The city of Eugene is inviting the public to join at Alton Baker Park for free disc golf from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on three Thursdays: July 28, August 4 and August 11. Participants must bring their own disc.
Currently the city is considering a proposal for the addition of an 18-hole disc golf course in Alton Baker Park and officials want to test the site.
“During the public outreach process, concerns were raised about potential conflicts with existing park users, particularly in the areas adjacent to Pre’s Trail,” said Carrie Peterson, outreach manager for the parks division, in a press release. “Through these three trial days, compatibility between disc golf and other park activities will be closely monitored.”
Eugene residents, from expert to novice, are invited to help test this potential course location. The temporary course will be set up east of the main parking area and a check-in table with score cards and instructions and a feedback survey will be provided by on-site staff at the starred location on the map above.
Today, thanks to our local food-cart vendors – offering fresh, quick eats for a decent price – Eugene’s food-scape is dotted with even more delicious options for vegetarians, vegans and those looking for non-meat alternatives for their diet.
Long symbolized by carts serving hot dogs, the street food industry has stretched through the years to include savory meat substitutes such as soy sausage and seitan. And as you will see here in Eugene, that was just the beginning for a market that continues to branch out and evolve.
Here are a few local veggie-friendly food carts that offer tasty and creative meatless meals for around $6.
Raw Love joined the local food-scape in June of 2010 and was launched by owner Ferale Hubbard, who wanted to bring a raw food option to the Eugene community. Hubbard maintains that the goal of the food cart is to create a sustainable business that revolves around local produce and ingredients, and provides high quality, organic raw food at affordable prices. One of the most popular menu items is the Rawzagna (raw lasagna), made out of zucchini layered with hempseed pesto, walnut and sun dried tomato pâté, Rawcotta cashew cheese, Brazil pine nut Parmesan cheese, and fresh basil and tomatoes. Raw Love’s Key Lime Strawberry Cheesecake recently won the award for “Best Sweet Bite” at Food for Lane County’s Chefs’ Night Out 2011. The “cheesecake” is cashew and almond based, sweetened with either raw agave syrup or local raw honey. Raw Love also features a “smoothie bike” so customers can blend their own smoothie using bike power.
Viva! Vegetarian Grill, formerly known as the Tofurky Food Cart, has been serving up a variety of vegetarian sausage delights since 2006. Due to the continual growth of dedicated Viva! eaters, the food cart is anchored year-round at its current location downtown, even during the rainy wet months of winter. Viva! Vegetarian Grill stands out among other vegetarian eateries in the area because of its commitment to using homemade ingredients and creating inventive recipes. The Tempeh Reuben, for example, has its own spin of tastes and local flair. The Reuben is created using local, organic, marinated tempeh grilled and paired with sauerkraut and vegan Thousand Island dressing, between two toasted pieces of Dave’s Killer Bread. Also, try the vegan soft serve, a very popular option, made from 100 percent organic ingredients, including a cashew base.
Garbanzo Grill offers among the best veggie burgers in Eugene. The Grill is co-owned by Jeannine Navratil and Chef Jonathan Terry, who started creating vegetarian masterpieces after converting to vegetarianism himself nearly 25 years ago.
Garbanzo Grill moved to Eugene from Pagosa Springs, Colorado in June of 2010 in search of a community that would embrace another vegetarian food cart option.
The veggie burger, the most popular item on the menu, is made with a unique blend of homemade seitan (protein-rich wheat meat) and veggies, piled high with lettuce, tomato, onion, and a “super secret no-fat sauce.” The artisan quality of the food at Garbanzo Grill gives this food cart option an added boost of scrumptiousness. Garbanzo Grill also offers daily soups and homemade Kombucha tea. Best of all, menu items are under $6.
Drumrong Thai – 904 West 6th Avenue
Hours: Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Although Drumrong Thai is not a strictly vegetarian eatery, it offers tofu as a choice of protein in every entree. Drumrong Thai’s Pad Thai is said to be among the best in Eugene, and is available quicker and cheaper than most Thai restaurants here. One of the best things about this food cart is its atmosphere. Located in the middle of an intersection in the Whiteaker neighborhood of Eugene, Dumron has ample seating covered by bright colored roofing, lights strung from the ceiling and a blue picket fence. Every entree costs $6.50 and is available in three levels of spiciness. This small food cart offers 16 mouth-watering menu items, with a variety of fresh ingredients.
