![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Not as fast as last time...
Nov. 2nd, 2006 02:44 pmThe last time I supported Breeze-M propellant loading, I seem to recall coming in fairly early in the morning and then being sent home after a couple of hours, once propellant began flowing through the hoses. Once back at the hotel, my job was to stay on call to interpret for the
skeleton staff of Pinktertons and the safety engineer, in case my services were needed.
Things got a late start, I assume, due to the fact that the launch vehicle (now the "integrated launch vehicle," or ILV - which sounds a heck of a lot better than "space rocket") was rolled out of 92A-50 and into the Breeze-M fueling station early this morning. Since then, we've had the security people go out and remove the seals from the propellant loading hatches and the Space Forces involved in the operation have been doing their thing.
Based on my previous experience with Breeze-M loading, I decided to leave my laptop back at the hotel, which is turning out to not have been a good idea, as there are a number of things I could have been doing (and intended to do, based on my reliance on not spending a lot of time here this morning). Ah, well.
I plumb missed the first day of NaNoWriMo yesterday, and the way things are going today, it's going to be tought to catch up. What makes the prospect of starting even more daunting is the fact that I haven't the foggiest idea of a story or characters or anything, so I guess what I'm going to do is start with a character, put he/she/it in a situation, observe what he/she/it does to respond, and put some effort into telling about it. Maybe even - who knows? - entertainingly.
What I'm aiming to accomplish this year is to cross the finish line with a more or less cohesive story, in the sense of there being at least a thin strand of connectivity throughout. Last year's effort petered out like a cheap flashlight battery and made about as much sense as a birthday cake at a funeral.
I had trouble falling asleep last night, finally dozing off somewhere after 1 am, so in light of my having gotten up at 7 am this morning after a fitful night, a nap this afternoon is very likely, assuming I get back to the hotel in time for a nap not to become a pre-sleep period that will further screw up my sleep cycle. Two nights ago, I woke up in the middle of the night in a sweat, which worried me for a bit until I noticed that the housekeeping staff had closed my window and that the air around the radiators was noticeably warm. I opened both windows in my room, splashed a little cold water on my skin, and managed to get back to sleep after a little while.
Anyway, it turns out the source of my discomfort that night was the heat for the building being having been turned on at midnight (November 1 is the day winter heating is officially activated, regardless of the ambient conditions before that date or after). Perhaps a lack of exterior cooling contributed to not wanting to sleep last night, too. All I know is, the weather is way too warm to be heating up the inside of the hotel, but bureaucracy will out, I suppose.
I sure will be happy once Election Day has come and gone. What little snippets of news that get through my shields here in Baikonur makes me think the current political climate has been lifted directly from a James Ellroy novel.
Time to do another radio check.
Cheers...
skeleton staff of Pinktertons and the safety engineer, in case my services were needed.
Things got a late start, I assume, due to the fact that the launch vehicle (now the "integrated launch vehicle," or ILV - which sounds a heck of a lot better than "space rocket") was rolled out of 92A-50 and into the Breeze-M fueling station early this morning. Since then, we've had the security people go out and remove the seals from the propellant loading hatches and the Space Forces involved in the operation have been doing their thing.
Based on my previous experience with Breeze-M loading, I decided to leave my laptop back at the hotel, which is turning out to not have been a good idea, as there are a number of things I could have been doing (and intended to do, based on my reliance on not spending a lot of time here this morning). Ah, well.
I plumb missed the first day of NaNoWriMo yesterday, and the way things are going today, it's going to be tought to catch up. What makes the prospect of starting even more daunting is the fact that I haven't the foggiest idea of a story or characters or anything, so I guess what I'm going to do is start with a character, put he/she/it in a situation, observe what he/she/it does to respond, and put some effort into telling about it. Maybe even - who knows? - entertainingly.
What I'm aiming to accomplish this year is to cross the finish line with a more or less cohesive story, in the sense of there being at least a thin strand of connectivity throughout. Last year's effort petered out like a cheap flashlight battery and made about as much sense as a birthday cake at a funeral.
I had trouble falling asleep last night, finally dozing off somewhere after 1 am, so in light of my having gotten up at 7 am this morning after a fitful night, a nap this afternoon is very likely, assuming I get back to the hotel in time for a nap not to become a pre-sleep period that will further screw up my sleep cycle. Two nights ago, I woke up in the middle of the night in a sweat, which worried me for a bit until I noticed that the housekeeping staff had closed my window and that the air around the radiators was noticeably warm. I opened both windows in my room, splashed a little cold water on my skin, and managed to get back to sleep after a little while.
Anyway, it turns out the source of my discomfort that night was the heat for the building being having been turned on at midnight (November 1 is the day winter heating is officially activated, regardless of the ambient conditions before that date or after). Perhaps a lack of exterior cooling contributed to not wanting to sleep last night, too. All I know is, the weather is way too warm to be heating up the inside of the hotel, but bureaucracy will out, I suppose.
I sure will be happy once Election Day has come and gone. What little snippets of news that get through my shields here in Baikonur makes me think the current political climate has been lifted directly from a James Ellroy novel.
Time to do another radio check.
Cheers...
