The Fourth Time Is the Charm

Recently, I spent a long (hot) week of work down at Kennedy Space Center working with NASA on the booster portion of the proposed shuttle replacement system. We (well, most of us - too bad, Jeff) got a nice perk for all of our hard work that week in the form of watching the shuttle launch. Truly an awesome spectacle; I feel very fortunate to have been able to witness that. For nerds like me who watch a computer screen all day long, it can be hard to really wrap my mind grapes on the very scale of the things we are dealing with - not to mention the idea that those very things will be pushed into space by a controlled explosion more or less. These trips to KSC are an excellent reminder of just what an amazing achievment reaching space is.

Even being there on site, it's difficult to put things in perspective as everything around is magnified in size to support these huge vehicles - wrenches, carts, hoists, yes, even... bugs. OK, maybe that's more due to the warm, humid climate, but still. I'm just sayin'. (For those of you that know me, you're probably laughing thinking about: how much I'm sweating in that heat, and how out of control my hair is there. Yes, it's ridiculous, but not quite as bad as in New Mexico, Vincents.)

For instance, take a look at the facility we're looking in. In the picture below, the tip of that needle-looking thing poking out of the bottom-left corner is about 70-some feet or more off the floor. You might notice that the roof of the building is a just a bit further up.

inside the VAB

As I wrote earlier, we did get to see the shuttle launch as well (after 3 scrubs due to weather). Here's a shot just after liftoff:

yep, pretty cool

The engine fire got so bright that I could no longer focus manually at one point and had to switch over to the autofocus. Pictures alone don't do the sight justice. You really need the sound. Fortunately I've got a video (thanks to Shannon for taking this).

STS-127 Shuttle Launch from Ryan Tuttle on Vimeo.

As I said, a long week, but a pretty fun trip. Thanks to all our friends at NASA for their hard work and getting us out to see some really cool stuff. All the pics from this trip here, and a previous trip over here.

post-launch beans and cornbread

Tour de Tuesday

Matt and I have been meeting up on Tuesday nights so he can avoid American Idol. Generally we just grab a bite or catch a flick or watch some Flight Of the Conchords or just hang out and generally be awesome. Never before did this involve any amount of exercise beyond opening and shutting a car door, but a couple weeks ago we went for a bike ride down to Manhattan Beach to grab dinner. Justin was supposed to come too, and we'd turn it into a photo op as well, but he bailed. Somehow we managed to get along without him.

I had been trying (unsuccessfully) to think up a rig to attach my camera to my bike. If you look at the pic below, you might see the moment of inspiration finally arrived.

Pumping air. Sadly that air was little help in stabilizing Matt's
loose rear wheel. He could use some Heavy Duty maintenance.

We got inspired by some NASCAR highlights on SportsCenter, so we figured I could just screw my camera into my dSLR GorillaPod and last the GorillaPod to the bike frame with duct tape. Genius? You decide. Here is a closer look at the handiwork.

My idea was to do some time lapse movies as I rode my bike around the strand / town. Per the yooz, the first few didn't turn out great. The bike is just too stiff and the uneveness in the road transfers right up to the camera resulting in a jittery, motion sickness inducing video. I was able to steady it a little better once we got down to the smoother Strand, but it's still a little jumpy.

Strand Bike Ride Time Lape from Ryan Tuttle on Vimeo.

I'll have to build some sort of isolation system for it this summer. I was also thinking of getting one of those 3rd wheel trailers and securing it to that. Most importantly, I think I need to waste a lot more time tinkering around with this. We had a pretty good time, and I got a little more practice with my new fast lens. Even though it's a little washed out and a little out of focus, I liked this one of Matt.

Hi there.

It shows how great portrait shots can be with a lens like this. The shallow depth of field really emphasizes his face (not usually a good idea with Matt, I know) and blurs the background.

I'll post a couple more pictures below. Everyone enjoy the rest of the weekend. And Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. And Mom's go ahead and get your drank on for some extreme relaxation. You deserve it. Slow your roll.

I estimate that roadie was going approximately a brazillion (thanks,
Matt) timesfaster than me based on the image blur. I did the math.

I thought this one was kinda cool. You might disagree.

Saw Kate outside the new pub.