Rainy Days
It's been rainy off and on for the past few days. Also warm (~80 Fahrenheit), but with a breeze. All in all, the summer has been bearable, in the 60's to 70's Fahrenheit for a stretch before this last spate of 80-degree weather. I saw in the newspaper that there may be a colder-than-usual winter because of this mild summer.
I also heard on the radio that a Canadian astronaut could see visible signs of global warming from the spacecraft...he compared the sights of the polar ice caps during this tour to his memory of the ice caps during his last tour a dozen years ago. He said that fact saddened him.
Labels: global warming, NASA, weather
Man on the Moon
Remember when we first landed on the Moon? These newspaper readers from a small paper in Connecticut do!
Labels: American history, NASA
Farewell, Walter
Walter Cronkite, legendary news anchor for the CBS Evening News, passed away yesterday evening surrounded by family in New York. He was 92.
Although the continuous reportage by him in the CBS Newsroom of the JFK assassination while pulling his heavy-frame glasses from his face to wipe the tears from his eyes was a classic moment, I merely viewed reruns of that moment in time. I recall watching, with my siblings, on our home television the moment of the first walk on the Moon...(Armstrong: "That's one small step for man.....One giant leap for mankind.") We saw him reporting so many groundbreaking events that we voted him in a poll the "most trusted man in America" in 1972.
And, true to form, as Mr. Cronkite himself said, "Old anchormen, you see, don't fade away, they just keep coming back for more," and we now see video feeds, images, and accolades to him today on the Internet websites, just as we would on the AP and UPI wires in the old days.
Yes, Dan Rather was right in saying that Walter Cronkite set the standard for television news reporting. And Brian Williams was correct in saying that there was no clay model, no mold for television anchoring before Walter Cronkite.
An objective, steadfast personality whom we welcomed into our living rooms night after night during my formative years---Walter Cronkite, the iconic news anchor and beloved by his wife and family, passed into the gentle night. "That’s the way it is."
Labels: American history, farewell, international culture, NASA, Peace, politics, TV
Meet and Greet Week, Fall 2008
Today was the start of meet and greet week for my classes. It was great fun to meet my Tuesday section, and I had lunch and went to physical therapy after my last student left.
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Physical therapy consisted of bilateral exercises for all my table exercises, then pool exercises for the remainder of my two hours there.
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I mailed Pratima's phone back to her (I found it at my home for her yesterday), after calling her that I had found the phone.
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I attended the Faith Formation meeting tonight and was volunteered for the incipient Fr. Leo Vanyo library, being one of the few librarians that people know. Grace Morrissey was pleased, and happily worked on recruiting me for the job.
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3 September 2008, 22:15
I spent from 9am to 4 pm doing meet & greet for two lab sections. Whew! After, I had a simple dinner sandwich, and took a nap before Pastoral Council. We had Fr. Kim join us as a new addition to our meetings. Great discussions, etc.
I received an email from Laurie about the arrest of Amy Goodman, an award-winning journalist at the Republican National Convention. I am appalled and outraged! Arresting the press for covering protests!! UNHEARD OF in a democracy. Whatever happened to protection of First Amendment rights? Shame....
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4 September 2008, 22:45
I went to Mass in the morning and ran an errand in Squirrel Hill. I spent the afternoon in meet and greet with my last lab section, then went to physical therapy. In addition to bilateral exercises (concurrent), I also did an additional exercise in the pool: Lunges for 20 seconds. Then it was off to choir practice.
The first choir practice of the season brought most old members back and many new members. We also sang a "Happy Birthday" to Sara. I had a chance to chat with Jennifer H., Alice S., and Donna D. After most every had left, Judi, Don, and I chatted about church policies.
Labels: BAD, Church, excited, exercise, Mass, meeting, NASA, phone, pool, travel, water exercise
The Real Reasons III
I just read Carissa's mid-February blog post, entitled "Will You Marry You?" I think her point is well-made, asking questions such as "Would you hire you?" and "Will you marry you?"
