Rumour has next shuttle mission carrying several cows. It'll be the 'herd shot round the world'.

After what has been one of the best years ever, I suppose it was time for my karma to be a bit depleted. I was planning on checking out the shuttle launch last Thursday, but the weather and other things had darkened the sky too much, so it had to be scrubbed. I was hoping the weather would stay bad through the weekend since I already had plans, but apparently it cleared up enough on Saturday for what i heard was a pretty spectacular liftoff. I suppose misfortune is really the kind of fortune you just cannot miss. I have been in Florida for 10 years and have yet to see any kind of smoke or light plume from a launch. Hopefully if things go well, they will have more missions and not wait another 4 years before the next launch.

Still not sure what is going on this weekend. There are a few outdoor events in South Tampa that might be interesting. I'm still planning an Everglades trip for the end of the month since the new sea kayaks I picked up a few months ago are looking lonely hanging on the garage wall. I'd like to do the 100 miles, 6-7 day trip between Everglades City and Florida City, but have to somehow work out the logistics of getting back to the start. I figure it'll be a good way to get away for a while and enjoy the environment for a bit.