July 2025 Archives

July 25, 2025

Beyond the Horizon

The sun blazed down on us, and the road seemed to stretch on forever. Last week we took a road trip to Tulsa to meet with family and celebrate my mom’s 80th birthday. As we drove across the Mojave, the road seemed to stretch out as far as the eye could see. Bounded on both sides of the road were rolling piles of sand and rock. Just ahead, it looked as though someone had taken a putty knife and smoothed out a pallet of sand up toward the undulating hills just on the horizon.

The hot desert road ahead looked like a gray ribbon placed on the tan, sage speckled landscape. It disappeared into a sharp point on the horizon and seemed to pierce the sky. The heavens were pouring out all over the road. The cool, watery blue sky had drained down into the otherwise hot and dry roadway, well beyond the horizon. It felt like if I kept driving, I would fall into the sky. It was uncanny! I had an incredible sense of power at that moment. I felt like we could rocket our way into the silvery blue pool of the celestial realm. I couldn’t help but wonder, how was this possible?

It turns out that an illusion like what I saw can occur when a hot surface like the road superheats the air just above it. The air becomes much hotter than the air just a few feet higher. This creates a steep temperature gradient — hot air below, cooler air above. Light travels faster in warmer, less dense air than in cooler air. As light rays from the sky travel downward and enter the hotter air near the road, they bend upward toward your eyes. This refraction is interpreted by our eyes as reflection, so I see the sky somehow pouring onto the road. Well, too bad. I was really hoping we could drive into that crystal blue oasis.

Instead of treading tracks on the celestial firmament, we eventually curved over the horizon and into “Holy Moses Wash”. If you have ever taken a trip across the country on Interstate 40, you will remember this surreal spot. It is located just south‑west of Kingman, Arizona. It’s massive and stark. It’s adorned with signature high desert rugged rocks and sun-scorched plants, but at a huge scale. The road climbs up the steep grades and curves around the enormous cliffs and boulders. Semi-tractor trailer trucks that previously seemed intimidating, now looked like matchbook cars from a kid’s playset.

Cars and trucks were slowly crawling like ants up the rusty red and burnt orange slopes. Towering above us, I noticed several precariously perched boulders — ten times the size of the cars below. It was humbling. I felt so small! The scene all around us was overwhelming and I couldn’t help but be awestruck in the moment. Holy Moses! It was incredible. I felt that wonder wash over me in a peaceful moment of reverence.

What an incredible shift in perspective! From a moment of significance of taking flight into the sky, to being brought back down to earth, in a moment of overwhelming humility. It occurs to me that life is just like that road. We drive along and discover wonders that raise our spirits and aspirations. We soar into the sky, drinking in the silvery milk of the heavens. Then at the next moment, we round the corner and are shaken to our core. Reality sets in and we realize how relatively small we are in the scheme of all things. It’s grounding. It’s comforting. And it’s utterly captivating.

Life has ups and downs. You never know what’s just ahead. It may be a rough patch, or a smooth one, but something different is on its way. Keep going. When it hands you a cup of silvery blue, dream into it. Drink it up and enjoy it. When it sets you in your place, be in awe and feast on the incredible and boundless nature of the universe. But no matter what, keep driving. There is more to come, just over the horizon.

July 8, 2025

Pursue Happiness

I hope you all had a great Fourth of July! It was warm here in SoCal with clear skies. At the Cox house, our celebration for the USA’s 249th birthday was filled with the typical fare of summer culinary delight. Watermelons, hamburgers, hotdogs, chili, and chips. I was happy to have all our kids here, including our grand-dog. We had a good time together. We enjoyed sweet summer treats and celebrated life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The pursuit of happiness. I love that phrase. It reminds us that happiness is a mission, an optimistic way of life, not an accomplishment. It is a continuous journey, not merely a destination to be won or attained. We pursue it and unlock its rewards by placing one foot in front of the other. In a lot of ways, it may seem like happiness is a myth, a fantasy or reality distortion field. But I propose that it is an energy. Plugging in to this source requires deliberate effort and intent. The stream of happiness is all around us. But do we choose to dip our toes into it? Do we run into the deep waters with laughter, joy, and excitement? Can our hands scoop up the tranquility and euphoria that flows by our days?

Pursue happiness. Can I suggest that you pause for a few minutes right now? I know there is a lot going on. My calendar is rocky with sharp and dry edges too. There are plenty of demands and needs all around. But to navigate the treacherous journey that this day may bring, we need energy. We need oxygen. We need a dose of happiness.

