NASA's Very Bad Week.

It's a little eerie to me that the 3 major tragedies in the history of NASA all occurred within one 6-day period (though in different years, obviously). There was the Apollo I launch pad test fire on Jan 27 1967, the Challenger explosion on Jan 28 1986, and the loss of Columbia on re-entry on Feb 1 2003. I wasn't around for the Apollo I fire, but the other two I remember vividly. I was 10 when Challenger was lost, standing outside my elementary school watching the launch. Once it became clear that something had gone terribly wrong, we went back inside to watch the tv coverage. The forked plume outside seemed to hang in the sky for hours. And Columbia, I was actually living in Texas at the time, which is where she broke up and the pieces fell (though a bit further east from where I was). Anyway, worth remembering, even though the US space program these days isn't what it once was (and definitely isn't what I think it should be).

Day off!

Well, despite my slight illness and potentially ugly weather, I'm planning to go through with my day off for tomorrow. The idea, as I mentioned, is to hit 2 or 3 Disney World parks and get in some of the rides that I rarely get to enjoy when we visit with the kids. And who knows, maybe the gloomy and cold weather will server to keep people away and crowds will be even lighter than expected! I plan to start at Hollywood Studios, where I may even be able to get in a ride on Toy Story Mania if I book it right over there. That ride has been open for several years now, and I have yet to ride it because the wait is always insanely long later in the day. And apparently it's not even that great a ride, even though it invariably has a long queue. Ah well, at least I'll be able to say I've done it. From there I'll probably bounce back and forth between the Tower of Terror and Rock'n'Roller Coaster a few times, as long as the lines remain short. Then I'll maybe hit Animal Kingdom for Expedition Everest, or maybe just decide to head to the Magic Kingdom and visit the mountains (well, probably not Splash Mountain if it's too chilly). Or who knows, maybe I'll get my fill of rides at the Studios and spend the rest of the day playing video games at home instead. It's a crazy world, anything is possible! :) But I do plan to bring a camera, so perhaps I'll want to roam around the parks making photos. Unless the weather is really icky. Yep.