Quantum Trickery - Einstein's Strangest Theory
http://science.slashdot.org/science/05/12/28/042251.shtml?tid=166&tid=14
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Blues & Telecommuting
I'm really getting depressed...
And so Christmas has come and gone. Work still is hectic with people quitting left and right. I don't know how long I can handle this. Work has been a year of stress.
And a new [old] big house with some issues. Menards with some issues with their cabinets. New small town with no friends. No office to go into. Too much work with no enough people to do it.
Now I've 'worked' my way into a big hole with a large mortgage and a remote town with no real job opportunities. The good thing is that Tamara is stable. She has always been a rock. But I've yet again managed to tick her off. Even she's getting depressed about me.
And let me tell you, telecommuting isn't all that great. It seems that many others agree. I surfed into this discussion:
http://techdirt.com/articles/20051227/017237_F.shtml
With links to these articles:
For Workers, It's Face Time Over PC Time
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/25/weekinreview/25zeller.html?ex=1293166800&en=38c385eb7e6baebc&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
Telecommuters Causing Mistrust In The Workplace?
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20040517/0911221_F.shtml
http://management.silicon.com/careers/0,39024671,39120750,00.htm
"
A survey from effectiveness consultancy Priority Management for Microsoft has shown that more and more people are working with people they've never actually met – so-called 'invisible workers' – and feel that they're not working as effectively as they could be.
"
And so Christmas has come and gone. Work still is hectic with people quitting left and right. I don't know how long I can handle this. Work has been a year of stress.
And a new [old] big house with some issues. Menards with some issues with their cabinets. New small town with no friends. No office to go into. Too much work with no enough people to do it.
Now I've 'worked' my way into a big hole with a large mortgage and a remote town with no real job opportunities. The good thing is that Tamara is stable. She has always been a rock. But I've yet again managed to tick her off. Even she's getting depressed about me.
And let me tell you, telecommuting isn't all that great. It seems that many others agree. I surfed into this discussion:
http://techdirt.com/articles/20051227/017237_F.shtml
With links to these articles:
For Workers, It's Face Time Over PC Time
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/25/weekinreview/25zeller.html?ex=1293166800&en=38c385eb7e6baebc&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
Telecommuters Causing Mistrust In The Workplace?
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20040517/0911221_F.shtml
http://management.silicon.com/careers/0,39024671,39120750,00.htm
"
A survey from effectiveness consultancy Priority Management for Microsoft has shown that more and more people are working with people they've never actually met – so-called 'invisible workers' – and feel that they're not working as effectively as they could be.
"
Max's bad behavior
Max had a particularly difficult time in church on Christmas Eve. I guess we can use excuses that the timing of 5pm was bad for him, but the reality is that he has a hard time sitting still and being quiet. He embarressed us since he was so loud and fidgety. I've never seen a child in church be so awful. We were livid and left early since we couldn't stand his behavior any longer. So we both promised that he was going to bed early once we got back to Butch and Dianne's house.
We got home and I told him while he was in his car seat that I was going to spank him several times, once for all the bad things he did. Hanging on the pew. Dropping the hymnal on the floor. Crawling under the pew and hitting it with his hand. Standing on the back of the pew. Being very loud. And once we were inside I pulling down his shorts and gave him 5 good slaps on the butt. Tamara freaked and tried to stop me and it got ugly.
I asked Max if he wanted to eat dinner and he told me no. Then Tamara went upstairs and asked him and he said yes and came down for dinner. The look on his face when he looked at me just killed me inside. He looked so scared of me.
Butch mentioned to me that whatever Tamara was doing wasn't working. What we are doing isn't working. Max hit at Tamara again the next day. She pretty much ignored it. I don't know what to do. He is so looking like a ADHD kid. :(
We got home and I told him while he was in his car seat that I was going to spank him several times, once for all the bad things he did. Hanging on the pew. Dropping the hymnal on the floor. Crawling under the pew and hitting it with his hand. Standing on the back of the pew. Being very loud. And once we were inside I pulling down his shorts and gave him 5 good slaps on the butt. Tamara freaked and tried to stop me and it got ugly.
I asked Max if he wanted to eat dinner and he told me no. Then Tamara went upstairs and asked him and he said yes and came down for dinner. The look on his face when he looked at me just killed me inside. He looked so scared of me.
Butch mentioned to me that whatever Tamara was doing wasn't working. What we are doing isn't working. Max hit at Tamara again the next day. She pretty much ignored it. I don't know what to do. He is so looking like a ADHD kid. :(
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Jayhawks - Waiting For The Sun - Hollywood Town Hall
It just snowed 6 inches. It's beautiful here at home. Work has been a nightmare. Bittersweet indeed.
