Video cameras were not the ubiquitous devices in 1986 that they are today, so the only video footage of the Space Shuttle Challenger most of us have seen are the live network broadcasts captured by the lenses of CBS and CNN.
Optometrist Dr. Jack Moss, however, was playing with his new Betamax camcorder that chilly January morning, and recorded the sad event from his front yard in Winter Haven, Florida, about 70 miles southwest of Cape Canaveral.
Moss had never shared the tape with the media or NASA, but a week before he died this past December, he fished it out of his attic and handed it over to the Space Exploration Archive, a non-profit organization in Louisville, Kentucky. The Archive transferred the video to digital formats and released it to the public domain in time for the 24th anniversary of the disaster this past week.
“That looks like trouble,” says Moss, as the shuttle’s single smoke plume suddenly expands and then splits into a Y-shape. As Moss and other onlookers spend several moments contemplating if something had gone wrong, a neighbor checks the news inside his house, only to return and confirm “It exploded!”
As the first snowflakes appeared outside my window, I was happy that the window was attached to a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (twin-jet) operated by American Airlines.
The Track Log from Flight Aware indicates that my exit reached a top speed of 516 mph today.
Sweet.
UPDATE:
Issued by The National Weather Service
Philadelphia, PA
9:07 am EST, Sat., Feb. 6, 2010
… BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING…
A BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING.
HEAVY SNOW WAS OCCURRING ACROSS THE AREA EARLY THIS MORNING AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF TODAY. THE SNOW WILL FALL HEAVILY AT TIMES… WITH RATES UP TO 1 TO 3 INCHES AN HOUR. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL OCCUR THROUGH ABOUT MIDDAY TODAY. THE SNOW MAY MIX WITH SLEET AT TIMES EARLY THIS MORNING MAINLY ACROSS FAR SOUTHERN DELAWARE… AND MAY BE INTERMITTENT THERE AS WELL.
STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 17 TO 27 INCHES ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE BULK OF THE AREA. AN INCREASING NORTHEAST TO NORTH WIND WITH GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH INTO EARLY THIS AFTERNOON WILL CREATE EXTENSIVE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW… ALONG WITH WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. THE WIND COMBINED WITH THE FALLING SNOW WILL CREATE EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS INCLUDING GREATLY REDUCED VISIBILITIES TO LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE AT TIMES.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT CONDITIONS… MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO PERHAPS IMPOSSIBLE.
Two sides can never – nor should they ever, agree when their “first principles” differ. Where one side is “intent largely on limiting the power of government”; and the other is intent on expanding that power, there can be no compromise and “the time for passivity is over”. [My emphasis - Ed.]
In his excellent post of 10,523 words on the topic, Kevin explains.
Dell Computer, the company that boasts “Computers in 48 Hours” ruined Christmas (my order placed on 12/18 was not going to be available until 1/5/2010.)
A third delay notice was received last week, but no National Holidays were noted in this period.
Tonight, the fourth delay notice was received via email and by phone to inform me that February 5 would be the expected delivery date.
I have asked Dell via email to respond with a personal explanation of my order status – but so far: the sound of crickets is all I have heard.
The computers I ordered for my boys’ Christmas presents are not here.
I’m not hopeful that this will be resolved by Easter, or by the 4th of July, either.
Dang.
The picture is of our skinny tree.
Dell’s automated voice-mail system calls twice on the first order – never for the second order – even after “Permission” to continue processing the orders has benn sent online.
Dell’s systems are obviously not speaking to each other – and customer support is not speaking to me.
How hard could it be to talk to the customers who have had orders pending for over a month?
The suckitude of this printer cannot be over emphasized.
Co-workers offered many unpublishable views as well.
This printer consumes 33 Mb of disk space for drivers and another 2Mb for a toolbar that pops-up if you insert a USB drive to tell you that there IS NOTHING on the USB drive that the printer can print!
Not helpful.
If you DO attempt to print with this printer, the first three pages will be printed IN RANDOM ORDER – then the Spooler subsystem will be disabled and ALL OTHER printers you have installed on your computer will be absent. Gone.
Not Nice.
Re-boot your computer and the print jobs in the queue resumes in reverse order.
What?
The best feature of this printer is that it has not burst into flames and showered the office area with a burning deluge of flaming shrapnel, killing us all … yet.
The Lexmark X5650 wins Traction Control’s Printer from Hell Award for 2010.
Bravo. Let’s do it again in every precinct, in every district, in every city, county, State and region until all representatives represent us, the Citizens of The United States of America!
America will not abide the tyranny that the Democrat Party has now revealed itself to be.
Congratulations to Scott, with a heartfelt thank you from the entire Nation to the Voters of Massachusetts!
