On the Eve of Destiny

Long time, no post, but I have good reason. My Sox haven't been impressive...in fact, they have been down right deplorable. That is, until tonight. Big Papi comes through AGAIN, hitting a walk-off hit to left field, driving in Johnny Damon to beat the Blue Jays 5-4. With the Yankees winning, that means the Sox are 1 game behind New York going into this weekend's HUGE 3-game set against the Bombers. THIS is the playoffs to me, folks. This is going to decide the playoffs, and it may even be a preview of the League Championship Series. Tomorrow, Eric, Colin, Jason, and I are headed to BJ's to watch the game right after work. We gotta head out of work early, so we can get seats; Happy Hour at BJ's is from 4-7. Colin and I are hoping we see some Yankee fans....it should make for an interesting evening. Don't be surprised if Colin and I get into a fight, haha...

The fun doesn't stop after tomorrow night. Saturday morning, Eric, Jenn(his wife), Colin, Rachel(his g/f), Jason, and I are headed to D-town(that's Dallas). We'll get there around noon, just in time to sit down at yet ANOTHER bar and watch the Game 2 of the Sox series. After that, it's off to the Texas State Fair we go. I am SO looking forward to the fried Twinkies Eric keeps telling me about. After the fair, it will be time for an awesome occasion: MY FIRST HOCKEY GAME of the season!!! Avalanche vs Stars, baby. It's gonna be awesome. My jersey and two Avalanche shirts are ready to represent...

Obviously, I made it home safely from MS. I drove back Monday with Walker in tandem, and we were making awesome time until we got to I-45. It took us 4 hours to go 130 miles....eyugh. That sucked. Nevertheless, we arrived safely and the toll booths were closed for Rita Evacuation, which meant a Free Ride home once in Houston :)

Besides the Sox winning, I got even more great news from Mallory tonight. It seems a friend of hers has the exact costume she was looking for. That means a FREE costume. Which in turn means that we are gonna continue with her idea for our Halloween costumes. What are our costumes?! Mwa haha...I'll let you ponder on that one...

well I'm extremely tired from shouting and cheering tonight, and I have to do all that over again tomorrow night; therefore, I am turning in early tonight.

-H

Heading Out

Walker came down from Starkville to spend the night here tonight, reducing his total driving hours for the trip home. We leave tomorrow at sometime around 8am. We had this brilliant plan mapped out as to how we were going to return to Houston; we were gonna take back roads and take the most roundabout way home, but we WERE going to get home. We then found out that evertyhing east of Houston and south of Hwy 190 is shut down to traffic....damnit. In addition to this, the authorities are routing EVERYONE to I-45. WTF!? Thankfully, there is some good news. Many of the evacuees began returning Saturday night, and as a result, the traffic on I-45 seems to be moving rather swiftly(according to the Houston Chronicle). It only gets hairy near Beltway 8, but that's to be expected. Hopefully I wont run out of gas and have to ditch my jeep in the middle of the interstate. No whammies no whammies no whammies...

Jason isn't returning until Tuesday. He has tons of Vacation Days built up, so I don't blame the guy...

Since Jason wont be there, I wont have internet(he took the modem) for one night, but I think I can get by. I found out just mere minutes ago that Seabrook has electricity, so I can at least watch tv or a movie( I did take the tv set-top box)...

In other news, I beat God of War this weekend with the ample amount of free time given to me during my stay here in Canton. UNBELIEVABLE game. Truly a piece of work. I look forward to the sequel. I somehow missed the fact that my parents had several pieces of literature available regarding classical mythology. I am reading what is considered to be the foremost book on the subject: Edith Hamilton's Mythology. I am only about 40 pages into the thing, but it is very very interesting. This stuff just fascinates me...

Sox and Yanks both won today...still tied atop the AL East. Indians dropped one, so their Wild Card lead is down to a 1/2 game over us and the Yanks.

I am looking forward to this weekend: Dallas, Avs Game, Texas State Fair, and the Sox/Yanks series. I am dubbing the activities this weekend as the first annual Octobatorium. It should be a blast...

