End of an Era

Atlantis landing at dawn.
See my previous entries for the history of an amazing era.

WW II in Photos - Retrospective in 20 Parts

from The Atlantic, with Alan Taylor:
World War II is the story of the 20th Century. The war officially lasted from 1939 until 1945, but the causes of the conflict and its horrible aftermath reverberated for decades in either direction. While feats of bravery and technological breakthroughs still inspire awe today, the majority of the war was dominated by unimaginable misery and destruction. In the late 1930s, the world's population was approximately 2 billion. In less than a decade, the war between the nations of the Axis Powers and the Allies resulted in some 80 million deaths -- killing off about 4 percent of the whole world.

This series of entries will last from June 19 until October 30, 2011, running every Sunday morning for 20 weeks. In these photo essays, I hope to explore the events of the war, the people involved at the front and back home, and the effects the war had on everyday lives. The entries will follow a roughly chronological sequence, with some broader themes (such as "The Home Front") interspersed throughout. These images will give us glimpses into the real-life experiences of our parents, grandparents and great grandparents, moments that shaped the world as it is today. I hope to be able to do justice to this important story in this large-photo narrative format and invite you to join me for the next 20 Sundays.
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/ww2.html

 

HP Touchpad

Picked up my new HP Touchpad tablet this week. While still learning all the in's & out's, I am quite pleased with the performance and particularly like the WebOS - it is great! I would say comparible to or better than the iPad. 

Shuttle History

From its first launch 30 years ago to its final launch last Friday, NASA's Space Shuttle program has seen moments of amazing inspiration and of devastating disappointment. With the last launch the program has sent up 135 missions, ferrying more than 350 humans and thousands of tons of material and equipment into low Earth orbit. Fourteen astronauts have lost their lives along the way -- the missions have always been risky, the engineering complex, the hazards extreme. As the program ends let's look back at the past few decades of shuttle development and missions as we anticipate the next steps toward human space flight.  Click [ 61 photos] Alan Taylor - The Atlantic

End of an amazing era

This is your last chance to watch a Shuttle launch in person or on TV. NASA has been ordered to end the Space Shuttle program and the launch of Atlantis scheduled for this Fri., July 8th will be the last.
Launch dates change frequently, be sure to check the Cape Canaveral Launch Schedule for launch updates and information.

Time Lapse of Shuttle prep for launch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=KZrFC988Thc
Endeavour blasted off on the next-to-last shuttle flight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YBWaFIs1Rc

Chuck Bessey’s Outlook has been re-designed with a new approach to content and expression of ideas that reflect my personal approach to our life and times. You never know what you’ll find, so please visit often and do not hesitate to offer suggestions and comments.

Florida Drought Conditions

There have been 3,814 Florida wild fires from January to the end of June this year. The wet season so far has not provided enough rainfall to replenish severely depleted groundwater, canal and lake levels throughout South Florida. The rainfall deficit stood at 11.98 inches through June 27. Consequently our ponds have suffered and are all very low as evidenced by the 5th hole pond here.