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 |  "Putting on the Game Face" |
  This blog is a doorway into the mind of Percy Goodfellow. Don't be shocked at the lost boys of Namby-Pamby Land and the women they cavort with. Watch as his caricatures blunder about the space between audacious hope and the wake-up calls of tomorrow. Behold their scrawl on the CRT, like graffitti on a subway wall. Examine it through your own lens...Step up my friends, and separate the pepper from the rat poop. Welcome to my abode...the armpit of yesterday, the blinking of an eye and a plank to the edge of Eternity. Note: This blog is my journal. I've no interest in persuading anyone to adopt my views. What I write is whatever happens to interest me when I start pounding the keys. |
| Eyes that See The human mind has two inner eyes. One is tied to our imagination, which is used to simulate and enjoy the possibilities and feasibility of possible courses of action in our lives. The other is tied to our reason and is used to aid in our critical thinking. I think it was Dumas... but it might have been Hugo, who likened a writer’s creativity to a pitcher of water. Reading was putting the water into it and writing was pouring it back out. He said that to keep the pitcher full, a writer has to read as much as they write. This is an interesting observation because most would take it to mean, “pleasure reading.” You know..., just pick up a book and simply read for the sheer joy of it. However, he was also referring to critical reading which is different and much more. In critical reading, we are not into it for experiencing the enjoyment but rather for understanding why. This is the purpose, in the interlude before the Exploratory Writing Workshop starts, that I explain how to template and why it is an important skill for a writer to have. Most of you know one of my latest interests is Radio Controlled flying models. There are really two aspects to the hobby. The first is flying (reading) where the pilot soars with the airplane and experiences the "High."  The second (writing) is first figuring out what makes one model perform better than other and fixing something that is broke and not getting the job done. So be aware that as a writer you need to do both things. Certainly enjoy your reading, but when you finish go back and take that critical look as to why you liked a particular work or why you didn’t. Templating is a good tool for doing this and I recommend it to everyone.Abrupt Transition... (This is an example of how not to transition in your writing.) I can’t believe the current administration is attributing all the violence being taken against our embassies abroad as the result of a film that some idiot made. Sure it was a tasteless movie... just as Satanic Verses was a tasteless piece of literature. The point that seems to be lost is that the terrorists use opportunities to lather the masses and push them into actions they would not otherwise take. The attacks on our Embassies were planned and orchestrated and not a spontaneous expression of religious zeal. Protesting against the film gave the mob violence a purpose that the crack-pot views of terrorists would never be able to achieve. The Terrorists want power and don’t care how they get it. Strapping bombs to children is an obvious example. They are consumed by a political zealotry that the average citizen on the street doesn’t share. To get everyday people to participate, they need something more personal and emotionally laden. A movie that pokes fun at the “One True Faith” really gets the devout spun up. Anyway, when Hillary Clinton starts lecturing the terrorists on free speech in this country, I can only shake my head in dismay. Terrorists understand only one thing…. That is the Rat-Tat-Tat of the assault rifle. Giving them a tutorial on our First Amendment Rights is laughable. Blaming a movie is even more so. When are we going to wise up and admit that there are people out there who simply hate us, for our success and what we are? Reasoning with these zeaots is like arguing with a drunk. It’s a waste of time and energy and makes us all look as weak as our President and Secretary of State. |
| A Visit to Kansas Last week I was visiting my daughter who is living at Ft. Riley. It was a great trip, however, after seven days we started to abrade on each other’s nerves and it was time to skedaddle. If anyone noticed, that was the reason why there were no blog entries over the past few days. I won’t make excuses. I could have gone to McDonalds and wrote them but I was having too much fun doing other things. At the motel on the way back we stayed at a casino that has some beautiful and affordable rooms. We don’t gamble but the food is usually good and it’s fun to watch the people. On Monday night I was able to use the WIFY and check my email. Registration had started for the class I will be teaching, “The Exploratory Writing Workshop.” There are six students enrolled and they cover a broad spectrum of experience. When we got home I discovered, to my dismay that I gained six lbs. Was I ever disappointed. Oh well, back onto the disciplined regimen. While we were gone the other outdoor cats were mean to Felix. She was OK but was slinking around the fringe of the yard. When I picked her up and carried her inside she hissed at the other cats. Right now she is asleep on the foot of the bed. Life is hard on the old farmstead. |
| Who Shot John? Yesterday I went to the flying field and crashed my trainer. In one sense it was my fault (pilot error) and in another it wasn’t. The error was that something came loose (probably the wing halves separated) but it was hard to tell for sure. The good news was it was not an overt mistake I made while engaged in the flying process. This raises an interesting point on how people take (or avoid taking) responsibility. I used to visit a bar here in Central Wisconsin and never ever did I hear, in the course of listening to peoples laments, any personal responsibility. It was always their wife’s fault, the church’s fault, the boss’s fault, or the fault or somebody else, conspiring to turn their lives into "rat poop." Never once did I hear someone say that the reason their life was so screwed up was because they caused it… as a consequence of their behaviors. There is a popular saying going about… “SHIT HAPPENS.” Well in Wisconsin it doesn’t just happen…. Someone else is always behind it and that someone is never “YOU!” Don’t get me wrong…. I don’t go smirking about taking pleasure from this foible of human nature. As a matter of fact I often am on the verge of taking recourse of it, when I realize what an absurd excuse I’m about to make to cast my own actions and behaviors in the best possible light. For example my caveat regarding the plane crash is a classic example. I built the airplane model and if it