Home Improvement

It’s been weeks since I posted. It’s amazing how quickly time passes!

We had started a couple home improvement projects and I had toyed with the idea of posting as we progressed. I was taking pictures to include in each post and I had twenty seven 8x10 inch color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph explaining each one. It would have been awesome (at least in my mind it would have been awesome).

Well, we went from a simple bathroom renovation to a full court press to get ready for an open house.

You’re probably asking yourself, “Self, how does one go from painting the bathroom to selling the house? It seems like a hasty decision.” Well, I ask you to remember my post, Should I Stay or Should I Go Now from 2/13/14. We’ve been thinking of downsizing for a while. But thinking about it and actually doing it are two wholly different things. What was the deciding factor? I’ll tell ya.

I have a really large deck. I know a lot of guys say that but in my case it is true. I was in the process of prepping the deck for staining (replacing wood, sanding, scraping, power washing, etc.) and the enormity of the chore became staggering. My bride suggested we take another look at “the condos” so within half an hour we were walking through a two-car garage unit.

The condo was/is really nice and before you could say, “Painting the deck every four years really sucks,” we were prepping our house for sale so we could buy a condo.

You have to understand; our house has good bones, but like an aging Hollywood star it needed a facelift to remain current. So, for close to five weeks we painted, cleaned (holy crap; we accumulated a lot of stuff in fourteen years), organized, landscaped, etc. etc. etc. Sleep became a hindrance rather than a benefit.

But … it paid off. We had the open house five days after being listed and we received two offers for asking price.

The next few weeks will be hectic as we prep for moving. We still have to line up people to help us move, finish the cleansing and the packing, and I’ll probably have to mow the lawn at least one more time.

Am I going to miss owning a house? Will I miss mowing the lawn, trimming the shrubs, raking the leaves, spring cleaning, spreading mulch, vacuuming the pool … well, you get the idea. When we aren’t doing something, we’re worried about getting something done.

You notice I wrote, “house” verses “home.” The reason being is the house does not make the home. To answer my own query, “NO, I won’t miss owning a house.”

What do you think; would you want to live in a condo?

For the Birds

On May 22^nd, 2014 as I was backing into the garage, I noticed a bird zipping away from the house. I wondered if it had become trapped in the garage and escaped when I opened the door.

It was not as simple as that. I don’t know how I missed it, but “they” had built a nest between the garage doors. It nestled snuggly between the outside light and the garage wall. We’ve lived in this house for fourteen years and this is the first time any birds have made a permanent roost on the light.

I wasn’t going to let it stay. I figured bird crap would be dribbling down the side of the garage as the summer progressed. Yuck! I was going to rip it down. However, I was urged to make certain there weren’t any babies on board before I razed the pile of twigs and straw.

5/23

Yup, you probably guessed; there were three eggs resting in the nest. I’ve been called many things, heartless bastard being the most popular, but I couldn’t bring myself to pull the nest apart. The next day I checked it and there was now a fourth egg. It was speckled and that sealed it; the nest was staying put until the birds flew the coop, so to speak.

I decided to maintain a pictorial journal to track the birds’ progress. Every night around 5 PM I snapped a picture of the nest.

The first thing I noted was that the speckled egg was in a different location each day. I thought that was interesting.

For the next eighteen days I tracked the progress of my birds, as my family had come to call them.

On 6/1, the speckled egg was the first to hatch. On 6/5, a second bird broke free from its shell. Over the next few days the babies went from pink blobs to creatures that became recognizable as avian.

6/1

6/5

Alas, we got no further. On 6/10, they were chirping away and on 6/11, they weren’t; they’d passed. I have no idea what happened. It was kind of sad.

I disposed of the nest and I can guarantee that next year I will be vigilant and make certain no nest is built in that location.

But, what do you think; if the birds try again next year should I let the nest stay or not?

Back to Florida?

You know you’re in Florida when …

This sign is at the intersection of

 routes  98 and 301 in Dade City.

We recently traveled to Dade City, Florida to visit the in-laws. I enjoy getting away from New England winter weather, and Florida in February is a viable option.

