Novelties

Stomping up the steps makes me feel better.. stomping the paisley shapes just cheers me the heck up. 24, 25, 26 and a left turn… Eight hundreds…… two shelves down in the darker areas. Just making out the sign is tough. No lighter in my pocket so all by touch. Yep.. here we are, fourth case and second shelf from the bottom. Squatting down to run my finger across the spines.. 7 percent…. Contusion!… out like a light…

A Friday for Friday kind of people. It was keep up with the traffic at higher than normal speeds all the way in. I think all the people wanted to get to work fast so they could leave faster. It’s pandemonium out there. Work was a nice quiet shuffle through paperwork and redoing travel and checking for information. Some I got. Some information stopped things in its tracks. So is downright frustrating. Monday will be a long day I am sure. I was working on a floor plan for our office so that I can put a request in for new or better walls. Maybe just some add on’s. I will ask and send all versions and hopefully they will choose the one I want.

Tonight run right through the center of my photo files I found myself in the classic car section. They just are perfect for polar and other modifications. Below you will see what I got up to. Most of it was trying something different or editing in a different way. Some good some bad.  Okay not bad.. some boring. Some fun. I have hopes for this weekend. If we fly I can get a bunch of shots from that but its not what I want to shoot. We shall see..

MGN Skull

Orange

DownLow

Prayers

Blue Wings

Colorific

Wings

Streaking

Kennedy Johnson

Novelties.

Not that it interests me except for the super bowl of which the commercials are what I like. I came up with a new game that's like football but slightly different. I call it OVERBall. Same as football but the ball is four times as large. It would be hilarious. A much more interesting game.

http://gizmodo.com/were-footballs-ever-really-made-of-pigskin-1513061556

I love maps and I like subways. Not that we have them here in the desert but the ones I have been on are great. Here are some maps.. So cool.

http://gizmodo.com/18-subway-maps-that-trace-nycs-transit-history-1242514280

Not that it was rare before. Just like the diamond.. The output is controlled so they can hike the prices up. I wouldn't buy gold or diamonds if I didn't have to. False worth. And now…. We can make gold…

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/scientists-can-now-make-24k-gold-whenver-they-want-with-this

And my favorite for the day. North Korea lands a man on the sun… at night. He will be back tomorrow morning.

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/north-korea-claims-to-have-landed-on-the-sun-hilarity-ensues

Oh boy!

Returning with a different viewpoint.

Oh hell I say. Shaking off as much water on the natty rug just inside the door seems to abate the tender senses of the guarda. Feeling a little bit better in the warmth I head over to the file trays full of those little cards with numbers and things on them. Looking up fiction… remembering all I can of the Dewey Decimal system… is that 800? English, Lit, Fiction… ahhh….  Since using the internal memory is questionable one hand scrabbles on the top of the case for a pencil and hopefully scrap paper while my other finger is stuck in between the cards. With my eyes just clearing the top edges I can spy some of those instruments just on the other end. They are free! Woah! Okay.. back to the drawer… and… Sherlock…. Solution…. Okay…. Off we go… And that's the wrong direction. Second floor and to the left so saith the crinkly old parchment map affixed to the end of the card case. The game is….. thataway!

In most adventures there is a beginning and an end. If you start a story at the middle which way would you go? Is it the glass is half empty or the glass is half full. Perhaps there is no glass at all. A lot of things today are like Schrödinger's cat. You take it on faith until you can either, touch, taste, smell or see it. Granted walking around licking cats is a bad way to go about life. I know they do it in Japan and I still think it strange. So what are you supposed to do? Take it on faith. Last night was full of more aliens. Inhabiting simulated people. Not mean but neutral. Observing. Why do I have these dreams when I do not have such reading or viewing sensory inputs?

Ranging around today I thought about my idea of setting polar on the diamond or point. What would make a good polar for such a placement. I tested the hypothesis on some fenders, grills and hoods. And not bad if I do say myself. I will be printing these out and putting them in frames. Look below. Three extra steps do not make it any harder just a little longer. Matching takes forever. That also makes for a cleaner transition.

RAVEN

Skulker Bird.

Tornado.

PAM

The 500.

CHI.

Skull.

Im going to have to do some more.