came apart in the air, whose fault is that? DUH! Now there are certainly circumstances that happen that are natural occurrences from which we might seek to absolve ourselves. For example, a hurricane or a falling bolder but even in such cases, is it not our inaction or inappropriate responses that are often to blame? There is another aspect to this propensity human beings have to cry out…. “It wasn’t my fault!” This is the desire to confess blame when nobody is requiring them to “fess up.” Often in the bar I encountered those so filled with guilt that they felt compelled to unburden themselves on others. My wife Linda must look like a walking confessional because people come up to her (not just acquaintances) and often start presenting their case (out of the blue) about some bad thing they did or experience they had. She has that sympathetic look and others latch onto it. Maybe the reason many look so glum or wear that sever demeanor is to avoid being on the receiving end of someone else’s guilt. So it seems on the one hand we feel the need to confess our guilt but on the other are loath not take personal responsibility. Is that not a contradiction in our humanity? Religions capitalize on this aspect of human nature. |
| Great Ideas Last month was not what I would call a good blogging (journaling) effort. There were too many missing days as evidenced by the blog calander. Felix and Honey are lying next to me on the bed zonked out to the world. I wish I could sleep as soundly as they do. Yesterday I worked on my RC model airplanes. One was the “Foamy” that has flown twice and crashed in each instance. The second attempt however, actually gave me some “stick-time” until I lost orientation and sent the wrong sequence of commands to the distant speck in the sky. There are some definite lessons learned in this experience. First is to make sure the aircraft is trimmed. Trimming means making sure the control surfaces are perfectly aligned when placed in thejdefault, neutral position. Next, is to let the model climb and gain some altitude once it leaves the ground. Third is to not let the airplane get beyond an old man’s failing vision. There are many more, however these are three biggies. I have decided that when I “Skin” my models I'll used yellow and red Mono-coat. The top and right side of the fuselage will be yellow and the bottom/right, red. This will help in maintaining orientation. Once the model becomes too small, it's hard to tell if it is coming or going... or up or down. When the plane is inverted the commands are reversed just as they are when it's coming back towards you. If you are flying an actual airplane this is self-evident from the cockpit but controlling one from the ground is markedly different. In the article I would also discuss the repair of crashed airframes. (A subject in which I am acquiring a growing expertise.) Since I have a connectional mind I am discovering a host of different materials available to the designer/builder. They offer a fascinating array of choices. For example I think my next prototype will have a wing of card-board and styrofoam and a fuselage of foam and 1/32 inch plywood. Talk about something light. Today I will be putting the “Retracts” into the wing. By this I mean the retractable landing gear. That’s right… you turn a switch and a servo raises and lowers the wheels. How cool is that? Will the guys at the landing field ever be impressed!. (Not that I really give a rat’s petotti.) I think I’ll consider a course for New Horizon’s Academy called “Writing a Magazine Article.” That would be an interesting class for letting students get their toes wet before embarking on a more serious work. Everybody has a passion and for every one there is a magazine out there. Most of the articles I read these days are boring and seem to miss the essence of what they are trying to express. How about a class on doing a video for U-Tube? Now that would be an interesting as well. |
| Too Bad, So Sad Today is a blustery day. I need to get to work on my T-28. I crashed it again yesterday but not before I flew it around for a few minutes. This is exactly the course matters took when back in the 1960’s I learned to fly control line. One day I would fly and crash, that night repair the damage and the following be back to flying my model. I really ought to write an article for one of the RC magazines. I could call it “Fixing the Foamy.” It is my contention that many buyers of hobby magazines are inexperienced readers interested in the hobby. Most of the articles are written for intermediate to advanced flyers and while these veterans would deny it, they have forgotten what it’s like to learn and acquire the quick touch it takes to control an RC model in flight. As we gain expertise in something the skills necessary to accomplish the complexities, become transparent as our minds learn through experience what is needed to accomplish the task. The basics become a framework for the ever growing sophistication of skills needed to fly well. These basics become imbedded in the subconscious as the brain makes corrections in mili-seconds that to the novice must be consciously thinking about. I hope all this doesn’t sound too scientific and clinical because it applies to a whole host of skills we learn and use in our daily lives. The point is that an expert is not always the best person to teach something because they tend to take for granted all the complexities of a mastered task. They assume that the facility they have developed with great time and effort is something that should be grasped by a novice with greater ease and facility. That is why articles written by “newbies” should be treated seriously rather than with disdain. Have you ever noticed that only articles written by top tiered experts in an area of expertise are blessed with the holy water of credibility? I think we are missing the point here. To heck with the experts…. I would prefer an article written by somebody struggling in their garages trying to do something for the first time. The truth is they don’t exist. Newbies don’t write them because they realize that publishers would never publish them. If the writer doesn’t have a host of degrees and writing credits they get tossed into the reject pile. For that we are all the poorer because it is in those that struggle that the lamp of understanding shines brightest. Once the programs of experience are written and filed in the mind, the true essence and heat of the learning process is lost. “Too bad, so sad.” |
