NASA's holding it's breath, and so am I

If you think about it, say a prayer for the astronauts and cosmonaut who are returning tonight from the International Space Station. They are scheduled to land 250 miles from the capital of Kazakhstan about 10:07 EDT. Because the space shuttle programme is grounded, they are returning on a Soyuz capsule. This particular one has never been through a descent. Space is at such a premium that they had to leave most of their belongings behind, including an Australian digeridoo that one of the astronauts played to his children via video. This will be the first time that American astronauts will touchdown in a foreign spacecraft on foreign soil. Good luck to them all.

PS Whew! I watched NasaTV's broadcast of the ISS mission control and they're saying they have readio contact with the crew on the ground. As the Colombia and Challenger taught us, no mission is exactly routine. The crew had been in space for 5 1/2 months. It's good to have them home (on earth, anyway), and I'm sure their families and the people at NASA are relieved.

PPS Had no idea when I went to bed that no one knew where the capsule was, exactly. Seems there was a 2-hour scramble and some very tense moments, but everyone was okay. :)

What a shame

New Hampshire residents were shocked today to learn that one of their beloved state symbols, a rock formation called the "Old Man of the Mountain" has collasped. For those not familiar with it, look on one the New Hampshire quarters or visit http://www.nhparks.state.nh.us/ParksPages/franconianotch/oldman.html. Even though mountains are subject to erosion and other natural processes, it's hard to think that something that's stood for millions of years could be here one day and gone the next. It would be like us losing Mammoth Cave, or the day Washington's Mt St Helens blew its top, except that NH had adopted the rock's image in all sorts of official and unoffical ways. As someone who's never even been to New England, I wasn't familiar with the landmark until the quarters came out. Now I'm sad to see it go.

Oops...let me tell you one more thing (I'm told that was my favourite line when I was three years old)

Last night I took a quiz that rates how well you mesh with religious systems based on a detailed series of questions. I told Dwana about it and she wanted me to send her the site, but I know she'll check the blog, so I'll post it here. It's called SelectSmart. Click on the first link under "Religion Selector".

My results were very interesting. The percentage indicates how close a match you are to the religion.

1. Neo-Pagan (100%) (Well, that's comforting, since I am Pagan. But not Neo-Pagan. It's a small distinction most non-Pagans wouldn't recognise.)
2. New Age (86%) (Well, I guess that figures. But I'm not into New Age practices for their own sake.)
3. Mahayana Buddhism (81%) (I really don't know the difference between the two Buddhist forms. I should check that out.)
4. Unitarian Universalism (78%) (I have been a member of the UU church and still would be if they weren't so pushy about money.)
5. Theravada Buddhism (74%) (See 3, above.)
6. Hinduism (73%) (Hindus will tell you otherwise because the term pagan has come to have bad connotations in the West, but it is the last remaining Indo-European pagan faith.)
7. Scientology (68%) (Scientology scares me. The fact I scored even that well against them scares me more.)
8. New Thought (64%) (I had no idea what this was until I went to http://newthoughtalliance.org/. Interesting something to explore.)
9. Jainism (60%) (I've always thought I would make a lovely Jain. I mean, come on, I watch where I walk so I won't step on ants.)
10. Sikhism (59%) (I can see that. I know a little about it now, and it's basically an attempt to lead a moral and pure life. But they're monotheists.)
11. Liberal Quakers (58%)
12. Mainline - Liberal Christian Protestants (58%)
13. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (56%) (I've read some of the writings of the founder of Christian Science and it reminds me of Theosophy and other Victorian attempts at understanding the universe. As much as I believe in prayer and natural healing, though, give me an antibiotic if I need it.)
14. Reform Judaism (56%) I considered converting at some point, but if I had, I think I'd have to have been Orthodox, which isn't the greatest if you're female.)
15. Orthodox Quaker (47%)
16. Secular Humanism (46%)
17. Taoism (44%)
18. Bahá'í Faith (41%)
19. Orthodox Judaism (39%)
20. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (35%)
21. Mainline - Conservative Christian Protestant (28%)
22. Eastern Orthodox (28%)
23. Islam (28%)
24. Roman Catholic (28%)
25. Seventh Day Adventist (25%)
26. Jehovah's Witness (23%)
27. Non-theist (20%)

I'm intrigued that Catholicism is so far down on the list. I always rather thought that if I were Christian I'd be Catholic. Christianity didn't even make it into the top ten. You'd never know that I come from a long line of Baptists, Presbyterians, and a random Hugenot or two, would you? Or that on two separate branches of the family virtually every male was a Baptist minister? Hmmm...

