BillieMac In reply to wesker007 [2016-02-20 00:24:23 +0000 UTC]

Hey there, American Whovian friend!
I've been away too long. My watch list is piling up, and my own fanfic has been left hanging on a pedestrian note. Finally figured out that in my handwritten drafts, I'm so enamoured of Roger Delgado's Master, that I haven't given Voldemort enough menace. I need to write a scene in an upcoming chapter that puts both Time Lords under threat. I also have three puff piece segments in a row at Hogwarts, and need to cut them down. I think moving the full moon to the next night also gets rid of a bit of filler.

Beating of pepperpots is always good. (Ace! Ace! ACE!!) Hmm, "mutation of pepperpot that hasn't been seen for awhile"? Intriguing teaser. I went up the Space Needle in the late 70s, despite my acrophobia, and it was great. I'd go back, if I can remember to get a passport. (Haven't been out of Canada since 1980, so I've never needed one.)

Oooh, that last question. Well, physically I'm good, and the job's going well, but the reason I've been off dA is a depression that started out as SAD. When it didn't go away in the summer, I realized that the real cause was my housing situation. 20 x 24' is just too small to suit my needs, and while I can afford a higher rent, there's just no other rental housing available here.

Well, time to check my watchlist. Catch you later; next week or sooner.

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BillieMac In reply to uncle-bilbo [2014-11-11 19:45:42 +0000 UTC]

Thanks.  There are a lot of other celebrity endorsements, including one from Nichelle Nicholes

I checked out the 7 minute one; the pitch with the guy from NASA. It's basically an updated version of the Apollo spacecraft, so I guess they've decided this is the most efficient type for exploration. The space shuttle seems to have been best for orbital repairs and maintenance. (Now, if they'd just get something to pick up all that clutter. Half those satellites don't even work anymore.)

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uncle-bilbo In reply to BillieMac [2014-11-12 21:43:58 +0000 UTC]

My theory is that Colin Baker is turning into Father Christmas. Or Richard Attenburough, more or less the same thing. Which does make me wonder what happened to Father Christmas. In the BBC production of Narnia in the late 80's, he was still Father Christmas in green. In the preview of the Doctor Who Christmas Special, he’s now Santa Claus is red. Is this part of Britain becoming more like North American because of the import of movies and TV, or just the show aiming toward an international audience? I remember when I was really young, ‘autos’ had ‘boots’ and ‘bonnets’ in movies that were already getting a little old. These days, British cars have hoods and trunks.

The Orion is the ‘return from Mars’ spacecraft. It has to have the radiation shielding to protect a crew for two years and then hit the atmosphere at least half again faster than an orbital reentry and has to have a heat shield that can take about twice as much heat. I have NasaTV on Directv and sometimes watch it while working. There were a couple of extended segments with Nichelle Nichols in a tour a couple of years ago, and Leonard Nimoy did an intro last year. Also William Shatner’s ‘wake-up call’ to Discover during its last flight www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrApsz…

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BillieMac In reply to uncle-bilbo [2014-11-12 22:22:22 +0000 UTC]

Have you ever heard of Jamie Matheson? If not, you should google him.
He's a regular attendee at V-Con (Vancouver), although he missed this year's, and is a professor (emeritus? have to ask him) at the University of British Columbia. Anyway, he's been involved in a number of private research satellites, and his lectures are interesting and entertaining.
There's just been one problem. At last year's gripe session, I suggested that he be booked for two hours, but told it's for one. Two seats away, a former student of his seconded.

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uncle-bilbo In reply to BillieMac [2014-11-16 21:38:12 +0000 UTC]

There has been a lot of talk on NasaTV about the little Cubesats, tiny square satellites that are launched in groups, and now the Nanosats as small as credit cards that can literally be launched in clouds of as many as 150. Most or all of these are private, mostly from universities, and small enough that they can catch free rides even on small rockets. Changing subject slightly, but over at Youtube they have the videos of the ISS Mailbag, a collection of the funniest ad-lib science from real astronauts. Mike Massimino is naturally funny, although I’m not sure if Don Pettit is aware just how funny he can be. The Hydroponics episode with the discussion of how yesterday’s coffee becomes today’s coffee is best.

On an unrelated note, someone gave me a Sylvester McCoy hat the other day, an almost perfect duplicate of the 7th Doctor’s hat (or most common hat) Unfortunately I don’t look anything like any of the Doctors.

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FondRecollections In reply to BillieMac [2013-05-14 01:26:11 +0000 UTC]

Hello, you!

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