I actually had a better shot with a nicer sunset two minutes before, but the phone rang during processing and the app dropped it... Murphy's Law worked as usual, but this wasn't too bad.

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Sometimes, about ten minutes into a tech support call overseas, you just realize there's no hope, and you just gotta roll with it. Today was one of those days...

I have two XM radios. I just noticed that the monthly online invoices (the paperless version of the paper bills) are no longer available; also, as I'm having trouble with the GPS that is actually one of the XM units, I wanted to make sure my account didn't auto-renew and bill my credit card when the two year contract is up.

After spending five minutes providing her the same customer information as I had entered into the automatic phone system -- eight digit radio IDs in ICAO alphanumerics ("Mike Delta Zero Lima" etc.) can be a challenge -- "Melissa" spent twenty stuttering minutes before finally agreeing that the invoices were not appearing (uh, that's what I already told her).

I moved on and asked about canceling auto-renewal. She couldn't answer that either; in fact, it took about fifteen minutes to consistently NOT answer the question.

I gave up and asked for a supervisor. She told me one was not available. We went back to step one, repeated the questions, and I again got no answers, or answers that had nothing to do with the question.

She set the phone down for about ten minutes (hold music would have been a positive step at this point), came back and told me she would try to get a supervisor, set the phone down for another ten minutes, and came back online again. Sometimes, when she returned, she would put the mic by her mouth; most of the time, she wouldn't, so it was a battle just communicating to her that I couldn't hear what she was saying.

I had heard her talking to an Indian supervisor in the background, so I tried to find out if he was on the line.
I asked five times: "Are you the person I've been speaking to for the last thirty minutes?"

Her answer: "I shall try to assist you with that question."

"No. This is simple. Yes or no. Are you the same person I've been speaking to for the last thirty minutes? Do you know your own name?"

Her: "I'm sorry."

To be clear, I asked this five times and never got a correct answer.

Wow.

My mom was overhearing all of this, over an hour into the call now, and was howling with laughter in the background.

Finally, hold music. At least she found a button.

I put on the speakerphone and went about my business. Thirty minutes later, "Melissa" returned again.

"I have tried to get a supervisor or someone who can answer your question, but I can't."

I'd sorted out that fact about an hour and fifteen minutes earlier, so I replied:

"Well, thank you for sharing the last hour and a half of your life with me. It's been interesting. I wish you the best for the future and hope you have a nice day."

Boy, you thought she was confused before? This seemed to put her right off the map. So, in the interest of international relations, I repeated the same basic message of peace and love.

Now, keep in mind it's November 30.

Her:

"Thank you for calling XM Radio, and have a HAPPY EASTER." (Emphasis mine.)

Click.

IMDB shows the runtime of "Outsourced" is 103 minutes. Now I wished I had started the movie before dialing, as I would have been up to the ending credits by the end of the call.

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http://www.burlingamepezmuseum.com/

They welcomed photographs, and I was happy to oblige. It was Pez Heaven and more, with many classic toys. So, without further ado, here goes a quick photo tour. I'll cheat and say my favorite find is at the bottom.

Pez is not a US product; it's from Austria. They were originally peppermint ("pfefferminz"), and PEZ is an abbreviation of the German word.

The originals were not characters; they had plain tops.

They say they have every one ever made. Current ones are for sale up front; the museum in back has the extensive collection.

One of the early ones allowed children to create their own. However, as the small parts could be swallowed, it was pulled from the market almost immediately.

Jack In The Box ran a Pez promo advertising "call the Pez Hall of Fame..." and the museum got a special plaque featuring this.

They could even shoot Pez with these Pez guns.

A Pez Dispenser Dispenser:

Kathy is a Marvin the Martian fan and occasional collector, and I had to ask if they had any Marvin Pez items. They went in back and pulled this out just to show me.

Moving on from Pez, they had many other original toys. Here are original Viewmasters:

Mr. Potato Heads:

Ant Farm, Legos and Play-Doh:

Whee-Lo, Etch-A-Sketch and Wooly Willy:

Easy-Bake Oven and an original Pluto Disc -- now called the Frisbee:

Lincoln Logs:

Erector Sets and Tinkertoys:

Slinky and Magic Slate:

What was even more fun was the banned toys. Everyone knows of Lawn Darts, but Clackers? I was wondering a few years ago what happened to these, I used to get them at the flea market when I was a kid. In the '80s they figured out that they shed fragments when impacting together and banned them.

Other random ones? Spanish Bullfighting Barbie (politically incorrect); Mickey Mouse Air Pirates (apparently adult content, but I'm not sure what); the Buckle Gun (a cap gun in the belt buckle, that could catch fire -- ouch!); those jelly yo-yo balls (the stretchy cord would wrap around necks and choke kids); and Sky Dancers (flying parts, if I remember right -- we had to return a few of these ourselves).

The Pièce de résistance:

The Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab. A cloud chamber, Geiger counter, and -- wait for it -- FOUR VIALS OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL!

Yeah, they just don't make good stuff like this anymore...

