Canadian Buffoon's Exhausted Vacation - Update 09/01 - New TR link!

They are so wonderful :goodvibes I wish we'd been able to spend more time together, but it won't be my last visit with @docsoliday1 and Connie, I'm sure!
If we have anything to say about it, it will not be the last time you see Coni and I.
We would have loved more time also, but didn't want to interfere with your plans either.
:grouphug: right back.

I understand that completely.
I don't know if it's because the first
one was more shocking (because it had
never happened before, not because it
was any more or less tragic), or if it was
because of there being a teacher on
board which brought it closer to home...
or if there's another reason.
For me, it was because they were warned about the danger because of the extreme cold and they (upper level NASA folks) decided to go anyway because it had already been delayed a couple times and because they were having school kids around the country watching. In my mind, all the MORE reason to scrub the launch if it's not 100% safe. While the 2nd one was surely tragic, it was one in which they really had no choice anyway. They could not stay in space and could not make repairs prior to re-entry. It was really a matter of hoping (or praying or both) it would survive the re-entry. The crew and NASA KNEW it and they might not survive, but there was nothing that could be done about it.


I just had a thought!

"So I woke up four hours early
and got to the park 30 minutes early
and stood in line until it opened.
Then I was lockstepped with several
hundred rabid tourists... but I didn't
wait in line for the ride! How about you?"

"I slept in until 10am, took a long hot shower,
made my way to the empty tapstyles and then
stood in line for 30 minutes for the ride."


"Ha! What a sucker! You stood in line for 30 minutes!"
Wow. Can I have who's the crazier for $200 please, Alex.

I'm sure not!
You can't go to Florida anymore
without Doc tracking you down
and thrusting a cheescake

into your arms!
g
Well, now that you've said that, it's a distinct possibility you might not get another cheesecake. :tongue:

Seriously, though...I love dismeets and I have to use the cheesecake as a bribe to get people to be crazy enough to meet up with me. You've done it more than once, so we know your craziness level. :lmao:

Okay, even more seriously now...I don't actually use the cheesecakes as bribes...I just enjoy when I can do something that other people enjoy. Whether it be cheesecake, buying a kid a toy, being demolished in pool, attempting to buy someone ice cream or meeting up with a suc....err, friend at KSC.

Yes, I KNOW you were teasing, so not at all offended.
 
For me, it was because they were warned about the danger because of the extreme cold and they (upper level NASA folks) decided to go anyway because it had already been delayed a couple times and because they were having school kids around the country watching. In my mind, all the MORE reason to scrub the launch if it's not 100% safe.
Yeah... there was far too much
push to "get it done"... regardless
of safety.
There were changes made not
only to the engineering but also

the mindsets.
While the 2nd one was surely tragic, it was one in which they really had no choice anyway. They could not stay in space and could not make repairs prior to re-entry. It was really a matter of hoping (or praying or both) it would survive the re-entry. The crew and NASA KNEW it and they might not survive, but there was nothing that could be done about it.
Are you sure about this?
I thought they knew that there'd been
an impact, but weren't aware of the
extent (if any) of any damage.
While you're right, they couldn't just
pull into a shop to have it fixed,
or stayed up indefinitely waiting
for another ship to pick them up...

Nevermind. Here's a couple of articles.
Columbia anniversary
Columbia crew not told

I read another interesting article the other day.
It started with a comment of something like:
"I know it's almost sacrilege, but..."
The article went on to say that the failure
rate for shuttles is 40%.


Well... sort of right, I suppose.
Yes, 40% of the shuttles built were
destroyed, but the failure rate is really
1.5% considering 2 failures in 135 launches.

Still very high (compared to aircraft, eg.)

but not nearly anywhere near 40%.

Wow. Can I have who's the crazier for $200 please, Alex.
:rolleyes:
Well, now that you've said that, it's a distinct possibility you might not get another cheesecake. :tongue:
:eek:
Seriously, though...I love dismeets and I have to use the cheesecake as a bribe to get people to be crazy enough to meet up with me. You've done it more than once, so we know your craziness level. :lmao:
It doesn't get much more
insane than that, does it????

