Any questions?

I think it says everything you need to know about the challenges of my Saturday when I say that until just now, I had completely forgotten that the first episode of the new season of Doctor Who premiered today.

- Sid

"A moustache can tell you a lot about a man."

A moustache can tell you a lot about a man. When properly administered, it can say, “this man has commanded spacecraft”, “this man escorted Soviet bombers out of Canadian airspace”, or “this man lived in a research vessel at the bottom of the ocean.” These can be tall orders to live up to – having a moustache is a big responsibility.

www.chrishadfield.ca

A happy 56th birthday to retired astronaut Colonel Chris Hadfield, the best thing to happen to space exploration since Neil Armstrong took one small step.

And, of course, a happy birthday to your moustache too, sir.

- Sid

Olive drab for SG-1, please.

I was recently invited out by my friend Chris for a celebratory birthday dinner and drinks. Now, should this information cause any of you to start composing a short note expressing your regrets at having somehow missed my birthday, let me reassure you that your calendar hasn't betrayed you - my birthday is still at the end of September.

Then why the premature celebration?  Well, in a way, it wasn't so much a celebration of my birthday as it was of Chris' present - or rather presents, to be accurate.

When I opened the package, it contained an impressive summary of the last fifty years worth of science fiction iconography from film and television* in badge form, gathered over time with some degree of effort and dedication on Chris' part.  Flushed with success, Chris couldn't wait for the delayed gratification of September, and so, an early dinner invitation to give me my gift. 

Once I got over being impressed, I admit to having a bit of bafflement as to how to best make use of my bounty.  After all, even the most dedicated fan can only put so many patches on a jacket before becoming self-conscious about it.  Then I realized that this was the perfect opportunity to create some custom geek baseball hats, albeit with a bit of stitching** on someone's part.  In fact, not very long ago I spent some time searching for a Nostromo crew hat without any success.

And, as my girlfriend pointed out, there's a convenient tie-in for a birthday gift from someone else:  eleven baseball caps.

- Sid

* On one hand, you could make a case for a Battlestar Galactica patch.  On the other hand, I'm willing to bet that there are damn few people reading this who recognize the provenance of the patch in the lower right without the aid of Google™.

** They're iron-on patches, but unless state of the art in hot fabric glue has changed since my previous experiences, I'd rather go with thread.