Space shuttle delivers viewing window to ISS

Endeavour to Deliver a Room With a View

The International Space Station has been moving steadily closer to completion for the past several years. But what house is complete without a utility room, a gym and a picture window?

During the STS-130 mission, space shuttle Endeavour will deliver the Tranquility node and its cupola, a dome-shaped extension from Tranquility made up of seven windows. They will be the last major U.S. modules to be added to the space station, and together they’ll help clear out premium workspace in other areas of the station – as well as offer a window on the world.

At 15 feet wide and 23 feet long, the Tranquility node will provide a centralized home for the station’s environmental control equipment – one of the systems that remove carbon dioxide from the station’s air, one of the station’s bathrooms and the equipment that converts urine into drinkable water, all of which is currently taking up space in the Destiny laboratory. And there’s enough room left over to house the station’s new treadmill and its microgravity equivalent of a weight machine, moving it out of the Unity node where it’s in the way whenever spacewalk preparations are going on inside the adjacent Quest airlock.

“It gives us a much needed addition to the house, so to speak,” said Bob Dempsey, lead space station flight director for the mission. “We’re getting to the point where we’re really cramped for space. You might be surprised at that, considering we’re essentially the volume of a 747 and we’ve been adding modules for the last couple of years. You might think we’d be sitting around in a big empty house. But no – every inch is really getting packed up there.”

STS-130 Commander George Zamka put it another way.

“It’s like exercising in the office,” he said. “This will be a more logical organization, more focused.”




Though the node has an intensely practical function, there are still fanciful aspects to Tranquility. For one, its name, which was chosen with the help of a naming contest on NASA.gov.

“It harkens back to the Sea of Tranquility, where humans made their very first tentative landing on the moon,” Zamka said. “They were only there for a few hours, and it was at the very limits of what human beings could do. From that beginning, we’re now putting up a node that will house the majority of the life support equipment for the station, where we’re going to have a permanent presence in space.”

But everyone agrees that the real scope for the imagination will be provided by Tranquility’s 6.5-by-5-foot annex: the cupola. Its true purpose will be to provide a true view of robotics operations on the station’s exterior – such as those that will be required when the next module, the Russian Rassvet, is added during STS-132 – and in that it will be invaluable.

“Out the window is the truth,” Zamka said. “The video views that we use now, you’re trying to stick together and have a mental image of where things are. When you look out the window, you don’t have to imagine. It’s all right there for you.”

But there’s no question that many people – including Zamka – are looking forward to looking out of it for other views.

“Just the idea of providing this great view of the station and the world beneath us is going to be pretty great,” he said. “That’s not what it’s for, but it will be spectacular.” [...]

A pretty neat combination of form and function, it's both practical and fanciful. Follow the link for more pics and information.



     

Miss Retro Modern looks at the "Atomic" interior decorating designs of the 50's and early 60's.

I love the modern furnishing styles of the 50's and early 60's, which often looked simple yet comfortable and cheerful. Here are some samples:

From Miss Retro Modern's Atomic Decorating collection:














And the sensible pastel colored kitchens with all the counter space:







Homes in the 50's and early sixties looked very... comfortable, and easy on the eyes. But then, about the mid 60's into the 70's, a lot of bold experimentation started, with wild colors and crazy patterns. Sometimes the results were shockingly hideous:




I've previously posted about some of the weird, horrible, and sometimes wonderful decorating experiments of the groovy 60's and swingin' 70's:

Groovy Interior Decorating of the 70's

Amusing Interior Designs of the 60's and 70's

You have to wonder, what exactly happened to the collective human consciousness in those 20 years? Drugs, I think, were a large part of it. Of course it wasn't all bad either, I feel quite nostalgic for some of it. Go visit Miss Retro Modern's 60's and 70's pages and see for yourself:

Your Swingin' Pad

Many of the photos are shocking, but you are also bound to find something you like. And be sure to scroll down below each picture to read the comments left by MRM and her visitors. Some of them are very entertaining and hilarious.

Miss Retro Modern also has other numerous collections of vintage photographs on an assortment of subjects, if you care to check them out:

Miss Retro Modern's photostream
     

Groovy Interior Decorating of the 70's

In 2007 I did a post about Amusing Interior Designs of the 60's and 70's, based on a page of photos from old interior decorating magazines published on a Flickr site created by "Miss Retro Modern". Her commentary, and the comments left by her visitors, were as amusing as the photos were.

Well, Miss Retro has updated her site with some more "groovy" pics of interior design, mostly from the '70's. Below are some samples of 10 of my favorites. Some comments from the site are included below each photo.

From Miss Retro Modern's Your Swingin' Pad:

Exotic Enclave for a Colour-Keen Teen


Where can we buy that wallpaper?!
[I'm sure there's plenty of it that never sold.]

