Castillo de San Marco

Castillo de San Marco
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

The wife and I went to St. Augustine (the oldest city in the U.S.) this Dec. Although it is very touristy it still has a genuine sense of history. Here's more pics of the trip.

Also, there was something very, um, vindicating(?) in the fact that the people who built the first successful colony in the U.S. were essentially me people (the Spanish). It was awesome to see houses and streets and restaurants with names like Gonzalez, Alvarez, Menendez, and yes, Hernandez. Take that, John Smith!

Spanish Inquisition Left Genetic Legacy in Iberia

After reading this article in New Scientist I was amazed that I've yet to find any Jewish ancestry in my family tree. For those of you just tuning in, my family, Hernandez Morales, is of Spanish descent. We've all had our DNA tested by the National Geographic Genographic Project just for fun and I will say our findings do concur with the findings in the article. We pretty much split evenly between European and North African DNA with Y Haplogroups I1 (Germanic) and E3b (Berber) and Mt Haplogroups U4 (Celtic) and U6 (Berber) as the norms. Again, it's very odd that I've yet to find any Sephardic Jew in my genes...

'Tis the Season for Pagan Rituals

Despite my cynicism with all things Christian, I do get a warm and fuzzy feeling about Christmas Trees. I love the scent of pine throughout the house. I love the lights and the ornaments. I love the presents that magically appear underneath on Christmas day. I justify this by telling myself that Christmas trees have absolutely nothing to do with Christianity. They are wholly a pagan ritual. The Romans used to do it to commemorate their winter solstice and the Germanic tribes used to do it to celebrate their Yule festival. So I'm going to keep enjoying this ancient heathen tradition even if my wife makes me place a Nativity scene beneath it.

A little barn in the middle of Hialeah

I have such fond memories of Amelia Earhart Park. Where else in this city can you pet a tiny cow? I used to come to this park all the time as a kid (especially while on break for the holidays) and on the odd chance I get to visit now as an adult I find myself really enjoying it.

The Green Hornet! Whoo!

When I was a kid I was a big fan of The Green Hornet TV show. It was a lot like Batman, only with more kung fu and less camp. Although, I liked Brit Reed as the Green Hornet, I absolutely loved Bruce Lee as Kato. He’s really what kept me watching. So when I heard that the Green Hornet was heading to the big screen, I was totally underwhelmed. My mind instantly flashed to a joyless adaptation with Tom Cruise as the Green Hornet and Jet Li as Kato.

Luckily, real life turned out to be weirder and cooler than I imagined. When Seth Rogen (Super Bad, Knocked up, Pineapple Express) was named not only writer, but as staring as the Green Hornet I couldn’t help but get excited. NOW though we hear that the brilliant Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle) is not just going to play Kato, but he's going to direct the damned movie too… I am totally ecstatic!

I may be setting myself up for major disappointment with these high expectations, but I don’t think so… these guys are going to knock it out of the park!

What can I say... I'm a Swamp Rat!

Maybe it's cause I was born and raised in Florida, but I find great pleasure in trudging through the muck of the Everglades. It's beautiful country. Personally, I prefer canoeing and hiking, but I'm starting to like horseback riding through the trails. If you want see our swamp ( which my wife is quick to point out that it's not a swamp at all, but a river of grass) I'd suggest Everglades National Park or Big Cypress, but if you want a small taste of our wetlands without running into a gator I'd highly recommend Chapel Trail in Pembroke Pines.

Armadillo Aerospace News

Armadillo Aerospace has won the first level of the Lunar Lander Challenge X Prize! I’ve been a big fan of these challenges and for the past three years I’ve seen Armadillo almost make it. Tomorrow they try for the second level so if all goes well, when Americans go back to the moon, they’ll be touching down on the regolith with Armadillo landers.

In other news, Armadillo Aerospace has teamed up with the Rocket Racing League to not only build a fleet of racers that will streak through the atmosphere, but to also design and build a new craft (with a transparent bubble-shaped cockpit) that will shoot out into space! I can already envision rocket drag races with orbit as the finish line.



Update on the Lunar Lander Challenge: Armadillo Aerospace wasn't able to win the second level of the event because their lander stalled and fell over. Still, they won $350,000 from the first level and they'll try again sometime in early 2009.