Meet Wiggles!

Meet Wiggles, the newest member of our family! :D Today we drove to the local animal shelter and picked him out. He's a 2-month old tabby cat, with a wonderful temperament.

He's so cute! Heretofore I didn't know cats could come in such small sizes! Of course, it's been a decade since we had a kitten.

Everyone is so excited, that is everyone except Punky! :P Punky's not behaving as bad as he could, though he's certainly not an angel. Several hisses have been uttered in the direction of the bathroom door, where Wiggles is in isolation. However we hope in a few weeks Punky and Wiggles will get along better.

Punky told me that he will write an "I, the Cat" article about this young upstart whippersnapper when he gets time, and can surrender he constant vigil at the bathroom door!

~Tennessee Photobug

The Kellys--Astronauts and Brothers (Part 3)

Two American astronauts you may have heard about are Scott and Mark Kelly. They are identical twin brothers, and both became test pilots, being inducted to the same astronaut group in 1986. This past fall NASA filmed an interview with the brothers, and covered their lives from the brothers growing up, to their career choices, being an astronaut, and what advice the brothers would give to kids who aspire to be astronauts. While the entire interview ended up being about 40 minutes, NASA broke it down into about 5-minute segments. Right here is Part 3 of the interview, and throughout the next few weeks I will post the other parts as well. 

While both brothers have been on the crews of several shuttle flights, most recently Scott Kelly was the commander of Expedition 26 on the International Space Station. Mark Kelly is slated to be the commander of the upcoming (STS-134) space shuttle mission. You may have heard of Mark Kelly as he is the husband of Congresswomen Giffords. 

Anyway, I really enjoyed watching their interview. I hope you do too! 

~Photobug

P.S.--Be sure to come here to my actual blog to view this video, as it does not play elsewhere. Oh, and in the video Scott Kelly is seated on the left and Mark Kelly is on the right.

The Sprunging of Spring ;)

Here in our little corner of Tennessee spring is definitely sprunging! :D Here's a few photos from recent spring happenings.....

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 ^^There's one bunch of tulips that have just started blooming...absolutely gorgeous!

 ^^These buds/flowers on our maple tree look to me like tassels made by nature!

^^This bunny was SO cute...he stayed in our yard for quite a while munching down on our new grass! ;)

The Kellys--Astronauts and Brothers (Part 2)

Two American astronauts you may have heard about are Scott and Mark Kelly. They are identical twin brothers, and both became test pilots, being inducted to the same astronaut group in 1986. This past fall NASA filmed an interview with the brothers, and covered their lives from the brothers growing up, to their career choices, being an astronaut, and what advice the brothers would give to kids who aspire to be astronauts. While the entire interview ended up being about 40 minutes, NASA broke it down into about 5-minute segments. Right here is Part 2 of the interview, and I'll keep posting the interview parts a couple times a week until I've posted them all.

While both brothers have been on the crews of several shuttle flights, most recently Scott Kelly was the commander of Expedition 26 on the International Space Station. Mark Kelly is slated to be the commander of the upcoming (STS-134) space shuttle mission. You may have heard of Mark Kelly as he is the husband of  Congresswomen Giffords. 

Anyway, I really enjoyed watching their interview. I hope you do too! 

~Photobug

P.S.--Be sure to come here to my actual blog to view this video, as it does not play elsewhere. Oh, and in the video Scott Kelly is seated on the left and Mark Kelly is on the right.

Who Am I? Clue: I've Made A Lot of Choices

Note: I've written this article as an interview for the Good Afternoon Zoar TV show. Use the hints and clue scattered about the article to figure out the mystery person's identity before the end of the article!

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Good Afternoon Zoar: Good Afternoon once again to the residents of Zoar.I'm Izhar, your anchorman. We are still covering the breaking news story of why and how the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Right here in the studio we have one of the few survivors from those fair cities. Welcome, Sodom Survivor!

Sodom Survivor: I'm glad to be here.

GAZ: I'm sure you are glad to be here, and not back in Sodom!

SS: Yes.

GAZ: Before you tell me about how you escaped, would you please tell me a little background about yourself?

SS: Of course. I am the nephew of one of the most wealthy and well-known patriachs, Abraham. When he left Ur, I came along with him. I even went down to Egypt with him, but  when we came back we had accumalated too much stuff. We had accumalated too many servants, too many flocks and herds to dwell together. So Abraham said to me, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsman and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left." [Genesis 12:4-5, 13:1-9]

GAZ: Wow!!

