IMPORTANT NEWS: Guess what!?

It's here:

undocked

It's time for Endeavour and her crew of STS-123 to come home. Landing is scheduled at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Wednesday.

RETURN TO LUNA: A Short Story Science Fiction Contest

I am submitting a story or two: RETURN TO LUNA: A Short Story Science Fiction Contest

The National Space Society (NSS) and Hadley Rille Books are looking for Science Fiction stories that show the adventure of lunar settlement. They want to feel the romance of life there, the wonder of the lunar frontier, of its magnificent desolation. They prefer near future (50 to 150 years from now), realistic stories about human lunar settlement. They want good characterization and well-written, tight prose. They want to feel what it's like to live on the Moon.

All winning stories will be published in the anthology RETURN TO LUNA with a potential readership of thousands; the book will be submitted to well-known science fiction editors to consider each of the stories for inclusion in their "best of the year" anthologies, and the book will be sent out for review. All winning authors will be eligible for royalties and will receive free membership to the NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY for one year. GRAND PRIZE WINNER will also have a review of his or her winning short story featured in NSS's magazine AD ASTRA, and on the NSS and Hadley Rille Books websites.

I can do that. I am doing that. I'm already 1000+ words into my first submission. Excelsior!

STS-666 STS13L Weather tests

Mission Patch all-weather testing day 252 side by side comparison. Scan by Pumpkin Lord James.

clean kill

"If we shoot and get a direct hit, that's a clean kill and we're in good shape," said NASA Administrator Michael Griffin about the US shooting down a broken spy satellite Thursday.

Wasn’t the world in an uproar when China shot at an old satellite last year? Should be interesting. There is nothing like 1,000 pounds of toxic hydrazine fuel scattered in the upper atmosphere.

techno phone

Finally, after 5 years plus, I have graduated to a new cellular phone. The ENv. Oh yeah.

Mine is designer orange.

Docking and Gardening

After a clean launch and ascent to orbit on Thursday February 7, 2008, Space Shuttle Atlantis and her STS-122 crew will dock with the International Space Station Alpha today at 10:25 am MT/ 12:25 pm ET.

On flight day two the crewmembers completed Atlantis’ heat shield inspection, which looked damage free and showed nothing of interest.

Atlantis is hauling the European Space Agency’s Columbus research laboratory as well as European Space Agency astronaut Leopold Eyharts, who will replace Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel Tani.

NASA TV:

My life is the mission right now. And gardening. 1st gardening day of the season is today. The ground is frozen and there is snow. Pictures to come of course.

Ambassador of Exploration lunar sample

Seeing a true American hero at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science was a delightful treat.

On Saturday November 10, 2007, the Ambassador of Exploration Lunar Sample was awarded to Colorado native Scott Carpenter, a Sealab aquanaut, one of NASA’s original Mercury Seven astronauts and the second American man to orbit the Earth in May of 1962.

Doug Cooke, the Deputy Associate Administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, on behalf of NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, awarded Carpenter the lunar sample. The moon rock, encased in Lucite, is over 4 billion years old and was collected on the surface of the moon in 1972 by the crew of Apollo 17.

This piece of the moon, an inspiration to the next generation of explorers who will venture back to the moon, Mars and beyond, will be on permanent public display in DMNS’s Space Odyssey.

I even asked Carpenter a question during the presentation.

Ambassador of Exploration Lunar Sample

Quit Smoking 2007

The great Droog smoke-out begins November 1, 2007. I am included in the scrum. I will use my http://www.radhole.com as a support forum for whoever wishes to show support, comment, rant, ramble or rave.

Many of the Droogs will use this time to quit smoking those filthy vile cigarettes. I know of at least 7 quitters attempting to relinquish the filthy habit forever. Remember, it's like alcoholism: you smoke one and you'll be back. I do plan on smoking a cigar every now and then.

Please support me. Please send good Wakan my way. Please perform magik and spells for me. Please send your good vibes my way. Please support me. Please understand if I get testy or nervous or shaky due to the nicotine withdrawals. Please support me.

MELT has been taking some stop smoking medication and has had 2 ghastly nightmares in which I died violently and horribly in each. Good times.

A PSA from R2 and 3PO

2nd annual Great Pumpkin Commonwealth Weighoff Colorado

The 2nd annual Great Pumpkin Commonwealth Weighoff on Saturday September 29, 2007 at Jared’s Nursery in Littleton, Colorado.

