I just finished the great book Spaceman: An Astronaut’s Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe by Mike Massimino. (It came out earlier this month, hardcopy, kindle, iBooks.) It’s an easy engaging read, the personal story of his cool travels through colleges, companies, and on to two amazing Hubble rescue missions on the Space Shuttle. Best astronaut book …
Tag: love
Still Amazed
I’ve watched Manfred Radius do aerobatics in his Salto sailplane, and it’s beautiful in a way very different from the fast jets or high-roll-rate biplanes. Always an inspiring show. Doesn’t surprise me that Manfred maintains his wonder of flight. Lose the wonder, the excitement, the enjoyment … and your performance will soon also start to sadly decline. (Original photo credit …
Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Flying Machines
We live in an amazing age, we can fly airplanes. Quote is Starfleet Captain Picard talking to Commander Riker, in the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation, episode ‘Booby Trap’. Set in the year 2366.
Gene Cernan on Passion
This quote is from the wonderful new documentary The Last Man on the Moon, that’s in cinemas and iTunes/Amazon right now. Cernan’s love of flying powered his amazing career as a Navy fighter pilot, aeronautical engineer, and astronaut. He flew in space three times, including the last Apollo mission where he walked (and drove) on the Moon. The picture was …
What I Love So Much About Flying …
Quote is from a nice little video of Sean talking about facing his fear of flying, and inspiring new flyers.
Heaven on Earth
Heaven on Earth might not be on the ground, so I’ll see you in the sky!
Do What You Love
How much longer am I going to do this? I don’t know. I love it, you see. Anthony Bourdain, Chef.Writing about 27 years of cooking professionally, in his book Kitchen Confidential. He wrote that in 2000. If you want to be good, you have to love the doing.
It is Never Finished
“It is never finished. I don’t have a sense of triumph or resting on laurels. I am quite a restless person. I just want to fly. I wish I was leaving tomorrow and flying on.” Tracey Curtis-Taylor. After flying an open-cockpit biplane England to Australia. Sounds like she knows of the perpetual pursuit … Her website is www.birdinabiplane.com, some great press …
What Would You Like to Do If Money were No Object
Alan Watts would have turned 101 yrs-old today. This is an excellent comic page from Zen Pencils illustrating one of his quotes, the full “What would you like to do if money were no object.” For me the answer is easy. Fly airplanes.
Don’t Ask What the World Needs
Roll, baby, roll!