When one tries to procrastinate in school...

...one takes artistic photos of one's school, because surely such photos must count for something?

Autumn and NaNo-WriMo

The middle of October is always a funny time of the year. All through September and the beginning of October, the splendor and glory of autumn appears - trees are on fire with golden, crimson, and orange leaves, and the apples ripen and pumpkins fall off the vine.

But by the middle of Autumn, the leaves have faded into a muddy-brown color, and many of the tree branches are sadly forlorn, stripped of all their leaves. It is too early for Thanksgiving (the happy beginning of the holidays), and seems to be stuck in an insignificant rut in-between things.

Happily, however, it is also the time when one begins planning for NaNo WriMo. What is NaNo WriMo? It is, quite simply, National Novel Writing Month. On November 1st, the writing begins and doesn't end until 30 days and (hopefully) 50,000 words later. In October, one begins to map out the basic plot one's story will follow, and sign up to be a participant of NaNo WriMo on the NaNo WriMo website (see link above).

This is my second official year of NaNo WriMo. Unfortunately, I only got 15,000 words last year. But it is one of those things that is more fun to actually do than "win" necessarily. Maybe if [this being a very big if] I am extremely good this year in my story writing, I will consider posting the complete story here. :)

Another Astronomy Diversion

Three posts in practically a week! Am I good or what? ;)

Anyways, today the discovery of an Earth-like planet was announced. This planet, Gliese 581g, is several times the mass of our planet and orbits a red dwarf star. The planet is locked into position, one side always baking in the oven, and the other side always sitting in the freezer, but the line where the oven and the freezer start and end respectively offers the hospitable temperature of a cold winter (averaging -24 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit). Not only is this planet hopefully habitable, it is a mere 20 light years away....

The evidence is overwhelming. We need to develop a faster, more efficient means of space travel. Maybe it will take years - generations - but in the end, the possibility of space colonies and manned interplanetary travel outside of our solar system can become a reality.