Tom's WEB Blog

The astronauts for the next shuttle mission reported to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for two days to check out the orbiter and payload for their mission. This exercise, known as a crew equipment interface test, is a standard part of their training. The hands-on experience is a vital step in the preparation of all shuttle crews, helping them gain first-hand knowledge of the flight hardware they will use during the mission. Each crew spends time at Kennedy working with the actual payloads and orbiter it will take into space. STS-117 will be the 21st shuttle mission to the space station. Commanding the mission is Frederick Sturckow, with Pilot Lee Archambault joining him in the shuttle’s cockpit. Rounding out the crew are Mission Specialists James Reilly, Patrick Forrester, Steve Swanson and John D. Olivas. The space station's starboard integrated truss segment with solar arrays (S3/S4) is the prime payload of the 11-day mission, scheduled to lift off from Kennedy's Launch Pad 39A in mid-March. The segment is a twin to the P3/P4 segment that was installed by the STS-115 crew in September and activated by the STS-116 astronauts during their mission to rewire the station's power system. Both the port and starboard segments include solar array "wings" on rotating joints that allow them to remain pointed toward the sun in order to gather solar energy to power the station. The STS-117 astronauts will attach the S3/S4 segment and deploy the arrays. The crew will fly aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis, the shuttle that also delivered the P3/P4 truss to the station. While at Kennedy, the crew members got a chance to thoroughly inspect Atlantis inside the Orbiter Processing Facility where prelaunch preparations are under way.

The Patriots will play their regular-season finale against the resurgent Tennessee Titans in Nashville on Sunday. The Titans have won six straight games and will provide a tough test for the Patriots heading into the playoffs. With Tennessee facing a must-win to keep its own playoff hopes alive, the Patriots will be presented with a solid challenge as they try to enter the postseason on a winning note. This week's game will be broadcast by CBS.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Daytona Beach campus suffered extensive damage from a severe Christmas Day storm that hit the Daytona area. There is substantial damage to several buildings on campus including the administration building, Spruance Hall, and the Student Center. The maintenance hangar was destroyed and there was damage to a high percentage of the fleet of planes. The recovery is already underway and every effort is being made to have everything operational when classes resume in January including using rental planes for the flight line. In the meantime, people are asked not to visit the campus until it is declared safe by the authorities. At that time, there will be an advisory noting that the campus is again open.

Merry Christmas every one!

The Patriots took on the Jaguars in rainy Jacksonville on Christmas Eve. Brady had his best ground game ever, and spread the ball around throughout the game, keeping the Patriots offense clicking on all cylinders. The Pats won 24-21 after the defense sealed the game with a turnover. While the Patriots looked the better team throughout most of this contest, a desperate Jaguars team made things close in the end. It took a fumble recovery by Rodney Harrison, who returned to action from his injury earlier this season, to seal the win late in the fourth quarter. Tom Brady spread the ball all over the field and to 10 different receivers en route to 249 yards passing on 39 attempts and 28 completions. His main target was Dave Thomas who had a career day with 5 catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. For the most part, New England's defense kept David Garrard and the Jags offense under wraps. One big play by Maurice Jones-Drew accounted for 74 yards of Jacksonville's 145 yards rushing. And most of Garrard's 195 yards passing came late in the game while in catch-up mode. It was a huge win for New England, on the road against a quality opponent. The teams were scoreless through the first quarter but as it ended, it was New England threatening to break the tie.
The drive started on the 31 where Brady scrambled for 4 yards on first down and then handed off to Corey Dillon who ran through a hole behind the left side for 8. Later in the drive, John Henderson was flagged for grabbing Laurence Maroney's facemask, giving the Patriots first and 10 at the Jags 35. The first quarter ended with a 6-yard completion to Thomas, in the game for the injured Ben Watson, down to the 29. Two plays later, a third and 1 attempt from the Jaguars 26 by Heath Evans was stuffed for no gain. On fourth down, Brady kept -- he was already successful twice in the game converting first downs that way -- but was flagged for a false start. That forced Stephen Gostkowski on the field for a 48-yard field goal attempt which he made despite a low snap that Matt Cassel had to react quickly to adjust.
The 3-0 lead was extremely short-lived. On the very next play from scrimmage, Garrard gave to Jones-Drew who bounced off his own lineman and fell to the ground untouched by a Patriot. By the time Tully Banta-Cain touched him, he was already back on his feet and on his way to a 74-yard touchdown right up the middle of the Patriots defense. The play was challenged by the Patriots but the score was upheld. New England regained the lead with a clock-consuming, 14-play drive that ended with a 1-yard Dillon dive for the score. Throughout the drive, Brady never even considered looking downfield, spreading things out and content to take whatever the Jaguars defense was giving him underneath. By the end of the series, Brady had already hit eight different receivers on only 14 completions in the game. He had also gained 24 yards on 5 runs, another sign that there was space to be had behind the Jags defensive line. The half ended with the 10-7 Patriots lead intact and with the Patriots holding and advantage when it came to moving the ball on offense (Patriots had 13 first downs to the Jags 4), despite the one big play by Jones-Drew. That trend continued as New England took the second half kickoff and moved right down the field to make the score 17-7. On this drive the story was Thomas who took one pass in the left flat and rumbled for 36 yards down the sideline to the Jags 27. From the 22, Brady looked his way again and threaded a nice pass in between several Jacksonville defenders that Thomas made a beautiful diving catch in snaring the touchdown. The drive went 78 yards in only 7 plays. The Jaguars bench challenged the play, thinking the ball might have hit the ground before Thomas had possession but replay only showed how good a catch in fact it was. Jacksonville tried to answer with a 53-yard field goal but Josh Scobee's attempt was wide right. The miss gave the Patriots first and 10 at their own 43. Brady's first play turned into yet another scramble, this one for 3 yards giving him 27 up to that point, the most rushing yards in a game for his career. He then went back to more conventional means of moving the ball by hitting a wide open Daniel Graham for 19 yards and then Reche Caldwell for 7 along the right sideline. The drive stalled from there with Brady misfiring on a third and 6 play. Gostkowski was off the mark on a 49-yard field goal attempt on which he had plenty of leg. It turned out to be a big miss as Jacksonville took over at their own 39. Two plays later, Richard Seymour wished he missed. On second and 7, he tried to hold up on a hit on Garrard as Garrard released but couldn't. The roughing call was made and worse yet, it negated a Mike Vrabel interception. On the next play, Ernest Wilford got behind the Patriots defense and Garrard connected for a 41-yard gain. Jones-Drew took it in from the 1 two plays later. The turn of events resulted in a 3-point game and with New England needing a score to stem the Jag's momentum. As the third quarter came to and end, Brady had his team on the Jaguars side of the field. Thomas had come up big again with a 16-yard catch down the middle on second and 16. By the start of the fourth, the Patriots were third and 3 on the Jags 43. A quick pass to rarely-used Chad Jackson netted a 2-yard loss, however, and New England punted. Todd Sauerbrun's punt was a good one, downed on the 10-yard line. Now the Patriots needed a stop and that's exactly what the defense gave then, stuffing Jones-Drew on a third and 2 from his 30. With 10:29 left to play, New England got the ball back at its 31 after the punt but all Brady could do was complete one 12-yard pass to Jabar Gaffney in four attempts.Jacksonville got the ball right back on its 18-yard line. The punting match continued; again New England held, this time after only three plays by Jacksonville. Finally, the Patriots broke through but along the way all of Patriots Nation held its breath. Early on in the Patriots next drive, Brady ran on third and 6 in an attempt to keep the chains moving. He picked up the first down after 7 yards but was nailed in the back by Clint Ingram on the way down. The hit knocked Brady out of the game, but for only one play. After Cassel handed off to Dillon, Brady came back on the field and immediately showed his toughness and spunk, connecting with Graham for 18 yards and then jawing with the Jaguars sideline after the play. Three plays later, Maroney found a huge hole and was on his way to a 27-yard touchdown to make the score 24-14 with 4:36 left to play. With the way New England's defense was playing, that should have been ball game but it only took Garrard 1:33 to go 60 yards, the last play a 33-yard catch and run for the score by Matt Jones. Jacksonville kicked away with 3:03 and the Patriots took over on their 14-yard line. Now, Jacksonville's defense was energized and it held New England to three plays after Dillon was caught in the backfield for a 4-yard loss. Sauerbrun's punt was fair caught at the Jags 45 with 1:55 remaining, plenty of time for Garrard to get his team at least in field goal range. Garrard's first play of the drive was also his last of the day. First, Banta-Cain flushed him out of the pocket. Then, Jarvis Green swatted the ball out of his hand. Finally, Rodney Harrison recovered to give his team the ball and the game. With no timeouts left for the Jaguars, they were forced to watch Brady take knees while his team captured the AFC East.

Discovery's home at the Cape! Ending hours of uncertainty, space shuttle Discovery made a twilight return to its home base in Florida Friday after bad weather delayed to the last minute Mission Control's decision on where the shuttle would come home. The orbiter touched down at Florida's Kennedy Space Center exactly at sunset at 5:32 p.m. ET, slipping in between rain clouds that cleared just in time. "If you would've asked me before the flight what I wanted for Christmas, what I wanted was a safe and successful shuttle flight," said space operations chief William Gerstenmaier,("me too Bill!"). "And we got that." "Discovery's a beautiful vehicle," said the mission's commander, Mark Polansky. "We're happy that we were able to bring her home safely." Discovery's homecoming closed out a year of recovery and progress for NASA. The space agency mounted three successful shuttle missions during the last six months, including two missions that made major improvements to the International Space Station. The busy year for NASA's shuttle fleet was a contrast to 2004 and 2005, when only one shuttle mission was launched as NASA struggled with the loss of shuttle Columbia in 2003. The ship crumbled on its way home to Florida, killing the crew of seven. The shuttle had to wait out its first landing opportunity at Kennedy because of showers. NASA prefers to land the shuttles in Florida because that's where they're launched and prepared for the next flight. But raindrops can damage the fragile spaceship, so NASA rules prohibit landing if there are showers within 35 miles of the landing strip. Discovery's seven astronauts had another reason to want to land in Florida: Their families and friends were waiting for them there and could not have made it to California in time to greet them. As the second landing opportunity approached roughly 90 minutes after the first, Kennedy was still beset by showers and winds. The alternate landing site, Edwards Air Force Base in California, was plagued by winds that threatened to bar the shuttle from landing there, too. Less than 40 minutes before the shuttle's engines would have to be fired for descent, flight controllers were still agonizing over whether Discovery should touch down on the East Coast or the West. "Okay, Roman, believe it or not, we're still debating landing sites," Ham told Polansky, referring to him by his nickname. Minutes later, Ham told Polansky that he would not be heading to Edwards, at least not yet. That left Kennedy, but Florida wasn't a sure bet either. "We're still taking a close look at that. There is some possibility," he said. "Okay," Polansky said. "Flexibility is the key to air prowess." "You got that right," Ham replied. Only five minutes before the shuttle's engines would have to fire, a manuever known as the deorbit burn, for a Florida landing, Ham came back on the radio. "Believe it or not, we're going to offer you a go for the deorbit burn" for Florida, he told Polansky. "You are a good man, Hawk," Polansky said, using Ham's nickname. Launch director Michael Leinbach confessed that before the landing, he thought the weather was too wet for Discovery to make it to Florida.
"It feels good to get lucky and it's good to have Discovery home," he said once the ship was safely on the ground. The landing at Kennedy saves NASA at least $1 million compared to the cost of landing at Edwards. When the shuttle lands in California, it must be hoisted by a crane to sit atop a 747 jet, then flown home in a journey that can take more than a week.
The nailbiter landing was an appropriate ending to a suspenseful, though ultimately successful 13-day mission. For months, NASA officials had warned that the flight, which focused on upgrading the International Space Station, was complex and likely to go wrong. They were right. A solar panel that was supposed to fold easily into its box instead required the astronauts to spend hours of trying to stow it properly. The solar panel was so balky that NASA officials opted to have Discovery's crew do an unplanned fourth spacewalk to wrestle it into submission. The extra day devoted to the spacewalk required mission planners to dip into the time they normally reserve for landing delays in case of weather or technical problems with the shuttle. Never before have mission planners given up an emergency day for shuttle operations. The decision meant that the shuttle had to land no later than Saturday to avoid running out of fuel, adding extra pressure to the decision on when and where to bring the spacecraft home. If the weather at Kennedy and Edwards had failed to cooperate, the ship could've landed at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. But unlike Edwards, that remote and bare-bones facility lacks the equipment needed to get the shuttle ready to be shipped to Kennedy. This was a perfect ending to a perfect mission. Great job and a hearty "Well Done" to the crew and the folks at NASA. Merry Christmas!

The New England Patriots on Friday signed veteran punter Todd Sauerbrun, who becomes the team's third punter in six weeks. The Patriots, who play at Jacksonville on Sunday, brought in Sauerbrun for a workout Friday and then signed him, coach Bill Belichick said. "We looked at all our options, and feel like this one is the best one for the football team," Belichick said. Sauerbrun, a 12-year veteran, last played for the Denver Broncos in 2005, when he averaged 43.8 yards per kick. Denver waived him in October after he had served a four-game suspension for using the banned dietary supplement ephedra. The Patriots started the season with Josh Miller as punter, but signed Ken Walter for their Nov. 26 against Chicago when Miller was lost for the year to a shoulder injury. Walter punted four games, but was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with a foot injury. The Patriots worked out veteran Sean Landeta and practice squad punters Danny Baugher and Tom Malone before settling on Sauerbrun. Sauerbrun has a career punting average of 44.0 and a career net average of 36.0. He made the Pro Bowl three straight times, between 2001 and 2003, when he was with the Carolina Panthers.

Landing day has arrived for the Space Shuttle Discovery and its seven astronauts. Seven opportunities are available today, with the first at 3:56 p.m. EST at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. All three shuttle landing sites will be activated today due to unfavorable weather forecasts at Kennedy and Edwards Air Force Base in California. Weather is forecast to be favorable at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. The last opportunity at Kennedy is at 5:32 p.m. Three exist at Edwards – 5:27 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8:36 p.m. Two are available at White Sands – 5:27 p.m. and 7:02 p.m. Landing opportunities also are available Saturday at all three sites.

Faced with some less-than-perfect choices, NASA watched the weather report in three time zones today as it struggled to pick a landing site for space shuttle Discovery's return to Earth. The space agency planned to bring the ship home on Friday, after a 13-day mission during which its crew rewired the international space station. But showers and clouds were in the forecast at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and crosswinds were expected at NASA's next-best option, Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert. At NASA's third-best choice, White Sands, New Mexico, the weather looked favorable, but that could change later in the day because of a front coming from California. And New Mexico is considered inconvenient, because the space agency would have to fly some heavy equipment there to transport the shuttle back to Florida. Only one shuttle has ever landed at White Sands, in 1982. NASA said that if one of the sites has favorable weather Friday, it will bring the shuttle home, no matter how inconvenient the spot is. The shuttle does not have enough fuel to remain in orbit beyond Saturday. On Thursday afternoon, the space agency pronounced Discovery safe to return, after analyzing images from an inspection of the ship's heat shield. Shuttles are now routinely inspected in flight for any damage of the sort that doomed Columbia in 2003. Discovery had originally been scheduled to land on Thursday, but the flight was extended a day to allow a fourth spacewalk to fold up a stubborn, accordion-like solar array on the space station.

Got acouple today. Incase you have never seen "Lindsay Lights" here is the display for this year and a making of video.

http://lindsaylights.com/Videos/2006_Videos/2006_musical_sequence.html

http://lindsaylights.com/Videos/2006_Videos/Videos_2006_Lindsaylights_the_making_of.html

Unreal!

Here's last years

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8642937975406152279&q=Lindsay+lights&hl=en

Eat your heart out! :)

The Patriots face a tough late-season road test against Jacksonville this week with an opportunity to clinch the AFC East division title with a victory. The Jaguars, also contending for a spot in the AFC playoffs, have been one of the NFL's best teams at home, sporting a 6-1 record at Alltel Stadium while allowing visitors a league-low 9.1 points per game. This week's game will be broadcast by CBS. This is a big one folks!

Space Shuttle Discovery undocked from the International Space Station at 5:10 p.m. today, ending an eight-day stay. Pilot Bill Oefelein guided the shuttle through a partial fly-around of the space station before firing shuttle jets to begin the final separation from the station and the trip back home. The STS-116 crew bid farewell to the International Space Station’s Expedition 14 crew before entering Space Shuttle Discovery. The hatches closed between the two vehicles at 2:42 p.m. Then, the two crews conducted leak checks before Discovery undocked. Discovery is scheduled to land at 3:56 p.m. Friday at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The STS-116 crew had a busy stay at the station. The crew continued the on-orbit construction of the station with the addition of the P5 spacer truss segment during the first of four spacewalks. The next two spacewalks were devoted to the rewiring of the station’s power system, leaving it in a permanent setup. A fourth spacewalk was added to allow the crew to retract solar arrays that had folded improperly. Discovery also delivered a new crew member and more than two tons of equipment and supplies to the station. Almost two tons of items no longer needed on the station will return to Earth with STS-116.

To help get you in the holiday mood!

http://www.fanpop.com/spots/christmas/links/12319

I love "A Charlie Brown Christmas". This should be required viewing this time a year!

Astronauts were scheduled to say goodbye to the space station Tuesday after their latest and greatest success, a spacewalk completed with none of the ground training they had for previous spacewalks, and with only a few days of planning by engineers at Mission Control.
U.S. astronaut Robert Curbeam and Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang of the European Space Agency worked for more than five hours during a 6 1/2-hour spacewalk Monday to get the last section of a 115-foot-long solar array folded up into a box at the international space station. The spacewalking pair used a scraper to try to get the array unstuck, shook the panel and used pliers to tighten the wire that folds it up. It was a stop-and-go process with the spacewalkers fiddling with the arrays and then astronauts inside the space station sending remote-controlled commands to fold up the array. Curbeam worked from the end of the space station's robotic arm. His fourth trip outside the station during Discovery's visit set a record for the most spacewalks in a single shuttle mission. His spacewalk also moved him up to fifth place on the list of astronauts and cosmonauts with the most time spacewalking. Workers in Mission Control applauded when the final section fell into the box, although a wire loop hung out. Curbeam worked about half an hour longer to get it rolled back in and the box latched. The array was part of the space station's temporary power source. The space agency had to retract it to make room for a newly installed array that will be part of the space station's permanent power source. During their 13-day mission, Discovery's astronauts have rewired the station, installed a 2-ton, $11 million addition to the orbiting space lab and replaced space station crew member Thomas Reiter of Germany with American astronaut Sunita Williams, who will spend the next six months in orbit. Discovery will undock at 5:09 p.m. ET Tuesday and return to Earth Friday. Because of supply limits, Discovery needs to be on the ground by Saturday.

