THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

“That perfected machines may one day succeed us is, I remember, an extremely commonplace notion on Earth. It prevails not only among poets and romantics but in all classes of society. Perhaps it is because it is so widespread, born spontaneously in popular imagination, that it irritates scientific minds. Perhaps it is also for this very reason that it contains a germ of truth. Only a germ: Machines will always be machines; the most perfected robot, always a robot. But what of living creatures possessing a certain degree of intelligence, like apes? And apes, precisely, are endowed with a keen sense of imitation.…”

— Pierre Boulle, 1963

BIRTHDAYS:

1791 Carl Czerny, Czech-Austrian pianist, composer (Schule der Virtuosen), student of Ludwig van Beethoven, and teacher of Franz Liszt. Präludium a-Moll

1912 Pierre Boulle, French author known for “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and “Planet of the Apes”).

MISCELLANEOUS:

ATTENTION STARGAZERS. A mini ‘planetary parade’ is visible tonight. Can you spot them all?

BEFORE THE NEXT LOCK DOWN (INCLUDING VIOLATING FREE SPEECH AND THE FREEDOM TO ASSEMBLE), THE AUTHORITIES SHOULD BE OBLIGATED TO READ THE FOLLOWING: