...one of the best I've had in a long while.
Why?!!!
For the first time in 21 years, I can legally drive without any glasses or corrective lenses whatever. When you're closing in on 68, that's a pretty nice feeling.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Adventure - Continued
-
In which further attempts at attending launchings in person eventually led to a new career.
(This is a follow on to Adventure of a Lifetime, which should be read first.)
Oh, and special thanks to one of my favorite science and science-fiction writers, to whom I also sent that email notice of that post. He can be as verbose as necessary to get a point across, but with a sniper's precision, he emailed to me a single word, "Indeed", which told me that he actually read as far as the line it most applied to ("We had dreams, then."), and by sending it suggested that my writing may not be beyond redemption. I've not given the name here, as he sent it to me in an email instead of making the comment on my blog, so name-dropping just doesn't seem appropriate. Thank you, Sir, for giving my ego much-needed nourishment. :-)
That old Rambler of mine made it back to Houston after the Apollo 16 trip, but didn't survive the summer. After a certain age, some cars reach the stage on maintenance where the best thing to do is take it to an auto salvage yard and accept what they will give you for its' junk value ($50.00 in that case) and hope they will throw in a ride home (they did).
So, the rest of 1972 was spent without a car (except when I could borrow one from a friend) and otherwise I depended on a bike. Fortunately, most of the time I lived in Houston in apartments that weren't too far from my job. But this meant I wouldn't be driving to Florida for the night launch of Apollo 17, scheduled for the night of 06 Dec 1972.
I was able to borrow a car often enough to experiment some more with night shots of refineries, especially gas flares at some of them.
When Apollo 16 lifted off, there were huge plumes of water vapor (mentioned in the previous post) flaring out both sides for almost a couple of city blocks. White, of course, and very reflective. The exhaust from the rocket was brilliant white and I hoped that it would reflect off of those plumes enough to illuminate the vehicle as it was rising. That's why I was experimenting more with those exposures.
No longer possessing a car, I made arrangements to rent one at Orlando, Florida (I also planned on checking out Disney World after the launch), and took the bus from Houston to there.
Why a bus???
Partly, because I'm cheap.
But this was 1972.
We still had a few nutcases hijacking airplanes to be flown to Cuba. I had no idea of what the viewing conditions for the launch would be like at Havana airport, and had no wish to learn.
So, $59.00 bought a bus ticket from Houston to Orlando.
I'd made plenty of long distant bus trips when I was in the USAF a decade before, and they were usually pretty miserable and tiring affairs. This time, it was an express bus as far as Tallahassee, very comfortable and I thought "WOW. This is so GREAT".
From Tallahassee to Orlando, things reverted back to the "good old days" I remembered so well, changing buses about four times, even going up to Valdosta, Georgia before finally heading south to Orlando, and every bit as enjoyable as my Air Force experiences.
Another difference between bus travel and air travel. Car rental places don't cluster around bus stations. Needed a taxi to even find the place. Collected the car and headed out to Titusville, about 50 miles east.
Tighter schedule this time. Went straight to the space center for the tour again, but this was only ONE day before the launch, so the tour bus did NOT take us near the pad as they had already begun fueling the rocket (see what I said in the previous post).
Afterwards, went to the Titusville beach, cutting things really close, and dove into the first rental lot I saw that was still accepting cars. Absolutely EVERYBODY was here for this one. (And why not?!!! It's been almost 38 years now, and NO ONE has gone back yet. And God only knows when anyone ever will. Or if it will be an American when that happens.)
So, once again I'm set up at the beach, camping out again, just not in my car. No chess game this time; if those kids are back, they could be anywhere. Just a lot of waiting, as it was last time. It's now late at night, on 06 Dec 1972, and the rocket and pad are a gleaming jewel, even from 12 miles away. Managed to get a number of good exposures through the 300mm lens, bracketing my initial estimates a couple of stops either way.
Uh-oh! Clouds have been forming. The lift-off, scheduled for early evening, has been put on hold (countdown stopped) because of some rain and lightning aways off. This would really suck if the whole thing has to be rescheduled for the next launch window (by which time I would have to be on my way back). I cannot even imagine what the astronauts inside must feel.
We've now crept past midnight, into Pearl Harbor Day, and the countdown has resumed. A little over half an hour past midnight Apollo 17 fires up, and my head is bobbing between the viewfinder and looking with naked eye as this magnificent creature rises on a pillar of dazzling white fire that is NOT as bright as day (let's not get ridiculous here) but is bright enough for me read newspaper headlines from that source 12 miles away.
As I'd hoped, that light reflecting off of those water vapor plumes lights up the entire 30-story vehicle beautifully. The worrisome clouds have gone and the rocket can be followed unimaginably far, a brilliant star just going on forever. (Speaking metaphorically, of course; by the time it went to the second stage, it was effectively out of sight to the naked eye.)
Leaving the site, I wondered wistfully if I would ever get a chance to witness something like that again. At that time, I never thought to wonder if I would even live long enough to see another man go to the moon.
After returning the car, I flew back to Houston ($79.00 for Delta from Orlando; only $20.00 more than the bus); I've got my wish and seen it, so who cares if I make an unscheduled visit to Havana? :-)
In 1975, I revisited the Cape and Titusville, to watch the liftoff of the Apollo-Soyuz mission. Not nearly as spectacular; it using the far smaller Saturn 1B launcher instead of the mighty Saturn V.
The career changer mentioned in the first line finally happened as result of the next launch I wanted to witness, and came about in this random way.
I left the Air Force early, but honorably, and had no contact with any of my former buddies there until 1975 (I think) when, in a department store here in Houston, a man stepping off the escalator behind me asked, "Excuse me. Aren't you Paul *******?".
I was trying to remember if he was an architect client of ours when it hit me that he had addressed me by a last name I hadn't used in nine years (another story, probably never to be revealed). He was one of the bunch I had been with, and was now living just north of Houston and working as an exploration geophysicist for Shell Oil Company.
I got back together with him and his family. That was a bit of a miracle. Have you ever run into someone that you knew from long ago, only to find so much has changed that you no longer have anything in common anymore?
A couple of years later he and his family moved up to central Michigan, where he joined a seismic exploration company there. Another couple of years and he's broken off from them and started his own company (also seismic exploration).
In the meantime, several things have been going on. I'd been an electrical draftsman, evolved into an electrical designer (almost an engineer, but sans license and seal) and had been doing the same thing for almost two decades.
Into our engineering world arrived a micro-computer, in 1981, primarily for use by our secretary as a word-processor (A lot of her work was typing up engineering specifications, usually from existing boiler-plates; this made her job enormously easier.) and an HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) program in Basic, that never worked properly.
But, it had a professional grade level of Basic included, and I had found me a new plaything. Soon I was teaching myself programming on it, and making programs to handle some of the calculations required in my work.
Hang on. we're really getting there. I promise.
I had made several trips to Michigan, to visit my friend, and we had talked several times about the possibility of me moving up there to join him. After nearly 20 years of drawing circles and home runs, one gets ready for something new. (Any reader who has done electrical drafting, design and/or engineering knows what I'm speaking of. As for the rest: Nyah, nan nan nan nyah! :-)
In September of 1983, one of the Space Shuttles was scheduled to go up at night. I could afford it, had plenty of vacation time available, and decided, "Let's do it!".
This time, it didn't go so well. When it was time to get rolling, I was asked to not go; our sometimes crazy work schedules had piled up too much (and this wasn't the first time by a long shot. Their recurrences was one of the reasons I had so much vacation time built up; I'd had several vacations aborted this way). So, I didn't go.
Watching the lift-off, on TV at home instead of the Titusville beach, I'd HAD it! I was feeling "G*D D*MM*T! I'm not the only one there!". After the lift-off, I made a long distance call to my friend in Michigan and told him that if he still thought I could do something up there, I was definitely interested.
As I noted above, he had started his own company. He was farming out the data to a data-processing company, was not real impressed with the results, and decided to set up his own data-processing center.
In early 1984, he called back and asked me if I would come up and manage it for him.
And so, because of what amounts to a hissy fit over not being able to go to that night shuttle launch, I was soon on my way to Michigan, a new career, and a whole new future.
(Damn little of my life has ever been carefully planned; most of the time I seem to drift up on whatever shoals the current takes me to and I go on from there. The career change noted above is the closest thing to careful planning, and it resulted from an impulse; the only planning involved was that, when I left the engineering company, at least I knew where I was going and what I would be trying to do. Most of my odyssey has been far more random and capricious. I'm seriously considering a post on the utterly random and unpredictable events that have led me to where I am today.)
-
In which further attempts at attending launchings in person eventually led to a new career.
(This is a follow on to Adventure of a Lifetime, which should be read first.)
Oh, and special thanks to one of my favorite science and science-fiction writers, to whom I also sent that email notice of that post. He can be as verbose as necessary to get a point across, but with a sniper's precision, he emailed to me a single word, "Indeed", which told me that he actually read as far as the line it most applied to ("We had dreams, then."), and by sending it suggested that my writing may not be beyond redemption. I've not given the name here, as he sent it to me in an email instead of making the comment on my blog, so name-dropping just doesn't seem appropriate. Thank you, Sir, for giving my ego much-needed nourishment. :-)
That old Rambler of mine made it back to Houston after the Apollo 16 trip, but didn't survive the summer. After a certain age, some cars reach the stage on maintenance where the best thing to do is take it to an auto salvage yard and accept what they will give you for its' junk value ($50.00 in that case) and hope they will throw in a ride home (they did).
So, the rest of 1972 was spent without a car (except when I could borrow one from a friend) and otherwise I depended on a bike. Fortunately, most of the time I lived in Houston in apartments that weren't too far from my job. But this meant I wouldn't be driving to Florida for the night launch of Apollo 17, scheduled for the night of 06 Dec 1972.
I was able to borrow a car often enough to experiment some more with night shots of refineries, especially gas flares at some of them.
When Apollo 16 lifted off, there were huge plumes of water vapor (mentioned in the previous post) flaring out both sides for almost a couple of city blocks. White, of course, and very reflective. The exhaust from the rocket was brilliant white and I hoped that it would reflect off of those plumes enough to illuminate the vehicle as it was rising. That's why I was experimenting more with those exposures.
No longer possessing a car, I made arrangements to rent one at Orlando, Florida (I also planned on checking out Disney World after the launch), and took the bus from Houston to there.
Why a bus???
Partly, because I'm cheap.
But this was 1972.
We still had a few nutcases hijacking airplanes to be flown to Cuba. I had no idea of what the viewing conditions for the launch would be like at Havana airport, and had no wish to learn.
So, $59.00 bought a bus ticket from Houston to Orlando.
I'd made plenty of long distant bus trips when I was in the USAF a decade before, and they were usually pretty miserable and tiring affairs. This time, it was an express bus as far as Tallahassee, very comfortable and I thought "WOW. This is so GREAT".
From Tallahassee to Orlando, things reverted back to the "good old days" I remembered so well, changing buses about four times, even going up to Valdosta, Georgia before finally heading south to Orlando, and every bit as enjoyable as my Air Force experiences.
Another difference between bus travel and air travel. Car rental places don't cluster around bus stations. Needed a taxi to even find the place. Collected the car and headed out to Titusville, about 50 miles east.
Tighter schedule this time. Went straight to the space center for the tour again, but this was only ONE day before the launch, so the tour bus did NOT take us near the pad as they had already begun fueling the rocket (see what I said in the previous post).
Afterwards, went to the Titusville beach, cutting things really close, and dove into the first rental lot I saw that was still accepting cars. Absolutely EVERYBODY was here for this one. (And why not?!!! It's been almost 38 years now, and NO ONE has gone back yet. And God only knows when anyone ever will. Or if it will be an American when that happens.)
So, once again I'm set up at the beach, camping out again, just not in my car. No chess game this time; if those kids are back, they could be anywhere. Just a lot of waiting, as it was last time. It's now late at night, on 06 Dec 1972, and the rocket and pad are a gleaming jewel, even from 12 miles away. Managed to get a number of good exposures through the 300mm lens, bracketing my initial estimates a couple of stops either way.
Uh-oh! Clouds have been forming. The lift-off, scheduled for early evening, has been put on hold (countdown stopped) because of some rain and lightning aways off. This would really suck if the whole thing has to be rescheduled for the next launch window (by which time I would have to be on my way back). I cannot even imagine what the astronauts inside must feel.
We've now crept past midnight, into Pearl Harbor Day, and the countdown has resumed. A little over half an hour past midnight Apollo 17 fires up, and my head is bobbing between the viewfinder and looking with naked eye as this magnificent creature rises on a pillar of dazzling white fire that is NOT as bright as day (let's not get ridiculous here) but is bright enough for me read newspaper headlines from that source 12 miles away.
As I'd hoped, that light reflecting off of those water vapor plumes lights up the entire 30-story vehicle beautifully. The worrisome clouds have gone and the rocket can be followed unimaginably far, a brilliant star just going on forever. (Speaking metaphorically, of course; by the time it went to the second stage, it was effectively out of sight to the naked eye.)
Leaving the site, I wondered wistfully if I would ever get a chance to witness something like that again. At that time, I never thought to wonder if I would even live long enough to see another man go to the moon.
After returning the car, I flew back to Houston ($79.00 for Delta from Orlando; only $20.00 more than the bus); I've got my wish and seen it, so who cares if I make an unscheduled visit to Havana? :-)
In 1975, I revisited the Cape and Titusville, to watch the liftoff of the Apollo-Soyuz mission. Not nearly as spectacular; it using the far smaller Saturn 1B launcher instead of the mighty Saturn V.
The career changer mentioned in the first line finally happened as result of the next launch I wanted to witness, and came about in this random way.
I left the Air Force early, but honorably, and had no contact with any of my former buddies there until 1975 (I think) when, in a department store here in Houston, a man stepping off the escalator behind me asked, "Excuse me. Aren't you Paul *******?".
I was trying to remember if he was an architect client of ours when it hit me that he had addressed me by a last name I hadn't used in nine years (another story, probably never to be revealed). He was one of the bunch I had been with, and was now living just north of Houston and working as an exploration geophysicist for Shell Oil Company.
I got back together with him and his family. That was a bit of a miracle. Have you ever run into someone that you knew from long ago, only to find so much has changed that you no longer have anything in common anymore?
A couple of years later he and his family moved up to central Michigan, where he joined a seismic exploration company there. Another couple of years and he's broken off from them and started his own company (also seismic exploration).
In the meantime, several things have been going on. I'd been an electrical draftsman, evolved into an electrical designer (almost an engineer, but sans license and seal) and had been doing the same thing for almost two decades.
Into our engineering world arrived a micro-computer, in 1981, primarily for use by our secretary as a word-processor (A lot of her work was typing up engineering specifications, usually from existing boiler-plates; this made her job enormously easier.) and an HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) program in Basic, that never worked properly.
But, it had a professional grade level of Basic included, and I had found me a new plaything. Soon I was teaching myself programming on it, and making programs to handle some of the calculations required in my work.
Hang on. we're really getting there. I promise.
I had made several trips to Michigan, to visit my friend, and we had talked several times about the possibility of me moving up there to join him. After nearly 20 years of drawing circles and home runs, one gets ready for something new. (Any reader who has done electrical drafting, design and/or engineering knows what I'm speaking of. As for the rest: Nyah, nan nan nan nyah! :-)
In September of 1983, one of the Space Shuttles was scheduled to go up at night. I could afford it, had plenty of vacation time available, and decided, "Let's do it!".
This time, it didn't go so well. When it was time to get rolling, I was asked to not go; our sometimes crazy work schedules had piled up too much (and this wasn't the first time by a long shot. Their recurrences was one of the reasons I had so much vacation time built up; I'd had several vacations aborted this way). So, I didn't go.
Watching the lift-off, on TV at home instead of the Titusville beach, I'd HAD it! I was feeling "G*D D*MM*T! I'm not the only one there!". After the lift-off, I made a long distance call to my friend in Michigan and told him that if he still thought I could do something up there, I was definitely interested.
As I noted above, he had started his own company. He was farming out the data to a data-processing company, was not real impressed with the results, and decided to set up his own data-processing center.
In early 1984, he called back and asked me if I would come up and manage it for him.
And so, because of what amounts to a hissy fit over not being able to go to that night shuttle launch, I was soon on my way to Michigan, a new career, and a whole new future.
(Damn little of my life has ever been carefully planned; most of the time I seem to drift up on whatever shoals the current takes me to and I go on from there. The career change noted above is the closest thing to careful planning, and it resulted from an impulse; the only planning involved was that, when I left the engineering company, at least I knew where I was going and what I would be trying to do. Most of my odyssey has been far more random and capricious. I'm seriously considering a post on the utterly random and unpredictable events that have led me to where I am today.)
-
Friday, April 16, 2010
Adventure of a Lifetime
-
38 years ago today, on April 16, 1972, the penultimate manned moon mission (Apollo 16) was launched.
In early 1972 (February, I think) I saw an article in the Houston Chronicle noting that the Apollo series of manned moon exploration missions (originally scheduled to go up to number 20) would be cut off at 17 (due to budget cuts and declining interest).
Apollo 17 would lift off on December 6, 1972, and it would go at night!!!
I decided right then that "I've GOT to see that!".
I noticed that Apollo 16 was scheduled for April 16th, two months away. I decided to aim for that one also, in case something happened to prevent Apollo 17.
At that time, I was an electrical draftsman, earning the princely sum of around $5.00 an hour (prices were much cheaper then) and possessed a 1964 Rambler that had over 100,000 miles on it and was on its' last legs. So, number one concern was whether I could even nurse it from Houston to the Cape and back.
I also wanted to get some good photos (now, sadly gone forever; that's another story), so I strained my credit at Sears (that was the only card I had besides a gas card; this was before VISA and MasterCard began flooding the market with unsolicited credit cards), and bought a Ricoh Singlex 35mm camera and a 300mm telephoto lens.
Among the shots I wanted to get would be night shots, not only of 17's launch itself, but also of the vehicles on their pads, lit up at night.
For that, I would need very fast film (the fastest color films at that time being color slide films such as Kodak High-Speed Ektachrome at 160 ASA and GAF 500 at 500 ASA).
Having seen, on TV, what they looked like at night, I roamed the outskirts of Pasadena to get shots of the refineries which were similarly lit in places, taking dozens of carefully documented exposures to see what would work best.
That resulted in GAF being taken out of consideration because it was so grainy as to be almost unusable, and so sensitive to exposure levels that you had to be within 1/2 stop for the result to be any good at all. On the other hand, Kodak's High-Speed Ektachrome delivered usable images even when two full stops away from correct exposure. That's what I went with.
A stop at Household Finance (pre VISA and MasterCard, remember; at least in MY case) provided a modest amount that I hoped would be sufficient (it wasn't, as things turned out).
I had enough vacation time available for this (and also for the December trip) so off I went.
That worn-out Rambler was doing Ok until, when approaching New Orleans, the engine started threatening to cut out and I could hear that pulsing hissing sound that announces a blown cylinder head gasket. By the time I found a place where I would consider stopping, I had made it to Bay St Louis, Mississippi where I pulled into a motel for the night. I would determine, the next morning, if that was the end of the line.
Next day, I got a recommendation from the motel operator for a mechanic who came over and checked it, agreed with my diagnosis, and said he could fix it for $75.00 (1972, remember. At that time, the cheap, crappy, but clean apartment I was living in went for $75.00/month).
This was more than I had figured on, so I phoned my boss and asked him if he would advance me the amount and wire the money to where I was. He did, the repairs were made, and I was on my way again (after being afraid that I would have to give up, abandon the car and the whole trip, and take the bus home).
In the early days of space launches, most onlookers (not among the select that watched from stands at the space center) viewed them from Cocoa Beach. As they progressed from Mercury thru Gemini and then to Apollo, new launch pads were built further north on Merritt Island. Launch Pads 39A and 39B are so far north on that island, the nearest city to watch them from is Titusville.
I reached Titusville on April 14 (two days before launch) and went over to the space center to take the tour. The tour took us to within 1/2 a mile of the rocket, sitting on the launch tower and pad. Something over 30 stories tall is quite a sight that close.
They hadn't begun fueling it yet, otherwise we never would have been anywhere near that close to it. The two pads are a bit over three miles from each other, and also at least that far from the Vehicle Assembly Building and theMission* Launch Control Building.
There's a reason for that. Fully fueled, the Saturn V launch vehicle contains more than 3000 tons of fuel and oxidizer, packing a lot more energy than the same amount of TNT, but with not quite the shattering effect ("brisance" is the word, I think) of that much explosive. Nevertheless, it can make one hell of a bang if it goes off; hence the separation. The Russians are believed to have had such an incident, taking out a major portion of their launch complex, with quite a few casualties, a few weeks before Apollo 11 lifted off on its' historic mission in July 1969.
I had this insane notion that, after touring the space center, I would head up north to Daytona Beach or even Jacksonville, rest up in a motel, and then come back down on launch day.
BUT, with two days to go, it looked as if half the population of Florida was already crowding U.S Highway 1 alongside Titusville. Figuring that if I stuck to my original plan I wouldn't even get near the place on launch day, I dove into one of the places on the Titusville beach that were renting spaces for cars, knowing I would just have to camp there.
So, there I was on the beach on the Indian River (separating Titusville from Merritt Island), looking at what I came to see from a distance of a bit over twelve miles.
At that distance the curvature of the Earth would have cut off a portion, except for the fact that the launch pad is placed on top of a ramp that rises about four stories and the pad itself probably adds another 10 feet or so, making the whole thing visible.
Hold your thumb and forefinger over each other, a few millimeters (or 1/8th of an inch) apart, at arms length and imagine a skinny white splinter held vertically between them. That's what a Saturn V looks like at that distance to the naked eye. A pair of 7x50 binoculars, or a 300mm telephoto lens, does a decent job of showing it.
Now, nothing much to do except wait. A couple of kids from the car next to me set up a chess game and managed to teach some of it to me. Never got all that good at it; I'm mostly a tactical person, who can react very inventively to new situations, but the key word is "react", meaning I'm dead meat for a good strategist.
Finally, mid-day, April 16, 1972.
Apollo 16 fires up, huge white plumes flaring almost a couple of hundred yards to each side. They are almost pure steam; there is a deluge system that dumps God knows how many tons of water onto the lower pad at the moment of ignition, to prevent the rockets exhaust from scouring it away. The feeling of pure naked power is overwhelming, and we haven't even heard anything yet. It takes a full minute for the sound to reach you, and it's a low-pitched rumble that is felt as well as heard. That rumble continues until it is long out of sight.
Something I will remember until the day I die.
We had dreams, then.
(And, YES. I'm aware that I have not even touched on Apollo 17.)
Addendum - 09 May 2010 - When I originally wrote this, I believed that water deluge system was meant to protect the lower launch pad from the scouring effects of the rocket's exhaust at liftoff. I've since learned that it is actually a sound suppression system to protect the entire structure from the effects of very intense sound pressure (Up to 235 decibels at liftoff; supposedly lethal at close range, but I've yet to search out more definite info on this.).
Addendum - 07 Dec 2010 - Six days after writing this post, I followed it up with The Adventure - Continued (about Apollo 17 and beyond). This addenda is just the inclusion of the link.
* = Correction 11 Jan 2011 - That was the Launch Control Building. Mission Control is at the Johnson Space Center, in Clear Lake, Texas -- now part of Houston.
Addendum - 19 Feb 2011 - This is ten months after I originally wrote this post. Now, suddenly my site meter shows hits from all over the world, with no referring link, as if someone found it moderately interesting and alerted others by email.
If you've read this far, I would love to know what brought you to this post.
A comment or email would be welcome.
Thanks. :-)
Addendum - 23 Feb 2011 - A commenter noted that it was a comment of mine on the Internet Movie Data Base's page on the upcoming (April 22, 2011) Apollo 18 that triggered the explosion of hits on this post.
Cool!
If I'm going to get so many visitors, I hope that among them will be someone who can confirm (or refute) my "supposedly lethal at close range" comment (about the sound of the liftoff) I made in the addendum about the sound suppression system.
Would be very curious to know, and to know how close.
Addendum - 29 Jun 2011 - This post is once again getting a lot of hits. Contrary to my 16 Apr 2011 comment below, the release date for Apollo 18 has been moved up to Friday, 02 Sep 2011. I guessing that is the source of the traffic. (See There is a REASON why ... )
-
38 years ago today, on April 16, 1972, the penultimate manned moon mission (Apollo 16) was launched.
In early 1972 (February, I think) I saw an article in the Houston Chronicle noting that the Apollo series of manned moon exploration missions (originally scheduled to go up to number 20) would be cut off at 17 (due to budget cuts and declining interest).
Apollo 17 would lift off on December 6, 1972, and it would go at night!!!
I decided right then that "I've GOT to see that!".
I noticed that Apollo 16 was scheduled for April 16th, two months away. I decided to aim for that one also, in case something happened to prevent Apollo 17.
At that time, I was an electrical draftsman, earning the princely sum of around $5.00 an hour (prices were much cheaper then) and possessed a 1964 Rambler that had over 100,000 miles on it and was on its' last legs. So, number one concern was whether I could even nurse it from Houston to the Cape and back.
I also wanted to get some good photos (now, sadly gone forever; that's another story), so I strained my credit at Sears (that was the only card I had besides a gas card; this was before VISA and MasterCard began flooding the market with unsolicited credit cards), and bought a Ricoh Singlex 35mm camera and a 300mm telephoto lens.
Among the shots I wanted to get would be night shots, not only of 17's launch itself, but also of the vehicles on their pads, lit up at night.
For that, I would need very fast film (the fastest color films at that time being color slide films such as Kodak High-Speed Ektachrome at 160 ASA and GAF 500 at 500 ASA).
Having seen, on TV, what they looked like at night, I roamed the outskirts of Pasadena to get shots of the refineries which were similarly lit in places, taking dozens of carefully documented exposures to see what would work best.
That resulted in GAF being taken out of consideration because it was so grainy as to be almost unusable, and so sensitive to exposure levels that you had to be within 1/2 stop for the result to be any good at all. On the other hand, Kodak's High-Speed Ektachrome delivered usable images even when two full stops away from correct exposure. That's what I went with.
A stop at Household Finance (pre VISA and MasterCard, remember; at least in MY case) provided a modest amount that I hoped would be sufficient (it wasn't, as things turned out).
I had enough vacation time available for this (and also for the December trip) so off I went.
That worn-out Rambler was doing Ok until, when approaching New Orleans, the engine started threatening to cut out and I could hear that pulsing hissing sound that announces a blown cylinder head gasket. By the time I found a place where I would consider stopping, I had made it to Bay St Louis, Mississippi where I pulled into a motel for the night. I would determine, the next morning, if that was the end of the line.
Next day, I got a recommendation from the motel operator for a mechanic who came over and checked it, agreed with my diagnosis, and said he could fix it for $75.00 (1972, remember. At that time, the cheap, crappy, but clean apartment I was living in went for $75.00/month).
This was more than I had figured on, so I phoned my boss and asked him if he would advance me the amount and wire the money to where I was. He did, the repairs were made, and I was on my way again (after being afraid that I would have to give up, abandon the car and the whole trip, and take the bus home).
In the early days of space launches, most onlookers (not among the select that watched from stands at the space center) viewed them from Cocoa Beach. As they progressed from Mercury thru Gemini and then to Apollo, new launch pads were built further north on Merritt Island. Launch Pads 39A and 39B are so far north on that island, the nearest city to watch them from is Titusville.
I reached Titusville on April 14 (two days before launch) and went over to the space center to take the tour. The tour took us to within 1/2 a mile of the rocket, sitting on the launch tower and pad. Something over 30 stories tall is quite a sight that close.
They hadn't begun fueling it yet, otherwise we never would have been anywhere near that close to it. The two pads are a bit over three miles from each other, and also at least that far from the Vehicle Assembly Building and the
There's a reason for that. Fully fueled, the Saturn V launch vehicle contains more than 3000 tons of fuel and oxidizer, packing a lot more energy than the same amount of TNT, but with not quite the shattering effect ("brisance" is the word, I think) of that much explosive. Nevertheless, it can make one hell of a bang if it goes off; hence the separation. The Russians are believed to have had such an incident, taking out a major portion of their launch complex, with quite a few casualties, a few weeks before Apollo 11 lifted off on its' historic mission in July 1969.
I had this insane notion that, after touring the space center, I would head up north to Daytona Beach or even Jacksonville, rest up in a motel, and then come back down on launch day.
BUT, with two days to go, it looked as if half the population of Florida was already crowding U.S Highway 1 alongside Titusville. Figuring that if I stuck to my original plan I wouldn't even get near the place on launch day, I dove into one of the places on the Titusville beach that were renting spaces for cars, knowing I would just have to camp there.
So, there I was on the beach on the Indian River (separating Titusville from Merritt Island), looking at what I came to see from a distance of a bit over twelve miles.
At that distance the curvature of the Earth would have cut off a portion, except for the fact that the launch pad is placed on top of a ramp that rises about four stories and the pad itself probably adds another 10 feet or so, making the whole thing visible.
Hold your thumb and forefinger over each other, a few millimeters (or 1/8th of an inch) apart, at arms length and imagine a skinny white splinter held vertically between them. That's what a Saturn V looks like at that distance to the naked eye. A pair of 7x50 binoculars, or a 300mm telephoto lens, does a decent job of showing it.
Now, nothing much to do except wait. A couple of kids from the car next to me set up a chess game and managed to teach some of it to me. Never got all that good at it; I'm mostly a tactical person, who can react very inventively to new situations, but the key word is "react", meaning I'm dead meat for a good strategist.
Finally, mid-day, April 16, 1972.
Apollo 16 fires up, huge white plumes flaring almost a couple of hundred yards to each side. They are almost pure steam; there is a deluge system that dumps God knows how many tons of water onto the lower pad at the moment of ignition, to prevent the rockets exhaust from scouring it away. The feeling of pure naked power is overwhelming, and we haven't even heard anything yet. It takes a full minute for the sound to reach you, and it's a low-pitched rumble that is felt as well as heard. That rumble continues until it is long out of sight.
Something I will remember until the day I die.
We had dreams, then.
(And, YES. I'm aware that I have not even touched on Apollo 17.)
Addendum - 09 May 2010 - When I originally wrote this, I believed that water deluge system was meant to protect the lower launch pad from the scouring effects of the rocket's exhaust at liftoff. I've since learned that it is actually a sound suppression system to protect the entire structure from the effects of very intense sound pressure (Up to 235 decibels at liftoff; supposedly lethal at close range, but I've yet to search out more definite info on this.).
Addendum - 07 Dec 2010 - Six days after writing this post, I followed it up with The Adventure - Continued (about Apollo 17 and beyond). This addenda is just the inclusion of the link.
* = Correction 11 Jan 2011 - That was the Launch Control Building. Mission Control is at the Johnson Space Center, in Clear Lake, Texas -- now part of Houston.
Addendum - 19 Feb 2011 - This is ten months after I originally wrote this post. Now, suddenly my site meter shows hits from all over the world, with no referring link, as if someone found it moderately interesting and alerted others by email.
If you've read this far, I would love to know what brought you to this post.
A comment or email would be welcome.
Thanks. :-)
Addendum - 23 Feb 2011 - A commenter noted that it was a comment of mine on the Internet Movie Data Base's page on the upcoming (April 22, 2011) Apollo 18 that triggered the explosion of hits on this post.
Cool!
If I'm going to get so many visitors, I hope that among them will be someone who can confirm (or refute) my "supposedly lethal at close range" comment (about the sound of the liftoff) I made in the addendum about the sound suppression system.
Would be very curious to know, and to know how close.
Addendum - 29 Jun 2011 - This post is once again getting a lot of hits. Contrary to my 16 Apr 2011 comment below, the release date for Apollo 18 has been moved up to Friday, 02 Sep 2011. I guessing that is the source of the traffic. (See There is a REASON why ... )
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Thursday, April 15, 2010
On selling out our friends and allies
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Just recently, after spending months snubbing our best friends and allies (Israel in particular, but others as well), Obama announced, to friends and enemies alike, new policies on the use (or NON use) of weapons in our nuclear arsenal that practically screamed to people depending on us for their protection, "Hey, not OUR problem!!!".
Shortly after Obama's election, I posted this comment on many blogs...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Election Day, the Ace of Spades website posted a picture of two Iraqi women, with purple-stained fingers showing they had voted in an election.
It was a "Get Out The Vote" message, noting that whatever inconveniences YOU may experience by voting, "These women literally risked their lives to vote".
My first reaction was, "And THE ONE can hardly wait to sell them out".
Obama’s rhetoric on Iraq, and comments about Israel, showed a casual willingness to sell out allies when convenient.
A commenter asked, “Who appointed us to be their guardians? Why is it America’s job to make sure they are safe?”
Perhaps we'd rather not have the entire world as a nuclear-armed camp, figuring that the more countries with these things, the more risk that some will eventually be used.
Our alliances with these countries ain’t out of the goodness of our heart, but for our own best interests. Sell one out, and I’ll bet you the others will sure take notice.
The commenter seemed to be saying, “To hell with them; let them take care of themselves!”
Ok! But, they might do exactly that, and we might be less than thrilled with the results.
If countries under threat (Taiwan, South Korea, Japan) think that our word is no longer any good, they’ll almost certainly feel the need for nuclear arms as the only real deterrent to someone like China. And note, those countries ALL have the necessary economic, industrial and technical wherewithal to go nuclear. All they need do is make the decision.
Others, in the Middle East, will want them to deter Iran. How about Saudi Arabia and Egypt? Maybe Libya decides that abandoning their efforts was a mistake. THOSE countries may lack the technology, but they can certainly afford to finance it.
It could just go on and on.
THAT could be a very likely consequence of us deciding to just disengage ourselves from these countries.
We’ve tried, for a long time, to convince others that they didn’t need them, because WE would provide the nuclear umbrella.
When they figure they can’t count on us, the whole thing unravels.
If the commenter gets his wish, and they DO take care of themselves, it could get real interesting for us as well.
As we also reside on the same planet, I think it almost impossible we would remain unaffected.
So, standing up for our allies is not just a nice thing to do; it makes the hardest kind of common sense.
Simply put, we protect others in order to protect ourselves.
Abandoning them, selling them out, would be an unbelievably short-sighted (as in STUPID) thing to do, and would hurt us more in the long run. No one would trust an agreement with us; and why should they, given such a record?
Instead of being worth a damn, our word would only be noise.
And that would be tragic, because WE set its' value, by our actions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sadly, I see absolutely nothing in that comment that needs amending. Especially the paragraph about the Middle East, now that he seems determined that a nuclear-armed Iran would be no big deal.
:(
-
Just recently, after spending months snubbing our best friends and allies (Israel in particular, but others as well), Obama announced, to friends and enemies alike, new policies on the use (or NON use) of weapons in our nuclear arsenal that practically screamed to people depending on us for their protection, "Hey, not OUR problem!!!".
Shortly after Obama's election, I posted this comment on many blogs...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Election Day, the Ace of Spades website posted a picture of two Iraqi women, with purple-stained fingers showing they had voted in an election.
It was a "Get Out The Vote" message, noting that whatever inconveniences YOU may experience by voting, "These women literally risked their lives to vote".
My first reaction was, "And THE ONE can hardly wait to sell them out".
Obama’s rhetoric on Iraq, and comments about Israel, showed a casual willingness to sell out allies when convenient.
A commenter asked, “Who appointed us to be their guardians? Why is it America’s job to make sure they are safe?”
Perhaps we'd rather not have the entire world as a nuclear-armed camp, figuring that the more countries with these things, the more risk that some will eventually be used.
