Today's New York Times has an interesting article on Austin gaming mogul Richard Garriott, the person behind the Ultima franchise.

The eccentric millionaire is a self-described space junkie, but whereas other enthusiasts would be content to collect "normal" space-related objects — "astronaut autographs, mission patches, ... 'flown' goods" and the like — Garriott has the means to think outside the, err, box.

To wit: a giant, Soviet-made aluminum replica of Sputnik, which he purchased from the Russians during the post-Cold War downturn.

The shipper he was working with, however, warned that customs agents might cause problems for transporting the odd, and perhaps ominous-looking, artifact. So the shipper carefully removed the antennas and the tiny screws that held the device together, separating it into two large half spheres.

"We described them as salad bowls" on the customs forms, Mr. Garriott said with a mischievous smile. "It came through without a hiccup."

What else would you expect from a guy whose pimped-out crib on Lake Austin has built-in secret passages and a dungeon?

Garriott recently announced plans to follow in the footsteps of his father, a former astronaut who spent some time on Skylab in the 70s. Next fall, he'll become the sixth "private citizen" to visit the International Space Station, at an estimated cost of $30 million. According to the Times, his upcoming galactic adventures come "with almost a moral obligation to do them not as a lark, but rather in the service of science or humanity at some level."

Meanwhile, Garriott's latest video game project, the hugely-anticipated Tabula Rasa, is slated for an early November release. Not surprisingly, the online RPG is set in the near future and revolves around a war between humans and evil space aliens.

Photo by NASA