Florida Is Not Just Disney

Since 2008, my wife and I have journeyed to Dade City, Florida at least twice each year, February and April, to visit the in-laws. During one or both of the trips we have attended a theme park – usually Disney World. This year we eschewed the theme parks and discovered there are other things to do in Florida.

During our April trip we trekked to The Pier in St. Petersburg and the Ringling Mansion and Museum in Sarasota.

The Pier is a promontory that protrudes into the Tampa Bay. At its farthest point sits a building that resembles an inverted five stories tall pyramid. The first floor hosts an olio of shops, the second houses an aquarium, the third contains an art exhibit, the fourth holds a restaurant, and the uppermost level comprises another restaurant and an observation deck.

We spent a couple hours at The Pier; did a little shopping, toured the aquarium and finished with the view from atop. It was a pleasant afternoon but I wouldn’t classify it as a “Must See.”

However, the Ringling Mansion and Museum is definitely a “Must See.” In 1926, the Ringling mansion was completed and according to The Ringling, the house is a splendid Venetian Gothic mansion on the waterfront that cost $1.5 million, a staggering sum for the times.

The place is majestic. It’s five stories and encompasses 36,000 square feet. I’m not an architect or interior designer, but I don’t need to be one to recognize opulence. The furnishings are grand; our guide informed us that most of the furniture the Ringling’s purchased for the house was used; acquired at high end auction houses in New York City.

John Ringling was a self-taught art expert. Once he completed his education he collected a vast quantity of art, including paintings and fine artifacts. He amassed so much artwork that he built a separate art museum to display it. We walked through the museum, but to be honest, I’m not into “fine” art and I thought it was boring. Now, if it had been comic book or movie poster art, it might have piqued my interest.

My favorite stop on the Ringling grounds is the Circus Museum. This place houses a variety of circus memorabilia, the Ringling’s restored private train car and the Howard Bros Circus Model.

The Howard Bros Circus Model was the highlight of the museum. Howard Tibbals created a ¾-inch-to-the-foot scale model, based on the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. It spreads out over 3,600 square feet. According to The Ringling, it’s complete with eight main tents, 152 wagons, 1,300 circus performers and workers, more than 800 animals and a 57-car train. The detail is amazing. Even at scale and separated by distance and Plexiglas, I could see the facial expressions of the models.

One of my big takeaways from this visit to Dade City is that there is so much more to do in Florida than Disney World Busch Gardens and Universal Studios theme park attractions. There is a whole state to explore.

Does anyone else think that skipping the theme parks in favor of other activities is worthwhile? What are your favorite places to visit in Florida? Any best kept secrets?

A Laser Update

A year ago, 4/23/12, I authored the blog, A New Old Use for Lasers, in which I discussed current and past uses for lasers. The focus of the piece was Ronald Reagan’s Star Wars Defense System and a laser system that could deflect meteors.

Courtesy Google Images

Consider this blog an update. On Monday, 4/8/13, the United States Navy tested a ship mounted laser; a laser so powerful that it can set a flying drone on fire.

According to USNews.nbcnews.com the laser system, Laser Weapons System (LaWS), will be deployed on the USS Ponce and operational by the summer of 2014. Initially, the LaWS will be used to combat small boats that pose a threat to larger U.S. Navy ships – much like the small Iranian fast boats that pester U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf.

Courtesy Google Images

The LaWS would fit into the military’s vision of a leaner, quicker and cheaper to deploy fighting force. It doesn’t need propellants, can keep firing as long as there is a power source and a shot of directed energy costs about $1. Gizmag.com reports that the Navy envisions the LaWS being used for precision and covert engagements.

The test firing on April 8th seems to have been a success. The LaWS was fired from a moving ship at a moving target drone causing the drone to catch fire. Granted, a drone is not a missile or jet plane but it’s still a moving target.

