Orion Launch

(Screen grab from Nasa TV)

The Orion spacecraft was supposed to launch this morning, but a boat of spectators strayed into the launch danger zone, prompting NASA to delay the launch. Winds picked up, forcing further delays, then valve problems and declining power in the craft's video camera system caused the launch to be delayed until tomorrow. Orion is only scheduled to be in space for 4-1/2 hours, but it's exciting because the United States is now back in the space-race.

I was alive when Apollo 11 was launched and landed men on the moon for the first time, but I was too young to grasp the enormity of it. My father, however, was captivated. He woke us kids up bright and early to watch every single launch. I would rather have stayed in bed ... sleeping ... but that was not an option. Daddy wanted us to witness history and enjoy it ... whether we like it or not!

I'm sure I saw footage of the first man on the moon, and I'm sure I saw the first splash-down when these brave men returned from space, but I don't remember them. What I do remember is that every time NASA sent up a spacecraft, and every time one of them splashed down, Daddy either woke up us four little kids and lined us up in front of the television to watch a launch or went into the front yard and whistled, signaling that "the Coleman's have to go home!". We would obediently stop playing and go home, where Daddy would line us up in front of the television to watch the splashdown.

As an adult, I now realize the significance of what I witnessed, but little kids don't see things like that. I was more in awe that, regardless of where we had to go, Daddy always knew the way there ... and back! We never got lost. At that point in my life, I knew the way to Rocky's house, to school, the fire station (where I could get a cold bottled of Ski out of the machine), and to the tot lot. That was the extent of my navigable world. I could not have gotten myself to and from Grandma's house to save my soul, but I could see the moon ... it didn't seem so extraordinary that the astronauts could get there!

When I got a little older, I wanted to be an astronaut ... until I found out how much math I'd have to take. That nixed that career path immediately. Nothing was worth that much math. I did, however, want to live in the world of the Jetson's! I wanted a flying car! I wanted a robot maid! I wanted a jet pack! I wanted a "television phone" and I wanted my mom to fly me to school and launch me, in my own private pod, to the school landing pad! I knew none of those things were possible, but it was fun to think about!

Now, amazingly, we do have many of those things. Nearly everyone has a cell phone with even more capability that the Jetson's "television phone". Jet packs are a reality, as are robots and flying cars (even if they aren't all available to the public ... yet).

The ingenuity of man never ceases to amaze me.

In 2011, my boyfriend and I traveled to Florida to watch the final launch of the Space Shuttle. The launch was delayed several times, and didn't launch until after we had to return home. The vacation and time spent with my sweetie was fun, but we were both very disappointed to miss the launch in person.

If you are near a computer (or smartphone) tomorrow morning, you can watch the launch on NasaTV (barring more delays). In addition to the live launch video stream, NASA has a lot video's to peruse, from historic space launches to the building of the Orion rocket.

I remember one of my teachers saying that everyone says they want to go to the moon, but when push came to shove, few people would actually have the courage to go. I wanted to tell him he was crazy! If NASA had landed on the playground and invited me to climb aboard and fly to the moon, I'd have dropped my jump rope and ran inside that rocket in an instant ... but I'm not sure I'd be so willing to go to Mars. I applaud the men (and women) who will one day go, and I'd still love to go to the moon, but traveling to Mars in not an adventure I'd be willing to take.

But I will watch the launches and splashdowns ... and, like my father, I want my kids witness this piece history, too ... and enjoy it ... whether they like it or not!

Your Tax Dollars at Work

The National Science Foundation paid $300,000 for a study on 'How Humans Interact with Bicycles'. This project, which wasted our tax dollars from October 2009 through June 2013, studied how humans interact with bicycles.

The way I see it ... and I offer my observations as an armchair-scientist ... is that humans throw their leg over the bike, step on the forward-most pedal to begin moving, then put their other foot on the other pedal ... and ride off. Easy-peasy!

They could sit on my front porch during the summer and observe this phenomena all day ... for free!

One researcher stated that "Although human-operator control models exist for numerous aircraft and other vehicles, the bicycle with a rider is a human-vehicle system whose dynamic behavior is poorly understood. Even the simplest models of a bicycle with a rigidly attached rider have yet to be completely understood. 

(Okay, stop here a minute ... are they suggesting we need flexibly attached riders?)

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

"If successful, this research will improve the fundamental understanding of how humans interact with bicycles and will help pave the way to the design of bicycles for a wider population and for a wider range of tasks.”

(Stop again ... like a bicycle built for two, or a rick-shaw, perhaps? Brilliant ideas!)

