Celestial Time Travel

Last night while going to bed, my thoughts went back to a previous thought about time travel that is related to my post October Thoughts about Closeness.

When you look through a telescope at celestial objects, you are in a sense, time traveling. the image you see has a time delay due to the speed of light. In other words, when you look at the the moon, you are seeing a moon that existed 2.6 seconds ago. Looking at Alpha Centauri, is a time delay of 4.2 years. So as a person goes from one object in the sky to another one, they are essentially time traveling through thousands of years. So the question is, in what time is the space between the objects? How far away is the space? In the absence of mass, does time exist?

You Know You Are A Bad Typist When...

after typing in a word that is so mis-spelled, spell check's suggestion is "no suggestion".
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you right click on the mis-spelled word and it does not even show you a spell check menu.
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Spring Is Coming

Spring is coming ... at least spring semester at UVA! It looks like Esh will be returning this spring. After he took a significant break from classes this fall, he was still able to get a 2.4 GPA. This could certainly be better but considering that more than a third of the classes were skipped and each class had several grades of zero, this shows that he really pulled at the end of the semester. His graduate math (Math 521) even came in with an okay overall grade with a B on the final exam.

Recipes

I just discovered that our grocery store has recipes on its web site! Yum.

http://www.ukrops.com/email_2008/meal_ideas.asp

Wonderful Friends

We have wonderful friends. One of them decide a few months ago to begin running for various charities. She is around our age, so her kids are all grown (in fact, she has several grandkids). About a year ago she began to do marathons and at the same time, raise money for charities. We donated to her most recent run for St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis. She and her daughter finished the entire 13.1 miles (we got a beautiful postcard)! Bravo, A!!!!!!! Can't wait to see where the next postcard is from!

Today's Meal

We pretty much share equally the making and cleaning up for all of our meals in this house, with whomever is in attendance at any meal. So what are we having today? Yummy pot roast.

Here the pot roast is prior to going in the crock-pot. Beef, onions, carrots, peas, and canned tomatoes.







And here it is in the crock-pot where it will sit for several hours on low heat. We will eat it with crusty bread in big bowls. So easy!

Writing Poetry

Gnomie is getting ready to write a poem in our downstairs half-bath!

Dark Knight

Last night we watched The Dark Knight. Very powerful and well done movie. During it, the fact that one of Gotham's wealthiest men is being a vigilante made me think. Gotham City is definitely an analogy to any American city. Wealthiest men being vigilantes.....hmmm.

What they must REALLY be saying is Bill Gates is a masked vigilante! See the comparison below:

Even the names are similar; Bruce Wayne (ten letters) and Bill Gates (9 letters) - both first names begin with "Bs"! Too close to be a coincident! They both have technology companies and they part their hair on the same side of their head! So now that we have figured out Bill Gates secret identity will our lives be at risk??? Oh no! And where does Bill Gates keep the Batmobile?

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Gravity Well adds: I don't know about Bat Mobile but there is Windows Mobile

Gnomie is on the move again!! This time he is by Einstein's equation for General Relativity painted on our front hall wall. Gnomie warps space-time!

Never Dies

Right now on the Today Show it was mentioned that anything placed on cyberspace never dies. This is true. Once something is out in cyberspace it is always there. Many people do not fully embrace this and realize this is true just like nothing is ever actually private out on cyberspace. Another thing is that people do not realize that if you use a blog engine like blogger or inkspot or any of them, they own your entries and they keep records for forever. This does not bother everyone but people need to make the choices that are right for them. They will not be able to change the cyber-world so they need to make wise choices.

Final Exams

Final exams are underway at UVA and the dorms have quiet hours in order to facilitate studying by all. Bud has 5 exams, one of which is a take-home. We both wish him the best of luck! And grades with results high enough to return to UVA in the spring!

Angels and Demons

All three of us have enjoyed Dan Brown's books. Are they award winning pieces of literature? heck no; but they are fun and entertaining and very light on the brain. Da Vinci Code was all of our least favorite book although it got so much media attention. High on all of our favorites list (of Dan Brown's books only) is Angels and Demons; and we are happy to hear there will be another Tom Hanks movies released this spring!

Better Than Last Year!

