New, new, new (by Erin)

The last week has been quite a whirlwind. Packing, playing, cleaning, hugging, crying, waving, flying, moving, landing, greeting, hugging, settling, and exploring are just a few of our latest endeavors. Here are few photos from the adventure:

Last bball at Punahou

Mar at Punahou playground

Farewell to Auntie Fay (our fabulous landlady)

Astronomy Farewell Gathering

Farewell dinner

Owen listening to oldies, while enjoying a Tootsie-pop, and catching up on the latest air safety make Owen a happy boy

We're settling in nicely in Pasadena, despite bouts with a nasty cold that's made the rounds through our family. Owen has informed us that since he has a new house, a new haircut (trim), and lives in a new place, he needs a new name. He has requested that we address him and refer to him by his chosen name, "Russia". He's also informed us that when we move to our next new house he would like it to be in the mountains and at such time, he'd like to be known as "Yeti". Oh, to be four and full of big ideas :)

Tuning up the running bike

Serious breakfast discussions about how milk tastes its best - in cereal or in a sippy

Chalk drawings out back

One last anecdote. In Augst of 2007, upon arrival in our Hawaii home, John took this quick photo of Owen in a beach chair left by the previous tenant:

Two years later, the lawn chair is again left behind.

A view from your shut down

The Daily Dish has been posting reader emails reporting on their " view from the shutdown ." If you think this doesn't affect you, or if you know all too well how bad this is, take a look at the growing collection of poignant stories. No one is in this alone except for the nutjobs in the House. I decided to email Andrew with my own view. I plan to send a similar letter to my congressperson. Dear Andrew, I am a professor of astronomy at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). The CfA houses one of the largest, if not the largest collection of PhD astronomers in the United States, with over 300 professional astronomers and roughly 100 doctoral and predoctoral students on a small campus a few blocks west of Harvard Yard. Under the umbrella of the CfA are about 20 Harvard astronomy professors, and 50 tenure-track Smithsonian researchers. A large fraction of the latter are civil servants currently on furlough and unable to come to work. In total, 147 FTEs...

The Long Con

Hiding in Plain Sight ESPN has a series of sports documentaries called 30 For 30. One of my favorites is called Broke which is about how professional athletes often make tens of millions of dollars in their careers yet retire with nothing. One of the major "leaks" turns out to be con artists, who lure athletes into elaborate real estate schemes or business ventures. This naturally raises the question: In a tightly-knit social structure that is a sports team, how can con artists operate so effectively and extensively? The answer is quite simple: very few people taken in by con artists ever tell anyone what happened. Thus, con artists can operate out in the open with little fear of consequences because they are shielded by the collective silence of their victims. I can empathize with this. I've lost money in two different con schemes. One was when I was in college, and I received a phone call that I had won an all-expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas. All I needed to d...

back-talk begins

me: "owen, come here. it's time to get a new diaper" him, sprinting down the hall with no pants on: "forget about it!" he's quoting benny the rabbit, a short-lived sesame street character who happens to be in his favorite "count with me" video. i'm turning my head, trying not to let him see me laugh, because his use and tone with the phrase are so spot-on.

Mahalo.ne.Trash

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