I haven’t been at my computer much the last couple of days, so I’m celebrating the Fourth of July online a little late. (For you folks from outside the U.S., that’s Independence Day, or the birthday celebration for the United States of America.)
This year my family went to see the Boston Pops do their traditional outdoor concert down by the Charles River—only we went on July 3 for the rehearsal performance, which was theoretically less crowded. It was a great time. Just one thing: no fireworks. Now, I love fireworks. But the best fireworks this Independence Day were about 1500 miles to the south of me—at Cape Canaveral. Here’s what they looked like:
Yes, Discovery is back in space! Let’s hear it for NASA and all the people who worked to make it happen. And let’s pray for a safe mission.
Now, that’s what I’m talkin’!
substandardTim
did you catch the neil armstrong interview on tv the other night? He had some interesting NASA thoughts.
Also I’ve got a song on my upcoming album entitled “When Did NASA Stop Dreaming?”
And just for sake of conversation….have you ever built a telescope? I’ve been thinking about building a Dobsonian a lot lately.
Jeffrey A. Carver
No, I missed the Neil Armstrong interview. I would have liked to hear it. (I wonder if it’s online somewhere. Do you remember what network ran it?)
I’ve never built a telescope, though when I was a kid I got a book on how to do it. But the procedure for grinding a parabolic mirror by hand looked incredibly tedious to me, and likely to end in failure–so that was as far as I got. I do have a small Meade telescope, an ETX-90 Matsukov Cassegrain, which is very nice for looking at the moon and bright planets, etc. But though I bought a Go-to controller for it, I’ve never found a good time to take it to a field where I can really take advantage of it.
Charlza
I’m almost afraid to watch the shuttle launches anymore. They make me extremely nervous.
We attempted to see the fireworks display in Atlanta at Lenox Square Mall on the 4th, but the lightning got so bad, I thought it was better to beat a hasty retreat back to Athens.