A six-ton, bus-size NASA climate satellite will fall to Earth on September 23. It is expected to break into more than a hundred pieces as it plunges through the atmosphere, most of it burning up. The best guess so far is that the 20-year-old Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite will hit sometime Friday afternoon or early evening, Eastern time. The latest calculations indicate it won't be over the U.S., Canada and Mexico during that time. Until Thursday, every continent but Antarctica was a potential target. Predicting where and when the satellite will land is an imprecise science, but officials should be able to narrow it down a few hours ahead of time. While most of the satellite pieces will disintegrate, 26 metal chunks—the largest about 300 pounds—are expected to hit somewhere on the planet.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903703604576588442386872646.html

Science educator James Drake has created a one-minute timelapse video of the International Space Station (ISS) circling the globe, which provides a fascinating look at Earth from above. According to UniverseToday.com, Drake created the video by combining 600 photos that are available via the Johnson Space Center's Gateway to Astronomy Photograph of Earth, an online repository of photographs taken by astronauts. The images are taken from the front of the ISS as it orbits the planet at night. The video starts over the Pacific Ocean and continues over North and South America before entering daylight near Antarctica. "Visible cities, countries and landmarks include (in order) Vancouver Island, Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Fransisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, multiple cities in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico, Mexico City, the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, lightning in the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and the Amazon," Drake said in his video description. "Also visible is the earths ionosphere (thin yellow line) and the stars of our galaxy." Drake said he used Virtualdub to create the final movie. He has more images of the universe on his blog, Infinity Imagined.
Click on the video at the bottom:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2393209,00.asp#fbid=ihsNDIu-QML

Banned Books Week is celebrated in the US every year. This year it's Sept. 24 - Oct. 1. To mark this week we'll feature words to describe various forms of books.
vade mecum (VAY/VAH-dee MEE/MAY-kuhm) noun
A book for ready reference, such as a manual or guidebook.
From Latin vade mecum (go with me), from vadere (to go) + me (me) + cum (with). Earliest documented use: 1629.
chapbook (CHAP-book) noun
A small book or pamphlet containing stories, poems, or religious tracts.
From chapman book, a small, cheap book sold by a chapman or a colporteur. Earliest documented use: 1824.
omnibus (OM-ni-bus) noun or adjective
noun 1. A volume reprinting several works by one author or works on one theme. 2. A public vehicle designed to carry a large number of people.
adjective Including or dealing with many things at once.
From French, from Latin omnibus (for all). Ultimately from the Indo-European root op- (to work, produce) that is also the ancestor of words such as opera, opulent, optimum, maneuver, manure, operose and inure. Earliest documented use: 1829. A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

More on service animals Thanks, Beth
There are a growing number of people that train miniature horses for use as guide or service animals. Horses are intelligent and have a sweet disposition. They are small enough to transport in a car, and are not easily distracted in crowds. Horses possess a natural guide instinct, are protective, and can be housebroken. They are quiet and may live 30 to 40 years. Read more, including how to care for a miniature horse at: http://maryeaudet.hubpages.com/hub/Miniature-Horses

The ancestor of the waffle was nothing more than a rustic cake made of cereal's pulps, prepared and cooked by the men of the Neolithic on heated stones. Once the face of the cake in contact with the stones was gilded, they turned it over to let the other face cooking . Once somebody had the idea to replace the stone by an iron plate, the pancake was born. Once somebody found that the cooking would go quicker with 2 heated iron plates at both sides at the same time, it was the beginning of the waffle. It was a long time ago and the word "waffle" didn't exist yet. The word "gaufre" (waffle in English) is coming from the "walfre" at the twelve century. In old French, "wafel" meant at that time "piece of honey (bee-) hive". There are thick waffles (The Liege's waffles) , thin waffles (The Brussels's waffles), soft waffles, the waffles made of puff pastry, hunting waffles, and seasonal filled waffles with fresh fruits (cherries, prunes, apples, blueberries, apricots). The waffle is a Belgian culinary specialty. Each part of the country has its own recipe, even if the main ingredients (flour, milk, sugar and eggs) are the same. T he recipes are handed over from one generation to the following one. Brussels's waffles are big, rectangular (circular in the US) and very light. They are always eaten warm with toppings. The name of Belgian waffles is probably coming from Americans who had eaten Brussels's waffles in the capital of Europe. http://www.augustinswaffles.com/history.php

September 22 was National Centenarian Day, a day to recognize, honor and listen to the stories of individuals who have lived a century or longer. I played background music from the 1920s and 1930s on piano at a nearby celebration, and listened to several centenarians plus their friends and relatives weave their tales. I hadn't known in advance I was in for such an emotional experience.

National Centenarian Awareness Project was founded in 1989 by Lynn Peters Adler, J.D. When Lynn Peters Adler was 15 years old, she went shopping with her grandmother for her Christmas gift, a new winter coat. As Lynn’s grandmother was completing the purchase, the saleswoman asked Lynn, “How does she want to pay for this?” Realizing that the saleswoman was ignoring her grandmother, Lynn replied, “Why don’t you ask her?” Lynn began to pay attention after that and noticed that people did treat her grandmother differently, often indifferently, and sometimes even within the family. In 1995 Ms. Adler wrote a seminal book titled Centenarians: The Bonus Years. The book received excellent reviews as a contemporary window into the lives of remarkable people who have lived 100 years or more. http://www.adlercentenarians.org/about_Lynn.html

Website of the Day Bruce Springsteen http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html
If you’re a fan of Bruce Springsteen – whose birthday is today – head to the official website, which has all the information you need about The Boss and his work.
Number to Know 20: Number of Grammy Awards that Bruce Springsteen has won.
This Day in History Sept. 23, 1909: “The Phantom of the Opera,” a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux, is first published as a serialization in Le Gaulois.
Today’s Featured Birthday Musician Bruce Springsteen (62)
http://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/newsnow/x371950236/Morning-Minutes-Sept-23