YouTube of the Whenever: The final countdown.

Since I haven't done a YouTube of the Whenever in a while....

After 30 years and 135 missions, the Space Shuttle program is about to come to a close. Yesterday at 11:26 am ET, Space Shuttle Atlantis started its final mission: a 13-day journey to deliver supplies to the International Space Station.

Contrary to what some people believe, this does not mark the end of the USA's space program. It does, however, mark the beginning of a hiatus in American manned spaceflight. In the interim, the Russians will send people to and from the ISS.

I'm going to miss the Space Shuttle; watching it take off (even from South Florida!) was one of the perks of living in Florida. I will, however, be keeping an eye on the various commercial enterprises who are hoping to establish a presence in the final frontier. Things have looked pretty good for them so far.

Godspeed, Atlantis.

Gotta forget 'em all!

A picture that has been making the rounds in the blogosphere shows one person's vaguely-remembered names of the original 150 Pokemon. Some of these would make interesting nicknames (e. g. "Herpderp" for a Slowbro).

Soylent Brown?

Only in Japan....

Japanese scientists have made faux meat out of the most unlikely of sources: human poo. (Well, actually, it's a mixture of fats and proteins derived from sewage bacteria mixed with soy protein, but close enough.) Now that's one "steak" I'd want cooked well-done, thankyouverymuch....

Early rotation to HGSS-on

This is a reminder to all Pokemon trainers who are thinking of attending Nationals and/or Worlds (and even those who aren't). As of July 1, the official Modified Pokemon TCG format will be Heart Gold Soul Silver-on. Please construct your decks accordingly. That is all.

Final 3 2010-2011 League seasons and their promos

This is fairly old news, but I've been extremely busy, with most of my attention divided between work, Battle Roads, and trying to build new decks for the upcoming format (more on that later).

Anyway, the final seasons of the 2010-2011 Pokemon League year will be based around Pokemon Black and White's starters: Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott. The season promos will be as follows:

• Snivy Season: Snivy (BW #1) and Broken Time-Space (a little too late for that)
• Tepig Season: Tepig (BW #15 ) and Copycat
• Oshawott Season: Oshawott (BW# 27) and Double Colorless Energy (woohoo!)

Patches featuring these Pokemon will also be available for those who fill up their League scorecards.

Thoughts on a failed Rapture

So, May 21, 2011 has come and gone, and the only thing that was "raptured" was the Internet access on my laptop. (Fortunately, my father fixed that, although he's not sure how). Harold Camping, the perpetrator of this failed prophecy, has since skedaddled, taking over a million dollars with him - but not without changing his Rapture prediction to October 21. (Some people just don't know when to quit). His radio station has also been left empty. Thousands of his followers have been left homeless, having sold their possessions and quit their jobs. One woman even slit her and her children's throats out of fear of the end. (Fortunately, they were taken to the hospital before they bled to death.)

This has been a tragedy on so many levels.

Now, I'm a Methodist, and not a big believer in the Rapture concept. There are Bible verses talking about the dead and the living rising up together to Heaven on Judgment Day, as well as Jesus talking about some people being taken and others left behind at the end, but nowhere does it ever give an exact date. In fact, the Bible warns us time and again that mortals won't know the day or the hour that the Lord will come. Camping and his fellow date-setters are fools, decievers, and worst of all, scaremongers. Our religion is supposed to be based off of love, not fear.

I'm going to close this post by giving my fellow Christians some words of advice:

1. Don't quit your day job or sell your possessions just because someone tells you the end is near. Only the Lord knows when the end wil happen, and the rest of us will never see it coming. All Christians can do is make sure their souls are prepared.

2. Don't get taken in by glib-talking false prophets. And that includes many televangelists.

3. Whatever good you can do in this life, do it as soon as you are able. Don't be so heavenly minded that you forget your earthly mission. Live, laugh, cry, work, and play. Appreciate the little things a bit more. Get more involved in church activities. Volunteer at the non-profit of your choice (who knows, it may net you a job). Clean out the pantry and donate something to a local food bank. Set aside some money at the beginning of a month and donate it to charity. If there isn't one in your area, start a Pokemon League (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). Just do something other than sit around.

4. Read your Bible a little more than usual. You don't have to read it in one day; a chapter or three a day will suffice. If you don't know what the Good Book says, you won't be well-prepared to counter the teachings of false prophets like Camping.

5. Finally, keep preaching the Good News - and not just with words. The best thing we can do is set a good example. "And they'll know we are Christians by our love."

Munna C-Gear code leaked

For those of you who are unable to find, don't want, or are too cheap to get the Official Unova Pokedex and Guide, the password to unlock the Munna C-Gear skin is: PGLDR34M. This download is available from now until October 25, 2012.