Yesterday was National Astronomy Day and my brother, Richard, and I went to the Pinnacle Mountain Visitor Center to a ‘Star Party’. It was awesome! There were several large telescopes there (thanks to willing owner participants, who were all so nice!) free to the public to use. It was a good turnout and the weather was perfect. For the first time ever in my life I looked at Saturn through a telescope and saw it with my own eyes, rather than just seeing it in a book, or on television. Or, even just looking up at the night sky and seeing it as any other bright-looking, tiny ball of light. No, I actually saw its rings! I was so awed by this that it took my breath away. Here’s a photo, which I was able to take with my camera pressed up to the telescopes lens:

Click the image for full view. It might not look like much in this photo, but I still can’t believe I saw it like this.

I also got to see the moon UP CLOSE and got an even more detailed shot of it:

I also saw two of the ‘M’ galaxies, though I can’t remember which he said! But they were among these. I just couldn’t believe I was actually looking into the sky at two GALAXIES. I didn’t attempt getting a photo of those because although I could see them through the telescope and clearly make them out, they were too faint to try getting a photo. I also caught a glimpse of Betelgeuse, Titan and several others. Then, to my surprise I watched as two satellites went across the sky around Earth. It was awesome.

Thanks to the CAAS (Central Arkansas Astronomical Society) for organizing the event and for being so welcoming and friendly. Come to find out, they have been doing this yearly for a long time and I never knew anything about it. My brother and I will be going to another one of their events next month. Can’t wait!

I’m actually offended by this, taken from Neil Gaiman’s latest blog:

“The strange thing is that, as an author, there are places publishers never send you, and the American South (if you don’t count Atlanta) is one of those places. When I’d ask, I’d be told it was because people didn’t really buy books there, or there wasn’t a demand, or something.”

Of course, I’m not offended by Neil at all (don’t shoot the messenger?) but I’m a bit disgusted by ‘publishers’.

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but that actually hurts my feelings! :-S

Well, speaking for the ‘American South’, who are quite intelligent despite the stereotype, WE LOVE BOOKS!

I’m watching The Smoking Gun – The World’s Dumbest (one of my favorite shows) and they’re doing the world’s dumbest shoppers. Of course, they’re showing all the real footage of crazy Black Friday shoppers, which really proves just how idiotic the whole thing is. Amidst my laughing my ass off at these stupid people dehumanizing themselves for cheap (and I mean cheap in the way of crappy) laptops (with 2 GB’s and Winders Yuppy 6) and $6 toasters, I am also disgusted as much as I am humored.

I have never gotten up at the crack of dawn to stand in line at a lame department store for anything and I never will. It’s ridiculous! Have you seen these crazy people trampling other human beings as they squeeze their way through packed doors and several hundred people for a few bucks off some stupid product? What, was it last year or the year before when a Walmart employee was KILLED by a stampede of frickin’ shoppers?

Heeeellll no!

Let me just let you in on a few secrets, which shouldn’t be secrets at all, really. #1…

(Hold on, I’m still watching this crazy shit. Geez! This store looks like the mosh pit at a Pantera concert! For a PS3! I love gaming, but this is stupid.)

Anyway, #1…you don’t really want to buy electronics from a department store (any electronic device I’ve ever purchased from a certain ‘ruler of the retail world’ has had something wrong with it), especially things like computers. A $200 laptop is guaranteed to be a piece of shit. Trust me. #2…

(Oh, now it’s the insane wedding dress shoppers. This is something I’ve never understood. I mean sure, a $6,000 wedding dress for $200 is a steal, but these women are nuts! They picked the racks clean in under a minute! Lame. You’re going to wear that dress once. Once! Is it really worth all that? No.)

#2…The amount of stress you put your body through during the shopping madness shortens your life by 2 years! Not to mention, why would anyone want to risk life and limb for a deal? Chances are you’ll end up spending the money you saved (and more) on the hospital bill later. #3…The price you pay for the stuff (sale or not) is triple compared to what the store actually pays for it. Can you imagine how crappy and cheap that $200 laptop really is? Do the math. You don’t see Alienware computers marked down to $200 and there’s a reason for that.

So that’s my rant for today. I will wait until the stores are clear of psychotic people and when I can take the time to shop for things the people in my life might really like and find good deals. And I can do this all without being trampled, or threatened to have my throat cut if I don’t give up the last Bratz doll. But before I go let me say to all of you people out there that do intend to shop in the morning: you can still be human if you stop when someone gets knocked over and help them up, rather than pretending you don’t see them and running over their head as you go about your merry, crazed way.

~steps off her soap box~