When it rains ...

it pours...

Nelly, I love you and you know I'm here for you. Hugs sweetheart!

It's Been a While

I haven't been very good this past week about keeping things up to date, but it has been a crazy week...

First and foremost - Austin City Limits was AWESOME!! I'll try to get pictures here at some point (I have to get them from friends who went with me) but overall the weekend was a blast! Some discoveries I've made as a result:

1. Not-on-the-radio John Mayer is actually pretty good ... I was ashamed to admit it, but I may have to check out his latest blues CD to see what the radio isn't smart enough to pick up.
2. Ben Harper plays a mean Stevie Ray Vaughn.
3. Phoenix = small band of the weekend.
4. My roommate has way better taste in music than I do (thanks Justin!).

Post ACL, things have definitely been on a downward swing... but that means they have to head up eventually, right? I'm thinking about you Grandma and I love you! See you in October...

Here's to good friends and a shoulder to cry on.

Two More Arrays!

It's official - the Space Station has two more arrays for power generation bringing the total number to four! Today was the day when the arrays were deployed and everything went well. There was a delay due to some issues with the Solar Array Rotary Joint (the primary steering mechanism) but once those were resolved the deploy went as planned.

Solar Array Deployed 50%

This is a big step towards the completion of the Space Station and we are all excited!

Let the games begin...

Now that we've launched the shuttle, this marks a busy week for me. Well, it was much tougher before we delayed the launch, but it's still a crazy week:

Monday #1: 3:30am - 12:30noon
Monday #2: 7:30pm - 4:30am
Tuesday: 7:30pm - 4:30am
Wednesday: 11:30am - 8:30pm
Thursday: 3:30am - 12:30 noon
Friday: AUSTIN CITY LIMITS FESTIVAL!!

So if I don't answer my phone call during my off hours there's a good chance I'm sleeping. :)

Liftoff!

Let the construction begin! The shuttle is in the air and on the way to the space station to do the next assembly mission. I'm on my way to work in a couple of minutes to get the books ready to go, but I'll try to keep you up to date as the mission progresses.

Liftoff of Atlantis

GO For Now

The meeting is over and it looks like we are a go to attempt a launch tomorrow. Will we succeed? Who knows... they are doing more testing and analysis tonight that could put a ceasefire on the entire deal. But fingers and toes are crossed because it will only get more difficult the longer we wait.

(Only mixed news - I have tickets to the Austin City Limits Festival next weekend which means I'll miss the end of the mission. What timing...)

Good news ... Bad news ...

Today was a day of mixed highs and lows... Here goes the summary.

Bad News: The launch was scrubbed. See Scrub #1 below for the explanation...

Good News: I might have a chance to be command certified (meaning I've completed the training required to be eligible to perform commanding tasks to the Station) by the end of next week. This doesn't mean I actually get to command - that won't happen until I get through my complete system certification - but I'm another step closer.

Bad News: The launch for tomorrow was scrubbed. See Scrub #2. Maybe Friday?

Good News: We won our first softball game!!

Bad News: We lost our second.

Good News: I was hitting like a champ in the home run derby after the games!

Bad News: One of the guys got nailed in the head with a line drive in the home run derby.

Good News: No concussion and he doesn't need stitches!

Bad News: I almost hit a deer on the way out of the field.

Good News: I stopped in time and missed him!

Bad News: In stopping abruptly my cell phone slid forward from underneath my seat to be miraculously "found". ... yup. That's right. 3 days after I paid uber-dollars to replace it. Gotta love the timing.

Good News: I don't have to spend an additional $25 on a new sim card for the phone?

*sigh* It seems petty to complain after all of the shockers that have happened to family and friends, but we'll focus on the positives for now: Launch on Friday (fingers crossed people!), no expensive damage to a head, no damage to the car, and a few extra dollars saved on replacing a "lost" phone. All in a days work, I suppose.

Scrub #2 ...

Two down, one to go. This is not looking pretty.

Scrub #1 ...

Well, with only three possible launch days we've scrubbed on day #1. Apparently they are having fuel cell problems that require troubleshooting. Details here, but here's hoping that we can launch tomorrow!

Some friendly advice ...

... when at the softball field: go ahead and leave your cell phone in the car. I made the mistake of taking mine with me and I've been trying to replace it ever since. So if you've been attempting to call me - fear not! I am not ignoring you. I am simply disconnected from the world. Hopefully I will get a replacement sometime very soon (Tuesday? Maybe?) but it should be in the mail.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present ... MY NEW TOY!
Yup. Decided to go all "high tech" and stuff. I figured since I was paying for it anyways, what the hey. Might as well get something I like! I learned my lesson, though, and phone replacement insurance is now being added to my plan.

Are you ready for some football!!

Have I mentioned lately that I'm excited about the start of the football season? Temperatures are dropping, grills are getting hot, and the men of winter are ready to bang it out for another season. Hooray!! Only one more week of preseason madness then let the real games begin!

The highlight of last night's games: Denver won (of course), Raiders lost (yippee!), and Cutler is looking better and better.

Cutler making waves...

Next up for the weekend: CU is looking to beat Montana State for a quick start at home. If only I could watch the games here ...

Most exciting thing to look forward to: LAUNCH! Complete change of pace, but we're looking to launch the next space shuttle mission on September 6th. I don't have anything to do with the shuttle directly, but you can read all about the mission here. It's going to be exciting with a lot of power reconfiguration and activities. I'll be working crazy hours while they are in the air, but I'll try to keep things up to date!

Atlantis on the pad