Pluto Is No Longer A Planet....

Borrowed from AP:

PRAGUE, Czech Republic - Pluto, beloved by some as a cosmic underdog but scorned by astronomers who considered it too dinky and distant, was unceremoniously stripped of its status as a planet Thursday.

The International Astronomical Union, dramatically reversing course just a week after floating the idea of reaffirming Pluto's planethood and adding three new planets to Earth's neighborhood, downgraded the ninth rock from the sun in historic new galactic guidelines.

The shift will have the world's teachers scrambling to alter lesson plans just as schools open for the fall term.
"It will all take some explanation, but it is really just a reclassification and I can't see that it will cause any problems," said Neil Crumpton, who teaches science at a high school north of London. "Science is an evolving subject and always will be."

Powerful new telescopes, experts said, are changing the way they size up the mysteries of the solar system and beyond. But the scientists at the conference showed a soft side, waving plush toys of the Walt Disney character Pluto the dog — and insisting that Pluto's spirit will live on in the exciting discoveries yet to come.
"The word 'planet' and the idea of planets can be emotional because they're something we learn as children," said Richard Binzel, a professor of planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who helped hammer out the new definition.

"This is really all about science, which is all about getting new facts," he said. "Science has marched on. ... Many more Plutos wait to be discovered."

Pluto, a planet since 1930, got the boot because it didn't meet the new rules, which say a planet not only must orbit the sun and be large enough to assume a nearly round shape, but must "clear the neighborhood around its orbit." That disqualifies Pluto, whose oblong orbit overlaps Neptune's, downsizing the solar system to eight planets from the traditional nine.

Astronomers have labored without a universal definition of a planet since well before the time of Copernicus, who proved that the Earth revolves around the sun, and the experts gathered in Prague burst into applause when the guidelines were passed.

Predictably, Pluto's demotion provoked plenty of wistful nostalgia.

"It's disappointing in a way, and confusing," said Patricia Tombaugh, the 93-year-old widow of Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh.
"I don't know just how you handle it. It kind of sounds like I just lost my job," she said from Las Cruces, N.M. "But I understand science is not something that just sits there. It goes on. Clyde finally said before he died, 'It's there. Whatever it is. It is there.'"

The decision by the IAU, the official arbiter of heavenly objects, restricts membership in the elite cosmic club to the eight classical planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Pluto and objects like it will be known as "dwarf planets," which raised some thorny questions about semantics:

If a raincoat is still a coat, and a cell phone is still a phone, why isn't a dwarf planet still a planet?

NASA said Pluto's downgrade would not affect its $700 million New Horizons spacecraft mission, which this year began a 9 1/2-year journey to the oddball object to unearth more of its secrets.
But mission head Alan Stern said he was "embarrassed" by Pluto's undoing and predicted that Thursday's vote would not end the debate. Although 2,500 astronomers from 75 nations attended the conference, only about 300 showed up to vote.

"It's a sloppy definition. It's bad science," he said. "It ain't over."

Under the new rules, two of the three objects that came tantalizingly close to planethood will join Pluto as dwarfs: the asteroid Ceres, which was a planet in the 1800s before it got demoted, and 2003 UB313, an icy object slightly larger than Pluto whose discoverer, Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology, has nicknamed "Xena." The third object, Pluto's largest moon, Charon, isn't in line for any special designation.
Brown, whose Xena find rekindled calls for Pluto's demise because it showed it isn't nearly as unique as it once seemed, waxed philosophical.

"Eight is enough," he said, jokingly adding: "I may go down in history as the guy who killed Pluto."
Demoting the icy orb named for the Roman god of the underworld isn't personal — it's just business — said Jack Horkheimer, director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and host of the PBS show "Star Gazer."
"It's like an amicable divorce," he said. "The legal status has changed but the person really hasn't. It's just single again."

Winning Contests, New Jobs, Sex With Old Lovers

Just an update here, in no particular order...

I dropped my name into a contest basket @ Pier 1 a couple of weeks ago, and I WON! I got very nice basket, packed nicely with a pale olive green paper, and it had a big candle, bath salts and bath flowers. Very nice!

I went to the Farmer's Market yesterday, dropped my name into a contest basket for local farmer's products, and... I WON! It's FILLED to the bursting with beautiful local produce such as collards, lettuce, squash, zucchini, garlic, leeks, tomatoes, and more!

