My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on November 17, 2010

Ouch. On a wet and rainy Tuesday evening the Dakota pickup truck behind my daughter didn’t stop quick enough. The minor fender-bender was at a stop sign and there were no injuries, just damaged plastic and bent metal … and the frustration of having to deal with insurance adjusters, collision repair centers, rent a cars and the ‘time’ hassle involved. But I am thankful that there weren’t any injuries. Part of life, ehh?

Category: Automotive, Personal | 4 Comments »
Tags: katelyn

Posted By RichC on November 17, 2010

I’ve always enjoyed unique vehicles such as the AmphiCars of the past or the flying Super Sky Cycle motorcycle and Terrafugia Transition flying car, but didn’t realize how far the drive-able boat has come along.

Some years ago I recall the Floating Cubans attempted to escape the grip of Fidel in a 1951 Chevy pickup truck … and thought, “hmm, they might have appreciated the ones in the video.” (below)

EDIT: YouTube Video was removed. 🙁

Category: Automotive, Video | No Comments »
Tags: amphibious, boat, car, vehicle

Posted By RichC on November 16, 2010

A friend of mine posted about the Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. on Facebook and it was a reminder to me how devastating Ménière’s disease was. Back in the 1990’s I (and my family) struggled in dealing with the frustrating ringing, sudden attacks of vertigo and associated debilitating sickness (sea-sickness as I described it). Although bouts with this diagnosis can be widely different as to their severity, I would not wish this on my worst enemy.

One of the bright spots while suffering through the disease was knowing that the first man in space had to deal with it and eventually overcame it. He had experimental surgery (in 1964), but after recovery was able to go on to walk on the moon. Quite inspirational. The situation was well portrayed in the HBO miniseries “From Earth to the Moon.” See Episode 9, “For Miles and Miles” as it deals with Alan Shepard and his returning to flight status and on to the moon. (video clip below)

EDIT: The YouTube archive of the HBO video was removed, but worth seeing if you have or know of someone with Ménière’s disease.p

Category: Archive, Aviation, Health, History, Personal, Social Media, Video-TV | 1 Comment »
Tags: astronaut, disease, menieres, nasa

Posted By RichC on November 15, 2010

Flight Photo from wright-b-flyer.org

EAA Chapter 284’s meeting this month was a trip to Dayton-Wright Brother Airport and the Wright B Flyer museum. Our meeting centered around aviation history and the of the building of a replicate “B” Flyer which started with the flying look-a-like Brown Bird which first flew in July 1982. The airplane make flight appearances at events around the world and is hangers and maintained by a group of volunteers just south of Dayton Ohio. Funding relies on donations, event fees and the Ohio “Leader in Flight” specialty plate – now I know where that premium goes.

We enjoyed the backend tour of the shop and hanger, a look at the new high-tech Silver Bird replicate and had an opportunity to leaf through the blueprints. A couple of us climbed into the Brown Bird for a photo (below).

On one of the more recent commemorative flights observing the 100th anniversary of the first air cargo flight, the Wright B Flyer released a box of military UAVs that gives some thought to how high-tech surveillance is becoming. A plaque given to the museum has a replicate … seen any of these flying over your house lately?

Given the pilot workload in flying the Wright B Flyer (no trim control), maintenance requirements and flight characteristics, the volunteer staff disassembles the tail section and ships the airplane to events in a tractor trailer.

TAKE OFF: 41 MPH

CRUISE: 60 MPH

ENDURANCE: 2 Hours

RANGE: 100 Miles

LANDING: 45 MPH

MAXIMUM ALTITUDE: Approximately 2000 Feet above sea level, depending upon the atmosphere density in the area.

The Wright “B” Flyer was constructed to honor the accomplishments of the Wright Brothers and promote Dayton, Ohio as the “Leader in Flight,”. The original Wright B Flyer was designed to provide pilot training and reconnaissance for the US Army Signal Corps from 1911 to 1914.

Currently the Wright B Flyer organization owns 3 aircraft. They are called by the color of the fabric on each aircraft

The Brown Bird -This was the first look alike built by the organization and first flew on July 27, 1982

The Silver Bird – The Silver Bird is a new look-alike, which is smaller and designed to fit easily in a 4 foot Sea/Land container for easier shipment both in the US and internationally. The Silver Birs has recently received its airworthiness certificate and is undergoing flight testing.

The Yellow Bird – The Yellow Bird or Valentine Flyer is the third plane. It is a movie star that was originally built by Tom & Karen Valentine (from California) and used in a movie “The Wings of Kitty Hawk.” It came to WBF and it serves as a display model of what a real 1911 Wright “B” Flyer looked like. It does differ in some details from an original (different engine, aircraft quality turn buckles VS piano wire) but it does serve to help people understand details like wing warping.