SS: Well, yes, I suppose you could say that. Anyway, I looked up and saw Zoar and the whole plain of the Jordan spread before me. It was well watered, so there wouldn't be any problems with my herdsman. It was just like the Garden of Eden! And adorning this area were the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. I mean, the choice was really simple. I moved and pitched my tents near Sodom. [Genesis 13:10-13]

Well as you know, later I moved into Sodom proper. In the course of time, wars were fought and as you know, the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and of course the king of Zoar allied themselves together and fought against Kedorlaomer and his allies, who were conquering just about everyone. Unfortunately Kedorlaomer and his allies won the batttle, and seized everything in Sodom and Gomorrah, including all the goods, food, and people--including me and my family! [Genesis 14:1-12]

From what I hear, someone escaped from the fray and reported to my uncle Abram all that had happened. He gathered his fighting men, and defeated Kedorlaomer and his allies, releasing everything and everyone, including me and my family. [Genesis 14:13-16]

GAZ: Wow! What a great uncle! Could you tell me now how you escaped from Sodom??

SS: Well, anyway, last night I was sitting by the Sodom's gateway when two strangers entered in. As you know, Sodom at night can be a very dangerous place at night. Evidently these strangers didn't know how dangerous Sodom was, as they told me they were going to spend the night in the square. But I insisted so strongly that after much pleading they did come and stayed at my house. I baked some supper for them, and we ate. [Genesis 19:1-3]

Right before we were going to hit the sack, all the men of Sodom surrounded my house and demanded to do wicked things with my guests. I stepped outside to reason with them, but they were beyond reason. I was offering them my daughters when they accused me of being an alien to Sodom and judging them! They were about to break in when my two visitors snatched me inside, and shut the door, meanwhile blinding all the men surrounding my house. [Genesis 19:4-11]

GAZ: Do you think you were making the right choices?

SS: It was at this time I started to realize that these weren't just any two ordinary visitors. They informed me that they were going to destroy Sodom because of its wickedness, and asked me if I had any family in the city. I went to talk with my soon-to-be son-in-laws about this warning, but they thought I was joking. [Genesis 19:12-14]

As the sun popped over the horizon this morning, these visitors--who I was sure were angels--urged me, my wife, and my two daughters to get out of the city before Sodom would be punished. I hesitated. I mean, why would I want to leave this city? My wife rather liked it here. The surrounding area reminded me of what the Garden of Eden was supposed to have been like. [Genesis 19:15, 26 & 13:10]

Evidently the angels thought that the situation was more urgent than I thought it was. The angels dragged us four out of Sodom, and told us to flee for our lives and to not look back on punishment of death. The angels told us to flee for the mountains, but I felt that the mountains would be too far away and we would be swept away in flight. I requested that we be able to flee here to Zoar, and the angels relented. [Genesis 19:16-22]

GAZ: So that's how you came here?

SS: Yes. Of course, it took most of the morning to get here, and when I got here just a little bit ago the sun was well risen over the land. Just after we got here the Lord rained down burning sulfur from the heavens on these two cities. While my wife and daughters did come with me, my wife's heart was still back with all her stuff in Sodom. She disobeyed the angel's commands, and she turned into a pillar of salt. (Sodom Survivor has trouble holding it all together at this point.) [Genesis 19:23-26]

GAZ: Wow! Your uncle's God must be in charge of everything. Well, thank you for coming, and I'm glad that at least you have escaped with your life from Sodom.

Sodom Survivor: Th-thank you. I do nn-need to go nn-now. I'm afff-afraid to stay here in Zoar for ll-long. Good-bye! [Genesis 19:30]

(Sodom Survivor exits studio.)

Good Afternoon Zoar: Well there you have it, folks. The story of a man put into very favorable circumstances, but at least it seems to me that he did not appreciate them at all and made a lot of unwise choices. This man's story also shows that even when we do sin, this man's uncle's god still looks after us. Wow. If you haven't guessed, this man's name is  Lot. Now, what does our weatherman have to say??

Good Afternoon Zoar Weatherman: Reports and conjectures are still flying around like crazy. Whether it was burning sulfur or not, we do know that dense smoke continues to rise from the land, and will continue to do so for quite a while. Stay in your homes, or buildings, or get inside immediately if you're outside! Stay inside so you won't get sick. Izhar, back to you. [Genesis 19:28]

Good Afternoon Zoar (Izhar): Thank you Weatherman. Well, that about sums it up for us. Tune in to Good Afternoon Zoar this evening for the 5 o'clock news, where we'll have more breaking coverage on the disasters of Sodom and Gomorrah. So long!