| Right Person for the Job Spelling challenge for the day.... See if you can spell the sexually transmitted bacterial disease that starts with a "G." (Sounds like "Gone to Reno" or something like that.) It is spelled correctly later in the blog but before going on, see if you can spell it. I am fully aware that nobody here at WDC really gives a rat’s petotti about my RC Modeling, political, world finance views or car building experiences. This blog is a journal of the things that interest me and is not written with an eye in mind to attract readers. Readers are welcome, but since I am very ordinary and my life rather boring, I don’t expect many to follow my musings, particularly since this is a writer’s forum. I’m amazed when in this microcosmic backwater of the internet I get twenty-five views in a day. My father used to say that… “You can pick your friends and pick your nose but you can’t pick your friend’s nose. “ It occurred to me that the word “can” is probably incorrectly applied, because it is certainly physically possible to pick your friend's nose in the sense of cleaning out dried buggers. However, what Dad was referring to was the genetic propensity for the size and shape of someone else’s proboscis. Isn’t it interesting that in some societies behaviors are encouraged while in others they would be taboo? For example in Vietnam I used to watch the young girls pick head lice. Now in the United States head lice are not all that common and when they occur there is a rather straight forward medical remedy, however this is not the case everywhere and in some parts of the world people must cope with this very treatable problem. I was reading somewhere that when the descendants of the Bounty’s mutineers were discovered on Pitcairn Island, most everyone was suffering from gonorrhea. The article said that a passing schooner, after WW2, stopped, gave everybody an antibiotic and the chronic infection was eliminated. Is that an arcane and interesting tidbit of history or what? People somehow adjust to the vicissitudes of their conditions and life goes on. We take the absence of suffering for granted when we are not experiencing it. For example our teeth… we hardly notice they are in our mouth until one starts to ache. That whole story about Mutiny on the Bounty and the sequel, Men Against the Sea is incredible. It provides a case study in how good leadership is dependent on our personalities and the conditions we face. The Captain of the Bounty was perhaps the worst choice for skipper ever appointed by the Royal Navy. He was singularly unsuited for his role as a commander of a vessel, in peacetime, engaged in a botanical expedition. However, in the longboat, cast adrift by the mutineers, he came to be venerated almost as a god. Captain Bly never changed, but the conditions did and showed that having the right man/woman for the job is indeed important. (As if any readers out there ever had the slightest doubt… duh!) |
| Kicking the Can Down the Road Yesterday we went to Shopko and I got a new pair of bifocal safety glasses. The ones I had pitted from the grinder shaping sheet-metal. These new ones sure make a difference. I chuckle when I hear the President chide the VP hopeful about budgetary matters… Can you believe someone who didn’t get a budget passed in four years criticizing someone who is a congressional leader in fiscal policy? This same President whose budget didn’t get a single Republican or Democratic vote! Sorry, I have made a vow to quit listening to all the political rhetoric since I have already made up my mind how to vote. In the car Linda had a song cycling around in her head and asked me if I ever experience that sort of thing. I told her I did… mostly church hymens. Then she asked if the voice was the recording artist or my own. Surprisingly, I had trouble answering that question… it isn’t me and it isn’t a recording artist… it is just someone singing the tune… over and over again. Do you suppose it’s my muse? When I crashed my styrofoam RC airplane model it fractured into four pieces. Most would have thrown up their hands and ordered a replacement fuselage. Since I like to fix things however, I elected to repair it. To begin the process I salami sliced out all the crushed and torn parts. Then I used the cross sections to make plywood templates and cut out new foam pieces from the shipping foam box it came in. Then I epoxied it back together and voila… just like new. It took a while but the end result was satisfactory enough. All the electronic components came through the mishap in pretty good shape. Tonight I will take it to the flying field and try again. Every winter we have an ice storm and lose power. Tree limbs crack off and come crashing down on the lines. Well I guess the power company finally had enough and they are burying the cable. Anyway they have these huge blaze orange signs outside saying “Men Working.” When Honey (our golden doodle) went outside this morning she took one look at one out front and set up a howl. She won’t go outside and is lying close on the bed so the “monster” in the front yard won’t get her. I haven’t reported lately on my weight loss efforts… not that anyone really cares. Suffice it to say that Linda and I have made a slow and steady progress losing about twenty pounds in the last six months. If we can continue that we will be at our weight goal by next summer. Neither of us ever had to watch our weight until we reached our fifties and then there was a slow creep upwards. Now we question everything that goes into our mouths and find that to be a key to losing weight. |
| Fleeting Memories The past few days have had their ups and downs, mostly downs. Still having little things plague life prevents big ones. Anyway that is Linda’s theory and she comes from a superstitious gene-pool. They fixed my tractor and the bill made me wince. Then I took Linda with me to the flying field and promptly crashed the new “Foamy” she bought me. She was very solicitous and offered to buy me a new one. One of the games I like to play is that when the spell checker shows a word in the body of the text I am writing, to be incorrect, I juggle around with it and see if I can figure out how to spell it correctly. Some words are very difficult. For example the word airlerion (deliberately misspelled) which is the control surface on the back of an airplane’s wing gave me fits. See if you can spell it right without recourse to the spell-checker. I might start offering a word a day because there are some words out there that will really, “Stump the Chump.” Linda brought in the picture of the Royal Husars (another challenging word) who were posed nude in front of their armored vehicles, in support of Prince Harry. I hear their wives posed in a similar photograph. Seeing that support makes me proud that part of my heritage traces to the British Isles and I greatly admire their cheekiness, sense of humor and common sense. In October we are taking a vacation. After WW2 my father was assigned in France and we lived in a small village outside of La Rochelle. It was a great place to grow up and I have many vivid memories that I often still dream about. I remember once when I was on a long walk, far from home, with my dog Benoit and looking across a field to a farm house. There in the yard was a girl my age staring back. I often wonder who she was and if that moment made as much as an impression on her as it did on me. Anyway it will be fun walking about and seeing what has changed. (And eating the French Bread.) I have to believe that others have similar events in their lives when there once was a starkly profound moment… soon lost in the murkiness of time. These are those images, born of dreams, still etched in awareness, that dissipate like a vapor and in seconds can hardly be recollected. My dog Honey and the cat Felix have joined me on the bed and are sleeping next to one another. They look so peaceful. Well, it’s time to get my lazy butt out of bed and go back to work in the Shop. My Dad used to say, “Life is great if you don’t weaken.” |
