Lit up with anticipation

I often amaze my friends with my aviation-related dorktitude. But most of my useless and random knowledge on the subject tends to be in the area of commercial aviation. Space flight, while awesome in the truest sense of the word, has never really been my thing. That said, I've made a point of watching the space shuttle launch today. We're inside 10 minutes now, and I've got a little hum of anticipation going. This means a bit more to me than normally, because I was in Paris when Columbia broke up upon re-entry, and happen to be the only person I know who learned of the disaster on Sky Sports TV. I spent the flight back the next day reading about the disaster from the comfort of a DC-10. Anyway, we're about to launch, and I'm going to stop typing and watch. Needless to say, I'm hoping for a flawless launch and orbit for the entire crew.

Update: OK, that totally ruled. For a whole lot of reasons, I was kind of nervous, and actually felt like cheering out loud watching Discovery leave the pad. And the camera installed on the fuel tank was outstanding. I now can imagine what it would be like to be abandoned in space by the shuttle. Eep. All that last shot was missing was Slim Pickens to ride the tank down. And maybe Dave Chappelle to say "Mars, bitches!"