Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Greeting the Shuttle Discovery

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So, if you live in the DC metro area (and don’t live under a rock) you are surely aware that NASA delivered Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103) to Dulles International Airport this morning after a prolonged, low-altitude fly-by of much of the region. Discovery will replace Enterprise, the shuttle atmospheric test vehicle, at the Smithsonian Institution’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (Air & Space Museum Annex) in Chantilly, Virginia.

Flying atop one of NASA’s Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (a modified Boeing 747) and flanked by a NASA T-38 trainer (erroneously referred to by the local media as a ‘fighter escort’), the craft made two fly-bys at Dulles before coming in for a landing. This is quite possibly the last time Discovery will ever fly.

Melissa and I had to drop off the Civic, which was recently damaged in a minor accident, at Chantilly Auto Body this morning. I had originally planned to find a closer spot to view the fly-bys, but horrific traffic made us late and favorable weather (presumably) made Discovery early . . . so I snapped a few shots from the auto-body shop instead.

I just barely caught the first fly-by, since I wasn’t completely prepared, then took some random shots of my surroundings while I waited for them to finish buzzing the rest of the metro region. I got some good, clear shots of the second fly-by. For the third and final fly-by, the actual landing approach, I put the camera down and just watched it. Very cool stuff. Photos below. . . .

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Mini Reviews: CR-V, Impreza, Rogue, and Countryman

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Over the last week, Melissa and I have started the process of choosing a replacement for our venerable 2006 Honda Civic. The Civic is ostensibly ‘Melissa’s’ car, even though I do something like ninety percent of the family driving no matter which car we’re using, so Melissa is the primary driving force in choosing what the replacement will be (though I have a veto authority). From a long list of sedans, wagons, and crossovers, she narrowed it down to four possible vehicles and we’ve test-driven each of them over the last week.

In typical Melissa form, the list isn’t particularly logical. It includes two true crossovers, a compact wagon, and a . . . Mini Countryman, which really doesn’t fit in either category. The four vehicles were the Honda CR-V crossover, the Subaru Impreza 5-door wagon, the Nissan Rogue crossover, and the aforementioned Countryman. Here’s a brief review of how they stacked up.

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Getting Back on the Wagon

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Wow, it’s been far too long since I’ve posted anything here. I try to keep a good, steady stream of posts going, but over the last month or two I’ve completely fallen off the wagon. Time to start getting back into the swing of regular blogging.

I do have some valid excuses though.

First and foremost, I am the coordinator of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program at St. Veronica Catholic Church, which is the process by which adults come into full communion with the Catholic Church and/or receive any missing Sacraments. This is the same process I went through back in 2009. This year, we had six un-Baptized persons, four Baptized non-Catholics, and three Baptized Catholics who completed the process and received the Sacraments at the Easter Vigil Mass last Saturday evening. The six un-Baptized received their Baptisms, the four non-Catholics were welcomed into full communion with the Church, and then all thirteen together received their Confirmations and First Holy Eucharist.

This has been the biggest draw on my attention for some time now—getting all the last-minute record-keeping and other concerns addressed in time for the Vigil Mass and making sure everything came together well (with lots of much-appreciated help from our Priests, parish office staff, Melissa, and other volunteers). This was my first year coordinating the program, so I’ve been making more than my fair share of mistakes and errors, which means I’ve have had a pretty high level of stress going on—especially the last couple of weeks before the vigil. After all, I was responsible for shepherding thirteen people through some of the most important spiritual moments in their lives! Don’t want to mess that up, for sure!

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Obama Now the Presumptive Democratic Nominee

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President Barack Obama (D) has won a majority of available delegates for the Democratic presidential nomination and is now the presumptive Democratic nominee. There is no serious national opposition to the president for the Democratic Party nomination, however he has been standing for election in state primaries against some limited opposition including Randall Terry and John Wolfe Jr.

With wins in today’s District of Columbia and Maryland Democratic primaries, Obama is now all-but certain to receive his party’s nomination—an outcome that was essentially assured all along. He will be formally nominated at the Democratic National Convention in September.

Meanwhile, the Republican primary battle continues. Former-Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) holds a wide lead over his opposition, but is still only about half-way to gaining a majority of available Republican delegates. The Republican National Convention will be held in late-August.

April Fools Site: Going Colonial

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On April Fools Day 2012, Off on a Tangent appeared as if it were a colonial-era American news source somehow moved onto the Internet.

Under the name The honorable Scott Bradford, Esq. reports upon the Present State of American Affairs, I posted a couple of articles written as-if it was currently April 1, 1776, and a well-connected American revolutionary pamphleteer was commenting upon current affairs.

I did my best to make sure the articles were historically accurate and referred to events occurring around that time.

Click to see how it looked!

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.