The Soak at Doak!

How about those Gators!



They defeated the Florida State Seminoles 45-15 on a field that looked more like a swamp that the Gators home field...nicknamed "The Swamp"!



Here's my favorite quote from FSU coach, Bobby Bowden...

"It was a good tail-whipping, I didn't think they would beat us like that here. The last time we had a beating like that was last year against them."



This victory makes it 5 in a row over "that school out west".



Now that Gators play the number 1 team in the country, the Alabama Crimson Tide next Saturday for the SEC Championship and a trip to Miami to play in the National Championship game...

Ares Quarterly Report # 10

Here is the latest installment of the Ares Quarterly report that we shoot and edit at the Marshall Space Flight Center. This is our 10th one...so that means we have been documenting Ares design and construction for over 2 1/2 years!

Hope you like it!


Ares Quarterly Progress Report 10 from AresTV on Vimeo.

Putting up the Christmas tree

Click on the pics to see the bigger version...

This year my boys and I put up our brand new tree a bit early. I have an artificial tree because...well because I have never had a real one before.



Because I am separated from my wife, we had to go out and practically buy everything from the tree and ornaments to stockings.





We went to a local store and I let the boys pick out the ornaments they wanted. Well, not every ornament...because if I had, there would be no money left for presents!









We made it with only 1 ornament breaking, so that's pretty good!

Why even do it?

Sometimes I wonder why I do this blog...

Is it historical...a record of my job and thoughts for my boys to read in the future?

Is it personal? A way for my family to keep up with me without daily contact?

Is it egotistical? "Hey everyone, look how cool my job is!"

I think it's mainly the first two, with a teeny-tiny touch of the third...

I have a tracking thingamajiggy that shows me the city, state and sometimes country of a person who surfs by and it is interesting to see where people come from.

Just the other day I had my first visit from someone at a University in Iran...which I thought was pretty cool and it's always exciting to have the Googlebot stop by...But still no one from Africa!

What I have discovered is that people all over the world seem to be drawn to a common topic...

Mythbusters!

I get so many folks who stumble across my blog by finding my Mythbusters blog posts back in January and February. Same thing on my Flickr...my top 10 viewed pics are all Mythbusters pics. What's the deal? People can't get enough Mythbusters!

Anyway...I thought I would try something new. Here are a few pics from a neat shoot back in 2000. We went down to the Talladega Superspeedway to shoot video for an episode of a show called NASA Connect. It was a kids show that always had a celebrity open the show and for this show we had Jeff Gordon.

In this photo, Jeff Gordon and our producer, Mick Speer, are discussing the lines Jeff will be reading to the camera, which I was operating.



We shot Jeff's lines for about 15 minutes and when we were done, I turned around and there was about 100 people surrounding us waiting for us to finish so they could get his autograph. He was nice enough to sign our press passes first and then we cleared out so the crush of people could move in.

After about an hour, Jeff was suited up and checking out his car...we needed some video of him racing, so I was permitted to go out and get some closeups before he went out on the track.



As you can see, the stands are empty because this was on the Thursday before the actual race...

As always, click on the little pics to see the big pics!

The Boys First Gator Football Game

CLICK ON THE PICS TO SEE THE LARGER VERSIONS...

Last night I took my boys to their very first Gator game! Since graduating from U.F. in 1992, I have been to only 4 other games...so this was an extra special game for me too. The boys were sick, with Kevin being sicker than Eric...but both boys absolutely did not want to miss this game! It didn't help that I had been hyping this game for months.

We arrived extra early so we could be there when the Gator football team arrived at the stadium...when we got there we came across the coolest 18-wheeler ever!



After a while the Gator band arrived with Albert and Alberta...We were lucky enough to get a picture with Albert!



Here we see the Gator band playing music and Albert and Alberta dancing...while waiting for the team to arrive...



Finally 5 o'clock arrived and the Gator football team arrived! Leading the team was the head coach, Urban Meyer!



The whole team passed right by me and the boys...literally inches away! We gave high-fives to most of the players!



After the team passed us by, we entered the stadium...only 2 hours until kickoff!



Here you see the boys watching the Gator team during their pre-warm-ups...



The 2008 Florida Gators during their pre-warmups...



Finally! Kick off! By this time we had eaten 2 cotton candies, 2 hot chocolates and a funnel cake!



One of many plays by the mighty Gators!



It was very cold, but the boys were troopers...



Although we left at halftime, we all had a great time! The Gators were up 35-0 and only scored one more touchtime after halftime...so we didn't miss much.



All in all, it was a great evening...the boys had a great time. I would call that a great success! Next time, we'll see if we can make through the third quarter!

James Bilbrey, Total Tourist!

I have been in L.A since Monday attending the DV Expo, talking to venders and listening to speakers...



Today was the last day of the conference and after 3 days of intense classes, I was ready to get out and see the typical LA sights...

So we headed out to see if we could get some good pics of the famous Hollywood sign...I think we did a pretty good job!



After that adventure, we headed down to Hollywood Blvd to see what what was happening...there were lots of people waiting in line to see the Jimmy Kimmel show...



And there was some sort of awards show going on at Grauman's Chinese Theater...we couldn't get close enough to see what was really going on.



Here is the Roosevelt Hotel...a famous hotel said to be haunted by the ghost of Marilyn Monroe. It was also the site of the first Academy Awards in 1929...



Tomorrow I fly home and I can't wait! It's been a week since I've seen my boys and that is too long!

Another So Cal Sunset...

I had an hour of daylight left after work tonight and decided to head to the ocean. Every time I come out here I feel like I need to see the ocean...

I don't really know the best beaches, so I headed out to my old standby...Santa Monica Beach. It's fairly easy to get to and the Santa Monica Pier is such an icon.

Here are some pics of the awesome sunset and the pier...click on the small pic to see the larger version.

Blog Post #100! Back in LA and leftover pics...

Remember the song "I Love LA"? Well, for some reason I do too...I don't know what it is about Southern California, but every time I come out here I just feel so good. Yes, LA is a big city with big city problems, yes the traffic sucks but there is such an awesome "vibe" out here.

There is a million and one things to do here and the weather is almost always perfect. I could see myself moving out here some day...but I'd have to make a crapload of bucks to enjoy it!

I am here at attend the DV Expo West TV conference. Last August, my boss put our names in a hat and pulled my name!

A few thoughts from the airport...who wears flip flops on a plane? And leave your pillow at home! If you don't know how to buckle and unbuckle your airline seat belt by now, you might was to rethink the whole flying thing...

Here are a few random pics I took with my camera phone over the last few weeks...

This is an interview we shot at CSA in San Francisco...


Here you see me shooting video at the Marshall Space Flight Center. We were there to document testing of a subscale version of the Ares I Upper Stage...I have a hardhat on because they were using an overhead crane...


NASA Administrator, Mike Griffin came to Marshall a few weeks ago and this is a picture of the stage and lighting we set up.


This is just a weird bike I saw while we were in Duluth, Minnesota...not sure why it's so tall. Maybe to get above the snow in the winter?

How About Them Gators!

It's Great To Be A Florida Gator!



Wow, what a game...anytime you beat someone by 39 points, it's a special thing. But beating the 8th ranked team who just happens to be the Georgia Bulldogs makes it even sweeter!



The Gators were dominating and have been since losing to Ole Miss a month ago...they are on FIRE!



Just in time too, because next week me and the boys are driving up to Nashville to watch the Gators play Vandy! It'll be my first Gator game since they played the Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2006 Outback bowl...



You can be sure there will be pics!

Stay tuned, because I head out to Los Angeles on Monday to attend the DV Expo West. I am sure I will find something interesting to blog about...