I've been working at a fabulous local restaurant that serves beer and wine for a couple of months as the bartender two days a week. I don't make enough to pay my bills, but I'm not taking spending money out of the bank AT ALL. I am so happy, ecstatic, content, I cannot begin to explain.

I have responsibilities, I am doing a great job, and I have NO STRESS. No stupid, pointless, music business joke of a job.

Not quite 30 years ago, a friend of a friend moved to L.A. from Austin to start a new career, and he lived with me for a short time. We had talked on the phone, and decided, why not? he showed up on my doorstep, 22 years old, very sure of himself, and adorable. We had a great time together.

He came through town this past week with his band, and he looks fantastic, and is still the same wonderful guy. We hadn't seen or talked to each other since 1996. He was as pleased to see me as I was to see him, and, well, ya know...

He remembered stuff I had thought I'd forgotten from when we were together - very flattering, I must say.

Let me tell ya - I feel very positive about myself after that one night - I hadn't realised that I was feeling sort of asexual, but, now I feel attractive and sexual and confident again. I know this is what happens, but I had forgetten.

It's basically pheromones - if there is a long time one goes without sex (I was at 5 months here), I believe you stop emitting the pheromones that we all emit in order to attract someone. And, consequently, there is a tendency to stop feeling sexual that accompanies this. BUT - as soon as you DO have sex, all the feelings of confidence come back, and you become a more sexual being again. It's quite obvious to my friends that SOMETHING happened to me this weekend, just from my change in attitude.

I have adopted a mother cat, found under a house being rehabbed. She purrs, she likes to sleep on my chest, she has been here a week, and she is still peeing on the furniture. We're working on it.

I could bathe a million times a day in this heat, and still sweat all day long. Yah, yah, I know it's great for my skin...

My Mexico Vacation, Or, The Government Didn't Like My Passport Photo

So, I have this timeshare in Playa del Carmen, which is 40 miles south of Cancun, on the Eastern side of Mexico.
Well, Katrina cancelled last year's trip as they had to repair the damage, so, I traded my week for a week in Puerto Vallarta, on the Western side of Mexico, and
my best friend, Pam, and I went for the third week in April of this year.

And, of course, I took a gazillion pictures, so this blog will be ongoing, as I continue to upload pix for a while.
Now, I've been travelling internationally for many many years, so I know how it goes.

However - I have been trying to get Unemployment, and one of the things I had to do was to register,

which meant I had to show them documents, one of which was my Passport.

Well, let me tell ya, it sure was fortunate that I'm trying to get unemployment, because if I hadn't, I wouldn't have realised that my Passport had EXPIRED until I got to the airport! Fortunately, I saw that it was expired a week before I was to depart, so I went and got the info from the Passport office as to what I had to do to expedite getting it.

I had to send 2 photos, some paperwork, etc. and spend around $200 to get it done in 2 weeks (it usually takes 6) , so I fedexed it all to this company in Texas who would take care of it.

Well.

They called me the beginning of the week I needed it, to tell me that the Passport Office had

REJECTED MY PHOTOS.

They weren't clear, and the background had to be white.

So, I retook them (here @ home), again, in front

of a white door.

THEY REJECTED THEM AGAIN.

They didn't like the background being a door, no matter what colour it

was, and they still didn't

like the photos.

So, passport-wise,

I was screwed.

My next option was to use a birth certificate, so, I dug thru all my documents, and found the birth certificate my mom gave me from the hospital where I was born. It had a nun's signature

as well as my little baby

foot prints in ink.

So, I arrive at the airport, ready to get my

boarding pass, and, they ask me for my passport. I tell them I don't have one, and they ask for my birth

certificate, which I give them.

'This isn't a birth certificate," the

agent says.

"Yes, it is - look, it says birth certificate, right here, at the top." I say.

"No, this is only the keepsake they give out at the hospital," he replies. "Do

you have a Voter Registration card , perhaps?"

'Sure, I do, but I didn't bring it with me to go to Mexico with!", I reply, getting PRETTY FUCKING WORRIED.

'Can you go home and get it?", he asks.

