27 Sept., 2008 -- Tangled mess

Found out that my wireless router was not working for two days, should have found that yesterday. It's working now, so I'm back to posting, reading, sudoku, email, business as usual.

They're baaaaack! Marigolds are blooming again, after being squashed out by the zinnias and dahlias. They will all be gone in a couple of weeks after the first frost in mid-October. OCTOBER... gee, don't blink, or it will be Christmas.

26 Sept., 2008 -- Flying, well sort of, Friday

Scenes from our Flight Simulator trip to home school kids. The boy with the big grin had just turned the airplane upside down. They love it! Too bad we can't count it as actual simulator time for pilots, but sigh, it is just a game. That's our EAA members Ray and Jerry helping the kids.




The kids all got a pin, and some airplane information materials, connect the dots, etc. We need future pilots! Our group is part of the Experimental Aircraft Association, the Oshkosh Airventure bunch that puts on the big airshow every year. We're also all involved in the Aircraft Owner's and Pilot's Assn., who supplied the kids' materials.

Ben's hangar is all sprayed with insulation, and now we just have to clean up some of the dribbles on the floor that sneaked through the gaps in the plastic sheeting.

The electric company fixed the night watcher that's been out for a few days. Watching the guy climb the pole with his spikes brought back memories of my dad, who repaired telephone wires in Colorado, same way. I've got some pics of him and his crew repairing phone lines, standing on dog sleds on deep snow up on Cottonwood Pass near Tincup (that's somewhere between Aspen and Gunnison, el. 12,000 ft).

25 Sept., 2008 -- Thursday, end of the week for them

Thursday, end of the week for the excavation crew. They'll resume Monday morning.

Load 'em up!

Ben gets insulation blown into his hangar.

There's a grasshopper on that mound of foam. I wonder if he can eat it, and what his system will do to it. ... hm..

Scrap Your Day-the 25th

This months theme was reflections (www.shimelle.com). We started off with breakfast, then I handed the camera off to LAD. He didn't do too bad. It's very funny to watch him watch the camera screen and "find" stuff in it!

Then at lunch time I took a walk around campus looking for reflected things. I found a few interesting things!

I like this one how their heads are all under water at the same time!

This is a sculpture by Christian Peterson, a artist in residence for a time period at Iowa State.

This was at the end of the day, when I went to pick up LAD. He spotted me immediately after I had pulled up to park! Look at those spotchy hand prints on the glass, I think they spend a lot of time at this window!!!

LAD took this one all by himself! It's perfectly level!

He picked this not-quite-ripe strawberry all by himself. He can lean over the fence now and just picks them himself-ripe or not! He ate it, after we washed it. The other day when we had 3 ripe ones, he shared one with me. They were sweeter than candy. I can see why he likes them so much!!!

Looks like all that pre-LAD landscaping has paid off. Nothing like a great rock digging spot right in your very own back yard!!!

Fresh applesauce made from 3 different apples LAD had taken a single bite out of over the last few days. They've been waiting patiently in the refrig for final consumption!

The back of the iPod Touch. This thing is like a mirror!!!

It's uncanny how I can (almost) always pick just 25 pictures!!!

24 Sept., 2008 -- Flight Simulator - Eureka, it works!

Flying stuff!!!!

Extracted the flight simulator from the EAA hangar at Willow Springs, installed the "new" Dell computer, fired-er-up, and of course, Ben had to be the test pilot!
Eureka, it works! Friday, we take it to a home-school bunch of kids and let them get a taste of the "real thing".

This is a Thorpedo. Originally, the Thorp was the forerunner of the Piper Cherokee. This is the new model with a Jabiru engine. Flies with the canopy open or closed. Nice.

Ben's going to have insulation blown into his hangar, so the Sport goes into his neighbor John's hangar for a few days.