In my April 2012 post, I asked if you thought if lasers used to deflect space rocks could also deflect missiles. I think the Navy has answered my question in a fashion. I think that by downing a flying drone they’ve taken a step toward the destruction of missiles via a laser.

Wind Power

I don’t think it’s possible to go through a day without discussing the topic of energy. It might be the price of gas, or a proposed oil pipeline to carry crude oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast, or fracking for natural gas, or new light bulbs, but everyone I know has an opinion regarding some aspect of energy production and use.

Courtesy Google Images

I’m fascinated with the concept of wind power. I suppose it’s because it seems as if a windmill can be assembled almost anywhere. According to Windmill World, windmills were first used in Europe in the 12^th century. Phyllis McKenzie writes they were the engines of pre-industrial Europe, supplying clean energy for tasks such as pumping water and grinding grain.

McKenzie states that windmills played a major role in the settlement of the American West. Across the vast semiarid landscape, windmills pumped water to slake the thirst of livestock, railroads and incipient towns

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According to The Washington Post the United States gets less than 4% of its energy from wind power but that could be changing. The Washington Post reports that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the United States first offshore wind farm should become reality before the end of 2013. Salazar’s optimistic that the Cape Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts will be built because the developers have agreements with utilities to purchase 75% of the electricity produced.

Courtesy Google Images

Denmark has made wind power a priority. DVICE reports that Denmark has completed an offshore wind farm that provides 25% of the country’s electricity needs and in eight years they plan to have 50% of their power needs supplied by wind turbines.

Bloomberg reports that by 2020 the United States will surpass Saudi Arabia’s oil output. I don’t think wind power is the answer to the United States’ energy deficiency, but I think it needs to be a part of the equation.

I think we should have an energy plan that includes solar, wind, natural gas, coal and oil.

What do you think … is wind power integral to the United States’ future energy needs?

Urinal Video Game: Now That’s a Pisser

Generally, the term, “That’s a pisser” refers to some event that has gone awry. You oversleep and miss your ride to work – that’s a pisser. A cruder use of the term is the reference to a urinal (no explanation required).

The first time I saw entertainment at a urinal was in the mid-1970s at Chuck’s Steakhouse in Southwick, Massachusetts. Chuck’s management had affixed the front page of the day’s sports’ page to the wall above the urinal just at eye level. Cool … something to do while …

A number of years later, I used another establishment’s men’s room that outdid Chuck’s. These folks attached a television monitor to the wall above the urinal. Forget the stinking sports’ page, now I had ESPN!

The next advancement in urinal entertainment has been developed by Captive Media. Captive Media is a British company that has designed a washroom engagement marketing system. “What is a washroom engagement marketing system?” you ask. It’s a urinal video game. Yes, that is not a misprint – I wrote that it’s a urinal video game.

Courtesy Google Images

According to usnews.com two office complexes in the United States, and about a dozen companies in Europe, are using the system. Usnews.com reports that the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the triple A affiliate of Major League Baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies, have installed the system in their ballpark. It will make its debut when the team has its home opener on April 4, 2013.

The video game that will be deployed at the IronPigs stadium is an alpine skiing game. The skier is controlled by where the player pees. Pee left, turn left; pee right, turn right.

Captive Media says that published research indicates the average male in the United Kingdom spends fifty-five seconds at a urinal – the near equivalent of two television commercials.

In my opinion this urinal video falls into the category of, “That’s a pisser.” I don’t like the idea of urinal video games. It’s bad enough that some guys try to text and use the urinal. Now, some guys might never leave the bathroom. If this gains popularity the men’s room could become as crowded as the women’s room. I can envision competitive guys, a beer in one hand, guiding the stream with the other, monopolizing the urinals trying to get highest score. So much for getting in and getting out.

Granted, I’m not a gamer so I might be biased. What do you think – is anyone interested in a urinal video game?

The Polar Umbrella

I think that, whatever your particular belief regarding climate change, it’s hard to argue with the scientific data that indicates the polar region is shrinking; the ice cap is melting.

