Set on top of a hill, Arecibo Observatory, the world’s largest radio telescope built in the 1960’s, is an incredible engineering feat, considering its size and location.


If you have seen the 007 movie Golden Eye, you might recognize it from the pictures. Perhaps much later, scientists discovered that by using arrays of smaller radio telescopes, they could combine and infer the same information as that of a much larger telescope. NASA first built the station to study the upper parts atmosphere by reflecting the sunlight to heat desired areas. Scientists later decided to build a receiver inside a Gregorian Dome, which itself is attached on a rotating and moving arch. If I had a dome named after me, it would be YuHungian Dome. Three cement towers suspend the receiver, weighing hundreds of tons, by cables. While I was there, I actually saw the dome rotate and move from one side of the arch to the other. Aluminum plates, each individually adjusted, line the surface of the reflector. Due to the rotation of the Earth, scientists usually only has perhaps twenty to thirty minutes to observe radio waves from a specific location in the sky. From those observations, they could then determine the distances to other planets. I am glad someone here and elsewhere is dedicated twenty-four hours a day to figuring out the mysteries of the universe. What would we do without them?
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Pictures here

My friend Jose got married last weekend in Puerto Rico and of course; I am very happy for him because he seems very happy to be married. He was only on the phone with Elena every second of the day when he was not working, eating or sleeping; actually I think he sleep talked to her too. Wedding was at 10am in the morning, 6 hours after I had gone to bed after a night out with Luis and Linje. Paul, Jose’s boss from AVM, and his family were also in attendance. We should have known; it’s Puerto Rico 10 AM, which really meant the wedding would get started at 11:30. I thought we were late as we strolled into the church minutes after 10, but we were the first ones there. I was thirsty even after I finished my bottle of water, but Luis was probably 10 times more dehydrated after hurling like a champ all night. He managed to wake me up at 5am with his dry puking. Like a good friend, I got him another bucket in addition to the one he already had. As he couldn’t get his head to face the downward position, one single trashcan wouldn’t contain his possible horizontal trajectory.
The priest did the ceremony in Spanish; I was waiting for him to say the “I now pronounce you husband and wife”, but even if he did say it, it went over my head. Apparently, he messed up Jose and Elena’s names; every laughed. Elena looked lovely, so did her bridesmaids and the blonde that Linje was eyeing the whole morning. I took a bunch of terrible, blurry pictures of the wedding, but my pictures of Luis, Linje and I looked great.
The reception afterwards was actually held on an army base. They didn’t check my id, but I got through. If I was a spy, which of course I am not, I would just need to have a friend get married on an army base to infiltrate. Maybe this little gimmick works in China and Russia too. CIA, think about it.

Each table at the reception was named after a country that Jose and Elena want to visit, very cute I thought. A wedding camera on each table lets the guests take pictures, another great idea. When I get married in the distant future, whenever that will be, I want that too. Maybe I should start a list of things I want for my wedding. But I already have a list of things I want for my future house; on top of that list is a urinal, so I can never “miss”. I can’t keep too many lists. Ok no wedding list, since I am sure my future wife already has one, which girl doesn’t anyways?
Jose did his dirty dance and got everyone excited and proceeded to dive in head first into Elena’s skirt to… get the garter. At the last wedding I caught the garter the groom threw, not knowing catching it meant I was to be the next to get married. This time around I let the other fellows have a shot at it.
I asked Nicole, one of Jose’s hundred cousins, if going to a wedding makes her want to get married. She said no. That question was more for me actually. Going to the wedding made me at least think about when I want to get married. I don’t even have a girlfriend anymore. I guess it’s hard to get married without one. I am safe from marriage. Excellent!
Congratulations Jose. And… make sure you are the one wearing the pants in the house 
If you need a few pointers, I can put you in contact with my friend Sergio.