Google Wave - Redeux

I was an early user of Google Wave but, like many, my biggest problem was finding anyone I knew who would use it along with me. It's kind of sad when you are all alone in a wave. Good grief, even my wife wouldn't play along with me!

However, I'm giving it another try. I really think that the technology and approach to messaging could be a game changer in how people communicate (i.e. I could easily see Wave-like interfaces supplanting email at some point). Now, with video and voice gadgets/extensions, the possibilities are very interesting.

So, if you are a waver (is that a hip term or did I just pronounce myself clueless?), or if you've considered using Google Wave, give it a try (it's open to everyone now - no invitation required) by going to http://wave.google.com and signing up.

Let me know what you think. Am I right about it changing the messaging landscape or is this just another geek toy that is bound to fade away?

Kelly

Workouts and Eating

I'm currently going through my second round of P90X (classic schedule). I've done it once before - well, actually, this is my second attempt at a second time (I got sick and missed enough that I started over) - and had really good results. 

I'm currently at 200lbs and I'm a bit over 6'1" tall. My goals are to get to 180lbs and down to a 34 waist (I've got a whopping 37" waist right now).

The last time I went through P90X I got down to 175lbs and 34" waist so, I know I can do it. However, one of the hardest things is eating right. I don't mean starving myself either. My current diet plan has a target of 3000 calories per day. It's a low fat diet and is high in protein (for the first month). The idea is to reduce my overall fat weight while still powering my body for the workouts (1 to 1.5 hours 6 days per week).

Right now, I'm in my second  week of the first phase (there are 3 phases - each a month long). After this phase, my diet will change - reduce calories based on body weight and less emphasis on protein in the daily portions - and the workouts change too. 

I plan on posting periodically with my thoughts and observations as I go through the program this time through. 

I'll post my current measurements in the next day or two along with a typical day's meals and calories.

Kelly

Looking forward to the weekend. . .

My oldest daughter and my wife are in Charlotte this weekend for a gymnastics meet (my daughter is prep for level 7 and is competing in the regional meet for her age group).

So, my youngest and I (along with my 19 yr old son who pretty much keeps to himself) are flying solo this weekend.

No real plans other than visiting the driving range at some point.

Starting this weekend I'll create a new blog specifically limited to my ongoing education (formal and informal) in C, Lisp, and Python. I'll be posting some of the various books and resources I've been using. I'll also post some of the recent exercises from the books and what I came up with as solutions. So, if you're interested in programming - or just want to chuckle at my efforts, check back and I'll post the link on this blog.

Kelly

New Blog - Same as the old (sort of. . .)

I haven't been flying much lately and am moving my previous blog about being a student pilot into a more general site. The advantage is that I can write about more general subjects without feeling like I should limit my postings to aviation specific topics.

I'll still post about flight related topics and will tag them appropriately.

I will also be creating another site that will be specifically related to my adventures in becoming more proficient in programming. I'll be focusing primarily on C, Lisp (Scheme) and Python.

More to come. . .

Saturday Flight to 5W5

Well, I finally got up in the air again. It was a mixed bag sort of experience (I'll explain a bit better over the next paragraph or two).

We left LHZ and it was a really smooth take off and not much wind (it was 5kts from 260). I turned to the southwest and made my calls leaving the area. As I was making my final call, an airplane flew directly over us. I'm not sure how close but it was close (maybe 150-200'). No call, nothing until he was beyond us.

Nice start, right?

The rest of the flight to 5W5 was uneventful. We made our approach (keeping an exceptionally peeled eye out for any traffic and probably overdoing it a bit on the radio calls). However, I did make a mistake in assuming the wind would be the same as it was at LHZ (or at least close). I set up for a normal approach to runway 34 and it was not a smooth approach. I couldn't get the descent rate in and I was going to miss my spot so, I aborted at about 300' and did a go around. As I was setting up for a second attempt, I happened to notice some smoke from the ground and realized that the wind at 5W5 was actually coming from about 160*. A quick scan for the windsock (it's not the best maintained field and the windsock can be hard to spot) confirmed what the smoke indicated.

Ugh! This was just plain stupidity on my part. I should have flown over mid-field and confirmed wind prior to my setup for approach.

I aborted again and decided to head back with a short detour to find and fly over my friends house (who is also a pilot and who's second set of eyes I was glad to have along for the trip).

The return trip was uneventful and my approach and setdown at LHZ were unexceptional (it's amazing how much easier it is to land without a quartering tailwind). I was a bit tense and beating myself up a bit on the return flight but, all in all, I learned quite a bit from this less than stellar trip (not the least of which is that I need to fly more often).

I'm a bit embarrassed by the whole experience but also think that telling about it will remind me to be more thorough in the future.

Safe Flying,
Kelly

Quick Update: Flying this weekend (Saturday)

Just a quick note to let my reader :D know that I'll be up in the air this weekend. The plan is for me and a buddy to fly over our houses.

So, the plan is to leave LHZ, head over to Triple W, and then fly back to LHZ by way of Clayton.

Should be fun and I'll update the blog with the details once I'm safely back on the ground :D

Safe Flying,
Kelly

Flying. . . Finally!

It's been about 6 weeks since I last flew a helicopter. So, needless to say, I was a bit nervous when I took the right hand seat.

All kinds of thoughts were going through my mind and I was double checking the pre-flight checklist and the startup checks because I was sure that I was going to miss something or do something boneheaded.

My double checking must have paid off though because I got it started with no major oversights. :)

My first pick-up was pretty good and I was a bit wonky as I hovered out to the taxi-way, but I got that stabilized pretty quickly.

I made my radio call and was on the go. Now, I hate to admit it, but my first take-off wasn't that great. I completely didn't anticipate the little roll as I got through ETL and into transverse flow effect. So, I blew a bit left before I caught up to it and I'm sure any casual onlookers were snickering at the new student pilot. . .

After a turn through the pattern and a not-so-perfect normal approach, I settled down and was back to my old self. I was happy, surprised, and a bit shocked at how well I did overall. I need to keep my skills fresh so, I'm going to try to go for at least 30 minutes every other week until I can start up with my commercial lessons again. Hopefully, if I'm going a bit more frequently, for future flights  I'll be able to skip the nerves and initial "break-in" that I had today.

I had a buddy along today for moral support as well (a fellow pilot who is a bit further along that I am) and he didn't run screaming from the helicopter when I finally set it down in front of the hangar so, I suppose that's a good sign too :D

Anyway, it felt good to get back up in the air in something that you actually have to fly (sorry you fixed wingers, it's just not the same in a plane).

For my next post, I'll try to add some pictures of the Remos and a few helicopter pics I have too.

Fly safe,
Kelly

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