More Gratuitous Panda Pics

What's the point of having a subversive-quasi- panda-related-blog if not for the occasional gratuitous panda cub slide show? Here are some images of the as-yet-unnamed cub getting a checkup at the San Diego Zoo. Guessing from the graininess of some of the pics, these images were taken with the Hubble space telescope while it was offline for repair. Cuteness abounds regardless.

Speaking of space, on the way to the farmer's market last night, I saw what some could only describe as "a flaming ball of fire" in the nighttime sky. Maybe it was a meteor or a comet, maybe it was just a plane. If someone at NASA could point that Hubble telescope towards the east-north-easterly sky tonight and, I dunno, just check it out, that'd be swell. If it is indeed a "flaming ball of fire" headed straight for Earth, I'd at least like to finish the beer in my fridge before impact.