Family Time

Today is my 13th wedding anniversary! Unfortunately, my wife has a pretty nasty cold, so my 10-year-old daughter decided to write her a couple of poems to cheer her up. We thought they were pretty cute, so we asked her if we could post them here. She agreed, on the condition that I draw our family as hearts, like she had done on her card. So here are her two poems, followed by my version of our heart family.

    It's not fun when you're sick
    Sitting down and laying all day,
    But when you're sick I'll help you
    Move and get on your way.

           *****

    I'm so happy that you're in my life
    You are the best Mommy of all,
    You help me stay happy and cheerful
    Even if I fall.

Cow With A Pearl Earring

Tomorrow is my sister's birthday! She's a genuine classic who has inspired me more than once, so here's another classic with a twist inspired by her. Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday to moo!

Rhyme Time

Oh goodness gracious, it’s after eleven

I haven’t got anything written at all

So let’s do this quickly and jot down some verses

I’ve got to get rhyming, I’d better not fall

See what I did there, it’s pretty apparent

I twisted the line so the last word would rhyme

It pains me to do it, I try to be clever

I’d be less cliched if I had some more time

Oh no, time and rhyme, now it’s getting appalling

These horrible verses will make me look bad

I can’t seem to help it, I’m spiraling downward

Until I hit bottom and then I’ll be sad

So let’s wrap this up cause it’s getting too late now

I’m sure you’ve grown weary of reading this trash

Of course with the way the world works this most likely

Will be my big breakthrough and earn tons of cash!

Bear Hugs

Believe it or not, today is Hug A Bear Day again! How did it creep up on us so quickly? So anyway, go out and hug your favorite bear. (If you don't have one, might I suggest this fellow!)

The Force Awakens

Is that a shiver that I feel?

A tremor running through my soul?

As if a million voices cried

A million fanboys’ dreams made whole

Because today they just released

The Star Wars title coming next

The seventh episode will be

“The Force Awakens” - I’m perplexed

Cause does that mean it’s been asleep?

And after Jedi’s final cheers

The midichlorians all took

A nap that lasted thirty years?

Or, perhaps, the force itself

Is waking other people up?

We might just see it offering

Luke a steaming coffee cup

I guess we’ll all just have to wait

Until that cold December day

When everything will be revealed

It’s only thirteen months away!

Numbat

I've been trying out the latest version of my favorite drawing app recently. There are many nice, new features, some that will take a little getting used to, and just a few things that I really hate - like the fact that it likes to randomly just quit every 5 minutes. I could try to fight with it and figure out what's going on, or I could just do a very quick and sloppy sketch of a numbat and consider myself done for the night. Guess what I'm going to do?

One More Job Tonight

There’s not a lot of time tonight

For pics to draw or poems to write

I’ve got to venture out into

The dark, cause there’s a job to do

My mom-in-law is flying in

And so I’m heading out again

To pick her up and bring her back

But then I still can’t hit the sack

I’ve got to take the garbage out

Recycling? Without a doubt!

And lots of dishes fill the sink

I can’t leave them, they’ll start to stink!

The laundry! I need clothes for work

Another job I cannot shirk

But worry not, I’ll get it done

Although it might not sound like fun

Cause no distractions fill my head

My family has gone to bed!

Be Like Laika

On this date back in 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2. Onboard was a little dog the scientists had grabbed off the street a few days earlier - and that's how Laika became the first living thing in orbit! Here's a super inspirational poem to commemorate her daring achievement!

On this day, the old USSR

Changed a dog from the street to a star

So be just like Laika

When the right chances strike-a

And perhaps even you could go far

What I Want

After the recent tragic events out in Mojave on Friday I've been giving some thought to what I want, and I came up with a few things:

1) Peace and support for the wife and children (ages 10 and 7) of Michael Alsbury, the test pilot killed in the accident. A memorial fund has been established at this link.

2) A full, thorough and open investigation, so they (and everyone else in the industry) can figure out exactly what went wrong and how to fix it.

3) All necessary upgrades or redesigns made so the vehicle ends up as safe and amazing as Virgin Galactic says it is, even if it takes more time.

4) Continued public support and interest in the private spaceflight community. I would hate to see one accident end this industry in its infancy.

And all of this is because:

5)

Whether it's with Virgin Galactic, XCOR, NASA, SpaceX, Blue Origin or someone else entirely - I'm still expecting to make it up there (and come back safely) some day. 

Drawtober 2014, A Retrospective

I wanted to write a quick and easy limerick looking back on the past month, but I couldn't fit it into the standard five lines, so I guess this is more like a "long-rick"...

All the days of Drawtober were fun

And I drew something new for each one

Cars and cows in the air

With some hippos up there

And a mole with a crown

A poor penguin fell down

Lots of cats, one was king,

And a dragon-fern thing

It was great, but I’m glad it’s all done!

(at least until next year!)