The jetpack is attached by a hose to a 250 hp auxillary craft which looks a lot like a jet ski. This outboard boat sucks water into the hose and delivers low pressure, high flow water through a 33 ft (10 m) hose to the jetpack where thrust is generated by forcing the water through the nozzles located on either side of jetpack. Thrust is controlled with a twist of the grip, while moving the control arms up and down changes the angle of the nozzles to allocate thrust for lift and propulsion in forward, neutral or reverse. Differential nozzle angles also allow for yaw turns, while shifting weight from side to side allows the pilot to turn.

Although the Jetlev can generate upwards of 500 lbf (2,220 N) of thrust from its four stroke 250 hp engine, the unit has been limited to a maximum thrust of 430 lbf (1,900 N). This allows the Jetlev to propel a 150 lb (68 kg) pilot to speeds of up to 22 mph (35 km/h) at heights of up to 28 ft (8.5 m) – although the unit can accommodate pilots from 4.9 to 6.5 ft (1.5 – 2 m) in height and weighing from 88 to 330 lb (40 – 150 kg). With a fuel capacity of 26 US gal (100 liters), pilots will be able to enjoy the views for about one hour at full throttle, or for around two to three hours at cruising speed.

You can rent a jetpack in Key West for $250 ($200 for a limited time if you enter the promo code “firsttimeflyer” to save $50) which includes a training course and half-hour flight time or you can purchase your own Jetlev-Flyer flyer for $99,500 from Jetlev Technologies. Whatever you do, don’t miss your chance to try the jetpack and fly like a bird if you ever have the opportunity. It truly was an amazing experience!

In a typical 8-year-old fashion, she rambled from one topic to another, and I took notes (!) so I could put her words down for posterity.

Here is what Ari thinks could make her life better – take it for what it’s worth!

Environment:

• spring and fall temperatures
• likely to snow, but not ALL the time
• warmer then here (Mid-Atlantic) but not hot (remember we are in winter right now, and it’s 35 degrees today)

Community:

• kids play outside after school/weekends
• farmer’s market nearby (to help handle money/make purchases)
• bus to school (she walks all of .5 block currently)
• girl scout troop
• local service projects to help others
• good kids who behave (positive influence)/no bullies

House:

• indoor garden (so there are no pests)
• eco-friendly house with solar panels
• near the woods (Dad might not like that because we will have more sticks fall in our yard)
• creek or small river to play in; “water makes me happy”
• treehouse
• big kitchen (wants to learn to cook)
• music room w/ music stand, where no one will complain about the noise!
• arch or arbor in the backyard
• cabinet in the playroom that lock, each person has their own
• garden with veggies and flowers
• Pets: our current cat and dog, a gecko or snake, and a horse
• My room: purple with blue stripes, hooks on the walls, ways to hang up artwork w/o holes in the walls, bay window
• own bathroom, bath caddy or hanging caddy in the shower for bath “stuff”
• room in basement
• two piggy banks – one for spend and one for save
• use place mats at dinner
• hand print stepping stones, roses, swingset w/o a slide (takes up too much room)
• TV in room (<- haha little girl)
• bed for Rory in room

School:

• see Lyra (a homeschooled friend) for joint schooling
• wants to be homeschooled but would like to take classes so she can meet new friends
• learn about ancient civilizations
• choice in learning/self-choice about learning topics
• cello and piano lessons
• more algebra (with variables)
• longer times to study topics in math
• hands-on activities that actually help
• personalization/don’t use techniques that don’t help
• French and Spanish lessons
• learn more about building things
• learn about how electricity works
• biography unit
• technology class
• archeology unit

Chores Around the House:

• making lunch (if we stay at home)
• water indoor plants
• feed the dog dinner, take care of gecko (if I get one)
• start laundry, fold my own clothes
• clean own room
• each person should be in charge of a room in the house to keep clean
• empty kitchen compost bin into outdoor bin
• assist cooking dinner
• dinner table: napkins and drinks, Abby – plates and silverware
• help out Saturday and Sunday morning by talking care of Abby and feeding/letting the dog out
• Fall – help rake, Winter – shovel, Spring & Summer – mow backyard
• babysit Abby (and get paid)
• Be paid for other jobs like babysitting or writing for a magazine

Family:

• at home job for Mom so she can spend more time with us
• “Family Sharing Night” to play board games, watch movies

I LOVED this time we had together! It was amazing to see what my daughter thinks not only about what she wants her life to be like, but I was amazed about her insight into her schooling. She knows what works for her and what doesn’t and she always amazes me with what she wants to learn about.

Well, what do you think? Any ideas on how I can meet her reasonable requests?

