NASA NEWS—

Wednesday, January 30th

The space agency gave a “Go” for the launch of the often delayed STS-122 shuttle mission to the international space station at 2:45 p.m., Thursday, February 7. The mission has been delayed since December after failures were discovered in the shuttle Atlantis’ fuel sensor system

During this mission the crew will install the European Space Agency’s new Columbus laboratory on the space station and exchange a new crew member for one that has served nearly four months aboard the ISS.

The above photo courtesy of NASA shows the glass cockpit of the space shuttle.

How would you like to be sitting at those controls on the launch pad and pondering flying this amazing machine about 250 miles into space, rendezvousing and docking with the station, then, finding your way back to Earth on the return voyage?

Godspeed ladies and gentlemen!

COMMENTERRY—

Breaking News
Washington, January 29

This Fox News headline: “Illegal Immigrant Taxpayers to Benefit from House-Approved Stimulus Plan”

The story continues, “Under the plan passed by the House, illegal immigrants who qualify as ‘resident ailens’ and earned a minimum of $3,000 would be eligible for rebates of between $300 and $600 FOX News has learned.”

“Resident Ailens are defined as people who spend a ‘substantial’ amount of time in the U. S. and have not been deported” they explain.

This bill passed the House by a vote of 385-35 and is supported by President Bush.

This bill also DENIES payment of the bonuses to most US citizens who are retirees on Social Security.

Let me get this straight. Our US House of Representatives wants to reward illegal immigrants with economic stimulus bonuses but deny those same payments to US citizens trying to survive on Social Security benefits alone.

Barf.

WEEKEND PREVIEW—

Saturday we will be taking a look at the pathetic glob of remaining US Presidential candidates. This election could be the first time ever I select none of the above when I ponder my ballot for president. Please stop by while Fogeyisms takes a peek at the national political scene.

Also racked up and awaiting a date in the queue are pieces on ice fishing on our pond, a bird banding demonstration at the Gorman Nature Center and ice skating on the village green. We’ve also done some preliminary shooting at Ohio Dreams; a combination indoor-outdoor Action Sports Camp near Butler where participants can push their skateboards or wakeboards or many other things to their ultimate level of performance.

And, even more neat stuff is in the hopper. Please stay tuned!

WALKIN' IN

THE WOODS--

Jim South from Ashland, treasurer of the Mohican Trails Club, followed by his wife Cheryl leads the 5 kilometer segment of a series of hikes held recently at the Mohican State Park Campground. A second shorter segment was led by a park naturalist while other trails club officials led more adventuresome folks on a 10 kilometer challenge through the forest. In the small picture some of the nearly 80 participants enjoy pre-hike refreshments in the campground commissary.

AND IT WENT THUSLY--

Remnants of a gentle morning fog clung to the towering pines as we assaulted the stiff grade leading to the north rim.

Already the trailing half of the 60-some members of our 5 K group was strung far behind. Even in a group of enthusiastic hikers individual velocity in attacking the sharp incline varied widely.

Switchbacks followed switchbacks as the narrow, rock-strewn and often heavily rooted path worried itself up the hill. The respiration rate climbed and an occasional exhalation would briefly fog the glasses in the crisp morning air.

I remembered camping far below this trail last spring and seeing bicycles buzzing through the forest up here. A challenging bike trail is sometimes co-located with this system of hiking trails.

I was really glad I was not on a bicycle that hiking day.

Mercifully, the column would stop occasionally for a breather and I would find myself gauging the elevation yet to be conquered.

Mildly then, the grade diminished and we enjoyed a rolling passage on the leaf and pine needle carpet along the crest of the ridge

A slightly nervous herd of seven Whitetail Deer emerged into view about 50 yards ahead of us; first startled by our presence then prancing around as if to get a better look at those strange and colorful apparitions (us) that were flanking their presence.

They soon tired of our annoyance and disappeared into their otherwise quiet realm.

By then it felt like I had climbed a ladder to the top of a 10 storey building, but later, back at the camp store with a hot and tasty bowl of chili, topography maps revealed the ridge was about 300 feet max above the river near our starting location; really, just an invigorating walk in the woods.

Check the trails group here: http://www.mohicantrails.org/.