The Kellys--Astronauts and Brothers (Part 1)

Two American astronauts you may have heard about are Scott and Mark Kelly. They are identical twin brothers, and both became test pilots, being inducted to the same astronaut group in 1986. This past fall NASA filmed an interview with the brothers, and covered their lives from the brothers growing up, to their career choices, being an astronaut, and what advice the brothers would give to kids who aspire to be astronauts. While the entire interview ended up being about 40 minutes, NASA broke it down into about 5-minute segments. Right here is Part 1 of the interview, and I'll keep posting the interview parts a couple times a week until I've posted them all.

While both brothers have been on the crews of several shuttle flights, most recently Scott Kelly was the commander of Expedition 26 on the International Space Station. Mark Kelly is slated to be the commander of the upcoming (STS-134) space shuttle mission. You may have heard of Mark Kelly as he is the husband of  Congresswomen Giffords.

Anyway, I really enjoyed watching their interview. I hope you do too!

~Photobug

P.S.--Be sure to come here to my actual blog to view this video, as it does not play elsewhere. Oh, and in the video Scott Kelly is seated on the left and Mark Kelly is on the right.

MR-BD: The Flight that Made the Russians First

Have you ever wondered why the Russians put a man up into space first? Why on April 12, 1961 Russian Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space instead of American Alan Shepard?

Well, I did too, and found the answer much more fascinating than I had anticipated. The answer: Mercury-Redstone Booster Development, a flight inserted between chimp Ham's troublesome blast into the cosmos and Alan Shepard's perfect one. Often shortened to just "MR-BD", rocket designer Wernher von Braun insisted on this flight before a manned one. Why? There were many problems with Ham's flight, and von Braun felt like his Redstone rocket hadn't proved itself safe enough to carry a man. Von Braun wanted a perfect unmanned flight before a manned one.

The Mercury Seven astronauts--and particularly Alan Shepard, who was slated to make the first flight--were furious. Shepard knew he could've survived the chimp's flight, and he was sure he could survive this upcoming one. Hey, von Braun and his team had fixed whatever problems there were with the Redstone, so if they were fixed, why did they need a flight to prove it? Shepard wanted to be first man in space!

But von Braun prevailed, and got his unmanned rocket flight. On March 24, 1961--exactly 50 years ago today--MR-BD blasted off from Cape Canaveral on an perfect 8-minute, 23-second flight. Everything went right--no aborts, the accelerations and apogee was just right, and the velocity was perfect. As the capsule plunged into the Atlantic, von Braun and others knew that NASA was ready to send a man into space. The preparations began, and Shepard's flight was rescheduled for early May.

But the time slip was just what the Russians needed, and three weeks later Yuri Gagarin rocketed into space and secured for himself the title of first man in space. Three more weeks later, Alan Shepard flew in space too, and secured for himself the slightly less glamorous title of first American in space. And all of this "who's first" history was decided by...a flight named MR-BD. Today, on the 50th anniversary of the flight, let us remember another of the crucial steps that NASA took to place an American into space.

~Photobug

Even More Proverbs to Remember

I'm still memorizing my favorite proverbs...and it's amazing! As I've studied, I've realized that Solomon seems to dwell on a couple themes:

• Health
• What the Wise Man & The Fool do
• What "The Fear of the Lord" will do for you
• Caring for the Needy

Recently I've been especially impressed with all the health advice that Solomon gives, so I thought I might share it with you! It's really amazing how old--and true--this advice is!

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."

~Proverbs 17:22

"A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones."

~Proverbs 15:30

"A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit."

~Proverbs 15:13

"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."

~Proverbs 14:30

"An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up."

~Proverbs 12:25

"The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short."

~Proverbs 10:27

Looks like good news, obeying God, and being happy and at peace really do help us live longer!

~Photobug

When People Get Together...

Here's a really cool video! This one features a bunch of the Kennedy Space Center employees getting together in the shape of a space shuttle, to celebrate the shuttle's 30-year program. They took a picture....but here's the video of how it all happened! This is so cool! :D

~Photobug

P.S.--remember to visit my actual blog to view this video.

Expedition 26 Lands Safely

Last week Wednesday three Space Station spacemen landed safely in Kazakhstan, including Commander Scott Kelly. Here's a video of the landing (sort of, well actually of when the crewmates exited the spacecraft) and a post-landing interview with Scott Kelly. Enjoy!


~Photobug


Remember, come to my actual blog to view these videos. ;)


The Expedition 26 crew (Commander Scott Kelly, and crewmates Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Scripochka) exit from their Soyuz spacecraft on March 16, 2011.


A post-landing interview with Commander Scott Kelly.

