NASA and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass., have opened registration and are seeking teams to compete in next year’s robot technology demonstration competition, which offers as much as $1.5 million in prize money.
STS-133 Final Discovery Launch in Person!
I didn’t get to see STS-133 launch at the end of October last year. Â I was rather disappointed. Â I have been working in the aerospace industry for 13 years now and all in the Shuttle side even. Â In that time, I had never gone to see a live Shuttle launch in person! Â So when I won the Space Flight Awareness Honoree Award, I was sooo excited!
Then the launch got delayed.  And it got delayed big!  It was December, then January.  And then it had moved to February.  It was on my son’s birthday even!  No matter… I was so determined to see it in person especially since the award involved seeing it as close as one can get!  (Unless you are the president or something!)
So two of my co-workers wanted to see it as well and we drove out to see it. Â 16 hours of driving. Â Each way. Â It was long but totally worth it.
It will be sad to see them all retire… I sure hope NASA and humanity doesn’t let go of the dreams…
40th Anniversary of Man Landing on the Moon
“That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind“
Those words still linger in the back of my head to this day… today, July 20th, 2009, marks the 40th anniversary of the man landing on the moon. To all the space exploration haters, you need not apply. If you can’t begin to fathom the butt loads of benefits from the research alone, you won’t ever be a believer…
And to all those lunar landing hoax pushers, again, read my previous post. Obama seems to not want much of space exploration. That’s a mighty shame. But let’s not let that stop us from celebrating the 40th anniversary! Despite all the fears most people have of it, I’d be an astronaut in a heart beat! The space is indeed, in the cliche’ words of Star Trek, the final frontier. 😛
State of Iran Compared to S. Korea
As news of Iran’s popular unrest and demonstration against what seems like a rigged election spreads out more and more, one comparison thought came to mind. This reminded me of South Korea in its ’60s through ’80s.
Mousavi’s wife says that it’s more like marshal law there. And the reaction of Iran’s Republican Guards and other “security” forces that resulted in deaths like this woman here, reinforces my thoughts of the state of Iran.
It’s a rather graphic and unedited picture so be warned. Bunches of mostly peaceful demonstration and the police start firing tear gas and beating down protesters and arresting them, and some eventually get killed. Sounds familiar? This is South Korea winded back to ’70s and ’80s era when martial law was the way things went, and coup d’etat was as frequent as your mail.
The Kwangju Massacre. That alone says it all. When the “government” sent in tanks to kill hundreds of civilians, the images are similar. Iran’s reaction, in my humble opinion, is that of a marshall law. If it wasn’t, the government would have just let them continue demonstrating. But lashing out at them with violence is not a democratic way but rather that of dictatorship.
I empathize with the pro-democracy citizens of Iran… and pray for good changes to come and that the bloodshed would lessen… But all democratic movements, including the likes of Tiananmen Square Massacre, comes at cost. I sure hope the Iranian leadership realizes their follies…
Cold War 2: The Return of … USSR?!
I wonder if Russia thinks we all need the Cold War back in order to return the world economy to normalcy. I sure hope not, but these long range bombers that they will “place” in Cuba and Venezuela sure seem like it’s back!! What the hell are they thinking?!
But it’s also rumored that the Russian president is doing this to see how our new president would react, as many seem to think he will be a pushover. Hate these power struggles… “My gun is bigger than yours” crap. I sure hope it’s just a bluff! >.<
Monday Recap: Children’s Day
Unlike Cinco de mayo, May 5th is “Children’s Day” in Korea. 🙂
So we took the kids out… and they bungy jumped again! This time Suneun and Hisu came out to hang out with us.
I had forgotten how much Sungeun can eat!! 😛
Here we are waiting for the bungy jump yet again!
Chilling out with some gelato! 🙂
Montrose Street Outreach Experience & Terry
This past Wednesday, our church was given an opportunity to participate at a Montrose Street Outreach Service. They meet in the small parking lot behind near downtown. We met up at 6:30 pm and there were quite a few people already, some from other churches and good portion from the street.
Since there were too many people, I tried to stick with just one person. There was a rather outspoken lady in a wheel chair. Don’t let her disability fool you, Terry, or as she said she prefers to be called sometimes, “Sister T”. 🙂 A Caucasian lady approximately of age over 60+. She seemed to have her entire life strapped onto that chair.
At first, she seemed a bit… intrusive and … wordy. We struck up a conversation about Elvis, of all people! 😀 She told me how she met Elvis before he was big. She also asked how many grammies he had won. I said maybe at least 50? She said ‘no’ and answered “3”. All were from gospel music. Not sure if that’s true but if true, wow.
She had a rough past since childhood. She is from the west Texas and things have never been easy. She eventually turned up in Houston and has been here ever since. In all the 2 to 3 hours I spent with her, in worship service and conversing, I was able to see through her mean-looking exterior and discovered a beautiful lady who was beyond confident when it came to one: Christ. Despite her environment, she was able to always find God and his providence and protection for her. It was hard to think that she was a homeless person. Not just that, but she had an uncanny researching skill using the Internet!
Her electric wheel chair was given by helping this one guy who had been trying to find some info on a property in the northwest of Houston. When she said she could help, many around her scoffed at her, but Terry is a very strong person. She ignored those people and got him the answers. That’s how she wants to make a living and it’s evident when you find out her e-mail address: neighborhoodrenewal@yahoo.com. She’s something else.
She does speak. A lot. And can seem irritating at first. But when I got past that, her confidence in Christ and His provision was just astounding. Simply put, shameful for someone like me… that my confidence in God is not even close to her level. She was also a veteran homeless. She didn’t care so much about “less useful” things like candies, but wanted clothing and socks. There was never a dull moment being with her.
Additionally, after nearly 3 hours on the outside, it was hard to imagine how the homeless without shelter survive these tough winters. My hands were shivering and my head was spinning from the weather. I can only pray that there will be more opportunities to help. It was a humbling experience, one that I didn’t expect. But then again, that’s God. 🙂