Gung-Ho

I went gung-ho today. I got an XBox 360 Elite and a whole crap load of games (this description fits!). The new Prince of Persia, Tomb Raider- Underworld (fashioned after me as I look exactly like Lara Croft - hahahaha), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Star Wars The Force Unleashed, and ........... about 6 more that I can not even remember but were recommended by the store personnel (yes, I fell prey to their tactics). It should keep us busy in this house over winter break that's for sure! I will be sure to write reviews and keep everyone posted on our experiences.

Sheets and Towels

Hallelujah! Bud's sheets and towels will come home and get washed over winter break. Yes, that's correct. They have not been washed since August! The question now is will we have enough water and soap to do the job?

Best Thanksgiving Ever

We all had a really good Thanksgiving. We played a Nancy Drew game all day long. Food was provided by our local grocery store so little cooking involved. It was completely relaxing in every way; and we all needed that after a very busy couple of months!

Castle Mallory Un-haunted

We finished "The Haunting of Castle Mallory" the new Nancy Drew game! It is great; in fact, we all agree it is one of our favorite Nancy Drew games. It uses math, chemistry and has tons of fun puzzles. Even Esh enjoys it. Really great game.

Xmas Vacation

This Christmas vacation, we will go to Ocracoke again. We are all looking forward to the vacation from the hard work we have been doing. The house we have usually stayed in is already booked so we are going to try a different one. The new house is on the harbor which will be different; usually we stay on the marsh. We will be able to see the ferries come and go, and each of us will have a king size bed and our own private baths! Linens are provided for us which will be great.

It's A Girl

Bud is home again to study. And, he was killed today by a thrown sock! His assassin was a girl and the person organizing the game is a girl!!! Awesome....

Infinity

If Bud returns to UVA in the spring (and it is iffy due to the five week "break" this semster) one of the classes he is going to take is about Infinity. There will be lots of reading and discussion about infinity and all of its different aspects. Sounds like a really great class!

Amazing Google Earth

Google Earth has always been pretty amazing but now it is awesome! They now have actual photos of each street or building, etc.! You can take a panoramic view of our neighborhood! Truly wonderful. Just click on the above embedded link, key in your address and take a look. Camera icons show where the photos are. If you do not see one for your address, zoom in and more cameras appear. Click on a camera and view the view! Try Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower -- anything.

Privacy is a thing of the past!

Gnomie at my drawing table!! Wonder what he will draw??

Assassin's Game

Esh's school has an Assasins game going on for a couple of weeks. You are a target and you have a target. How is one assassinated? By being hit with a clean sock. If you are hit, you are dead.

You cannot be killed at your place of work during working hours or while in the middle of playing a sport.

Also, each day has a method of immunity from being assassinated. Yesterday, if you were wearing your shirt inside out, you could not be killed. If someone tried to kill you and you were immune, they are dead.

Today, to be immune, you must be carrying a banana. It must be in your hand and visible, not in a pocket or backpack.

Esh is still alive but so is his target.

Get in the mood! Click Here

My Own Worst Enemy

This TV season, there is a new show on NBC called My Own Worst Enemy. It has Christian Slater playing the main character and we consider it to be a fairly enjoyable show.

However, the questions raised by the show's premise might be better than the show itself. As background, a man has a chip in his brain which has begun to malfunction. Sometimes, he is a well trained professional killer (aka Edward) and other times he is Mr. Typical Family Man (aka Henry). What is not clear is this: which one is the actual / original pre-chip person? Also, is it okay to have a chip implanted in your brain which affects your personality? The answer seems straight forward to be "No" but if it is okay to have a prosthetic arm why would it not be okay to have a brain chip? If it is okay to have an artificial heart why would it not be okay to have a brain chip?

Interesting questions are raised by this show.

Insurance

We have always felt that insurance is a good thing; additionally we have always tried to make sure we are not over-insured, too (although it may be better to be over- vs. under- insured). Each month, we purchase health insurance through an HMO. We also pay for life insurance, house insurance, car insurance, and an umbrella policy! We have Orkin termite insurance, and insurance on the pipes and telephone lines leading to the house. We have made sure that Bud has copies of his insurance , too, especially while driving. Insurance is just such a good idea as a person never knows what the future holds. Bud and October have both had fender benders in the past year and the insurance cards were pulled out. Gravity had some other unknown vehicle scrape along the side of his car while it was parked just a year ago! Good idea -- insurance.

