I admit it. I am a science and math geek. I was in the Future Astronaut Training Program in elementary school (I have the pen and certificate to prove it) and I was an officer in Mu Alpha Theta in college - that's right, the math club. Deal with it. The posters on my teenage bedroom walls were of Michael J. Fox, Tom Cruise (pre-Scientology and Katie Holmes) and two Cray2000 super-computers (I ran across a Cray for sale yesterday - $400 OBO - back then, they cost millions).

Since my earliest days in elementary school, I dreamed of space travel. I built rockets which I launched from my own portable launch pad, I looked in awe at exhibits at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center and I watched "The Right Stuff" and "Space Camp" over and over again. I literally knew more about space than anyone in my entire middle school - that's a verifiable fact.

Imagine my surprise when it was announced today that there are actual eight planets and not nine.

EXCUSE ME?

Poor, defenseless little Pluto. Always last on the list, though, not always the most distant from the sun. The poor little planet got demoted . . . Pluto's young - he'll grow!!! But, no - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are all good enough, but not tiny, defenseless little Pluto. Is it the name? The size? The elemental construction? I mean, come on . . .the giant Jupiter doesn't even have a solid surface - what does it have to offer??

The only thing worse than downgrading our dear Pluto would have been adding the other three "planets" as was debated earlier in the week. First it's a planet free-for-all, now over 70 years of science education bites the dust. Think of all of the solar system models that will have the Plutos torn off. We should collect all of the discarded model Plutos and send them to the 300 people who voted for ouster. . . who's with me??

(No, I'm not drunk - just very, very tired!)