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Category Archives: My LiveJournal Days
To any who might feel the urge to leave comments on any of my entries, please do not be taken aback at some of the captions. I’ve set the default captions to German, such that, in my style, I know what I’ve edited, and what I haven’t edited yet.
Happily, I can still read German enough to get by…
)
On 22 May 1969, Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan, in the Apollo 10 Lunar Module (Snoopy) separated from the Command Module (Charlie Brown), and flew Snoopy to within 9 miles of the lunar surface. Alternating between PNGS (Primary Navigation and Guidance System, the system used for guidance during descent) and AGS (Abort Guidance System, the system used during ascent and during aborts), someone left a switch in the wrong position; when Stafford cut the descent stage loose in preparation for rejoining Young, the LM went into “wild gyrations”. Eight terrifying seconds and a shout of “Son of a bitch! Hit the AGS!” (which made it to national television) later, Stafford and Cernan regained control of the ascent stage and lit up the ascent engine to rejoin Young, having nearly become the first humans to reach the lunar surface, face first.
The Sea of Tranquility, near Landing Site 2
A view across Landing Site 3, in the Central Bay
Snoopy’s ascent stage, seen from Charlie Brown
(N.B.: The “Charlie” Cernan is refering to in the title quote is CAPCOM Charlie Duke, who would later fly Apollo 16.)
It is 20 May 1969. Apollo 10 is still on its way to the Moon. But this morning, the hangar doors of the VAB’s High Bay 1 open, and the combination of AS-506. CSM-107, and LM-5 rolls toward Pad 39-A. When it reaches firing position, checkout will begin.
Stolen from
1) Total number of books owned?
I stopped counting at 2000.
2) The last book I bought?
A box of 18 from www.bookcloseouts.com
(Who buys books one at a time? 
3) The last book I read? Fully or tried?
The Neptune File, by Tom Standage.
A wonderful history of the discovery of the
planet Neptune; with a look ahead to the
finding of extrasolar planets by virtue of
their effects on their stars, without even
seeing the newly-discovered planets.
4) 5 books that mean a lot to me?
Principia Discordia
Gödel, Escher, Bach, by Douglas Hofstadter
Failure Is Not an Option, by Gene Kranz
On Liberty, by John Stuart Mill
The World As I See It, by Albert Einstein
At 11:49:00 EST on 18 May 1969, Apollo 10 lifted off, carrying Tom Stafford, Gene Cernan, and John Young on their way to the Moon. This mission was one last checkout of systems and procedures before attempting a lunar landing.
For those of you interested in custom styles, I’ve set up . I noticed that I was starting to ramble about my foray into the world of LJ styles, and figured that it might be a good idea to separate that stuff from my personal journal.
At the moment, is a free account; give me a couple of months to scrape up the membership fee, and I’ll remedy that. By that time, I might even have a style or two to offer to the general public.
Now back to the general chaos, which is already in progress…
Something else I haven’t done in a million years… I actually poured a glass of sherry (Dry Sack, to be exact). It’s my own fault that I don’t do this more; the fifth has been sitting in the cabinet for a couple of years. I had almost forgotten how good sherry is…
Yes, I like Scotch, too. Single malts, thank you very much. And I like them with a bite.
)
I just got through simmering up a beef heart. Yum! I hate to think of how long it’s been since last I had a beef heart. I have to say that of all the meats there are, heart is my many most favoritest.
Incidentally, the recipe:
Simmered Beef Heart1 beef heart
Trim off coarse fibers at the top of and inside of the heart.
Wash well; drain. Cover with water; add 1 tsp. salt, a bit
of dried thyme, 1 sliced onion. Simmer, covered until
fork-tender (2-2 1/2 hrs). Eat.
Serving suggestion: Sliced heart sandwiches, with a bit of
horseradish, are a particular favorite of mine. Especially
along with a brine pickle.
)
On 14 May 1973, the Skylab Orbital Workshop was launched from the Kennedy Space Center’s Complex 39-A. I watched that launch live, and remember how my heart sank when telemetry indicated that all was not well…
