Folks:

Fittop:

Bad luck my friend and good luck too. Rain in the attic is never a good thing unless you brought it in a glass. Quite a storm you must have had. But what if it had been a hurricane? We are just getting into the peak hurricane season. Fingers are crossed from here to Florida. Thank goodness the tree did not fall on anything or anyone. Not even an extra fat squirrel. That could have been, like the Stew who backed into a prop, ....a disaster.

The NC Tourist Bureau calls the state "Variety Vacationland". Ashville is certainly one of the better examples of what we have to offer here. I've been there several times, flew in and out of the airport there commercially one dark night with storms around. I was on my way to Nashville. A very bumpy ride. The pretty girl sitting next to me took hold of my hand during a particularly violent downdraft. Her very red nails left very red imprints on my hand. She was really frightened so I just took it. I did not regret it. For she was incredibly appreciative when we landed safely in Nashville. The scars are finally gone now.

I hope you do get there. The scenery is particularly gorgeous in the fall. The little shack that Vanderbilt built even outclasses the Hearst estate in California. The Grove Park Inn is worth your time. The Blue Ridge Mountain and the Parkway are probably the most visited park area in America. An easy jump off to many areas of interest such as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But you would already know all that if you've been there before. We are at the other end of the state but used to go camping in the NC mountains every fall. Once we went camping late when snow was on the ground.

We camped in primitive camp grounds, most often the one up on Balsam Mountain. That was black bear country and we had several encounters. The year we camped in snow the ground and wood was wet but I managed to get a good campfire going. The fellow camping nearest us actually was cussing me because I got one going and he could not even though he claimed to be a grad of "Outward Bound". He was the only ornery camper I ever met. Had he not been so obscene I might have started his fire for him or at least offered to. His outburst obviously embarrassed the young woman cohabiting his tent. I felt sorry for her. They finally ate out that night but not as far "out" as we did. Chanel is nice but to be brutally frank the best perfume I've ever sensed in my life is bacon, fish or steak sizzling over a perfectly built campfire.

Ummm. Before you call the expensive repairman: This may be far too obvious to mention but have you checked the batteries in the garage door opener?

Folks,
JRT:

I have driven through your beautiful part of the country a few times but haven' t had the pleasure of staying in Ashville.
That's their second home; made much more convenient now in that they can travel in their speedy little bird.
The remote batteries are good, I had noticed the problem recently from the wall-mounted switch. But I did grease the rail screw and rollers with the appropriate spray.
Of course, it won't be forgotten that Murphy's Law will still apply...again.

Folks,

We have another overcast day with patchy, light rain and thunder this Monday. The temp here is 80°F. with 79% humidity and a 3 mph breeze from the NW.

Looks like London will be a quieter place for at least 4 years. Big Ben is being silenced to protect the tender ears of repair crews. It might be interesting to see if the rhetoric improves and if the quality of what Parliment enacts becomes without cotton stuffed in the member's ears.

Fittop:

I once had two homes but they were not all that far apart. And neither was in lovely Ashville either. If and when you manage to get to Ashville send us a snap of his plane. I'll likely have to change into some other duds that will not clash with the green of my envious face on that day. That's worth the risk.

Folks,

Rain, mist, and overcast, oh my.... The temp here at 9:15 AM is 77°F. the humidity 100% and there is no measurable wind from any direction.

I am going out today to finally begin my hands on research into buying a new desktop computer. It is a formality really because I am sure I will end up with a custom-built PC. I will also order a new battery for this elderly HP notebook I've been using this year. I want to look at the new phones today as well. Whatever computer I buy that will be just the beginning of course. I want all the peripherals too. Rudder pedals, Track IR, robust joystick, etc. Once was the time I could go to my local big box store for those. No more. Amazon is likely the answer for all the extras that make flight sims the best they can be. I got my grandson's birthday present from Amazon with absolutely no hassle once I'd made an address change and spoke to a representative on the phone who beat the hell out of the AI they use to screen the unwashed and undesirables from using their credit cards. Now it loves me.Within one work day, the gift arrived at my door by UPS. Drat! I was hoping for a drone delivery.

I've been patiently putting off all personal purchases for a long time. Anyone have any experience with Alienware computers? My grandson made me promise to look at those at Best Buy. I want a new DSLR camera for Christmas as well so I'll look at those. I'm looking for another Nikon, possibly one of their combos. I've purposely done without a lot of non-essential but much-desired items until my son's problems were totally resolved and now, thank God, they are. He's building what will be his first home that belongs to him. He's been through hell this year and he deserves a bit of happiness, I think. I know 'cause I went through much of it with him.