Now, I had just been dropped off by my friend Theresa,

who is house/dog/cat/car sitting,

and is on her way back to my house, and IF I had brought my cellphone, I could have called her, and MAYBE

she might have been able to get to my house, find the voter registration card, and POSSIBLY get back to the airport in time, BUT,

without calling her immediately,

which I couldn't do (no cellphone, as I mentioned), well, I was basically fucked.

ALL WAS NOT LOST. In the end, the agent got another agent, who was also a Notary, to fill out a paper that said I was cleared based on my birth certificate.

That's how the vacation started.

TO BE CONTINUED

John Lennon Is Rolling In His Grave....

Geez, what some people will do for ratings (and dosh...):

(My friend Bruce says:)

" Oh man, let's get reeaalll GONE this time! Now, THESE are the people who NEED to get a life!!!!!

Is there no end??
Imagine if he was contacted.

Instead of ectoplasm, he'd just piss on everyone present, and rightly so!"

A Séance to Contact John Lennon

"The Spirit of John Lennon": 90 Minute Pay Per View Special To Debut April 24th

World Renowned Psychics Will Conduct Séance To Contact Music Legend
on iN DEMAND

Los Angeles (March 13, 2006)--On April 24, 2006, an historic event will unfold on iN DEMAND Pay-Per-View television as famed psychics around the world conduct a séance to contact John Lennon. (I doubt he'll want to be bothered...)

John Lennon was one of the most important musical talents of our time, but he was tragically taken from us much too soon. Now, an event will take place that will perhaps allow the world to

once again be touched by his genius.
Renowned psychics will travel to various sites significant to the former Beatle. Outside the Dakota building in New York, in the shadow of the Capitol Records Building in Los Angeles, and in the town in India where Lennon pursued his spiritual retreat,

(Didn't the 'spiritual retreats' end up being lots of drugs and the 'spiritual leader' hitting on Beatle wives and girlfriends?) psychics will use their exceptional talents to contact him for the first time.
In India, a spirit reader at an ashram believes he will be able to contact John Lennon to receive musical notes and lyrics from the other side. (Aaaaaauuuuggggghhhhh!) If successful, these notations will be flown to Los Angeles, where a composer will arrange the notes, add vocals and backgrounds to produce a new song. Could the results be a last musical legacy from beyond? (Oh, Lord, save us from these people...)
In New York, a psychic will not only visit the Dakota, but will also spend time at the Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park, where he believes he will make contact with the spirit of John Lennon.
The special will culminate as psychics, colleagues and confidantes sit at a séance table for what promises to be the most incredible 30 minutes of psychic contact ever recorded. State of the art infra-red cameras will be in place for the entire séance, providing the ability to capture any presence or spirit that enters the room.
During the special, music professionals and individuals who worked with John Lennon will be used to verify whether they believe contact was made.
"The Spirit of John Lennon" promises to be one of the most riveting and controversial specials of the year.

The Spirit of John Lennon is being done without the knowledge or consent of John Lennon's Estate.

(No shit, Sherlock.)

More Government Garbage - U.S. Reclassifies Many Documents in Secret Review

In a seven-year-old secret program at the National Archives, intelligence agencies have been removing from public access thousands of historical documents that were available for years, including some already published by the State Department and others photocopied years ago by private historians.

The restoration of classified documents was because the Central Intelligence Agency and five other agencies objected to what they saw as a hasty release of sensitive informationatus to more than 55,000 previously declassified pages began in 1999, when after a 1995 declassification order signed by President Bill Clinton.

It accelerated after the Bush administration took office and especially after the 2001 terrorist attacks, according to archives records.

"If those sample records were removed because somebody thought they were classified, I'm shocked and disappointed," Mr. Leonard said in an interview. "It just boggles the mind."

If Mr. Leonard finds that documents are being wrongly reclassified, his office could not unilaterally release them. But as the chief adviser to the White House on classification, he could urge a reversal or a revision of the reclassification program. A group of historians, including representatives of the National Coalition for History and the Society of Historians of American Foreign Relations, wrote to Mr. Leonard on Friday to express concern about the reclassification program, which they believe has blocked access to some material at the presidential libraries as well as at the archives.

Among the 50 withdrawn documents that Mr. Aid found in his own files is a 1948 memorandum on a C.I.A. scheme to float balloons over countries behind the Iron Curtain and drop propaganda leaflets. It was reclassified in 2001 even though it had been published by the State Department in 1996.

