This miniature orchid looks so nice sitting under the skylight over the kitchen island.
Click on the image for 800×600 pixel size.
Shaggy Dog Stories
I read a funny post today called “Relative Dog Motion” on science blog “Uncertain Principles.” Not to be confused with a seriously heavy treatise on the theory of relativity, the story puts relativity in perspective – from a dog’s point of view.
This gives me the opportunity to post Damsel’s weekend portrait of “Bear,” who chooses to be our guardian, friend and faithful companion . . .
Hat tip Club For Growth – Superfast Timeslowing Squirrel-catching Dynamics.
First American in Space
It’s hard to believe that it’s been that long. I remember listening to the launch and recovery on the radio while in a shop class in high school.
From NASA:
May 5, 1961
Forty-seven years ago today, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space. He launched aboard his Mercury-Redstone 3, named Freedom 7, to make an historic 15-minute suborbital flight.
This image shows Shepard in capsule before launch. After several delays and more than four hours in the capsule, Shepard was ready to go, and he famously urged mission controllers to ‘fix your little problem and light this candle.’
Getting Your Money’s Worth
Actually, we’re not cheap and can afford to put up a new target for each shooter when we go to the range. But sometimes we put up a target and see how long it will last.
Initially, we put up a small pistol target and took turns shooting the hand guns at it at it until it got pretty beat up. Then, I put a stick-on target on the beat up one and went at it again. In short order, however, the stick on was all shot up.
At this point, since we still had ammo for the hand guns, I put up a silhouette target and we took turns shooting at it until we were out of ammo.
Now, enter the shotguns. I brought my Remington 870 12 gauge and took five shots at it. The target was battered, but still hanging. At this point, Damsel took her 20 gauge Remington 870 and gave it the coup de grace as you can see when you play the video. We both got a laugh out of it.
Today was a lot of fun at the range. You should go shooting.
Gold Dot Hollow Point .357 Magnum
These Speer Gold Dot Hollow Point rounds sure make a purdy wheel gun even purdier.
I posted this just in case you think I only think flowers are purdy. Click for bigger.
Red Epiphyllum Flower – First of Many
Last year, I think we got one or two red flowers from this epiphyllum. This year, it looks like there may be as many as a dozen of these beautiful flowers coming out. This is the first of many more to come. Click on the image to see the wallpaper-sized picture.
Flight of the Phoenix – Part II
NASA Video – click > to play.
May 25th is the target date for the landing of NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander, whose mission is to explore the Martian arctic plain. NASA adjusted the lander’s trajectory in April to refine the final approach to the planet.
Check out this really cool video of the landing and post-landing phase of the mission.
Launched in August 2007, Phoenix is a stationary lander equipped with a trench-digging robotic arm to bite into the Martian surface and scoop up samples of nearby soil and water ice. The probe’s top-mounted suite of ovens and wet chemistry instruments are designed to help determine whether its arctic plain landing site – a region similar in latitude to central Greenland or northern Alaska on Earth – could have once proven habitable for primitive life.
I’m looking forward to a safe landing for Phoenix. This will be the first Mars lander to use a retro-rocket to cushion the landing since the Mars rovers landed using the balloon-bounce landing technique over 1500 ‘sols’ (Martian days) ago.