Mission Complete: Endeavour Lands Safely in Southern California

November 30, 2008

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE -– Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts are safely back on Earth after a perfect landing on a perfect day in southern California. ...

A pair of sonic booms were heard, and felt, across the southland as Endeavor broke the sound barrier and entered local airspace about five minutes before touching down.

Local authorities received a number of calls by people who thought they had heard an explosion, and one North Hollywood resident reported a broken glass as a result of the booms. ...

Two scheduled landings at Kennedy Space Center in Florida had to be scrubbed due to dangerously high winds and a stormy sky. The weather there is not expected to improve tomorrow. So Endeavour was forced to detour to sunny southern California where the weather is excellent.

NASA prefers to have shuttles return to Florida because it takes about a week and costs $1.8 million to transport a shuttle from California on top of a modified jumbo jet. Also, the families of the astronauts are waiting for their loved ones in Florida.

Full story and video at KTLA News

Thanksgiving party at our apartment

Hi all,

We felt very special and honored that you all came to our house for Thanksgiving. What a nice thing to have such great friends as you guys! Here are some pics we took. Enjoy and big hugs! :D

Love,

Aviva and Bjoern



Pictures available in the web album or as a slide show.

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Brush fires in Los Angeles and Orange County

95 ° Fahrenheit (35 ° Celsius) in mid November - Temperature in Los Angeles breaking record set in 1936

On the same day around the globe (high):

64 °F / 18 °C in San Francisco, CA
53 °F / 12 °C in Denver, CO
44 °F / 7 °C Berlin, Germany
63 °F / 17 °C Auckland, New Zealand

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Barack Obama elected 44th President

New York City Marathon - My first marathon distance (26 miles / 42 km)

Dear friends,

As you know, I participated in this year's New York City Marathon - with 39,000 runners and over 1 million spectators the largest race in the world. Even though I had to deal with a knee injury (which I got 2 weeks before the race), I somehow managed to run the 26 miles (42 km) and finished the race in 5 hours and 33 minutes. After one year of intense training, this was a very special event for me and I wanted to share some pictures with you which I have taken during the race (and yes, I added some from the official event photographers). Having also completed the Los Angeles Triathlon this summer, I achieved my personal goal and finished my first triathlon and my first marathon in the same year. Now, I will rest and relax for the next couple of months, but I am sure there will be another race next year ... .

Thank you for all your support!

Björn



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