Bear with me...

[harbormaster]

The Columbia tragedy has turned my world upside down.

I have been manning phones in the NASA Emergency Operations Center taking calls from folks all over the southwest finding "debris" from shuttle Columbia. The hardest part is the human remains calls.

I have also working on the frontend for a database system to track shuttle debris.

It is 2:20am CST. I just got off work. I went into the office at 7am yesterday.

what a nightmare week. It must be taking its toll. I have had two people this week comment on how bad I look.

If the weather gets better for Saturday, I am taking the boat out and running the piss out of it. :D nite nite

[Digger]

hang in there Scot. The work you are doing contributing to the post mishap investigation is crucial. It will help determine the cause, and therefore prevent it from happening again in the case of a mechanical failure. You are literally in a race against time. It's inevitable in this business; I have sat on several aviation mishap boards, and every hour that goes by is an opportunity for debris to sink deeper in the mud and thus be harder to find, every hour that goes by atrophies witnesses memories, a memory that may include a crucial detail. I looked at it this way: the souls of the friends and other crew who perished are looking to me to help do everything I can to bring a successful conclusion to this mishap board- evidence of what happened subsequently published, studied, and therefore make a future mishap preventable. The sorrow has to be channeled and filtered, it must be converted to endurance and will. Good luck Scot.

[ToonaFish]

Scott, I can't imagine how terribly difficult this must be for you... I do, however, know how extremely fortunate they are to have someone like you helping to create order out of the chaos.

Wishing you great strength today and great weather the next!

[JimG]

Hang in there, dude! If there's any local legwork (errands, bring you a pizza, etc.) I can do, let me know.

We're here for ya!

JimG & Janet Marie

[Fish boy]

Hang in there Scot. As digger more eloquently stated above, we as a country are lucky to have someone like you working to help solve this mystery and prevent another tragedy. If there is any thing any of us can do please do not hesitate to ask.

Fish

[riverrat]

Hey Buddy, give me a call when you can. as we talked about, this is a big part of your life in that group of contractors serving Nasa. We all support you in the work you are doing. take care of yourself.

the rat :D

[GEOO]

Scot,
Keep up the good work!!!
We/US are lucky to have you working on this...

[Bandit]

Scott,

Enjoy that ride on Sat...you deserve it! wink

[BUIZILLA]

Scot, when we hear talk of the astronauts, they talk about them having the *right stuff*..

To me, *anyone* involved with the space program, has the *right stuff*. The support staff makes the astronauts look good when their flying, and they pick up the pieces when they fall..

Get some rest.

J

[MOP]

Simply put! "God Bless Guy"

[Surfer]

Scot, I have been a space advocate since I was a kid, follow every mission, go to the cape as much as possible, And in this time of need, I feel totally worthless that I cannot contribute. Your efforts are much appreciated. It must be damn had to face it every day, but you should be real proud of the fact that you are part of the solution. God bless

[RH]

odspeed to you Harbourmaster. Please understand that we all support the efforts of of the Space Program. I do not think that people understand how much the space program contributes to our everyday life and well being. You have the whole country pulling for all involved!
RH

[mattyboy]

ditto

[florida gator]

Scott, are you employed by NASA or one of it's contractors or volunteering for this? Either way God Bless and thank you. I imagine there are thousands of people impacted by this tragedy. Good luck and enjoy the ride.

[boldts]

Scot,
I wish I could say I know what it's like for you, but I do not. My 5 yr old daughter asked me where the astronauts went? It brought tears to my eyes, but I told her that God needed them and they were watching over all of us. She will one day study this tragedy in her history class and hopefully through efforts of people like yourself we will all understand and learn.

USA Today has a story on the front page about whether we should put money into the shuttle redesign or quest to go to Mars. I hope they select the quest to go to Mars. With this quest will come the improvements for the whole shuttle project. It will allow Americans to dream as many of us who watched Star Trek did about the adventures of traveling in space and meeting new life forms. It will give our young people the desire for rather than a fear of space travel.

We or most of us who own a boat have felt that quest and thrill for living on the edge. Every time we put the throttle down in a quest for speed and launch our boats into the air from a wave, we get a sense of what our Astronauts must feel in space. Everything around you seems to stop. There is no sound except for the rumble of the engine. It seems to take days to return to the water. Sometimes that is as smooth as glass, other times maybe not.

NASA and America's Astronauts understand the dangers involved, but space travel is their dream job just like maybe driving a race car or boat might be for some of us. Push the envelope in what-ever your job might be! May God watch over and protect everyone. One day, we will all be together helping watch over the ones we have left on earth. Maybe we will even be God's next new life on an unknow plant.

[Trueser]

Scot,
Hang in there, You still have a great site and we all Appreciate it.

Keep up the good work!

God Bless
Mike

[Team Jefe]

Hey Buddy - Like most everyone in Space City, I know lots of folks associated with NASA. All of you are in our prayers.

You have it extra tough, since you can't really greive. you have to keep on top of your game and focused. I can't even imagine how hard that is, we are very proud.

Around Here we take care of our own. You or Kim need something, and you don't call.....I will be seriously pissed ! ! ! !

Via Con Dios Amigo,
JEFE

[Craig]

ScoT,

Appreciate the work and this site.

Craig

....................ScoTT,

"...be Gods..." Whoa!!!

[HyperDonzi]

Scot,
If there is anyway we can help, let us know. It is horrible that this happened. Answering calls is extremely important for finding and locating every piece of debris. We are all hoping and praying that the cause of this is discovered and prevented.

Tommy

[BigGrizzly]

You can do it just hang tight - "when you come to the end of your rope just tie a knot and hang on"

[penbroke]

Hang in there Scot. It's good to know we have people like you dealing with the situation. Let us know if we can help in any way.

Get some R&R and we'll try not to break anything while you're occupied with more pressing matters. Do whatever you have to do to get your mind off it for a while.

Frank