Weekend at Home!

After over a month of travel, I finally stayed at home for a few days! Jen and I enjoyed hanging out and each getting our hair cut in Viera on Friday night. Our friends Robert and Susie even joined us for dinner at Mimi's Cafe--YUM!

On Saturday we tried to go to the local driving range, but it was closed for a tournament. Instead, we hit practice balls in the back yard! It was fun to get lessons from Jen--she really knows her stuff! (Note: the club face should point to 11 o'clock. It works.)

We spent Sunday afternoon planting flowers around the back porch and doing general yard work. I got to plant a cool sea grape and dig up a bunch of ferns. The back yard has a lot more color now!!

The 'weekend' even extended to Monday night as my mom drove down to have dinner with us. It is nice to have her living so close now! I am enjoying having her nearby and look forward to having dad down soon too.

Pics and videos are online [here]. Now, back to work! The World Space Expo is coming up fast and I have 3,000 kids to teach!

Dinner with old friends

Robert and Chale Fischer came down to Titusville last night for dinner with me and Jen. It was nice to see them and show off our house. This was their first time coming to see us since we moved to Titusville. We visited their home in Deland back in May and were nearly eaten by bears.

To give the evening a bit more adventure, we tried a restaurant we found online: New York New York. The online reviews said it was great, so we figured "why not?!" Honestly, we did a double-take when we saw the place. It is nestled in between some really nice houses right on the Indian River but looked a little run-down. When we pulled into the parking lot we could see the extensive deck and tiki bar--along with the VAB and Shuttle pads just across the water! Definitely a hidden gem for watching launches.

The food was good with generous portions. Jen's fried shrimp dinner was overloaded with 12 shrimps! I still have half of my grilled chicken sandwich and homemade chips in the fridge. The mac & cheese was homemade as well and delicious. Chale enjoyed her huge grilled chicken with Key West seasoning (think 'lemon pepper' but with lime!) and Robert liked his grouper sandwich. All-in-all, a great meal!

Best, of course, was just being with Robert and Chale. It was nice to have them so close when we lived in Port Orange. We've decided we need to have a game night at least once every month. The challenge now is to find a date when we are all in town... :-)

Transformers: More than Meets the Eye

Last night Jen and I went out to see the new Transformers movie in Merritt Island with some friends. It was GREAT! MUCH better than I imagined.

There are a LOT of differences between the 2007 live-action movie and the 1980's cartoon and animated movie. LOTS. One glaring difference is that humble sidekick "Bumblebee" is a Camaro instead of a VW Beetle. I understand marketing, I really do. And I will admit that he did look HOT as a 2007 Camaro.

Despite the altered storyline and visual changes, the basic themes and characters were kept intact. The cheezy Good vs. Evil banter was still present between Optimus Prime and Megatron. And, yes, Optimus had the same commanding yet gentile voice we remember from our childhoods (best decision EVER).

If you are looking for a deep, thoughtful movie please go elsewhere. If you have tunnel vision and can not see past the original Generation One Transformers TV show and movie, you will not like what you see. However, if you want a good movie with amazing special effects that reimagines a piece of your childhood then this is the movie for you. "Autobots, transform and roll out!"

PS- the new theme song is pretty cool too!

Roo Wants a Facebook Account

I joined Facebook last week. I'm really excited about it, but I haven't been very attentive to it. Jack says he wants his own page, but he's not old enough yet. Poor Roony.

We just spent the last week being wined and dined by Disney. We're trying to get a hotel contract signed for our ISDC 2009 Orlando bid. We spent Wednesday and Thursday nights at the Coronado Springs resort. Then Friday and Saturday nights we spent in a huge corner suite at the Rennaissance near SeaWorld. I definitely recommend bidding for a conference--you get all kinds of goodies from the hotels--wine, presents, free Disney hopper passes.

Thursday night we saw a cool movie--The Wonder of It All. It was an independent documentary about the moonwalkers. Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14) was there in the theater. He answered some questions afterwards. I sure hope the filmmakers can get the film out to wider audiences. It is really well done.

Friday was the STS-117 launch. I worked the blast console. I'm in training for when Amber is out of town in the beginning of July. There is a Delta II launch that I'll need to do the launch day blast models for. It was scary to be on the console at first, but it's fun.

Saturday we spent at Disney--Epcot and Magic Kingdom--with Teresa, Robert, and Brett. We had tons of fun, but I let out a sigh of relief Sunday morning when I dropped Tim and Brett at the airport. I had all day Sunday to relax and unwind from such a busy week.

Tim's in DC lobbying congress. I'll let him tell you all about it when he gets home.

A space roundup in Dallas: Yeeee-haw!

Jen and I made it back safely from the 2007 International Space Development Conference in Dallas, TX. We had a great time and got to see some really great presentations! Jeremy and Kristin from ERAU and our good friend Robert Driscole came from Florida too. We all roomed together in a 2-story suite at the hotel!! It was a little cramped, but having 2 bathrooms helps a LOT.

Other neat things included:

• recording segments for the Space Task Force podcast
• giving a presentation on the World Space Expo education program
  
• meeting sci-fi author Ben Bova
• presenting our bid to host the 2009 ISDC in Orlando (thanks to DNC and Disney for your help!!)
  
• seeing Pete Worden, Center Director for NASA Ames, presenting both in person and via avatar in SecondLife
• attending the Space Blogger Summit and getting tips from heavyweights like Alan Boyle, Jeff Foust, Robert Pearlman and Glenn Reynolds
• listening to Alex Tai describe plans by Virgin Galactic
• hearing about the Mars Phoenix Lander and its cool logo
• seeing the lunar lander, Pixel, before it competes in another Lunar Lander Challenge
  
• and, of course, meeting new space friends!!
  

