May 2008

There were 56 posts published in May 2008 (this is page 6 of 6).

Soyuz: Russian for “falls like a rock”

I was thinking today about the recent wild ride the returning International Space Station crew received last month when their Soyuz capsule went ballistic. This crew was lucky to be alive, after their Soyuz burned through the atmosphere facing the wrong way. The explosive bolts that normally separate the modules did not fire, pointing the capsule’s heat shield away from the Earth.

Seems that has been happening frequently, subjecting its passengers to G-forces of up to 8 times gravity. A normal landing puts a far more manageable 4.5 Gs on the cosmonauts inside.

The problem is that – flawed as it is – Soyuz is the only option between the time the Space Shuttle fleet is retired and NASA’s new Orion vehicle is ready. In the meantime, please watch for falling (and smoking) astronauts.

Taking advantage of the weather

Another busy but fun weekend was had. I spend a good chunk of it doing yard work and cleaning gutters. I made a trip over to the old house Saturday afternoon, where I chatted with the new owners before fetching what brought me: two plants from the side yard that used to belong to my grandmother. I hauled the hydrangea and azalea plants to our new home and planted them in the side and front yards.
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Ride a train from Spencer to Charlottesville and back!

During my last swing past the North Carolina Transportation Museum, I asked one of the staff members there if they were going to run another excursion train anytime soon. He couldn’t give me a firm answer and I was worried I’d missed my chance.

Woo-hoo! I found out today that the museum will be running another excursion passenger train this fall! Its called the Virginia Autumn Flyer and will make the round-trip between Spencer and Charlottesville on November 1st and 2nd of this year.
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Downtown bargain

I saw this on the Longview Gardens website. Its a nearly 5000sf home on a 1.2 acre lot two miles from downtown and across the street from the Raleigh Country Club and its Donald Ross-designed golf course. How such a stately home can be only $315,000 is amazing to me.

Yeah, it fronts New Bern Avenue, but wow what a value. If I had some money to invest in places like this, I’d be all over it.

May Day, May Day

Today is May Day: a day which my European brethren have off. I think there’s a tradition of skipping around the Maypole or something.

As for me, I plan to celebrate May Day by working until 5PM.