(no subject)

[lordshipmayhem]

First, I'd like to thank all of you who were able to make it to the Gathering yesterday. It was a lot of fun, and a lot of food.

Second, I'd like to share this little piece of geeky humour, courtesy of Pamela Jones of Groklaw fame. As PJ puts it: "I'd suggest a different solution, but it's still funny. Next time someone says Linux is a problem because there are too many choices, show them this cartoon."



I'm a space nut. Have been since I was real little: as a preschooler, waited for hours and hours for the launch of one of the Gemini flights.

That little factoid makes this time of year bittersweet: as I'm celebrating my birthday with my friends, I keep being reminded of not one but TWO space disasters that coincide with the days:

Appolo 1 fire, January 27, 1967, two days before my birthday. Three astronauts die when the Command Module catches fire. You combine pure oxygen environment, a hatch that has to open inwards and has no quick-release mechanism, and a spark, and that's what you get. Roger Chaffee, Ed White and Gus Grissom, rest in peace.

Challenger disaster, January 28, 1986, one day before my birthday: NASA knew there were problems with the seals and O-rings in the SRB's, but those who thought it warm emough to launch won out over those who knew it hadn't been tested at these temperatures. The famous physicist Richard Feynman discovered the cause of the disaster in about 5 minutes by dropping an O-ring sample in a simple glass of ice water in the first meeting of the committee. Rest in peace Francis Scobee, Michael Smith, Judith Resnick, Ellison Onizuka, Dr. Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe.

And rest in peace all the brave space explorers who lost their lives helping mankind slip the surly bonds of earth.



So, a good rest of the weekend to one and all.

Comments

[haruhiko.livejournal.com]

I remember vividly seeing the Challenger disaster, even though I was only six at the time. It was interesting 'cause I remember how the school was so worried that they brought in psychologists for kids "just in case," and even one of the Punky Brewster episodes the next month dealt with the Challenger disaster.

Now I think of the disaster every time I go to Little Tokyo (Los Angeles's Japantown), because they have a street named "Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Street":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:11-11-06-LittleTokyo-StVibiana-LAskyline.jpg

[lordshipmayhem.livejournal.com]

I very much remember where I was on that day: in an elevator in the Citibank Building in downtown Toronto, heading back from an ultimately unsuccessful job interview. Two executives got on at a lower floor, and one mentioned the disaster to the other.

(This was right in the middle of Canada's banking scandal, where two banks, the Canadian Commercial and the Northland, ended up going bankrupt. I'd just started with the Mercantile Bank of Canada, as an internal audit clerk. As it was a small bank investors had lost confidence in it, and it was in the process of scurrying into the waiting arms of the National Bank of Canada. We knew our jobs were toast, and the management were busy using all their connections to send as many of us as possible on job interviews.)

[shivanesti.livejournal.com]

On the day of the Challenger disaster I was in 10th grade Physics class when the announcement broadcasted over the school speakers. The class went quiet for awhile then I remember the teacher trying to explain what might have happened and discussed some of the previous NASA space accidents. Then people just started walking around in the halls looking for their friends to talk with about it until classes were restored.

[tamakun.livejournal.com]

Now that it's officially your birthday, I want to wish you a Happy Birthday again! :D