Currently only the Brown Bird and Silver Bird will be at the airport. The fabric on the Yellow Bird is severely deteriorated and is being prepped for recovering at another site.

http://www.eaa284.org

Category: Aviation, History, Photos | 2 Comments »
Tags: dayton, eaa, eaa284, meeting, ohio, wright flyer

Posted By RichC on November 15, 2010

The 2004 Jean-Claude Picot seriolithograph from our trip to Bermuda this past summer finally arrived (Trip archive: Post 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ). I’m saving an image of the painting so that at least I’ll have a record somewhere.

 
Our Saturday afternoon unboxing

Since 1956, Jean Claude Picot has been working exclusively as a professional artist. He was greatly influenced by the works of the Fauvist masters Vlaminck, Derain and Matisse. These artists, whose exuberant canvases attracted great attention in the first decade of the 20th century due to their revolutionary use of color, texture and abstract form, have inspired Picot for decades and one finds many similar characteristics in his works. Picot has developed a unique style that recalls a Post-Impressionist application of color combined with the expressive qualities of form and line. The world of his art is often one of happy reflection and relaxation, and possesses his personal "joie de vivre." He frequently captures the animation, romance and essence of the landscape, his favored subject, although he also creates still-lifes, cityscapes, markets, and festival scenes. All of his work is imbued with the same bright and cheerful character, and is instantly identifiable.

Since 1947,he has exhibited in over fifty one-person shows throughout the world including exhibitions in the United States, Belgium, Norway and Australia. Picot lives part of the year in the south of France, and often draws on the Cote d’Azur-its visitors, its beaches and its boat-filled harbors.

In reviews of Picot’s most recent solo shows in Paris, Bordeaux and Oslo, the critics cited the affinities between the masters of Impressionism and early 20th Century Fauvism and Picot’s work. Today in the 21st Century, Picot continues the important tradition of French landscape painting.

Picot actively works in many media – oil, acrylic, watercolor, etching, ceramic and most recently, serigraphy and embellished serigraphy.  The latter beautifully capture his vibrant color and painterly technique. His work is a favorite of collectors internationally, and is represented in prestigious collections worldwide.

Category: Archive, Art | No Comments »
Tags: archive, artwork, bermuda, cruise, vacation

Posted By RichC on November 13, 2010

I first heard about Yves Rolly, “jetman,” back in 2006 and posted one of his first videos. This time he has made a few design improvements and jumped from a balloon as soon as his four jet engines fire up. Wow … what a rush!

Category: Aviation, Video | No Comments »
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Posted By RichC on November 12, 2010

Although I’ve used a few different online dictionaries over the years, I’ve concluded that using a program called WordWeb is better than all the cookies, flash cookies and beacons. According to a WSJ article this summer, sites like Dictionary.com were pretty intrusive.

More than half of the sites examined by the Journal installed 23 or more "third party" cookies. Dictionary.com installed the most, placing 159 third-party cookies.

But back to WordWeb, it is a program for Windows based computers that can be installed on your computer and operates quickly from the taskbar with a programmable hotkey or mouseclick (but monitor your memory) . Since it doesn’t require Internet access for it’s basic features the program work well for those who aren’t always connected. The extensive small pop-up program offers everything from audio pronunciations to one-click lookups in most programs including Microsoft Word.

• Definitions and synonyms, including many compounds and proper nouns
• Word relations: find antonyms, parts or types, less specific words, etc.
• Over 130 000 synonym sets and 162 000 root words
• Search over 280 000 words, compounds and derived forms
• 70 000 pronunciations, with pop-up hint pronunciation key
• 70 000 usage examples
• View alphabetically nearest words, suggestions for many misspellings

One of the peculiar as aspects of using the “free version” of this program is the license. Take a look at the second paragraph of the licensing.

WordWeb free version may be used indefinitely only by people who take at most two commercial flights (not more than one return flight) in any 12 month period. People who fly more than this need to purchase the Pro version if they wish to continue to use it after a 30-day trial period.

Global greenhouse gas emissions are currently around 5 tonnes of carbon dioxide per person per year, and probably need to be reduced by at least 80% have a good chance of avoiding dangerous warming. Most computer users are responsible for far more emissions than is sustainable. For example two short-medium distance return flights can be equivalent to over 1 tonne of emissions¹: more than an average person can safely emit over an entire year.

