A Roll in the Universe

Ferry to Stord I never tire of taking ferries. A break in the driving, and a chance to get some fresh sea air. West coast landscape somewhere along the bus ride to southern Norway Lindesnes lighthouse is at Norway's southernmost point, all of 2518 km from Norway's northermost point, Nordkapp. Our first destination: Lindesnes The landscape is so beautiful here at the southernmost point of Norway Lindesnes lighthouse is Norway's oldest lighthouse, dating back to 1656 In the year of light 2015 (according to the UN), there is an awesome exhibit in the dark at Lindesnes A little farther west along the coast brings us to Lista and the coast off Lista Lighthouse  Next stop: Flekkefjord, one of Norway's cute all-white southern towns. Flekkefjord has no tides. We were just inches above the water. Another view of Flekkefjord We stayed at Utsikten Hotell in Kvinesdal. Somewhere in the distance is the North Sea.   Everywh

Prologue: On the way home from a midnight birdwatching session, I saw two tawny owls. First one by the side of road, and another atop a lamp post. Beautiful birds, calmly staring back at me. The myth is that old dogs can't learn new tricks. The truth is, we can, but we might need a bit more coaxing. And coffee. Last year, I was forced to switch jobs and with that, learn a whole new set of skills. I was wondering how my then 53-year-old brain would handle it. Turns out, it handled it just like a 23-year-old brain would: With patience, notes, and lots of coffee and candy. Because heavy-duty learning is exhausting ! I hadn't realized that. I just thought you're tired in college because of not enough sleep or something. Turns out you're tired because learning several new things every single day is like running a marathon every single day—but brains need more energy and more recovery time than bodies do. The brain marathon hasn't ended. There's always somet