It's that time of year in Florida. The time when hurricanes come boiling of the African coast and head toward the United States. Tropical Storm Erika is on her way north and right now, we're in that nebulous "cone of uncertainty".

Hurricane season is also the pre-game warm up to winter storms up north. Hopefully, you' won't get hit by a big storm, but there are a few Things you can do to get prepared and stay safe. (And take the sting out of lost power, downed trees, no internet and being trapped in the house.)

Things you will need:

• A battery operated or hand-cranked radio to keep up on local area storms, flooding and other news alerts.
• Stock up on water. If you can't get your hands on bottled water, fill your bathtubs and make sure you have water purifying supplies.
• Emergency blankets are key for keeping warm and for keeping dry.
• A good first aid kit. Check your supplies and replace missing Things before the storm hits.
• SomeThing to beat boredom while you're housebound. DVDs (as long as the power holds) to watch, games, puzzles...

My boarding pass!

Well, I'm not actually going -- It's probably way out of my price range. But I am sending my name to the Red Planet!

It's the latest in NASA's wildly popular "frequent-flyer" program that encourages people to participate in space travel, even if only in name. Last year's Orion launch carried the names of over one million people.

You can "go", too. Just sign up and NASA will add your name to the microchip that will hitch a ride to Mars on the InSight lander next year. It's not a contest; once you add your name, it's a done deal. You'll get a "boarding pass" just like mine immediately.

I can't wait for the launch!

See you next week,
Bobby

The Internet is all abuzz with dazzling new images from the set of the new Star Wars movie: The Force Awakens. And it's more than just your run-of-the mill Star Wars chatter; it seems even the movie's makers were stunned into silence when Harrison Ford and Peter Mayhew first walked onto the set of the Millennium Falcon as Han and Chewie.

“The minute Harrison and Chewie walked on board the Millennium Falcon — that was incredible,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told Entertainment Weekly. “Every single person on the set was stunned. I remember turning around, and there must have been 200 people gathered behind me — completely quiet. I didn’t even know they were there. The whole crew had stopped working, staring at the monitor, because it was so iconic."

To be a fly on that wall!


The moviemakers got back to work eventually. And just in time. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set to be the biggest Christmas movie of all time. Until then, we'll have to be satisfied with the "teaser" trailers on YouTube.

May the Force be with you,
Bobby

Photomosaic Puzzle

Ah, the dog days of summer. Perfect for finding a shady spot in the yard (preferably a hammock!), a chair by the pool or a spot on the couch to stay cool and read a good book. Since Sunday, August 9th is National Book Lover's Day, you have the perfect excuse to do one Thing all day: read.

But if you're a bookworm with a philanthropic bent, you might want to spend half the day reading and the other half helping others. Some of my favorite bookworms gave me a few suggestions. Here are five of my favorite Things for National Book Lover's Day:

• Make a list of your favorite books and post it online.
• Read to someone. Anyone. Maybe a kid. Or an elderly person. Your spouse. 
• Give away your old books. Donate them to a library or a school or give them to friends as gifts to celebrate the holiday.
• Start a Little Free Library book box in your neighborhood. Get your neighbors involved and put up an exchange where people can take a book and leave a book. 
• Host a reading party. Gather some snacks, some friends and some good books and just lay around reading - with the TV off!