there's a reason I always keep my house clean

I had a bunch of errands to do today, my last one being a trip to the post office. On my way back I saw my next door neighbor outside and we started talking. Then a couple came by and my neighbor introduced us. The couple live two blocks from me and, as it happens, they are in the process of redoing their kitchen AND they run the house tour for my neighborhood.

My neighbor suggested I give them a tour of my house, so I did. They loved it and want me to be on the next house tour. The husband said my house is the most unique property in our neighborhood (most people decorate with traditional Victorian stuff - expensive but not creative). The wife took tons of pictures of my kitchen and bathrooms and said she was going to steal some ideas from me (I gave a lot of props to Christine - maybe they'll work with her).

Maybe after I pay off my mortgage I'll do some design work. Although I am getting excited about my data analysis (data visualization) class. It's one of the few things I've done at work that I thought "I could do this the rest of my life and be happy." I never thought I'd do anything but enterprise architecture...

a confession that embarrasses me

One of the most useful things I learned in my astronomy class was how to find stars by using easy to see constellations. I also learned how to use a planisphere (I got one with my course).

However, something has been troubling me for the past two weeks as I took the class. Most of the constellations have stories that explain where they are in the sky and that are supposed to help you recognize them. And I consider myself a pretty creative person.

I can't see the fucking bear in ursa major. I can't see the horse in Pegasus. The southern cross is supposed to be so beautiful but it looked like all the other stars. About the only constellation that I can really see is the big dipper. Pathetic.

And I got completely confused by stories about mortals sleeping with gods or gods chasing creatures and throwing them in the sky like the hydra and all that shit about lovers being banished to the edges of the universe but being able to see each other once a year because magpies would gather so they could walk across the sky and see each other (can't remember the name of those two constellations, but it was something about a god being pissed at two mortals who were in love so he separated them or some shit). And that story about the dude, Phaethon, who rode his dad's chariot across the sky and wrecked it...why does that story, which is so old, not redeem women drivers?

My favorite lecture was on the northern globulars. Mostly because I just like that phrase. I find myself saying it in my head over and over

I now know what causes the aurora borealis and why you can sometimes see the moon during the day. I know the difference between spiral galaxies and clusters. One interesting thing is that we think we're a spiral galaxy but we don't know because we can't see ourselves.

Next week I start a data analysis class. Hopefully that will be as entertaining.

I'm not the only one obsessed with teeth

The past few weeks have been pretty hectic at work and I finally finished my astronomy class (ask me about the northern globulars!). So this morning I decided to give myself a little break and do something fun. I've been looking for a display case for my great white shark teeth.

That dropped me down a rabbit hole that I almost didn't emerge from. I didn't find any display cases that I liked. But I did find a bunch of web sites that sell "museum grade" fossil shark teeth. I seriously spent over two hours looking at them. I found a shark tooth that I loved but it costs $6,000. Maybe when I'm a billionaire...

I had no idea that there were so many people who collect shark teeth. I wish I had never found those sites. Now I can't stop thinking about all the beautiful shark teeth I saw.