Another head on display. Getting there. Very close to blocking the ( exterior ) world out.

http://www.gizmag.com/eyes-on-avegant-glyph/30660/

A map of the levels snow fall that is necessary to shut things down. It is much better to close and not have to worry about it than not close and be stuck in the middle of it. There is no cry wolf in this. Just do it.

http://io9.com/a-map-of-how-much-snow-it-takes-to-cancel-school-acros-1512324082

My comment yesterday on this is so true. Alternate routes or plans and a fast pack. If I have to stay at my office my desk is good enough to sleep on and I have back up cloths to use as pillow and blanket. I think we need to upgrade our office supplies though. We do have two cots.

http://jalopnik.com/what-to-do-and-what-not-to-do-when-youre-trapped-on-1512321323/@whitsongordon

A very good use of technologies. If they could just get the amount of use out of cells that they should it would be better.

http://www.gizmag.com/worlds-largest-solar-bridge-london/30668/

But good job London.. good job. Now just get those peizio electric mats down on all the tunnels into and out of the tube stations and you can use the power of the foot to run your services….

When I started this blog today my keyboard went crazy. I do not know at this time why its causing such mischief. Its bluetooth and it seemed to be fighting with my mouse. You hit a key on the board and it would do a mouse function. I was even typing an important email and it kept sending. Had to shut everything down and switch everything back on one at a time. Frustrating and aggravating.

And so now I shall put my feet up.

Be The Ball.

Great! Its raining inside! Just kidding, no I have not lost my humor, if I do I might as well lay down on the ground and feed the worms....  Its nice and warm as I hit the door and revolves me into that warm, old, comfy smell of book bindings and yellowed pages. Lights around the edges of the main room show a central desk setup for the staff. Four high desks with two women standing. One is reading from a card file and the other is cleaning a set of cheaters with the corner hem of her cardigan and looking at me past her eyebrows. I guess she isn't fond of the wet cats walking through her front door. If it wasn't for the smell of cream in those bookshelves and the chance of getting out of the brain smashing rain…. Hell. I have something to find. And find it I will, even with the handmaiden of cat hell standing over my shoulder.

I said the day before yesterday that I would work on the engagement video. I tried! Really. I had it all set and speeded up and found out that the darn thing was over time for uploading. So I have to start over from scratch. I think I am going to try a slow speed clip version then a fast one after that. Its easier to do that slow than the fast. I will do that tomorrow evening as I hope to get off on time that day. Today was a multiple item day. Look for furniture, look for equipment that needs to be disposed of, make lists and locations of that equipment, find out what is on the rolls and what is not, get new climbing boots even though we have not had refresher raining we know how to climb, back to the property search and clear. I have to charge my camera battery up here in a minute.

I went and found a few shots that I wanted to see if they could be skewed to a wide view look. Some came out good some meh. I am going to do a few more before posting them below. Oh! If I can get off on time tomorrow I may pop down and get a set of shots I have wanted to do for a while. Its supposed to be blowing like mad tonight and tomorrow but I have hopes it will die down by the time I get off work. I can go into town and set up my tripod and shoot off 50 or so shots and get on home. Its a goal. A short term goal.

Be The Ball.

Bee The Balloon.

Whack It Out Of The Park.

Over The Top.

IS O TOPE S

That was fun.

So various things I was interested in today.

Snow… and why most people can't handle it. Mainly they have their heads so far into the nether regions of their anatomy that they can't see that all that's needed is patience and the reminder that there are other people also who exist. Slow down. Slow down… slow down more. Even if you live in the South you should be prepared to deal with it. I've lived in Utah, Nevada, ( lots of snow ),California, Mississippi ( no snow ) ect… if you take it slow and get a few alternate courses lined out ( hopefully will few hills ) you shouldn't have a problem.

http://gizmodo.com/why-the-south-fell-apart-in-the-snow-1511566912

If you can't beat them with knowledge baffle them with Bull Snickers…

http://gizmodo.com/sneaky-honey-encryption-stops-hackers-by-drowning-the-1511718913

I am handy at home. I do not like to be. I have fixed dryers and dishwashers and electrical. I've run my own lights and done minor plumbing. I will call an expert in for serious jobs or where I do not have the tools and the cost of buying them is prohibitive. Oh and I can build a darn house if I had the need. I learned that in 7th grade! I do not think upgrading your home to the point that the market will never let you see any of that money return. I'd rather just move on and sell the house to someone else who would rather pay a low price and get older appliances and fixtures.

http://lifehacker.com/home-improvement-projects-that-cost-more-than-theyre-w-1511442981

And after my rant on people who are too centered on themselves and do not think anyone else is “real”, just props in their travels here are people who see other people and take steps according to their ability to see to it that those aforementioned people are helped. Every little bit counts. I'm not saying stop on the corner for that guy who’s panhandling for money that is wearing the brand new Jordans ( yes I stupidly gave money to such then saw that the next day he was coming out of a very nice house across the road !!). Most are rip offs… some are real. Its better to donate to the local Christian charity or homeless shelter. There your money will be used hopefully well.

