The BangBang Book Challenge

I'm going to try another reading challenge - The BangBang Book Challenge.

The Rules:
- To participate you must choose 5 fiction books and sign up using the Mr. Linky link below.
- The challenge lasts from Sept. 1 2008 through Feb. 28, 2009.
- There will be monthly Mr. Linkys for your reviews.
- You may overlap with other challenges.
- When you sign up, please leave a comment as well! I want to make sure there are no glitches and I am able to include everyone in the participants area over on the right.
- Also, when you comment after signing up, please include a list of the books you intend to read. The list can change along the way, of course, but it’s always nice to see what’s in your heads.

I've picked five books I've never read before:

Savage Wilderness (Harold Coyle) - French & Indian War
Master & Commander (Patrick O'Brian) - Napoleonic Wars
Fire on the Waters (David Poyer) - US Civil War
The Horizon (Douglas Reeman) - World War I
Torpedo Run (Douglas Reeman) - World War II

Though I may substitute another WWII book, so as to have five different authors represented.

Dive! Dive!

Nice picture of USS Hampton (SSN 767) beginning a dive.

H/T to Joel.

Chandrayaan-1 launch successful

ZUI this article from The Globe and Mail:

India launched its first unmanned moon mission on Wednesday following in the footsteps of rival China, as the emerging Asian power celebrated its space ambitions and scientific prowess.

Chandrayaan-1 (Moon vehicle), a cuboid spacecraft built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) blasted off from a southern Indian space centre shortly after dawn in a boost for the country's ambitions to gain more global space business.

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Barring any technical failure, the spacecraft will reach the lunar orbit and spend two years scanning the moon for any evidence of water and precious metals.

A gadget called the Moon Impactor Probe will detach and land on the moon to kick up some dust, while instruments in the craft analyze the particles, ISRO says.

A principal objective is to look for Helium 3, an isotope which is very rare on earth but is sought to power nuclear fusion and could be a valuable source of energy in the future, some scientists believe.

It is thought to be more plentiful on the moon, but still rare and very difficult to extract.

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In April, India sent 10 satellites into orbit from a single rocket, and ISRO says it is plans more launches before a proposed manned mission to space and then onto Mars in four years time.

ZUI also this NASA press release:

Two NASA instruments to map the lunar surface will launch on India's maiden moon voyage. The Moon Mineralogy Mapper will assess mineral resources, and the Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar, or Mini-SAR, will map the polar regions and look for ice deposits. The Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO, is scheduled to launch its robotic Chandrayaan-1 on Oct. 22 from Sriharikota, India.

Data from the two instruments will contribute to NASA's increased understanding of the lunar environment as it implements the nation's space exploration policy, which calls for robotic and human missions to the moon.

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The Moon Mineralogy Mapper is a state-of-the-art imaging spectrometer that will provide the first map of the entire lunar surface at high spatial and spectral resolution, revealing the minerals that make up the moon's surface. Scientists will use this information to answer questions about the moon's origin and geological development, as well as the evolution of terrestrial planets in the early solar system. The map also may be used by astronauts to locate resources, possibly including water, that can support exploration of the moon and beyond.

The Mini-SAR is a small imaging radar that will map the permanently shadowed lunar polar regions, including large areas never visible from Earth. The Mini-SAR data will be used to determine the location and distribution of water ice deposits on the moon. Data from the instrument will help scientists learn about the history and nature of objects hitting the moon, and the processes that throw material from the outer solar system into the inner planets.

The spacecraft also will carry four instruments and a small lunar impactor provided by ISRO, and four instruments from Europe.

Wikipedia also has an article.

RIP: Charley Fox DFC

Charles W Fox DFC
1920 - 18 Oct 2008

ZUI this article from the London (ON) Free Press:

The tragic death Saturday of Canadian war hero Charley Fox -- who escaped death many times during a remarkable military career -- has left family and friends reeling and wondering who will take on the huge role Fox filled as an educator of youth and spokesperson for veterans.

Fox, 88, a Second World War Spitfire pilot, was killed in a car crash in Oxford County, shortly after attending a Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association meeting near Tillsonburg.

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"He'd want us to continue to remember our veterans. Somebody else (must) pick the torch up and continue those things he started because it was so important to him," said Fox's daughter, Sue Beckett of Thamesford.

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Fox is also survived by [a son, Jim,] another daughter, Adrienne Black, who lives in New Jersey, nine grandchildren, three step-grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His wife Helen died in 1993.

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AMONG THE MANY EVENTS IN CHARLEY FOX'S COLOURFUL LIFE:

He was credited with injuring German commander Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, during a July 1944 strafing run over France.

Fought in the battle immortalized by Sir Richard Attenborough's film A Bridge Too Far.

Attacked enemy locomotives and enemy vehicles 153 times during the war, leading to the Distinguished Flying Cross honour and the nickname of Train Buster.

ZUI also this article from the Woodstock (ON) Sentinel-Review:

Fox is credited with helping end the career of Field Marshall Erwin Rommel (the Desert Fox) when he fired on his speeding black staff car in France shortly after the invasion of Normandy.

Flight Lt. Fox was piloting one of two Canadian Spitfires from the 412 Squadron when the pair unknowingly encountered Rommel and his driver on July 17, 1944.

Rommel suffered serious head injuries after being thrown against the windshield post.

Soon after, a seriously wounded Rommel was accused of being involved in a bomb plot against Hitler, would commit suicide.

It is believed that Rommel was secretly trying to negotiate an earlier end to the war.

German officials would report his death as the result of injuries from the crash.

In 2004, a war expert confirmed after consulting first-hand accounts and logs, that it was most likely Fox who fired on Rommel, considered the Nazi's greatest field commander.

