-
Maiden Voyage Of My New Kayak
This evening after work I took the new kayak down to the Lower Bridge on the Wakulla River today and paddled upstream. She handles quite well, and I am still amazed at the room in the cockpit, the cargo space, and the ability to track so well in such a small kayak (12'). It was preternaturally still and quiet with no wind and almost no bird call ( Read more... ) -
Cross-Fertilization
I have been trying to be more active on Facebook lately and in doing so have been neglecting LJ even more. But it's time for a little cross-fertilized discussion. I was in a political argument with a set of conservatives about health care reform. One of the individuals was a childhood family friend and the other was a complete stranger but I ( Read more... ) -
Nice Friday Evening at the Coast
Lady Austin and I went down to St Marks with Castor Hound last night where we dined outside at the barbecue place there. I had never been, but I found it a wonderful restaurant with a nice atmosphere and good food. There was a steady breeze that cooled off the evening nicely and the setting sun made a great display. Castor was on his very best ( Read more... ) -
Master and Commander Sequel
No spoilers for anyone who has bot read the books, but I just saw that Russell Crowe is trying to make The Reverse of the Medal into a sequel for 2003's Master and Commander: Far Side of the World movie. It's an interesting choice because it's one of the books where things are left very much unresolved. It does have some good cinematic moments, ( Read more... ) -
Not Exactly Lancelot
Last night I was walking Castor when I saw a car going slowly down a side street. A longer glance allowed me to see that the car was idling along beside an angry young woman. The car and pedestrian turned right onto the street I was walking down, converging with my course. As they did so I distinctly heard the woman respond to an unheard comment ( Read more... ) -
"Houston, Tranquility Base. The Eagle Has Landed."
It's been forty years since Armstrong and Aldrin took their famous walk. I hope we can make it back and beyond in the not too distant future. But for now I just want to echo the sentiments expressed back then; although the trip had been fueled by Cold War competition the prevailing sense was that of pride in humanity and humility towards our ( Read more... ) -
Asheville
Here are some photos from our trip to visit my brother in Asheville on the 4th of July.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10026320@N04/sets/72157621488161995/ -
Apollo Follow-up: LRO Images Landing Sites!
This is pretty darn awesome. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has taken photos of Apollo landing sites!
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/apollosites.html -
Shuttle Launch
I am back from a very exhausting work trip down to the Upper St Johns Basin. We visited areas as far south as Fellsmere (in my childhood neck of the woods) north of Cocoa, east to Melbourne and Palm Bay and west to Osceola and Orange Counties. It was quite a trip full of misadventures and work, and I am proud of what we accomplished down there. ( Read more... )