@leytpr4: Definitely the most interesting tidbit in the article! Thank goodness for David Byrne.

@Thus Spake Kate is a Goth Detective: I got so excited - oh wow, she's Neil's daughter! Sigh...

@msmoneypenny misses MizJ: My youngest sister went to Space Camp and loved, loved, loved it. I'm sure she still thinks of it as home.

@daradoodle: I had shitty social studies teachers, but awesome science & math teachers. That helped a lot. It wasn't until college that I realized that politics, geography and history could actually be interesting. Science was always *alive* in a way that other classes weren't.

@la.donna.pietra: I remember that the build up to it made me the really annoying one in the backseat, urging us to go faster, because I was afraid we would miss the gigantic ball of fire streaking across the sky. Clearly that's not how it works and I was a bit disappointed that we had to peer through a telescope to…

Awesome question. I have always loved science, and trace much of that back to my Daddy. We went fishing together, and he would dissect the fish's heart and talk about the differences between fish hearts and human hearts (he's a cardiologist). He took us out to see Halley's Comet in 1986 when it came through, and we…

Awesome. I hadn't heard anything about this series until now, but now I've got to catch it. Running off to check out sneak peeks...

@intangiblemango: My mom got a sourdough starter when we were little, and she griped and moaned about it the entire time she fed and kept it. When a friend gave me an Amish friendship bread starter a year or so ago, I was terrified for what I was getting myself into. I made bread once and stuck the additional starters…

@Peppermint: Yep! But NPR says they have to reapply for the permit every year. Such a chore... [www.npr.org]

I love late September and early October because it's such a celebration of brains between the Genius grants and the Nobel announcements. And of course, like everyone else, I expect to know or be one of those folks one day.

@AndPreciousLittleofThat: My Dad has the same issue - his birthday is the day after Christmas. But bless my Mom's heart - she never allowed us to give him gifts that were for both. We always wrap his presents in non-holiday paper, he has his own special cake, and we have a dedicated time that's just for him, usually…

@PommeDeReinette: For a long time, I loved giving plants as a gift. But since our household now has 2 adults, 1 toddler, and 2 cats, I just can't imagine being able to keep one more thing alive. My dad gave me a beautiful orchid in full bloom about a month ago and I'm shocked that it's still living.

@Flail: Here's an article from Runner's World a couple of years ago: [runnersworld.com] Hope that helps!

Research has shown that you run most efficiently at about 180 footstrikes/minute, so running to music that's 180 bpm is good practice for your form, FYI.

@Homerjay has ABSA Fever: Let's name the zones, the zones, the zones, let's name the zones of the open seeeeeaaaaaa!!

@UmpteenthSarah: Ha! I will never again be able to listen to my father talk about what a swell guy Saxby is without hearing this. Hee hee!

@hellocello: Totally. Which is not to say that I won't capriciously pick out someone that I want to pass, just to give me some motivation. That dude in the Hawaiian shirt had no idea who he was dealing with! (I mean, really, who wears a non-technical shirt to a hot, humid 10-miler in the middle of summer? Letting him…

Nothing steams this marathoner up more than hearing some jerkhole use the term "getting chicked" to refer to getting passed by a girl. Sorry, but unless you're in the lead, you WILL get passed by a woman at some point. Can we kill this term, please?

@LoSpaz: Thank you for answering my question! My marathon training group was debating whether it was firefighters or men in tuxedos that gave out the Tiffany necklaces at the end of that marathon. I am very happy to know that the answer is YES.

Fantastic post! I'm going to make darn sure I live to 87 - hell, 88 - so I can see it again.