RIP: Col Robert B. Nett

Robert B Nett
9 Jun 1922 - 19 Oct 2008

ZUI this article from the Columbus (GA) Ledger-Enquirer:

A Taps vigil will be held at 10 p.m. tonight outside of the Officer Candidate School on Fort Benning to honor retired Col. Robert B. Nett.

The Medal of Honor recipient and "The father of Officer Candidate School," died Sunday at the age of 86 after a brief illness.

Nett enlisted in the Connecticut National Guard in 1940 and graduated from Officer Candidate School in 1942. His distinguished career included service in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam.

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The last of five Medal of Honor recipients from Muscogee County, Nett earned the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government on Dec. 14, 1944 for heroic actions during hand-to-hand fighting with Japanese soldiers at their heavily fortified stronghold near Cognon in the Philippines.

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Following retirement from the Army after 33 year of service, Nett taught for 17 years in the local school system. He was a frequent lecturer at the Officer Candidate School and speaker at Ranger Regiment on Fort Benning. He is a member of both the Army Ranger Hall of Fame and the Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame.

*******

Nett is survived by his wife, Frances Nett; His son, Dr. Robert Nett Jr. his wife, Patti Ann Nett, and their children Nicholas and Erica, of San Antonio, Texas; His daughter Frances Anne Randall, of Roswell, New Mexico and her husband Doyle, and his granddaughter Yvonne Michelle Randall of Las Vegas, Nevada.

******* *** *******

ROBERT B NETT

Captain (then Lieutenant), US Army; Company E, 305th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division

Born: 9 June 1922, New Haven, Connecticut
Died: 19 October 2008, Columbus, Georgia

Citation: He commanded Company E in an attack against a reinforced enemy battalion which had held up the American advance for 2 days from its entrenched positions around a 3-story concrete building. With another infantry company and armored vehicles, Company E advanced against heavy machinegun and other automatic weapons fire with Lt. Nett spearheading the assault against the strongpoint. During the fierce hand-to-hand encounter which ensued, he killed 7 deeply entrenched Japanese with his rifle and bayonet and, although seriously wounded, gallantly continued to lead his men forward, refusing to relinquish his command. Again he was severely wounded, but, still unwilling to retire, pressed ahead with his troops to assure the capture of the objective. Wounded once more in the final assault, he calmly made all arrangements for the resumption of the advance, turned over his command to another officer, and then walked unaided to the rear for medical treatment. By his remarkable courage in continuing forward through sheer determination despite successive wounds, Lt. Nett provided an inspiring example for his men and was instrumental in the capture of a vital strongpoint.

International Culinary Olympics

The 2008 Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung (IKA*), or International Culinary Olympics, began today in Erfurt. In addition to national and regional teams, and individual entries, ten countries - Germany, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US - are sending military teams. Eash of these teams consists of a team captain, four chefs and a pâtissier (pastry chef).

Looks like an interesting event to attend (as a spectator, not a competitor!) in 2012....


* The official IKA home page is here, but parts of it are in German.

Victoria Cross: S. J. Bent

SPENCER JOHN BENT

Drummer, 1st Battalion the East Lancashire Regiment

Born: 18 March 1891, Stowmarket, Suffolk
Died: 3 May 1977

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry near Le Gheer [Belgium] on the night of the 1st-2nd November [1914] when, after his Officer, Platoon Sergeant, and Section Commander had been struck down, he took command, and with great presence of mind and coolness, succeeded in holding the position.
Drummer Bent had previously distinguished himself on two occasions, 22nd and 24th October, by bringing up ammunition under a heavy shell and rifle fire, and again, on the 3rd November, when he brought into cover some wounded men who were lying exposed in the open.

(London Gazette Issue 29001 dated 9 Dec 1914, published 8 Dec 1914.)

Medal of Honor: M. H. Smith

MAYNARD HARRISON SMITH

Sergeant, US Army Air Corps; 423d Bombardment Squadron, 306th Bomber Group

Born: 19 May 1911, Caro, Michigan
Died: 11 May 1984

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty. The aircraft of which Sgt. Smith was a gunner was subjected to intense enemy antiaircraft fire and determined fighter airplane attacks while returning from a mission over enemy-occupied continental Europe on 1 May 1943. The airplane was hit several times by antiaircraft fire and cannon shells of the fighter airplanes, 2 of the crew were seriously wounded, the aircraft's oxygen system shot out, and several vital control cables severed when intense fires were ignited simultaneously in the radio compartment and waist sections. The situation became so acute that 3 of the crew bailed out into the comparative safety of the sea. Sgt. Smith, then on his first combat mission, elected to fight the fire by himself, administered first aid to the wounded tail gunner, manned the waist guns, and fought the intense flames alternately. The escaping oxygen fanned the fire to such intense heat that the ammunition in the radio compartment began to explode, the radio, gun mount, and camera were melted, and the compartment completely gutted. Sgt. Smith threw the exploding ammunition overboard, fought the fire until all the firefighting aids were exhausted, manned the workable guns until the enemy fighters were driven away, further administered first aid to his wounded comrade, and then by wrapping himself in protecting cloth, completely extinguished the fire by hand. This soldier's gallantry in action, undaunted bravery, and loyalty to his aircraft and fellow crewmembers, without regard for his own personal safety, is an inspiration to the U.S. Armed Forces.

Veterans Day and Veterans Pride

Veterans Day (11 Nov) is only a little over three weeks away. ZUI this page from the US Department of Veterans Affairs, on the Veterans Pride Initiative. To quote from the site's FAQ:

Q. What is the Veterans Pride Initiative?

A. The Veterans Pride Initiative encourages America’s veterans to wear their medals or miniature replicas on civilian attire on patriotic national holidays. It is derived from an Australia and New Zealand tradition of wearing medals at ceremonies and marches on April 25, ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day.