Devour offers delicious hand-crafted sandwiches to all who encounter the rolling restaurant. With up to three scheduled locations per day, Devour is constantly on the move bringing quality food at an affordable price from an VW van. Devour changes its sandwich menu weekly, and it typically includes two sandwiches made with meat and one vegetarian option. This week’s vegetarian sandwich is the Pesto Mozz and Bell Pepper Salsa, with sweet pepper sauté, basil spread and roasted tomato. Devour also makes handmade potato chips with truffle salt as a side to the sandwiches, and offers a weekly soup (This week it’s Gazpacho!). Devour also owns a cafe in Springfield (Devour Cafe), that serves up a larger selection of sandwiches at a brick-and-mortar location. Devour’s mission statement is simple: “Food should be good, and it should be prepared and presented with care.”
Do you have a favorite veggie-friendly food cart? Let us know in the comments section and we’ll add it to the map!
McKenzie Ingram is University of Oregon senior double majoring in journalism and German. She is also a reporter for MyEugene and the Oregon Daily Emerald.
Eugene residents will join more than 37 million Americans across the country in celebrating the 28th Annual National Night Out against crime on Tuesday, August 2, 2011.
NNO events will be held in eight neighborhoods around Eugene (see list with times below).
The National Night Out program was designed to:
- Heighten crime prevention awareness;
- Generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs;
- Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and
- Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.
National Night Out Neighborhood Events – For specific times, download this PDF schedule.
Harlow Neighborhood
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Willakenzie Park
River Road Community Organization / Santa Clara Community Organization
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: North Eugene High School
Along with the traditional outside lights and front porch vigils, most cities and towns celebrate National Night Out with a variety of special citywide and neighborhood events such as block parties, cookouts, parades, festivals, visits from local officials and law enforcement, safety fairs, and youth events.
NNO 2010 involved over 37 million people in 15,110 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities, and military bases worldwide. National Night Out 2011 is expected to be the largest ever.
Eugene resident Ted Glick witnessed history in the making this month when he attended a two-day NASA Tweetup at Kennedy Space Center. Glick was among 150 Twitter users selected from around the country to tweet about the July 8 liftoff of Atlantis, NASA’s final space shuttle launch, and the events surrounding the special occasion.
Glick, who had applied to attend a NASA Tweetup on several other occasions, was elated to have finally been chosen for this last launch. He shared his story with MyEugene. [Note: You can read the entire unedited version here.]
So, to be clear, I don’t think I really did anything to earn or deserve this. It just sort of happened. I’m just a lucky guy who scored a front row seat to witness history: the final NASA space shuttle launch.
Watching a shuttle launch was a personal “Bucket List” item for me and I’ve been trying to make it happen for a long time…and with increasing urgency as the shuttle program started to draw to a close after an amazing 30-year run.
I bought plane tickets to Florida last summer to watch Discovery launch on STS-133, but the launch date slipped and slipped and I could not make the timing work. I was frustrated and significantly poorer for my effort when the airline did not provide a refund my unused ticket.
I heard about the special NASA Tweetups (via Twitter of course), where NASA picks 150 Twitter users to come to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and get a fairly intimate behind-the-scenes look at things.
Tweetup participants get to talk to astronauts and engineers, see a lot of cool things at KSC and then watch a shuttle launch from the center’s press site, which is as close to the action as you can get. It’s much closer than the general public is allowed. For some perspective, here’s an overview of KSC and launch viewing areas. The press site is three miles from the launch pad. Most other viewing areas are seven or more miles away.
Why does NASA do these Tweetups? Well, they do have public relations and social media people, but they’re not permitted to spend money on self-promotion or advertising so this is a simple way to efficiently leverage social media to both engage the public in NASA’s mission and gain citizen advocates of space programs and the agency itself. I think it’s brilliant. Invite a relatively small number of people to come have a look and the message reaches a much larger audience. The group of STS‑135 NASA Tweetup attendees had a combined following of 1.5 million people, and that’s just direct followers. That doesn’t include the results of the reach from Retweeting or the number of Twitter users who followed the #STS135 and #NASATweetup hashtag feeds.
Anyway, back to my story. When STS-133 (Discovery) got a new launch date in the fall of 2010, I applied for that Tweetup. I was quite surprised to get a spot on the wait list, which is comprised of 150 alternates who are randomly selected to step in should one of the original Tweetup selectees not be able to attend. I did not get to attend that one however.
Then I applied for the STS-134 (Endeavour) Tweetup and was not selected for the Tweetup or waitup lists.
There was now only one shuttle launch left. I began to look at possibly trying to watch the launch from one of the public viewing sites thinking that it might be my only chance to see it.
I sent in my application for the STS-135 Tweetup and was absolutely dumbstruck about a week later to receive an email from Stephanie, NASA’s social media manager, telling me that I was one of the lucky 150 “Tweeple” to be selected. I could not believe my good fortune! Out of more than 5,500 applications, I was picked!
