This Just In...

Well as the title relates the Info. These stories relate to how up to date that the Pondering Thoughts tries to be.

From the friends over at the Blog Catalog they wanted us as bloggers to remind our reading public about today's special day. Today is National AIDS day. As we know AIDS is a medical condition that is so under published. There is many mis-conceptions about AIDS. Now there is many sites from your local Government sites to various education sites. Here is an education site
that I feel best relays up to date postings. There is many mis-conceptions about how some people can or think they can catch aids:

• Casual, everyday contact;
• Shaking hands, hugging, kissing;
• Coughs, sneezes;
• Giving blood;
• Swimming pools, toilet seats;
• Sharing eating utensils, water fountains; or
• Mosquitoes, other insects, or animals.

Now it is important that we do know some ways as how you can contract AIDS:

• Unprotected sexual intercourse (vaginal, anal, oral);
• Shared needles or equipment for injecting drugs;
• Unsterilized needles for tattooing, skin piercing or acupuncture;
• Pregnancy, delivery and breast feeding (from an HIV-infected mother to her infant); and
• Occupational exposure in health care settings.

Now I do want to make light of the situation, but having the HIV virus is not a death sentence there is a lot of mis-conceptions about the disease. I encourage you to visit the posted site or in Canada maybe our Government site.
Now take a few minutes today and visit an AIDS site and get better informed.

From our friends over at the space weather site they wanted to remind our viewers to look into the south sky this evening. Here is why:

When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look south. Beaming through the twilight is one of the prettiest things you'll ever see--a tight three-way conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and the crescent Moon. The event is visible from all parts of the world, even from light-polluted cities. People in New York and Hong Kong will see it just as clearly as astronomers watching from remote mountaintops. Only cloudy weather or a midnight sun (sorry Antarctica!) can spoil the show.

The great conjunction offers something extra to Europeans. For more than an hour on Monday evening, the crescent Moon will actually eclipse Venus. Astronomers call such an event a "lunar occultation." Venus emerging from the dark edge of the Moon is a remarkably beautiful sight. Sky watchers across Europe will be able to see this happen.

So I hope you have clear skies, and the time to go out and take a peek tonight.

So consider yourself up to date. ;-)

Cheers
From the Big Ape