While nothing is 100% guaranteed until the order forms are signed, the buzz I’m getting just from planning out the initial portion of the project makes it very likely that I’ll be going ahead with the project, the biggest question simply being one of timing.   Right now is primarily a time of preparation.   I’m in the process of finishing some big outstanding projects on my house right now.   Completing these projects will allow me to recover the space that is being used to store materials for these projects in the garage, which in turn will allow me to get the garage setup as a workshop, and so forth.

At the same time, I’m in the process of preparing some of the resources I’ll need to have available for the project.   Among these tools is a place to maintain a builders log.  I’m setting this up as a wordpress blog, and eventually plan to turn the entire blog website into a set of books.   All fun stuff.

At any rate, the majority of information about the project going forward will be located at www.mattshangar.info, so that it can all be nicely captured into one big package at the end.

For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.  - Leonardo da Vinci

Its no secret that I love flying.   Of course I take it a bit further than most too, since I like getting out of them in flight too.   There’s no purer form of flight than to leave the vehicle behind!

The last year and a half I’ve spent flinging myself out of “perfectly good airplanes.”   Never mind that there is no such thing as a perfectly good airplane to begin with – its more fun to leave the airplane behind and land under my own personal fabric wing.   So far I’ve made 116 successful skydives, including one cutaway.   Its been a blast to say the least.   This past season, I participated in 4-way formation skydiving.  I learned a ton over the past year with Gravity Assassins, even with only getting around 60 jumps with the team.

As the skydiving season slows down, I’m looking towards the next season.  While skydiving goes on year round around here, wind and stormy weather slows down the jumping a bit.   This upcoming season, my plan is to start jumping video.  Especially if I find a spot jumping video for a team,  this has the great advantage of having the team pay for my jumps, freeing up funds for other activities.   Besides the financial aspect, flying video should provide a different challenge, and plenty of new stuff to learn.

The side effect of reducing the funds spent on skydiving is that funds will be available for flight training.   Its long past time to get back to flying.  Currently I have my eyes on a local flying club to get flight training and continue flying.  They have a decent variety of aircraft, and the rates are pretty amazing.  As long as I can manage to keep a nice flow of funds for flying, it shouldn’t take long to get my pilots license.

On a related note – I’ve got the ‘builder’ bug worse than ever lately.   I’ve drooled over the Velocity kit for a long time.   I’ve been thinking about it for a while, wondering if I’d be able to complete such a project and all.  Honestly, I probably would have a real tough time completing a composite aircraft project, at least at this point.  Lately I’ve been looking a slightly different direction though.   While I like the Velocity design a lot, I’m finding myself surprisingly drawn to the bit more conventional design of the Van series kit aircraft.  In particular, I’m finding the Van RV-9A quite attractive, and carrying with it some amazing performance numbers.

One of the big advantages to the RV kits is that the sheet metal construction process generally lends itself to short sessions easier than composites.  With composites, there is a lot of overhead time around any tasks – mixing epoxy, cleaning up brushes and tools used in the layups, and general setup/cleanup tasks.   Spending anything less than 2-3 hours at a time just seems like it would have far too much time being spent on the overhead, rather than on the project.  With the aluminum construction process, there are plenty of tasks that can be worked on with very little time spent in setup & cleanup.  Spending an idle 15 minutes deburring a part is certainly feasible, as is spending a few minutes setting a few rivets on an assembly.  All tasks that directly push towards a completed project, rather than getting sunk into overhead.

While I haven’t completely decided on the airplane yet, if I find my desire for it holding as strongly as it is right now, it won’t be *too* long before I’ll be buying the first subkit of the airplane.  I did find a Sheet Metal basics workshop offered through the EAA that I signed up for.   Even if I ultimately decide not to build a plane, the workshop is not too expensive and should be pretty interesting regardless.  At the very least I can get an idea if I’m even remotely up to the challenge.

Step one of building is to create myself a workshop.   That alone is going to take a bit of time from where I am right now.  Finally some stronger motivation to get pushing on some of these outstanding projects around the house though.

Soo…. ages ago now, I switched from playing Eve to playing World of Warcraft.   Now with the next expansion coming up in the next several months, talent previews are starting to show up for classes.    So far the Druid & Rogue previews are the ones I’m most interested in.   I really hope they ship with one Druid talent in tact as it is currently in the preview.   Nothing beats ‘Nom Nom Nom’ as a talent name – pure awesome there!

This quick post is primarily just so I can keep track of some planned talent spec setups for my various characters and setups to compare with some of the other guides as they start showing up as well.

Rogue Assassin Build here

Rogue Combat Build here

Discipline Priest build here

Feral Bear Build here

Common sense certainly seems to be a rare thing anymore.    Several years ago, I came up with the following:

Schlegel’s theorem on the conservation of Common Sense:

There exists in the world a constant quantity of “common sense”.  As the population of the world increases, so must the individual distribution of common sense therefore decrease.

