What should I bring.

Hot dogs and a six-pack. If you're lazy like me and/or know that the party throwers are over-planners like my cook-out throwing friends.

Otherwise, potato salad.

NASA-TV reports images received from the Phoenix lander on Mars! Yay!

Images at the U. of Arizona web site: [link]

Patriotic drunk jackholes?

That's really strange. I don't think I've ever heard drunk people singing patriotic songs...I mean, maybe one? On July 4th? But...many? In a row? On Memorial Day? I mean, I suppose it's not inappropriate. Memorial Day is...in memoriam. But...odd nonetheless.

I almost want to see Mission Control slash, where they kiss....

Someone's been around fandom a touch too long.

Or just long enough.

I'm writing essays for reapplying for my job (they're making the position permanent)

Is it more than going through the motions? I mean, you don't actually have to compete, do you? That sounds evil.

Friday I went to my boss to tell him my workload was a bit light and to find out if there was anything else I could help out with. I so hope I don't come to regret it. But it was true, and there's too much shit to be done for our big deadline that I might was well get some of it onto my reasonably roomy plate.

OMGWTFMIGRAINE. Trying to work out whether or not to go in. I was just there! And they always make me feel like such an idiot.

Whohoo, Phoenix! I feel so...connected! We were on the road, so no NASA tv for us. We listened to the XM satellite radio broadcast of the CNN coverage. It was still breathtaking. And then I got to come see all y'alls cute geek watch-n-post.

Now we're at a hotel which at least has good wifi, because the rest of it is rife with problems.

OK, reading the NYTimes. I'm all for being able to customize your browser, and I quite like Firefox, which I currently use, but...WTF is is this person thinking, when trying to say this as a POSITIVE??

"“Sitting at somebody else’s computer and using their browser is going to become a very awkward experience,” said Mitchell Baker, chairwoman of the Mozilla Foundation."

Hey, I'm all for the awkward/making it harder for someone to use your computer -- one of the reasons I mouse with the left hand at work is that it throws off coworkers who think they can sit down at my computer and start working on it, since they have to switch the mouse over. Also, I turn my computer off at the end of the day, on the theory if that somebody is looking for a working computer, they'll first go to the ones that are turned on, rather than wait for one to boot up.

I'd also leave jacks scattered on my office chair seat, if I dared....

Images at the U. of Arizona web site

WhooHoo!!!! I love this stuff!

Oh, glad Phoenix landed ok.

Baptism and first communion went well. By the family's standards. There was a pre-ceremony family contretemps that I missed, but a long hug and sympathy mitigated a lot of that. And by the Church's standards, well, um. As her brother (and fellow godparent) said: "It's telling that none of the godparents took communion, no?" Godparents: one lapsed Catholic, one hindu, one "other," one "other" but acting as proxy for Catholic godmother. Um. Guess she won the argument with the Father? I'm not sure how the other "other" fit in, but whatever. I did the whole thing going "On behalf of Aunty M,...." I don't share their faith, but I'm not gonna lie either!

I held the baptismal kid for all but the baptism. He was great: alert but not cranky. I've been declared a magic touch. There was also a 2 month old who whenever she got fussy, got handed to me. And she'd quiet. I figure it is just a fluke. Or I radiate more baby-calm than most. Except I've had major meltdowns in my arms, so.

Then spent the rest of the afternoon in their screened porch on the deck in glorious weather, eating and talking. The other other is a fascinating person. Done Broadway acting, writing, (food service,) producing. Her SO's production is up for 13 emmys. And I can't recall what it was. I do hope to see her again when she visits. She strikes me as I person I get.

So it was nice.

Also learned more than I ever wanted to know about vasectomies. But that is neither here nor there.

I don't want anyone at work to use my computer. But, really, it's not my computer, and it's not my place to make it hard for them. If it's unattended my computer is locked or logged out, so any customisations I make are irrelevant. If I'm there and they need to use it and they can't, then that's just annoying.

And god forbid that support should need to fix some problem with my endifficulted browser. I can only imagine the scope of that headache.