Check out the site. There are a lot of pop-ups (and resist any requests to download programs), but there are also links to sites related to those topics. And it's not just religion, there are "selectors" (read, quiz) on virtually everything.

You are getting sleepy...

I don't know why, but I feel like I could sleep for aeons. I guess it's been a long week. I'm SOOOO glad it's the weekend. Dwana and I ran a few errands. I picked up the rabies tag I'd left at the vet, picked up my medicine from the pharmacy, and refilled my cell phone. (Apparently VoiceStream has an annual deal where if you get one of the cards they double the amount in your account plus some extra. They did the same thing last year. So, for $25 I got $60 worth of phone calls. Not bad. I seem to be rolling in specials lately, which is good; eating a non-allergy diet means shopping at the co-op, which I love but which is just more expensive than Kroger's. I spent more in the last month there than I probably had the previous three months. Of course, I was out of almost everything, so that made it worse. I did try to at least load up on things like rice/spelt flour rather than spending $5 on a loaf of bread, though.)

Dwana and I hit Kroger and I got some heavier things that I couldn't take with me on the bus yesterday, including 80lbs of potting soil for only $5. When we left, we got caught in a torrential downpour. We hung out under the overhang waiting for it to let up, where, as she put it, we got caught with the freaks. There was one lady who was just sort of randomly talking, we think to a Kroger employee, who in turn was just plain creepy and acted as if no one around him existed, and an older man who seemed a little off, too. It was lightning all over the place. Fortunately it eased up and I think Dwana decided she'd rather take her chances with the lightning then continuing with the odd group with us. We did pretty well with the groceries but when we tried to get my potting soil the sky opened up again. For some reason whenever the two of us get together it seems to become an adventure. :)

When I got home I went ahead and threw some laundry into the machines a couple of buildings over. That room is usually locked in the afternoon but was open tonight, and deserted. I came back and put the potting soil in some pots and spread some of it out on one side my garden. Tomorrow I'll plant start some seeds. I also transplanted my golden eggplant seedlings into bigger pots. Rather than pulling out some of the seedlings and pitching them I divied them up into three pots, two plants to a pot. So eventually I might have a lot of eggplant.

Now my laundry's finished and I'm catching up on news online. I was amazed at the hiker who cut his arm off with a pen knife to save himself (he'd been pinned under a half-ton rock for days and had run out of water). Now that's a will to live! Of course, you have to be a touch crazy to have climbed nearly 50 mountains out in Colorado. As much as I sometimes grouse about how I need to live more fully and experience life's adventure, that would be a little much for me. And even if I were dying of thirst and starvation, I'm not sure if I could have done what he did. Wow.

Anything else? Oh, yes...not that the correct party will ever read this, but:

To the person who dumped some sort of toxic chemical near the little stream I always blog about (remember the call to DEEM a couple of days ago?), how dare you do such a thing. I have no idea what it was, but whatever it is, it has killed not only a large swath of grass and now a large honeysuckle bush. Nothing kills honeysuckle! One day it was blooming, the next it was a dried, brown bush. That's bad enough, but that bush is at the top of a culvert that runs under Richmond Road. It's the place I tend to stop and watch the frogs and fish, and sometimes pray. I have no idea if this stuff has contaminated the stream, with its fish, frogs, ducks, and assorted flora and fauna at risk--or whether it may make its way into the nearby reservoir and the rest of the watershed. But I find it ironic that we have police who protect our drinking water from terrorists 24/7 and yet some bozo can make a quick stop and dump and do just as much damage (if not more so). This spot is in front of a house surrounded by a wooded area, directly between apartments and a children's hospital. Why on earth would anyone dump there? Nor could it have just rolled off--the drum was pushed down the hill in the opposite direction than if it had fallen, and some was spilled even at the shoulder of the road. There's some ring of hell for someone who cares so little for the Earth and those of us who people Her. While he or she may not be traced, I hope somewhere the karmic balance thudded in response.

Okay, that's enough ranting for now. I think I'm going to take a nice hot bath and get into something comfy (and still warm from the laundry). 'Night.

Hmmm...a music-related Friday Five

1. Name one song you hate to admit you like.
The Winner Takes it All by ABBA. Oh, anything but ABBA. Or John Denver. Or Neil Diamond. I love them all but the dork factor is so ingrained in me that I'll rarely admit it.