My in-laws live in a fifty-five-and-over community. Every time an ambulance enters the park my father-in-law exclaims, “Looks like another home is going to be available.” Which explains something I read (I don’t remember where) that says that Florida is God’s waiting room (though I’m fairly certain this statement would apply to a variety of locales).

I’ve written in previous posts that my bride and I are reaching that age where we’re beginning to entertain the possibility of downsizing, with an eye toward retirement. I just turned fifty-five and as my father-in-law so knowingly informed me, we could buy the trailer, excuse me, manufactured home, three doors down from them. However, as tempting as that might be, I’m not certain that Florida is a place I’d like to live year round.

Don’t get me wrong, the state has many enticing attractions and tourist destinations, such as Disney World and Universal Studios.  But as my brother told me when he retired to the Las Vegas area, “You have to remember you’re not a tourist anymore and budget accordingly.”

Castillo de San Marcos

Image Courtesy Google Images

To be fair, Florida isn’t all theme parks and roller coasters. In April, we took a trip to St. Augustine. Did you know that St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States? I didn’t.  In 2014 they’re celebrating their 450th anniversary. Among the attractions is Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park, Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum and Castillo de San Marcos – the oldest remaining European fort in the United States.

And then there’s the “no state income tax” benefit. Florida is one of seven states that do not have an income tax. When you’re on a fixed income keeping every dime of your retirement benefit is huge.

But even that might not be enough to persuade us to move to Florida full time. We’ve toured the state on many occasions, but before we make a final decision, we owe it to ourselves to visit other locales to help us make an informed decision. Relocation is more than just escaping the snow and cold … it’s about finding a place we can call home.

Maybe we should do a partial snowbird and spend January through March in Florida (or some other warmer clime – say Hawaii). By doing that, we wouldn’t have to worry about maintaining two homes year round.

What do you think … Florida for an entire year, or October into April, or maybe some other time frame?

More Driving My Car

In response to my Driving My Car blog, a reader from Nevada added to my list of driving gripes.

1. Those idiots that speed down the right turn only lane and then cut in front of you. Sometimes they just use the breakdown lane.

2. Talking on the cell instead of paying attention to the road - been cut-off several times by that person.

3. Tear-assing through the parking lots like they're on the highway.

4. Red light? What red light? (Also applies to Stop Signs).

5. I signal for a left turn and start the turn. The guy behind me decides it's time to pass (even though it's a solid DO NOT PASS line). Sometimes it applies to a right turn (see item 1 above).

6. Buzzing along the freeway in the passing lane then crossing 3 lanes of traffic (whether or not there's space to do so) just to make an exit. This maneuver must be done within 100 yards of the exit.

7. Especially when we're towing; I leave plenty of room for stopping. The 3 guys behind me have to pass, even though we're all doing the speed limit.

He also writes, “Having had the advantage of driving all across the country several times, I've observed that this behavior isn't necessarily confined to one particular region.”

So, I’m certain we’re not the only two people that have observed bizarre (and frequently dangerous) driving behavior. I’m still looking for people to share.

Driving My Car

I grew up in a small Western Massachusetts town. There wasn’t (and still isn’t) one traffic light. The police force was volunteers (much like the fire department). There was one store that was open Monday thru Friday 7 AM to 6:30 PM, 9 to 5 on Saturday and closed on Sunday.

Courtesy Google Images

As a teen in this town, there were a few options for employment.
1. The Box Shop – but you had to be 16
2. The Drum Shop – again, age 16
3. Picking apples and blueberries
4. If you were lucky (though I’m not certain I’d call it luck) your parents would drive you one town over to pick tobacco.

So, as a kid, I couldn’t wait to get my license and obtain a modicum of freedom. I remember riding in the backseat of a car and thinking how cool it must feel to be the only person in the car when you’re driving.

Man how times change. I’ve had my license for close to forty years, and I gotta say I do not find driving to be a cool experience anymore. (Rant time – if you don’t like to listen to people bitch best stop reading here.)

