Curiosity

I will readily admit I am a space junkie. I can't get enough of NASA both past and present. So I watched very closely the results of the recent landing of the Mars Science Laboratory, and it's rover, Curiosity.

On landing day, I watched picture after picture released, and was blown away. However, the good pics were still a few days away. I didn't think anything could be more amazing than the pic above. That was taken from Mars orbit by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It just happened to catch the main chutes deployed as Curiosity floated to the surface!!! Seriously, what are the odds they get this pic? This was followed by beautiful color HD pics of the surrounding environment, and amazing tests of the science equipment. They are targeting a laser for chemical analysis of samples for chrissakes!

This may be the most amazing thing yet. Click the video below to see an HD color video of the ACTUAL LANDING! You see the heat shield fall away and the surface of Mars comes up fast as the lander floats down on a parachute. suddenly, the image stabilizes as the landing rockets fire. You can even see the rocket blast on the surface. Just incredible.

Made in the USA

Man, no comments on Red Dawn? Tough crowd around here. How 'bout this one...

So like most red-blooded American men, I like to take good care of my home and yard. My yardwork has always been simple. I have a Craftsman 22" push mower (not self-propelled), a Black & Decker edger and a string trimmer. Since I bought my 1st house in New Orleans, these three trusty tools have served me well. After a 1 year hiatus in Nashville (that yard was HUGE and we were busy), I dusted off my gear and started taking care of my house in Cincy. Same mower, same edger, same trimmer.

When I started, I knew I was right on the edge of it being manageable. However, I gave it a try and could get the mowing done in about an hour and a half. Not too bad. Edging and trimming took a big back seat though. It just took too long to do it all at once. My neighbors all thought I was crazy, so it became a point of pride that I was one of the few, and more recently THE ONLY, neighbors who actually push mowed his yard.

My pride started to falter though last year. After moving in 3 years ago, I have hit the sweet spot in lawn care. Figuring out the right amount of water, fertilizer, seed etc, I now have a pretty healthy lawn. So now my old pusher had started to choke in the thicker grass and create a LOT of clumping. Ever rake your yard after you mowed? Yeah, it sucks! I started to eyeball riding mowers. I looked at a few, and researched it a lot. However, no move was made, as babies can be expensive.

All that changed when Piper was born. After the 2nd time mowing, Ali had gotten tired of my close to 2 hours mowing and then obligatory dip in the pool to cool off. When Mom and Dad were over one evening, she actually gave me the green light to buy a riding mower!

So without further ado, that's me on my new John Deere x304. I avoided the zero turns because they don't do well on hills. They also take up a ton of garage space. JD has a line of 4-wheel steering mowers which approach zero turn, so that's what I went with.

Was it instant glory? No. My first time mowing, I quickly realized that the beautiful cut was creating a LARGE amount of clippings that piled up in an unsightly way (you can see some in the pic above looking brown). Also, I realized that you don't take your butt off the seat while mowing. It cuts the engine. When that happened, it took me an hour to figure it out and get running again. I quickly bought an add-on mulching kit. Installed it last night. Taking off the deck of a riding mower and installing new blades yourself? Yeah, that's pretty awesome too! Right after, I took it out for a spin to chop up the extra clippings as you see above. Now?

Glorious.

As for the neighbors... You know you've made a good choice when one comes over and asks to mow some of MY LAWN FOR ME! He just wanted to test out the 4-wheel steering.

WOLVERINES!!!!!!!!!!!

Red Dawn. Every guy born in the 70s and 80s loves it. Every guy in that generation also has a contingency plan in the event that a Russian invasion ever does happen. I think the reason that movie worked so well is that when it came out, it seemed possible. 1984 was the height of the Cold War, and nobody knew what crazy Ron and Gorbachev were going to do. The opening text in the titles of that movie still send chills down my spine. Just awesome:

Soviet Union suffers worst wheat harvest in 55 years... 
Labor and food riots in Poland. Soviet troops invade... 
Cuba and Nicaragua reach troop strength goals of 500,000. El Salvador and Honduras fall... 
Greens Party gains control of West German Parliament. Demands withdrawal of nuclear weapons from European soil... 
Mexico plunged into revolution... 
NATO dissolves. 
United States stands alone. 

I knew they were remaking Red Dawn, but after the disastrous film production, I had no hope it would be watchable. First, they chose China as the bad guys. When China got upset, the producers realized that they needed Chinese money, so they changed the bad guys to North Korea - AFTER the film was wrapped. I guess they went in and digitally changed all the uniforms? I'm thinking most Asians can clearly see the difference between someone from Chinese vs. Korean descent. Then, the film got shelved for 3 years.

Now, it's coming out. After watching the trailer above, I admit I am intrigued. I like the "weapon" concept. It has the plausibility factor. I love the visuals. Looks like they moved it to more of an urban setting. I also like that they seem to have taken a lot of key parts from Red Dawn, rather than reinvent everything. If it ain't broke... So, I think I might see this one. I'll wait for a review or two to decide on the theater, but home video for sure.