13 Days

So I have thirteen days to go before I can pick up the new ES.

Apparently "13 Days" is a phrase commonly used to refer to the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. That year, Cuban and Soviet governments decided to place nuclear missiles on Cuba to protect it from US harassment. When the US discovered this, panic ensued as they tried to remove the missiles. This was one of the moments in during the cold war where we really came close to a nuclear war! CRAZY.

I just finished reading a book called "The Last Oracle" which had a large portion of its plot center around the ruins of the Soviet nuclear age, specifically the disaster at Chernobyl. It's really fascinating stuff; that we can manipulate nature to the point that it becomes highly toxic to our bodies, and that if we are exposed to radioactive materials for long enough, it can kill us!

The areas surrounding that nuclear disaster have suffered long term consequences of that horrible reality. I came across a fascinating, if very sad, photo journalism presentation on the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl which you can find by CLICKING HERE. CLICK HERE for another slide show of the abandoned town of Pripyat which was the little village built to house the workers of the nuclear plant.

In conclusion, here are some 13-day old Labrador puppies: