11/16/09 STS-129 Launch / Space Shuttle Atlantis / ISS assembly flight ULF3 Aboard a 19 foot Tahoe Sport boat on the Mosqutio Lagoon near Haulover Canal / Marker 45 / approximately 12.5 miles from Pad 39A / Handheld / The view from 12.5 miles away This was a very difficult shoot. We were not able to drop anchor correctly so we were in constant motion. The boat was not able to level out and the water was rough. Most of the pictures were unusable, the haze made it even worse. Also, our broadcast was on a 1:30 delay and we were not looking at the actual time. If it wasnt for me trying to get a lock on the pad and happen to see the smoke...we would've missed it completely. We were facing the other direction. Oh well, all part of the excitement I guess. Good times. From NASA: Space shuttle Atlantis and its six-member crew began an 11-day delivery flight to the International Space Station on Monday with a 2:28 p.m. EST launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle will transport spare hardware to the outpost and return a station crew member who spent more than two months in space. Atlantis is carrying about 30,000 pounds of replacement parts for systems that provide power to the station, keep it from overheating, and maintain a proper orientation in space. The large equipment can best be transported using the shuttle's unique capabilities.

My new replacement drum practice pad ... mounted on my camera tripod! The box said it could be mounted on a standard drum cymbal stand ... but I don't have a spare stand, and the thread looked similar to a tripod head camera attachment thread so I tried it _ and it turns out to be the *perfect* stand for a drum practice pad with full height and tilt adjustment. Although I'll see if I can find the head for my other tripod (the one that went over the cliff with me) as I'm not entirely keen on bashing a pad mounted on my Manfrotto :-)