...if you're in the Salt Lake City area today. Scott Lowther writes:

If you're in the Salt Lake area tomorrow, come see the RSRM firing at ATK-Thiokol., scheduled for 1 PM. I've seen two... impressive as all get-out. Plus, it brings in every bald eagle for forty miles.

Why the eagles?

The two theories that do make a measure of sense to me are:

1) Some form of curiousity at the *extremely* loud noise with the very low tones.

2) The ground vibrations that are set up *may* cause subsurface critters for miles around to come boiling out... rats, mice, voles, snakes, etc, and the eagles have learned there are easy meals to be had when that particular dinner bell rings.

[Update late morning[

Where in the heck did the phrase "all get-out" come from, anyway. What does that mean?

Another great place to see bald eagles is near the dams on the Mississippi River around the Quad Cities on the Illinois/Iowa border. In deep winter, the river freezes over, except for the water downstream of the dams. The flow of water through the dams also stuns fish, which float to the surface. It's a fish buffet for raptors. Hundreds of eagles overwinter there.

Heh. I'm *from* the Quad Cities. Silvis, IL, to be exact. Used to go watch the eagles during winter, and do so when I go back over Christmas. And to be blunt, the eagle density in the Promontory, Utah, area after an RSRM test puts the QC to shame. But the rest of the time... not a one. The *only* time I've seen bald eagles here in Utah is after a test. They must be lurking in the mountains, about 25 miles away.

The snow clouds have disappeared, it's a bright sunshiny day out now. So the test in 2.5 hours should not suffer from weather.

PS: Next test is currently scheduled for April 6. One after that is in September. Plan accordingly.

I'm sure it fails in comparison, but I've seen several engine tests at Stennis. I highly recommend any such test as a sight to see. At Stennis, you can get very close to an SSME test. Bigger engines hava a larger exclusion zone, but not much larger. I haven't seen a launch, but there is an interesting difference from an engine test and a launch. The latter is on orbit about 8 minutes later, while the former simulates the entire flight profile right in front of you.

Well, Ahhll Swanny, Rand, some of y'all just don't know how to talk right. :)

"All get-out" meaning the superlative originally was just 'get-out.' The all seems to be added because otherwise get-out has a more familier meaning which would confuse.

OED 1884...

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/40/messages/487.html

1838...

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/26/messages/1124.html

Seems to me to be one of those phrases that kids come up with that just stuck.