July 25, 2011
The Not-a-Planet Pluto
I was devastated -- like totally depressed for weeks, refusing to come out of room -- when the International Astronomical Union decided to strip Pluto of its status as a planet; but I have moved on from that terrible decision. Now, it turns out that Pluto has yet another moon orbiting it, joining its three sister moons.
Take that!
July 24, 2011
Building Boom
There is a lot of construction in the downtown Cleveland area. Steel plates, orange barrels, "Road Closed" barricades, and orange cones are on every route taken into or out of the area is covered. New buildings are going up in a number of places.
This is a reminder of what was happening just over 100 degrees ago.
Nearby, a 23-story office building is now going up.
And some people have found the demolition of buildings to be a spectator sport. "What are we doing today, honey?" he asked. "Grab the lawn chairs and the beer cooler. Get the car! We're meeting Ethel. She'll probably stay in her car."
The steel plates in the road, though, freak out my regular passenger. She will not let me stop on steel plates.
B: Why? Because it might collapse, and we'll fall into the hole?
S: No. When you accelerate, it will shoot back and shear the car behind us in two.
B: Oh.
S: Then we'll fall in the hole.
July 20, 2011
Addiction
This Harvard Medical School shrink is trying to de-stigmatize addiction.
It is his view that addictions are compulsions, complex functions of the mind and not simply impulsive behavior, "triggered by emotional factors and generally represent an attempt to regain a sense of control when people feel helplessly out of control."