Tickets for the Upper Strong Auditorium were sold out for Bill Nye the Science Guy on Thursday, February 21. After I assured the event's peep that I wasn't some "random blogger" from the internet -- something my City Press Pass failed to do -- I was escorted down to the Lower Aud to watch the simulcast. My intern, on the other hand, walked right in with no ticket, no credentials, and carrying a camera. He said they probably thought he was a photog for the event, but I doubt that, as they announced about four times - LOUDLY - there would be no saving seats, move toward the middle, and no cameras or recording devices of any kind. I think they just thought he was cute.

Anyway, the Lower Aud was old-school nice with its wood wainscoting. It quickly filled up with college students, and even some high school students on a field trip from Pavilion. The projection screen hung above the stage, and I'm not sure what set-up they were using, but the lighting was what filmmakers call "hot," meaning the picture was very bright and therefore blurry. Bill's hair looked very orange.

Bill Nye is a funny guy. He led us all on a magical ride with stops at a bow-tying undertaker, a lunar eclipse above NYC, the Washington Monument as a sundial, a sundial on Mars, the tube inside a 747, the hell of Venus, colored shadows... In essence, he shared with us what keeps him going as the Energizer Bunny of Science - JOD (The Joy of Discovery).

I'm not really sold on the global warming hysteria. I guess I have more trust in Mother Nature than in scientists and politicians. However, his pitch came out of a left field that sounded just right to me. Instead of the religious beliefs based argument of how we've all been very naughty little boys and girls and we must atone for our sins by giving up the lifestyles to which we've become accustomed, he thinks we need to create more, only by using less. He explained to this Goldilocks how Venus is too hot, Mars is too cold, and Earth is just right. How we all share air. He prompted me to think about how we as nation would make very different choices if we were getting three times the mileage on our cars, as half the world's energy is used for transportation. Just thinking about how different our choices might be is awe-inspiring. His pitch was speck-tacular.

Next week he begins filming his new show for the Discovery Channel, "Stuff Happens." Named so ‘cos when you do stuff, stuff happens. Maybe some stuff we could do is cut our energy usage by 80 percent in 50 years and "change the world."

Next up: Oscars at Eastman