Now … everyone makes mistakes when they’re driving. When I do something stupid behind the wheel, I own it. I try to let the other driver know I screwed up by giving the apologetic wave, “Hey, sorry. I’m a dumb ass.”

And that’s the difference between folks like me and the A-hole; the A-hole flips you off when they make the mistake.

With this in mind, I present five things that irritate me while driving (in no particular order),
1. If you pull out of a side street … don’t meander. Step on it! Get into the flow of traffic as quick as possible.
2. And in that vein … if it’s that important that you must be in front of me … can you at least do the speed limit?
3. Back in the olden days (like when my eldest brother was learning to drive), it was probably a nuisance to stick your arm out the window to signal a turning event. However, street legal vehicles have these handy gadgets call directionals that allow driver A to, in theory, give others in the surrounding vehicles some hint of what driver A is planning to do next. I don’t get what is so hard about using directionals … finger cramps?
4. If you’re planning to make a left turn, how about moving as far left as you can so people behind you can get by on the right.
5. If you’re making a right turn in anything other than an eighteen wheeler, you don’t need to make a big looping swerve left before you turn right. Trust me; unless you’re that bad of a driver, you’re not going to hit anything with the passenger side of the car.

I know, petty whining. But I gotta admit, I don’t find driving nearly as enjoyable as I did when I got my license. Sometimes I miss those days in that small town when I didn’t have to drive anywhere.

Does anyone have anything they’d like to add to the driving rant list?

Winter Getaway

Disney Fantasy

Winter sucks! Yeah, I’ve got the winter blues. It doesn’t help that I have a brother that sends me weather updates from Nevada.

My bride and I found a way to beat back the blahs for a short time: a seven day, Western Caribbean cruise on the Disney Fantasy. Oh man … great weather, great food, relaxation and not a hint of snow … and best of all? When we got home, our driveway had been cleared of the snow that fell on Wednesday, 2/19.

The cruise included four ports of call: Grand Cayman; Costa Maya, Mexico; Cozumel, Mexico and Castaway Cay (Disney’s private island). This is our third Disney cruise. (The other two were four day Bahamian trips that included two ports.)

Grand Cayman: Cayman Turtle Farm: Island Wildlife Encounter
According to our guide, one man owns 60 – 65% of the assets on Grand Cayman – I accepted the statement at face value and haven’t bothered to verify its veracity. We visited the Cayman Turtle Farm: Island Wildlife Encounter. The main attraction here is the endangered turtles that the facility is breeding to release back into the wild. Guests are able to feed and hold young turtles. It was an interesting day but due to time constraints – we only had four hours – we didn’t do much else.

Our Mayan guide

Costa Maya, Mexico: The Chacchoben Maya Ruins
We drove an hour via bus. Our guide, was personable and knowledgeable and 100% Mayan. He said there were only about 1 million pure blood Mayans in the Yucatán Peninsula and 5 million Mayans in total throughout the United Mexican States.

A Mayan city might have as many as 11,000 people. Our guide said that the civilization declined because the cities’ population grew too large to support its citizens and bands of people moved into the jungle to try to start new cities.

Excavated temple                                Partial excavation

The ruins were impressive. The Chacchoben Maya Ruins are only partially excavated. There are many large mounds of soil covered in jungle growth and underneath each mound is another structure. Our guide said there are over 1,200 Mayan sites identified throughout Mexico. Only a handful has been even partially cleared.

Dolphin Discovery - Google images

Cozumel, Mexico: Dolphin Discovery
In Cozumel we visited Dolphin Discovery inside Chankanaab National Park and we swam with the dolphins … OK … we actually swam with a dolphin … OK … we actually stood in the water while a dolphin swam past us, but there was a dolphin and there was swimming involved.

Our group of fifteen descended a small flight of steps onto a platform that was probably three feet below the water’s surface. We stood in a line and a trainer commanded the dolphin to swim down the line affording each member of the group an opportunity to touch the dolphin’s skin. I expected the animal’s skin to be slimy but it felt more rubbery.