Q. On what holidays does this initiative recommend veterans wear their medals?

A. It encourages veterans to wear decorations on Veterans Day, Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.

SPAG

ZUI this article from the MOD Defence News:

During the past week the Royal Navy's Submarine Parachute Assistance Group (SPAG), whose remit involves deploying a team of people with escape and rescue knowledge to the scene of a submarine in distress, has been training off Gibraltar.

During the training 40 specialists, including three doctors, four medics and members of the Submarine Escape Training Tank, used a 'floating village' of 25-man life rafts to rescue various 'casualties', including the Commander of British Forces in Gibraltar, Commodore Matt Parr, from an imaginary submarine.

The aim was to test the the SPAG's ability to set up the 'floating village', to triage and treat the casualties, and to establish Command and Control procedures with headquarters in the UK. In a previous exercise which took place in 2007, the Group practised the other half of their job - parachuting into the sea with all the necessary equipment.

Atlantis (STS-125) launch delayed

ZUI this article from Aviation Week:

Spaceflight planners at NASA are scrambling to rearrange the space shuttle flight manifest in the wake of last month's electronics failure on the Hubble Space Telescope.

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Present planning has the shuttle Atlantis rolling back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) from Pad 39A on Oct. 20. Atlantis had been scheduled to launch on Oct. 14 on the STS-125 Hubble-servicing mission, but now it will wait until sometime after February 2009 for another chance to fly the mission.

Its payload - two new instruments and a supply of replacement batteries, gyros and other hardware designed to keep the Hubble operating at upgraded capability for at least five more years - will be pulled back into the pad's rotating service structure on Oct. 7. It will stay there until it is returned to the Payload Handling and Servicing Facility on Oct. 13.

Eventually, crews will repack the payload to include a spare Control Unit/Science Data Formatter to replace the one that failed Sept. 27. The backup unit is undergoing testing at Goddard Space Flight Center to ensure that it will restore full redundancy to the telescope's data-handling system (Aerospace DAILY, Oct. 1).

*******

If the Hubble program can get the backup hardware ready and the mission replanned in time, Atlantis will fly the STS-125 servicing mission in February 2009, with the shuttle Discovery acting as rescue vehicle. If it takes longer to prepare the modified Hubble mission, Discovery is tentatively set to fly STS-119 and deliver the final ISS solar array wing to orbit in February.

In that scenario Endeavour, back from the November station-logistics flight, will be processed to replay the role of rescue craft to a Hubble servicing mission before being prepared for the STS-127 mission to the station in May 2009.

Five shuttle missions are currently scheduled for 2009, with three more to follow in 2010 before the last shuttle is decommissioned.

Sixth space tourist arrives at ISS

Richard Garriott

ZUI this article dated 12 October from Spaceflight Now:

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft rocketed into orbit and set off after the international space station Sunday, carrying two fresh crew members and a U.S. computer game designer who paid some $30 million for a chance to follow in his astronaut father's footsteps.

Mounted on the same launch pad Yuri Gagarin used for the first manned spaceflight nearly five decades ago, the Soyuz TMA-13 vehicle took off on time at 3:01:29 a.m. EDT (1:01:29 p.m. local time) and quickly climbed away through a clear afternoon sky at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Nine minutes later, the capsule entered its planned preliminary orbit.

On board are Soyuz commander and Expedition 18 flight engineer Yury Lonchakov, Expedition 18 commander Mike Fincke and Richard Garriott, the sixth space tourist to book a flight to the international space station. Garriott, the son of former Skylab and shuttle astronaut Owen Garriott, is the designer of a series of successful multiplayer computer games. He said before launch "this price tag is the majority of my wealth."

ZUI also this article from the International Herald-Tribune:

The sons of a Russian cosmonaut and a U.S. astronaut met in space Tuesday when spaceman Sergei Volkov welcomed American Richard Garriott on board the International Space Station.

Garriott, a computer game developer who paid $35 million (20 million pounds) for his trip to space, arrived with two crewmates on board a Soyuz capsule, which docked with the space station two days after blasting off from a launch-pad in Kazakhstan.

After the hatches were opened between the capsule and the station at 10:55 a.m. British time, Volkov -- whose cosmonaut father was orbiting the earth when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 -- welcomed Garriott with a hug.

*******

Russian television showed Garriott smiling after taking congratulations from friends and family, including his astronaut father Owen, who joked with Alexander Volkov at mission control in Moscow.

And this article from Space.com:

Aboard the station, Expedition 17 commander Sergei Volkov and flight engineers Oleg Kononenko and Greg Chamitoff welcomed their first human visitors since June. Hatches between the two spacecraft opened at about 5:55 a.m. EDT (0955 GMT).

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Chamitoff joined the Expedition 17 crew in June and will stay aboard with Fincke and Lonchakov for the first stage of their six-month Expedition 18 spaceflight. His current crewmates, Volkov and Kononenko, are wrapping up their own six-month mission and will return to Earth on Oct. 23 with Garriott.

*******

Garriott has packed his private spaceflight with a host of science experiments and educational outreach projects. He has about 500 targets to photograph on Earth, many of them identical to those observed by his father — a two-time spaceflyer who flew to the U.S. space station Skylab and aboard a U.S. shuttle — during the Skylab 3 mission in 1973. Owen Garriott is serving as his son's chief scientist for the spaceflight.

The joint Expedition 18 and Expedition 17 crew, meanwhile, will begin an intense handover period as Volkov and Kononenko prepare for their trip home.

Finke and Lonchakov expect to perform one spacewalk during their mission and host two visiting space shuttle missions that will bring new equipment vital to prepare the space station for larger, six-person crews.

Chamitoff is scheduled to return to Earth aboard space shuttle Endeavour (mission STS-126) in late November.

