Science! & Project MERCATOR
In the finest tradition of N.A.S.A.'s Deep Impact mission, which sent a washing machine-sized impactor careening into the comet Tempel 1, the L.CR.O.S.S. probe has given the Moon one heck of a wallop: kamikazelink. Who says that science can't be about smacking the snot out of everything in sight?

There was a live viewing of the dual impacts (L.CR.O.S.S., preceded by the Centaur rocket on which it rode into the heavens) at the Longway Planetarium this morning. I only found out about the viewing yesterday, on a flier that I easily could have missed. Oh, I was dearly tempted go both, both in pursuit of my love of astronomy and in accordance with Project MERCATOR, but 6:30 A.M. is just too early on a Friday. Thursday is my longest, most punishing day of the week; Friday is the day I sleep in latest, recovering. Had it been any other weekday, up to and including merciless Thursday itself, dawn would have found me seated in the Planetarium marveling at the beautiful sight of N.A.S.A. knocking the Moon's socks off (hooray for new episodes of MythBusters!) with a robot and a rocket, all in the name of science.

Science!

I will be going out this evening pursuant to Project MERCATOR. I don't want to go, but that's rather the point of Project MERCATOR, to fight the corrosive tendencies of my nature. Plus, though I am dubious as to the outing in question, I do wish to cultivate social relations with my fellows for the evening, and pulling my traditional monk routine won't advance that cause. So, it's time to take one for the team (the team being not just me, but Future Mike, too).

Of All the Souls in Christendom
Also yesterday, I was packing up my rucksack to leave the library, where I'd been sitting studying in the lengthy interval between an Econ Club meeting and my afternoon/evening classes, when for no conscious reason which I could divine I withdrew from Big Red the pocket Gideon Bible—the New Testament, plus Proverbs & Psalms—I keep alongside my Red Cross rescue mask. I opened up the gift of the Gideons to a random page and read, the Epistle of James, Chapter 5, Verse 8:

"You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand."

And please forgive me if this sounds presumptuous or boastful, but it seems clear to me that some agency of the Almighty, the Holy Ghost Himself or an angel of the Lord, whispered in my ear, wanting me to read James 5:8. Oh dear, I hope there wasn't some additional action James 5:8 was supposed to prompt me to take, because if so I've rather dropped the ball. Crumbs!