| Precious Metals When I wake up in the morning I look out to window and see if the leaves are blowing in a big oak in my back yard. If it is windy here that means I don’t fly, because it will be twice as bad on the flying field. Today it looks calm and I think I’ll take Linda out there and let her watch me fly (crash?) the new “Foamie” she bought me. I have decided to devote an hour each day to cleaning up the Shop/Garage. It is a formidable task and more than I can hope to accomplish in a single day. Maybe if I start working on it, like a project, I will regain control of the cleanliness and order of my workspace. As I was cleaning yesterday my John Deere Tractor quit running. I called the shop and they came over and picked it up. They think some of the filters are plugged. It sat unused for most of the summer and if it has to die on me, this is a good time. It gets plenty of use in the fall and Winter. It is my suspicion that older citizens with savings are going to be the big bill payers in these times of economic woe. Already savings are being silently looted by unreported inflation. Food and fuel and not being included in the accounting voodoo by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So if you don’t believe they are telling the whole truth than what is the actual inflation number? My suspicion is that it is running around ten percent. The current administration is playing the same kabooky dance with inflation numbers that they are using to report joblessness. They put a political appointee in charge of an Administration and he/she sees the numbers get spun in a way that makes the most of a bad situation. My theory is that gold is a good gage of actual inflation. Look at what gold was selling for a year ago and compare it with what it is selling for today. That is something the government’s math wizards can’t tinker with. It is the old story that if you don’t like the way the numbers are coming out then juggle with the values that are used in the calculation. However, to disregard FUEL and FOOD costs gives new meaning to the word GALL. These are the two economic rules of thumb the average citizen uses to benchmark inflation. By comparing what food and gas prices were a year ago with what they are today…. that is “INFLATION!” These days we are being deluged by commercials on TV about buying gold. On one hand this might not be such a bad idea and on the other it has a down side. The gold merchants generally buy their products at fifteen percent below bullion value and sell at fifteen percent above. Then there is the collector value if the gold is part of a coin. To keep the math simple say you buy a coin that is ninety percent pure. At today’s market value the bullion in the coin is worth the price of nearly an ounce of gold or silver plus some collector value, less fifteen percent. So say you buy an old twenty dollar gold piece for $2500. The gold is worth approximately $1600 and the rest is in collector value. When you try and sell, you will be offered about $1400. Now that might not seem like a very good investment, however it has some things going for it. First of all you can look at the price of gold and silver on the TV and know exactly what your investment is worth. This is better than trying to sort through a prospectus that has been juggled around by a mutual fund's chief financial officer to the point where you have no idea what they are doing with your money. Their attitude seems to be …. “Look we made you four percent, now shut up!” Anyway, no matter who gets elected in the presidential race there will be a very slow transition from the current policies to ones that get enacted by a change in administrations, assuming that happens. So the Fed will continue to print money and inflation will get worse. As inflation continues the value of precious metals will go up. Eventually those coins will approach bullion value and become a reasonable investment that everyday people can understand. If the market tanks bigtime, old people will still have some of their portfolio's value hidden under the bed. |
| Hectic Week The past week has been hectic and I haven’t been writing my blog. It’s a discipline thing and I haven’t been disciplined. Linda and her friend Louise went on a three day mall spree across Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio and had a great time. I stayed home and got some of my old trucks ready for auction. On Tuesday the auction was held and I got about what I expected for them. So that was a big distractor. In the process I was caught speeding, fined and assigned points against my driver’s license. The week has been quirky like one of those old home movies that keeps slipping and flickering on the reel. It plays good for a period and then seems to get off track. I have a theory that if life isn’t sprinkled with setbacks then you are due for a big tsunami. So be grateful for the little vicissitudes and realize they keep you from being hit by a freight train. I gave Linda her share of the earnings from the auction and she bought me a “Foamie.” For those you unfamiliar with radio-controlled (RC) airplanes, be advised that a “Foamie” is one that uses styrofoam in its construction. The reason, obviously, is because the material is light and light aircraft tend to fly better than heavy ones. (Except in strong winds.) There are many that disdain the use of this material in a hobby that traditionally used thin-ply birch and balsa wood. What redeems the Foamie is that they are inexpensive and fly extremely well. Balsa wood is currently being used in the cores of wind generator propellers and is becoming very expensive and in some cases is slowing the production of kit models. I use it to cover the foam cores of the models I build. Several weeks ago I was flying on my simulator and chanced on a T-28 model that was built with foam. It flew beautifully and Linda bought me one for the flying field. I can’t wait to try it out. You know….. Clubs and other types of corporate enterprises have a social dimension… duh! People make a group and people destroy them. Nowhere is this more evidenced than in flying club I belong to. Lately the atmosphere on the field has been fraught with squabbles and power plays. (You think men can’t gossip?) Why can’t everybody just get along and quit acting like children? |
