Thursday, October 23, 2014

Break from Reality Anniversary - Day 4

Today, we decided to spend the day in the stars, and we went to the Burke Baker Planetarium at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  We watched a show on how the Egyptians used the stars to navigate, build temples, plan the growing season, and tell time.  Unfortunately, we got to the first show late, thanks to a detour to Bellaire Broiler Burger for lunch.  But I think spending time eating the best hamburger on the planet was definitely worth it.  The flame-kissed patty grilled to perfection laid out on a toasted bun, smothered in melted cheddar cheese and extra-crispy bacon, loaded with flavor, the smell of which cooking will make you salivate from the parking lot.  It’s also interesting to note that neither the restaurant décor nor the staff has changed in the last twenty-some years.  Anyway, I digress…

As I said, we arrived to the show late and we had to be escorted in by one of the staff.  On the one hand, we got VIP service, but on the other hand, we had to sit in the crappy chairs that were apparently left vacant for a reason.

The next show was better, as we got there early and had our choice of seats.  The show was better as well, as it pertained to Black Holes and the little that we actually know about them.  Which led to a lively debate on how it can be a former star collapsed in on itself but be a hole with no substance at the same time.

During one of the shows they told us that there would be a quarter solar eclipse this evening.  Stupidly, I decided that I could capture this event on film, so I went outside and tried to take a picture of it.  I’m not sure if my experiment was actually successful or not, because I’m now blind from looking into the sun.  Apparently, three quarters of the sun is still enough to make you see spots for the rest of the night.  Thank goodness for the typing classes in high school, or I wouldn’t have been able to do this entry today (I knew you were wondering…).

We did make a detour through the museum late in the day, mostly because it was free after 3 p.m. (Yes, I’m a cheapskate).  They had a very impressive dinosaur exhibit, recently redone.  I think my favorite was Slothzilla, the ginormous ancestor of the modern-day sloth; although, the building-size Pterodactyl skeleton was also pretty impressive.  The exhibit is definitely worth going to see in its own right.


That’s all I can manage tonight, and now I’m going to rest my eyes.

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