Okay, even more seriously now...I don't actually use the cheesecakes as bribes...I just enjoy when I can do something that other people enjoy. Whether it be cheesecake, buying a kid a toy, being demolished in pool, attempting to buy someone ice cream or meeting up with a suc....err, friend at KSC.
Succulents?
you meet up with succulents?

Image result for succulent plant
Yes, I KNOW you were teasing, so not at all offended.
I knew you'd know. ;)
 
Are you sure about this?
I thought they knew that there'd been
an impact, but weren't aware of the
extent (if any) of any damage.
While you're right, they couldn't just
pull into a shop to have it fixed,
or stayed up indefinitely waiting
for another ship to pick them up...
No, I was not sure and even less so now. I thought they had discussed it with the astronauts and unfortunately, everyone knew there was nothing anyone could do.
 
Very interesting day at KSC, we have never been
Thanks for all the cool info and pictures
Dinner at Homecomin looks very good. The Mac and cheese in the picture does look very creamy, glad you enjoyed it.
You really do have VIP bus status, the buses at DS can take forever!
 


No, I was not sure and even less so now. I thought they had discussed it with the astronauts and unfortunately, everyone knew there was nothing anyone could do.
According to those articles,
they didn't know about the
damage, only the possibility
of damage. They did talk
to the crew about the possibility,
but... the were actually wrong
in where they thought the
damage was.
They thought it was possible
that some of the tiles were
damaged, but instead it was
actually the leading edge
of the wing that was damaged.

Either way... they couldn't do
anything about it.
The shuttle was in the wrong orbit
to reach the space station
and another shuttle was months
away from being ready to launch.

Interestingly, when (2.5 years later)
they returned the shuttles to service,
they always had another shuttle

in "an advanced state of readiness."
 
Very interesting day at KSC, we have never been
If you're at all interested,
I'd highly recommend it.

However, I am also aware that

it's not everyone's cup of tea. :)
Thanks for all the cool info and pictures
You're welcome! :)
Dinner at Homecomin looks very good.
It was sooo good!
The Mac and cheese in the picture does look very creamy, glad you enjoyed it.
That was a real surprise.
I'd only heard negative reviews.
It was a real highlight!
You really do have VIP bus status, the buses at DS can take forever!
They can? Huh. Really?
I didn't know that.




:rolleyes1



:duck:
 
Trained Mike, did you?

He's really a good egg! He cleans and cooks way more than I do!

Good!

And... I just saw you have
a whole other PTR/TR going!

:sad2:

I won't be able to catch up, but...

It's hard to keep up with everything on these boards! Most of that PTR is for the Fall trip we already took and the whole report will be over in a few weeks after our December trip so don't even worry about it!
 


He's really a good egg! He cleans and cooks way more than I do!
If he's a good egg...
I presume he never cooks chicken
since that would be cannibalism...
It's hard to keep up with everything on these boards! Most of that PTR is for the Fall trip we already took and the whole report will be over in a few weeks after our December trip so don't even worry about it!
:sad2:

Well, I'll be able to comment from here on out...
 
For some reason...
Okay, the reason is exhaustion.
For that reason, waking up
this morning was particularly...
hellish.
Too many days with too little
sleep, I suppose will do that.

(auto mechanic voice) Well, there's your problem.

I was leaving Disney for a while
and... I don't know about you,
but when I'm not on Disney
property, I don't like to wear my MB.

Makes sense.

It always surprises me a bit
when I walk into a 7-11 in the US
and they only have 2-4 Slurpee
flavours.
Up here, the store closest to my
home has 16 different flavours.

Well, there's a reason for that.

Our 7-11's suck.

I was meeting Doc (@docsoliday1 )
and his lovely wife Coni over
at Kennedy Space Center.

