Sox are everywhere

today was very Red Sox oriented.

to start, I wore my Papelbon jersey-shirt today for the mere fact of pronouncing to all the Yankee fans on campus that I'm saying "HAHAHAHAHA" to them. There's this one particular NY fan in all of my engineering classes who is always sporting something Yankee related. He either has his battered NY hat, his Yankeet watch, or some shirt that says "Jeter XXL"(don't really get that one) or has a player-jersey on hit(usually Posada). Anyhow, this guy just looks the part of a typical Yankee fan, and while I have never conversed with him, I'm rather certain he's annoying. The great thing about all of this is that I usually sit RIGHT in front of this guy in my classes(by no choice of mine; I usually get there before he does), so wearing my Sox shirt today was the perfect ploy. I hope he got a good, loooooong look at it.

on my way out of the library today I saw this chick with a #58 Papelbon jersey-shirt on. She has the alternate home jersey, so it's red with blue lettering, while mine is blue with red lettering. It's kinda sad that I'm not the only one with that jersey on campus anymore :(, haha.

and finally, after my Structures test this evening, I was leaving the room when Dr. Lacy(who is quite possibly the nicest man in this universe) pulled me aside to question me about if I had ever seen the Sportscenter commercial with the Red Sox fan in the bathroom. I told him I had, and that I wore my shirt today just for *that* guy up there(I pointed the Yankee out). As if Dr. Lacy couldn't get any cooler, now I learn that this guy watches ESPN. I wonder if he likes baseball...hmmm.

well, back to Thermodynamics and Monday Night Football...

from NASA to groundskeeping

Today was Day #1 of the 89th NHL season. It's pretty exciting. Unfortunately, my Avs couldn't hold their 2-0 lead the whole game, and they allowed 2 unanswered goals in the 3rd, as well as the game-winner in OT off an assist by Turco. Eyugh. I'm just glad hockey is back; every other weekend or so I'll get to watch some games on NBC. Also, if things go as planned, I will be watching Joe Sakic and Company on New Year's Day in Nashville play against the hometown Predators.

Baseball playoffs keep rolling along. The Twins are disappointing, while the Tigers are just a sacrificial lamb for the Yankees. It appears the A's are going to be my best hope to get the Yanks knocked out of October.

Today I was finally able to get things done that needed to be done. I got my Target e-giftcard problems worked out, so now my 2 GB SD card for my camera is on its way :). Thanks again for my birthday present, Mom and Dad!! Oh, and since someone was obviously trying to swindle me on Half.com(where I ordered 2 of my textbooks for cheap), I filed my claims on my two books. It takes 30 days for them to resolve it, so I should get a refund by then. I've already been using books from my friends, and although they aren't the exact same textbooks, they are more than adequate. It'll just be a little more change in the pocket when I get my money back :)

Speaking of pocket money, I'm going home this weekend, and I may very well be going home the next two weekends as well. I offered my services to Dad and the Gray Center, and he informed me that there was plenty work to be done. So the plan is just to work as many hours as possible this weekend and get some extra money in the pocket. I've got alot of events coming up(well into next semester), so more money couldn't hurt. I'm also planning on working over Christmas break at the Center. Basically, my weekend will involve physical labor, eating, and sleeping. That sounds bad, but it will be great to be continually working on something and not have to think about school, baseball, or much else.

Another plus this weekend will be that John and his dog Tyrone are coming home. John is dropping off Tyrone to Mom, so she can take care of him while John is off on some super secret spy mission somewhere on the other side of the planet(he's really just going to New Zealand, but I like to think he's a super-spy). Not only will I get to see my dogs, I'll get an extra treat with Tyrone!! (And I get to see my brother, of course, haha)

Just watch...this weekend be the weekend we upset West Virginia while I'm at home. Twenty bucks says it happens, haha.

Trevor and I went to Chattanooga for Fall Break this past weekend. We had such an awesome time. Thursday night was half-priced wine night at this local cafe, Friday night was guys' night at this bar with around 200 beers, and Saturday night we partied it up at Mal's then headed over to Parkway Billiards(which I absolutely love now). I wanted to eat brunch with Ann at some point, but she was never able to take a break out of her demanding schedule at the Magazine. The entire weekend included great food and great fun with pretty much the entire Spring Break crew. I also got to see Mal kick some ass on the soccer fields in a mini-tournament at UTC. I swear that girl has gotten even faster, if that's even possible. She had several scoring oppurtunities but was just unlucky on the bounces. Once again, I assumed the role of Mr. Photographer during the games, haha. I think I like that job.

Speaking of Mal and soccer, the girls have a soccer game at Vandy the last Saturday in October. I was thinking about heading up there on that Friday, maybe spending the night with Paul in Cookeville(or Lebanon), eating lunch with Andrea in Nashville, then heading to the game. It's almost like my Red Roadies days back in my senior year of high school, haha.

