Florida

[Drunk Monk]

That being said...the moon.

So Sunday, we went to Kennedy Space Center. As luck would have it, we drew this psycho bus driver from PR who ranted at us about great NASA was (which, of course, we already believed because we had invested in the tour) and how stupid tourists are. He had one hand on his bus mike for the whole hour trip there, turned up to full volume. Stacy had to ask him to turn it down, which he did by one notch. The only useful bit of knowledge he offered was learning that the Mormons own the 3rd largest plot of farmland in America, which explains why we got the cheap flight from SLC to MCO - we were told that it was cheap because Mormons luv Disneyworld.

Woah, that reminds me. I have to step back a day. The Holy Land theme park (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.holylandexperience.com">http://www.holylandexperience.com</a><!-- m -->) was also in striking distance of our hotel. I made a bid to go but Stacy shot that down like a clay pigeon. Nevertheless, while we were at EPCOT, there was a skywriter that wrote "LOVE GOD GOD + U - JESUS SAVES". Did you know that FL has an official pro-life license plate?

Anyway, back to KSC. It was very quiet there, no lines, minimal crowds, even the tour people commented how unusually mellow it was. We really needed that. And seeing the launch pads, reliving the Apollo program, the Challenger & Columbia disasters, being next to the lost astronaut memorial, seeing so much on the International Space Staion, well, it actually made me proud to be an American. The IMAX 3D films on Hubble and the Shuttle program had some of the best 3D ever. We actually netflixed the Hubble flick on DVD, but it just can't compare to the IMAX 3D experience. Some complain about the billions spent on the space program (never mind that it resulted in satellite communication, medical advances and all sorts of amazing progress) but I say as long as the Hubble provides me w/a great 3D IMAX view of space, it was all worth it. Y'all know how much I love good 3D. The only downside was cranefly, who's perverse spacesuit fetish tainted my enjoyment of the spacesuit display. There was also this really lame Star Trek experience which played off the new Abrams movie - we walked out of that. It was too stupid. Nevertheless, overall, KSC was hecka cool. Stacy even bought some NASA PJs as a souvenir.

Final installment - return to Hogwarts & Hogsmeade.

[thatguy]

My grandparents on my dad's side retired to Deland, FL. We visited a few times when I was growing up. This was pre-Epcot. I'd never been to Disneyland (until we took my kids there about 10 years ago), but I'd been to DisneyWorld twice. I was a space nerd since the moon landing, so while we were there, we we took a Greyhound down to KSC for the tour. I must have been 11 or 12 so this was pre-Shuttle program, pre-disasters. We got to tour the VAB and we did the Apollo mission launch re-creation where they shut the blast doors on the room we were in. It was all pretty impressive, and I got that same proud-to-be-an-american feeling.

We got (mediocre) food that the cafe there. I got a burger that I couldn't finish. I recall that there was swamp right up next to the eating area with a 6-foot cyclone fence around it (I think to keep toddlers from getting eaten.) There was a big alligator half out of the water with face up against the fence and a crowd of tourists gathered snapping pix and pointing. I dropped my half-eaten burger over the fence and it landed on his snout and he quickly gobbled it up. It was pretty cool.

It must have been a different trip, as there's no way we could have got close to KSC, but we watched one of the Voyager launches (Voyager 1 in '77 I think). We were about 2 miles away (as that's as close as the public could get). We have a Super 8 movie of the launch. It looks like terrible UFO/dust on the lens footage. The flame from the rocket is a tiny, grainy spec. Still, it was pretty cool to be there.

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

I hadn't thought that until being at KSC, but it would be amazing to witness firsthand. On the tour, they showed us where the media and public attends launches. Looks like quite a party. And I did see two gators on the way there too. One was really big. There was a mini-golf place next to the iHop next to our hotel that had live gators - what a great obstacle!

Actually, given the most of FL is only a few feet above sea level, I can foresee it looking like Thailand soon. So much for all that Mormon land.

Anyway, Monday we returned to Hogwarts. It was much less crowded. The employees seemed tired and relieved. We rode all the rides, saw all the shows and shops, and got souvenirs. Universal has it's own line of Harry products only available there. Tara got a Ravenclaw scraf, sans house patch, and a Thestral shirt. I got a Chinese Fireball hat, which I love as much as my new Guinness hat. We drank a lot of butterbeer, which is a cream soda on steroids with whipped cream on top - quite tasty actually, especially if you get a frozen one, which is like an Icee. It was really fun to drink with Tara at the Hogshead porch, which offers a great view of Hogwarts, her with her butterbeer, me with my Guinness. We got a free pumpkin juice, which was like pumpkin pie soda (stick with the butterbeer). We ate at the Three Broomsticks, which makes a decent bbq corn on the cob, baked potato and mac & cheese (the rest is pseudo English food veg-unfriendly).