Our dolphin was supposed to perform four tricks with each guest: a kiss on the lips, a kiss on the cheek, rise out of the water and plant her snout against the guest’s palm and a fin shake.

You gotta love animals; they definitely have minds of their own. Our dolphin was in no mood to show off. Our trainer had to coax her to perform. She just wanted to swim and never mind the paying customers. Eventually, she did her job and every member of our group had a chance to kiss and shake.

I enjoyed the encounter for no other reason than I just think dolphins are cool. However, I have no proof of our participation in this activity because we decided the picture they took was not worth $37.

Castaway Cay
Our last stop. We made a beeline for the adult beach (age 18 and up). We spent the whole day there. We read, swam, walked the shore and explored the shallow waters of the beach. There are all sorts of marine life. I was able to get within four or five feet of a stingray that was resting in the sand.

Stingray

It was the most relaxing day of the cruise because we didn’t have a schedule to keep.

Our moment of Zen came to a grinding halt when we stepped off the plane at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT. Back to the cold, grey, overcast that has been this New England (and beyond) winter.

But we persevere (don’t you feel bad for us?). Winter is coming to an end, spring is a couple weeks away and we’re planning our next February escape (WOOT WOOT!).

I’m curious; do others feel a need to get away from winter for a while? Let me know.

Should I Go or Should I Stay Now?

So, I haven’t blogged in a couple weeks (really, it’s been longer than that). I’ve been up to my elbows in a bathroom facelift (and this is just the beginning).

Left: Too much wallpaper             Right: Painted Feather Gray

Left: Old light switches                     Right: New light switches

My bride and I have reached that stage of our life when we’re contemplating downsizing. It’s not an urgent need but it looms and we want to be prepared. We have one child left at home and the house is too big. When there were six of us living in the house we needed the space but now … not so much.

Our ideal home would have one story, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining area, a living room, a basement that could be finished, 2 car garage, natural gas, sewer, town water and a small, flat lot that does not require much TLC. Oh yeah, and newer construction. We don’t want a 1950 or 60 rehab (we watch HGTV and we’ve witnessed the issues that can arise when it comes to rehabbing an old house when we attempted to rehab a 200 plus year old money pit – screw that!).

Unfortunately, the ideal home does not come with an ideal price tag. Holy crap, new houses are expensive. The ones we’ve perused in our desired area are pushing four hundred thousand.

There are some “bargains” in other regions of the country such as Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. But that would mean relocating.

A few years ago I would have had no problem with the notion of relocation. But now we’ve got a couple of grandkids and I’m not nearly as certain that I want to move too far.

It’s a conundrum. Do we settle for a place that is less then what we want so that we can stay closer to the kids and grandkids or do we pick up and leave and risk missing watching, firsthand, our kids’ families flourish?

I admit I vacillate from one extreme to the other. I rationalize by saying that there’s Skype and FaceTime and a host of other media available to maintain contact but is it the same as being there?

I guess it comes down to what is best for us (and right now I’m not certain we know what that might be). We’ve got time to figure it out but before we know it we’ll have to make a decision.

What do you think – downsize and move or stay and watch the kids grow?

An Open Letter to Stephen King

RE: Under the Dome

Dear Mr. King

Courtesy Google Images

I just finished reading Under the Dome and all I can say is, ‘WOW!’ You weren’t kidding when you wrote in the author’s note that you “… tried to write a book that would keep the pedal consistently to the metal.” This book has a lot of pages, but the chapters are short and captivating. Once I began reading, it was hard to put down.

I became interested in the novel after watching the 2013 thirteen-episode summer miniseries of the same name on CBS. I wondered how the show tracked against the novel.

I almost didn’t watch the show because I figured it was going to be a grittier version of Gilligan’s Island under glass. Also, I pondered which came first, Fox’ 2007 The Simpsons Movie in which the fictional town of Springfield is domed in by the U.S. government or your book.

Simpsons Courtesy Google Images

It is … the movie. However, as you explain on STEPHENKING.COM, the genesis of Under the Dome came circa 1978. You said you were thinking about dome and isolation long before the Simpsons were conceived.

