Planets On the Table

Back up for a moment.

• Mars is a planet that is rather cold and unpopulated. And it's still difficult to acquire real estate. But the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter slipped into place around the planet over the weekend (bravo engineers) to begin snapping the most detailed pictures to date.
• We now can view the property online with Google Mars - awesome technology that will make it easy to add scientific details from missions like MRO, and eventually, Pizza Hut locations when the time comes. Aerolocation anyone?
  
• They think they might have found Noah's Ark.
• We're using satellites to track flocks of birds infected with H5N1 as they make their way from Siberia to Alaska, and into North America. This amid news that the U.S. secretary for agriculture is now suggesting we stockpile canned food.
  

These are a few things to contemplate as you go about your Monday.