New England wrapped up its home slate of games for the 2006 season with a one-sided throttling of the Houston Texans, 40-7. Without Laurence Maroney, Vince Wilfork and Ben Watson, coupled with inconsistent play by the Patriots of late, no game could be chalked up as an automatic win but it didn't take long in this one to see the Texans were being overwhelmed and overmatched. The Patriots defense picked off David Carr four times, sacked him another four times (all in the first half) and generally gave Tom Brady and the Patriots offense short fields to work with. The result was the offense not really needing a whole lot of yards in order to score points. Brady and crew had 230 yards of total offense with Corey Dillon carrying 20 times for 61 yards and Kevin Faulk with 4 rushes for 22 yards and a touchdown along with 2 catches for 46 yards and a score. Most important it was a clean game for the home team. Unlike the earlier game against an inferior Detroit team when turnovers kept things close, this time New England took care of the ball with the final score more indicative of the difference between the two teams. A fake punt attempt early in the first quarter set up New England's first score of the game. The Texans were fourth and 1 on their own 42 and lined up to punt. Instead Jason Simmons tried running for the first down but Larry Izzo and Corey Mays crashed in to make the stop short of the first down stick. Good field position resulted for the Patriots offense and with Dillon runs of 7 and 15, it only took seven plays before Kevin Faulk ran it in from 11 yards out. New England quickly upped its lead to 10-0. David Carr dropped back to pass on his first down immediately following Faulk's score and had the ball batted into the air by an onrushing Richard Seymour. Seymour also came up with the interception and the Patriots offense re-took the field first and 10 at the Texans 24. The Texans held New England to 6 yards and Stephen Gostkowski was good on a 36-yard field goal attempt. The rout was on when Carr had his second pass tipped on his next series. This time the Texans were moving the ball. They had started on their own 10 and were at midfield when Carr looked to Eric Moulds. Tedy Bruschi managed to reach up and redirect the ball into James Sanders arms who took the return back to the Texans 44. New England took over and after a Dillon run for a yard, Brady threw a little screen to Faulk who found himself behind a convoy of blockers en route to the end zone; his second score of the first quarter and a 17-0 lead for his team. Gostkowski tacked on another three later in the second quarter with a 32-yard boot. Rosevelt Colvin had stripped-sacked Carr forcing the Texans to punt from their own 16. Troy Brown got hit on the return after calling for a fair catch and the penalty put the ball first and 10 at the Houston 31. Playing it conservative, New England only moved to the 14 before settling for the field goal. In all, New England sacked Carr four times in the first half, forcing short series for the Texans and good starting field position for the Patriots. After Tully Banta Cain notched his second sack late in the second quarter, Houston punted and the Patriots embarked on yet another scoring drive as the game creeped under two minutes to play in the half. A huge pass interference call on Dunta Robinson who arm barred Reche Caldwell off a deep pass by Brady down the right sideline moved things to the 12 yard line. Three plays later Brady hit Jabar Gaffney from 7 yards out to make the score 27-0. Houston came out like a different team to start the second half. Seven of its first 10 plays went to Ron Dayne, the final a 1-yard run for the Texans first score of the game, and Houston made the 70-yard scoring drive look easy.
Not quite as easy as Ellis Hobbs return on the ensuing kick, however. Hobbs fielded the ball on his 7 and ran right up the gut virtually untouched for his first touchdown return of his career. Just like that, New England had its 27-point lead back at 34-7. Hobbs added another big play to his day, picking off Carr late in the third quarter on an overthrown ball intended for Andre Johnson. That gave the Patriots the ball at the Texans 29-yard line where they worked it on the ground, getting to the 12 as the game moved into the fourth quarter. After Matt Light was flagged for a false start on third and 5, Brady hit Faulk for 3 yards and Gostkowski was good on his third field goal on the day, a 31-yarder to make the score 37-7 with 14:18 left to play. Not to be outdone by his younger teammate, Asante Samuel picked up his eighth interception of the season on Carr's next series, returning it to the Texan's 6-yard line. Mercifully, New England was unable to find the end zone and Gostkowski nailed a 21-yard field goal for a 40-7 Patriots lead. With 8:41 left to play, Brady called it a day as Matt Cassel mopped up. Brady's numbers were in no way reflective of the points on the board: 16 of 23 passing for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cassel engineered four first downs as the game moved to the two-minute warning. From there, Vinny Testaverde entered the loosely-called contest to take the final knees.

The STS-116 crew prepared on Sunday for its fourth spacewalk. The excursion, which was added Saturday, will be an attempt to retract the P6 port solar array on the International Space Station. U.S. astronaut Robert Curbeam was poised to set a new record for the most spacewalks completed on a mission by a single crewmember, this being his fourth. Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang, who paired up with Curbeam on two earlier spacewalks, will assist as Curbeam attempts to free some stuck grommets on the 115-foot array. Throughout the day, the astronauts prepared tools and spacesuits for use. Flight controllers put the finishing touches on the spacewalk’s timeline for review by the crew. The spacewalk is slated to begin at 2:12 p.m. EST Monday. In other activities Sunday, the STS-116 and Expedition 14 crews transferred cargo between the station and Space Shuttle Discovery. Shuttle crew members took a break from the schedule at 6:27 p.m. to talk with the Press. Overnight, Curbeam and Fuglesang will sleep in the Quest airlock for the pre-spacewalk campout procedure. During a campout, the pressure is lowered in the airlock to the pressure normally found on Earth at 10,000 feet above sea level. The procedure protects against decompression sickness as spacewalkers go to the even lower pressure in the spacesuits for the spacewalk. During the spacewalk, Curbeam and Fuglesang will attempt to free up the array for retraction with several techniques -- pulling guide wires, flipping grommets, and pushing panel hinges. If necessary, the spacewalkers will shake the panel. Another objective of the fourth spacewalk is to collect additional information that could prove useful when the opposite side of the array is retracted on STS-117 in March. The fourth spacewalk resulted in an extra day at the station for the STS-116 crew. Discovery is scheduled to undock at 5:09 p.m. Tuesday. Landing is now targeted for 3:55 p.m. Friday at Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

The Patriots host the Houston Texans this week in the final 2006 regular-season game at Gillette Stadium. The game is the first in a three-game stretch against teams from the AFC South to close out the regular season. This week's game will be broadcast by CBS.

After a two-day journey, space shuttle Discovery reached the international space station Monday for a weeklong stay. Discovery linked up with the orbiting lab at 5:12 p.m. ET. An hour earlier the orbiter did a slow back flip so that crew members at the international space station could photograph its belly for any signs of liftoff damage. Polansky executed the maneuver as the shuttle flew about 600 feet beneath the orbiting lab. The digital images will be transmitted to Mission Control for analysis.

The Patriots took on their division rivals, the Dolphins on Sunday afternoon. The Patriots suffered as bad a loss as they've had in recent memory, being completely manhandled and falling 21-0 to the Miami Dolphins. A defensive battle played out, with both teams jockeying for field position. The Patriots were unable to shake the Phins defense, which secured a shutout thanks to stellar special teams play. Turnover problems finally caught up to the Pats and they fell to the Dolphins 21-0, sinking to an overall record of 9-4. Enough said on that topic...

Here's the video of Discovery's launch last night in case you missed it live.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nfQ3HAbfc8&mode=related&search=

Space shuttle Discovery lifted off Saturday evening at 8:47 p.m., beginning a 12-day mission with the first night launch in four years. Weather conditions thought to be threatening the launch earlier in the day improved markedly as launch time approached Saturday, officials said. Adverse weather scrubbed a planned Thursday launch at the last second and pre-empted an attempt Friday. The shuttle team, which was behind schedule because of the bad weather, spent three hours Saturday afternoon filling the exterior fuel tank with half a million pounds of super-cold liquid oxygen and hydrogen, a Kennedy Space Center spokesman said.
The STS-116 mission is the 33rd for Discovery and the 117th space shuttle flight. During the mission, the crew of seven will continue construction on the international space station by rewiring the orbiting laboratory and adding a two-ton segment to its integrated truss structure. Three 6 1/2-hour spacewalks are scheduled. Astronaut Robert Curbeam, one of two veterans on the flight, will make all three spacewalks.
He'll be joined by Christer Fuglesang on the first two and Sunita Williams on the third. Williams will stay at the international space station, and space station flight engineer Thomas Reiter will return. The launch was the first at night since the Columbia disaster in 2003, when foam shedding from an external fuel tank during launch damaged the orbiter, leading to a catastrophic failure when the spacecraft re-entered Earth's atmosphere. In the wake of the disaster, NASA installed new cameras to watch for debris and foam strikes during launches. However, because some of those cameras are of limited use during a night launch, NASA added radar systems to monitor the launch for debris.In a post-launch briefing, NASA launch managers said there was no preliminary indication of any flight-related problems with falling foam or any other technical issue. They plan to examine their imagery, and the shuttle and international space station crews will visually inspect the shuttle for any potential damage in the coming days. After reaching orbit, Discovery’s crew set to work to open the payload bay doors, set up computers and equipment and check out the shuttle’s robotic arm. Heat shield inspections will begin Sunday with a station docking scheduled for Monday at 5:05 p.m.

The launch of Space Shuttle Discovery was scrubbed Thursday evening at the last minute after poor weather conditions spoiled the attempt at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Earlier in the day a cold front moved in over the spaceport, bringing clouds and winds into the area. The cloud ceiling proved to be too low for a safe launch, prompting NASA to postpone Discovery's flight. NASA officials have set the next launch attempt for 8:47 p.m. EST on Dec. 9. But the weather isn't looking too good for then. Watch for a attempt early next week instead.

The Patriots begin the fourth quarter of the 2006 regular season this week against the Dolphins in Miami. New England will face a tough test on the road against a team that has won four of its last five games and sports the sixth-ranked defense in the NFL. This week's game will be broadcast by CBS. The Fins are always a tough go for the Pats. But I think the Pats are ready to perform like the did against Green Bay and The Vikings and pull this one out. My pick - Pats 24 Fins 10.

NASA has downgraded launch chances to 40 percent due to weather. An expected cloud ceiling at 3,000 feet was the biggest obstacle for getting Discovery off the ground at 9:35 p.m. ET Today. NASA won't launch with low clouds because officials want to track it visually and allow enough visibility in case the astronauts need to make a difficult emergency landing at the Kennedy Space Center's runway. The weather wasn't expected to be cooperating at the shuttle's emergency landing sites in Spain and France, either. The forecast only gets worse for the following two days. Expected crosswinds and isolated showers at Kennedy Space Center reduced the chances of launch to 30 percent on Friday and 40 percent Saturday. The weather was expected to improve at the beginning of next week. The seven astronauts' 12-day mission to the international space station will continue construction on the orbiting laboratory.
The shuttle also will bring home one of the space station astronauts and leave behind a fresh crew member. Aside from weather worries, NASA wrestled with two technical concerns before resolving them Wednesday. The first was a split-second power surge from the launch platform to the space shuttle on Tuesday. But tests revealed no problems. The second involved a booster-seal glue used on segments of the solid rocket boosters. A recent test by the manufacturer raised questions about the glue's strength. After evaluating data, NASA managers concluded the adhesive was good to go. NASA has four launch opportunities over five days, if necessary, to begin the mission. Discovery's seven astronauts planned to rewire the space station, deliver a 2-ton addition and replace one of the space station's three crew members.
This is the first planned night launch in four years. NASA required daylight liftoffs for the three flights after the 2003 Columbia accident to make sure the agency could get good photos of the external fuel tank. However, NASA is now more comfortable that the major foam problems have been addressed and that radar will help spot any debris falling. Meanwhile, the space station's crew awaited word Wednesday whether their visitors would be joining them soon. Mission Control told them that weather remained the only obstacle and that the technical concerns had been cleared.

Dart game. This is hard!

http://media.nothingtoxic.com/uploads/e5ba21b501aaf6919c88d6e06b03daf9.swf

Cool video shows the ISS as it is now and how it will look when completed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw5-n5Js6DM

The clock is ticking for NASA’s shuttle Discovery as launch controllers began counting down towards the spacecraft’s planned Dec. 7 launch late Monday. At Launch Pad 39B, Space Shuttle Discovery is safely enveloped by the pad's rotating service structure, which protects the shuttle assembly from the elements while providing access for technicians. The structure will be rolled back to the "park" position early Thursday morning, revealing the shuttle poised for launch. NASA controllers reported to their consoles in Firing Room 4 at the Launch Control Center here at the Kennedy Space Center at 10:30 p.m. EST today and countdown clock began ticking towards liftoff 30 minutes later. Discovery is slated to blast off on Thursday, Dec. 7 at 9:35:47 p.m. EST (0235:47 Dec. 8 GMT). The T-43 hour countdown includes 27 hours, 36 minutes of built-in hold time. Current weather forecasts predict a 80 percent chance that launch will proceed as scheduled, although there are some concerns of low clouds and isolated showers. The five-man, two-woman STS-116 crew flew into KSC from Houston yesterday afternoon. In these final days leading up to the launch, they will be performing final inspection of the hardware and tools they will use during their 12-day construction mission on the International Space Station. Discovery commander Mark Polansky and pilot William Oefelein are also practicing shuttle landings. Riding with Polansky and Oefelein will be mission specialists Nicholas Patrick, Robert Curbeam, Joan Higginbotham, Sunita Williams and Christer Fuglesang, a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut who is also the first Swede to fly in space. The STS-116 crew is tasked with rewiring the electrical grid of the ISS and delivering a new $11 million portside piece of the orbital laboratory. Williams will also relieve ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter who has been aboard the station since July. ISS flight controllers also successfully performed a 23-minute rocket burn to boost the orbital laboratory to a higher orbit Monday afternoon in preparation for docking with the shuttle on Dec. 9. Attempts to do so last week were cut short due to an unexpected shift in the station's orientation caused by the installation of new ISS components in September. A failure to raise the station's orbit would have cut into the shuttle's launch window, which currently runs from Dec. 7 to 17 and possibly later if shuttle mission managers approve Discovery for flight over the end-of-year rollover. The STS-116 mission is the 33rd for Discovery and the 117th space shuttle flight.

ew England won despite playing another turnover-filled game. The Patriots had three but unlike last week when they suffered five to Chicago's four, this time the Lions were on the short end with five of their own. Penalties also plagued the Patriots, 10 for 72 yards, and forced them to overcome a 21-13 deficit with 15 fourth quarter points.Tom Brady managed 305 passing yards but was held without a touchdown along with one interception. Reche Caldwell was his leading man with 8 catches for 112 yards. Kevin Faulk had several crunch time catches, finishing with 8 for 59 yards. For the Lions, Jon Kitna was throwing the ball all over the field for 314 yards on 22 of 38 passing and a touchdown. His team could not get by his three interceptions, however. His main target was Mike Furrey who had 9 catches for 123 yards and a score. It took quite a while for this one to have the same feeling of intensity as last week's slugfest with the Bears, but by the end, plenty of fans left knowing that their team was fortunate to come away with the win. After a three plays and out effort on the Patriots first drive of the game, New England came up with three points on its second series. Caldwell continued to be Brady's main target, coming up with his team's first three catches of the day for 21, 18 and 19 yards to get down to the Lions 22. Patrick Pass got his first carry of the 2006 season for 4 yards and then Caldwell caught yet another pass for 5 yards to the 13. A holding call on Nick Kaczur stalled the drive somewhat and despite a 9-yard catch by Daniel Graham to the 12-yard line, New England ultimately settled for a 25-yard Stephen Gotskowski field goal to open the scoring. During the drive, Laurence Maroney left the game and the sideline with an undisclosed injury and did not return. No word on the injury, but Coach Bill Belichick said "he's doing all right." As the first quarter ended the Lions were poised to answer. Kitna hit Mike Furrey for 31 yards and followed that play with a 21 yard completion to Roy Williams to the Patriots 36. Furrey was good for another 9 yard catch but it looked like the Patriots might keep the Lions at least out of the end zone when Richard Seymour batted down a pass and then flushed Kitna out of the pocket on the next play to force a third and 10 from the 24 at the start of the second quarter. That's when Kitna found Kevin Jones uncovered in the right flat and the Lions halfback took the pass 17 yards. Two plays later Kitna connected with Furrey from 5 yards out for the touchdown. Detroit got the ball back after a 12-yard sack of Brady by Cory Redding forced another three and out for New England. Mixing Kevin Jones runs with a timely third and 2 completion to Corey Bradford for 12 yards, the Lions looked to extend their lead. But on first and goal at the four, Artrell Hawkins separated Jones from the ball and Mike Vrabel recovered at the 2-yard line. The turnover could have been a big play in the game but was rendered somewhat meaningless when Pass returned the fumble favor three plays later. He was stripped from behind and Dre Bly picked up the loose ball giving the Lions first and 10 from the Patriots 14. Detroit didn't find the end zone as a result but did tack on three points on a 29-yard field goal to make the score 10-3. At the first half's two minute warning, the Patriots offense was finally getting on track. Troy Brown ran 16 yards on a reverse to open up the drive. After Brady came up short to a wide open Caldwell downfield, he hit Jabar Gaffney for 28 yards to the Lions 29. He then found Ben Watson down the middle for 23 more. On first and goal from the 6 it was Corey Dillon behind left tackle for the score with 1:15 left to play in the half. In an effort to get down the field quickly, Kitna wound up throwing an interception to Asante Samuel, Samuel's seventh pick of the season. That gave Brady the ball back with 47 seconds and two timeouts. Brady went into hurry-up mode and found Caldwell on a second down pass for 28 yards with 32 seconds left. After getting nailed and barely getting rid of the ball, Brady dumped one off to Faulk who scampered 22 yards down the left sideline and out of bounds with 19 seconds left. Doug Gabriel's 12-yard catch moved the chains to the 9 but that was as far as New England would go, settling for a 27-yard field goal and a 13-10 lead at the half. New England's defense looked like a tired bunch as the second half opened with Jones continuing to run well, mostly right up the middle, and Detroit's offensive coordinator, Mike Martz, calling a wide variety of formations and plays. He even called back-up quarterback Josh McNown's number for an 8-yard pass that Kitna completed. That play set up a third and 2 at the New England 20. Tedy Bruschi and Tully Banta-Cain teamed up to stuff Jones on the Lions third down try and Detroit tied the score with a 38-yard field goal. New England's offense didn't give its defense much of a breather when Brady threw Caldwell's way three plays later and Bly stepped in front for the pick. Two penalties for Detroit hurt its subsequent series. After Blaine Saipaia was flagged for holding, Bruschi sacked Kitna for a 1-yard loss to set up a third and 21. Kitna got 17 yards back on a pass to Furrey and Jason Hanson nailed a 49-yard field goal to pull Detroit ahead 16-13. Things got a lot worse. Corey Mays was called for holding on the Lions kickoff and Brady started from his own 10. After Dillon lost a yard on first down, Kenoy Kennedy came around from his left side and hit Brady's arm prior to it going forward. The ball rolled into the end zone where Heath Evans recovered and was tackled for a Lions safety to make the score 18-13. Detroit got the ball back on the free kick and despite a 10-yard Ty Warren sack and a series of Lions penalties that should have been drive killers -- at one time it was first and 30 from midfield -- the Lions could not be stopped. Furrey continued his career day and Jones, doing it both on the ground and in the passing game, were terrorizing the Patriots defense. Still, the drive stopped short of a touchdown with Detroit once again only getting three points on a 26-yarder to give Detroit an 8-point edge with 13:07 to play in the game. That edge was quickly erased as Brady and Faulk worked their way downfield. Faulk had four catches for 33 yards en route to a 2-yard Dillon touchdown. Brady hit Brown on the two-point conversion try to tie the score at 21. On the drive Pass chipped in with a 16-yard catch along with a 2-yard run to convert a third and 1 from the Lions 9-yard line. Kitna seemed unfazed. After getting the ball back he immediately hit Dan Campbell for 21 yards to midfield but then got sloppy. He looked Campbell's way again but didn't see Vrabel dropped back in the left flat. Vrabel made the pick and things were finally going New England's way. That trend suffered a temporary hiccup when Watson coughed up the ball after making a catch down the middle. The Lions took over and Kitna hit Jones for 18 yards but on his second play, Rosevelt Colvin broke into the backfield and jarred the ball loose from the Detroit quarterback. Mike Wright pounced on it and New England was fortunate to get the ball right back. This time the Patriots took better care of things starting at the Lions 32. Seven plays later, Dillon ran it in from 4 yards out and his third touchdown of the day, his best scoring output as a Patriot. Down by a touchdown, Detroit took over with 2:33 left to play. On third and 4 from the Lions 31, Kitna was flushed from the pocket and took off to his right. Just as he was hit he inexplicably threw the ball up for grabs in bounds rather than just throwing it away. Vrabel caught the ball for the game-ending interception as Brady ended things with a series of knees. On the play, Vrabel was helped off the field with an undisclosed leg injury. The tougher than expected win moves New England to 9-3 on the season, in control of the AFC East but with a tough road game in Miami coming up.

NASA senior managers wrapped up the two-day flight readiness review on Nov. 29 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At a press conference immediately following the review, William Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations, announced Dec. 7 as the launch date for the STS-116 mission to the International Space Station. The launch window for the STS-116 mission extends through Dec. 17. The seven-member flight crew will arrive for launch at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility the afternoon of Dec. 3. Primary payloads on the 12-day mission are the P5 integrated truss segment, SPACEHAB single logistics module and an integrated cargo carrier. The STS-116 mission will be the 20th flight to the station.

The Patriots welcome the Detroit Lions to Foxborough this week for the final game in a three-game stretch against NFC North teams for New England. Detroit, making its first regular-season appearance in Foxborough since 1993, will make its first visit to Gillette Stadium, where the Patriots have a 19-4 record against first-time opponents. This week's game will be broadcast by Fox.