Dome, isolation, carnage, destruction, and death are more like it. The only similarity between the two concepts is a dome of some sort encasing a fictional town.

Chester's Mill Courtesy Google Images

In your book, I lost count of how many denizens of Chester’s Mill, Maine met their demise (people and animals) in the first fifty pages or so. Holy half-a-cow! I learned to avoid character attachments because chances were they wouldn’t be around for a prolonged period of time.

One of the main characters is second selectman Big Jim Rennie (portrayed by Dean Norris in the CBS series). What a prick! The book does a terrific job of detailing how a power-crazed douchebag can take a town’s complete isolation and use it to create a world in which he is king and emperor. His character reminded me of Napoleon, the pig from George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Both characters eventually reveal themselves to be self-indulgent, maniacal control-freaks.

The TV miniseries, which will continue in the summer of 2014 (and I read on TV. com that you’ll be writing the first episode) is quite different then the book. The CBS show seems to be loosely based on the novel. The series has Chester’s Mill and Big Jim is still a prick, but the timeline of events has been altered slightly. It’s definitely less graphic, and characters and events that are not in the novel have been introduced.

I suppose this is to make it more TV-friendly? In any event, I like the show even though it doesn’t follow the book exactly. I am curious to see if the producers of the CBS show resolve the crisis in a manner similar to your book.

Mr. King, Under the Dome is the first novel of yours that I have read. In 1979, when I left MassMutual to join the military, my co-workers gave me a copy of The Stand. Unfortunately, somewhere between Springfield, Massachusetts and Parris Island, South Carolina I lost the book and never acquired another copy.

If the rest of your material is as engaging as Under the Dome, I’ve certainly been missing out. In any event, I’ve determined I’m going to acquire a Stephen King book or two to find out.

Graphene – Silicon replacement?

I think it is a fair assumption to state that synthetic materials have enhanced human development. From papyrus to paper to silicone used in computer chips, man-made materials have been at the forefront of every major technological advancement.

Graphene - courtesy Google Images

Graphene, a substance made from graphite, may be the next “miracle” material. According to Gigamon.com, graphene is made from a single layer of carbon atoms. A sheet of graphene is a million times thinner than a sheet of paper. It’s so thin it’s considered two dimensional.

Phys.org reports that graphene has a breaking strength 200 times greater than steel, making it the strongest material ever tested. Graphenea.com states it has the potential to conduct electricity better than copper at room temperature and could be used in applications such as biological engineering, optical electronics, composite materials used in aerospace, photovoltaic cells and energy storage.

HEAD racquet - courtesy Google Images

According to graphene-info.com, grapheme is already in use. Siren Technology uses a grapheme based ink in security tags and HEAD uses graphene in their YouTek™ Instinct MP Tennis Racquets.

Graphene is entering the science fiction lexicon. In the December 16, 2013 episode of the Fox show “Almost Human” a reference is made to graphene. A scientist, Rudy Lom , portrayed by Mackenzie Crook, is examining a synthetic life form and notes that there has been, “Some kind of grapheme circuit modification.”

A sheet of graphene is so thin that it’s almost invisible and its conductive properties are such that it might make excellent touch screens.

I wonder … if graphene is as strong and lightweight as it’s purported to be, could it be used to produce ultra-strong cell phones? It’d be nice to know that a drop of the phone won’t result in needing a new one.

Is graphene the next “big” thing? What do you think it should be used for?

World's Largest Ship

Titanic - Courtesy Google Images

In 1912, the RMS Titanic was a state of the art passenger liner. She was 882 feet long and carried 3,547 passengers and crew. In case you missed it, on April 15, 1912, she hit an iceberg and sank, killing more than 1,500 people.

In the years since that 1912 disaster, ships have gotten bigger. The Disney cruise liner, the Dream, is 1,115 feet long and can carry 5,450 crew and passengers. But she’s not the largest liner in the world; that honor belongs to Royal Caribbean’s sister ships, the Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas. Both ships are 1,187 feet long and can carry 6,296 people.

