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Ben
20 November 2009 @ 09:06 am
(no subject)  
  • 13:26 "Only" took them 10 months to do a landing. is.gd/4Z6ku Xoie wasn't even a concept 10 months ago, and can do way more. #
  • 13:47 @bre I'm a big fan of your work, been watching since you were at Make, but the constant foursquare stuff makes me lean toward unfollowing. #
  • 17:14 @pkhomer Congratulations! A fantastic year for Centennial Challenges. #
  • 17:24 I got my car back, thanks for the advice to go to Expert Automotive in Rosamond. He said the wheel had about four inches of wobble. #
  • 18:00 Slightly small, but big red weather balloons are only $14: is.gd/4Zfyq to play with: is.gd/4Zfy5 #
  • 20:07 "Atlantis and ISS crews awakened by a false alarm indicating a sudden depressurization." Has to be the most effective alarm clock off Earth. #
 
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Ben
18 November 2009 @ 09:01 am
(no subject)  
  • 09:35 @Pomerantz Were you the one I was talking to about space archaeology? This is the blog I mentioned: zoharesque.blogspot.com/ #
  • 10:34 Today, such exciting events as: cleaning my desk! making plans! being cold! eating at subway! calling the auto repair place! #
  • 11:37 Bought and read Banksy's "Wall and Piece" and Sedaris' "Naked" during the Florida vacation. Banksy: is.gd/4XjMC is.gd/4XjSs #
  • 18:34 Kiva team NewSpace is up to 6 members and now has 42 loans, more than RensselaerPI, RochesterIT or Drexel! www.kiva.org/team/newspace #
 
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Ben
17 November 2009 @ 09:02 am
(no subject)  
  • 17:18 Got the SEDS conf. bump, about ten new friends on Facebook. Slept until noon and took the rental back to Thp, now back in the cold! shop. #
  • 17:28 I took the I-8/Hwy 85 bypass around Phoenix on the way back, I recommend it highly if you're ever headed to or from Tucson. #
  • 17:31 The Mountain Goats were fantastic, by the way. John Darnielle, the lead, is such a geek, great energy. Band was five people for some songs. #
  • 18:22 I'm not the biggest Sagan fan (I know, sacrilege!) but today's XKCD is pretty good. xkcd.com/663/ #
  • 18:24 @Pomerantz Quite good. The sound at the Music Box impressed me. Lots of hipster girls, not that you'd have any interest... #
 
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Ben
16 November 2009 @ 09:02 am
(no subject)  
  • 09:21 Richard Garriott just finished up his presentation with a lesson for pooping on the space station. Apparently they don't really train that.. #
  • 10:54 About to head to LA, close to the end of Space Vision 2009. Looks like next year is at U Illinois U-C, a good school. #sv09 #
  • 19:01 At the Music Box in Hollywood to see The Mountain Goats. Been a few years, should be cool. Very tired, though. #
  • 20:08 Last time I saw the Mountain Goats it was in a venue of about 100, the M Shop. This place is like 1300 people. #
  • 20:29 @dmasten What's this trip for? #
  • 20:32 @rocketshadow Sorry I didn't ask for Tucson suggestions, I ended up not having any spare time. Some nice mountains on the drive away. #
  • 21:52 Really fantastic opening act. Would put down half a dozen loops strumming, plucking, bowing, tapping an electrified violin. #
 
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Ben
15 November 2009 @ 09:02 am
(no subject)  
  • 08:09 @alias_amanda twitpic.com/per28 - I had a deer walk right past me, when I was wandering around off the beaten path during the open ho #
  • 08:19 I'll be presenting at 11:30 Tucson time (in about an hour) at the SEDS conference. Webcast may be at is.gd/4UTvN #
  • 08:50 Ok, 11:30 is in about an hour and 40 minutes. I can do math, I swears. www.spacevidcast.com/live/ #sv09 #
  • 10:02 Presentation in half an hour. I should probably consider leaving the hotel. www.spacevidcast.com/live/ #sv09 #
  • 12:18 Ran out if time in the presentation. Better than having dead air, for sure. At IntlSpaceU lunch now. #sv09 #
  • 12:54 @rbranly Thanks! I heard that the audio might have sucked, which is unfortunate. #
  • 12:57 .@jeff_foust is starting the panel discussion, "Why you should give a #$%@! about the Augustine Committee report". #sv09 #
  • 13:14 James Head from Raytheon on NEOs and ISRU: 6242 Near Earth Objects with well defined orbits. #sv09 #
  • 13:28 John Gedmark: Commercial Spaceflight Federation "started as a group therapy session for startup CEOs". #sv09 #
  • 13:49 D'oh. All of the questions for the panel have come from non-students, incl me. I should throw something at @pomerantz, it's easy to forget. #
  • 15:29 The astronaut (Kelly) married to the congresswoman (Giffords) likes the existing Constellation program. Sadly unsurprising. #sv09 #
  • 15:40 "I don't see us, in the astronaut office, ever flying on something like SpaceShipOne" (i.e. any suborbital rocket) -- Mark E. Kelly #sv09 #
  • 15:44 Geez,now he's denigrating welders. He's apparently never tried to find a good one, I've met way more astronauts than really skilled welders. #
  • 17:13 Finally met Richard Garriott, the first second generation space traveler, who paid to fly to the space station in 2008. #sv09 #
  • 17:47 At the Space Vision 2009 banquet dinner. Rediculoisly underdressed, as always. #sv09 #
  • 01:48 A quality party, and went an hour later than last night. Really not looking forward to getting up for the 9AM talk, but it'll be good. #sv09 #
 