Not sure why this song moves me so much.... there's truth there somewhere:
Jayhawks - Waiting For The Sun - Hollywood Town Hall
I was waiting for the sun
Then I walked on home alone
What I didn't know
Was he was waiting for you to fall
So I never made amends
For the sake of no one else
For the simple reason
That he was waiting for you to fall
It was not lost on me
It was not lost on me
Walkin' on down the road
Looking for a friend to handout
Somethin' might ease my soul
So I kept my spirits high
Entertaining passers-by
Wrapped in my confusion
While he was waiting for you to fall
It was not lost on me
It was not lost on me
Walkin' on down the road
Looking for a friend to handout
Somethin' might ease my soul
It was not lost on me
It was not lost on me
Walkin' on down the road
Walkin' on down the road
Walkin' on down the road
Walkin' on down the road
Not sure why this song moves me so much.... there's truth there somewhere:
Jayhawks - Waiting For The Sun - Hollywood Town Hall
I was waiting for the sun
Then I walked on home alone
What I didn't know
Was he was waiting for you to fall
So I never made amends
For the sake of no one else
For the simple reason
That he was waiting for you to fall
It was not lost on me
It was not lost on me
Walkin' on down the road
Looking for a friend to handout
Somethin' might ease my soul
So I kept my spirits high
Entertaining passers-by
Wrapped in my confusion
While he was waiting for you to fall
It was not lost on me
It was not lost on me
Walkin' on down the road
Looking for a friend to handout
Somethin' might ease my soul
It was not lost on me
It was not lost on me
Walkin' on down the road
Walkin' on down the road
Walkin' on down the road
Walkin' on down the road
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Lunchtime reading - Eat, Sleep, Work, Consume, Die
Eat, Sleep, Work, Consume, Die
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68742,00.html?tw=rss.TOP
Just because technology makes it possible for us to work 10 times faster than we used to doesn't mean we should do it. The body may be able to withstand the strain -- for a while -- but the spirit isn't meant to flail away uselessly on the commercial gerbil wheel. The boys in corporate don't want you to hear this because the more they can suck out of you, the lower their costs and the higher their profit margin. And profit is god, after all. (Genuflect here, if you must.)
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68742,00.html?tw=rss.TOP
Just because technology makes it possible for us to work 10 times faster than we used to doesn't mean we should do it. The body may be able to withstand the strain -- for a while -- but the spirit isn't meant to flail away uselessly on the commercial gerbil wheel. The boys in corporate don't want you to hear this because the more they can suck out of you, the lower their costs and the higher their profit margin. And profit is god, after all. (Genuflect here, if you must.)
Monday, September 19, 2005
More on creating things.
Looks like creation is the word of the day. Here is another spin on creating things. Life is all about creating things of value... You have to bear with this story, toward the end is where you see the link to creating things.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/63/secretlife2.html
...snip...
The way out: creators vs. reactors
Here's the essential truth of our current situation: The real problem has stayed the same, regardless of the direction of the market. First we went through a spiraling-up phase, and people lost their bearings as they got caught up in the great melee of opportunity. Now we're in a downward spiral, and people have lost their bearings in a scramble of uncertainty. It's the exact same pattern in reverse: people merely reacting to circumstances, rather than doing anything fundamentally creative.
The distinction isn't between a market that's going up and a market that's going down. It's between people who are fundamentally creators and people who are only reactors, who take their cues from the outside world.
If you did a word search across my research materials on the greatest company builders of the past 100 years, you would find almost no mention of "competitive strategy." Not that those builders had no strategy; they clearly did. But they did not craft their strategies principally in reaction to the competitive landscape or in response to external conditions and shocks. Without question, they kept a wary eye on the brutal facts.The fundamental drive to transform and build their companies was internal and creative. It didn't matter whether they faced a crisis (as did Thomas J. Watson Sr. at IBM, who never resorted to layoffs in the Great Depression) or whether they faced calm (as did Walt Disney when he conceived of Disneyland). The leaders who built enduring great companies showed a creative inside-out approach rather than a reactive outside-in approach. In contrast, the mediocre company leaders displayed a pattern of lurching and thrashing, running about in frantic reaction to threats and opportunities.
If I could bring all of my students back into the classroom, I would remind them of David Packard's admonition that in the long run, "more companies die of indigestion than starvation." If a company focuses on making creative contributions that fall in the middle of three intersecting circles -- what it is passionate about, what it can be the best in the world at, and what best drives a sustained profitable economic engine -- then growth will likely follow.
The research that went into my books showed that mediocre companies tend to focus on growth for growth's sake, whereas truly great companies focus on making creative, profitable contributions that are squarely focused on those three circles. Regardless of whether the market is up or down, great companies that adhere to those circles are, in the long run, likely to have more growth than they can handle -- indigestion, not starvation. The same holds true for creative people who discover what they are passionate about, what they are genetically encoded for, and how they can build an economic engine based on their contributions. Those who operate at the intersection of all three circles are more likely to face the problem of too much opportunity in their lives, not too little.
The Important Distinction The stock market may go up - or down. But according to Jim Collins, that isn't the key distinction. Regardless of the market, what matters is whether you are a creator who is internally driven or a reactor who takes cues from the outside.