P.S. From the Tea Party movement: “Can you hear us now?”
An executive for Smith & Wesson Holding Corp and 21 others have been charged with violating federal bribery laws involving the sale of weapons and protective gear.
On the eve of The Scott Heard around the World and the Miracle in Massachusetts – the PEOPLE speak tomorrow to reclaim their voice (and their seat) in the U.S Senate.
Republican candidate Scott Brown stands to take over Ted Kennedy’s U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts in a historic election – spelling the end to 50 years of Democrat control and the possible end to the unpopular Obama-supported healthcare bills in the Legislature.
The future of the Nation’s prosperity is in the hands of the voters of Massachusetts. I pray they choose wisely.
Message to any future candidates for public office: the term is “Tea Party”, not “Tea Bag”.
As this holiday comes to a close, Traction Control hopes that all of those who struggle against intolerance and infringements upon their natural rights can gather strength in the memory of the late Dr. Martin Luther King: a Republican who stood for liberty.
Kimmy Janke had gone through security. In fact, she was in a secure part of the terminal when she stopped to go to the bathroom before making her connecting flight.
That’s when she found a loaded handgun. . . . A Cleveland police report confirms a fully-loaded .40-caliber pistol was left on top of a toilet paper dispenser.
“A little kid could have grabbed that. The wrong person could have grabbed that. You never know,” Janke said.
We’ve since learned the gun was traced to a federal customs agent.
Once inside the airport’s security area, there are no more checks. What would you do if you found a pistol in an airport?
I would probably just say, “Hey! Free gun,” jam it in my carry-on bag and continue on with my way – all the while, wondering if I had broken up some kind of nefarious plot in which the gun was intentionally planted for someone else to retrieve.
“Amazing that it’s still nearly 15% above 2007 levels considering the economy and the fact that everyone has been buying guns practically non-stop for a year now.”
Alabama scores at the start of the 2nd quarter (14:18 remaining) it’s now Texas 6 – Alabama 7.
With 7:59 remaining in the 2nd quarter Alabama scores a touchdown on a 40 yd run. The extra point is good. Score Texas 6 – Alabama 14.
An interception stops Texas with 7:12 remaining in the 1st half.
Alabama moves the ball into Texas territory with a 1st half clock down with 5:09 remaining.
Punt by Alabama starts Texas at their own 2 yard line.
Punting from the end zone, Texas turns over possession with 2:19 remaining in the 1st half.
With 0:29 remaining in the half, Alabama kicks a field goal to make it Texas 6 – Alabama 17.
With :01 second remaining in the first half, Alabama intercepts and scores a touchdown (and the extra point). It’s 24 to 6 – Alabama on top over Texas.
Dang.
Final Score: Alabama 37, Texas 21.
Friday Update: Lots of happy people traveling from DFW to Huntsville, AL in the airport tonight. Congratulations to the ‘Tide’.
Noted that Cheaper Than Dirt joined the ranks of STI and Barrett Rifles by pulling out of California. They won’t sell ammo there anymore since Cali passed their ridiculous ammo ban. Now, I agree with the sentiment of not selling to Cali .gov agencies. However, is it really helping the cause to not sell your gunny wares to civilians? Discuss.
I tend to think we want to grow the gun culture there. I met a bunch of the Cali gun nuts at GBR4. And they are some of the most passionate people when it comes to their rights as I have ever met. David, Derek, Molly, and DirtCrashr and others do a lot for the pro-gun side.
Traction Control stands with CTD’s message – joining with Barrett and STI – to not ship to California Government Customers.
But, as long as it is legal to do so, I will still ship ammunition orders to individuals and firearms to individuals in California via California FFLs.
Note to California Citizens: This should be a wake-up call to Take.Back.Your.State! – before your government makes it even more illegal-er for the rest of us to help you.
Traction Control’s FFL (in a different name) is registered with the California Attorney General’s office to ship firearms to California FFLS. I’ll have to look at the new laws to see if my ammunition policy has to be changed.
Meanwhile, you need to vote to stop your own repression.
In the last eight minutes, the door across the hall at my hotel has opened and closed no less than 12 times. There were four loud conversations in the hall. The occupants – for the time being, have seemed to move their disturbance to another location.
Eleven minutes later, there have been twothreefourfive six more door slams; one more loud conversation; and a squeal! in the hallway.
What is it with some people?
As for me, I try to behave in public areas as though the unseen occupant across the hall were aiming a Kimber .45 through the door, exactly 9 inches below the peep hole.
So, I tend to be more quiet than these travelers.
An armed society is a polite society; but alas, this is New Jersey.
Category: 
