almost total space geekitude

The almost part is because we didn't get up until 7, so if the weather had been OK in Florida we would have missed the landing. But it wasn't, so there we were with NASA streaming on the web, NPR covering it exclusively from about 7:45 on, all networks on the TV doing the same. Three media at once, for something that would have barely been covered (except by NASA, of course) if the previous landing 2 years ago hadn't been a disaster. Next time (if there *is* a next time) we'll see how much coverage there is. Reminded me again of elementary school days when we'd all be herded into the auditorium for the Mercury launches and landings, trying to see one fuzzy b&w TV set up on the stage.

presidential summer reading?

Mr. Bush has set aside a *lot* of vacation time for himself, although he'll be doing some work this month. It seemed to me that he should correspondingly have a lot of time for reading. When the Clintons visited Martha's Vineyard during their White House years, the press would get (and pass along) a list of the stacks of books they took with them. I can't find any mention of Bush's list. I've combed through whitehouse.gov and found the favorite book of Ofelia, a long-horned steer at the ranch ("What a Wonderful Day to Be a Cow" by Carolyn Lesser and Melissa Bay Mathis) but no similar information about the president. I called the White House switchboard asking for the press office. Apparently a random citizen can't call them, because the switchboard put me through to the comment line. The person there suggested that I fax the president directly and ask him. This is interesting. Emailing and calling get you to an intermediary but he reads his own faxes? Somehow I find it hard to believe, but I can't tell because I don't have a fax machine. I did find a somewhat disconcerting (to me) web site which tells me that he reads the Bible every day, anyway. http://www.presidentialprayerteam.org/
It would probably do him good to read one of my current ones, "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It" by Jim Wallis. On the other hand, he probably wouldn't be interested in Norah Waugh's "The Cut of Men's Clothes: 1600-1900" which I'm turning in today. Maybe I'll take Ofelia's suggestion and read the cow book while I'm at the library.