Wow! 6,296 people is larger than the crew aboard a United States Navy Nimitz class aircraft carrier.

Dream - Courtesy Google Images

Oasis - Courtesy Google Images

There seems to be no maximum of ship size. Freedom Ship International has announced plans to build a ship, Freedom Ship, that would be 4,500 feet long, and twenty five stories high. There would be over 200 acres of recreation space, hospitals, restaurants and a runway at the very top of the ship that would be capable of accommodating forty passenger turboprop airplanes. According to Freedom Ship International, the ship would accept up to
40,000 full time residents, 30,000 daily visitors, 10,000 nightly hotel guests and 20,000 full time crew. Freedom Ship International calls it The First Mobile City at Sea.

The ship would be so massive that no port in the world could accommodate it. It would complete an around-the-world cruise every two years.

The concept for the Freedom Ship originated in the 1990s. According to Business Insider, at an estimated cost nearing a staggering $10 billion, project investors were scarce. The project was scrapped after the financial crisis in 2008.

Freedom - Courtesy Google Images

Business Insider reports that Roger Gooch, a member of the original team, has revived the idea because he believes the financial climate is changing.

I’ve seen the Oasis of the Seas up close and I’ve been on the Disney Dream. Both ships are huge; the Dream is so big that it is easy to get lost and turned around once aboard.

I find it difficult to fathom that something that’s more than ¾ of a mile long and 750 feet wide can float. If built, the Freedom Ship would make the Oasis of the Seas look like a tugboat. And, based on what happened to the Titanic, I wonder how many lifeboats it would take to evacuate 100,000 people.

What do you think; would you take a cruise aboard the Freedom Ship?

Volocopter Update

K-16B General Arrangement

I was going through basement “stuff” and I found a report approved by my father dated September 1961. Dad was the project engineer for the K-16B. The report is titled THE MODEL K-16B V/STOL AIRPLANE RESEARCH PROGRAM, Report B-27.

The introduction to Dad’s report states:

“At the request of the Bureau of Naval Weapons this report has been prepared … to summarize the research program that is being carried out under Bureau of Naval Weapons Contract NOa (s) 56-549c.”

K-16B Scale Model

According to the New England Air Museum, the U.S. Navy contacted Kaman to design and build a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The project was cancelled in 1962. My father said the K-16B program was cancelled because helicopters were approaching the air speeds desired by the Navy.

However, I don’t think the research done in the development of the K-16B was in vain; the same concept was employed in the development of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey.

K-16B Tie-Down

Finding the K-16B report reminded me of my blog Flying High, July, 2012. The blog discusses the Volocopter, an 18-rotor personal helicopter developed by E-volo. In July, 2012, the company did not have a date when the ‘copter would be available to the public.

In 2012, E-volo won the Lindbergh Prize for Innovation. The Lindbergh Prize for Innovation is awarded by the Lindbergh Foundation and is intended to award people who strive to achieve a balance between technological advancement and the preservation of human and natural environments.

The Volocopter has evolved since my July blog. E-volo has developed the VC200, the first Volocopter to carry two people. On November 17, 2013, E-volo conducted a successful radio controlled test flight of the VC200. According to E-volo, the vision for the VC200 is:

“a cruising speed of at least 100 km/h
a flight altitude of up to 6500 ft
a maximum take-off weight of 450 kg
more than one hour flight time”

Unfortunately, the Volocopter is still a ways off. The Camera Forum reports that it will probably be between 10 and 20 years before the Volocopter is available to the public.

Technology evolves and one advancement builds on the one before. I’d like to think that the work my father’s team did on the K-16B played some small part in the development of the VTOL technology and subsequently the Volocopter.

So, what do you think, would you use a Volocopter for your work commute?

We’re a Nielsen family!

If you’ve never watched television or you’ve lived under the proverbial rock for sixty years, you might have no idea what a Nielsen family is. Nielsen is a company that samples television viewing households to determine what television shows Americans are watching. Nielsen describes a Nielsen family as panelists that enrich their “… view of the marketplace and ensures that our research accurately reflects consumers' shopping and media habits.”