On Nov. 28 and 29, NASA managers will hold the traditional Flight Readiness Review at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The review is a two-day assessment of preparations for Discovery's mission and is designed to produce a number of key decisions about the assembly flight, including selection of an official launch date. If the decision is made to proceed for the opening of the launch window, the seven-member crew will arrive for launch at the Shuttle Landing Facility the afternoon of Dec. 3 for launch on Dec. 7.

Junior Seau was lured back to the NFL by Bill Belichick in August after a brief retirement of a little under a week. But the 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker didn't make it to December. The New England Patriots on Monday placed Seau on injured reserve, ending his season. Seau suffered a broken right arm after tackling running back Cedric Benson in the second quarter of the Patriots' 17-13 win over Chicago on Sunday. Seau's right arm was dangling and was clearly broken above the wrist. The Patriots' medical staff immediately put Seau's arm into an air cast, but Junior walked off under his own power to the cheers of New England fans.
This was Seau's 17th season and it represented a chance for him to win his first Super Bowl. That is what inspired Seau to sign a one-year deal with the Patriots on August 18, four days after he announced his retirement. The 37-year-old Seau paired with Bruschi in the middle of the team's 3-4 defense and recorded 70 tackles in 11 games. He recorded a season-high 15 tackles in a loss against the New York Jets on November 12. After Seau's injury, the Patriots moved Mike Vrabel from outside linebacker to inside next to Bruschi. Tully Banta-Cain took Vrabel's spot at outside linebacker. Seau played the first 13 years of his career with the San Diego Chargers and is the franchise's best defensive player. He spent the last three seasons with the Miami Dolphins, who released him last March to save $2.1 million under the salary cap. Last year, Seau played in just seven games before suffering an Achilles tendon injury. In 2004, Seau started eight games for Miami before suffering a torn pectoral muscle. Seau was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decade Team for the 1990s and was named to the Pro Bowl 12 straight years from 1992-2003. Some have said that this is a career ending injury, but the word is that Seau said he would like to return for one more year. I wish him well on his recovery and hope it is a speedy one. I, for one, would love to see him back next year as a Patriot.

New England survived five turnovers, coming up with four of their own and came away with a 17-13 win over the Chicago Bears at Gillette Stadium. Asante Samuel was the defensive star of the game with three interceptions of Rex Grossman. As a whole, the Patriots defensive squad did not allow Chicago to really take advantage of their opportunities, holding them to only one touchdown despite the running of Thomas Jones (23 carries, 99 yards) and Cedric Benson (10 carries, 46 yards). On offense Ben Watson had 6 grabs for 89 yards and a touchdown while Tom Brady was 22 of 33 for 269 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions on tipped balls. The first quarter began less the defensive struggle many predicted and more a series of miscues by both teams. New England went three and out on the game's opening drive while Samuel picked off Grossman on the Chicago's first series. Although the turnover set the Patriots up first and 10 at the Bears 39, it was just the first of four that kept both teams off the scoreboard in the first quarter. The second one came during the series after Samuel's pick. New England had a third and 8 from the Bears 24 and Brady looked down the middle to Watson. The ball was on the mark and it looked like Watson was going to come down with the catch at the 1-yard line but Bears safety Todd Johnson made the hit just as Watson's feet hit the ground and the ball popped up into the air. Charles Tillman came down with it at the 5-yard line. Just like New England, the Bears looked like they might convert their turnover into points. While the Patriots defense was doing a good job against the run, Grossman was passing his way downfield using Desmond Clark for 9 and 13 yards and then Bernard Berrian (5 catches, 104 yards) for 21 yards to the New England 25. The Patriots held from there and kicker Robbie Gould set up for a 40-yard field goal. The kick was good but the Bears were flagged for a false start. That moved the ball back 5 yards and this time, Richard Seymour got a hand up and blocked the attempt to keep the game scoreless. New England took over at the 35-yard line and Brady went to work hitting Troy Brown for 13 on third and 5 from the 40. On the next play, Dillon broke free through the right side for a run of 26 yards. Another 10 yards were tacked on after Danieal Manning of the Bears hit him out of bounds. Now with a first and 10 at the Chicago 11, it looked like some sure points for New England. The turnovers continued, however, when Maroney took the ball up the middle on the next play and was met by Lance Briggs. Briggs not only made the stop, he stripped Maroney of the ball on his way down and recovered the fumble. The Bears threatened to score first once again after the Patriots second turnover. Grossman began the series with a 13-yard completion to Benson followed by a Benson run for 14 to the Bears 45. Two plays later, Grossman looked deep to Berrian and connected for a 47-yard gain. On the play, with Samuel in coverage, New England challenged that Berrian did not have possession but the play stood. Turnover number four happened three plays later when Grossman, on third down at the 5-yard line, fumbled the snap. Seymour made his second big play of the day by coming up with the recovery and New England escaped. This time New England was able to convert as play moved into the second quarter. A huge pass down the middle to Daniel Graham for 25 yards moved the chains to the New England 46. Graham made a beautiful diving catch to come down with the ball. Brady stayed hot two plays later with a 15-yard pick-up to Reche Caldwell who made a sliding catch along the left sideline. From there it was the Laurence Maroney show. He had runs of 6 and 8 yards, caught one for 12 to the Bears 1 and then plowed through the line for the touchdown on the next play. Chicago answered with a 46-yard field goal and a good mix of run and pass to get into scoring position. Benson had another good run, this one 16 yards, but once inside the Patriots 30, New England stiffened and got good pressure on Grossman on a third and 4 situation forcing an incomplete and the field goal with 4:04 left in the first half. Unfortunately, during that Bears series, Pats veteran linebacker Junior Seau sustained a right arm injury while tackling Chicago running back Cedric Benson only two plays after Maroney ran in the Pats first touchdown. Seau fell on his right arm, which landed on the back of Benson’s ankle. The arm flexed severely above the wrist, and Seau left with it in what looked like an inflatable splint, tears welling up in his eyes. His return was originally listed as “Questionable,” but was later downgraded to “Out.” It looked like a bad break. Lets just hope it's not career ending. Both teams traded punts and at the two-minute warning, New England had the ball back after Mike Wright got a hand on the punt by Brad Maynard and the ball only traveled 24 yards to the Patriots 39. Brady went to the air and hit Kevin Faulk on consecutive plays for gains of 3 and 8 yards. Maroney chipped in with a 9-yard catch and Faulk was good for 6 more yards. With 12 seconds left, Brady looked downfield on third and 10 from the 35. He connected with Watson but after review, it was determined the ball hit the ground. Earlier in the drive a Caldwell 9-yard catch was reviewed and also nullified. The end of the half came down to a 52-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski that he had two chances to make. On the first attempt which was wide right, Bears head coach Lovie Smith called timeout just before the snap. Given the second life, Gostkowski made good, just sneaking the ball over the crossbar for a 10-3 Patriots lead at the half. The turnovers continued into the second half, two of them coming on one play. On the Patriots second series of the third quarter, Brady completed what looked like a 23-yard pass to Watson around the Bears 20. From behind, Briggs punched the ball loose and into the air. Caldwell came down with it but he too was stripped by Manning with Manning making the recovery as well. A roughing call on Charles Tillman, who hit Watson after double-fumble play, gave the Bears first and 10 at their 7. Grossman hit Mushin Muhammed for 18 yards to get some breathing room and then proceeded to start handing off to Jones. Jones ran seven times to the New England 29 but from there, Grossman looked to Clark and Samuel read it perfectly for his second interception of the game.Three plays later it was yet another turnover. This one went off the fingertips of Troy Brown and got batted around until Tillman grabbed it giving his team first and 10 at the Chicago 47. Next, a huge and perhaps questionable pass interference call on Artrell Hawkins moved the Bears from their 49 to the Patriots 6. On the play, Hawkins was step for step with Berrian and looked to be making as much a play on the ball, if not more, than Berrian. That's not how the refs saw it and Chicago was first and goal at the Patriots 6. Four plays later, Benson took it in from 2 yards out to tie the game with 14:53 left to play.
Watson got his chance to make amends on the Patriots next drive and he didn't miss the opportunity. His 40-yard grab gave his team first and 10 at the Bears 26. Three plays later it was Brady of all people making Brian Urlacher look silly has he ran by him en route to an 11-yard gain. The drive ended with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Watson to give New England back its lead at 17-10. New England was in excellent shape to force the Bears to give the ball back when Grossman dropped back on third and 7 from his 48 and threw up a prayer under pressure. The ball dropped well short of where Ellis Hobbs and Berrian were downfield. But flags flew and Hobbs was called for pass interference at the 18. Unlike the Hawkins call, there was no question on this one as Hobbs ran into Berrian, blocking him from the ball had it been on target. New England's D held tough, stopping the Bears in their tracks and forcing another field goal, a 32-yarder to make the score 17-13 with 3:31 left. An extended drive would end the game but at the same time, New England had to take care of the ball. That didn't stop Brady from opening up with a 22 yard completion to Caldwell up to the Patriots 48. On third and 9 from midfield, it was Caldwell again as Brady got rid of the ball in the face of a Bears blitz for 20 yards. Heath Evans and Dillon runs brought about the two minute warning and a third and 5 from the Bears 25. When play resumed the call was to Dillon and exactly what the Patriots needed to prevent, happened. Dillon coughed it up and the Bears recovered at the 22-yard line. With 1:48 left but no timeouts, the Bears needed to make up some quick ground. Grossman immediately looked deep to Rashied Davis but Samuel was in perfect position for his third interception of the game to end the contest. The Pats walked away with their first home win this season.

The Patriots welcome the NFC's top team to Foxborough this weekend as the 9-1 Chicago Bears come to town. The game will feature the NFL's top two defenses - the Bears lead the league, allowing just 12.0 points per game, and the Patriots rank second, allowing 13.1 points per game. Both defenses will be put to a strong test, with the Patriots coming off of a 35-point output in Green Bay and Chicago averaging 28.2 points per game, a mark that ranks second in the NFL. This week's game will be broadcast by Fox. This is a big game for the Pats. They need to win this and I think they will. My pick, Pats 24 Bears 16

Gillette Stadium unveiled its brand new FieldTurf playing surface to the media today.

The Patriots had never beaten the Packers in Lambeau Field. Then again, the Packers had never been shut out twice in a season on their historic home turf. The scene at that hallowed stadium on Sunday was of total Patriots domination. The defense preserved a perfect, scoreless game and the offense was clicking on all cylinders. The final score was 35-0. The Patriots defense made Brett Favre look like a quarterback in the twilight of his career and then put an early end to his day, knocking him from the contest after a second quarter sack. Ty Warren returned to action and had a solid game with a sack and a half and the unit as a whole played almost flawlessly despite missing Eugene Wilson, Asante Samuel and Rodney Harrison from its backfield. Laurence Maroney had a very workmanlike day with 82 yards on 19 carries and another 34 yards on catches with a 19-yard touchdown. Better yet, it was a good stats day for Tom Brady, something he needed after his four interceptions last week. By the time he gave way to Matt Cassel in the fourth quarter he was 20 of 31 for 244 yards and 4 touchdowns without a pick. Leading all Patriots receivers was Ben Watson with 5 catches, 74 yards and a touchdown. It turned out to be a seemingly easy win as the Patriots moved to 7-3 on the season. After forcing Green Bay to a three and out on the first series of the game, New England went right down the field and hit paydirt on its first try. Brady connected with Ben Watson streaking over the middle after play-actioning to Maroney. Watson's catch was good for 36 yards down to the Packers 11. After a 4-yard Dillon run, Troy Brown caught a little pass for 5 yards to set up a fourth and 1 situation from the 2-yard line. New England went for it and Brady found Daniel Graham dragging across the end zone for the score. Green Bay attempted to get three points back when Brady and Corey Dillon, still in the first quarter, botched a handoff and the Packers recovered at the Patriots 30. The Patriots defense only allowed 3 yards in three plays and Dave Rayner of the Packers missed wide right on his field goal attempt allowing the Patriots to maintain their touchdown lead into the second quarter.
With 10:54 left in the first half, New England extended the lead on a 12-play drive ending in a 1-yard Dillon touchdown. Brady chipped his way downfield with short passes and Maroney runs until he went over the top to Graham on first and 10 from the Packers 23. Brady Poppinga of Green Bay was flagged for pass interference on the play and the Patriots had first and goal from the 1. Brady looked to Mike Vrabel, in at tight end, on the first play and Vrabel just missed coming up with the touchdown after he hauled down the pass with one foot in bounds but the other coming down just after his elbow touched out of bounds. Dillon took it in on the next play for the 14-0 score. Meanwhile, the Packers offense was listless. Ahman Green was getting nowhere on the ground and even when he had receivers open, as he did a few times on third down, Favre was missing badly. The one-sided affair grew even more so when Brady hit Reche Caldwell for 54 yards on first and 10 from the New England 46 just before the first half's two minute warning. Caldwell was wide open behind everyone and Brady was perfect with his throw to put his team up 21-0. Before the half was completely over, a Tully Banta-Cain and Tedy Bruschi sack of Favre forced him to the sideline holding his right elbow. His numbers were indicative of the day for Green Bay: 5 of 15 for 73 yards. He was replaced by Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers stayed at quarterback as the second half opened but did not provide the type of spark for his team that many of the back-up QBs around the league have this season. Adding insult to injury, the Patriots tacked on another seven as the third quarter neared an end. Chad Jackson started things off with a 21-yard catch to the Packers 39. Maroney ran for 2 and then Watson caught his third ball of the day for 13. A Maroney run for 11 two plays later set up a first and goal at the Packers 8. Brady dropped back and looked left. He fired a bullet that an outstretched Watson snared, keeping both feet in bounds for the score along the left side of the end zone. It was a great pass and an even better catch. More importantly, it made the score 28-0. Later, Kevin Faulk had a 36-yard punt return to the Packers 23 to set up the Patriots fifth touchdown on the day. Then, on third down from the 19, Brady hit Maroney on a little swing pass and Maroney made a nice move to elude Nick Barnett on his way to the end zone untouched. After Cassel came in during the fourth quarter, it was newly-acquired Vinny Testaverde taking the final knees of the game. :)

The Patriots begin a stretch of three straight games against teams from the NFC North division when they travel to Green Bay to play the Packers on Sunday afternoon. New England will look to snap its first losing streak since 2002 against a Green Bay team that has won three of its last four games. This week's game will be broadcast by CBS at 1:00. I think the Pats will rebound this week and have a great running game as well. My Pick Pats 24 Packers 17.

The seven-member Space Shuttle Discovery crew is at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to participate in the terminal countdown demonstration test. On Wednesday the astronauts took part in several morning briefings, then spent the afternoon at Launch Pad 39B for emergency egress training and a visit to Discovery's payload bay. A standard part of prelaunch training, the test allows the astronauts to try on their launch and entry suits, learn emergency procedures at the launch pad, and a variety of familiarization activities and briefings. The highlight of the training schedule is a simulated countdown, set for Thursday morning. Space Shuttle Discovery is in launch position at Launch Pad 39B, and the mission's primary payloads, the P5 integrated truss segment and the SPACEHAB module, have been installed inside the orbiter's payload bay. The launch window opens Dec. 7 for the STS-116 mission to the International Space Station.

Blame it on Mick Jagger, 300-pound linemen or 150-pound soccer players. While you're at it, throw in the weatherman. The 100-yard long strip between the hash marks of the Patriots field is a mess, a slippery mixture of sand, green dye and dirt. It had so little grass - even unfertilized suburban lawns have more - that the team had to re-sod the section between the yard number markings before its home game Nov. 5th against the Colts. The Kraft family, owner of the Patriots and Gillette Stadium, opened the field for the 2002 season as a multi-purpose venue. The New England Revolution of MLS and the Rolling Stones also have played there. Athletes who dodge divots and shorten their strides to stay upright aren't satisfied. New England is one of the toughest NFL venues in which to grow grass in autumn. That, combined with all those events, presented a challenge to the Patriots. The Revolution had their 17th home game since April 30. The Patriots played two exhibition games there in August and, so far, three regular-season games before facing Indianapolis in three weeks. There was a Kenny Chesney concert July 16 and a Rolling Stones show Sept. 20. And early this month, filming began on the field for "The Game Plan," a movie with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Kyra Sedgwick. Any major repairs have been undone by all that activity. Thus, two days after the Patriots and Jets tore up the muddy Gillette Stadium playing field, team officials took the matter one step further: They had the entire field torn up for good. Utilizing a two-week window between home games, owner Robert Kraft and president Jonathan Kraft moved quickly to replace the natural grass field with a synthetic surface, FieldTurf. The surface is expected to be ready for Nov. 26, the date of the next home game, against the Bears. Mounds of dirt were hauled out of the stadium yesterday, as the sound of beeping trucks and tractors, and workers communicating on site, created a busy atmosphere on an otherwise quiet day at the stadium. Team officials deferred comment until today on the change, which had been under consideration for months, although there was a feeling among high-ranking Patriots officials that every option had been explored before moving away from grass. The team had resodded the field each of the last four years, and while the preference was to stick with the natural surface, the sloppy conditions Sunday reinforced their growing belief that the best option was to install synthetic grass. A spokesman from the NFL had previously stated that the league prohibited teams from changing the playing surface in the middle of the season, but that proved to be incorrect. NFL vice president of public relations Greg Aiello said yesterday that the league's Competition Committee had suggested that policy as a possible rule, but it was never adopted. Aiello added that the Patriots' change was a team decision, not a league mandate. "It was a club decision, we were notified, and we understand the Patriots' concerns," Aiello said. "We'll continue to monitor the field conditions at Gillette Stadium." The Patriots had resodded a significant portion of the middle of the field and both end zones prior to their Nov. 5 game against the Colts. The new sod showed significant wear after that game and after Sunday's contest, in which quarterback Tom Brady lost his footing several times. Asked about the field conditions after Sunday's loss, nose tackle Vince Wilfork described it simply as "terrible." The Krafts had considered installing a synthetic surface when Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, but expressed a preference for natural grass. A special drainage and heating system was installed beneath the surface in hopes of extending the life of the grass. But Jonathan Kraft said recently that one unanticipated aspect made the grass field difficult to maintain. "We knew having a very busy, multipurpose stadium, in the Northeast, would make it difficult to keep a natural grass surface in place," "We spent a lot of time, money, and energy researching a system to do this, and we developed a system under that field, and spent millions of dollars on it. "But unfortunately, the amount of sunlight the field gets after August isn't enough, because the stadium is tall. So the grass doesn't have a chance to recover after being used aggressively in April straight through January. No matter how good the system is underneath it, no one perfected a way to replace Mother Nature unless you go to an artificial surface. We haven't wanted to do that historically." The decision continues a pattern in the NFL, especially in the Northeast, as Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium and Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., were recently converted to synthetic surfaces. In all, 13 other NFL teams have synthetic playing surfaces, nine of which are FieldTurf. The decision was met favorably by the NFL Players Association, which has held player surveys on field conditions in recent years. In the most recent survey in 2004, the Gillette Stadium field ranked 21st out of 31 NFL fields. "We think it's important, and a really good sign that we see all NFL teams taking playing surfaces very seriously, and for the New England Patriots to take this position," said NFLPA spokesman Carl Francis. "I think it's a positive step toward player safety and health." One added benefit to the switch: Tom Brady is 19-1 on artificial surfaces.

