VOYAGER - 1986 NON STOP AROUND THE WORLD - QUARANTINED

I have loved model making since I was a youngster. The model of the Voyager aircraft above was built some 34 years ago. The around-the-world flight was in the news then and I followed closely the Rutan brothers composite airplane construction and this around-the-world non-stop flight attempt. 

My renewed interest, this aviation milestone and this post stem from home clean-up and boxing for moving plans this year. This model, along with other favorites, are being cleaned up, prepped for boxing and protecting. They all will find a new home hanging from the ceiling or proudly displayed in some kind of man office or rec-room. 

The main wing in the model above is one solid piece and goes through the center of the main fuselage and twin booms. The front canards were tightly fit into place, marked for symmetry and then glued. The propellers were handmade using a pocket knife and some time whittling and sanding. 

This model, when hung in the house, never stops moving. The slightest breeze causes it to twist and turn. She will get a new coat of paint and some TLC before being displayed in her new home.

Here are a few videos of this aviation accomplishment 34 years ago. 

Frontiers of flight...Rutan Voyager Part 1 of 4 

Frontiers of flight...Rutan Voyager Part 2 of 4 

Frontiers of flight...Rutan Voyager Part 3 of 4  

Frontiers of flight...Rutan Voyager Part 4 of 4 

Voyager flying non stop around the earth, 1986 

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 "The 100' Wally Tango..."

Two minutes of magnificent sailing to wonderful music. 

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 Beautiful Poem. 

I am not a poem person.  But this poem strikes the center of the heart. It may be because I am on the shy side of 75 years old. 

Take a moment and give this a read. Maybe even copy and paste for future reading, sharing and use. I find more truth to all of this that I ever would have as a younger man.

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CORONAVIRUS 01/26/2020

Twelve cities and 35 million people quarantined in China according to internet headlines and reports this morning.  

Read Raconteur Report here for another perspective. He is worth visiting from time to time.

This virus is worth keeping an eye on and watch the quarantine as  government  controls movement of people "for their own safety and good" yadda yadda yadda. Consider media hype, should all of this intensify in the days ahead.

Stay away from crowds, and consider how having to stay put for several weeks would impact you and yours. 

Today and this week you can most pick up anything for home use/need w/o issue. You can also communicate with anyone w/o issue. Plan accordingly. 

Thanks again for stopping by this week.

ICED IN - A-10 REFUELING OVER NEW HAMPSHIRE

I have recently learned how to take a frame from a video, make it into a picture and then use it in blogging titles. (Open Shot video editing and GIMP photo editing programs). A complete hard drive failure six months ago, has set me to have to find new software editing programs.

The photo above is the first example. This early morning photo was taken near Laconia, NH of an iced-in boat dock. I also learned that taking video freehand with my X-T2 was stupid idea from the get-go. Too much camera shake, no matter how hard I tried to steady the camera. I was too lazy to load a tri-pod and now that lesson learned.

Go to https://youtu.be/WwKyPDWyInU   for a three minute video using the Fuji X-T2 and learning new video/photo editing software. It's a start.

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MAKING READY A WINTER JERKY COOK

  
Sixty year old knife from my grandparents and parents still the best. Slices razor sharp on every stroke.

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Fuji X-T2

Small stream near Salisbury, NH during recent snow melt. Snows returning this weekend along with single digit temperatures. 

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WINTER 2008 VS WINTER 2020 SNOW COMPARISONS

 

Looking down the path out back Saturday morning and looking down the same path in early March 2008 below.

  

The tree just behind where I am snow blowing in the bottom picture has since fallen and the stump now has a bird feeder siting on it in the top photo.

 

The woodshed Saturday morning. 

The woodshed below in early March 2008. The little shed seen in the top photo had not yet been  built.

We were younger then and moved all of this snow with a hand snow blowing unit. This included going up and down the 900' driveway.

2008 was one of the heaviest snow fall years we can remember. 

All of this snow fall would kick our ass this year. 

Of course, March 2020 is yet to come.

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KING OF THE JUNGLE

Photo taken in South Africa, 2007. No editing needed.

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FLYING WITH PEASE AFB TANKER MISSION OVER NH 2006

I had the opportunity to hop a ride on a tanker refueling mission out of Pease AFB in 2006. 

I was one of the educators in the state lucky enough to be selected as a small group of folks for a tour of Flight Ops and a ride. 

These guys and gals have a wonderful office to work in, huh?

The boom operator here in the photo to the left has a joy stick and flies
 the boom to aid the pilot in fuel probe hook in.

They  visit back and forth like a couple folks sharing a visit with coffee and doughnut in hand. 