Dough Boy

OMG, Pillsbury now does pre-made pie crusts! Wow. They already make yummy cinnamon twists, crescent rolls, dinner rolls, cookie dough, ...........

Buddy

Bud is home this weekend. He is studying here the entire weekend in order to get caught up. He decided to take a bit of a break at UVA to the extent that teachers wrote asking where-are-you types of things to both him and his academic Dean. We will see what grades are like at the end of the semester........

Random Facts

Like random facts? Here are two posts that are amazing!

http://diamondhearted.blogspot.com/2008/10/very-random-facts.html

http://diamondhearted.blogspot.com/2008/10/more-random-facts.html

Ancient Rome Reborn

From UVA's news blog: Ancient Rome has been reborn as a collaboration between Google Earth and UVA. Cool video where you travel through ancient Rome.

http://uvatoday.org/blog/?p=472

Time For Another Puzzle!

The numbers 1 to 9 should be in each row and each column and in each square with no repetitions. Have fun!

Lion Sighting

For a couple of weeks now, the news has reported a lion, yes -- full grown actual lion like they find in Africa -- lion in our neighborhood. NBC says that many people have seen it and that police have told them that the sources are credible. Wow. We are being very careful when we let the girls outside. Dottie, the slowest and oldest dog goes out the front with October on a lease; Gravity takes the two twins (born a year apart and complete opposites) out with him in the back. The woods behind the house are populated with deer; and there is a farm with sheep and lamas nearby so I am not sure they would go after our literal "pack". Wonder if any of the neighbors are missing any outdoors cats.....

New Soup

Tonight we are having another new experimental dinner soup. I have taste tested it and it is great! So here it is:

Buy Campbell's Southwestern Corn soup (comes in boxes -- one per 1.5 person). This was used for the soup base. The portions below depend on number of people and amount of corn soup base. The soup should be very chunky and full of other stuff -- sort of like a stew.

Also buy:

• precooked beef bratwurst - chop into bite size pieces
• napa cabbage - chop; it will shrink significantly in the soup
• onion - peel and chop
• fresh tomato - de-stem then chop
• butternut squash - peel and chop into chunks; it becomes very soft when cooked so fairly big chunks are okay
• fresh parsley - chopped
• olive oil

In the bottom of the soup pan, very lightly brown the onion, cabbage, squash. Add bratwurst. Stir and heat until meat is warm and slightly browned. Add tomatoes and parsley and heat about 2 minutes. Add the boxed soup. Simmer at least an hour so flavors blend. Yum.

Our travel gnome is at it again!!

Here he is by a BIG picture of October's butt!

Ukrops

Ukrops supermarket is amazing! For only $111, I just ordered Turkey Day meal. Here is what we will have:

• 7-8 lb turkey breast cooked and ready to go
• 2 lbs. cornbread dressing
• 2 lbs. sweet potato casserole
• 1.5 lbs. seasoned green beans
• 1 qt savory gravy
• 1.75 lbs. cranberry orange salad
• dozen white house rolls
• dozen min-croissants
• one sweet potato pie
• dozen assorted cup cakes
• dozen country ham biscuits
• 2 lbs. triple cheese macaroni cheese

I don't think I could cook the meal myself for a cheaper price especially at my current hourly wage of $50 per hour. With everything precooked, I will be a guest at Thanksgiving Dinner like everyone else and I love it! It is the way to go.

Eleventh Hour

Gravity and I have watched some of the new TV shows (The Mentalist, My Own Worst Enemy, Eleventh Hour) and our favorite is Eleventh Hour. It is a very well done show where a scientist works with the FBI to solve science related crimes. There is also a female FBI agent assigned to protect him and this situation has given a few instances of comic relief. very good show and highly recommended especially to those of you who like science.

Sleep Disorders Redux

Gravity placed a post on his blog about sleep disorders that is really interesting. It triggered some additional thoughts in me.

Remember the Ambien stories where people who had taken Ambien were driving cars while asleep and cooking breakfast at 2 AM while completely asleep? Well, I wonder if Ambien creates REM Sleep Behavior Disorder in people who do not actually have REM Sleep Behavior Disorder naturally! Interesting. Some day we actually might know the answers to all of these questions.

