Tag: Space

  • ODDS and ENDS: Back on the Moon, Cats, and Home Repair Videos

    (I was here first.)

    You guys! The USA landed on the moon! We haven’t landed on the lunar surface since 1972. And when I say “we” I mean a private company that landed a probe, but still – American stuff is back on the moon. I actually do think this is rather cool news, but I also can’t help but feel underwhelmed by it. We have entered the era of private space exploration and exploitation. I hope we do a better job in this age of “exploring for profits,” than the last time. It’s bad enough that there are tons of space junk floating around in low orbit which we have no plan on cleaning up. I would hate to think that the moon is going to get trashed up, and Mars might have Tesla billboards.

    In my core of being, I am a cat person. Now, I do have a dog, and I love my dog, and dogs are great. But I do miss having a pet that tolerates me. Gives me affection when they want to. And who slaps me in the face when they want me to wake up. I’ve always been suspicious of blind loyalty.

    I’m working on breaking my IG addiction. I don’t post as much as I used to, and I guess I should rectify that if I’m building a brand here. What I do find myself doing on IG is watching home improvement and renovation videos. Especially people who put up drywall and tiles. Part of it is the desire to be more “handy” which I feel is a measure of “manliness” is our culture. But I also know that if I am to buy a home in the near future, there will be an element of having to “fix it up.” I want to believe that I will be able to take on these home projects and watching videos is a good way to prep for that eventuality. So, I’m doing myself a service but spending all my time on this. Right? Yeah…

  • ODDS and ENDS: Playing Dumb, Vacation, and The Next Stage of Life

    When I went to pick up my daughter from school yesterday, she was super excited to tell me all about these new Solar System facts she just learned! How the sun is a star, and Venus is the hottest planet, and Jupiter Saturn and Uranus and Neptune were giant gas planets, and Pluto was a dwarf planet, and on and on. She was bubbling over with how cool space was, and how there is an international space station, and that we send robots to the planets and even to a comet! And each new fact that she presented to me was in the form of a question; “Dad, did you know Pluto is a dwarf planet?” Well, yes I do know that, and I was alive when Pluto was considered a normal, regular planet. But I don’t say anything. I just smile and nod my head because I have come full circle. All the years I went rattling off facts to my parents, which I now see they clearly already knew, but they let me proudly prattle on. Now, I am being prattled on, but I see the excitement of learning in my daughter’s eyes. That feeling of the world being knowable and accessible at the same time.

    I want to go on vacation. As it starts to get warmer out, I have this need to get out of the City. It would be great to get away, even for a long three-day weekend. I like living in New York City, but I also love getting the hell out of New York City.

    Another friend of mine lost their parent last night. They put up a post on social media, and I commented, telling them how sorry I am, and love them. Sadly, this has been happening more and more often with my friends, and this isn’t due to Covid. This is life. Me and my friends are hitting middle age, and our parents are reaching the end of their lives. Before, when a parent passed, it was a rare and unexpected occurrence. Now, it is becoming a bit more common, as, sadly, this is the next stage in life. And these things happen in waves. First, we all got married, and then started having babies, and then there was the small divorce wave, followed by more babies and second marriages. Now, we are at the time when on parents start to leave us. I wish there was more I could do or say to my friend at this time. I do remember when my Ma passed, and I received many posts, messages and texts. It meant a lot to me, knowing that people cared and were still decent. I hope my friend is getting some comfort at this time from all the people that care for them.