Power loss over rough seas – USCG Rescue – SEMPER PARATUS

Power loss over rough seas.

Yes, I really do want to build an airplane!

Update on my fantasy to build an airplane. Yes, I really do want to. But first I need to decide what I can A) Fit into and B) Afford.

A) I am a big person. Always have been. Six foot eight or so. Some say you shrink as you age. I might be at 6’7″ or 6’7 3/4″ but anyway you put it. I am tall. With that I have long legs and big feet. Major considerations when you’re trying to fit in a little airplane. I learned to fly in a Cessna 150. Here is an example of a C-150 from Wikipedia:

It is a two seat 100hp airplane. When I appeared at the flight school the instructor said, “If you can fit in it, I can teach you to fly it”. 60 hours later and a bunch of dollars later I had a private license. Few years later I won my commercial and instrument ratings for airplanes. So I think I have the flying thing down. Just need to get into the airplane.

So size, my size and the airplane interior dimensions are a issue. The dimensions of the monetary commitment must also fit into my budget.

I have been looking at the RV-12 (see RV-12 – I wanna build an airplane) But that bird will cost me up to $40,000US. Ouch! That might break the bank. Not to mention my CFO (i.e. wife) wouldn’t be onboard with that. So, now I’m looking seriously into the Sonex line of homebuilt aircraft. Here is the Sonex – from Sonex Aircraft (www.sonexaircraft.com)

RV-12 – I Wanna Build an AIRPLANE!

Have I lost my mind? What – are you crazy?? You’ve never built anything substantial before. Okay, a picnic table and a swing set. But you did spill blood on both. Seems every time you pick up a power tool – it’s time to have the bandages and antiseptic ready. And now you’re thinking about building an AIRPLANE?? and then putting your butt in it and flying??

Yes – I have been wanting to for some time. And now the bug is bitten. I am thinking about an Van’s RV homebuilt. I would like to do an RV-7 but that’s a big investment. Van’s aircraft came out with a E-LSA (that’s Experimental-Light Sport Aircraft) kit. The RV-12. Looks really interesting and all the reading I have done to date on the kit says it is great for a first-timer. Hmmmm. Let’s see what happens. I need to do some more research first.

Click here for the RV-12 info.

And that’s a picture of an RV-12 above.

All the President’s Men

Got an opportunity to meet Bob Woodward author of this book at the Pentagon. Was able to talk with him briefly too. This pic was taken afterwards when he was signing stuff.

Follow up on the Sprint HTC EVO experience

Well, it’s been 3 weeks now. Really starting to like this device. The EVO performs very nicely. Haven’t had any trouble as some have reported. No unresponsive screen. Glass separation or any of the other reported “problems”. I picked up the old iPhone (3g) today and I notice quite a difference now between the two. IPhone screen is way smaller than the EVO. I have become very fond of the big EVO. My battery life is acceptable and I do use the EVO a lot during the day.

I am very pleased with the free pc tethering I can do using EasyTether from the Android market. I tried it for free first and it worked perfectly. So I paid the $9.99 and got it activated. Plug in the usb, set it to usb development, then connect to the desktop on my laptop and I’m online. 3g speeds are quite good with Sprint. I am getting 4g in the DC metro area and speeds are really good (yes getting 4g service in DC area even though it has not been announced by Sprint yet.

As I continue to use the HTC EVO from Sprint I will add posts.

For now – Have Fun!

This HTC EVO Rocks!

Well, I went for it.  Traded in my Samsung Moment and waited for the HTC EVO 4G release from Sprint.  Well worth it.  Very nice device and a really nice replacement for my iPhone 3G.

 

Details to follow shortly – Have Fun!

 

So – Let me see if I can upload a picture from Android.

Well, does it show?

Let’s give this Android thing another try…

What’s this? Has Greg heard the siren song again? Nope – it’s purely economics. My iPhone service with AT&T costs $80.00 to maintain on the most basic package. That’s 450 Roll-over plan mins and the mandatory $30 unlimited iPhone data plan. For an additional line on my family Sprint account voice and unlimited text/data costs $19.99.

So it is pure economics driving me to the ‘Droid again. This time I am trying the Samsung Moment from Sprint. So far it is okay. Better than the flip I trashed earlier. But way different from the iPhone experience.

I have 30 days to form a liking for this new Droid phone. So far I’m 50-50 on it. And of course Sprint is coming out with the EVO Android in June. I might opt to return the Moment and get the EVO.

Hmmmm. That’s a thought.

Update: 5/14/2010 Updated the Samsung Moment to Android 2.1 from the Sprint Support website. Nice improvements seems to work OK.

Stoooopid Motorola Back Flip! Gimme my iPhone

Like Ulysses I heard the sirens call. BackFlip Android based phone (read Linux) and lots of features that sound really neat to a techno-junkie like me. Did I say you might call me a Linux fan-boy?

So my oldest had the BackFlip. Looked kinda neat. So I thought why not – give it a try.

I got a free upgrade from WireFly and they got it here in one day. Un-boxed and started to mess with it. At first I found it novel. Screen is a bit smaller than my iPhone. But the eyecandy is tempting. After playing with the BackFlip for a couple of hours – just trying to figure how to do things on it that I can easily do on my iPhone – I was NOT impressed.

The BackFlip is flaky. It sometimes switches from portrait mode to landscape.  Yeah, I know there is a setting for it.  I messed with it.  Still flaky.  Applications that are basic are confusing. How do I edit this, how do I delete or change that? NOT very intuitive in my opinion.  The “flip-forward” key board is cheap feeling.  I felt different tactile feed back from several keys.  Not good when you are trying to type fast.  End up with lots of backspaces and corrections.

So I learned my lesson. Don’t be tempted by the siren’s song. Stick with your iPhone. BackFlip is just another iPhone wanna be. I really like the Android OS and how it is being used by others. But AT&T did bastardize the OS with their own junk. Oh, and they force the user to use Yahoo instead of Google search. That sucks. Try to search for something in Google and then compare it to a Yahoo search for the same key words. You get a much better result with Google (IMHO)

Have fun!
Keep your iPhone.

Is Judaism on the Increase in Charles Town, WV?

So, We’ve been living here in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia for a little over 19 years now.  When we first moved here from NYC we were accustomed to many types of foods and flavors.  Especially during the holidays – both Christian and others.  One funny anecdote was when I went to the local Food Lion store and asked for “Pita Bread” – the home-spun clerk looked at me puzzled and told me they had Wonder Bread, Pepperidge Farm Bread, and Potato Bread – but he never heard of “Peter’s Bread” 

Tee-Hee –

Around mid to late winter – we were used to seeing signs of Spring holidays and traditions in the stores of NY.  Including Easter Passover related fare – you know – Matzos, Easter Egg Coloring kits and the like… And of course – plenty of selection and variety.  However, the local grocery store in our little WV town only had a card table of goodies for Passover.  Plenty of Easter (i.e. Christian) stuff.  Easter Eggs, Easter candy, Easter chocolate thingys – you get the idea.  But only a card table display – yeah the folding card table that everyone has and uses for the “Kids Table” during other fall holidays :)  — of Passover related products.  I think there was a box of matzo, couple of jars of gefilte fish, and some borsch.  Not quite enough for a respectable seder plate. 

Turn the clock a few years – let’s say 18 or 19 and voila!  The Passover card table in Martin’s has expanded to a full fledged Passover Display!!

So the question is – are there more folks in Charles Town, WV that observe/practice Judaism?  or just a bunch more NY’ers looking for the good stuff??

 

Have fun! 

Greg –