One of Our Favorite Authors

One of Gravity's and October's favorite authors died yesterday. Michael Crichton was 66. Many people probably did not even understand that Jurassic Park was primarily about chaos mathematical theory and that the dinosaurs were only used to demonstrate the math theory. His research was awe-inspiring to say the least! We will miss your books. Fond farewell.

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October says:

My two favorite books of his are Andromeda Strain and the little known The Great Train Robbery which is based on an actual train robbery in England. Both of these books are very well researched and written. Andromeda Strain was actually written while Crichton was in medical school. I like both of the films produced from both of theses book, too. It could be because Crichton was heavily involved with both of these films, too. I will miss his books.

Web Users Beware!

Are "private" blogs actually private? Many say not so. How could they be as it is impossible to secure a world wide web. The other day I found this out on Google:

"Saturday, July 26, 2008. Starting again. I've become really interested in crocheting again. I finally found a pattern for a..."

This is from a blog that is supposed to be private! Web users beware. Nothing is actually private. Privacy is best left to the phone...no that does not work; best left to the US mail system...no that does not work either; and definitely not email. Oh well, there is just no privacy. Everyone is constantly spying on everyone else. So, just hang loose and go with the flow. Be happy -- don't worry.

Voted

Gravity and I both just voted. We voted cross-party; i.e., we voted for people from multiple parties not just following the party line. Hope everyone else votes too! Esh, and his roommate, are not old enough

Surprise Candidates

What a surprise. There are six groups of two running for President and Vice President!

President and Vice President
Statewide
Chuck Baldwin and Darrell L. Castle
Independent Green
http://www.baldwin08.com
President and Vice President
Statewide
Bob Barr and Wayne A. Root
Libertarian
http://www.libertarianparty.com
President and Vice President
Statewide
John McCain and Sarah Palin
Republican
http://www.johnmccain.com
President and Vice President
Statewide
Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente
Green
President and Vice President
Statewide
Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez
Independent
http://www.votenader.org
President and Vice President
Statewide
Barack Obama and Joe Biden
Democrat
http://www.barackobama.com

Fun At College

One of Esh's many gifts is the ability to make friends. People just love him! (Gravity and I must have done it all correctly!) Every time we talk with him over the phone, he tells us delightful tales of adventure and fun. He and several of his friends are applying to Brown Residence College at UVA. It is like a college within a university. It is limited to only 300 students so the process is very selective; but Esh already has Friends who live at Brown and they are encouraging him to apply.

One interesting thing about Esh's friends is that they cover the complete scope of grades at UVA; and they include boys and girls. When Esh was in HS his guidance counselor once told me that everyone liked Esh. She said this was unusual with gifted kids as they often act as if they were entitled to treat others badly because they were bright. Well, Esh keep up the good work! And good luck getting into Brown Residence College!

Seasons Survey

The other day, I was thinking about how wonderful autumn was as it is my favorite season; and how glad I was that summer, my least favorite season, had finally ended. Then I began to wonder how many people were influenced in choosing their favorite season based on the conclusion of their least favorite season – a type of “Ah ha” feeling of relief. I began to ask people – friends, family, people at my veterinarian, a class of students at UVA, my hairdresser, etc. It appears that my initial thought might be correct. The sample size for the survey was far too small to be statistically valid, but, none the less, it is interesting. Following are the results of this very small survey.

Results:

Based on the repeating sequence of four seasons, the normal statistical occurrence of favorite and least favorite occurring adjacent to each other would occur about 50% of the time. Of this 50%, half would have the least favorite preceding the favorite with an overall result of 25% of the time. The chart below shows what would be expected if no influence occurred between the choice of favorite and least favorite seasons; i.e. they were random in occurrence.

Favorite and least favorite not adjacent -- 50%
Favorite preceding least favorite -- 25%
Least favorite preceding favorite -- 25%

The results gathered from the survey varied greatly from what would be expected based on typical random choices as listed above. The survey results are below.

Least favorite preceding favorite -- 57%
Favorite preceding least favorite -- 16.5%
Favorite and least favorite not adjacent (exclusively summer/winter) -- 16.5%
Not familiar with four seasons -- 10%

Definitely, the occurrence of the least favorite season prior to the favorite season must have some significance. Whether the influence is the “Thank goodness that season has finally ended!” effect would have to be determined from an additional survey; but the results of my brief and small survey results are clear. Many people’s favorite season follows their least favorite one. It is definitely true with me.