No, this is not a joke! Vinny Testaverde has been lured back to the NFL by one of his former coaches. Testaverde, who came out of retirement last season to help out the New York Jets, was signed on Tuesday by New England. The move came after the Patriots lost two straight for the first time since 2002 as Tom Brady played two of his poorest games. Until signing Testaverde, New England had only one other quarterback on its roster, second-year pro Matt Cassel. Testaverde, who turned 43 Monday, was the first overall pick by Tampa Bay in the 1987 draft. He has played 19 NFL seasons and has 269 touchdown passes, eighth in NFL history, and is sixth with 45,252 yards passing. Brady has been listed as probable on the injury report every week for last season and this season, but hasn't missed a game. On Monday, after a 17-14 loss to the New York Jets dropped the Patriots to 6-3, coach Bill Belichick was asked if Brady's throwing shoulder, the reason he's been on the list, affected him. "I think he's been able to play in every game, so you'd have to ask him that," Belichick said of Brady, who only meets with reporters on Wednesdays. "There probably isn't a player in the league that plays every week that's 100 percent today. He's probably in that category." Asked if Brady has seemed hampered in his performance, Belichick said, "I think that Tom has had good days, good weeks of practice. I just think overall, we collectively as a team -- coaches, players, everybody -- we just have to do a better job. I think we all feel that way. That includes everybody." In Testaverde, joining his sixth NFL team, the Patriots get a player whose experience is at the opposite extreme of Cassel. The Patriots drafted Cassel in the seventh round in 2005 after he threw just 33 passes at Southern California as the backup to Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. As a rookie, he played only in the final regular-season game. This year, he appeared only in a 31-7 win at Minnesota, but didn't throw a pass. That was Brady's best game of the season. He threw four touchdown passes, completed 67.4 percent of his passes and had a 115.6 passer rating. In a win at Buffalo the previous week, he had a 112.4 rating and completed two-thirds of his passes for two touchdowns and no interceptions. But since the Minnesota game, Brady threw four interceptions and had a 34.0 rating in a 27-20 loss to Indianapolis, then had an 84.9 rating with one touchdown pass and one interception against the Jets. He's completed 59.2 percent of his passes this season for 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions, a few of which were tipped. Testaverde has played for Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Baltimore, Dallas and the Jets. He retired after playing with the Cowboys in 2004, but last season rejoined the Jets, for whom he played from 1998-2003, after starter Chad Pennington and backup Jay Fiedler were injured in the same game. Testaverde, who started four games for the Jets last season, became the first player in NFL history to throw at least one touchdown pass in 19 straight seasons. He completed 60 of 106 passes for 777 yards with one touchdown and six interceptions. He was subsequently replaced by Brooks Bollinger, who had started the season as the team's third stringer. Testaverde reunites with coach Bill Belichick. The two went to the playoffs together with the Cleveland Browns in 1994.

After fruitlessly trying to keep the grass playing surface at Gillette Stadium in suitable condition, the Patriots have decided to install FieldTurf in time for the Nov. 26 game against the Chicago Bears. After Sunday’s driving rain that turned the new sod at Gillette Stadium into a quagmire, Patriots Football Weekly has learned that the Patriots finally decided to pull the trigger and do away with natural grass and will install FieldTurf. Work crews were on hand Tuesday morning bulldozing what was left of the mangled surface with the intention of installing FieldTurf, a synthetic grass surface used in roughly half of the NFL’s stadiums. The new surface will be ready for the team’s next home Nov. 26 against the Chicago Bears. Incidentally, as part of the NFL's new flex scheduling plan, kickoff of that game has been switched from 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. The playing conditions at Gillette Stadium have long been the cause of much consternation in Foxborough. Late in the 2003 season the NFL ordered the Patriots to re-sod the area between the hashmarks before New England hosted the Tennessee Titans in a divisional playoff game. Ever since then the conditions have been periodically called into question. But the debates heated up this season when a heavy offseason concert load, the New England Revolution’s home schedule and the filming of the Disney movie “The Game Plan” left the field in abysmal shape. Even the opener against Buffalo was played on a chewed up field that more resembled midseason. By the time the Miami Dolphins left town after an Oct. 8 defeat, even Bill Belichick commented on how bad things had gotten. “The field is in terrible condition,” he said. “I don’t think anybody in this organization is happy about it or thinks it’s in good condition. We’ll see what we can do about it.” The first plan was obviously to try to re-sod the field in an attempt to improve things. The field actually held up reasonably one in the first game – a 27-20 loss to Indianapolis Nov. 5 – but Sunday’s rain evidently left the organization no alternative other than a synthetic surface. There were reports last month that indicated switching playing surfaces during the middle of the season was forbidden by the NFL, but Patriots President Jonathan Kraft said recently on an 890 ESPN Radio Boston interview that no such rule exists.

I might as well get this over with...The heavily favored Patriots lost to the Jets 17-14, the first time New England has lost two in a row in 57 games. The loss drops the Patriots to 6-3, only one game ahead of the now 5-4 Jets in the AFC East. The numbers for the Patriots offense were deceiving. Tom Brady was a respectable 25 of 37 for 255 yards, a touchdown and one interception. On the ground, Corey Dillon had 98 yards on 11 carries with Laurence Maroney adding another 37 on 12 tries. But two key turnovers, the Brady pick and a Doug Gabriel fumble deep in Jets territory hurt the Patriots chances. On the other side of the ball, Chad Pennington and his offense stayed on the field converting third downs at just under 50 percent while New England was only 3 of 12. A bright note was the game put forth by Reche Caldwell who had 9 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. The first quarter ended with Tom Brady being sacked for an 8 yard loss on third down but the good news was that it happened on the Jets 14 yard line and resulted in a Stephen Gostkowski 31-yard field goal to put the Patriots up 3-0 to start the second quarter. Both teams were unable to score during a wet first 15 minutes. New England's scoring drive to end the frame was a result of pounding the ball with Corey Dillon breaking free for a 50-yard romp to the Jets 23. In all, New England ran for 77 yards on the drive.
Artrell Hawkins gave the Patriots a prime opportunity to open the game up when he intercepted Pennington on the Jets next drive. On first down, Pennington overthrew Laveranues Coles and Hawkins, playing over the top, was in perfect position to make the catch. New England took over and after a 10 yard pick-up by Caldwell, Brady hit Doug Gabriel down the left sideline and the big receiver broke free for 22 yards. On the end of his run, however, he had the ball knocked free. Kerry Rhodes of the Jets recovered and New York made New England pay for the turnover. Pennington proceeded to put together a huge, 16-play, 81-yard drive that ended in a Kevan Barlow touchdown from 2 yards out. The drive lasted 9:12 and somewhat exposed the Patriots run defense with Ty Warren out of the lineup and with Barlow running the ball nine times en route to the score. Down 7-3, New England had the ball at the two-minute warning and was on the good end of a big break made possible by the refs. On first and 20 from the Jets 46, Brady threw under pressure and the floating ball was picked off by Erik Coleman. The break came because just as Brady released, he was planted in the ground by Victor Hobson. Hobson was called for an unnecessary tackle. Replay showed there was no way for Hobson to even know the ball was released, much less let up on Brady, but that's today's NFL and New England benefited. New England continued on offense, first and 10 on the Jets 31 after the 15-yard walk-off. Eventually, the half ended with Gostkowski hitting a 21-yard field goal to pull his team within a point at 7-6 to end the half. Jabar Gaffney contributed to the scoring drive with catches of 19 and 13 yards. The Jets put together another long drive, this one 15 plays, but only netted 45 yards, settling for a 34-yard Mike Nugent field goal late in the third quarter. A false start penalty on Brandon Moore hurt the Jets chances when they were second and goal at the Patriots 3. That was followed by a 7-yard Rosevelt Colvin sack to stall the drive. At this point in the game, the Jets offense was successfully mixing pass and run with the Patriots defense looking winded. Still, keeping New York out of the end zone kept the Patriots a touchdown away from taking the lead. That bid looked promising on the Patriots next series that started late in the third quarter and extended into the fourth. Brady got his team to the Jets 31 after converting a fourth and 3 with a 6-yard pass to Ben Watson. But loose turf and a relentless Jets rush accounted for two straight sacks and New England had to punt on fourth and 23 from the 44. On both sacks, Brady tried to avoid pressure but slipped with huge chunks of turf kicking up beneath his cleats. The New England defense forced the Jets into punting just short of midfield but Brady's problems were about to continue. After getting the ball back and on second and 8 from his own 35, he threw well behind Watson and right into the hands of Coleman. Four plays later, Pennington put the ball up from 22 yards out and Jerricho Cotchery came down with it over Ellis Hobbs. The Jets now had a 17-6 lead with 4:46 left to play. Thirty-two seconds later, the Patriots were within a field goal. Maroney took the ensuing kickoff to the 39 where Brady, first and 10, hit Gaffney for 33 yards to the Jets 28. Troy Brown caught the next pass for 13 yards to the 15. After an incomplete, Brady hit Caldwell on a tipped pass and Caldwell broke a tackle on the way to the end zone for the score. Down by five, New England went for two. Brady hit Watson for the conversion to make the game a field goal spread with just over four minutes left. By the two minute warning, the Jets were third and 11 at the Patriots 41. New England had used all its timeouts and its only chance was to force the Jets into punting on the next play. The Jets went with the odds and ran Barlow up the middle for 2 yards and then proceeded to let the clock tick. By the time Jets punter Ben Graham kicked, there was only 1:15 left to play. He angled the ball and Brown fair catched it at the 12-yard line. After throwing incomplete to Watson, Brady hit Kevin Faulk for 14 yards to the 25. He then went back to Watson for 10 yards and then Caldwell for 19 to the Jets 46. The problem was those passes were to the middle of the field and with no timeouts, New England was powerless to stop the clock. On first and 10, Brady spiked the ball stopping the clock with nine seconds left. He dropped back on his next attempt looking for a sideline play to get in field goal range but was sacked just as he set up to throw by Shaun Ellis ending the game.

The Patriots will return to divisional play this week when they host the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium. New England holds a two-game lead over New York for the top spot in the AFC East and has recorded a 4-0 record in the division so far this season. This week's game will be broadcast by CBS. It's the early game. I like the Pats big this week. Brady will rebound after last week. Pats 31 - Jets 14.

Space shuttle Discovery was moved to the launch pad Thursday to await a launch that could be as early as December 6, an effort to avoid potential New Year's Eve computer glitches. The worry is that shuttle computers aren't designed to make the change from the 365th day of the old year to the first day of the new year while in flight. NASA has never had a shuttle in space December 31 or January 1. "We've just never had the computers up and going when we've transitioned from one year to another," said Discovery astronaut Joan Higginbotham. "We're not really sure how they're going to operate." Starting December 6, launch opportunities would be available as late as December 17 or 18. With a 12-day mission, that would mean the shuttle is back on Earth before New Year's Eve. However, NASA was quick to say that even if the shuttle crew finds itself still in space on January 1, procedures could be devised to make a transition if necessary. "Under some weird circumstance ... if we have an 'Oh my god,' and we have to be up there, I am sure we would figure out a way to operate the vehicle safely," said Steve Oswald, a vice president for Boeing Co., the parent company of the builders and designers of NASA's shuttles. "It just wouldn't be flying in the normal certified mode that we are used to flying." If Discovery gets off the ground next month, it will be the third shuttle flight of the year, and only the fourth since the 2003 Columbia disaster. It also will be the first night launch in four years. NASA required daylight launches after Columbia to make sure engineers had clear photos of the shuttle's external fuel tank; falling foam from Columbia's tank damaged its wing, dooming the shuttle and its seven astronauts. NASA managers believe illumination from the space shuttle's booster rockets should allow for photos at night during the first two minutes, and radar should be able to detect any falling debris. Astronauts also are able to inspect the shuttle for damage while in flight. During the 12-day mission, the astronauts will take three spacewalks to add an $11 million addition to the international space station and rewire the space lab's electrical system. The shuttle will also drop off U.S. astronaut Sunita Williams and bring home German astronaut Thomas Reiter, who has been at the space station since July.

The New England Patriots took on their AFC rivals, the Colts Sunday night in a prime-time showdown. It was a hard-fought, but fairly sloppy battle and it may well have been the most exciting game the Patriots have played all season, but the Patriots couldn’t overcome the five turnovers they gave up in the 20-27 loss. The Colts move to 8-0 and continue their undefeated streak, while the Pats fall to 6-2. It looked like this one might turn into the shootout many predicted when both teams quickly racked up two touchdowns each in the first half. But as the game progressed, turnovers, penalties and three missed field goals, one by Stephen Gostkowski and two, yes, two, by Adam Vinatieri kept both teams from establishing any type of momentum. Peyton Manning found his main targets Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne early and often. Harrison, in particular was a handful for the Patriots defense with 8 catches for 145 yards and 2 scores. On the Patriots side of the ball, Tom Brady had a rough night with four interceptions and only 201 yards on 20 of 35 passing. Laurence Maroney ran well but not enough. His 63 yards on 13 carries came in spurts. In the end, while the game was close, it was not the well-played affair expected from two of the elite teams in the NFL.
New England shook off an early Reche Caldwell offensive pass interference call and a second and 21 situation to drive well into Indy territory on the first drive of the game. The Patriots ground game was rolling but on first and 10 from the Colts 34, Brady looked long down the left sideline to Doug Gabriel and threw into heavy coverage. Antoine Bethea came up with the interception and ran the ball out of the end zone to the 32 where the Colts began their first drive of the game. That drive looked in jeopardy when Manning threw two straight incompletes and Tarik Glenn was flagged for a false start. On third and 15, Manning scrambled away from Richard Seymour and looked downfield, connecting with Marvin Harrison for a 44 yard completion to the Patriots 29. That play sparked a 9-play, 68 yard touchdown drive capped by a 5-yard pass to Harrison that made him the all-time career Colt touchdown leader. During the drive, Rodney Harrison was hurt(arm)and did not return. Brady and the offense bounced back. On third and 20 from the New England 22, Brady this time connected with Gabriel for 39 yards. The play was set up by one of the worst taunting calls ever made by a referee. Troy Brown had just caught a 6 yard pass on first down. After falling out of bounds with the ball, he flipped the it back in the direction of the sideline judge. Apparently, the judge thought Brown was tossing it in the direction of the Colts Rocky Boman and threw his flag. Besides pointing out the bad call, Brown's catch is worth mentioning since it tied him with Stanley Morgan as the Patriots all-time leader in receptions. This was one of several bad calls made by the officiating crew that went against the Patriots. Back to live action on the Colts 39, New England again pounded the ball with Dillon and Laurence Maroney down to the Colts 19. Faced with a fourth and 3, the Patriots went for it and Kevin Faulk came up big with a quick slant over the middle for 14 yards. Two Dillon runs, a 5-yarder and a 1-yard touchdown, tied the score at 7. It didn't stay that way long. Manning was 4 for 4 on his next drive with Reggie Wayne feasting on Patriots coverage. He was good for catches of 18, 16 and a 33-yarder down to the Patriots 2. From there, Joseph Addai ran it in up the middle and Indy had its touchdown lead back with 9:56 left in the first half. The fireworks continued with the Patriots tying the game right up. After a 21-yard completion to Caldwell started the drive, New England took to the ground with Maroney. He ran five straight times to the Colts 20. On third and 4 from there, Brown broke Morgan's reception record, notching his 533rd career catch. Four plays later it was Dillon again, from 4 yards out for the score. New England's coverage team didn't do any favors by allowing a 70-yard return to Terrence Wilkins on the ensuing kickoff. That gave the Colts first and 10 at the Patriots 29. A pass interference call on Chad Scott moved the ball to the 9-yard line. After Addai was stopped for a 1-yard loss, Junior Seau broke into the backfield for a 9-yard sack of Manning. That set up a third and goal from the 17 but Asante Samuel was called for an illegal contact to change the scenario to first and 10 from the 12. Manning hooked up with Wayne for 7 yards as the two-minute warning with Indy second and 3 from the 5. Manning looked to Wayne twice more but came up empty and Vinatieri was good on a 23-yard field goal to make the score 17-14 with 1:46 remaining. The Patriots had one last shot before the half. At around the minute mark, Brady was faced with a fourth and 1 that his sideline decided to try for. He ran a keeper and was lost in the pile-up in the middle of the field with the refs giving him the spot and the first down. The Colts challenged but the ruling on the field stood. Despite the play, Brady's second interception of the game, this one to Bob Sanders on a ball intended for Ben Watson, ended the first half. Manning opened the second half with a 36 yard completion to Harrison down to the Patriots 33. The Colts sputtered from there and on came Vinatieri for a 37-yard attempt which he missed wide right to the delight of Patriots fans in attendance. Any benefit from holding the Colts off the scoreboard on that drive was negated when Dillon fumbled on the very next play from scrimmage. Raheem Brock picked up the loose ball and ran it into the end zone while Patriots looked on, thinking the play was over. New England challenged the play believing at the very least, Brock was down by contact where he recovered the fumble when Matt Light fell on him. That's the way the ref saw it after the review as well. The result was Indy getting the ball right back, first and 10 from the 31. Once again, however, the Patriots defense came up big with Rosevelt Colvin registering a 9-yard sack on second and 10 and Manning throwing incomplete on third forcing the first punt from either team in the game. The Colts got the ball back after the Patriots were forced into their first punt after four plays and this time Manning got back on track. Two big plays, a 29-yard pass to Harrison and a 35-yarder to Dallas Clark as Manning rolled to the right, brought up first and goal at the 5. Two plays later, Harrison made a beautiful grab on a 4-yard touchdown, just keeping his toes in bounds, to give Indy a 24-14 lead with 6:56 left in the third quarter. New England got three points back on a 49-yard field goal by Gostkowski. Despite a pass interference call on the Colts Marlin Jackson that gave New England first and 10 at the Colts 31, Brady went incomplete on three straight passes to bring on the attempt. Terrence Wilkins fumbled the return that followed on a play forced and recovered by Artrell Hawkins. What should have been a big break for New England ended in a missed 36-yard field goal attempt by Gostkowski with the game late in the third quarter. The Colts were on the verge of opening their lead up and in Patriots territory after starting the drive on their own 26. But a 7-yard sack by Colvin and Mike Vrabel brought up a second and 17 from the New England 30. Manning then looked to his right and threw right into the arms of Chad Scott who returned it to the Patriots 46 where Brady took over first and 10. New England could not take advantage of the turnover. After an incomplete on first down, Brady had his ball tipped by Robert Mathis and Cato June came up with the pick. It was Brady's third interception of the game and it gave the Colts their 10-point lead back at 27-17 as the drive ended with a Vinatieri 31-yard field goal. Brady and the offense got back on track and drove from their 39 to the Colts 8 but failed come up with six. Maroney had a nice 17-yard run along the way but the most the Patriots could make out of the drive was a 26-yard field goal by Gostkowski to pull back within a touchdown with 6:01 left to play. The three points seemed to be hardly enough as Manning brought his troops right back into scoring position with a 10-yard pass to Harrison and another 13 yards to Ben Utecht on his following series. At the two-minute warning, Vinatieri lined up to make it a two score game with a 46-yard field goal attempt. Incredibly, the ex-Patriot who had lined up so many times before at this stadium missed for the second time in the game. New England had a last chance to tie the game with just under 2 min on the clock and send it into overtime but it was not to be. After a 25-yard completion to Watson to get things rolling, Brady looked over the middle to Faulk. The ball deflected off Faulk's fingers and into June's hands for his second interception and Brady's fourth in the game. The final score was 27-20.

Space shuttle Discovery was hoisted by a crane and outfitted with its external fuel tank and twin booster rockets in preparation for another flight next month. NASA plans a week of tests to make sure the electrical and mechanical connections are intact before the ship is hauled out to the launch pad. The shuttle, which is due to return to space on December 7, will be taking another section of the half-built International Space Station's metal truss, or frame, into orbit. It will be the second space station assembly flight since the U.S. space agency resumed flying the shuttles after the 2003 Columbia disaster. NASA needs 14 more flights to complete construction of the orbital research outpost. Discovery made the quarter-mile trek from its processing hangar to NASA's massive Vehicle Assembly Building on Tuesday night after last-minute inspections of a cracked bracket on a door covering the main landing gear. Crane operators raised the 122-foot-tall spaceship into a vertical position, lifted it up and over a support beam and gently set it down on the mobile launch platform. Several hours later, Discovery was hooked up to its external fuel tank, which was previously outfitted with a solid rocket booster on each side. Discovery's next move is a 4.2-mile ride to the seaside launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center. During the shuttle's planned 11-day mission, astronauts will install the station's new truss segment and rewire the station so it can make use of solar arrays installed by the last shuttle crew in September.

Watch how a Bell 427 is made.