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After stopping for gas in Pecos, TX, I noticed a little rumble on the rough frontage road before getting back on I-20, where the rumble smoothed out. The frontage road was rough, so that was easily explained. I went a few miles further west on I-20 and departed the freeway on the road less traveled, TX-17, towards Balmorhea (10 points for correct pronunciation by the way), a 30 mile two-lane stretch.

Although I had picked up a tailwind, my MPG dropped to 7.5 from the previous 10, and I could only hold 62 mph in overdrive on cruise. Odd... But not that unusual when towing, especially starting up into the mountains...

A few folks passed me, as I was 8 mph under the speed limit; all waved out the window at me. Folks in Texas are so nice, there's nothing unusual about that...

A "neighbor" at my RV storage site had hit the left trailer fender last year; it cracked, and the front half of the plastic fender had departed the vehicle previously. Replacing it was on my to-do list, but the area's sealed, so I haven't been in a hurry. Now, as I looked back, I realized that the remainder was fluttering slightly in the wind. Ten miles later, an 18-wheeler flew by me in the opposite direction, with a mighty rush of wind. Glancing back, I saw the entire fender launch high into the air (think "the cow in Twister" here). Oh well, no major loss, I won't have to worry about it fluttering anymore.

30 miles later, I turned onto I-10 westbound for a mile then turned south again on TX-17. As I rounded the sharp left turn, a glance in the driver's side mirror showed the white trailer wheels riding at different altitudes, and a distinct furry appearance around the left rear tire.

Houston, we have a problem...

I stopped under the I-10 overpass where I'd be in the shade; it was 78f and a nice breeze was blowing. A perfect day for a tire change, I thought; I was quite happy, as no serious damage had occurred, I was safe, and this comfortable location beat the last West Texas tire change, which was in direct sun on a 100f day; I had tar permanently melted into my pants from crawling on the ground that day. Equipment helped, too; I carry a small floor jack and a 4-way wrench in the trailer, so even stopping for pictures and a chat with Kathy, I was back on my way in only 25 minutes, and that was working slowly and casually, as Fred Lusen and other friends were in a convoy about an hour behind me. I thought they'd get a kick out of seeing me on the roadside, but even dragging my heels, I was outta there too fast.

Well, almost.

I am consistent in checking the pressure on my four trailer tires before trips like this. Note I said four; the trailer has five -- counting the spare.

The obvious happened; I had about 10 PSI in my spare, which I learned when it pancaked out as I dropped the trailer off the jack. I limped slowly the two miles into town and found a closed mechanic's shop; luckily, the mechanic pulled up about 10 minutes after I stopped (there was an air hose hanging there, so I had been searching for the inflation tip for it). After another ten minutes of broken English conversation I finally got him to realize that all I wanted was air and not a whole tire, he filled the low tire for free and I finished the last hour of the trip uneventfully.

They say that one sign of a gear-up landing is that it takes a lot of power to taxi to the gate. My mileage drop is a perfect parallel to this scenario. The fluttering fender was from the subsequent damage. The friendly people? Not a single person stopped while I was on the roadside. (Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind at all, it was under control, which I think they could see; it just proved the fallacy of my assumption that folks waving at me just proved their standard Texan friendliness.)

They say God watches over fools and little children. I can now conclusively tell you that it's possible to drive 30 miles on 1-2 inches of sidewall.

But trust me on this one. Don't try it yourself.

The road flatly traveled: http://j.mp/b8Lk85

See the full gallery on Posterous

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This was over five hours' exposure over two nights, with some shorter shots to bring out detail in the brighter core.

Taken September 17 and 19, 2009.

Canon 20D (Hap Griffin modified), through StellarVue NightHawk NG (80mm) with Televue 0.8x field flattener, guided with an Orion StarShoot Autoguider on the LX200. Capture and basic processing in ImagesPlus, finished up in Photoshop CS3.

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F-14 Flight 2.mov Watch on Posterous

Justin and I went back to the 114th RC Aero Squadron Sunday afternoon (3/14/10) to try the F-14 in lighter winds (8-10mph). Much better!

Nothing fancy yet, mostly passes checking stability and controllability. All good...

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F-14_Maiden_Flight.mov Watch on Posterous

Throwing caution to the wind -- namely, an 18mph gusty wind with gnarly rotors over the treelines -- I flew my electric swept-wing F-14 for the first time today.

Great high-alpha capability with the wings forward, and an absolutely psychotic roll rate with the wings swept aft -- and this was with low rates (75% of maximum). See 1:17 into the video for some quick rollin'.

Can't wait to try it on a "normal" day...

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VID00744.AVI Watch on Posterous

I shouldn't browse the Internet when I'm bored and looking for a project...

This F-14 Tomcat is made from 6mm Depron foam with carbon fiber spars. The plans and instructions were free on the Internet, but I paid just a few bucks for CNC precut foam and plywood parts, and built it in just a few evenings.

It has a 400-size brushless outrunner motor with a 30a speed controller and an 11.1v 1300mAh Lithium Polymer battery pack, a Spektrum 6-channel micro receiver, micro servos for each elevon (using delta mixing) and a mini metal-geared servo for the wing sweep mechanism.