Our alliances with these countries ain’t out of the goodness of our heart, but for our own best interests. Sell one out, and I’ll bet you the others will sure take notice.
The commenter seemed to be saying, “To hell with them; let them take care of themselves!”
Ok! But, they might do exactly that, and we might be less than thrilled with the results.
If countries under threat (Taiwan, South Korea, Japan) think that our word is no longer any good, they’ll almost certainly feel the need for nuclear arms as the only real deterrent to someone like China. And note, those countries ALL have the necessary economic, industrial and technical wherewithal to go nuclear. All they need do is make the decision.
Others, in the Middle East, will want them to deter Iran. How about Saudi Arabia and Egypt? Maybe Libya decides that abandoning their efforts was a mistake. THOSE countries may lack the technology, but they can certainly afford to finance it.
It could just go on and on.
THAT could be a very likely consequence of us deciding to just disengage ourselves from these countries.
We’ve tried, for a long time, to convince others that they didn’t need them, because WE would provide the nuclear umbrella.
When they figure they can’t count on us, the whole thing unravels.
If the commenter gets his wish, and they DO take care of themselves, it could get real interesting for us as well.
As we also reside on the same planet, I think it almost impossible we would remain unaffected.
So, standing up for our allies is not just a nice thing to do; it makes the hardest kind of common sense.
Simply put, we protect others in order to protect ourselves.
Abandoning them, selling them out, would be an unbelievably short-sighted (as in STUPID) thing to do, and would hurt us more in the long run. No one would trust an agreement with us; and why should they, given such a record?
Instead of being worth a damn, our word would only be noise.
And that would be tragic, because WE set its' value, by our actions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sadly, I see absolutely nothing in that comment that needs amending. Especially the paragraph about the Middle East, now that he seems determined that a nuclear-armed Iran would be no big deal.
:(
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Thursday, April 08, 2010
Rethinking Recall
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My previous post had two questions above the fold, the first of which probably caused many of you to react, "Good Lord! He's lost it. He's gone completely over the edge.", and as a result never even notice the second question (let alone actually open the post and read it).
That second question was "Can individual states enact measures to allow recall of their U. S. Congressional reps and senators?".
That part of the post asked if we could do it.
This post concerns itself with should we do it.
My previous post had two questions above the fold, the first of which probably caused many of you to react, "Good Lord! He's lost it. He's gone completely over the edge.", and as a result never even notice the second question (let alone actually open the post and read it).
That second question was "Can individual states enact measures to allow recall of their U. S. Congressional reps and senators?".
That part of the post asked if we could do it.
This post concerns itself with should we do it.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Thinking the Unthinkable
(Apologies to Hermann Kahn, who used that title for a study of thermonuclear warfare)
Two serious questions for consideration: (Relocated below the fold, so the first wont completely turn you off before even reading the rest of it.)
Two serious questions for consideration: (Relocated below the fold, so the first wont completely turn you off before even reading the rest of it.)
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
"Kids these days... UPDATED
...have no respect. They just don't have a clue as to what our generation had to go through. They take so much for granted."
I'll bet that particular lamentation was conveyed, somehow, amongst our pre-human ancestors depicted in the "Dawn of Man" sequence at the beginning of "2001: A Space Odyssey" before the arrival of the monolith.
It continues down the ages, through poems and sagas, Greek history, and lately through commenters on blogs. A near constant drumbeat of apocalyptic doom, foreseen because of the coming generation.
So, is there any hope at all?
Bill Whittle ( Eject! Eject! Eject! ) pointed me to this link: The Future Speaks, and this article Daddy, I want a Golden Ticket and I want it Now! as proof that the end ain't here quite yet.
The blog is authored by two 14 year old St. Louis residents, Cole Campbell and Lyda Loudon, who still retain sentience and the ability to think for themselves. How they will be when they reach the ages of 18-20 (when they will know everything and become insufferable for most of a decade :-) remains to be seen, so it's probably best to check them out NOW.
That such insight and common-sense can come from these two gives me great hope for the coming generation. That's quite a statement from me, as I can be one of the gloomiest, most depressing people you could ever hope to avoid; sometimes being of the "Not only is the glass half empty, but IT'S LEAKING!!!" type.
I expect to check in on them periodically as much needed therapy for my innate pessimism. :-)
(I see that I've managed to use the word "hope" quite a few times here. I'm going to have to check out good synonyms for it; I'm afraid The Won has poisoned that word for me.)
Update - 26 Apr 2011 - The site appears to have been released. It's been about nine months since they had posted anything on it (their time being monopolized by school and probably many other things) and the site shows only links to "Where to find..." various things; in short, advertisements.
So, I am deleting them from my blogroll and hope they are doing well. I suspect that life has intruded, as it will. To them, all the best.
-
I'll bet that particular lamentation was conveyed, somehow, amongst our pre-human ancestors depicted in the "Dawn of Man" sequence at the beginning of "2001: A Space Odyssey" before the arrival of the monolith.
It continues down the ages, through poems and sagas, Greek history, and lately through commenters on blogs. A near constant drumbeat of apocalyptic doom, foreseen because of the coming generation.
So, is there any hope at all?
Bill Whittle ( Eject! Eject! Eject! ) pointed me to this link: The Future Speaks, and this article Daddy, I want a Golden Ticket and I want it Now! as proof that the end ain't here quite yet.
The blog is authored by two 14 year old St. Louis residents, Cole Campbell and Lyda Loudon, who still retain sentience and the ability to think for themselves. How they will be when they reach the ages of 18-20 (when they will know everything and become insufferable for most of a decade :-) remains to be seen, so it's probably best to check them out NOW.
That such insight and common-sense can come from these two gives me great hope for the coming generation. That's quite a statement from me, as I can be one of the gloomiest, most depressing people you could ever hope to avoid; sometimes being of the "Not only is the glass half empty, but IT'S LEAKING!!!" type.
I expect to check in on them periodically as much needed therapy for my innate pessimism. :-)
(I see that I've managed to use the word "hope" quite a few times here. I'm going to have to check out good synonyms for it; I'm afraid The Won has poisoned that word for me.)
Update - 26 Apr 2011 - The site appears to have been released. It's been about nine months since they had posted anything on it (their time being monopolized by school and probably many other things) and the site shows only links to "Where to find..." various things; in short, advertisements.
So, I am deleting them from my blogroll and hope they are doing well. I suspect that life has intruded, as it will. To them, all the best.
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Friday, March 26, 2010
"Obamacare For Idiots"
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I put the title in quotes because it ain't mine. It belongs to AJStrata
Often, I'll get the germ of a idea for a post, fiddle with it a bit, only to discover someone else getting there first, and doing it far better than I could hope to.
So, without further ado, take a look at Obamacare For Idiots
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I put the title in quotes because it ain't mine. It belongs to AJStrata
Often, I'll get the germ of a idea for a post, fiddle with it a bit, only to discover someone else getting there first, and doing it far better than I could hope to.
So, without further ado, take a look at Obamacare For Idiots
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Monday, March 22, 2010
I Want To Scream...
-
"God Damn You!
GOD DAMN YOU All TO HELL!!!"
to the 220 Democrat house members who voted for that atrocity last night.
(Thankfully, ALL 178 Republicans voted "NO", and apparently 33 Democrats have managed to retain their souls.)
BUT, it's not really all their fault, is it?
Remember that election we had in November 2008?
Every single one of you who voted to put that smirking megalomaniac into the White House should take a bow. YOU made it all possible. May God forgive you; I cannot.
Sign seen at one of the first Tea Party protests in April 2009:
United States of America
Born 7-4-1776
Died 11-4-2008
SUICIDE
R.I.P.
Well, I don't think we're going to rest in peace.
I honestly believe that, come November, there is going to be a House (and Senate) cleaning that will be Biblical. Damning those Democrats to Hell may be above our pay grade, but casting them out of the cloud cuckoo land they currently inhabit and forcing them to make it in our world may be the next best thing.
What can YOU do?
There will be websites showing which of the Democrats voted "Yes". Look for them; they shouldn't be difficult to find. If one of them represents your district, then make yourself determined to fire that bastard in November.
We've just now gotten our noses rubbed in the fact that "Elections have consequences".
We absolutely must show those reps that so do their their votes.
(Addenda 23 Mar 2010 - I know; the Democrat vote was 219 "Yes" and 34 "No", for the bill itself. The 220 and 33 figures I used at the top of this post was the vote for the reconciliation that sealed the deal.)
-
"God Damn You!
GOD DAMN YOU All TO HELL!!!"
to the 220 Democrat house members who voted for that atrocity last night.
(Thankfully, ALL 178 Republicans voted "NO", and apparently 33 Democrats have managed to retain their souls.)
BUT, it's not really all their fault, is it?
Remember that election we had in November 2008?
Every single one of you who voted to put that smirking megalomaniac into the White House should take a bow. YOU made it all possible. May God forgive you; I cannot.
Sign seen at one of the first Tea Party protests in April 2009:
United States of America
Born 7-4-1776
Died 11-4-2008
SUICIDE
R.I.P.
Well, I don't think we're going to rest in peace.
I honestly believe that, come November, there is going to be a House (and Senate) cleaning that will be Biblical. Damning those Democrats to Hell may be above our pay grade, but casting them out of the cloud cuckoo land they currently inhabit and forcing them to make it in our world may be the next best thing.
What can YOU do?
There will be websites showing which of the Democrats voted "Yes". Look for them; they shouldn't be difficult to find. If one of them represents your district, then make yourself determined to fire that bastard in November.
We've just now gotten our noses rubbed in the fact that "Elections have consequences".
We absolutely must show those reps that so do their their votes.
(Addenda 23 Mar 2010 - I know; the Democrat vote was 219 "Yes" and 34 "No", for the bill itself. The 220 and 33 figures I used at the top of this post was the vote for the reconciliation that sealed the deal.)
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Friday, March 19, 2010
Pretty much says it all...
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Found this at Americans For Prosperity
Update - 20 Mar 2010 - You really should check out the link above. What I show below is just a simple jpg image. The one on their site is a Flashplayer interactive image that shows details of what each of those little boxes represents.
Update - 09 Apr 2010 - Things have changed; that image below is already out-of-date. Click on the link at the top of this post to see the latest interactive version. I expect they will continue to update it periodically. There are LOTS of things on it to scream at your congressmen about. And, scream you should.
Update - 09 May 2011 - My site meter showed a visit to this post today, so I decided to check the site. It's still there, and the chart is constantly being updated. It looks quite different now, and it still ain't pretty. Use the link at the top of this post to see the latest interactive version.
-
Found this at Americans For Prosperity
Update - 20 Mar 2010 - You really should check out the link above. What I show below is just a simple jpg image. The one on their site is a Flashplayer interactive image that shows details of what each of those little boxes represents.
Update - 09 Apr 2010 - Things have changed; that image below is already out-of-date. Click on the link at the top of this post to see the latest interactive version. I expect they will continue to update it periodically. There are LOTS of things on it to scream at your congressmen about. And, scream you should.
Update - 09 May 2011 - My site meter showed a visit to this post today, so I decided to check the site. It's still there, and the chart is constantly being updated. It looks quite different now, and it still ain't pretty. Use the link at the top of this post to see the latest interactive version.
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Thursday, February 25, 2010
Ann Coulter is on a roll with this one...
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WHAT PART OF 'PARTY OF NO' DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?
( AnnCoulter.com February 24, 2010 )
Republicans can't stop the Democrats from socializing health care: They are a tiny minority party in both the House and the Senate. (Note to America: You might want to keep this in mind next time you go to the polls.)"
...
When it comes to Obamacare, Americans don't want a party of "No," they want a party of "Hell, No!" or, as Rahm Emanuel might say, "*&^%$#@ No!"
...
"Actually, if the Republicans were really smart, they'd send in 14-year-old Jonathan Krohn, who understands the free market better than most people in Washington. Of course, so does my houseplant.
When she's hitting on all cylinders, what can you possibly add?
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WHAT PART OF 'PARTY OF NO' DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?