The Colorado State Record was achieved by Joe Scherber, 1075 pounds!

Our giant: 80 pounds

A FULL GALLERY HERE

Great Pumpkin Commonwealth Weighoff

The 2nd annual Great Pumpkin Commonwealth Weighoff is Saturday September 29, 2007 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Jared’s Nursery in Littleton. Want to see some really large pumpkins up close? Go.

The STS-13L giant

We entered our modest giant and will get it officially weighed. The other giants entered into the competition will dwarf our Atlantic Dill. Oh well.

Pumpkin Lord James and I went last year.

Jared's Nursery
10500 W. Bowles Avenue
Littleton, Colorado 80127
303.979.6022

engage photonic laser thruster!

Young Bae's photonic laser thruster sounds promising. A PLT-powered spacecraft could theoretically push a rocket ship faster than 62 miles per second, allowing a journey to Mars in less than a week.

Bae’s PLT places a laser within a resonant optical cavity to produce stable and reliable thrust, the perfect jive for spacecraft control or propulsion.

Bae will be a presenter at The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SPACE 2007 Conference & Exposition September 18-20 in Long Beach, California. The line up: Space Transportation Systems, Promising Space Concepts from the NASA Institute of Advanced Concepts (NIAC), Space Systems for the Next 50 Years and Advanced Vehicle Systems.

Wish I could go.

The photonic laser thruster demo(PLT)!

“What’s ‘that one song’ on ‘Army Wives?’”

Julia Othmer’s song “Pull Me Back” will be featured on “Army Wives” on Lifetime channel on Sunday night, August 19 @ 10PM ET/PT. I first heard Julia Othmer from the game “SpacestationSim.” Her tune “Mission Control” is great. All her music is good. Her album “Oasis Motel” is excellent. Amazon or iTunes!

Revenge!

Major League Lacrosse delight! July 21, 2007 – Denver – Our Denver Outlaws (5-4) scored their third win in the last four games with a 15-13 victory over the defending MLL champion Philadelphia Barrage (6-3). Yeah!

Tailgating before the game was a relaxing time.

PSA: Russell Hoff (2min)

A public service announcement. Don稚 drink. Drinking is dumb.

tags:David Hasselhoff hoff drunk parody psa drinking dontdrink chicken bbq corn cob denver comedy NASA alcohol guinness

here comes the patch

The order for 200 mission patches has been placed. We are ahead of the game this year. We ordered the STS-666 patches in August of last year.

Do you want a patch? Email me with your address and I値l send you one for free. That痴 right FREE! I mailed out over 40 of them last year

With the reception the mission patch, I have a mission. (last year's mission)

You Garden Minions who receive the patch in the snail mail are given a quest, a challenge. You need to take a picture of you with the patch. You should be loving, abusing, eating, rubbing or participating in mayhem with the patch. Or anything. Be creative! Let the patch spark your creativity in a most pure and satisfying way.

You know you want to do it. Thanks. --rad

Motley Missing

My sister's cat, 16-year-old Motley, has been missing for a week.

preparing "missing cat" signs

I did not win the TaxCut Online contest

View winners here.

Last Chance to Vote!

Please. Tell your friends. Voting ends Friday!

http://www.youtube.com/contest/supersweetrefund?goto=94

Thanks a lot to everyone. Hopefully it'll get at least 3rd place.

my buttery refund

Sobering Global Warming Report

...from this CNN article. The report included these likely results of global warming:

ｷ Hundreds of millions of Africans and tens of millions of Latin Americans who now have water will be short of it in less than 20 years. By 2050, more than 1 billion people in Asia could face water shortages. By 2080, water shortages could threaten 1.1 billion to 3.2 billion people, depending on the level of greenhouse gases that cars and industry spew into the air.

ｷ Death rates for the world's poor from global warming-related illnesses, such as malnutrition and diarrhea, will rise by 2030. Malaria and dengue fever, as well as illnesses from eating contaminated shellfish, are likely to grow.

ｷ Europe's small glaciers will disappear with many of the continent's large glaciers shrinking dramatically by 2050. And half of Europe's plant species could be vulnerable, endangered or extinct by 2100.