The man scheduled to be the seventh space tourist, in the meantime, has met with a delay. ZUI this article from RIA Novosti:

A Russian space tourist hopeful is to miss out on a trip to the stars in the autumn of 2009, with a Kazakh astronaut likely to take his place, a Russian space agency official said on Tuesday.

Roscosmos announced in 2007 that businessman and politician, Vladimir Gruzdev, would become the country's first Russian space tourist, most likely in November 2009.

"There is not yet an opportunity to send the unqualified Russian citizen, whose name you all know, to the International Space Station," said Alexei Krasnov, head of manned programs at the Roscosmos space agency.

He said talks were underway with Kazakhstan to send one of its professional astronauts into space next fall, adding that, "I have no doubt that this flight will take place, because we have received all the funding from Kazakhstan."

He added that Gruzdev could be sent into space if a decision to build an extra Soyuz spacecraft was made.

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• Create your own travel map or travel blog


• Travel Info at TripAdvisor

How British...?

You Are 50% British

Congrats, mate. You're are probably British. (If not, definitely Australian. Or Kiwi. Or Canadian.) You enjoy most aspects of mainstream British culture, without being stereotypical about it. You also have a typical British temperament. You wouldn't dream of being impolite.

How British Are You?

Pennsic XXXVII

Darter the Chronicler's photos from this year's Pennsic War are now available at his website.

Excellent work, as always.

Happy 233d Birthday

United States Navy

13 October 1775.

Left to right: CMM William Badders, CTM John Mihalowski,

CBM Orson L Crandall, and CM James Harper McDonald.

William Badders. John Mihalowski. Orson Crandall. James H McDonald. Henry Breault. James Carey. Abraham DeSomer. John W Finn. Claud A Jones. John Kilmer. John MacKenzie. Richard H O'Kane. Weedon E Osborne. Donald K Ross. Thomas J Ryan. Daniel A J Sullivan. George Wahlen. George H Wheeler. James E Williams.

Victoria Cross: A. Fitzgibbon and T. Flinn

ARTHUR FITZGIBBON

Hospital Apprentice, Indian Medical Establishment; attached 67th Regiment

Born: 13 May 1845, Gujarat, India
Died: 7 March 1883, Delhi, India

Citation: For having behaved with great coolness and courage at the capture of the North Taku Fort [near Tientsin, China], on the 21st of August, 1860. On the morning of that day he accompanied a wing of the 67th Regiment, when it took up a position within 500 yards of the Fort. Having quitted cover, he proceeded, under a very heavy fire, to attend to a Dhoolie-bearer, whose wound he had been directed to bind up; and, while the Regiment was advancing under the Enemy's fire, he ran across the open to attend to another wounded man, in doing which he was himself severely wounded.

(London Gazette issue 22538 dated 13 Aug 1861, published 13 Aug 1861.)


THOMAS FLINN

Drummer, 64th Regiment

Born: August 1842, Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland
Died: 10 August 1892, Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry, in the charge on the Enemy's guns [at Cawnpore, India] on the 28th November, 1857, when, being himself wounded, he engaged in a hand to hand encounter two of the Rebel Artillerymen.

(London Gazette issue 22248 dated 12 Apr 1859, published 12 Apr 1859.)




Note: At fifteen years and three months, Hospital Apprentice Fitzgibbon and Drummer Flinn are the two youngest recipients of the Victoria Cross. (Since Flinn's exact birthdate is unknown, it cannot be determined which was actually the youngest.)

Medal of Honor: C. F. Hoffman (E. A. Janson)

CHARLES F HOFFMAN (name later changed to ERNEST AUGUST JANSON)

Gunnery Sergeant, US Marine Corps; 49th Company, 5th Regiment, 2d Division

Born: 17 August 1878, New York, New York
Died: 14 May 1930, New York

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy near Chateau-Thierry, France, 6 June 1918. Immediately after the company to which G/Sgt. Janson belonged, had reached its objective on Hill 142, several hostile counterattacks were launched against the line before the new position had been consolidated. G/Sgt. Janson was attempting to organize a position on the north slope of the hill when he saw 12 of the enemy, armed with 5 light machineguns, crawling toward his group. Giving the alarm, he rushed the hostile detachment, bayoneted the 2 leaders, and forced the others to flee, abandoning their guns. His quick action, initiative and courage drove the enemy from a position from which they could have swept the hill with machinegun fire and forced the withdrawal of our troops.


Citation: Immediately after the company to which he belonged had reached its objective on Hill 142 [near Chateau-Thierry, France, 6 June 1918], several hostile counterattacks were launched against the line before the new position had been consolidated. G/Sgt. Hoffman was attempting to organize a position on the north slope of the hill when he saw 12 of the enemy, armed with 5 light machineguns, crawling toward his group. Giving the alarm, he rushed the hostile detachment, bayoneted the 2 leaders, and forced the others to flee, abandoning their guns. His quick action, initiative, and courage drove the enemy from a position from which they could have swept the hill with machinegun fire and forced the withdrawal of our troops.


Note: Hoffman was one of five Marines who were awarded both Navy and Army Medals of Honor for the same action. Two of the others were awarded for a battle on 18 July 1918, and the remaining two for 3 October 1918.

AH 6.4 beer

ZUI this article from the MOD Defence News:

A Suffolk-based micro-brewery has celebrated the strength and power of the Apache attack helicopter by brewing a brand new beer which will also help to raise money for a military charity.

Bartrams Brewery has brewed a new ale - called AH 6.4 - a 6.4% strength beer in honour of the Apache attack helicopter, technically known as the AH-64. And the design of the label incorporates the colours, the "Red and Green", of 4 Regiment Army Air Corps and lists the Regiment's battle honours.

The beer, which started out as a one-off present for when a commanding officer was posted, has now become such a success that it will be permanently brewed with 10p from each bottle going towards a military charity.