( AnnCoulter.com February 24, 2010 )
Republicans can't stop the Democrats from socializing health care: They are a tiny minority party in both the House and the Senate. (Note to America: You might want to keep this in mind next time you go to the polls.)"
...
When it comes to Obamacare, Americans don't want a party of "No," they want a party of "Hell, No!" or, as Rahm Emanuel might say, "*&^%$#@ No!"
...
"Actually, if the Republicans were really smart, they'd send in 14-year-old Jonathan Krohn, who understands the free market better than most people in Washington. Of course, so does my houseplant.
When she's hitting on all cylinders, what can you possibly add?
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Monday, February 08, 2010
BIG NEWS: SARAH PALIN WRITES CRIB NOTES ON HER HAND!!!
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This shocking development was revealed in a photo of her hand showing seven words ( "energy", "taxes", "budget cuts" (with "budget" crossed out), and "lift American spirit").
THIS, of course, in comparison to one who brings two teleprompters to a sixth-grade class, and cannot talk to his own committees without one.
Probably, the most amazing thing about this is the absolute glee and abandon with which liberals charge into this fray, with totally predictable results. Well, maybe not so amazing; if they had the ability to learn from experience, they wouldn't be what they are.
If Sarah was devious, I’d suspect her of deliberately allowing that palm to be seen, just to get the pathetic and moronic reactions she’s gotten from them so far. (Maybe it was deliberate; being "devious" is not a pre-requisite for having some fun. :-)
She’s totally aware that their self-absorbed narcissism and complete lack of a sense of humor are Achilles’s heels well worth exploiting.
Powerline - Palin Mocks Liberals notes:
"Which didn't stop Palin from getting the last laugh. Campaigning for Governor Rick Perry in Texas yesterday, she wrote "Hi Mom!" on her palm.
...
It's Palin's secret weapon: she brings out the stupidity in her political opponents."
Update - 14 Feb 2010: I promised commenter Ellen that I would try to reply to her comment, in a new post (as a proper reply would be long enough to justify one). I do intend to give it a shot, but I am just too miserably sick at the moment, so it will probably be a few days yet.
-
This shocking development was revealed in a photo of her hand showing seven words ( "energy", "taxes", "budget cuts" (with "budget" crossed out), and "lift American spirit").
THIS, of course, in comparison to one who brings two teleprompters to a sixth-grade class, and cannot talk to his own committees without one.
Probably, the most amazing thing about this is the absolute glee and abandon with which liberals charge into this fray, with totally predictable results. Well, maybe not so amazing; if they had the ability to learn from experience, they wouldn't be what they are.
If Sarah was devious, I’d suspect her of deliberately allowing that palm to be seen, just to get the pathetic and moronic reactions she’s gotten from them so far. (Maybe it was deliberate; being "devious" is not a pre-requisite for having some fun. :-)
She’s totally aware that their self-absorbed narcissism and complete lack of a sense of humor are Achilles’s heels well worth exploiting.
Powerline - Palin Mocks Liberals notes:
"Which didn't stop Palin from getting the last laugh. Campaigning for Governor Rick Perry in Texas yesterday, she wrote "Hi Mom!" on her palm.
...
It's Palin's secret weapon: she brings out the stupidity in her political opponents."
Update - 14 Feb 2010: I promised commenter Ellen that I would try to reply to her comment, in a new post (as a proper reply would be long enough to justify one). I do intend to give it a shot, but I am just too miserably sick at the moment, so it will probably be a few days yet.
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Monday, January 25, 2010
New additions to "Websites I Like..."
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I've decided to add Ann Coulter and Roger L. Simon to the list.
Why Ann? Why the Hell NOT?! I mean, LOOK AT HER!!! :-)
As for Roger; well, he's long overdue for inclusion.
I first noticed him, just before last summer, when a link pointed me to TALKING THROUGH MY HAT: How Ahmadinejad Made Me a Believer
I have never been much of a believer.
. . .
Until I went to Geneva, Switzerland a couple of weeks ago. I was there to cover Durban II, aka the Durban Review Conference – an attempt by the United Nations to ratify the results of its 2001 human rights conclave in Durban, South Africa.
. . .
But I didn’t realize the man who turned out to be the conference’s key speaker – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of the Islamic Republic of Iran – would be staying in my hotel. I learned that surprising fact from some Swiss security people only minutes before I saw the Iranian president face to face.
. . .
I heard screaming sirens followed by shrieking motor cycles when Ahmadinejad himself entered, accompanied by a phalanx of Iranian secret service, all of whom were larger than he. He was indeed a small man, almost diminutive, and marched straight across the lobby in what seemed at the time like a goose step a few feet away from me, staring directly at me while waving and smiling in my direction.
. . .
I was in the presence of pure Evil.
. . .
This was the guy that my president wanted to talk with?
. . .
I know I am being irrational here, so I will stop. Being in the presence of Ahmadinejad’s evil, fleeting and haltingly put me in the presence of something else.
. . .
There's a Hell of a lot in those extended ellipses. Click on that link above to fill them in, and see what made ME a believer in Roger Simon.
-
I've decided to add Ann Coulter and Roger L. Simon to the list.
Why Ann? Why the Hell NOT?! I mean, LOOK AT HER!!! :-)
As for Roger; well, he's long overdue for inclusion.
I first noticed him, just before last summer, when a link pointed me to TALKING THROUGH MY HAT: How Ahmadinejad Made Me a Believer
I have never been much of a believer.
. . .
Until I went to Geneva, Switzerland a couple of weeks ago. I was there to cover Durban II, aka the Durban Review Conference – an attempt by the United Nations to ratify the results of its 2001 human rights conclave in Durban, South Africa.
. . .
But I didn’t realize the man who turned out to be the conference’s key speaker – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of the Islamic Republic of Iran – would be staying in my hotel. I learned that surprising fact from some Swiss security people only minutes before I saw the Iranian president face to face.
. . .
I heard screaming sirens followed by shrieking motor cycles when Ahmadinejad himself entered, accompanied by a phalanx of Iranian secret service, all of whom were larger than he. He was indeed a small man, almost diminutive, and marched straight across the lobby in what seemed at the time like a goose step a few feet away from me, staring directly at me while waving and smiling in my direction.
. . .
I was in the presence of pure Evil.
. . .
This was the guy that my president wanted to talk with?
. . .
I know I am being irrational here, so I will stop. Being in the presence of Ahmadinejad’s evil, fleeting and haltingly put me in the presence of something else.
. . .
There's a Hell of a lot in those extended ellipses. Click on that link above to fill them in, and see what made ME a believer in Roger Simon.
-
Friday, January 22, 2010
On blogging, obsession, and being too full of one's self...
-
My previous post, congratulating Massachusetts for electing Scott Brown, noted Chris Matthews reaction to that as, "we need to keep an eye on this guy; I don't trust him."
I rebutted with what I felt was a really good zinger, about how I had a Hell of a lot more trust in a former Lieutenant-Colonel, who had served his country, than I had in a (fill in the blank) who endorses someone for Commander-In-Chief because of a "tingle up his leg".
The problem is, when I searched (and searched, and searched) using Google, Yahoo, Ask, Bing, whatever, I could NOT find any confirmation of him actually saying that.
I was sure I had heard him, but I have to admit that, when channel hopping among the news shows, the pundits all seem to melt together into the same faceless mass.
I cannot be sure who really did say it, but the search suggests that maybe I had the misfortune of stumbling across Glenn Beck, in full Jeremiah mode, with a really disgusting observation, "I don't trust this guy. You're going to end up with a dead intern."
WTF?!!!
Not being able to back up what I said, I pulled it.
I'd love to restore it; I really loved that zinger.
But, that is precisely the problem with getting obsessed with putting these things out.
By wanting, so desperately, to keep that comment alive and out there, I'm acting as if I'll never get another chance to do one as good. That demonstrates a lack of confidence in myself that's plagued me all my life.
Besides, the notion of not getting another chance, in such a target-rich environment as the current political landscape, is ridiculous beyond words.
Definitely time to drop this and move on.
-
My previous post, congratulating Massachusetts for electing Scott Brown, noted Chris Matthews reaction to that as, "we need to keep an eye on this guy; I don't trust him."
I rebutted with what I felt was a really good zinger, about how I had a Hell of a lot more trust in a former Lieutenant-Colonel, who had served his country, than I had in a (fill in the blank) who endorses someone for Commander-In-Chief because of a "tingle up his leg".
The problem is, when I searched (and searched, and searched) using Google, Yahoo, Ask, Bing, whatever, I could NOT find any confirmation of him actually saying that.
I was sure I had heard him, but I have to admit that, when channel hopping among the news shows, the pundits all seem to melt together into the same faceless mass.
I cannot be sure who really did say it, but the search suggests that maybe I had the misfortune of stumbling across Glenn Beck, in full Jeremiah mode, with a really disgusting observation, "I don't trust this guy. You're going to end up with a dead intern."
WTF?!!!
Not being able to back up what I said, I pulled it.
I'd love to restore it; I really loved that zinger.
But, that is precisely the problem with getting obsessed with putting these things out.
By wanting, so desperately, to keep that comment alive and out there, I'm acting as if I'll never get another chance to do one as good. That demonstrates a lack of confidence in myself that's plagued me all my life.
Besides, the notion of not getting another chance, in such a target-rich environment as the current political landscape, is ridiculous beyond words.
Definitely time to drop this and move on.
-
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Congratulations to Massachusetts, and Thank You!
-
The title still stands.
I've deleted the body of this post, for reasons explained in the post On blogging, obsession, and being too full of one's self...
-
The title still stands.
I've deleted the body of this post, for reasons explained in the post On blogging, obsession, and being too full of one's self...
-
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Comment moderation has been enabled. :(
-
(Above the fold update - 09 Mar 2010 - I'm going to take a chance and disable moderation for awhile. We'll just have to see how that works out. Maybe I'll have to turn it back on, for the reasons noted below, maybe not.)
I truly welcome comments, and would like more of them, but if you choose to leave one, you will now find this little note on the comment form:
Comment moderation has been enabled.
All comments must be approved by the blog author.
So, I'll get an email and it will appear when I Ok it (which I'll almost certainly do as soon as I see it).
WHY?
Blogger.com's comments form allows anonymous comments, and a couple of those have been in the form of:
Some kind of silly and inconsequential message.................
in which each separate dot was actually a link to an Asian video porn site.
As I only have a dial-up connection, it's just not practical for me to access those videos and check them out for you, to see if they might be something you would like.
Sorry about that, but I gotta maintain some standards. This is just the price of my readership expanding from the single digits to the low double digits. :-)
-
(Above the fold update - 09 Mar 2010 - I'm going to take a chance and disable moderation for awhile. We'll just have to see how that works out. Maybe I'll have to turn it back on, for the reasons noted below, maybe not.)
I truly welcome comments, and would like more of them, but if you choose to leave one, you will now find this little note on the comment form:
Comment moderation has been enabled.
All comments must be approved by the blog author.
So, I'll get an email and it will appear when I Ok it (which I'll almost certainly do as soon as I see it).
WHY?
Blogger.com's comments form allows anonymous comments, and a couple of those have been in the form of:
Some kind of silly and inconsequential message.................
in which each separate dot was actually a link to an Asian video porn site.
As I only have a dial-up connection, it's just not practical for me to access those videos and check them out for you, to see if they might be something you would like.
Sorry about that, but I gotta maintain some standards. This is just the price of my readership expanding from the single digits to the low double digits. :-)
-
Sunday, January 17, 2010
An Ode to PayPal...
-
NOT an accurate title; I've no intention of attempting any poetry here. I just thought it had a nicer ring to it than "In Praise of PayPal" :-)
My previous post detailed the travails of an eBay purchase gone wrong.
It brought this email response from a good friend...
====================================================
Hi Paul,
I read your blog about eBay transaction. That's horrible!!!
I hope you continue fighting this one.
He's probably doing the same thing to many other people.
If I lost $300 it would hurt me financially too.
====================================================
To which I replied...
====================================================
Oh, I intend to keep fighting, all right.
