June 10

And, the exam is over.  The waiting begins.  I need a 70% to pass.  Could be close, but who knows?  After 200 multiple choice questions, one's brain turns to mush.  I find out the results mid-July.

Unfortunately, the to-do list of things I have put off until after the exam is too long.  :(

Surprise

Only a month and a half late, but I managed to surprise my husband for his 50th birthday party.  Thanks to all for attending, and to Tine for creating the perfect invitation.  If you need a custom invitation, let me know and I will connect you.

A camping cake

A couple of dudes in their old man hats

Camping Decorations -- and no complaints from the condo board!

Book #20 -- The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty by Dan Ariely

Dan Ariely is the professor of the Irrational Behaviour online course that I have been taking for the past 6 weeks.  This is the third book that I have read.  I have to admit that I liked the other two better (to be honest) but he has more insights into human behaviour that are relevant to everyone.  Well worth the read.

Book #19 -- Home From the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean

I was laughing out loud while reading this on the cruise ship.  Other passengers asked me what I was reading.  I tried to explain Vinyl Cafe to them, but they didn't get it.  Must be a Canadian thing.

Cruise -- Houston, we have a problem.

We arrived back at port at 7 a.m. which gave us a lot of time to kill before our flight left at 6 p.m.  I took advantage of this time to visit the Johnson Space Centre where all the astronauts train for their missions to space.  They also do a lot of research at this facility for current and future missions.  

This first photo is scale model of a portion of the International Space station as it is currently configured in space.  Astronauts use the model to be able to orient themselves to the floor plan, and become familiar with the location of all the modules they will be using in space.  Engineers also use the model to troubleshoot problems that arise at the actual space station, and the solutions they come up with are relayed back to the space station for implementation.

This robonaut is being developed to replace humans during spacewalks.  The torso is already on the station.  The rest of the body will be sent up as the testing is completed.  

This is a model of the Canadarm.  This model is very different from the one in space . . . the one in space would collapse if lifting space station and satellite components on earth because it was not designed to withstand the force of gravity.  However, this model is used to train astronauts in the use of the Canadarm while in space.  I'm sure Chris Hadfiled spent a lot of time playing with this while he was stationed here.

Cruise -- Sea Stuff

Seaweed in patches as we sailed by .  . . .

Oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, seen on our return to Houston.  This is the first one I saw, and I was so happy that I was able to take a picture of one . . . and then we passed about one hundred more.

Cruise -- Boat Stuff

It was really tough to choose three photos in this category.  Being my first cruise, there was a lot to see.  I'm really into the logistics of how things work . .  which is probably why I'm a vice principal . . . I like organizing big ideas to make them operationally efficient, but I don't like coming up with the ideas myself.  I've spent the last five years running the Lock Down and Fire Drills in schools.  Before we set sail, lifeboat drills were mandatory.  They took attendance.  If you didn't participate, they held a special session for you later in the day.

This first photo was taken during a Man Overboard drill that they ran while in port at Honduras.  They used one of the lifeboats to go after the "missing" person.  The lowering of the lifeboat to deck level, the loading of the boat, and then lowering to the water was interesting to see.  They then moored the boat to an opening on deck three that we used for tendering at Belize.  They must have run training sessions for the lifeboat pilots during the day, because they were boating around the harbour all day.

I was wondering where the gas station was . . . . the gas station comes to the ship.

I don't know what these lights are for, but they are located on the deck on top of the bridge.  This was the best place to take pictures of the sunsets, but I didn't discover it until the last day of the cruise.