Highperactive flight.

Such a good day. Starting out with getting coffee, driving out to Rainbow and finding out that even with arriving 15 minutes early there were people there already!

Then fantastic friends to get it all off and in the air. Turned out I was in such a, well, not hurry but ready to get in the air I turned into the Pi-bal for everyone else. The winds were supposed to be 2 mph... what a lie! Getting the envelope off the ground was interesting. We were dishing in a bit but still was able to get it standing up. Stood up and asked for victims.. volunteers to fly.. Hoping to do some hops. No such luck. Lifted off nice enough but as we ascended the winds picked up.. so we went up farther and still no joy. We cruised off to the South East at about 8 mph. Since the temp sensor was reading about 10 to 20 degrees too high I decided to drop into the nearest field and ground track to the closest road. That was excellent as at 8 mph it was up and down, up and down. The balloon handled sweetly doing exactly what I wanted it to do. Turned out to be about a 25 minute flight so not too bad. I heard after from the other balloon Pilots that it slowed down after a while and they had nice landings. All good in my book. I now have to go get some high temp thread and sew my sensor to the sleeve it threads through as I had before. It worked great there. I had two GoPro cameras running so I got some great footage. I clipped some shots out of it and added them below.

As we took off I was on the black ( counter clockwise ( widdershins )) rotation line. Alan is waving.

And our shadow as we climb out with everyone else just pulling out...LOL. I think I was a little fast today.

Rotated back to front. Off we go. That black line is the crown line.

 Zipping up and cutting South. Looking North.

Now ground tracking like crazy....missed that tree ( big bush ) setting up to touch the ground then do a little bounce landing and stopping right next to the road.

Alan jumped out as I vented to he could get the crown line out and bring us down. Just a little hot air at the top. Twelve of the burgundy colored lines from the throat to the burner frame. Lindstrand has such colorful equipment. Lines, baffle, throat, crown and basket. Nice.

Alan and I lounging around waiting for the chase crew to get there. Not that they were lost. more like I landed fast and they had to wait a bit. No biggie. Our landing was nice and fun.

 The crew pulls up just as we are watching the other balloons scream overhead. Some did touch and drags and launched back up in the air. It was interesting to watch.

Packed up and drove back to the launch field. sat around and chatted for quite a while and eating some tasty chili cubes, sipping mimosa's .. what could be better?

Now everything is unpacked and put away. Video files have been dumped and secured and I am writing. Well before that we did go to the store and did some things around the house. No really. some things! Really!

Sigh. Here are some links....

Hay...balloons...sky.... woooo

http://gizmodo.com/googles-crazy-internet-balloons-will-flock-together-li-1232537205

This is funny. But would work if you cant remember your pin. HAH!

http://lifehacker.com/foil-crooks-by-writing-a-fake-pin-number-on-your-debit-1225157484

Yeah.. oops! Just a bar parking lot... Just a cement bomb... oops...

http://gizmodo.com/the-national-guard-accidentally-practice-bombed-a-bar-1231527481

Do you really need it?

http://gizmodo.com/whats-the-most-useful-gadget-people-dont-know-they-ne-1232709728

As we say in the house when you are changing a subject.. TAB!

I am reading John Ringo's Posleen series.. Its okay. Okay, Its good and its well written, I just can think of multiple ways it could be better. I don't know if I feel that the stumbling blocks are too contrived or I just want it to go a different way.....Or... I wish I could write. No Ringo is good. Worth buying his books. Since I have bought three now and will probably buy more. I would rather read a Powers novel but this will do for now. On my list of favorite Authors it goes this way.

Tim Powers
David Drake
Glen Cook
Phillip K. Dick
Robert Heinlein
And others.

Powers. A fantastic writer. His blending of fact and fiction and dedication to research ":O) is Amazing. I didn't say "awesome" again. Each of his books are different and at the same time capturing your sense of "want to believe" or suspension of disbelief. I still say that people want to step over that line. Tim Powers makes it easy.

