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Just a line and a "card" to wish you the best for the holidays and new year. If you're curious, we have a family newsletter online for downloading.

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Just a line and a "card" to wish you Happy Thanksgiving.

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Well, it's been a long dry spell on this web site. It's been busy, so we've posted the 2007 holiday newsletter here so you can catch up. Sorry about the lack of new items here. I know you've all been pining for news... [yeah, right!] Anyway, this fall we had all the girls back here for both Halloween and for Turkey day, and it was great fun. So here's a couple of photos of what happened, including one taken by Grampa Bob, posing with dogs.

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Gwen and Tom spent the week of 26 Feb in Hawai'i at the "Internatioal Space Simulation School #8". We were in Kaua'i, where the Napali coast is one of the biggest draws, and we've all seen it in travel photos of Hawaii. Kaua'i is the oldest, westernmost and greenest of the islands, separated by six million years from current volcanic activity. Music and dancing are pretty big in Hawai'i (above), and it turns out that we've all heard Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, or as he is best known, Bruddah Iz, the "jawaiian" singer responsible for a song that has been in numerous movies and commercials, his medeley of Somewhere Over the Rainbow and What a Wonderful World. Iz died of complications of obesity in 1998, but his music certainly lives on, and I recognized it immediately as shopping muzak that is the pride of Hawai'i.

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This is a big week for birthdays: Washington, Lincoln, Darwin, Valentine, even Galileo and Giordano Bruno, not to mention Copernicus! And there's always something new (to me)! It turns out Galileo named the Aurora for the goddess of dawn. I was unaware of any specific individual having done that. Galeleo was a bit mistaken; the name reflects a belief that the Aurora was produced by leakage of light around the planet from the twilight or dawn. Well, he was right about most things he tackled.

Speaking of timekeeping (?), I just downloaded the Mac OS update for the new daylight savings dates. It required 9.2 MB, which seems a bit much for the simple adjustment of a date! Ah well...

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Here's to the Capitol Steps, a DC institution for over 25 years now. And to their willingness to help S. River HS raise funds every year. They perform at a reduced rate and still donate considerable proceeds to the graduating class. Their next visit to Edgewater MD is at 7pm on Sat. 24 March and we invite you to visit their web site where you can download some free samples of their work, or buy some CDs, and get yourselves in the mood. To support the Senior Class of 2007, please call Jane Roach at 410-721-9746 to claim your tickets at $25 per head.

THE CAPITOL STEPS (left to right, top to bottom, plus Mark Eaton all over): Mike Loomis, Jenny Morris, Morgan Duncan, Tracey Stephens, Mike Tilford, Anne Willis Hill, Brian Ash, Andy Clemence, Janet Davidson Gordon, Kevin Corbett, Richard Paul, Elaina Newport, Bill Strauss, Jack Rowles, Mike Forrest, Ann Schmitt, Mike Carruthers, Brad Van Grack, Jamie Zemarel, Bari Biern, Mike Thornton, Nancy Dolliver, Delores Williams, Ann Johnson; Our pianists are Marc Irwin, Howard Breitbart, Emily Bell Spitz, Lenny Williams and David Kane.

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Comet McNaught is the brightest comet in a long time, but the viewing has been much better in the southern hemisphere. The attached photo is described more fully at the Astronomy POD site. It certainly shows how spectacular the seeing was down there. The tail sweeps across the sky as the comet rounds the Sun, and breaks up into streaks, most likely because of structure in the solar wind.

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The Mayonnaise Jar and Two Cups of Coffee

"A professor stood before his philosophy classand had some items in  front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very  large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf  balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it  was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into  the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open  areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it  was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the  jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once  more if the jar was full.

The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table  and poured the entire contentsinto the jar, effectively filling the  empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to  recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the  important things - God, family, children, health,  friends, and favorite passions -- things that if everything else was  lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house,  and car.

The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no  room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will  never have room for the things that are important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.  Play With your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take  your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. 

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

"Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter.  Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee  represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you  that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for  a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Please share this with someone you care about.

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This is just to wish you a happy new year, and to invite you to visit our family forum site where you can participate in the discussions by posting comments. We had a great time visiting in Huntsville over the holidays, and here's a photo of Whitney with Sarah and Matt at their wedding, which was what got us down to Huntsville. Stay tuned for more photos and click to enlarge...

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