There, up in the Western sky are two very bright objects, and they aren't Chinese weather balloons. I'm here on the left coast where it's 7 pm. If you're in the Eastern time zone they may have already set. If so, try again tomorrow if your skies are clear. Happy viewing!

A very interesting documentary from PBS/Nova on the origin of domesticated cats, and theories on why we love them:



I've had cats all my life and I wouldn't be without one or two. They certainly are entertaining little critters!

Heads up for those of you looking for Student Loan relief: I just got the following email this morning:





Apply for Student Debt Relief During the Beta Launch
You signed up to be among the first to know when the Biden-Harris student debt relief application is available.

We want to invite you to be among the first to apply for student debt relief, by being a tester of the online application NOW before we officially launch.

Soon, we’ll be opening the online application with our official launch. But we would like you to help us test the site by applying now during our beta test. If you submit an application during this period, it will be processed when the site officially launches. You won't need to resubmit. If you have already applied and received a confirmation email, you do not need to apply again.

Apply for debt relief now

The application is a short online form. You don’t need to log in or provide any documents.

The application will be available on and off during this beta period. If you try and it’s not available, try again later. Once the application officially opens later this month, it will remain open until December 31, 2023.

Learn More About One-time Student Loan Debt Relief

Beware of Scams

You might be contacted by a company saying they will help you get loan discharge, forgiveness, cancellation, or debt relief for a fee. You never have to pay for help with your federal student aid. Make sure you work only with the U.S. Department of Education and our loan servicers, and never reveal your personal information or account password to anyone.

Our emails to borrowers come from [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected]. You can report scam attempts to the Federal Trade Commission by calling 1-877-382-4357 or by visiting reportfraud.ftc.gov.


Check your email if you're looking for this notification.

The next televised hearing will be held on Wednesday, September 28 at 1:00 pm Eastern Daylight time.

https://january6th.house.gov/legislation/hearings

That's 12 noon Central Daylight time,
11:00 am Mountain Daylight time,
and 10:00 am Pacific Daylight time.

If your state does not observe Daylight Savings time, add or subtract accordingly. Alaska and Hawaii, adjust accordingly. I'll be streaming PBS.

A friend of mine died a few years ago and left me a nice digital camera, among other things. The camera is a Sony Cybershot DSC-H5. Unfortunately, one of the AA batteries went bad and left some corrosion in and around the battery compartment. I googled the problem, and the advice was to 1. clean out the area with white vinegar and a q-tip, 2. scrub it with baking soda, to neutralize the acid in the vinegar, 3. wipe with a damp lint-free cloth, and 4. let dry completely before inserting new batteries. Does this sound like good advice to you? I have no experience cleaning battery corrosion from electronic gear, only on car batteries. Thanks for your input!

Protecting Women's Reproductive Rights
Dear Friend,

As you may know, Roe v. Wade has protected women's access to safe abortion care for decades. Last week it was reported that Supreme Court justices are circulating a draft opinion that would overrule 50 years of precedent by rolling back Roe. If this draft opinion is true and is issued, it would be a massive step backward.

As one of the few doctors in Congress, and just one of two women doctors in Congress, I know that health care decisions should be made between a woman and her doctor. Government has no role in making personal medical decisions. I voted for the Women's Health Protection Act that will make Roe v. Wade the law of the land. That bill passed in the House, but was voted down this week in the Senate.

I want to be clear that the Supreme Court decision is not yet final. Women can still access reproductive health care services and you can bet that I will keep doing everything I can to protect women’s access to safe abortion no matter where they live.

The decision of when and whether to become pregnant is one that impacts every element of a woman’s life and the freedom to chart the course of her life. She should have the right to make that decision herself, in consultation with her doctor.

I understand that people have very strong feelings about the issue of abortion, and I know we may not agree on every issue. My job is to listen to your concerns and do my best to serve every person in this district. I look forward to hearing from you


Sincerely,
Image
Kim Schrier, M.D.
Member of Congress


This email also contained a link to a poll to determine how her constituents feel about the subject. At least some of our representatives realize that they work for WE THE PEOPLE.

Roberto Marquez of Mexico is bringing new life to a destroyed bridge in Kyiv by painting a replica of Picasso’s Guernica on it.





Even through a devastating war, art lives and speaks to us.

I bought this small cast iron dutch oven from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008GKDU?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

It's a Lodge 2 quart (2 liter) size, and measures 8 1/4 inches (21 cm) in diameter and is around 3 inches (7.6 cm) inches deep. It comes with a ci lid that fits tightly and has those self-basting knobs on the underside. I bought this to bake small loaves of no-knead bread and to roast chicken and vegetables. I could not be happier with it! It bakes and roasts to perfection, and holds just enough food for my small household (1 adult and 1 cat).

It comes "pre-seasoned" from the factory with a spray-on coating of veg oil, but I like to do another round of seasoning before I use any new cast iron. I scrubbed it inside and out with hot water, a bit of Dawn liquid and a stainless steel scrubber. That removed any loose residue and turned the suds grey. After drying thoroughly with a towel and some air drying, I rubbed it with canola oil and then wiped off any excess with a terrycloth. The pot and lid then went into the oven, which was then heated to 450* F. I left the oven on for an hour and then turned it off, leaving the pot and lid to cool gradually. I repeated the oil, wipe and bake process 2 more times and then it was ready to use. Since then, I've baked several loaves of bread and made several dinners in it, and for me, it's been a winner. Well worth the $35 I paid for it.

Those words from Apollo 13.

Apollo 13 (April 11–17, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted after an oxygen tank in the service module (SM) failed two days into the mission. The crew instead looped around the Moon and returned safely to Earth on April 17. The mission was commanded by Jim Lovell, with Jack Swigert as command module (CM) pilot and Fred Haise as Lunar Module (LM) pilot. Swigert was a late replacement for Ken Mattingly, who was grounded after exposure to rubella.

A routine stir of an oxygen tank ignited damaged wire insulation inside it, causing an explosion that vented the contents of both of the SM's oxygen tanks to space. Without oxygen, needed for breathing and for generating electric power, the SM's propulsion and life support systems could not operate. The CM's systems had to be shut down to conserve its remaining resources for reentry, forcing the crew to transfer to the LM as a lifeboat. With the lunar landing canceled, mission controllers worked to bring the crew home alive.

Although the LM was designed to support two men on the lunar surface for two days, Mission Control in Houston improvised new procedures so it could support three men for four days. The crew experienced great hardship, caused by limited power, a chilly and wet cabin and a shortage of potable water. There was a critical need to adapt the CM's cartridges for the carbon dioxide scrubber system to work in the LM; the crew and mission controllers were successful in improvising a solution. The astronauts' peril briefly renewed public interest in the Apollo program; tens of millions watched the splashdown in the South Pacific Ocean on television.

An investigative review board found fault with preflight testing of the oxygen tank and Teflon being placed inside it. The board recommended changes, including minimizing the use of potentially combustible items inside the tank; this was done for Apollo 14. The story of Apollo 13 has been dramatized several times, most notably in the 1995 film Apollo 13 – based on Lost Moon, the 1994 memoir co-authored by Lovell – and an episode of the 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.


Read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13

I was 18 and looking forward to my high school graduation in a couple of months.

In case you missed it like I did.