When you live in Australia, everything elsewhere in the world happens while you’re asleep. I woke up this morning and switched on my computer to discover that the Space Shuttle had disintegrated, killing all the astronauts. How awful. I was at Kennedy Space Center in 2000 to see the shuttle land. The most amazing part was how un-excited everybody seemed. It was like the act of leaving and returning the Earth had become somehow routine. I also remember when the Challenger blew up in ’86. Much like Punky Brewster, my dream had been to be an astronaut and my courage was shaken by the disaster. I just hope this doesn’t lead to a cessation of the current space program. (The Snook’s reaction this morning: “Damn. Guess we won’t see them go to Mars in our lifetime.”)

Friday Five:

1. As a child, who was your favorite superhero/heroine? Why?
Much like every other girl of my generation, I had Wonder Woman Underoos. Why? Because she kicked ass and looked pretty!

2. What was one thing you always wanted as a child but never got?
A Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine.

3. What’s the furthest from home you’ve been?
At this very moment, I am 9,438 miles from home. London was only a third of that distance. This is definitely the farthest.

4. What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to learn but haven’t yet?
Korean. I’ve got the books, I’ve got the CD… I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

5. What are your plans for the weekend?
Today we’re going to see Chicago (the movie) with our friend Steve. I’d also like to go to the gym, clean up the house, and finish my dad’s birthday present.

I really enjoyed this article about a vegetarian who returned to eating meat after 14 years. I think she sums up my position really well: Nobody wants to eat animals that are mistreated, over-produced, and pumped full of nastiness. But things are getting better and, if you’re willing to spend a little more money, “healthy” meat can be found. Which is great, because meat tastes really good. I like lots of different vegetables, but nothing can beat a thick, grilled-to-perfection Aussie lamb chop. Yum.

That said, I’m wondering what you veggos think. (Like my Aussie slang?) Do you thinks she’s overstated improvements in the industry to justify her meat cravings? (Link courtesy of John, who already has a heated discussion going on over at his site.)

Confession: I deleted a couple comments that randoms left today. It’s not that I’m against new people commenting; in fact, I welcome it. (Seriously, you lurkers! Join in!) But folks have to understand that this isn’t Usenet. I like the fact that the usual crew here all respect each other and use readable English. So don’t even bother posting gibberish that reads like an SMS. I’m against the censoring of ideas, but I have no qualms about deleting atrocious grammar.

In the category of “More Good News… Not”, apparently you can get deep vein thrombosis from sitting at a computer for too long. See, I thought the thing about the airplanes was that the pressure had something to do with it. But now they’re saying you can get it just from sitting on your ass at sea level? Great. Oh, and they’ve even coined a new term for it: “e-thrombosis”. *rolling eyes*

Today it was forty-four degrees Celsius outside in Macquarie Park, where I work. That’s one hundred and eleven degrees Fahrenheit. It’s stinkin’ hot.

From my friend Major: “Check this out. People are seeing the Virgin Mary in a frickin’ fence post at Coogee. People are making pilgrimages to see a white fence and are saying its a message from God that women shouldn’t go topless on the beach. Get these morons out of the gene pool. Out I Say!!!” I really have to agree.