Well, HELLO Pluto!

It’s so cool getting a close-up of Pluto.  When I was a kid I really liked the idea of all these planets madly whirling around the sun but I do remember being intrigued by Pluto even though the rings of Saturn caught my eye first and don’t even get me started on the giggle-fit that Uranus had on my juvenile mind.  After all, Pluto was small and lonely and the furthest from Earth and we knew zilch about it except that it was probably one solid block of ice.  Pluto was not discovered until 1930 (by a guy named Clyde) so it was a big deal in the study of the skies of California during my formative years.

Of course my infatuation with Pluto also probably stemmed from the fact that Pluto was the name of Mickey’s dog.  I don’t think I even considered it strange that a mouse could own a dog.  In 1992 Pluto lost its designation as a true planet and is now considered a dwarf.  Doc and Dopey and Sneezy and Pluto?





Coincidentally, I just finished reading “The Martian” by Adam Weir, wherein an astronaut named Whatley gets marooned on Mars and has to survive alone for more than four years before there is a chance for rescue.  It has lots of nerdy technical stuff to plow through but it’s ultimately worth it.  I bought the book for 35 cents (15% senior discount) at The Poverello Center, a charitable thrift shop in Wilton Manors, FL and I saw the trailer for the movie when I went to see Jurassic World last month.  It stars Matt Damon and is directed by Ridley Scott.  I loved Damon’s Jason Bourne trilogy and Scott’s “Alien” scared the bejesus out of me whilst being beguiled by Sigourney Weaver in the teeniest of underwear.  I don’t always like the movies made from books but The Martian might fill the bill.  It comes out in October of this year.

So far I’ve purchased two lamps, a picture frame and some books at Poverello and have my eye on a bookcase.  Seniors get a 15% discount on Thursdays so we’ll see what’s what with that bookcase next week.