Tag Archives: space

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Packing For Mars… part four.

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Before humans went to space, there were chimps. And not all of them were lovable.

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With a name like Enos, it was inevitable.

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Naked space travel. Who knew?

And if that’s not enough of a mental image for you, here’s a paragraph about the horrors of elimination while floating above our planet.

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The fact that there are slews of researchers and scientists being paid the big bucks to design high tech Pampers makes me chortle.

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No gravity means no showers. That would be it for me.. sayonara NASA.

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Nope. No way. Not this chick.

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🤣

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Packing For Mars… part three.

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Are you ready to be blown away by the physiological changes of space travel?

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Free floating organs is a disturbing enough thought… but I haven’t had a uterus since my hysterectomy in 2015, so what’s my colon kicking back on now?

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No wrinkles, smaller waist and the ability to jettison my bra? Sign me up.

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Veins in the leg muscles normally constrict when we stand, to help keep blood from pooling in our feet. After weeks without gravity, this feature stops bothering to work. Compounding the problem is the fact that the body’s blood volume sensors are in the upper half of the body. Where, without gravity, more of the body’s blood tends to pool; the sensors mis-
interpret this as a surplus of blood, and word goes out to cut back on production. Astronauts in space make do with 10 to 15 percent less blood than they have on Earth. The combination of low blood
volume and lazy veins makes astronauts lightheaded when they return to gravity after a long stay in space. It’s called orthostatic hypotension, and it can be embarrassing. Astronauts have been known to faint during postmission press conferences.

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These are the types of things I never thought about in connection with astronauts. Clearly the human body is not meant to be without gravity.

Another thing I never thought about?

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But now I can’t think of anything else.

🤣

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It’s that time again..

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Yes, I’ve found another one of those quirky Mary Roach books to share with you. This time… we’re going to space.

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If you missed the last few books I shared, you should know Mary’s research tends to go a little beyond the norm and there will be some colorful as well as uncomfortable subjects discussed in future posts.

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“Early in my research, I came across a moment-
forty minutes into the eighty-eighth hour of Gemini VII-which, for me, sums up the astronaut experience and why it fascinates me. Astronaut Jim Lovell is telling Mission Control about an image he has cap-
tured on film.
“a beautiful shot of a full Moon against the black
sky and the strato formations of the clouds of the earth below.” reads the mission transcript. After a momentary silence, Lovell’s crewmate Frank Borman presses the TALK button.
“Norman’s dumping urine. Urine [in] approximately one minute.”
Two lines further along, we see Lovell saying, “What a sight to behold!” We don’t know what he’s referring to, but there’s a good chance it’s not the moon. According to more than one astronaut memoir, one of the most beautiful sights in space is that of a
sun-illumined flurry of flash-frozen waste-water droplets. Space doesn’t just encompass the sublime and the ridiculous. It erases the line between.”

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Sun struck frozen pee.

And we’re off!

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For all the excitement of preparation and training, I can imagine there would also be a lot of mind numbing down time.

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Butt lubrication is probably not highlighted in the NASA press pamphlet.

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The lunar two step?

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Want to test how astronauts react to stress? No toilet would definitely do it.

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Damn. I’d sell them my dust much cheaper..

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Yes, someone just paid half a million dollars for a few specks of dust. And while the bunnies under my bed may not be nearly as exotic, for quantity… they can’t be beaten.

Here’s the gist of the moon dust saga : In 1969 Neil Armstrong gathered moon dust in a bag, which was put in another bag for transport to earth. Apparently the government is very greedy about their dust and forbids private citizens from owning it ….so instead of handing it out as party favors, the dust bag was loaned to a space museum in Kansas.

Problem. Museum directory Max Ary was a crook who was convicted of auctioning off space artifacts in 2005. The Marshall Service seized and then auctioned some of his items much to NASA’s dismay. The woman who bought the bag of dust… for $995… figured it might be worth a bit more and shipped it to NASA for verification.

NASA refused to give it back. She took them to court and won her dust, as well as $1.8 million. But NASA had used carbon tape to pick up a few grains of the dust to test, and these were not returned… so she sued again. It’s these tiny flecks that just brought half a million.

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So please, if you have extra cash lying around and are interested in purchasing some dust? Let me know. Mine may not come from outer space but collection is not an issue.

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So many glasses.

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When we travel and drink, the husband likes to get a glass from the bars and restaurants he’s enjoyed. Since we used to do this quite often… we’ve amassed a large collection of glasses. Some of them are in the house but most of them have migrated out to the barn. And though we’ve stuffed the freezer compartment of the beer fridge with frosty ready to fill receptacles….

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There was still a large portion waiting for a home.

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And a whole lotta paper destined for the fireplace.

