... And Many Happy Returns!

Google does the eclipse.

Mac would've turned 42 this past Sunday, the day before the (infamous) solar eclipse. I was unable to come to the table either of those days, but it isn't as if I wasn't thinking of him. As far as 42 goes... well, 43 is a better number... and also the reverse of 34, his age when he passed. Would Mac remark very much about being in his early 40s? Probably not. But, something tells me that being perpetually remembered as a young guy in his thirties would appeal to him.

As far as that hyped up eclipse went... well, here in New Mexico it was obscured by a thick blanket of clouds. Go figure. Generally the New Mexican sun burns off any cloud cover immediately but this was not the case yesterday... so, it was all rather a nonevent. Oh well... supposedly an even better one is arriving in 2024. Meanwhile, I think the best thing about this one was Google's adorable animation (above).

(Note to Mac: Happy, Happy Birthday, baby... and we're all wishing you a happy return real soon! By the way, in (belated) honor of your day I put some Bowie tunes on the sidebar... and, as a bonus, a bit of Mars archaeology (below).

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To Mars!

A close-up of the Martian surface via the Curiosity rover.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-CALTECH/MSSS

"I've had dreams of archaeological sites appearing locally - specifically, Martian formations suddenly transplanted to Earth . . . in one case, my backyard!

(The latest was only a few nights ago; I meant to write about it on my blog.  I'll put that on my "to do" list.)

- Mac Tonnies via an email to myself dated June 26, 2006.

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That Mac dreamt of Martian archaeological sites shouldn't be too surprising... hell, he wrote the book! That these same sites appeared on Earth in the dreams, however is a bit curious. Had he unconsciously determined that ancient Martian history is, in a sense, our own?

Speaking of which, remember the Mars Archaeological Society tee-shirt design? Well, I recently found some other Spirit Rover .jpgs in my files which feature the immediate surrounding areas - and a few more mysterious objects - where a few of the tee-shirt artifacts were found.  (I've posted them after the jump.) That they're impossible to identify is what we might expect from extraterrestrial objects. That they might seem vaguely familiar, however, is another story entirely. A genetic memory?