The Sky is Falling!!! The Sky is Falling!!!

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I haven't posted in a while but the following article has forced me to speak again!  ;o)


Huge Defunct Satellite Falling to Earth Faster Than Expected, NASA Says


Normally these types of things of which I will speak are muttered under my breath or spoken in incredulous tones to my husband (bless his heart) ..... but this article ..... this article alone has risen to a new level that has caused me to go public with my impatience and abject incredulity of the state of today's something or other. (I'm not sure what - but whatever it is .... it highly rankles me!)


I know....I know.....there are far bigger things to worry about - but let me just cite a few observations.


First the title:  Huge Defunct Satellite Falling to Earth Faster Than Expected, NASA Says.


Hmmmmm - so they built a satellite but can't calculate it's fall. Ok.  That would be hard. I can't remember how to calculate fractions into percentages or percentages into fractions - so it's ok.  I give them that.


Ok.  Next, I quote: "NASA space junk experts have refined the forecast for the anticipated death plunge of a giant satellite, with the U.S. space agency now predicting the 6 1/2-ton climate probe will plummet to Earth around Sept. 23, a day earlier than previously reported."


Ummmmm...DEATH PLUNGE!?!?!?!?!?!?!?  Is it just me or does that sound disturbing.  Impressive description coupled with the words 6 1/2 tons and then a casual "day earlier".  I was kinda thinking they'd be calculating milliseconds - not days or so.  I mean I can predict I'll have a baby on say a Wednesday give or take a day or two!


Next: "But exactly where the UARS spacecraft will fall is still unknown.

NASA expects at least 26 large pieces of the massive satellite to survive the scorching temperatures of re-entry and reach Earth's surface. Titanium pieces and onboard tanks could be among that debris....."

Waaaaiiiiittttttttt.............WHUUUUUUUUUUUUH?????????????  26 LARGE PIECES?!?!?!? Don't know where?  Aren't those tanks pretty big?  This doesn't sound so good guys.

"The debris is expected to fall over a swath of Earth about 500 miles."  Ok - so we're not talkin it's gonna fall in a lake or field or something.  Roughly a "swath" from Sherman, TX to Clarinda, Iowa.  Mmmmhmmmm.

"There is a 1-in-3,200 chance of satellite debris hitting a person on the ground, odds that NASA says are extremely remote. Outside experts agree."  1 in 3,200!?!?!?!?  How many people live between Sherman and Clarinda?!?!?!?  I would feel so much better if they'd say one in 50 million!  SO much better!!!!  Ugh.

And my favorite: ""Look at how much of Earth is covered with water," Victoria Samson, the Washington Office Director of the Secure World Foundation, an organization dedicated to the peaceful use of outer space, told SPACE.com this week. "There's a really good chance it's going to go straight into the ocean."   And .............. a REALLY good chance it's not!!!!!!!

"NASA officials expect the UARS satellite to fall over a region somewhere between the latitudes of northern Canada and southern South America"  Ohhhhhh!  That narrows it down! ;o)

"NASA.......[is] keeping a close watch on the falling satellite, but will only be able to pinpoint its actual crash zone to within about 6,000 miles (10,000 km) about two hours before re-entry."   Ok - I don't even know what to say at this point.  Give or take 6000 miles with roughly two hours warning w a 500 mile swath give or take a day or two?  I'm beginning to wonder if my son's 5th grade class could make a better prediction or calculation than that.  I mean there are some smart cookies in there and they even have to show their work to prove their problems!!!

And finally: "NASA has advised the public not to touch any debris that may reach the surface, should it be discovered. Instead, the space agency says that anyone who finds satellite debris should contact their local law enforcement agency."   How about NASA advises the debris  not to touch any of the public!?!?!?  I'd prefer that.  And I'm guessing if any of it does touch us we will likely pretty much be unable to call our local law enforcement agency.