He was actually considering buying a light plane with one of his buddies but, I think wisely, put that off in favor of building his house. I have heard no more about those 3 jeeps he was getting. Last I heard he was unable to get back in touch with the owner. I think he was just speculating on those to make a little profit. He has a fast car and will likely buy a new truck. His last truck was a nice Z71. He sold that to someone who really wanted it more than he did. He's a southern boy; he'll buy another truck mark my words. His foot was in such bad shape that for much of the year he has had great difficulty driving anything. Much of the time he was in a hospital.

The bad news is, life can be a real pain in the ass, the good news is, nothing lasts forever. Once there were two kings. They were playing a game one day in one of their palaces. One monarch said to the other "I've heard there is a gold ring that if you feel sad will make you happy and if you are happy it will make you sad." "That is quite true my friend said the other king." I know because I own that very ring." Surprised and excited the first king asked if he might see the ring.

The second king agreed and summoned a servant. He whispered something into his trusted servant's ear and the man bowed and left the room. An hour or three later the king's goldsmith came in and conversed a few moments with the second king. The second king smiled widely when the Goldsmith handed him something wrapped in a cloth. Walking back to the first king, the second king handed the first king the item. When unfolded the cloth revealed a golden ring. On that ring was written the words "Nothing Lasts Forever".

Folks, JRT:

The best news in your last post is the good news about your son foot getting better. I'll continue to keep my fingers crossed.

Not knowing much about computers, especially gaming rigs I researched it and ended up getting one made and customized by Digital Storm. That was four years ago and the warranty on parts runs out this month.
The only problem I have had is a fan potentiometer that died. No harm done. Can send details on it by PM. it is used most every day.

I could probably add another SSD that is sitting on the shelf as soon as I can solve the Windows 10 and clean some of the junk in it up. Perhaps if I added a 1050 or better graphic card it'd almost be up to VR.
But like I said, I know so little about computers so....

Got the stepson a basic game model for Christmas year and a half ago from same company. He had a problem with it but was solved by company mailing him a motherboard.

The laptops here are Dell Inspirons and even the 2005 model is still working,- if in XP IOS until I put in the W7 disc still in a folder. Never did see much wrong with W7 anyway.
Still have a Windows 3.1 and W '98. Yep they play Mig Alley and Flight Sim 2004 and can handle the soft disks. Someday they will have to go.

Folks,

We'll see the lower 90s F. today under overcast skies.

Fittop:

I've replied to your kind PM my friend. Thank you for the info.

We picked up t hat Nikon camera combo last night. It makes my old Nikon seem like a Brownie Starflash in comparison. So many features my mind is overwhelmed. It will probably darn my socks and possibly take good photos at the same time. My son has it out now learning what he can do with it. With the advent of cell phone cameras, I expect for many a camera is an unneeded luxury these days. Phone cameras take good pictures properly used. Good cameras are a bit like flight sims. If you can manage the steep learning curve the experience is rewarding.

My son bought an HP laptop last night just to use with the camera. I am not all that crazy about the HP line myself. For what he will use it for it is more than adequate, however. Besides, what do I know? My first computer, bought back in the 80s, was a woefully inadequate PC Jr. In spite of its inadequacies, I learned a lot on that old, under powered DOS machine with the wonky BIOS.

Folks,

We have no weather today. We were supposed to have some sunny days. We paid for it with several rainy days. I don't know what happened to it. Perhaps someone stole it? Nobody leave dis room. At least that hurricane missed us. There will most likely be more in the Atlantic before November.

Fittop:

Got your PM and e-mail. I have answered same. Thanks. Very nice looking system; amazingly clean.

Folks,

What! More weather disturbance in the tropics? More big blow hards developing? Wonderful. Today it is just sunny and HOT.Right now the temp is 86°F. and rapidly rising. The humidity is 76% and rising. The ambient high for today is eclipsed by the projected index of up to 105°F. with heat warnings flaring up across the state. There is a 7mph wind from the SW but that won't help much. What may help is a colds front headed our way that will likely bring clouds and showers.

One good thing about the big winds now circulating in the tropics is that they reminded my son to have one of those 'whole house' electric generators installed in the house he is building. We have a lot of storms particularly in summer that kick out the electricity for an hour to several days. Of course, that won't help much if a big wind blew the house away. That is unlikely. For that would take a truly big hurricane, tornado or the unexpected return of my son's former wife or mother-in-law. It also reminds me that when I get my new computer I must invest in more than just a good power strip to protect it and keep it running. One of those battery powered power sources that switch on when the house power goes off.

