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June 23-December 4, 2002

Monday, February 3, 2003

*sighs* Today was a solomn day for everyone...a sombering feeling has gone through everyone. I keep up with the news, and pray, showing my respect to the crew of STS-107. Today in Sabine Parish, Louisiana and the boarder of Texas, remains of some of the crew members were found by civilians. A torso, thighbone, and skull by a hospital employee. A whole leg, from hip to foot, was found by three young boys. It's horrible, and I fear that it's only going to get worse before it gets better...

From cnn.com:
Director of flight crew operations Bob Cabana said the remains were being treated with the greatest respect.

"We are honoring our fellow crew mates," Cabana said.

Becoming visibly emotional, Cabana said, "Yesterday was probably the hardest day of my life -- to have to sit down with the families and close friends and tell them that their husbands, wives, moms and dads aren't going to be coming home. If you've never had to do that, I hope you never have to."

An astronaut has been assigned to each of the grieving families "to support them and provide what they need," Cabana said.

He said he had talked to the astronauts aboard the international space station and promised to keep them informed of the investigation.

"They're grieving up there, also," Cabana said. "And they feel a little isolated."

The news is saying that DNA testing is possible for identification purposes, however, like the Challenger tragedy, they fear that it will not shed much light on how they died.

I pray that the crew's families will be able to ease their pain by burying their loved ones. My heart goes out to them.

exie broke her brain @ 02:11 a.m.

Sunday, February 2, 2003

The president's address to the US yesterday. www.whitehouse.gov: 2:04 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: My fellow Americans, this day has brought terrible news and great sadness to our country. At 9:00 a.m. this morning, Mission Control in Houston lost contact with our Space Shuttle Columbia. A short time later, debris was seen falling from the skies above Texas. The Columbia is lost; there are no survivors.

On board was a crew of seven: Colonel Rick Husband; Lt. Colonel Michael Anderson; Commander Laurel Clark; Captain David Brown; Commander William McCool; Dr. Kalpana Chawla; and Ilan Ramon, a Colonel in the Israeli Air Force. These men and women assumed great risk in the service to all humanity.

In an age when space flight has come to seem almost routine, it is easy to overlook the dangers of travel by rocket, and the difficulties of navigating the fierce outer atmosphere of the Earth. These astronauts knew the dangers, and they faced them willingly, knowing they had a high and noble purpose in life. Because of their courage and daring and idealism, we will miss them all the more.

All Americans today are thinking, as well, of the families of these men and women who have been given this sudden shock and grief. You're not alone. Our entire nation grieves with you. And those you loved will always have the respect and gratitude of this country.

The cause in which they died will continue. Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration of discovery and the longing to understand. Our journey into space will go on.

In the skies today we saw destruction and tragedy. Yet farther than we can see there is comfort and hope. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, "Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing."

The same Creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth; yet we can pray that all are safely home.

May God bless the grieving families, and may God continue to bless America.

END 2:08 P.M. EST

exie broke her brain @ 05:16 p.m.

Saturday, February 1, 2003

“The Columbia’s lost. There are no survivors.”

These were the solomn and humble words of President George W. Bush this morning. Space Shuttle Colombia went down Saturday morning around 9am. It was travelling at a speed of Mach 18, or 18 times the speed of sound. At the time of the explosion, Ground Control lost contact with the crew. Silence ensued...

The Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space shuttle to fly into space ever in 1981, and it was concluding its 28th mission. This is the third disaster in NASA history, all within or around the same week, in their respective years. The first was the Apollo 1 fire on January 27, 1967 that killed all three astronauts on board. The second was Challenger on January 28, 1986. Seventeen years have passed without incident until today.

No crew in NASA's history has ever been lost on the decent to Earth. Columbia was sixteen minutes from landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Being an enthusiastic amateur astronomer currently pursuing a minor in the subject, this is a difficult blow to me and some of my friends in the Astro department.

Please keep the families of the six Americans and the first Israeli astronaut in your prayers. Five of the seven crewmembers were married, four of which had children. Chawla was the first Indian woman in space.

Here are some articles from today:
NASA's homepage:
A Space Shuttle contingency was declared earlier this morning in Mission Control when communication was lost with the Space Shuttle Columbia during its return to Earth following a 16-day mission.

Communication and tracking of the shuttle was lost at 9 a.m. at an altitude of about 203,000 feet above north central Texas while traveling approximately 12,500 miles per hour (Mach 18). No communication and tracking information was received in Mission Control after that time.

Flight controllers in Mission Control immediately began the process of securing all information, notes and data pertinent to today's reentry and landing.

NASA TV is on AMC-2, Transponder 9C, vertical polarization at 85 degrees West longitude, 3880 MHz, with audio at 6.8 MHz.

