Pity the fool!

Well in this case they will get off lightly...

Still percolating the Windows 10. Just a nudge here and a bump there... To set things up the way I want. It also has to set to the other computers that are running windows 10 in my zone. Cant have icons or tiles in different places.... They must be pretty much the same... then turn sync on so they all line up. You can see that when you personalize your experience... LOL.

A much larger version of the standard header shot. Its a pano. The full version was around 40 inches wide....had to scale it down a bit. The view West from the airport area of the advancing storm. Today's was much more..... wet.

I am going to post some links to help you tweak up windows 10 after you load it. They helped me quickly get what I wanted done without having to goof around myself.... Hope they are of help to you.

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-tweak-windows-10-and-fix-its-minor-annoyances-1720989970

That one was worth its weight just for the ability to shut off the history... I run through so much stuff that it was just too cluttered looking.

The next one is how to shut off sharing your windows files so others can get win 10 faster... Just a quick twitch..

http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2015/07/30/windows-10-steals-your-bandwidth-to-send-other-people-updates/

That's okay for now. There are more neat links but the first is great and the second is a need to do.

Not quite what I was going to chat about tonight but needed to be said.

Let me go backwards for a bit here....

I at last tracked down an old but very serviceable bed liner today. 40 bucks! Dingle berrys on 4th street were trying to stick me up for a hundred for crap... foolish them.. too greedy gets you nada.

So that is in the garage and ready to be trimmed to fit the floor of my trailer. Once that is screwed down I can reassemble the balloon system and get it ready for next Saturdays AAAA rally in RIO RANCHO!!!!!! Lots of open space to galloop about in...Hope that its nice enough to get over and hour of flying in. Some ground tracking... so landings .. maybe have a race with a few rabbits?

Oh.. I remembered now.. I had a nice visit from a rabbit at work.. I was walking the grounds checking things as I am wont to do... Its part of my job to keep an eye on the facilities... and I had my camera in case I had to catalog anything but I stopped and shot two panos of the coming clouds from the Westerns side of our launch area... and right beside me was sitting this rabbit... Just as happy as can be.. Not bothered by me at all.. rather sat there munching a bit of grass and looking out over the valley too... I took some pictures of it before walking to the other side... Normally rabbits are unseen so the hawks don't have them or the coyotes munch out.

Its all good.. Nice furry face all watching and everything. Just full of itself there.

I found this silly flowery thing too that I have no clue what it is... I expect I will never know.... I like it that way... not knowing... really I am far too lazy to look it up... Why should I steal its mystery... Its just a silly little tendrilly plant thing...

Its like it said.. half way through being nice white flowers.. Cramp!! Fling tendrils out... Ohhh.. better! EVERYWHERE!

Its just had a better feel for goofyness... and that made up the day.... goofyness and things... with some dust added...

The storm today was riding the West Mesa area in bands.. or really groups of shower heads... It was neat but not clear enough to get a good shot... Best I could do with the bed liner in the back was my banner shot for today.. which is below... I didn't put the correct day on the shot ( hidden in two places ) just to mess with peoples heads.. now I have to upload the right one....LOLOL.. They caught on right away.

This just made me laugh... so tempting.

I have two computers to upgrade tomorrow... a liner to install.. some tie downs to relocate and basket to put together a computer to move and a log to find.... its gonna be a busy weekend.

Had a good time with friends tonight but I need a softer chair next time... my butt falls asleep faster than I do.

Windows 10 and you. Keeping it all clean.

Remember that windows has been everywhere... its touched everything. Never go in unprotected! Staying safe is staying clean. Staying clean protects your family. Stop that!

This is probably the first iteration ( love the word ) that I have not worried much about a cratered system. it was touch and go there for a sec on the Surface 2.

Given the announcement on my surface 3 at work I figured it would be a long and frustrating process.

It wasn't.

I didnt sit back and relax on the office surface ass there was other things going on including next years budget request and some housekeeping. I rather liked that it all went well without me sitting there fretting. I expect that if you have a lot more stuff on your drive to process ( games, programs ) that it will take a little longer. My home surface hung a bit and had to be three fingered to bring it back. it was just stuck. Rebooting from that standard task manager screen was okay. Then had a bit of flake with a video process but another reboot cleared that up. I have a more complicated setup at home then at work... No problem.. on the home one I did sit back and let the dog sit on my head while I waited for it to finish... she had to get down when she licked me. Yuck.

Snarky dog.... She was just biding time with me until someone came home and fed her. Notice that she is laying on the bed while I am sitting on the floor.... Yep.. pecking order..

Well it all went nicely and I am typing this blog up on it now. My pickups from an hour of working with it.

1. Love the no border windows.

2. Direct access to the power button.

3. Clean and crisp start menu ( which I have yet to set up on this PC / Its there I just want to adjust it now )

4. Nice icons... I think I can get away with removing the task bar.

5.  Most used programs on the start menu right where they do the best....

Many more but you should check it out yourself. I am very happy with it... I love that I can still make it mine. I do have to play with the cross syncing. It was surprisingly straight forward and crisp in its process.

