Shuttle launch kayak trip anyone?

I've been to a bunch of launches in various locations, but I've never seen one from the water.

The next launch is set to be a historic one. This is the very last trip to the Hubble Space Telescope. On the schedule is repairs and improvements to keep her eyes open through 2013.

Logistically, this mission is as complex as it can get for NASA and the Shuttle program. Briefly, since the Columbia disaster, the plan for a damaged Shuttle is to lifeboat the Astronauts on the International Space Station, remotely pilot the Shuttle back in, then re-tool the next Shuttle fly a bare bones crew to retrieve the marooned Astronauts and re-supply the ISS. It's widely believed that a mission of this sort would signal the premature retirement of the Shuttle program.

In the case of the Hubble mission, docking with the ISS is not possible, which limits the time frame for to complete a rescue mission to 23 days. In the event NASA determines the Shuttle Atlantis can not return with the crew, Shuttle Endeavour will be launched within 10 days of callup to retrieve the Astronauts by docking directly with Atlantis. The mission designator is STS-400 and is a Launch-on-Need flight.

Okay, so that enough geekyness for the time being. There's 2 shuttles on the launch pad right now and it's as badass as Shuttle missions get.

If anyone is interested in taking a kayak trip, drop me a line and we'll start pulling something together. It promises to be a BLAST!! =)

Why I'm moving: a pictorial

Mizner Court Apartments, Boca Raton, Fl

How many bags in a years supply of chips?

15. A month.

My friends Nick and Maureen won a contest on Facebook for Kettle chips. Every month, Kettle mails them several boxes of chips, amounting to 15 per month.

All of our social gatherings are now catered by Kettle. It's really a lovely chip. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.

Your Credit Report

I just made a comment on a post @ Lindsey's Blog. I thought it may be of interest to the readership of my blog. Most of this knowledge came from a time in the past when I worked for a couple of different companies, namely Database Technologies and later Seisint. I hope it'll be helpful to some. Original comment here.

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There are 3 credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Any of the 3 can provide a credit history and a "credit score" to anyone looking to offer you credit. All three are REQUIRED by law to offer you, the consumer, a free credit report annually. You can do this through www.annualcreditreport.com for free. Here is the FTC's explanation of the website: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/freereports/index.html

Also important to note is that a a "credit report" does not denote a "credit score." While the bureaus must tell you who has checked your credit and who you have established credit lines with, the score assigned to weighing all this information is their product, and the method to find it is their "intellectual property." They have a right to charge you for this, and they do.

Here's what I recommend and do every year: I make the request through annualcreditreport.com and process the request for all 3 bureaus. Each bureau makes you an offer to show you additional information including your score. I always opt for the Equifax score. The only reason for this is they were a partner and customer of a former employer. The Equifax score is a fine barometer across the board.

You'll also note that you're allowed to personally check your score once a year without effecting the score. When you buy a car and get financing, you score will drop a bit, but this is not the case for checking your own score.

Earth Class Mail

I recently discovered the Mojo HD channel on Comcast. There's a show called Start-up Junkies that's following the up's and down's of a start-up by the name of Earth Class Mail. You can watch the whole season on Hulu.com right here. It was a great watch and I highly recommend it! Since I have a need for the product the start-up has created, I signed up and decided to post a review of my experience with Earth Class Mail.

Basically, they receive your physical snail mail for you, scan it and allow you to view it online. From there you can recycle, shred or have it physically forwarded to wherever you are. This concept is very appealing to me for 2 reasons. 1) I drown in paper. I don't know what to do with it and it just piles up everywhere. 2) I'm moving at the end of the month and I'll be in a temporary location for a few months without the ability to receive mail there. It seems all too perfect.

But all that's good isn't gold. I just completed my sign-up and there's a couple "gottchas" that aren't 100% apparent on the site.

1) You select a PO BOX or physical address (for an additional charge) in a variety of locations. For me, I selected the Florida PO, which is in Miami. What's not apparent is that your mail first MUST go to Miami, and is then forwarded to the ECM office in Beaverton, OR. Most PO's do this 2-3 times a week, which means my mail is going to sit for a day or so, then take a trip across the country. In most cases, I estimate this will tack 1 week onto the delivery of my mail.

