Just to hold you over in the blogging (sort of) hiatus, here are some gorgeous pictures of earth from orbit.
I can only shake my head at those who say there's no market for views like this, or that no one will want to go, or repeat the experience, once the novelty wears off. It's like saying that no one would ever take a repeat trip to the Grand Canyon or Yosemite. The ever-changing planet, with its weather patterns, clouds, light angles, is the ultimate kaleidoscope, and we've just barely begun, haven't even begun, to tap the market for the view.
It's nice to see these get catch some interest again. They're part of a collection known as "Earth as Art." We have the pictures posted in and near the Landsat control centers:
http://earthasart.gsfc.nasa.gov/image_index.html