STS-114 Launches

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Liftoff! Discovery is in orbit, and STS-114 is well and fully underway. The fuel sensor problem which had previously delayed the launch was not an issue this morning. Mission timeline, mission updates, and the Wikipedia entry.

Also posted to Metafilter.

Update: Fuel tank camera shows debris flying off the tank during separation, but it didn’t hit the orbiter. Future shuttle models of this type should have the spacecraft perched atop its initial propulsion stages rather than astride, a la Apollo, to avoid problems such as the impact which destroyed Columbia.

Update: Poor bird! :(

Attentive Pandora (wiggle)

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It’s rare that I can get a decent photo of Pandora awake — let alone two successive photos of her in the same position. As it is, she moved her head just a tiny bit. Otherwise, this 3D wiggle came out well.

Old Friends’ Weblogs

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Updates on some old college friends’ weblogs:

Toni of Wifely Steps recently moved servers and is now running WordPress. It always gives me a lift to read about her rapturous adventures in domestic bliss. She was recently featured in the Manila Bulletin’s “Blog-O-Rama” section: Toni’s Everyday Scribbles, by Annalyn Jusay.

Angie has moved her weblog to “Osong Duling,” which means “Cross-eyed Bear.” I was tickled pink when she told me that she’s now going out with an old classmate of mine from grade school. Small world. (Angie, does he have a site?)

Erik, whom we also called Perik back in college for reasons I can no longer remember, is apparently On The Verge of something.

Ganns continues to be Super Blessed.

Mike and Row are kind of busy and are not updating, but I can assure you that they will be sharing domestic bliss in the near future.

“Draw Your Sword!”

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(DRAW YOUR SWORD! uploaded by brownpau.)

“You sir, have challenged my honor, and I demand satisfaction!”

In case you’re wondering why DC is suddenly crawling with boy scouts, it’s the 2005 National Scout Jamboree in Fredericksburg, VA, starting tomorrow. The Jamboree lasts ten days, so start getting used to the sight of boy scouts from now till next week.

Subway Wraparound

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(Wrap.jpg uploaded by brownpau.)

Hey, look! Subway car wraparound advertising! I just can’t wait for the added revenue from this to be transferred to the customers in the form of lower fares and better maintenance of trains and escalators. Right? Right?

Scotty Gets Beamed Up

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James Doohan has passed away. Doohan played Enterprise’s Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott on Star Trek, and was my original inspiration for learning to mimic Scottish accents.

Bit of trivia: Doohan was a captain in the Royal Canadian Artillery, and fought in the invasion of Normandy in WWII, where three bullets destroyed the middle finger of his right hand. The finger was later amputated. When you watch classic Trek, notice how Scotty usually hides the injury by facing his right hand away from the camera or balling it into a fist. Occasionally it gets into the shot, though: some screen shots.

More from Memory-Alpha.

Harry Potter Spoilers

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Update, 2007: You may also be interested in my OMG EXCLUSIVE DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILERS!!! JINKIES!!!

Stop reading if you haven’t finished Half-Blood Prince! STOP!

So now that Harry knows that Tom Riddle is (was?) James Potter, how will Harry deal with the fact that Voldemort is his father? (That is, after that agonized yell when Voldemort cut off his wand-wielding hand?) Will he have the nerve to face Voldemort, stand his ground, and redeem his father, or will he give in to the dark side… of his personality?

The hand issue means Harry will have to master wandless spellcasting, unless he can use his left hand, or does the infirmary grow back hands? Plus, he’ll have to make a new wand.

Hermione didn’t take the news that she is Harry’s long-lost sister too well, either — that means Voldermort is her father too. That knowledge quite nicely handles the question of who gets to be Hermione’s lover, at least: Ron, as soon as he’s unfrozen from the Carbonitus curse — if Hagrid and Neville are able to rescue him from Peter Pettigrew’s clutches.

This is a dark time for the wizarding world. Now Voldemort has really struck back.

DARTH Voldemort!

The Cloisters

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I was up in NJ/NY for the weekend, and Amy and I checked out The Cloisters, the Met’s medieval art branch in Fort Tryon Park, Upper Manhattan. Being medieval art and history enthusiasts, we were fairly impressed with the collection at The Cloisters: artifacts and architecture from 11th to 16th Century Europe, all well-preserved and labeled. I was especially impressed with the Rosary Bead, large for a bead, but tiny for such an intricate work of sculpture.

The Cloisters photoset. Photos were taken by both me and Amy, as we were sharing her Powershot S230.

More from JCSparks, one of Amy’s classmates, via whom I first learned about The Cloisters.

You can get to Fort Tryon Park and The Cloisters by taking the A Train up to 190th Street. After you get out of the elevator and the station, turn right and walk through the park, or take the M4 Bus.