-H

Sanctuary

Finally....I am home.

I got off to a much earlier start this morning, thanks in part to Rita's potential nastiness. Nominally, JSC is at an Emergency Level 5, which just means that they're always on the lookout for something to happen. Well, yesterday, they moved down to EL 4, which means that something is gonna happen, so start making preparations. We didn't expect to move to EL 3 until sometime tonight; boy were we wrong. First thing I hear when I walk in this morning(at 6:45, no less): "We're at Level 4; unplug your comp, unplug your surge protector, cover your comp, and get out of here." Whoah...

So work today was short :) Of course, that meant my miserable drive would only begin that much earlier. Jason left even before I could, so he got the 1 hour start...I would see him again later. Walker and I decided to drive tandem; that way one of us could always play some defense in the heavy(at least, we THOUGHT it would be heavy) traffic going out of town. We headed out around 1100am. Hwy 146, like I said, was slow-moving; it took 30 minutes to go about 6 miles. That didn't make me feel any better about the drive. Thankfully, once we got onto Interstate-10, things smoothed out with hardly any traffic at all. That is, until we got to Beaumont. The road workers decided to shut down one lane for a 4 mile stretch; what is more annoying is that the road they closed was having NO WORK being done on it! WTF. That aggravated me more than anything...until the Horne Curse struck. Right as traffic begins to move at a snail's place, guess who's air conditioner stopped working? Yeh, that's right. Of all the times, it happened when I'm not moving and the sun is directly overhead at high noon. That made things even worse.

With every person and their mother tying up the networks around Houston, our cell phones didn't work well the entire day, so Walker and I had to perfect our sign language from car to car. You know, "you take that car" or "you pass first, then me" or "I'll slide in, then I'll let you go in front of me". We got pretty good at trasnmitting those signals near the end of the trip...

We eventually made it out of Beaumont(I'm still without a/c) and towards Lake Charles. That part of the trip I was familiar with. Then we had to turn onto Hwy 165, a road I have never taken. Even though we found out this road was a designated "Evacuation Route," there were hardly ANY cars on the road. Granted, it was 55 mph for 75% of the road, but still. It was much better than running into the god-awful mess near I-12 and I-10 in southeast Louisiana. The drive was decent, despite the fact that my a/c began acting menstrual: it's on, then it's off, it's on, then it's off. VERY annoying...

We stopped in Alexandria to eat and refuel; after that, we went on to Monroe and Interstate-20. While on Interstate-20, guess who we see? Jason in his CRV carrying his massive 12 ft. kayak on top. He said he got awesome mileage(31 mpg!!) when he only went 55 mph, so he had been doing that ever since Alexandria. Needless to say, we didn't slow down to 55 mph to keep him company; we continued on...

The view of Jason from my car after I passed him. Note the gigantic kayak on top of his car.

I got home around 8:30, and Walker drove away on I-55 towards Memphis, his home.

So I'm here now in the friendly confines of the Gray Center. It's quiet, it's relaxing, and most importantly, no hurricanes are in the forecast :)

Now, had we actually stayed in Houston and weathered(haha) the storm, we were prepared for the Day After. Jason bought his kayak several days ago, before we heard anything about this girl Rita. We were able to go over some basic skills before leaving...

Here I am, using my 6th sense to "detect" the storm...

Now I'm praticing my normal rowing maneuvers...

And finally, here I am using all my might to fight the gigantic waves from the storm surge.

What makes this mini-vacation even better is that I get to pick up the dogs tomorrow! My parents put them up in the canine extended stay boarding, or as we call it, "The Spa." Since my rents would be gone until Saturday, the girls were gonna stay there until then, costing money and making them even more homesick. Since I'm here, I'm going to pick them up tomorrow, which should be awesome. They aren't expecting me, of all the Hornes, to pick them up, especially this early! For two days, it will just be me, my dogs, and my cats at the Center. How awesome is that!?