Lamenting 2006, but looking forward to 2007

Well this past Saturday the Sox were officially eliminated from playoff contention. Not that I couldn't see it coming, but as a dedicated fan, you never like to think about it. Plus, considering what happened in 2004, I refuse to ever believe that anything is impossible.

So now in the AL we'll have the A's, Tigers, Twins, and Yankees. In the NL we'll have the Mets, Cardinals, and the Dodgers/Phillies/Padres(pick two). I really do not think it'll matter who gets to the World Series from the NL; the AL is going to steamroll over their opponent in the big dance. All I hope is that the Yankees do not win it all; if they do, then my baseball life will be miserable(not that it wouldn't be anyway since we're out of the postseason). So I'm basically going for 7 teams this October, haha.

Even though the Sox aren't going anywhere after September, there are still reasons to keep up with them. David Murphy and Dustin Pedrioa are getting their feet wet in the bigs, and they have shown vast improvements since being call-ups earlier in the month. Dustin will be our future 2nd baseman, and David could be the second coming of Gabe Kapler. David Ortiz is obliterating all kinds of AL homerun records each night, and if he doesn't get a SHIT load of votes for MVP, I'll be disappointed. Even so, I'm pretty sure all the lame-ass AP voters will go with Jeter because he is the most overrated player in MLB history. Everyone is ALWAYS up his ass; it's sickening. If Papelbon had not been shut down for the season as a preventative measure, we'd be witnessing his setting the all-time mark for saves by a rookie. Also, this last week we'll get one more look at Beckett, who has clearly become adjusted to the AL, although it took almost an entire season. It's no longer scary to watch him pitch now; in fact, it's down right exciting. I can't wait to see him next year.

"Next year".wow, it sounds so weird to already be talking about it. But since we were eliminated, we are allowed to look that far ahead. I have some thoughts and predictions for next season, and I'll share some of them now, as I need a forum...

2007 Red Sox Regular Season Predictions

-Despite my objection, Papelbon will be sent to the starting rotation next year. Words really can't describe how awesome Paps was for us this year. With an ERA of 0.92, he was "lights out" in every sense of the word. Papelbon, however, was a starter in AA-Portland, and he was originally bred to be a starter for the Sox, not a closer. Plus, with a spot in the rotation, his appearances will be more predictable, instead of the sporadic nature of relief pitching. This gives him 4-5 days to rest his arm, putting him in a better position for his body to heal.

-Beckett will regain his 2003 postseason form in 2007. You can already tell he has "figured out" the AL with his last 3 starts. He has a blazing 4-seam fastball, a 2-seamer that flies all around the plate, the most wicked curveball of all power pitchers out there, and a split-finger fastball that is being taught to him by the guy with the best split-finger fastball in the bigs: Curt Schilling. Josh Beckett WILL win 20 games next season.

-Curt Schilling, in his final MLB season, will the anchor of our rotation in 2007. He showed great resilience from his injury-riddled 2005 season this year, and there's no reason to believe he will be any different. Schiller will ring up 260 strikeouts next season.

-The starting rotation will(at the season's outset) be Schilling/Beckett/Papelbon/Wakefield/#5. That #5 spot could depend on moves the Sox make. I predict Beckett and Papelbon will the most electrifying combo in the bigs next year, even more so than the Santana/Liriano duo.

-To be honest, I'm not sure if Manny will return next year. Gordan Edes of Boston.com also thinks so. I really can't believe Manny. He's been benched for the past 2-3 weeks due to his knee problems and his not wanting to play for fear of further injuring it. YET, he has the audacity to STILL prompt his agent to ask the Sox to trade him. WTF!? Manny is such a great player that it hurts just to think about his not being with the team. At the very least, he makes Papi a better hitter, protecting him in the lineup with a potent bat behind him. Buster Olney says there will be many buyers looking for power hitters in the offseason, so who knows what can happen. Sox fans, however depressing the thought of a lineup without Manny might be, must realize that what the Sox get in return WILL be rather awesome. Be it a pitcher, batter, or Anti-Yankee spray, it'll be something good(see next note). Granted, you can't truly replace Manny, but the Sox can(and most assuredly, WILL) put someone in that 4-spot that is a winner, a hustler, and NOT someone that's going to quit when his team isn't playing .800 ball.

-So to whom could we deal Manny? Who would pick up that deferred money? Who could we get in return? All of these are great questions, but I have a bold prediction that you may or may not like: The Houston Astros. Yeh, THOSE guys. Everyone and their momma knows that the Astros need offense, and if Papelbon goes to the rotation, we're gonna need a guy closing the door at the end of the game. Solution: Manny for Lidge. Yeh, that seems like a slim deal on our part, but I'm certain other teams would be involved with this trade (a la Nomar 2004), and we'd get even more than just Lidge. Lidge has been un-Lidge like this year, especially after Pujols cranked one off of him from Houston to San Antonio during the 2005 NLCS. But the kid is GOOD, really good. He's got the meanest slider since Randy Johnson circa 1997. Again, like Beckett, the NL-to-AL conversion could be tough for a pitcher, but Lidge is the best option out there for a closer. He's a proven guy, and he's just getting into his prime. Now don't send me hate emails cuz I'm bashing Manny; I'm not. He's a great ballplayer, he's great for the game, and he's great for our team(and our MVP). I just get kinda worn out from all his "Manny episodes" and trade requests. It's almost like an annual event to hear about Manny and trade rumors. I want the guy to stay, but not if he's going to quit on us.

