June 27, 2024

June 27, 2024

Once again my back popped so we didn’t play golf this afternoon. Instead Aimee thought we might get out of the heat by seeing a movie at the theater, something we probably only do once a year now. I remembered why when we went to buy a ticket. No clerk and a non-standard kiosk. We purchased two Fathoms, whatever kind of ticket that is. The movie was already starting when we entered a few minutes late. That is a first. What happened to fifteen minutes of previews?

We came to watch “Something to stand for”, a movie made and narrated by Mike Rowe, famous for the TV show Dirty Jobs. Aimee is in love with his deep voice. I should be jealous but I like his practical down-to-earth perspective. Common Sense is so rare today. The movie featured a series of vignettes telling Paul Harvey-type stories about a famous person and a little known event in their life. You are left guessing who the subject is. They are all feel-good stories about people who made America great. Good timing just before the Fourth of July.

We got home just in time to watch the Presidential debate. Just the opposite. Depressing and sad. I couldn't watch it. What has become of our country. And yet we are head and shoulders above the rest of the world. We succeed despite our incompetent government.

June 18, 2024

June 18, 2024

Three months ago after prepping for the March Presidential Preference Election we noticed a strange eerie cloud in the western sky. We later learned it was the setting sun reflecting off the vapor trail of a SpaceX rocket launch out of Vandenberg Space Force Base on the California coast. I was surprised we could see it from 640 miles away! That sparked a mild interest in actually seeing it launch real time.

Last night Aimee and I and our next-door neighbor drove to a high spot in the neighborhood and waited at the expected launch time. This time the Falcon-9 rocket launched on-time with 20 satellites aboard and what a spectacle it was. It started as a flare rising from the western horizon. The rocket's exhaust plume expanded as it rose into the sky while the long tail drifted in the wind still reflecting the sunset. Incredibly the first stage rocket booster landed upright on a drone-ship in the Pacific Ocean minutes later to be reused again for a future launch. What a remarkable age we live in.

While Vandenberg polar orbit launches are not as frequent as Canaveral equatorial ones, they are becoming quite common. Last night was the 20th this year. SpaceX has put over 6000 satellites into orbit already to support their Starlink Internet program. This is a huge percentage of the total 9000 functioning satellites. While this program will advance Internet availability around the world, its negative effect on space junk, astronomy, and earth atmospheric chemistry remain to be seen.