It was a sad day today in Major League Baseball...the Yanks won, and the Sox lost. What does thta mean? No more first-place!!! Yanks lead by a 1/2 game. Like I have been suspecting for the last month, it looks as if it will definitely come down to the final 3 games at Fenway. Jeez...

-H

Escape from Houston

This town is getting kind of creepy. Everywhere you turn, people are packing up their things, and some of them are actually leaving right now(it is 11:30 pm central). Honestly, I don't blame them. Considering today that we heard reports that 146, the road I take from my apartment to the interstate, is jammed with cars, the wiser solution would be to leave right now. Unfortunately, I can't do that; I have to go in tomorrow and get a few things done, while also gettin in a few hours(so I can use my vacation days later this semester :) ). No, they aren't forcing me to stay; in fact, NASA has a "liberal leave" policy in effect right now. If you have something to tend to, or something you have to do, DO IT, and don't worry about work. I think that's a good policty. JSC is expected to close tomorrow after work, so Thursday and Friday will be paid leave :)

If I can get to the Interstate-10, I should be golden. From there, I'll drive a ways to Lake Charles, and shortly past that I will get onto Louisiana Highway 175. That will take me all the way through Louisiana, from Alexandria all the way up to Monroe. At Monroe, I'll just get onto Interstate-20 and be on my merry way to Jackson. If you need a visual, click HERE.

There is one thing I am concerned with, though: GAS. Everywhere around here, stations are running out of gas because everyone is filling up in anticipation of what is to come. Hell, even Jackson is running out of gas; we've heard reports that it is taking 5 hours to get gas there. Suffice to say, I'm worried as hell that I will not be able to refuel en route to my home. I can make the trip with less than 1.5 tanks, so if I can make at least a 1/2 fill up at some point, I should be OK. SURELY Alexandria or Monroe will have fuel. They aren't small cities either; each one boasts a population greater than 50,000. If I can't find fuel, it might be bad. I may have to take shelter in a local hotel, and nothing is more depressing that stayin in a hotel by yourself. I'm hoping that it will not come to that. Let's just cross our fingers...

well, tonight is a short post, as you'd expect. Hopefully, next time you hear from me I will be relaxing at home with my dogs, sitting on the back porch drinking a cold one, and listening to the ball game.

This is Henry Horne, in Houston...signing off...

...................*static noise*.................

Rita, Rita, Fo-Fita

I guess Mother Nature is pissed off from all the oil refineries in northeastern Houston because she is headed this way in the form of cyclonic winds in excess of 90 mph. That's right, Hurricane Rita is projected to hit southeast Houston(where I live right now) at some point Saturday morning. Considering it's at 90mph now, and it's going to have several days to build up in the warm Gulf of Mexico, I am getting the HELL outta here. Jason has relatives that live in Sugar Land, which is southwest Houston, so we thought about staying with them; however, several people have told me that Sugar Land will still have severe power outages and high winds. Yeh, sorry if I am not overly excited about staying in a hot, humid city without any power for several days. I talked to Eric, and he is probably going to stay with his family in Dallas; I had hoped he would offer to let us stay with him(they have extra rooms), but he never did, and I'd feel awkard asking.

That only left me with one choice. I could stay in the haven of havens, the sanctuary of sanctuaries, the garden of Eden, if you will......the Gray Center, of course!! I have been advised that leaving Wednesday night out of town would be wisest, as the Mandatory Evacuation will probably be issued Thursday, and getting out of town would be near impossible. Besides, if Rita stays the course, on Thursday morning, at approximately 0200am, Mission Control Houston will handover all control over to Mission Control Moscow. THAT means that JSC will shut down operations, and THAT means that I wont be required to report to work on Thursday or Friday. Best news? BOTH of those days(and maybe more, depending on the outcome of Rita) are paid leaves of absense. SA-WEET!

Yeh, it sucks to drive so damn far away for only a few days, but I really dont see another choice. Jason is still unsure, and even if he decides to stay here in Sugar Land, I think I'm pretty much set on going. I just reaaaaally don't want to be here when things go down. Of course, packing for this does present some packing problems.....

