Status Report - we're okay :)

Just wanted to let everyone know we're doing okay; the closest the fires have gotten is about 5-10 miles from us, and they were contained fairly quickly. The Bastrop fires are about an hour away. On Tuesday, Dawn cleared brush and watered the grass while I worked from home. We have started our "GO kit", locating important papers and putting a duffle bag together. The toughest thing will be three adult Labs, 2 kittehs and 2 chickens, in one Jeep Liberty :) We'll make it work if need be.

In other news, we have two weeks to get the laundry room remodeled before the new washer/dryer shows up. We have settled on a color scheme (pics to be posted) and now it's just a matter of ripping the old walls out and putting new ones up, then painting :) 

More to come.... 

The final curtain rises....

In less than an hour from the time this is posted, Shuttle Atlantis will lift off for the last time. STS-135 is a 12-day mission to the International Space Station to deliver the last major module, the Multipurpose Logistics Module, as well as a year's worth of supplies for the ISS crew. This is the culmination of 30 years of service for the Shuttle fleet, beginning in April 1981; I am proud and a bit sad as this phase of our exploration comes to an end. I sincerely hope we can field a replacement system soon - ride-sharing is great, but it's better to have your own wheels :) I'd really like to see the private sector get behind this; that's when we'll see the economy of scale take effect and bring the costs down to more reasonable levels.

Godspeed, Atlantis!


-- update --

An interesting note: as currently scheduled, Atlantis will return to Earth on 20 July 2011, 42 years after Armstrong and Aldrin first landed on the Moon. So long, Atlantis, and thanks for all the fish!


-- launch update --


Atlantis has successfully achieved her inital orbit, all three engines performing flawlessly for one last push off the planet... see ya in a fortnight :)

ROT weekend

Gonna go downtown and check out the ROT Rally, have some beer, take some photos and try to avoid the vampires... see ya there! 

lnl, lbh svtherq vg bhg... thrff gung zrnaf lbh ner rvgure n) ng yrnfg nf byq nf V nz, o) ng yrnfg nf trrxl nf V nz, be p) nyy bs gur nobir. j00g!

I'm just a rat in a maze, it seems....

... and I can never seem to reach the cheese. I think I'll try breaking the maze ;)

Seriously, there has to be more to life than wake up, go to work, come home, go to bed physically, emotionally and mentally drained. To the person that jacked my life up at work: I hope you're happy, whoever you are... go eat a frisbee.

Welcome home, Endeavour!

Endeavour lands @ 0134 CDT, completing STS-134

(see NASA website for more)

Space Shuttle Endeavour landed at Kennedy Space Center early this morning, completing STS-134, a 16-day mission to the International Space Station. This was her 25th and final mission, bringing her totals to 299 days in space, logging 4,671 orbits for a distance of 122,883,151 miles. Endeavour entered service in 1993, making her the youngest shuttle in the fleet.

Her sister ship, Atlantis, was moved Pad 39A last night in preparation for STS-135, the final mission for the Space Shuttle. This mission is currently scheduled to lift off on 8 July 2011, when Atlantis will carry the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module to deliver supplies and spare parts to the ISS.

Congratulations, Endeavour, for 18 years of faithful service and a well-earned rest!

Spirit finally punches out after racking up almost 6 years of OT

Spirit Rover (artist's conception)

Wikipedia article here

(update: NASA Mission Page is here)

Spirit (04 Jan 2004 - 24 May 2011)

After spending over a year trying to contact the rover, Spirit's mission has officially ended after 6 years 2 months 19 days, which is over 25 times the original planned mission duration. Her sister, Opportunity, is still going on the other side of Mars. There will be a formal farewell ceremony after Memorial Day, which will be shown on NASA TV.

Spirit got stuck in a patch of soft sand; due to having to drag a bum wheel and the nearest tow being on the other side of the planet, she became a stationary research platform. Because she was unable to position herself for optimal charging, and the constant accumulation of dust, communications were lost in March 2010, and on 24 May 2011 NASA declared Spirit's mission completed.

The amount of knowledge sent back by the MER mission is huge, and since they were only supposed to last 90 days I think we got our money's worth on this project... I wish we could hit home-runs like that all the time!

Thanks for the OT, Spirit - enjoy the rest! Maybe we can bring you some spares in the not-so-distant future...

one down, one to go... Endeavour's last mission is GO

Space Shuttle Endeavour (more info here) lifted off this morning at 0856 EDT for STS-134, her final mission - a 16 day mission to deliver components and supplies to the International Space Station... good luck to ship and crew, and here's wishing you a safe return!

Godspeed, Discovery

Discovery on Pad 39A

STS-133 will launch at 16:50:27 EST today for Shuttle Discovery's final mission. She will be delivering supplies and a module to the International Space Station.

