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Site News

Infrastructure overhaul in progress

Behind the scenes of this site a lot of scripts are changing. This is happening to allow me to do content on a more regular basis without breaking navigation, flow, and most importantly to not have to do lots of work. It looks like it is mostly working for now. More tests soon.

Categories
Rants

Freaking PHP

There are days when the web works great. Then there are days like today, where things just don’t click at all. PHP, a server side language for web sites, is giving me fits. Because of this, throughout this site you’ll see errors that shouldn’t be there. I apologize and I’m working on it, but it’s driving me nuts!

Categories
Rants

Crudfest

I’ve just had one of those weeks where things just don’t seem to be much fun. My job, such as it is, has been stressful and uncertain. I’m running on very little sleep, after a previous weekend of virtually no sleep. I got a few bills that I wasn’t expecting asking for hundreds of dollars. And of course, I keep running into people who turn sour when I’m around.

The world is just filled with crud these days. Joy.

Categories
General

Out with the old… and the new

Sometimes things get old, dirty, and forgotten. You just have to toss them out. Other times new stuff gets broken and you have no choice but to toss it. Today I had to do both, only it was all RC airplane related. I’m now down to a single flyable airplane, after the total loss of my newest airplane, the spitfire. Why? Lame new batteries. For the second time.

So, rather than complain (who’d of thought?) I’m in the market for a new .60 size plane, and probably some electronics as well. Sucks to be me.

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Site News

Aircraft ahoy

I’ve posted my pictures from this past weekend’s air show at Moffett Federal Airfield in Sunnyvale, CA. You can find them here.

Since some amount of people have asked, I shot these pictures with a Canon 10D D-SLR camera, ground shots with a Canon EF 24-85mm USM lens, and air shots with the Canon EF 75-300mm IS USM lens. I happily filled a 512MB compact flash card with the days shots. Enjoy!

Categories
Rants

Pushy People

I spent the day at the local air show today (Moffett Air Expo 2003) and ran into some very rude folks. Not just any folks, mind you, but extremely pushy people.

First they put their kids down in front of the people next to me. This is understandable, they are short and need to be close to see the planes. Next, one of the wives moves in, spreading the kids out into two different parties areas. Next, the fathers move in, push all those new arrivals aside, and try to carve out a large area from about 3 parties. I am now one of the parties.

What amazed me is the complete lack of tact or reason these folks had. I refuse to play the race card here, but I have to say if these were American’s they would have at least asked before butting in. Instead, they pushed in, two at a time, until they took up far more room than they started with. Then they proceeded to tell everyone around them how “they were doing it for the kids” but the kids were not remotely interested in the air show. By about mid-way through the show the kids had split, the daddy’s had PO’d everyone around them, and the mom’s were tired of holding down the fort, as it were.

In the end, they all left and many happy folks got their personal space back. Why people do things like this are beyond me. The oldest kid couldn’t have been more than 10, and with an attention span of a typical TV commercial. How these people thought the kids would enjoy sitting in the hot sun, with noisy planes, craning necks upward for 6+ hours is a mystery.

I enjoyed the planes, though. 🙂

Categories
Rants

Hot and Hot

I got to spend a birthday in hot and humid Dallas, TX. Working, too, I might add. I had forgotten how much humidity really sucks and I was blissfully reminded of this fact with three days of exposure to it. How the people in the mid-West and South cope with this issue I’ll never know.

I can say that I had also forgotten just how amazing Texas women are. They are beautiful, well dressed, polite, and just the right amount of sass. If only they could be exported to the female starved CA/BA peninsula I’d be set. For now I’ll have to live with the memories of it all. 🙁

Categories
General

Big Steps

So I’ve decided to see how much I can scare myself by putting a bid in or a home. When all the costs are final I’m sure it will be the most expensive thing I’ve ever had to write checks for. From what I hear, there are tax benefits somewhere down the line. Funny thing is that all the money out of pocket to get started doesn’t make waiting for a refund/rebate seem feasible.

And before someone asks, no, it isn’t cheaper to live elsewhere and fly in on a daily basis. I checked that math out before I did the deal and the costs are just too high, travel time aside. So its the poor house for me!

Categories
Rants

Don't Tempt the Reaper

My hobby reminded me today that it’s all fun and games until someone loses an appendage. In my case it was a slice of my finger and about a pint of blood, according to the bystanders. The prop on one of my planes got two fingers in one pass before I was startled enough to pull them back. I think I’ll be fine again once I get the pain to subside. Oh, and my silver airplane has a nice coat of crimson spots on it now. At least I didn’t lose the fingers… a few others have. Lucky me!

Categories
Site News

News Is Up

After what seems like an eternity of me procrastinating the newsletter is finally done and posted. If you were unlucky enough not to receive this masterpiece of modern fiction you can view it here. For those of you who did see it, well, you know what to say about it.

While most folks are looking forward to a long weekend for the holiday, I’m looking to spend many hours indoors with 500 gaming fanatics hopped up on caffeine and sleeping underneath tables. They are sleeping there, not me. Just to prove that it isn’t me I’m taking along the new camera to document this strange event. It’s in Oregon, so I get to cross another state off my list of places I haven’t been. Joy.