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/how-its-made-helicopter

More information on the 427 is available at Bell's site

http://www.bellhelicopter.textron.com/en/aircraft/commercial/bell427.cfm

The Patriots will face their toughest challenge of the 2006 season to date when the undefeated Indianapolis Colts travel to Foxborough for a primetime showdown on Sunday night. The interdivisional AFC rivals will face each other for the fourth straight season at Gillette Stadium, following memorable clashes in Foxborough during the 2003 and 2004 playoffs and during the 2004 and 2005 regular seasons. This week's game will be broadcast by NBC. Forget about the Super Bowl people, this is the game we wait to see each season! After Monday nights game I feel the passing game is back with Brady and the Receiving corps clicking. And there's no doubt the Pats running game will cut through the Colts D like it didn't even bother to show up for the game. The only problem, an it's a big one, is that damn Peyton Manning! So my pick - Pats 31 Colts 28. It's gonna be interesting. :)

Building An A340-600 Jet in 2 min.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/234745/building_an_a340_600

This is the cutest video ever...

http://seehere.blogspot.com/2006/10/cute-puppies.html

The Patriots took the national stage that is Monday Night Football and stole the show with a 31-7 thrashing of the Minnesota Vikings. In his best game of the 2006 season, Tom Brady came out gunning and never let up until he had racked up four touchdown passes on 29 of 42 passing for 372 yards. New England's defense was equally impressive. Sparked by three interceptions of Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson and another credited to Brooks Bollinger, Minnesota's offense was held scoreless with the team's lone score a punt return by Mewelde Moore. New England barely tried to run the ball during its offensive efforts. The Vikings came into the game with a stout run defense so offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels worked on exploiting the Minnesota secondary and Brady made it look easy. His main targets were Ben Watson who had 7 grabs for 95 yards and a score, Reche Caldwell with 7 catches for 84 yards and a touchdown and Doug Gabriel who had some key early catches (5 for 83 yards). The Patriots first drive of the game was a thing of passing beauty. Brady was 6 for 6 for 94 yards with the biggest play coming on third and 10 from the New England 14. The Patriots offensive line gave Brady enough time for a sit-down dinner as he found Gabriel streaking across the middle for a gain of 45 yards. It was Gabriel again on the next play for 16 more. The scoring play was a 6-yarder to Caldwell. Both teams traded turnovers in the first quarter. Brady threw down the sideline on third and 4 from his own 16 on the Patriots second drive of the game. The pass was intended for Watson in tight coverage and Darren Sharper of the Vikes came down with it. That set up Minnesota first and 10 at the New England 45. Johnson had a good drive going, down to the Patriots 5 yard line in 11 plays but on the 12th, he looked confused and threw right into the hands of Rodney Harrison who ran the ball back to the 2-yard line. It didn't take long for Brady to get into Vikings territory. After a 9-yard pass to Gabriel and a 5-yard encroachment penalty on Minnesota, Brady looked down the middle to Watson for 40 yards. The next play was a little dump-off to Laurence Maroney that the ex-Gopher turned into a 20-yard gain. A 15-yard Corey Dillon run through the left side gave the Patriots first and goal at the 9 but the drive stalled and Stephen Gostkowski was good on a 23-yard field goal to make the score 10-0 with just over 12 minutes left in the first half. Johnson followed up that turnover with another on the next drive, caught by Chad Scott, but New England failed to convert it into points. Meanwhile, New England's defense was beginning to hit its stride, really limiting the Vikings time of possession. That gave the offense continued breathing room with a 10-point lead. At the two-minute warning of the first half, the Patriots were poised to add to that lead with Brady continuing on a torrid pace for the game. He started the drive with a third and 12 pass to Caldwell that a Matt Light block opened up for a 34-yard gain. Maroney then busted one for 22 yards to the 20. After two incompletions, Caldwell found an opening on third and 10 and Brady got him the ball for 12 yards. It looked like a holding penalty on Heath Evans might stall the drive but an undaunted Brady found Watson on third and goal from the 8 and the big tight end bulled his way in from around 3 yards out to end the first half scoring. Brady's first half numbers were staggering: 17 of 25 for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns. The teams exchanged punts to begin the second half and then Mewelde Moore brought some life back into the Metrodome. Josh Miller punted from inside his own 5 yard line and Moore fielded it at his 29. It looked like the Patriots coverage team had him contained but he broke loose down the right sideline for a 71-yard touchdown return to make the score 17-7. Not to be outdone on his former homefield, Maroney took the ensuing kickoff 77 yards to the Minnesota 21. It wasn't for six points but it was a huge play that swung momentum back to the Patriots before the Vikings and their home crowd could catch the wave headed in their direction. And it also led to six points. Brady took three plays with the final one a 7-yard touchdown pass to Troy Brown to give his team back their 17-point lead at 24-7 with 9:03 left in the third quarter. The Patriots got the ball back after Jermaine Wiggins couldn't hold on to a third and 3 pass from the Patriots 38. The Vikings then went for it on fourth down but Johnson had his pass batted down by Richard Seymour. Once again Brady took no time to get his team into scoring position. Caldwell had a 15 yard reception to the New England 46 and Dillon took a short pass and rumbled for 27 yards to the 19. It was looking too easy after Watson caught a 10 yard pass to the 7. That's where Caldwell fumbled after making a catch inside the 5. Fred Smoot forced the ball loose and Dwight Smith recovered. The turnover made no difference. New England held Minnesota to three and out and Faulk took the punt back to the Vikings 39. Four plays later Brady hit Rookie Chad Jackson on first and goal from the 10. Jackson caught the ball at the 5 and crawled into the end zone for the score. The third quarter ended with the Patriots holding a commanding 31-7 lead. Minnesota yanked Johnson after his third interception of the night (this one by Mike Vrabel), replacing him with Brooks Bollinger at the 12:02 mark of the fourth quarter. Bollinger was immediately greeted by three straight sacks (Jarvis Green, Tully "Sack Master" Banta-Cain, Richard Seymour) and from there it was all over. The win sets up a huge game next week against the undefeated Indianapolis Colts with the winner claiming the lead at the halfway mark in the race for AFC's No. 1 seed.

Cool old school graphics and play...

http://www.directgamez.com/flash/overkill.htm

On Wednesday, Nov. 1, Discovery is scheduled to move from the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., to the Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be attached to its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters. The move is expected at 6 a.m. Discovery's launch window opens Dec. 7. During its 11-day mission to the International Space Station, the STS-116 crew of seven astronauts will deliver a third truss segment, a SPACEHAB module and other key components during the shuttle's 20th mission to the International Space Station. Video of the rollover will air on NASA TV.

Button Search...read the rules, they give it a try

http://media.nothingtoxic.com/uploads/132093ea26a74b7f3691bbfca802e831.swf

I have a headache!

Video from Discovery's "How's it Made" showing how Diamond constructs the DA40 Single Engine Airplane.

http://www.vidly.net/video-how-its-made-airplanes.html

More information on Diamond and the DA40 can be found here at their site

http://www.diamondair.com/aircraft.php

The Patriots will travel to Minnesota to face the 4-2 Vikings on Monday Night Football. In New England's only Monday night appearance of the season, its sixth ranked rush offense will face its toughest test so far, squaring off against the Vikings' top-ranked run defense, which has allowed an average of just 70.8 rushing yards per game. This week's game will be broadcast by ESPN. This ones gonna be close! My Picks Pats 17 Viks 10.

Be sure to carve your pumpkin for halloween.

http://www.cubpack81.com/images/carve_pumpkin.swf

Great for seeing what your design will look like on the real thing!

A cold rainy day didn't dampen the Patriots. A 28-6 win over the Bills kept them perfect over their divisional rivals this season. Recent history has the Patriots giving the Bills a tougher time the second time around and this season held to that trend. New England gradually pulled further and further away in this game, finishing with a 28-6 win. The Bills defense put up a fight despite the margin. The Patriots running tandem of Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney were stuffed for most of the game. The difference was that Brady hit on a few key plays and when close, Dillon managed to break into the end zone for two scores. It was the Bills offense that did them in. Two first half turnovers, while not resulting in Patriots points, stopped drives cold. Then, when the Patriots had built up a comfortable margin, Willis McGahee and J.P. Losman were no match for the Patriots defense. Asante Samuel had his third interception in two games and Mike Vrabel got in on the turnover act with a strip sack of Losman. Tom Brady ended with 195 yards passing on 18 completions and two touchdowns. A Dillon run right up the middle on second and goal at the 8-yard line capped off a 14-play touchdown drive to open the game. Brady looked in tune with Reche Caldwell along the way, connecting with him three times for 19 yards although a sure touchdown went off Caldwell's fingers late in the drive on a slant from 17 yards out. Two big plays highlighted the drive, a 14-yard Chad Jackson end around and a 14-yard screen caught by Ben Watson. It looked like New England had Buffalo bottled up on its first possession. Two consecutive penalties had Buffalo facing a third and 14 from its own 27. New England blitzed but Losman got off a shovel pass to McGahee who went untouched for 56 yards to the Patriots 17. On the next play Josh Reed lined up at quarterback with Losman lined up wide as a receiver. The play only went for a yard and McGahee added another 3 on the next play. On third and 6 from the 13, Losman lost the handle on the shotgun snap, recovered and was tackled by Rosevelt Colvin for the loss. Buffalo settled for a 40-yard field goal to make the score 7-3.
Maroney quickly shifted the momentum back to New England's side with a 74-yard kickoff return to the Bills 21. The Pats cashed in on Maroney's run. On third and 10, still from the 21, Brady dropped back to pass and seeing no one open, Brady dropped to the ground. That wasn't enough for the Bills Chris Kelsay who hit the defenseless Brady and the flags flew. That created a first and 10 for the Patriots at the 12 where Dillon took it in around the left side for a 14-3 Patriots lead. With 10:07 left in the second quarter, Vrabel broke in from his left side and got a hand on Losman and the ball, causing a fumble that Vince Wilfork recovered. That gave the Patriots offense first and 10 at the their own 48 and a perfect chance to blow the game open but Buffalo's pass rush continued to pose problems for the Patriots as it has over the years. Aaron Schobel already had a sack in the game and this time Kelsay got into the backfield on some type of slow-developing play. We'll never know what it would have been because the play never had a chance and the result was a 9-yard sack of Brady by Kelsay.
The Bills took over after the punt and headed downfield on a drive that had them third and 8 at the Patriots 33 with two minutes left in the half. On the next play, however, Losman looked to his left and Samuel read the pass perfectly, stepping in front of Lee Evans for the interception. Once again, the Bills defense stepped up and limited the Patriots to three plays and a punt after the turnover. The half ended on the Bills subsequent possession with the score still 14-3. The second half began similarly to how the first half ended, with the Bills defense harassing the Patriots offense and the Bills offense unable to take advantage of holding New England off the scoreboard. That was until Brady connected with Jackson from 35 yards out on a first and 10 play with just under three minutes remaining in the quarter. The scoring play came right after Brady had found Watson for 20 yards on third and 5. Jackson managed to cut in behind the Bills coverage while Brady's protection afforded him the time to wait for Jackson to come loose. That play accounted for all the scoring in the third quarter with the Patriots up, 21-3. The fourth quarter began with the Bills in possession. Losman heated up with passes over the middle; 25 yards to Peerless Price and 10 to tight end Robert Royal down to the Patriots 29. New England held on from there and Rian Lindell was good on his 46-yard field goal attempt to make the score 21-6. Brady put the game away on his next drive. He started things off by connecting with Watson for 17 yards and then going long to Doug Gabriel on the next play for 31 yards to the Buffalo 18. Troy Brown drew another catch closer to Stanley Morgan's franchise reception record with a 12-yard catch to the 6. After two runs by Dillon that netted a yard, Brady dropped back, moved to his right to the avoid pressure and then fired across his body to Gabriel streaking across the end zone. Gabriel made the catch to make the score 28-6 with 7:36 left to play and that's how it ended!

Peter Gabriel has rejected the opportunity to reunite with Genesis. The band's former frontman is understood to have been approached to play with them again, as Phil Collins and company prepare to go back on the road. However, Gabriel, who has enjoyed a successful solo career since quitting in 1975, says he is not completely opposed to the idea. Explaining that he had projects of his own to consider, Gabriel said: "There were conversations and I decided not to be a part of it. I'm very happy for them. It's not that I've ruled it out, but I've got some new material that I'll be working on." A spokesperson for Genesis told the BBC that Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks would clarify their plans in the coming weeks.

Classic games of the 80's

http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/games.shtml

I remember all these! Now excuse me, but I have to go rack up high score on Asteroids!

This is so cool for such a simple concept.

http://66.246.156.40/media/text/mostaddictinggame.html

My best so far is 36.2

This is a cool retro game.

Commando - Battle of Britain

http://www.miniclip.com/games/commando/en/

This is one of those cool shark breach videos slowed down. This Great White gets all the way out of the water!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy_S31OQjyM

Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7 today. You might as well download it cause your gonna get it via Windows Update after November First any way.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx?mg_ID=10010

If you need to prevent the install check out this link...

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/updatemanagement/windowsupdate/ie7announcement.mspx

The Patriots return to action following their bye week with a divisional matchup against the Bills in Buffalo this time. The game is Sunday at 1:00pm. New England has won 11 of its last 12 games against Buffalo and will bid for its third straight season sweep of the Bills. This week's game will be broadcast by CBS. Last time the Bills gave the Pats an unexpected challenge. I don't think it will be as close this time! My pick - Pats 24 Bills 10. :)

I forgot to post this last month and suddenly remembered! Funny how the mind works :)

On Sunday, Sept. 17, Nemesis took the Gold First Place at The Reno Air Races with a speed of 360 mph. Nemeis is powered by a stock Lycoming TIO540 engine built here in Willimasport by Textron Lycoming. More information is available on the team page here...

http://www.nemesisnxt.com/kit/index.php

Congratulations go out to Jon and the Team!

The NFL trade deadline came and went yesterday and there was no blockbuster Patriots deal for Randy Moss. We’ll start with the bad news: Fans and media will be deprived of a great story and Tom Brady will have to continue to slug it out with his band of not-ready-for-prime-time receivers. The good news? The Patriots won’t have to justify the acquisition of a player who represents most everything they stand against. Really, if the Patriots weren’t going to extend themselves for Deion Branch, who was the consummate Patriot on the field and off, then how could they look themselves in the mirror if they went the extra mile for Moss? Assuming that Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis would have dealt Moss in the first place, the Pats were at least consistent not to overreach in terms of draft pick compensation or money for the player. Not that they were ever close to doing either. Sure, the thought of Moss catching passes from Brady was tantalizing. Brady has never had a target like him, and if Moss played anywhere near his capabilities, the field only would have opened up for young, explosive threats like Ben Watson and Laurence Maroney. It could have been a devastating combination. But at what cost and at what risk? In the end, both may have been too great. At least the Pats aren’t guilty of a double-standard. Deion Branch was one of those guys, and the Pats have had a lot of them) who turns the lights on in the weight room in the morning and turns them off at night. He is respectful of veterans and helpful with rookies. If a teammate has a charity event, Branch is there. His top three priorities - God, family and football - come straight from the Pats’ scouting manual. Oh, and he can play. Aside from impeccable footwork and hands, Branch’s greatest value to Brady was his ability to see the same things on the football field and be where his quarterback needed him. Branch earned his first start as a Seahawk in St. Louis on Sunday, and despite playing in a totally different offense with a new playbook and new terminology, he still was where Matt Hasselbeck expected him to be to the tune of six catches and two touchdowns. Anyway, Branch busted his butt the second he arrived in New England and never found one ounce of trouble. Of course, the same can’t be said of Randy Moss. He’s squirted water on a referee, fake mooned fans and bumped a traffic cop with his car while a joint smoldered in his ashtray. He couldn’t even last a year at Florida State without having his scholarship revoked. Think about that for a second. What kind of guy is Randy Moss? After the NFL fined him $10,000 for pretending to drop his pants in Green Bay three years ago (which was, truth be told, quite harmless and rather funny), Moss was asked by a reporter if he had written a check to pay the fine. “When you’re rich, you don’t write checks!” Moss replied. When the reporter then asked how Moss paid the amount, he said: “Straight cash, homey. What’s 10 grand to me? Next time I’ll just shake my ass!” There's class for ya. Frankly, the Pats could have lived with that type of baggage, just as they lived with Corey Dillon’s past. Bill Belichick couldn’t have been afraid of Moss disrupting his locker room. It’s too strong for one guy to mess it up. The risks attached to Moss came elsewhere. For one, it’s believed Moss has two strikes against him in the NFL’s drug program. One more false test, one more puff of the wrong cigarette, and he would be lost to a four-game suspension. Another misstep and the penalty would grow to a year. That meant Moss would have come at a considerable risk beyond his attitude, and his staying off the suspended list must have been part of any conditional draft pick consideration. The same goes for Moss’ future salaries, $9.75 million in 2007 and $11.25 million in 2008, neither of which the Pats would have accepted. Moss agreeing to restructure his contract would have to have been a part of the negotiation. But by far the biggest issue for the Pats should have been Moss’ history of quitting on his teammates and not playing hard, even when the stakes were high. It has been proved beyond argument that Moss does not run hard when he’s not the primary receiver and that he doesn’t block for the running game. And when he’s not interested, Moss doesn’t extend for the ball and doesn’t work to get open. There have been playoff games, like the 2000 NFC title game, when Moss seemed more concerned about field passes for his friends than winning the game. He had two catches that day. There have been important season finales, like the one in Washington in 2004, when he left the field before the game was even over. Maybe those issues would have disappeared in New England, just as Dillon’s did. But that’s a giant “if,” especially when the player is costing you a first-round pick and millions of dollars. Remember, Dillon came to the Pats for a second-rounder and he agreed to restructure his deal. If Moss could have been had for a third-rounder and he agreed to lower future salaries, it may have been a different story. In the Pats’ eyes he would have represented good value. Make no mistake, Moss coming to New England would have been a great story and tons of fun. It may even have taken the Pats from Super Bowl contender to Super Bowl favorite. It just would have meant holding your nose while you watched it unfold. :)

Plans to improve the Gillette Stadium playing field, which have been in the works for months, were finalized by the Patriots yesterday. New sod will be placed in the middle of the field beginning Oct. 25, 11 days before the team's next home game, Nov. 5 against the Colts. ``We continue to look for the best short-term and long-term solutions and at this time, the plan would be to re-sod," spokesman Stacey James said. The long-term solution might be to install a synthetic grass surface at Gillette, but an NFL spokesman said there is a rule -- although not in the league's official rulebook -- that if a team's home field is grass at the start of the season it must remain that way throughout the season. The league office has been monitoring Gillette, and NFL director of game operations Tim Daley told the Associated Press he will oversee the installation of the sod to make sure the surface is up to NFL standards. The Kraft family, which owns the Patriots, has long preferred natural grass. But maintaining a natural grass field in New England has been a challenge, even with special drainage and heating system s at Gillette designed to extend the life of the grass. Ironically, installing a synthetic grass field at Gillette probably would have been a cost-saving move when the multi purpose facility opened in 2002. The Patriots are in the process of hearing proposals from various companies that install synthetic grass fields. Linebacker Don Davis, one of the Patriots' player representatives with the NFL Players Association, previously said he wouldn't be surprised if all fields are switched to synthetic grass in the future. Davis said the NFLPA has a recently created safety and welfare division that includes groundskeepers, as field conditions are a primary concern for players. Earlier this month, coach Bill Belichick vented his frustration with the field conditions. ``I don't think anybody in this organization is happy about it, or thinks it's in good condition," he said. ``Everybody in this organization would like to see that field in better condition than what it's in. Everybody." At Gillette Stadium, the section between the hash marks running from goal line to goal line has been worn down this season, partly because of summer concerts held on the field, causing players to slip and kick up dirt. Several missed field goals have been blamned on the poor footing.