BOOK REPORTS—

Eureka by Jim Lehrer

Lehrer, of public broadcasting fame, uses fiction to craft a delightful story of a nearing-60 executive who acquires toys that childhood denied him—and escapes. Otis, the CEO of a midwestern insurance company obtains a very expensive toy firetruck, a football helmet, a Red Ryder BB gun and a vintage Cushman motor scooter. His intolerant wife acuses him of acquiring a mental illness. This is 228 pages of speed reading—could not put it down.


Prometheus’s Child by Harold Coyle

A rip snortin’ tale about private military companies hired by many countries including the US to do the kind of work that requires deniability by the foggy bottom crowd. This yarn takes us to the Saharan Desert of Africa where raw material for nuclear weapons is being mined and hijacked. Ultimately readers are treated to a tussel on the high seas. Coyle can always be counted on for an action-packed read.


The Arctic Event by James H. Cobb

Nearly 400 sizzling pages in a paperback read; this story pits a US covert team against- Russian Spetznaz troops-against terrorists in a page turning recovery effort of Cold War Soviet anthrax in the frozen north. Outstanding thriller—and the good guy not only wins the battle but the lady as well. But, a slick marketing ploy that makes the book look like one of Robert Ludlum’s was disgusting.


An Ocean of Air by Gabrielle Walker

This is a marvelous journey, exploring the science of our atmosphere, by an award-winning author who happens to have a Ph.D. in chemistry from Cambridge. Imagine pilots flying high enough to discover rivers of air flowing at multiple hundreds of miles per hour (the jet stream), or, a poor farmer who figures out why storms move in circles by doing his equations with a pitchfork on a barn door—a great peek at some science without typical, textbook stuffiness!


A WALK IN THE WOODS—

Saturday’s blog will feature a piece on a 5 kilometer hike at the Mohican State Park Campground sponsored by the Mohican Trails Club. Stop by and enjoy a vigorous romp in the forest.

It looks like our moon but this photo is of the planet Mercury taken by the Messenger spacecraft in its recent, first fly-by of the planet nearest the Sun. The robotic spacecraft is scheduled to fly past Mercury twice more before entering orbit there in 2011. The spacecraft already has taken over 1,000 images of the planet and will do many more for future study by planetary geologists. The spacecraft was about 12,000 miles from the planet in this NASA photo.

WOODCARVERS

Some sharp wits

and even sharper tools.

The smirking cowboy carving above was done by Ashland’s Dick Strine. Members of a local, wood carving group meet in Strine’s shop each Thursday. From left they are Dave McCquillen and son Brad from Mifflin, Strine in the red ball cap, Tony Fox, Mansfield, (back to camera), Ron Mosier, Hayesville (in plain white T shirt) and Paul Shodorf, Ashland.

ARTISTRY IN WOOD—

Formed in 1981 the Johnny Appleseed Woodcarvers, some 60 members strong, are a spirited group who certainly take the casual pastime of whittling to a much higher level.

Members show up at gatherings with their carving tools carefully wrapped and projects-in-process ready for the next step on their evolution into treasured family heirlooms.

Veteran members are eager to share their hard-won experience with newcomers. They are equally as eager to tell a whopper which usually leads to a spirited groan from their alert audience as the chips continue to rain onto growing piles of tinder.

Depending on the carving style, a block of wood can evolve into a delightful treasure in an hour or so. More often though, that creation will take hours—lots of hours—until it is nicked or burnished or artfully techniqued into its stunning new design.

“I examine a raw chunk of sometimes bark covered wood and enjoy the strong urge to cut in there and see what I can find,” Strine enthused. It could be the profile of an Indian. It could be Santa Clause, or, a sleek animal just waiting to escape from a knarled hunk of lignin.

Some carved creations can be astonishingly life-like, especially when Robert Holdeman of Ashland goes to work on his fabulous bird creations.

One member of the group works at his art professionally. Mansfielder Walt Ruess is located here: http://www.waltruess.com/. Take a peek at his galleries or his storefront for that very special gift.

Looking for a nifty new hobby? The group has scheduled meetings every Monday at 6:30 p.m. or so, in the coach house meeting room at Kingwood Center. Curious? Try a web search for Johnny Appleseed Woodcarvers.


Strine, a retired pattern maker, uses his inspired creation for tool sharpening.

The hands in the above image belong to Mike Beck of Ashland as his creation blossoms at a recent meeting. The male wood duck (below) hand-carved by Holdeman would be extremely attractive to a live, amorous female Woodie until she finally discovered he was most unresponsive to her charms.