MSNBC.com:
Just in the last week, NASA observed the anniversary of the 1967 Apollo 1 fire (Jan. 27) and the 1986 Challenger explosion (Jan. 28).
The Challenger disaster, which occurred during a live TV broadcast of the launch, nearly ended the shuttle program. A series of investigations ultimately blamed a gas leak in the right booster rocket. The crew module separated intact from the fireball, went into a 2½-minute free fall from 50,000 feet and plunged into the sea.
NASA put the shuttle program on hold after the Challenger accident until 1988. The agency has put the odds of a catastrophic accident during launch — the most dangerous part of any shuttle mission — at 1 in 438.

Stats from ABC.net:
Oldest shuttle

Columbia was the oldest of NASA's shuttle fleet.

The shuttle had recently been through extensive safety work.

Columbia was described as the old grey lady of NASA's fleet of shuttles but it had undergone an extensive 17-month overhaul.

It was returned to service in February 2001 and flew its first mission after the upgrades a year later.

At the time, NASA said Columbia had been made young again and was more versatile and safer than ever before.

Reuters.com:
Bush, who ordered American flags to be flown at half-staff as a mark of respect for the crew, said the crew "did not return safely to Earth, yet we can pray that all are safely home," in remarks recalling religious imagery used by President Ronald Reagan about the Challenger.

All of you keep them in your prayers, and hug someone. ^_^;; It makes me feel better...

Exie broke her brain @ 08:26 p.m.

Monday, January 27, 2003

Things to do tomorrow:

• -10am - Communication Law
• -11am - Japanese: G&V test; study adjectives
• -Noon - grab lunch, check mail, put finishing touches on design project
• -1pm - Design Fundamentals: turn in project 1, work on sketchbook assignment 1
• -3pm - Go to Honors office and present my arguments about the points system in Coffey and try my damndest to get our points fucking changed so we're not getting screwed.

I can't tell you how much this point thing is pissing me off. Halo and I are getting flat out screwed on this and as it stands we're either going to have to live in a suite (in the basement, the rooms are about half as big, and there is a little box for a window) or pulling in someone we don't know as a roomate for a 3 person room. To me, this is unacceptable...and no I'm not just saying that. We both have special cases. The girl told us she read them, but decided to go with a standard that she thought would be fair to everyone and would be easier on her.

......

HELLO, THIS IS NOT FAIR TO US!!! WE'RE THE SPECIAL CASES HERE!!! If she wanted to make it fucking easier on herself, than fucking DON'T TAKE THE JOB!!

There are special cases, special circumstances. If they didn't want to hear them, then don't put the little question on the sheet telling you to list them!

Honestly, I don't think I'm being a prat about this. I really feel that this is an injustice against us. Next semester is going to be Halo's last semester, and we want to make the best of it and get me set up for the rest of the year without her. I've been in really CRAPPY rooming assignments ever since I STARTED here a year and a half ago and this is the first time I've been happy with my room and roomate at the beginning of the semester. To hell if they're going to stick me in some tiny ass room with no windows or with a person we don't know and doesn't like us (and we will probably scare).

I don't like this....I don't like this at all. And I'm going to make myself know. Oh hell yes.

exie broke her brain @ 04:38 a.m.

Friday, January 24, 2003

WEATHER UPDATE!
Temp: 10.5 degrees
Most snow reports were between 6" and 9" (less north, more south). Today is very cold; winds diminish this afternoon. The next chance of snow is late Sunday.

Well, I had an interesting morning to say the least. Almost killed myself goin to class. 8am and 9am classes were cancelled, on account that it was about 3 degrees outsite and non of the roads/sidewalks were cleared. There must have been an army of shovelers out there this morning at 6 though.

I was walking to my 10am class (of course they'd only cancel the first two..and my first class is at 10) which is all the way across campus, and uphill. Well, normally they have steps going up the hill so you're not running up the grass. Not today. I couldn't even SEE the steps because they were all covered in snow. The only reason I could get up them was people's previous foot steps, and the fact that someone put a picnic table in the middle of the walk so you could climb over that. ^_^ Good times. Almost slipped and bashed my head in. Yep.

Nice to know the college craziness is still alive. Despite the fact that it was 0.4 degrees last night. Despite the fact that the wind chill was -25 and the wind was blowing at about 45 mph, My friend and four of his buds were outside last night. Streaking. As in naked. ^_^;; Yep, I don't know whether to make sure he doesn't get sick or to be proud of him...but I still wish he would have taken pics. :P And he's probably calling me 'hentai' right now. S'okay, I had a crush on him last year! *laughs* He reads this, I get pummeled. Same old story. He's still one of my best friends up here. Good times, good times. Hell yes. ^_^

So yeah, we got about 9 inches or so, I'm guessing. More in some places because the wind blew it around. I stepped in one and sunk up to my knee. ^_^ I can tell you, in the 6 years I've lived in NC, I've NEVER seen anything like this. And I'm from New Orleans originally....'nuff said.