Youth at College

This weekend we found out that Esh's roommate is younger, too. Esh turns 17 in a few days and his roommate turns 18 in January. They will be the same age for two months.

Mrs. Butterworth To The Rescue

If Obama gets into the White House, he will need one of the Geico spokes-people to help decide what to do. Mrs. Butterworth is so happy and positive she would be a good choice.

Chinese Cabbage Soup

Bok choi, tenderloin strips, water chesternut slices, mushrooms, tamari sauce, chicken broth, carrots, leeks, snow peas, Napa cabbage. Yum.

UVA Family Weekend

This weekend is Family Weekend at UVA. We went up to C'ville and took Esh out to lunch. Then we wen to see Grandma L and Uncle C and Aunt F, October's long-term friend. It was a good day. It was good to see Esh, meet some of his suite-mates, see L, C, and F. Truly a family weekend.

Great Gas

I got great gas today for my sports car. 93 octane gas here was $2.78 per gallon at a Shell station. Nice.

Autumn Soup Again

Ah...Autumn. Time for my autumn soup again and indeed, we had it this past weekend. For the first time, I added some left-over steak and it was indeed a nice addition.

So what goes into my autumn soup? Always chicken broth, butternut squash, tomatoes, canned black eyed peas, carrots, onions, salt and pepper, and fresh young spinach. For the rest of the soup, I look at what is good at the store. This means that sometimes I also add zucchini, fresh peas, canned fresh kidney beans, canned diced tomatoes, turnips, potatoes, meat, corn, flesh black eyed peas, and the kitchen sink (kidding of course -- it never looks tasty enough!)

I think next I will try to develop a soup for each season. I also want to develop a Sukiyaki soup. Love bok choi!

Esh Is Sick

Poor Esh. He has one of those phlegmy icky things; but he is not alone. the entire suite of 10 boys has the phlegmy icky thing! We have offered to pick him up and redeliver home if he gets to the point of wanting the things that home has to offer that dorms do not -- fires in the fireplace, a soaking tub, people to feed you in bed, animals to comfort you and most of all -- quiet. Dorms are never quiet except maybe when everyone is sick. Our love to Esh. Tomorrow might be better!

Favorite Season

Yesterday, something occurred to me about favorite seasons. Do they always follow people's least favorite season?

As an example, my favorite season is autumn. My least favorite season is summer. Gravity is close on liking all seasons but his least favorite is probably winter and his slightly most favorite is spring.

Today at the grocery store, I asked people. Two people said that their favorite was spring and their least favorite is winter!

It makes sense. After your ;east favorite season you get a very welcome change; and that season becomes your most favorite.

Midterms

Esh called today to say that midterms are going well. He is dropping one of the physics classes as he is too busy with grading for 19 credits. Gravity and i have no problem with this decision what-so-ever. Luv ya Esh.

Meridian

The following poem is from UVA's magazine Meridian.

by Victoria Chang

Dear P.,

Last night I buried you alive in my
sheets. Tonight I drop you and you
shatter into thousands of crystals.
They spill between the poplars, wake
them by the hundreds. I crawl and
collect them one by one. But when
I touch one, the ground becomes
the night sky, the crystals turn into stars.
I become the pine that stretches over
the lake, reaching for your reflections.

Hoody for Pearl

One of our family's sweetest members went to the vet today and came back collared. She had licked a spot on her foot into a problem. The collar will prevent her from doing more licking. She is miserable but she is adjusting. She has to wear it for a month. Long time.

Happy 50th

Happy B-day Paddington Bear!

Home Sweet Home

Esh was home this weekend and spent hours and hours with his friends here. For a short while, they were here. I was told that our house was exactly what they wanted when they got a house! Wow, what a compliment. It makes me very happy. I am so happy that Esh had a good weekend, too! Now...back to college and back to work. Love ya!

Barney Gets Stuck

The electronics genius on the MI team is called Barney. In tonight's show, while stealing plutonium and trying narrowly not to get caught, Barney went in and out of elevator shafts probably a dozen times. You could say, he really got the shaft in this show!

National AP Scholar

Esh got another award in the mail this week. The College Board AP program has named him a National Scholar!! Hooray, Esh! This is the highest AP Honor available for US citizens. Wahoo.

