Good day at work

We had our monthly Board of Trustees meeting today, at our educational facility located at Kennedy Space Center. We had a "behind the scenes" VIP tour, which included the Orbital Processing Facility 3, where the shuttle Discovery is undergoing preparation for the May flight. We spent the majority of the time walking underneath the shuttle (it was supported by multiple jack stands). I got an up-close look at all the tiles that cover the bottom of the shuttle. We then moved up the catwalk (4 stories) and looked down into the open bay where technicians and engineers were working on the air-lock. Then walked back on the catwalk to the shuttle engine area, saw the main engine, major thrusters, and 44 positional thrusters.

Our college's facility is within a couple miles of the launch and assembly buildings, on KSC property. We have a program that trains and certifies technicians, which is very successful.

Having a close look at this facility creates a sense of pride. It showcases America's engineering invention and innovation talents. Though many may think that it is a waste of money, and/or lives, we need to continue to explore space, otherwise we resign ourselves to a meager existence, not knowing what we don't know, nor striving to endeavor.


Click here to learn more about the Return to Flight progam at the center.

Maddie participated in the county middle school music competition and came away with 3 superior medals (the highest level awarded). She played in a duet, a trio, and a flute choir. She has collected 6 medals through her 3 years playing the flute - 2 Excellent and 4 Superior, and of course, we are all very proud of her. 

Harriet Wilkes Honors College at FAU

Today we all visited Harriet Wilkes Honors College at FAU. They had set up a program where accepted students for next year, like Erin, could shadow current students to get a feel for the campus. We let Erin loose around 9am, but we seemed to continually bump into her as the day wore on. Sometimes we just snook up on her.

We decided to head for the beach, just 10 minutes away, and were pleasantly surprised. The water looks more like the Carribean than the Atlantic, very nice blue, very clean beaches. Erin is going to be spoiled.

The college is a separate campus, about 40 minutes north of the main Florida Atlantic University, which has over 25,000 students total. Only about 650 attend the Honor's College, and we are very proud of Erin getting accepted. She was offerred scholarship money by the college, and has scored high enough on her SAT/ACT and GPA to get another scholarship through the state.

See more pictures of the campus and the beach on our home site.

Erin shadowing a couple of FAU Honor's College students. 

"The boys" checking out the neighborhood from the bonus room upstairs. Tell me Nancy doesn't spoil them, I don't get pillows for my butt.... 

Kasey and Kaspar waiting for Dad to emerge from the bedroom. 

Visit to the Villages

We took a trip today up to the Villages, to see how Mom & Dad were doing in our house. Had a good meal at the local Chinese Buffet, where the deserts were pretty good. There are some new pics, you can see more at the photo page dedicated to their visit at our web site.

Our Family Web Page is updated...

The home page is live, and available at the old address www.timothymarshall.com. Check it out, all family photos will be posted there, no more need of webshots.

Florida's Online Advising System

Trying to get Erin's HS transcript evaluated using the Internet based Florida Advising system. Just not working, plus the Fed Financial Aid system is running 3 days behind. Talk about frustration, of course they all have deadlines arriving soon...

New Web Host

The Marshall Family Web page is moving. The new host is Netfirms, and it will take a couple of days for the site to register with my current www.timothymarshall.com domain name. If you can't wait, go on over to timothymarshall.netfirms.com

For $60/year, get 500MB storage, 10GB bandwidth transfer/month, plus some other goodies. Lot's more than current provider, and will allow us to host photos in a higher resolution in a more secure environment. Will let everyone know when the old domain name is good again, in 2-3 days.

Mom, Dad and the Dogs visit and a new ebay listing

Mom, Dad and the dogs got in to town on Sunday, and they just left for our rental property up in The Villages. It's the most popular retirement community in the country, hopefully they'll decide to buy a place for themselves and spend more than just a couple of months in Florida. It's always a good time when they visit.

Need a DVI cable? I've got an extra one for sale at ebay. Bid now, bid often...

First published picture using the new camera. May not seem like much here, but the printed product is truly remarkable, with quality resolution up to 20" x 30" picture size.