Although our Canon camera has served us well since 2008, it’s time to upgrade to something with more than 3x zoom and 720p video. Finding a new camera is a daunting task amongst all of the various models out there – and if you recall from our first article, finding something with decent audio recording capability at a concert venue is not easy. We literally scoured the Internet for months looking at various camera review sites and forums for the right replacement. We thought we found it in the Panasonic DMC-GF3XK, a micro four-thirds (mini-DSLR) camera with a Lumix 14-42mm interchangeable lens and adjustable audio gain. We purchased one and took it out for some testing. The video quality was beautiful, but we were not impressed with its limited zoom. We quickly learned that the optical zoom capability of a standard lens is determined by dividing the larger number into the smaller number. In the case of this 14-42mm lens you divide 14 into 42 arriving at 3x optical zoom. So we returned it and were back to the drawing board.

After more research we narrowed our search to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10 and the Sony Cybershot DSC-HX9V. Both of these P&S cameras are widely regarded as the best current models available for shooting video. Looking purely at specifications, it would be hard to choose between the two. Both shoot 1080p HD video, offer 16x optical zoom (24-384mm lens equivalant), have image stabalization, and record stereo audio. We’re not concerned with the other feature differences as we’re focused on shooting concert videos. One thing we noticed right away is the superior quality low light characteristics offered by the Sony HX9V. Many reviews note the ZS10 as having noisy blacks in low light conditions. We were finally convinced in the superiority of the Sony after watching the video below demonstrating the “Indoor Video Shooting Comparison” between both models. Of course, audio quality is another matter we have mentioned time and again and this is something we couldn’t test without taking each camera to a concert. Fortunately, we were able to find some examples on YouTube of people using each camera. To be honest, neither model blew us away, but we did notice the Panasonic sounded somewhat muddy and had less gain. Both had noticeable distortion in the low end frequency range, but both were easily tolerable and sounded quite good compared to the garbled distortion captured by most other cameras.

Indoor video comparison        Sony HX9V video         Panasonic ZS10 video        

With superior low light results and better audio quality, the obvious all-around winner and our new camera is the Sony DSC-HX9V. Along with the camera we purchased two extra batteries, a wall charger and a case. Each battery lasts about an hour shooting video so be prepared with spares. We found a deal for two genuine Sony NP-FG1 batteries to use as backups. Our only complaint about the camera is that it only comes with a cord to plug into the base of the camera for charging. The Sony BC-CSG wall charger solves that problem so you can charge a battery and still use the camera. Finally, a genuine Sony LCS-CSQ leather case helps protect your new camera. We kept the same 32GB SD card from our old camera and can record about 2.5 hours of video at 1080p HD with the new camera.

Well there you go, our suggestion on the killer camera setup for recording concert videos. Stay tuned for the next article in this series on how to record better concert audio than what you get from the onboard camera microphone.

Garage before: Paint peeling from the floor and peg board wall.

Initially we contacted a local company called Those Garage Guys for an estimate on leveling the floor and recoating it in an industrial grade epoxy. Looking only to receive a quote for the floor, I was shocked when I was given a $20,000 estimate to redo my entire garage with slat wall, cabinetry and epoxy flooring. I pressed for a price on just the floor and was told $5500. After two follow-up appointments and endless haggling I ended up with the bargain price of $11,000 for the whole thing or $4500 for just the floor. In either case I would be required to showcase my garage to other potential clients in the area – something I wasn’t particularly opposed to but not exactly excited about.

Now they had me thinking, “I wonder how much I could save if I do my whole garage myself?”. I had tried using the concrete paints offered by the big box stores in a previous garage and had already ruled that out – no matter what you do it peels in a short period of time. I researched industrial flooring companies and came across Dur-a-Quartz: an epoxy flooring system with colored quartz aggregates. A few phone phone calls led me to Superior Systems, a local company who specialized in epoxy flooring and had done many high profile projects such as the White House kitchen floor, the Naval Academy and Johns Hopkins to name a few. I figured if their work was good enough for the POTUS, it was good enough for me. I had Dan come out and give me a quote and was ecstatic when he told me $2500 to level and coat the entire floor. Let’s do it!

I started researching cabinetry and was dismayed that most manufacturers were still using laminate coated pressed wood. I stumbled upon some metal cabinets by Gladiator Garage Works and was immediately impressed with the look and heavy-guage steel construction. Careful shopping led me to Sears, where these cabinets were already marked well below MSRP and were coupled with an additional 20% off sale price. I purchased two Premier Jumbo Gearboxes, two Modular Gearboxes, a six foot workbench, a 7-Drawer tool chest and 6-Drawer tool chest all for $2500 after savings.

Lastly, we needed something to replace the horrific peg board on the walls while allowing the same flexibility to hang items conveniently. I opted for Gladiator GearWall Panels which provide an elegant finished look and the flexibility to work with the cabinets, hooks, baskets, shelves and bins offered by the Gladiator Garageworks system. With an MSRP of $109.99 per set, Sears had them normally priced at $99.99 with a sale price of $79.99!

Completed garage with new floor, cabintery and wall system.

After the work was complete I am proud to say we have a show worthy garage that cost a fraction of the price quoted by Those Garage Guys. It looks fantastic, is functional, and is a major improvement over the original garage. What do you think?