If I were to do as he wishes and move in with him, I wonder if the generator would cycle on in time to keep the computer from crashing? I've seen them in action. One in a friend's house cycled on before his ceiling fans had stopped turning. Considering the value of the computer and the data thereon it might be a good idea to have both extra power sources available should the power go off. We had an ice storm in the winter of 2015 that shut down the power and made it a very dark night. A limb from a tree had fallen on the power lines. It was a big house and soon we were huddling together under blankets. The kids were fretting about their indispensable cell phones losing power. I was missing the news on TV and no food could be cooked. Many had it worse that night but some had it better... they had generators. The decision was made that either we get a battery operated TV and a microwave that ran on Gerbil power we needed a generator.

There are many kinds I found when I went to Lowes. Some are powered by gasoline others by propane. Different designs for differing applications. Nothing is easy anymore. My son's unit will likely be propane powered. They seem to last the longest between refills. The unit cycles on once every week for a short time to keep it functioning when it is actually needed. The small amount of extra electricity just goes on the grid and the town pays us for it. As storage batteries improve solar power begins to be more attractive. Maybe one sunny day we can all go off the grid entirely.

Folks,

Another fine, hot, summer's day on tap for us today. The temp at 10 AM is 82°F. with a high expected to be in the low 90s. The humidity 1s a drippy 81% and we have an 8mpf wind from the NW.

if you've been lying awake nights wondering why Warren Buffett has never invested in gold ( and who hasn't ) I've finally found the answer.

On why Buffett doesn’t invest in gold, he said:“You could take all the gold that’s ever been mined, and it would fill a cube 68 feet in each direction. For what that’s worth at current gold prices, you could buy all—not some—of the farmland in the U.S. Plus, you could buy 16 Exxon Mobils, plus have $1 trillion of walking-around money. Or you could have a big cube of metal. Which would you take? Which is going to produce more value?”

Ahhhhh. Now we can all sleep soundly once more.

Folks,

JRT, It never occurred to me to wonder but I understand his wisdom. I would have never thought that that amount of gold value would take so little relative space.

Backing up a bit, the reason why my system looks so clean is that that picture was taken when I first set it up. They did a good job with the wire routing though.

I'm sure my cleaning of it since has not removed all the junk. But will find out when I try to add a SSD.
I am itching to update and clean Windows 10 so I can get the 64 bit edition of Prepar3D

It will soon be hurricane season. I wish you good luck and a safe season. Given the amount of August rain, there is no doubt this will be a different weather year.

For near-future planning I will try to have flat, white paper to enjoy the eclipse. At best we will see a 75% obscuration here vs. the close to 100% you will hopefully see.
Someone told me a copy of X-ray film would make a good, safe filter but I returned the borrowed one used for the last eclipse and have grown more cynical since.

What I really noticed most in past eclipses and earthquakes was the wildlife and domesticated animal behavior before and during the event.
Dogs always seemed to howl and were a good warning sign for earthquakes. Birds seem confused and flutter but don't fly off as they do when they hear a shot.

Hanging on to a door frame during a temblor leaves you with little else to do but feeling it, hearing it and other noises, counting rapid seconds until its over and checking the last known position of others.
Oh yes, and seeing an appliance walk itself close to the edge of a shelf and wondering when the teethering will stop.

Looking forward to Monday here and watch as close a total eclipse as I probably ever will see again.

Folks,

Fittop:

I'm not sure where he got his figures from but his being Warren Buffett I'll accept them.

I've seen near eclipses before. Not quite old enough or in the right place to see a total one yet. My late wife and I experienced some tremors from that minimal earthquake centered north of us in 2010 or was it 2011? It shook the house and rattled the windows. We'd seen something like that happen before but this time we quickly ruled out her dear mother falling off the porch again. NC has a great fault line under us so we are certainly subject to have quakes. That one was the only actual quake I can remember.

I have answered your PMs and your e-mail, plus adding one of my own, that one being just sent.