Creator:
Internally driven, externally aware
Pursues creative strategy
Discovers genetic talents and applies them
Builds an economic engine to get things done
Many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities
Growth follows from creative contribution
Ambitious first and foremost for the work
Focuses on building relationships
Values self-improvement for its own sake
Sets 10-to-25-year audacious goals
Core values inform all efforts
Seeks self-actualization
Reactor:
Externally driven, without intrinsic passion
Pursues competitive strategy
Agenda of competence set by the outside world
Gets things done to make a lot of money
Few once-in-a-lifetime opportunities
Seeks growth for growth's sake
Ambitious first and foremost for self
Focuses on transactions
Driven largely by comparison to others
Five years is long-term
Nothing is sacred; expedience rules
Seeks success
The question: Which side are you on?
Abraham Maslow defined self-actualization as the process of discovering what you were made to do and making a commitment to do it with excellence. That is what the three circles are all about: making self-actualization work in a capitalist society. No one ever reached self-actualization simply by seizing a bubble moment to get rich and retire. Similarly, no one ever self-actualized by taking the cockroach strategy of just hunkering down and trying to survive until difficult times passed.
There are, of course, no guarantees. Luck is always a factor, and the dice can roll against you. But that does not change the fact that those who go about their lives and work with the passion to create and build in pursuit of self-created goals are the only ones who will find meaning in the end -- regardless of whether the dice roll their way. The fact of the matter is that life is short, and we only carry to our graves the inner integrity of our efforts. Only we know how we lived our lives, whether we cut corners, whether we did anything of value -- or whether we took the built-to-flip approach to life.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/63/secretlife2.html
...snip...
The way out: creators vs. reactors
Here's the essential truth of our current situation: The real problem has stayed the same, regardless of the direction of the market. First we went through a spiraling-up phase, and people lost their bearings as they got caught up in the great melee of opportunity. Now we're in a downward spiral, and people have lost their bearings in a scramble of uncertainty. It's the exact same pattern in reverse: people merely reacting to circumstances, rather than doing anything fundamentally creative.
The distinction isn't between a market that's going up and a market that's going down. It's between people who are fundamentally creators and people who are only reactors, who take their cues from the outside world.
If you did a word search across my research materials on the greatest company builders of the past 100 years, you would find almost no mention of "competitive strategy." Not that those builders had no strategy; they clearly did. But they did not craft their strategies principally in reaction to the competitive landscape or in response to external conditions and shocks. Without question, they kept a wary eye on the brutal facts.The fundamental drive to transform and build their companies was internal and creative. It didn't matter whether they faced a crisis (as did Thomas J. Watson Sr. at IBM, who never resorted to layoffs in the Great Depression) or whether they faced calm (as did Walt Disney when he conceived of Disneyland). The leaders who built enduring great companies showed a creative inside-out approach rather than a reactive outside-in approach. In contrast, the mediocre company leaders displayed a pattern of lurching and thrashing, running about in frantic reaction to threats and opportunities.
If I could bring all of my students back into the classroom, I would remind them of David Packard's admonition that in the long run, "more companies die of indigestion than starvation." If a company focuses on making creative contributions that fall in the middle of three intersecting circles -- what it is passionate about, what it can be the best in the world at, and what best drives a sustained profitable economic engine -- then growth will likely follow.
The research that went into my books showed that mediocre companies tend to focus on growth for growth's sake, whereas truly great companies focus on making creative, profitable contributions that are squarely focused on those three circles. Regardless of whether the market is up or down, great companies that adhere to those circles are, in the long run, likely to have more growth than they can handle -- indigestion, not starvation. The same holds true for creative people who discover what they are passionate about, what they are genetically encoded for, and how they can build an economic engine based on their contributions. Those who operate at the intersection of all three circles are more likely to face the problem of too much opportunity in their lives, not too little.
The Important Distinction The stock market may go up - or down. But according to Jim Collins, that isn't the key distinction. Regardless of the market, what matters is whether you are a creator who is internally driven or a reactor who takes cues from the outside.
Creator:
Internally driven, externally aware
Pursues creative strategy
Discovers genetic talents and applies them
Builds an economic engine to get things done
Many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities
Growth follows from creative contribution
Ambitious first and foremost for the work
Focuses on building relationships
Values self-improvement for its own sake
Sets 10-to-25-year audacious goals
Core values inform all efforts
Seeks self-actualization
Reactor:
Externally driven, without intrinsic passion
Pursues competitive strategy
Agenda of competence set by the outside world
Gets things done to make a lot of money
Few once-in-a-lifetime opportunities
Seeks growth for growth's sake
Ambitious first and foremost for self
Focuses on transactions
Driven largely by comparison to others
Five years is long-term
Nothing is sacred; expedience rules
Seeks success
The question: Which side are you on?
Abraham Maslow defined self-actualization as the process of discovering what you were made to do and making a commitment to do it with excellence. That is what the three circles are all about: making self-actualization work in a capitalist society. No one ever reached self-actualization simply by seizing a bubble moment to get rich and retire. Similarly, no one ever self-actualized by taking the cockroach strategy of just hunkering down and trying to survive until difficult times passed.
