This felt like a long weekend, I am pleased to say. Although foremost on my mind were my awful dreams of the week before, a rather long partay Friday night, Buffy Fest all weekend, and nice meals with my folks. I am also very happy to see my niece turning out to be a lot like me when I was her age (her poor mom).

Friday night found me at Raffles City with the girls for dinner and coffee. We chatted for ages and finally dispersed to various locations around the island. I met Lena and Michelle at Bala afterwards for some serious noshing and then headed to Zouk to meet a zillion friends out for the chill over the long weekend.

It was rockin'! :D I found myself ruling on the platform, dancing with a bunch of rad dudes to some pretty awesome music. It felt exhilarating and I was right back to when I was sweet seventeen again. :p This rather intoxicated Aussie guy right beside me even said, wow, you're an amazing dancer. Hehe...

Even after all these years, I have to say, I still feel most at home at Zouk. It was my second home for most of my teens and early 20s... ahem... not too long ago. Everywhere I turned there were memories, most of them fine. And maybe one or two unfine.

I'd been hankering for a swim all week last week. But on Saturday it rained, and Sunday and today I felt rather unmotivated to go for a swim, plus I'd already settled into Buffy Fest 2005 so decided to hole up and get slayin'.

My hair's grown very fast and I meant to work on it this weekend but it never happened.

Hung out with the cats quite a bit. Spent some quality time sitting with Kaku out back, and talking with Boy, who did appreciate my company. The other three stayed in the living room with me during Buffy Fest or else napped on my blanket while I wrote. It was lovely. :)

I stopped playing WoW for a while... and painting. I'd like to work on my poetry.

Speaking of which, the good thing is, in between Buffy and eating, I managed to write about 8 poems, two of which are in the midst of editing to be sent out. The rest, well, aren't quite speculative work so they can wait.

It's going to be a long busy week ahead. I best start winding down now. Have a good week, y'all, gentle readers.

Is your cat OCD?

Introduction:

Repetitive, relatively non-varying behaviour patterns that appear to have no purpose can be described as obsessive-compulsive disorders. In cats, such behaviours include compulsive pacing, repetitive meowing (vocalizing), fabric sucking and chewing, or licking and pulling hair. The exact cause or causes of compulsive behaviour in otherwise normal cats have not been identified.

This too shall pass.

Nope, not mine yet. :p I'm watching it on Thursday night at GV but until then, here is Phil Plait's review. Spoiler alert!

(And yes, I've read all the reviews because 1) I can't wait, 2) we all already know how the story is going to end, and 3) contrary to popular belief, Star Wars isn't sacred to me the way Blade or X-Men is, so the perfect alignment of seats, perfect viewing experience, and no external influences about the story thang doesn't hold.)

Jon, you'll be very proud of me. I wrote 2 poems last night while watching Buffy (yep, it was Buffy fest all night till 4am - second half of season 2 right till the end when Angel gets killed). :)

I absolutely *love* this blog. In fact this probably my fave blog of all time. I've read Marvel comics since I could read (my brother was an avid collector. He had, like, Spiderman Issue #1) and Hulk was one of my fave characters. I also had a thing for Thor (sorry, Hulk)... and Batman. Go have a read. I guarantee it'll make your day. :D

Astronaut Asks Congress to Investigate Threatening Asteroid

Extracts:

A former NASA astronaut (Russell Schweickart) will call on the U.S. Congress to evaluate an asteroid with a small chance of hitting Earth in 2036 and suggest lawmakers consider a space mission to monitor the object.

The odds of a collision in 2036 are about 1-in-10,000.

There are no formal plans in place, at NASA or elsewhere, for destroying or deflecting an incoming asteroid. But if it needs to be nudged off course, you don’t wait until after 2029, Schweickart explained. By then it will take far more energy to deflect the rock, he said.

"Given the devastation that would occur, everyone would want to commit to a deflection mission," Schweickart said. In fleshing out his preliminary analysis, an estimated "path of risk" has been plotted out.

Since Earth is 70 percent ocean, any possible impact might logically be a splashdown. Schweickart lays out one scenario -- again, the odds of such a result are very small -- in which 2004 MN4 hits the Pacific Ocean, about 680 miles (1,100 kilometers) off the Southern California coast. The entire western coastline of the United States would experience a devastating tsunami, resulting in billions of dollars worth of damage, Schweickart says.

Given data from the radio transponder, scientists would be able to conclude by 2014 that the asteroid whether the asteroid has a decent chance of hitting or not, Schweickart figures.

"Either way…our course of action is clear," he said. "We either plan another series of cocktail parties to watch the asteroid go by in 2036 -- as we will have done in 2029 -- or we mount the most important space mission in human history."

All you have to do is to extract at least 11 pounds (five kilograms) of breathable oxygen from a volcanic ash-derived lunar soil substitute called JSC-1 within 8 hours. The competition expires June 1, 2008.

I should have become a scientist.

Check here, here, and here. My trigger finger sent 2 of the first. :p

Kaku joins the Kittenwar. We'll keep ya updated if she gets enlisted.