Spoiler Alert

I have the most difficult time with automated sinks. I don't know what it is about me, but I wave may hands all around and it takes forever* for it to come on. I'll even try different sinks, and look for one that is already wet so I know it's not broken. The most recent time was in the airport last week. Then it came to my mind, "I wonder if I'm a ghost like Bruce Willis in the Sixth Sense?" I decided likely not since I have no trouble with the automated toilets and hand dryers. Something weird about them sinks, though, man.

Strictly Bluegrass? Hardly.

The title above this text describes not only my musical preferences, but also an insanely entertaining music festival I had the pleasure of attending last month. (Guess I haven't been great at the whole blogging thing lately.) So the name of the thing is Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival (HSB henceforth) and has been occurring every October in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Man, what a beautiful backdrop for some great music. But first let me set the table with some backstory...

I had actually been planning on going to the music festival for a few months. I had wrangled (or so I thought) some friends into going along, but as these things tend to go, more and more were dropping out as the date neared. This is not at all meant as a judgment upon those losers who decided not to come. Actually I think the last couple got scared away by a late addition to the concert-going group. Just kidding. Kinda.

So as I alluded to in the preceding paragraph, another music-loving soul decided to go just days in advance of the concert kick-off. I had been talking to a young woman in the preceding weeks, an old friend who I had got in touch with. There remains some debate on how the whole thing started, but the important thing is we had kind of hit it off conversationally through various medium. The culmination of our repartee actually came while I was in Australia and was a gracious invite to me to accompany this beautiful young lady to a wedding later in the fall. Naturally I jumped at the chance. Actually... I kind of talked my way out of getting an invite and had to beg my way back in, but that fact is irrelevant. The point is: I got a date. Boosh.

...the downside being that the date was still months away. Well what's a few weeks compared to years of datelessness? In ever-increasing anticipation (at least on my part) of the date, we continued our conversation which led to the two of us discovering many interests we (surprisingly) had in common. Not the least of which is our taste in music. Naturally I brought up my plans to go to HSB. As my compatriots began to drop away, I casually half-jokingly (but perhaps hopefully as well) suggested that this lady might like to join me for the weekend. To my great surprise and delight, she seriously considered for about a day and then just went for it and bought a plane ticket. (Now I have to confess here that knowing her as little as I did, I did at least know she was a strong-spirited, daring person. I thought this might work in my favor helping her embrace the spontaneity of a last-minute trip across the country.)

Now that the scene is set, let's move forward to that first weekend in October. I had arranged my flights so they would arrive and leave just before and after her out and returns, respectively. And though anxiety would have been an understandable reaction (best we could figure it had been 13 years since we had seen each other - more than half her life, yikes), I can honestly say the only nerves I got were the few minutes I was awaiting her to get off her plane. Thankfully (?), her cruel joke to tell me she never made her connection as I waited shattered that state of mind. She is ornery, to be sure.

But no matter what lies were told, she did stroll shortly thereafter through the gate threshold, and we set off for a weekend of music, food, and fun. We hit it off right away (in my opinion, Kelsey, if you'd like to argue feel free - but I moderate all comments). After a short trip on the BART, we were off to Golden Gate Park to catch the opening night's festivities.

BART ride from the airport; first meeting in over a decade

It took us (read: me) a few minutes to get oriented and figure out the best public transit route (I had not found the ever so helpful Google transit yet) to the park, and we ended up getting off the bus a few blocks early, but that just meant a longer walk through the wooded trails into the center of the park. We both quickly realized western-style boots don't make the best hiking shoes. Eventually we made it to the only open stage that night (there would be up to six going at a time on Saturday and Sunday) to see John Prine and Lyle Lovett. As this was the only stage open, there were thousands of people already there filling up the entire lawn. We ended up propping ourselves against some logs on the far hillside.

I can't really remember, but I'm fairly certain we ended up hailing a cab back downtown. Bus room was hard to come by due to the thousands fleeing the park each night. Unfortunately cabs weren't easy to get as well because cabs don't really head that far west often, either. This situation would result in a perfect storm of frigidity for Kelsey the next night. The weather was amazing all weekend, sunny and warm, little wind... except Saturday night. As soon as we left the park that evening the wind picked up, gusting heavily and carrying with it some very cool air. Kelsey also picked this particular day to wear the lightest clothing she did all weekend. Already a naturally cold person, these factors combined to make it a chilly walk for her. Unfortunately, it also turned out to be a long walk as we schlepped it for more than a mile (my estimate - Kelsey will likely tell you it was more like four, but she tends to exaggerate) before finding a cab back into town. But I must admit, she was a real trooper and never complained through all her shivering.

