Pithy Title Here

Just came upon this little nugget from Space.com (via Yahoo! News) and, I'm such a geek, I thought it outstanding. Basically, tonight, you'll be able to look into the sky all night and see the planet Venus (just below the moon all night) and - just after sunset - Mercury and Jupiter. NOW for the cool part: "Venus is so bright you can see it during daylight if you know where to look. Given Venus' proximity to the moon on New Year's Eve, this would be an excellent moment -- just before sunset -- to use the moon to help you find Venus and gain bragging rights for being one of the few people to be able to claim seeing more than one planet during the daytime (Earth being the other one)." That's pretty flipping cool if you ask me. And what better way to start ringing in the new year by contemplating just how small we all are in this universe and yet we spend our time worrying about money and war most of the time. The universe could care less.

This is either the best song ever or the worst, and, since the second time I heard it, I've thought the former. I'm guessing you are going to hate it. And then it will be stuck in your head. And then you will adore it. And hate yourself a little for doing so. As such, it might fit the definition of a perfect pop song. Thats Not My Name - The Ting Tings

My sister-in-law and I inadvertently started a holiday tradition three Christmases ago when we made a gingerbread house together. We both enjoy baking, so we have the skills, but we also seem to work well together on this sort of thing. We started simple that year: a basic house. It did have a pretzel-stick split-rail fence, mini marshmallow snowman and life-cereal thatch roof. It was an honest triumph. It went so well we spent a lot of 2007 thinking about what to do last Christmas and we made a gingerbread carousel. This was MUCH more complicated. We could have taken the easy route and just made two large gingerbread circles and gone from there, but we wanted a slanted roof. So we made to equal hexagons, made triangles to go on top as a roof and supported the whole damn thing with candy canes. It was not easy. But we pulled it off. This year, we did something technically easier, which gave us greater ability to experiment with some things. First off, Maggie read about how to...

Dear readers, I hope you are enjoying the break. We've been gifting, drinking and generally carrying on all week. Life is good. Stories to relate... all soon. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Tune Day coming early this week (since it's technically still Monday here), but that beats it not being there at all like the past few weeks. With Christmas Eve upon us, I give you a song that made the mix this year... but is just hopelessly catchy and lovely. Enjoy! The Christmas Song - The Raveonettes Next week, we're done with holiday tunes

With the conclusion of my flight home from Ft. Lauderdale Friday, I qualified (in four short months) for preferred silver status on US Air. On the US Air homepage this means I get a little silver icon next to my name when I sign in. In practice it means more. Let's see: First class upgrades. Sure, this is on an as-available basis. But even once in a while would be a treat. And, if Sarah & I travel together it counts for her, too. Reserve choice seats free. US Air charges $10 to sit in the awesome coach seats at the airport. As in you check in and see an awesome seat at the window in an empty row... but you cannot get it unless you pay. Not for me anymore. No checked bag fees. Ever. For me and for Sarah. WIN. Priority security lanes in most US Airways airports. ALWAYS board in Zone 2. This is HUGE. US Airways overhead compartments fill up due to not being big enough on some planes and people being idiots on others. This means virtually never having to store my b...

The scene: Gate E5 of Ft. Lauderdale -Hollywood International airport. About 12:15 p.m. today. The players: Unattractive, older married couple. The husband walks up and sits next to his wife... Wife (loudly so the entire gate area can hear): You said you were going to the bathroom and you were gone 15 minutes! Husband: (quiet speaking) Wife (again, with volume): You worry about me?! I'm worried about you! We're about to board! Where are you? And I can't have a cigarette until 6 p.m.! You think I get stressed out and today you do this when I cannot even have a cigarette! Husband: (quiet speaking) Wife (many decibels): I don't know. We haven't been communicating well this week! I'm not sure any more that you're even listening to anything I say and you go running off to the bathroom and I can't have a cigarette. What are you trying to do to me? Needless to say, I was beginning to understand why this guy's trip to the bathroom took a quarter-...