News of the launch of Endeavor on the 32nd shuttle mission to the International Space Station probably did not land above the fold on many of the nation’s newspapers on February 8. Our thanks to James Vernacotola for this spectacular pre-dawn shot of the launch to orbit from about 115 miles away.
Thanks to NASA, here [...]
As in, “Once in a … ,” meaning a rare event. You no doubt remember that a Blue Moon is the second occurrence of a full moon during a calendar month. It happens every 2-1/2 years, or so. We got a beautiful view of this year’s Blue Moon last night, on New Year’s Eve. The [...]
We met at the Ayers condo at the Lake of the Ozarks in early October, bro Tom from the left coast, bro Don from Kansas City. Our mutual objective was to have better fishing than the last time we turned the condo into a bachelor’s pad in May, 2008. Three rapidly aging geezers wedged themselves [...]
Thanks to whoever gave me a little desk plaque that says:
God grant that I may live
to fish until my dying day.
When it comes to my last cast
I then most humbly pray.
When in the Lord’s safe landing net
I’m peacefully asleep, that in
His mercy I be judged
as big enough to keep.
Those simple words are either wise or [...]
Boy, does this shot bring back memories! When I was a boy we often visited our paternal grandparents on their farm near Iola, Kansas. The big evening event for us Ayers kids was going out with Grandfather Ayers to bring in the cows for milking, I think about a dozen, and watch him milk those [...]
Here’s another golden oldie, to me at least, from the web site predecessor to the Orlop. It was written in 2002 after my return from a medical mission trip to an indigenous Indian tribe high on a Costa Rica mountainside. As a postscript, similar missions in the following years, in which I was not a [...]
An ex-Gates Radio executive, Larry Cervon, died recently and left a couple of albums of pictures with Bob Weirather, a recently retired Gates/Harris engineer, from one of which comes this picture of a cool and confident Engineering Manager at a Sales meeting in about 1967. I must have been younger then.
The scenario that brought me [...]
I obviously hit the wrong key when I added the title to this 3 minutes and 45 seconds of sparkling repartee between Gramps the cameraman and Kyle the fisherman without the drag properly set.
By popular demand, here it is, and maybe I’ll change the d to a c tomorrow. Maybe. Some technical details will [...]
It must be catching. I have impatiently awaited the return of Riverside Rambles, son Larry’s slightly off-beat but always interesting blog. He stayed away for a month or so, and a couple of his regular followers constructed sort of a secondary blog, once removed, using a comment thread to his last post. Interesting.
Well, Larry’s [...]
I hesitate to post this video, but I am so impressed with this Wordpress plugin (Flash Video Player by JoshuaE1974) that I did it anyway, the result of about 5 minutes work and the use of a “Wizard,” which I promise to never use again.
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
var s2 = new [...]
