I nearly spit my coffee all over my keyboard when I saw this.  ROFL!

 

Well, not actually, but I did pay the rest of my trip off in October, so I'm headed to Sin City.  Vegas, here I come! 

I had a need today to Google Oatmeal Cream Pies and for speed's sake googled cream pies instead.  Never, ever do that at work... 

Ever get one of those moments when you realize things are way too intense?  One of my markers is the vacation mindset transition point (yeah, I made that phrase up but there has been actual research done on this point).  Researched shows that it normally takes about 1 - 2 days to transition from a work mindset to vacation mindset.  I left for D*C on Friday morning and really did not get into the groove until Sunday night (when the show was pretty much over).  But when I enjoyed it, I really enjoyed it.

Highlights of the weekend (I've given up on trying to post con reports, I never finish them).  Trek TNG people were good if not a little caustic at points (Data, Riker and Doctor Crusher).  Kari Byron and Grant Imahara were great hosts of the costume contest.  Grant is such a geek.  Hearing a lady in her 30s - 40s tell Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) that his haircut made him hot to be responded to by either James or Oliver Phelps (the Weasley twins) "Hey, did you ask him if he was 18 yet?).  Lewis seemed a bit taken aback by the crowd response.

Lori Petty I had a mixed reaction to.  Could have went either way.  Missed the big Battlestar show but caught a little of the final show.  Hated that Katee Sackhoff cancelled.  William Katt was a big surprise.  Very gracious and fun.  Saw lots of other people in the walk of fame but didn't make the presentations.  Elizabeth Rohm is beautiful.  Gil Gerard looks amazing after his gastric bypass.

Saw some great costumes, had some fun times.  Will try to post pics later!

So astronomers have discovered something stunning - a hole in the universe.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070823_huge_hole.html

There are moments where I catch a small glimpse of the size of the universe and realize that the vastness of it is overwhelming.  To find that there's a hole in the middle of it, a size itself of which I can't even comprehend or find a scale to give some point of reference to is even more amazing...

You probably know I love space.  I want to go there some day.  With the private companies starting up for low orbit shots that should be reasonable by the time I'm in my 40s, there's a real chance that I'll get to do it.  I remember the moment in 1986 when Challenger exploded.  I was watching it live on TV and being 16, I remember it vividly.  Later, being a teacher, the realization that the one opportunity that a teacher had was cut short by that explosion.

To see Barbara Morgan go up today and know that she made it, well, it's something else to behold.  The promise of a teacher (not the billionaires that can buy their way up) but a common teacher on a teacher's salary.  It opens up space for the rest of us.  What she'll be able to communicate as a teacher will be amazing, even more so than the professional astronauts.

So, to the stars by hard ways.  Now it's time for the rest of us.

A few random thoughts as I try to finish up a day.  I've realized lately that I have an "ideal" of the way I want my life to be.  I imagine that most people do, and I also wonder if that's healthy since life isn't always what we want.  The frustration of not being in that ideal state can wear me down even further.  Of course, I also think that some of those "ideals" are healthy and push me towards goals.  

Finally, it occurs to me that any ideal isn't going to just happen.  It is a rare thing that someone just comes in and fixes things or propels your life forward to a goal or a state of being that is what you want.  In short, it comes down to work.  I've known that for years.  I just keep having to be reminded.

That's what this year has been for me so far, a battle, inch by inch, towards those goals.  There's been some frustrations but lately I've been seeing the results of grinding out each day with many of those goals in mind.  I'm talking about things like finances, health, relationships, my living conditions, etc, if you're wondering.

It's been nice to see a few things resolving out.  For example, my work.  I've been creeping towards getting caught up and meeting the established job metrics I have laid out for me.  Once I've got those in swing, I believe that I will be able to go home and have energy to do things at night.  I'm starting to see a little of that light now.

OK.  So, top ten cool stuff, then after my weird head ramblings:

1 - They are opening the movie theater near my apartment in under three weeks.  No more 45 minutes to see a movie!!!

2 - My downpayment on Vegas has been made.  I'm going to Sin City in Oct!

3 - I took ballroom and swing dance classes on Saturday.  I'm actually OK at it!

4 - ! (just because I'm using lots of exclamation points)

5 - Dragon*Con in 24 days.

6 - I got a butt-kicking Kitty Pryde bust a couple weeks ago.

7 - Xander and Kaylee are happy kitties lately.  They like to climb up in bed with me in the morning.

8 - Iron Man footage.

9 - I'm probably at about 90% from the virus now.   A few more days, and I think things will be well.

10 - The cursed summertime is about to give way to wonderful fall.  Yeah, I really don't like heat and too much sunlight.

That is all for now.  7, out.

***no spoilers***

Started reading at 8:30 Saturday and finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (minus a few hours in the middle to go see a play) at 12:40 AM Sunday morning.  I am fairly satisfied with the way it ended.  I did find some of it a bit meandering at points and wished that I had re-read at least the Half-Blood Prince.  Overall, though, I was pleased with the time invested in all seven books!

So, someone has taken photos of the Harry Potter 7 book pages.  And posted them on Photobucket.  On a computer with a traceable IP address.  Page photos of one of the most tightly controlled book releases in history with LIMITED access.  Yeah, you're not going to get caught and sued.  No way that's happening.

You remember Weird Al's UHF movie?  The guy with the Wheel of Fish show?  His catchphrase?

YOU SO STUPID!!!!!!!

I'm still clobbered from that stomach virus.  My stomach's OK but this thing has weakened me seriously.  I took a walk at lunch today, came back afterwards and couldn't focus I was so tired for three hours.  ARG!