2. Name two songs that always make you cry.
Killkelly (any version)
Overcome by Live, Radio-mix with events of 9-11

3. Name three songs that turn you on.
Hero by Enrique Inglesias
Whenever, Wherever by Shakira
I Need You Tonight by INXS

4. Name four songs that always make you feel good.
Night Ride Through the Caucasus by Loreena McKinnit
Wheel in the Sky by Journey
Imagine by John Lennon
Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul, and Mary

5. Name five songs you couldn't ever do without.
American Pie by Don MacLean
Bridge over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel
I Will Survive by Diana Ross
Dust in the Wind by Kansas
Paint it Black by The Rolling Stones

Wow it's been a busy day! I--

• Went in to work into work early to make up time because Cerys had a 09:45 vet appointment. Tried out my new debit card (it had to be activated in an ATM) only to be told the PIN was invalid. I'm sure that's the number I read. I try two more times. Fortunately that machine only reads the card so there's no capture.
  
• Left work for said appointment
  
• Took Cerys across the street to Dr Remmele, who was running a special 50% on annual vaccinations for today only
  
• Got said vaccinations for only $29. Also had her tested for heartworm, screened for parasites, got a year's worth of heartworm medicine, and had her nails clipped. Total spent $126. Not bad since over half was the heartworm meds. She was a trooper, although they quicked her twice during the trim (her nails are black and hard to do, which is why I hadn't done them in awhile). They at least had two people doing the job!
  
• Dropped Cerys back at home and checked the PIN notice again. Realised I'd read the wrong set of numbers (the last four digits in the card number!) Oops.
  
• Dropped by the ATM by Walgreens and tried again. This time I typed in the right number. Then the freaking machine kept my card because it remembered the attempts earlier. Grrrrrr....
  
• Went back to work. Called the credit union and asked how to get my card back. Was told that since it wasn't one of their machines (gee, the closest is two miles away!) it could take up to two weeks. Mucho grrrrrr....Never tell someone who's premenstrual this. I'm afraid I swore at the nice lady.
  
• Was cheered up by a joke Dwana sent me. Investigated switching banks. Decided it was probably too much trouble for now and will wait to see if I still feel the same after I calm down.
  
• Went to the Office Depot vendor fair at work to get free goodies. It put me in a better mood. Believe it or not I was working in amidst all this, it just doesn't sound like it.
  
• Dwana took me to the credit union to get money from them since they were otherwise thwarting me. We stopped at Qdoba where I got a naked vegetarian burrito with fajita vegetables and black beans, no cheese or sour cream. I did get a Stewart's Diet Root Beer, though. That was pushing the purifying diet a little but considering I'm giving up wheat, eggs, milk, and fish, but hadn't included aspartame, I think it's okay. But I am limiting it to 2 drinks a day. Sounds like it should be alcohol, hmm?
  
• Worked. I can't for the life of me remember what on now.
  
• Put in an order for some medicine at Walgreens.
  
• Caught a bus out to Kroger. Well, actually the plan was to go to Jozo's Bayou Gumbo, which is no longer there. :( I went into Collectibles, a comic store owned by a guy I know. Gee, I am so out of the loop! To think I helped manage a comic store! It was weird. I left when the kids overran the place. Then I went on to the grocery. Turns out my timing was perfect. A huge thunderstorm came up while I was inside but was over before I came out. So I didn't get wet. :)
  
• Got home with the groceries, took Cerys out, and talked to my neighbours Nathan and Alexis about pets and gardening. They gave me some cat food (their cat is now on a special diet), and there was much kitty rejoicing (my cats hated the stuff I brought from the co-op).
  
• Answered a reference question (you too can train to become everyone's very own personal librarian!) regarding English peerage rankings.
  
• Finally sat down to eat dinner and blog. Do vegetarian refried beans and tortilla chips count as dinner? I was too tired to fix much else. Whew!
  

45 minutes till Friday!!! And tomorrow is jeans day at work! Yea!!!

Thursday Three

I'm impatient for Friday. So I'm going to cool my heels a bit and come up with three questions of my own for you. In honour of the upcoming movie X2: X-Men United (as opposed to Untied, which is what I type every time) that opens this weekend, we'll start with the following:

1. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
2. Would you tell people you had it?
3. How would you use it (try to take over the world, become a master criminal, become a superhero, etc.)

