Strangely voluptuous croissant on flight to Singapore

Star dreams

 

 

When I was young I was a gigantic science-fiction fan, having read almost every famous golden age author there was, including Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ray Bradbury.  At 12 I was convinced I wanted to be an astronomer.  In fact, if I had grown up in the US, say Massachusetts or Houston, instead of Hong Kong where there are no Astronomy courses, I might even be working for NASA today, who knows.

Funny how time and place make such a big difference in forming the paths we tread, which is exactly the point of Malcolm Gladwell’s new booking, Outliers. 

All this came back to me as I was playing with the Sky view in Google Earth today, revisiting all the familiar names that I grew up with. There was the Orion constellation, still the most easily identified in the summer/autumn sky, with the Horsehead Nebula, which you can’t really see with the naked eye.  Then there is the Pleiades cluster of stars, which you can. I found the Andromeda Galaxy, seen edge-on, and of course the Milky Way runs through the sky. 

Today the only remnants of those childhood dreams are my semi-serious Star Trek fandom, a love of non-fiction science books, and the ability to point out Orion in the sky.

Weird geeky toys

Was told about a cool online store that sells geeky but weird electronic toys, ThinkGeek.com.  This set of glowing solar-rechargeable sun and moon mason jars is my favorite.

New word of the day: Manhattanhenge

Courtesy of Frank Swain, a science writer:

Built into the streets of New York City is a solar calendar on a truly massive scale. Every year around July 12th, New Yorkers are treated to a spectacular phenomenon as the setting sun aligns directly with the east-west streets of Manhattan's main grid, turning them into canyons filled with golden light. The effect is known as Manhattanhenge in reference to the much older stone monument near Salisbury. The term was coined in 2002 by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, the charismatic director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History.

More Manhattenhenge pics on Flickr.

Sleepless in Seattle

Just watched this again.  What a perfect movie for a rainy typhoon afternoon. 

And that houseboat in Lake Union featured in the movie came on the market last year.  I wonder who bought it in the end.

I’m a Sylar fan.

Trip to Maldives booked

Can’t wait to stay here.

Favorite TV quote of the Day

 

 

“Nothing good ever happens after 2AM.” from How I Met  Your Mother. 

That’s true, I’ve done so many things after 2AM that I regret, and not a single thing that turned out to be a smart decision. OK except maybe one night at the W Hotel New York.

Hopeless romantic

Watching season one of How I Met Your Mother on DVD and love the concept in the episode where Ted meets and falls for a strange woman at a wedding and they decide to make that night the most memorable of their lives:

Ted approaches the pretty woman (Victoria), who warns him that she never hooks up with people at weddings because all of the romance of the wedding isn't real. Ted wins her over with some flirting, so she suggests a compromise: they will spend the rest of the wedding together and then never see each other again. […] They agree to tell each other only their first names and not to exchange any contact information. Lily and Marshall interrupt the story to tell Ted what a stupid idea that is, but Ted defends his decision, saying that they had a great time and because he will never see Victoria again the memory won't be ruined.

How romantic is that. 

Of course after much drama they reconnect at the end of the episode, which I consider a letdown.

Alice in Wonderland

Looking forward to the whimsy and high camp of Tim Burton’s version of Alice in Wonderland. 

Why I love Bing for image searches

Accuracy. Options to select size, format, layout, color, and even see only pictures with faces. No more page-flipping, just scrolling.

Dreaming of a stay here

Beautiful day

It's a public holiday, the sun is shining and the day is beautiful, why am I working in front of the computer? 

Posted via email from Gen X Musings