I was home alone at the time and had no one to share my excitement with. I told the cat about it and I know deep down he was excited for me, but outwardly he seemed indifferent. I tweeted about it (of course!). I texted my wife. I emailed my parents. I posted on Facebook. I joined the private Facebook group for the Tweetup selectees. I put the NASA logo and the STS-135 path on my Twitter bio picture. I emailed my boss to say I needed some time off for the launch. I paced around the house with nervous energy. I started looking at plane tickets and hotels and following others on Twitter who were tweeting about their own selection for the Tweetup, and commiserating with those who got the “Sorry you were not selected…” email.
And then the stress began.
I now had a few weeks to think about all the things that could go wrong. Would I have problems with the airlines? With the TSA? How about the rental car people? Lodging? Getting my Tweetup credentials or getting in to KSC? Would I get stuck in traffic trying to get to the launch? What was going to go wrong? Would Atlantis suffer serious launch delays like Discovery and Endeavour before it? I was overjoyed at the prospect of going, but a nervous wreck wondering about what might not go right.
I booked plane tickets and gave myself a two-day cushion after the launch to be flexible enough to handle a short launch delay. I reserved a rental car and made arrangements to share a condo in Cocoa Beach with four other Tweetup attendees. I got through the NASA background check and received all the detailed instructions and information from Stephanie and her colleagues at NASA.
I watched the news on Atlantis’ rollout to the launch pad, tanking tests and payload loading, keeping my fingers crossed that there were no serious issues. The days crawled by.
Eventually the time came and I caught a red-eye from Eugene to Tampa (yes, I should have gone to Orlando and not Tampa, but that’s another story), and despite two connections and jam‑packed planes, this went off without a hitch. Continental got me to Florida on time and didn’t even lose my bag. I started mentally crossing things off of the stuff-that-can-go-wrong list as I progressed.
I drove straight across the state to Kennedy Space Center’s media credentialing building and got my security badge and a modest bag of NASA swag. Again, no problems. I drove to Cocoa Beach and found the condo (I dubbed it “Condo Meco”) and met my roomie Tim (@azeducator). Tim’s an elementary school teacher of homeless kids in Phoenix, and just a heck of a nice guy. Tim was off for the summer and had just driven in from Arizona.
The condo was your basic rental condo dump. Like a lot of places in hot, humid locales it had a permanent mildew-ey smell and a clanky old air conditioner. But it didn’t matter. Sleep and lodging amenities were of little concern on this trip. We all just needed beds and a shower for the few hours of each day that we weren’t wandering about being space geeks.
Tim and I were joined by Emily (@mtaHarlemLine), a graphic designer from New York, and Eric, an IT specialist from New Jersey (Eric was tagging along with Emily and not a Tweetup attendee). Our last housemate was Bonnie (@bonnieupright), a PR firm owner from just up the road in Jacksonville.
We got some rest and headed out for day one of the Tweetup on Thursday morning. I rolled up to the KSC gate and presented the guard with my Tweetup badge and was promptly scolded for not having my picture ID out to go with it. I apologized, produced my ID and was granted entry.
I drove north towards Launch Complex 39 and the gigantic Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Florida is as flat as a pancake so you can see the VAB for miles. It’s immense beyond belief. The closer I got, the more surreal it felt. The heart of the space center was a place I’d only ever seen on TV, and most people never got this close to it. I parked by the VAB and got out and took a picture of it so I could, of course, tweet about being here.
We had very specific instructions about the route to take to parking and for walking between parking and the Tweetup tent, with dire warnings about staying in authorized areas while on KSC grounds. The penalty for straying was an immediate revocation of credentials and an escort off the grounds.
I went to the Tweetup tent and began a day of NASA awesomeness. The tent was directly on the press site. You know the big countdown clock you’ve seen in every single rocket-launch newscast? Yeah, right there. The clock, by the way, is badly in need of fresh paint. My first thought upon seeing it was, “Wow, you’d think they could have touched that up for the occasion!”
The tent was air conditioned and set up with tables, power strips and good Wi-Fi. Attendees filtered in and plugged in and connected their laptops, MacBooks, and tablets, and most of us had our phones at the ready as well.
It was raining and the weather was generally not good. The forecast for launch the next day was not at all promising. There was only a 30 percent chance of favorable weather during the 10-minute launch window that began on Friday, July 8, at 11:26 AM eastern time. This was making us all anxious.
We began the Tweetup with introductions of Stephanie and her team, and then the microphone went around the tent and we all got to stand and introduce ourselves, say what our Twitter handle was, and mention something interesting about ourselves.
There were several members of the Twitter team in attendance. One guy introduced himself, said he worked at Twitter and added, “Yes, we do have a business model.” Another introduced himself as the Twitter security specialist, and said that we should all go into our Twitter account settings and check the box that says, “Always use HTTPS,” so I did that. You should too.