2) You have to complete a Form 1583 for the post office which much be notarized. ECM doesn't cover the details of this form until you've signed up and parted with the $25 sign-up fee. By the way, you're paying for the monthly service while you get this form notarized then mailed to Beaverton. What?! What's ECM doing for me during this time? Eagerly waiting for my 1583 to arrive.

It's misleading to not cover the details of the 1583 prior to charging a credit card. Sure, some folks know what a mail forwarding agent is all about, but most do not, including me. I think it's nice that ECM gave me a free month, and honestly it helped me to pull the trigger. But now I'm realizing that all they're really doing is crediting me for a month where they won't actually be processing any mail for me! So, basically they've avoided a pissed off phone call with me by just issuing the credit ahead of time and using it as a marketing device. How cheap!

I understand that trying to explain the 1583 before the sign-up is going to deter people, and $25 will really put them on the hook to get the paperwork completed. But seriously ECM, tell me there's more paperwork to come before you take my cash. AND don't start the monthly obligation until you've received the 1583 and can actually process my mail. That's the thing that bothers me the most.

ECM has a great idea here and if I like it, there's an excellent chance I'll keep it once I've settled into my new permanent location. I'm just not really digging the "caveat emptor" type approach their sign-up process takes.

Step it up ECM! Figure out how to explain this process to us better so we're not sitting here with our jaws on the keyboard stuck in sign-up surprise!

Stay tuned. I'll update once my 1583 has been sent via red tape express to Beaverton. =)

More on air travel

It's been a while since my US Air rant. I had wanted to complete the commentary on the trip by telling a bit about my return voyage home on Jet Blue.

Quite simply, it was extremely pleasant. This jet was an Embraer commuter jet, the smaller of the 2 jet types JB uses. It was comfortable and a great experience. I really think that the TV screens on the seat backs do wonders to glaze over any issues that could exist. It's like a pacifier for full grown people. No Valium required.

I will mention that the interior of the JB jet was gray as well. So, maybe the comment on the US Air coloring scheme was a bit off, but the interior of the plane was sure depressing regardless of the color scheme. I had no such feelings aboard JB.

This is Bill signing off, wishing you peace, love and a Fly Clear pass.

Open Letter to US Air

I wrote this letter while I was in the terminal at Charlotte, NC waiting for my ride. My Internet connection was spotty so I just saved it but forgot to post it until now. I'll try to post a follow up in a day or so.

Dear US Air,

Somehow, you've turned into the FedEx (no offense FedEx) of moving people, treating them like packages.

Specifically:
-the plane is too cramped
-the guy next to me has commandeered 4 inches of the left side of my seat
-the air is on low if it can be considered on at all
-a child has been screaming one isle up and over from me for the last 45min. Shouldn't a flight attendant make an ATTEMPT to quiet the child? Soda, water, crayons, pillow, chloroform, ANYTHING!?!
-What marketing firm decided on GRAY as the primary color for the airline?

I've never wanted to off myself so bad before. The flight was miserable, the crew wasn't happy to be there, the aircraft was tattered and the passengers were clearly not happy to be there. If you provided a Doctor in the terminal who could dispense Valium, I bet you'd have a shocking number of eager patients.

Furthermore, why did it save me almost $200 to select a trip to Greensboro, NC with a change of planes in Charlotte vs. just purchasing a direct flight to Charlotte, NC? Okay, I know why, but really that's just devious and deceptive. Give me the best deal available at the time, pretty please. Otherwise every time I fly i'm going to wind up poking around looking for a cheaper connecting flight which is just going to start my experience off on a bad note.

I know you're trapped in a failed system. Fuel costs are absolutely out of control and the end is nowhere in sight. But honestly, this aircraft was screwed years ago and was never updated. And then there's the issue of the AC. Someone was skimping on maintenance.

There was nothing dignified about the last 1.5hrs of my life.

Your reluctant customer,

Bill Ferrante