Drake. Gritty and real characters. Also a fantastic writer. Good War Sci Fi. His eye to detail and adaptation of real life scenarios to fiction work well. No better than well. Hammer series.

Cook. Funny, crazy fantasy. Lighter and distracting read. I am talking about the Garrett series mainly. Hilarious.

Dick. Do Androids Dream of Chicken Feet. No, Sheep... no. Just kidding. He is good and the angle of his view is different from others. Also.. and yes I have read the book but I loved Blade Runner before it was the Epic people now think it is.

Heinlein. I read his books when I was a child. Great stories to cut your teeth on. My brother set me up with him as well as Asimov.

I was not a reader as a crumb cruncher and I think my parents were worried I couldn't read well. So they set my brother to get me to read. Bad idea.. I read like crazy! I read all the time. I reread the same books like you would watch a movie over again. What I need to do is listen to some august advice and expand my reading. I wish it were that easy. Prod prod!

Go ready you some!

Postal

Yeah. Friday. Two hours off early from the HQ! Nice. Got to the store and home and still had time to futz around. Cooler is loaded. I have to find out why my bottles keep getting rusty. Even taking them out right away is not working. Sigh. May have to go with putting the ice in a bag separate from the bottles. Snack bag is packed too. Truck is hitched up. I believe there even is gas in the fan. All that needs to be done now is ice the cooler and pack in the morning and drive. Not too bad for 5pm.

In the six hours I worked today I ran around in my chair like a rabbit. Took picture, tried to get broadband, did more travel, wrote a bunch of email and spun around in circles. It was 1pm before I knew it.

I did get to do a bunch more photo editing. Lots of wide and polar shots. Here are a few. I think I have enough to create a gallery now on my web site.

Pretty flowers.

Patturns and KKisses at last.

AAAA Rumble.

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Special Shapes Day.

Route 66

Links

If you do have a terrible smog situation. Perhaps its time to do something about it.. Not just throwup a tarp.

http://www.neatorama.com/2013/08/29/Dont-Let-Air-Pollution-Ruin-Your-Vacation-Photo/#!h2lgT

There has to be a better way. And where there's a will there's a way. And Mother of invention and all that.

http://gizmodo.com/tor-the-anonymous-internet-and-if-its-right-for-you-1222400823


This is what we get by letting the media and politicians and poor taste select our artist and architects.. ugh!

http://gizmodo.com/this-horrible-dorm-is-britains-worst-building-of-the-y-1228148635

And yes.. they walk among us.. or.. some very bad cloning.. or... you have at least ten people in the world that look just like you.. that that facial recognition!

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/18-historical-figures-and-their-famous-celebrity-doppelgangers

Off to do some more editing and find food and put me feets up... you get the idea.

Jack Of All Trades

It was a dark and stormy night.

Okay, it was a day! Sunny and a might too bright on the roof. Starting at 0640 and ending at 1745 or 6:40 am to 4:45 pm. I began my day with letter writing, moved to price adjusting, requesting, monitor swapping, display modifying, travel processing, up-link signalling, furniture moving, cable running, floor crawling, bathroom papering, printer clearing and back to travel working...ugh! It was a dank and drippy day. Humidity is up to 40 percent. I really was on the floor then up on the roof. Multiple times! Cant say I was bored at all. No. I was definitely not bored. But with a rope burn and skin removal from my right middle finger from dropping a satellite dish over the side of the roof... painful at the least.. irritating and ugly at the most?!

It was a sigh filled day.

Leaving work the traffic up the I-25 was bumper to bumper and slow moving. Not that I was in a hurry. Just moving along and trying not to go too fast that I had to push the brakes hard to stop. Idiots were everywhere as usual. I did make it across town in okay time. Stopped by the store. Walked three blocks there and three back. Got home and had a nice breakfast for dinner. Emptied the dishwasher and reloaded it. Then sat down and ran a bunch of shots through the wide or landscape process. I decided I would keep to the 3 by 7 standard regardless of the subject. Just to see what would happen. They came out not too bad. A good calming procedure.

Central and 3rd.