Gents,

Today I got a bit of sun in my face as I was looking at various airplanes. I took some very amateurish snaps and have had the audacity to post them here

Gentlemenses,

Hot day today. 92 F and 68% humidity. Went to the St Petersburg Museum of History. Kind of lame. It is only history pertaining to St Petersburg. The only exhibit that was really any good was the first commercial flight in history. January 1st, 1914 by Tony Jannus. It was in a Benoist XIV seaplane. Flew with one passenger, former mayor of St Petersburg, from St Petersburg to Tampa. Short flight, but beat the long trip around the bay by car or railroad. Interesting life of Tony Jannus.

http://www.businessinsider.com/1914-first-commercial-flight-price-anniversary-2013-12

I have let my night currency lapse and am going up tonight to restore it. First taking the wife on a sunset flight then landing and letting her go while I wait for the additional time to reach the FAA requirement of 30 minutes after sunset. Then I have to do three flights with full stop landings and takeoffs. Flying at night has it trade offs. To the good is cooler temps, smoother air, less traffic and counterintuitively it's easier to spot, and a different way of seeing things. On the downside navigation can be trickier, more worry about weather conditions, emergency landings much riskier, and normal landings are different than your daytime perception. And it is always about the landings.

So off I go into the wild black yonder.

Folks,

The temp here is 76°F. but with 100% humidity and no wind, it is going to be a very warm feeling day. The high is likely to be around 90°F.

MG:

Did you notice the most expensive Brit car ever was just sold? A 1956 Aston Martin DBR1 sold for a record-breaking £17.5m. My pal's Austin Healey 2000 would probably be put on the market for that price.... No, not likely since its rarity and value is clearly "slightly" less.

Those getting ready to view the eclipse should protect their eyes and also their cameras. The sun can damage an expensive camera in a very short time without the proper filter. Before I risked my camera I'd check out the proper procedure first. Or you can view it with a pin point sheet of paper throwing a shadow of the event on a wall. To view the eclipse more directly, be sure you have glasses certified for viewing the event, There are likely to be a lot of cheap, dangerous fakes out there. I do seem to remember seeing the total eclipse of Feb. 1962. The longest eclipse will occur on June 25, 2522, with a maximum duration of totality of 7 minutes, 12 seconds. Let's all make a note right now to gather somewhere to view that one...

Folks,

MG:

Where are they? I don't see them or a link. My eyesight is indeed failing rapidly as I approach my 73rd year, but nothing shows.

Fittop:

I have finally answered your last PM.

Folks:

It is a little-known fact that our Dux once dabbled in the black art of prestidigitation (er, magic, that is). He studied many large and dusty tomes, the acts of the masters like Blackstone, Houdini, and many others. Some were quite ancient and truly obscure. He practiced day and night, night and day. He learned potent charms, powerful incantations and a plethora of curses plus, not a few curse words. Nothing that was written about magic, ancient or modern, escaped his concentrated view.

He began practicing his art simply. First, he cast spells that curdled milk. Ok, I heard that MG, yes, witches are supposed to do that but did they do it while it was still in the cow? I bet not. Dux finally stopped doing that spell after the third cow chased him up a tree, then butted it until he fell out again and a bull chased him home.

Eventually, Dux felt he could learn no more. It was time to perform. He began to plan his magic act. His act would be fantastic beyond any other. His act would be better because it would be "real" magic and not an "act" at all. There would be spells and curses, hypnotism and legerdemain. There would be incantations, metamorphosis and daredevil escapes. He wrote all that down. Something was gnawing at him as he looked at what he had written. There was still something missing. What was it? He read his list aloud. There was something missing, something he had seen in every performance of magic, but what? All at once, he had it. A woman MUST be sawed in half! How could he have missed that? That was a classic if ever there was one.

Every magician worth his flash paper sawed at least one woman in half. Some he remembered, with a shudder, in his intermediate magic class had better luck with that bit than did others. It was getting beastly hard to find a woman gullab...stupi... craz.... suitable enough to attempt being sawed in half of late. Besides the sawing in half bit was so very common. Everyone was indeed doing it. Admittedly if you didn't actually know magic, real magic, there was a simple trick to it anyone could easily learn if you had the sawing in half equipment. That had to be built and it wasn't cheap.

All would have gone pretty well for his first performance in Farmer Drubbin's barn but for a little problem with the sawing a woman in half part. The Mystic Marvel Duxini (as he was now calling himself) simply could not get anyone to volunteer to actually BE sawed in half. No volunteers came forward from the audience, not even when he had offered 5 quid for the honor. I do not know why this was so.

