Last Saturday, I toured the battlefield of the Second Battle of Bull Run, as known by the Yanks or the Battle of Second Manassas as referred to by the Rebels. Click here for all my photos of the Second Manassas battlefield tour. It was an intense, fulfulling day for our group of 14 zealous civil warriors as we discussed and interpeted events, movements, tactics and intent of the blue and gray on August 28-30, 1862. Our tour started at the Manassas Battlefield Park Visitors Center at 9 am sharp and ended a little over 5 pm. We rented a tour bus for the occasion and thanks much to our driver - Roy Rogers.

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This morning, we're returning to Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC to check at least one exhibit - How Things Fly. After last week's great visit to Exploring the Planets and checking out Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity, Raphael interest is shifting toward flight. "Daddy, how does the plane fly?" And fortunately, there happens to be a great exhibit on exactly that at the Museum! The following description is from Smithsonian's Web site:

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Saturday mornings lately usually feature a trip to a great local (if you're in DC) resource, the Smithsonian Institution. Today, we're taking a trip the National Air and Space Museum to check out the long-standing exhibit, Exploring the Planets. Our solar system and space exploration in general has been Raphael's passion since we purchased this humongous book, Cosmos by Giles Sparrow at Costco.

I believe it's perfect for a three-year old because of the great mix of large, detailed photography and informative text that doesn't overwhelm. Cosmos is very much like a USA Today-like science book where sections are clearly defined, so Raphael just points and requests a read.

Although I've been to this exhibit many times, I still get excited because as Raphael requests I read every single caption, I learn something new as well. But today, I have a feeling he'll go straight to the Mars section as his favorite thing to say is "Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the solar system" as well as the Jupiter exhibit to confirm "Jupiter's main gases are hydrogen and helium."

We're also going to check out Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity at the Albert Einstein Planetarium. Following is a description: "There's a place from which nothing escapes, not even light, where time and space literally come to end. It's at this point, inside this fantastic riddle, that black holes exert their sway over the cosmos. Zip through other-wordly wormholes, experience the creation of the Milky Way Galaxy, and witness the violent death of a star and subsequent birth of a black hole. Mathematical equations, cutting-edge science, and Einstein's theories fill in holes along the way, providing the most complete picture yet on this mysterious phenomenon. (25 min.)"

Click here to check out Exploring the Planets Online, Interactive Exhibit: http://www.nasm.si.edu/etp/

Check out the Cosmos book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cosmos-Giles-Sparrow/dp/1847241255

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I don't even know when this show is on "regular" TV but absolutely love it so I've been hitting Fox on Demand to watch the back episodes . . . any time it's convenient. This is definitely the future if not "present" of TV, along with the concept of DVR. I watched the entire Olympics this way.  Funny, I don't mind the commercials because this offers great convenience. Unfortunately, it gives yet another reason to sit in front of a computer monitor.

Click here to access the episodes.

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This will be Raphael's first visit to the museum and my first in four years since the museum was close for the past three. This is truly my favorite museum among all those on the Mall. Here's the Website: http://americanhistory.si.edu/ Here's the link for more on the Star Spangled Banner: http://americanhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/

From the Website:

"On September 14, 1814, U.S. soldiers at Baltimore’s Fort McHenry raised a huge American flag to celebrate a crucial victory over British forces during the War of 1812. The sight of those “broad stripes and bright stars” inspired Francis Scott Key to write a song that eventually became the United States national anthem. Key’s words gave new significance to a national symbol and started a tradition through which generations of Americans have invested the flag with their own meanings and memories."

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Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah is famous for its unique geology of red rock spires and horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters. Because Bryce transcends 2000 feet (650 m) of elevation, the park exists in three distinct climatic zones: spruce/fir forest, Ponderosa Pine forest, and Pinyon Pine/juniper forest.

These photos were taken in May 2003 with a Canon PowerShot G2. Patricia and I started our drive at 4am to catch the sunrise and get some good early morning light for the shots. We were very surprised to get caught in an early morning snow storm which dusted the ground white in the early morning hours. It was a pleasant sight but considering we were dressed in shorts and light jackets, it wasn't the best of conditions.

Click here for the gallery.

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Information technology is arguably a stressful profession. So how do I cope? With fish! Fish and fridays seem like a natural fit I guess if you're Catholic (which I am) so here's a totally non-technology or association related post about my office fish tank.

It's a 15 gallon "tall" fresh water fish tank housing nothing but platties and a couple of clown loaches. Platties are just great fish in general and I chose them for two reasons.

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