So on the off chance I'm in the 500 mile swath of the 6 1/2 ton climate probe with two hours warning give or take 6000 miles - just know I'm happy, peaceful, content, no regrets and I have spoken my piece......."  :o)  

I feel so much better now that I have that off my chest!  

Sweet dreams to all ...... of twinkling stars .....(not flaming satellite pieces!)  HAHAHA!  Goodnight!

New Blog

I know I haven't been great about posting lately - and I promise I'll get better. I have so much to share!

But check this out! My new blog: http://mrsmarysclass.blogspot.com/

I designed it with my student's parents in mind. There is so much information out there and many of them are at the beginning of this journey in need of a little direction and support.

Anyway - I thought some of y'all might enjoy it too. :o)

If you come across anything that would be good to share - send it on!

We're moving

So yep! We are! With a massive amount of travel coming for Bob - it just made sense. We'll be at the new place for a year or so. The list of reasons why it is perfect was enormous. The list of reasons to leave the house was just as long. We're hoping to quickly sell the house as is - or find an investor/ugly house place to buy it. It just is in need of things bigger than we are able to manage right now. So it will put us in a different ward - but not too far. We'll still see everyone often I'm sure. It will be a relief to all of us to open this new chapter. Hooray!

I'm in trouble! (an update to prove I'm still here!)

My daughter has been harping on me to post for a while now. Or 'lovingly reminding me'! ;o) But I best comply or she may hijack my blog! hahaha

So here I am! We took a wonderful trip to Chattanooga, TN / Ringgold, GA which I'll definitely blog about later. It was a much needed get away and long overdue trip to visit my Dad.

When we returned I attended a two day conference for PreK teachers. It was wonderful and very recharging with lots of great fine tuned ideas. I've been slowly working all summer on building up activities and resources so it won't take as much effort during the year. I'm crossing my fingers and toes it will relieve a lot of stress during the school year and pay off.

This week I truly have off. I did three weeks of summer testing to see if children in the district who are turning 3 would qualify for speech or special education services. I love doing testing. It's fun to work one on one with the children, talk with their parents and also get a sneak peek at students who might possible end up at my school. There is one student that will be coming to my school who has captured my heart and I'm hoping I will get to have. She is the daughter of an old friend. So we'll see. I would be so thrilled!

Anyway - today I finally went to the doctor for an old injury from a year and a half ago. I was pretty certain it was muscle related - near my sternum. After that long of off and on pain I figured it was time to get it checked. There was a bit of a knot in the muscle - and long story short - it WAS muscle related - and get this! My 'prescription'???? Lifting weights! heh heh heh! OK!!!! He might as well have said 'eat chocolate'! :o) I really enjoy weights - but hadn't done them in quite a while because of the pain. He said I really need to stretch those muscles and loosen them up so they won't be so tense. So I'm good with that . . . and the chocolate idea too! (Even though that was my own idea!) hahaha!

Last but not least . . . I read a book! :o) It wasn't school related or anything! I can't remember the last time I made time to read a book for fun! It was just a silly short mystery - but it was just so fun!

Earthquake (for real this time . . . ) :o)

BREAKING NEWS: North Texans experienced a couple of earthquakes overnight. A magnitude 3.0 quake shook much of Dallas Tarrant and Counties. The epicenter of the quake was measured four miles southwest of Irving just after midnight. Another one hit earlier last night, registering at 2.5. Reports came flooding into our newsroom of people saying they heard rumbling and felt shaking in cities like Irving, Euless, and Bedford. Seismologists are looking into whether natural gas drilling may have caused the tremors. No damage has been reported. We'll have much more coming up on News 8 Daybreak starting at 5am.

By the way . . . Happy Halloween!!!!!

The birth of a new blog!

So given that my regular blog needs to be private so as to protect the identities of my students - I figured I'd make a new one that doesn't detail the daily exploits of my classroom. I'm not sure it will be an easy task to seperate the two but there is a lot more to blog about then just school - especially during summer break! Wooohoooo!!!!!! I love summer break!