If only I could get my eyes uncrossed...

Vertigo-inducing wallpaper. Fun.

"Restraint" was not a word that was often uttered in the 70's.
Nor was the word "understated."


Bunk Beds Make Sharing Fun


"Mommy! Where are our beds? We can't see them!"

I would totally trip over those chairs. Daily.

Wow, another incredible floor. I think I would trip over the floor.

i didn't even notice the beds! bunk beds? what bunk beds! this one kinda hurts the eyes...but i do like the wall behind the beds, looks like a bunch of granny squares or hankies...which would make it easy for the snot nosed kid who lived in this room

man, what did these kids do that would deserve this kind of treatment???

oh. the seizure room. how nice.


Fun Things To Do With Fabric


Dear Lord! Who could get rest in that room?

I really can't get into that 'my bedspread matches my wallpaper' thing!

prints in moderation people!

Throw a few stains on the carpet and I swear that's the last cheap motel I stayed in.

looks like mom forgot to take her meds again


Mushroom Hell: It IS Possible


I never imagined there would be a time when I called a halt on the mushrooms in a decorating scheme ... but that time has come.

I'm disappointed, the carpet doesn't match the drapes (and tablecloth).
Wow, that's overkill, even for me.

Jeez, that is the room that half an hour after it is finished you realise you cannot live with!

Attack of the Magical Shrooms.

What's for dinner?
Why, cream of mushroom soup, of course.

With stuffed mushrooms!!


A Private Bower for Baby


For those times when you need to put baby in the crazy corner.

You know that your crazy corner is too crazy when you can't even SEE your mobile.

there is a mobile in there?

I think it's a great way to induce Charlotte Perkins Gilman Syndrome for the little lass.

This certainly explains those of us that grew up in the 70s...



Turn Your Bedroom into an Exotic Tent!


My, isn’t that restful!

turn it into an "exotic tent" and then go on an acid trip!

oooh, where is my migraine medication?!?

I will never understand all of these decorating guides that foist busily patterned bedrooms on everybody. Who could sleep in here?

I could definitely jump out of bed in the morning in this room...to get away from it!

Ohh, this reminds me of the hotel I stayed in while in Turkey!

Is it fireproof?
If ignited, it could make the Hindenburg look like burp in a gas barbecue.



For the Tuned-In Teen


Not sure what that white thing in his mouth might be, but it looks t'me like those young'ns are about to tune OUT!
Good thing they've got all that popcorn.

Popcorn and a mattress on the floor. The makings of a great weekend.

ouch,my eyes are burning!

I like that the popcorn is in a giant brandy snifter and the "children" look like they're in their 30's.

Those wiggly things on the wall are unnerving. They're like giant anemone fingers, ready to sting unwary sitters-by...



The Raggedy Ann and Andy Room


Anyone else would need to be in a straight-jacket to stay here for very long.

That bed is just so ... grim. It looks hard and uncomfortable -- as if it's a place for punishment where you sit and your butt grows numb as you contemplate the creepiness of Raggedy Andy's hat.

are the yellow slats where they tie your wrists and ankles with the sheepskin retraints? and why is it only on one side? what if little timmy falls off that side of the bed? maybe that's the torture! bwahahaha! he fell of the left side last night!

A decorating suggestion for those who truly despise their children.

I tend to agree with Sharon's analysis. One does rather expect a camera-pan over to a corner, where Rod Serling, his hands folded in front of him, is standing , making some - sort of metaphorical commentary. My first-impression on seeing this, actually was, "not only would this work as children's room, it would be even better for an insane asylum!"


A Room for a Young Liberationist


OK, now this is just creepy

Creepy ... and yet I kinda love that yellow shag carpet.

The letters F, N, and U are not on the wall....No fun?

The fun is on the carpet!!
What a relief to have found the fun.


A Room Any Lady Bunny Would Love


The rabbit deserves better.

How bout that table.
Ikea should sell them.
As for the kid, that could only be a result of heavy sedation.

I find the child frightening. But I do love that carpet!

yipes! "now i lay me down to sleep...i pray the Lord my soul to keep:...and hope that the scary chair babies don't try to steal me in teh night!

It seems like everyone was taking drugs in the 60's... and by the 70's, this was the result of their burned-out brain cells.

One could argue that decorators were more bold and adventurous back then, more willing to experiment. To be truthful, I actually DO like some of the bright colors and even some of the groovy patterns. But the way they are combined in some of these photos... what were they thinking? WERE they thinking?

Most of these are supposed to be children's bedrooms. You really have to wonder how this affected the kids who grew up in them.

Follow the link for more groovy decorating photos with catty commentary.
     

History of Old Houses; If walls could talk...