Autumnal Foods

Somewhere along the line I began to associate foods with the different seasons. The minute the air gets crispy with a chill, I begin to think about apples and squash with brown sugar and nuts; and pot roast and cherry pie. The aroma of pot roast or turkey cooking fills a house with extra warmth and comfort. i guess it all goes back to the fact that we are animals jut like all of the other wonderful creatures on Earth.

Harvard Law School Changes

From Cavlier Daily:

"So when Harvard Law School decided this past week to overhaul its entire grading system, it was a big deal. To put it concisely, faculty will no longer give letter grades, instead offering a modified pass-fail method with four possible marks: Honors, Pass, Low Pass, and Fail. Traditionally, most law schools have used the same grading system we’re familiar with here at the University, with letter grades and pluses and minuses. When and where this practice changes, if it does, a legal education and its job placement sequence could change fundamentally.

There are reasons to believe a widespread changeover won’t happen. For one, HLS isn’t pioneering this trend, but is simply switching to a style of grading that Yale Law School has used since the 1960s. Additionally, Stanford Law announced in May that it would take up this method. In that sense, it isn’t a revolutionary idea; it’s been around for a while. Still, you can bet that if Harvard is altering its game, other schools will give pass-fail a second look. "

VA Leaves MD In The Dust

From the Cavalier Daily:

"Cavs leave Terrapins shell-shocked in victory --Cavalier offense, defense fire on all cylinders to shut out Maryland 31-0....In Virginia’s 31-0 dismantling of Maryland Saturday, Cavalier fans cheered themselves hoarse..."

Great video highlights.

Honors List

On the honors list is our Esh!! BIG Congrats!

B Rated Disasters

Most of the day, Gravity and I have worked. Gravity is working on a project that is about to wrap-up and I am learning Photoshop CS3 so I can edit the photos for my next two class projects more efficiently.

In the background, we have had the SciFi Channel on. All day they have been running B-rated disaster movies. It has been hysterical. First there was a massive volcanic eruption, then an atomic tornado and now a black hole is consuming the Earth! Wow....and all in one day.

Ghost Dogs at Moon Lake

We finished Secret of the Scarlet Hand, a mystery involving Mayan culture. So onward to Ghost Dogs at Moon Lake! We have arrived to find our hostess gone and the house was attacked by BIG dogs with green eyes the very first night!!

Gas Shock

I got a shock at the gas pump when I filled up today. I have been hearing horror stories of long, LONG gas lines and prices over $5! Nothing had prepared me for what I experienced. My car takes 93 octane so you can imagine what I was prepared for. I just stared at the gas station and the sign out front. There were no lines and even 93 octane was only $3.93 per gallon.......... The best kind of shock.

Wetlands

When is a wetland a bog or a swamp or a fen or a marsh? According to my math book, the classification is based on the pH levels of the water in the wetland.

I became curious so I checked Wikipedia. Along with other classifiactions, pH is indedd one factor for classification. "A bog or mire is a wetland type that accumulates acidic peat" according to the Wikigod. "Fens are characterized by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline." "A salt marsh is a type of marsh that is a transitional intertidal between land and salty or brackish water..." Interesting stuff in math books!

Darden Cmmerce School at UVA

The Darden school of buisness at UVA weighed in on our current financial woes. Following is an article for UVA Today News blog.

"Darden Panel On Financial Market Crisis

I made the mistake this morning of looking at my 401k online. Big mistake. Big, big, big, super-big mistake. And with that in mind, the Darden School of Business held a panel discussion last week to discuss the current turmoil in the financial markets. You can read about the discussion here, or click below to watch a Youtube version. Some great insight into what’s behind all the Wall Street turmoil."

UVA In Space

From UVA Today blog:

"U.Va. Alum On Space Shuttle Mission

Congrats to Leland Melvin, a U.Va. alum (MSE ‘91), who was just named to the NASA Crew for Space Shuttle Discovery’s STS-129 Mission — a space shuttle launch targeted for October 2009.
Melvin flew as a mission specialist on the STS-122 mission in 2008. He was born in Lynchburg, Va. Melvin earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Richmond and a master’s degree in materials science engineering from the University of Virginia. He was selected as an astronaut in 1998.

