The Slow Invasion... is real.

Doctor Who may be predicting the future.

Just this morning, I watched the newest episode  --  about the slow invasion in which small black boxes appeared everywhere: 

Next, Dave and I went to Plum Island.

Plum Island looks more or less like this: 

However, to my dismay, on our way out we saw something that set off all alarm bells...

Black boxes.

And these are not the little paper kind you can print off and make. These are giant wooden boxes that could have real weapons and serious computing abilities...

When these boxes start reproducing, becoming smaller and curiouser, and eventually finding their way into people's homes... then we'll really have something to worry about. 

But we should be find for a while. This doesn't look to be just a slow invasion. More like a reaaalllly reaaaaallly reaallly slow invasion. 

When I was in Alaska

When I was in Alaska, there was a spacewalk.
Somehow I seem to find space everywhere.

Back to the beginning: I went for a walk. An 8-ish hour walk to be precise. I was very sore the next day. Also, I am writing this on an airplane. The first half of my walk was along a bike trail that followed the ocean. 

Here I stumbled across the most amazing thing (besides the ocean and mountains an trees and ducks and just everything in general):

Jupiter! 

Apparently (if you read the sign), a brilliant, beautiful, human being decided to scale down the solar system and measure it out along this bike path. Amazing!

The four inner planets were supposedly located on 5th street in downtown Anchorage. Jupiter was a 43 minute walk from the Sun.


Next I found Saturn.

Saturn was another 35 minutes beyond Jupiter. Beyond that were Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto; Pluto was a 5 hour and 30 minute walk from the Sun. I didn't make it that far. I did, however, make it to Moose land.

I found this moose sign, which I loved.

If you meet a moose with perky ears, don't invade its personal space, and try to peacefully coexist with the half-ton moose with slashing hooves. If the moose has flattened ears, think angry, half-ton, cat. Run - preferably faster than the moose. Actually, it doesn't say it on the sign, but you probably should back away slowly first, then run if necessary.

At any rate, all you really need to know is that if you ever want to stroll through a system of planets, gazing at the glittering stars and basking in the emptiness of space, go to Alaska at night (or you can go back in time and hitch a ride on one of the Voyagers - that would work too - but I'd recommend Alaska - you're less likely to die.)