Moon Mission Milestone

My little Taoist immortal is closer than ever to going the distance to the moon--especially since I just learned that I was wrong; the moon is NOT 286,000 miles away, but ONLY between 221,600 and 252,000 miles (so maybe I already made it), with the average being about 238,000 miles. Was 286K a childhood myth?  I think some ancient Greek astronomer's calculation. 

So, based on the 238K average,  a virtual moon landing is achievable maybe in the next 18 months.  The personal milestone of 225,000 was reached this morning, pretty awesome I think for my vintage 1990 Mazda Miata, well and lovingly maintained.  I stopped on the freeway to photograph the odometer.  (Oil pressure looks low, but that's typical for hot idling...especially at her age.)  In any case, TAO 61 is a metaphor for Taoist cultivation:

• practice good maintenance (like qigong and diet)
• apply the ancient texts and wisdom, in this case the shop manual
• and have a good mechanic, like a good shifu or priest to keep up with oil changes and prevent bad driving habits.  (In fact, you can call a mechanic a shifu; I am fortunate to have one who deserves this honorific.)

Perhaps the moon distance will be achieved on the mid-autumn festival, 2013; that would be auspicious!  Whatever the odometer reading, that would be a good time to celebrate.

That's 225,000 miles.

On the road.

Safe at home,.

Recent timing belt replacement; even more important than no-fault insurance.