For more on Melvin, here’s a link to his official NASA bio. Fun fact: Melvin was drafted in the 11th round of the NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions in 1986."

Courtesy of XKCD

UVA Rooms on the Lawn

Lawn Rooms

Via UVAToday Blog there was a good article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Friday about some minor historic renovations that are being down to the 104 rooms on the Lawn and Range.

Today Visits UVA

The Today show visited UVA! Watch the video.

Nemesis Ad

I have a "Nemesis Ad". Every time it comes on , I cringe. It has a woman on it that talks about having to "cath" with this deep Southern accent. It is really creepy!
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P.S. When I just spell checked this post, "cath" flagged as a non-existent word. Hah! I thought so!

US Rowing Team

In my class at UVA is a member of the US rowing team that went to China! What an honor to share a class with such a highly accomplished young woman. UVA is such a good school.

Happy Autumn

Happy autumn 2008!!!

Invisibility

On The Today Show they were just talking about the various Peter Petrelli action figures. Apparently there is an invisible one. Al Roker said, it is actually a bomb as it must be an empty box. That made me think of a part of one of the Harry Potter books where the bookstore got in the book for one class, The Book of Invisibility but then they could never find them.

The odd thing is, we actually have a working model of invisibility, something akin to an invisibility cloak. Sometimes I think my glasses have become invisible because i can't find them without wearing them!

CERN (or LHC) Rap

Here is a great educational rap song about the Large Hadron Collider!

http://www.vimeo.com/1431471?pg=embed&sec=1431471

Esh Is Home

Esh is home tonight, and tomorrow, we will drive Ian back to UVA. He got a raise. $13 per hour is not bad for a first job at 16! He is enjoying school a lot. His Sanskrit teacher he says is the best teacher he has ever had. He has study groups for two classes. He looks great and seems happy. The dorms are hot but cooler weather is beginning to happen.
----------------------------------------------------
Gravity adds:

Esh is also listed as a teacher in the conceptual physics class for which he is a grader!
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October adds:

Esh slept 10 hours too
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Gravity adds:

It was nice to have him home but also to see that he was eager to get back to School and friends.

Cavalier Daily Online

The Cavalier Daily is now online.. Enjoy comics, commentaries and news stories on your PC!

http://www.cavalierdaily.com/

New UVA Blog

UVA has a new blog -- a news blog. We have added it our links.

http://uvatoday.org/blog/

Women and Blacks

I remember Nicelle Nichols saying years ago that she as very proud of being on Star Trek because it portrayed her as a powerful black woman who was an officer on a space ship; this was true. As I mentioned before, Gravity and I are watching old Mission Impossible TV shows; we are on season two. Towards the end of season one I began to realize that these old shows (1966 to 1973) do an even better portrayal of blacks, and additionally, women. The members of the MI team are all totally professional -- no even hints of romance. Greg Morris, the shows' black team member, is the master engineer and gadgets whiz -- an absolute genius who can make and create anything based on principals of physics and chemistry. The teams' woman (played by Barbara Bain) portrays a former model with an eidetic memory and who never needs to be rescued by the men. She thinks fast and quickly with brilliance. Both women and blacks are portrayed in a more flattering light than often done today when few shows don't eventually run amok with romance. The new MI movies pale in many ways to the old shows with the shows' plot lines being based on valor, honesty and love of country; and the focus on a team instead of one man (yuk - Tom Cruise). Please someone, turn the old shows into current MI movies!

Nightly Glow

For the past week (amazingly enough it has been a week!), there has been a nice warm glow in the kitchen at night when we go to bed. The oven light switch no longer works; and, believe it or not, the oven bulb is still working! It makes sense that it could break as it is a simply on-off mechanical switch yet neither of us has heard of the switch breaking before. A new one is on order so it will either be fixed soon or the bulb will burn out and then it will get switched. in the meantime, if we sneak down the stairs, we might find three cats basking in the glow at 2 AM.

Irony

Gravity and I are still watching old Mission Impossible shows. the one tonight is about counterfeiting money. Martin Landau explains to a corrupt banker that he has created the counterfeit via a computer, by copying. Ha! Could this show be where all of the counterfeiter got the idea? [Of course, Greg Morris was sitting inside what was supposed to be a computer. Peter Graves fed sheets into the front of the "computer, Greg Morris then took printed sheets from a stack done ahead of time and fed them out of the front of the "computer". It was hysterical!]
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Gravity Adds,

In my computer, when it is working well, I have a small gnome.
When it is not working well I have a gremlin.

