Milestones Are Better Than Millstones

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Rollin' in my 5.0 the tops laid back so my hair can blow. Girlies on standby waitin' just to say hi.  Did you stop? No, I kept on rollin' in my 5.0... Omigosh- I know the lyrics to Ice, Ice Baby nearly by heart. I feel so dirty.

• Today 50 years ago Apollo 11 landed on our moon and this anniversary got me to thinking about NASA, human nature and our place in the universe.
• The sun is responsible for everything good on earth and a whole of bad and it is a bit of an overstatement but I do it to stress the point- we have no idea how the sun does what it does nor can we predict what it will do or not do on a given day. Here is why that bugs me and should you: one of the first goals of  NASA when it was founded 60 years ago was to learn about our sun.  I can forgive the fact that idea got lost in the space race but today NASA still walks around as through a minefield while simultaneously doing and talking about things that capture the imaginations of the peasants and dim witted politicians like moon bases and  Mars colonies.
• I understand the problem with government agencies  having patent rights but there has to be a smart way to allow NASA to have them- profit sharing with civilian companies, certain limits etc. Anyway, if there was a way to allow them a certain amount of patent control and/or double their pittance of funding there is a lot of good they could do especially as in ways they have already wised up and are remarkably good stewards.
• I thought I was going to cry when Curiosity landed on Mars. The closest it is ever to us is about 33 million miles- bind moggling.
• Back to the sun: people can be really, really dumb and if something isn't sexy or cool enough or fueled with electrolytes and spray tanned- we don't care.
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• The Army Aviation Astronaut Badge is the rarest qualification badge awarded. Most guys assume it is urban legend but it is real. One of my buds would swear to you he met an officer once while on TDY somewhere who wore one. It is possible but still hard to believe and I'll further hazard that said buddy was telling the truth- he saw it but said officer wasn't actually qualified and likely wore it until he got busted for it.
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• My dad bought me a telescope at a yard sale when I was a boy. I can still see the price tag as clearly as if it were set here in front of me- 3 dollars written in red marker on the inside lid of the box. I also had a star chart. While the entire world except for the truckers I could hear Jake braking on 287 slept I would be out unlocking the mysteries of the universe. I knew enough to know that on cold nights the atmosphere would be clearer so I would bundle up in dads coat over mine and stay out for hours. I even made a ski mask out of an an old Army blanket and sheet. Mom bought me one later, probably to keep me from being being mistaken for a Klansman.
• I have a vague recall I gave to telescope to a nephew but I cannot be sure.