The 25th Anniversary of Shuttle Challenger and how I remember

I didn't realize that Friday, January 28, 2011, was the 25^th anniversary of the Challenger explosion until I saw a tweet mentioning that Friday morning.  It immediately brought back memories of that day in 1986 when I was at work when an administrative assistant first brought word that Challenger had exploded shortly after takeoff.  Everyone’s reaction, including mine, was “What?  That isn't possible!”  Shuttle launches had become routine in our minds.

We found a TV and tuned in a network news special coverage just in time to see a replay of the liftoff and flight until the horrific explosion after 73 seconds.  It seemed like watching a movie since this couldn’t really be happening.

My other memory of that day is the difficult yet graceful address to the nation given by President Ronald Reagan bringing tears to my eyes.  But through the years the tragedy fades from memory a little more each year until January 28 comes around again and we are again reminded of Challenger and Christa McAuliffe in particular.  But my memories of Challenger and its crew were rekindled in July 2007 when my wife and I vacationed in Florida to visit our oldest son who lives in Gainesville.  While there we decided to visit the Kennedy Space Center and it is a day that I will always remember.

As a child I was really interested in space and it was a very exciting time for that.  I remember Sputnik, Telstar, the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, including Neal Armstrong’s first step on the moon, and Apollo 13.  So when we got to the Kennedy Space Center I was totally wrapped up in every aspect of every step we took there.  One of the most amazing memories of that day was the opportunity to walk below every stage of the Saturn 5 moon rocket and still be totally amazed at how huge it is with over two million systems and sub-systems that never experienced a single failure of any rocket system during the history of the program.  The first stage generated seven and a half million pounds of thrust, one and a half million from each of its five engines.  Other lasting impressions were the huge vehicle assembly building, the crawler tracks from there to the launch pads, and seeing Shuttle Endeavor (STS-118) on Pad 39A being prepared for its launch on August 8, 2007 just two weeks after our visit.  I watched that launch and especially its landing with increased interest and awareness as I saw the shuttle land where we had been parked along the runway just weeks earlier.

The most remarkable experience of the day was the Shuttle Launch Experience and I even got the T-shirt too.  My son and I went for the “ride” and I would do it again in a heartbeat given the chance but I no longer qualify due to high blood pressure.  The requirements and restrictions are very specific.  We had to remove and put in lockers every loose article, including baseball hats, and empty everything from our pockets to avoid FOD (Foreign Object Debris) before being allowed to enter.  In short we were going to “ride” the shuttle simulator to experience the final minute of the shuttle countdown and the first few minutes of shuttle flight.

The first thing that we experienced after we were positioned and belted into our seats was the feeling of being rotated back flat on our backs and then the countdown resumed.  Then as explained to us beforehand, when we reached T minus 6 seconds we heard and felt the vibration of the rocket engines roaring to life and the “twang” before we lifted off with an acceleration I have never felt anywhere else.  It was totally exhilarating.  Also, as explained beforehand, when the roll program executed to place our shuttle upside down below the main booster, we never felt the sensation of being upside down at all because we are accelerating so rapidly, all we could feel was being accelerated faster and faster as we experienced up to three Gs.  Our speed is displayed to us as it is increasing rapidly but I don’t remember how fast we were moving as we approached one minute of flight and what is known as Max Q of dynamic forces against the shuttle.  Once beyond that point is where the command is given for Throttle Up and when that happens you definitely feel a real kick above and beyond the acceleration that you are already experiencing and that is when Challenger exploded after 73 seconds of flight so for me that was a pretty dramatic recall of the Challenger disaster during my Shuttle Launch Experience.

Our flight continued with the jettisoning of the Solid Rocket Boosters and eventual entry into space and a momentary feeling of weightlessness just before our experience ended as I was looking out our window passing over the Adriatic Sea.

The Shuttle Launch Experience was a thrill.  I will always recommend a stop at the Kennedy Space Center and the Shuttle Launch Experience to anyone who visits central Florida.  It is an experience that I will never forget and it was brought back to me very vividly in my memory again last Friday.

Links:

Challenger Disaster Live on CNN

Ronald Reagan's remarks on the Shuttle Challenger

Shuttle Launch Experience

Shuttle Launch Experience Video Orientation
My Kennedy Space Center Photos (mouse over for photo description)

Another reason I love Google Voice

I created my Google Voice number several months ago for a number of reasons but a primary one was to make it simple for nurses at the Memory Care facility where my parents are cared for to contact me at any time by just dialing one number.  My cell phone number, my home phone number, and my office phone number are all linked to my Google Voice number and I control at which phones my Google Voice rings on what days and what times.