The decals were scanned from a set for a larger model, printed on waterslide decal paper, coated with acrylic, and transferred to white sticky-back trim sheet before cutting and applying.

First flight (and, fingers crossed, more flights after that) to follow soon...

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Oh, the joy... Third time I've done this -- Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) to remove precancerous cells. Aminolevulinic acid is applied and allowed to soak in for an hour, then is activated by blue light to generate singlet oxygen to kill cells. Feels like mild fire on the face.

The downside is that the skin is sensitized to UV, so you can't go into the sun at all for 48 hours. Kathy had to drive me home, as I had a towel completely covering my head. The last time she did this, a Grapevine cop pulled in behind us and tailed us for a bit, with a very puzzled expression to say the least. I would have paid for him to pull us over. :)

See the full gallery on Posterous

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See the full gallery on Posterous

Oh great, the Captain just made a PA saying we couldn't leave because I'm Skyping in the cockpit... He could at least get it right and say I'm on Posterous so I can do Facebook and Twitter at the same time. :P

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Here is M33, the spiral galaxy in Triangulum.

Taken October 14, 2009, at the Eldorado Star Party.

This is a composite of three hours of exposure. Canon 20D (Hap Griffin modified), through StellarVue NightHawk NG (80mm) with Televue 0.8x field flattener, guided with an Orion StarShoot Autoguider on the LX200. Capture and basic processing in ImagesPlus, finished up in Photoshop CS3.

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The Horsehead and Flame nebulae and the Orion nebula (m42), which I shot through the NightHawk NG a few nights before this, are clearly visible; Barnard's Loop (at the left) and the nebulosity around the "head" of Orion come out nicely with the modified camera. I even managed to do a facelift on the Witch Head at lower right...

Taken October 17, 2009, at the Eldorado Star Party.

This is a composite of about 1-1/2 hours of exposure, with additions: I also shot 30 minutes total with a Fog filter, to highlight the brighter stars in the constellation outline, and three minutes of short exposures to bring out detail (or, at least, mask out the blowout) in M42. These "helper" images were layered/masked into the main image.

Canon 20D (Hap Griffin modified), with a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens at f/3.5, piggybacked on the LX200 which was guided with an Orion StarShoot Autoguider. Capture and basic processing in ImagesPlus, finished up in Photoshop CS3.

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All processing was done while I was on board an AA jet. *

This was a relatively quick shot, 22 five-minute images (a little under two hours total). Canon 20D (Hap Griffin modified), through StellarVue NightHawk NG (80mm) with Televue 0.8x field flattener, guided with an Orion StarShoot Autoguider on the LX200. Capture and basic processing in ImagesPlus, finished up in Photoshop CS3.

* I was riding in Coach, MSP-DFW for digital development, YVR-DFW for Photoshop post-processing. What were you thinking? :)

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When you look at the constellation Orion, you'll see the "sword" hanging down from the three belt stars. This astrophoto shows that "sword" region, which usually looks to the naked eye like three stars, with the center one being kind of hazy.

Taken October 14, 2009, at the Eldorado Star Party.

This is a composite of over three hours of exposure, with some short exposures for core masking. Canon 20D (Hap Griffin modified), through StellarVue NightHawk NG (80mm) with Televue 0.8x field flattener, guided with an Orion StarShoot Autoguider on the LX200. Capture and basic processing in ImagesPlus, finished up in Photoshop CS3.

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The Midlife Avionics Upgrade Initiative, a fancy name for the new flat panel display system (FPDS) on the 757/767. The airspeed indicator, altimeter, vertical speed indicator, radio magnetic direction indicator, and who knows what else have gone away; everything is contained on the Primary Flight Display and the Navigation Display (PFD/ND).

They've got a few simulators with these installed, but I haven't been through one. I saw my first one today, as I plopped in the seat to fly DFW-LAX.

Pretty cool overall, and it'll be nice once they're all outfitted, but for now, well, let's just say that, when you've stared at the same gauges for years and thousands of hours and they're not there, it's flat weird.

I couldn't tell you my altitude very quickly, but I sure knew the time... The clock is now located where the altimeter was. "Los Angeles Center, American 2243, checking in at Flight Level... Uh..." [Hmm. It's 18:44. How high am I?] I thought the Captain was REALLY good as the altimeter needle never moved, then I realized it was the sweep second hand that was parked at the 12:00 position...

I guess I need to change my scan to a Single Screen Stare.

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In any event, a big thanks to all the men and women that have, and continue to, defend our freedoms.

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Chatted via AIM with Kathy, grabbed the backlog of email, now the social posting test... Pretty cool overall; browsing speed isn't setting any speed records, but it works. Better results than I ever got with the old GTE AirPhone... I don't think I ever got a successful call through with that lousy thing.

See you shortly, Kathy and kids...

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For the technoweenies: this was done on the iPhone, shooting with the timer function of Camera Genius, with levels, sharpening, white balance correction, and general Photoshop-style cleanup with Photogene.

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