| Hope Springs…. Yesterday Linda and I went to see the movie Hope Springs… and really liked it. The acting was awesome and the dramatic premise was something familiar to everyone who has been married awhile. It was serious, comic and touching. I recommend it. It had all the components to a good story. There were the before snapshots of the characters before the visit to the therapist. Then there was the life changing event and a Dramatic premise… (A leap of faith can change a person’s life) and a host of themes that married couples can relate to. There was a string of crisis that built momentum until the story reached a climax and then tapered off in a way that gave the moviegoers something to talk about on the ride home. Throughout it all there was Change, Change Change! In the characters ... Anyway it was all the things I talk about in my One Act Play and Exploratory Writing workshops. These are things that don’t just happen by accident when a writer starts exercising a brain cramp. It is a carefully orchestrated use of components that have historically led to the crafting of a good story. Yesterday Morning I went to the flying field and crashed the model I bought from a friend who had written it off as unrepairable in a previous series of accidents. I must say that there was no fixing it this time. It was totally “Totaled” except for the end of the tail section with the rudder and elevator. It was a real “Black Monday” for the student flyers and two others managed to crash land as well, however, not with the same spectacular effect. Oh well, nobody ever accused me of doing things in a half-baked sort of way, notwithstanding some of my attempts at writing. So after the movie last night it was back to the simulator. At first I thought something was wrong but then I realized that Linda had turned the sound effects way down. When confronted she gave that “Cheshire” smile and asked if I was wearing my hearing aids. Today we are going to Wausau where I will be buying some model airplane supplies. They are for my “Windy Field” aircraft design that I am working on. I try and do a little on it each day and like writing a novel, it is amazing how with a little science and art, projects have a way of coming together. My problem is that my model is a bit heavy and may need a bigger engine. |
| The Welfare State Yesterday I heard on talk radio that one-third of all Americans are on some form of welfare. Further, that we spend more on these programs than most countries have GDP. Our current president, who is a nice enough fellow, is clueless on what it is going to take to get the country back on its feet economically. All he knows how to do is run for reelection. With one-third of the people on welfare, he has the inside track. He can run on a platform of wasteful spending and more government give-away and probably get reelected. Socialism, as history has shown, is a pyramid scheme that eventually comes crashing down when there is no longer any incentive to produce and creative hard working people lose heart and quit working. As I pointed out in an earlier blog, the New Socialists (Democrats) are the horse holders for the “Old Money” (OM) in this country, who use their influence to keep entrepreneurs slapped down and limited to $250K a year. The OM sit behind their tax shelters, overseas accounts, trusts and foundations, protected by battalions of tax lawyers, and chortle, suggesting ways to get small business to bleed for all the social welfare they encourage the Government to heap on the system. This is their strategy to keep the “Nuevo Rich” from getting too wealthy. It keeps these “Young Upstart Whippersnappers” in their place and makes sure the “Unwashed” don’t change the status quo. After all, there's only so much real estate in Newport Rhode Island and they don’t want to ruin the neighborhood. Then there are the Unions who claim to be the champions of the working people. Maybe for working people who are union members (and Union Insiders) but it is union excesses that have caused management to move jobs overseas. There was a time when unions were needed as a check and balance on capitalist exploitation but they have become the monster they displaced. Now we hear how small business owners are being beaten up by Union thugs. Is that a turn-around or what? So we have a nice guy president, who is the front man for Chicago Politics, anarchists, Unions and OM money, who under the guise of protecting the interests of the working class, (welfare class? ) spends money like there’s no tomorrow. (Actually there might not be if the pendulum doesn’t swing back in the other direction.) We are on the verge of ruining a good thing and need to seriously consider a leadership change in the upcoming election. This morning it was announced that Paul Ryan was picked to be the VP presidential nominee. Now that's a step in the right direction! |
| Using the Overhead Projector. Today I worked on my model airplane, the one that will supposedly fly better in the wind. I am building the wing right now. To do that I trace the top view profile on a piece of paper and trace it on a thin sheet of plywood. “Where do I get the plans?“ you ask. “What plans?” I reply… “Do you mean the ones I draw?” I have an unorthodox method for designing my RC model airplanes. Often in RC magazines or on line are pictures showing plans that are too small ever to be useful. “Don’t be so fast in your assumptions,” I caution. Here is how I get my plans. I take a picture of the side view of the object I want to blueprint. That is the most common view and for a model airplane that is really all you need. I then take this side view picture and put it in my printer scanner, with a piece of that clear plastic overhead projector film. When the image comes out on the film, I put the slide on my overhead projector. Then I tape a piece of white paper on the wall. Once this is done I turn it on and begin playing with the focal length…. Moving it in and out until the image on my wall is the size I want my RC model to be. Then I take my sharpie and trace the pattern. Sometimes there are the standard three views on a thumbnail set of plans. The top view is particularly useful for the wing template and the front view show you the curves missing from the first two. Once you have this completed you are ready to start building your RC flying model. I usually combine the attributes of two or more airplanes I have come to admire. I take the best of the designs and pull them together into a composite. Anyway that is what I have been working on today. Around lunchtime we went to Wisconsin Rapids and bought the weeks groceries. Linda cooked me a nice ham for supper and then we went for a walk and watched the sun set. Already it is beginning to feel like fall and tonight promises to be good sleeping weather. Tomorrow we are going to Wausau to a “Fly In.” Linda and I will be walking around looking at the models and watching the activities. It’s something to do and we get to spend some quality time together. Right now we are talking a lot about our trip to France in October. My brother and his wife will be going with us and we will be visiting the small village we lived after WW2, when my father was assigned at Rochefort. When we were taking care of our parents in their last years we resolved to go back and visit some of the places that hold fond memories. How cool is that? |
