[X] My Assistant

[David]

You know you're a UMSF fan when:

You have to get your UMSF fix every morning before leaving for work.

But you know you're a hardcore UMSF fan when:

Your co-workers have started commenting on the number of bathroom breaks you take so you can log into UMSF from your laptop.

You know you're a UMSF fan when:

You've got the Cassini encounter schedules entered in your PDA a year in advance.

But you know you're a hardcore UMSF fan when:

You take vacation time off to coincide with Cassini encounters.

You know you're a UMSF fan when:

Your walls are covered with posters showing the view from the top of Husband Hill.

But you know you're a hardcore UMSF fan when:

You've replaced all the windows in your home with backlit screens showing the view from the top of Husband Hill.

You know you're a UMSF fan when:

You know the area between Endurance and Victoria better than you know the streets within half a mile of your own home.

But you know you're a hardcore UMSF fan when:

You turned your entire backyard into a to-scale model of the area between Endurance and Victoria.

You know you're a UMSF fan when:

You go "squee!" when Steve Squyres appears on NASA-TV.

But you know you're a hardcore UMSF fan when:

You recently went shopping for a gilded frame for the picture on your Steve Squyres altar at home.

You know you're a UMSF fan when:

You name your pets "Spirit" and "Opportunity".

But you know you're a hardcore UMSF fan when:

You name your children "Spirit" and "Opportunity".

You know you're a UMSF fan when:

Your kids want to be rover drivers when they grow up.

But you know you're a hardcore UMSF fan when:

You want to be a rover driver when you grow up.

You know you're a UMSF fan when:

You're more interested in possible methane showers on Titan than whether it's going to rain tomorrow.

But you know you're a hardcore UMSF fan when:

You carry an umbrella especially designed to repel methane showers.

You know you're a UMSF fan when:

You know exactly how old you're going to be when New Horizons reaches Pluto.

But you know you're a hardcore UMSF fan when:

You checked the annuity tables to find out what your risk is of dying before New Horizons reaches Pluto.

You know you're a UMSF fan when:

You decorate your Christmas tree with models of planets, moons, and interplanetary spacecraft.

But you know you're a hardcore UMSF fan when:

You celebrate launch and flyby anniversaries instead of Christmas.

You know you're a UMSF fan when:

You wrote a letter to Congress when DAWN was cancelled.

But you know you're a hardcore UMSF fan when:

You made a bargain with the space gods that they should take your life instead of DAWN's.

You know you're a UMSF fan when:

You remember exactly where you were when the first plume was observed on Enceladus.

But you know you're a hardcore UMSF fan when:

You remember exactly where you were on Sol 465.

You know you're a UMSF fan when:

You think there ought to be a mission dedicated to exploring Uranus.

But you know you're a hardcore UMSF fan when:

You think there ought to be a mission dedicated to exploring Uranus, and THAT'S NOT A JOKE!

[Phil Stooke]

Pateroast: "I convinced my high school calculus teacher to let me watch NASA TV on the computer when Huygens landed during lecture. "

Well.... I did a similar thing a long time before that, asking my school principal if I could take time off school to watch the Apollo 12 EVAs. Apollo 11 happened during the summer. As it turned out the TV camera failed early in the EVA (pointed at the sun). But then the principal - or headmaster as he was known there - knew I was interested, so when he heard that Apollo 13 had 'had a problem' he was the first to tell me.

Phil Stooke