There are, of course, no guarantees. Luck is always a factor, and the dice can roll against you. But that does not change the fact that those who go about their lives and work with the passion to create and build in pursuit of self-created goals are the only ones who will find meaning in the end -- regardless of whether the dice roll their way. The fact of the matter is that life is short, and we only carry to our graves the inner integrity of our efforts. Only we know how we lived our lives, whether we cut corners, whether we did anything of value -- or whether we took the built-to-flip approach to life.
Evolutionary Theories on Gender
A strictly scientific article, especially interesting in light of recent stories about Intelligent Design and the "Creation".
http://www.trueorigin.org/sex01.asp
Evolutionary Theories on Gender
and Sexual Reproduction
Abstract
The origin and maintenance of sex and recombination is not easily explained by natural selection. Evolutionary biology is unable to reveal why animals would abandon asexual reproduction in favor of more costly and inefficient sexual reproduction. Exactly how did we arrive at two separate genders-each with its own physiology? If, as evolutionists have argued, there is a materialistic answer for everything, then the question should be answered: Why sex? Is sex the product of a historical accident or the product of an intelligent Creator? The current article reviews some of the current theories for why sexual reproduction exists today. Yet, as these theories valiantly attempt to explain why sex exists now, they do not explain the origin of sex. We suggest that there is no naturalistic explanation that can account for the origin and maintenance of sex.
http://www.trueorigin.org/sex01.asp
Evolutionary Theories on Gender
and Sexual Reproduction
Abstract
The origin and maintenance of sex and recombination is not easily explained by natural selection. Evolutionary biology is unable to reveal why animals would abandon asexual reproduction in favor of more costly and inefficient sexual reproduction. Exactly how did we arrive at two separate genders-each with its own physiology? If, as evolutionists have argued, there is a materialistic answer for everything, then the question should be answered: Why sex? Is sex the product of a historical accident or the product of an intelligent Creator? The current article reviews some of the current theories for why sexual reproduction exists today. Yet, as these theories valiantly attempt to explain why sex exists now, they do not explain the origin of sex. We suggest that there is no naturalistic explanation that can account for the origin and maintenance of sex.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Life - Death
The last time I posted Tamara and I were thinking of trying to get pregnant. And in fact we did the first time we tried in the beginning of May. Tamara knew pretty much right away. And I was there for the positive test result... How exciting!
And we have invested several months of love and emotion in what was to come. Baby names, nusery, all that.
And last Friday Tamara start to spot... and we got worried when it continued to Sunday. On Monday she went to her normal appointment and the doctor scheduled an ultrasound for the next day. Monday night the bleedly was significantly more, like a regular period. Oh my God!
And today we confirmed our worst fears. We were not going to have this baby... The ultrasound showed 2 ~8 week developed sacs. Doctor was pretty sure we were to have had twins! But something had went wrong at the 8 week mark and the babies were no more... Aaahhhgggg! No!!!
Yes, it's common. No, it doesn't feel good. And here I am after working tonight instead of going to bed with Tamara as she asked...
It's very depressing. Been working, working just to keep it off my mind. Still tears.
For everything in my life, I could always say, 'Worse things have happened'... Not this time. Nothing worse has happened. It's awful. And twins! OMG!
I know I'll always remember my twins that were not to be! Still tears!
Yeah, it happened for a reason. Yeah, could have been worse. Yeah, whatever. Words just don't work right now.
And we have invested several months of love and emotion in what was to come. Baby names, nusery, all that.
And last Friday Tamara start to spot... and we got worried when it continued to Sunday. On Monday she went to her normal appointment and the doctor scheduled an ultrasound for the next day. Monday night the bleedly was significantly more, like a regular period. Oh my God!
And today we confirmed our worst fears. We were not going to have this baby... The ultrasound showed 2 ~8 week developed sacs. Doctor was pretty sure we were to have had twins! But something had went wrong at the 8 week mark and the babies were no more... Aaahhhgggg! No!!!
Yes, it's common. No, it doesn't feel good. And here I am after working tonight instead of going to bed with Tamara as she asked...
It's very depressing. Been working, working just to keep it off my mind. Still tears.
For everything in my life, I could always say, 'Worse things have happened'... Not this time. Nothing worse has happened. It's awful. And twins! OMG!
I know I'll always remember my twins that were not to be! Still tears!
Yeah, it happened for a reason. Yeah, could have been worse. Yeah, whatever. Words just don't work right now.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Aviation Adventures
I did the following for a work newsletter...
Aviation Adventures
Several years ago, I decided to learn to fly and went to an aviation school at Whitman Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Oshkosh is the famous home of the world's largest annual aircraft fly-in, the EAA Airventure celebration. What a great place to learn to fly!
When I first started, everything seems so incredible. Even the little things seemed so great, "push the yoke in and the nose goes down and 'trees get bigger', pull the yoke back and the nose goes up and 'trees get smaller'"... that was one of my instructor's favorite sayings [he would push the yoke in and say] "See, trees get bigger" [then do the opposite and say] "Now, trees get smaller" and chuckle.
Developing into a young, confident Certified Flight Instructor [CFI] was the next step. I got to the point where doing controlled spins during student role plays and saving the plane from the student's inadvertent spin was expected without thinking. It seems very natural after you get the proper experience. It’s really amazing stuff to be able to control an aircraft at that high of a level of skill.