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Ben
14 November 2009 @ 09:02 am
(no subject)  
  • 07:17 On my way to being on my way to SpaceVision 2009. Don't be too awesome until I get there. #sv09 #
  • 19:25 @Pomerantz Room 707 in the Four Points by Sheraton, says Josh N. #
 
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Ben
12 November 2009 @ 09:08 am
(no subject)  
  • 10:11 I'm back, and so is my toothache. It apparently has a stress component, which is interesting. #
  • 10:27 SEDS conf this wknd! is.gd/4SJK1 Me, @jeff_foust, @Pomerantz, @RichardGarriott, @Bob_Richards, @kdavidian, @jamesmuncy are presenting #
  • 10:46 @rocketshadow Randall said that too when I originally broke the tooth, but I theoretically have insurance and he's not in network. #
  • 15:16 My wallet eats my CC mag stripes. Odd that we store financial data in rust. Like storing access rights in the dimensions of pieces of brass. #
  • 16:32 I'll be driving to Tucson for SpaceVision on Friday and leaving sometime Sunday. Any ideas for a good detour to take on the way back? #sv09 #
  • 16:41 twitpic.com/p67sr - A cairn I built on Key West because I couldn't swim and I was bored. #
 
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Ben
11 November 2009 @ 09:09 am
(no subject)  
  • 10:41 Yesterday and today were pretty boring. I'm at the airport now, though my flight doesn't leave for some time. #
  • 18:01 What is it about airports that makes one want to post "I'm at DEN" updates? I try to make my updates contain actual information, and yet... #
  • 18:05 @colinake You have to admit, it is a quality word. Facsimile. I have Wodehouse books where "chef" is italicized because it's a new en word. #
  • 18:06 You never know the alignment of dollar bills, but you can count on dimes and quarters when you're in a bind. Everyone knows change is Good. #
 
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Ben
10 November 2009 @ 09:07 am
(no subject)  
  • 19:21 Doing laundry in Ft. Lauderdale. Livin' the high life. Maybe the Germans are still at the hostel. #
  • 20:08 Why not put your supercollider on redundant power? is.gd/4Rpz3 Also lends to the "higgs boson actively resisting discovery" theory. #
  • 20:23 We have the coolest little industry on the planet. is.gd/4Rq9K ( #ngllc highlight reel) #
 
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Ben
09 November 2009 @ 09:09 am
(no subject)  
  • 07:52 ...ears still ringing. Also didn't manage to get up after two hours of sleep to see if the boat was operating today. #
  • 12:32 They put me up against Space Angels Network at the SEDS conference. Better than against another technical presentation, for sure. #
  • 12:36 Nope, both boats to the Dry Torgugas are down for wind. I'll have to come back to Key West, life is so cruel. The Mel Fisher museum was cool #
  • 22:44 Boooo! #
  • 23:24 Gov. liason@XCOR @rlague says I'm "Demonstrably the best VTVL operator in the world today". He's full of it, but I apprcte. it nonetheless. #
  • 23:38 @brtbrt Never made it into Margaritaville. From what I've seen, the sea plane isn't operating any more. #
  • 23:43 @rbranly if you can find any sign that the seaplane is still operating, let me know. That was my first plan. #
 
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Ben
08 November 2009 @ 09:10 am
(no subject)  
  • 08:43 My ears are still ringing. Not a good show without hearing damage. Off to the Keys! Going to poke around the abandoned bridges on the way. #
  • 08:44 @melissaschaffer Woo college loans, yeah! I didn't get enough to get a degree, but mine are down to a couple k. #
  • 08:46 @mojaverocketguy Did we get the giant checks to Mojave somehow? They belong on the wall. #
  • 15:49 Made it to Key West. Staying at the Eden House Hotel. Like it so far, expensive for me, cheap for here. #
  • 20:23 Being not me, and drinking and talking to the nice ladies visiting Key West. They out drank me, so I'm finding a new group. #
  • 00:19 Durty Harry's has one of the best cover bands I've ever heard. The did Smashing Pumpkins, then Disturbed, no problem. #
 