That explains it all!

Hanna

Tropical storm Hanna was just rain here; not even much rain. Too bad Haiti can not say the same. We will have to see what Ike brings. It is not expected to be bad here at all; just rain. We can use the rain. It might allow to plant more azaleas in the front yard, under the trees.

Hospital Shock

We have had a shock. It used to be that any doctor at a hospital was considered to be on the hospital staff. If a hospital participated with your insurance company, everyone that you would see also participated with your insurance company. This is not longer true. Every doctor is billed separately. Some may be on your insurance plan, and some might not. This includes all of the doctors who operate behind the scenes, that you never see or can talk to like pathologists. The response from the hospital as that the patient must ask the doctor whether that doctor participates in their insurance plan. Okay...so I have been in a car accident and am taken to a hospital by ambulance. Exactly HOW am I supposed to ask the doctors if I am unconscious? Our medical care is broken and needs to be fixed. Our current method of separate billing organizations is incredibly inefficient and expensive. Time for socialized medicine and I never thought I would say that but things are spiralling out of control. Speak to your US Senator now.

Star Trek Weekend

We have decided to have a Star Trek weekend. We are watching all of the Star Trek movies over this weekend except the first movie. That is three a day. Star Trek immersion!

Mile High

Denver is always a mile high; but this week, it is also knee deep.

Missing Esh

The pets have had varying reactions to Esh not being here. Pearl and Dottie seem to have adjusted fairly quickly, as has Autumn Leigh. Wilbur, our autistic cat, is oblivious to everything to begin with so he is okay. That leaves two other pets. The first to have a problem is Jojo and she reacted immediately. She has been extremely "needy" requiring constant petting, cuddling, etc. She seemed better yesterday but last night she seemed to have a problem again. Mark is also having a problem. "Mister Extrovert" who greets all visitors at the front door has become withdrawn and has had only one short spell of purring last night. They will eventually adjust. And, the first time Esh comes home to visit will be a shock (in a good way).

Word Math

A) What number, by adding one letter, becomes a sound?

B) What number, by adding two letters, becomes isolated?

C) What number, by inserting one letter, becomes finely ground meal?

D) What number, by subtracting one letter, becomes a plant?

E) What number, by subtracting one letter, becomes a preposition?

F) What number, by replacing one letter with another one, becomes a luminous object?

WWE and DNC

Eureka finished on Sci-Fi channel and WWE [http://www.wwe.com/] came on after it. The image shown reminded me of an earlier image...the Democratic National Convention! Hmmmmm...subliminal messaging?

Esh's New Job

Esh has his first job! Tonight, over the speaker phone, we helped with tax forms. Esh will grade papers for "How Things Work" [http://howthingswork.virginia.edu/]. What a terrific step towards adulthood!

Leaving the nest

The mind is prepared
at least you think it is
The child is prepared
at least he thinks he is
Emotions seesaw as we all prepare
but getting all things together makes us aware
That a change is coming for parents and child
Sometimes it feels big and sometimes mild
Though the drop off and unpacking is a momentary distraction
and buying a t-shirt and lunch the next action
Reality sets in that we soon will be leaving
For parents and child emotions and tensions start weaving
Goodbyes are said and away we go
Then the mind and emotions set in with questions a glow
Will he be okay, will he do okay
Will we be okay, or just worry each day
Freedom is felt, from all involved
But all hang on to ensured we are loved
Dogs and cats smell and see a change
Their emotions like ours have a wide range
It will take awhile before we all start to adjust
Life moves forwards with lessons learned for all a must
But from time to time home he will come and call
To visit with friends, parents, animals and know that he is welcome by all.

Terrific Olympics

From Wikipedia:

Afghanistan, Bahrain, Mauritius, Sudan, Tajikistan and Togo won their first Olympic medals. Serbia won its first medal as an independent NOC, having previously won medals as part of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro. Bahrain, Mongolia (which had previously held the record for most medals without a gold) and Panama won their first Olympic gold medals. A total of 88 countries have won medals, and 55 of them have won at least one gold medal