This past weekend, gnomi and I attended the Arisia science fiction convention. We celebrated her upcoming birthday, which is tomorrow, with a party Saturday night in our hotel room that went very nicely. All our guests had a good time.

There was other happiness this weekend. On Friday, January 13, my younger brother and his wife welcomed a baby boy into the world. This is the first male-born Burstein in 34 years, and we're all delighted.

And for now, I'm working today but also feeling sleepy. I have a busy week ahead, so I'm not sure when I'll catch up on sleep; probably this weekend.

Tags: personal

NASA's first mission to the planet Pluto is set to launch tomorrow, in celebration of gnomi's birthday.

The New Horizons spacecraft will launch on top of an Atlas 5 rocket from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch window begins at 1:24 PM EST and lasts for about two hours, so chances are good that the launch will actually happen and not be delayed to another day. If all goes well, New Horizons will pass by Earth's Moon in about nine hours...and it will reach Pluto in about nine years.

For more information, see the NASA - New Horizons Mission Page.

Tags: science, space