James Dutton Jr., born November 20, 1968 in Eugene, Oregon, went into space aboard space shuttle Discovery (STS-131) as pilot to the International Space Station in April 2010. He retired from the US Air Force as Colonel in 2014.
Showing posts with label Oregon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oregon. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Donald Pettit!
Donald Pettit, born April 20, 1955 in Silverton, Oregon, is a veteran of three space flights.
His first flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-113) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in November 2002. He participated in Expedition 6 while aboard the ISS, and conducted two EVAs during the mission. He returned to Earth Soyuz TMA-1 in May 2003.
His second flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-126) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in November 2008. He helped operate the Canadarm2 robotic arm while aboard.
His third and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-03 to the International Space Station in December 2011. He participated in Expeditions 30 and 31.
Saturday, September 7, 2019
Space Shuttle astronaut David Griggs born 1939
David Griggs, born September 7, 1939 in Portland, Oregon, went into space aboard Discovery (STS-51-D) as mission specialist in April 1985. He and fellow astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman conducted an unscheduled EVA (the first in NASA history).
Griggs passed away in June 1989 when the vintage World War II-era training aircraft he was piloting crashed near Earle, Arkansas.
Sunday, February 10, 2019
Book review - "Final Chance" by David Sullivan
I’m always glad when my friend David Sullivan releases a new story. His most recent novel Final Chance takes place in the year 2027 after a devastating plague, the N-virus, has killed 85% of the world’s population. Travis bikes from Seattle to a small town in Oregon to reunite with his grandfather. The rest of their family died and they are the only two left.
A nearby house catches fire and the three siblings, Winston
and his sisters, living in it have to move in with Travis and his grandfather. Travis and Winston hit it off and soon become
lovers. Together they have to protect
their families and survive in a post-apocalyptic world with no infrastructure
or law enforcement.
The only problem with Sullivan’s story is the editing, which
I have addressed with him. Other than
that, it’s a good story with great characters.
It kept my interest and I finished it in a short amount of time. I would have like to see a little more
development in their situation, such as Travis and Winston discovering more
people alive and thriving, and can start re-building a community.
Maybe a sequel?
Here is the link to purchase Final Chance:
Sunday, November 2, 2008
The Sex Club by L. J. Sellers
Sellers’s first novel featuring Detective Wade Jackson of Eugene, Oregon is a disturbing mystery involving teenage sex and fanatical Christian extremism. The story open with the bombing of a Planned Parenthood birth control clinic, followed closely by the death of a young client, found nude in a trash dumpster. Jackson becomes worried bout his own teenaged daughter, once it becomes known she used to be friends with the murdered girl. And the victim was sexually active. With his marriage to an alcoholic wife disintegrating and taking on Eugene’s top elected official, Jackson continues to uncover startling revelations about the students at his daughter’s middle school.
Meanwhile, Kera Kollmorgan, a nurse at the clinic, is caught in the midst of the bombing and knowledge of the dead girl’s sexual activities but cannot divulge confidential patient information to the police. She initiates her own investigation starting with an email she received from the dead girl after she left the clinic that fateful day, but before she died. Kera stumbles upon a website where teenage girls and boys chat openly about their sexual escapades with unabashed bluntness. The more she probes, the more she unwittingly puts herself in the bomber’s eye and becomes the next target.
Jackson meanwhile believes he has the murder investigation wrapped up, when another body surfaces. Is it a copycat murder or is there a serial killer loose in Eugene?
The aspects of The Sex Club I found to be disturbing was how the bomber used Bible passages to justify her violent quest, relying on them to guide her quest for destruction and murder. Fundamentalists like this get so caught up in their religious fervor that they can twist the verses in the Good Book to fit their own agenda. On the other hand, Sellers’s concept of Suzie Homemaker/terrorist is hysterical. In one scene, she plans a nice meal for her family after cleaning up her bomb-making materials.
The realism of the teen sex in the story may cause some readers to squirm. It’s interesting to note that the emphasis in The Sex Club was clearly on the girls, while the boys were virtually non-existent, and hardly mentioned after their names appeared.
Sellers does a great job of keeping the pace moving and dialogue interesting. She has a good knowledge of police procedures and autopsy methods that are as fascinating as the mystery. The build-up to the climax will thrill you to its exciting conclusion.
Meanwhile, Kera Kollmorgan, a nurse at the clinic, is caught in the midst of the bombing and knowledge of the dead girl’s sexual activities but cannot divulge confidential patient information to the police. She initiates her own investigation starting with an email she received from the dead girl after she left the clinic that fateful day, but before she died. Kera stumbles upon a website where teenage girls and boys chat openly about their sexual escapades with unabashed bluntness. The more she probes, the more she unwittingly puts herself in the bomber’s eye and becomes the next target.
Jackson meanwhile believes he has the murder investigation wrapped up, when another body surfaces. Is it a copycat murder or is there a serial killer loose in Eugene?
The aspects of The Sex Club I found to be disturbing was how the bomber used Bible passages to justify her violent quest, relying on them to guide her quest for destruction and murder. Fundamentalists like this get so caught up in their religious fervor that they can twist the verses in the Good Book to fit their own agenda. On the other hand, Sellers’s concept of Suzie Homemaker/terrorist is hysterical. In one scene, she plans a nice meal for her family after cleaning up her bomb-making materials.
The realism of the teen sex in the story may cause some readers to squirm. It’s interesting to note that the emphasis in The Sex Club was clearly on the girls, while the boys were virtually non-existent, and hardly mentioned after their names appeared.
Sellers does a great job of keeping the pace moving and dialogue interesting. She has a good knowledge of police procedures and autopsy methods that are as fascinating as the mystery. The build-up to the climax will thrill you to its exciting conclusion.
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