Nice!

Since they live nearby, they'd
decided to get KSC APs.

I would totally do the same. That's such a cool place to visit.

I didn't notice it right away,
but it's made out of Lego.

I remember that. Pretty cool.

You can imagine that a rocket
might weigh a little bit.
This road is what the rocket is
transported on.
And has to be re-graded each time.

I always love their joke about the Tennessee River Rock...from Alabama.

But the VAB is the 4th largest
building in the world by volume.
Each stripe on the US flag
is as wide as a standard bus.

I'm always amazed by the stats on that building. And by how ordinary it appears.

What I wonder though...
is why they painted the flag
that way?

:confused3

...minus the people.

You can't have everything.

I really enjoyed that show, though. Hits me in my nerd spot.

The next stop was the one
I'd been really waiting for:
The Saturn V display.

::yes::

Times have changed.
The Saturn rocket is huge.
The various stages are
lined up in order and span
a distance of over 360'.
Or longer than a football field.

So cool.

It's hard to believe that
all that power and hardware
is used but only the Command
Module makes the return to Earth.
Well... in one piece, anyways.

I love that one line from Armageddon:
“You know we're sitting on four million pounds of fuel, one nuclear weapon and a thing that has 270,000 moving parts built by the lowest bidder. Makes you feel good, doesn't it?”

These guys had all of that, except for the nuclear weapon part.

And one... Apollo 10's LM
(Lunar Module) was left in orbit
around the sun.
No one knew quite where until
it was found just this past June,
almost exactly 50 years after
it was lost.
How cool is that?

That's amazing! I didn't know that.

Nasa needed a pen to write in space.
A normal pen uses gravity to get
the ink flowing and of course that wouldn't
work in outer space. What to do?
So NASA put their brightest minds
to work and spent millions of dollars
to invent a pen that would work in
zero gravity...

The Russians used a pencil.


Funny, right? Silly NASA.

I've heard that one before. All government workers are idiots!

Secondly... Have you heard of Apollo 1?
Nasa did a full run up of Apollo 1,
which included 3 astronauts in a
pure oxygen environment.
They all died when a fire broke out.
This was NASA's first real tragedy,
and as a result, they were very
conscious and wary of fires.

Yeah, I know that story well. Terrible.

So if anyone every tells you
that "joke", you now have the
information to go and set 'em straight.

So there.

Ha! Take that, Russia! USA! USA! USA!

When you enter, you watch
a short introductory film,
and then the screen rises and...

Your jaw drops.

I wasn't expecting to see it
suspended like that.
It's a very effective way of
displaying the orbiter, though.

Agreed. It's really cool.

Also prominently displayed
is the Canadarm.
That's right, we Canadians
are essential to your space
program.
Without us, you'd... build
it yourselves. :lmao:

:rotfl2:But then we'd have to pay for it.

Holy crap.
You don't really get
a sense of just how
massive this thing is
until you look at the
underside!

Pretty cool to see the battle-worn heat shields, too.

There were other items
such as personal effects
of the crews and mementos
such as letters.
A very sobering and thought
provoking display.

:sad1:

I thought it was a clever
way of announcing the
location of the public
restrooms.

I mean... P P gallery?

:rotfl2::rotfl2:

Eventually my ADR time came up
and I made my way over to
Chez Fart Smith's Homecomin'.

Nice. Classy joint.

I'd heard that the mac n cheese
was sub-par here.
I don't know if they heard the
complaints or not, but I can only
assume they changed the recipe.
This was amazing!
One of the better ones I've eaten.

Really? We thought the mac and cheese was awesome.

TATMAITP*

(*There are too many acronyms in that paragraph.)

If the VP is such a VIP, should we keep the PC on the QT? 'Cause if it leaks to the VC, he could end up MIA, and then we'd all be put out on KP.

Of course Disney saw this and had
already devised a solution.
The first bus was filled to capacity
and pulled away... and a second bus
immediately pulled in to the vacant
spot and I boarded.
It was nice of them to provide a nearly
empty bus for me.

I'm only going to tour Disney with you from now on.

Oh... and that couple? They came back
and I let them back in line in front of me.
It was the right thing to do.
They were on the same bus I was.

Stick with me, folks.
You'll never have to wait on a bus again.

You've sold me.


Wow, you're really getting sneaky here.
 
Since they live nearby, they'd
decided to get KSC APs.
I would totally do the same. That's such a cool place to visit.

Heading there tomorrow. SpaceX launch scheduled for 12:51pm and I'm either going to visit there and watch from viewing stand area or go to Playalinda beach (I've heard that's a great place to view).
 
Hmmm... sooo...
Do you actually carry the entire
band around? Or just the fob part?
It would certainly take up less room

in your purse... but is easier to lose...

I just wrap the band around the purse strap. It doesn't take up much room. I didnt know you could take it apart.

It's right on the app,
if you have that.

I do. Where do you find the unlocky thingy?

Keep waiting... it'll happen
any second now..

:rolleyes:

I thought your numbers might be
a little on the high side, so Googled.
Top speed loaded is 1 mph or 2 mph
unloaded.

OK. Sue me! :laughing:

It takes 5 hours to go from
the VAB to launch pad 39.

We were there in 2008, just before the final shuttle launch, or one of the last ones, it was already loaded on the launch pad, but I could have sworn they said it took days to get it there. Not sure if it was launch pad 39.

There's actually a very good reason!
Shuttle Endeavour's name wasn't just
picked at random. It was named after
the historic Captain Cook's ship.
Being British, of course it had the
correct English spelling.
Apollo 15s Command Module was

also named Endeavour (with a "u".)

Huh. I did not know that. I know some things about Captain Cook, but did not know the name of his ship.

I understand that completely.
I don't know if it's because the first
one was more shocking (because it had
never happened before, not because it
was any more or less tragic), or if it was
because of there being a teacher on
board which brought it closer to home...
or if there's another reason.


But it does sting a bit more.

For me, I was in college, when the Challenger accident happened. My BF and I were just getting ready to head to class. We had been watching the TV over breakfast and had never watched a launch. We weren't running late so we said, "Hey, let's just hang around and watch this."

After lift off, the station cut to commercial. We were just about to turn off the TV when they came back to the programming. All that was on the screen was a wisp of smoke, and that's when they said it exploded. Then they showed the footage of the explosion over and over again.

I had followed a lot of the coverage of how they chose the teacher and all the stuff she had done with her class in preparation for the flight. The teacher part was definitely sad, but I think that I had actually watched that one was what made it so bad.

When Columbia blew up, I was also watching the news. We were in the bedroom of our second apartment. I think it was a Sunday morning, they cut into the news program I was watching when it happened. That was more of a surreal experience but I hadn't been following that voyage so it wasn't as jarring to me personally.
 
(auto mechanic voice) Well, there's your problem.
Great. Now I have to pay extra
for something I can do myself.

Well, there's a reason for that.

Our 7-11's suck.
Thanks for the clarification.
I may have already figured
that one out, though. ;)
::yes::
I would totally do the same. That's such a cool place to visit.
Yes! I easily (easily!) could have
spent much more time there.

I remember that. Pretty cool.
But do you want to build it?
I always love their joke about the Tennessee River Rock...from Alabama.
:laughing:
I don't think I heard that one.
Or I forgot it.

I'm always amazed by the stats on that building. And by how ordinary it appears.
Yeah!
I think everyone looks at it and just...
look away. Dull. Boring. Cube.

It's not small.
I really enjoyed that show, though. Hits me in my nerd spot.
Me too. :)
I love that one line from Armageddon:
“You know we're sitting on four million pounds of fuel, one nuclear weapon and a thing that has 270,000 moving parts built by the lowest bidder. Makes you feel good, doesn't it?”