The news site dw.de reports that the polar ice caps have melted at a faster rate in the last 20 years then in the 10,000 preceding years. A comprehensive satellite study confirms that the melting ice caps are raising sea levels at an accelerating rate.

There are a myriad of reasons as to why this is occurring, but I don’t think that the scientific community has reached a consensus. Is the ice melting as a result of the planet’s natural evolution—an expected outcome due in part to the Earth’s age? Or is the human race and its industrial pollutants hastening the demise of our polar region? I guess that depends on which camp you align yourself with.

Nonetheless, the ice is melting and something needs to be done. I am of the opinion that the issue of climate change is complex so there probably is not one solution.

Courtesy Google Images

Courtesy Google Images

According to DVICE, Derek Pirozzi, winner of the most recent Skyscraper Competition held by the architecture magazine Evolo, has developed an innovative way to help preserve the ice cap. His design, the Polar Umbrella, marries technology and esthetics (it looks cool!).

Evolo says that the Polar Umbrella would be erected in strategic locations throughout the region. It would be a buoyant structure that would house things such as a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) research laboratory, renewable power station and eco-tourist attractions. But I think the most important feature is that the Polar Umbrella also regenerates the ice caps via harvest chambers that freeze ocean water.

Of course, this is only a concept design; it might not be practical to build a Polar Umbrella. In order to reverse global warming and save the ice caps there needs to be a reduction in CO2 emissions and it seems like the Polar Umbrella would only be a band aid not a solution.

However, I think the Polar Umbrella is what would be termed, “Thinking outside the box” and given the opportunity, I’d sign up to visit one of them.

Anyone care to take a winter vacation? I wonder if I could use my Hilton Honors points.

Once in a Lifetime

Courtesy Google Images

According to Space.com on April 28, 2001, multimillionaire Dennis Tito became the first space tourist. He paid the Russians $20 million to ride a Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). Tito says he had dreamed of going to space since April 12, 1961, when Russian cosmonaut YuriGagarin became the first human in space.

Tito spent six days on the ISS and landed in Kazakhstan on May 6, 2001. Space.com reported that Tom Shelley, president of Space Adventures, the Virginia-based company that brokered Tito's eight-day mission, said, "The private spaceflight industry did start with Dennis' flight.”

Tito’s love affair with space is alive and well. He’s helping to underwrite a group called Inspiration Mars that plans to send one couple, in their 50s, on a 501 day trip around the Red Planet.

Courtesy Google Images

The dailymailonline reported they’ve set an aggressive timetable. They plan to launch on January 5, 2018 because that is the next time Mars will be closest, 75 million miles, to Earth. If they miss this window they will have to wait 15 years for the next one. “The planets realign every 15 years, and who wants to wait for 2033?” Tito said today at a press conference in Washington D.C.

Courtesy Google Images

The capsule that will send an intrepid couple on this nearly one and one half year trek will be small, just 600-cubic feet. Once these folks are launched toward Mars they’ll be on their own. If anything went wrong, there would be no rescue.

I think the people who are chosen for this endeavor will have to be really well adjusted as a I think the people who are chosen for this endeavor will have to be really well adjusted as a couple. They’d have to be to spend 501 days in a capsule with only each other as company. 501 straight days in a cramped capsule might strain the bonds of the strongest relationship.

When I read about this my first thought was that in 2018 my wife and I will meet the age requirement set forth by Inspiration Mars. I love my wife; we’ve been together for more than 26 years. I enjoy spending as much time as possible with her. If any couple could spend 501 continuous days in such a tiny space, I’m certain we could.

I think it would be cool to hop in a spaceship and travel millions and millions of miles through space. My wife – not so much. We fly a couple times a year but it still makes her a bit nervous. I can’t imagine trying to get her onto a craft that leaves the earth’s atmosphere.

What do you think – does anyone else share my desire to take an extraterrestrial vacation?