Two more computers to upgrade but that can wait till this weekend.

Facebook banner for the day...

Little Ole Patturns Highperactive... drifting along...

And off I go to tweak my tiles.... keep it clean out there....

Covered Burn

Play on words.

After a day spent listening to training it was nice to pick up a cleaning cloth and wipe down the upright covers and burners... The training was good and a joke or two in there were pretty funny.

A conference call in there as well that went just over an hour and was for the most part interesting but somewhat frustrating.. It shouldn't be since everything the govt does it does after much deliberation. Not sure if the thought isn't echoed by the others on the call. The one major we were all on was brought up ages ago and now its being handled like it just came to light. Kinda crazy... Oh well.. We will push on.

After a snack this evening I hit the upright covers... two rounds of conditioning and a pre wipe down. They look good and feel supple.... The poles also got wiped down but there isn't much that needs cleaning on them. The burners were or are another story. Covered in fine dust.... Also soot and other discolorations to the stainless steel.. I rubbed some out but I cant get a lot of it and the inside of the cans is pretty black... nothing I can do about that. They would need to be completely disassembled to clean it right and then the next time I went flying they would be back to the same condition. I will be wiping them down again with a nice lint less cloth when I fly next though. Some water spots I saw only after taking pictures.

Oh.. ah... pictures below.... More information on how a Lindstrand is put together...

Just hanging around after being conditioned. The hanger worked nicely. These clips you see connect to loops on the burner frame to keep them in place if you have to remove a fuel line from behind thier protection.. Or at least that is what I think they are for... Nice not to lose them.

Here they are zipped up and the three integral equipment straps are velcroed.

Cover, pole, cover, pole, cover, pole, cover, pole.... The discoloration on the ends of the poles is because they slot into the burner frame metal and slots in the top of the basket.. I showed you one of those with the leather cup around it the day before yesterday.

Little loop is for the clips on the upright covers.... The tab there with the holes through it ( there are two there ) is where the support cable comes up.. sits in between and a carabiner is slotted through the right side the cable eye and left side of that tab. Then the carabiner from the envelope lines come down and connect to that carabiner... Nice and strong. The green tennis ball is stuck on the pole tops so they don't tear up the burner case.

Here is one pole into the burner frame corner. Lindstrand has fixed pole ends. Most others have a joint here with a nut and bolt. I have seen them come loose and that ends your day of flying right there. See the two tabs now for the cable and carabiner to sit in.

A better view of the tab. Serious strength and robustness of purpose! Lol.

Fuel line ends with nice caps on them to keep junk from getting where it shouldn't be. These attach to the tanks in the basket or in my case.. one tank and one manifold.

Link you might like to see.. refrence...

http://lindstrand.com/products/accessories/burners/

Jetstream Series 2 Doubles... Standard on all 105,000 to 210,000 cubic foot balloons... and my little 69,000...HAH!  A shot looking all classy. Toggles and cross bar.

 That's the logo I made a while back... This big knobs turn on the propane flow to the pilot lights. Then you click the piezio ( orange button ( you can see it better in the above pic )) to ignite the pilot lights. Then you can either squeeze or toggle a blast of flame. Toggles are "quieter" for going over animals of people sleeping in their houses... Main squeeze for each burner sit above the bar. Love that bar.. Its one of my favorite things. Oh yes... and the pressure gauges. Green is good... past red up or down is bad. My balloon flys very nicely anywhere in the green.

All cleaned up and in a nice clean case. Fuel lines are looped around the top to keep them from getting damaged. Tied off with two of those funky rubber coated wraps. You can see the squeeze toggles in the center there. You can also see clearer the red whisper toggles.. ( blast valves ). The pivot ( black square in the middle of the picture with six bolts in it ) is  wonderful. you can pivot up and down and left and right. Two of those inset allen headed bolts are pressure adjustments to tighten the movement of loosen it up. Mine is slightly tight. I want to be able to move it but not accidentally shoot flame where I dont want it to go if I didn't look up first.

Zipped up and resting... The black pads you see are for the fan and also the basket or envelope, depending on if the envelope has to sit on wet grass or if I need more protection for the edge of the basket. One goes under the fan so it wont pick up rocks and fling them about.

So now everything is clean...everything is fueled. I have to put it all back together though... but before I can do that I have to buy an old truck bed liner to put in the trailer. I want to get this all done before the next AAAA rally in Rio Rancho. Right after that she will go in for annual inspection... Then a few more flights and it will be Fiesta... wow .. so fast... 65 days to go...

My facebook banner and logo today are from 4th and Montano.. another tile piece of art.. This one I like.. Its nice and Beasty too..

 Logo from the back of the thing.