You may have noticed, in the post, that I redacted anything that could identify him, or where he is, but I DO have that information. (At least, the name and address of the contracting company he owns.)
Options I have include...
1) Opening a case with eBay.
2) Doing the same with PayPal.
3) Possibly Small Claims Court.
(Still have some research to do on THAT one;
I understand that a claim has to be filed in the defendant's county of residence. That makes sense, so the court cannot be used to harass someone by compelling him to appear in person, halfway across the country from where he's at, or forfeit the claim.
At the moment, I only have his business address. If that's not sufficient, I could probably find his actual residence for a small fee (which I could maybe add to the amount that I would seek from him).
What I have to find out is the mechanics of filing such a claim when I live in Houston, and he is in California.
For that matter, I've yet to determine if a Small Claims petition can even be filed across state lines, and if it would be required for me to appear there (in which case I would then have to figure out something else).
So, THAT particular option is up in the air, for now, until I learn more.)
What I'd like most is for the item to arrive and be Ok.
Or, to get an email from PayPal stating that a full refund has been put into my account.
In either of those cases, as I promised him, that would be the end of it.
Otherwise, it would really eat at me to just let it go. That just ain't gonna happen.
I have to confess that I can be a truly vindictive S.O.B. if I feel that I've been wronged.
And, I DO feel that I've been wronged.
====================================================
After thinking about it a bit, I realized that I had been more than patient with this guy, had utterly failed to get his attention, and decided it was time to haul out a 2x4.
Thinking that PayPal could wield a bigger one than I could, and more effectively, I gave them a call, actually got to talk to a real live human being, and learned that, as to opening a case with eBay or PayPal, it's either one or the other.
He convinced me that opening it with PayPal would be more likely to get results. It would then become a matter between them and the seller.
They would contact him, and give him 10 days to either satisfactorily explain things, or to provide a refund. If a refund was called for, and the seller was unable to comply, he told me that PayPal would provide it.
Their web site has this to say about eBay purchases:
Buyers choose PayPal more than any other payment method on eBay.*
Here's why:
You're covered on eligible transactions
PayPal covers your eBay purchases for the full
purchase price and original shipping costs.
This is a feature that I probably read about PayPal when I first signed up, but forgot because, up to now, I've never had to take advantage of it.
A check of the eBay page describing my item shows these very promising words:
Coverage:
Pay with PayPal and your full purchase price is covered.
If you ever buy anything on eBay, using PayPal, that's a good thing to look for.
Here's their automated email response, received 11 Jan 2010...
====================================================
Hello Paul Gordon,
Thanks for contacting us. We're looking into your case and will decide the
outcome. Here are the case details:
-----------------------------------
Transaction details
-----------------------------------
Seller's Name: **** *******
Seller's Email: **@****.***
Seller's Transaction ID: *****************
Transaction Date: Dec 6, 2009
Transaction Amount: -$290.79 USD
Your Transaction ID: *****************
Case Number: PP-***-***-***
Buyer's Transaction ID: *****************
-----------------------------------
What to do next
-----------------------------------
To keep things moving toward resolution, your participation is essential.
As we look into the case, we may ask you for more information and you'll
have a limited time to reply. Please respond quickly so you don’t risk
losing a possible refund.
We'll try to decide this case within 30 days, but if the case is
complicated, it may take a little longer.
Of course, we can't guarantee you'll get your money back from the seller,
but we'll give it our best effort. For more information about how PayPal
investigates complaints, please review the User Agreement.
Sincerely,
PayPal
====================================================
FOUR days later (15 Jan 2010). they sent this email...
====================================================
Hello Paul Gordon,
We have concluded our investigation into your claim.
Seller's Name: **** *******
Seller's Email: **@****.***
Seller's Transaction ID: *****************
Transaction Date: Dec 6, 2009
Transaction Amount: -$290.79 USD
Your Transaction ID: *****************
Case Number: PP-***-***-***
Buyer's Transaction ID: *****************
You have received a refund via PayPal in the amount of $290.79 USD.
Sincerely,
Protection Services Department
====================================================
I then logged onto PayPal to transfer the amount
back into my checking account. Got this response...
====================================================
Hello Paul Gordon,
You asked us on Jan 15, 2010 to transfer $290.79 USD from your PayPal account to your bank account. We are processing your request.
The transfer normally takes 3-4 business days.
The money should be in your bank account by Jan 19, 2010.
We will email you if any problems occur with your request.
Thanks,
PayPal
====================================================
Checking on my account today (17 Jan 2001) disclosed...
====================================================
Transaction Details
Withdraw Funds to a Bank Account
(Unique Transaction ID #*****************)
Total Amount: -$290.79 USD
Fee amount: $0.00 USD
Net amount: -$290.79 USD
Date: Jan 15, 2010
Time: 21:03:39 CST
Status: Completed
Subject: Bank Account
Transfer to: ****** (Confirmed) x-****
====================================================
In much less time than they estimated, it's all done. I've got my money back, and as I promised that seller, THIS IS THE END OF IT.
I note several things from all this.
1) Like many careful business, they allow themselves a safety factor by giving conservative estimates on how quickly they can resolve things. Usually it happens much quicker than they say.
2) Although the rapidity with which funds exit my checking account raises hope that lightspeed may NOT be an ultimate barrier, movement in the other direction takes days. They say that banking rules are responsible for this but, tragically, I've gotten a bit cynical in my old age. I can't help thinking that interest on funds they are holding may have a bit to do with it.
3) When buying anything from eBay, or the many other places that accept PayPal, that is definitely the way to go. I cannot recommend them highly enough.
End of commercial for PayPal.
-
NOT an accurate title; I've no intention of attempting any poetry here. I just thought it had a nicer ring to it than "In Praise of PayPal" :-)
My previous post detailed the travails of an eBay purchase gone wrong.
It brought this email response from a good friend...
====================================================
Hi Paul,
I read your blog about eBay transaction. That's horrible!!!
I hope you continue fighting this one.
He's probably doing the same thing to many other people.
If I lost $300 it would hurt me financially too.
====================================================
To which I replied...
====================================================
Oh, I intend to keep fighting, all right.
You may have noticed, in the post, that I redacted anything that could identify him, or where he is, but I DO have that information. (At least, the name and address of the contracting company he owns.)
Options I have include...
1) Opening a case with eBay.
2) Doing the same with PayPal.
3) Possibly Small Claims Court.
(Still have some research to do on THAT one;
I understand that a claim has to be filed in the defendant's county of residence. That makes sense, so the court cannot be used to harass someone by compelling him to appear in person, halfway across the country from where he's at, or forfeit the claim.
At the moment, I only have his business address. If that's not sufficient, I could probably find his actual residence for a small fee (which I could maybe add to the amount that I would seek from him).
What I have to find out is the mechanics of filing such a claim when I live in Houston, and he is in California.
For that matter, I've yet to determine if a Small Claims petition can even be filed across state lines, and if it would be required for me to appear there (in which case I would then have to figure out something else).
So, THAT particular option is up in the air, for now, until I learn more.)
What I'd like most is for the item to arrive and be Ok.
Or, to get an email from PayPal stating that a full refund has been put into my account.
In either of those cases, as I promised him, that would be the end of it.
Otherwise, it would really eat at me to just let it go. That just ain't gonna happen.
I have to confess that I can be a truly vindictive S.O.B. if I feel that I've been wronged.
And, I DO feel that I've been wronged.
====================================================
After thinking about it a bit, I realized that I had been more than patient with this guy, had utterly failed to get his attention, and decided it was time to haul out a 2x4.
Thinking that PayPal could wield a bigger one than I could, and more effectively, I gave them a call, actually got to talk to a real live human being, and learned that, as to opening a case with eBay or PayPal, it's either one or the other.
He convinced me that opening it with PayPal would be more likely to get results. It would then become a matter between them and the seller.
They would contact him, and give him 10 days to either satisfactorily explain things, or to provide a refund. If a refund was called for, and the seller was unable to comply, he told me that PayPal would provide it.
Their web site has this to say about eBay purchases:
Buyers choose PayPal more than any other payment method on eBay.*
Here's why:
You're covered on eligible transactions
PayPal covers your eBay purchases for the full
purchase price and original shipping costs.
This is a feature that I probably read about PayPal when I first signed up, but forgot because, up to now, I've never had to take advantage of it.
A check of the eBay page describing my item shows these very promising words:
Coverage:
Pay with PayPal and your full purchase price is covered.
If you ever buy anything on eBay, using PayPal, that's a good thing to look for.
Here's their automated email response, received 11 Jan 2010...
====================================================
Hello Paul Gordon,
Thanks for contacting us. We're looking into your case and will decide the
outcome. Here are the case details:
-----------------------------------
Transaction details
-----------------------------------
Seller's Name: **** *******
Seller's Email: **@****.***
Seller's Transaction ID: *****************
Transaction Date: Dec 6, 2009
Transaction Amount: -$290.79 USD
Your Transaction ID: *****************
Case Number: PP-***-***-***
Buyer's Transaction ID: *****************
-----------------------------------
What to do next
-----------------------------------
To keep things moving toward resolution, your participation is essential.
As we look into the case, we may ask you for more information and you'll
have a limited time to reply. Please respond quickly so you don’t risk
losing a possible refund.
We'll try to decide this case within 30 days, but if the case is
complicated, it may take a little longer.
Of course, we can't guarantee you'll get your money back from the seller,
but we'll give it our best effort. For more information about how PayPal
investigates complaints, please review the User Agreement.
Sincerely,
PayPal
====================================================
FOUR days later (15 Jan 2010). they sent this email...
====================================================
Hello Paul Gordon,
We have concluded our investigation into your claim.
Seller's Name: **** *******
Seller's Email: **@****.***
Seller's Transaction ID: *****************
Transaction Date: Dec 6, 2009
Transaction Amount: -$290.79 USD
Your Transaction ID: *****************
Case Number: PP-***-***-***
Buyer's Transaction ID: *****************
You have received a refund via PayPal in the amount of $290.79 USD.
Sincerely,
Protection Services Department
====================================================
I then logged onto PayPal to transfer the amount
back into my checking account. Got this response...
====================================================
Hello Paul Gordon,
You asked us on Jan 15, 2010 to transfer $290.79 USD from your PayPal account to your bank account. We are processing your request.
The transfer normally takes 3-4 business days.
The money should be in your bank account by Jan 19, 2010.
We will email you if any problems occur with your request.
Thanks,
PayPal
====================================================
Checking on my account today (17 Jan 2001) disclosed...
====================================================
Transaction Details
Withdraw Funds to a Bank Account
(Unique Transaction ID #*****************)
Total Amount: -$290.79 USD
Fee amount: $0.00 USD
Net amount: -$290.79 USD
Date: Jan 15, 2010
Time: 21:03:39 CST
Status: Completed
Subject: Bank Account
Transfer to: ****** (Confirmed) x-****
====================================================
In much less time than they estimated, it's all done. I've got my money back, and as I promised that seller, THIS IS THE END OF IT.
I note several things from all this.
1) Like many careful business, they allow themselves a safety factor by giving conservative estimates on how quickly they can resolve things. Usually it happens much quicker than they say.
2) Although the rapidity with which funds exit my checking account raises hope that lightspeed may NOT be an ultimate barrier, movement in the other direction takes days. They say that banking rules are responsible for this but, tragically, I've gotten a bit cynical in my old age. I can't help thinking that interest on funds they are holding may have a bit to do with it.
3) When buying anything from eBay, or the many other places that accept PayPal, that is definitely the way to go. I cannot recommend them highly enough.
End of commercial for PayPal.
-
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Anatomy of an eBay Transaction...
-
Six years ago, when I was in better financial shape, I bought a Panasonic DVD recorder, which I used a lot and liked very much. But, lately it has been making poor recordings, with errors that make them play unreliably (if at all). I have stuff on its' hard drive, and other stuff on DVD Ram disks that are probably playable only on a similar machine.
