Sorry, NRDC webmasters, I just don't know how to categorize the news that Queen guitarist Brian May is now a doctor of astronomy. Candidate for best professor quote of 2007:

‘I have no doubt that Brian May would have had a brilliant career in science had he completed his PhD in 1971,’ said astrophysicist Dr Garik Israelian, who worked with May in La Palma.  ‘Nevertheless, as a fan of Queen, I am glad that he left science temporarily,’ he added.

What's next? Billie Joe Armstrong becomes a phycologist? Chris Martin breaks new ground with spatially explicit ecosystem modeling? Did your guidance counselor ever offer up the option of "put on some spandex and rock for twenty years, then hit the physics books"? Such a lack of imagination!

We're lucky to have some great ex dot-commers, MBAs, bankers and others retiring from their own life to bring a fresh look to environmental issues. Second acts in life are a great thing, and why not use yours to get to know the world around you. Even the world very far away from you.