-Sadly, I think the Sox will move Trot in the offseason. We just have a surplus of outfielders wanting more play time, and considering Trot's age and tendency to get injured, the Sox could use him in a trade to bring in some fresh guys.

-David Ortiz will be the unanimous vote for 2007 AL MVP. He'll stroke 60 HRs(6 of which will be walk-offs) and drive in 180 RBI. (*this is all assuming he has someone to protect him in the lineup)

-There have been lots of rumblings regardign Coco Crisp next season. Personally, I think they should give him another year to prove himself. He had a MONSTER spring training, and he was off to a fast start before he broke his finger stealing 3rd in Baltimore early in the season. He just wasn't the same after that, although he got his numbers back to "Coco-esque" figures. He made some of the best plays this season, but he also made some real blunders(the one that comes to mind is the attempt to rob a homer in Seattle over the wall......he was about 7 feet to the left of where the ball actually landed. The result? Inside-the-park homerun. Yikes). I love Coco, though, and although he doesn't have a cannon in the outfield, he can cover serious ground, and when he's healthy, he's a great leadoff man and baserunner. However, should the Sox move him, there have also been whispers of bringing Andruw Jones to Boston. Now how badass would that be? I'd be willing to bet that the Braves could be that "other" team involved in Astros-Red Sox deal.

-The Sox will win 100 games next year

-Now for a prediction that really isn't that far fetched: Come June 21, 2007, the Red Sox will have added one more pitcher to their rotation: Roger Clemens. Roger will do the same half-season deal he did with the Astros this year, except this time he will be going to the right team, and one that will give him plenty of run support. It's no secret that Roger lamented over his decision to go with the Astros this year; he regretted not choosing the Red Sox. There is no better way to end his career than where it started. Can you imagine the atmosphere the first Roger pitches for the Red Sox at Fenway?! Holy crap. What about when he pitches against the Yankees!? It'g going to be awesome: Schilling-Beckett-Clemens-Papelbon-Wakefield. Daaaaaaamn.

-And finally, in 2007 the Red Sox will win their first AL East title in 12 years

Musings

A blog? What is that?

That's how I feel since I haven't posted in such an extended time. It's been so long that there is just TOO much to talk about. Let's see...

School has been taking up most of my time. My classes are freakin' awesome, but at the same time they are sure to be very difficult. My teachers are quite possibly the most diverse I have had to date in my college tenure. Let me attempt to paint you a picture:

My Aircraft Structures professor is a cross between Christopher Lloyd and Raul Julia.

My Aerothermodynamics teacher is Mr. Bean, yet he is Italian. His most used phrase: "Duz zis make zense to youz guyz?"

My Vibrations teacher is definitely the coolest teacher I have had yet in college. He's about 38, but he acts like a frat boy. Normally, I'm not a fan of the typical fraternity guy, but my teacher pulls it off. He's also hilarious. And on a daily basis he seems to relate classwork to alcohol somehow. For example, today we were talking about damping vibrations as well as hydraulics and they way fluids move in and out of shafts. He made an analogy(and diagram!) of how beer flows out of a keg. Brilliant.

My Electrical Engineering Systems teacher is Bob Hoskins, but with an Indian accent and complexion.

Finally, my Orbital Mechanics professor is a cross between the woman from Fried Green Tomatoes and the mom from That 70's Show.

As far as the actual classes are going, so far so good. Structures and Aerothermo will definitely be my most difficult courses. I hate circuits, but I can do them with my eyes closed, so EE Systems shouldn't be bad. Vibrations is a completely new subject matter to me, but it fascinates me, and I love the applications, so that should be an A. Orbital Mechanics is already my favorite class. I'm getting to apply stuff I learned at work to course material, bringing me way ahead of everyone else. We even got this software,called Satellite Tool Kit(STK),put onto our computers. Yeh, that baby is $80,000 right there. You read it correctly. It's pretty much Mission Control Houston...but on my laptop.

Speaking of NASA...

Atlantis is heading BACK to the Launch Complex 39B after getting halfway back to the VAB. It seems Ernesto shifted its course just enough to make the big wigs at KSC think it was safe. Hopefully we'll launch within a week(we kinda HAVE to, but that's another story).