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Mr Bartram decided to brew an old-fashioned India Pale Ale (IPA). He then did some research of hops and as the Apache is a blend of British and US industry, he chose a traditional British hop called Target and an American hop called Mount Hood and blended the two.

The product was purely going to be for the dining out event but proved hugely popular with the guests.

*******

Lt Col Dalton suggested that if it was to be permanent then a donation should be made to the Wattisham Branch of SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association) Forces Help. Now 10p from every bottle sold will go towards the military charity that provides support to military personnel.

The web page for Bartrams is here, though there's no mention yet of the new brew. And for more about the Apache, see here and here.

X years ago

A meme: What were you doing 2, 5, 10 and 15 years ago?

2 years ago: Same thing I'm doing now - working at the store. Big difference then was that I had a computer with a working modem at home, so I didn't have to visit the library every time I wanted to do something on-line.

5 years ago: Happily unemployed. I'd just transferred to the Fleet Reserve a couple weeks before, so I was enjoying some time off whilst looking for a new job.

10 years ago: USS Providence (SSN 719). I'd returned home from deployment (Gulf and Med) a month and a half earlier, and was doing routine work aboard the boat.

15 years ago: USS Jacksonville (SSN 699). I'd gotten married a month before, and was still waiting for N to finish up affairs in CT and move down to Norfolk.

And just because I can, 20 years ago: USS Olympia (SSN 717). I was on my second WestPac, somewhere in the general vicinity of Japan.

If you read this, consider yourself tagged....

IBEX ready for launch on 19 October

ZUI this NASA press release:

The first NASA spacecraft to image and map the dynamic interactions taking place where the hot solar wind slams into the cold expanse of space is ready for launch Oct. 19. The two-year mission will begin from the Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Called the Interstellar Boundary Explorer or IBEX, the spacecraft will conduct extremely high-altitude orbits above Earth to investigate and capture images of processes taking place at the farthest reaches of the solar system. Known as the interstellar boundary, this region marks where the solar system meets interstellar space.

"The interstellar boundary regions are critical because they shield us from the vast majority of dangerous galactic cosmic rays, which otherwise would penetrate into Earth's orbit and make human spaceflight much more dangerous," said David J. McComas, IBEX principal investigator and senior executive director of the Space Science and Engineering Division at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.

*******

IBEX is poised to thoroughly map [the] interstellar boundary region of the solar system. The images will allow scientists to understand the global interaction between our sun and the galaxy for the very first time.

IBEX will be launched aboard a Pegasus rocket dropped from under the wing of an L-1011 aircraft flying over the Pacific Ocean. The Pegasus will carry the spacecraft approximately 130 miles above Earth and place it in orbit.

RIP: Ted Briggs MBE

Albert Edward Pryke Briggs MBE
1 Mar 1923 - 4 Oct 2008

ZUI this article from the BBC:

The last remaining survivor of the sinking of WWII battle cruiser HMS Hood in May 1941 has died at the age of 85, his naval association has said.

Ted Briggs, from Hampshire, was one of just three survivors out of more than 1,400 crew after an exchange of fire with the German battleship Bismarck.

When asked about the sinking he said: "I was not a hero, I just survived."

*******

When Bismarck was spotted in the Denmark Strait in May 1941, HMS Hood was sent in pursuit.

During the Battle of Denmark Strait it was bombarded with shells, one of which caused a huge explosion that ripped through the ship, sinking it in less than three minutes.

In 2001, the wreck of HMS Hood was found 3,000m below the surface of the sea between Greenland and Iceland.

*******

Mr Briggs is survived by his wife Clare.

Midshipman William Dundas, who died in 1965, and able seaman Bob Tilburn, who died in 1995, were the other survivors of the sinking.

More information on Mr Briggs can be found here. Detailed information about HMS Hood can be found here. Further information about Bismarck, Rheinübung (Rhine Exercise) and the Battle of Denmark Strait can be found here.

HMS Hood

Victoria Cross: R. R. Rattey

REGINALD ROY RATTEY

Corporal, 25th Battalion Australian Military Forces

Born: 28 March 1918, Barmedman, New South Wales, Australia
Died: 10 January 1986, West Wyalong, New South Wales, Australia

Citation: In the South West Pacific, on 22nd March 1945 a company of an Australian Infantry Battalion was ordered to capture a strongly held enemy position astride Buin Road, South Bougainville. The attack was met by extremely heavy fire and all forward movement was stopped with casualties mounting. Corporal Rattey quickly appreciated the serious situation delaying the advance could only be averted by silencing enemy fire from automatic weapons in bunkers, which dominated all the lines of approach. He determined that a bold push by himself alone would surprise the enemy and offered the best chance of success. With amazing courage he rushed forward firing his Bren gun and hurling grenades. This completely neutralised enemy fire. Corporal Rattey, now without grenades, raced back to his section under extremely heavy fire and obtained two grenades with which he again rushed the remaining bunkers, effectively silencing all opposition and enabling his company to continue its advance.
A little later the advance of his company was again held up by a heavy machine gun firing across the front. Without hesitation Corporal Rattey rushed the gun and silenced it. The company again continued its advance and gained its objective, which was consolidated. The serious situation was turned into a brilliant success, entirely by the courage, cool planning and stern determination of Corporal Rattey. His bravery was an incentive to the entire company, who fought with inspiration derived from the gallantry of Corporal Rattey, despite the stubborn opposition to which they were subjected.