Within two years, I ended up with several ratings and licenses and a profound confidence in my piloting ability. I have a Commercial pilot’s license which really just means that I can fly small aircraft and charge money for it. Some of the things Commercial pilots do are flight instruction, aerial photography, crop-dusting, traffic congestion reporting and my favorite, parachute jump pilot. By the way, the next progression for pilots is a type rating [for larger aircraft] and an Airline Transport Pilot license. The folks that you fly with in jets have this type of license.
These days I haven't flown for several years, but plan on getting current again this summer. My son, Maxwell loves planes and its ‘high’ time to take him up for a few “runs around the patch”. This means to do a few patterns of local take-off and landings at a small general aviation airport.
Some memorable highlights:
~~ My favorite plane that I've flown is a J5 Cub. It is a fabric-winged, light, graceful vintage airplane. Built in 1942, but don’t let the age fool you, these planes are well cared for and have thorough maintenance by Federal Aviation Regulations. And to be honest, the saying about how ‘they don’t build them like the used to’ applies here. This plane would spin so smoothly it was incredible. [CFI's have to have competency to enter a spin and get out of spins]. Because this is a quiet and slow moving plane, with a good headwind at minimum flight speed, you would barely be moving across the ground. You literally are floating in place with that strong headwind... another terrific experience.
~~ I remember very well my first night flight. My instructor flew me from Oshkosh to Milwaukee and back. I found it fascinating to be able to easily pick out the cities by their lights and relative sizes based on the navigational direction. At night, you practice doing landings without aircraft headlights, a surreal thing since your only visual aid is the runway lights that you seem to sink into.
~~ As a new flight instructor, I recall taking a potential student on a special "Introductory flight" to see if they were interested in doing further flight-training. It was an inexpensive and quick way to show folks an airplane and what it was like to fly. So I took a young guy up in the plane for his first flight and it was a real hot, sunny, summer day which is always conducive to a lot of convective activity. In other words, it was a very bumpy ride. We departed and I showed him some real basic things... I let him take the yolk to feel the plane which he seemed to like. However, after about 15 minutes into it, I asked him if he was OK since he looked a little pale. He said he was OK, but I wasn't so sure. I decided to cut it short and head in for a landing. On final approach we were getting thrown around by the air currents and suddenly my brave student was throwing up [OK, projectile vomiting] as I was getting ready to land. I briefly considered doing a "go around", which means you don't feel good about the landing and you give the plane full-throttle to start a climb out, but thought that might add insult to injury. The interesting part of this story is that this student went on to an official flight school at a University and was its CFI Chief Pilot 5 years later. I needed him to help me get a Biennial Flight Review at that point and he put _me_ through the ringer with the most thorough BFR I've ever had. I consider him an excellent pilot and CFI.
A gratuitous, kind-of-related-to-aviation story:
As new flight instructors at a small airport, a buddy of mine and I were in charge of night-time airport operations since I lived at the airport. One of the nightly rituals was to check all the runway and taxiway lights. Incidentally, my brother had come to visit to show us his brand new 1994 Chevy Camaro. Of course, we wanted to drive it around the airport to check the lights. Since we had an airport frequency transponder [radio] and could see airplanes if they were approaching from miles away, we didn't worry too much about being on the runway with a car. So anyway, 5000 feet of wide runway, nearly 300 horsepower of sports-car with fat, slick tires and lots of pretty night lights were too much to resist. At 2000 feet before the end of the runway, the lights change color from white to amber and you know exactly where you are. And suddenly, at the light color change, I thought it best to start braking and slowing down from 150mph! I'm still not sure how I ended up going that fast... *grin*
Immediately after that we drove the car along the taxiway back to the terminal and then saw a scary sight. A police car was sitting there. We had no idea how long, but it seemed like they had just arrived so we quickly got out of the car and I decided to "wing-it"... I told the cops we were new flight instructors at the airport [true] and were doing the nightly light check [true]. The cops couldn't argue, but we were sure they had a good idea of what we had just done. I won't stay the location of this airport to protect the innocent...
The Drop-Zone story:
For two summers I worked at a "drop-zone" [DZ] for fun near Green Bay, WI. A drop-zone is the nickname of any small airstrip that has parachute jumping activity in the vicinity. Those summers were great fun; I would jump on my motorcycle on nice weekend mornings, and would hang out all day until dusk taking folks up in the air for an exciting time skydiving. As you can imagine, the people that are into parachute jumping are a fun bunch. It's a serious sport not to be taken lightly, but after everyone is down safely for the day, the beers and stories start flowing.
Parachute jumpers start in the beginning by being tethered to the airplane with a cable. They climb out and hang from the aircraft wing and then let go. The cable is tied to the pull cord which when you are 15 feet away from the plane [less than 2 seconds] automatically pulls the cord and opens the chute... this is called a static line jump.