Tarik(my mentor back at JSC) has really inspired me to get into drink making. I bought a bar set(shaker, double jigger, fruit peeler, ice tongs, and a wine/bottle opener) last week, and I got right into it. The first thing I made was a classic mojito, but I didn't shake it well enough the first time. The next night, I tried again, but this time shaking thoroughly; the results were much better this time around. My mojitos were a hit with everyone at Dan's. I now have a "signature" drink to make people, haha.

I just returned from the store, and I now have the ingredients to make true Caribbean Rum Punch from Tarik's heavily protected recipe. I had to basically beg and plea to get it out of him last semester, but I got it alright. I had some of the punch at Tarik's last Doorstep Happy Hour at his warehouse, and it was SO good, yet freakin' potent as anything. My advice: sip this stuff slowly, or you will get verrrrrrrry inebriated verrrrrrry fast. With that said(haha), we're making a batch of it tomorrow for the first time, just in time for MSU's first football game here against South Carolina.

I love college football atmosphere, and I can't wait to see the crowds of people here tailgating tonight. There's a pre-game shindig somewhere near campus that I think we are going to attend. The game is on ESPN, so if you are near a television, tune in and you may see me :). Due to the time of the game, classes after 12:30 tomorrow are cancelled. It just so happens that my first class is at 12:30, so that means FREE day for me tomorrow. Definitely looking forward to it.

Meanwhile, on the diamond I'm not as happy. The Sox have had the most serious onslaught of illnesses and injuries that I have ever seen on one team. It's frustrating, for sure, but it was just learned today that Jon Lester(sent back to Boston a few days ago after being put on the DL) is being tested for cancer. A promising young player, no one wants to hear this news about him. Even with all of the on-field shortcomings, this really puts things into perspective. We're all hoping Lester turns out to be fine.

Now, the Sox are by no means out of the playoff race, but with 2/3rds of the lineup gone or injured, it's hard to do anything to be competitive. Things could definitely start to turn once players start coming back this week and next. Some great things to look forward to: Papelbon setting the record for most saves by a rookie, Papi destroying the previous record for HR's in a season by Foxx(50), and the Sox making the fewest errors ever in a baseball season.

I should stop talking about the Sox...it'll only make me more depressed, haha.

The apartment looks great. I've begun putting up all the posters up on my wall, and I am ordering a few more, except they are sports posters. One poster I am hoping to get is the frame-by-frame shot of Carlton Fisk as he is "motioning" his hit ball to stay fair during the final inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. It's a SWEET poster, and it will look superb on my wall.

Well it's late, but to be honest, I'm not tired at all. Surely there's a good movie on or something. Anyways, I'm done. The weather forecast is looking great for tomorrow; I'm ready to watch Steve Spurrier once AGAIN not win at Davis-Wade Stadium.

go dawgs. go sox.

The Boston Massacre, 2006 Edition

1770. 1978. And now 2006.

I can barely think about this right now, let alone type about it, but I'm going to try.

The Sox are hurtin'. We just dropped FIVE games in a row to the Yankees, and we now sit 6.5 games behind them in the AL East standings. I watched all the games but the one on Friday night, and I followed that game online. For the first 3 games our starting pitching was way below average, but not completely horrible. Our bullpen is what did us in during those games. Then Schiller took the mound on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, and he was exactly what he paid him to be. Unfortunately, Terry Francona opted NOT to use Papelbon for what was clearly the perfect time for a 2-inning save(Papelbon had 4 days rest, so he was ready to go); instead, he brought in journeyman Mike Timlin and lefty-specialist Javier Vasquez(just recalled), who got the bases loaded with Giambi at the plate. NOW Papelbon came in. *sigh*. Papelbon got through the inning with the lead intact, and he had 2 outs with a man on 2nd in the 9th inning, but Derek Jeter blooped one into right field, bringing the game even. Giambi rocked a 3-run homer off Hansen in the 10th inning, and the rest was history. Today David Wells again went deep into the game, but our offense decided not to show up, and we lost 2-1. Of course, having Ramirez out with a hamstring cramp wasn't going to help, either.

So that's where we stand now. It was announced today that Alex Gonzalez has an oblique strain, which was the same injury that kept Albert Pujols out for a couple of weeks earlier in the season. That sucks. But assuming that his injury isn't that bad as Pujols' was, and considering Manny is only day-to-day, here's what's going to be happening in the coming weeks:

Here's our rotation right now: Schilling, Wells, Beckett, Lester, and _______. Wells has shown resurgence, and he deserves that #2 spot right now. And yes, I left that last one open on purpose, but it's probably Snyder. Wakefield is set to return in about a week, so that places him in that 3/4 spot, meaning we can move Snyder back into bullpen, where we need him.

Speaking of bullpen, ours IS good, but I have to believe their collapse over the past 5 days has been due to the absence of our captain behind the plate, Jason Varitek. Varitek is THE play/pitch caller of the MLB; no one does it better. The pitchers feel confident with him sitting 60 ft, 6 in. away, and it cannot be a coincidence that they look like little league pitchers with Javy Lopez and Mirabelli calling the pitchers. Varitek is a few weeks away from returning, maybe earlier. After Wakefield gets back, and before Varitek returns, Trot Nixon will come back off the disabled list. Now, that might not be a problem, as rosters expand after September 1st. We already have a great bench, and with Nixon back, we can rest guys while also remaining very competitive. And resting will be HUGE the next month or so, as we are not getting many days off.