I, The Cat: Geo-cating

I, The Cat, His Royal Highness, King Emperor of the Entire House, Pumpkin Pie the First, shall now give you another glimpse of the (almost) ideal life that I live.

But don't think that I am giving you this interview because you asked. No, I am the cat. Cats proudly rule, and the humans cower and obey, making us happy even to our slightest whims.

About a month ago, my subjects (also known as my humans) got into the strangest new hobby! They call it "geocaching". From what I can deduct, they go get some information from the computer onto a GPS, and then go and find the container wherever it is. Then they come back and log online that they have found it!

Hmph. I really don't see the point in it! I mean, I find things and I don't even need a GPS-whatever-it-was! I find my human. I don't need a GPS for that! I sit and stare at her. MEOW! I tell her she needs to find MY fish, put in in my bowl, and give it to me. She doesn't need a GPS for that!

I've been thinking that I need to create a new hobby. It's called, "Geo-catting", and in this hobby (a twist off of geoCACHING) you go and find things...but with out a GPS! I mean, c'mon! Why do those crazy humans have to pay HUNDREDS of dollars to find little containers hidden outside?? We cats are MUCH better equiped with our natural reasources. Like our noses, for example. Or our sight and hearing which is FAR superior to my subjects' senses!

So. In geo-cating you don't need to pay boo coo bucks to find the caches! All this technology is already built into us by our loving Creator. Since I am only an inside-only cat, I will hide many geocaches (or geocats) around my house. Like, for example, in the Middle World, which is off-limits for my subjects! I might even be able to create a website called "www.geocat.com" and then post co-ordinates on there! For example, I could write a geocache detail page like this:

Small container hidden atop cat food container. You will need to jump onto the refrigerator first, then leap across open space, elegantly gliding in superb feline style. 


Additional hints: The nose knows...you will find a nice little surprise treat in the geocat. Please leave pawprint and date in log.


Sincerely, 
Punky, also known as:

His Royal Highness,

King Emperor of the Entire House,

Pumpkin Pie the First

His Royal Highness, King Emperor of the Entire House, Pumpkin Pie the First

In the Days of Biztha, Bigtha, and Harbona

Recently, I was reading through the book of Esther and found out some most interesting bits of trivia! Most people would recognize the names of Esther and King Xerxes, and some may remember Mordecai (Esther's cousin) and Haman (bad guy, and second-in-command of Persia). But who knew that a guy named Harbona was in the book of Esther? I surely didn't, until I was reading Esther!! Here's some more little-known people mentioned in the book of Esther.

~Photobug

1. The seven eunuchs who serve King Xerxes: Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas. Wow!

2. Then there's the seven nobles of Persia and Media which had special access to the king: Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan. (That's a mouthful, isn't it?)

3. Vashti. She was Xerxes' queen. When he told her to come in before his drunk guests, she stands up and refuses to come. For that she gets kicked out of the palace.

(1-3 are all from Esther 1.)

4. Jair was the father of Mordecai.

5. Esther's father was Abihail.

6. Hegai was the guy in charge of getting the girls ready to meet the king.

7. Bigthana and Teresh were two guys who tried to assassinate Xerxes. Thankfully Mordecai overhears the plot, and tells Esther. Esther in turn tells Xerxes, and his life is spared. Bigthana and Teresh's lives aren't.

(4-7 are all from Esther 2.)

8. Haman's father was Hammadatha. Now that's a mouthful!

9. Hathach was a eunuch assigned to Esther. He went to Mordecai and asked what the trouble was. (Mordecai was in sackcloth because he was mourning over Haman's degree, which was going to kill all the Jews on a certain day.)

(8-9 are all from Esther 3-4)

10. Zeresh was Haman's wife. She gave him some pretty rotten advice! To see for yourself, check out Esther 5 and 6.

11. Harbona shows up again in Esther 7, informing the king of the gallows Haman had built for Mordecai. Xerxes tells Harbona to hang Haman on those gallows instead!

12. Finally we get to Haman's sons (Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha). After their father was hanged, they got the same sentence as well. See Esther 9.

Well there you have it! While Esther, Xerxes, Mordecai, and Haman are the main players in the story, many other people were in the story as well. Isn't it fascinating and cool that the Bible would record all this information??

Part 6: Geocaches Galore!

 We had so much fun geocaching in the Veteran's Island area!! When I got home to log my finds, I realized that there were many more caches in the park!! So the next day my family and I went back...and picked up the remaining caches!! Here's some pictures of our experiences. It was lots of fun--we found four out of the five caches we searched for! Side note, but I also really liked this sunrise shot (above).

