Moon Aura

6/3/2012. Readers of my blog are aware I enjoy taking "aura" photographs with my aura camera app on my iPhone. On a whim, I decided to point my camera skyward and ended up with this really cool/creepy picture of the moon over Phoenix.

Pima Air & Space Museum

6/3/2012. Made a really quick stop to the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson before heading on up to Phoenix. Below are some random images from my visit.

This is a touching commentary by Dick Scobee, commander of the space shuttle Challenger that exploded in 1986, found among his papers after his death. I recommend clicking on the picture to expand it so you can see the text; it's worth reading.


I geeked out over seeing Deke Slayton's jacket. Slayton was one of the Mercury 7 astronauts (the first group of astronauts selected by NASA for the space program).


My niece Chantal should be interested in this one. Pictured is a Lockheed Electra- the type of aircraft Amelia Earhart was flying on her ill-fated flight around the world.


My family should be interested in this one. Pictured is a Piper Cub- the type of aircraft my dad used to own/fly.

Cactus Zombies

Picture of the Day for 6/3/2012. This blog entry is directed to my niece Chantal who worries that no matter where I travel, the regional zombies will get me. When I travel to Florida, for example, she frets about the alligator zombies. When I was in California a couple of weeks ago, Chantal expressed concern about the surfer zombies. In Tucson, the cactus zombies were clearly a threat as I was completely surrounded by them during my stay.


Even more concerning is the fact the cactus zombies are breeding and proliferating as evidenced by the cactus zombie eggs littering the landscape.



I just feel lucky I escaped back to Salt Lake City unscathed. ;-)

Helping Out Buzz Aldrin - Day 2

Picture of the Day for 6/2/2012. I was assigned to help out Buzz Aldrin for a second day at the astronaut autograph show at Spacefest 4. I got a very, very, very, very small taste of what it might be like to be a celebrity. Several people thought I was part of Buzz's regular staff and sucked up to me for all they were worth. Totally made me laugh.

Just so my report on Spacefest 4 does not end up being completely Buzz-centric, I'm including some crowd shots I took at the autograph show.

Helping Out Buzz Aldrin - Day 1

Picture of the Day for 6/1/2012. Today was the first day of the astronaut autograph show at Spacefest 4 where I was a volunteer assigned to help out Buzz Aldrin. "Help" is a loose term as Buzz's business manager was at his side negotiating the total cost* of the items people came to get signed. I merely processed the credit card transactions and collected cash. Still, it was very interesting to observe Buzz interacting with his fans and answering questions about his adventures in space.

Buzz was especially engaging with his youngest fans. One couple brought their 8-month old son in a spacesuit onesie and had Buzz autograph the suit with the child still in it! The boy was surprisingly well-behaved during the process.




*Speaking of cost, here's the price list.

It's Good to Have Space Buddies

Picture of the Day for 5/31/2012. Today marked the beginning of Spacefest 4 (which is NOT a Star Trek convention- this is where one goes to meet astronauts and listen to scientific presentations/speeches) where I enjoyed being reunited with my space buddies from around the country and also closer to home. Lisa and Mike Joner (pictured on the end) live just an hour south of me in Utah, but I only see them at the Spacefest gatherings. I was delighted to learn that Lisa is one of my faithful blog readers so this is a shout-out to her. Hi Lisa! It was fun hanging out with you in Tucson!

Picacho, Arizona

Picture of the Day for 5/30/2012. Passed through Picacho, Arizona on my way from Phoenix down to Tucson. Picacho is notable for being the location of the westernmost battle of the Civil War. I was going to give a brief overview of the skirmish, but given the fact I'm trying to catch up on several days of blog entries, I have decided to urge my readers to do a google search on The Battle of Picacho Pass instead.