According to Nielsen Ratings TV History, the ratings service originated in 1930 to measure radio program audiences. In 1950, it evolved to measure television audiences.

Usually ratings are collected via metered sets in selected households. The target family receives a device that connects to the television set that transmits actual channel selections to the Nielsen headquarters on a daily basis.

A second collection method is the TV Viewing Diary. We received the TV Viewing Diary. It asks a variety of questions including race, gender and age of the household viewers, number of TVs in the home and method of broadcast signal (cable, dish or over-the-air).

The diary requests that we capture our viewings for seven, twenty four hour days. Nielsen wants to know who’s watching which program on what station. Also, if the TV is on and no one is watching, they’d like us to record this as well.

There’s a section at the back of the diary to list program information for shows that are recorded for viewing at a later time. If we watch a recorded show, we list it in the viewing log and annotate it as a recorded program. (We’re even listing shows we watch on Netflix and Hulu.)

We’re completing the diary for our most used television in the house. Nielsen asks that we keep a separate log of programs viewed on the other TVs (I created a spreadsheet to collect this data).

On the surface it’s seems like a lot of work, but it’s not.

When we received the diary, I thought of an episode of Night Court (I am unable to find the episode number) where a guy was on the witness stand and revealed that his family was a Nielsen family. He was upset because he and his family went out for the evening and didn’t watch a particular program. He believed his night out was the reason Punky Brewster was cancelled.

I’m not that obsessive, though I’ve been accused of taking the survey too seriously. It’s just that I subscribe to the theory that garbage in equals garbage out, so I’m trying to make the diary as accurate as possible. Besides, maybe my participation could get the Kardashians cancelled. (I can dream, can’t I?)

Has anyone else been involved in a Nielsen survey? Let me know how it went for you.

New Spy Plane on the Drawing Board

Courtesy Google Images

Fans of Marvel Comics’ X-Men are familiar with the team’s SR-71 Blackbird. However, marvel-movies.wikia.com surmises that movie franchise dropped the term Blackbird in favor of the X-Jet. X-MEN FILMS speculates that the X-Jet will make an appearance in X-Men: Days of Future Past due out in May, 2014.

When I was a kid, I didn’t realize the Blackbird was a real plane. I just thought it looked really cool!

The Blackbird is an actual stealth aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin. According to Lockheed Martin.com, the Blackbird (so named because it was painted black to help dissipate heat) was conceived by a team of developers at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works® in Burbank,California.

The first iteration of the Blackbird is the A-12 which had its maiden flight on April 30, 1962.

The next production model Blackbird is the SR-71 whose maiden flight was December 22, 1964.

SR-71 Courtesy Google Images

According to U2SR71Patches.co, the Blackbirds operated out of Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan from March 9, 1968 to January 21, 1990. When I was stationed in Japan in 1982 I never had an opportunity to view an SR-71 up close. But the locals always seemed to know when a bird was preparing for takeoff. Many Japanese lined the outer perimeter of the runway, off base property, and photographed a plane as it launched.

SR -71.org says the SR-71 had its final flight in October 1999.

Skunk Works® is in the process of developing the next generation of spy plane, and you know what? It looks really cool!

SR-72 Courtesy Google Images

Lockheed has dubbed the plane the SR-72. ExtremeTech.com reports that conceptually, it will about 100 feet long, unpiloted, and reach an altitude of 80,000 feet. It will be capable of traveling at 4,567 miles per hour—Mach 6, or six times the speed of sound. Holy crap! That’s faster than anything that isn’t attached to a rocket.

I can envision the military applications. The obvious use being aerial reconnaissance. ExtremeTech.com states that if the SR-72 were deployed aboard aircraft carriers, we’d have what would essentially be a giant drone that could provide surveillance of any part of the world in about an hour. The technology used to propel the SR-72 has the capability of reaching Mach 10 (7,612 miles per hour). The website also reports that Lockheed hasn’t secured funding, but still hopes to have one built for test by 2030.

