A Day of Discovery

Thought for the day:  One time I went to a museum where all the work in the museum had been done by children. They had all the paintings up on refrigerators. [Stephen Wright]

I'm a huge fan of museums. All kinds of museums. In fact, in one of last year's posts, I confessed to being a bit of a Museum Slut . (Go ahead. You can go back and read about some weirdo museums. I'll wait.)

So, anyhow, it should come as no surprise that we visited another new museum while we were in Maryland. Well, not a new museum,  per se, but a new museum to us.

How cool is that picture? I've had it for a year or so, and thought of maybe using it sometime to go along with a post about how everybody needs help now and then. (Who knows? Still might, someday.) The idea of the a space shuttle hitching a ride strikes me as so totally cool. Even better, when we were in Florida a few years ago, we got to watch one of the shuttles launch. Discovery. (A perfect name, don't you think?)

Darn, the name doesn't show up very well on this closer shot of the piggyback ride, so I'll have to tell ya ... it's the (ta-DA!) Discovery.

Earlier this year, we watched the coverage on CNN of the retired Discovery being piggybacked to its new home near Washington, D.C.

And THAT'S where we went! To the Smithsonian Institute's Air & Space Museum at Dulles Airport. Discovery's new home!

Entrance to the museum

There's plenty of exciting things to see at this museum, but nothing, for me, matched the moment we caught the first dramatic sight of Discovery, and approached her, nose on.

Isn't she a beauty? We were able to get upclose and personal with her, close enough to touch, if we had reeeeeally really long arms. 

I took quite a few pics of the shuttle, but rather than show you all of them, let me show you just a few of the other neat things in that museum.

There were a BUNCH of vintage space age toys, most of them from the '50s and '60s.

How's about a flashy red plane that converts to an ugly red car?

The Spirit of Texas was the first helicopter to make an around the world flight. From September 1-30, 1982,  it covered 25 countries, 21 seas and oceans, and a total of 24,750 miles. 

I loved the eagle paint job on this plane. It's actually a Bearcat Conquest, and is the plane Darryl Greenamyer used to break a 30-year-old speed record in 1969. 

A Caudron G-4, a WWI fighter aircraft, and one of the oldest surviving bombers in the world.

This is one of my favorites, too... a circa 1912 biplane.

Know what these are?

They're examples of what's known as trench art. Art... made from munitions. The model biplane was made from an 8 mm cartridge. It would seem that, even in times of war, artistic expression demands an outlet.

So, there ya have it, just a taste of what we saw at that museum. You could say, that all in all, the day was full of...

HA!

So, what's YOUR favorite museum? Do you like aviation museums and air shows? In the near future, I'll tell you a story of the world's longest non-stop flight. (And I'm NOT talking about the time that little brat kicked the back of my seat for five hours straight. That just SEEMED like the world's longest flight.)

                              Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.
         

Tapping into the Past

Thought for the day:  Many people have sighed for the 'good old days' and regretted the 'passing of the horse', but today, when only those who like horses own them, it is a far better time for horses. [C.W. Anderson]

When people talk about the good old days, they're usually not talking about outhouses. Lots of neat things about the past, but a smelly outhouse ain't one of them. Even though I most definitely  prefer indoor plumbing, I still cling to some things other people might consider old-fashioned. Some of those things speak to me... and their sounds are music to my ears.

                                            Um, no ... I'm not THAT old-fashioned...

But I do hate electric can openers. Far as I'm concerned, they're nothing but a noisy nuisance, and take up way too much counter space. I mean, why use THAT...












                                        When THIS not only does the job, but fits in a drawer?

Not a big fan of electric knives, either. I've got plenty of knives, but none of them plug into the wall. It'd be kinda fun to have an electric fork, though.

Anybody know what this is?

A cow horn. An honest-to-goodness cow horn. Or at least, part of one.

It's for making Polish kielbasa. The casings go on the smaller end closest to my hand, and the sausage mixture gets shoved into the larger end of the horn and into the casing. Pretty neat, huh? I've been using that horn for more than forty years. Works great, too.

                                                       
                                                                                                  But....  check THIS out!

Cool, huh?

My brother sent this jerky and sausage maker to me right before we went to Maryland. It'll give me a whole new way to fill those casings... with a nifty-looking gizmo that kinda looks like a grease gun. (And it doesn't plug into the wall, either!) Now, THIS should be fun to play with. And as soon as we eat all the kielbasa that's already in our freezer, I'm looking forward to giving this puppy a whirl.

Okay, how about one of these? Miss them? 

Well, I don't miss the nasty job of changing a ribbon. (Remember the ones with black AND red ink?) 

Don't miss the aggravation of typing a full page, only to make a mistake on the last line, either. White Out to the rescue. Sorta.

But I do miss the feeling of rolling the paper onto the carriage, the cheerful DING! at the end of a line, the rhythmic clackety-clack of the keys, and the feeling of pulling out a completed page.

Then again, a modern day computer can do a lot of things our old typewriters couldn't do. Correcting errors is a piece of cake. Cut and paste is one of the best things ever. And, of course, flat keyboards make ideal napping spots for our feline friends.

But computers opened up a whole new world of headaches, too. Remember the dreaded blue screen of death? And why, oh why, can't someone invent a computer that does what you WANT it to do instead of what you accidentally TELL it to do...?

But no matter how wonderful today's computers are,  there is ONE thing no computer, no matter how modern and sophisticated it is, can do as well as a good old-fashioned typewriter. Make music.                            

[That music isn't exactly new. Leroy Anderson wrote it in the early '50s. He wrote a lot of light Orchestral music, much of which was introduced by the Boston Pops. But I'm betting the music is new to most of you. Totally cool, isn't it?]

Wanta see another take on that same music? This is a classic Jerry Lewis skit from the good ol' days:

So, how about you? Anything from the good old days you prefer over the modern conveniences? What's your favorite modern invention? (In these 100+ degree days, the air conditioner's looking pretty darned good.) What's the dumbest modern invention?

                                      Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

Them's Fighting Words, Mister

Thought for the day:  Writing is easy. All you have to do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.  [Gene Fowler]

Now, nobody really expects any bloodshed. No hair-pulling, deep bruises, or knocked-out teeth, either, but there's a totally kick-butt competition coming up that might interest you.

Yeah, I know I don't usually post on a Tuesday. But I just found out about this today, and wanted to tell y'all right away. (Consider this a Public Service Announcement.)

DL Hammons is hosting a head-to-head writing competition on his blog, and the bell dings for round one at the end of this month. That's right. Here's your opportunity to climb into the virtual writing ring, mano-a-mano (womano-a-womano?) and let your words do all the fighting for you. Or if you'd prefer, you can grab a bag of popcorn, sit on the sidelines, and cast a vote for your winner from each match. All entries will be submitted under an assumed name, so no judging will be based on prior biases or irresistibly bubbly personalities, either. It's all about the writing.

Whatcha think? Sounds pretty cool, huh? Submissions are to be no longer than 500 words, and will be accepted throughout most of the competition, whose final head-to-head takes place in October. Oh, and here's the best part. When the competition gets down to the last round, and there are only two contestants standing, that round will be judged by an illustrious panel of Who's whos in the publishing world. (DL has REALLY outdone himself!)

If you want to sign on, either as an entrant, a judge, or both, click on the WRITE CLUB badge in the sidebar. Go ahead. Just do it. You can find out the rest of the juicy details there, too.

A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit.  [Richard Back]

                                                              Ready to rumble?

Until next time ... um, tomorrow... take care of yourselves. And each other.