~Photobug

 ^^Me and Alison with a cache--it was like a tiny pot with Spanish moss on top of it. The whole thing was stuffed into the side of a fence post!! Since there was a huge abundance of the moss everywhere, the cache was very cleverly hid!! :)

 ^^See? This is what the cache looked like when it was hidden!! :)

Looking Back: STS-133

Here's a very nice seven-minute video overview capturing highlights of the STS-133 mission, Discovery's last. Farewell Discovery, and an awesome job well done to the crew of STS-133.

~Photobug

P.S.--Don't forget to come to my actual blog to view this video! :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

To be totally honest, I completely forgot that today was St. Patrick's Day! :P We've never made it a huge celebration in our house, so I was first reminded of the holiday when I went into work this afternoon and everyone was wearing green! I thought it cool that the student worker uniform is a green shirt, so everyone including the students were "wearing their colors"! ;)

Anyway. I was browsing on my favorite website tonight (www.nasa.gov, of course!) and found this really cool video celebration of St. Patrick's Day aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman does sends the greeting in a very funny and creative way, I thought! :D Enjoy!

~Photobug

P.S.--Remember to check out my actual blog to view this video.

Part 5: Florida Finds

As you may know, I am quickly getting addicted to the hobby of geocaching! :D Naturally, I brought my GPS to Florida in hopes of finding several caches. And I was not disappointed! At the start of our week in Florida we were able to visit my cousins, and we found a cache near their home (left, see how excited my cousin Michael is at finding the cache!)

Later in the week we were able to go to a beautiful park near my grandparents' apartment and collect several caches there. We searched for five, and found three!! I thought that was pretty good. ;)
Following is some pictures of the caches found, and some of the surrounding area. One of the places we went was a veteran's island, and so in addition to cache pictures here I also have included some shots from there. :)

~Photobug

 ^^My cousin Melissa with the cache--she actually found it!

 ^^Me with the cache.

 ^^"Do you see what I see??" Can you spot the cache?? It's a brown box, and you can barely make it out. It was so hard we almost gave up--but then Melissa found it.

Change of Command in Low Earth Orbit

Here's a neat video of a change of command of the International Space Station from Expedition 26 commander Scott Kelly to Expedition 27 commander Dmitry Kondratyev. Kelly and two other ISS astronauts are coming back to Earth tomorrow.


~Photobug

Part 4: Tops, Cows, and Carousels

After my grandparents took my family and I on a boat ride, we went over to the local County Fair! It was lots of fun. :) We'd been there two years ago, so I pretty much knew what to expect. It was still fun though. ;)

One of my favorite areas was the petting zoo! No, I didn't pet the animals, but it was still fun! There were lots of cool animals there, such as goats (see left picture), cows, kangaroos, a zebra, and several more. I also saw pigs, cows, and chickens (though the chickens had a fowl order). My only disappointment was that there weren't as many horses as I remembered! :-|

Another really cool exhibit was the hay bales. Scattered throughout the fairgrounds were various decorated bales, which I thought was really cool! You'll see pictures of the hay bales below. We also saw some sea lions!!! They were so funny and cute. Unfortunately, no shows were going on (boo hoo hoo!) but one sea lion came up out of his tank and posed for us! :D (see picture below)


Some other cool stuff. When we were in the arts and crafts building, there was a very nice old gentleman who was woodcarving, and he offered to make my sister Alison her own top!!! It was really nice of him, and it was totally awesome watching him create it. It spins extremely well! Towards the end of our visit Alison and Mom rode the double-decker carousel. It looked like Alison had a grand time!

Endeavour Rolls On Out

This is an awesome one minute video about Endeavour's final rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad. :) Remember, come to my actual blog to view the video.

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Riddling Proverbs--Threes and Fours

The Bible is an awesome book. It's God's written word to us, a special, personal message to each one of us from the Ruler of the Universe. The Bible has a lot of different kinds of stuff in it--history, poetry, prophecy, stories, advice, and much, much, more. But did you know that the Bible contained riddles? I surely didn't, till I read Proverbs 30! Enjoy these Bible riddles from the pen of wise man Agur.

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"There are three things that are never satisfied, Yea, four that say not, Enough:

Sheol; 

and the barren womb; 

The earth that is not satisfied with water; 

And the fire that saith not, Enough...

...There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yea, four which I know not:

The way of an eagle in the air; 

The way of a serpent upon a rock; 

The way of a ship in the midst of the sea; 

And the way of a man with a maiden...

...For three things the earth doth tremble, And for four, which it cannot bear:

For a servant when he is king; 

And a fool when he is filled with food;

For an odious woman when she is married; 

And a handmaid that is heir to her mistress...

