Bigger or Better: Life outside of Texas

There was a fateful aligning of the stars this week. My friend Melissa and I had the same day off. To celebrate this bounty from the universe, we went to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), also known as Space Center Houston, also known as the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, also know as Mission Control. Apparently they had a hard time picking a brand name. When we entered the JSC, we were told the tram tour would be leaving shortly, so we tried to hurry over to board. A NASA volunteer blocked our path, and asked where we were from. I replied, "Houston" and tried to keep walking. He responded "Are you sure?" Um, yes, I can bring eyewitnesses if you want.... We made the tour, and got to visit the old Mission Control building; I learned the average controller was in the mid-20s. Those smart youngsters. After the tour, Melissa and I watched a movie that summed up the space missions, both the successes and failures. I nearly cried to see the ab

In the cartoon The Pinky and the Brain , there's a episode where Brain makes a paper mache world and gets all of humanity to leave Earth for the terra non-firma by advertising free t-shirts. As Brain says, the offer of free t-shirts is "a mysterious power that no human can resist." Methinks it is true. Last year, I ran a half-marathon. I actually have never had a desire to run a half-marathon, but the combined pressure of a friend running with me and the lure of a "free" t-shirt (included with registration fees, of course) was amazingly persuasive. I liked the design of the t-shirt. So I caved. More recently, this week I donated blood at my work. The blood bank gives t-shirts, juice, and cookies to all who donate. You can see where this is going. At the beginning of the week, I got an email that showed this drive's t-shirt color and design. It looked cool. So I donated. And apparently I was not the only one who thought so. The blood bank reported that usu