I'll have to pack my most important electronics, my pictures, and any necessary clothing. Everything else I will try to put up on the high shelves in my closet. Surely the water wont get that high, right!?

So, if I leave RIGHT after work on Wednesday, that'd put me at MY house around midnight. Then I'd have Thursday and Friday to chill and relax, and my rents(who are in Nashville for the week) will be there sometime Saturday. I'd return Sunday, unless conditions are worse and JSC is inactive for longer...

Eh, this whole hurricane business is annoying. I hate being displaced. On a much lighter note, though, Trevor gave me some good news on the Starkville homefront: they are building a Tiki-style bar TWO BLOCKS from Glenn Hollow(where I shall be living next semester). Tiki Bar? Not that exciting, right? Just another bar. What IS exciting? They are putting a full-size SAND VOLLEYBALL court next to the bar! How freakin' awesome is that!? Sand courts less than a 5-minute walk from my apartment! Next semester will be fun indeed :)

Speaking of Starkville, I may just drive on up there Thursday and Friday. I mean, why not?

I've been playing this new video game(well, a few months old) recently. It's entitled God of War, and it's about this mortal that is commanded by Zeus to destroy the God of War, Ares, before he destroys what is left of the city of Athens. What ensues after this introduction is nothing short of pure awesome-ness. All the Gods and Titans get into the mix, and it's just plain fun. Needless to say, this game has piqued my interest in Greek Mythology. Sadly, no such course is offered at Mississippi State. I think I may just pick up a book at Barnes&Noble...

I'm gonna go work out.... or run.... or something...

-H

Ramblings...

hey er'body...just a few things to talk about today...

Today was the first of what is hopefully a tradition here. Shortly after work, we(the guys) all met at the sand volleyball courts near Eric's and played until the sun went down. It felt incredible today, especially when the sun got lower. Unfortunately, we were only able to play one 2v2 set, as Frank and Kimi(his g/f) came after we were done. We had to play 3v3 after they arrived(we didn't wanna be rude, haha). Since that one set was really a game, and since Jason and I owned them 21-16, that brings our career record back up to .500 with a 4-4 record. We have been on a tear ever since losing those first 4 grueling matches...

I have so much energy as of late. Maybe it's the volleyball, but I'm not sure. I just feel like doing something all the time. My workout regimen is actually fun as hell: every other night around 9pm for about one hour. Maybe that has something to do with my energy level...

After playing beach volleyball today, I just HAD to pick up Top Gun. It's kind of scary that I have never owned my favorite movie of all time. Better yet, it's the "Special Collector's Edition." I am watching this bad boy tomorrow night. The bonus cd has making-of features, trailers, music videos, and commentary. I'm gonna do ALL of that...

Tomorrow is the toural(it's a new word. It's like annual, but since this happens every co-op tour, I coined the term "toural") Mentor/Mentee Breakfast and Luncheon. I'm excited about going, mainly cuz we get to hear some cool people speak, as well as get free food!......however, there is a dark side to this. My mentor, Tarik, has a deep, dark problem. It's terrible, as I found out about his problem several days after I got to know him and really like hanging out with him. What is his severe disillusioned problem? I will disclose that to you all next post, just to add a little suspense :)

I'm out.

-H

So what do you do?

I have been asked this question by many of my friends and family lately. I decided I would finally attempt to shed some light on my job.

According to the Guidance, Navigation, and Control(GNC) Training Manual:

The International Space Station Guidance, Navigation and Control (ISS GN&C) system is composed of United States Orbital Segment (USOS) and Russian Segment (RS) capabilities. Together, they provide attitude and state determination, propulsive and non-propulsive attitude control, and Pointing & Support. The US GN&C system can request Russian thruster firing to desaturate the Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) set when needed. The GN&C system also provides generic pointing data to solar collectors, thermal radiators, antennas and other articulated appendages.