Last week my Google Voice number received a call from an unfamiliar number in Area Code 201 with caller ID labeled as Private so I didn't answer it.  I did do a Google Search on the number which listed several reports that the number is used by a scam artist stating that he was calling on behalf of a large national and well-known prescription mail-order firm.  This led me to believe that the scam artist was really targeting my parents since they both have mail-order prescriptions provided by the firm in question.

Two evenings later my Google Voice number was called again at 9:30 p.m. from this number but I found it alarming that this time the called ID showed the name of the well-known prescription mail order firm.  I know they do not call that late and I recognized the Area Code 201 number so again I did not answer it.  The next day I did contact customer service at the mail order prescription firm who took my statement which they say they are passing to their legal department.

But I won't have to worry about getting any calls from that number in Area Code 201 any longer.  In Google Voice I have blocked the number so if that number tries to contact me again, the caller will hear a message that my Google Voice number is no longer in service and none of my phones will ring.  And as the commercial says, that is priceless!

This is a contest that will be interesting to watch

I have already blogged about the dangers of being ruled by bureaucrats.
http://longsre.blogspot.com/2010/12/hugo-chavez-has-nothing-on-us-liberals.html

I failed then to add the problem is really with Congress who passes laws that are nothing more specific than a wish or a hope.  Then they leave it up to bureaucrats to create the regulations that really form the functioning framework for the legislation even when it strays from congressional intent.  Since so many laws are so sweeping and the resulting regulations are so complex, many legal cases are filed in the courts by those who disagree with the law or resulting legislation or both leaving it to the judiciary to render their opinion as to what the law really means or says and sometimes both.  And often the judicial rulings again have nothing to do with congressional intent.  The end result is that the citizenry by electing its senators and representatives really has less and less say about the laws that govern us.

Leave it to George Will to point out that this issue is really what is going to be contested in Washington in the new Congress:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/14/AR2011011404663.html

My Colts post-mortem

Let me state immediately that I am not a Colts fan, apologist, or hater.  I am an NFL fan who lives in Indiana so all Colts game are available to me on TV so I watch them because Colts games are entertaining.  In the course of the past couple decades of course I have usually found myself pulling for them if not rooting for them.

One key reason is I like Peyton Manning.  He has revolutionized the quarterback position in many respects.  I know he has many detractors like any star athlete, but by any measurement he will go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks in history.  And I believe that Tony Dungy is one of the most respectable people in all of athletics.  So Manning and Dungy are two reasons that I enjoyed watching so many Colts games over the last decade.

Their record year after year has been phenomenal in terms of wins and division titles and one Super Bowl victory.  But I am torn between amazement at their level of consistently high achievement and the feeling that they should still have accomplished more.  I think they should have beaten the Saints in last year's Super Bowl, but I think the Colts were out-coached and I was pleased to see Drew Brees get a ring.

Still I have never been impressed with their defense and their special teams meaning their kick return and kick coverage teams.  The defense is often praised as small but quick.  I don't disagree but they are often seen as soft also.  The kick coverage teams have always been suspect and the kick return teams seldom make a big play.  And age is also catching up with many of the key players.

For a number of reasons at the beginning of the 2010 season I told friends that the Colts would only win eight and at most ten games this season and not win their division.  And I based that on assuming most of their roster would remain intact.  But I ended up being wrong with some help from an underachieving team in Houston.  But I think Houston, Jacksonville, and Tennessee will all be better next season.  You have to hope that the Colts will be too if many of the injured players can return and contribute.  But you have to wonder if several like Bob Sanders and Anthony Gonzales will ever play another game in a Colts uniform and if Austin Collie will ever return from multiple concussions and how much longer aging stars like Reggie Wayne and Dwight Freeney can continue to produce at high levels.

So I honestly have to say that I was wrong and I think they way overachieved this season when they won ten games and won their division with 17 (at last count that I know of) players lost for the season on the injured reserve list, many of whom are key players.  And when you consider the problems on the offensive line and how Manning's receiving cast was decimated, he might have had his best season in some respects because he had to do so much seemingly on his own.

In addition to aging key players and many of them lost to injury, several years of not drafting until late in the first round and frankly less than stellar picks are catching up with the Colts.  When you combine that with spending countless millions on a relative handful of players leaving less and less room available under the salary cap to build an adequate supporting cast, I think that begins to explain the Colts dilemma.

How can you build a deep solid roster when so much of your financial resources are committed to so few players?  How many players have been lost in free agency and not adequately replaced?  Do you ever think about how rare it is to read about a player cut by the Colts being picked up by another team?  It seems that Colts pick up players cut from other teams a lot more often than the reverse.

The interesting question is what this means for the Colts in future seasons assuming a new CBA.  The Colts never do much in the free agent market since they don't have much room under the salary cap, so the draft will be crucial in filling so many holes on the offensive line and all over the defense.  I am not sure what needs they will decide to address first but it is clear that the days when Bill Polian can draft a future star like Dallas Clark despite not needing more receivers are gone.  And it would be nice too if they could find a backup quarterback because a solid backup might allow them to compete even if Manning is injured since most of the ESPN crew thinks the Colts would win four games at most in a season without Peyton Manning.