I had to edit the pic to fill the square. Can you tell where and what?

That was a long on tonight... Now you have seen every part of a Lindstrand hot air balloon. I really should do a video on putting it all together but that would take forever and I have videos I have yet to touch for friends still to do.... And I get farther and farther behind.


PS.... this is a shot from 2007.... three years before I wanted a Lindstrand... Look in the back there.. Its my ( almost ) system basket....Different colors in the center and black rope instead of red but you get the idea...

With the cool dudes.

Short and Sweet

Its going to be just that tonight. It was a long day. Not as long as most and not anywhere as bad but very disjointed.

Starting things and not getting to finish them really sucked. A couple of things that were bad and then good. Bad.... purchasing video cameras that are crap from China. Spending all the time trying to get them to work to my avail. Good... watching half way to training programs and being very interested in them. Nice.... really... Bad... not reading things or seeing as clearly as I should... Good.. only took moments to correct that error. Bad.. system fail right before quitting time and then just when it seemed it was working failed again... Good... Spending time with great people correcting the errors and the created errors.... very much fun. Hope it stays working. It even made the commute home smooth.

Not unbroken by noodle heads.. just smoother... Layla was on.. very nice... also some Fleetwood Mac. Since the traffic was pretty dead stop most of the way whipped out the phone and shot what was happening.

Take a number...move ahead... take a number... move ahead...

Streaky sky trees. Much reflection and blue but that's me.. I was dead still.

I believe I have the wrong location for the party...Just sitting there...

About 40 minutes to get home... right before I could get there... rain drops.

Looking forward to training tomorrow at my own pace.. it should be very nice and quiet. I got a good 7 hours in the last time but it was broken by two conference calls. Tomorrow.. one call.... a good thing.

Facebook banner and logo for the day...


Find the number...

A lovely sign I never got a real good shot of.. I HAVE to go find it again and redo it cleanly.

Salutations and good... NIGHT!

Nacho's!

No.. really it was hamburgers with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and BACON! Not too bad.

A straight forward day today... I even stopped to get stainless steel cleaner polish and brasso...and the above fresh stuff.

That weep hole in my floor of which is one of two.... Nice grain in that there floor. Too bad its hidden with the soft foam padding.. Oh... I forgot to show that one last night. Since I am too tired to polish anything tonight I just clipped out some shots from yesterday that I didn't show... Maybe later I will condition my leather uprights but .. well... maybe... I am really tired.

Floor pad in its cover ( note the velcro edging ) The indentation is from the tanks. They have been pressing down on that spot for quite a while. Now its resting in the trailer and should be reshaping. I need to see if I can get some dense foam to make seating pad for the tanks so they don't cause such a depression.

Calm Wicker Repose. What a life! Just nice and clean and sitting there in the shade. I bought two furniture rollers this weekend so that I don't drag the basket on the cement. Its just easier to move this way. Little leather thongs are for the wicker slicker.

Manifold... with nice caps and covers for the ends. Nifty little tied on black caps are very cool. This is an add on item so that you can connect two tanks together and not have to re-position lines in the air. With the 10 gallon POM tank It makes for easier flights.

Upright cup. Lindstrand makes these cool cups of leather that make the interface between the upper bolster and upright covers look seamless. Nice and keeping junk out of the pole tube there. The poles that keep the burner frame off your head slot into these and the bottom of the burner frame. Pictures to come of that. Braided line goes down and under the basket and to the other side.

On Carabiner to bind them, in the basket find them..... This is the end of the braided cable that has a nice carabiner on it that attached to loops in the burner frame that connects to the envelope. Clean.. wiped down and hanging loose at the moment.

Drop line in pouch. 150 foot of safety line. In case you get becalmed over a place or building or such and cant get away from it you can drop this line and be towed nicely by your crew. Still as bright as when I got it. I have used it once to be towed. I used it and a crew member to pivot me. It worked like a charm. I usually have it about three feet out and ready to be attached to the burner frame. It needs to be wiped down again as it didnt come clean the time I used it.

Gratuitous tank guage. Gotta love those numbers. All fueled up and ready to go. Clean and bright... It will last all of five minutes as soon as we hit the mesa... dust everywhere gets EVERYWHERE! Yay!

Just a couple....of my favorite things...

I cant wait till Fiesta to lay out the envelope and roll it around and get the dust off of her. Nice green long grass..just have to be careful doing it. I just may have to look into a tarp... if it was a yellow tarp.

Maybe one that said CAUTION in big black letters. Hahahahaha

That would be fun facebook banner and logo for the day adage to the above shots.... I made it easy today to find the number as yesterdays was right on the edge of pulling your hairs out.

 Outside view of where the drop line is secured to.

Inside view of where the pilot gear bag is secured to.

I am glad to have it almost cleaned. I "almost" had time to stop and get that bed liner I am going to use for the trailer.. but I stopped for dinner fixings instead...There ya go..