That gives you a basic high-level overview of the system I am studying. I say "studying" because I am actually in the "flow," as they call it. The flow is really just the sequence all new-hires in Mission Operations follow. You first learn about all the systems onboard the International Space Station(ISS); then you begin to study your system(in my case, GNC) in depth. This involves learning about critically related systems in depth, with a Knowledge Requirement(KR) after each section. A KR is an oral checkout of how well you know the subject at hand, usually conducted by a certified front-room controller. Currently, I am studying the related systems of Command and Data Handling(CDH, my last group), Thermal Control System(TCS), and the Electrical Power System(EPS). I am rather confident in my CDH knowledge, so I will more than likely be taking that KR rather soon. I'll eventually get the other KR's done as well.

The group that I am in, and the one that is primarily concerned with the GNC system is the Attitude Determination and Control Officer(ADCO) group. This flight control group consists of a front room controller, the ADCO, an his backroom support man, HAWKI(pronounced Hawk-eye). HAWKI isn't really an acronym, but it kind of is. Basically, each letter in the call-sign HAWKI stands for a variable that is related to the system. For example, H represents angular momentum in physics; A(actually a lower case greek A) is the variable for angular acceleration. W(again, really a lower case omega) stands for angular velocity. K is the familiar variable for kinetic energy, and I is moment of intertia. That is how they came up with name HAWKI; although, I am sure they came up with the name FIRST and then tried to decide what made up the letters. Nevertheless, that has to be the coolest call-sign out of all the ISS or Shuttle disciplines.

Since I am only here a few months, there is no conceivable way I'd get backroom certified. I am just expected to go as far into the flow as I possibly can. After the KR's, I'll sit-in on many simulations(sims) and get some On-the-Job Training(OJT) with ADCO and HAWKI.

In addition to the flow, I am busy with several other projects. The main one involves this PC tool, named the Basic Attitude Replication Tool(BART). My group lead has a thing for Simpsons characters. Anyway, BART is just like the name implies, a simulation tool for the station. It involves TONS of math(some of which I have never seen), some coding, and lots of problem solving. I am enjoying that challenge so far. I am supposed to be given a new task tomorrow, so that is something else I can look forward to. During my time this semester, I have noticed the group website is quite possibly the worst out of all the disciplines at the J, so I have taken it upon myself to update it, Henry-style. That should be a fun side project as well...

Some post later, I will try to describe all the people in my group. They are truly a diverse collection, haha. I will mention one thing, though. My group lead, Brian McDonald(BART creator), is a graduate of Mississippi State. Needless to say, he and I get along juuusst fine :)

That's it; I'm done. NFL is on, the Sox are down 3-0 in the ninth, and the Yanks have lost 7-4.

-H

The Best Idea Ever of All Time

The following is an email Eric sent to me, Colin, Rachel(colin's g/f), Mary, and Frank today at work. The subject line of the emailsl was "The Best Idea Ever of All Time". Just read , and you'll get an idea of how fun Eric is to hang out with...

Henry and I are formulating a colossal weekend and are extending to you our viewers a limited time offer to multiply your weekend fun factor by 2 or maybe even 17. The Dallas Stars Hockey organization are playing some guys from Colorado somewhere on Saturday Oct 8 in Dallas. This weekend just so happens to overlap with the greatest of all state fairs… the Texas State Fair. Which also just so happens to overlap with Texas-OU weekend at the greatest of all state fairs (see above).

So far Jen, Henry and I are planning to head up to Dallas the weekend of the 8th, head to the State Fair on Texas-OU day for all the greatness that they have to offer (turkey legs, corny dogs, fried twinkies, Big Tex and listening to all the beaten down OU fans as Texas rolls over them in the Cotton Bowl), then head to the Stars game for hockey sports action, then out to the West End to enjoy all the chicanery that is involved with whatever team wins rubbing it in to the loser.

Let us know soon if you are willing to let Dallas rock your socks off and want to join in. Henry is the point man for hockey tickets so he is the one you need to let know by the 17th. We'll have to be on the horn right at 9am for tickets so let him know.

-Eric Maier

The Beginning of an Era

The winning dynasty of the Horne-Hopper beach volleyball tandem has officially begun...

