On The Road Again

You would think that by now your humble Bloguero would be able to move himself from autumnal Upstate New York to warm Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico effortlessly. That he has had enough practice to accomplish this feat. That he would efficiently wrap up the remaining work and household chores, pack a tiny bag (bathing suit, t-shirt, toothbrush), assure that the house and the pets were well taken care of, reach his escape velocity, and propel himself across the Caribe in one giant leap. But, alas, no. Gravity is an unforgiving master, and overcoming inertia requires energy. Leaving isn't quite the task of Sisyphus, but it remains for your Bloguero a real one.

The next post will in all likelihood be from Nah Yaxche in Bahia Soliman, just north of Tulum in Quintana Roo, Mexico. What remains is completing the ever increasing number of chores and getting on an airplane.

Your Bloguero admits that he has tendencies toward procrastination, and he knows that there are more than 24 hours until he must pass through those scanners. Plenty of time, he says. Plenty of time. And now, if only your Bloguero could convince himself.

Foto by Sr. Bill Koller, 10/12/11

Laika, Rest In Peace

Forgive, if you can, my sentimentality. This will be brief.

Last night, I watched a wonderful movie, My Life As A Dog (1985). It's a coming of age movie from Sweden. I won't spoil it for you if you don't know it. The movie made many references to Laika, a dog launched into space by the Russians in 1957, who died or was killed on her short Sputnik voyage. The movie has one view; Wiki, another.

All day today I've been wondering about what kind of people end up catching stray dogs and then killing them in the name of science. It doesn't matter to me whether Laika was euthanized during the space flight, or whether she died of exposure to heat or whether she starved or whether some other calamity befell her. What pains me is that her certain death--there was no re-entry technology at the time-- didn't stop her being launched in the first place.

What could these "scientists" have been thinking?