As a pilot you are responsible for flying a rectangular “pattern” and being at a certain point upwind when the jumper is ready to let go so. Timing is crucial so that if they have some kind of problem the wind will push them back to the drop-zone center which is a safety thing [and a Federal Aviation Regulation that must be adhered to]. Additionally, there is a person called a jump-master that makes sure the jumper is ready and with good form, is at a safe location, etc. So the jump-master was telling this guy who had climbed out of the plane and was hanging from the wing strut to let go and he was white-knuckling it and NOT letting go... and not letting go and not letting go. I knew what was coming since we were getting dangerously close to being too far from the drop-zone.... I turned to look at the jump-master and he gave me 'the nod'. So I did a quick little 'aileron shuffle' with my controls and he was gone off the wing... ;-)
I basically had pulled the wing up quick with a jerk and pulled the plane right out of his hands. Two seconds later, I heard the jump-master saying "Canopy opening... he's looking good"… another successful and safe rookie jump. Later on the ground, that guy was thanking me for my part in his great adventure and he was all smiles. He had no idea that I had pulled the plane out of his hands for his safety. He kept saying how very "cool" the jump was and how exciting everything had been. I slyly smiled to myself... he was right, it was very cool.
-bk
Aviation Adventures
Several years ago, I decided to learn to fly and went to an aviation school at Whitman Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Oshkosh is the famous home of the world's largest annual aircraft fly-in, the EAA Airventure celebration. What a great place to learn to fly!
When I first started, everything seems so incredible. Even the little things seemed so great, "push the yoke in and the nose goes down and 'trees get bigger', pull the yoke back and the nose goes up and 'trees get smaller'"... that was one of my instructor's favorite sayings [he would push the yoke in and say] "See, trees get bigger" [then do the opposite and say] "Now, trees get smaller" and chuckle.
Developing into a young, confident Certified Flight Instructor [CFI] was the next step. I got to the point where doing controlled spins during student role plays and saving the plane from the student's inadvertent spin was expected without thinking. It seems very natural after you get the proper experience. It’s really amazing stuff to be able to control an aircraft at that high of a level of skill.
Within two years, I ended up with several ratings and licenses and a profound confidence in my piloting ability. I have a Commercial pilot’s license which really just means that I can fly small aircraft and charge money for it. Some of the things Commercial pilots do are flight instruction, aerial photography, crop-dusting, traffic congestion reporting and my favorite, parachute jump pilot. By the way, the next progression for pilots is a type rating [for larger aircraft] and an Airline Transport Pilot license. The folks that you fly with in jets have this type of license.
These days I haven't flown for several years, but plan on getting current again this summer. My son, Maxwell loves planes and its ‘high’ time to take him up for a few “runs around the patch”. This means to do a few patterns of local take-off and landings at a small general aviation airport.
Some memorable highlights:
~~ My favorite plane that I've flown is a J5 Cub. It is a fabric-winged, light, graceful vintage airplane. Built in 1942, but don’t let the age fool you, these planes are well cared for and have thorough maintenance by Federal Aviation Regulations. And to be honest, the saying about how ‘they don’t build them like the used to’ applies here. This plane would spin so smoothly it was incredible. [CFI's have to have competency to enter a spin and get out of spins]. Because this is a quiet and slow moving plane, with a good headwind at minimum flight speed, you would barely be moving across the ground. You literally are floating in place with that strong headwind... another terrific experience.
~~ I remember very well my first night flight. My instructor flew me from Oshkosh to Milwaukee and back. I found it fascinating to be able to easily pick out the cities by their lights and relative sizes based on the navigational direction. At night, you practice doing landings without aircraft headlights, a surreal thing since your only visual aid is the runway lights that you seem to sink into.
~~ As a new flight instructor, I recall taking a potential student on a special "Introductory flight" to see if they were interested in doing further flight-training. It was an inexpensive and quick way to show folks an airplane and what it was like to fly. So I took a young guy up in the plane for his first flight and it was a real hot, sunny, summer day which is always conducive to a lot of convective activity. In other words, it was a very bumpy ride. We departed and I showed him some real basic things... I let him take the yolk to feel the plane which he seemed to like. However, after about 15 minutes into it, I asked him if he was OK since he looked a little pale. He said he was OK, but I wasn't so sure. I decided to cut it short and head in for a landing. On final approach we were getting thrown around by the air currents and suddenly my brave student was throwing up [OK, projectile vomiting] as I was getting ready to land. I briefly considered doing a "go around", which means you don't feel good about the landing and you give the plane full-throttle to start a climb out, but thought that might add insult to injury. The interesting part of this story is that this student went on to an official flight school at a University and was its CFI Chief Pilot 5 years later. I needed him to help me get a Biennial Flight Review at that point and he put _me_ through the ringer with the most thorough BFR I've ever had. I consider him an excellent pilot and CFI.