I found this very interesting....
Here's an interesting tidbit... Beech Mountain had 8" of snow yesterday at 7 AM. Melted down, that snow contained .15" of water. That's a 53:1 ratio of snow:liquid. Even if small errors occurred in the measurement, it's still amazing--normal is about 12:1.

This too...
Record lows were set yesterday: 0 in Boone broke the old record of 4 set in 1977; -2 in Banner Elk broke the old record of 2 set in 1977. The higher elevations were much colder. Overall, yesterday was the coldest day in the High Country since at least Jan 17-18, 1997.

And you gotta love the winter attitude of some people. My friend had this in her profile:
BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA
average gust of wind: 45mph
guys wearing shorts: 3
times wind pushed me back 2 steps: 29
brain freezes I've had walking to class: 6
watching size 0 girls get knocked over by wind: PRICELESS

^_^ I love my friends. That's EXACTLY how it is.

Hmm, it's 12:45, and Halo's still asleep (she doesn't have Friday class). Wonder when she's gonna wake up...I could be evil and wake her up, but then I would be killed...and she would have to find another minion.

And we stole Jason's PS2 this last night! He brought it over here and we watched Fushigi Yuugi OAV 3 last night, he left, and left it here! *grins evilly* He's not gettin it back. WAHAHAHAHA! ^_^;; I'll stop now. Apparently, Japanses has gone to my head..

Exie broke her brain @ 12:06 p.m.

Thursday, January 23, 2003

And the big news of today...Appalachian State University cancelled classes today on account of the weather. Why is this big news? Because the last time they closed the campus was in 1993. That's why. ^_^ I think Halo and I are only going out to get food.

Here's the forcast:
And the Big News of the Day... ASU has cancelled classes. Oh My!!! The latest closings list can be found at [link taken out]. Most snow reports in the High Country are 5" to 8". Temps will hold in the single digits or below 0. As we get into the "heat of the day", snow squalls and wind to 50 mph combine for near blizzard conditions. Wind chills get as low as -30.

Hehe, I can't see very far, but the sun is shining it looks like. ^_^ I told Halo to stay in bed when her alarm went off. ^_^ She's talking to her mom right now.
My rents were surprised when I told them it was still snowing when it had started at 9:30 last night. It's still supposed to come down all day today and the radar doesn't show a let up. There's also a frostbite warning today.

*giggles* You can tell that Halo and I both come from a warmer climate. At about 2 in the morning last night we were stading watching the big fat flakes fall and blow around with our faces pressed against the window. "It's so pretty! It's so pretty!"

^_^ I'm glad snow still amazes me after living for 6 years in the NC mountains.

Wow, the wind is really howlin...wee!!!

*jumps up and down, bouncing*

exie broke her brain @ 11:15 a.m.

Thursday, January 23, 2003

Excitingly Brutal! Snow develops tonight (between 7 and 10 PM) with falling temps. Temperatures by Thursday afternoon fall into the single digits (above 0 at lower elevations, below 0 at higher elevations) with snow, wind to 45 mph and wind chills to -20. Temps falling into the single digits (below 0 up top); Snow showers & snow squalls (additional 2" to 6"); PM blizzard conditions with wind to 45 mph

This is our forcast for tomorrow. It's currently 16.6 degrees outside. THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is the only time I like winter. It's been snowing since 9:30pm and there's already about 3 inches on the ground. ^__^ I'm a very happy Exie.

Snow does something to make me happy. I don't know what it is. Maybe cause everything is covered in a fresh coat of pure white. This is the best kind too. It's the big, fat, fluffy flakes that float down and blow around. It's piled up high against our window and it's covered the ground, even the tracks where people were leaving the parking lot a half hour ago.

And I get to go to class in it tomorrow. See, I don't mind the layers upon layers of clothes on my body if there's that white fluffy power crunching under my feet. Just the sound is relaxing. Oohhh, I can't wait to get up in the morning to get out in that snow. ^_^ Lol, ya'll must think I'm insane, but I don't care!!! *jumps up and down* WEEEE!!!

Exie broke her brain @ 02:10 a.m.

Wednesday, January 8, 2003

First blog of the year, and I don't have too much to say. I'm really off my schedule, and I need to get back into my routines.

I went stargazing tonight. It was cold, but I was out there in slippers, jeans, a t-shirt and a sweatshirt ^_^ I'm nuts. But the cold weather is the best time, because when it's clear is CLEAR. Such was the case tonight.

