The CLC video projector was only slightly better.  I could use it in a pinch, but it wasn’t entirely focused, and I wanted absolute clarity for the minute details in this art presentation.  I had Connie help me get the camera in focus (she near the screen, and me 40 feet away at the projector), but it wouldn’t focus.  I suspect it’s a resolution thing.  As with the projectors in the sanctuary, the resolution is way too small, and the distance is far too great.  The result is visible square pixels.  I needed better, so I was about to drag out the portable projector when Connie told me that there was a newer, better one that had just been purchased.  I tried that one, since I knew that the old one was not so bright, and the resolution was only slightly better.  The new one was awesome!  It had HD resolution.  I am now looking forward to my presentation.

Next stop was to find a hillside so I could watch the Space Shuttle (mounted on a 747) fly by.  It was on its way to its final destination in LA.  When I got to the hill, I was not alone; others had had the same thought.  I stood next to an old Navy guy and his wife.  He had binoculars and was on constant vigil to try to find the plane in the smoggy, overcast sky.  I had something better: my iPhone.  I hooked up with NASA’s twitter on the flight and (much like with bicycle racing) “fans” told of its location as it was going along.  I also got on a webcam of Moffett Field (with audio!) and saw thousands of people lining the runway.  Between the two, I had no doubt as to where the Shuttle was.

The Shuttle did three loops around the Golden Gate Bridge for photo ops, then around Coit Tower, and then it headed south to us.  The plane was hard to see, since it was white, and the fog/smog was also white.  Alas, my camera decided to run out of batteries, so I could get no shots, and the plane was too far away for my iPhone, so I simply watched it fly by.  Apparently, it was supposed to make a loop around NASA Ames, but it did not.  It also didn’t fly down the runway, but behind the three massive hangers.  Those who were at Moffett Field were somewhat disappointed by this.  There was also a collective cry of despair on the video feed as the announcer told the people to drive safely on their way home (in other words, the Shuttle was not doing its loop).  And just like that, the event was over.  All of us on our hill got in our cars and headed off.

Since today was my “day of rest,” I decided to watch a movie rather than do any computer work.  By the end of the movie, the kids were home from school.  I had promised Connie earlier in the day that we would help her husband set up for a craft fair so my son and I headed back to church to help set up.