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/20-random-acts-of-kindness-that-restore-faith-in-humanity

Do what you can do. Give thanks for what you have. Be nice. Dance like a Russian Dervish! Or leap around with the tigers.

Designs

My luck would be that the Library would be closed, open but not accepting bedraggled characters or does not exist at all. Lets roll those dice.. one more block to go. Nice pavement they have here. No puddles and the water runs to the gutter. Looks like I can see no cracks at all… Where your mind goes when you're having fun. Street lights look a little odd. All curls and little flourishes. Yellow light. Not bright. Almost like honey. And, yes... I see a sign through the rain. PUB C L BRA. So either we have a pub called CL BRA or I'm in the right place. Lights are peeking out of the high windows. Steps not unlike all those regular middle sized citys you see. Oh, cool. It even has a revolving glass door. Nice wood and brass gripping handles.. more flourishes. Hope its warmer inside than outside… Damn well better not be raining inside..

Today was a Monday alternate. Busy. Many things going on at once and many things that want my attention, each taking me away from my direct item. All need the time and all get a bit. Not getting any one thing finished though. What Is the priority? I did a drive by after work to get my small fan. YAY. Then to get a bit of food for the fridge but the wood for the shelves will have to wait.Fan looks awesome with its new engine.

Rambling through the files I found a stack of drawings I did. Well I was looking for a proof for a balloon pin. I found everything but the finished version. I am going to have to call about it. Drat. I even ran over plans for a cement house ( eco friendly and the local environment as well as being hard to spot. Then there is a .. well look below and you can see a few of what I was up to. Sill no chance to get pictures taken of anything but balloons. I'll see if I have time to fiddle with any of them. Its been a busy day and its still busy now.

The cement house. It has two side walls of 2ft concrete colored mix cement color matched to to local terrain. The front and back walls were fully glass with rolling security shutters. The house would act as its own temp control by opening the upper vents in the front and the lower vents in the back to allow the air flow and revers in the evening. Fully open concept with glass panels to close off the view to the main suite.

Master bed/bath extension where I live now. The way it is now the house ends at the wall of the new master. This would add 200 square feet and a full sized bath with two walk in closets. Very expensive.

 This is a somewhat cheaper modification. The bath being in this configuration saves on trenching for the plumbing. At this time I would rather minimize not expand.

 A nice single floor design with good flow and lots of storage.

 Another floor plan as I was trying to get down below 2000 sq ft. This had a space for the kids to hang out in their own space.

 There are a lot of designs. These I thought I had lost.

Below is my first try at a flying certificate. With all four balloons.

The next version with Patturns In The Sky. Front and back.

 Back with Balloonists Prayer.

Patturns In The Skys double pin design. It took a bunch of designs to get to this.

 Here is the design I did for Pitas Kiss as a double pin. First a rough.

 We changed the star to more emulate a Sheriffs star. The final was great but I cant find my copy of it.

We both have to redo our pins. The double pins cost skyrocketed and now are totally expensive for an item we give away after flying with us. I have made a new version for my new balloon and Bob wants a better single pin design.

Its always fun to do designs for friends. It never gets boring.

Some of the ten or twelve links I found interesting today.. Ill start with the coolest one first.

http://gizmodo.com/how-the-colors-got-their-names-1510522700

Sweet information and cool to learn.

This would be my brain if it was smaller. I have a small brain. Just lots of brain juice.

http://www.neatorama.com/2014/01/27/Thanks-a-Lot-Brain/

The nuclear sage brush are heading your way.. woooooo.... 

http://gizmodo.com/how-tumbleweeds-spread-radiation-from-old-nuclear-sites-1508617887

And.. my favorite animal of the night. Okay not an animal but damn cute. Number 14 is my favorite. A hoot!

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/18-mind-blowing-macro-photos-of-jumping-spiders-like-you-ve-never-seen-them-before

I trust that whoever did this to their dog did not sleep that night. Those eyes!!!!

Symbols and Portents.

