Richard Branson and Burt Rutan announced today the formation of their company that will build the first private multi-passenger spaceship. This was expected after the success of Rutan’s SpaceShipOne as the first private space vehicle that reached space.

It was great to see that the announcement was made at the EAA AirVenture show in Oshkosh, WI. This is the world’s largest fly-in airshow and convention in the world. This year SpaceShipOne and its carrier jet are at the airshow and will fly in a demonstration this Friday.

I have visited this annual airshow for many years with my father. We both enjoy aviation and this is the best place in the world to see aircraft up close. I will not be able to go this year and it is the one year I wish I could to see the SpaceShipOne in person.

The Space Shuttle Discovery successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center, FL on Tuesday morning. It was great to see the Space Shuttle back in space after the tragic Space Shuttle Columbia disaster a couple of years ago.

Hopefully the foam pieces that fell off the external fuel tank this time will not cause any serious problems for them. Fortunately NASA has procedures in place including spacewalks to fix this type of issue.

I have a great interest in the space missions that NASA attempts and one day would like to visit space myself as a “space tourist” so-to-speak. Who knows, that may even be affordable in my lifetime.

It was especially fun to see the launch this time as I visited Kennedy Space Center in January of 2004. If you ever get the chance, take a tour of the Space Center and spend the extra $20-$30 to take the “inside” tour that takes you to see the assembly of the International Space Station modules and literally right next to the launch pads, Vehicle Assembly Building and runway. You are not a mile away, but literally next to these sites on a tour bus. I enjoyed it immensely and took large number of pictures.

Lance Armstrong retired from bike racing today at the peak of the athletic world. Winning the Tour de France for the seventh consecutive year, a feat that most likely will never be equaled. This even more impressive after cancer spread throughout his body.

In my opinion, the Tour de France is by far the most grueling athletic competition in the world. An event that has no equal. Over 2,000 miles of grueling bike racing @ high altitude as well as high speed.

I am not an avid bicyclist, however I do try to get out on my mountain bike for a good workout of pushing myself to the limit. My limit is probably not even Lance’s slow warm up speed. I consider Lance to be one of the top 3 pure athletes of my generation.

Unfortunately many of us Americans will probably not pay as much attention to the Tour de France, now that Lance has retired. That is a shame because these guys are true athletes and should be respected for that.

Thanks Lance for your example to never give up no matter the odds stacked against us.

Google has come out with one of the coolest, free programs ever! It’s Google Earth. I have heard about it but just now had time try it out. It utilizes satellite images and 3D imaging along with GPS coordinates and altitude. It’s a free download, for PC’s only right now (Mac version on the way!) It is addicting to use. I have been pulling up satellite images flying in from space and maps of all kinds of stuff.

Here’s the link: http://earth.google.com

President Bush nominated Judge John G. Roberts Jr. for the Supreme Court tonight. Should be interesting to see what happens now. He was on the radar but not the “conventional wisdom” guess by the pundits. Other than what they briefly mentioned tonight after the announcement I don’t know enough about him to form an informed opinion. Of course this nomination is all we’ll hear about on the news for the next couple of months.

For the first time in my current job, I have read about my company being a takeover target. Not just rumors, but legitimate scenarios that could play out in the coming days or months. It is something that I am not surprised about and frankly have expected for some time. Even though the prospects of change abound and uncertainty is growing, it really does not concern me. Not to say that the possibility of a takeover directly affecting me doesn’t cross my mind. I trust that God will provide and direct me in the right path whether at my current company or not.

My heart and prayers go out to all the people of London, England today and the days to come. Know that Americans everywhere are thinking of you and praying for you. We stand with you and support you against this evil attack.

Here in the U.S., today is Independence Day. A day when we celebrate our independence as a nation and the freedom that comes with it. Freedom unlike any other country in the world.

These days too many Americans are so focused on opposing the current administration that they lose perspective on what we really have here as a nation. Hearing people say they would rather leave the country than live here under George W. Bush. Of course those same people still live here, make a living here, and in the end probably never would have left in the first place.

My hope, though it may not be realistic, is that all citizens of this country would take time to be thankful for the freedom we have in this country. Many of us, myself included, take this freedom for granted everyday.

On this day when we celebrate our freedom, I most importantly what to thank all of our men and women in the Armed Services for what they do. We support you and thank you for your sacrifice in defending this country and keeping it free.

As Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor submitted her letter of retirement today, so begins a battle of worldviews we all saw coming. Though it was somewhat unexpected that Justice O’Connor would be the first to retire on the current court, it was expected that a retirement would come within the year.

Justice O’Connor was appointed by President Reagan in the early 1980’s, politically leaning to the right, but predominantly a centrist. The only reason I mention that is to make the point that the impending battle for confirming the next Supreme Court Justice has become more about politics than interpreting the law.

I am a conservative, evangelical Christian who, in my perfect world, would like to see a conservative leaning court that would uphold my worldview. That being said, I have a problem with all involved in the process focusing so heavily on what a Supreme Court nominees (or any judge for that matter) political views/personal views are on many subjects.

Of course in a perfect world, judges would never inject their personal/political views in the process of making an “unbiased” ruling. But we all know this world is far from perfect and far too many judges try to legislate from the bench rather than interpret the law and Constitution.

We are left with a impending battle of worldviews/morals/ethics. A battle of absolutes vs. everything is grey, right vs. wrong, humble vs. selfish. In the end it seems it will come down to a battle of life vs. murder.(I’m sure you can guess what I think about that.)

My prayer is that what ever side people are on, we can respect each other though we may disagree. I’m sure I’ll be writing more on this topic as the confirmation process begins.