Stacking up.

 Crazy colors.

Mikes slide.

Patturns low.

Run away.

Jet plane.

Tomorrow.. Polars of some of the same shots as above, slightly adjusted.

Now it is dark and well, breezy out. The days are getting nicer in Albuquerque. You can feel Fiesta creeping up to smack you on the shoulder. Hope your ready. I'm not and that means you have to help me. Soon!!!!

Go enjoy your evening.

Most funny... kinda.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3392B5R5BoA&feature=youtu.be

Whine whine whine... Sci Fi is Sci Fi cause its SCI FI!

http://io9.com/9-scientific-breakthroughs-that-killed-science-fiction-1222342077/1222609370

Tin foil. Well duh. Knew about this ages ago but now its being foisted to control more. Well. Power corrupts.. or.. Who will watch the watchmen?

http://gigaom.com/2013/08/28/how-tin-foil-could-prevent-warrantless-cell-phone-searches-while-preserving-evidence/

And in the noir of the world. Or alternate reality...

http://gizmodo.com/look-at-the-insane-number-layouts-our-telephones-could-1223966486

Can we go there? Alternate reality.. not the telephone company.

Lovely!

You know I really love Albuquerque but I do so hate the jerks who bang into your vehicle and drive away. Now the Honda has a slight dent behind the passenger side wheel well and scratches on the bumper and wheel well. Stupid jerks! Now money I had other plans for has to go to this. Love it! Knee cap everyone if them. Yeah its not that bad but dammit! I am careful every time and park far away and they still mess me up.

Sigh! I need a vacation. I need a vacation in a vacation. Can I get a vacation with a vacation chaser with a little party on the side?

Well I got my balloon back from its annual. Nice to find it is in good shape. Not to happy about the cost but I should not complain about that either.. It gets a good once over and everything tested. I would not pay less for less attention to detail. Its my rear hanging out in the air in the air...LOL. Thanks Aerco for the quick turn around. Now all I have to get is munchies for the crew and we are good to go. Saturday/Rainbow/0630.

I did mess around with some more pictures. I selected some shots from last Fiesta and did some wide screen cropping and also some polar edits. I am surprised that my surface tablet can process 6 times faster than the old HP. Guess I will be using this or the main computer from now on. Sitting here for 30 minutes for a render sucks. I am going to print some of these soon.


This one just shouts.. Boom! Balloons...

 And in your face.

Flagging. The spokes are the flag poles at the North end of the field.

And you Mate. Now you can see the flags.

Specific Gravity. Love this one. So stylized.

That was a lot of fun. More grist for the mill. Cant wait till this fiesta to frame the shots for better polars.

Here are some somewhat interesting links.. don't blame me.. I only point them out.

No, sorry.. a messy desk or work-space make me want to clean it up. I cant get anything done unless there is order. I just want to take a flame thrower to the desk in the link.

http://www.neatorama.com/2013/08/28/Can-a-Messy-Desk-Make-You-More-Creative/#!hWZtj

And who would have thunk it! Alternate histories.. why look farther than the net...

http://www.neatorama.com/2013/08/27/The-US-Built-and-Operated-Aircraft-Carriers-on-the-Great-Lakes-during-World-War-II/#!hWZJh

If I am not important then I am not relevant. I am in my own mind! I am lost in my own mind. Free ice cold milk and PIE!

http://lifehacker.com/why-you-think-the-other-line-always-moves-faster-than-y-1215616347

For my skate board friends... Useful? Interesting I think.

http://www.gizmag.com/brakeboard-skateboard-brakes/28853/

Happy Pie day to you!

Stories

Yesterday I was talking about a story that happened while I was in the military and stationed in Italy. It was rather funny. I thought I would pass it along. Not!

And since I think it might be a bad idea to regale you with it here now.. Well... I deleted it... dang. It was a long story and tough to write. But better to not put it here.

Sorry.. ask me about it and I will tell you in a censored way.

Since I just got off work and missed the AAAA General meeting I might as well post some pictures of the base.

