The melody of singing birds was traditionally ranked: the NIGHTINGALE first, then the LINNET, TITLARK, SKYLARK, and WOODLARK. The MOCKINGBIRD has the greatest powers of imitation; the ROBIN and GOLDFINCH are superior in vigorous notes.
It was remarked to me by the late Mr Charles Roupell ... that to play billiards well was a sign of an ill-spent youth. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
Never did post my thoughts on it here, because I wanted folks to download my review of it on The Chronic Rift podcast, but it's been almost a week now, sooooo.....
Five years ago today, the Mars Rover Spirit landed on the surface of Mars and began exploring the surface of the red planet. NASA and the JPL figured that the Rover had an operational capacity of about 90 days or so.
Five years later, Spirit (and its sister Rover, Opportunity) is still going strong, still gathering data, still telling us some amazing things about the planet next door (including the presence of water).