Roddy Piper, RIP

Just heard the news that former pro wrestler 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper has died at 61.

I had watched some of his bouts in the mid-1980's when WWE was in its glory, but the most memorable part was his role in John Carpenter's 1988 film 'They Live', a sci-fi film that takes a stab at the seemingly non-stop effects of subliminal advertising and mass consumerism.

However, two of the best scenes IMHO were these:

First, the fight scene between Piper and co-star Keith David, very hilarious!




The second one was where he goes into the bank, sees it full of aliens, and then says probably one of the best lines ever :-)



He will definitely be missed.

Vacation time

Taking a well-deserved break from work, off until the 27th.  Decided to head north to Rachel then over to Tonopah then down to Pahrump to visit friends and spend the night.  Should be home soon.

New Horizons reaches Pluto

Just the first of what could be some awesome pics coming from the New Horizons probe.

NASA press release on the event

I look forward to seeing what comes down the pipe over the next 16 months.  Might wind up seeing something spectacular similar to when Voyager found the erupting volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io.

Happy Independence Day (h/t to The Silicon Graybeard)

The Graybeard's post today is well worth reading. 

Read it through, and ponder its relevance for today's world.