December 20, 2007

  • I had made a brief post about Dan Tani being up on the International Space Station.

    Yesterday his mother was killed in a car accident.

    "Space station astronaut Dan Tani's 90-year-old mother, Rose, was killed
    today when her car was struck by a train in Lombard, Ill., a suburb of
    Chicago, police said."

    How difficult that must be to be stuck in orbit and not even be able to attend the funeral.

    I suppose it happens now and again with those in the military and such.  I am thinking covert-ops and the like.  But still.  Being in orbit takes it to a whole new level.

Comments (9)

  • That happened near me... a town or two over.  Apparently she went around a bus that was stopped at the tracks.  I'm not sure where there are tracks without crossing rails that come down.... I haven't seen any. 

    I thought the same thing, though.  That it would be awful to find that out when in space and completely unable to go home.  Yes, a whole knew level!

  • Merry Christmas.Sorry I haven't been around lately but I was so behind on my Christmas shopping and gift making that I neede to get it done which left no time for xanga. I hope you have a wonderful day.(Sorry to hear about younot having power,that's awful when it's so cold.At least you had back-up heat supply)

  • I'm trying out my daughters laptop that she got for christmas. The kids are dueling it out on guitar hero.Wish santa would have brought me a laptop for christmas.This is nice just kicking back on the recliner and checking out xanga.Although I'm having a hard time typing,the positioning of the keys is off and I keep hitting the wrong letters.So how was your christmas?

  • Quiet time alone? Did you get any gifts?

  • Interesting. I must have missed that newsbrief.

    And I guess I missed your message to me as well -- what's up?

  • Somehow I missed that one, but no, I don't work at REI; I just hang out there all the time. Any REI brand item is good quality, as are Mountain HardWear or Sierra Designs tents. I don't really like the Coleman brand... they're too bulky and not as element-resistant as the other brands on the market. I think my personal tent is a smaller brand, but it's nice and keeps me dry, so I don't particularly care. A friend gave it to me for free, so I didn't ask too many questions.

    Make sure the tent has a solid rainfly that buckles all the way to the ground, preferably on all sides so that it completely covers the tent all the way to the ground and gives an extra layer of insulation between you and the elements. Also, make sure the bottom is rainproof, and it's best if it comes with a footprint, a specially fitted tarp that fits right under the tent and hooks into the stakes to keep out standing rain. After that, and after making sure the zippers and buckles are of good quality and the seams are secure, go for the simplest one you can find. There's nothing worse than getting to camp in the pouring rain in the dark after a dozen miles on the trail and struggling with a complicated tent. Completely set it up in the store before you buy it and make sure you could do it in dark, sucky weather.

    Let me know what you end up with, okay? Oh, and buy a tent repair kit with a little mosquito netting and a needle and thread and some pins and a thimble and duct tape and maybe some metal tubey things that you can slip over a broken pole... they come in handy. Good luck!

  • RYC: I'm doing the drawings myself, as I'm using solidworks, they don't have solidworks, and I don't have the time to teach them. At least I'm going to make sure they know how to read the drawings :)

    Tolerances vary. Ideally every hole would be done on the Milling machine, and would thus be accurate to 1/2000th. With one mill though, that leaves a lot of people doign nothing. Mmmm challenges.

  • Wow, that sure puts things in perspective. I hope your new year is off to a good start!

  • I did check out your pictures and it looks more like you're rappelling?

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