March 7, 2008

golf has been practicing for her hoped-for trip to Hawaii in September! She has arranged to fly a Robinson 44 over Robin's Nest, so she can concentrate on piloting the aircraft and Larry can film from the back seat. Therefore, in anticipation of such activity, she has been practicing flying the R44 in MicroSoft FlightSimulator, plus the Abacus Whirlybirds add-on so she has a R44 to crash (okay, she doesn't crash it ALL the time). She's made a "test" video of learning to pilot this aircraft. You should be able to see it here (oh, yes! Note where the rotors slow down suddenly and then stop -- fortunately the helicopter keeps flying as though there is no problem -- so it turns out okay. But it adds a little "odd" twist to the video, can't explain it, won't try):




Plus a little flight past Robin's Nest, as she hopes to do:




Okay, she'll concede that she's not very good at landing on the "H" of the helipad . . . . but she comes close. So I'm willing to give her a little credit for hanging in there and continuing to try to improve. We'll have to wait and see if we get a better video in a few months.

February 25, 2008

Check the links to the left for a new link to a new video on youtube. golf tried to upload it directly here, but it wouldn't upload -- maybe too big for this server right now. Anyway, it's a flight simulator movie as a hint as to what golf wants to do in Hawaii in September (though I doubt she'll be able to land at TC's Island Hoppers pier . . . . ).

Now the REAL question is: How am I going to be able to stow away and take the flight with her? And if she flies with the doors off, what can I do to keep from falling out? Need some advice from my Little Voice, but I figure I have about six months to plan this thing out. I better make a note to myself to be sure to remember to take my headset.

February 22, 2008

Boy, things sure are quiet around here during the winter! golf has been busy knitting a sweater for Larry, or practicing her helicopter flying skills with Microsoft Flight Simulator (more on that in a minute). As you've seen with the fireplace pictures, we've had lots of fires, but we've had enough warm, spring-like weather to fool some of the plants. Here is one of our daffodils, already blooming!

This week there was a complete lunar eclipse, but we didn't get a picture of it. However, when golf got home around 6 p.m., the full moon was there so she tried to get a picture of me with the moon. Somehow the moon looked much bigger "in person" than it does in this picture. I'm rather disappointed with how it looks here. But this is the one that later that night got eclipsed!

Now, to explain that virtual helicopter flight computer practice remark above: golf and Larry are going to try to go back to Hawaii in September. golf wants to try to fly a helicopter with Mauna Loa Helicopters when she's there. She did this a couple of times, on the Big Island, but it will be different this time, I promise. But I'm not providing any more teasers at this point in time because we aren't sure that everything golf has planned will come to fruition. You're going to have to wait seven months to find out! But if it works as golf hopes it will, it will be worth the wait.

Stay tuned!

January 19, 2008 -- More Snow!

It was just raining this morning. The weather reports kept saying it was going to turn to snow and snow all afternoon. This first picture was taken as the snow started to accumulate.

Then golf's mean streak came out, and she stuck TC and me out here in the snow with no winter gear (well, why would we have winter clothes in Hawaii?) Yow, my bare feet are cold!

The neighborhood kids were out in force. They built a snowman in the middle of the road (I provided a carrot for the nose), but then the lady who lives next door told them she would call the police on them if they didn't knock it down. They did, and since we had provided a nose, they came and asked if we had a shovel to move the snow out of the street. We did, but we also requested that, since they had messed up the pristine appearance of our front yard, would they rebuild the snowman in our front yard. They did, and golf gave the snowman (named "Phil" since he was too white to be Tiger) a golf club.

It's a good thing golf got these pictures when she did, because an hour and a half later, some other neighborhood kid(s) decided that something cute just has to be destroyed (why do kids these days think it's cool to ruin something that isn't even theirs?), so Phil was knocked down and broken all over the yard. I suppose we should be grateful that only his hat and ping-pong ball eyes were taken. At least, the kid(s) didn't steal the golf club.

However, the temperature, according to our thermometers, never got below 34 degrees today, so all the pretty snow is melting. According to the weatherpersons, the temperature is supposed to go way below freezing come evening, so what is left will freeze solid, but it would appear that there won't be much left to freeze. Island Hoppers continued to gather a bit of snow on it, but it is also melting fast. I'd hoped to get some big icycles hanging down from the tail, but the snow is melting too fast. Pictures below are from a couple of hours ago. The snow is now melted entirely off the rotors and tail boom.

It was still spitting a few flurries until just a few minutes ago. But now even that has stopped.

Well, it was pretty and fun for a while. I'm just sorry Phil the Snowman didn't even make until when Larry comes home around 11:30 p.m. so he could see the golfing snowman in our front yard when he pulled up and into the driveway, to have his headlights wash over Phil. Alas, that is not to be. I guess that'll teach us to be the only honkies in the neighborhood . . . .

Wednesday, January 16, 2008 -- Snow in Atlanta!

golf leaves work this afternoon to drive home - and it starts snowing -- in Atlanta!!

Fortunately, I'm there to witness the event.

But look again closely at the picture above -- see what's playing on the XM radio receiver?

It looks as though it's letting up here, but it's really not.

Still coming down, huge 1-inch flakes.

Okay, I missed being there for pictures on the beach in St. Thomas --

but snow in Atlanta is a little more unusual!

Will report more tomorrow. The potential for overnight is . . . .

more snow . . . .

or sleet turning into ice . . . .

or rain to melt everything (bummer . . . .)

But if it freezes overnight, we might have some more entertaining pictures.

Stay tuned!

(However, if there's more snow/ice tomorrow, I'm REALLY
NOT going to appreciate if golf sticks me outside for pictures barefooted!

Sigh . . . .

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Hey, look! When golf took the Christmas tree down, she stole all the Magnum PI ornaments (Ferrari 308 GTSs and mini-Island Hoppers birds) and took them to work and put them on top of her computer monitor (I count four Ferraris and six helis) (just ignore her trolls and the picture of Larry at the golf course). Now, the "powers that be" at her office have offered her a flat panel monitor, which she has turned down, because, then, where would she display her toys? Silly fan . . . . but I appreciate her! Well, I should, I guess. I wouldn't exist without her. Hmmm, that's deep . . . .

January 5, 2008 -- Happy New Year!

Well, I haven't done much lately. Helped golf undecorate the house but she didn't get any pictures of me. But she's still adding to her "looks like TC's chopper" collection. Here's one that is a weird 1/16 scale, which is not to real scale, not like the Ultimate Soldier BIG one. But this one is, I believe, satisfactory to add to the collection. Ya think?