Well actually, they sometimes do. Andy and I have spent the past couple of months working on one of our rental properties, an old cottage built in the 1920's. Here is a view from the kitchen floor, while I was repairing cabinets:



The former tenants trashed the house, then moved out, owing us three months rent. Trying to fix the damage they did uncovered numerous other long term problems that were not the tenants fault, but had to be repaired none the less. So we had contractors in to do some of the work, while we did much of the painting and smaller repairs and refinements ourselves.

Three rooms in the house had been done out in a beautiful dark wood paneling, installed decades ago. Some of the panels were now ruined, and we could not find compatible contemporary replacements to match them. Rather than rip out the remaining paneling, we decided to paint the damaged walls in a lighter, contrasting color, which has brightened the damaged rooms and given them an interesting chocolate/vanilla, yin/yang effect. Not everyone would like it I suppose, but we like it, and fortunately, so does our new tenant.

Here are some photos. The camera had automatic exposure, and it adjusted for the brightness of the windows. The room interiors are actually brighter than they seem in some of the photos:




Old houses have a past, and when you work on them they reveal glimpses of that past to you. Old wall paper behind wood paneling; windows that were turned into walls, doors and windows that were added or changed, bad repair work, good repair work. Everything that was done by former tenants and owners, that left it's mark behind, adds to the house's story.




We added a front door with a window in it, which has let in more light. We had a glass shop repair person come in to replace some cracked glass in some windows that were painted shut. The new glass is so perfect, it looks like there is nothing there. The old glass panes around it are that old, imperfect sort of glass that shows slight distortions, which only old houses have anymore. I grew up in an old house, so I'm fond of that old glass. As I painted the window frames in the kitchen, I had to admire the craftsmanship that went into the old wood window frames. Try as we might though, we can't get them un-stuck.




When we had the ruined carpets ripped up, it revealed an old wood plank floor, solid and level, but raw, unfinished wood. It would have been nice to finish and restore the wood, but it would have been too costly. We opted to have it covered with modern linoleum, which is easy to clean and looks great.

There is a small bedroom with high windows, that looks like it was meant as a nursery for a new baby, or a bedroom for small children.




In other areas we put in new ceilings and new moldings, and new wall panels and paint where needed. The moldings were tricky, as the walls and ceilings in old houses often aren't perfectly as straight and even as they look at first glance. You have to be creative sometimes and work it to get it just right, which we did. I have to say, I think the overall effect looks great.




If future generations uncover the layers of work we've done on the house, I'm satisfied that those parts of the house's story will be good ones. We've left some of the best features of the past, like the real wood cabinets in the kitchen, and replaced sensible things like the bathtub/shower with modern, leak-proof upgrades to prevent the dry-rot we had to repair this time.




Working on this old cottage brought back memories of the 100 year old house in Connecticut that I grew up in, and the many older homes I've lived in during the years since. Presently we live in a very new house, my first new home. While it doesn't have a colorful past or the "character" that age can bring to a house, a new house does have it's own charms. It's like a blank canvas, waiting for you paint it with your paint, your wishes, your life as you live it. Then perhaps many years after you have passed on, it will then be an "old" house to someone else, who may find the changes you made and think "what a nice old house, it has character".
     

Amusing Interior Designs of the 60's and 70's

Some of the horrendous ways that people used to decorate their homes are now quite funny to look back on. What WERE they thinking? A site on Flickr called Your Swingin' Pad offers 87 samples from an old publication. I'll show just a few here:


The link takes you to a page of photo thumnails. At first I thought I wouldn't click on all of them, but only what appeared to be the worst ones. But as I browsed through them, it was a real trip down memory lane. Many of these furnishings and fabrics I had seen in different times and places throughout my life.

I like orange, and I like plaid, but this has too much of both. Ouch!


Some of them were real freaky, like this bathroom. Is that really black shag carpeting? And those windows with no curtains - what did the neighbors think?


Not all of them were ugly. Even the ugly ones sometimes had components that were good or interesting.


A lot of the mod, impractical, uncomfortable furniture is recognizable from many garage and yard sales I've seen, with people trying to get rid of the junk. Other pieces have become much sought after "classics".

Yet there is no denying that many of these "designs" were just plain painful to look at. Here's a few, with comments people made about them:

I could imagine waking up in this room and saying,
"Damn! It wasn't a dream..."

For those times when you want to discourage your guests from going upstairs.

The girlie force-field emanating from this one is pretty strong!

I'm having a hard time deciding which was worse, the sixties or the seventies.



Even funnier that the photos, is some of the catty commentary left in the comments section below each photo. That is the primary reason that I ended up going through all eighty seven of them. Some of the photos there have embedded comments in them too, that appear when you put the mouse cursor over certain objects or people in the photos. It was great fun! Have a look if your tempted: Your Swingin' Pad.