Paused… She looked a little overwrought. One hand up. Slowly as if speaking underwater she says “ Library, Fiction, Sherlock Solution” then the bubble popped and she was gone and I was getting drenched again! It would seem that she is always in the same stance and her clothes never change or at least haven't in the few times she has appeared. Brownish wool sweater with a pattern over I think a white shirt, black pants, not too tight but comfortable looking and some sort of black shoes. What really pulls at my mind right now is why in blazes is she dry and I am always as wet as a mop in a bucket. Exasperating.

I am going to be working on the video from yesterday, patching, editing and splicing so I have to do a quick post today. I thought you might like to see what travels through my mind when I want to make a change. I used to move my room around all the time when I was in the military. I did it to control some part of my existence. I did also when I could with apartment furniture too after I was able to move from the on station dorms to the “economy” as we call living downtown.

I have a computer room with all the computer things as well as charts and flat screen and Xbox and such. Not a man cave because I think that ridiculous but a place to be away from the main house and do things. I used to spend most time in that room.  Now, with the surface pro I spend a lot of time in the living room. Since it can do most of what the main computers can do I tend to stay there. Oh, off track again. So I wanted to minimize the space taken up in support of the computers and make the room feel more open. So much wasted space with the two work tables and corner unit I had made to connect both tables at the corner. Good idea at the time but times change.

So below you will see what I did. Mainly I stood in the doorway and said to myself. How can I get rid of things but make it more usable. So follow the pictures below for a walk through.

The cluttered space. Monitors to the right. Computers on the corner pedistal and xbox and misc to the left. 

I started scratching on yellow pads. I have them at work and I bought some for home. I use them all the time. Started on the right.. Room as it was from above. Next left remove everything but main table and chairs. Next left is move table..naaa.. Next left was the idea plan. Use three existing bookshelves to span the wall with the window and put the computers on top with the left side facing out. Some doodles in the right corner for another idea.

Okay. Started measuring to verify their ability to do what I want. All together and in line they fit with over two feet left on the wall. I then decided that the computers would fit underneath and my subwoofer would fit also. It was going to be .. computer subwoofer computer. That changed. Again more doodles for another project.

I forgot that if I put the bookshelves together and against the wall there would be no place for all the cables and power runs. I decided to put 6 inch wide spacers in between the bookcases.

Now penning in what has to go where and what cables need to go where. The only change was where the subwoofer went.

Two shelve units in place. Corner pedestal still with computers in place.

Computers in place. USB hubs in place ( this changed ) Pine spacer in place. Top cap also there. It can be removed to access the cables and power strips.

Doneish. Some minor clearing will be done in the future and I also want to put another full width shelf cubby across the whole thing to add a bit more storage. Then stain the light wood to match the shelves. Now there is room for the computer chair out of the way.

Just in case you didn't know.. Here is a bit of help for those that have had sharpy problems.

And since I lived in Italy for three years I am partially Italian.

Thats all folks... sppphhhhhhhfffffffff

Linked links to links.

Lovely watch for those of you who take the big picture view.. Hope you have the 245,00 dollar price. Ouch

http://gizmodo.com/a-watch-that-puts-an-entire-planetarium-on-your-wrist-1509739657

Oh yes… So what is it that there are so many EPA laws and more and more all the time but the bastion of overly liberal ( rabid ) ideas on how there should be more laws has the worst record for safe drinking water… Yes New York.. you… Pathetic.

http://gizmodo.com/nycs-charming-water-towers-are-actually-bacteria-fille-1509759091

There was a water tower in McGill NV. It serviced the whole of the tow and some outlining people. There was a dead body of a drifter in it for a year before they found it. Yes.. for a year people were…. Well YUCK!  New York… you have the exact same problem and its freaking 2014!!! Get your E Coli Cloriform under control. No new laws.. use the ones you already have in place and stop controlling the sodas.. idiots.

Oh fun gadgets. Some are good. Some are less than useful. Some are old ideas but they are interesting one and all.

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/21-cool-gadgets-accessories-geeky-travelers-might-want

Tech symbols… Oh.. um. Okay…. It all comes down to using existing symbols that are already on a keyboard or creating a symbol that encompasses your idea of what the damn think does. This is not hard. Just necessary.

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/7-famous-tech-symbols-and-where-they-came-from

Neat none the less.

If I only had time….. LOL

Altitude! Or Attitude?

Hitting the door into what feels like a gale force wind, pulling my collar up on my coat and heading Westish... I think its West. One block down, three to go. Stepping off the curb what feels like a bubble of stillness slaps my eyes upward. Like standing in the shadows of low canyon walls the buildings seem to pull inwards. Ah, thats why.. my mystery woman is standing on the other corner with her left hand up , palm facing me, pleading eyes peeking over the top. "no closer" she says in this area of still and water free space. Stumbling...