A gratuitous, kind-of-related-to-aviation story:
As new flight instructors at a small airport, a buddy of mine and I were in charge of night-time airport operations since I lived at the airport. One of the nightly rituals was to check all the runway and taxiway lights. Incidentally, my brother had come to visit to show us his brand new 1994 Chevy Camaro. Of course, we wanted to drive it around the airport to check the lights. Since we had an airport frequency transponder [radio] and could see airplanes if they were approaching from miles away, we didn't worry too much about being on the runway with a car. So anyway, 5000 feet of wide runway, nearly 300 horsepower of sports-car with fat, slick tires and lots of pretty night lights were too much to resist. At 2000 feet before the end of the runway, the lights change color from white to amber and you know exactly where you are. And suddenly, at the light color change, I thought it best to start braking and slowing down from 150mph! I'm still not sure how I ended up going that fast... *grin*
Immediately after that we drove the car along the taxiway back to the terminal and then saw a scary sight. A police car was sitting there. We had no idea how long, but it seemed like they had just arrived so we quickly got out of the car and I decided to "wing-it"... I told the cops we were new flight instructors at the airport [true] and were doing the nightly light check [true]. The cops couldn't argue, but we were sure they had a good idea of what we had just done. I won't stay the location of this airport to protect the innocent...
The Drop-Zone story:
For two summers I worked at a "drop-zone" [DZ] for fun near Green Bay, WI. A drop-zone is the nickname of any small airstrip that has parachute jumping activity in the vicinity. Those summers were great fun; I would jump on my motorcycle on nice weekend mornings, and would hang out all day until dusk taking folks up in the air for an exciting time skydiving. As you can imagine, the people that are into parachute jumping are a fun bunch. It's a serious sport not to be taken lightly, but after everyone is down safely for the day, the beers and stories start flowing.
Parachute jumpers start in the beginning by being tethered to the airplane with a cable. They climb out and hang from the aircraft wing and then let go. The cable is tied to the pull cord which when you are 15 feet away from the plane [less than 2 seconds] automatically pulls the cord and opens the chute... this is called a static line jump.
As a pilot you are responsible for flying a rectangular “pattern” and being at a certain point upwind when the jumper is ready to let go so. Timing is crucial so that if they have some kind of problem the wind will push them back to the drop-zone center which is a safety thing [and a Federal Aviation Regulation that must be adhered to]. Additionally, there is a person called a jump-master that makes sure the jumper is ready and with good form, is at a safe location, etc. So the jump-master was telling this guy who had climbed out of the plane and was hanging from the wing strut to let go and he was white-knuckling it and NOT letting go... and not letting go and not letting go. I knew what was coming since we were getting dangerously close to being too far from the drop-zone.... I turned to look at the jump-master and he gave me 'the nod'. So I did a quick little 'aileron shuffle' with my controls and he was gone off the wing... ;-)
I basically had pulled the wing up quick with a jerk and pulled the plane right out of his hands. Two seconds later, I heard the jump-master saying "Canopy opening... he's looking good"… another successful and safe rookie jump. Later on the ground, that guy was thanking me for my part in his great adventure and he was all smiles. He had no idea that I had pulled the plane out of his hands for his safety. He kept saying how very "cool" the jump was and how exciting everything had been. I slyly smiled to myself... he was right, it was very cool.
-bk
Saturday, April 09, 2005
World's Largest Trivia Home Page
Trivia Home Page
Midway through 2005's contest:
Terrapin Station - Turtle Trivai
was 162nd place as of 6 hours ago.
Highlight high pointer was hour 2 and Kristie's 'Think inside the box' Hormel Stagg Chili -- get this -- from the Internet for 115 points. Wow.
Midway through 2005's contest:
Terrapin Station - Turtle Trivai
was 162nd place as of 6 hours ago.
Highlight high pointer was hour 2 and Kristie's 'Think inside the box' Hormel Stagg Chili -- get this -- from the Internet for 115 points. Wow.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
F*cking Google It!
Send this to all your dumb friends:
http://www.justfuckinggoogleit.com/search.pl?query=search+engines
http://www.justfuckinggoogleit.com/search.pl?query=Trivia+WWSP
http://www.justfuckinggoogleit.com/search.pl?query=search+engines
http://www.justfuckinggoogleit.com/search.pl?query=Trivia+WWSP
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
I love America's power structure [end sarcasm]
Dishonesty, Greed and Hypocrisy in Corporate America
[14:47] nearlyhorizontal: Later, although not before our tale is concluded, Harken itself would turn into a company with troubles of its own. But while it appeared healthy, Harken extended generous stock options to the son of President George H. W. Bush. Then the fancy accounting began. Paul Krugman has reported in the New York Times that it involved creating a dummy entity to serve as paper front to then purchase "some of the firm's assets at unrealistically high prices, creating a phantom profit that inflates the stock price, allowing the executives to cash in their stock."
[14:47] nearlyhorizontal: Here is Krugman's description of what happened at Harken Energy, a description which has subsequently been reported all over the nation. "A group of insiders, using money borrowed from Harken itself, paid an exorbitant price for a Harken subsidiary, Aloha Petroleum. That created a $10 million phantom profit, which hid three-quarters of the company's losses in 1989."
