Various stuff: Museums, weight, books, etc.
Two days ago I went to the Smithsonian museums and had a good time. Actually I was originally going to Union Station, but Smithsonian was closer on the metro so I changed my mind ^^ Original point of trip: To get meteorite necklaces from Smithsonian store at US. I plan to combine three into a single, fancier fallen-from-space necklace. And no, while the Air & Space had meteorites, none were suitable for the job.
There was some cool stuff there- a Spirit and Opportunity exhibit of their various photos sent back from Mars. Fun fact: Opportunity reaches the 10 year mark in *two days*.
At the Natural History, I was walking around the Ancient Mammals area when a woman with her friends commented how she found Megatherium cooler than the dinosaurs ("Just look at that hip bone!") and wondered about them being in the ice age. The ancient mammals exhibit is one of the old areas that mostly has labeled bones, y'see. So I was able to inform her some about their origins (South American, largely post-iceage, killed when life from North America migrated south), and also inform her that the giant armadillo she had been admiring next to the megatherium wasn't nearly as big as they got. It was fun and she appreciated the info! I do hope they update that area soon so maybe I can receive info from there instead of giving it ^^
I ate a piece of pizza there, which brings up something else. I've been paying more attention to my weight a bit more recently, so I weighed myself early before I went. Then after returning, I weighed myself again just out of curiosity of how much the meal added. Well, turns out, it was cancelled out *precisely* by the exercise, I achieved a zero-sum trip ^^
Also today I stopped by the library to donate some books, and found in the book sale section a nice copy of Falling Free, the only Vorkosigan universe book I don't have (if to the side of the main stuff). So I bought it! Gonna be awhile before I read it, probably, but now it's in my pile.
There was some cool stuff there- a Spirit and Opportunity exhibit of their various photos sent back from Mars. Fun fact: Opportunity reaches the 10 year mark in *two days*.
At the Natural History, I was walking around the Ancient Mammals area when a woman with her friends commented how she found Megatherium cooler than the dinosaurs ("Just look at that hip bone!") and wondered about them being in the ice age. The ancient mammals exhibit is one of the old areas that mostly has labeled bones, y'see. So I was able to inform her some about their origins (South American, largely post-iceage, killed when life from North America migrated south), and also inform her that the giant armadillo she had been admiring next to the megatherium wasn't nearly as big as they got. It was fun and she appreciated the info! I do hope they update that area soon so maybe I can receive info from there instead of giving it ^^
I ate a piece of pizza there, which brings up something else. I've been paying more attention to my weight a bit more recently, so I weighed myself early before I went. Then after returning, I weighed myself again just out of curiosity of how much the meal added. Well, turns out, it was cancelled out *precisely* by the exercise, I achieved a zero-sum trip ^^
Also today I stopped by the library to donate some books, and found in the book sale section a nice copy of Falling Free, the only Vorkosigan universe book I don't have (if to the side of the main stuff). So I bought it! Gonna be awhile before I read it, probably, but now it's in my pile.