| Hope Springs Eternal Today we are getting some much needed rain. Alas, it’s too late for the farmers and the corn crop is being ground up for silage. It isn’t a total loss however. The Cows eat silage in good years as well as bad. This year there will be less of it as in past years and no doubt prices will go up but life will go on. They say that every dark cloud has a silver lining and that is one old proverb with an ounce of truth to it. Adversity often gets us out of our rut in ways that convenience could never provide. To the extent that life changing events light the way to new opportunities, adversity is more a friend than an enemy. I could give some examples but you all know what I’m talking about. My wife told me this morning that after every bite at the dinner table we need to lay down our utensils and talk to each other… (Maybe not with our mouth’s full.) This, she explains, will allow our body's “full meter” to rise faster than “Chomping and eating like a dog,” which she accuses me of doing. Linda is pretty sly and might be more interested in opening the doors of communication rather than enhancing our weight reduction efforts, but there's probably some merit to what she's advocating. She insisted that I stand still and pay rapt attention as she went on at length explaining the logic of her proposed changes to our eating habits. I had just stepped out of the shower and there was a cool breeze. She finally quit her finger pointing and let me escape to the bedroom and get some warm clothes on. I have to admit that this diet we are following makes opportunities for eating, eagerly anticipated. We have a couple of crusts for breakfast, a normal lunch and a light supper. The result has been, that over the past two months, we quit gaining weight and lost ten pounds. We are so different as individuals…. Not just the obvious male/female differences but deeper psychological ones. She needs to be in the presence of others and I am contented to find opportunities within myself. Even as a kid, I used to go off with the dog for long walks and nobody seemed to concerned that I wasn’t around. (As long as I showed up for dinner) Linda on the other hand needs the presence and companionship that others offer and when there is nobody else, she turns to me. Used to be there was more of that natural attraction but as the years pass I have to consciously find ways to maintain the bonds developed over a life time. There’s a movie being advertised (Hope Springs…?) between Meryl Street and Tommy Lee Jones that I think we’ll go and see. Now there’s another way to share common interests. Go to a movie! |
| Views Many years ago I took Mechanical Drawing in Jr. High. The essence of what I learned was that given three views an object can be created in the physical dimension. These views are the side, top and front. In building plank on frame ship models the front view is important because it gives you the profile curves of the ribs. In model airplane development the top and side views are the most important. I am currently in the process of designing a windy weather RC flying model. This is because our flying field is windy and the conditions make learning to fly a difficult process. The wind tends to blow the model down range and care must be taken that the airplane doesn’t drift too far afield. Then there is the landing approach where the model bobs and weaves, up and down and sideways. Over time the more experienced flyers learn to compensate and except the degree of difficulty as a matter of course. However, it is my view, that a heavier aircraft with a lower profile, wider control surfaces and additional power could make handling more predictable. Anyway, that is what I have been doing and thinking about the past couple of days... making a model that performs well under windy conditions. I am building it from components I picked up from a variety of sources or had laying around. That to me is the fun of the hobby…. Building a model and then flying it. Trying some untraditional things to correct what I see as shortcoming, that if allowed to go unacted upon… will slowly be adapted to and seen as a state of nature. What am I talking about you might be wondering? The point is that we adapt to things as human beings that don’t have to be the way they are. Once we make the adaptations we begin to see them as “States of Nature” rather than as variables. We get into the mindset that this is how things are and nothing’s going to change them. When I talked to some of the other club members they reply that all models are capable of flying in the wind and rather than deviating from time tested designs I need to focus on skill development and quit worrying about how to reinvent the wheel. This is not something that is unique to the flying field. People get into ruts and think the way they have learned to do things is the only way they can be done. A fresh set of eyes is not bound by the assumptions of experience and initially see matters from a fresh perspective. Then slowly the adaptation process begins and all those ideas of a better way, drift off into oblivion. Is it just me or have some of have some of you noticed the same thing? |