We only left Harry's area once to do the water rides in Toon Lagoon. There are two, themed on Popeye and Dudley Do-right, neither of which Tara was very familiar. In fact, even thos she reads manga and comics daily, most of the cartoons in Toon Lagoon her outside her experience - Pogo, Beetle Bailey, Betty Boop. Anyway, the rides were ridiculously wet - which is surely nice in the summer. There were sections that took you straight under waterfalls and where bystanders could shoot you with water cannons. After those two rides, I was as wet as if i'd jumped in a pool. There were these $5 full-body blow-dryers, but being generally cheap, I just let the sun do the work.

I'm still humming that Harry Potter theme. The park is small, but the best of its kind. Star Tours is just one ride at Disney. The Star Trek Experience in Vegas is very good, but again, just one ride (and a pretty cool casino). Like I said earlier, Universal could modify Sindbad and Lost Continent to expand it. The escape from Gringott's is a perfect ride. The Lost Continent show was silly, but could be very easily converted to the Chamber of Secrets with just a few cosmetic changes. Harry is huge in Orlando, outshining the mouse, orcas and Jesus as far as theme park mascots.

That night, we found an amazing traditional Ethiopian restaurant. I spotted it, which was my one victory over Stacy's all-knowing iPhone. At last, some good food, nutritious, delicious and at a reasonable price.

Tara took a lot of photos. She got a new camera for her birthday. I may post some here later.

[Drunk Monk]

if you haven't seen it already....



Don't let my shirt fool you. I'm really more Slytherin.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

That's a good pic of you. Devoid of context when I first saw it, I was wondering when you snuck off to Europe, and was that Edinburgh Castle? Now I know that it is prolly Howarts. Doh!

[Drunk Monk]

I should mention that we got stuck twice on the Hogwarts ride. The first time, the seat belt wouldn't release on my chair. Tara was good about sticking with me, and the two of us actually went past the exit zone before I was freed. A few more seconds and we would have ridden the ride again. We were escorted to an exit hall, which was amusing, yet nondescript. The second time the ride stopped just before we were going to get whomped by the whomping willow. We were tilted back, on our backs, with our feet in the air. It was kind of relaxing after being on our feet all day, but absurd to have to look at the whomping branch ominously hovering above us. At least it wasn't getting stuck in front of the dementors. That would have sucked. The ride froze for a few minutes before recommencing.

The last day we spent at Miskatonic University. It was really off the beaten tourist path, which like KSC, was quite a relief. In fact, all the tourists there looked strangely suspicious and kept to themselves. The rides were undescribable, unspeakable and unnameable. I got a tentacle hat as a souvenir.

I'll try post some exclusive DOOM pix here soon.

[thatguy]

The last day we spent at Miskatonic University. It was really off the beaten tourist path, which like KSC, was quite a relief. In fact, all the tourists there looked strangely suspicious and kept to themselves. The rides were undescribable, unspeakable and unnameable. I got a tentacle hat as a souvenir.

I'll try post some exclusive DOOM pix here soon.

The horror!

--tg

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

It's...not...a..HAT!!!

[Drunk Monk]

I had T take this pic, just for tg.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Are you contractually obligated to rock the 20th anniversary KFM T-shirt?

[Drunk Monk]

Here, I'm only wearing a spacesuit from the waist down. Hear that, cranefly? A spacesuit from the waist down only!

[thatguy]

Speaking of V'Ger:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://news.yahoo.com/milky-way-radiation-reveals-itself-distant-nasa-probes-190602808.html">http://news.yahoo.com/milky-way-radiati ... 02808.html</a><!-- m -->

Decades after NASA's Voyager spacecraft began hurtling toward interstellar space, the twin probes are still shedding light on the universe, now by offering an unprecedented view of our own galaxy.

As they roam ever outward to the edge of the solar system, the two Voyager spacecraft are providing the first glimpse of Milky Way radiation that scientists have already seen coming from other galaxies. The data could lead to a better understanding of star formation, including the mystery surrounding the earliest stars in the universe, researchers said.

NASA launched the two Voyager spacecraft in 1977 to explore our solar system's giant planets and to study the electrically charged solar wind streaming from the sun. The probes far exceeded the expectations of mission planners, and to this day, they continue to beam back data.

The Voyagers are now providing us with the first glimpse of a critical type of ultraviolet radiation from our galaxy known as the Lyman-alpha line. This is the brightest band of light shed by hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe.