It was good to connect some of the names and faces we’d only previously seen on Twitter and Facebook. Some people hit it off and immediately formed bonds, and some of us were a little more reserved and simply chatted with the people at our table. After some observation, I decided that Twitter was a little like online dating in that many people used a pretty good picture of themselves for their Twitter bio, and in real life were maybe a little older or bit heavier than in their picture. [Disclaimer: My Twitter picture is not me; I picked something more interesting in an effort to amuse and engage potential followers.]
Next up was Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations followed by other scientists and engineers working with the International Space Station (ISS) and shuttle programs. They were very welcoming and gracious, and chatted with us for a bit and took questions. Then astronauts Mike Massimino (@Astro_Mike) and Doug Wheelock (@Astro_Wheels) joined us in the tent and were immediately swarmed by space geeks seeking pictures and autographs.
Once we got everyone back in their seats it was time for the most surreal hour of the entire Tweetup. The NASA TV cameras were broadcasting live from the Tweetup tent as Astro Mike and Astro Wheels had a conversation with Sesame Street’s Elmo. Elmo was very funny and this was quite entertaining, and some interesting space-related topics were addressed. The audience also had a chance for some Q & A with Elmo and the astronauts, and in case you were curious: Elmo’s favorite “planet” is “The Milky Way.”
I have seen Mike Massimino on television. He’s done a number of talk shows and documentaries, and is an intelligent, articulate and entertaining guy. Mike’s worked on the Hubble Telescope and has a number of spacewalks or Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs) under his belt.
I have never seen Doug Wheelock before, except on Twitter, but I was very impressed with him. First of all, he’s an Army Colonel. I know we have lots of Air Force and Navy astronauts, but I didn’t know we had any Army astronauts. But even coming from a helicopter background, like most shuttle pilots he’s a veteran test pilot and accomplished aviator.
Wheelock is also a world-class nice guy and a very engaging speaker. He captivated us in the tent with stories of shuttle flight and Soyuz experiences, and what it’s like to do a spacewalk and live on the International Space Station (ISS). He said coming home from the ISS in the Soyuz capsule is like climbing into a barrel and going over Niagara Falls, only they light the barrel on fire first. In response to a question from the audience, he gave the most detailed account of a shuttle countdown and launch sequence as we all listened with fascination.
At this point in the day, the rain was coming down in torrents, hammering the roof of the tent so hard that it was difficult to hear anything, even with the sound system. There were some leaks and we all worried about the water possibly getting on our electronics and if the tent would hold up to the increasingly severe weather.
We learned that although it was now lunch time, we could not leave the tent due to lightning in the area. And when I say in the area, I mean crashing down all around the press site with deafening claps of thunder. We were told that the tent was grounded, but I thought it prudent to stay away from all metal objects and unplug my laptop.
Was there any chance that 24 hours from that time that we’d have good enough weather for a launch? It certainly didn’t seem so.
The rain and lightning eventually subsided enough for us to walk the quarter mile as a giant herd of Twitter nerds over to the NASA cafeteria by the VAB and have lunch. While there I tweeted that I was keeping an eye out for Major Nelson.
After lunch we got on buses and headed for launch pad 39A to watch the scheduled RSS retraction. The rain had stopped but the sky was still full of rain clouds, and because of the weather we weren’t sure the retraction would happen as scheduled, but getting up close to the pad and the shuttle was still exciting.
The RSS is like a giant clamshell that sits over the shuttle, protecting it and allowing technicians to service the shuttle and its payload bay. For the retraction it pivots slowly away from the launch pad on a giant hinge attached to the launch tower structure, its other side supported by a wheeled leg that rolls on an arc of railroad track. So it’s like a gigantic door slowly opening to reveal the shuttle.
Almost as soon as we arrived at the pad, the RSS retraction started, and we could soon see Atlantis coming out from behind the structure. She was beautiful.
We took lots of photos and a group shot as well. I tried to get a picture of me with Doug Wheelock and the shuttle in the background, be he was being mobbed by eager space geeks seeking the same picture so I settled for just one of me.
We loaded back into the busses and then went to the VAB. The immense building is 420-feet tall, but we learned that back when the building was designed and built, Dr. Von Braun and the other engineers working on the Gemini and Apollo programs did not know how big the moon rocket would need to be, so the building has vertical expansion capability. Another 120 feet could have been added on to the top if needed to accommodate a larger rocket.