Back to the festival though, it was just incredible. So many great acts to see (John Prine, Hayes Carll, Old Crow Medicine Show, Robert Earl Keen, Old 97s, the man Todd Snider, and so many more we didn't have time to catch) set against the green meadows of Golden Gate Park with the sun shining down. Incredible I tell you. I have always dreamed about going to Telluride, but even considering it's history and cachet, I think HSB would be hard to top (I'll give it a shot though if anyone out there is interested!). On top of all that, I couldn't have had a better companion with whom to make the trip. FYI, Kelsey is pretty much the master at weaving through a crowd of thousands - literally thousands - to find the spot by the stage just big enough for two to stand. I'm serious. This happened multiple times and without fail.

Hayes Carll w/ Wade Braun of Reckless Kelly

Robert Earl Keen, Jr. (Todd came out
to sing on Corpus Chrisite Boy)

Old Crow Medicine Show

Todd w/ Great American Taxi

So Kelsey, had a short list of "must do's" for the weekend in San Francisco. We tried to knock these out Sunday morning before heading over for the last of the music festival. We rode a street trolley up to Fisherman's Wharf, where we got some sourdough and saw the seals. Then we rode the cable car back downtown before catching the cross-town bus to HSB.

seal clap

riding the cable cars, she had to be in the very front

Monday we had a full day, because someone (mistakenly) booked the red eye back to Indianapolis. But I'm glad she did since it gave us that much more time to see the city. My one regret is that we didn't get to go to all the wonderful restaurants in San Francisco. But the main reason we didn't have time is because we were wearing ourselves out at a spectacular music festival so, no biggie. We breakfasted at the delicious Cafe Kuleto. Best potatoes and grapefruit juice (and eggs Benedict I'm told) ever. Ever. I'm serious. You think potatoes are just potatoes, until... Well, yeah. They were good. Then we headed up to Fisherman's Wharf again because I thought a bus tour would be a good way to see a lot of the city in a short time. We ended only taking one of the tours even though we bought the unlimited day pass - because one bus tour is just the right amount of bus tours - but were able to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito on the loop.

double decker bus across the Golden Gate

We ended up the weekend taking the BART over to Berkeley so I could stop in at Jupiter (for pizza and beers) and whatever the gelato place is named down the street (for gelato, of course - I think I can never remember the name because my the taste sensations are occupying far too much of my brain at the time for me to be able to read).

Jupiter

that gelato place

From there it was back to the airport to end a, not to overstate it, magical weekend. Honestly, it was easily the best first date I've ever had. There is so much I left out because this blog is finite, and the weekend was infinitely fun. Who's in for next year?


More pics here, natch.

One Short Cross-Country Flight, One Spectacular Ending To A Lot Of Hard Work

I spent last week baking in the Florida sun and combating a sever case of humidity head. The launch of the experimental Ares 1-X rocket was the culmination of the hard work of myself and many other engineers and scientists. Myself and those on my team were fortunate enough to get a gracious invite form our NASA counterparts to come watch the launch. Thanks to some last minute maneuvering from Paul B. (you the man) I was even able to get a couple important guests on site to watch the launch. Ma and Pa made the drive down from Walton to see the big firecracker go.

The first launch window was open for Tuesday morning from 8am to noon. Since we had to get there early to check in and get bussed over to the viewing site, this meant getting up at about 3am. Ugh. But get up we did. And drove into NASA to get checked in. Strangely enough, the nice lady checking us in looked at my Cass Baseball tee and my parent's IDs and said "are you all from Walton." Um, yes, we are. Turns out her niece is a Lady King. (As coincidence would have it, we met some more people at a picnic later with relatives in the area who recognized my Cass football tee. Strange.)

We were actually granted VIP access viewing (the section usually reserved for astronauts' family) which included access to all of the on site museums including the Saturn V building. So before boarding the bus to the viewing site, we kicked around the Visitor's Center where the retired rocket farm is.

rocket farm

"astronaut" at the Visitor's Center with Mom and Dad

Once at the viewing site, we staked a claim on some bleacher space and... waited. Since we were there so early, it was still a couple hours until the launch window even opened. The Vincents (sans rugrat) were actually at the same viewing site, so we were able to do some catching up whilst we passed time til launch.

The Vincents (hopefully you see one some day)

And much time would pass... There was one countdown from the 4-minute hold that ended shortly thereafter. Everything looked good to go - the national anthem was even played - before the countdown was called off due to a cargo ship approaching the splash down area! Soon after noon came without getting another chance for launch. Unfortunately for the Vincents, they would have to leave the next morning so this was their only shot at seeing it go. But we met up again with them for dinner before turning in early so we could do it all again the next day.

Since there would be no check in, we slept in another hour or so (still awful early). Wednesday played out much as Tuesday did, only I spent a significantly larger chunk of time in the Saturn V building escaping the heat and humidity. Mom enjoyed it. Things didn't look good all morning due to weather - but then a window opened up literally minutes before the window closed at noon. The countdown started up from the 4-minute hold, and to my surprise kept going... 10... 9... ... 3... 2... 1... Liftoff!