For a glimpse of what the conference is like, check out our photos.
The recent interview of our good friend and NSS Executive Director George Whitesides in Wired will also give you an idea of the tone of the conference (and it's a good read).

Glad to be back home with the cats. At least for a little while :-)

Wedding bells start ringing for friends

Congratulations to two spacey couples that have recently announced their engagements!

Todd Romberger, former ZERO-G intern and current Bigelow Aerospace employee, is marrying his sweetheart Nola Hogan here in FL on August 19. They live in Las Vegas, NV, and have been together forever (or so it seems). You can find their life story and wedding info here.

Also recently announced is the 2008 wedding of our long-time friends Paul Sierpinski and Susie Allen. We've known them since our college days and are excited that they have invited us both to be in their wedding! We have the privilege of serving as Best Man and Matron of Honor. (I can' wait to make my speech!!)

We are also excited that Paul and Susie are moving to Titusville from Melbourne :-) They are building a house about 3 miles from ours!!! See pics and more here.

When BEARS Attack

We had a nice visit at Robert and Chale's new house last week! They moved to Deland, FL, over a year ago, and Jen and I finally went up to see them after she got home from Alabama. They took us to a cute restaurant in downtown Deland and then we got Baskin Robins ice cream! We went back and saw the final cut of the wedding video (I was the videographer!) and looked at their fancy-pants Disney Weddings album.

Before we left, Chale had me stand in the yard and make my turkey sound. This is one of my animal tricks, similar to how I talk to chickens. She wanted to have this as her phone ringer. then Robert got the same idea and I was gobbling away! Unfortunately, they had me gobble so much that bears came after us!!

No kidding.

We hear a rustling sound and Robert says "it's a bear." We are all inside so fast it was ridiculous. Robert got his big MagLite flashlight and went back out to see if it was safe to approach the cars. What he found was more bears!! There were several cubs climbing a tree in the yard across the street. After they ran off, Robert was able to count 5 bears roaming the neighborhood. I had no idea Deland was so far out in the country!!

We managed to say our goodbyes and get to the car without being eaten. It was exciting and memorable to visit Robert and Chale's new house! Look here for a few more pics.

New Orleans!

Last weekend we met up in New Orleans with our friends Shannon and Roiann for a weekend of fun and relaxation. I flew into New Orleans while Jen drove from Ft. Rucker. Shannon found the St. Pierre hotel for us right in the French Quarter! It was very cute and the perfect place to base our adventure!

We had been to New Orleans in college, but somehow we didn't get much done other than drinking on Bourbon street! This time we set goals and objectives to do all of the cool stuff we'd seen before.

Friday night:

• Arrive at the St. Pierre and park in the scary old parking garage
• Get Hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's on Bourbon Street
• Drink Hand Grenades on the street from Tropical Isle
• Eat late-night, post-drinking pizza
  

Saturday:

• Tour of Lafeyette Cemetary
• Walk through the Garden District and admire the houses
• Get some daqueris for lunch
  
• Explore the riverfront area including the fountain where Jen and I got engaged

Saturday night:

• Ghost tour on foot with "Scary Mary"!
• Absinthe at the pirate bar

Sunday:

• Breakfast at Cafe du Monde
  
• Coach tour of the French Quarter with David and Knucklehead the mule
• Explore the shops in the French Quarter
• Leave!

The city is rebuilding beautifully with all of the French Quarter up and operating. There are numerous "Help Wanted" signs around showing how many residents chose not to return. Some of the shops and restaurants closed early due to a lack of staff!

We had a great time and recommend everyone go and enjoy New Orleans!

More pictures are available online at: http://picasaweb.google.com/spacebaileys/NewOrleans2007

Still alive and kickin'

I spent three days at home with the cats and nearly went insane*. Not that the cats aren't great, but I needed to get out of the house for a bit. Going to the bank and to pay the water bill today seemed like a huge treat. And even then, Jack rode with me in the car...

Tonight I went out with Robert and Teresa to the Ruby Tuesdays in Merritt Island for dinner. (WOO-HOO! PEOPLE!!) It was Robert's birthday and we sat and talked for several hours after we'd finished the meal. In fact, the servers were all sitting together playing cards waiting for us last few tables to finally clear out at the end of the night! I enjoyed stories from scout camp and discussions of belay techniques when doing ropes courses. What a departure from our normal "space, space, space" conversation! Perhaps we are tired of the media coverage we've gotten lately... (YES, we are painfully aware of the "crazy astronaut" story in the news. "Astronaut" is a job title, not a decree of sainthood. We don't know her and are as confused by her behavior as anyone else.)

Things are going well around the house. Last week I tested out the new mop by scrubbing down all of the floors in the kitchen, foyer, hall, and bathroom (it worked great). Monday and Tuesday I cooked food and ate like a real person, so I am not starving. I have done laundry once since Jen left--and will finally fold it tonight!

Talking with my business partner Karen, I realized that I do my best work around and with other people. I've been spending a lot of time lately just looking at a computer screen working budget numbers or other paperwork. Alone. Cats not withstanding, I haven't been around other people and have definitely not been working up to my potential. I do have an office at the Center for Space Education at KSC that I moved into last week. (No windows, one other person in the maze of rooms, but it gets me out.) My new goal is to create more interactions with people on a daily basis. Anyone want to meet for lunch?

Thanks to everyone that has been checking in on me to make sure I am eating. I appreciate your help! Please keep the letters, phone calls, and dinner invitations coming.

*Just kidding! I think...