One of the options I tried was to search eBay for an identical machine in good shape. I found one, and bought it (via PayPal) after the second email below (that replied to the first)
I have bought many things on eBay, without problems. They have a system where buyer and seller can provide feedback on the transaction (positive-neutral-negative), and a short comment. Normally, it works very well, but is no proof against someone changing after a long record of good feedback.
THIS is the result of such a change:
(His name altered to avoid preempting some of my options)
------------------------------------------
From: paulgordon1827
To: ebaymembername
Sent Date: Dec-05-09 17:12:58 PST
Subject: You've received a question about your eBay item, Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Dear ebaymembername,
What is the condition of this item?
Has it seen extensive use?
The reason I ask is that I currently have one that I bought new six years ago, and have made hundreds of dvd-r recordings with it.
Lately, the recordings often have errors.
It may be just wearing out and I'm looking at replacement as an alternative to having it shipped somewhere for an overhaul (if that's even practical anymore).
An identical model (such as yours) would allow me to transfer stuff from its' hard drive to yours, via the dvd-ram disks I also have.
So, I guess I'm wondering how much potential life remains in yours.
Thanks.
- paulgordon1827
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Member: ebaymembername [mailto:member@ebay.com]
Sent: Sunday, December 06, 2009 00:35
To: gordonp@airmail.net
Subject: You've received an answer to your question about item Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Dear paulgordon1827,
I actually never hooked this unit up, so it's unused.
- ebaymembername
------------------------------------------
From: payment@paypal.com [mailto:payment@paypal.com] On Behalf Of service@paypal.com
Sent: Sunday, December 06, 2009 11:08
To: Paul Gordon
Subject: Receipt for your PayPal payment to ebaymembername
Hello Paul Gordon,
You sent a payment of $290.79 USD to ebaymembername (**@*****.***)
Thanks for using PayPal.
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Seller: ebaymembername [mailto:auctionwarranty@squaretrade.com]
Sent: Sunday, December 06, 2009 17:57
To: gordonp@airmail.net
Subject: Your eBay DVD Player purchase: get year(s) of care-free coverage
SquareTrade is offering a limited-time 20% off your warranty. For just $31.19, you are protected from losing your $275 item if mechanical or electrical failures happen during normal use.
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Seller: ebaymembername [mailto:auctionwarranty@squaretrade.com]
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2009 22:22
To: gordonp@airmail.net
Subject: Your coverage options on your eBay item: Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
SquareTrade is offering a limited-time 20% off your warranty. For just $31.19, you are protected from losing your $275 item.
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Member: paulgordon1827 [mailto:member@ebay.com]
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2009 23:06
To: eBay Member: ebaymembername
Subject: Message from eBay Member Regarding Item #************
Dear ebaymembername,
I was going to ask if this item had been shipped yet, and, if so, can it be tracked.
BUT...
Today (Mon, 12/14/2009) I just received my SECOND email request for purchasing a warranty on it (the first was on Dec 6).
Is this a pre-requisite for having it shipped to me?
Does it mean it hasn't even been shipped yet, and is awaiting purchase of this warranty?
- paulgordon1827
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Member: paulgordon1827 [mailto:member@ebay.com]
Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2009 23:05
To: eBay Member: ebaymembername
Subject: Message from eBay Member Regarding Item #************
Dear ebaymembername,
Do you have any idea where it is?
Can it be tracked?
Thanks.
- paulgordon1827
------------------------------------------
From: hisrealname [mailto:hisrealemail]
Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2009 13:17
To: gordonp@airmail.net
Subject: Re: Message from eBay Member Regarding Item #************
I will investigate this morning and get back to you
hisrealname-via Blackberry
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Seller: ebaymembername [mailto:auctionwarranty@squaretrade.com]
Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 18:11
To: gordonp@airmail.net
Subject: Last reminder to cover your eBay Purchase: Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Final Reminder of Warranty Purchase Option
This is your final reminder of the option to get 20% off a warranty on your recent eBay purchase.
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Member: paulgordon1827 [mailto:member@ebay.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 22:49
To: eBay Member: ebaymembername
Subject: Message from eBay Member Regarding Item #************
Dear ebaymembername,
Where we are...
Dec 06 - I buy, online, the DVD Recorder described in the subject, and pay in full (via PayPal) $275.00 + $15.79 (S&H) for a total of $290.79, and am told that this item will be sent, by UPS Ground, with an estimated delivery date of Dec 10 to 17.
Dec 14 - I send you a message asking if it has been sent yet, and if it can be tracked (my UPS experience is that delivery typically occurs within in the mid-range of their estimates).
Dec 19 - I send message asking if you?ve any idea of where it is, and if it can be tracked.
Dec 20 - Got your email stating you will investigate and get back to me.
Dec 23 - So far, no item, not one word. I am trying to live on early-retirement social security, and the meager earnings of a part-time job. $290.79 is NOT pocket change to me, but I have paid it (and PayPal confirms that you have received it).
Considering what I've just laid out above, if YOU were in MY place, what would you be considering right now?
- paulgordon1827
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Member: ebaymembername [mailto:member@ebay.com]
Sent: Friday, December 25, 2009 14:58
To: gordonp@airmail.net
Subject: You've received an answer to your question about item Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Dear paulgordon1827,
I regret the delay. A highly unusual set of circumstances has beset this purchase fulfillment that I won't bore you with as excuses. It's entirely my fault.
I havd two options for you-
I will issue a full refund plus $25.00 for your trouble.
I will ship the item tomorrow-it was not shipped as I thought it had been-but at half the price we agreed, plus shipping-as liquidated damages for not keeping up my end of the bargain. Please advise.
- ebaymembername
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Member: paulgordon1827 [mailto:member@ebay.com]
Sent: Friday, December 25, 2009 17:41
To: eBay Member: ebaymembername
Subject: You've received an answer to your question about item Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Dear ebaymembername,
Sir: I offer a third option to you.
If the item was only DELAYED in shipping, and has NOT been damaged; that is if it is still in the condition you originally reported to me before I bought it, then go ahead and ship it, in a manner that can be tracked, and we'll adhere to the ORIGINAL deal. No price adjustment necessary.
If the delay was caused by some event that may have damaged it, then I'll go for your first option.
If the only screw-up was failure to get it shipped, I can forgive that. (Please keep this to yourself, but I too am capable of screwing up on occasion. :-)
Merry Christmas, and please keep me informed.
Thanks.
- paulgordon1827
------------------------------------------
From: hisrealname [mailto:hisrealemail]
Sent: Friday, December 25, 2009 17:52
To: gordonp@airmail.net
Subject: Re: You've received an answer to your question about item Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Thank you-you have a deal. It will ship tomorrow. I'll upgrade the shipping speed at my expense. Happy Holidays.
hisrealname-via Blackberry
------------------------------------------
From: Paul Gordon [mailto:gordonp@airmail.net]
Sent: Friday, December 25, 2009 18:06
To: 'hisrealname'
Subject: RE: You've received an answer to your question about item Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Message received and understood.
Over, and out.
Have a good one. :-)
------------------------------------------
From: Paul Gordon [mailto:gordonp@airmail.net]
Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 20:35
To: 'hisrealname'
Subject: RE: You've received an answer to your question about item Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Sir: That was TEN days ago.
Questions...
1) HAS it been shipped?
2) WHEN was it shipped?
3) HOW was it shipped?
4) Have you a tracking number?
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Member: paulgordon1827 [mailto:member@ebay.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 09:30
To: eBay Member: ebaymembername
Subject: Message from eBay Member Regarding Item #************
Dear ebaymembername,
Today (Wednesday, 01/06/2010) marks one solid MONTH since I paid in full for an item I have not received.
12 days since you acknowledged failure to ship and promised it WOULD be shipped by a faster method.
I would really appreciate at least some information today.
Thank you.
-
------------------------------------------
From: Paul Gordon [mailto:gordonp@airmail.net]
Sent: Saturday, January 09, 2010 16:55
To: 'hisrealname'
Subject: RE: You've received an answer to your question about item Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
My patience has been exhausted.
After you acknowledged (On Dec 25, 2009) failure to ship my merchandise, I forgave you and offered you another chance; which you accepted and in which you promised to ship the item THE NEXT DAY, and BY A FASTER METHOD.
To date (Saturday, Jan 09, 2010) NOTHING. No merchandise, not one word, nada.
Repeated queries as to IF, WHEN and HOW it was shipped, and if it can be tracked, have been ignored.
Your reluctance (or inability) to answer those simple questions raises all sorts of alarms, as does the recent appearance of a negative feedback from another who also has yet to see his merchandise and still another who, while giving positive feedback, thanked you "for your honesty" making me wonder what happened there.
What the Hell has happened to you? Your behavior is completely inconsistent with your feedback record prior to this transaction. (For the money involved, you can bet I checked THAT before buying this item.)
The sum involved is not pocket change to one in my circumstances. You have hurt me, Sir, severely, and if you harbor some illusion that by simply ignoring me, I will get tired, give up, and just let it go, then Sir, you have mistaken my nature absolutely.
If I can get some solid information about when and how it was shipped, and I receive it soon and deem it satisfactory, THAT WILL BE THE END OF IT.
Or, if it has NOT been shipped, please refund (via PayPal) the full amount of $290.79 (note, at the moment, I'm not requesting a single cent more than what I am rightfully due), and when it is in my account, THAT WILL BE THE END OF IT.
Otherwise, I have not even BEGUN to consider my options. Letting go just ain't one of them.
-
------------------------------------------
And, that's where it stands, at the moment. I DO have several options, especially since I know where he can be reached, so we'll just have to see what commences.
UPDATE - The next post ( An Ode to PayPal... ) is a follow-up to this and has the resolution.
-
Six years ago, when I was in better financial shape, I bought a Panasonic DVD recorder, which I used a lot and liked very much. But, lately it has been making poor recordings, with errors that make them play unreliably (if at all). I have stuff on its' hard drive, and other stuff on DVD Ram disks that are probably playable only on a similar machine.
One of the options I tried was to search eBay for an identical machine in good shape. I found one, and bought it (via PayPal) after the second email below (that replied to the first)
I have bought many things on eBay, without problems. They have a system where buyer and seller can provide feedback on the transaction (positive-neutral-negative), and a short comment. Normally, it works very well, but is no proof against someone changing after a long record of good feedback.
THIS is the result of such a change:
(His name altered to avoid preempting some of my options)
------------------------------------------
From: paulgordon1827
To: ebaymembername
Sent Date: Dec-05-09 17:12:58 PST
Subject: You've received a question about your eBay item, Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Dear ebaymembername,
What is the condition of this item?
Has it seen extensive use?
The reason I ask is that I currently have one that I bought new six years ago, and have made hundreds of dvd-r recordings with it.
Lately, the recordings often have errors.
It may be just wearing out and I'm looking at replacement as an alternative to having it shipped somewhere for an overhaul (if that's even practical anymore).
An identical model (such as yours) would allow me to transfer stuff from its' hard drive to yours, via the dvd-ram disks I also have.
So, I guess I'm wondering how much potential life remains in yours.
Thanks.
- paulgordon1827
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Member: ebaymembername [mailto:member@ebay.com]
Sent: Sunday, December 06, 2009 00:35
To: gordonp@airmail.net
Subject: You've received an answer to your question about item Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Dear paulgordon1827,
I actually never hooked this unit up, so it's unused.
- ebaymembername
------------------------------------------
From: payment@paypal.com [mailto:payment@paypal.com] On Behalf Of service@paypal.com
Sent: Sunday, December 06, 2009 11:08
To: Paul Gordon
Subject: Receipt for your PayPal payment to ebaymembername
Hello Paul Gordon,
You sent a payment of $290.79 USD to ebaymembername (**@*****.***)
Thanks for using PayPal.
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Seller: ebaymembername [mailto:auctionwarranty@squaretrade.com]
Sent: Sunday, December 06, 2009 17:57
To: gordonp@airmail.net
Subject: Your eBay DVD Player purchase: get year(s) of care-free coverage
SquareTrade is offering a limited-time 20% off your warranty. For just $31.19, you are protected from losing your $275 item if mechanical or electrical failures happen during normal use.
