Happy Father's Day! (+ Why I Haven't Been Blogging And Other Random)

To all the dads in the blogosphere and elsewhere: Have a wonderful holiday!

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(Note: I don't often post random stuff, but I feel like doing it today . . . so I am. Hope none of you mind.)


As some may have noticed, I haven't blogged in a couple days, and that's if you count the little I did on Thursday. Last week I had a series of end-of-school-year tests (9, to be precise; did okay) and a dress rehearsal/dance recital (went better than the last test I took--hooray), so things were busier than normal. My apologies for disappearing without prior announcement; I didn't even get around to replying to your comments on Thursday's post (which I will do once I've published this!).

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My writing's also been dragging the past few days. I'm behind 3000 words for reaching a goal of writing 30,000 words in June, so I have to hustle with that one. I'm still pantsing the story, as I mentioned in "I Though I Was A Plotter", and it's . . . interesting so far. LOL. Still making better progress than I was a couple months ago.

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On a slightly-related subject, I was never particularly big on the whole "listening to music on your computer" thing, preferring to play CDs on another device, but I've found adding favorites (especially movie soundtracks; Sherlock Holmes and How To Train Your Dragon are current favorites) in YouTube playlists has been quite conducive toward word count.

Unless it's The Piano Guys, in which case I find myself stopping every minute or two to watch and not just listen. (Hey, who wouldn't want to see someone skydiving with a cello? Or playing musical instruments in gorgeous locations? Really, if you haven't seen them before, go check out their videos.)

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When did you last take a break from blogging, social networking, or writing? How are your current projects? Do you ever listen to music while you work on creative endeavors? If so, what kind?


-----The Golden Eagle

Grand OPENING Blog Tour: A Tour of NASA

Today I have the honor of presenting a guest post by Stephen Tremp, author of Breakthrough and Opening, about all the cool stuff NASA has going on.

Take it away, Stephen!

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  Thank you Golden Eagle for hosting me on my Grand OPENING Blog Tour today! We are going for an aerial perspective that is relevant and exciting! 

So what’s the latest and greatest regarding NASA? And why should I care, you ask? Hasn't the shuttling of the Space Shuttle Program and cutbacks in funding and lack of vision from our political leaders made this once awesome organization boring and irrelevant? Well, please allow me dispel these thoughts and take you on a tour of the NASA Web site. 

NASA: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research. Since February 2006, NASA's mission statement has been to "pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research.” 

You can check out the latest and greatest in news, missions, multimedia, apps, and other ways to connect with NASA. You can even plan a visit to some of their eighteen facilities across the United States. 

NASA For Students: Have kids? Are you a school teacher, home schooler, or know someone who is? Then the NASA for Educators, the NASA for Students, and the NASA Kids Club and are worth a navigating and Bookmark or save in your Favorites. 

NASA for Students is broken up into grade groups of: 
K-4 
5-8 
9-12 
Higher Education 

Each group has age appropriate links. Example, NASA is sponsoring the 2012 NASA Space Settlement Design Program for 6th through 12 graders and can join as individuals, groups, or entire classrooms. 

Design a space settlement! Space settlements are permanent communities in orbit, as opposed to being on the moon or other planets. Designing a space settlement involves physics, mathematics, space science, environmental science and many other disciplines. This contest is for 11-18-year-old students from anywhere in the world. Individuals or teams may enter. Grades 6-8, 9-10 and 11-12 are judged separately, except for the grand prize. Submissions must be received by March 15, 2012. Click the link for more details, contest prizes, and certificates.  

And check out the Current Opportunities for Kids link. NASA also hosts youth ambassadors from around the globe for successful outreach programs. NASA’s Web site is a great site for kids to research homework and for author to research their novels. 

What about classrooms and partnering with other classrooms around the globe?  

Virtual Tours: Can't work out a visit to a NASA facility? Check out their interactive features such as their Interactive Features and Virtual Tours.  

Connect with NASA: Yep. There's an app for that. Check out the various apps and social networks NASA has such as Facebook and Twitter.  

What's Next For NASA? NASA is conducting an unprecedented array of missions that will seek new knowledge and understanding of Earth, the solar system and the universe. NASA has observatories in Earth orbit and deep space, spacecraft visiting the moon and other planetary bodies, and robotic landers, rovers, and sample return missions. One example is designing and building the capabilities to send humans to explore the solar system and working toward a goal of landing humans on Mars. 