Offense wise, we're just fine. Like I said earlier, as long as Manny doesn't decline(again, he's only day-to-day, could be worse), we're gonna be golden. We have the Greek God of Walks(Youkilis), the most feared 3-4 combo in the majors(Ortiz and Manny), and some up-and-coming bats of the likes of Wily Mo Pena and Hinske. Pena has been absolutely CRUSHING the ball, and he could very well end up being our #5 hitter down the stretch.

Defensively, there's no question. We're the best in the business. We could very well end up with 2 gold glove winners(Lowell and Gonzalez).

Over the next couple of series, both the Sox and the Yankees have tough road trips to the west coast, while also playing difficult series at home. Then both teams play Kansas City and Baltimore before meeting up again in the Bronx for the final showdown.

It's evident that this AL Wild Card/East is nowhere close to being over. I didn't give up on October 16th two years ago, and I sure as hell am not going to give up this year. We're in a bind, that's for sure, but we're far from the dire circumstances of the ALCS in 2004. We've got great picthers, but they aren't pitching great. We've got the bats. We've got the gloves. If losing 5 games in a row to the Yankees and falling to almost 7 games back lets us fly under the radar, fine by me. Watch out for the Red Sox these last 40 games folks; it'd be a mistake to write them off.

It's Isle Over

Long time, no blog, I know. But I have returned from a successful journey that took me from Houston to Canton to Paris to Atlanta to Charleston to Atlanta to Paris to Starkville. All within about a 10 day span. So I'm slightly tired, but I am here in Starkvegas at last, and I'm trying to get settled.

The week at the Isle of Palms was fantastic. There was so much good food that was eaten, from steaks to shrimp to lamb chops. In the beverage department there was no holding back, as you'd expect from the Horne clan. TONS of great beer and pa-lenty of wine(provided by Caro, of course) were consumed during the 7-day stay. Pretty much every day we went to the beach for the afternoon, where a Bocce game was always going, a projectile of some sort(football, disc, etc.) was flying, and photo opps were abound. The only departure from this routine was Wednesday, when Mallory and I made a journey up to Wilmington, NC. Why did we go? I suggest you go here to find out.

So without further ado, here are some pics!(some of these were taken with a disposable, so forgive the quality)

Mallory was so happy to be at the beach that she just couldn't hide it...

...neither could I.

I thought I was showing Mal how to play Bocce like a pro...

...until she displayed the fact that she was the Bocce Rookie of the Year in 2005.

Mal and I just felt like running......into the ocean.

My attempt at modeling...

...as well as Mallory's.

Finally, a cheesin' in the water.

Year of the Movie

I've already deemed 2007 as "The Year of the Movie." Well, at least for geeks like me. See if you can follow me around the room:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
March 30th, 2007
Trailer
Why it will rock: It's all in CG. That pretty much makes it better than that abomination known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.

Spider-Man 3
May 4th, 2007
TrailerWhy it will rock: the appearance of Venom in the storyline, as well as Sandman and the Green Goblin(2). Can you say "awesome battle sequences"?

Transformers
July 4th, 2007
Trailer
Why it will rock: just announced mere minutes ago that Peter Cullen will be reprising his role as the voice of series mainstay Optimus Prime. BADASS.

Pirates of Caribbean 3(subtitle pending)
Summer 2007
Why it will rock: Keith Richards will portray Captain Jack's father. That alone is worth the price of admission.

Prince of Persia
TBA 2007
Why it will rock: one of my favorite game franchises of all time is being brought to the big screen via Jerry Bruckheimer. This game's story is perfect for a movie, and I can't wait. Go get 'em Jerry.

"Not because it is easy, but because it is hard."

Just as Project Apollo took men to the moon in the 60's and 70's, so will Project Orion. It's been leaked that Orion will be the name of the next project of the United States' manned space program, as well as the name of the vehicle that will take them there, the Crew Exploration Vehicle. This is similar to the naming conventions used in America's first manned-moon missions.

Project Orion. You gotta admit that it sounds cool.

You read it here first, folks.

Doorstep Happy Hour

Tarik and Seth hosted their montly party this past Friday. They have a sweet setup in this warehouse in downtown Houston. They've completely redone the place to be more of a loft apartment/bachelor's pad. Thought I'd share a few of the pics...

A view from the balcony...that's right, balcony. This is the kind of place Trevor and I need during our college years. It's perfect for this kind of stuff...

Turntables were provided. I had to resist the urge.

A lower-level shot. It's kinda blurry, but com'on, it was around 2:00am at this point. (Not really sure what those two dudes are doing on the left side of the screen)

Yes, they also have a firepole to slide down. How cool is that?

