An 'Earth' Near Spock's Star? It's Logical
By Dan Vergano, USA Today
(Oct. 27) — Star Trek fans, take heart — Mr. Spock's fabled home star, the nearby Epsilon Eridani, could harbor an Earth-like planet.
NASA astronomers today report that the triple-ringed star has an asteroid belt and a Jupiter-like giant planet in roughly the same orbits as in our own solar system. Only 850 million years old, a fifth the age of Earth's sun, Epsilon Eridani resembles a younger twin to our solar system. About 62 trillion miles away, it is the closest known solar system.

Had an interesting weekend.

Went with a group to see Montezuma's Castle (again). The National Parks continue to improve on that site. My first visit was abt 35 years ago.

After that, we spent the rest of the day at Out of Africa. Initially, my thoughts were, "Poor beasts, being exploited again." However, I was ignorant. Most of the animals have been rescued and rehabilitated. I saw just abt the most beautiful male lion I have ever seen. Turns out, he was stillborn, and was given 30 min of CPR to restore him to life. Another animal, a small leopard, was doing well on only three legs. She was to be put down before she was rescued. The tiger spash was most impressive, as humans "played" with the tigers, jumping in the water with them, etc. Lastly, we witnessed staff inside cages, getting baby animals used to human contact/play.

Our final stop was at the Casino. I am easily bored with gambling, but winning is fun! I moved from one machine to another, each time winning a few bucks.

It was a long trip, but fun!

My team, the DARlings in Pink, donated over $2800 in today's Race For the Cure. I have to say, I did not enjoy it at all, and will not attempt to run again. The "run's" I did, 20+ years ago, were much smaller, and a lot more fun. We felt rather unique back then, because so few people actually participated. It was just too crowded today!!!

As I a genealogist of sorts, thought this was interesting. I really liked Teddy Roosevelt.

Palin's Family Ties Revealed
AP
WASHINGTON (Oct. 7, 2008) - Barack Obama and Dick Cheney are not the only political odd couple who share a family tree. Sarah Palin is linked in her lineage to Franklin Roosevelt. She also has a connection with Princess Diana.
Roosevelt, the Depression-era Democratic president, is a distant cousin of Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, according to genealogists at Ancestry.com.
Roosevelt is Palin's ninth cousin once removed. Their common ancestor is Rev. John Lothrop, who came to Massachusetts in 1634.
Palin also has ties to the late British princess, the Web site's researchers found. The Alaska governor is a 10th cousin of the former royal.
Last year, Cheney's wife, Lynne, discovered the ancestral ties between the Republican vice president and Democratic presidential nominee while researching her book. She said the relationship was eighth cousin, though the Chicago Sun-Times has traced it as ninth cousins once removed.