As winter moisture rolls in from the Pacific Ocean and makes snow on the Sierra Nevada range, it also can create blankets of white across the Central Valley below. Known as Tule (too-lee), this opaque fog spread across California in time for the 2020 winter solstice.  Though it can look pretty from above, the dense fog can be hazardous for people on the ground.  With more frequent rain and lighter winds during winter, moist coastal air masses moving in through the lowlands, and cooler air slipping down from the mountains, the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys are fertile territory for fog formation.  Daytime sunlight warms the soil and causes evaporation, while nighttime cooling can cause that moisture to saturate the air.  If winds are calm, the water droplets accumulate until fog clouds form near the ground.  Tule fog tends to form after sunset and becomes thickest just before dawn. It slowly thins as the air warms in daytime sunlight.  The name is derived from its formation over reedy, wetland vegetation—Los Tules or tullin.  https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147712/cool-yule-tule    

Arch Mission Foundation is a non-profit organization whose goal is to create multiple redundant repositories of human knowledge around the Solar System, including on Earth.  The organization was founded by Nova Spivack and Nick Slavin in 2015 and incorporated in 2016.  The Arch Mission plans to deliver multiple backups of civilization to locations around the Solar System as part of a distributed backup strategy.  The foundation plans "multiple . . . Arch libraries intended to preserve and disseminate humanity's knowledge across time and space for the benefit of future generations".  The foundation is technology agnostic and will use whichever storage technology is best for its purposes including multiple technologies.  The first method used is "5D laser optical data storage in quartz", which will reportedly remain readable for up to 14 billion years, resist cosmic radiation, and can withstand temperatures up to 1,000°C.  The foundation also plans on spinning off companies based on patents from research groups involved with the technologies it uses to fund itself in the future.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch_Mission_Foundation    

This salad is a make-ahead marvel!  The salad needs to chill for a couple of hours anyway, but you can safely make it a full day ahead if needed.  The flavor gets better as it sits!  The key to make Seven Layer Salad in advance is to ensure all of the layers are totally dry.  Spin that lettuce in a salad spinner or blot with clean kitchen towels.  Your peas should go in thawed, not frozen.  Celery and onion aren’t water-logged anyway, so you’ll be good to go there.  And the mayonnaise layer provides a nice moisture barrier for the cheese and bacon.  

Lettuce:  Iceberg, crispy head lettuce, or Romaine.

Red onion:  I love the color of this one, but you can substitute white, yellow, or sweet onion if you prefer.  Tame harsh raw onions by soaking in ice water for 10 minutes, then draining well.

Celery:  A few ribs for extra crunch.

Peas:  Run frozen peas under cold water until thawed and drain well.

Mayonnaise:  Plain, good quality mayo like Hellman’s or Best Foods is perfect.

Sugar:  A little sugar transforms your mayo into salad dressing, but you can leave it out if you want to.

Cheddar cheese:  Or change the cheese to the one you love like smoked provolone, blue cheese, or feta cheese.

Bacon:  You could layer in some turkey or ham instead of the bacon. 

Meggan Hill  https://www.culinaryhill.com/seven-layer-salad/#h-7-layer-salad-ingredients    

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2861  October 4, 2024