Studying the Lyman-alpha line can offer many insights into cosmic phenomena, such as star formation, the electrically charged environments in which the atmospheres of young planets evolve, and the shocked gas in interstellar space. [Photos from NASA's Voyager 1 and 2 Probes]

Astronomers have seen Lyman-alpha rays from other galaxies, helping them peer into the universe's early history. However, we have never seen ones from our own galaxy, because our sun essentially blinds our view.

Specifically, ultraviolet rays from our sun get scattered around by hydrogen entering our solar system from interstellar space. This leads to a haze that blinds us to Lyman-alpha rays from elsewhere in our galaxy. We can detect other galaxies' Lyman-alpha rays because they have shifted into longer optical and infrared wavelengths — ones that no longer get scattered by this hydrogen — as their galaxies rush away from us. This is similar to how ambulance sirens grow lower in pitch as the vehicle drives farther away.

Now Voyager 1 and 2 are far enough away from this ultraviolet haze for them to get a clear view of the Milky Way's Lyman-alpha rays.

"It is like beginning to see small candles within a brightly lit room," study lead author Rosine Lallement, a space scientist and astronomer at the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France, told SPACE.com.

The spacecraft have confirmed that most of these newfound rays appear to come from star-forming regions, as astronomers expected. Future study of the Milky Way's Lyman-alpha rays could help us better understand those from other galaxies, researchers added.

"This radiation traces where young hot stars are being born — therefore, knowing the amount of emitted Lyman-alpha radiation from a galaxy corresponds to the rate at which stars are being born," Lallement said. "A major goal is to detect the first apparition of stars in the young universe, so detecting Lyman-alpha from the most-distant ones and correctly interpreting the signal is one of the major challenges."

Ironically, just as the Voyager probes are getting their best views of these Milky Way rays, their ability to see them is failing. Due to lack of power, the ultraviolet spectrometer on Voyager 2 has been switched off, and that same instrument on Voyager 1 could get turned off soon as well.

Still, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, which is currently on its way to Pluto, might soon be able to monitor these rays as well.

Lallement and her colleagues detailed their findings online in the Dec. 1 issue of the journal Science.

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

I knew it. Just watch. They'll convert that Atlantis ride to the Chamber of Secrets, just as prophesied.

Universal announces Wizarding World to open in Los Angeles, plans to expand park in Orlando

Universal has officially announced that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter will open a second location, this one at Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles, California.

It has also announced plans to officially expand the Wizarding World in Orlando.

From the release:

Warner Bros. Entertainment and Universal Parks and Resorts today announced a partnership to bring The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – the enormously popular themed entertainment environment which debuted in Orlando in June 2010 – to Universal Studios Hollywood.

The two companies also announced their plans to significantly expand The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood will be as impressive as what has been created in Orlando – and is expected to transform tourism in Los Angeles for decades to come. It will be a fully immersive environment for the entire family that brings the stories of Harry Potter to life and is faithful to the visual landscape of the films, including a majestic Hogwarts castle to serve as the centerpiece of the themed environment. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood will be created with the same commitment to authenticity and the same level of talent and resources as its Orlando counterpart.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort opened in June 2010 and immediately captured global attention. It is a spectacularly themed land that includes Hogwarts castle, Hogsmeade and multiple themed attractions. Specific details of its expansion will be announced over time.

"The announcement of our partnership with Universal to bring The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to Hollywood and expand what already exists in Orlando is probably the best holiday gift we could give to the legions of Harry Potter fans worldwide," said Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. "Everyone involved with these projects is committed to continuing the enchantment of J.K. Rowling’s masterful books as they were brought to life on screen in our eight films and dedicated to extending the magic of the experience for generations of fans to come."

"This is an incredible moment for Universal Studios and the millions of guests who visit our theme parks," said Ron Meyer, President & COO, Universal Studios. "The Harry Potter stories are some of the most powerful of our time and we are honored to expand our Orlando experience and bring The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to Hollywood, forever changing family tourism in Los Angeles."

"The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is an entirely new level of themed entertainment that brings the stories of Harry Potter to life in incredible ways,” said Tom Williams, Chairman and CEO, Universal Parks and Resorts. “We are thrilled to be able to share this experience with our guests in Hollywood. And we are thrilled to take what has been created in Orlando to even greater levels."

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.mugglenet.com/app/news/show/5096">http://www.mugglenet.com/app/news/show/5096</a><!-- m -->

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

And just think, you will probably be able to see Warner Brothers studios, the company the made the movies, from the Harry Potter world at Universal studios.

[Drunk Monk]

Funny enough to be rewarded with another photo of me on vacation. Ahhh, vacation. Seems so far away now. Here I am, trying to figure out the train schedule....