Hartley 2: First Photo of Maybe 64,000

"Comet-Bound Spacecraft Beams Back First Photo of Icy Target"
Space.com (September 21, 2010)

"A NASA comet probe has beamed back to Earth its first photo of its quarry, Comet Hartley 2.

"NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft is zooming toward the comet, snapping pictures in the lead-up to a planned flyby of the ice ball on Nov. 4. The new photo is the first of 64,000 or so the probe is expected to take of Hartley 2.

" 'Like any tourist who can't wait to get to a destination, we have already begun taking pictures of our comet, Hartley 2,' Tim Larson, the mission's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement. 'We have to wait for Nov. 4 to get the close-up pictures of the cometary nucleus, but these approach images should keep the science team busy for quite some time as well.'..."

The photo itself isn't as stunning as the new Hubble image. There's a lot of bright spots that are stars and a biggish bright spot that's Hartley 2. That, and some lines and letters are about it.

Still - that's a comet, photographed by a robot spaceship that's set to take thousands more photos.

'Deep Impact?' Where's the Impact?

There's a pretty good explanation for the spaceship that's doing a flyby of Hartley 2 being called "Deep Impact." The craft's original mission was being the mother ship for the 2005 Deep Impact mission to Comet Tempel 1. After that mission, the mother ship was still in good operating condition: so NASA set it off on another comet-related mission, this time to Hartley 2.

Drug Side Effects: A Top-10 List

"Top 10 Weirdest Prescription Drug Side Effects"
Shanna Freeman, Medications, Medicine, Guides, Discovery Health

"Most of us take prescription drugs -- drugs that, by law, must be prescribed by a doctor -- at some point in our lives. If all goes well, the drug works for you as it's supposed to. But there's no 'magic bullet,' or drug that works the same for everyone without any risks or side effects. A side effect is basically an unintended occurrence that results from taking a drug. Side effects can be good or bad, depending on how you use the drug. For example, antihistamines, used to help with allergy symptoms like itchy eyes and sneezing, have the side effect of making you feel very sleepy. If you're having trouble sleeping, this side effect is great. If you need to deal with your allergies as well as drive your car or function at your job, however, it's bad...."

Don't let the long paragraphs scare you away. There's some interesting stuff here: from "Weird Side Effect 10: Amnesia" through "Weird Side Effect 7: Colored Urine" and "Weird Side Effect 6: Hallucinations," to "Weird Side Effect 1: Birth Defects." Remember thalidomide?

The Lemming thinks that some of the "weird" side effects are not so much weird as destructive. Like "Weird Side Effect 2: Suicidal Ideation" and "Weird Side Effect 3: Compulsive Behavior."

Which is not to say that these are "bad" drugs. Sometimes a there's a medical condition that's worse than the possible side effect - in which case the patient and doctor should do a benefit/risk assessment and make a decision. An informed decision.

Only Persons of Inferior Breeding Need Drugs?

The Lemming wasn't at all sure about claims that some drugs could induce compulsive behavior or 'make someone commit suicide.'

Until I started reading up on the matter.

We think with our brain: a few pounds of neurons and glial cells, blood vessels and support structures. It's a complicated mass of bio-electrical circuitry that depends on a rather fine-tuned set of chemicals.

When the chemical mix isn't quite right - the circuits don't work quite right.

The Lemming Gets Personal

We're able to work around malfunctioning or damaged circuits - but it takes effort. It helps if we're aware that it's a problem in the circuits.

I haven't experienced drug-induced compulsive behavior, but I do take the chemical component of human behavior seriously: for fairly personal reasons.

Several years ago I discovered that I had major depression. My guess is that I've been dealing with it ever since I hit my teens. Working with a psychiatrist, I'm taking a set of drugs that keeps the chemical balance in my brain closer to spec than its been in decades.

I could deal with that reality in several ways, including:

1. Thumping my manly chest and saying that I don't need no help
   • No how
   • No way
2. Rolling my eyes up and saying that I'll rely on no man's aid
   • And 'trusting God'
3. Taking my medicine

All things considered, option #3 seemed like the most sensible. It's not that I don't 'trust God:' but I figure I've got some responsibility for maintaining my health. (A Catholic Citizen in America (February 25, 2010)

Don't Need Drugs? Great!

The use of medications came up in an online community the Lemming's in. One of the folks there stated that he didn't need some crutch to stay mentally fit and all that. He's probably right. Good for him.

Not everybody is like that. Given a choice, I wouldn't have spent most of my adult life dragging myself through most days, chugging a dozen cups of strong coffee to stay moderately alert.

I'm glad that there are folks who don't need 'crutches.' But, for those who do: I'm glad that there are ways to deal with the ills we experience.

The Lemming is not going to accuse someone with a physical malady of having insufficient moral virtue. And that's another topic.

Vaguely-related posts:

• "They Saved Einstein's Brain"
  (June 2, 2010)
• "Medication for Depression? Yeah: The Catholic Church is Okay With That"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (February 25, 2010)
• "Bong Water and an Un-Groovy Minnesota Court"
  (October 23, 2009)
• "The Brain: Things We Know That Just Aren't So"
  (September 29, 2009)
• " 'You Will Forget' - The Doctor Will Fix You Now?"
  (April 13, 2009)

And Now, for Something Completely Different: Scratching Capyberas

"カピバラを連続ヘブン状態に (Scratching many capybaras)"

fuafuacapybara, YouTube (March 21, 2010)
video, 3:05

"カピバラ死屍累々という感じ。もちろん死んでいませんが。平日でお客さんが少なくまったりしているカピバラを撫でまくっていきます。
"Enjoy scratching with many capybaras.
"Place Nagasaki bio park(Japan). Camera Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7.
NicoVideo sm7760714 実録カピバラ動画 10"

I think the title of this video might be more literally "Capybara state continuous Haven" - which shows why it's a good idea for translation to be done by a person who understands both languages involved, and the cultures they are part of.

The capybaras? They seem to enjoy the attention - although the fourth one scratched seemed determined to keep the head up.