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Seller: ebaymembername [mailto:auctionwarranty@squaretrade.com]
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2009 22:22
To: gordonp@airmail.net
Subject: Your coverage options on your eBay item: Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
SquareTrade is offering a limited-time 20% off your warranty. For just $31.19, you are protected from losing your $275 item.
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Member: paulgordon1827 [mailto:member@ebay.com]
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2009 23:06
To: eBay Member: ebaymembername
Subject: Message from eBay Member Regarding Item #************
Dear ebaymembername,
I was going to ask if this item had been shipped yet, and, if so, can it be tracked.
BUT...
Today (Mon, 12/14/2009) I just received my SECOND email request for purchasing a warranty on it (the first was on Dec 6).
Is this a pre-requisite for having it shipped to me?
Does it mean it hasn't even been shipped yet, and is awaiting purchase of this warranty?
- paulgordon1827
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Member: paulgordon1827 [mailto:member@ebay.com]
Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2009 23:05
To: eBay Member: ebaymembername
Subject: Message from eBay Member Regarding Item #************
Dear ebaymembername,
Do you have any idea where it is?
Can it be tracked?
Thanks.
- paulgordon1827
------------------------------------------
From: hisrealname [mailto:hisrealemail]
Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2009 13:17
To: gordonp@airmail.net
Subject: Re: Message from eBay Member Regarding Item #************
I will investigate this morning and get back to you
hisrealname-via Blackberry
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Seller: ebaymembername [mailto:auctionwarranty@squaretrade.com]
Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 18:11
To: gordonp@airmail.net
Subject: Last reminder to cover your eBay Purchase: Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Final Reminder of Warranty Purchase Option
This is your final reminder of the option to get 20% off a warranty on your recent eBay purchase.
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Member: paulgordon1827 [mailto:member@ebay.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 22:49
To: eBay Member: ebaymembername
Subject: Message from eBay Member Regarding Item #************
Dear ebaymembername,
Where we are...
Dec 06 - I buy, online, the DVD Recorder described in the subject, and pay in full (via PayPal) $275.00 + $15.79 (S&H) for a total of $290.79, and am told that this item will be sent, by UPS Ground, with an estimated delivery date of Dec 10 to 17.
Dec 14 - I send you a message asking if it has been sent yet, and if it can be tracked (my UPS experience is that delivery typically occurs within in the mid-range of their estimates).
Dec 19 - I send message asking if you?ve any idea of where it is, and if it can be tracked.
Dec 20 - Got your email stating you will investigate and get back to me.
Dec 23 - So far, no item, not one word. I am trying to live on early-retirement social security, and the meager earnings of a part-time job. $290.79 is NOT pocket change to me, but I have paid it (and PayPal confirms that you have received it).
Considering what I've just laid out above, if YOU were in MY place, what would you be considering right now?
- paulgordon1827
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Member: ebaymembername [mailto:member@ebay.com]
Sent: Friday, December 25, 2009 14:58
To: gordonp@airmail.net
Subject: You've received an answer to your question about item Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Dear paulgordon1827,
I regret the delay. A highly unusual set of circumstances has beset this purchase fulfillment that I won't bore you with as excuses. It's entirely my fault.
I havd two options for you-
I will issue a full refund plus $25.00 for your trouble.
I will ship the item tomorrow-it was not shipped as I thought it had been-but at half the price we agreed, plus shipping-as liquidated damages for not keeping up my end of the bargain. Please advise.
- ebaymembername
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Member: paulgordon1827 [mailto:member@ebay.com]
Sent: Friday, December 25, 2009 17:41
To: eBay Member: ebaymembername
Subject: You've received an answer to your question about item Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Dear ebaymembername,
Sir: I offer a third option to you.
If the item was only DELAYED in shipping, and has NOT been damaged; that is if it is still in the condition you originally reported to me before I bought it, then go ahead and ship it, in a manner that can be tracked, and we'll adhere to the ORIGINAL deal. No price adjustment necessary.
If the delay was caused by some event that may have damaged it, then I'll go for your first option.
If the only screw-up was failure to get it shipped, I can forgive that. (Please keep this to yourself, but I too am capable of screwing up on occasion. :-)
Merry Christmas, and please keep me informed.
Thanks.
- paulgordon1827
------------------------------------------
From: hisrealname [mailto:hisrealemail]
Sent: Friday, December 25, 2009 17:52
To: gordonp@airmail.net
Subject: Re: You've received an answer to your question about item Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Thank you-you have a deal. It will ship tomorrow. I'll upgrade the shipping speed at my expense. Happy Holidays.
hisrealname-via Blackberry
------------------------------------------
From: Paul Gordon [mailto:gordonp@airmail.net]
Sent: Friday, December 25, 2009 18:06
To: 'hisrealname'
Subject: RE: You've received an answer to your question about item Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Message received and understood.
Over, and out.
Have a good one. :-)
------------------------------------------
From: Paul Gordon [mailto:gordonp@airmail.net]
Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 20:35
To: 'hisrealname'
Subject: RE: You've received an answer to your question about item Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
Sir: That was TEN days ago.
Questions...
1) HAS it been shipped?
2) WHEN was it shipped?
3) HOW was it shipped?
4) Have you a tracking number?
------------------------------------------
From: eBay Member: paulgordon1827 [mailto:member@ebay.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 09:30
To: eBay Member: ebaymembername
Subject: Message from eBay Member Regarding Item #************
Dear ebaymembername,
Today (Wednesday, 01/06/2010) marks one solid MONTH since I paid in full for an item I have not received.
12 days since you acknowledged failure to ship and promised it WOULD be shipped by a faster method.
I would really appreciate at least some information today.
Thank you.
-
------------------------------------------
From: Paul Gordon [mailto:gordonp@airmail.net]
Sent: Saturday, January 09, 2010 16:55
To: 'hisrealname'
Subject: RE: You've received an answer to your question about item Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder
My patience has been exhausted.
After you acknowledged (On Dec 25, 2009) failure to ship my merchandise, I forgave you and offered you another chance; which you accepted and in which you promised to ship the item THE NEXT DAY, and BY A FASTER METHOD.
To date (Saturday, Jan 09, 2010) NOTHING. No merchandise, not one word, nada.
Repeated queries as to IF, WHEN and HOW it was shipped, and if it can be tracked, have been ignored.
Your reluctance (or inability) to answer those simple questions raises all sorts of alarms, as does the recent appearance of a negative feedback from another who also has yet to see his merchandise and still another who, while giving positive feedback, thanked you "for your honesty" making me wonder what happened there.
What the Hell has happened to you? Your behavior is completely inconsistent with your feedback record prior to this transaction. (For the money involved, you can bet I checked THAT before buying this item.)
The sum involved is not pocket change to one in my circumstances. You have hurt me, Sir, severely, and if you harbor some illusion that by simply ignoring me, I will get tired, give up, and just let it go, then Sir, you have mistaken my nature absolutely.
If I can get some solid information about when and how it was shipped, and I receive it soon and deem it satisfactory, THAT WILL BE THE END OF IT.
Or, if it has NOT been shipped, please refund (via PayPal) the full amount of $290.79 (note, at the moment, I'm not requesting a single cent more than what I am rightfully due), and when it is in my account, THAT WILL BE THE END OF IT.
Otherwise, I have not even BEGUN to consider my options. Letting go just ain't one of them.
-
------------------------------------------
And, that's where it stands, at the moment. I DO have several options, especially since I know where he can be reached, so we'll just have to see what commences.
UPDATE - The next post ( An Ode to PayPal... ) is a follow-up to this and has the resolution.
-
Friday, January 08, 2010
THIS should be the attitude of voters this November ...
-
H/T to A Cromwellian Speech In NY at Wolf Howling comparing NY Governor David Patterson's recent State of the State speech to Oliver Cromwell's.
On April 20, 1653, Oliver Cromwell dismissed Parliament, saying...
"It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonoured by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money.
“Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess? Ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you have not barter'd your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth
“Ye sordid prostitutes, have you not defil'd this sacred place, and turn'd the Lord's temple into a den of thieves by your immoral principles and wicked practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances redress'd; your country therefore calls upon me to cleanse the Augean Stable, by putting a final period to your iniquitous proceedings, and which by God's help and the strength He has given me, I now come to do.
“I command ye, therefore, upon the peril of your lives, to depart immediately out of this place! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors. You have sat here too long for the good you do. In the name of God, go!”
ADDENDA
A very good and extremely intelligent friend commented on this in an email...
--------------------------------
Paul,
The Cromwell quote is from the time when he dissolved parliament and set up a dictatorship as Lord High Protector.
You know they dug him up and threw his bones in the Thames, he was that popular.
--------------------------------
Even so, I'd find it extremely difficult to better encapsulate my feelings toward the current bunch running our country, and also towards the MSM, which seems to be equally deserving of it.
That old boy certainly had a way with words. :-)
-
H/T to A Cromwellian Speech In NY at Wolf Howling comparing NY Governor David Patterson's recent State of the State speech to Oliver Cromwell's.
On April 20, 1653, Oliver Cromwell dismissed Parliament, saying...
"It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonoured by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money.
“Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess? Ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you have not barter'd your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth
“Ye sordid prostitutes, have you not defil'd this sacred place, and turn'd the Lord's temple into a den of thieves by your immoral principles and wicked practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances redress'd; your country therefore calls upon me to cleanse the Augean Stable, by putting a final period to your iniquitous proceedings, and which by God's help and the strength He has given me, I now come to do.
“I command ye, therefore, upon the peril of your lives, to depart immediately out of this place! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors. You have sat here too long for the good you do. In the name of God, go!”
ADDENDA
A very good and extremely intelligent friend commented on this in an email...
--------------------------------
Paul,
The Cromwell quote is from the time when he dissolved parliament and set up a dictatorship as Lord High Protector.
You know they dug him up and threw his bones in the Thames, he was that popular.
--------------------------------
Even so, I'd find it extremely difficult to better encapsulate my feelings toward the current bunch running our country, and also towards the MSM, which seems to be equally deserving of it.
That old boy certainly had a way with words. :-)
-
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Varifrank is Back!!!
-
Today, I wrote this as a comment to a post on neo-neocon:
You can get sent to a good blog from the unlikeliest of places.
I got hooked on blogs because of a link on MSNBC's website (of all places) directing me to Today, I was "Unprofessional"..., about the tsunami that hit Indonesia on Christmas Day, 2004.
I'm glad that's still archived and available, as its' author (Frank Martin - "Varifrank") has retired from blogging and "Gone Flyin...".
I miss him, and his analysis's.
-
Why do I think so much of him? If clicking on that link doesn't show you, then no amount of words from me could explain it.
After posting that comment, I took another look at that page I had linked to, clicked on the "Main" link, and...
HE'S BACK!!! ( Varifrank )
I guess there's no such thing as a retired blogger.
UPDATE - 12 Mar 2010 - The "HE'S BACK!!!" may have been premature; since his new post, around New Year's eve, he appears to only be using Twitter now. Twitter (and my antipathy towards it) were the subject of a post I was considering, but neo-neocon went and beat me to it ( I’m a blogger, not a tweeter ).
-
Today, I wrote this as a comment to a post on neo-neocon:
You can get sent to a good blog from the unlikeliest of places.
I got hooked on blogs because of a link on MSNBC's website (of all places) directing me to Today, I was "Unprofessional"..., about the tsunami that hit Indonesia on Christmas Day, 2004.
I'm glad that's still archived and available, as its' author (Frank Martin - "Varifrank") has retired from blogging and "Gone Flyin...".
I miss him, and his analysis's.
-
Why do I think so much of him? If clicking on that link doesn't show you, then no amount of words from me could explain it.
After posting that comment, I took another look at that page I had linked to, clicked on the "Main" link, and...
HE'S BACK!!! ( Varifrank )
I guess there's no such thing as a retired blogger.
UPDATE - 12 Mar 2010 - The "HE'S BACK!!!" may have been premature; since his new post, around New Year's eve, he appears to only be using Twitter now. Twitter (and my antipathy towards it) were the subject of a post I was considering, but neo-neocon went and beat me to it ( I’m a blogger, not a tweeter ).
-
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