Tribute

I’ve missed some blog entries. We’ve been dealing with the loss of my mother and the tasks associated with preparing a memorial service. Below is the eulogy I delivered at her service today.

Consuelo Mae Foulk Egerton is a … mother … mother-in-law … grandmother … great grandmother … friend and … volunteer. But it’d be difficult to label her any one thing … she really is the sum of her parts.

The definition of Consuelo is the act of consoling; giving relief in affliction, the act of reassuring; restoring someone's confidence, the comfort you feel when consoled in times of disappointment … an apt description of our Connie.

Mom used to tell me that her mother would say, “Consuelo Mae, you are the bane of my existence.” I think I have an understanding of that statement. It was probably her strong will and independent spirit that provoked Grandma.

Though, it’s difficult to imagine her being the bane of anyone’s existence – a certain Harvest Fair clown notwithstanding. It seems as if every person who had the opportunity to interact with Mom would preface most conversations with something along the lines of, “She’s such a nice lady.”

There’s a retired gentleman from Delaware, Harry Foulk, who has been researching the history of Mom’s side of the family. When I informed him of Mom’s passing he wrote, “I will never forget talking to some of the old timers up in Maine that used to eat an awful lot of ice cream just so they could have an excuse to visit with your mother. They all thought she was so wonderful.”

She had quite a network of Granville friends. During the day it seemed as if her phone rang nonstop. We probably knew more about the happenings in Granville then most of her residents.


She attended every ballgame, concert and play and always had words of encouragement … no matter the outcome.

She was active in the Ladies Aid and the PTA. For a number of years she was the church treasurer, taught Sunday school and assembled the monthly church bulletin. She was instrumental in developing the kindergarten program in Granville. She was one of the first people to ride the Granville ambulance and she was a member of the committee that raised the money to rebuild Noble hospital in the late 1950s. She spent weekend days at Westover greeting soldiers returning from the first Gulf War. She donated blood on a regular basis and rang the bell outside the grocery store at Christmas. Into her early 80s she volunteered with SHINE and helped the elderly, her words, with their insurance issues.

She had an adventurous spirit. In her 50s she decided she wanted to learn to ride a motorcycle. Stu, Tim and I set her up on Stu’s dirt bike. Stu showed her how to manipulate the clutch, handbrake, throttle, footbrake and gear shift. She coulda used more instruction … she popped the clutch; her feet went up in the air as if she were riding a rodeo bull and the motorcycle careened down the field in a straight line. Stu and I gave chase and caught her just as she crashed into the trees surrounding the field. We forgot to teach her how to turn. Undaunted, she mounted the bike again and completed a couple passes around the field.

She did have a sense of humor. She had to … raising 5 house apes. She could take a ribbing as well as dole it out.

Every winter one, or all of us, would tease her about skiing out her bedroom window at Deer Isle. Of course she just meant the snow drifts were high enough to ski out; but we never let facts get in the way.

Mom was really hard of hearing. When I needed to tell her something I learned to stand in front of her and make certain she was looking at me before I spoke. On this one occasion, I did just that. I don’t remember the content but I told her what I needed to and waited for her reply. When she didn’t answer I repeated my statement … still no acknowledgement. So a repeated it a second time … with a bit more volume. On the fourth iteration I cranked the volume to a ten and enunciated every word … every syllable. She just stared. I was about to make another attempt when she said, “I heard you the first time.” “Then why didn’t you answer me?” “I didn’t think it was anything I wanted to hear.”

Forty five years ago, give or take a year or two, Dad was on one of his many business trips to the West Coast and Mom was flying out for visit. Betty Pendleton drove Mom to Bradley and I went with them because it was an opportunity to go to the airport. We stayed until Mom exited the door from the gate area to board the plane. I was crying as she disappeared from sight and Betty wrapped her arm around my shoulder and said, “It’s okay to miss your mother; she’s a great lady.”

Well … we miss you Mom … you are a great lady!