As planned, this morning around 11:00 Jason and I met up with Eric, Jenn(his wife), Frank, Kimi(his girlfriend), and Colin at this court we had never played on. Eric knew this place had one, and since it was close to his house, it seemed the logical choice. The weather was perfect: sunny, 89 degrees, and not at all humid. The court was the best we have played on here; the sand was soft and deep, the net was the correct height, and the wood border around the court was several yards from the playing area, which reduces chances of a bad accident.

Here are the game-by-game results, with notes as needed:

Game 1: Eric(Maeir)/Colin(Peterson) VS Horne/Hopper
Set 1: Maeir/Peterson 23-21
Set 2: Horne/Hopper 21-14
Set 3: Horne/Hopper 21-18
Notes...Jason and I were sloppy at the start, but we soon began to regain our form. We completely slaughtered them the 2nd set. The 3rd set was closer, but we played some of our best yet.

Game 2: Frank(Lafuente)/Peterson VS Horne/Hopper
Set 1: Horne/Hopper 15-10
Notes...Frank arrived after the first game, so we just decided to switch out and play short games to 15. Jason and I had the best rally and best bump-set-spike combo this game.

Game 3: Lafuente/Maeir VS Horne/Hopper
Set 1: Horne/Hopper 15-13
Notes...Even as the other team got to rotate their players and remain fresh, Jason and I still owned.

Game 3: Horne/Peterson VS Hopper/Lafuente
Set 1: Hopper/Lafuente 15-13
Notes...Wanting to break up the dynasty and allow others to win, the guys suggested Jason and I switch teams. We complied, with Jason and Frank narrowly taking the win. Colin and I had a 14-11 lead, but I was responsible for the final points they scored.

Game 4: Horne/Peterson/Maeir VS Jennifer(Maeir)/Lafuente/Hopper
Set 1: Horne/Peterson/Maeir 15-11
Notes...When everyone was finally there, we played a final game of 3 vs 3(2 vs 2 is the only way I like to play, but it was fun nonetheless). Me and the boys from ODIN breezed through the game(yes, I know that is incorrect grammar)

Afterwards, Eric suggested we all head to the pool in his neigborhood. Considering we were exhausted, drenched with sweat, and covered in sand, this was a no-brainer. The pool was pretty neat, with 3 different sections, one being this really really really cool area with fountains and slides all over. The pool time was extremely relaxing, and it was cool to just hang out with everyone. I think we stayed there for abou 2 hours.

Needless to say I got tons of sun today...maybe too much, haha.

We did bring our cameras today, but the pictures aren't that hot. I mean, if you REALLY want to see them, then email or IM me. All the really good action shots are from far off(Kimi did most of the photography), and the close shots are just of us standing there, waiting to receive the ball.

Plans are a GO for the Avalanche game in Dallas. We are going to drive there, and probably take a 3 or 4 day weekend. Not only is the hockey game going on that weekend, but the Cowboys are playing Philly, and the State Fair(which I hear is tons of fun) will be up and running as well. I cannon wait...

It'll be hard to go to work tomorrow, but oh well. I gotta earn that dough some how :)

-H

The Bash

Last night was the Labor Day Bash at Eric's place...

Holy crap. It was unbelievable. There were around 25 people there at any one time. We had two televisions set up, one each showing a different game. We watched the USA/Mexico soccer match(USA won 2-0, going back to da' Cup), watched some great tennis from the U.S. Open, and of course, we watched tons and tons of football. Oklahoma, Michigan, Texas, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Tennessee, and on and on...we watched part of at least every major game that was going on.

To add to this already great atmosphere, Eric had an unbelievable party mix of music playing on his Mac the entire time. The sound system went through the entire house, even outside near the grill! I told him I want a list of the entire playlist from last night; it is definitely a mix I can play for future gatherings that I will host.

Food was plentiful throughout the house and outside. We grilled chicken and vegetables on the grill to make fajitas. All kinds of chips were along the bar with possibly every dip known to man. Carrot sticks and cucumber slices, along with this unique ranch-like dip, were my snack of choice during the night. On the kitchen table was a HUGE bowl of chex mex; it was also a favorite of mine. Cookies, brownies, and other sweets also occupied the kitchen table space. Other delectables and finger foods were dispersed between everything else.

