Phoenix Mars Mission

I was really annoyed to find out that Nasa was defunding the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on Mars. The little machines well outlasted their projected life, and continue to run.

I knew that there were other landers in process, but with the travel time being between 9 months and 2 years, you tend to forget what's in the cue and and when its expected. Which is why I was glad to hear that Phoenix successfully landed.

I'm expecting we will see a bunch of cool new images over the next few days.
Check out the link.

http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/05_26_pr.php

B

My Wife's Sermons are powered by chocolate

As the associate pastor, my wife only preaches 6-8 times a year, but when she does, it means one thing, make sure there is a stash of chocolate somewhere. It was like this with papers in college too. Caffeine and Chocolate. I also have the distinct pleasure of proofreading the work. This is also where chocolate comes in. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your point. Here, have some chocolate." Both as a peace offering and as fuel for the work that needs to be done.

Critiquing your wife's work is a bit like being asked "does this make me look fat?" The proper response is, "you are Beautiful, but that is just not you."
Its a mine field but it can be navigated with a little wisdom.

Rule #1. Be Honest. Don't tell her its great, if its not just to have it done with.

Rule #2. Ask questions. What is she trying to convey? does the sermon do that or does it get off track. What do you mean by X? If you don't get the point, most of the congregation won't either.

Rule #3. Be specific. I love the highlighter function in the word processor. I can highlight a section and make a note of just the area I'm having a problem with, like "explain" or "I think you are getting off topic."

Rule #4. Note areas that you like as well as dislike. Praise is powerful.

Rule #5. Don't wait till Saturday night. Everybody suffers if the minister is going on short sleep.


Bill

Welcome to Tessellated Geek

While I've been planning on setting up a blog for about a year now, it was Mitch Ross asking me if I had one that kicked me in the behind.

The problem has been that while I like writing, I'm easily distracted and have a bad habit of starting projects that I don't finish. Hopefully this will provide some accountability :).

Topics that you will find on this blog include:
Aspects of my life including being a parent, and a pastor's husband, and renovating our house.
My hobbies including Sailing, Games, and art.
Work projects that amuse me.
Other opinions and musings on society, economics, politics, and history as they might occur to me.

Why Tessellated Geek? I'm a geek and proud of it, but like most geeks, fitting in to society is a puzzle. Hence the reference to tessellations.