Currently, there are only two more missions scheduled for Shuttle Atlantis to perform; this will bring the Space Shuttle program to a close after a long and distinguished service. I sincerely hope that we humans will not take too much time to develop the next series of vehicles that will continue to carry humans to space, whether that be Earth-orbit, lunar exploration/colonization, interplanetary missions or beyond - I believe that we cannot survive without the technical know-how, the room to grow, and the grand vision that space exploration provides. It will bring a return-on-investment far beyond our expectations - we just need to learn to balance long-term goals with short-term responsibility. Just ask any successful businessperson about that :)

Human spaceflight must continue, for many reasons. Unmanned missions and Earth (and near-Earth) based observatories are excellent tools for many tasks and will always be needed, but there will always be a need for humans to be out there, poking our noses into whatever we can find.... it's kinda what we do ;)

But then, I'm a dinosaur. :)

Q.E.D.

original here

Hooray for Interwebs! (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Facebook)

Right - I could care *less* about mafia wars, farm towns (hell I grew up on the real thing), rainbow hugs, etc... I just don't have the spare brain cells to devote to a lot of that. However, Facebook has one thing going for it... in the last week I've been reunited (virtually) with a number of friends from back in the day... back when I weighed 200 pounds (soaking wet), had a Ford Pinto, was in my first band, had my first big romance.... time has a way of moving us around on the Chutes and Ladders (tm) of "real life", and often we take different paths to get to the goal square. For all its inane chatter, Facebook did something that I've not been able to do in 12 years, with all my "mad Internet skillz"; it helped me turn back the clock just a bit :)

The Elder Caribou says....

Q: Why is it that we often find that children are the most mature among us, and adults are the most childish?

A: Because some so-called "adults" are whiny little bitches that need their diapers changed, thats why... NYAH! :P So there! LOL

(okay, that was therapeutic :) )

We have seen the monkey, and he is *us*.

Road-Song of the Bandar-Log

By Rudyard Kipling

Here we go in a flung festoon,
Half-way up to the jealous moon!
Don't you envy our pranceful bands?
Don't you wish you had extra hands?
Wouldn't you like if your tails were--so--
Curved in the shape of a Cupid's bow?
 Now you're angry, but--never mind,
 Brother, thy tail hangs down behind!


Here we sit in a branchy row,
Thinking of beautiful things we know;
Dreaming of deeds that we mean to do,
All complete, in a minute or two--
Something noble and wise and good,
Done by merely wishing we could.
 We've forgotten, but--never mind,
 Brother, thy tail hangs down behind!


All the talk we ever have heard
Uttered by bat or beast or bird--
Hide or fin or scale or feather--
Jabber it quickly and all together!
Excellent!  Wonderful!  Once again!

Now we are talking just like men!
Let's pretend we are ... never mind,
Brother, thy tail hangs down behind!
This is the way of the Monkey-kind.

Then join our leaping lines
       that scumfish through the pines,
That rocket by where, light and high,
       the wild grape swings.
By the rubbish in our wake,
       and the noble noise we make,
Be sure, be sure, we're going to do some splendid things!

My Bou!

kinda says it all, don't you think?

god i hate meetings.

KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!

Ricardo Montalbán

1920 - 2009

I debated whether I should use the above title for this post, but nothing else had any zing! Besides, even those too young to remember the Chrysler Cordoba have probably seen Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan... and if you haven't, then head over to your local cheap-dvd outlet and pick up a copy - you'll thank me for it! After the movie, you can scan the 500+ channels on your idiot box for Fantasy Island - quality entertainment at a bargain price! 

Mr. Montalbán was a pioneering Mexican-born actor in radio, theatre, television, and film. His filmography alone extends from 1943 - 2005, and his work in television ranged from 1956 - 2008 (he provided the voice for the genetically-engineered cow in the Family Guy episode, "McStroke").

Ricardo, wherever you are, may your chair be covered in soft Corinthian leather, and may all your fantasies come true!

Hey, is this thing on?

Blogging from my CrackBerry... Now *there's* a productive activity...

sunday! Sunday!! SUNDAY!!! 4/20 - The Humiliators will have you buzzin'...

Come check out the early show at the Red Eyed Fly (8th / Red River - Austin TX) - it's more fun than anyone should have on a Sunday night!

You blew it up! Damn you! Damn you all to Hell!!!

I guess these things come in threes....

Charlton Heston
1923 - 2008

To many of us, he was Moses, El Cid, Judah Ben-Hur, Mark Antony, Col. George Taylor, Cardinal Richelieu, and many other memorable roles... he was also a WWII veteran, Civil Rights activist, and a fervent believer in the right of Americans to keep and bear arms. Whether you share his views or not, he made an impact on millions of lives - and the world will be a smaller place without him.

Oh, and Al - you can go try to take his rifle now, but I'd bet you'll still have a fight on your hands.

New Blog!

Check out Elder Caribou's Wrangler Resurrection - my Spring Project for 2008! Fun for the whole family! Do it! NOW!

Open the pod bay doors, HAL...

More sad news: Arthur C. Clarke, visionary inventor and science fiction author, died today in his home in Sri Lanka. Clarke pioneered the concept of the geosynchronous orbit and communications satellites, as well as writing classic science fiction such as Rendezvous with Rama and 2001: A Space Odyssey, which Stanley Kubrick turned into the iconic movie of the same name. He also joined Walter Cronkite as a commentator for the Apollo Moon missions.

Godspeed.