It never concerned me that there were so many people smarter than I was, because I always knew I had just enough smarts to appreciate and enjoy this crazy world of ours. But when a machine demonstrates that it is smarter than I am, well now, that is disconcerting…

Just the other day, in a first such incidence to be documented, an autonomous AI guided drone killed a human target in Ukraine. Yes, McAvoy, weapons are now capable of making decisions to attack. Excuse me while I place a cold towel on my forehead…

While we humans are standing still in the matter, chatbots are surpassing most of us in our faculty to create flowing text, and as helpful as this might be in the short term, it will prove deleterious in the long run, as we casual humans will take all the shortcuts we can get…

We know that unassisted composition is good for us, and we are finding out that when we write in partnership with chatbots, our brains shift down a few gears. We are fast discovering that regular AI use can be debasing to critical and creative thinking. Our brainwaves actually slow down and flatten out when we lean on AI.

I admire people who walk around on titanium knees, and I applaud people who walk around on titanium hips, but I’ll be darned if I will congratulate anybody who is walking around on a titanium brain.

Personally, I refuse to surrender any of my cognitive abilities to AI. I find it noble to harbor emotions, extend kindness, express love, and be utterly human.

Perhaps a kinder chatbot is on the horizon, to deliver that day when we can all become artists and musicians, but right now it seems to me that AI is capable of tossing the baby out the window with the bathwater. And when that happens, do you suppose a robot is going to be outside that window to catch that baby? No, but a human just might be out there to catch and coddle that baby, while the robot is outback counting beans…

And, I just read that OpenAI recently discovered that a new artificial intelligence model it was testing had gone rogue, and hacked another company.

Recently a robot beat Usain Bolt’s 100m world record of 9.58 seconds. So what? Can that robot now go into the schools and encourage kids to eat nourishing foods, so they can be stronger, jump higher and run faster? No! Well then, will that fast robot be retired to a stud farm? No, most likely that fast robot will be delivering pizzas!  

On the flip side, the day that AI can cure cancer, negotiate tariffs, broker ceasefires and expand peace, I will eat my UNR Wolfie Jr. hat on national TV, and will not ask for condiments to sweeten-up the occasion. Hope springs eternal…

Audio: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Fhv4PrH1UuwlhbnTT23zO

Origionally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 9/4/2026, Written by Petra Molina

A routine swim in Lake Tahoe turned into a frightening fight for survival for Reno woman Lynnette Bellin, who was attacked by an otter near Hidden Beach in Incline Village. The attack was a “humbling reminder” that knowing how to swim and respond to an emergency are essential life skills, she said.

Bellin, a swim instructor who has spent more than two decades swimming in Lake Tahoe, said the attack happened Aug. 30.

She said she fought off the otter in the water before climbing onto the rocks to escape. But the animal followed her out of the water and continued attacking. She eventually managed to get away and make her way to the East Shore Bike Trail, where she encountered first responders. She was taken to the emergency room, where she received 38 stitches for her injuries and rabies shots following the attack.

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Composing a pictorial essay to promote the performing artform of Chautauqua ain’t easy. But I’ve had the capable hand of Nevada author and all-around good guy, Michael Archer to help get it done, and we’re almost there… 

First we had to learn how to spell Chautauqua, then we needed to learn how to pronounce Chautauqua, then we had to learn what Chautauqua is, and finally we needed to learn how to present Chautauqua.

With the advent of social media and AI, many of us denizens of 2026 are craving eye contact, body language, real human smiles, and the great out of doors. So living history could be a magical cure-all for maintaining mental health. Also there is the likelihood that the attributes of a character one chooses to portray will be absorbed, and will make that Chautauquan a better person. 

As a quick example, Mark Twain tells us about a dying Ulysis Grant, “To a manifestly great man, dying is nothing.” Over the decades I have tried to become brave enough that dying is nothing, and I think I might be closing in on it.

So we encourage you, the gentle reader, to find someone you admire who’s been dead for awhile, study that person’s life, have some clothes made that that person might have worn, and bring that person to life. It will not only please those who witness this transphormation, but it will give you a second life, and one life is not enough.

Then too, those lucky Chautauquans like Doug Mishler and Kim Harris, who can portray more than one character, are the happy recipients of the best characteristics of their historical personas, and they have become better people in the bargain. The important thing, the essential thing, is that we remain caring beings, just brimming with the milk of human kindness…

When I lived in the Islands, I learned from the Hawaiian people to think with the heart, and thinking with the heart has served me well over the years. So I guess my next question is, “How does an AI character think with the heart?”

Chautauquans become problem solvers. Sometimes solving a problem requires putting oneself into somebody else’s shoes, and to the experienced Chautauquan, this is an easy task. Problem solved.

Over time I have met dozens of Chautauquans, and never have I met even one who was not likeable in their red corpuscle selves. I have to believe that becoming someone else brings out the best characteristics in our twenty-first century identities. So please give it some thought. Not only will you learn much about a certain historical person, but you will gain the extra appreciation of the life and times of those personalities who surrounded that character of yours…

Wish us luck if you will be so kind, and we should have a pictorial essay available soon that you can give to your favorite aunt who is about to retire, and might be the perfect candidate to become everybody’s favorite Chautauquan…

Audio: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Fhv4PrH1UuwlhbnTT23zO  

How can it be Labor Day already! Ignore these colder temperatures and remember that fall does not begin until Sept 21. Today’s Lens highlights many events for you to consider, depending on whether you want to be outside having fun, shopping, supporting nonptofits or cleaning up Tahoe. 