Ares 1-X liftoff!

The bright cloud of fire ignited under the engine, the rocket began lifting itself from the pad, and then just like that it was well above the pad and speeding up into the air, into and out of a nearby cloud. The Ares 1-X was much, much faster than the two shuttle launches I had seen before. It was surprising to see just how fast this one moved away from the Earth.

Ares 1-X aloft

It was really satisfying to see something that we worked really hard on go off like that. And even more so that family and friends were able to be around for it. I wish you all could have been there. Rest of the pics here.

Tuttles post-launch

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Are Signs

I have a bunch of new things to post, but first I want to do a couple more about my trip to Australia. Being in a strange place, you tend to notice how even the littlest things are done just a little bit different. I found myself laughing at a lot of the signage around. I think Australians just have a little different tone than Americans, and I think it comes through in all forms of communication. So here is a compilation of some of my favorite signs during my stay.

Nathan actually pointed this one out as we waited on a bus to downtown Sydney one morning. He felt the sign was a bit antagonistic, but I pointed out the sign wasn't actually calling us chickens, rather just preparing us for some facts regarding actual chickens. I think this information would be better presented with some different punctuation.

This one is self-explanatory and probably funny in any language. Although I think there was a missed opportunity here with The Family Jewels located so close to Grab Denim. Ideally the two stores could merge into Grab the Family Jewels. (If anyone is offended, stop reading now. This is not going to be a real high brow post.)


This one wasn't the sign so much (although that is a strange-looking sign) as it is the multitude of identical signs. You'd think this place would look like Times Square with the number of pedestrian caution signs about. I fear it's more likely the result of some ridiculous litigation as Nathan and I were the only two pedestrians about.


Billboards like this were all over Sydney. Very direct, I think. However the medium seems like a poor choice as anyone answering "yes" would likely not be seeing that sign. Though that might explain the traffic.


Bizarre Hair Management. A sign like that just screams "failed business."


A new shop opening up just around the corner from Nathan and Dina. Not even Dina - a native Australian - knew what a "cheeky fun fashion haven" might be. I pray I never have to find out.


There's no way this sign flies in the States. It gets the point across though doesn't it? It's a bit contradictory to me with the obvious pictures but the politically correct "less mobile" in the text. Seen on the city buses in Sydney.


Every sign in Manly was a joke waiting to happen. And I think Nathan made them all.


Judging by what I saw, this bottle of water speaks on behalf of all Australia.


????????

G'Day! G'Day! G'Day!

It's been a long several weeks for me lately, but all have been highly enjoyable. Now that I'm finally getting some down time to look back on all the great memories, I'll try to start recording them here. Right after I got back from my last trip to Florida (previous post), I had just a couple days to pack and get ready for two weeks Down Under.

A couple years ago, my good friends Nathan and Dina moved to Sydney, Australia. It was sad to see them go, but it's pretty easy these days to keep in touch (thanks, Internet!), and I've looked forward to visiting them over / under there ever since they left.

I timed the trip so the first week I was there was during Nathan's spring break. And we set off to a) show me around Sydney and New South Wales and b) prove that a couple late 20-something (aka 30-something) dudes aren't too old for spring break. Wooooo!!!! Unfortunately, as evidenced by us reaching exhaustion by about 9 pm every night, we were only able to accomplish a). Now we know.

Nathan and I walked / cabbed / bused around all of Sydney and greater New South Wales. We saw the Opera House and took a ferry ride to Manly (where copious "manly" jokes were made - repetition is the key to comedy, just ask Nathan). We took in dinner and drinks at the Rugby Juniors League Club with Ian and Tas (Dina's parents). A number of cafes and pubs were sampled (Australian coffee and wine rank far above Australian beer). We walked the awe-inspiring beaches from Bronte to Bondi. We took a day trip to the Blue Mountains. And we did a lot of hanging out with Dina, Haley, and Lana, which were some of my favorite times. Haley, incidentally, likes me a lot more now that she lives 10,000 miles away. But in fairness to me, she likes everyone a lot more now.