Medal of Honor: H. C. Drexler & G. R. Cholister

HENRY CLAY DREXLER

Ensign, US Navy; USS Trenton (CL 11)

Born: 7 August 1901, Braddock, Pennsylvania
Died: 20 October 1924, at sea off Norfolk, Virginia

Citation: For extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession on the occasion of a fire on board the U.S.S. Trenton. At 3:35 on the afternoon of 20 October 1924, while the Trenton was preparing to fire trial installation shots from the two 6-inch guns in the forward twin mount of that vessel, 2 charges of powder ignited. Twenty men were trapped in the twin mount. Four died almost immediately and 10 later from burns and inhalation of flame and gases. The 6 others were severely injured. Ens. Drexler, without thought of his own safety, on seeing that the charge of powder for the left gun was ignited, jumped for the right charge and endeavored to put it in the immersion tank. The left charge burst into flame and ignited the right charge before Ens. Drexler could accomplish his purpose. He met his death while making a supreme effort to save his shipmates.

Note: USS Drexler (DD 741) was named in his honour.


GEORGE ROBERT CHOLISTER

Boatswain's Mate First Class, US Navy; USS Trenton (CL 11)

Born: 18 December 1898, Camden, New Jersey
Died: 21 October 1924, at sea off Norfolk, Virginia

Citation: For extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession on the occasion of a fire on board the U S.S. Trenton. At 3:35 on the afternoon of 20 October 1924, while the Trenton was preparing to fire trial installation shots from the two 6-inch guns in the forward twin mount of that vessel, 2 charges of powder ignited. Twenty men were trapped in the twin mount. Four died almost immediately and 10 later from burns and inhalation of flames and gases. The 6 others were severely injured. Cholister, without thought of his own safety, on seeing that the charge of powder from the left gun was ignited, jumped for the right charge and endeavored to put it in the immersion tank. The left charge burst into flame and ignited the right charge before Cholister could accomplish his purpose. He fell unconscious while making a supreme effort to save his shipmates and died the following day.


Note: Both medals were awarded by Special Act of Congress, 3 February 1933.

MESSENGER returning to Mercury

ZUI this NASA press release about MESSENGER:

A NASA spacecraft will conduct the second of three flybys of Mercury on Oct. 6 to photograph most of its remaining unseen surface and collect science data.

The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging, or MESSENGER, spacecraft will pass 125 miles above the planet's cratered surface, taking more than 1200 pictures. The flyby also will provide a critical gravity assist needed for the probe to become, in March 2011, the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury.

"The results from MESSENGER's first flyby of Mercury resolved debates that are more than 30 years old," said Sean C. Solomon, the mission's principal investigator from the Carnegie Institution of Washington. "This second encounter will uncover even more information about the planet."

During the spacecraft's first flyby on Jan. 14, its cameras returned images of approximately 20 percent of Mercury's surface never before seen by space probes. Images showed that volcanic eruptions produced many of Mercury's plains, its magnetic field appears to be actively generated in a molten iron core, and the planet has contracted more than previously thought.

*******

The second flyby is expected to yield more surprises about the unique physical processes governing Mercury's atmosphere, as well as additional information about the charged particles located in and around Mercury's dynamic magnetic field. An altimeter on the spacecraft will measure the planet's topography, allowing scientists, for the first time, to correlate high-resolution topography measurements with high-resolution images.

A major goal of the orbital phase of the mission is to determine the composition of Mercury's surface. Instruments designed to make those measurements will get another peek at Mercury during this flyby.

*******

The spacecraft is more than halfway through a 4.9-billion-mile journey to enter orbit around Mercury that includes more than 15 trips around the sun. In addition to flying by Mercury, the spacecraft flew past Earth in August 2005 and past Venus in October 2006 and June 2007.

STS-129 (Discovery) crew named

ZUI this press release from NASA:

NASA has assigned the crew for space shuttle Discovery's STS-129 mission. The flight will deliver two experiment racks to the International Space Station.

Marine Col. Charlie Hobaugh will command the mission, which is targeted to launch in October 2009. Navy Capt. Barry Wilmore will serve as the pilot. Mission Specialists are Robert Satcher, Navy Capt. Michael Foreman, Marine Lt. Col. Randy Bresnik and Leland Melvin. Wilmore, Satcher and Bresnik will be making their first trips to space.

The mission will return Canadian Space Agency astronaut and station crew member Robert Thirsk to Earth. This is slated to be the final space shuttle crew rotation flight to or from the space station.

Discovery will deliver parts to the space station, including two spare gyroscopes. The mission will feature four spacewalks.

Dr Thirsk is scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station in May 2009 aboard Soyuz TMA-15.

RIP: "Whitey" Mack

Chester M "Whitey" Mack
20 Jul 1931 - 25 Sep 2008

A submarine legend has died: "Whitey" Mack, former skipper of USS Lapon (SSN 661). From his obituary in the Port Charlotte (FL) Sun:

Chester M. "Whitey" Mack, 77, of Englewood, Fla., passed away Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008.

He was born July 20, 1931, in Glen Lyon, Pa.

He was a highly decorated U.S. Navy captain with 20 years of service. He had a chemical engineering degree from Penn State, and master's degree in international law from Georgetown University. He was a member of the American Legion, Military Officers Association of America of Sarasota, Fla., and the USS Lapon Association; and a life member of U.S. Submarine Veterans.

ZUI this post at The Stupid Shall Be Punished for further information.

The 2008 Cybils

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2008 Cybils. Awards are given for children's or YA books published in English in 2007 (including translated and bilingual books) in the following categories:

Easy Readers
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Picture Books (Fiction)
Middle Grade Fiction
Young Adult Fiction
Graphic Novels
Non-Fiction Picture Books
Non-Fiction Middle Grade/Young Adult Books
Poetry

ZUI this and this for procedures, then click on any of the links above to nominate a book for that category.

Kevin Bacon

I finally got around to figuring out my relationship with Kevin Bacon.

I went to high school with Connie Brazelton*, who spent several years on the cast of ER with Noah Wyle, who was in A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon.

Three.

* Yes, I knew her to talk to - she wasn't just somebody I might have passed in the halls.