Bubbles and foam also made an appearance in the evening(they go all out), but for fear of my new shiny camera, I didn't take any shots.

Officially excited...

Our crib for the week at the Isle of Palms................awesome.

When the Mission Ends, the Party Begins

Well the mission is coming to a close; Discovery is set to undock tomorrow early morning sometime. The NASA folks love excuses to party, and tonight is no exception. After the Orbit 3 shift(which ends around 1:00am), everyone is heading to the Saturn V building(it holds the Saturn V vehicle that was too be used for Apollo 18) to start the celebrations early, and I think I'm going to join them. Should be a good time. Maybe I'll be able to get some good pictures......oh yeh, I forgot....my NEW CAMERA came in!

I obviously can't take a pic of it without using a mirror(that'd be kinda lame), so just go HERE to check it out. This little baby is AWESOME. It's light, it's small, and it has tons of features. Oh, and takes pretty swell pictures as well. It can do all sorts of neato stuff. For example, click HERE to go to a picture I took today(it may take a few seconds to load; it's kinda big) at work; I call it the "drill field" of Johnson Space Center, in reference to my school. Click on it to zoom in and really get a good close up loook. No, I don't have a wide-angle lens on my camera; rather, my camera has a "stitch" mode. I just take pictures across the horizon, and the software on the computer knows what goes where, and it connects the images. Pretty sweet, eh?

I've been taking pictures of everything lately, but I wont really get to have fun until my 2GB SD card comes in next week. At that point, I'll be able to shoot movies and play around with the "burst" mode, which I have already dabbled in slightly(and it ROCKS!!)

Tomorrow will continue the celebration of the end of the Station assembly mission. Technically, yes, I know that the mission won't "officially" end until wheels stop on Discovery when she lands at KSC Monday morning. But after undocking tomorrow morning, the Station folks are DONE, so there is definitely cause to celebrate. Eric and I have rounded up a crew, and we are all set to play some 2v2 beach volleyball around noon tomorrow. Afterwards, we'll prolly head to Eric's pool to relax and chill. Then that night, we're all heading to Rice Village, where there is supposed to be an awesome nightlife on the weekends. It also happens to be yet another great oppurtunity for us to celebrate the end of the mission.

Sox got OWNED tonight. Eyugh. Probably one of the worst pitched games by the Sox(starter and relief pitchers) I have ever seen. It makes me sick. Yanks are now only 1.5 games back.

Conan on NASA

Here's the mission patch from the current shuttle mission, STS-121. Take a good, long look at it. It depicts the space shuttle in it's docking configuration on the halfway-completed International Space Station. The long horizontal piece at the top of the ISS/Shuttle stack is the P6 solar array, and the second longest horizontal piece below it is the truss segment of the Station. All of that is overlayed on the yellow astronaut symobl of the the star and 3 lines...

And here is what Conan O'brien said about the patch the other night on his show:

"It looks like the space shuttle is having sex with a helicopter...and it's all happening under the birth of baby Jesus..."

hahahahahahaha. Brilliant.... just brilliant.

Ok, now for something VERY VERY cool. If you have a minute(or about 8) please please please check out these links:

Right-Aft SRB sep video
Right-Forward SRB sep video

I think you need a version of Windows Media Player to view it. They're videos of the right aft and forward solid rocket booster cameras, all the way from launch to splashdown. Yeh, you read that right. It's the entire video of the launch, from main engine ignition to the moment the SRBs fall into the ocean. It's neat because you see the flight LEAVE the atmosphere then RE-ENTER the atmosphere. Even if you have no interest whatsoever in engineering or space, watch the video. It is fuckin' awesome.

NOTE: If you want to see the shuttle/tank at separation, watch the FIRST video. If you want to see the ocean get closer and closer and closer until splashdown, watch the SECOND video. Or just watch both videos if you're feeling it.

Co-op's Log...Flight Day 4

Just thought I'd give you all an unofficial status update of things up in orbit. The Station and Shuttle are doing just fine. Docking went smoothly, we added another crewman to the ISS(first 3-man crew since 2003), unbirthed the MPLM(Multi-Purpose Logistics Module) and attached it to Node-2, and things are set for the first EVA tomorrow. All looks good.

The highlight of tonight's Orbit 3 shift(my shift) was the passing of the ISS directly overhead Houston around 9:45pm CST. Almost the entire ISS and Shuttle flight control teams left Building 30 and congregated outside to watch the passover. It was pretty cool; nothing I hadn't seen before, but it's still cool. The station/shuttle were amazingly bright and very easy to spot. The station/shuttle stack passed right over MCC, and it one frame you could see both the streaking star(the shuttle and station) and the illuminated American flag protuding prominently atop MCC. I wish I had a camera, as it was a VERY good shot.