Another historian, William Burr, found a dozen documents he had copied years ago whose reclassification he considers "silly," including a 1962 telegram from George F. Kennan, then ambassador to Yugoslavia, containing an English translation of a Belgrade newspaper article on China's nuclear weapons program.

Under existing guidelines, government documents are supposed to be declassified after 25 years unless there is particular reason to keep them secret. While some of the choices made by the security reviewers at the archives are baffling, others seem guided by an old bureaucratic reflex: to cover up embarrassments even if they occurred a half-century ago.

One reclassified document in Mr. Aid's files, for instance, gives the C.I.A.'s assessment on Oct. 12, 1950, that Chinese intervention in the Korean War was "not probable in 1950." Just two weeks later, on Oct. 27, some 300,000 Chinese troops crossed into Korea.

Mr. Aid said he believed that because of the reclassification program, some of the contents of his 22 file cabinets might technically place him in violation of the Espionage Act, a circumstance that could be shared by scores of other historians. But no effort has been made to retrieve copies of reclassified documents, and it is not clear how they all could even be located.

"It doesn't make sense to create a category of documents that are classified but that everyone already has," said Meredith Fuchs, general counsel of the National Security Archive, a research group at George Washington University. These documents were on open shelves for years."

The program's critics do not question the notion that wrongly declassified material should be withdrawn. Mr. Aid said he had been dismayed to see "scary" documents in open files at the National Archives, including detailed instructions on the use of high explosives.

But the historians say the program is removing material that can do no conceivable harm to national security. They say it is part of a marked trend toward greater secrecy under the Bush administration, which has increased the pace of classifying documents, slowed declassification and discouraged the release of some material under the Freedom of Information Act.

Experts on government secrecy believe the C.I.A. and other spy agencies, not the White House, are the driving force behind the reclassification program.

"I think it's driven by the individual agencies, which have bureaucratic sensitivities to protect," said Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists, editor of the online weekly Secrecy News. But it was clearly encouraged by the administration's overall embrace of secrecy."
National Archives officials said the program had revoked access to 9,500 documents, more than 8,000 of them since President Bush took office. About 30 reviewers — employees and contractors of the intelligence and defense agencies — are at work each weekday at the archives complex in College Park, Md., the officials said.

Archives officials could not provide a cost for the program but said it was certainly in the millions of dollars, including more than $1 million to build and equip a secure room where the reviewers work.
Michael J. Kurtz, assistant archivist for record services, said the National Archives sought to expand public access to documents whenever possible but had no power over the reclassifications. "The decisions agencies make are those agencies' decisions," Mr. Kurtz said.

Though the National Archives are not allowed to reveal which agencies are involved in the reclassification, one archivist said on condition of anonymity that the C.I.A. and the Defense Intelligence Agency were major participants.

A spokesman for the C.I.A., Paul Gimigliano, said that the agency had released 26 million pages of documents to the National Archives since 1998 and that it was "committed to the highest quality process" for deciding what should be secret.
"Though the process typically works well, there will always be the anomaly, given the tremendous amount of material and multiple players involved," Mr. Gimigliano said.
A spokesman for the Defense Intelligence Agency said he was unable to comment on whether his agency was involved in the program.

Anna K. Nelson, a foreign policy historian at American University, said she and other researchers had been puzzled in recent years by the number of documents pulled from the archives with little explanation.
"I think this is a travesty," said Dr. Nelson, who said she believed that some reclassified material was in her files. "I think the public is being deprived of what history is really about: facts."

The document removals have not been reported to the Information Security Oversight Office, as the law has required for formal reclassifications since 2003.

The explanation, said Mr. Leonard, the head of the office, is a bureaucratic quirk. The intelligence agencies take the position that the reclassified documents were never properly declassified, even though they were reviewed, stamped "declassified," freely given to researchers and even published, he said.
Thus, the agencies argue, the documents remain classified — and pulling them from public access is not really reclassification.
Mr. Leonard said he believed that while that logic might seem strained, the agencies were technically correct. But he said the complaints about the secret program, which prompted his decision to conduct an audit, showed that the government's system for deciding what should be secret is deeply flawed.

"This is not a very efficient way of doing business," Mr. Leonard said. "There's got to be a better way."