RIP: Paul Newman

Paul Newman in The Sting

Paul Leonard Newman
26 Jan 1925 – 26 Sep 2008

Part of the problem with having to use the library's computers is that I often run a few days behind on the news. By now, of course, it's almost old news that Paul Newman died last week.

ZUI this article from the New York Times:

Paul Newman, the Academy-Award winning superstar who personified cool as the anti-hero of such films as ''Hud,'' ''Cool Hand Luke'' and ''The Color of Money'' -- and as an activist, race car driver and popcorn impresario -- has died. He was 83.

Newman died Friday after a long battle with cancer at his farmhouse near Westport, publicist Jeff Sanderson said. He was surrounded by his family and close friends.

*******

A screen legend by his mid-40s, he waited a long time for his first competitive Oscar, winning in 1987 for ''The Color of Money,'' a reprise of the role of pool shark ''Fast'' Eddie Felson, whom Newman portrayed in the 1961 film ''The Hustler.''

Newman delivered a magnetic performance in ''The Hustler,'' playing a smooth-talking, whiskey-chugging pool shark who takes on Minnesota Fats -- played by Jackie Gleason -- and becomes entangled with a gambler played by George C. Scott. In the sequel -- directed by Scorsese -- ''Fast Eddie'' is no longer the high-stakes hustler he once was, but rather an aging liquor salesman who takes a young pool player (Cruise) under his wing before making a comeback.

*******

Newman was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the second of two boys of Arthur S. Newman, a partner in a sporting goods store, and Theresa Fetzer Newman.

He was raised in the affluent suburb of Shaker Heights, where he was encouraged him to pursue his interest in the arts by his mother and his uncle Joseph Newman, a well-known Ohio poet and journalist.

Following World War II service in the Navy, he enrolled at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he got a degree in English and was active in student productions.

He later studied at Yale University's School of Drama, then headed to New York to work in theater and television, his classmates at the famed Actor's Studio including Brando, James Dean and Karl Malden.

*******

Newman is survived by his wife, five children, two grandsons and his older brother Arthur.

Like Richard Boone, Newman was a gunner on torpedo bombers, serving as an Aviation Radioman with Torpedo Squadrons 98, 99 and 100. At the end of the war he was an ARM3/c with a VT-99 contingent aboard USS Hollandia (CVE 97).

Newman's listing at IMDb is here. It seems I've only seen four of his movies: Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting and The Towering Inferno (though I have a vague feeling that I might have seen at least part of The Hustler on telly). The Sting is definitely my favourite of the four.

Newman (right) and Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

RIP: Alexina Calvert

Alexina Calvert
13 Aug 1898 – 19 Sep 2008

ZUI this article from the Carlisle (Cumbria) News & Star:

AN ANNAN woman has died peacefully in hospital after living to the ripe old age of 110.

Alexina Calvert was believed to be Scotland’s oldest woman.

She died at Annan Hospital last Friday just a month after celebrating her milestone birthday. Her funeral service took place at Carlisle Crematorium on Wednesday.

*******

She was born in Aberdeenshire in 1898 and moved to Annan in 1946 when her late husband, Nicholas, was made the town’s postmaster. He died in 1973.

*******

She is survived by her daughter and three grandchildren.

According to the Gerontology Research Group (GRG), Calvert was the 70th-oldest woman and the 79th-oldest person in the world at the time of her death.

She is the first supercentenarian listed by the GRG to die since the death of Walter Seward on 14 September.

The GRG's list of validated living supercentenarians (people who have reached their 110th birthday) currently includes 80 people (9 men and 71 women), ranging from Edna Parker of Indiana (born 20 Apr 1893) to Mary Schumacher of North Dakota (born 29 Aug 1898). According to The Scotsman, 110-year-old Annie Turnbull (born 21 Sep 1898, but not yet listed by the GRG) is now the oldest living person in Scotland.

RIP: Jock Wilson MM

John "Jock" Wilson MM
7 Sep 1903 - 30 Sep 2008

ZUI this article from The Scotsman:

THE oldest survivor of the Normandy landings has died, just three weeks after his 105th birthday.

Jock Wilson, who was awarded the Legion d'Honneur for his role in liberation of France, died at Hollytrees Nursing Home, Dunbar, East Lothian, earlier this week.

The Second World War hero was an observer for the 79th Regiment Royal Artillery and landed on Juno beach on June 6, 1944. He was later awarded the Military Medal for his bravery that day.

*******

On his 105th birthday, on September 7, Mr Wilson was presented with his second letter from the Queen by East Lothian's Lord Lieutenant, Gareth Morrison.

Mr Wilson was 36 when the war broke out in 1939 and originally deemed too old to fight but, by 1941, he was called up due to his earlier service in the Territorial Army. In 2004 he was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, France's highest decoration, for his war effort.

He married Lily Ross in October 1934 at the Plaza ballroom in Morningside. Sadly, Lily died in 1964. After the war, Mr Wilson, a lifelong Hibs fan, returned to stationers McNiven and Cameron, where he worked until his retirement in 1976.

ZUI also this article, published 4 Sep 08, from the East Lothian Courier:

THE oldest surviving British veteran of the Normandy landings, Jock Wilson, is set to receive his SECOND telegram from the Queen on Sunday, when he celebrates his 105th birthday.

East Lothian’s Lord Lieutenant Garth Morrison will visit the evergreen centenarian at Hollytrees, in Belhaven Hospital, to present a signed letter from Her Majesty.

*******

The grandfather-of-three and great-grandfather-of-four almost met his maker prematurely when the armoured personal carrier he was travelling in around Goch, Germany, was bombed during the Second World War.

“It’s all down to luck that I have lived to this age,” said indefatigable Jock.

The Scotsman also has an article about Wilson's 105th birthday here.