These guys had all of that, except for the nuclear weapon part.
And... did you know there are plans for that?
It's called Orion and works like this:
You set off a nuclear bomb under a plate.
I guarantee that plate will move.
You keep throwing nuclear bombs

under it. You now have thrust.
I've heard that one before. All government workers are idiots!
Are you disputing the claim??
Yeah, I know that story well. Terrible.
And yet... I don't know if it's time,
the fact that I lived one and not the other,
the fact that there was a school teacher,
or the fact that there were 7 vs 3...

The Challenger disaster hits me much harder.
Ha! Take that, Russia! USA! USA! USA!
You know you're chanting that
to a Canadian, right?

Your jaw drops.
::yes::
Curtain goes up, jaw goes down.
Pretty cool to see the battle-worn heat shields, too.
Very much! Nothing demonstrates more
that this thing's been in space, than those
scars on the tiles.
A docent there said that after it landed,
they basically drained all the harmful

chemicals out and put it up, as is.

Another cool thing?
They took the engines out...
because they're using them.

Really? We thought the mac and cheese was awesome.
I know when it first opened, the first
reviews were less than stellar.

If the VP is such a VIP, should we keep the PC on the QT? 'Cause if it leaks to the VC, he could end up MIA, and then we'd all be put out on KP.
I.E. AWOL, OK?
I'm only going to tour Disney with you from now on.
You'd never wait for a bus.
Wow, you're really getting sneaky here.
;)
 
Heading there tomorrow. SpaceX launch scheduled for 12:51pm and I'm either going to visit there and watch from viewing stand area or go to Playalinda beach (I've heard that's a great place to view).
Okay, that's just cool.
Our company had a contest and the winners
got VIP treatment from SpaceX to witness
a launch of some of our satellites.
You can believe I was bummed

that I didn't win!
 
I just wrap the band around the purse strap. It doesn't take up much room. I didnt know you could take it apart.
::yes::
I don't remember for sure and I'm
at work so can't check.
I think there's a tiny screw that
holds the fob in, that you can undo.
Or two screws.
But for sure you need a small screwdriver.
You can put it in a lanyard fob
(like the picture below) or buy
an attachment to put it on a

regular watch strap.

Related image

I do. Where do you find the unlocky thingy?
On the app, look for the three lines
in the bottom left hand corner of
the home screen.
Click that, then click "Resort Hotel".
Scroll down a little bit and
there'll be a spot to click

to Unlock Door.
OK. Sue me! :laughing:
I'm Canadian. We don't sue.
We just apologize.
Sorry.
We were there in 2008, just before the final shuttle launch, or one of the last ones, it was already loaded on the launch pad, but I could have sworn they said it took days to get it there. Not sure if it was launch pad 39.
It would've been on pad 39.
I think there was only one
instance when they had two
shuttles on pads at the same time,
but I'm not sure if any launched

from anywhere but 39.
Huh. I did not know that. I know some things about Captain Cook, but did not know the name of his ship.
::yes::
For me, I was in college, when the Challenger accident happened. My BF and I were just getting ready to head to class. We had been watching the TV over breakfast and had never watched a launch. We weren't running late so we said, "Hey, let's just hang around and watch this."

After lift off, the station cut to commercial. We were just about to turn off the TV when they came back to the programming. All that was on the screen was a wisp of smoke, and that's when they said it exploded. Then they showed the footage of the explosion over and over again.

I had followed a lot of the coverage of how they chose the teacher and all the stuff she had done with her class in preparation for the flight. The teacher part was definitely sad, but I think that I had actually watched that one was what made it so bad.

When Columbia blew up, I was also watching the news. We were in the bedroom of our second apartment. I think it was a Sunday morning, they cut into the news program I was watching when it happened. That was more of a surreal experience but I hadn't been following that voyage so it wasn't as jarring to me personally.
I remember seeing Challenger explode on TV.
I was buying a car stereo and the salesguy and I
watched it over and over.
Columbia... think it was on the news.

