  
• The number of applications has generally surged dramatically over the past few decades, indicating rising interest and not a shrinking pool of students.
• Recent Trends: 
•  For the Class of 2027, the number of applicants (53,733) actually declined slightly from the previous year's record high (56,378) -- Class of 2026, but the acceptance rate still only increased marginally to 3.91%.
• Policy Shift on Reporting: 
• Since 2018, Stanford no longer publicizes real-time application numbers or early admission statistics during the admissions cycle itself to de-emphasize the perceived importance of low admit rates and the "hyper-competitiveness" surrounding them. 
• The data is still reported annually to the federal government later.
• Reinstatement of Test Scores: 
• Contrary to loosening standards, Stanford has recently decided to reinstate the standardized test requirement for applicants, indicating a continued emphasis on traditional academic metrics. 

The notion of a shrinking national pool of college-bound students is a general trend that affects many non-elite universities, causing some to ease their admissions processes, but it has not had that effect on highly selective institutions like Stanford. 

Pottery -- 2025

 

*********************************
Pottery by Will and Olivia

Thrown and fired, June, 2025. Euless, TX.

Olivia's Team At The Chavín Site In Peru Made The Reuter's News Earlier This Month -- July 26, 2025

In early 2025, Olivia saw a request for an engineering student to join this team on a message board. She wrote to John W. Rick and was selected to be the only engineer on his team this year.

Link here.

Link here.

Background:

Antique (?) Panasonic AM-FM Radio -- From Great-Grandmother Ruth -- For Olivia's Antique Museum -- February 26, 2025

Link here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGm1zoYSnmY.

From AI:

Comparing VFIAX With VFIFX -- How To Compare Different Ticker Symbols

How to compare different stocks or different funds.

In google (or the URL line): type in ticker vfiax

You will get this:

At the upper right corner of that screen shot above, note the box compare, as below, at the #1 arrow. Click on the compare icon, and then you will get the screenshot below. At the #2 arrow, type in FVIFX.

Type in VFIFX in the box designated with the #2 arrow like this:

And hit return after you type in VFIFX.

You will get this: 

 Note that it compares VFIAX with VFIFX for the past three months.

You can click on any time period to compare. If you click on max, you will get this:

The difference is not trivial.

With the more conservative VFIFX, you get a 100% return, or you doubled your money over the past sixteen years (2008 to 2024).

On the other hand, with the more aggressive VFIAX (Admiral), you get a return of nearly 400%, which it means it doubled three times (?) in that same time period.

The red and blue lines start to separate as the lines move to the right, because the life cycle funds increase bond holdings as you get older, decreasing the volatility and the risk, but also potentially decreasing return. The theory is that when you are getting ready to retire you want to have a more conservative fund so you don't have wild swings from year-to-year. 

We can discuss what this means at later.

One option: diversify. That's what I did.

This year invest in the life cycle fund, VFIFX.

Then next year invest in the more aggressive fund, the VFIAX (Admiral).

Then starting in your third year, fund both IRAs up to the max allowed and change allocations over time as you feel more comfortable with investing.

A Roth IRA -- February 19, 2025

Olivia's 2024, W-2 statement: earnings, $XXXXX.

For Olivia, my recommendation: Vanguard Admiral shares.

Link: https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/mutual-funds/profile/vfiax. 

Ticker symbol: VFIAX.

Balanced, large equity fund.

Minimum: $3,000 to open. Olivia earned more than enough to open a Vanguard Roth IRA.

Papa will send you a check to fully fund this Roth IRA. With some left over. Insert smile here.

Top ten holdings:

You can type in "ticker vfiax" in the Google search box and this will pop up:

How to remember the ticker symbol:

Vanguard Fund Index Admiral Mutual Fund

All mutual fund ticker symbols are five letters long.

The fifth letter is always an "X" to designate it's a "mutual fund."

The first four letters are unique to the fund. 
 

So, Vanguard Fund Index Admiral - VFIA .... and then VFIAX.

 Lower case / upper case does not matter when typing in the URL/google search.

 

So, again, type in:  ticker vfiax.

Also interestingly enough, you don't even have to type in that much. You can simply type in vfiax.

Duck Hunting -- Grapevine Lake, Texas -- January 3, 2025

Will Lukins took Olivia duck hunting.

They had no duck so they had to retrieve the ducks themselves.

At the time this photo was taken, Will was a sophomore at Texas A&M; and, Olivia was a freshman at Stanford, Palo Alto, California.

Memories -- Posted December 22, 2024

 

Grapevine Soccer -- Memories

 A memory. Posted April 1, 2025.