The Swedish EU Presidency

From 1 July 2009 and for six months Sweden holds From 1 July 2009 and for six months Sweden holds the Presidency of the EU. Sweden will lead the EU's work and be responsible for moving important EU issues forward.
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Linedancing

Today I walked to a park near my place and watched linedancing. I started to learn that in Florida and want to continue. So I took an opportunity to practise today. And it was exciting and I had a good time. Would you like to try? OK Go ahead!

Volvo Ocean Race

Photo: Richardsoasis

During the nine months of the 2008-09 Volvo, which starts in Alicante, Spain in October 2008 and concludes in St Petersburg, Russia, during late June 2009, the teams will sail over 37,000 nautical miles of the world’s most treacherous seas via Cape Town, Kochi, Singapore, Qingdao, around Cape Horn to Rio de Janeiro, Boston, Galway, Goteborg and Stockholm.
Today I went in to Stockholm in order to see the Volvo Ocean Race boat's and that was very nice. A lot of people walked around and took images of the boat's. It was a big day for Stockholm and Volvo Ocean Race.
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LRO On track for Lunar Rendezvous

3, 2, 1, Liftoff!
Image above: NASA's LRO and LCROSS spacecraft on top of the Atlas V rocket launch from Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Following a successful launch and separation on June 18, the Lunar
Reconnaissance Orbiter is on schedule to reach the moon on June 23 at 5:43 a.m. EDT.
Photo: United Launch Alliance/Pat Corkery

Midsummer in Sweden

In modern Sweden, Midsummer's Eve and Midsummer's Day (Midsommarafton and Midsommardagen) were formerly celebrated on June 23th and 24th, but since the 1950's on the Friday between June 19th and June 25th and the following Saturday. It is arguably the most important holiday of the year, and one of the most uniquely Swedish in the way it is celebrated, even if it has been influenced by other countries long ago. The main celebrations take place on the Friday, and the traditional events include raising and dancing around a huge maypole. One typical dance is the frog dance. Before the maypole is raised, greens and flowers are collected and used to cover the entire pole. Konungariket Sverige is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the Öresund Bridge in the south.
At 450,000 km2 (173,746 sq mi), Sweden is the third largest country in the European Union in terms of area, and it has a total population of over 9.2 million. Sweden has a low population density of 21 people per km² (53 per square mile), but with a considerably higher density in the southern half of the country. About 85% of the population live in urban areas, and it is expected that these numbers will gradually rise as a part of the ongoing urbanization.
Sweden's capital is Stockholm, which is also the largest city in the country (population of 1.3 million in the urban area and with 2 million in the metropolitan area).
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government and a highly developed economy. It ranks first in the world in The Economist's Democracy Index and 7th in the United Nation's Human Development Index. Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1 January 1995 and is a member of the OECD.

Endeavour, STS-127 Crew Less than a Day from Launch

At 1:15 p.m. EDT today, clocks at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will begin counting back from T-11 hours toward the liftoff of space shuttle Endeavour. Launch is scheduled for 5:40 a.m. EDT Wednesday, June 17.

The mission management team is scheduled to meet at 7:30 p.m. to give the "go/no-go" to begin loading Endeavour's external fuel tank with liquid propellants. With managers' approval, fueling will begin at 8:15 p.m.

Launch weather looks good, with an 80 percent chance of favorable conditions forecast for the final hours of the countdown.

McDonalds LPGA Championship

On June 14 Anna Nordqvist Sweden won the tournament in Havre de Grace, Maryland with 4 strokes. "I think I haven't realized I won a major yet. I mean, I just tried to focus on what I can do," said Nordqvist, just days after celebrating her 22nd birthday. I really can't do anything about what the other players are doing on the course.
Anna Nordqvist, 66-70-69-68=273 (-15)
Hole 1, 358-yard par 4: birdie - pitching wedge to two feet
Hole 6, 387-yard par 4: birdie - 8-iron to 15 feet
Hole 13, 415-yard par 4: bogey - 5-wood to 36 feet, three putt
Hole 14, 372-yard par 4: birdie - 8-iron to 12 feet
Hole 15, 493-yard par 5: birdie - 40-degree wedge to 30 feet
Hole 18, 422-yard par 4: birdie - 21-degree hybrid to three feet
Congratulations for winning.
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Sunday Jazz picnic

Today It's a rainy day, but I hope it will clear up to the afternoon because I am going to attend an outdoor Jazz concert. I love this kind of music.That is a local band and they play well.

