STS-131

Space Shuttle Discovery launched at 6:21am on April 5, 2010. It was definitely one of the coolest launches I've ever seen in a while. The shuttle formed a noctilucent cloud in it's contrail, then about 3.5 minutes in, it did this cool thing where what could be described as a wake or an aura formed around the shuttle as it started to dip below the horizon. At about 5 minutes, the sound waves finally hit and a faint rumbling could be heard...

Only three more launches of this awesomeness!

SDO, Sonic Booms, & Sun Dogs...

On February 11, 2010, the Solar Dynamics Observatory launched on an Atlas V Rocket. I attepted to watch the launch from my front yard, but there were too many clouds between where I was and the coast to get a good view. I was able to see the rocket for about five seconds through a hole in the clouds, but that was about it.

Being closer to the launch apparently provided an awesome show. Turn the video to 720p and turn on full screen. Wait until about two minutes in when the rocket is about to pass through the sun dog, and then the rocket goes supersonic while passing through the ice particles in the air. I've never seen anything quite like this!

Lakeland Neon...

One night while driving through Lakeland, I came across this great spinning neon sign, if you want to even call it a sign. Perhaps spinning neon object would be more appropriate. It was in a car dealer parking lot and was very mesmerizing to watch. The next time I was driving at night through Lakeland, I was disappointed to see they didn't have the spinning illuminated starburst on a pole turned on...

Ice Skating @ Light Up UCF

I had forgotten how much fun ice skating is! I find all of the outdoor ice skating rinks that pop up every winter all over Central Florida to be kind of funny. It's typically too warm for the ice to stay properly frozen, so there ends up being a puddle of water on half the rink. For example, this was the case at the rink set up at the University of Central Florida seen in the video below:

Daytona Beach Cable Cars

I went for a ride on the cable cars at the Daytona Beach Pier. It's an expensive ride for what it is, and it's a bit scary, especially when you look at all of the rusted metal bits on the ride from all of the exposure to the salty air. I enjoyed my ride though: