Hrrmmm. Well. I've requested some books from the library. Since the only even marginally interesting ideas I have lately are more of the fantasy than sci-fi variety, perhaps I need some inspiration. So I'll be picking up a couple of Brian Froud books from the library tomorrow, hopefully. I haven't written any "original" fantasy in years upon years. I did write a sort of half-way fantasy-ish Stargate story last year, but it really was more of the "technology so advanced it seems like magic" variety. I seem to have a fascination with giant robot battle suits. And I've always had a thing for cyborgs. Just the usual projection-wish fulfillment thing.

We've had some rain here but it's beginning to sound like downtown Baghdad outside now. Firecrackers going off every few seconds, distant loud thumpings as people fire off the larger ones. Why people seem to think it necessary to trip off the Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome of every combat veteran in the area in the process of celebrating the freedom of our country, I will never know. The big fireworks are pretty and all, but the cheap stuff you get around here amounts to nothing more than loud noises that sound unnervingly like gunshots. That's not fun for me, that's an excuse for copious amounts of anti-anxiety drugs.

Maybe I'm just miffed that all this noise is the best we can do. Part of me just wants to waste thousands of gallons of jet fuel in hours upon hours of flashy aerobatics a la the Blue Angels or the Thuderbirds. Forget all these fireworks, my idea of celebrating is getting knocked over by multiple sonic booms and watching a bunch of crazy pilots do things the hardware wasn't designed to do. But that's just me.


NASA has announced that Discovery will be launching on July 13th, if all goes well. I believe they're going to webcast it, but given every space-geek in the world will be trying to snag a feed on that maybe I should find a way to watch it on TV somewhere. They haven't fixed all the problems found by the Columbia accident investigators but I think they figured they can't wait any longer. They've already spiked the launch once, they do it again and people will begin to either lose interest or start asking awkward questions. Like, "We give you all this money, why can't you get the work done on schedule?"

Well. The Deep Impact mission apparently went off without a hitch but without a spectacular bang. Oh, sure, they hit the comet. But apparently it wasn't a showbiz moment for the folks back here on Earth with their telescopes. Although the comet did get considerably brighter, there weren't no sparks and fire. George Lucas has spoiled us. We think everything in space should be a fiery cataclysm.

Gods, these firecrackers outside are really freaking me out. Someone just drove past outside apparently firing bottle rockets out their car window or something. Put it this way, I'm glad the cats are in.

Anyway. It's been so cloudy, rainy and hazy here in the last two or three weeks that I haven't even thought to take the telescope outside. I want to, don't get me wrong. I've even got some bug spray now so I could stay out all I want and not be Skeeter Smorgasboard. It's just that the sky at night has been opaque for at least a couple weeks. I know the middle of summer is the worst time of the year for all this, but dang! It's monsoon season...

I put in my request for my birthday off. If I get the day off I'll probably go to the NWGAA thing that day. I still have the telescope I promised to one of the folks in the club and I haven't gotten it to her yet. And now that I have my own ETX, I can truly join in the fray.

Considering making the Moon my particular bailiwick, since it's one of the few things I can view reliably and well here.