Mr. George Bush Senior's parachute jump

Former President George HW Bush has marked his 85th birthday with a tandem parachute jump near his home in Maine.
He told reporters that he jumped for two reasons: to experience the exhilaration of free-falling and to show that the elderly can remain active and do fun things.
He also said he enjoyed it so much that he planned to do it again when he turned 90.
This was Mr Bush's seventh parachute jump - his first came when his plane was shot
Mr. Bush parashute

A 92-year-old World War II veteran makes a parachute jump to raise funds for injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan
A 92-year-old makes a parachute jump
BBC NEWS

Endeavour Prepares for STS-127

Photo: NASA

Endeavour Prepares for STS-127
Space shuttle Endeavour is in place at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, undergoing final preparations for its upcoming 16-day mission to the International Space Station. Mission STS-127 is the 32nd flight dedicated to station construction, and the final of a series of three flights dedicated to the assembly of the Japanese Kibo laboratory complex.The STS-127 payload is the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility and Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section.

Spacecraft to crash into the Moon

Spacecraft to crash into the Moon today at 3,728 mph. Japan's Kaguya will crash into the Moon on Wednesday, June 10th, around 1830 UT (2:30 pm EDT). The timing favors observers in Asia and Australia, who might be able to see a flash of light or a plume of debris rising from the Moon's southeastern limb. The spacecraft masses 2,600 kg and it will slam into the lunar surface at 6,000 km/hr. No one knows, however, how bright the flash might be or whether it will be visible even through large telescopes. Images of the crash, if any are captured, will be posted on http://spaceweather.com - spaceweather.com

STS-127 Astronauts

The seven astronauts for space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-127 mission to the International Space Station are at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew arrived at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility from Houston in a Shuttle Training Aircraft Gulfstream II jet at 11:53 p.m. EDT Monday, June 8. The astronauts now are beginning their final preparations ahead of Endeavour’s launch on Saturday, June 13 at 7:17 a.m.

Swedish National Day

Today (6/6) it's Swedish National day and I had to hoist the flag at 8 o'clock AM. Later I will go to the center of town listen to a music group from high school. This is the date on which Gustav Vasa was crowned king in 1523 and on which a new constitution was adopted in 1809. I will spend the day in Stockholm city where it is a lot of activities. Since 1983, Sweden has celebrated its National Day on 6 June. This is the date on which Gustav Vasa was crowned king in 1523 and on which a new constitution was adopted in 1809. I will spend the day in Stockholm city where it is a lot of activities. Since 1983, Sweden has celebrated its National Day on 6 June. This is the date on which Gustav Vasa was crowned king in 1523 and on which a new constitution was adopted in 1809.

Swedish National Day June 6

Today Friday (May 5) is a cold day (10C/50F) and overcast. I am going to prepare for tomorrow. Saturday is the Swedish national day. I will spend the day in Stockholm city where it is a lot of activities. Since 1983, Sweden has celebrated its National Day on 6 June. This is the date on which Gustav Vasa was crowned king in 1523 and on which a new constitution was adopted in 1809.

Atlantis Ferry Flight Makes Refueling Stop

Photo: NASA

Space shuttle Atlantis, riding atop a modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, landed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas this morning for a refueling stop. Next, the piggybacked duo will fly from Lackland to Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, continuing the cross-country journey from Edwards Air Force Base in California to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Atlantis Almost Ready For Ferry Flight

Teams preparing space shuttle Atlantis for its cross-country trip from California to Florida are running behind their original schedule because of some minor hardware problems. But they're still aiming to depart Edwards Air Force Base this morning. Managers now will meet for a pretake-off weather briefing at 9 a.m. EDT (6 a.m. PDT) for a target departure time of 11 a.m. EDT (8 a.m.) from Edwards. Technicians encountered some difficulties while trying to tighten a bolt on the right attach point for connecting Atlantis to its modified Boeing 747 aircraft. The bolt now is securely in place, and Atlantis almost is ready to begin its ferry flight back to NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Weather permitting, Atlantis could be back at its Florida home Tuesday night, where space shuttle Endeavour is being prepared for its upcoming STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. Endeavour was moved Sunday from Kennedy's Launch Pad 39B to Launch Pad 39A and was secured to pad A at 11:42 a.m. EDT.
Source:NASA