I think a big reason I have not "settled" down yet is I am
too independent
too independent
too independent-minded (long story)
and
AM I ready for a metamorphosis into another life?
Thoughts on being ready to metamorphose: In the past I have never shied away from choosing the path less taken--in fact, that is a big reason why I never married, why I chose my second go at graduate school back in the 1990's on a project of my own devising, and why I live in Pittsburgh currently. I LIKE the challenge of the "path less taken," and to quote Frost, "it HAS made all the difference"!
I guess part of it is my attitude toward new projects in general--"I'm going to do this project, and you're welcome to come along; but if you don't, I'm STILL going to do this project on my own." I guess I've just been lucky to share my projects with my close friends and family. Some people have a partner/spouse they share their travels through life. I haven't chosen that path.
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9pm
Nancy and I discuss someone, who may have a very different political leaning than I. I don't think I could pull that off.
Labels: color, family, friends, list, love, NASA, philosophical, research, science, teaching, travel, work
My Weekend and Week, Space Food Sticks
This past Saturday Jeff and Chad led the faith sharing and fellowship meeting. After the meeting, we all pitched in to prepare for the wine and cheese party at seven o'clock.
Sunday, after more than a week break from choir, we sang at noon Mass.
Tuesday, I downloaded photos from Dad's two computer digital camera chips. That evening, I attended Michael Grabe's talk at Duranti's restaurant.
Tonight, Ed R. and I travelled to Vickie E's home to meet for the Cathedral Pastoral Council discernment committee. We accomplished quite a bit in under two hours.
I returned home to an email from Brock B. (via Joyce) of a commercial of Space Food Sticks. William, Joyce, and I loved the taste sensation as children! I find it odd that, even though I have worked in Food Science and also for NASA (at separate times in my life), no one mentioned Food Sticks at either of those times.
How about this other retro advertisement from when we were kids?
Labels: Choir, Church, dining, EPA, Faith, friends, NASA, pastoral council, photography, photos, singing, St. Paul Cathedral, TV, work
Anjali's Doctoral Party
Amy and I are running late to Anjali's celebration of her PhD. Her mom and dad are visiting from India, and we'll have a grand time. (Anjali indicated that they were running late, too---not to worry.)
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21:20
Anjali's friends were there, including Amy, Nancy ("I need my space" --NASA), and I from choir. Her other friends included her doctoral friends and family friends from Pittsburgh. The food, after a toast and a blessing by her family, was enjoyed wholeheartedly. Her mom had spent many hours in the kitchen making many dishes as well as a fresh mango jam that rivals the jarred versions from the Philippines. We sang "Happy Birthday" to her, and the choir members (joined by her father) sang "Edelweiss" as a parting gesture.
Labels: Birthday, celebration, Choir, international culture, NASA
The Shift
The Shift movie link was sent to me by Laura. When I went to graduate school over a dozen years ago, we sat around the campfire at one of our field sites and mi asessor di NASA, Oliver, spoke about how many scientists were talking about this or that paradigm. We spoke of paradigm shifts---this is what the Shift movie describes; that is the science that movies such as An Inconvenient Truth introduce to the general public.
Such a simple idea that my research group worked on---obtain ground-truthed signatures of reflectance of heterogeneous mixtures on the Earth's surface, and try to relate them to geomorphic features and parent rock types...and try to tell the current and changing story of the Earth's surface...Born from an idea I had when visiting Mont St. Victoire. So much of science is dependent on the foci that the administrators have---at the time I was graduated, groups doing Earth-based research at NASA (including my own) were shrinking.
Now, I have a different life: I am teaching predominantly pre-professional undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students the basics of biology. Teaching instead of research: What a different focus, but each is neither less nor more important than the other.
Labels: global warming, NASA, philosophical, research, teaching, weather
