This collection of entries is from August 26, 2003.
We're just a few hours away from closest approach of Mars to Earth - 34,646,418 million miles at 5:51 a.m. ET (normally it's at 50,000,000 miles). It's pretty cool seeing Mars out there - hard to miss, actually. It's brighter than everything else in the night sky (Venus doesn't count) because it's also closest to the sun in its eliptical orbit. It hasn't been this close to us in 60,000 years, but it's supposed to be closer in 2287. My guess is that I won't be around to see that...
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report was released today. If you're looking for a PDF copy, I happen to have one here.
I sort of don't get this...
I've been outside when I go to the White Sox games. I've been to Florida for a week, walking around Walt Disney World and Universal Studios.
I haven't put on any sunscreen during this time and I'm not getting sunburned. I'm not even getting red. I'm barely turning a darker shade of my normal skin color. I wonder what happened to my body chemistry that made this happen?