A Fixable Flaw

In April 1990, to much hoopla and fanfare, I remember the Hubble Telescope being launched into orbit.  For nerds and those of us with a layman’s fascination of space this was an exciting time full of promise.  While we weren’t actually going into space we were going to get glimpses of it never before seen.  I may not have understood the particulars but I did get the gist.  The expectation was thrilling.  And then, as it was in space beginning to do its job there was a problem.  To be exact, a flaw 1/50 the thickness of paper distorted the images being sent back.  By this time, there was a lot of time and a whole lotta money invested in this telescope.  It couldn’t be thwarted by a minuscule flaw. Three years later, a mission launched to fix the problem.  Since then, the Hubble telescope has being performing its mission beautifully.  It performed at its full potential. Continue reading →

One more to add

In this age of online presence, I have developed certain goals.  Besides the serious ones of never discovering my picture on naughty websites or having my identity stolen (why anyone would want to hide under this persona I’ll never know but I still don’t want it to happen) I have a few other goals more as a matter of pride.  I have discussed them before here.  In short, I am hoping I am never cringing at the people at Walmart photos and realize, “Wait a minute! Those pants look familiar.”  And look down in horror to see the same pair on me.  Or to have any of my photos appear on awkward family photos and be relegated to meme mockery.  No, thank you.  I now have a new fear to add to the list.  I don’t want to find any of my poems on a bad poetry website. Continue reading →