What did we do during all the tv timeouts and halftimes!? Oh we gamed, and gamed alot. A dart board was available, and I made a point to play on it. It was electronic and not bristle, but it was still alright. I beat Colin in cricket by 200 points. Then we played teams in a game of 501, and what's-his-name and I won by a little over 100. Eric also had a foosball table, but I just refereed the games on that. Frank brought over this game called Washer Boards; it's a homemade game, but it is quite possibly the best party game to ever be invented. Basically, you have these two boxes, about 1.5 feet square and 7 inches tall. The front is inclined down, and there is a hole in the middle, about 4 inches in diameter. The whole box is covered in cloth. You set the boxes about 20 feet from each other, and each team attempts to throw 3" washers onto the board. One point for landing the washer on the board, and 5 points are for landing the washer into the hole. Yeh, who landed the washer in the whole in his first game? That's right. We lost, but I still had the only ringer the entire game :)

The whole night was a blast. People began leaving, albeit slowly, around 1:30am or so, but Colin and I stayed. Colin, Eric, Jennifer(his wife), and I just sat around the kitchen table and talked about EVERYTHING imaginable until about 4:30.

During the course of the night, I was able to get Eric, Colin, and Frank interested in playing some beach volleyball. They were actually very excited about it. We are scheduled to play at 1100 on Monday, a Labor Day volleyball showdown, if you will.

I know you are prolly wondering where all the pictures are. I had fully intended to bring my camera, and it was sitting on my counter with all my other stuff(wallet, keys, etc.); for one reason or another I forgot it. Secondly, if I did post the pictures, chances are chaos would ensue with the response they'd get, so I'll just stick to describing the night, haha.

time for disc golf!

-H

The Epic at Minute Maid

Maybe Walker has some clairvoyant sense...or maybe he is actually from the future. Either way, I think he knew what he was doing when he "accidentally" did not get the tickets for the Roger Clemens' game...

We went to the game fully expecting to have a great time. We did indeed have one; however, little did we know that 13.5 innings later, 4 hours 15 minutes since we arrived, we would STILL be watching what turned out to be The Epic at Minute Maid.

We met at Walker's place after work, and we headed out shortly after that. We got a great parking spot and chowed down at The Home Plate grille across from the park. Fifteen minutes prior to the first pitch, we proceeded into the park; we realized that it was Bobble-Head Doll day, but when we finally got into the park, we were just a little too late to get one. There were actually 2 dolls in one package: Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan. How much could I have sold that bad boy on ebay!?

We found our seats in the terrace level, basically between the first and upper decks. Here's a view from our seats:

The game begins...

The first inning goes rather quickly, with neither team scoring.

Second inning. Seconds after I tell Walker, "You know, Yadier Molina is a great ball player, just like his 2 brothers," Molina CRANKS one to right field, making it 1-0 Cards.

Bottom 2nd. The Astros play a little short ball, getting in 2 runs to take the lead.

Innings 3, 4, and 5 didn't exactly fly by, but they did showcase some excellent web gems. Jim Edmonds made some ridiculous runs to get to some fly balls, and Pujols made an incredible tag at first base.

6th Inning. Thinking his glove didn't do enought talking, Jim Edmonds launches a ball into the left field bleachers, bringing in Pujols. Cards up 3-2. That score would stand until the 9th inning...

Bottom 9th. First batter up is Morgan Ensberg(the last minute All-Star pick). On the second pitch, Ensberg says hello to his little friend: HOME RUN to the bullpen. Game tied 3-3. Astros were unable to add any more. To extra innings we went...

10th Inning. After a few tumultuous batters(Pujols is on 3rd), Brad Lidge(who throws 97 consistently) is called from the Bullpen. The crowd is pumped. First pitch, and the Cardinals execute a SUICIDE SQUEEZE!!! It was awesome. Pujols scores, making it 4-3.