I guess if you want to think a little longer term, consider that Peyton Manning will be 35 years old in March.  Normally that would indicate that his best years are behind him, but he is anything but normal.  Even so, the Colts had better start thinking about some kind of succession plan (see Packers and Aaron Rodgers) because he won't be wearing 18 forever.  And you wonder too what that means for the future of fan support and the health of the franchise going forward.

Well I thought I had a good Christmas until...

I have had a wonderful Christmas again this year.  I received a number of wonderful gifts from my wife and kids.  My favorite gift is my new Philips Norelco SensoTouch 3D shaver.  For one who hates to shave so much that I have had a beard off-and-on from my first college days this is no small matter.  It is not cheap so it could be the gift for the man who has everything.  When I asked for one I considered the sale price minus a manufacturer's $10 coupon and a manufacturer's $50 mail-in rebate, so the net cost was less than $100 after we also took into consideration that I would have to spend about $35 for a new shaving head to keep the Norelco shaver I was using.

The SensoTouch 3D is incredibly smooth and comfortable as a wet shaver used with shaving cream after a shower.  I didn't think I would ever claim that shaving is a pleasure but this is the smoothest and most comfortable shaver I have ever had.

What made Christmas so great though is spending it with our son who came home from Florida for the holidays, our two other sons, and our daughter, son-in-law, and grandson who all live locally.  That is what makes this time of year so special, especially watching our 2-year old grandson open his presents.  So whenever anyone asked me how my Christmas was, I said Great!

That ceased when I saw a co-worker wondering around my cube at work with an iPad.  I assumed that he was playing around with our department's iPad being used by a manger to consider how an iPad might fit within our I/T infrastructure.  He said No, this was his iPad.  He explained that he and his wife had agreed to limit their spending on Christmas gifts for each other to $100 and that is exactly what they had done until everything else was opened when she said she had one more gift for him and it was an iPad.

So from now on whenever someone asks me how my Christmas was, I am going to respond that I thought it was great until I found out my co-worker got an iPad from his wife and I didn't.  After that my new shaver just didn't seem to measure up.  But I still enjoy shaving with it every morning.

Thomas Sowell on Dismantling America

Thomas Sowell, Charles Krauthammer, and Walter Williams are my favorite opinion columnists so I would have found this column by Sowell sooner or later but I credit Tom O'Halloran (@TPO_Hisself) and Christopher Gadsden (@AZGadsden) for making a link to this column available to me before I found it myself.

http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2009/10/27/dismantling_america/page/full/

When I compare Sowell's thoughts with my own earlier this week about rule by unelected bureaucrats, I can state that I am proud to be able to echo some of the thoughts of an opinion writer like Sowell whom I hold in such high regard.

http://longsre.blogspot.com/2010/12/hugo-chavez-has-nothing-on-us-liberals.html

The column by Thomas Sowell illustrates precisely why there is so much concern today across our nation by so many people like me who see the nation that I grew up in being dismantled before our eyes by people who obviously know what they are doing despite their oath to preserve, protect and defend our nation.  Instead they sponsor liberal judges and bureaucrats who are changing our nation by judicial rulings and bureaucratic regulations in ways that Congress would not legislate to convert the US to European-style socialism at home while our nation's defenses are being weakened at home and abroad at a time when threats from Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and China are growing dramatically.


The saving grace that I try to focus on in this troublesome scenario is an unending faith in the spirit and resourcefulness of the American people which exhibited itself last November but still has a long way to go to secure our nation's future for our children and their children.

I can't wait for the NFL BCS show after tonight's end of NFL Week 17

I can't wait for the NFL BCS show after the final NFL regular season game tonight so we can finally know which two teams are meeting in the Super Bowl in Dallas!

What's that?  Oh, you mean the NFL doesn't have a BCS?  You mean instead of a bunch of games that don't mean anything leading up to the Super Bowl the NFL has a real playoff system so teams actually have to earn their way to the Super Bowl by actually beating other good teams in playoff games?

Wow, what a concept!  How cool is that of the NFL!

Can someone please tell the NCAA about this revolutionary playoff concept?  Oh you mean they already know about it since all their division football championships are already determined through playoffs except the one everyone actually cares about.  So the NCAA has the BCS not because they are ignorant of the playoff concept but because of their stupidity which sentences us to more BCS BS year after year.  Well, then I guess we have no hope then of ever seeing a real NCAA D-I football championship that is really earned.

Early congratulations to either Auburn or Oregan, whoever wins.  But I will never really know if you could have beaten TCU or not where it counts - on the field.