6 Jan., 2009 -- All in a day's work, or two

Finally finished two-day job, making about 50 cds of those aerial photos. Tomorrow I'll take them to the ups store, and then I'll be DONE with the month-long project.

Look! it's the mountains! I asked the guys to do the seventh floor windows to improve my view. They said maybe tomorrow, but then I'll be gone back home! I'll bet they never get finished with this job.

The view is better at night, even with smeary windows. This is getting boring, eh?

5 Jan., 2009 -- Secrets

Parking spots become readily available after 3 p.m., must be a shift change at the hospital. Otherwise, expect to be on the fifth floor. However, one doctor riding the elevator to the top floor revealed a secret, that the likelihood of a car being hit on the first floor parking, which is reserved for doctors, is so high that he parks on the top floor. He was hit three times before wising up.

My vw was tucked in on the third floor, but after going out this afternoon and returning after 3:30, I found a spot on the first floor ramp to the second floor. We'll see if it survives!

The outside parking lot was jammed full today.

Oh, such inspiring views.

4 Jan., 2009 - Meteor shower?

Yeah, I know... it's not really the Quantadrid meteor shower predicted for early morning on the 3rd, but it was so foggy that it wouldn't have been visible, anyway.
Besides... if we can have Christmas in July, why not the 4th of July in January?

3 Jan., 2009 -- New prospective pilot

New student pilot! A friend brought his granddaughter Abbie to look at the airplanes today, and she got to sit in the pilot seat and work the aileron controls. She thought that was pretty neat! She knew about gps, because Gramps has TomTom in the truck that talks to him!

Lloyd and Ben and Zack drove to Willow Springs this morning for breakfast, and it was FOGGY. After it blew away and became clouds, Bill and Laurie flew the Lance back to Michigan. They had a hefty tailwind, with the surface wind gusting to 28 mph. We guessed they were getting nearly 200 knots ground speed, and climbing! Yeee-haw.

2 Jan., 2009 -- Duck, turkey

Duck!!! Run, hide! You're bein' watched!

Wild turkeys (looking a little bit like space ships) grazed their way across the runway. They marched a retreat when the township yard got busy. Bunch of beards in that herd.

1 Jan., 2009 -- It's a first

Holy cow, it's the first of January, 2009!


Happy Anniversary, Devon and Grant, 16 years. Here's your bouquet!

Orchid in bloom on the kitchen table, lit by romantic flashlight.

Another orchid about to bloom.

31 Dec., 2008 -- It's not finished

2008 is not quite finished... still have 3.5 hours to go. And 1 minute.

Puzzle is not quite finished, either. We've been working on it for a week, in the waiting room at the radiology lab at St. John's in Springfield. I thought it would be done by now!

Happy New Year, everybody. I'm off to the brand new bowling alley!

30 Dec., 2008 - Happy birthday, Val, & get well, Larry

Happy Birthday, Val! I found some photos of you and sisters Judy & Eleanor in 2003, thought you might enjoy. Eleanor seems to be unhappy.


Larry, on Dec. 30, 2001 taking off from Mtn. Grove. Look at all that snow! Today it was about 65 degrees... no snow! Larry had surgery on his back today, in Little Rock. Hope you feel more gooder fastly every day! Happy new year!


Larry and Ben flew the Bumblebug back in 2001, in August.


Other flights in 2001. No, Larry didn't fly the Pawnee, but he did take son David in the 150.

29 Dec., 2008 -- Earthshine

Hiding behind a bamboo pole... maybe I'll go fishing.



Weird hairy tree... oh, ok... it's upside down. Sorry. The pond is high, but not as high as last spring.

There's that earthshine again! There will be a meteor shower on January 3, early morning.

28 Dec., 2008 -- Back to the million $ machine

The million dollar machine in action!
First, here's the image that's projected through the translucent tiles on the ceiling. Count the leaves.

Here's the machine and the crew, who line up the tattoos with the red light beams. Like lining up the drill press.

And the great coffee pot spout, complete with x-ray vision insert (that's the black-handled thing that slides in and out of a set of tracks - looks like a pancake griddle).

Now, the interesting part, without the x-ray vision insert. See all those little teeth? They move to conform to the shape of the body part that's being radiated. Sometimes they make a rectangle, sometimes they make curves.

Well, just a bunch of numbers that mean something to somebody. Maybe the timer for the coffee dispenser and the strength of the brew?

Here's the machine coming up to its final position after finishing its two minutes of work.

Ok, go home now. Next?