Here are my answers:

1. While some are flashier, I'd prefer being able to instinctively manipulate objects on a molecular/subatomic level. Doesn't sound spiffy, does it? But think about it--you could heal someone of cancer, alter the appearance, create a protective armour, combine the nutrients needed to grow plants lushly, or split the atom. Virtually every superpower, if you were powerful and skilled enough, could be mimiced. It would be like magic. To a certain extent you might be able to alter reality. And you wouldn't be big and furry or have something that flashed that you were any different from anyone else. And of course, you'd need a strong will to remain down to earth and not drunk with power. Oh, and I say instinctively because frankly, I don't understand subatomic science. I don't want to know how to do it--I just want to know what result I want and practice until I get it right. (Splitting the atom being one you don't want to do at home).

2. Not except my closest friends. That gift could make for a powerful weapon. I'm sure there would be people who would try to both get it or destroy it. But fear of exposure shouldn't keep one from using the gift when necessary.

3. I would look silly in spandex. Still, I could not help but try to use it to heal, to explore, to improve the world around me. There's a very strong streak in me that wants to save the world. Superpowers can't really do that, of course. Even with superpowers it still comes down to people doing various forms of good and evil. But I can't imagine having that power and not doing what I could to help.

Well, Dwana will be here soon to pick me up. Hope that tides you over until Friday.

So talk to me already

Got my comments back up, and the links, after (yet another) redesign. I think I need an image. I have a caricature that I did at work that I think will serve. But before I do that I'll have to check with Zabet and see if she'll let me park the image on her server. Since she's not just out of town but on the bottom of the planet, it'll probably be a few days. :)

To those pagans out there, HAPPY BEALTAINE!!! You are no doubt celebrating this tradition in fine old form. Alas, I'm not, but that's okay. The last time I leapt over a bonfire I messed up my ankle for six months. (Grace is not my middle name). The Gods don't apparently favour those who go leaping if they're not planning on being fruitful and multiplying, or at least committing hanky panky.

Well, I guess I should go on to bed. I need to get up early so that I can take Cerys to the vet. Dr Remmele across the street is having a 1/2 price sale for all annual vaccinations which happens to coincide with payday. I guess they're having their own May Day fling.

New Zealand is calling...

Actually, it's in the post. I got a postcard from Zabet and Patrick yesterday. "The traditional challenge 'Wero' is performed by a warrior as part of Maori protocol to ensure that visitors come in friendship". The note? "Per your request, we've found a nice New Zealand boy for you. You'll have to learn Maori and weave your own clothes, but you didn't specify!" Hehehehe.

I've been looking at the wonderful pictures they've posted on their travel blog and must say I'd love to go there, too. Zabet even got to pilot a steamboat briefly. She looks about as terrified behind the wheel as Patrick does driving on the left side of the road. Today's her birthday (well, actually, yesterday there, they're a day ahead of us), and it's Bealtaine night here. Definitely quiet without them, although as a general rule most of my pagan friends and I always found we should never plan on being together for this particular holiday, because it never turned out well. We're much better at Samhain (Halloween).

Dwana called me after she got out of class and told me that Baskin-Robbins was having a free scoop night. For every scoop they give away, they also donate money to a literacy programme. So, they basically donate both ice cream and money and people who show up get free ice cream. I guess it's a big tax write-off, but it was much appreciated by those of us who went. We went to one on Richmond Road and had a very short wait. Dwana said the one on campus had a line snaking around the parking lot. It's dead week there (the week right before final exams), so you can bet that the college students were going to come out for free food. :) Since I'm going on a religious diet as of tomorrow (think Lent, although more restrictive), it was sort of nice to have a last ice cream fling until Midsummer's. Then Dwana came in and I showed her the New Zealand pictures while my animals lolled all over her (well, except for Dar-bar. He hid. He pretty much hides whenever someone comes over. Most people would never know I have another cat without my telling them. It's one of those believe-without-seeing situations). Spock just relaxed totally in her arms like a baby and fell asleep with his paw up in the air. Buns jumped on her and then walked down her pants leg. Fortunately she's a cat person. She's not really a dog person but she does well with Cerys (it's hard not to). I always feel like the animals just gloam onto whomever they can. They're certainly not shy. Well, except for Darius.

The Rabid Librarian--Defender of the Environment

Well, I don't know what was in the nasty drum of doom (see yesterday's post), but by the afternoon they had removed the drum and strung caution tape all around the dead grass and the culvert opening. I'm assuming they were going to run some tests. It must have been nasty stuff, though. It's burned the grass over an ever-widening patch. I don't understand why anyone would dump something like that. Well, I do, but it's just so wrong.