These are not my pictures but from people who were stationed there also. I have some but not in the system.

Main entrence to the station. No runway. Elephant cage behind.

FLR 9 antenna ( elephant cage directional antenna ).

The compound in the background with the two arched roofs. The PMEL ( calibration service ) building is in the front.

Back of the sign going off station. As there were few ways to get down to the local towns there was a sign with the names of the towns on the other side. As the instruction state.. point at the place you want to go and if anyone passing was going there they would pick you up and take you with them.

Yeah! I spent two and a half years there. That was one year longer than the normal remote tour. I watched people come and go. It was at the time very depressing. I did get to go back to the States for another school and to England for a school there at the GCHQ.. the old one not the space ship looking one it is now... There is another funny story ( not at the time ) there too.

Get you some!

And some links for you also.

Chicago fire.. and expansion... most interesting.

http://gizmodo.com/this-clever-map-compares-chicago-before-and-after-the-g-1209404577

We have fire ants where I live. They come in from time to time and they hurt like crazy when they bite you. Why do they come in? They never say, but they do love electricity.

http://lifehacker.com/the-complete-guide-to-managing-your-summer-pest-problem-1183885737

Since I have little space I already do this but I use industrial strength velcro.. it much better than screwing stuff into tables and when you want it off a razor blade and some cleaner works great.

http://lifehacker.com/mount-anything-under-your-desk-with-4-brackets-1208219283

And if I had the money as a single person I owould have built one of these too! its cool.

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/living-cube-might-be-the-ultimate-home-accessory-for-bachelors

Night!

Really? Best Buy and Catch 22

Yeah..... let me get into story mode....

I will start at the end and get to the beginning... You got to be kidding me!... Catch 22 and Best Buy is seriously screwed up. One hour of going back and forth with a "Geek Squad" member... let me describe him... About five foot eightish... spiked in the middle black hair, drooping in the swamp cooler air... black and white spiral guages in his ears.. also looking droopy and somewhat sad. His eye were dark brown and his eyelids never got past half open.. his speech patterns were slow, slurry and broken in cadence. As usual he was wearing that old not quite white shirt, clip on black tie which was okay but had speckles of dandruff on it... black dockers that saw a crease about two weeks ago.. slouching around and mumbling his responses he tried to help me.

Unfortunatly he was stuck. Tapping on the cash register keyboard just brought him to a dull look at the screen... about three minutes of dead silence then, he keeps saying, "oh, I have to ask about this". Over and over again. I interject, Can you give us a store credit for the iPad wifi we are returning and buy the 64 gig iPad with Verizon 4g? "Yeah, sure" he said. Mumbling to himself he goes back to ticking away.. tick ticky tick. The line behind us starts growning.. The woman behind us is moving her cart back and forward coming within inches of wacking my heels. A baby in the seat is crying.. The lady.. looking harried... string hair.. exasperation on her face start singing quietly.. still just inches away from smacking me. So splitting my attention between her and the gauge geeky guy now wandering away to find some other Best Buy assistant. He steps in the way of one  girl and asks why he cant get the order done. She looks at him with these, well, moo moo eyes.. sniffs and says that she "dont know that and he should just talk to a manager."

Here is the problem as I can fathom at the time. He can take the 64 gig wifi iPad back and credit it but we cant buy a 64 gig 4g iPad because they dont have one in stock and cannot order it nor can they sell us one that isnt in the store because they need the code from the box for the cellular hook up even though we are not going to start up the cell service now.  Whew!!! The program for ordering it or the geek guy and the manager cant figure it out. They look at me... now both of them totally lost... Staring at me like I can give them answers to the meaning of life! I, while protecting my ankles, ask them... can you give me store credit for the 64 gig unit and put that towards a 32 gig cell version.. you do have one of those in stock right. You can hear the crickets chirping.

