Today marks the 102th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

(Borrowed from Wikipedia.)

On December 17, 1903, the Wrights took to the air, both of them twice. The first flight, by Orville, of 39 meters (120 feet) in 12 seconds, was recorded in a famous photograph. In the fourth flight of the same day, the only flight made that day which was actually controlled, Wilbur Wright flew 279 meters (852 ft) in 59 seconds..

The Flyer I cost less than a thousand dollars to construct. It had a wingspan of 40 feet (12 m), weighed 750 pounds (340 kg), and sported a 12 horsepower (9 kW), 170 pound (77 kg) engine.

Pretty amazing how far we've come in the last century. I was able to see a replica of the Flyer I at the Wright Brothers Memorial Dinner in 2003 (the centennial anniversary of the first flight), and it seriously looked like it would fall apart if you touched it. Fortuantely, it was suspended about 10 feet above the ground, so thankfully it was out of harm's way. The other highlight of the evening was meeting Senator Tom Daschle at the end of the dinner. (I should also mention I passed up meeting John Travolta for the (former) Senate Minority Leader, so that shows where my priorities are. ;))

Kimberly Stewart Ends 11-Day Engagement
Rod Stewart's socialite daughter Kimberly Stewart has ended her 11-day engagement to reality TV star Talan Torriero, after realizing it was "too soon" to make such a serious commitment after less than two months of dating. The 26-year-old blonde and the 19-year-old Laguna Beach star became Engaged on November 16, with Torriero presenting Kimberly with a five-carat, $300,000 Neil Lane ring, after they began dating in October. However, the couple released a joint statement yesterday, saying, "It was just too soon to enter into a lifelong commitment. It is better to have a brief engagement than a short marriage. The couple continue to share their time together and remain open to whatever the future may hold."

Interesting. This little news snippet made me think of the increasing number of people my age getting engaged/married. In all honesty, the trend scares me quite a bit. I know of several high school classmates who have already tied the knot, and several college friends who are planning their weddings. Completely nuts. I mean, for god's sake, we're not even halfway through our twenties yet! It seems like this whole "let's get married!" phenomenon is spreading like crazy, even though the average age of women and men getting hitched is going up.

It kind of scares me… I feel like everyone's rushing into these things, and marriage has become almost this lighthearted, "let's not think about the consequences" attitude. Celebrities are getting married and divorced within a matter of weeks. (Or hours, in the case of Britney Spears.) There was one kid I knew sophomore year that proposed to his girlfriend, only to break off the engagement less than a year later. I hate to think of the turmoil that would have ensued had he gotten married and divorced, all before graduating from college.

I pulled this off of a health website - it's kind of a checklist of "Think twice before you pop the question:"

Marriage is a life-long commitment. It could mean companionship, financial security, social acceptance, love, settling down – however, it could also mean a host of other things, such as dealing with unemployment, abuse, an unexpected pregnancy, in-laws, affairs. You name it, the possibilities are endless.

"No one gets married, unless they really hope it's going to work," says psychologist Ilse Terblanche.

Before you run for the hills to join a nunnery or a monastery, if you consider getting married, do yourself a favour and read more about the signs that you may still be too young to tie the knot.

1. You still want to go overseas. Once you have a bond to pay, a kid or two, and three dogs, it is not so easy to up and leave, pack all your troubles in your old kitbag and backpack through Europe. No kidding. Do your travelling before you tie the knot and get bogged down with lots of responsibilities. Backpacking through Tuscany and Turkey, or picking grapes in the south of France, just isn't going to happen if you have a toddler in tow. Or a spouse with a serious and uninterruptible career. Book that ticket now – the wedding can wait.
2. You haven't made final career choices. You're still not sure what you want to be when you grow up. Except married. No, not really good enough. You're taking on joint responsibility for supporting a family and you need to be able to earn a living of some sorts. Whether you want to be a freelance carpenter or a fulltime bookkeeper or a singer in a rock band, make sure your career is in place before you set the wedding bells ringing. If you love your partner enough, you wouldn't want them to live with the endless insecurity of your job-hopping or unemployment.
3. Your friends are all still unmarried. Getting married changes a lot of things. People tend to socialise with others who find themselves in a similar situation to their own. If all your friends are still single, and out there partying, with everything on their minds except settling down, maybe you should also reconsider. Or at least wait a year or two. And no, most people do not give definition to the institution of marriage - it often gives definition to them. We can't always get away from society's expectations.
4. You would like to study further. Some people manage to study later in life, but it's no mean feat to accomplish this when you're working fulltime, or dealing with nappies and a household. It also puts a marriage under great risk when one person works fulltime to support the studying spouse for years and years. It's tough when there is never any extra cash for treats, etc.
5. You've never had to cope with a crisis. There have always been others around to pick up the fallout of problems in your life. It's never been just you between a rock and a hard place. Marriage is no easy ride and you're going to need all the coping skills you can muster. If you don't have any, maybe you should live a little on your own before going down the aisle.

Funny, for awhile I wanted to be a nun when I was a little kid, only because I though "Sister Act" was the coolest movie ever.

Anyway, I guess my point is that people need to step back, think, and be REALLY sure they want to share their lives before they go off and buy matching towel sets.

So yesterday I was at Home Depot picking up a few things for my room and the barn. As much as my dad LOVES Home Depot and has dragged me there on many occasions, I still have issues with the store. Not only can I not find anything (who would think curtain rods would be in the back near the cabinet stuff?), but it's not exactly the cleanest place to shop.

I'm wandering around the hardware aisle, holding onto the cheapest hammer they sell, when an older guy sees me and says, "Nice to see a woman with a hammer for a change!" A Home Depot employee walks past and jokes, "For self-defense, right?" Yuk yuk yuk.

Anyway, despite all its shortcomings, I was able to find everything on my list and also saved 25% on the hammer I bought. I was hoping to find a cheap, cheap drill - think less than $20 - but I doubt they exist.

"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth - and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up, we will then begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had."

It's hard to believe it's been three years. We miss you, Wes.