Perhaps it was not enough money? Maybe it was because Dux in his multicolored turban and flowing robes seemed rather too young? Maybe it was because every woman in the audience that evening who had the courage to be sawed in half already had several stitched on their delicate tummies from the magic class? Or.... maybe it was because Duxini wanted his act to be different from every other magician's. Because, friends, for that very reason, instead of sawing a woman in half in the conventional crosswise fashion, our boy was going to do it lengthwise!

Just click on the word "here", in my original post.

Folks,

Thank you Mr. MG. I feared I had missed the pictures, but I had just missed the bold print. Great shots taken in what looks like a beautiful day.

The growing cumulus clouds here give no information about initially the first almost sunset and then the second almost sunrise of the day.

This time I will allow the eclipse was better on television. I was outside and didn't even noticed strange behavior by the birds.

My mind had pulled out a memory bank of early morning o'dark thirty departures from Amarillo, Texas eastbound where from a snowy night takeoff you rapidly ascended into and through a ten-thousand foot dark overcast into a very bright round light filling your eyeballs. You learn to have shades and sunglasses handy.

You can't help but smile after you have turned off the anti-ice and see it's morning again. Check the engine instruments. Good, great crew, nice machine. Yes. All is right with the world.

OK, it was only a 75% partial eclipse in the area but somehow I expected a darker shading during a few minutes.
It was better on television, and I didn't even pay for the hotel room.

Thank you too, Oldgrognard. I can only see it on two-dimensions in a virtual machine, in a chair that doesn't bounce and side windows that never freeze, but night flights are still full of part-time wonder and almost-intrigue.

You talked me into another night flight in a table sim. I turned off the room light and played looking into backlit cloud shadows.
It was fun and I only got the airplane wet.

Hope your night time requal went as well.

Folks,

The temp at 11 Am is 83°F. and the expected high is about 90°F. The humidity is 79% today. There is a 5 mph breeze blowing from the SW. Partly cloudy skies prevail with a bright sun shines down and I suspect there is little hope of another eclipse.

Fittop:

I have inadequately responded to your interesting PM. We are lucky indeed to have two such experienced pilots with us now, meaning you and OG. Everyone contributes something interesting. We may not be able to fly BoB right now but we can vicariously enjoy OG's interesting posts of wings over Florida. MG keeps us informed of all things in the racing world and on Danish endurance biking. Now and again PV1 pops in with a cordial comment regarding BoB. Dux informs us about fishing the sea and birding in the verdant paradise of distant Wales. And i......I... well, let's see, now... occasionally I.... ??? What do I do LeRoy? That's right. Dash it all, someone has to actually READ it all. That is about all I contribute. Yet I knew there was SOMETHING I did besides just reporting our boring weather. Thanks for reminding me what I do here LeRoy. Remind me to increase your grog allowance.

My night flying went perfectly. Took the wife and we flew and watched the sunset. She took these with her iPhone. Taxiing out for takeoff, out of order approach for landing, flying.

[img]https://imgur.com/a/MKlg9[/img]

A friend two hangars down was taking off as we were landing. He was checking some alternator and electrical power issue he was having. When he used all his lighting it was popping a circuit breaker and he was giving it another go. Bad news was problem recurred and he immediately stayed in pattern and landed. So he and my wife talked and watched as I went off into the dark to do my requirements. All my night lighting was working perfectly; instrument backlights, red panel lighting, and red ambient cockpit lighting. First flight I left the pattern and went through the different settings and combinations. Switched between white and red and did combinations of them. Everything was perfect. The weather was not perfect with some rain to the east of the field that I had to keep an eye on. Fortunately my panel mounted Garmin 396 shows weather and so I could get some confirmation of what my eyes were registering. They stayed sufficiently away for me to do the whole routine and after the third landing it taxied back. I always try to get non-fliers to understand that some of the most difficult/confusing times in flying are trying to keep all the taxi markings and lighting right. It would seem so easy, but in reality it can be misleading. I found that I do want to make one adjustment on the plane. I need to change the angle of my taxi light on my left wing to be a bit more down and inboard. Just a couple degrees.

No pictures at full dark because I was busy flying. I'll get some next time.


I was pleased with my landings and didn't have any perception problems in the dark.

And that's what happened.

Folks,

OG:

Well, there seemed to be some 'nice' thunder heads off to one side in one of the photos that looked threatening to me. A very good pal of mine said flying at night didn't bother him but landing on a carrier at night scared the absolute crap out of him every time. He flew A-6s. Unfortunately, he augered his Intruder in during a night training mission. Warren was a good guy. We miss him.