This is brilliant…enjoy!

…I know!

Am I the last one on earth to learn about the dot? I am feeling a little left out here folks, dot deprived actually. I came across the dot a few weeks ago, and while I thought it was interesting, I have found myself feeling somewhat consumed with this phenomenon. For those of you (if that is even possible) that might share in my dot deprivation, I pass on to you…my knowledge of the dot, “The Pale Blue Dot.”

The famous photograph was taken of the Earth by Voyager 1 in 1990 from 4 billion miles away. As it exited the solar system, the late astronomer, Carl Sagan, convinced NASA to have Voyager 1 turn its view back toward the sun and snap one last photo of our planet. Earth showed up as a pale blue dot, a single pixel in the grainy image. Sagan called this view of Earth the “Pale Blue Dot” Click on picture for larger image

Sagen spoke of that powerful symbol in a commencement address he gave in 1996, a few months before his death:

Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.

Thank you Carl Sagen for “The Pale Blue Dot” for sharing the visual and the perspective of what otherwise would be inconceivable…for making me feel so dot worthy.

WOMEN AS EXPLAINED BY ENGINEERS- continued

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Part lV

Part V

Part Vl

Have you ever wondered how a woman’s brain works?
Well….it’s finally explained here in one, easy-to-understand illustration:

Every one of those little blue balls is a thought about something
that needs to be done, a decision or a problem that needs to be solved.
A man has only 2 balls and they take up all his thoughts.

Now that’s funny…kinda!

Ya, I’m not going to agree with much of this nonsense, but I did find some of it entertaining…kinda! I didn’t want to subject our complex, delicate species to too much at once, so I will post the last “Parts” tomorrow.

WOMEN AS EXPLAINED BY ENGINEERS

Part l

Part ll

Part lll

Whateva!

Excuse me while I familiarize myself with what I’m supposed to be doing. It’s been so long, too long… I shared a little about what my life has entailed here. Two people close to me have suffered strokes in the last month. “Jack” is 43, “Mary” is in her 50′s. Obviously very unexpected for both of them.
In addition to the stroke, “Jack” had deep tissue bleeding on the right side of his brain, in an area that would have left him a vegetable had they operated to stop the bleed. If it continued to bleed, death was imminent. Thank GOD, the bleeding quit on it’s own. “Jack” left the hospital after several days in I.C.U. much a much different man. His speech, memory, thought process and his right arm were all compromised greatly. Those first few days were much like watching after a toddler, absolutely heartbreaking to say the least. Things are slowly coming back to him, but he has a long ways to go. He is alive, and for that we couldn’t be any more grateful, the rest will come in time….xoxoxo

“Mary” was taken to the hospital a few weeks ago for what they thought at first, was a heart attack. She left diagnosed as possibly having Vertigo. Two days later she was admitted with a blood pressure of 230/113 and went into a coma. A CT showed fluid in her brain and she was taken into surgery immediately. The doctor came out and told they had removed the “dead” part of her brain which affects the equilibrium. At best, she probably would never be able to walk again and would not have any coordination skills. He continued to tell us, their concern was being able to even keep her alive. That was less than 2 weeks ago…her facebook status today reads (via her daughter) “Nubs for a hair do. Front and back. Bruises on my arms and bruises on my hand. Partial brain removal. What makes it all worth it? Knowing I have FB family and friends to pull me through it, THANK U! Love “Mary”” Can you say Amen? Unbelievable…not to mention, she took steps on day 10!
I am so proud and love you both very much!!!

So, yeah. Before during and after all of this, I was moving. Kind of had to rearrange a few dates and stuff but it got done, thanks to both my boys and my bestie from Ventura!!! I love you guys! Oh…and me too! →

Oliver…well he’s always in the mix!

This past weekend was exciting…one of my babies turned 27 • TWENTY-SEVEN! I will post more on that tomorrow! Woo-hoo!