The Broun Blog

Today marks the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen (translation: Gate of Heavenly Peace) Square massacre. Student and worker protesters numbering in the thousands had been in the square for several weeks up to this point. Rumors are (since so much of the information has been suppressed) has it that troops were brought in from other provinces (supposedly the leaders were worried that if they used Beijing troops, those troops would join the protests) through underground tunnels to the government buildings which form the perimeter around the square. From out of these buildings they came with guns blazing. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people were killed. Supposedly the leaders were worried that if they used Beijing troops, those troops would join the protests.

Afterwards, the Communist party went to every city and made the citizens go through educational displays (think traveling museum) to tell the "real" story. This story involved the protesters attacking the troops and that maybe several dozen dies at the most. From what one of my friends told me (this is not something most people talk about) since most people had a general idea of what was going on (there were protests on every major campus in the country) that these events destroyed a lot of hope and trust they had in the Communist party.

My internet access is going to be real short today, but I will try to find some links with more information later if I can.

Hello all,

I know I am very delinquent on these updates, but baby Dominic is due June 16. That means there's just a little under two weeks left. I'm holding together well, just a bit heavier and slower than usual. The baby is big...around 8 pounds now. Every week he stays in the hopper he gets half a pound heavier. The house is all cleaned up, the baby's room is complete, and Jared and I are ready to meet the little guy. I have a Yahoo Photos page, which has pictures of us (including me large and in charge), sonograms, and pictures of the completed baby's room if you guys are interested. Once the baby is born we will post pictures there as well. I probably won't post on here again until after the baby is born. If Jared remembers he will post an announcement (things will be hectic). Otherwise we will relay the info to one of you guys to post in our stead.

Here's the link to the photos site:

Jello's Pictures

A big hello to everyone from Jared and myself. Hope you are all doing well.

First, for those of you who don't know what the x-prize is.

The goal of the x-prize is to encourage private investment into the space community (known as alt.space). This is being accomplished by offering $10 Million to the first team to build a fly a rocket with a crew of three into space (100 km or about 62.5 miles), bring it back safely, then launch the same craft again within 2 weeks.

There are many teams around the world competing for this prize, and you can find out more about some of their ideas and the prize here. Be sure to look at IL Aerospace Technologies, the plan on using a hot air balloon as a first stage.

Anyways, on to the exciting news. Scaled Composites (Company headed by fast-becoming legendary Burt Rutan, designer of Voyager, the only plan to fly non-stop and non-refueled around the world) has announced their plans to launch their vehicle into sub-orbit on June 21. Sub-orbit is above the 100 km mark but the spacecraft will not have enough velocity to orbit the Earth. This is only a test flight and will carry just the pilot. This step will mark the first time a private organization has launched a man into space. Only three countries can claim this feet (US, Russia, and China). Scaled Composites is the favorite to win the X-prize and many expect that after this test, they will go for the $10 Million. As X-prize rules state that everyteam has to give two months notice before they attempt to win the prize, look for the Scaled Composites test to be towards the end of August, early September.

Well, I probably should have posted this like a week ago, but anyways.

I have been invited to the screening conference for the International Missions Board (IMB) in July. While this is technically the last part of the application process, I have been told by reliable sources (thanks Rebecca) that everyone who reaches this point is pretty much a sure thing. This means that I should be heading back to East Asia come December.

daniel proposed to me on monday, in a field in minnesota (where we were for the big wu family reunion). we were driving back and i was looking at my hand, and i was thinking, "wow, i'm wearing my engagement ring."
so yes. it was perfect. the place, the festival, the way he asked (he'd talked to my father first, and he got down on his knee and everything), and the ring. and, you know, him.
i'm feeling incredibly lucky right now - i'm getting to marry the boy that i fell in love with in high school.