ｷ By 2080, between 200 million and 600 million people could be hungry because of global warming's effects.

ｷ About 100 million people each year could be flooded by 2080 by rising seas.

ｷ Smog in U.S. cities will worsen and "ozone-related deaths from climate (will) increase by approximately 4.5 percent for the mid-2050s, compared with 1990s levels," turning a small health risk into a substantial one.

ｷ Polar bears in the wild and other animals will be pushed to extinction.

ｷ At first, more food will be grown. For example, soybean and rice yields in Latin America will increase starting in a couple of years. Areas outside the tropics, especially the northern latitudes, will see longer growing seasons and healthier forests.

Wirefly X-Prize Cup Videos

Buzz Aldrin, Rocketman, static engine firing and Event Horizon launch; a suite of Wirefly X-Prize Cup 2006 videos with commentary by R.A.Dale.

BUZZ! BUZZ!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwgIIRqIm3w

Rocketman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwYT_ys6PyY

Event Horizon launch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn7aWhMUKVA

Static Engine firing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0n-OcnzIeQ

Have you voted yet?

Have you voted for "My buttery refund" yet? Voting ends March 23!

VOTE

VOTE!

Jon Halinkowski

My sister痴 boyfriend was Jon. I had been friends with Jon in high school. We lost touch over the years and earlier this year we got back in touch and got together for beers and darts. My sis and Jon hit it off real well. I had never seen my sister happier. They dated. Jon met the grandparents.

Jon had been in the military. Jon was a member of the original Droogs and an active participator as Grayfox on our BBS Vision �f Anarchy (2400 baud/24 hours a day/7 days a week/365 days a year!!! Bring your food raw; we will cook it for you. November 8, 1990). The first time I ever got drunk was with MELT and Jon. We were 16 and Jon fell down the stairs and cut his chin really bad. MELT used his Boy Scout skills and patched up his chin pretty good. Jon痴 parents were pissed. Jon, my younger brother and I ate lunch almost everyday my senior year. Jon made me a massive, two handled coffee mug.

I had my gripes with Jon. I felt that he talked down to me and treated me with disrespect; similar to the way he was in high school. Before he left town, I had the chance to talk to him about it. I told him that things seemed to be going well with he and my sister and we needed to clear things up. It was a good conversation and in my eyes we set things straight.

In May, Jon got in trouble with the law and decided to flee Colorado. Despite pleas from my sister and his friends to turn himself in, Jon decided to leave. The thought of prison was not an option for him nor was living the kind of life after prison. He packed up his belongings and left town within days, leaving my sister dumbfounded and distraught with vague plans to rendezvous again someday. I have a feeling that if my sister had the funds, she would have went with him.

They corresponded through chat and emails and at the end of June, Jon was filled with despair about his life and found himself alone and without hope. He had made his way to Canada and then to Australia. I can only imaging the feelings of helplessness and aloneness he felt. He had been having nightmares and not leading a happy life.

He stated to my sister that he was going to kill himself, despite all of the support he received from people back home. He knew the pain and grief that would be left behind. He apologized to her and said it was for selfish reasons. She made frantic calls to my mother, not knowing what to do or say in such circumstances. She and Jon talked via email or instant messaging every Friday. She pleaded with Jon over emails, not knowing if her messages were being received. I could only imaging the hopeless feeling she had.

After not hearing from him for two Friday痴, ten days had passed. Word came yesterday that the authorities in Australia had gotten in touch with Jon痴 parents in Tennessee. The authorities relayed the news that they had found his body. Jon had committed suicide.

My sister is devastated. I have never seen her filled with such sadness. Lots of tears were spilt yesterday and many more to come as this story unfolds. Details are sketchy at this time because the American Consulate in Australia only releases information to family members, but supposedly his ashes will be sent back and there will be a memorial service.

Why did he feel that he had no hope? Why did he have to do this to his friends and family? Why did he do this to my sister? There is always hope when facing life. Death should not be an option. It痴 a tragedy. I致e been doing my share of praying lately.

Jen -- I'm so sorry. I love you.
Jon -- you will be deeply missed.

*UPDATE*
Information can be found here for Jon Halinkowski's Funeral Reception.

Date: Tuesday, August 10th
Time: 6:30 pm
Place: 2659 S. Newcombe St.
Lakewood, CO 80227