Monday -- the Beginning

Whenever Monday comes around, I always feel like it's a new start--a new week to pin some hopes and dreams on and hope that I am doing better than I did the week before.  Some weeks are better than others, but Monday is that day that seems all hyper-charged with possibilities.  I know I should consider each new day it's own new start, but I've lived so long with that Monday start to my week that it's really hard to get out of that mentality.  And if a Monday doesn't go right?  Well, sometimes that can lead to some pretty lackluster weeks.  But today?  Today is not one of those Mondays.

So let's get started with all the good stuff I found while I was looking through today's news stories.

First, Jaques-Yves Cousteau's grandson, Fabien Cousteau, is planning a month-long stay underwater off the coast of Florida.  He'll be joined by a few other aquanauts, and they'll be performing experiments, dives, and enjoying underwater living--perhaps preparing us for those underwater, deep-sea colonies of the future.  You can check out the story here.

Did you know that the federal government has their own stash of marijuana?  Well, they do, and it's housed in Mississippi.  They maintain the farm and laboratory there to ensure that scientists have the means to study and research the substance legally--after jumping through a lot of hoops.  On one hand, the article berates the way the government protects their weed, citing that it's old-fashioned and out-of-date.  On the other, it presents the people who look after the site as the typical 80's "Just Say No" types who feel that Colorado and Washington are going to regret their decisions to legalize the drug in their states.

So why don't the scientists just go out and get the legal stuff in Colorado or Washington? 

It's not well-regulated, and according to one of the scientists at the Mississippi site, often comes in varying degrees of potency--which isn't all that useful when you're trying to do scientific research studies.

I suppose in the next twenty or so years, we'll see if Colorado and Washington have burned themselves into the ground, or if, as many of the proponents of legalized marijuana claim, the drug isn't as dangerous as the U. S. government seems to think.

There's been a lot of buzz about solar power lately, and today was witness to a solar-powered plane flight.  But don't get your hopes up just yet.  The plane isn't really meant for passengers, and there's still a long way to go before we're fueling our jumbo jets with pure, unadulterated sunshine.  Still, it's one more step toward better engineering for solar power--and I'm pretty sure that's good for all of us.  Unless the sun goes out.  Then we might be screwed.

To check out more about Solar Impulse 2's maiden voyage and catch a few pictures, take a look here.

So you may not be aware that there are other countries besides Britain who maintain monarchies, but Spain is one of them--along with Finland and Norway.  The interesting thing is we here in America tend not to really comprehend what a monarchy is--how it can influence politics, and how those leaders can be heroes--or demons--in the eyes of their people.  They're a lot more important than they seem like to us, and today, Spain's monarch, King Juan Carlos is setting a precedent for his country's monarchy; he's abdicating the throne in favor of his son, Felipe.  It's ground-breaking enough that they're going to have create a new law to allow for it, and furthermore, the prince-soon-to-be-king will be seeking a constitutional amendment to ensure that his first-born daughter will be the next ruler of Spain--instead of a son, should he have one.

Of course, not everything is rainbows and sunshine over in Spain--especially with the way the economic recession hit the country.  To check out all the political tensions and see what soon-to-be King Felipe will have to contend with, check this out.

The Mary Sue introduced me to the Doubleclicks today, and I'm introducing them to you--with Doctor Who!  Well, not really the Doctor, but...well, you'll see.


And now for some futurism by Ray Kurzweil on the TED Talks stage this year.


And last, but not least, I leave you with the Godzilla of Earths and What's Up for June from NASA's JPL.


Have a great week, everyone, and I'll catch up with you again on Wednesday!