6 in the Morning

Good morning, and welcome! In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ve wanted to do a post about the International Space Station since the time of the Languages of the Past article, or perhaps even further. Flying above us every 90 minutes are people, real people (Christopher Cassidy, Anatoly Ivanishin, and Ivan Vagner, as of now), whose tireless efforts in the ISS to advance space travel as we know it are going to change the world someday. We can already see it happening. And, everybody, I’ll make the obvious pun and admit that their work is out of this world. When 6 in the Morning was first introduced back in April, I told you all that I’d do my best to keep your eyes to the stars whether they’re out or not. With any luck, that these 6 amazing facts about the ISS and the heroes that live there will do just that. ****** Preparation (Photo "Astronauts Training in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility" by NASA Hubble is licensed under CC BY 2.0 ) Life as an astron...

Good morning, and welcome! Over the quarantine, I’ve been working to (somewhat, at least) organize my bookshelves at home. New books are arranged meticulously for all to see, and older ones are stashed away elsewhere. A discovery: I own a lot more children’s books than I was aware of! I even took the time to read a few, and was instantly transported back to the whimsical and hilarious world of children’s literature. My family can attest to this fact, since they had to listen to me snort and sign and giggle and occasionally run to read them a quick passage from this book or that book, just because I loved it so much. These people, these authors, were my friends! Their voices resonate in my mind still. The ideas in their writings were among the first to enter there. I have memories of being reprimanded for reading their work during math class in elementary school, and preferring to sit at my desk with them during indoor recess on rainy days. So, naturally, when I began to toy with th...

Good morning, and welcome! With the 2020 Olympics postponed and family board games growing steadily more aggressive over the quarantine, we could all do with a little more friendly competition in our lives right now. They say there’s something for everyone: basketball, soccer, chess, American Idol…. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there’s only one way to prove this theory: by finding some of the wackiest, most unique competitions out there! Who knows? Maybe you’re a born ruler of the Pillow Fight League  or a naturally gifted shin-kicker . I was only scratching the surface of the world of quirky competitions when I came across the Extreme Ironing community last May. There is so much more here… maybe there’s even something for you! That said, here are 6 (or maybe 7 this week… you’ll have to see!) of the most interesting and exciting competitions out there. Some are relatively new to the world, while others are older than most modern sports! Good luck, a...