Top Dog II

http://www.teagames.com/games/topdog2/play.php

This game requires the Macromedia Flash player plug-in. If you don't have it - get it here

http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash&promoid=BIOW

One impact NFL player desperately wants to be traded before today’s 4 p.m. deadline. A Sports Illustrated report over the weekend said the Patriots could be interested. That player is Randy Moss. Moss wants out of Oakland, where the winless Raiders are the laughingstocks of the NFL. He has requested a trade and by all accounts would be open to playing in New England, where he could satisfy his desire to win a championship. Whether the Patriots and Raiders could even agree on an asking price is the great unknown, but the Patriots own two first-round picks in next year’s draft. Speaking of the trade deadline in general, Patriots coach Bill Belichick wouldn’t rule out anything yesterday. “I wouldn’t say we’re actively trying to do anything, but if the opportunity was there, we would definitely look into it,” Belichick said. “Every day, all 365 of them, if we have an opportunity to improve this team, we’ll take it.” Though the odds of Moss being moved are remote, they’re not nonexistent, even in a league in which blockbuster in-season deals rarely occur. Because of a change in the collective bargaining agreement noted by SI over the weekend, the Raiders are in a much better position to handle the cap hit if they trade Moss, who has $4.85 million remaining on this season’s contract and $21 million over the next two years. Instead of absorbing Moss’ prorated yearly cap numbers at once, the Raiders could push them off to next season, making a trade more palatable. The 29-year-old Moss already has topped 10,000 yards and 100 touchdowns since being selected in the first round of the 1998 draft by the Vikings. The Patriots passed on him that year in favor of Robert Edwards after owner Robert Kraft and player personnel man Bobby Grier deemed his character issues too troubling. Former Raider Doug Gabriel said the Pats would have nothing to worry about, because he believes Moss is the most misunderstood player in the league. The two talk frequently and spoke Saturday, though they didn’t talk trade. It’s not inconceivable that Moss and Gabriel could renew their relationship as co-wide receivers in person by this afternoon. Moss wants to win a Super Bowl and he would have as good a shot here as anywhere. One things for certain, the Patriots could use a play maker like Moss to fill the wholes in the receivers slots left by the departures of Deion Branch and David Givens.

Famed aerobatic performer and instructor Nancy Lynn died in a Virginia hospital following an airshow accident in her Extra 300L. Lynn was performing at the Culpeper Regional Airport (CJR) airshow in Virginia Saturday when her left wing tip caught the ground. The aircraft skidded, rolled, and burst into flames. Lynn had to be cut from the fuselage. She was burned over 90 percent of her body. Her 18-year-old son Pete was the airshow announcer for her routine.

More Information on the accident can be found here

http://www.lynnaviation.com/pete.html

Lynn operated Lynn Aviation at Bay Bridge Airport (W29) on Maryland's Eastern Shore, where she offered aerobatic instruction in her Extra 300L.

More information on Nancy can be found here

http://www.lynnaviation.com/media.html

The aviation community has suffered a tragic lose. My deepest sympathies go out to her son, Pete, and the rest of her family.

Lightning Pool demo.

http://www.playaholics.com/play/lightningPool2_demo/

Seven astronauts are getting up close and personal with NASA’s shuttle Discovery this week as engineers ready the orbiters boosters and fuel tank for flight. Discovery’s STS-116 astronauts, commanded by shuttle flight veteran Mark Polansky, are at NASA’s Florida-based Kennedy Space Center poring over their orbiter, its cargo, and the tools they will use during a planned December mission to rewire the power grid aboard the International Space Station. The astronauts were set to examine Discovery’s heat shield, payload bay, crew cabin and windows during a multi-day Crew Equipment Interface Test. STS-116 is set to launch no earlier than Dec. 7 at 9:38 p.m. EST to haul a Spacehab module and the new Port 5 section of the space station’s main truss to the orbital laboratory, where they will stage three spacewalks to wire two recently installed solar arrays into the ISS power grid. While the STS-116 crew looked over Discovery in the shuttle’s Orbiter Processing Facility, engineers in NASA’s massive Vehicle Assembly Building connected the spacecraft’s 15-story external tank to the two solid rocket boosters that will help launch the astronauts spaceward. Polansky, STS-116 pilot William Oefelein and mission specialists Joan Higginbotham, Nicholas Patrick, Robert Curbeam, Christer Fugelsang – of the European Space Agency – and ISS flight engineer Sunita Williams arrived at KSC late last week. Their CEIT training session ends on Saturday. NASA’s STS-116 mission will mark the agency’s third shuttle flight in 2006 and the second this year dedicated to ISS construction. The previous mission, STS-115 aboard Atlantis, delivered two massive trusses and a pair of new solar wings to the orbital laboratory in September. NASA plans about 14 more shuttle missions to complete the ISS by September 2010, when the space agency is expected to retire its three-orbiter fleet to make way for the capsule-based Orion program.

Cool photo of Mammatus Clouds - (also known as mammatocumulus), a meteorological term applied to a cellular pattern of pouches hanging underneath the base of a cloud, often a cumulus or cumulonimbus. Their color is normally a bluish gray, the same as that of the host cloud, but direct illumination from the setting sun and other clouds may cause a gold or reddish cast. Mammatus can persist anywhere from minutes to hours, diffusing and disappearing over time. Mammatus only occur where cumulonimbus are present; however, they can drift up to 25 miles away from a thunderstorm. The atmosphere must also meet certain conditions, which include a moist and unstable middle to upper atmosphere over a very dry, lower layer of the atmosphere. An updraft then must occur, which shapes the mammatus into the pouch-like shape. In the United States, they tend to occur more often over the midwest and eastern portions of the country, though they can and do occur more infrequently over the west and southwest. Mammatus has often been linked with the occurrence of tornadoes. Though tornadic storms often produce mammatus under their downwind anvil, many weak storms and even stratiform clouds also produce mammatus. Contrary to common misconceptions, mammatus are not precursors to tornadoes, but are a possible byproduct. It is very common for storms producing mammatus clouds also to produce wind shear, and possibly Ball lightning; therefore, aviators are strongly cautioned to avoid cumulonimbus with mammatus.

More photos here...

http://tomschrimp.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=MiscPhotos&page=3

This is pure genius! I have to try this some time this winter.

http://www.allaboutbeer.com/features/235coffee.html

Suppressing Balloon Pop-Ups

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/xpehelp/html/xetsksuppressingballoonpop-ups.asp

If you understand what this is about...you'll like this hack.

How to build the best paper airplane.

http://www.zurqui.co.cr/crinfocus/paper/airplane.html

This works!

It was 38 years ago this weekend that the 747, the "jumbo jet", first rolled out of a factory in Everett, Washington State. It was famous for one thing - being big - and phrases like "the size of a jumbo" soon became commonplace. And it was big for a reason: Boeing, like everyone else, foresaw a surge in air travel in the 70s, and to meet a huge demand it helps to have a huge plane. For many people, the jumbo ruled the skies. Instantly recognized by passengers around the world, the Boeing 747-400 is the world's favorite airplane as well as the world's only 400-seat airplane. The 747-400 is a proven performer with high reliability. It incorporates major aerodynamic improvements over earlier 747 models, including the addition of winglets to reduce drag, new avionics, and a new flight deck.
The 747 fits into today's infrastructure, serving more than 210 airports around the world; is the world's best freighter; and is also the world's fastest production commercial jetliner. As of May 2006, 41 customers had ordered 688 747-400s, making it the most popular widebody airplane in history. The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental and 747-8 Freighter are the new high-capacity 747s that offer airlines the lowest operating costs and best economics of any large passenger or freighter airplane. This latest family of the 747 jetliners meets airline requirements for a passenger airplane that serves the 400- to 500-seat market between the 555-seat Airbus A380 and the 365-seat Boeing 777-300 Extended Range airplanes, and a freighter that continues the leadership of the 747 Freighter family in the world cargo market. Both airplanes represent a new benchmark in fuel efficiency and noise reduction, allowing airlines to lower fuel costs and fly into more airports at more times of the day. The 747-8 Intercontinental is 15 percent more fuel efficient than the 747-400.

Now this would be the ticket! At a new low price even...

http://www.digitaltigers.com/zenview-arena-ultrahd.shtml

2 min Football 3D

http://www.shockwave.com/gamelanding/football3d.jsp#None

This looks easier than it is!

The NFL has announced that the Patriots will take part in a preseason game in Beijing, China on Aug. 8, 2007. New England will play the Seattle Seahawks at Workers Stadium to kick off the one-year countdown to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The game will be televised live in China at 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2007, and will also be seen live in the United States on NBC at 8:30 a.m. that same day. The venue will serve as the site of the soccer competition in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Patriots fans witnessed a defensive battle on what was a beautiful fall day in New England. :) Both teams had trouble running the ball consistently. Miami's Ronnie Brown was held to only 39 yards by a stout Patriots defense while the Miami defense was up for the challenge of stopping Laurence Maroney, limiting him to only 38 yards on 18 carries. Corey Dillon had a 4.5 per carry average but only ran the ball 10 times as he was used sparingly in the second half. Tom Brady struggled at times as he often does against the Dolphins. His numbers were 16 of 29 for 140 yards although he did have two touchdown passes without an interception. The player of the game on offense for New England was Troy Brown with his 5 catches for 58 yards. On defense, Asante Samuel had two interceptions. The Dolphins made a gametime decision to sit Duante Culpepper, who was listed on the injury report with a bad shoulder, in favor of Joey Harrington. The question was, would the more mobile quarterback be a boost to the Miami offense and pose problems for the Patriots defense? The answer was no. Although Harrington threw two interceptions, he actually kept his team close for most of the game, finishing with 26 of 41 passing for 232 yards. New England converted an early Dolphins turnover into three points. On Miami's first possession of the game, Brown fumbled on a Rodney Harrison tackle. Tedy Bruschi recovered and New England was first and 10 on the Dolphins 37. Brady converted a third and 2 with an 11-yard pass to Brown but other that play and an 8-yard run by Dillon, New England got no further than the 17 and settled for a 35-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal. Miami embarked on a methodical drive that had them as close as the New England 24. A holding call on Justin Peelle knocked them back 10 yards and from there New England held on. Olindo Mare attempted a 40-yard field goal but the kick was blocked by Mike Wright to preserve the 3-point lead for New England. New England made it 2 for 2 on drives for points with another Gostkowski field goal, this one a 31-yarder on the following possession. The Patriots played it conservative throughout the 15-play drive, converting one fourth and 1 with a 5-yard pass to Reche Caldwell along the way. Harrington followed up with a third and 10 interception. Samuel made a good read on a ball intended for Wes Welker and took the return 26 yards to the Miami 10-yard line. After a run for no gain by Maroney, Brady hit Brown in the middle of the end zone for a 13-0 lead with 7:49 left in the first half. Miami finally got on scoring track with a 2-yard Brown run up the middle. Harrington heated up his passing numbers with looks downfield to Derek Hagen for 17 yards, Randy McMichael for 23 and Welker for 25 that put his team on the Patriots 2. New England got the ball back with 2:51 left in the half but mustered only a net -2 yards, giving Miami another chance that it converted into 3 points on a 40-yard field goal. Harrington made getting into scoring position look easy until two straight incompletes from the New England 22 brought on Mare to make the halftime score 13-10. Other than the one interception, Harrington was keeping his team in the game with 17 of 22 passing for 176 yards in the first half. Neither team threatened throughout the third quarter. The Patriots defense had Brown bottled up forcing Harrington into several third and long situations that he was having trouble converting. Meanwhile, the Dolphins defense gave Maroney no room to run and Brady was barely getting his passes over the line of scrimmage with two of his balls tipped. Even a Kevin Faulk fumble of Miami's third punt of the quarter had no significant effect on the scoring one way or the other as Miami went three and out after the recovery on the New England 37-yard line. Finally, Samuel's second interception of the day set up a Patriot score with 9:47 left to play in the game. Harrington was looking for Welker and fired a bullet behind his receiver. The ball popped up off Welker's arm and Samuel made the catch, taking the return to the Miami 24. New England took over and after an incomplete and a 2-yard Maroney run, Brady looked for Doug Gabriel deep. Will Allen was in coverage with his back to the ball, banged into Gabriel and was flagged for pass interference at the 1-yard line. The break was all Brady needed. On the next play he lobbed a pass to a wide open Heath Evans for a 20-10 lead. Miami had a chance to get close on their next drive. Harrington took advantage of a facemask call on Jarvis Green on a play that would have been a series-ending sack. Instead, Harrington took the first down and ran a reverse to McMichael for 18 yards. He then hit the tight end for another 18 yards to the New England 29. But on third down, Miami's Brown got hit in the backfield on a short pass by Samuel and Rosevelt Colvin for a 3-yard loss. Mare came on for a 50-yard attempt that had no chance from the moment it left his foot and New England took over. That was Miami's last chance as New England took over with 5:59 left to play and ran out the clock by getting down to the Dolphins 6-yard line with a Maroney run for 11 yards on third and 7 from the 17. Earlier, Ben Watson made a drive-extending 15-yard catch on fourth and 4 that he actually could have gone the distance on had he not tripped. It was the usual Miami vs. New England scrapper ending with the Patriots entering their bye week with a 4-1 record, on top of the AFC East.

Had a fun day today! Got into the invitation only "Lycoming Day" at Textron Lycoming's hangar at the Williamsport Regional Airport. They had 4 great aerobatic pilot's and their Textron powered aircraft. I have pictures up in the gallery...

http://tomschrimp.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=LycomingDay

One of the performers was Patty Wagstaff, a six-time member of the US Aerobatic Team, Patty has won the gold, silver and bronze medals in Olympic-level international aerobatic competition and was the first woman to win the title of US National Aerobatic champion and one of the few people to win it three times! I've followed her career over the years and was thrilled to be able to meet her. When she came around after her performance I asked her to sign my original Commercial Pilots Certificate from '89 that I carry in my wallet for luck! She laughed and asked if I was sure...she was gonna sign the back...but I told her it was an old one and she could sign the front. Very cool! Makes it even better :)

here's a link to Patty's web site

http://www.pattywagstaff.com/

and a great video interview with her

http://www3.youtube.com/watch?v=wx_ui2qWgqI

The airshow the pilots put on was great! It's really nice that they come to Williamsport to perform for the people that make their engines. Jim Leroy put on an amazing show in his Pitts biplane! You can visit his site here...

http://www.bulldogairshows.com/v2/abouttheaircraft.html

and here's a video of Jim at Oshkosh this year

http://www3.youtube.com/watch?v=o1MBQ5t27Us

He came around and shook hands after his performance. The boys liked him a lot. He was very friendly and out going. I was very impressed! Some how I had never seen him at an airshow before. Matt Chapman and Mike Mancuso brought in their Cap and Extra, and a very cool Beech 18! They ended the day with a formation flight. Check out their site here...

http://www.mmairshows.com/

They have a video on the main page of part of their routine. Mike's extra had a problem with it's fuel line that grounded the plane shortly after his first solo performance started. Patty came the the rescue and lent Mike her Extra for the final formation flight. These pilots are all fantastic.

Jack Russell

http://www.armorgames.com/games/jackrussell.html

Get your puppy safely to the food, but watch out for mines!

Great clip of the late great Stevie Ray Vaughn performing "Voodoo Chile"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9XzIuQ994I

Hendrix would have loved it!

The 3-1 Patriots return to divisional play this week when the Miami Dolphins visit Foxborough. New England's final game before entering its bye week will provide another test against the Dolphins, who have handed the Patriots four of their seven divisional losses in the last five-plus seasons. This week's game will be broadcast by CBS. My pick, Pats 31 - Fish 3. And Daunte Culpepper gets sacked at least 3 times! :)

Check out the new Gadgets Page with Google tools. You can check the weather, plan a trip, even use the on line dictionary.

http://www.tomschrimp.com/gadgets.html

Virgin Galactic recently unveiled a mock-up of the slick new SpaceShip 2 suborbital tourist vehicle. The real bird won't be shown for at least a year, but at a press conference in New York, led by Richard Branson himself gave a good peek into how the program is progressing.The cabin itself is more than three times as large as that of the X Prize-winning SpaceShipOne (SS1), accommodating six passengers and two pilots and permitting plenty of float-around possibilities during the estimated five minutes of weightlessness the vehicle will achieve at the peak of its ascent. Burt Rutan, designer of both vehicles and their motherships, White Knight and WhiteKnightTwo (WK2), and his team at Scaled Composites seem to be on track for the prototype unveiling late next year, although the stated 2009 commencement of commercial flights seems optimistic, given the apparent delays in the development of the scaled-up, more complex SS2. Mockups of the cabin hints at Rutan's strategy to make the spaceflight experience user-friendly for anyone other than hardcore test pilots. In particular, he had to address the issue of the high-G climb out and the reentry, which was extraordinarily violent for the pilots on the three SS1 suborbital flights. SS2's cabin has ergonomic seats that automatically recline to orient the passengers' bodies to best absorb the G-forces. They will be at a 60-degree upright angle for the ascent and then recline to a nearly horizontal attitude for the descent, with the passengers' legs comfortably bent in order to tolerate the high-G ride and the extreme buffeting that accompanies it. Once back in the atmosphere, the seats will return to a 60-degree angle for the glide back to the spaceport. The fully pressurized cabin will have 15 windows, including several on the floor and ceiling, permitting passengers to see Earth from multiple angles during their free-floating period. The view will be approximately 1,000 miles in any direction. Large dials on the bulkhead will convey the mission time, speed of the spaceship, altitude and current G-forces being experienced. Passengers will wear lightweight, form-fitting pressure suits and helmets to ease movement around the cabin. The overall flight profile, though extended, will mimic that of SS1. The enormous WK2 mothership, which will be larger than a 757 and have a cabin identical to SS2, permitting the aircraft to be used as a training vehicle for the Virgin Galactic passengers, will carry the 60-foot-long SS2 to 10 miles above sea level, about 50,000 feet, and release it. SS2's hybrid motor will then ignite, accelerating passengers at four Gs to three times the speed of sound. For reentry, SS2's wings will pitch upward, "feathering" in a shuttlecock formation to automatically position the ship for the steep descent. At 70,000 feet, the wings will return to a horizontal glide formation for the runway landing. The first SS2 will be called VSS Enterprise, and Virgin Galactic expects its first full fleet to comprise two motherships and five SS2s, which would also permit the company to quickly expand its operations beyond the initial spaceport in New Mexico to other countries that permit the flights. Virgin is sticking by their ticket price of $200,000 and expects to offer lotteries and other means of democratizing the opportunity, including a reality-TV game show that is now under development. Longer-term, the program is "about developing a methodology for spaceflight." Virgin expects to use the SS2 technology for space and Earth-science studies, to expand to orbital flights, and to begin offering high-speed "spaceline" service going from, say, London to Sydney in less than an hour. See the video here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBlifr6EQNU

"While 42-year-old quarterback Vinny Testaverde was in Foxboro last week meeting with Patriots officials, word is there was no formal tryout or workout. Instead, Testaverde and Pats brass went out for an Italian dinner. . . ."

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060929_ap_ansari_blog.html

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/ansari_spacetourist_archive.html

and her blog

http://spaceblog.xprize.org/by-anousheh/

and Flickr photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spaceexplorer/

Take your pick! :)

http://www.breumelhof.nl/emulationroms/content/view/1/3/

To go along with the photos of the day...here is a video clip from the BBC's "Three Men in a Boat" from when they stopped by Astoria last year and David gave them a tour and played a snippet of "Smile" for them. Gives you a look inside.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1074248175740787653

Was looking for some pictures of David Gilmour's house boat/recording studio "The Astoria" and decided to share them as todays Photos. It is moored on the Thames River near Hampton Court. He purchased the boat in 1986, because he "spent half of his life in recording studios with no windows, no light" but on the boat, there's many windows, with beautiful scenery on the outside. The boat was built for Fred Karno in 1910-1912, who wanted to have the best houseboat on the river. He designed it so that there could be an entire 90-piece orchestra playing on the deck of the ship. The two most recent Pink Floyd albums, A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell were recorded on the boat, as well as some David Gilmour solo material including his latest album On an Island. It is very impressive.

New England traveled to Cincinnati to take on the unbeaten Bengals and left with a message to anyone interested: Never, ever, count us out. With defensive secondary starters Eugene Wilson and Ellis Hobbs both inactive against one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, this game looked decidedly in favor of the home team Bengals on paper. Patriots fans, however, should never forget the ability of its team to overcome injuries and make the experts eat their words. In one of the most impressive wins of the Belichick era, the Patriots neutered the Bengals high-flying offense and went on a scoring rampage of its own to the tune of a 38-13 win over the unbeaten Bengals. Laurence Maroney had his first 100-yard game, rushing for 125 yards on 15 carries, finding the end zone twice. Corey Dillon chipped in another 67 yards and in all, the Patriots ground game accounted for 236 yards, the most since 1993 when New England tallied 250 yards in a game against the Colts in Foxboro Stadium, a 38-0 win. The Patriots defense was immense, holding Carson Palmer to 245 yards passing and no touchdowns. The Bengals found nothing on the ground either with only 71 yards rushing. Tom Brady was a pedestrian 15 of 26 for 188 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception but he made big plays when his team needed them, including a 21-yard run of his own for a first down when things were still close. The New England defense opened the game with what looked like a moral victory of sorts. The Bengals first drive looked unstoppable until it got inside the Patriots 30. There, Chad Scott knocked down a ball intended for Chad Johnson and good coverage forced Palmer to throw incomplete on third down. Cincinnati settled for 40-yard field goal by Brad St. Louis to open the scoring. On the drive Palmer was 5 of 8 for 50 yards, hitting Johnson for 30 of them on three completes. That moral victory turned out to be more of a foreshadowing of first half things to come. After a New England punt on its first possession, the Bengals once again started downfield with ease. Palmer had three straight completes for big yards: 17 to T.J. Houshmandzadeh, 18 to Rudi Johnson on a little dump off and another 17 to Kelley Washington. But like their first drive, the Bengals came up short inside the 30 and took a 6-0 lead on a 45-yard field goal. In his attempt to answer, Brady threw the game's only interception, throwing high and just behind Doug Gabriel on third and 9 from the Cincy 45. Gabriel reached for the ball and tipped it into the arms of Tory James. That play ended the first quarter. There was no harm done as it turned out. The Bengals punted and Brady bounced right back. Starting at his own 17, he hit Gabriel for 7 yards and then Reche Caldwell for 14 on second and 13 two plays later. After Maroney ran for 4 yards on two carries, New England used some sleight of hand to convert a third and 6 from its 44. Dan Koppen direct snapped to Kevin Faulk who handed the ball to Chad Jackson coming around from the right side. Jackson carried for 10 yards and the first down. With the Bengals defense still shaking their heads, Brady then looked downfield to Ben Watson for 35 yards to the 11. From there, Maroney took it around left end for the touchdown and a 7-6 lead. After the teams exchanged punts, Cincy came up short again and punted for the third time in the game. On this one, Faulk took the kick up the right side and nearly broke it all the way. Only a shoestring tackle tripped him up at the Bengals 42-yard line as he attempted to cut it back to the middle of the field. Faulk's 43-yard return gave his offense first and 10 at the Bengals 42. With Maroney carrying the ball on this drive the Patriots were third and 5 at the 25 by the two-minute warning. On the next play, Gabriel broke down the left sideline, came free on a coverage mix-up and Brady had an easy touchdown pass that Grabriel grapped inside the 5 and trotted into the end zone with. With just under two minutes left in the half and two timeouts, Palmer and his offense had plenty of time to bring his team closer. A close call on the right sideline ruled Chad Johnson unable to get both feet in bounds with possession of the ball on second and 10 from the 47. The fans reacted to the replay on the big screen, urging Marvin Lewis to throw his challenge flag but the play stood unchallenged. Two plays later the Bengals punted. New England chose to kneel and end the half with its 14-6 lead. The Patriots took the opening kickoff of the second half and had a chance to add to its lead. Brady ran for 21 yards on third and 13 from his own 33. On the next play, only the referee got in the way of Maroney but it was enough to slow him down and limit his run to 14 yards. The drive bogged down thereafter and Stephen Gostkowski's mini drought continued, missing a 48-yard attempt wide right. I swear Adam Vinatieri was sitting at home working his Voodoo doll! The Bengals finally got in the end zone on the next series. The big play was a Houshmandzadeh 32-yard reception with Troy Brown -- filling in at cornerback -- in coverage (yes the "old man" plays both ways). That brought the ball to the Patriots 26. Four plays later, Rudi Johnson ran it in from 2 yards out to make the score 14-13. It was critical for New England to keep the scoring pace. Brady started his next drive with a 15-yard completion to Daniel Graham. On third and 9 two plays later, he held the ball for that extra second and allowed Gabriel to break free over the middle for a 19-yard catch. Next, Brady pumped once and then threw downfield to Caldwell. Caldwell had the ball for a second but was laid out by Kevin Kaesviharn for an imcomplete. It was a vicious helmet to helmet hit that the back judge caught. The penalty made it first and 10 at the 25 for New England. Thankfully Reche was ok. From there, Maroney got the call and stiff-armed his way into the end zone. Rosevelt Colvin had a chance to break the game open when Palmer hit him in the gut on second down. Colvin had nothing but turf between him and a touchdown but he couldn't hold on. The rest of his defensive mates did, however, forcing the Bengals to punt and down the ball on the New England 6. The Pats offense showed its muscle on the ensuing drive. Dillon played smashmouth, running the ball twice for 18 yards total to the 24. Brady passed to Maroney for 15 and then handed the ball to the rookie on the next play. Once again, Maroney found daylight around the left side and romped for 41 yards to the Bengals 20. An 11-yard pass to Graham gave his team first and goal at the 9. The Bengals held on from there with good coverage after a 3-yard Dillon run and Gostkowski got a chance to get back in the swing of making field goals with a 24-yard attempt that he nailed with 14:45 left to play. Next, it was the New England defense making a big play. On third and 7 from his 23, Palmer dropped back and was sacked and stripped by Jarvis Green. Green also came up with the loose ball completing the trifecta and New England's offense was back on the field, first and 10 at the Bengals 13. Dillon ran twice for 12 yards to the 1 but was stopped on the next two plays for no gain. On third down, Brady couldn't connect with Dave Thomas creating a fourth down decision. New England went for the kill and Dillon once again. This time, the former Bengal punched it in for a 31-13 Patriots lead. He threw the ball into the stands and had it promptly throw back in his face, along with a penalty flag that drew 15 yards on the kick off. :) The defense did it again on the Bengals next possession. This time Ty Warren and Tedy Bruschi were credited for bringing down Palmer. Warren got his paw on the ball and fell on it in the pile at the Cincy 29-yard line. Maroney went to work carrying for 9, 3 and exploding into a hole for another 12 to the 5. After a 2-yard Heath Evans carry, Graham was all alone in the left of the end zone where Brady found him for the 3-yard score and an insurmountable 38-13 lead. Green picked up another two sacks with the Bengals forced exclusively to the air. When he wasn't being sacked, Palmer was being creamed as he passed and fans headed to their cars with the game nicely tucked away in the Patriots pocket. :) Excellent!

The New England Patriots travel to Cincinnati this week for a tough test against the undefeated Bengals. New England has not lost back-to-back games in more than three full seasons and will aim to bounce back from last week's loss to Denver with a strong showing. This week's game will be broadcast by CBS at 4:15. I'd like to say this is an easy pick, but it's gonna be a knife fight for the Pats.

A bunch of the old arcade games have been posted on Midways site.

http://www.midwayarcade.com/classic.php

I loved Defender!

Vinny Testaverde was in Foxboro yesterday for a workout and visit with Patriots officials. The fact the Pats felt the need to get a firsthand look at him, and likely give him a physical, means their interest is beyond cursory. Quarterbacks Tommy Maddox and Todd Bouman have also visited recently.

You can't blame it on turnovers this time. Or the refs. In a physical game, the Patriots offense was no match for a Denver defense that took away the Patriots ground game for the first time this season. That was the difference. Laurence Maroney had only 18 yards on 12 attempts while Corey Dillon, who left the game in the first half with an arm injury, had 5 carries for 16 yards. Despite gaudy numbers for Tom Brady -- 31 of 55 for 320 yards and a touchdown -- he once again struggled for most of the game. Whether it was simply having no one open or just being off with his throws, the Patriots passing game posed no threat until the fourth quarter when Denver had already built a 17-0 lead and its defense gave up the short pass, forcing the Patriots to eat up valuable time. The two teams felt each other out during the first quarter, jockeying for field position. Each took turns getting out of holes deep in their own territory but unable to sustain a drive into the other's red zone. New England had a chance to do some damage early in the second quarter when it went for a fourth and 1 on the Broncos 36. Maroney ran to the left but Denver's Demetrin Veal came from his left side and caught Maroney from behind for a 1-yard loss. It looked like Brady might have an immediate answer. On his next series he began working his tight ends with a 7-yard pass to Daniel Graham and then 17 yards downfield to Ben Watson at midfield. On the next play, Brady play-actioned to Maroney, pumped to Troy Brown and then hit Maroney with a little dump off. The rookie back did all the work from there, stiff-arming his way for a 31-yard gain to the 19. That was as far as New England could get and worse, Stephen Gostkowski had his 37-yard field goal attempt blocked. Instead of a 3-3 tie, Denver got the ball back and 7 plays later, a 10-point lead on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Plummer to Javon Walker. The running of Tatum Bell (70 yards in the first half) set up the play, a third and 1 fly pattern that had Walker beating Ellis Hobbs by a step. The Pats had a last chance in the first half but came up empty with 43 seconds to operate from their own 33 and the two teams headed to their locker rooms with the Broncos up, 10-0. While the defense did its part during the third quarter, keeping the Broncos off the scoreboard, the Patriots offense had no answer to the fast, sure-tackling Denver D. Linebacker Ian Gold was all over the field, bottling up Maroney. Meanwhile, Brady was completely stymied. He was underthrowing, overthrowing and just not in synch with his receivers except the few times he found Brown or Graham for completions. In the fourth quarter, Denver broke it open with an 83-yard Walker catch and run. Plummer found him on third and 5 from his own 17 and lofted the ball in between Asante Samuel and James Sanders. Down 17-0, Brady finally started finding receivers with the Broncos playing a little off. He completed 8 passes in a row with three of them to Doug Gabriel for 18, 12 and 6. Maroney's catch for 14 brought the ball first and goal at the Denver 8. Brady's ninth in a row went to Gabriel in the end zone. It was the first touchdown allowed in the 2006 season by the Broncos with 9:13 left to play in the game. The Patriots did get two more cracks at trying to narrow the score. On their first, Brady went three and out without coming close to a completion. On his second bid, New England got down to the Broncos 20 but a fourth and 1 pass went incomplete and Denver knelt to the win.

Space shuttle Atlantis and its six astronauts glided to a safe landing in darkness early Thursday, ending a 12-day mission whose smooth success was briefly upstaged by the high drama caused by mysterious floating debris. From 220 miles above Earth, astronaut Jeff Williams watched from the space station, where Atlantis had departed on Sunday after its astronauts did the first construction work on the station since the Columbia disaster 3 1/2 years ago. "Spectacular lightning flashes just below the orbiter," Williams said as the space shuttle slowed from traveling at 17,000 miles an hour and entered Earth's atmosphere about an hour before landing. "The glow of the orbiter itself is getting dimmer but the contrail is still pretty bright." The landing 48 minutes before sunrise was a day later than planned because NASA ordered up more inspections of the spacecraft's delicate skin to make sure it was safe to come home. The fear was that a mysterious piece of debris spotted floating nearby on Tuesday might have hit the spacecraft. Astronauts later saw other debris.
"We've seen a new standard in NASA vigilance," said shuttle program manager Wayne Hale. After numerous cameras took pictures above and below, some of them maneuvered robotically by the shuttle astronauts, NASA proclaimed the spacecraft damage-free. The unplanned drama threatened to overshadow what had been a nearly flawless mission filled with strenuous spacewalks and rigorous robotics work that placed the international space station back on a path to completion after its long hiatus. "Assembly is off to a good start," Atlantis' commander said upon his return home. NASA officials said their best guess was that the most worrisome object was a plastic filler placed in between thermal tiles which protect the shuttle from blasting heat. Four other pieces of debris, including a possible garbage bag, floated near the shuttle over the next day. Atlantis' return avoided a near traffic jam at the space station, as a Russian Soyuz spacecraft arrived at the space station less than two days after Atlantis had departed. It was the 21st landing in darkness of 114 successful landings. The Atlantis mission was the first of 15 tightly scheduled flights needed to finish constructing the half-built space lab by 2010. The shuttle delivered a 17 1/2-ton truss addition with two massive solar arrays that opened like gleaming golden wings. The solar panels will eventually provide a quarter of the station's power when it is finished in 2010. In three highly choreographed spacewalks, astronauts hooked up cables, removed bolts and opened up a radiator over the solar arrays. NASA had described the 11-day schedule as one of the busiest and most challenging ever for a shuttle crew. "We're back in the assembly business," said Hale. "We achieved a new record in assembling a new component in a minimum number of spacewalks." NASA and its international partners of Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan must finish building the space station before the U.S. space agency ends the shuttle program in 2010 with plans to return to the moon in a new vehicle. The massive, 25-year-old shuttles are the only spaceships large enough to haul construction parts to the space lab. The next shuttle flight in the construction sequence is set for December. Before Atlantis' mission, the space station hadn't been expanded since late 2002. The Columbia disaster in 2003 grounded the three remaining shuttles for two years, and NASA devoted another year to test flights in an effort to keep insulation foam from falling off the space shuttle's external tank — the problem that doomed Columbia and its seven astronauts. The Atlantis astronauts started work right away upon arriving at the space station last week. The massive $372 million addition was handed from one giant robotic arm to another — from the shuttle to the space station. Astronauts Joe Tanner and Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper served as cosmic electricians and carried out two of the mission's three challenging spacewalks. Dan Burbank and Steve MacLean of the Canadian Space Agency performed the other. Both teams lost a few bolts. The mission was bookended by delays. At first, it seemed as if Atlantis never would get off the ground. The launch was scrubbed four times in two weeks because of a launch pad lightning bolt, Tropical Storm Ernesto and problems with the electrical system and a fuel gauge. With all the postponements, NASA negotiated with the Russians to squeeze out one last chance in its launch window. The Russians were worried the trip would interfere with their Soyuz trip to the space station with a paying customer, Iranian-born space tourist Anousheh Ansari, a Dallas businesswoman. The Soyuz lifted off Monday, just hours after Atlantis had undocked from the space station. If you missed the landing this morning, video can be seen here...

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

NASA officials today cleared Atlantis for a return to Earth Thursday after overnight inspections turned up no sign of damage to the space shuttle's critical heat shield despite new reports by the crew of debris floating outside the craft. The shuttle's first landing opportunity at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is at 6:21 a.m. on Thursday. Mission Control had asked the six crewmembers to make a final examination of the shield this morning and found no problems that would hamper a return. To get ready for landing, the crew packed up gear and stowed the Ku-Band antenna, which is used for most shuttle television transmissions. Forecasts for Thursday call for acceptable weather at the Florida landing site. Atlantis’ first and prime landing opportunity begins with a de-orbit burn at 5:14 a.m., to start the descent to Florida. A second opportunity is available, beginning with a de-orbit burn at 6:50 a.m. leading to a landing at 7:57 a.m. in Florida.

Shuttle astronauts spotted three pieces of debris floating in space outside Atlantis early Wednesday, a day after the discovery of two other mysterious objects forced a postponement of the landing. Atlantis commander Brent Jett described the objects as two rings and a piece of foil. He told Mission Control the first object, about 100 feet from the shuttle, was "a reflective cloth or a mechanic looking-cloth. ... It's not a solid metal structure." "It doesn't look like anything I've seen outside the shuttle," Jett said. The astronauts noticed the objects during an extensive inspection of the space shuttle using a 50-foot-boom early Wednesday to see if its heat shield was damaged by a mysterious object that apparently floated off the spacecraft. Jett suggested the three objects might have come from the Russian Soyuz vehicle, which docked with the international space station early Wednesday. But Mission Control told him the Soyuz likely was too far below the shuttle, and that the closest the two space vehicles came to each other was 20 miles. The first landing opportunity available to Atlantis is at 6:22 a.m. Thursday touchdown in Florida.

The Mission Control Center in Houston informed the STS-115 crew about 10:45 a.m. that Wednesday’s landing attempts have been waved off due to an unfavorable weather forecast, coupled with the possibility of additional inspections of Space Shuttle Atlantis. An object was observed by flight controllers using a TV camera on the shuttle in close proximity to the spacecraft. It was observed following standard tests of Atlantis’ reaction control system about 2:45 a.m. today. Flight controllers continue to analyze the situation and are concerned the item may be something that came off of Atlantis. Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale said engineers and flight controllers are developing a plan for inspections that may be performed on Wednesday to ensure that Atlantis is safe for re-entry. Atlantis has equipment aboard that can be used to thoroughly inspect the heat shield and other areas. During the post-Mission Management Team briefing at 12 p.m., the STS-115 crew informed Mission Control that one of the crew members spotted a small object near the shuttle. The crew captured imagery of it and will downlink it to MCC for analysis. At about 12:46 p.m., MCC instructed the crew to power up the Atlantis’ robot arm so that its elbow camera can be used to survey the orbiter. Landing opportunities for Atlantis on Thursday begin with a potential 6:22 a.m. touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Atlantis’ mission has resumed the construction of the International Space Station. Atlantis delivered the P3/P4 integrated truss to the station on Sept. 11. The STS-115 and Expedition 13 crews used the shuttle and station robotic arms to attach the truss to the orbital outpost. Then STS-115 astronauts conducted three spacewalks in four days to prepare the truss and its solar arrays for operation. The weather forecast at Kennedy Space Center calls for better weather at the Shuttle Landing Facility on Thursday. Forecasters will continue to monitor the situation. The weather forecast for Wednesday had called for unacceptable thunderstorms and strong winds at the potential landing time.

New England saw a 24-point lead dwindle to a mere touchdown before the end of this game! Despite jumping out to a 24-point lead, mental lapses on the part of the Patriots allowed the Jets to climb back into this one and make things interesting. In the end, the Patriots held on for a 24-17 win and a 2-0 record on the season. Brady, while still not at the top of his game, performed better than last week going 15 of 29 for 220 yards, a touchdown and one interception. The tandem running backs, Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney again delivered. Dillon ran for 80 yards on 20 carries with a score while Maroney had 65 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown of his own. Chad Jackson made his Patriot debut during the Patriots second series of the game and caught a nice 29-yard pass from Brady, the first pass thrown his way. Jackson was closely covered but managed to come up with the ball down the left sideline. That play sparked an 11-play, 82-yard drive ending on a Dillon 1-yard touchdown run behind the left side of the Patriots line. On the drive, Troy Brown started things off with a 15-yard catch. Later, Ben Watson had a 14-yard grab down the middle to move the ball to the Jets 22. From the 18-yard line two plays later, Maroney followed up a 4-yard run with a 14-yarder to the 4. On the Patriots second scoring drive that came with 13:15 left in the first half, Brady flaunted his tight ends. Dave Thomas started strong right on one play and came across the field with no one near him. Brady connected and the rookie went 29 yards to the Jets 49. On the very next play, Brady went down the middle to Daniel Graham for another 29-yard pick-up. Despite the promising start to the drive and getting as close as the Jets 2, Brady was unable to connect with Watson and then Doug Gabriel in the end zone. Stephen Gostkowski was good on a 20-yard field goal attempt for a 10-0 New England lead. Meanwhile, the Patriots defense was keeping the Jets at bay. It threw a wrinkle into the game plan by going mostly 4-3 during the first half. Also, of note, Tedy Bruschi made his 2006 debut during the second quarter, playing middle linebacker in that 4-3 alignment. Jets punter Ben Graham gave the Patriots a golden opportunity to add to the lead at the end of the half when he badly shanked his punt for net 10 yards. The punt came after a three and out stand by the defense by way of a pair of sacks, one by Tully Banta-Cain and another by Richard Seymour. Brady took over at midfield with a minute left and immediately looked long to Jackson. The pass was right on the rook's hands -- with the Jets Andre Dyson beat -- but it fell harmlessly to the ground. Brady then looked to the proven Brown who muscled his way to a 14-yard gain on a pass to the left flat. Two plays later it was Watson for 23-yards to the Jets 13 and on the next play, Jackson made up for his lost opportunity earlier in the drive with a touchdown pass over the middle; his first career score and a 17-0 halftime lead for New England. New England started the second half with a solid short yardage stand. First Junior Seau stuffed Kevan Barlow for no gain on third and 1 from the Jets 46. On fourth down, the Jets went for it and it was Ty Warren and Jarvis Green with the stop. New England took over on downs. On third and 5, Brady looked deep to Kevin Faulk down the left sideline. The Jets Victor Hobson made his move too soon and hit Faulk for a pass interference call. That put the ball on the Jets 12. A hold on Watson moved the ball back and a defensive hold two plays later gave the Patriots a first down on the 17. Maroney did the rest of the work with three carries, 14 yards to the 3 followed by a 2-yard carry and then a 1-yard scoring play. It looked all Patriots, but Pennington got off a throw just as he was being hit and Cotchery came up with it. Cotchery was blistered by Chad Scott as he caught it but somehow he managed to keep his feet and take off downfield for the touchdown, a 71-yard score. The Patriots challenged the play thinking his elbow had perhaps touched the turf on the Scott hit but the ruling on the field stood making the score 24-7 with 6:15 left in the third quarter. Things started to get sloppy for the Patriots from there. Brady looked for a home run on the next series to Gabriel who was double covered. David Barrett made the pick and the Jets had the ball right back. A big New England penalty was next to give New York new life. Vince Wilfork jumped offsides and then worse, knocked Pennington to the ground for a 15-yard roughness call. From the New England 46 on third and 9, just plain sloppy tackling allowed Laveranues Coles to take a pass and weave his way through at least four would-be tacklers for a touchdown. The third quarter ended with the score 24-14 and with the Patriots in possession of the ball on the Jets 42. Maroney set up the drive with a 39-yard return of the kickoff but the series of unfortunate events continued for New England as Kerry Rhodes came from his safety spot and nailed Brady from his blindside on third and 8. The ball was fumbled and the Jets recovered at the Patriots 49. Mike Vrabel and Seymour teamed up to sack Pennington on third and 8 from the 24 and that play kept the Jets to only 3 points as Mike Nugent was good on a 42-yard attempt. Still, the Jets had somehow come from 24 points down to within a touchdown with 9:20 left to play. New England needed a nerve-calming drive and who else to lead one but Mr. Cool, Tom Brady. He converted three third downs, starting from his own 30. Reche Caldwell was good for a 6-yard catch on third and 5. Faulk had another 6-yarder on third and 4 and Brown made 8 yards on a third and 7 catch from the Jets 35. Add in a bone-crushing 10-yard run by Dillon where he flat out leveled Rhodes at the end of the play. At the two minute warning, New England still had the ball third and 5 at the Jets 11. Dillon banged out another 4 yards to the 7 making it fourth and 1 with 1:47 left to play. Brady milked the play clock to 1 second and then called timeout with 1:15 left. A field goal would put New England up by 10 but Brady went to the line to try and draw the Jets offsides. New York wasn't buying and on trotted Gostkowski for his first clutch kick, a 29-yard attempt. The kick was blocked and recovered by the Jets. The Jets hopes remained alive with 1:05 left on the clock. The New England defense dropped into a prevent and kept everything in front of them while Pennington, with no timeouts, dunked the ball downfield. The Jets plays were to the middle of the field, however, and too much of the clock was running down. With 15 seconds left, the Jets were second and 10 on their own 45 and Pennington decided to go for it. He lofted the ball downfield into a crowd and Tedy Bruschi intercepted it for the game-ending play. Another close one for the Pats! Next weekends Sunday night game is against Denver in a rematch of last years AFC playoff game. :)

International space station astronauts pulled an alarm and donned protective gear after smelling a foul odor that turned out to be a harmful chemical leaking from an oxygen vent. The crew first reported smoke but it turned out to be an irritant, potassium hydroxide, leaking from an oxygen vent. The crew donned surgical gloves and masks but did not have to put on gas or oxygen masks. NASA declared a spacecraft emergency for only the second time in the eight-year history of the station. The first time was for a false alarm of an ammonia spill. NASA initially said that the crew in the orbiting lab 220 miles above Earth had been working on a Russian oxygen-generating system known as the Elektron. But no work on the system had been scheduled at that time. The Elektron was activated at 6:30 am EDT and shut down about a half hour later. Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov reported the leak to Mission Control in Russia at 7:23 a.m. Vinogradov described the liquid as transparent, "like distilled water." "At first, small-sized bubbles escaped, drops, four or five," Vinogradov said. U.S. astronaut Jeff Williams described the smell of burning rubber, but Mission Control in Houston said that odor likely came from the overheating of a rubber gasket. "That also jibes with the visible smoke coming from the rubber gasket," Williams said. The station's third crew member is Thomas Reiter of the European Space Agency, who arrived for his six-month stay in July aboard space shuttle Discovery. Williams and Vinogradov are slated to return to Earth at the end of the month. Because the station's emergency system was activated, the ventilation system was shut down, but ground operations reactivated it a short time later. Astronauts used a charcoal air-scrubbing device to remove the offensive smell and Williams said the odor "decreased significantly." The potassium hydroxide, a corrosive that can cause serious burns and can be harmful if inhaled, was cleaned up with towels and wrapped up in two rubber bags, Suffredini said. Potassium hydroxide can be used to power batteries and is also known as potash lye. The Elektron system has given the space station headaches before. It had operated on-and-off for months before breaking down last spring. In June, the crew tried to reactivate it, with mixed results, after replacing a hydrogen vent valve outside during a spacewalk. The failure of the Elektron, which looks like a water heater, had no impact on operations at the space station. The international space station was in the middle of a revolving door of visitors. Space shuttle Atlantis' six astronauts departed on Sunday and a Russian Soyuz vehicle carrying two new station crew members and space tourist Anousheh Ansari were expected to arrive on Wednesday. Early Monday, Atlantis astronauts attached a boom to the shuttle's robotic arm and inspected for damage to the shuttle's wings and nose. This is part of the post-Columbia accident routine for shuttles, in which astronauts look for the type of heat shield cuts and tears that caused the fatal shuttle accident in 2003. The inspection was conducted by pilot Chris Ferguson and astronauts Dan Burbank and Steve MacLean while the shuttle stayed dozens of miles away from the station in the same relative orbit. If the astronauts find the type of damage that could cause a deadly accident, the shuttle can return to the station. Earlier inspections showed the heat shield was in good condition. At the same time, astronauts examined and tried to fix what may be a minor leaky valve used for dumping water overboard. Mission Control praised Atlantis for completing its main mission of adding a 17 1/2-ton addition, including a pair of 115-foot-long solar wings, to the space station.

NASA reported light smoke this morning on the international space station and the three astronauts aboard donned protective gear as a precaution. NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries tells CNN there was no smoke on the space station, but smoke detectors did alarm and the crew reported a bad smell and some vapors.

The Patriots and Jets will meet today at the Meadowlands with control of the AFC East division at stake. With both teams coming off season-opening victories, the winner will claim possession of the top spot in the division and begin the season by taking an early lead in the standings. After last weeks prediction...I'll be a bit more subdued with my pick! 24-10 Pats Win!

After a busy week of challenging construction work, the shuttle Atlantis and her crew undocked from the International Space Station today to begin their journey home. Landing is set for 5:57 a.m. Wednesday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Atlantis astronauts used three spacewalks and robotic arms on the shuttle and station to attach the orbital outpost's new 17.5 ton P3/P4 truss structure. The truss' 240-foot solar arrays will eventually double the station's power capabilities, setting the stage for future expansion.

45 Moments in Nasa History

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/NASA45th/loadmovie.html

I suggest the Windows Media version.

The deployment of the International Space Station’s new set of solar arrays reached the halfway point about 7:08 a.m. today when the left wing was fully extended. The arrays will span 240 feet when the right wing is completely unfurled about 8:30 a.m. Full deployment is occurring in stages to allow the arrays to warm up, which prevents them from sticking while being deployed. The first stage began about 6:27 a.m. The arrays were installed on to the station Tuesday and will eventually double the orbital outpost’s power capabilities. Earlier this morning, flight controllers deployed only one bay mast on the right and left wings. This step was done to confirm a new procedure designed to avoid large motion that occurred during the P6 array deployment in 2000. The deployment activities started later than planned due to a software problem with the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint. The Mission Control Center team developed a workaround and proceeded with the checkout and deployment activities.

The Air Force has finally decided what to do with its barely-flown fleet of 106 training airplanes. It has taken nearly a decade since TIME brought the matter to national attention, but the Air Force this week concluded that's its fleet of T-3 trainers are junk. It made the decision to scrap the fleet altogether nine years after the Air Force grounded the planes in the wake of three fatal accidents — each of which killed a highly-trained Air Force instructor pilot and a fledging Air Force pilot. The British-built Slingsby T-3A Firefly was selected in 1992 to replace the T-41 aircraft. It was a more demanding plane, designed to weed out poor pilots. But after the three fatal crashes, the service grounded the planes in 1997. "The T-41 is your grandmother's airplane," Merrill McPeak, the general running the Air Force when the program began, told TIME several months later. "Our mission is to train warrior-pilots, not dentists to fly their families to Acapulco." But the Air Force disagreed, and ultimately ended the more demanding flight-training program that General McPeak had championed. The service also found that making the planes airworthy for subsequent sale was prohibitive (they have had no maintenance since their grounding, and many were damaged by hail, Air Force officials say). So in a statement issued Monday, the service's Air Education and Training Command's said it had decided "to salvage the aircraft in place." In other words, the Air Force has agreed to pay a metal-recycling company $12,000 to get rid of the airplanes that cost taxpayers $42 million, including $10 million in failed fixes, to procure. "The aircraft will be completely destroyed and the scrap metal value will be used to off set the disposal cost," the Air Force said. The job is due to be finished by September 25. After taking nine years to decide what to do with the planes, it's going to take only two weeks to turn them into scrap. What a waste.

This video is not for the faint of heart. It is a perfect answers to anyone who asks "why are U.S. troops giving their lives in foreign countries?" Too many people living in the United States have short memories.

http://media.revver.com/broadcast/59686/video.mov

Atlantis astronauts Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper and Joe Tanner worked in space for more than 6 hours Tuesday to prepare the International Space Station's newly installed P3/P4 truss for operation. The 17-ton segment will add a set of giant solar panels and batteries, doubling the station's power capabilities. Astronauts Daniel Burbank and Steve MacLean make another spacewalk Wednesday to prepare the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint, which will turn the new solar arrays to track the sun. The spacewalk was a first for rookie astronaut Piper, who joined an elite club of female spacewalkers. Only six other women have participated in 159 U.S. spacewalks, and only one has gone on any of the 118 Russian spacewalks. A major reason for the lack of female spacewalkers is the spacesuit, which isn't designed for small sizes, said Piper, who is 5-foot-10. "If you fit in a suit then the easier it is to work," she said. Before they started, astronauts MacLean and Jeff Williams, from inside the space lab, used the robotic arm to install the 45-foot addition on the left side of the space station's truss system. Two solar arrays will be unfurled from the truss on Thursday. The spacewalk started a short time later at 5:17 a.m. EDT. Tanner was first to enter the void of space tethered to the space station, followed by Piper. Tanner and Piper then started connecting wiring and cables to the $372 million truss segment that was moved Monday from space shuttle Atlantis' cargo bay to the space station's robotic arm. Wearing bulky suits and gloves, the spacewalking electricians also installed and disconnected bolts, connected tubes and activated latches -- tasks that had to be performed quickly so the electronic components do not get cold. The team worked briskly, at one point putting themselves so far ahead of the schedule that Mission Control reminded them to take a break.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfO-Z1CuJ6w

What Jon said 5 years ago is as true now as it was then.

Space shuttle Atlantis docked with the international space station Monday, arriving with the first addition to the orbiting space lab in more than 31/2 years. Atlantis commander Brent Jett eased the space shuttle into the space station's docking port where latches automatically fastened the two spacecraft together at 6:48 a.m. EDT. The nearly two-day trip from Earth ended about 220 miles above the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean. With both vehicles moving at 17,500 miles per hour, the tag-up with the space station required Atlantis to make a series of jet firings that ended with Jett taking manual control of the spacecraft about 1,000 feet from the space station. At about 600 feet from the station, Jett maneuvered the spacecraft into a 360-degree pitch so that the space station's three-man crew could photograph images of the shuttle's belly and transmit them to NASA engineers, who will look for any damage from liftoff to the spacecraft's thermal skin. That inspection technique, along with another performed Sunday using a 50-foot boom with sensors at the end, were implemented following the Columbia accident, which killed seven astronauts in 2003. Foam debris from Columbia's external fuel tank struck a wing, allowing fiery gases to penetrate when the shuttle returned to Earth. After reviewing photos from Atlantis' launch on Saturday, NASA managers saw only a single piece of debris that fell during a part of the liftoff when a debris strike can endanger the shuttle. A thruster cover fell 16 seconds into the ascent at a speed of 230 miles per hour, but it didn't hit the shuttle. Seven other pieces of foam and ice debris appeared to fall off, including four that seemed to hit the shuttle, but they all occurred too late into the ascent when the debris wasn't moving fast enough to do much damage. Atlantis was hauling a 171/2-ton truss segment, containing two attached solar wings, which will be the first new addition to the space station since December 2002 when space shuttle Endeavour delivered another truss segment. The Columbia disaster in 2003 halted all construction on the space lab. NASA and its international partners hope to finish building the space station on 14 additional missions by 2010 when the space shuttle fleet is grounded. Following welcoming handshakes and hugs between the space shuttle and space station crews, astronauts planned to use the shuttle's robotic arm to remove the $372 million addition from the shuttle's cargo bay and hand it over to the international space station's robotic arm. When the shuttle arm hands the truss to the station arm -- both built by Canada -- it could be considered "the great Canadian handshake," Atlantis astronaut Steve MacLean said before the mission. MacLean will become the first Canadian to operate his home country's robotic arm.

"Let Us Not Forget"

The STS-115 crew conducted heat shield inspections Sunday as Space Shuttle Atlantis continued its chase of the International Space Station. The crew performed two sets of inspections to see if Atlantis was damaged during its climb into space on Saturday. During the first set, the crew used the orbiter boom sensor system, attached to the end of the shuttle’s robot arm, to perform thorough inspections of wing leading edges and the nose cap. After the boom was returned to the payload bay, the astronauts used the arm to take a look at the crew cabin and other areas on Atlantis’ upper surface. Atlantis is set to dock with the International Space Station at 6:46 a.m. Monday. Before docking, Commander Brent Jett will flip Atlantis over to allow station crewmembers to photograph the orbiter's heat shield. Once at the station, the Atlantis crew will begin to install the 17.5 ton P3/P4 truss on the International Space Station, activating a new set of solar arrays that will double the outpost's ability to generate power from sunlight.

It probably wasn't the type of game many predicted but the Patriots were able to shake off some first half cobwebs to scratch and claw their way to a 19-17 win over the Buffalo Bills.After giving up 17 first half points (7 of them via a fumble return), the Patriots defense pitched a shutout in the second half while the New England running game showed off its new tandem of Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney. Dillon finished with 73 yards on 16 carries while Maroney contributed another 86 yards on his 17 attempts. As a team, the Patriots finished with 183 rushing yards. Tom Brady had a uneven start to the season with only 11 of 23 passing for 163 yards, 2 touchdown passes and an interception. On defense, Junior Seau led all tacklers for New England with 8. As the game progressed, the defense increased its pressure on Bills quarterback J.P. Losman, finishing with three sacks. The game certainly didn't start in the traditional Patriots way. The Bills Takeo Spikes returned to the playing field after missing last season with injury and made his first play an announcement that he's back to his old form. New England opened the game first and 10 at its 21 with Brady dropping back to pass. Spikes shot through the line on a blitz and nailed Brady from behind. The ball popped loose and London Fletcher scooped it up into the end zone for the game's first score. Unfortunately for Spikes and the Bills, he left the game with an apparent hamstring pull during the next series. Brady bounced right back. After Dillon took a screen for 16 yards, Brady gave the ball to Maroney and the rookie immediately showed why the Patriots took him in the first round this April with a 27-yard romp. Three plays later he was at it again on third and 5 with a 22-yard run down to the Bills 3. A 5-yard 12-men-in-the-huddle penalty on New England moved the ball back to the 8 followed by Dillon getting stuffed for a 1-yard loss. Brady next found Troy Brown over the middle for a 9-yard touchdown and a tie game. Buffalo grabbed the lead back with a 53-yard Rian Lindell field goal on their next series. On the drive the Bills offense looked shaky, with a couple early fumbles but when they needed a conversion, it seemed Losman was able to find one of his receivers for just enough to get his team to the Patriots 34. The Patriots protection was clearly having trouble with the speed of the Bills defense as evident on the next series for New England. Brady fumbled for the second time while being sacked by Chris Kelsay. Dan Koppen recovered for New England but the point was well taken: With Brady being hassled and the line having trouble protecting him unless a tight end was kept in to block, his options were limited. The Bills took over and began an impressive drive that ended with an Anthony Thomas 18-yard run for 6 points. The first half ended with the New England offense in a fog. Brady had been sacked twice with another two passes batted down at the line; his team down 17-7. It looked like the defense was caught in the same cloud as the second half started and Buffalo marched down the field with ease. Losman was finding open receivers and McGahee was running strong. Before New England knew it, Buffalo was fourth and 1 from the 7. Sensing the kill, Bills head coach Dick Jauron went for it. That's when the defense snapped out of its daze and stopped McGahee short of the sticks. Taking its cue from the defense, the Patriots offense suddenly woke up. It embarked on a 93 yard drive that culminated in a fantastic diving catch in the end zone by Faulk on a pass from Brady from 17 yards out. The drive extender was a huge 34-yard pass down the middle to Watson on third and 9 from New England's 20. Once in Bills territory, Dillon and Maroney pounded the ball effectively, loosening up the Bills defense. When New England got the ball back after stopping Buffalo three and out, the running strategy continued to work. Maroney had back-to-back 7-yard runs followed by an 8-yarder after Brady hit Watson for 11 yards on third down. Later in the drive, New England was faced with its own fourth down decision. On fourth and 1 from the 43, Brady got 2 yards to convert and then hit Reche Caldwell for 24 yards on a skinny post. The drive stalled at the 14 where Stephen Gostkowski was good on a 32-yard field goal to knot the score at 17. Ever since the Bills failed fourth down attempt, the momentum towards the Patriots was building. It peaked on the Bills next series when a swarming Patriots defense sacked Losman in the end zone on third and 11 for a safety. Ty Warren got the credit for the play that put New England up 19-17. The wind stopped blowing at New England's back for a brief period when Brady got picked off by Donte Whitner on the next play from scrimmage but the Patriots defense kept its end of the bargain by sacking (Richard Seymour) Losman on third and 2 for a 6-yard loss. On the Whitner interception, only a bad call by the referee saying Whitner stepped out of bounds stopped the play from really hurting the home team. Once the Patriots got the ball back and Dan Graham hauled in a 23-yard pass, the win was in sight. At the two minute warning, the Patriots elected to go for a fourth and 2 on the Buffalo 26 and Dillon picked up 6 yards around left end. All it took from there was Brady to take care of the ball as he knelt to the Patriots opening season win.

Pariots Win 19-17 in a knife fight against the Bills. Pat's played like hell in the first half, but looked like the Pats I love in the second half! Great Defense in the second half and 2 great drives by Brady and the offence saved the day. Complete game summary to come!

Space shuttle Atlantis roared off its seaside Florida launch pad on Saturday after two weeks of delays, setting the stage for Nasa to resume assembly of the International Space Station.
Atlantis soared through pockets of puffy white clouds as it headed up over the Atlantic Ocean. Its hydrogen-fueled engines catapulted the spaceship to a speed of 28 160kph and it later settled into an orbital perch about 350km above the planet. Saturday was the final possible day for the launch before Nasa would have faced a lengthy postponement while Russia flies a replacement crew to the space station. The six astronauts aboard the shuttle face a jam-packed, 11-day schedule. In addition to inspections, they have a complicated installation to perform on the space station. The shuttle carries a $372-million truss segment that contains the space station's second set of solar arrays and a rotary joint so the panels can track the sun. The chore requires careful coordination between the shuttle and the station's robotic cranes, oversight from Nasa's Mission Control in Houston, as well as the full attention of the shuttle and station crews. Three spacewalks are planned during the flight. Nasa has one extra day available if problems develop during the solar array deployment or if engineers need the crew to make additional inspections of the ship's heat shield. Atlantis must leave the station by September 18 to clear the way for the arrival two days later of a Russian Soyuz rocket carrying two new station crew members and Iranian-born American entrepreneur Anousheh Ansari, the first woman to fly as a tourist to the outpost. Atlantis is scheduled to return to the Kennedy Space Centre before dawn on September 20. If you missed the launch live, here is a link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9VEzsULfl0