Every March and November, America reenacts one of its strangest magic tricks: we lose an hour, then months later we find it again behind the couch cushions of November, dusty but intact, like the coins that fell out of our pockets back in the 1980s when people still used cash.
Note: this is a sample of my writing that I am saving for posterity.
Note: this is a writing sample of my original text, first published on Florida Media Now on January 24, 2025.
In the world of aerospace engineering, even the smallest miscalculation can lead to catastrophic failure. And in the past few years, a phrase has emerged as a humorous way to describe those unfortunate events: “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” often shortened to RUD. This technical-sounding euphemism, often deployed in the aftermath of rocket explosions, has become a staple in modern spaceflight jargon, and is widely used when a rocket fails. But where did the phrase come from?
Flugtag challenges wacky engineers and fearless pilots to fulfill their dream of flying.
First they construct their flying machine. Then they take a leap of faith. Or, as is more often the case, plunge into the waters below.
Naturally, most all of Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral are high security areas limited to authorized personnel. What you may not know is that much of the property is wilderness, and in fact half of it is a national wildlife refuge. Before you think about going overland to get a better view of a rocket launch, you might want to consider that there are literally hundreds of volunteer security guards on patrol.
Here’s Carl, a 8-10 year veteran of the patrol zone, keeping an eye on me.
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