Spider – One Year and Counting…

Yep – August 8-24, 2008 is the time-frame for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

I was taking a look at their website today, and was totally amazed at the venues that they are building for this event. Olympic architecture has always been the chance for the host country to demonstrate their progressiveness, to shine in the realm of progressive architecture. Munich did it in 1972,

Montreal in 1976,

Sydney in 2000,

Athens in 2004.

and now, I think that Beijing is stepping forward with some of the most bold and exciting designs ever for an Olympics. I had not seen or heard of any of these facilities until today – and when I saw the conceptions I was just blown away. For China, I am simply amazed. The first is for the Olympic National Stadium – nicknamed “the birds nest”.

The National Aquatic Center known as “The Water Cube”. The sides of the facility are equipped with projections screens will will change images.

The Ying Tung Natatorium,

The National Indoor Stadium,

The Beijing Gymnasium,

The Shanghai Stadium,

The Tianjin Stadium,

and The Birds Nest and the Water Cube complex.

and all I can say is WOW!

Spider – Sometimes You Just Need to Learn To Keep Your Mouth Shut…

Spider – We Have Liftoff…

At 6:36 this evening, the Space Shuttle Endeavour will lift off after 4 1/2 years of being on the ground.

Endeavour will be carrying several experiments including one with 10 million basal cells in an attempt to see if they will grow in space as well as grow on earth after being weightless in space.

The shuttle will also be working to replace defective stabilizers on the International Space Station. Remembering that the Shuttle program will be phased out in 2010 with approximately fifteen (15) remaining flights, part of the goal of the remaining missions is to perform as much work on the Space Station as possible.

Endeavour has spent most of the 4 1/2 years it has been grounded here in the OPF – Orbiter Processing Facility – getting heat resistant tiles replaced, new computer systems and other upgrades. Endeavour is the newest of the shuttle fleet and only one (1) of three (3) remaining shuttles after the loss of Columbia and Challenger. The author thanks Brad for pointing out his error of my earlier post… The seven (7) person crew includes one (1) civilian – Barbara Morgan – a school teacher from Idaho who was Christa McAuliffe backup when she lifted-off on Columbia.

As a long time supporter of the space program, I have a problem with “civilians” being sent into space. This is far to dangerous of an occupation to send “non-professionals” into space. The shuttle program has prided itself on making public education a big part of the program – and bringing the program to the public – but there are better ways than sending schoolteachers into space. There are certainly enough educated and qualified individuals in the program.

So, make sure if you are near a TV or a computer this evening, make sure you tune into the launch is special and exciting and something to be watched.

Spider – Well, one more step down…

Another step down in the great trial… I had my port-a-cath put into my left shoulder this morning. This device that is located right under the skin has a catheter that leads directly to my heart and eliminates the need for daily arm sticks for the chemo. The port has a life of over 1000 sticks before it must be removed.

The chemo starts a week from today for 20 weeks. So, after that, I should be good as new… however good that was to start with!

Oh btw – it is 98 degrees here today but feels like 117 – I HATE this god forsaken hell hole!

Spider – Maybe if we are lucky…

It was announced today in the Orlando Sentinel that the Orlando Magic have chosen HOK to be the principle architect for the new arena/events center for the city. This is an excellent first step by both the Magic and the city. HOK is a leader in not only eco-friendly sports venues but some of the most innovative and exciting parks and arenas in sports. HOK made a name for themselves when they designed Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

They have gone on to do other sites such as PNC Park in Pittsburgh,

Reliant Stadium in Houston,

and the Philips Arena in Atlanta.

They also did the Bank of America Stadium in my hometown of Charlotte.

They are in the process of building the Sprint Center in Kansas City.

If we could get something half as exciting as these facilities in Orlando, what a plus that would be for “The City Beautiful”… if we want to be seen as a “big time” metro area, as our elected leaders keep calling us, then we need to step up to the plate and produce. Granted, a fancy new arena is not the end-all and be-all, but in the eyes of other cities and people, it is a first step in the right direction.

Spider – This should drive you crazy for an hour or two…

http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/g2/applegame.htm

Spider – My never ending quest to keep my readers on the cutting edge of social awareness…

Yes, we are all familiar with    and :-0  and , BUT have you incorporated THESE into your typing…

Just want to make sure you all are up on the latest… Thanks to Mental Floss Magazine.

Spider – At least I am not an M-O-U-S-E…

I was over at the Devious Steve-O’s site today – you know Steve – the guy from Trampa who fell in love with the guy from New Hampshire, moved to Key West and then to the cold country of New England – yea, THAT Steve-O. He had this at his site so I thought I would give it a try… it is one of those Myers-Briggs kinda things – I found the results interesting. They are different from the Myers-Briggs results that I took when I was in college – maybe I am changing (but I am not a Dreamgirl)!

It seems that I am an INFJ according to the test. That means that INFJs, making up an estimated 1% of all people, are the most rare type (males even more so). They are introspective, caring, sensitive, gentle and complex people that strive for peace and derive satisfaction from helping others. INFJs are highly intuitive, empathetic and dedicated listeners. These traits tend to act as a “tell me what’s wrong” sign on their forehead, hence the nicknames Confidant, Counselor or Empath. INFJs are intensely private and deeply committed to their beliefs. INFJs are gentle, caring, complex and highly intuitive, creative, they live in a world of hidden meanings and possibilities. Only one percent of the population has an INFJ Personality Type, making it the most rare of all the types. We are creative, smart, focus on fantasy more than reality, attracted to sad things, fears doing the wrong thing, observer, avoidant… Sounds like we keep our heads in the sand doesn’t it…

You can take this test by clicking HERE. This test seems a little more professional than most – so give it a try and let us know how you turn out.

Spider – Time to send some love…

Just got off the phone with Tony tonight – seems his Mom is back in the hospital and he will probably be leaving Tahoe tomorrow to head back to the Bay Area to be with her. If you get a chance, drop him a note at his e-mail or leave a comment at his blog – he is able to check his e-mail so he will get them either way – and send him some love – we all know how stressful it is when someone you care for is sick…

Spider – I guess that is as good reason as any…

Cindy Meston and David Buss have just published in the August issue of Archives of Sexual Behavior the 237 reasons why college aged students have sex. You can read the entire article here, with a synopsis of the research here. Now, as a man who is a self proclaimed “statistics nerd”, and has an excellent grasp of psychological research methodology and statistical analysis of said research, I will not bore you with all the things that are wrong with this research, but that aside – it does give us a glimpse into the minds of sexual active college students at the University of Texas. I did not see any attention given to heterosexual Vs homosexual.

Some of the reasons are pretty straight forward (I was horny, it feels good and the like) – others were a little more altruistic – but the disturbing list is the least given reasons (to give someone and STD, they offered me drugs for it). While none of these reasons are beyond understanding they are still disturbing none the less.

So, here are the lists – for what they are worth. They will at least give everyone interesting conversation over a cup of coffee with your co-workers. The lists are set up so that the women’s responses are in the first column with the men’s responses in the second column.

The first lists are the fifty (50) most frequent reasons for having sex – remember, women on the left, men on the right.

The following are the fifty most infrequent reasons given for having sex – remember, the first column is college aged women and the second column is college aged men…

Just remember when you read this list that the “Prince of Tides” was neither about princes or tides – discuss…