| The Fly In On Saturday my wife and I went to a flying field North of Marshfield. She dropped me off and went to visit friends promising to be back in two hours. She forgot her cell phone which meant we would not be able to talk, like in Wall-Mart when we have to call to find each other. Anyway I walked on and there was the usual crowd of participants, some flying and others gathered in clusters talking up the sport. There was one flyer that had a nice trailer with some large scale models he was flying. Driving up I had seen his airplane, so large in the sky it appeared real. I don’t know who he was but he was surrounded by a host of onlookers and was holding court. It began to get cloudy and spit rain and finally there was only one person left on the flight line flying. He was a thin, short middle aged guy with the look of a working class handyman. He was flying an aircraft he had clearly built at home. It was a narrow fuselage design with short stubby wings cut out of Styrofoam. What captured my interest was that he was flying it quite well, twirling and looping with nobody paying attention as the thunder clouds rolled in. After watching him for about five minutes he landed and walked back into the common area. I approached him, asked some questions about his plane and commented on how well he flew it. He immediately began telling me how he had made it in his garage and the flight handling characteristics. The guy seemed genuinely surprised and happy that somebody had stopped and taken the time to talk to him. By the simple investment of a few words I found someone interesting to talk to and we struck up a nice conversation. Now I am not telling this to my “Army of Readers” to show what a cool and compassionate guy I am. I only want to make a point. I could have gotten in the cue and had a few words with “Mr. Big Airplane” and might have gotten the time of day. Instead noted something unusual and out of the main stream… instead of treading a well plowed field I took a different direction. It paid off. Later in the day Linda and I stopped at a car show. There were several hundred vehicles some which had $10K paint jobs. I never pay much attention to these preferring to seek out those that are home made in somebody’s garage. I am particular fond of “Rat Rods” which are old style “Hot Rods” true to the original idea of making a ride as inexpensively as possible. I love to look at these and talk to the owners/builders for the same reason I talked to the thin guy on the flying field. As a writer we need to be attuned to our surrounding and look for things out of the ordinary. Often right under our noses are the coolest things imaginable that in our zeal to follow the obvious never rise to the awareness level on our bio-processors. Keep your eyes open and pay attention. There are some real nuggets lying just off the beaten path. |
| Tap Dancing Maybe it’s just me but I hate to screw-up with a bunch of people watching. For example I hate to crash an airplane model with a host of people standing around chortling. I know I can fly one of these RC Airplanes and I have demonstrated figure eights for the flight instructor. What bothers me is the landing and while I have done that hundreds of times on my lap-top flight simulator it is different out on the field on a windy day getting blown all over the place. Thus, if I’m going to crash-land I would rather do it when there is nobody around. It’s not that anyone has a malicious sense of humor but everybody laughs when it happens, albeit nervously, and not intending to be particularly obnoxious. It’s the same sort of gallows-humor I saw in Vietnam but on a more civilized level. What I am finding out in this club is that the members are so focused on flying that they have little energy left to maintain the psychological filters that people develop in the workplace. They are who they are and it is pretty easy to see their true nature. Some are a little quirky and others have a genuine streak of kindness that extends beyond themselves. In most life situations it takes a while to figure people out but this is not the case on the flying field. In addition there are some who have the financial resources to have the best equipment and others who struggle along to keep a model in the air. In some ways this is similar to the car club I also belong to with the difference being that wrecking the vehicle is not a common occurrence at a car show. Then there is the Old Guard and the Young Turks. Another dimension is the gas motor vs. the electric motor crowd. This is sort of like the Chevy vs. the Ford fans. Anyway there are enough dynamics going on to keep things interesting even if you don’t fly on a given day. For example our current President announced informally several weeks ago, stepping down and not running in the next election. One of the new younger members announced his intention to run for the office. He gave an impromptu little speech stating the direction he thought the club should be heading. It was weighted towards the gas engine contingent of the club. What ensued was a spirited discussion since our club is evenly divided between the two camps. Yesterday we visited another club's “Fly In” and since they support our activities we support theirs. Standing around talking, our current President turned to me and said… “I’ve decided to run for reelection. I don’t like the direction that Joe (pseudonym) is proposing to take the club. You will vote for me, won’t you…?” So here is yet another example of people in the club speaking their minds--- direct and to the point and not trying to sugar coat their feelings in a lot of tap-dancing and euphemisms. Don’t you love it? |
| Google In many retail stores the latest management interest seems to be customer service. It used to be that you couldn’t find someone to help you and these days you enter the store and are greeted with plastic smiles and employees that feign an interest they don’t really feel. This is better than apathy and who cares if you can get someone to help these days? To counteract this trend I have taken the approach of instead of being a “Glumly Gus,”, trying to be an effervescent customer with a genuine appreciation for the efforts of the salesperson providing the assistance. Instead of being hostile, grumpy or ambivalent, I seek to be pleasant, outgoing and genuinely appreciative. It gives the charade a little reverse English. This has yielded unexpected results as evidenced by a recent trip to Frank’s Hardware Store in Stevens Point. As I have shared in the past, I have an interest in making foam wing cores for my RC model airplanes. In order to cut these cores, a device, known as a "hot wire" is used. It looks like a cheese cutter and works pretty much the same, using an electrical current passing through the blade. On U-tube I saw a design that I liked and resolved to build one. To find the components I went to Fleet Farm, Radio Shack, A Music Store, Wal-Mart, Home Depot and the local hardware store. One of the components I needed was a Rheostat which is a device used to regulate the intensity of a light or the speed of an overhead fan. I need this to adjust the current flowing through my hot wire…. Too little and it won’t cut and too much… the foam melts, the fuse blows or the transformer becomes a fuse. (These are not good outcomes) Now I know enough about electricity to get in trouble and not enough to always figure out what I need. Most store employees know less than I do and some are employed part time in today’s economy where they are over qualified and frustrated and bored. Anyway, to get on with it, I was looking for this Rheostat and I