What Caught My Eye Today

International Space Station - One of NASA's most experienced spacewalkers, will face grave risks and nerve-wracking challenges when he is scheduled to fix a damaged solar panel on the International Space Station. As astronauts inside the station issued commands to unfold the panel this past Sunday, a guide wire snagged. Before the unfurling could be stopped, the panel had two rips, a broken hinge and snarled wires. NASA engineers, who did not think this could happen, have been working around the clock to stitch together a repair method. If the astronaut can't fix the panel, the rip could grow, rendering the panel useless. Without the power the panel is supposed to generate, NASA would have to halt further construction on the station, including the addition of laboratories scheduled for December and April. The plan calls for the astronaut to ride a jury-rigged work crane out to the damaged section, which is out of sight of his crewmates inside the station. There he'll try to smooth the wires, either by untangling them or by cutting them. He'll thread metal strips that NASA has nicknamed "the cuff links" through holes in the panel to splint the tears and restore the panel's strength. I don't want to trivialize the danger of this repair, but I cannot help but think this is like that old joke, 'how many guys does it take to screw in a light bulb?'. At any rate, it looks like dude has his work cut out for him. Looks like he'll be earning his supper.

Mexico - Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans fled a flooded region of the Gulf coast Friday, jumping from rooftops into rescue helicopters, scrambling into boats or swimming out through murky brown water. A week of heavy rains caused rivers to overflow, drowning at least 80% of the oil-rich area. Much of the Tabasco state capital, looked like New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, with water reaching to second-story rooftops and desperate people awaiting rescue. At least one death was reported and nearly all services, including drinking water and public transportation, were shut down. The flood affected more than 900,000 people in the state of 2 million — their homes flooded, damaged or cut off by high water. One can only hope that the Mexican government responds to this disaster better than we did in New Orleans. And what is it with the number 900,000? If I remember correctly, about the same number of folks in California were impacted by the wildfires last week. Kind of an eerie coincidence, don't you think?

South Africa - A former employee of Oprah Winfrey's school for disadvantaged girls in South Africa has been arrested on charges of abuse and sexual assault. The school announced Oct. 17 that a dormitory matron had been suspended amid allegations of serious misconduct. Local media recently reported that Winfrey made a tearful apology to parents and pupils in a meeting at the school. The media reports said the woman is accused of physically abusing pupils and fondling at least one of them. Winfrey opened her Leadership Academy for Girls outside Johannesburg on Jan. 2, with celebrities like Tina Turner and Spike Lee in attendance, as well as former President Nelson Mandela. The lavish $40 million school was the fulfillment of a promise she made to Mandela six years ago and aims to give 152 girls from deprived backgrounds a quality education in a country where schools are struggling to overcome the legacy of apartheid. The thing that pisses me off about this is that no one is going to remember all the good things that this school is doing for this region. Instead, all the attention is focus on this one individual who victimized these innocent children. There is an old adage that old bad act can erase ten good ones. Sad but unfortunately true.

Fashion - I apologize in advance but, whenever I see 'wedgie' in the headline, I cannot resist. Wedgie-proof underwear earned 8-year-old twin boys a spot on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Using rigged boxers and fabric fasteners to hold together some seams, the boys came up with the "Rip Away 1000." The third graders began brainstorming one day after they were horsing around, giving each other the treatment. Their mother's partner sarcastically said someone ought to invent wedgie-proof underwear, the family said. Oh you may laugh now, but just you wait and see. These two enterprising entrepreneurs probably just hit the jackpot.

Tennis - Martina Hingis revealed she tested positive for cocaine at Wimbledon, proclaimed her innocence and retired from tennis for a second time — all in one fell swoop. It was a swift and stunning end to a career highlighted by five Grand Slam singles titles and a rise to the top of the rankings at 16, the youngest No. 1 ever. Hingis tested positive June 29, the day she was upset in straight sets by Laura Granville of the United States in the third round at Wimbledon. "I find this accusation so horrendous, so monstrous," the 27-year-old Hingis' statement said, "that I have decided to confront it head-on by talking to the press." She decided not to the doping case, saying it could drag on for too long. Assuming that Hingis is innocent (Now now, quit scoffing. It's unlikely, but possible) the irony would be priceless. Up to this point you have a bunch of athletes who continue to proclaim their innocence despite a preponderance of evidence to the contrary, but now, you have Hingis throwing in the towel after one rather suspect drug test. Innocent or not, it appears that Hingis recognizes the futility in attempting to clear her name this late in her career. Still, I'd be curious to see how the test came back positive for cocaine.

Baseball - Barry Bonds said he would boycott Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame if officials went along with plans to display his record-setting home run ball with an asterisk. Bonds' record-setting 756th home run ball was recently purchased by fashion designer Mark Echo who then asked baseball fans to vote on what to do with the ball. The fans voted to place an asterisk on it before shipping it to the Hall of Fame for display. "I don't think you can put an asterisk on the game of baseball, and I don't think the Hall of Fame can accept an asterisk," Bonds said. "You can't give people the right to change history." Barry, you know you are my boy, but dude, lighten up.