Stepping inside there’s a definite wow factor, and moving to the center of the building to see its full size, even more so. Our tour guide was a quality engineer who had worked in the VAB for many years, and he was very informative. His is one of the signatures on this wall where all the shuttle workers of the VAB have signed. We learned how the SRBs, fuel tank and shuttle were mated on top of the crawler, and heard stories of the inherent challenges of these operations. The shuttle is rolled into the building and then a special pivoting jig and a 350-ton crane picks it up and takes it vertical for the mating to the external fuel tank. After hoisting it is left to hang for a day to get all the swing out of it. It needs to be rock steady before it can be hoisted through the tight fit between bays into the assembly bay.
On a more somber note, we learned that Tower A of the VAB houses the remnants of the shuttle Columbia—the roughly 38 percent of it that was recovered after its catastrophic breakup on reentry during STS-107 in February of 2003.
We wrapped up the day with a visit to the Saturn V center. Not all of the Saturn rockets that were built for the Apollo program were launched, and one of them is on display here. The center was crawling with tourists, so we fought our way through the exhibits and gift shop over the next hour before returning to the press site and preparing to leave KSC for the day.
The weather at this point had not improved. Stephanie told us that they needed clear weather in a 20-mile radius for tanking Atlantis that night starting at around 2 a.m. She said if they couldn’t tank, there would be no launch, so if we got up in the morning and learned that the tanking hadn’t happened, we should not come in for the launch. The second day of the Tweetup would be rescheduled for the next launch attempt which would likely be Saturday.
Complicating things beyond that, authorities were predicting a road-clogging one million spectators for the launch. None of us had any idea what to expect on the drive in to get back to the Tweetup for the launch. The earliest we could get back in to the center was 5 a.m., and some people staying in Orlando were planning to leave at 2 a.m. to beat the traffic. At Condo Meco, we huddled and decided that we should start driving at 4 a.m.
We rose at 3:30 a.m. to find we’d all received an email from Stephanie saying the tanking had happened and that she would see us at 5 a.m.! With high hopes, we rolled out of Condo Meco with a stop at 7-11 for coffee and crummy donuts, and then on to KSC. We’d fretted about traffic for nothing—the roads were almost deserted at this hour. We got there a bit early and had to wait at the credentialing building’s parking lot to be allowed to proceed. It was a bit of a party scene with all of us astro-nerds excitedly dancing around the parking lot with coffee and donuts.
Promptly at 5 a.m., the guards waved us all through and we convoyed up to the main gate (this time with ID in hand), and then on to the parking area at the VAB. We were ready! Now we only had six hours to wait and fret about the weather or any technical problems—the last two things on the big list of stuff that could go wrong.
I will note here that our Tweetup badges were like Willie Wonka Golden Tickets. It amused me to no end that, when walking by a checkpoint and watching credentialed journalists getting stopped and questioned by security guards, we could just stroll on through. Often the guards would say, “Hey, are you guys Tweeters?” We’d say yes and wave our badges, and they’d say, “Okay then, go on through!” and then they’d go back to grilling the journalists. I never felt so privileged and powerful.
Day two of the Tweetup was kind of a blur. Mike Massimino was hanging around. Seth Green stopped by and hung out with us for a bit. Turns out he’s a huge space geek and a really nice guy. We talked to some NASA people and got a demonstration of the robotic satellite refueling experiment that was to take place on this shuttle mission. I have to say that I never really thought about satellites having fuel, but now that I think about it, of course they need fuel. And when they run out of fuel, they’re discarded, hence the experimentation with refueling to extend their lives.
Astronaut Tony Antonelli chatted with us for a bit. He’s a very funny guy and kept implying that spending time with us was some sort of punishment for him doled out by the NASA brass.
A few hours before launch time, we went out to the road to the launch pad and waved at the astronauts as they drove by in the Astro Van. The van’s windows were heavily tinted, but we’d like to think that the crew was waving back at us as enthusiastically as we were waving at them. An old UH-1 Huey helicopter shadowed the convoy as it made its way to the pad.
Back in the tent we were all awed when Bob Crippen came by to talk to us. Bob was the pilot of STS-1, the first shuttle flight aboard Columbia back in 1981. He subsequently commanded three shuttle missions and acted as the director of the space shuttle program at NASA headquarters. Bob was a compelling and earnest speaker, and when he took a question from the audience he answered it well, and then unfailingly thanked that person for the question and for coming. Bob’s a true American hero and a real gentleman.
Of note, Bob mentioned that he was proud that both the first and last shuttle missions were flown by naval aviators (as a retired Air Force guy, I won’t comment on this), and that he thought one of the biggest threats to the space program was the rapid decline of math, science and engineering skills in America, and that we must work harder to get our kids interested in these disciplines.
While the speakers cycled through the tent, we had the high-definition feed of NASA TV on the monitors and were watching the close-out crew strap the astronauts into Atlantis. After they had buttoned up the shuttle, they held up signs for the camera in a touching farewell salute.
