The Final Frontier

I’ve mentioned Virgin Galactic before, the possibilities of privatized space travel, and the enormous price tag that entails.  However, there is another company out there, and the price does go down (a little).

Space Adventures will take paying customers into suborbital euphoria for the low cost of $102,000 (not a small sum, but only about half of what Virgin Galactic is asking).  I’m not saying I’ll be able to afford to go any time soon, or even in this lifetime, but it’s nice to know competitive pricing is on its way, and maybe one day someone will be able to afford to go without having won the lottery first.

Video Swim Mask

This might be a fun toy for your next trip to the beach– A swim mask with an integrated waterproof digital camera.  Take hands-free video to a depth of 15 feet and then transfer it to your computer by USB.  It has 16 MB built in memory that can store 27 high-res pics or 52 sec of video buy you can expand with a micro SD card slot.   Liquid Image also makes other versions of this mask including HD and Wide Angle

Found via

Father’s Day Unplugged

We just got back from our annual pilgrimage to Oconee State Park in South Carolina for my husband’s family reunion. It’s a beautiful place–everything a mountain park should be. Trees with birds to hear, rivers with rocks to throw, bugs to bite, lakes to fish . . . really glorious. The only thing it doesn’t have is a cell signal anywhere for miles around.

You literally have to drive about 15 minutes down the mountain to make a cell phone call. It really is nice to be truly away to just remember how it feels to be a family without my cell phone or * gasp * my television!

Bless my little boy he only asked for the TV once. He was having way too much fun putting rocks in his garbage truck toy, fishing with his dad, skinny-dipping in the river and exploring a local tunnel.

A recent hack I mentioned to save time and maybe your life by storing seldom used by important numbers in your phone really helped out, too. An illness I had been taking antibiotics for earlier in the week returned with a vengence our first night in the cabin. I woke up with a 101.3 fever and my doctor was 5 hours away. Luckily I could still access my phone directory and get my docs number to call from the park office, saving myself a trip to the urgent care.

After a full day of bedrest on doctor’s orders (thanks again mimi!) I was feeling like a new woman and made it to the state fish hatchery to feed the baby rainbow trout.

Of course, even though I loved my few days of “roughing it” I took great comfort knowing my trusty TIVO was back at home recording the first vote for So You Think You Can Dance and my son’s favorite cartoons. I also knew I wouldn’t miss a thing online since my Google Reader was collecting all my favorites. Ahh, the best of both worlds!