When the A-10 is topped off, kind words of appreciation are exchanged, a disconnect, slow down, and then a descending banking turn to make space for the next incoming A-10.

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Things to think about, things to do and working on daily happenings beyond the decay of the media box. It is good. 

As always, thanks for your visit this week. And of course stay away from crowds.

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WINTER WOOD - SKYMAT- CAJUN CAT FISH

Typical woodpiles, along back roads of central NH, seasoning for next year.

 

 

Woodshed only accessible wearing studded boots. Solid ice below a light  coating of snow. Single digit temperatures arriving mid-week.

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"Here's looking at you, kid"

 

Game Park near Johannesburg SA 2007

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Inventor Igor Benson demonstrates SKYMAT

From June 28, 1963 Life Magazine

"...a 16 motorized apparatus that looks like a buzzing bedstead and has yet to soar higher than 20 feet." 

Notice the gas engines and pulley systems driving 16 propeller blades. It would interesting to learn how Igor controlled the hover and lateral movement in this design, or if he even did. Maybe just getting airborne was a challenge in of itself. Imagine the sound of this early drone design lifting off.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh a ground effect machine? 

More information here 

and here 

and here 

Some research after starting part of this post, I came to understand this inventor was way ahead of his time. Limiting factor, in most all inventions, is current technology.  I see that some of his work was called "extremely unorthodox." Now some 60 years later this design is common place and in use by thousands and thousands of people all over the world.

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Geological layers NNE of Eagle Alaska.

 

The Yukon River, winding its way North, as it flows past Eagle. Summer of 1986.

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FRESH CAT FISH FILLETS 

Tired of the same old thing to eat? On a diet and bored with diet food, no flavor and or what to make?

The side dish.

Sun-dried tomatoes from a jar on top of small sliced pieces of mozzarella. A dash of good olive oil on top. The broth is a mixture of the olive oil and tomatoe marinade.

Maybe not the most photogenic, but the flavor/texture is heaven. 

Plated on fine china!!

The main dish.

Catfish covered in homemade cajun seasoning. No other seasoning required.

(We make a double batch of seasoning from a net recipe and store it in a small jar)

Parts of 3 fillets cut in half and fried on medium low in a cast iron skillet. (Butter and vegetable oil) 

Wife likes the thin tail cut and I like the thicker body portion. The fish is stand alone as fried and served.

Make and serve for yourself, you and yours or if friends are coming over and are not haters of sea food, cheese and tomatoes, set this meal in front of them with bottles of white wine.  

The sun-dried tomatoes side dish will compliment any meat meal or main course salad meal. Hell, it is a stand alone dish with multiple bottles of wine. Wine is a course - right?

Dessert?

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Winter up and left again this weekend. Sixty degrees with a warm wind a "blowin". The snow all but gone.

Appreciate the visit this week. Stay away from crowds and get some dog napping in!!

USUALLY I USE MORE WHISKEY - 1956-1955 CHEVROLETS - HELICOPTERS - RIDING MOTORCYCLE AROUND THE WORLD

 Fati - Man (Norwegian Fatti-man cookies)

I vow every year to make these cookies as they are my all-time favorite. I have not done so yet and can only offer excuses.

There are plenty of recipes for these on the net to include the deep frying in a shallow pan and then dusting with powdered sugar. Mom and dad use an cast iron skillet.

The recipe above was handed down from my grandmother on my father's side, the Norwegian side. 

Watch a video or two if you want to try these. I guarantee that once you add these to your Christmas and New Year baking, your peeps will want them every year. 

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BLENDING IN- Game park near Johannesburg SA 2007

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YOU TUBE: THE COOLEST ARCHERY GADGET FOR 2020

This fellow has some design and building talent. Plus, he is just fun to watch and listen to.

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1956 CHEVROLET  My first car.

Blue and white with a 265 cu in V-8, twin-barrel carb and three on the floor. The photo above was taken after having the car for several years. I was returning home from Tacoma visiting a friend. A gas station attendant did not properly close and lock the hood after gassing up and checking under the hood.

No sooner did I get on I-5 South, the hood flew open, buckling the hood and denting the top of the car. Broke my heart pulling into our driveway with the car looking like this.  

After repair and necessary body work, I chose a solid blue color which was a mistake from the original paint job. Too late then to turn back. She was a beautiful car though and provided a great first car for a kid of the sixties.

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1955 CHEVROLET PANEL TRUCK

My third car.

The 55 Chevy Panel Truck was bright yellow with wood side-paneling.

Under the hood was a built 409 cu in engine with a tri-power carburetor and headers.

Four on the floor, two bucket seats and fully carpeted inside. Street slicks and mag wheels to finish it off. This car ran like a ruptured duck and was the most fun car I have ever driven. 