It was now after 11 a.m. and nearing launch time. As the launch director polled the launch team, we all held our breath as he came to the weather officer. The response to the poll was not “Go,” but rather, “Can you get back to me at the end?” The shuttle training aircraft was up flying around the area to get the latest, most accurate weather conditions possible so that the launch weather officer could make an informed go/no-go call. The weather officer later told the launch director they were green and to go for launch, which drew cheers and applause from the Tweeple.
As we all crowded the water’s edge for launch viewing, we were mostly unable to hear launch control and the countdown, and the large countdown clock was out of view. When there was a hold at 31 seconds, we only heard about it from a nearby cameraman who had an audio feed. When the hold cleared and the countdown resumed, the crowd’s energy and excitement was palpable. We heard snippets of the countdown, and at 10 seconds we all started counting down together. At 6 seconds the shuttle’s main engines started and we could see the cloud of steam billowing outward from the launch pad, and we started cheering wildly.
At T minus zero, the boosters ignited and the cloud suddenly grew very large as the shuttle slowly started its ascent. While watching and waiting for the sound to reach us, my first coherent thought was that the fire from the boosters was much bigger and brighter than I expected it to be. I watched unblinkingly as the shuttle climbed and started the roll program and its arc up to the northeast. Around this time, the sound reached us. You could feel it as a thunder in your chest, and soon thereafter the shuttle’s characteristic staccato thunder from the boosters made my clothes vibrate. What a feeling! The close-up TV pictures are very cool to watch, but there is nothing like being there in person.
And then it was all happening too fast. I wanted to watch and savor the moment, but the shuttle’s acceleration was incredible and it streaked upward towards the layer of clouds at around 12,000 feet.
Less than a minute after launch, it was gone into the clouds leaving behind only the gigantic pillar of smoke.
There was tearful exhilaration among those of us in the crowd—great joy mixed with great sadness. Here we had just watched our nation’s pride and joy, our most incredible technological achievement in action, but it was the last time anyone would see it go. I, like many, was overwhelmed with sadness as I went back into the tent to watch the boosters’ separation and the rest of Atlantis’ short journey into orbit.
So that was it. We hung around in the tent and did our Twitter and Facebook posts for the next few hours while waiting for the traffic to subside so we could leave. We took our final pictures and gave our heartfelt thanks to Stephanie and her team. We even had a number of people take the microphone to share their thoughts and emotions with us. A guy named Justin hilariously compared watching a shuttle launch to losing one’s virginity… “You plan for months, waiting for the right time, and when the time comes you’re nervous and fumbling about…” He was brilliant and gave us all a good laugh.
And we all went our separate ways at this point. I stayed in Florida for two more days and did some touristy things. The high humidity was the only thing that prevented this Oregonian from bursting into flame, I’m convinced.
Like many Americans, I am unhappy with the murky future of the manned spaceflight program and I think turning over all of our future manned spaceflight efforts to private companies is utterly wrong, shortsighted and misguided. One article I read referred to this final shuttle launch as a milepost in the decline of America, and I’m inclined to agree with that. But I won’t belabor the point. This is a topic for another day. I try to keep this occasion in a celebratory frame of mind, but it is very difficult for me to do so. I can’t adequately put the feelings of sadness that I have into words.
I am incredibly thankful for Stephanie and her NASA team for the opportunity to be a part of this. It was a remarkable experience that I will remember and treasure forever. And I send a huge thank you to everyone at NASA for understanding the value of social media, embracing it and engaging the public in their endeavors.
NASA does a lot of Tweetups for space-related events at various places around the country. For example, there are upcoming Tweetups at Johnson Space Center in Houston and at KSC for Atlantis’ return to earth, and another for the launch of the Juno mission that’s sending a robotic probe to Jupiter.
Follow @NASATweetup on Twitter for your chance to apply to attend one.
Ted Glick, a Eugene resident, works as a programmer/analyst and plays as a husband, father and private pilot, and he loves all things aviation and space related. He tweets as @theogor and has been a Twitter user since 2008.
Photo Credit: Jay Catalano (shuttle launch) and Ted Glick (all others)
Friday, July 22
4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
301 N. Adams (Behind River House Community Center)
Don’t miss this fun event! Try kayaking and play on the slip-a-slide, try circus arts, and enjoy music. Festivities will be followed by a bike parade . . . Eugene style!
Willow Friday, July 22
Sladden Park (N. Adams & Cheshire)
A reluctant dwarf must play a critical role in protecting a special baby from an evil queen. This 1988 fantasy adventure starts Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley. Directed by Ron Howard. Rated PG, 126 minutes.
Rabbit-Proof Fence Saturday, July 23.