It might have been on the internet, but... not sure.
 
On the app, look for the three lines
in the bottom left hand corner of
the home screen.
Click that, then click "Resort Hotel".

I tried that but when I clicked on Resort Hotel all it said was "Link Hotel Reservation".

And I was too lazy to go look up the number.

Scroll down a little bit and
there'll be a spot to click

to Unlock Door.

Maybe I'll do this before my trip in February. :laughing:
 
I tried that but when I clicked on Resort Hotel all it said was "Link Hotel Reservation".
Hmm...
Well, it's been a couple months...
But I guess... yeah... you probably need

the resort linked.
And I was too lazy to go look up the number.
Aren't we all...

I'm soooo tired right now... :faint:

Maybe I'll do this before my trip in February. :laughing:
I must admit that I only used it when I
left Disney property and didn't bring my MB.
But if you're staying...

Then it's quicker just to use the MB.
 
Sounds like you had a wonderful day.
Our first stop was the Rocket Garden.
I remember when we first went to Kennedy Space Center the Rocket Garden was just a few rockets out in a little parkette. How much it has improved.
We have visited a few times and even saw one of the last night shuttle launches. You don't know when you arrive if the launch will be a go and if you have already entered and gone out to the viewing areas and it is cancelled you don't get a refund. We waited for a bit before we entered then took the bus out there and boy it is a sight to see. It lights up the night sky. Sorry no pictures as we went in 2000 before I had a digital camera. It was the last mission for Marc Garneau. We stayed at a resort at Cocoa Beach and our room neighbours were relatives of the commander of the mission so we got to chat with them about their relative going up in space.

We did go back in December 2011 when they were just starting the transition of where to move all the shuttles. We booked a special tour and were able to tour the VAB and see Space Shuttle Endeavour before it moved to the California Space Center.
I do have pictures of that so you can see the shuttle up close and the size of the VAB building.
The shuttles really do take a beating up there.
DSC06780.JPG


DSC06781.JPG

This is a view of the inside of the VAB building.

DSC06758 vab.jpg
DSC06789 VAB.jpg
 
Okay, that's just cool.
Our company had a contest and the winners
got VIP treatment from SpaceX to witness
a launch of some of our satellites.
You can believe I was bummed

that I didn't win!
Oh, I can definitely believe you were bummed. Sorry. :sad:
 
Sounds like you had a wonderful day.
Not too shabby. :)
I remember when we first went to Kennedy Space Center the Rocket Garden was just a few rockets out in a little parkette. How much it has improved.
I remember when we first went...
there was no rocket garden! :laughing:

We have visited a few times and even saw one of the last night shuttle launches. You don't know when you arrive if the launch will be a go and if you have already entered and gone out to the viewing areas and it is cancelled you don't get a refund. We waited for a bit before we entered then took the bus out there and boy it is a sight to see. It lights up the night sky.
Oh, man.
I sure wish I'd gotten a chance
to see one launch.
How lucky you are!
Even watching a video
of a launch is amazing.
I can't imagine what it's

like in real life.
It was the last mission for Marc Garneau. We stayed at a resort at Cocoa Beach and our room neighbours were relatives of the commander of the mission so we got to chat with them about their relative going up in space.
How cool is that!?!?!
We did go back in December 2011 when they were just starting the transition of where to move all the shuttles. We booked a special tour and were able to tour the VAB and see Space Shuttle Endeavour before it moved to the California Space Center.
Really!
I don't know if you can tour
the VAB or not, now.
I didn't bother to look into it,

since I knew I wouldn't have the time.
I do have pictures of that so you can see the shuttle up close and the size of the VAB building.
Cool!!
The shuttles really do take a beating up there.
::yes::
As was mentioned, the underside
shot of the shuttle I took not only
really shows the size of the ship,

but all the burns from re-entry.
This is a view of the inside of the VAB building.
Love those! Never seen the
interior before! Thanks!
 

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