Sunday Photos 4/24/11

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them,

 “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 

He is not here; he has risen!"

He is risen indeed.

Memorial, 4/19

The blast in Oklahoma City claimed the lives of 168 people, 

including 19 children under the age of 6.

Sunday Photos 4/17/11

Drought

 Lake Hefner, Oklahoma City

Evergreen

Henderson, Indiana

Today's Top 10: Injury Bugs

Top 10 strangest injuries and ailments that will put Major League Baseball players on the disabled list this year:

10. Heffa Lumps


9.  Check Swing Dribbler


8.  Tommy Jaundice


7.  Wii Knee


6.  Pulled Pork


5.  Unleaded Gas


4.  Magic Jack


3.  Helmet Itch


2.  Liver 'n Onions


1.  Hanging Curveballs

It's April 12. Where will we go tomorrow?

Today marks the anniversary of a couple of important events in the history of space flight.  On this date in 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first person to travel into outer space.  Also on this date, in 1981 John Young and Robert Crippen flew Columbia on the first Space Shuttle launch.  I believe it is only right that we salute these pioneers, the ones that take the first, dangerous steps of a journey so that we may follow.  The men and women that faced the challenges of exploring that new frontier will always have a special place in my heart.

The Wright brothers made the first powered flight in 1903.  Less than 58 years later man orbited the earth.  Only 8 years passed before Armstrong walked on the moon.  And just 20 years after our first small foray into space a re-usable space plane went to work.  I grew up during the space race.  After watching the phenomenal achievements of both the US and Russian space programs, it seemed only natural that our progress would continue to accelerate.  While we might not get to Jupiter in 2001,  in 1970 I was certain that in the far off future of 2011 we would certainly have visited Mars, and have a regular presence on the moon.

Not quite.  Next year NASA will retire the shuttle fleet with no solid plans to replace it.  I understand the arguments against spending money on exploration when we have plenty of problems here at home.  I just fear that if we cease to look outward we will have lost an opportunity to take important steps in our journey as humans. An opportunity that will take a generation to regain.

Sunday Photos 4/10/11

To go along with my recent focus on politics and to also note the upcoming tax filing deadline, here are some shots from our nation's capital.

Don't blame the bus

Not surprisingly, given the current situation in Washington DC, I am hearing comments again about how the system is broken.  Some even say it is beyond repair.  I disagree with this notion.  I think blaming "the system" for our current troubles is like blaming the bus for being late when the driver oversleeps.

I listened to an interview today of a historian of government policy (whose name unfortunately escaped me).  He said the USA is apparently unique in the world in its ability to put itself in the situation of shutting down the government almost completely, which greatly puzzles his friends around the world.  When asked how he explains this oddity, he said he tells his friends that the government in America was, in a way, designed not to work.  Our founders were so afraid of centralized power after their escape from the clutches of King George that the government they formed would be extremely difficult to command entirely by one person or faction.  This makes it fairly likely that situations like today's would crop up now and again.

Sounds about right to me.
Which brings me back to our bus.  When we hire responsible, intelligent drivers the bus gets us where we need to go pretty nicely.  But it would seem we haven't been careful enough about who we've put behind the wheel lately.  And so if there's anything in or system that needs some examination I think it would be how we go about deciding which gals and guys we let drive.  I hope to have moron more on that subject before the bus gets much further.