...There are four things which are little upon the earth, But they are exceeding wise:

The ants are a people not strong, 

Yet they provide their food in the summer;

The conies are but a feeble folk, 

Yet make they their houses in the rocks;

The locusts have no king, 

Yet go they forth all of them by bands;

The lizard taketh hold with her hands, 

Yet is she in kings' palaces...

...There are three things which are stately in their march, Yea, four which are stately in going:

The lion, which is mightiest among beasts, 

And turneth not away for any;

The greyhound; 

the he-goat also; 

And the king against whom there is no rising up."

~Various verses from Proverbs 30, ASV. 


Isn't that cool?!?

Out With The Old...In With The New(er)

So. Discovery just landed on Wednesday, and now the space shuttle Endeavour is being rolled out to the launch pad! While Discovery may have ended its travels, Endeavour is being prepped for one last mission into space, scheduled for this April.

Discovery was originally built in the 1970s and '80s, and launched on its first mission in 1984. Endeavour is slightly newer, though still old: this space shuttle was built in the late '80s as a replacement for Challenger. So out with the old....in with the new(er)!!

Endeavour's final mission (STS-134) will consist of carrying many spare parts to the International Space Station, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a high-pressure gas tank, some communication antennas, and a micro-meteoroid debris shield. Learn more about this mission, as well as some cool interviews with the astronauts here!

Mark Kelly (sitting in the center of the photo) is the commander of STS-134. His wife is Congresswoman Giffords. Standing, from left, in the above photo: Pilot Gregory H. Johnson,  Michael Fincke, Greg Chamitoff, Andrew Feustel, and European Space Agency’s Roberto Vittori. Fincke, Chamitoff, Feustel, and Vittori are all Mission Specialists on this flight. In addition, there will be four spacewalks on this flight, although I do not know by who. 


Anyway, I know its still 39 days till launch, but I'm getting excited about this shuttle flight! :)


~Photobug 

Part 3: Dolphins, Manatees, Pelicans, Oh My!

Okay! Now onto the fun and exciting post. ;) The highlight of my Florida vacation was when my grandparents took me, my sister, and my parents on an awesome boat ride on the Indian River, searching for wildlife! :D
For about an hour and a half, we just mosied around watching land and animal.

Right off the bat, we saw a manatee! It was SO cool. He just came up once for a breath, so I couldn't get a picture, but it was still so cool seeing a wild manatee LIVE!!! We searched and searched for dolphins for the longest time, but couldn't find any. We did find a colony of pelicans! (see above picture). Finally, though, we found the dolphins--and THAT was the highlight of my vacation! Of course they didn't come leaping up out of the water like the dolphins would at SeaWorld, etc. but it was really cool seeing dolphins free and in the wild! There must've been six or seven around us. Sometimes you would just get their top fin in your picture, but if you were lucky you would catch part of their body as well!

Well, anyway, so much said from me. I'll make way for the photos, and you can see for yourself!

~Photobug

^^I thought this was my favorite dolphin shot! :D

Remembering Discovery

Here's a nice 15-minute video about the significant role the Space Shuttle Discovery has played throughout the years. It's awesome--watch it and see! :D Remember, check my actual blog to view this video.

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Discovery Come Home

Here's some nice videos of Discovery's trip home, which occurred today. The first video covers Discovery's de-orbit burn, and the second talks about how Discovery had a flawless last mission. The video of Discovery's final landing (my personal favorite) is also here.

Remember, come to my actual blog to view these awesome videos!

~Photobug


Discovery's de-orbit burn


Discovery's final landing


Discovery completes flawless mission

Discovery/STS-133 Flight Day 13 Recap

Here's a nice video recapping on the what happened on Flight Day 13 of STS-133. In short, the crew's getting ready to come home, and Commander Lindsey gives a formal recognition of everyone's work on Discovery through the years.

Remember, you can view this video on my actual blog.

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Part 2: Life At The Sea

 While in Florida, my grandparents took us to Fort Pierce, Florida and we rode on a boat! But I'm getting ahead of myself. The boat ride itself is the subject of my next Florida post! ;) This post will focus on the good times we had waiting for the boat, and exploring the harbor. :)

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 ^^This was a really cool house. It's called the "Seven Gables House" and was built in 1905. It was one of the original houses in the Fort Pierce area. During WWII the family sold it, and it passed hands through several businesses before being donated to the city of Fort Pierce in 1998. The city restored it, and now uses it as an information/welcome center! The lady who was in there was very very nice, and I thought the house was very nicely restored!