Another brilliant researcher said “(Almost) everybody knows how to ride a bike, but (almost) no one knows how we ride a bike.”

Really??? Is that one of the arguments they used to persuade the government to fund this study? And, more importantly, did they ever stop to consider that the bicycle industry may have already studied the dynamics of bike riding in order to built a better bike, thus improving their sales and giving them a leg-up (no pun intended) on their competition?

The presentation of their research included a video of a professor struggling to ride a bike on a treadmill and nearly falling. The researchers then discovered that the professor could maintain balance when he is tied to the treadmill.

(Stop again ... did they use a real professor, or just someone professing to be a professor? Would it have skewed their results if they used, I don't know ... a plumber instead? So are they saying we should tie all professors to treadmills or just the ones riding bikes? And, here's the million dollar question ... won't that make it more difficult to actually go somewhere, thus defeating the purpose of riding the bike to the store to decrease their carbon footprint? And while I'm on the subject ... doesn't riding a bike on an electric treadmill actually increase ones carbon footprint?)

Riding a bike takes balance and coordination, which is why toddlers need training wheels, but is riding a bike really so complicated and difficult to understand that we need to spend $300,000 studying it? Toddlers (and many adults) also can't pat their head and rub their belly at the same time, and I see that as a much more pressing issue... don't you?!

I think there needs to be a study on that! And I'll do it ... for the cut-rate, bargain price of only $225,000!!!

 (You can read the full article on the genius behind this study here.)

Remember That Toilet Paper I Complained About?

Remember my blog on store-brand toilet paper? I put this roll on about three weeks ago, and we've still got half a roll to go through. It is not unusual for us to go through a roll in just a matter of hours ... a roll lasting a month is unheard of!

I bought the big pack of this stuff, so we've still got eighteen rolls waiting in the wings. At this rate, we'll be using this stuff until next July ... or August!

Girl Scout Cookie Buzz-Kill

A mother in California is petitioning the Girl Scouts to end their partnership with Nestle.

She told the media "Instead of spending their time coming up with new cookie flavor, ice cream flavor, candy bar or flavored milk, they could focus that energy on more positive ways to earn money, while setting an example for not only the girls, but the nation. Imagine if Girl Scouts pioneered a movement for healthier eating and fundraisers that were in line with their core values."

Okay ... I'm imagining that.

And now I'm imagining the Girl Scouts raising about $6 with their Girl Scout relish trays, tofu bars, and kale shakes.

A Missed Adventure

(Click any photo to enlarge)

I woke up pretty sick Friday morning. We had planned a hike to Duke Creek Falls after breakfast, and there was talk of cancelling the hike. I didn't want everyone to miss out on my account. I was too sick to go with them, but I wasn't incapacitated ... I could look after myself while they were gone. My doctor called in a prescription for me, and I persuaded them to go without me. Promising to take lots of pictures, they headed out on their adventure while I took my medicine and went back to bed.

I missed out on a beautiful drive and hike, but ... true to their word ... they took lots of pictures. There are numerous waterfalls at Duke Creek that converge into one before falling into (where else?) ... Duke Creek. As beautiful as their pictures were, I know firsthand that it's impossible to capture the beauty of a waterfall in a photograph.

We have to head home to the real world today, but we'll be back. The mountains and waterfalls aren't going anywhere. They'll be waiting for me the next time I'm here ... and I'll see this waterfall then.

A peek of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.

So picturesque.

My boyfriend and his son-in-law ...
Thing B's first love and her last love :)

A view of the mountains at one of the lookout points along the highway.

Jethro? Is that you?

How is he still single?!!

A camo Maza Miata. Check out all the customization!

While running to pick up a prescription for me yesterday morning, my boyfriend saw the epitome of a redneck playboy driving down the road in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Think Jethro Bodine. If you don't know who Jethro is, it would be worth the time to look up some Beverly Hillbillies clips of him trying to attract women on YouTube.

The gauge in my boyfriend's truck said the outside temperature was 29º, but traveling down the highway with the top down, the wind chill inside Jethro's "chick magnet" had to be well below zero. When Jethro pulled into a gas station, my boyfriend followed and discreetly took a couple of pictures. I guess my sweetie knew words alone would not do justice to this scenario. (In order to protect the innocent guilty, I've obscured the license plate number and Jethro's face).

As hard as it is to believe, Ladies ... this Twenty-First Century Jethro is single. See? It says so right on the bumper of his pimped-out, camouflaged sports car! I'm not sure that's something he needs to advertise, though ... I think it's safe to assume that when people see him in that car, they pretty much already know he's single. Bless his heart.

