I think I got sun stroke yesterday. It was 98 degrees on the surface of Mars in Eastern Washington, where I'm spending the three day weekend with my family. This desert sun is none too kind on my pale northwest skin... I should have brought my stillsuit.

Today is better. 88 degrees.

My parents home is a lovely spot of green against miles of dust, sagebrush and rock. It is a refreshing oasis, frequented by butterflies, cute little starlings and lovely quail. Also, all of my old friends are here. Like the horses, Sis, Chick, JT and Digger. A fine lot, all of them. Later this evening, when its much cooler, I will put on my Dad's cowboy hat and hop on one of them and ride out towards the sunset like Shane. In the meanwhile, I shall hide out in the shade and read some more Snowcrash and play with Bailey, my sworn protector, and Max the everybody dog.

Max is a Border Collie and smart one. He speaks Coyote and has a broad understanding of English. He loves nothing more than to look adorable and fetch wet and slobbery things. Today he has brought me the following:

A stick.

A piece of plastic fencing.

My sandal.

A half of a tennis ball.

A rock.

There is one thing he hasn't brought me yet and as you can see here and here, he is perfectly capable of doing so. The polite thing to do is ask, but I'd like to see if could bring me a cold one on his own incentive. Not likely though. He knows that the last thing a person is going to do is play fetch with a can of Kokanee or whatever he finds in the fridge. Ah well, I don't drink stuff like that. Sampling all the fine brews of the Northwest has made me somewhat of a beer snob. Mmmm... some Boundary Bay Scotch Ale or some stout from the Skagit River Brewery would sure be nice later on this evening. *sigh*

One thing though, where Eastern Washington lacks in saltwater, lush foliage, cedar trees and good brew it makes up for it with great wine. There are tons of wineries here, tons! We see a lot of Columbia Crest on the coast, but there are other places (sadly, their names are forgotten to me) that has some pretty tasty reds. Tri City's grape growing conditions are not unlike those in France, the locals say and I don't doubt it.

Chalk one more for Washington! I just love this State.

The release date has been revealed at last.

60+ minutes of Cloud & Co in GLORIOUS CGI!

Oh man, I can hardly wait!

After reading Mike's recent post on the raging creation/evolution debate, I figure I may as well throw in my two cents. Heck, maybe three...

I tend to be sympathetic to those who would like to see Intelligent Design taught in schools. Not in a science class, but in an optional philosophy class fused with science. As far as Evolution is concerned, it's still a theory and should be treated as so, not an absolute truth as some of my teachers have done. It needs to be realized that the scientist can easily become something like a fire and brimstone theocrat, teaching theories as fact and forgetting that much of science is also faith based.

The current debate between creation and evolution does bring to light something largely missing from the classroom.

What is the problem with teaching science today? It's boring. I hated it in highschool because it was mostly made up memorizing data and not the inquiry into the how and why of things. It was completely devoid of the wonder, the marvel we have all felt as we gaze at the star dotted sky or contemplate the unique function of this planet and our bodies. Albert Einstein, in his essay "The World as I see It," rightly dubbed this awe as the "Cosmic Religious Feeling."

"The cosmic religious feeling is the strongest and noblest motive for scientific research. Only those who realize the immense efforts and, above all, the devotion without which pioneer work in theoretical science cannot be achieved are able to grasp the strength of the emotion out of which alone such work, remote as it is from the immediate realities of life, can issue. What a deep conviction of the rationality of the universe and what a yearning to understand. . . It is cosmic religious feeling that gives a man such strength."

Some of us interpret the Cosmic Religious Feeling as God and attribute it accordingly to our faith, while the rest of us awknowledge it and are humbled, but see no reason to redefine their beliefs. This is fine. Regardless of either side, we need more of or something like the Cosmic Religious Feeling in the classroom.

Jessi is a Giant Mecha-Ant that breathes Poisonous Gas, shoots Laser Beams, and has Bulletproof Skin. Strength: 6 Agility: 6 Intelligence: 7 To see if your Giant Battle Monster can defeat Jessi, enter your name and choose an attack: fights Jessi using Strength Agility Intelligence

Books, I can never get enough of them.

Even when I'm low on funds, I can't stop buying them. Like the sirens to Odysseus they call me and the opportunity to trek through worlds not unlike my beloved Narnia, Middle Earth and Dune (yes, Dune) is irresistible. It might take me months to eventually get to the story, but to have them there, an arms reach from where I lay my head, is enough until then.

On friday, I bought another book to add to my ever increasing collection. A 1974 paperback of "The Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath" by HP Lovecraft. I could not be happier with my purchase, as this edition does not have the ghastly cover art that other companies such as Random house/Del Rey, like to slap on to their compilations. The latest cover artist, John Palencar, however acclaimed in other circles, does not compare to the likes of Gustave Dore, Sidney Sime or Nicholas Roerich all of whom Lovecraft highly regarded.

Ah well, thanks to the internet, out of print books are not so hard to find anymore. Now I can enjoy a very good story without some tortured and distorted character gaping at me from the front.