The Crew of STS-133: Saluting Discovery

Here's a very nice formal recognition by the STS-133 crew of what a major and important role that the Space Shuttle Discovery has played throughout the years.

Remember, view this video on my actual blog.

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Discovery/STS-133 Flight Day 12 Recap

Here's the Flight Day 12 Recap Video for the STS-133 shuttle mission. This video covers the highlights of yesterday's day in space--mainly, undocking from the ISS and flyaround. Remember, come to my actual blog to view this video.

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STS-133 Highlights (So Far)

Here's a really nice video hitting the highlights of Discovery's final mission--STS-133--from launch on February 24 through undocking from the ISS this morning. Remember, check my actual blog to view this awesome video!

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Farewells and the Final Flyaround of Discovery

So yeah...here's a few more videos of STS-133 that I found that thought you all would like! :) Remember to come here to my actual blog to view them.

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Farewells and Hatch Closure of the Shuttle and Station Crews


The Final Flyaround of Space Shuttle Discovery
Filmed on Monday, March 7, 2011 by the ISS crew

Discovery/STS-133 Flight Day 10 Recap

Well forget what I just said in my previous post--NASA did upload the Daily Mission Recap video for Flight Day 10!!! Here it is for you to enjoy. Basically, the station and shuttle crews worked on finishing up some housekeeping duties before closing the hatch (which happened today).

Remember, view my actual blog to see this video.

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Discovery/STS-133 Flight Day 11 Recap

For some strange reason (I have no clue why) NASA did not upload the Daily Recap video for Sabbath, March 5. Who knows. Anyway, here's the recap video for yesterday, which was Flight Day 11 for the crew of Discovery. The highlights--or shall we say lowlights--were the station and shuttle crews bidding each other good-bye.

Remember, it's a good idea to come to my actual blog to view this video.

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Part 1: Twelve Hours & Forty-Three Minutes Later...

Guess where I went for my Spring Break this year?? :D This year my parents took me and my sister to visit my grandparents, who winter in Florida. It was LOTS of fun!!! :D In this post and the next few coming, I'll tell you about my wonderful trip.

As the title implies, we did have a long day driving to Florida, but even so, it went surprisingly well. Yeah, we were squished a bit; the usual, persistant cramps came and would not budge; but even still, it was a wonderful, happy trip down. I think God helped us a lot, as there was very little arguing and fighting!

I sighted many fun things as we drove, most of whom were in Atlanta. I saw the top, gold part of the Georiga State Capital and I saw a statue of an Olympic Torch--probably left over from 1996 when the games were held in Atlanta. Right as we were passing the Atlanta airport, a Delta plane flew right over us, making its' final approach--I thought that was so COOL!!! :D

Discovery/STS-133 Flight Day 9 Recap

Flight Day 9 Recap Video. Basically, all astronauts atteneded press conferences and unpacked the ISS. Remember, view the video on my blog.


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We

This past winter my parents and I watched an superb documentary on the Apollo space program, entitled In the Shadow of the Moon. It's so awesome because it lets the astronauts tell their stories with original footage--there's no other narration besides the astronauts' stories. Totally awesome movie.

In addition to watching the main feature, my parents and I also viewed the bonus stories and interviews. These were equally cool! Mike Collins was one of the astronauts predominantly featured in the documentary. On Apollo 11 he was the Command Module Pilot--a fancy name for the astronaut that does not walk on the moon, and instead keeps an orbiting base alive for the two other astronauts.


In the extras Mike Collins talked about his experiences when he and his Apollo 11 crewmates Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin went on a global goodwill tour following their mission. Collins told the story of how when on tour, all over the world, people of all nations kept saying that "we" had finally done it. "We"--humankind--had finally landed on the moon and successfully, safely return. No, it wasn't "You the Americans" who had landed on the moon--it was "we"--humankind. Collins expressed how neat he thought it was that people all over the globe thought that "we" had done--not just a particular country.

After we finished watching the extras, my father remarked to me on how neat he thought it was the Mike Collins had seen the "we" factor, not just the "me" or "us" factor. Dad then pointed out a Bible verse that supported this fact--the "we" factor. It's found in Deuteronomy 4:19:

"And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars--all the heavenly array--do not be enticed into...worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven."

Wow. "apportioned to all the nations under heaven." I thought that it was pretty cool that God said that his creation--especially the sun, moon, and stars--were not just for one nation or one people. They were for all of  us, all of the inhabitants on planet Earth.

What does God want to do with his creation? Ultimately, it's to bring healing to us. In Revelation 22:2 the disciple John talks about a tree that's going to be in heaven:

"On each side of the river stood the tree of life...and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."

