Hubble Ultra Deep Field

NASA pointed the most powerful telescope we've ever built at what seemed like absolutely nothing, a dark, void spot in the sky. It collected one of the most interesting and significant images of space ever.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1iLAlj/www.youtube.com/watch%253Fv%253DoAVjF_7ensg

What do we learn from this? Something that is less than insignificant, apparently nothing, is found to be full of information, insight and detail. What else are we overlooking? What if we look where there appears to be nothing at all? Is it foolish or profound?

Does your iPod Hate You in Shuffle Mode Some Days?

Some days my iPod just doesn't like me at all when it plays in Shuffle mode. Almost every song that comes on, I have to skip to the next. Not that my music is crap, not at all, but we all have moods of what we want to listen to.

Today my iPod loved me. Was on a 20 minute ride, both directions I loved everything that my iPod played. We were in sync (I know it's a bit anthropomorphic). Perhaps my music mood is too particular from time to time. But it does feel great when great music is played in a long playlist. I think it's also important to use streaming services like Pandora to take the chance that it will find music of a similar theme that you don't have in your library.

Protest Continues at the Lorraine Motel

April 4 marks the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in Memphis, TN, at the Lorraine Motel, a tragic and painfully sad day in this country's history. Under the category of "side stories of which I had no idea", here is the story of Jacqueline Smith who maintains a vigil across the street from the Lorraine, which today is the National Civil Rights Museum.

The Lorraine Motel had not only guests, but residents as well. The last resident of the motel, Jacqueline Smith, had resided there since 1973 as part of her work for the motel as a housekeeper. When faced with eviction for the museum project, Smith barricaded herself in her room and had to be forcibly evicted.

The neighborhood surrounding the Lorraine Motel was a lower-income, predominantly black area. At the time, the area had run-down homes that rented for $175 a month. The homes were demolished and later replaced with more expensive apartments and condominiums, as part of the rejuvenation of the downtown area.

Smith stated that the Lorraine "should be put to better uses, such as housing, job training, free college, clinic, or other services for the poor...the area surrounding the Lorraine should be rejuvenated and made decent and kept affordable, not gentrified with expensive condominiums that price the people out of their community." She has also stated that Dr. King would not have wanted $9 million spent on a building for him, and would not have wanted Lorraine Motel residents to be evicted.

Smith has maintained a vigil across the street from the Lorraine Motel for up to 21 hours per day for over 20 years, regardless of weather. She still holds vigil outside the Lorraine, although not as consistently as she has in the past.

www.fulfillthedream.net/