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Harbour Bridge - I'm doing the tour next time

dinner by Tas; wine by Ian

Bondi Beach

Manly Ferry (obviously - we were on it)

To finish up his recess, Nathan and I went for an overnight camp in Jarvis Bay. We were greeted to our campsite by bright red Lorakeets. The wildlife theme would continue throughout our time there as we saw kangaroos, wallabies, dolphins, and (briefly) an echidna. Also there were at least three types of possum that scurried around our feet while we had dinner. They were lucky we didn't drop anything for them as it was perhaps the worst dinner on record. Easily the best part of the camping trip was taking a 3-mile hike down to a secluded beach. Gorgeous to be sure, but there was absolutely no one else there. This is the only time I can recall that my party were the only visitors to a beach. Just incredible.

only our footprints on this beach

one of the rodent visitors to dinner

So the next week, with Nathan back to work, I decided to take a trip up to the Great Barrier Reef to see just what is so, you know, great. With a little guidance from my Australian friends I booked a last minute flight to Cairns and a budget rate hotel. I know now that budget rate means shared bathroom. No biggie. Good news was there weren't any bugs as some people suggested there might be. But the door knobs were strangely high. I booked a spot with a snorkeling outfit and spent the remaining of the first night walking around the small tourist town.

I woke up the next morning to complete disaster. I had left my contacts in their cleaning canister all night without any solution. They were dry, warped, and, I thought, ruined. I had also forgot to pack an extra pair for the trip. I woke up early enough that I still had an hout before the boat left, so I dropped them in some solution just in case they could be revived. By some miracle they were good enough to wear again in about 30 minutes. I went from bummed to elated in less than an hour. So off I went. Good as new.

As it turns out, the reef is poorly named. It should definitely have been named The Awesome Barrier Reef. I've really never done anything like it. The boat took us out about 30 miles from shore and docked near two different reefs. Once I got comfortable with all the gear and surroundings, it was so much fun. Unfortunately this was about the time my camera battery ran out. Oh well, I couldn't really capture how amazing it was anyway.

fishy

human

The next day (my last in Cairns) I took a scenic train tour to a nearby rainforest. Not much more to tell about that than is in the pictures. To get back into town, one can take a tram ride over the top of the rainforest to a shuttle bus station. Cool.

train ride to the rainforest

tram ride high above the rainforest

So after that it was back to Sydney for a couple days for some more time with the Kinkaids. We all went out to the pizza place for dinner one night, and Dina and Nathan and I went out on the town the next two nights. So much fun. And Dina took a day off to give a big assist with souvenir shopping.

I had such an incredible time. Thanks to the Kinkaids for letting me crash with them and showing me such a good time. And to Ian and Tas as well, a thank you. I miss you all a lot, and cannot wait to go again. More pics here.

the gals with their shirts; thank you!

Mulligan

So it has been brought to my attention that my last post kinda sucked. Particularly so after considering how eventful that trip was. So here is my apology. In blog form.

I think I've mentioned before when we go over to Kennedy (Space Center) it's so impressive just how big everything is. The scale of everything is so far off what I'm used to that it can be a little disorienting. Recall the rocket we were testing is over 300 feet tall. And It was sitting on a 3-story launch platform. Propped up on about 20 feet of posts. Waiting for a million pound crawler to tote the whole stack away. Now recall that the whole thing I just described... was indoors. Housed in what is called the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building). If you've looked at my pictures you've seen the inside and outside... but have you seen the top? We were lucky enough to ride the elevators to the top of the 500 plus foot building and take some team pictures on the roof. How cool is that? The view was pretty good.

Hovik, Paul, Jeff, and me: on the VAB roof!

And while that and the night launch (previous post) were pretty cool, they don't quite measure up to sending your name up into the outer atmosphere. We had a few hours to spare before the testing started up so our man Paul (who was pretty much responsible for getting to see all the cool things we did on our trips there) took us for a climb up into the vehicle. We started at the bottom of the dummy upper stage and worked our way up the ladders all the way into the crew module (top section before the pointy thing on the end) where we all got to sign our names. Inside the actual rocket that will be launched in a matter of weeks. Yeah. Awesome.

Upper stage: that platform is where we climbed in;
then went up a series of ladders to sign our names in the top module.

So here ya go, Mom.

Rockets' Red Glare

I see it's been some time since my last post, but I have a good excuse. Unfortunately for you, you'll have to wait until the next post to read about it. OK, so pretty much everyone who reads this page already knows what it is, but indulge me for a moment, won't you?

Just before I left for my excuse, I headed out for the last in a series of visits to NASA for an experimental rocket program. It was the last in a series of tests, and this one was for the whole solid-fueled enchilada. Over 300 feet of rocket standing straight up on it's tail. For me this was an extreme departure from the small structures I usually get to work on.

I will spare you all the nerdy detail (check it out here), but once again while I was there I got lucky and was able to see another shuttle launch. Only this one was at night, what is planned to be the last night launch in the shuttle program. Check out the video.

STS-128 Launch from Ryan Tuttle on Vimeo.

I don't have much more to say about this, but here are the rest of the pictures. I've been super busy since my excuse so I'm still collecting blog data from it; you'll have to wait a few more days until the first post. Sorry.

Also on the trip: mating manatees, sweet tour of the museum courtesy of Paul B., and long, long nights.