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Ben
07 November 2009 @ 09:08 am
(no subject)  
  • 08:32 Back... to the beach! It's windy, so the surf is up and not many people are swimming. Going to see if I can get in trouble with a lifeguard. #
  • 13:22 Down: lost IA drivers license and room key at beach, and someone stole the shoes I bought yesterday. Very tired and a bit sunburt. #
  • 13:24 Up: Water was very nice, though choppy. Saw four different species of fish in the ocean. Just had a very good lunch at a little cafe. #
  • 16:33 The used book stores of Miami Beach suck. Eutopia Books is the nicest, lots of old books, but tiny. #
  • 16:34 Going to a Brit-owned venue for some indie music later. #
  • 22:59 Woo I found live music and hipsters. Churchill's, in Little Haiti, is fantastic. Saw five bands and bought 3 CDs. #
 
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Ben
06 November 2009 @ 09:07 am
(no subject)  
  • 15:35 RT @colinake

    Giant checks! yfrog.com/2mkbuj #
  • 15:37 Ft. Lauderdale airport has free wifi, win. And I made it to Fla, it's 80 and humid. It's also dark out at 3:40PM, which is weird. #
  • 18:59 @b0yle I hope at some point you'll be able to come down and see a launch! #
  • 20:14 I saw two oceans and a gulf in one day. My new record. Wandered around Miami Beach a bit, tomorrow is more exploration here. #
 
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Ben
05 November 2009 @ 09:08 am
(no subject)  
  • 08:09 It's about time for my alarm to go off, and I've been to Bakersfield, on live TV, and back. I'm local famous? #
  • 12:30 is.gd/4Nfpb - @unrocket on Canadian Discovery channel. Also some of my video, Flometrics, FAR, etc. #
  • 12:55 @b0yle Good riddance to deadly rockets. #
  • 13:31 @dmasten If the landing gear of your airplane appears to be on fire, look closely for trash can lids. #
  • 13:37 They found mercury on the moon. It'd be nice if Messenger found a moon of Mercury. #
  • 13:38 Dang, I'm going to miss meeting Nasa administrator Bolden, who will be at the #ngllc awards ceremony. He seems like an interesting guy. #
  • 15:20 Go Lasermotive! Congrats to old-school Space Access people for qualifying for another Centennial Challenges prize. #segames #
  • 15:31 Dear Lazyweb, where do you park when flying out of LAX? #
  • 16:14 @Pomerantz Thought about it, but still planning to take my early morning flight to Florida and be on a beach in the Keys tomorrow afternoon. #
  • 21:22 Planning my trip at the last minute, which almost always works well. Thinking of buying gear in Miami to camp on Dry Tortugas. #
 
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Ben
19 October 2009 @ 09:00 am
(no subject)  
  • 12:56 twitpic.com/m1a0x - Plane landing at Edwards, and part of the big runway 36 indicator on the lakebed ( is.gd/4pD0b ) #
  • 12:57 twitpic.com/m1a6d - Big dry lake. Much flatter than Lucerne or Koehn. #
  • 19:56 Spending the evening cutting on Xoie's brains like the Walter Freeman of rockets. Also apparently extremely tasteless today. #
  • 20:15 There's a weird sheet of humidity rolling down the mountain from Tehachapi. Over 50% humidiy in Moj, which is freakishly high. I smell bad. #
  • 21:22 @spacemansam If you talk to teams, tell them congrats from Masten Space, another Centennial Challenges competitor. #
  • 22:27 @unrocket Oi! You skipped out on your DVD. Good luck with the fixes, let me know when you're in town again. #
  • 23:04 In SoCal "and don't mind hard work in the sun at a site with no good shelter and no running water"? @unrocket needs help. is.gd/4qjki #
 
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Ben
18 October 2009 @ 09:00 am
(no subject)  
  • 18:10 To FAR to see the Bloodhound Super Sonic Car engine test, then to EAFB Airshow traffic. Not the show, just the traffic... #
  • 18:13 @DenisePouchet Nope, duck tape is the original name. Duck tape is a poor duct tape, it doesn't last long enough. #
 
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Ben
16 October 2009 @ 09:00 am
(no subject)  
  • 11:27 Days like this, with WK2 showing off, are ones I'm glad our shop faces away from the flightline. We'd never get anything done. #
  • 14:05 Anybody get Aviation Week? I'm wondering if we're in it. #
 
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Ben
15 October 2009 @ 09:00 am
(no subject)  
  • 14:49 MSS TermOfTheDay: IIP (Instantaneous Impact Point). Given position, velocity, wind; where the rocket will crash if the engine turns off. #
  • 20:06 In addition to the usual rocket testing, today's accomplishment was getting Ian to stick his hand in liquid nitrogen. #
  • 20:17 And as expected, solid butane is more flammable than solid isopropyl alcohol. #
 
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Ben
14 October 2009 @ 09:00 am
(no subject)  
  • 09:47 Drizzle in the Moj today. We really need it to rain in the next couple weeks, the new #ngllc site is three inches of fine dust right now. #
  • 12:07 Don't eat anywhere without an A rating. China Bowl's recent inspections have been disturbing. is.gd/4hVzk #
  • 19:11 Xoie now has duck tape on it. I knew it was missing something. #
 
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Ben
13 October 2009 @ 09:00 am
(no subject)  
 
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