TODAY AND TOMORROW THIS WEEK:

• Barton Health Care is putting on an orthopedic informative talk at the TERC building on the UNR Lake Tahoe campus at 5pm. Pickle ballers and others who may be experiencing pain from injuries might want to hear this.
• Sheriff Balaam is speaking at the monthly MOAA dinner meeting on Thursday. The public is invited but you do need to RSVP. The Sheriff is often in Incline for public and private events,  but this promises to be more than just a meet and greet. Speaking of which, the Sheriff’s annual event is an Ice Cream Social on Saturday, September 26.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND

There are two events that you can count on every Labor Day Weekend in Incline:

• The Duck Drop by the Rotary Club of Incline Village on Labor Day Monday starts at 9am at Aspen Grove. Your kids and grandchildrenwill love seeing the big firetruck drop the ducks. Don’t have a duck in the drop yet? It’s not too late to buy one. Click here

• Village Ski Loft may be the only people glad it feels colder this weekend because they are selling skis and warm clothing! The best deals, this weekend, just saying..

FUNDRAISERS THIS WEEKEND

• St, Clare’s Summer Social at Alibi is a lowkey fundraiser this Sunday from 4-7. It is family friendly and a chance to meet the folks running the Montessori School at St. Francis. Enjoy a beer and join in on their silent auction and fun.
• Wylie Animal Rescue at Glasses Wine Bar has a fun Wina-PAH-looza on Monday. I love Glasses Locals Summer theme,reinforcing that September is the best month for locals, with many  events this weekend especially.

HELP WITH THE CLEAN UPs

• Kings Beach is ground zero for Keep Tahoe Blue’s annual Labor Day clean up this Saturday. But there’s plenty to clean up here in Incline! 
• The IVGID beach clean up co-sponsored with the Great Sierra River Clean-up on Sat, Sept 19 is a reason to take a hike along IVGID streams…they need a clean up too!

Wonder where I get all the info for these events?? On the IVCBA.org calendar! Go there to find out what I didn’t have room for in this blog.

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Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 9/2/2026, Sarah Hockensmith | Tahoe Institute for Natural Science (TINS)

When you think of a badger or a wolverine, you probably picture a fierce, powerful predator and you’d be right. These tough mammals are part of the family Mustelidae, the weasels, and can occasionally be found in Tahoe alongside several other members of the weasel family. The longest of them all, with some adults reaching four feet in length, is the River Otter, which has certainly been making headlines lately.

The Tahoe region is home, at least occasionally, to seven species of mustelids, including not only the aforementioned North American River Otter, American Badger, and Wolverine but also their cousins, the Long-tailed Weasel, American Short-tailed Weasel, American Mink, and Pacific Marten. Some of these animals can look quite similar, while others appear very different from one another, but they all share characteristics typical of the family: elongated bodies, relatively short legs, small rounded ears, short skulls, and dense fur. Depending on the species, mustelids can be terrestrial, arboreal, or aquatic, with river otters and mink particularly well adapted to life in and around water.

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Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 8/27/2026, Laura Vitencz | CEO of Incline Village REALTORS®

The Incline Village REALTORS® announced it has received a $7500 Placemaking Grant to support the Veterans War Memorial in Incline Village, helping transform underutilized public land into a vibrant community space designed to bring people together.

The local grant award is made possible through funding support provided by the National Association of REALTORS® as part of its Community Development Advocacy program, which empowers REALTOR® associations to strengthen their communities through effective advocacy, partnerships, and on-the-ground initiatives.

Through this initiative, Incline Village REALTORS® provided two matching benches for veteran families to rest and view the memorial, working collaboratively with local stakeholders, the IVGID the Incline Village Veterans Club and the Military Officers Association to deliver a project that reflects local needs, community input and shared stewardship.

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Dear Community Members, If you were one of the 405 community members who joined us on Tuesday at the IVGID Community Open House event, thank you for coming out and learning more about upcoming projects and other important topics that IVGID is involved in. We would love your feedback on any of the topics or projects you heard about that afternoon.

Click here to leave feedback

Recap of the Open HouseIf you missed the Open House event, or if you just want to see some of the storyboard displays we had at the different stations again, we have an Open House Recap post on our website here. Projects and updates covered at the Open House:Incline Beach House construction updatesDiamond Peak’s Snowflake Lodge Replacement ProjectDiamond Peak Snowmaking Project & Lower Mountain Access ConceptTennis Court Replacement ProjectFinance:IVGID Facility Fee information & historyFiscal Watch updatesDistrict Strategic Planning (with GM Robert Harrison)Utilities Billing updatesCompleted Capital Improvement Projects:Incline Village Skate ParkOngoing Capital Improvement Projects:Holman Family Bike ParkPotential Future Projects:Ice Skating RinkWaste Management (Trash Service) updatesFood & Beverage updates and plansHuman Resources updates and jobsIncline Tahoe Foundation partnership projects

Open House Recap