Newbery Medal books

In March of last year, I took a look at a list of the 86 winners (now 87) of the John Newbery Medal, which is presented annually to the author of "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." I was somewhat shocked to discover that I had only read seven of the books. So I've been reading my way through the list, and here's the current status. (Dates in red are the ones I had read before I started my current programme; dates in purple are the ones I've read since I started.)

1922: The Story of Mankind, by Hendrik Willem van Loon
1923: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, by Hugh Lofting
1924: The Dark Frigate, by Charles Hawes
1925: Tales from Silver Lands, by Charles Finger
1926: Shen of the Sea, by Arthur Bowie Chrisman
1927: Smoky, the Cowhorse, by Will James
1928: Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon, by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
1929: The Trumpeter of Krakow, by Eric P. Kelly
1930: Hitty, Her First Hundred Years, by Rachel Field
1931: The Cat Who Went to Heaven, by Elizabeth Coatsworth
1932: Waterless Mountain, by Laura Adams Armer
1933: Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze, by Elizabeth Lewis
1934: Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women, by Cornelia Meigs
1935: Dobry, by Monica Shannon
1936: Caddie Woodlawn, by Carol Ryrie Brink
1937: Roller Skates, by Ruth Sawyer
1938: The White Stag, by Kate Seredy
1939: Thimble Summer, by Elizabeth Enright
1940: Daniel Boone, by James Daugherty
1941: Call It Courage, by Armstrong Sperry
1942: The Matchlock Gun, by Walter Edmonds
1943: Adam of the Road, by Elizabeth Janet Gray
1944: Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes
1945: Rabbit Hill, by Robert Lawson
1946: Strawberry Girl, by Lois Lenski
1947: Miss Hickory, by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
1948: The Twenty-One Balloons, by William Pène du Bois
1949: King of the Wind, by Marguerite Henry
1950: The Door in the Wall, by Marguerite de Angeli
1951: Amos Fortune, Free Man, by Elizabeth Yates
1952: Ginger Pye, by Eleanor Estes
1953: Secret of the Andes, by Ann Nolan Clark
1954: ...And Now Miguel, by Joseph Krumgold
1955: The Wheel on the School, by Meindert DeJong
1956: Carry On, Mr Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham
1957: Miracles on Maple Hill, by Virginia Sorensen
1958: Rifles for Watie, by Harold Keith
1959: The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare
1960: Onion John, by Joseph Krumgold
1961: Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell
1962: The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth George Speare
1963: A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle
1964: It's Like This, Cat, by Emily Neville
1965: Shadow of a Bull, by Maia Wojciechowska
1966: I, Juan de Pareja, by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
1967: Up a Road Slowly, by Irene Hunt
1968: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler, by E L Konigsburg
1969: The High King, by Lloyd Alexander
1970: Sounder, by William H Armstrong
1971: The Summer of the Swans, by Betsy Byars
1972: Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C O'Brien
1973: Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George
1974: The Slave Dancer, by Paula Fox
1975: M C Higgins, the Great, by Virginia Hamilton
1976: The Grey King, by Susan Cooper
1977: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D Taylor
1978: Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
1979: The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin
1980: A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-1832, by Joan W Blos
1981: Jacob Have I Loved, by Katherine Paterson
1982: A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers, by Nancy Willard
1983: Dicey's Song, by Cynthia Voigt
1984: Dear Mr Henshaw, by Beverly Cleary
1985: The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley
1986: Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan
1987: The Whipping Boy, by Sid Fleischman
1988: Lincoln: A Photobiography, by Russell Freedman
1989: Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, by Paul Fleischman
1990: Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry
1991: Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli
1992: Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
1993: Missing May, by Cynthia Rylant
1994: The Giver, by Lois Lowry
1995: Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech
1996: The Midwife's Apprentice, by Karen Cushman
1997: The View from Saturday, by E L Konigsburg
1998: Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse
1999: Holes, by Louis Sachar
2000: Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis
2001: A Year Down Yonder, by Richard Peck
2002: A Single Shard, by Linda Sue Park
2003: Crispin: The Cross of Lead, by Avi
2004: The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread, by Kate DiCamillo
2005: Kira-Kira, by Cynthia Kadohata
2006: Criss Cross, by Lynne Rae Perkins
2007: The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron, illustrated by Matt Phelan
2008: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village, by Laura Amy Schlitz

So the count is now 63 down, 24 to go.

Of the 11 I read this quarter, I'd have to say I enjoyed Rifles for Watie, Maniac Magee and Walk Two Moons the most.

Book list - Sep 08

From Hardtack to Home Fries: An Uncommon History of American Cooks and Meals - cookery, by Barbara Haber
Fog Magic - children's time travel, by Julia L Sauer
A Movable Feast: Ten Millennia of Food Globalization - world history, by Kenneth F Kiple
Heavy Weather - humour, by P G Wodehouse
A Wizard Abroad - YA fantasy, by Diane Duane
The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice - European history, by Michael Krondl
The Wizard's Dilemma - YA fantasy, by Diane Duane
I, Juan de Pareja - children's historical novel, by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño (Newbery Medal, 1966)
The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations - world history, by Brian Fagan
A Wizard Alone - YA fantasy, by Diane Duane
A Few Quick Ones - humour (short stories), by P G Wodehouse
Wizard's Holiday - YA fantasy, by Diane Duane
The Blessing Way - mystery, by Tony Hillerman
Wizards at War - YA fantasy, by Diane Duane
The Day the Sea Rolled Back - children's adventure, by Mickey Spillane
Second Form at Malory Towers - children's, by Enid Blyton *
Third Year at Malory Towers - children's, by Enid Blyton *


17 books this month; asterisks mark the two rereads. To reach my goal of 208 books this year I need to average 17.33 per month, so I'm now (181 books and a novella) still over a month ahead of track (156).

The one Newbery Medal winner brings my total thus far up to 63 of 87.