3 years ago we embarked on a project to put computing inside a contact lens -- an immensely challenging technical problem with an important application to health.  While I am delighted at the progress that project has made, I could not have imagined the potential of the initiative it has grown into -- a life sciences team with the mission to develop new technologies to make healthcare more proactive.  The efforts it has spawned include  a nanodiagnostics platform, a cardiac and activity monitor, and the Baseline Study.

It’s a huge undertaking, and I am delighted to announce that the life sciences team is now ready to graduate from our X lab and become a standalone Alphabet company, with Andy Conrad as CEO.  While the reporting structure will be different, their goal remains the same. They’ll continue to work with other life sciences companies to move new technologies from early stage R&D to clinical testing—and, hopefully—transform the way we detect, prevent, and manage disease.  
   
The team is relatively new but very diverse including software engineers, oncologists, and optics experts.  This is the type of company we hope will thrive as part of Alphabet and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

Freefall!

You know the sensation of weightlessness you get from the drop of a roller coaster.  Well, you don't get much of that jumping out of an airplane because the high airspeed causes you to feel pressure the moment you step out.  A helicopter, however, can go very slow so when you jump it's like falling through space.

I had a blast today testing out a new kiteboat with my friend +Don Montague.  It was amazing to go ~2.5x wind speed.  But what topped it off was catching an actual green flash at the end of the day with the sun setting right behind the golden gate bridge.  I thought I had seen them before kinda sorta but this was really bright saturated no-question-about-it green.

Morning of the apocalypse.

Straight out of the camera this am. Beautiful yet ominous sunrise.

"You there, pull over!"

[taken during sf fleet week]

Don't miss today's solar eclipse.  I took the one below a couple years back on Hao atoll.  It's very spectacular in person if you around Cairns right now but if not you can catch a live stream online.  It's about 5 minutes to totality at many sites.

No place in the world has made me consider my place in the universe like Jellyfish Lake. Millions of creatures all drifting seemingly aimlessly, searching for light, for the energy to spawn so generations of their offspring may do the same years later. I take a small breath, sink toward the bottom, watching them in wonder and think are we really so different?

Pa-cif-ic: calm, tranquil, at peace.

On a rare day when this ocean earns its name, +Anne Wojcicki finds tranquility in the stunning waters of Maupiti.

I must confess, I am dreading today's elections.
Not because of who might win or lose.
Not because as a Californian, my vote for President will count 1/3 as much as an Alaskan (actually it won't matter at all -- I'm not in a swing state).
Not because my vote for Senate will count 1/50 as much as an Alaskan.

But because no matter what the outcome, our government will still be a giant bonfire of partisanship.  It is ironic since whenever I have met with our elected officials they are invariably thoughtful, well-meaning people.  And yet collectively 90% of their effort seems to be focused on how to stick it to the other party.

So my plea to the victors -- whoever they might be: please withdraw from your respective parties and govern as independents in name and in spirit.  It is probably the biggest contribution you can make to the country.

[If you agree, pass it on to your newly elected officials.]