Of all the cars I have owned over the years, this is the one I want back.

 

The Army, flight school and Vietnam got in the way and I only had the car a few months before having to sell.

Ironically, I met the kid who had built this car while on R&R in Hong Kong. We passed each other on one of the main down town streets.(He, too, was in the service and also there on R&R) It is a small world.

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NEW TOYS TO PLAY AND POSE WITH

Seven months later, I was in the Army helicopter flight program with new experiences and toys to learn and play with.  

Thie photo to the right was taken as we started working the flight line half of each work day.   

Learning to fly and then soloing was job one.

Solo work entailed flying to one of the designated training areas and practicing what we had been taught previously during the week. In this photo, I had landed on a pinnacle, set the engine to idle and frictioned it down. 

Getting out of the helicopter to look at the small area and plan a pick up to a hover, 180 hovering turn and take off was part of the procedure. 

These were the quick kind of take-offs, lifting up, turning and flying off a 500' ledge, dropping altitude and gaining air speed.

In December that year, I arrived in Vietnam as a twenty year old warrant officer/pilot to began my year tour of duty UH-1B Huey gun ships. 

I was assigned to the 2/20th Aerial Rocket Artillery with 1st Air Cavalry  Division.

See the muzzle flash burn mark from the door gunner's  M-60 machine gun.

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RIDING AROUND THE WORLD ON A MOTORCYCLE

I just found this blog of a young woman riding her motorcycle around the world. Not sure of the details. I think this is her home page. 

 

THE BACK ROADS TO CROATIA EPS #120

CROSSING THE REMOTE PASO PICHACHEN...S2-EP 40

She does a very good job of filming and narrating. I feel like I am riding along with her on this adventure. She makes all of this look very easy. 

My wife even likes her videos and that, in of itself, is worthy of sharing here.

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LAST DAY 2019

Tree top a little bent from freezing rain/sleet/snow. The tree limbs are all covered in the background and make for short-lived snow covered landscapes.

Four inches of fresh sleet snow on top of 2" frozen sleet snow/rain and still snowing at 09:00. 

So, at the time of this writing, I have decided to drink the last dregs of morning coffee, set the pot of chicken soup on the back burner for lunch and wait till the event is done. 

My son called and said he cannot walk his snowblower through this mess and too has decided to stay warm and house-bound. 

We both filled necessary groceries for a few days and like a million other folks dealing with this mess. We are the lucky ones who can exercise the stay-at-home option.

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The year ends for us with beauty and mess all rolled into one. Enjoy one, work the other as we look forward to the 2020's.

I have no desire to look back at 2019. 

Tomorrows have always held my attention from one day to weeks to months and the year. What to plan and look forward to? 

I think the new year and new decade are going to forever leave an impression on the peoples of this nation. That can be said for ever new generation, though. Maybe I am more tuned in but the push for all things socialism will leave a different by New Years Day, 2030. 

The gloves are off. The agendas are BOLD FACED and we all will be forced to choose. I cannot fathom the onslaught of political ads in the months ahead.

We are a split nation with wedges being driven deeper and deeper without our consent. We lose if we sit back and do nothing and there will be loss in standing our grounds. How and when will we emerge from this mess? Stay tuned!

SO...

Welcome in the new year with hope, wisdom and without a running rush to any friendly cliff. Watch the herd, the tribes, trust yourself and your gut, teach your children in the basics of living. Skill sets, skill sets, skill sets!

Find like-minded folks. Trust in God. Pray! You will be heard.  Keep your knees bent. Re-think your need to be in crowds or large malls.

To all that have come to visit this past year, a heartfelt thanks of appreciation. 

Come back in the new year, share "the after" with others. 

Youmeandtheafter and her.

"...the pale blue dot..."

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A STONE COLD KILLER

CLOUD

She lived 14 years on her own terms. She was a free cat in America and spent most of her life roaming free without collar or leash on land fraught with dangers. 

She never let us pick her up, pet her or even get close. I never ever figured out what she liked to eat. What she would devour one day, she might never ever want again. A head turned up and away saying "no thanks." Quite often "a kill" would be left on our door mat with the good parts gone. She was a stone-cold killer in her younger days.

When I would walk the dog down/up the driveway, the cat would follow skirting on the rocks, around trees and in the brush alongside the driveway.

This last photo was taken on a reflex push of the shutter as she headed back into the garage just before Christmas. 

We all should be so strong and independent.

She passed New Year's Eve with a last look at both my wife and me, too weak to deny our hands on her and our words of love. She knew she was always loved and she was. She was not alone in her passing. Not alone!

She has permanently marked the last day of every year now for us.

God Bless Kitty. God Bless!!

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