After I managed to get the dog to stop trying to eat my feet, I sat back with cd player and turned my eyes to the skies. Lemme tell you, 3 doors down's song "away from the sun" fit the mood the best. I came back in about an hour later, hands frozen and totally at peace. I love nights like that.

I really would like to double major if I could in Astro and Graphic Arts. I love them both. The only problem with Astro is that the math is tricky and I don't have a good base in that (Thank you sucky new orleans grade school and shitty NC highschool math) and my peers in Astro are further ahead in their classes than I am. Besides the fact that I would have to start on the major NOW and find another minor to do for GA (a minor outside the tech department is required for all GAIT majors).

*sigh* Maybe it's not worth it. I'm already qualified to do research with the professors at ASU and I'm going to along with my friend Matt if we can swing it.

*sigh* Call me inspired. Matt told me to switch, but I'd be so far behind and I love GA. Plus, research Astronomy doesn't pay much unless you go into AstroPhysics for NASA or something like that.

We'll see what happenes...

Exie broke her brain @ 01:38 a.m.

Friday, December 20, 2002

*sigh* Here goes the rant. I just need to get some stuff off my chest before I can go to sleep.

First of all, I'm PMSing. Yes, I can tell. I know becuase when I do, and I get really angry or stressed out, I start crying. I can't explain it, and I can't stop it. Stupid raging female hormones.

Today it was a mix of my sister REALLY pissing me off and the fact that tomorrow my beloved car goes to the donation center for the Red Cross.

....

I know it's stupid....I KNOW it is. The car is falling apart. I'm hardly ever home to drive it. It's becoming high-matinance (today the breaks were starting to give out because it hadn't been divien in a long time...they worked after a while). But still.....it was the car I learned to drive on...the car I've been driving since I got my lisence. It's MY car goddammnit!

I know it has to go though...it's becomeing a hassle and stuff is breaking and it's costing my rents insurance money. *sigh* But it really hit me when I took it to get the stereo yanked out (no chance in hell I'm giving them my cd player). I really cherish driving my car. I know all it's quirks and just how to drive it to get the best out of it. I love my car.

I guess there's also an emotional attachment to it. We've had it since I was about 9. My rents bought it from my grandparents and they got it when it was new. Yes, the thing is older than me (it's an '81 and I was born in '82), but it's lasted that long...

ARGH! This is driving me nuts! I don't want to get rid of it! I hate driving SUVs and that's all we have! This so totally sucks!!! *sighs* Shit. And I'm crying again. Dammnit! Why did this have to come right NOW! Crap, with this going on tomorrow and the time of the month, I'm going to be a depressive wreck tomorrow...

I'll be okay eventually...I just think this sucks, and it's unfair...though I know my parents reasoning behind it...*sniffles*

And they don't believe me when I tell them that my sister is going to be bitchy about sharing the Explorer. SHE IS. She's bitchy about it NOW for crying out loud! I go ONE PLACE for an errand when I'm home for a weekend and she says for me to leave her money for gas. Fuck that.

*sighs* I'm going to go sulk now...

Exie broke her brain @ 02:19 a.m.

Tuesday, December 17, 2002

*stretches* Well, I'm back home for a lovely stint of Christmas Vacation. Nothing but lying on my ass for a couple of days and catching up on sleep...which should start tomorrow night. I need to finish my take-home Astro exam and email that in, as well as finish a summation of an article and email that to my Psych prof. Tomorrow it's going to the dentist, coming back, running a couple of errands (bank, mall, asian food store, etc), comming back, putting away my stuff and cleaning my bathroom, taking a shower, then hanging out in my robe until my rents force me to get dressed. ^___^

My dad came and picked me up today, and on our way home we saw the most gorgeous sunset. Given that 105 to 221 to I-40 isn't the most scenic route between Boone and home, but still. The sun was behind the mountains, casting them totally black. It was reflecting over the grouped sirius clouds making them a really firey orange. The clouds looked like brush strokes so the whole sky looked like a vibrant painting. Dad and I just drove in silence watching the clouds (and with Away From the Sun playing in the BG it was really great). As it became darker, the clouds never lost the tint, changing from orange, to sort of pink, to red, to a really dull red before finally going feint. The really dull red was so pretty. I said it looked like dying embers and my dad said it looked like flame behind smoke. *smiles* It was a wonderful image and I really didn't expect it from him. Despite his humorous personality, there really is a bit of a poetic soul behind him. I never noticed that.

Well, I think I'd better go get my T-H test done before it drives me insane. I've heard that it takes insanely long. Oh well....here goes nothing.

Exie broke her brain @ 10:28 p.m.