The good news is that happiness is nearby. We just need to capture it and enjoy it. Pause. Look around. Breathe in and out. Feel the tranquility of life settle on you for a moment. Close your eyes. That glowing ember just in front of you is the heart of happiness. Do you see it? Reach out and grab hold of it. That merriment is meant for you. Drink it in! All of it. Celebrate the contentment of the moment. Here, right now, there is peace. There is joy. Now breathe again and open your eyes. Go ahead, let that smile take over your face. You plugged in to happiness and are powered to go into the day. Go make it a great one!

July 1, 2025July 1, 2025

The Overview Effect

I can’t even imagine what it must feel like. You are 420 kilometers above the earth and traveling at a speed of 28,000 kph. That’s over 22 times the speed of sound! Looking out into space you see stars and galaxies populate the otherwise pitch-black void. Your mind reaches for those distant specks while it swims in the vastness of the universe. Turning to face your home planet, you see Earth wrapped in a dark blanket of night. Faint lights paint the cities and a tiny translucent golden arch floats above the circular surface of the Earth’s horizon. You begin to make out some of the continents and oceans, tracing the manmade illumination across the coasts.

Suddenly, the horizon begins to erupt with energy. First, some blues and deep reds drip into view, then vibrant yellows spray across the surface. Brilliant whites flood your portal as the sun enters the stage. You now spot wisps of clouds and atmospheric rivers that radiate the sun’s majestic dance and render a surreal dimension onto the vibrant crystal blue and green globe. You are suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. Tears fill your eyes as you behold the glowing globe of water, land, and life below. It is home. Your home. Our home. Our wonderful world of color. Majestic, vast, and singularly alone in the surrounding vastness of outer space.

Astronauts report a life changing emotional experience when they look back at the Earth for the first time. Scientists call this the “overview effect”. It seems to be tied to the sense of scale, the majestic view and an overwhelming connection with the planet and its people.

NASA and others have attempted to virtually replicate this experience for the rest of us. Sadly, traditional display technology, even with scale, high resolution, and dynamic range, doesn’t quite capture the same look. Astronauts report it doesn’t quite look or feel the same. It turns out, there is a good reason. Digital reproduction of visual experiences is currently limited by RGB technology.

RGB attempts to render the spectrum via red, green, and blue wavelengths. This seems adequate in most cases because it roughly maps to the signal processing of our eyes. Our eyes have three “cones”, specialized cells that have light-sensitive proteins that react to different wavelengths of light. Yes, you probably guessed it, we have one that reacts to red, one to green and another to blue. However, it tuns out that it isn’t just a single wavelength that excites these cones, it is a curve, a spectrum of wavelengths, sometimes overlapping with other cones. Standard RGB technology sends out similar curved spectrums of light. However, it has gaps. It can only produce about 45 percent of the visible colors that our eyes will detect.

There are companies like 6P Color that are looking to expand beyond the RGB technology to deliver a richer fidelity of color experience. They do so by focusing the color spectrum into more narrow bands and adding cyan, magenta, and yellow wavelengths. Working with NASA, they speculated that if they were able to accurately reproduce the images from space of the Earth, they may be able to better simulate the overlook effect. It turns out, they were right. When astronauts saw the expanded color spectrum displays, they reported the same feeling and view they had when orbiting our planet from space. How is this possible? It turns out that one of the colors especially, cyan, excites the proteins in the cones so much so that it creates an emotional response to the scene.

Colors can evoke emotions, convey meaning, and create atmosphere. Color is a powerful tool in our storytelling arsenal. It can awaken memory. It can stir passion and energy. It can soothe, calm, and heal the mind and body. Just as cyan can amplify the overlook effect, other colors can bring foreboding, fear, mystery, relaxation, and affection. We have been telling stories in color for quite some time. It turns out, we can tell even more. Just add some cyan, magenta, and yellow.

It occurs to me that we often find ourselves locked into practices, current understandings, and technology. We think it is good enough. After all, it does 45% of what we want. And yes, that may be adequate for a while. But why settle? The full spectrum is there, waiting to be explored. Lean into cyan, embrace some magenta and adopt some yellow. See what happens!

Let’s continue to look beyond the obvious. Explore new possibilities. Challenge the status quo. Who knows what incredible discoveries, innovations, and experiences wait for us. I bet it will be out of this world!