Bottom 10th. Bard Ausmus comes to the plate. FIRST pitch: YANK! A line drive to left field. That would be TWO blown saves for the Cards in ONE game. Mwa ha ha...Unfortunately, no more runs were scored for the home team in that inning.

11-12th inning. No runs are scored for either team, but more Top 10 Plays were abound. Pujols bare-hands a bunt to second base to get the lead runner. Edmonds does his thing again. Biggio and Bruntlett tear it up in the middle infield.

**at this point, I realize this is the LONGEST game(by inning and time) I have ever witnessed. Also, as the game goes on, more and more people leave. I have no earthly idea why, but I didn't ask any questions. That opened up seats for us that were down and close to the action**

13th inning. On a 2-2 pitch, Jimmy Edmonds decided to break out the whoopin' stick one again: homer to left field. Cards up 5-4.

Bottom 13th. Julian Tavares comes in for the Cards amidst tons of boo's from the crowd. Ensberg comes through again: single. A sacrifice bunt is put down, but Tavares quickly throws it to 2nd to get Ensberg(it was later revealed on Sportscenter that Ensberg was actually safe). 1 out; man on 1st. Jason Lane comes up, singles to right field. 1 out; man on 1st and 3rd. Cards then intentionally walk Jose Vizcaino. 1 out; bases loaded. Ray King comes in from the bullpen to relieve Tavarez. Next batter is hit by pitch; game is now tied 5-5 with 1 out. Al Reyes replaces King on the mound. Next batter, Ausmus, flies out to right. Game is tied, 5-5, with 2 outs. Up to the plate comes Eric Bruntlett, the shortstop. First pitch: strike. Second pitch: strike. Third pitch: foul. Fourth Pitch: ball. Fifth pitch: low ball. On the 6th pitch, with a 2-2 count, Bruntlett lines to left field, scoring the go-ahead(and winning run).

At this moment, I also realize that this is the first walk-off hit I have ever witnessed. Truly amazing. This game included so many firsts for me, and I have been to many many baseball games.

Sadly, my camera's batteries were running low, so I was unable to get a pic of the final play. More reason for my pursuit of a new camera, haha.

Well I hope you enjoyed that; Lord knows I sure did. I am headed to Eric's Labor Day Football Bash, so I will catch you all on the flip side...

-H

Baseball Moral

moral-of-the-story time...

Walker, a huge Cardinals fan, decides he wants to go see the Cards play the Astros this weekend. He mentions it to me, also stating that Roger Clemens(300 game winner, 6 Cy Young awards, future Hall-of-Famer) would be pitching on Friday night. He asks if I would like to go. I say sure, with the stipulation that he buy the tickets(i'd pay him back, of course) and make the rest of the plans. So he instant messages me yesterday; he says there is a problem. Supposedly, the Astros changed their rotation slightly, so they could better match up against the Cardinals' big 3. What's that mean? It means Clemens' start was moved to Saturday night. Walker didn't find this out until AFTER he got the Friday night game tickets. He forgot to check right before he bought the tickets. Instead of the Rocket, we get to see Ezequiel Astacio(who?!?) and Mark Mulder(15-6, so he should be fun to watch).

So what's the moral of the story?
Answer: From this point on, I shall do all planning and ticket-buying for every sporting event I plan to attend.

Upside to this: I get to see Albert Pujols(mvp candidate, power hitter), Jim Edmonds(probably up there with Andruw Jones in terms of awesome center fielders), and David Eckstein(great shortstop who looks like he is 16).

Also, Sept. 13 is supposedly "NASA Day" at Minute Maid Park, which means we get SUPER cheap tickets. Pretty much my entire group is going, which should be fun(it's like 30 people). The STS-114 crew will also be present for a pre-game presentation, so that will be cool as well. The Astros will be playing the Marlins; a game which has MAJOR playoff implications.

Sucks that I've seen both of these teams(STL and FLA) play before...no new teams...

and yes, I'll be rooting for the Astros(see earlier post).

I changed my mind; I'll talk about my job NEXT post :)

-H