And one more thing...I now have a new favorite astronaut(not that I had one to begin with). And as it turns out, she's actually one of the ones that went up on Discovery a few days ago: Stephanie Wilson. Why do I like her? See below:

Notice the cap she is wearing while taking a ride in the Space Shuttle motion simulator.

And another shot of her in the Lab mockup in Building 9, just to reinforce the point(she's from Massachusetts, by the way).

Well it's late here. Too late. Around 3:30. I'm worn out and headed to bed.

"And the Rockets' Red Glare"

A job well done to the Launch Control Team at KSC, as well as to the Ascent Team at JSC. Some slight issues arose, such as minor foam pieces and a mysterious ice object which was originally thought to be a thermal blanket, but nothing seems to be critical. All seems well with Discovery and her crew, so it's time to go to work. Hopefully I'll have some entertaining and/or great pictures for ya from my 2 weeks of mission support. I'll use my new camera for the pics...when it gets here :).

Tank You...Tank You Very Much

Congratulations are in order for David Ortiz, Mark Loretta, Manny Ramirez, and my boy Jonathan Papelbon. They were chosen by the fans(except Papelbon; he was chosen by Ozzie Guillen, the AL manager) to represent Boston in the 77th All-Star game in Pittsburgh next week. Despite the great showing of Red Sox on the AL squad, I can't help but feel like we were snubbed. No Curt Schilling or Josh Beckett on the team!?! Com'on now, Ozzie. I have heard that Francona has talked to Guillen recently in hopes of convincing him that Schiller belongs on the team. Sticking with the All-Star theme, David Ortiz has elected to participate in the homerun derby the day before the mid-summer classic. I hope he tears the cover off the ball.

Slight scare today in the space world. During a checkout of Discover and her related parts last night, a piece of foam fell from a support strut on the External Tank(ET). Here's a high-res shot of the missing area:

That light area is the part of the foam that fell off. To give you an idea of scale, that area of foam loss was about 4 inches wide.

The Mission Management Team(MMT) met twice today, and thanks to some clever engineering they were able to examine the foam loss area without actually crushing the foam or having to bring in an external platform, which would have added another day to the launch. After much review, it was determine that the foam less presented now aerothermo problems, no ice threat, and it didn't shear surrounding foam. In short, Discover is GO for launch tomorrow at 1:38pm CST. Should be exciting, as the weather presents only a 40% chance of delaying the launch tomorrow, according to the weather military dudes over at the cape.

My body is wondering what the HELL I think I'm doing. I sleep shifted last weekend in preparation for the mission. Then we were delayed, and I had to shift back for work this week. Now that there's a good chance to launch tomorrow, I'm having to shift AGAIN tonight. That means staying up until 4:00am after being up at 7:00am this morning for work and getting only about an hour of sleep after work. Eyugh.

Richard has had a tough week this week: England gets ousted from the World Cup in the quarters, Beckham resigns his captaincy, his boy Agassi is defeated at Wimbledon at the hands of phenom capri-wearing Rafael Nadal, Ben Wallace is leaving the Pistons for Chicago, and today he found out that Steve Yzerman is retiring from the NHL. If you don't know who Steve Yzerman is, SHAME ON YOU. To give you an idea of this guy's affect on hockey the past 20+ years, go HERE. Everyone say a private prayer for Richard, haha. I'm sure I'll feel the same when Joe Sakic(who is also #19) retires one day.

One more thing: Sharapova advanced past the 4th round at Wimbledon today :)

Another one-more-thing: Jose Canseco is a fuckin' idiot. And he can't throw a knuckleball worth crap.

There. I'm done.

The Curtain Call...

is used WAY too much by the New York Yankees. They have pretty much erased the effect the Curtain Call has. It means nothing now, because of them. Just watch a Yankee game the next oppurtunity you get. You will notice that it is WAY overdone. Chill out New York...we have monster home runs, clutch hits, and great baserunning on a nightly basis at Fenway, but you don't see us waving our helmet from the dugout steps EVERY time we do those things. It's actually EXPECTED of the Red Sox.

T-12 hours...

So I'm here at the apartment. The party died down at Eric's, and he needed to get to sleep, so I've returned to HQ. I'm trying to sleep-shift as much as possible tonight so I don't have to do much of it tomorrow. That means I need to stay up all the way to 4:30 or 5:00 if possible. That wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't waking up at 9:15 to go watch England/Portugal at Eric's. Sheesh. The things I do for the love of sports.

We celebrated lots of things tonight at Boondoggles then at Kemah:

• Discover is a GO for launch, and this will be our last free night for two weeks. We're all looking forward to working the flight though.
• It was Eric's 26th birthday.
• Colin's return from Germany.
  
• Colin FINALLY proposed to Rachel in Germany last week. He did it while they were sitting on a bench right beside the Rhine River. I'm proud of my boy. (Rachel said "yes" by the way). Her ring is beautiful. Well done, Colin. Well done indeed. They're planning on saying "I do" on July 7, 2007 in Pittsburgh. Yup: 7/7/07. Can you say "road trip"?! :)
  
• My 21st birthday. Yeh, it was a few weeks ago, but the guys never got around to celebrating it with me. I used my new power to buy Colin and Rachel their drinks as a Merry Engagement present.
  