Amazon Park (Next to Amazon Center)
In 1931, three aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their homes to be trained as domestic staff and set off on a trek across the Outback. This 2002 drama stars Kenneth Branagh. Rated PG, 94 minutes.
Saturday, July 23
11:00 a.m. – Noon
Amazon Community Center (2700 Hilyard)
Eugene Public Library invites young kids and family to the annual Teddy Bear Picnic in the park. The event is a favorite Summer Reading tradition featuring live music by McCornack’s Garden Variety Band. Bring snacks and your teddy bear or favorite stuffed friend. Info: 541-682-8316.
Churchill Skatepark at Churchill Youth Sports Park (Bailey Hill and W. 18th)
All ages, all abilities! Join us for hot dogs, prizes and music. Helmets required at all times. All proceeds will go to Skaters for Eugene Skateparks to fund the Washington-Jefferson Skate Park. For more information www.skateeugene.org
Registration: $3 (Parents must register those 18 and under)
Friday, July 22 at 2 p.m.
Saturday, July 23 at 10:30 a.m., Noon, and 3 p.m.
Sunday, July 24 at 10:30 a.m., Noon, and 3 p.m.
The Science Factory, 2300 Leo Harris Parkway
This 20-minute show gives audiences an introduction to the season’s night sky and the stars, constellations and related stories. By the end, you’ll be able to identify all the major sky players and tell stories about them! Most suitable for children ages 7 and up.
Admission: Free for members and children under 3, $4 for non-members.
Saturday, July 23 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Sunday, July 24 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The Science Factory, 2300 Leo Harris Parkway
Impeccably narrated by Dame Judi Dench, this fascinating 40-minute full-dome movie draws you close into the intimate world of insects. Viewers are invited to see how the jungle in Borneo looks from an insect’s vantage point, and to “…imagine a place where raindrops fall like cannon balls and a blade of grass soars like a skyscraper…” Although you’ll see many amazing close-ups, such as male rhinoceros beetles battling over a female and a leopard gecko stalking his prey, the movie primarily chronicles the lives of Papilio, a butterfly, and Hierodula, a praying mantis, from hatching through adulthood, and their eventual dramatic encounter in the rainforest.
Saturday, July 16 at 1 p.m.
Sunday, July 17 at 1 p.m.
The Science Factory, 2300 Leo Harris Parkway
We’ll take you on a tour of the constellations visible in the summer skies and explore some of the amazing objects that lie within these constellations as only the Hubble Space Telescope has been able to show them to us. Suitable for any age group. A note about Astronomy for the Fun of It: Constellations may be replaced with a feature full-dome video on dates when the Planetarium Director is absent.
Monday, July 25 – Friday July 29 at 2 p.m.
The Science Factory, 2300 Leo Harris Parkway
In 1610, Galileo Galilei became the first person to look at the heavens through a telescope and record his findings. What he saw changed our understanding of the universe forever. Since that time, telescopes have made it possible for us to explore our universe and discover amazing things. This program not only examines how telescopes work, but also unveils some of the discoveries made possible by the telescope — a tool originally made of a metal tube and two small pieces of glass. Most suitable for children in 2nd grade or older.
Tuesday, July 26 at 11 a.m. at the Bethel Branch
Wednesday, July 27 at 11 a.m. at the Sheldon Branch
Thursday, July 28 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the Downtown Branch
Meet live animals and hear their stories from different cultures with Cascade Raptor Center. All ages.
Tuesday, July 26 – Saturday, July 30
11 a.m.
Amazon Park
The Commedia Puss in Boots, is a tale of a young man who follows the advice of a clever cat in extraordinary footwear to achieve nobility and a fine marriage. With swordfights and tumbling, this play is a comic ride as Puss in Boots outwits many foes, including the great laundry giant. The play is directed by Brian Cook and written by Lane Riosley.
The Commedia Puss in Boots features elements of Italian commedia dell’arte, the broad physical comedy of troupes that traveled throughout Europe during the Renaissance. Today’s audiences may be most familiar with Italian commedia dell’arte through the work of the Marx Brothers, the Three Stooges and Charlie Chaplin.
Admission: $5 for ages 3 and above
David Ozab is a freelance writer and blogger living in Eugene. He writes about parenting and life at www.fatherhoodetc.com. He is a member of Willamette Writers.
Photo Credit: (Skateboarder) Motoya Nakamura, The Oregonian
The city of Eugene is inviting the public to join at Alton Baker Park for free disc golf from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on three Thursdays: July 28, August 4 and August 11. Participants must bring their own disc. Currently the city is considering a proposal for the addition of an 18-hole disc golf [...]
Veggie food carts offer nutritious meatless meals for around $6 Oregon has the highest number of vegetarian-friendly food options per million people in the country, according to data from a 2008 Happy Cow survey. Eugene, the second-largest city in Oregon, is second only to Portland when it comes to the number of vegetarian friendly food [...]
