What a whirlwind, wonderful weekend! Jen and I had a great time exploring the frontiers of technology at the
WIRED NextFest in Los Angeles, CA. Didn't know we were going? Neither did we until earlier in the week!
Jen was in LA all last week for more safety training with the Air Force. (She really liked the class and is enjoying all of the neat stuff she is learning at all of these various training courses.) Her plans were to come back to FL Friday night. I was planning to be out and about with
Zero G flying teachers all over the east coast during the week [
vid link] and then going to a personal development weekend in Sarasota (part of my
Landmark Wisdom course).
I have wanted to go to NextFest for the past few years, but I have always been out of the country with
SGC. Since we decided not to go to India this year, I realized this was my golden opportunity to attend!! Jen looked over the NextFest website and was excited to go too. Here's what we did: I flew out of Dulles on Friday as planned, but instead of Sarasota I went to LA! Jen changed her flight plans and stayed over an extra night in LA. We rode the
Metro bus to save $$ and experience more of the real culture of Los Angeles. It was a great experience! I now understand why many people in the city don't have cars.
NextFest was a GREAT showcase of all kinds of entertainment, robotics, health, home, automotive, and space technologies. My favorites were the real human heart valve grown in a lab
without stem cells and the living grass roof on the model home. Check out the pictures [
here] for more neat stuff we saw and did, including the cute little restaurant we found while wandering the streets of LA.
Instead of flying out of LAX with Jen on Saturday night, I took the FlyAway bus up to Van Nyus, California for yet another Zero G flight! Turns out they needed a Flight Attendant and I was available--and close! Things worked out great.
This week it's back to work for both of us here in FL. Jen's birthday is this Tuesday (call her!) and we plan to have dinner with Mom. Things should be calm... until I head out to Las Vegas for another Zero G flight on Saturday and then off to Atlanta to make up the Wisdom course weekend.
We lead a crazy, fast, unexpected, improbable, absolutely blessed, fun and exciting life! Thanks for being on the journey with us :-)
I just got a note from Keith Cowing at NASAWatch.com letting me know that I am mentioned in this SpaceRef online article: Returning to Weightlessness. Check it out to get a good perspective on the teachers flying as a part of the Northrop Grumman Weightless Flights of Discovery.