• The Red Sox 12-game win streak, as well as their consecutive errorless streak.
• and something else...but I'm not at liberty to say...yet :)

Thursday's game saving play by our center fielder. Lord knows Damon can't do this...(not sure why the pic is so big)

All systems go. If the weather is looking good tomorrow then the bird will be off the pad...and I'll be watching it all from Mission Control. You're jealous, I know.

Make it a Dozen

Yup. The Sox have won 12 games in row, capping off the final 3 against the best team in the NL. This is the longest win streak for the Beantown Boys since 1995, the last time they won the AL East. We also have tied the record for consecutive games without an error(16). One more and we ARE the record, haha.

Speaking of sports.....my favorite athlete of all time, Patrick Roy, is being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this November. This was his first time on the ballot, but it doesn't come as a surprise to anyone that follows hockey. I will not go into all the awards and records he holds, but you can follow the link on the right and see for yourself. The man was a freakin' machine. I can't wait to see his speech! Matt and I both agree he should go to the ceremony wearing full pads and helmet.

Again staying with sports....my girl Sharapova(as well as Wimbledon's new favorite sweetheart) is still in the tournament. What's really funny though is the last opponent she beat. The opponent's name? Anna SMASHNOVA. How cool a tennis name is that? I mean seriously. SMASHnova. With that name you either grow up to play tennis or be a boxer.

We saw the late late late showing(got home around 1:30) of Superman Returns last night. I liked it alot. It was a great homage to the older films, which were the movies I basically grew up on(as well as Indiana Jones and Batman). A little bit of cheeziness, a few inside jokes(Gotham City is mentioned in a news broadcast), and a ton of action really add up to a great Superman movie. As if all that wasn't enough, the opening credits of the movie are done EXACTLY like the old movies, but they combined the old credits with a schnazzy opening showing the explosion of a star on its way towards Earth. It was incredibly nostalgic, especially with the orginal score composed by John Williams played more bombastically than before, and I loved it. I can honestly say that that was the first time I have ever had goosebumps for the first 3 minutes of a movie. Granted, the movie skipped and jumped around some of the older movies, but I don't mind that at all. Much like the latest Batman movie, when the movies are now based on the comic book licenses, I think they can throw out the rule books set by the older flicks.

Tomorrow is Eric's birthday, so I think we're gonna try to throw him a party. It's almost like we are required to because he is set to go on console at Mission Control Sunday night, so he has to begin sleep shifting, which means he needs to stay up to AT LEAST 3:00 am tomorrow. I think we can handle that :)

Y'all Come Back Now...Ya Hear!

Funny thing happened today. On my way back to work from my lunch break, I stopped at the Post Office in Nassau Bay, which is just across from JSC, to get some stamps. I pulled my Jeep into a parking space, and I noticed the parked van beside me had a Mississippi tag, a Washington Co. tag to be specific. I thought that was kind of funny, but didn't think much beyond that. I then strolled into the building and got in line. I wasn't in line for more than 3 minutes when this bald guy wearing a Hawiian shirt, khaki shorts, and sandals popped his head into the main post office room(where you get service). He talked as if he was calling out the winning BINGO number: "Anyone in here from Mississippi??"

After looking around for a second, I casually raised my hand and said, "I am."

The guy asked me if I was the one driving with the Madison license, and I confirmed his guess. He asked me if I lived here and what I was doing, and I told him. He then went on to tell me where he was originally from(Greenville) and what he's doing in Houston, now that he lives there. Then he left. All of that was in a 30-second span, if that. Then he told me to take care, and he was gone. Poof. Like that.

It just goes on to prove that Mississippi is home to some of the most friendly people on this Earth, and THAT'S why I love my(2nd) home state.

Treasure Hunting

Once again...David Ortiz comes to the rescue in the clutch. ANOTHER walk-off hit today against the Phillies. His second game in a row and 3rd in the last 8 home games at Fenway. To quote Trevor: "Papi(David Ortiz) is the shit!"

Walker and I are addicted to this new show Treasure Hunters on NBC. Granted, we don't have great reception on our tv(that will change on Wednesday), but we can get the basic idea of what's going on. Best of all, we can play along online with these "brainteasers" that lead you on a parallel path with the show. Each episode there is a different online challenge, and with each successful completion of the online challenges you are given another clue as to the whereabouts of the treasure. So far the first two clues make no sense, but we're working on it. We want that $10,000, haha.

Jennifer is bringing me Curse of the Bambino tomorrow. She says I'm not a true Sox fan until I have completely understood the past miseries of the team. She has a point, so I feel obliged to read it. I'm actually looking forward to it. I finished Angels & Demons, which was awesome. I need another bedside book.