Yesterday I made the three-hour pilgrimage north to Kennedy Space Center to gawk at the first test flight of the most powerful operational rocket in the world, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy. Short of buying a ticket, my position on the causeway bridge of the A. Max Brewer Parkway is probably one of the best views to be had of both Pad 39A, from which the rocket launched, and of Landing Zones 1 and 2 to the south at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where the side boosters landed in textbook unison.

Here's the video, taken with my GoPro clamped to the bridge railing:

I took some still photos as well; the best ones are in a Flickr album. Enjoy!

Looking at photographs from my recent trip to Copenhagen I conclude I must have spent a lot of my time in churches! Here are some of the results:

I had the pleasure this weekend of seeing the only presently flying example of the B-29 Superfortess, a salvaged plane named “Fifi” that was restored and is kept airworthy by the fine people of the Commerative Air Force. A recently restored P-51D Mustang, “The Brat III” was also on display, and the public could even fly in both planes. I couldn't afford that ($570 to $1395 for the B-29, depending on the seat, $1995 for the P-51) but was very happy taking a tour through the bomb-bay and cockpit.

By the way, I only became aware of Fifi's visit to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport because I happened to be overflown at low altitude by it, heard a somewhat remarkable noise, and was surprised to find a B-29 overhead. A little google-searching revealed what was going on this week. Either the CAF might want to try to get the word out more effectively, or I need to be more plugged into the local aviation and warbird community, if such exists. Any suggestions to that end will be appreciated.

These pictures are from an Audi Owner's Club caravan to Key West on May 21, 2011 using Jay Wilson's brand new Audi S4; a fun trip!

“Master of Science” is really very grandiose-sounding, isn't it? I promise I won't insist on being styled as such, now that the unthinkable day is here and I actually have my degree in hand.

For new readers: I've been working on a master's degree in electrical engineering for the past 5 years or so, acquiring along the way a textbook case of ABD (“All But Dissertation”, a disease which is actually a formal status in some parts of academia). This summer, growing weary of the debilitating symptoms of this illness, I sat behind my computer and effected a cure, which required every scrap of free-time available from August to November. Hence the lack of updates on this blog in recent months.

Now, of course, I have all the time in the world—time enough, at least, to start on some exciting new projects. Come back soon for details!