I’ve been watching this “common sense constant” for some time now, and I think this theorem goes a long way towards explaining why people as a whole don’t seem to have any sense at all.   I certainly have yet to see anything that would lead me to suspect any inaccuracy.   Recent events certainly solidify this theorem even more.

It should also be obvious that the distribution of common sense is not even.  Some people seemingly get more than their “fair” share, while others seem to not have a bit of sense at all.

So… the next time you find yourself astounded at people’s lack of sense, just remember, they can’t help it.    It won’t make their actions any less bizarre, but at least you might have an idea why.

If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter   installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have  laughed and said this is more proof of how he inept he is on his own and  is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?

If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan’s holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?

If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent “Austrian language,” would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?

If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income
taxes, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to “Cinco de Cuatro” in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was
the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?

If George W. Bush had mis-spelled the word “advice” would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as proof of what a dunce he is?

If George W.. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he’s a hypocrite?

If George W. Bush’s administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11?

If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans , would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?

If George W. Bush had created the position of 32 Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?

If George W Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?

So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can’t think of anything? Don’t worry. He’s done all this in 5 months — so you’ll have three years and seven months to come up with an answer.

– Received via email

I finally got around to making the first jump.   What an exhilarating experience!   I’ll keep this short and let the video speak for itself though.

Can’t wait to jump again!

I’ve been doing a bunch of sailing over the last year on a handful of different boats.  Sailing is a great stress reliever, and a couple hours out on the water makes all outside problems just melt away.   Well… brief philosophical is best in my book, so on to the point.

The owner of one of the boats I sail on, Yesterdaze, sent over the following image.

In case the text is not clear, it reads, “Sailing is not a matter of life or death….    it’s more important than that.”

I’ve found this sentiment to be very common among sailors, and especially among the racers out there.  Well, to be honest, I suppose the quote could just as easily be adapted to most things for different people.   Sailing is certainly very high up on my list though.

There is also a great plaque on the companionway bulkhead on Yesterdaze.   It reads  “Sailing is like being a child again: Wide eyes, Big smile, and a soggy bottom.”

Here’s wishing everyone fair winds and smooth water!   Sail safe!

I received the following email from the Good Clean Funny List today.   Being a pilot (alright, student pilot) myself, I got a real kick out of it.

There were a lot of things we couldn’t do in an SR-71, but we were the fastest guys on the block and loved reminding our fellow aviators of this fact. People often asked us if, because of this fact, it was fun to fly the jet. Fun would not be the first word I would use to describe flying this plane. Intense, maybe. Even cerebral. But there was one day in our Sled experience when we would have to say that it was pure fun to be the fastest guys out there, at least for a moment.

It occurred when Walt and I were flying our final training sortie. We needed 100 hours in the jet to complete our training and attain Mission Ready status. Somewhere over Colorado we had passed the century mark. We had made the turn in Arizona and the jet was performing flawlessly. My gauges were wired in the front seat and we were starting to feel pretty good about ourselves, not only because we would soon be flying real missions but because we had gained a great deal of confidence in the plane in the past ten months. Ripping across the barren deserts 80,000 feet below us, I could already see the coast of California from the
Arizona border. I was, finally, after many humbling months of simulators and study, ahead of the jet.

I was beginning to feel a bit sorry for Walter in the back seat. There he was, with no really good view of the incredible sights before us, tasked with monitoring four different radios. This was good practice for him for when we began flying real missions, when a priority transmission from headquarters could be vital. It had been difficult, too, for me to relinquish control of the radios, as during my entire flying career I had controlled my own transmissions. But it was part of the division of duties in this plane and I had adjusted to it. I still insisted on talking on the radio while we were on the ground, however.  Walt was so good at many things, but he couldn’t match my expertise at sounding smooth on the radios, a skill that had been honed sharply with years in fighter squadrons where the slightest radio miscue was grounds for beheading. He
understood that and allowed me that luxury. Just to get a sense of what Walt had to contend with, I pulled the radio toggle switches and monitored the frequencies along with him. The predominant radio chatter was from Los Angeles Center, far below us, controlling daily traffic in their sector. While they had us on their scope (albeit briefly), we were in uncontrolled airspace and normally would not talk to them unless we needed to descend into their airspace.

We listened as the shaky voice of a lone Cessna pilot asked Center for a readout of his ground speed.

Center replied: “November Charlie 175, I’m showing you at ninety knots on the ground.”

Now the thing to understand about Center controllers, was that whether they were talking to a rookie pilot in a Cessna, or to Air Force One, they always spoke in the exact same, calm, deep, professional, tone that made one feel important. I referred to it as the “HoustonCenterVoice.” I have always felt that after years of seeing documentaries on this country’s space program and listening to the calm and distinct voice of the HoustonCenterControllers, that all other controllers since then wanted to sound like that…  and that they basically did. And it didn’t matter what sector of the country we would be flying in, it always seemed like the same guy was talking. Over the years that tone of voice had become somewhat of a comforting sound to
pilots everywhere. Conversely, over the years, pilots always wanted to ensure that, when transmitting, they sounded like Chuck Yeager, or at least like John Wayne. Better to die than sound bad on the radios.

