What's So 'Good' about Good Friday

Good Friday is so called because on that day Jesus was crucified at Calvary, sounding 'Good'? Really if there was a man called Jesus and the tales are historically accurate then a poor individual was brutally murdered in an excruciating way. Still sounding 'Good'? Traditionally, you are also supposed to do a deal of fasting on Good Friday, or as they do in the cult, one small meal and two even smaller meals that when totaled fail to comprise a full meal. With all the chocolate floating around at this time of year fasting is not something I would consider 'Good'. And what's all this about giving up meat for the day, it's 8AM and I have already had three different types of meat, not on my watch Jesus, nothing 'Good' about a meat free zone. There is more. Supposedly when Jesus died the Moon bled, no I don't know about you that doesn't sound to good, they should have got some one to check that out it doesn't sound to healthy. In Ireland the sale of Alcohol is banned on this so called 'Good' day, can't even go to a restaurant, have a rose and some smoked meat. In some countries people even take part in self-flagellation and inflict all sorts of bodily harm upon themselves. In hindsight this day really isn't that 'Good' in fact it's a pretty bad day in my opinion. Just hurry up and end Good Friday, the Easter Bunny and I are waiting. Actually on second thought I will be celebrating Earth Day today, served with a few course of meat. 

EVEL KNIEVEL'S LAST JUMP: 13 BUSES

When we watch videos of skateboarders doing incredible tricks like jumping on, up and down rails, stairs and ramps that reach into the sky or just cripple themselves in simple enough moves we have to remember what made it is so pertinent to relish such acts of madness.

This takes us back to a time when Jackass was not around to promote the idea of doing crazy ass stunts cool; before that we had Evil Knievel who said in the spirit of his legacy during a 1968 interview:

I don't care if they say, 'Look, kid, you're going to drive that thing off the edge of the Canyon and die,' I'm going to do it. I want to be the first. If they'd let me go to the moon, I'd crawl all the way to Cape Kennedy just to do it. I'd like to go to the moon, but I don't want to be the second man to go there.

And in the spirit of the great man, here is his last jump, even Evel knew when to call it a day and when you see him crash you think, how does he survive, how does he go through it with no fear? He announced it was his last jump after he got up from a paralyzed position on the ground near to the motorcycle, which nearly decapitated him and no wonder when so close to death, escaping the Grim Reaper's whiskers by mere centimeters.

First Probe Begins Orbit of Mercury

Nasa's MESSENGER probe has become the first human probe to orbit mercury. It has traveled over 4.9 billion miles from earth in a remarkable feat of human engineering. MESSENGER which stands for MErcury, Space, Surface, ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging, reported back to earth at 9:45 pm EDT and started to transmit data. MESSENGER was launched over six and a half years ago and has used both the earth and the moon to swing and propel itself towards mercury. As it approached mercury it fired it's thrusters in a precise and calculated manner in order to escape the gravity of the sun and begin orbiting mercury. MESSENGER is designed so that one side of it, equipped with a protective radiation and heat shield, always faces the sun, whilst the instruments face the surface of mercury and collect data. MESSENGER has a number of pieces of scientific equipment which includes spectrometers, lasers and a magnetometer. This data collection is due to begin on April 4th, MRHP loves astronomical data and can't wait. 

Partial Solar Eclipse, Planting Indians, and a UFO

This morning I set my alarm earlier than usual in the hope that I would catch a glimpse of the partial solar eclipse that was occurring above Ireland and much of Europe and North Africa. I had set up my telescope with a solar filter too reduce the illumination of the sun and allow myself to observe it safely, I also fitted a camera to my scope so I could try and capture some impressive photos. Unfortunately when I went outside the sun was shrouded in clouds. I occupied my time by planting a few Indians in the soil that had recently thawed after the big chill we had faced in November and December. My planting had been delayed this year and I was already worried about my harvest. Furthermore, there is an old Indian proverb that says "a child planted under half a sun will grow in half the time".

Anyway as I finished my planting I noticed the day began to brighten swiftly and the sun that now floated majestically over the horizon had shook off it's duvet of clouds. The sun was now ready for the day, all it needed now was it's circle to be complete and the moon to get out of the way. I quickly grabbed my scope and began to gaze at this beautiful event of chance and precision. Then without warning a strange object appeared from the the darkness of the eclipse. It came from the the circumference of the moon that was encroaching on the sun. I thought it was just Baily's beads, but this was something else. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, the suns light was still too bright so I powered up my X-ray telescope to try and get a better look. Below is an unaltered, un-doctored image of what I saw, you can decide for yourself what it is but I have made up my mind. 

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