I saw an article

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10240991/

indicating that it had now been discovered, and in fact it was a major
surprise, that one or more of Saturn's rings was a spiral, not a disk,
and I thought to myself "what's the big deal, a really smart guy told
me 25 years ago that that was the case"... that guy was Dave
Dennard... which led me to google Dave.... and it looks like I found
him... and now I'm really, really sorry I hadn't before now. : (

I'm gonna vent... Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh.... what a guy he was. I am so
sad he has left us. I knew him for a couple of weeks at most but we
spent awhole lot of time talking (that's what one does in those
locations), he made a HUGE impression on me, and I have thought about
him many, many times since. I guess part of me tried to push that
slice of my life to the back of my consciousness due to the stigma
attached to it (I seldom or never tell people about the experience),
but I'm gonna spill now.

First, let's confirm it's the same guy. Big, tall guy,maybe 6'9" or
taller. Redheaded, and balding. Brown eyes? Had narcolepsy, which
meant he could pass into a dreamlike state at any moment. He told me
he was Duke basketball player Kenny Dennard's brother. I am pretty
sure it is Northern CA is exactly where I would have expected him to
settle, I am aware there are many open-minded and thinking people there.

What he told me about physics:
1. He told me that "Gigantic" and "Tiny" were the same thing... that
there are as many universes in the very tiny world as there are in the
very huge (similar to what Donald Sutherland puts forth in "Animal
House"), but I hadn't seen that movie yet, so it was a new idea to me
at the time. He also said the two could conceivably "wrap", "meet" or
"connect". That was a mind opener for sure...
2. Saturn's rings were spirals, not disks. That has always sat tight
as accurate in my mind and I am not surprised to see it confirmed.
3. He told me that there was an alternate universe, similar to ours,
directly behind the Sun. I remember the word Theopolis (City of God?)
coming up in this discussion. What was he referring to, does anyone
know? I never got any further in my thinking about that, and I don't
remember all of the specifics.
4. Most importantly, he told me to study the way that light bends
around corners (diffraction and the resulting interference). He said
it is really important if one wants to see and understand the true
boundaries of our physical world. This I have done and I think he has
was right.

So Dave went out to northern CA, became a guru of sorts, and passed
away twenty years later. Good for you, Dave. Oh, it's gonna be a
duller world knowing Dave Dennard isn't in it anymore. He's now one
with the universe.

God bless you Dave, you enhanced my life. We'll meet in Theopolis one day.
: )
S