Saturn as I long to see it

LJ doesn't seem to want me to embed the video, so I'll just give a link to the original site; it's worth watching full screen.

The movie there was assembled from a huge number of still photos of Saturn taken by the Cassini probe, and it's absolutely fantastic. The best part is the full-color section, which starts a little before the one minute mark. I continue to find it amazing that we live in an era when we can actually see these sights "for real" like this... and I hope that one day, we human beings will be able to see it in person.

Read before you sign

I went to the store today to get a new box of (generic) Sudafed. As usual, I had to jump through hoops to buy it since pseudoephedrine can be used to make meth. After I showed my driver's license, the pharmacist asked me to sign a statement about not misrepresenting my identity or using it for anything illegal. All standard stuff these days.

Now, one of my "endearing quirks" is that I do my best to at least skim everything before I sign my name to it. To add some humor to something that probably looks awfully pedantic, I often mutter "...agree to sell my immortal soul..." as I read. To my delight, the pharmacist today replied, "Oh, you saw that? I thought we had it in a small enough font that nobody would notice!"

I laughed and signed my name, and she rang up my purchase. "Five seventy-three," she said. And then, "Souls sure have gotten cheap these days."

"Yeah, soul-inflation has really been brutal lately," I said. We smiled, I thanked her, and I headed home.

It's rare for someone to play along, especially that much. Good stuff!