If you do not qualify you must uninstall the program after the 30-day trial period or purchase WordWeb Pro. The licensing model is designed to allow relatively non-wealthy people to use the program free of charge, and to provide a small incentive for other people who fly a lot to cut down.

Whenever a user no longer meets the above requirements, and they have installed the product for more than 30 days, they must uninstall the product or purchase WordWeb Pro.

There is one exception to the above: not-for-profit educational establishments may make a network installation of WordWeb for the use of their students (regardless of whether their students individually meet the licensing requirement).

Category: Computer, Software | 2 Comments »
Tags: dictionary

Posted By RichC on November 11, 2010

While contemplating how to best comment on Veterans Day this year, I’ve decided that I would detour my trip home tonight and stop in to thank my dad in person for his service in Korea. Although in the past he generally avoided even acknowledging it, in recent years he and his fellow veterans have become more open (a lot to do with the current generation appreciative attitude toward all veterans). When we took the “Honor Trip to Washington DC” last spring his military service became a more positive experience. I think he appreciates the recognition for his service from the community and enjoys connecting with other vets. Thankfully the wounds our country grappled with after the Vietnam War have somewhat healed and Americans as a whole have made an effort as a whole to give all veterans the respect they have always deserved. My heartfelt thank you to all who have served the call of their country … especially my dad.

I also listened to a radio program on XM’s WHYY’s feed this morning which feature a couple of surgeons who worked on the battlefield. One, Dr. James Finnegan, wrote a book titled In the Company of Marines: A Surgeon Remembers Vietnam. where he reflects on the heroic service of a fellow doctor – Dr. Ed Feldman.

A couple of statistics shared by Dr. Finnegan that I found interesting about Vietnam Vets:

• 97% of the 2.7 million were discharged ‘honorably’
• As a whole, Vietnam vets have higher incomes and lower drug use than the nation as a whole
• 80% say that knowing what they know now, they would go back again

Category: Books, Holiday, Millitary | No Comments »
Tags: veterans

Posted By RichC on November 11, 2010

Although including politically oriented subject matter on my blog is divisive, it is still something that “we” talk about in our daily grind so I’ll still continue to include a few pointed posts. I’d like to think that with November 2nd is behind us we’ll see a year or so of productive governing in Washington DC … but who am I kidding … we are a divided country when it comes to how much government we want overseeing our lives.

On a lighter political note, Experian Simmons research looked at the television viewing habits of Republicans and Democrats. Some of the numbers were of no surprise … Glenn Beck on FoxNews was popular with Republicans and Countdown with Keith Obermann on MSNBC was popular with Democrats. On the other hand, Modern Family, featuring a gay couple with their adopted daughter, came is as a number 3 show for Republicans, yet was relatively popular with Democrats too. Number 3 for the Democrats was the premium channel Showtime’s Dexter, a program that received far less attention in Republican homes. What was interesting is that most ‘reality’ shows were popular across the political spectrum.

Where do your viewing habits tell you about your political leanings?

For the record, my wife were disappointed not to see a few of our favorite programs on the list, but ranked the ones that we have watched this order:

1. NCIS
2. Glenn Beck
3. The Big Bang Theory
4. V
5. Modern Family
6. Parks and Recreation
7. Dexter (although DVD only)
   *** many of the programs we aren’t even familiar with

Category: Entertainment, Politics | 5 Comments »
Tags: television

Posted By RichC on November 10, 2010

My son sent me a video clip to reminded me that 35 years ago today was the day the iron ore freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank with all 29 ‘souls onboard’ in Lake Superior. Thanks Taylor. (Hmm, what’s the origin of ‘souls onboard?’).

Having spent my childhood growing up on the Great Lakes in a commercial fishing and shipping oriented community not too far from Toledo Ohio, our area was perhaps more deeply impacted by the tragedy than much of the country. Still, I suspect most my age have heard the eery Gordon Lightfoot song, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” and remember the 1975 tragedy while watching the tribute video (below). For me, the most resonating part of the video is the list of names and the familiar Ohio towns that scroll at the end of the video.

On November 10, 1975, while traveling on Lake Superior during a gale, the Fitzgerald sank suddenly in Canadian waters approximately 17 miles (15 nmi; 27 km) from the entrance of Whitefish Bay at a depth of 530 feet (160 m). Although it had reported having some difficulties before the accident, the Fitzgerald sank without sending any distress signals. Its crew of 29 perished in the sinking with no bodies being recovered. When the wreck was found, it was discovered that the Fitzgerald had broken in two.

Category: Archive, History, Personal, Video | No Comments »
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