Mr. Geek start tapping the keys again... trying to explain to me exactly what I just told him... Lady and baby are at last told to go sit down and wait to be helped.. I barely save my legs from being pinned against the counter by the cart. I have to remind the manager that its tax free also. I get another "uh ... Right" look. Slowly and with great concentration he at last let me slide my card... enter the " I agree to wash your car every Thursday" notice and sign the screen that is so slow that it makes my signature look like a small whale. Etch a Sketch would work better. The manager looks over Mr. Geeks shoulder. As an afterthought he asks if I would like a bag... Nope I say.. I'm gonna kick it out the store on the floor. Really, I said.. yes please and put the recipt in the bag.... please! Saying thank you to the back of his head I escape!

Lesson learned. Darned if I can understand what the hell it was. Perhaps, something about you cant lead a goof ball to the answer, or buy online and you have a program that dosent wear guages and is half asleep? Um!?

And I think now you understand why I can take pictures but cannot tell a story worth a damn.

Here are some pictures.. At last you say!

Gotta, gotta, gotta print some. Please someone help me get to Sams club to do a few.. maybe twenty... LOL

Here are some links... since I like links.... I like the word "Links!"

link link link link.... PERNOD!

Hahaha...

So as a Tim Power's book lover today was a font of Powersian subjects.. I wonder why.. but I was laughing.. If you have read Earthquake Weather.. you will relate..

http://www.neatorama.com/2013/08/26/Hey-Girl-by-Edison/

This was interesting by the viewpoint of the artest. I think the comment below the caption is full of it but thats neither here nor there... its pretty funny.

http://www.neatorama.com/2013/08/26/Mrs-PJ-Gilligans-Saloon-for-Ladies/

What interesting things happen in our mundane world. First phone call.. First radio broadcast.. Through Winnemucca NV. ( been there, done that, not much there ) and onward. Only 10% of americans had a radio in 1924 and it is 2013! Less than a hundred years and we are wireless on almost everything.. could they understand then what is basic boring now? What is to come in the next 80 odd years?

And..... Read Declare, again by Tim Powers and you can get a feel for this era and technology..

http://gizmodo.com/the-invisible-radar-force-field-that-saved-great-britai-1202976887

As a technician working first at SAC Headquarters at Offutt AFB and then in Italy at a forward listening post what I thought was boring was in fact very exciting. Well.. not then. I remember a story I will tell tomorrow about that time in my life. Its better than my Best Buy story.

Have a great night and here is a last non Powersian link.. unless he hits the deck here or there...

http://www.neatorama.com/2013/08/26/Hardcore-Skateboard/

Okay.. here is a link to the new Power's novel... not bad at all.. LOL.. I am joking.. Its very good

http://www.amazon.com/Salvage-Demolition-Tim-Powers/dp/159606515X/ref=sr_1_1?
ie=UTF8&qid=1377566018&sr=8-1&keywords=Salvage+and+Demolition

Yes, five links today! Lucky you!

Sunday and avoiding responsibilities

Yeah.. I totally avoided what I should have been doing... Sorry.. I promise I will spend tomorrow evening getting things up and running on the editing part. Promise Promise. I didn't know how star stuck I could be. Okay.. not star stuck as much as numb.. Meeting someone that has had such effect on you and your reading habits and finding out that they are approachable, down to earth nice and friendly... well I am sure I was babbling Saturday night a lot. I didn't have the capacity to just absorb everything that was said.. I think I said "awesome" a lot and "wow". I am positive I was not very coherent. I must apologize for that.

I have heard that when trying to sell a short story or a novel you have to hook the editor in the first few paragraphs. If I could write I would start it off with... I have two questions.. what the hell and who the hell did it to me? Three... why am I soaking wet?

Maybe when things calm down I can take a course on writing. I do need to for my job. There is a lot of writing. This is where I say sorry to my parents for not listening in school and not doing better than I did. I regret it now. Its not that I cant write or read. Its that its much harder to write correctly or with the correct grammar and punctuation and such.

Maybe I should leave the writing to good writers and I will keep taking pictures.

Its all about Hot Air Balloons...lol

Morning Glow...

Worlds!

Where is it?

Loop The Loop

Balloon Museum In The Round

High Spirits...

