MD Renaissance Festival

Today was pleasantly cool, so I really enjoyed my day of food, drink and music at the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

Cold War 'Big Bird' Comes Out Of Hiding

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) declassified two cold war era reconnaissance satellites this week. One of these, the KH-9 Hexagon (sometimes nick-named for the Sesame Street character 'Big Bird'), was put on display today at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar Hazy Center in Dulles, VA for one day only. I drove over for this rare opportunity and took pictures, a few of which are posted below.

These satellites were highly classified during the cold war and played a hidden but decisive role in providing information that helped preserve the free world and that was possibly critical in averting a nuclear war during those perilous times.

In Remembrance of September 11, 2001, 10 Years Later

U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Michael W. Pendergrass

Ten years ago tomorrow morning, I overheard a coworker down the hall from my office telling someone else about planes hitting the World Trade Center. I checked in on the Internet and on news radio for reports on what would develop into the the modern era's day of infamy. We know of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but there was also the attack that did not occur because of the heroic actions of the passengers on United Flight 93.

Ten years of daily living, along with increasing domestic rancor, may have dimmed the feelings of shock, horror, and outrage and the response of prayer, compassion, and resolve that united the people of America and most of the world. However, terrorist activity around the world should serve to remind us that the threat is still real.

This tenth anniversary has stirred abundant remembrance and reflection and many stirring pictorial and video items have appeared on the web and on Facebook. I still find this audio/visual Internet presentation developed by a New Yorker shortly after the attacks as one of the most powerful portrayals of those times. The sequence is ~15 minutes long and some of the images and sounds are quite disturbing, others are inspirational. Use the browser View/Zoom function and adjust the scroll bar to enlarge the slide show.

It is important that we remember, not only to honor those who died and those who acted heroically that day, but to remain constantly aware of the ongoing dangers, of the presence of real evil in the hearts of some men, and to maintain constant vigilance and a determination to defeat this evil. Finally, we must always remember to trust in God and his mercy during trying times. The story of the cross formed by two beams found among the ruins of the twin towers is recounted here.

GRAIL Off to the Moon

Photo credit: NASA/Kenny Allen

NASA's GRAIL mission, using a pair of robotic spacecraft to investigate properties of the Moon, was launched this morning from Florida.