NASA has a payback on our hard-earned tax dollars, providing great paying jobs, supporting entire communities, and opening doors for incredible future opportunities such as planet colonization and mining asteroids (more on this in a future post). 

Thanks again Golden Eagle for hosting me today. I hope this inspires a lot of people to do great things with their lives! 

Stephen Tremp, author of the BREAKTHROUGH series, has a B.A. in information systems and an MBA degree in global management. Stephen has a background in information systems, management, and finance and draws from this varied and complex experiential knowledge to write one-of-a-kind thrillers. His novels are enhanced by current events at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and other scientific research facilities around the world. These potential advances have the ability to change the way we perceive our universe and our place in it! 

You can visit Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs. BREAKTHROUGH and OPENING can be downloaded:  
Kindle for $1.99  
Smashwords for $1.99

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Have you ever explored the NASA site or been to one of their facilities?


-----The Golden Eagle

Answers To Reader Questions: Post No. 4

***My Halloween Bloghop post is below, in case you're looking for it!***

Following up on my answer HERE about college, some bloggers wanted to know more, so here we go:

Sarah Pearson asked:

What do you think you might study in college?

Science. Physics, biology, something along those lines . . . though I've thought about a lot of different possibilities. Architecture/engineering still sounds like fun.

Alex J. Cavanaugh asked:

Any colleges catch your eye yet?

Er, I haven't really looked at many--I know, I know--but as far as things look right now, I'll probably end up going to a local college.

Misha asked:

Are you planning on studying further once you're done with school?

After high school, definitely. And I'd certainly like to get a degree.

Shelly asked:

Do you believe homeschooling has made you tighter with your parents?

Parent, actually. I was adopted (don't know who my birth parents were) and my mom never married, so it's just me and her (or is it her and me?), and I do think it's made us tighter. Though I'm certain we'd be tight regardless of homeschooling. :)

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And some other catch-up things: Several people have awarded me in the past couple of weeks--just so you don't think I've forgotten, I'll be posting about them sometime early in November!

I also got a couple Google friend requests in the past month. The problem is, they only showed up once when I followed a blog, and I can't find them again; usually they come up whenever I "join" a site, visit my Follower dashboard, or check site settings. So, to the people who sent requests: I'm not ignoring you, just can't figure out how to accept! Sorry about that . . .

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Hope you're having a great weekend!


-----The Golden Eagle

Answers To Reader Questions: Post No. 3

I was actually supposed to do this a week ago, but I forgot and only remembered after I'd posted last Saturday. Sorry, everyone!

Emily Rose asked:

Do you plan to home school until college? Are you taking college courses at the moment?


Yes, and no. I do plan on being homeschooled until college, unless we move to a district with really good schools or something like that, which is highly unlikely. And I'm not taking any college courses at the moment, though I have done (and am currently doing) some programs at Learner.org.

(SOURCE)

Got any other questions, bloggers?


(I really do like answering them. :) And it gives me material to post about on Saturdays for NaBloWriMo.)


-----The Golden Eagle

I Think That Hiatus Was Long Enough, Don't You?

I know, I know, I missed a blogfest.

I was supposed to write an entry for the It's the Muse-ic Writing Blogfest yesterday, June 18, but didn't. I remembered last week, then forgot about it, then remembered but didn't have time to type up anything resembling suitable. My apologies--I made an obligation and failed to meet it.

(SOURCE)

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You may have also noticed I haven't blogged since Thursday. I still have to reply to your comments from Tuesday, and haven't commented anywhere in three days.

Er, I suppose it's obvious I have some catching up to do, don't I?

Good thing I'm pretty sure I'll have time tomorrow, now that the tests are over and recital is done and things are pretty much back to normal.

As for that, my dance recital yesterday went well, and I FINISHED ALL MY TESTS TODAY.

*woot*

No, I didn't fail any of them. Which I was afraid I might. In fact, I'm pretty happy with my scores.

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I was also tagged and awarded, (thank you! You bloggers are awesome) and I'll acknowledge those later.

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And finally, Happy Father's Day!

(SOURCE)

To all the dads in the world: have a great day!

-----The Golden Eagle