A very fun day today with the camera and GoPro vid cams. Friends were getting together to watch and help out with an in balloon basket, in the sky, engagement proposal. There are a few problems that come up with this type of thing.

One, How do you keep it secret. Well, since Rachel and Lev have crewed for Keith for ages it was pretty normal for them to fly as they just got back into town.

Two, How do you take pictures without tipping your hand. Everyone knows except Rachel but I have to do the, Hay Keith , is it okay to put some cameras on the basket... Which he says sure.. LOL. I do this when I am not carrying them myself.

Three, you had better be sure she is going to say yes or it will be a long and depressing flight until you land.

Four, Pulling a diamond ring out and showing it and putting it on in a basket in the air is very dangerous. Most excited newly engaged fling their arms about which can lead to the ring going into the wild blue ( your never ever gonna find it ) blue sky. We usually explain to the soon to be engagee to keep a good grip on it and do not let it go even if she says yes. Lev did great because he kept it below the edge of the basket and Rachel who is also a veteran of flying and crewing knew also to be careful. I have done one of these and even after explaining to the engagee he handed it ( or she grabbed it ( I believe grabbed )) and swung her arm with ring over the side at 300 feet up. I grabbed her arm and pulled it back in quickly but ... whew!

Five, Get the newly engaged back to the ground as safely as possible. Keith did a great job after splash and dashing three times in the river. He was even able to find a beautiful park in the middle of some trees to land in. Very nice.

Both GoPro's ran and worked great. The video was great and I was even able to get some pictures clipped out of it. I touched up a few shots and they will be below. The rest of today was downloading and verifying all the files. Took a long time.

Feine.

 Since I do not drink Starbucks now the only time I do get it is when I go out to balloon ( not flying ).

Lenticular.

 Clouds over the Sandia's normally mean over 45 mph winds and not good to fly but they stayed over there and broke up as the sun came over. That is the notch on the left.

Murder In The Skies.

 Back and forth they wheeled. A slight crop would make this great.

Rachel and Amye watching.

Massive amount of crew were out. We could have put up four balloons instead of just two. Crew on the throat holding it open to get it packed with cold air.

Keith The Pyro.

 Hah! Good solid flame up the throat. Behind him Fred starts heating DeBee up.

DeBee up and Takach A Breeze follows.

 Fred went up and over, Keith stayed low till he passed then went up to cruising level.

Will You?

The air currents were giving Eric fits trying to get the banner out and not twisted or sucking up into the burner.. It was made out of paper and good job to the makers because it worked well.

Can you see it?

 I edited this. Sorry. They never could get this close due to the way the "winds" were acting. But hey, it was close enough for Rachel to see it.

The smiling couple.

 Just going over the Paseo Del Norte bridge over the Rio Grande. Splash and Dash imminent.

Feet Wet.

 Soaking the wicker. and feet. Good job getting in. THe power lines look close but its an optical illusion. There was a lot of space to get up over them.

Taxi Service.

 A somewhat soft landing in the park followed by taxiing to a closer and clearer space to lay down. Loads of fun and local kids came out to check it all out.. run around like crazy and get some balloon cards from everyone.

All shots were tone mapped and only one was edited. Can you figure out which balloon I added?

Here are a few links. pretty poor day for new things..


 This is a hoot. Fun to try.

http://gizmodo.com/can-you-spot-the-hidden-easter-eggs-in-this-20-gigapixe-1509297350

Interesting. I like lights.. say it like.. I like turtles....

http://www.neatorama.com/2014/01/25/ArtStrobe-Interactive-Light-Art/

Blackbeard.... If you want to read a good story on Blackbeard, read Tim Powers On Stranger Tides. Yes, all the stupid Pirates of the Caribbean movies were based off of this book, Yes the last movie is right from this book. No.. the book is much more amazing than any of the movies. If they made a movie of the book and stayed true to the book it would freak  you out. Freak Freak Freak!

If you believe having more twitter followers or friends on facebook or google+ defines you.. ouch!

http://gizmodo.com/a-stupid-simple-twitter-bug-lets-you-create-followers-j-1509342431

Me...not so much.. or at all..

A work of art and function. Wished I wore watches. They can't last my lashing arm smacking things haphazardly along the travels in a ring.

http://www.gizmag.com/breva-genie-02-altimeter-watch/30568/

Go look at all the images!

Nice

Even the back is nice. Almost worth going backwards.