Just moments after the Cessna’s inquiry, a Twin Beech piped up on frequency, in a rather superior tone, asking for his ground speed.

“Ah, Twin Beach: I have you at one hundred and twenty-five knots of ground speed.”

Boy, I thought, the Beechcraft really must think he is dazzling his Cessna brethren.

Then out of the blue, a Navy F-18 pilot out of NAS Lemoore came up on frequency. You knew right away it was a Navy jock because he sounded very cool on the radios.

“Center, Dusty 52 ground speed check.”

Before Center could reply, I’m thinking to myself, hey, Dusty 52 has a ground speed indicator in that million dollar cockpit, so why is he asking Center for a readout? Then I got it — ol’ Dusty here is making sure that every bug smasher from Mount Whitney to the Mojave knows what true speed is. He’s the fastest dude in the valley today, and he just wants everyone to know how much fun he is having in his new Hornet.

And the reply, always with that same, calm, voice, with more distinct alliteration than emotion:

“Dusty 52, Center, we have you at 620 on the ground.”

And I thought to myself, is this a ripe situation, or what?  As my hand instinctively reached for the mic button, I had to remind myself that Walt was in control of the radios.  Still, I thought, it must be done — in mere seconds we’ll be out of the sector and the opportunity will be lost. That Hornet must die, and die now.

I thought about all of our Sim training and how important it was that we developed well as a crew and knew that to jump in on the radios now would destroy the integrity of all that we had worked toward becoming. I was torn. Somewhere, 13 miles above Arizona, there was a pilot screaming inside his space helmet.

Then, I heard it. The click of the mic button from the back seat. That was the very moment that I knew Walter and I had become a crew. Very professionally, and with no emotion, Walter spoke: “Los Angeles Center, Aspen 20, can you give us a ground speed check?”

There was no hesitation, and the reply came as if was an everyday request: “Aspen 20, I show you at one thousand eight hundred and forty-two knots, across the ground.”

I think it was the forty-two knots that I liked the best, so accurate and proud was Center to deliver that information without hesitation, and you just knew he was smiling. But the precise point at which I knew that Walt and I were going to be really good friends for a long time was when he keyed the mic once again to say, in his most fighter-pilot-like voice: “Ah, Center, much thanks. We’re showing closer to nineteen hundred on the money.”

For a moment Walter was a god. And we finally heard a little crack in the armor of the HoustonCenterVoice, when L.A. came back with, “Roger that Aspen, Your equipment is probably more accurate than ours. You boys have a good one.”

It all had lasted for just moments, but in that short, memorable sprint across the southwest, the Navy had been flamed, all mortal airplanes on freq were forced to bow before the King of Speed, and more importantly, Walter and I had crossed the threshold of being a crew. A fine day’s work.

We never heard another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast. For just one day, it truly was fun being the fastest guys out there.

Written by Brian Shul, from his book Sled Driver.

Through coworkers, I came across a couple interesting bits of information and links.

The first link has some excelent wallpaper images.   Mandolux has some great multi-monitor wallpaper images, and includes source images for all of the divided images.  Overall a bunch of really cool stuff for your desktop.

The second bit is about the Auditory Illusion called the Shepard Tone.  Its a series of tones that sounds like it is getting higher or lower in pitch, and at the same time ultimately sounds like it is keeping the same pitch.  Check it out, its pretty neat.

As the clock winds down another weekend, I have made good progress on the demolition portion of my Master Bath project.  All of the tile is now off the walls in the shower, and I’m down to half of one wall left of sheetrock to remove now as well.   I removed the vanity a couple weeks ago, so now its down to a bunch of tile debris, the old shower pan, and the toilet as the large remaining items left to be removed.

Once everything is cleaned out, I suspect I may have a couple of 2×4′s to replace.  I can see a portion of a couple of the studs near the bottom that looks like its pretty rotted out at this point.   Given how easily the tile, cement, and sheetrock crumbled in that area, it probably got pretty wet over a fairly long period of time.  I’m guessing that the shower was still the original shower from when the house was built in ’64, so I’m not really supprised.  Hopefully it won’t be too difficult to make those replacements.

Also high on my project list is some electrical work on my main entry panel.  In order for the a lot of the new electrical work to be done properly, I need to get have the additional space in the entry panel available, so that project does take financial priority over many of the other projects.  I’ve got one good source for getting the panel upgraded, so now I just need to make those funds available and get it done.

Of course the remodeling isn’t the only draw on the finances around the house.  I’ve also got a bunch of trees to be trimmed that will be drawing a fair chunk of change out of my budget.   Ahh well..  the projects just keep on coming….