Wow! Look at These Pictures of the Sun! Also, Mara Abbott (keeps) Kicking Ass!

Some scientist -- or not even, he's just an amateur astronomer and photographer -- has take some remarkable pictures of the sun. The world is filled with wonder everywhere you look; photos like this help remind me to pause and appreciate...just about everything. Alan Friedman, thank you for sharing your amazing photos of the sun with the internet. (You MUST click on these and appreciate them full-screen.)

And speaking of brilliant stars -- Mara Abbott, Whitman College's own, has received a spectacular honor. She, along with Taylor Phinney, were deemed "Athletes of the Year" by USA Cycling. Mara had inarguably her best season ever, winning the USA National Championships, the Giro Donne (women's Giro), and two stages of the Tour de l'Aude in France. Mara, still in the springtime of her career, is already in the Cycling Hall of Fame. Damn. Mara is a constant inspiration for me, and she makes all of her Whitman cyclist teammates very very proud. Congrats Mara. Keep it up.