Just a Typical Thanksgiving Day Feast

I was looking through the channel guide on television a few days ago, and the above description came up for a cooking show, featuring "a traditional Thanksgiving", with turkey breast porchetta, bacon bourbon brussels sprouts skewers, and smashed root vegetables.

Um, yeah. Uh-huh. Thanksgiving ... just like grandma used to make.

Happy Strange Thanksgiving!

I made two pumpkin cheesecakes the other night ... one for me to take to the mountains, and one for my kids to take to my sisters.

My boyfriend invited me and my kids to his cabin in the mountains for Thanksgiving. Initially they all said they could make it, but it turned out that none of them can get off work long enough. My oldest daughter and I were talking about Thanksgiving and she said something about cooking it this year. I told her I would cook (I always have!). She said she thought I was going to the cabin. I replied that I wasn't going since none of the kids could go. "Mom," she said, "I think you should go. I can cook something and have Thing 2 and 3 over."

I told her I didn't know ... it didn't feel right to go out of town on a holiday without my kids. She poo-pooed my reservations and told me to go and have fun ... then began filling her Pinterest board with "easy" Thanksgiving menu ideas. I told her I'd have to talk to the others before I made up my mind.

I broached the subject with Thing 2. She said "I've already talked to Thing 1 about this, and I think you should go. It's not like it's Christmas. All I eat is some mashed potatoes and the skin off the turkey." Then I approached Thing 3. I started to ask him about it, but he cut me off ... "I heard. I think you should go."

Golly ... they all sure seem anxious to get rid of me!!!

I made the decision to go to the mountains, but it felt wrong! To appease my conscious (somewhat), I called Thing 1 and asked if she wanted me to make my green beans and a pumpkin cheesecake for them so that there would be a little bit of "me" at Thanksgiving, and she immediately gushed "Yes! Thing 1A (her new husband) was wanting your pumpkin cheesecake, and it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without your green beans!"

One of my sisters called. She knows I'm going out of town and asked if the kids would want to come to her house. I wasn't sure if Thing 1 had her heart set on cooking this year or if she had already bought food for the feast, so told my sister to call them. She did, and they all accepted, so I feel a little less guilty at abandoning my children. With the exception of last year, we always celebrate Thanksgiving with my sister and her family (read about the first celebration here).

I took a day of vacation on Wednesday and rode to the mountains with my boyfriend's sweet daughter and her new husband. Today, she and I will prepare the feast together (the turkey is already started). I expect to have a wonderful time while I'm there, and I know my kids will have fun at my sister's house ... they all love her, her husband, and their little cousin ... but I'm still struggling a little with the guilt.

I was pregnant with Thing 3 when I separated from their father, so it's just been me and my three little bears all these years. They were my world. They've been the deciding factor in every decision I've ever made. Raising kids, especially alone, is hard work. When I dreamed of having children, I honestly had no idea how much work it would be. It was draining, difficult, and lonely ... but I did it. There were a few bumps and detours, but they all turned out pretty good. They're smart, witty, cute, and fun to be around ... and I'm very proud of all of them.

Because it was "us against the world", I'm closer to my kids than most. I'm thankful that they all have their own lives and friends and jobs. I spent many years overwhelmed, struggling, and sleep-deprived, and dreaming of the day I'd have my life back. And now I do. It is nice not to have to worry about keeping three tiny humans alive, chasing them around all day, and collapsing into bed exhausted every night. It was a wild ride, but we made some great memories and had a lot of fun. 

I know I'll have a good day and so will my kiddo's ... but I sure do miss them.

Why I Don't Let Thing 2 Decorate

An Old-Fashioned Budweiser Beer Delivery

(Photo courtesy of Tricia Weir)

The Budweiser Clydesdale's delivered beer to all the bars along and near Franklin Street last Friday night. I had already made plans, so I didn't get to see them. Franklin is such an old-fashioned, picturesque street, and those horses and the wagon are so charming. Luckily, some friends went and sent me a few pictures. I wish I could have seen them in person ... I love these horses!

(Photo courtesy of Jeanne White)

(Photo courtesy of Tricia Weir)

(Photo courtesy of Tricia Weir)

And here's my favorite Budweiser commercial ...

I heard that there were some people offended by this commercial (shown during the Super Bowl after 9/11). They claimed Budweiser was exploiting the terrorist attack for profit. I didn't see it that way at all ... I see it as Budweiser showing reverence and honoring the victims, their families, and our nation. I, for one, found the commercial both respectful and moving.