All about me

Commercial space flight is almost here, but being one of the first to try it would be like being an  early user of all the new electronic toys: You pay three or four times as much as the people who wait for Version 2 or 3, and you have to put up with all the bugs that haven't been worked out yet. My sister says she'd really like to take the trip if she had the money, but it I think it's way too much money just to experience a moment or two of weightlessnes:

So now I know why Dutch and Maggie have been walking around the house humming "California Dreamin' ":

Our Legislature took time out from the state budget crisis to pass a bill giving California pet owners the right to set up a legally enforceable trust to care for dogs, cats, horses or other animals.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill, SB685, last week. It takes effect Jan. 1.

Cultural conservatives have long argued that the moral character of the country would be vastly improved if divorces were made much harder to obtain. Now they've gotten what they wanted!

Then, after two years of marriage, the 10-year relationship soured, and Chambers filed for divorce. That put the couple into a legal limbo that is becoming increasingly common as same-sex couples married in one state try to divorce in another.

I was all set to enjoy a pleasant evening of blogging last night. One of my favorite old black-and-white movies, 1935's "G Men," with James Cagney and Margaret Lindsay, was playing on Turner Classic Movies. With my laptop set up in front of the TV, I could half pay attention to the movie (old favorites are comfortable background noise) while composing posts to thrill and astound my readers. But at 7:58 p.m., two minutes before the movie's start -- Zap! Comcast Cable went out. "This channel should be available shortly," the message said -- on every channel.

A judge in New Zealand has made a 9-year-old girl a ward of the court so that the embarrassing name her parents gave her -- "Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii" -- can be changed:

In his ruling, Murfitt cited a list of the unfortunate names.

Registration officials blocked some names, including Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit, he said. But others were allowed, including Number 16 Bus Shelter "and tragically, Violence," he said.

The news just gets grimmer and grimmer here in buggy whip land:

The New York Times Co. will increase the Monday-Saturday newsstand cost of its flagship paper by 25 cents to $1.50, the publisher said Wednesday.

I've written here about the the oxymoron "mandatory volunteerism," and the concept unfortunately just keeps gaining momentum. There is a group called Service Nation with some heavyweights behind it, and, considering their stances on national service, both Obama and McCain would surely endorse its goals:

I have dismissed the Olympics as anything but the noble competittion of amateurs they are claimed to be. But I've gotten caught up in the Dara Torres story. Who wouldn't? At first, everybody thought it would be a nice nostalgia story, 41-year-old mother, retired from swimming, comes back for one last shot at the Olympics, the old lady might even make the team for a record fifth time. But she started kicking teen swimmers' butts, and suddenly it's a very real story of perseverance and achievement.

Something I wasn't aware is available but am not surprised by:

If you demand quality veterinary care for your pets, then you already know that this is not inexpensive. If your pet becomes unexpectedly ill or injured you may find yourself suddenly facing hundreds to thousands of dollars in veterinary bills. Many pet owners have found that pet health insurance can be a convenient way to help cover the costs of routine or emergency treatment for their pets.

Dress does are fine, and I think I've even written that school uniforms can help create a good learning environment. But messing with a kid's hair is getting too personal:

A small rural school district in Fort Bend County and a determined mother are tangled in a dispute over hair.

Michelle Betenbaugh says her 5-year-old son, Adriel Arocha, wears his hair long because of religious beliefs tied to his Native American heritage.