Eugene residents will join more than 37 million Americans across the country in celebrating the 28th Annual National Night Out against crime on Tuesday, August 2, 2011. NNO events will be held in eight neighborhoods around Eugene (see list with times below). The National Night Out program was designed to: – Heighten crime prevention awareness; [...]
Mayor Kitty Piercy’s One-on-One public session for June will be held on Tuesday, July 26 from 5 to 6 p.m. at Albertsons on Coburg Road. The sessions, which are held in a different neighborhood each month, provide an opportunity for residents to speak individually with the mayor on any topic of concern. City Councilor George [...]
Eugene resident Ted Glick witnessed history in the making this month when he attended a two-day NASA Tweetup at Kennedy Space Center. Glick was among 150 Twitter users selected from around the country to tweet about the July 8 liftoff of Atlantis, NASA’s final space shuttle launch, and the events surrounding the special occasion. Glick, [...]
There are plenty of fun, family-friendly events around Eugene coming up. Here is MyEugene’s family event calendar for July 22 – 28: Whiteaker Neighborhood River Festival Friday, July 22 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. 301 N. Adams (Behind River House Community Center) Don’t miss this fun event! Try kayaking and play on the slip-a-slide, try [...]
The Eugene Active 20-30 Club will be hosting its first Putt-Putt Golf Tournament Thursday, July 21, at 5 p.m. at Putter’s Pizza located at 1156 Hwy 99 North in Eugene. Participants in the Putt-Putt Tournament will be able to golf 18 holes, enjoy pizza and soda and compete for prizes during the evening for only [...]
“Family Nature Quest: Dragons of the Air” event a success in spite of rain July should be the perfect month for a dragonfly hunt: warm, sunny, but not too hot. The nymphs have spent the last year or so lingering in the ponds, and are now ready to sprout their wings and take to the [...]
Today, at around 1:30 p.m., Eugene resident Jefferey Egbert captured this photo of an LTD bus going the wrong way on Lincoln Street. According to Egbert, the photo, which has been published on the Dear LTD Facebook page, depicts the 51 bus stopped at the light on 6th Street after going the wrong way. “This [...]
In Eugene, living sustainably is a way of life for many residents. For some, it has become expected that companies who supply food and provide services operate sustainably as well. Recently Change.org, a self-described “platform for social change,” claimed that: “Every night, Trader Joe’s throws away healthy, edible food rather than donate it to homeless [...]
There are plenty of fun, family-friendly events around Eugene coming up. Here is MyEugene’s family event calendar for July 15 – 21. Echo Hollow Pool’s Summer Block Party Friday, July 15 from 1:10 – 3:40 p.m. 1655 Echo Hollow Road Enjoy the sunshine with your neighbors at Echo Hollow Pool! Learn about and try the [...]
A community conflict lasting more than two decades over the development of a 4.2-acre parcel on the Willamette River in the University of Oregon’s (UO) Riverfront Research Park in Eugene may finally be over. Last week, Oregon Research Institute (ORI) developers agreed to build on an alternate site within the park, away from the river’s [...]
Featuring festivities, free BBQ and a fun rare visit from a dozen Slug Queens The newly constructed Spray Play at Washington Park, 2025 Washington Street, will open today starting at 4:30 p.m. with live music by Barn Music Group and then a dedication ceremony with Mayor Piercy at 5 p.m. The “inaugural splash,” scheduled for [...]
Grand prize is an all-expenses-paid travel package for two, including entertainment! MyEugene is hosting a “GoLocal Eugene” logo contest that’s open to all residents over 18 years of age in Lane County. Entries are due August 5, 2011, before noon (PT). In addition to public recognition, the winner will receive local prizes and an all-expenses-paid [...]
On July 12 from 4pm to 7pm, the City of Eugene and Lane Coalition for Healthy Active Youth (LCHAY) will co-host a free public open house about 20-minute neighborhoods in the lobby of the atrium building located at 99 W. 10th Avenue. Event organizers say it will be “a thought-provoking evening of discussion centered on [...]
A free wine-tasting event will be held at the Eugene, Cascades & Coast Adventure Center in Springfield on Tuesday, July 12, from 4 and 6:30 p.m. Enjoy tastings from Brigadoon Wine Company of Junction City. The tasting event will provide a rare opportunity to meet the winemaker and sample varieties from this winery–one without a [...]
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“During the public outreach process, concerns were raised about potential conflicts with existing park users, particularly in the areas adjacent to Pre’s Trail,” said Carrie Peterson, outreach manager for the parks division, in a press release. “Through these three trial days, compatibility between disc golf and other park activities will be closely monitored.”