Those were fun to do. Time to start printing some. I think a few would be nice about 20 or 24 inches.

I almost have enough done for a gallery on the website. I am trying to do more than just balloons. I think or I have the feeling I am limiting myself but at this time I have not the time to expand anything... LOL.. except my waistline.

The editing takes quite a lot of computer power and I am on the lower powered computer due to the heat so it takes quite a while to get them done. But I think they are worth it.

Now off to do something else in the editing mode.

Enjoy some links.

I thought this was funny.. What people will believe... In a conversation it was said that fantasy is kinda tricking the reader to suspend belief.. I think that if you give a person a reason to suspend belief the will... escapism.. they want it to be real..so.. they buy in.. just give em a chance.

http://www.neatorama.com/2013/08/25/Alien-Gargoyle/

If you like the chrome web site grid.. you can do it on firefox now..

http://lifehacker.com/new-tab-pro-adds-a-custom-recent-sites-grid-to-new-fire-1194009864

Also, if you like to take videos with you.. movies and such... here are some formatters...

http://lifehacker.com/five-best-video-converters-1191180767

Out of body .... I wonder if you could throw yourself.. your essence... out of your corprial body...hmmm

Three Days To Never... look it up..

http://www.gizmag.com/visualized-heartbeat-out-of-body-experience/28728/

Day two of the Bubonicon and Friends.

We went back to the Bubonicon again today to visit with new/old friends. Sat and chatted for a while... visited the Con room got some snacks.. went and listened to Tim Powers speak about writing for his allotted 55 minutes.. He is very articulate and completely approachable and open about how he writes and researches as well as answering questions from the audience of which had a few other Authors asking questions again ( poorly written. See! ). I guess I can sum up his comments and his style as Vibrant. Full of Life. We ran off and got some food then stopped in at the end of the book signing to say goodbye. Good friends. Now we are home ... dogs fed... decompressing.. lots to think about and many avenues of interest which we shared to go research more. Most interesting.

I do wish I could write.. Ideas I have... ability... Zero! Plus I've got editing to do and I have yet to start that. Tomorrow, tomorrow. Time time time.. but I would not have traded any moment of the last two days. I wished I could have gotten out ballooning but getting home at 1045 last night with so much fun... how do you shut your mind off? I didn't fall asleep till 1 am. Today was as nice and fun. But I am wiped out. I don't know how the Authors and their Wives deal with the 3 days of chatter and people and and... strange people in weird costumes... and then there were the people dressed up like cartoon characters. First Convention done... though we are not able to go tomorrow.. missing out on a tea with the Authors.. Again.. I dont know if I could deal with that much "Face Time" which all the Authors have to do. No I know I couldn't. More power to you... and you know who I mean.

Here are a few shots from the show... No .. I did not take any pictures of the characters....

Panel on Sci Fi and Fantasy...

It was pretty interesting in a hold it at arms length and squint.... except the certain people who made my millennium. LOL.

I do think I need to look into printing some of my abstract pictures and showing them in the art portion of the cons going on.... As I said yesterday.. there was some very very good art and jewelry and then there was some very bad.. or non art... of which I have little to say as its all negative and I don't want to be hunted down..hahahhahaha... inside joke about Amazon and reviews. For what was selling at the art show/auction and at the most interesting prices.. well... thoughts....

Okay.. some links.... Yeah...

This is the Tim Powers website.. if you have not read one of his books.... your life is not complete.

http://www.theworksoftimpowers.com/

and they are not out of control.. no.. wheres the outrage?

http://gizmodo.com/surprise-nsa-agents-use-all-seeing-power-to-spy-on-the-1193464964

And for you Youtube lovers.... here is a cool cut out...

http://lifehacker.com/preload-entire-youtube-videos-by-disabling-dash-playbac-1186454034

We were talking about this today at the con... and yeah... the window on insanity...

http://www.neatorama.com/2013/08/24/Reality-and-Mental-Illness-are-Starting-to-Converge/

Have a good time with those.. the first one... worth every moment you spend there.