asked the “Helpful” employee if he had one and he immediately replied that they had nothing like that in the store. Noting my dissappointment, he asked "What do you need it for?" I enthusiastically explained my project making frequent reference to my wiring diagram. “OH,” he answered perking up and looking at my scribble, “you mean a “Dimmer Switch.” “Yeah,” I replied,” noting signs of deeper understanding.” One of those. “ “I don’t think our switch will handle the amperage you’re looking for.” “Shucks,” I said, “How much amperage is the switch rated to handle?” “Let me see…. It says here 600 Watts.” At this point I was in over my head. “Watts” is a term I understand when it comes to light bulbs but beyond that… “How many amps is that?” I smiled, playing “Stump the Chump.” “Let me check online,” he answered.” He was gone less than a minute and returned. “That is exactly 5 Amps.” (This was the maximum my Radio Shack transformer was rated to handle.) “How did you find that out,” I wondered out loud. “I Goggled Watts to Amps… A site popped up that has one of those little find the missing value programs. On 120 AC house current you plug 120 then 600 and it gives you the amperage… 5. “I’ll take it,” I said adding… “You’re too smart to be working here.” “…You do what you got to do…” I guess that's what “Underemployment” means. |
| Resonance III Resonance is more than rhythm and rhyme that makes your writing skip along. Having it makes for a more enjoyable read but it isn’t just the music that makes your writing special to the reader. No indeed! What makes a manuscript really start to “Hummmm” is the above plus the lyrics. It is the song’s composition. (The music plus the lyrics… duh!) What is crazy Percy trying to tell me this morning? you wonder. Surely my writing resonates and it certainly makes sense to me. In response I have to reply, “Do you write Poetry?” Poetry is the font of resonance but it is also the well-spring of delightful nonsense. “Lambs eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy… A kidd'll eat ivy too, wouldn’t you?” Now that resonates but it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. (Or does it?) It meets test one but not test two. The acid test is whether or not the thread of a thought carries a verbal image of absolute clarity. Does the thought the writer is trying to express come across vivid and sharp? Most writing doesn’t “Resonate” because it lacks one or the other or both. Think about the directions you get with many of the electronic gadgets we buy. These are written in English but sometimes have to be read several times to get a sense for what the writer is talking about. It helps if there is a picture or diagram but often there isn’t and the reader is left to struggle with just the words. This is a great example of someone knowledgeable writing something that is totally lacking in resonance. (An engineer probably.) These are very smart men and women who don’t usually “Resonate” with the minds of those around them. They are like Priam’s Daughter, who had the gift of prophesy, but nobody listened to her. I think the best writers of instructions are those who acquired their knowledge recently. There is a great irony here. If such a writer has it ninety-five percent accurate, and the light is shining bright in the reader’s minds, the science freaks and educators will seize upon the smidgen that is wrong and try to disqualify all the rest. This is a favorite political trick… Undermine the credibility of a speaker by finding a mote that is factually incorrect. This tactic is used disparage those who can describe matters in lucid terms. Last year I bought some computer desk furniture made in China and the instructions didn’t contain a single word. They were completely written in stepped diagrams. I thought they were some of the easiest to understand instructions I had ever used and my wife and I completed the assembly without too much yelling and arguing. What I am trying to explain is that “Resonance” is important to communicating clear sharp lucid thoughts. It is the grease to ultimate perfection in the written word, squeezing Alfa characters into data arrangements that mainline thoughts and ideas into the visual and audio leads of your reader’s bio-processor… by-passing the filters of minuta. |
| Research As part of my Radio Control (RC) airplane hobby, I was watching U-Tube and seeing how innovators are building model aircraft using styrofoam. I was particularly interested in how the wing cores were being formed and cut. The way the styrofoam is cut is with what is called a "Hot Wire." A wire is run between two posts (looks like a cheese cutter) and a current is passed over it. This is used to cut the foam. I mentioned in an earlier blog my desire to scratch-build a model using raw materials that are readily available at a lumber yard, like Home Depot, Lowes or Menards. So I purchased an 8*4 piece of insulation foam and some thin plywood. One video shows how the “Hot Box” is designed and I became so inspired I went out and bought some components to build one. In my enthusiasm I did not buy all the right stuff and will have to go back and make some adjustments. The device consists of a project box, power cord, a 2.5 amp transformer, a dimmer switch, fuse holder, 120 volt light and some binding posts. Now to an electrician, putting this all together would be self-evident but for me this is a new adventure and while I understand a bit about electricity, I rely on “Monkey See… Monkey Do” circuits prepared by someone with more expertise than I have. That is why U-Tube is so useful. It shows the average person how to do things that once were the specialized knowledge of technicians. Writing a novel is much like my latest adventure. You have to get a sense for how the story line is going to run and the characters. Then you develop an outline (Wiring Diagram) and make sure you have all the right components. Once you have that, all that remains is putting it together one step at a time. Sometimes in the grip of enthusiasm a writer just jumps in and starts writing without much of a plan to start with. That is a good approach in the developmental phase. This is the time to chase down leads and find out where the dead ends are. It is also the place to do all the necessary research. It is what the developmental phase is all about… Doing the research and putting together the wiring diagram (Outline) and making sure that all the components to good story telling are included. I know I must sound like the Energizer Bunny continuously banging on my drum, moving lockstep along but that is the science to writing. The art is putting your device or story together and the satisfaction that comes from seeing it "Hummmm" to life. |
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Love it! Especially the safety measures for us homo sapiens...