Isn't that cool, that God wants to use his creation to bring us healing? As we see more and more uses of nature with the intent of being harmful, it is always refreshing to see that God's original intent--and what He'll do in heaven--is to bring healing to his people, to make us a "we" and not focus on "me".

Discovery/STS-133 Flight Day 8 Recap

Here's what happened on Flight Day 8 for the Discovery/STS-133 crew! In short, the station and shuttle astronauts worked on unpacking the ISS, and were greatly joyed at being granted another day in orbit. This video also covers President Obama's phone call to the crews! 

Remember, you may want to come here to my actual blog to view this video, as it does not play anywhere else. 

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Unique Perspectives

Nows here's some new perspectives! NASA just posted video from the cameras aboard the Solid Rocket Boosters from Discovery's last, most recent mission. In just the first few minutes, it shows from launch to splashdown for the Solid Rocket Boosters! For those of you who don't know, the Solid Rocket Boosters, or SRBs, are the skinny little missile type thingys that are attached the the sides of the shuttle, or more precisely the dark orange external tank. The entire video is like half hour, but only watching like five minutes or so is an awesome adventure!

Remember, you will want to come here to my actual blog to view this video, as it doesn't play in e-mail or Facebook.

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Discovery/STS-133 Flight Day 7 Recap

Finally! Now NASA has posted the Daily Mission Recap video for yesterday, March 2. In brief, the video talks about Steve Bowen and Al Drew's final spacewalks yesterday, and how Al Drew wants to go to DisneyLand!

Yesterday I was able to watch live as Bowen and Drew started their adventure, and it was pretty cool! Steve Bowen has now secured another place in history for himself--not only the first astronaut to fly on two consecutive missions, but also with seven spacewalks under his belt, he is sixth on the all-time list of astronauts who have spacewalked the most!!

Remember, you may want to visit my actual blog as the videos do not play elsewhere. :)

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Discovery/STS-133 Flighht Day 6 Recap

Here's another great video by NASA on STS-133! This video highlights the big events in Flight Day 6 (also known as March 1 to the rest of us.) In short, Mike Barrat tells what he is eating for breakfast, and Nicole Stott tells how the last part of the ISS was installed by her shuttle crew, as well as the "grand opening" of this latest, last module. This video also shows Stevle Bowen and Al Drew prepping for their second, last spacewalk.

Remember, you may want to come here to my actual blog, 'cause the videos don't play anywhere else!

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P.S.--Can you believe that STS-133 is already half done?? I can't either!! It just launched...last Thursday! :P

Carrying the Fire (Armchair Astronaut, Mar. 2011)

Welcome to this fifth edition of Armchair Astronaut! This month, I'm featuring another awesome astronaut's book, Carrying the Fire. Let me explain...

Recently I finished reading an absolutely wonderful book entitled Carrying the Fire by Mike Collins. Collins, if you remember, was the command module pilot on Apollo 11.

I must say that Carrying the Fire is one of the most awesome space books I've ever read! For one, Collins is really really funny! He tells his story with much good clean humor, but with authenticity as well.  I also rank him up there with John Glenn; he has stayed married to his original wife and he also does not pepper Carrying the Fire with language/words that I don't like.

Collins starts out his autobiography with telling of his days growing up in Rome, Puerto Rico, New York City, and even Oklahoma. Later he joined the Air Force and eventually was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base in California as a test pilot. Collins applied to be an astronaut several times before being selected for the third group of NASA astronauts ("The Fourteen") in 1963.

Collins goes on to tell, with much humor, his feelings on his "weeks in the barrel", where he (and other astronauts), would make public appearances at various events and functions. Before he had flown in space, almost nobody knew who he was. In fact, in one such appearance, a little boy came up to Collins and said, "When is the real astronaut coming??" ;) No astronaut liked their "week in the barrel", so that's why Collins was so excited to be assigned to a crew. When asked why he wanted to go to the moon, Collins replied, (I'm paraphrasing) "Well, it's either that or a week in the barrel!" ;)

Discovery/STS-133 Flight Day 5 Recap

Finally! NASA has finally posted the Daily Mission Recap Video for Flight Day 5 of the STS-133 mission. Flight Day 5 for the astronauts translates into Monday, February 28, 2011 for the rest of us. The big thing on Flight Day 5 was when Al Drew and Steve Bowen performed a spacewalk on the International Space Station. This spacewalk is the first of two they will be performing on this mission--the second  is scheduled for tomorrow, March 2.

Remember, to view this video you may wanna check out my actual blog, as videos do not play in e-mail or FB.

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