[14:47] nearlyhorizontal: Once Harken's stock price was inflated by means of this maneuver - significantly, Arthur Anderson was the accounting firm, and Mr. Bush was on Harken's audit committee - Mr. Bush was able to sell his shares at a large profit shortly before the price of Harken stock dropped substantially. To be specific, on June 22, 1990, Mr. Bush, a director of Harken, sold 212,140 shares for $4 a share, for a total of $848,000. Two months later, on August 20, Harken announced a loss of $23.2 million; on that day its share price dropped 20 percent to $2.375. It closed the year at $1 a share.
[14:48] nearlyhorizontal: This is from this nice article: http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0712-02.htm
[14:47] nearlyhorizontal: Later, although not before our tale is concluded, Harken itself would turn into a company with troubles of its own. But while it appeared healthy, Harken extended generous stock options to the son of President George H. W. Bush. Then the fancy accounting began. Paul Krugman has reported in the New York Times that it involved creating a dummy entity to serve as paper front to then purchase "some of the firm's assets at unrealistically high prices, creating a phantom profit that inflates the stock price, allowing the executives to cash in their stock."
[14:47] nearlyhorizontal: Here is Krugman's description of what happened at Harken Energy, a description which has subsequently been reported all over the nation. "A group of insiders, using money borrowed from Harken itself, paid an exorbitant price for a Harken subsidiary, Aloha Petroleum. That created a $10 million phantom profit, which hid three-quarters of the company's losses in 1989."
[14:47] nearlyhorizontal: Once Harken's stock price was inflated by means of this maneuver - significantly, Arthur Anderson was the accounting firm, and Mr. Bush was on Harken's audit committee - Mr. Bush was able to sell his shares at a large profit shortly before the price of Harken stock dropped substantially. To be specific, on June 22, 1990, Mr. Bush, a director of Harken, sold 212,140 shares for $4 a share, for a total of $848,000. Two months later, on August 20, Harken announced a loss of $23.2 million; on that day its share price dropped 20 percent to $2.375. It closed the year at $1 a share.
[14:48] nearlyhorizontal: This is from this nice article: http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0712-02.htm
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Libertarian National Socialist Green Party
http://www.nazi.org/nazi/policy/weise/
Yesterday's school shooter was a forum member.
Now, I don't consider myself aligned with this political view, but it is interesting and I agree with much of it.
Yesterday's school shooter was a forum member.
Now, I don't consider myself aligned with this political view, but it is interesting and I agree with much of it.
A search for intelligent and contemplative
A search for intelligent and contemplative
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=intelligent+and+contemplative&btnG=Google+Search
Yeilds:
This interesting webpage:
http://www.buddhistreading.com/ttwork.html
I admit I have not read it all, but this is interesting nonetheless.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=intelligent+and+contemplative&btnG=Google+Search
Yeilds:
This interesting webpage:
http://www.buddhistreading.com/ttwork.html
I admit I have not read it all, but this is interesting nonetheless.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Friday, March 04, 2005
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
The self-fulfilling prophecy or Pygmalion effect
The Self-fulfilling Prophecy or Pygmalion Effect:
The self-fulfilling prophecy or Pygmalion effect
Consciously or not we tip people off as to what our expectations are. We exhibit thousands of cues, some as subtle as the tilting of heads, the raising of eye brows or the dilation of nostrils, but most are much more obvious. And people pick up on those cues.
The self-fulfilling prophecy or Pygmalion effect
Consciously or not we tip people off as to what our expectations are. We exhibit thousands of cues, some as subtle as the tilting of heads, the raising of eye brows or the dilation of nostrils, but most are much more obvious. And people pick up on those cues.
Wired 13.03: The 2005 Wired Rave Awards
The Grey Album [an unauthorized mix of the Beatles White Album]:
Wired 13.03: The 2005 Wired Rave Awards
Wired 13.03: The 2005 Wired Rave Awards
Monday, February 28, 2005
Friday, February 18, 2005
Mail & Guardian Online: Fossett sets off in a 'fuel tank with room for one'
I got an email from Tony Z. Great to hear from him... asked me about returning to flying. I sent a reply from my new Gmail account. And in the right-pane there were links to aviation type stuff. That context aware linkage is very cool. This came from that:
Mail & Guardian Online: Fossett sets off in a 'fuel tank with room for one'
Mail & Guardian Online: Fossett sets off in a 'fuel tank with room for one'
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Monday, January 24, 2005
Slashdot | Do You Want to Live Forever?
The MIT article:
Do You Want to Live Forever?
The /. discussion:
Slashdot | Do You Want to Live Forever?
Do You Want to Live Forever?
The /. discussion:
Slashdot | Do You Want to Live Forever?
Monday, January 17, 2005
FreeCell Solutions
FreeCell Solutions
A link to a Freecell site... Game number 18492. I played it and got the 52 card flourish...
A link to a Freecell site... Game number 18492. I played it and got the 52 card flourish...
Monday, January 10, 2005
"WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT PROVE IT?"
I surfed into this via Slashdot. Very interesting comments from famous scientists throughout the world on the question:
"WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT PROVE IT?"
THE WORLD QUESTION CENTER 2005
Lots of theology, lots of thought provoking detail.
"WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT PROVE IT?"
THE WORLD QUESTION CENTER 2005
Lots of theology, lots of thought provoking detail.
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