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Sadly the husband’s aborted little two foot shelves don’t offer much useable space.

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And once the double tap kegerator is installed things will be even tighter.

Roy Scheider was right.

We should have built a bigger bar.

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How many tables does one man need?

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After the Barn Mahal clean out… there was open space. Glorious, uncluttered open space. I knew it wouldn’t last, but I appreciated it all the same.

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And when I looked around? There was a table and chairs.

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Okay, we’re building a bar for that… but whatever.

The next day?

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There was another table and chairs.

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The day after that 3 more tables had migrated their way in. WTH? Is the husband planning on opening a cafe….

Which is exactly what I asked him during our inaugural beer.

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No, it wasn’t our first time on the nectar of the gods merry go round, but it was the first time we drank inside the barn, seated at a table, with heat.

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I never did get an answer to my why do you need 5 fricking tables question… but we did manage to get that stupid mobility scooter we wasted $850 on last year up and running again.

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We purchased it second hand for his brother, who swore he needed it… until we gave it to him free of charge, when he decided he didn’t want it after all. 😡

We tried selling it last year but didn’t have any luck. Now the husband wants it gone so I’m going to list it again… for half what we paid, damn it…. and see what happens.

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Note to self? It’s probably not a good idea to drink beer for hours and then fully charge a scooter.

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The following day I figured if I couldn’t beat the too many tables paradigm, I’d join it… and hung a little something of my own for flavor.

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Perfect!

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Another classic.

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Yes, the husband found another classic horror film while eating lunch the other day.

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The Green Slime, circa 1968. By the time I tuned in the slime had turned into tentacled creatures…

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And the perfectly coiffed nurses were desperately trying to save the injured.

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The creatures were relentless. Think Jehovah Witnesses…. they never give up.

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There was hand wringing and high pitched shrieking and numerous quivering lips.

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But never fear ladies, the hero has a high tech gizmo cart which will save the day.

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Only it didn’t…

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And the space station was soon in peril.

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Mission control had no answer.

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So an escape pod was launched.

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But no! There were creatures outside ready to block its path.

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Cue the hero and his handy dandy ray gun… he barbecued them.

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And then, just when you thought it was safe…. creatures were interfering with lift off on the bridge.

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Our hero battled bravely…

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Or maybe he experienced an interstellar orgasm, it’s hard to tell…. either way, he sacrificed himself for the greater good. The pod escaped.

And the station with all the burning creatures went down in flames.

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Yes sir.

A classic piece of cinema.

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Things my husband does that make me say WTH?

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So I went out to the garage a while ago and saw he had moved the snow blower.

And while that in itself isn’t strange…

This was.

 

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Huh?

 

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Yes, that’s a bungee cord with one end hooked to the mirror…..

 

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And the other end hooked to the blower chute.

It took me a minute to realize he did this due to the limited space on his side of the building.

How limited?

Here’s a shot of the back end.

 

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Yeah.

 

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I’d say he had backed up as far as he could.

 

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The more logical solution of throwing out all that crap treasure not withstanding.

 

 

 

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White Mountains trip Day 6… rock lovers rejoice.

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What do you do when you wake up to a rainy morning and you’re on vacation in Bethel?

 

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You visit the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum…

 

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Where it’s all about the rocks!

 

 

No, really…. it will be great.

 

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Before we even made it inside there were awesome rocks.

 

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Folded marble? Who doesn’t love that…

 

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And check it, pink girlie rock!

I knew this was going to be good…

So you can imagine my disappointment when we discovered the museum was undergoing renovations and only had one room of rocks open to the public.

One room?

 

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Okay, there was the Maine state fossil.

 

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And one seriously freaky fish.

 

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But….

But…

Only one room of rocks?

 

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Even a chicken sighting didn’t cheer me up.

 

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There weren’t nearly enough fossils.

 

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Or gems  and minerals to satisfy me.

 

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But there were some pretty cool space rocks.

 

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And they were certainly out of this world.

 

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Some of them didn’t even look real.

 

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But they’d make a fantastic kitchen countertop all the same.

 

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Moon rocks rock…

 

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But actual martian rocks?

 

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Disappointingly dull…

The final case held Maine tourmaline.

 

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Hugely popular for jewelry up here.

 

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And in honor of our visit…

 

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I had worn my pair of raw Kyanite bracelets.

 

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Do I know how to coordinate or what?

 

 

A few polished balls later…

 

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And all too soon…

 

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We were done.

 

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We’d seen all there was to see.

 

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Except for the gift store…

 

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Which had some absolutely fabulous jewelry!! With absolutely fabulous prices… and the husband couldn’t get me out of there quickly enough.

 

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But if they ever finish the renovation, I’d go back.

 

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One can never see too many rocks.