I wonder if there are commercial applications. Imagine getting from Los Angeles to New York in about 30 minutes … that … would be cool!

What do you think? What applications are there for a craft that can travel at Mach 6 and beyond? Is it possible an SR-72 will replace the SR-71 X-Jet in future X-Men movies?

Copper to Clean Smog

According to Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, there are 100 easy ways you can improve the environment. For example, to conserve energy in your home you can use warm or cold water instead of hot water to wash clothes, or you can lower the thermostat on your water heater to 120 degrees.

Remember my October 2012 post Not Captain Kangaroo’s Green Jeans? I wrote about the possibility of wearing jeans sprayed with microscopic particles of titanium oxide as a pollution buster. Researchers are continuously attempting to find innovative ways to cleanse the environment. The jeans are still under research but we may be changing the way we dress in the future.

So what’s the latest idea?

Treehugger.com reports that Dutch artist/designer, Daan Roosegaarde, has developed a device that he hopes will suck the smog from the atmosphere. His idea is to bury copper coils in the ground and use an electrostatic charge to attract the smog particles to the coils. Gizmodo.com states that once the particles are pulled from the sky they can be compressed and repurposed.

The theory is sound. According to Pocket-lint.com, scientists at the University of Delft in The Netherlands have cleared the air of one cubic meter in a five cubic meter room.

Beijing smog – Courtesy Google Images

It would be impractical to try and build a smog-sucker large enough to clear an entire city. Therefore, Roosegaarde plans to install the system in a section of a city park in Beijing, China, and clear a small sector of Beijing sky. According to Gizmodo.com, the device should be able to create a 22,500 square foot area of clear sky and Roosegaarde, hopes it will show the locals what life could be like without the pollutants.

Beijing is among the smoggiest cities in the world. I’m sure any relief would probably be welcomed.

How cool would it be if technology advanced to the point where we could build super-sized smog suckers? I know this isn’t a solution to the problem of air pollution but in combination with prevention efforts, maybe my grandkids’ kids won’t have to worry about wearing respirators to play outside.

I wonder, could the copper coil/electrical currents have adverse effects on other parts of the environment? Is clean air a pie in the sky dream?

Disney World adds Avatar Land

“Two great tastes that taste great together.” That was the Reeses’s Peanut Butter Cup’s slogan thirty-plus years ago. And they’re right … who doesn’t enjoy peanut butter and chocolate (unless you’re allergic)?

Courtesy Google Images

When I saw a news report that Disney was going to create an attraction based on James Cameron’s Avatar my first thought was, “Two great tastes that taste great together.”

I love Disney World in Orlando, FL. When we visit the in-laws in Dade City, FL, we make a point to get to Disney World for at least one day. (My bride’s favorite park is EPCOT; mine is Disney Hollywood Studios.)

I really enjoyed Avatar. (I’m looking forward to the three sequels … the first being Avatar 2 in 2016.) I like the world that Cameron created and when the movie ended, I wanted to know more about Pandora and its people and culture.

The expansion of the Avatar lore will be furthered explored in a series of books by Steven Charles Gould (author of the Jumper series). According to avatarmovie.com James Cameron has tapped “… noted science fiction author Steven Charles Gould to write four novels base upon Avatar and its three sequels.”

Courtesy Google Images

And now Disney and Avatar will be joined … just like peanut butter and chocolate. The Avatar attraction will become a part of Animal Kingdom. According to FOX NEWS, it will be the largest expansion in the history of the park.

Of all the Disney World parks in Orlando, Animal Kingdom is my least favorite. I think it’s claustrophobic. The main walks are lined with vegetation and if you happen to be going “upstream” when a show lets out, the mass of humanity coming at you can be overwhelming.

WDWMAGIC.com reports that Avatar Land is expected to open in 2016. The addition of Avatar Land might just be enough to entice me to return to Animal Kingdom.

Anyone interested in planning a trip to Orlando in 2016? Take me with you.