For a while now I've been feeling like it's time to change jobs and move on away from ASI. Well, today was my first day working at New Dawn Technologies. I'm excited about the company and the work they do. I think I'm really going to be able to stretch and grow there, I've got a rocking computer to work on and my commute is about 20 minutes shorter each way.

ASI has been a fantastic place to work. They gave me a lot of responsibility early on and really made me stretch and learn. I really enjoyed working with all the people there and have a lot of great memories from my time there. I wish them all the best! Now I just need to get better at keeping in touch with old co-workers...

This post is quite late in coming, but I wanted to show off the final product.  This is the first time I've ever covered a foam model, but I really like the result, even if it did double my build time.

Somehow I managed to make the right wingtip chord about an inch longer than the left, so I ended up with a wing that produces different amounts of lift on the right side vs. the left side.  To make things worse, the difference in lift is related to airspeed so the plane almost always flies like it isn't trimmed correctly.  Even with that wackiness it's a lot of fun to fly!  With the power setup I have in this model I get unlimited vertical.  Because this little plane goes so fast it gets small in a hurry.  I really do need to make a bigger model someday...

Specs:

Motor:  Mega 16-15-4

ESC: CC Phoenix 25

Battery: 2100 mAh lipo

Prop: APC 6x4

All-up weight: 16 oz

Static current: ~24 A

Input Power: >200 W

As many of you know, I used to work on a GIS software package named MapWindow.  About 5 years ago I decided to move to the job I'm in now.  Well, a year or two after I stopped working on the MapWindow project it went open source.  Since then I've been meaning to get back into development on it, but it was always such a low priority that I'd just let it slip.  

On memorial day I had a conversation with the project lead for the MapWindow team and, to make a long story short, he's hiring me to do some consulting work to help bring up the new version of MapWindow.  I'm excited to get my hands dirty and help make MapWindow 6 the best version ever!  I just feel somewhat guilty that it took pecuniary motivation to get me back into it.

And there was much rejoicing!

I decided to look back at some of my earlier blog entries.  I didn't realize it was over four years ago that I started this blog.  The sad part is that I've only done about 16 posts all together, or an average of one every 3-4 months.  That's pretty sad.  The good thing is that it made me smile to read some of my earlier posts.  Sometimes I think I get so wrapped up in the present that I forget how much fun I've had in the past.  I am definitely going to start posting more to my blog.  I strongly doubt that anyone else cares, so I'll do it for purely selfish reasons. :)

In my last post I mentioned that I had just registered for the 2008 MS-150 bike tour.  The second time was actually more fun for me than the first, but I did chicken out at just 40 miles.  I was able to ride with my sister-in-law and some co-workers.  I hadn't really trained at all for it so even the 40 miles left me pretty tired, but I took it a bit slower and had a great time.  It was fun crossing the finish line and having my family there to congratulate me.  I definitely hope to continue participating in the MS-150 because it is so much fun, and I hope to be helping at least a little bit in the fight against MS.

Tonight I officially registered to participate in the MS 150 bike tour again. I blogged a few times two years ago as I was training, but I never did mention how it all turned out, and since I think late is just a little better than never I might as well mention it now.

So I get up really early on the morning of the tour, gather all my gear and head for the Fairgrounds. I get there early enough to find a parking spot that isn't miles away, which is good because I'm getting kinda close to the cutoff time for check-in. I leave all my stuff in my car and walk to the fairgrounds to get registered. That goes relatively quickly and I walk back to the car to attach my official number to the bike and get ready for the tour.

After I get everything situated I go back into the Fairgrounds looking for the rest of my team. After a few minutes of searching I finally find them. We get our picture taken then we line up behind the biggest mass of bikes and people I've ever seen in my, admittedly sheltered, life.

The tour organizers let the masses out in waves, attempting to give traffic some small chance of getting through all the bikes and, presumably, to keep bike congestion down a bit. I think I made it out in the third wave. It all starts off really slow because it's not a race, and it seems that most people just wanted to fill the entire width of the road to block any cars or bikes from getting by.

The first few miles the tour were definitely the scariest. There were so many bikes in a small area that accidents could very easily happen. I nearly plowed into the people in front of me a few times when they made some sudden unexpected maneuver. By the time we got out to the airport traffic started to thin out a bit as we left the slower people behind and the faster people pulled ahead of us.

I was really surprised when we got to our first rest stop in Amalga. I wasn't even winded because we'd been taking a pretty easy pace up to that point. We stopped anyway and grabbed a bite to eat. None of us really w♦anted to stay long there so we pushed on pretty quickly. Soon we got to the decision point on the 40 mile loop and I was feeling good. Only one of our team opted for the shorter loop. The rest of us pushed on toward the next stop in Richmond.

Now that we were in the open and have passed most of the slower riders from the first couple of waves we were able to pick up the pace. We pushed on pretty quickly into Richmond, stopped again for a snack then pushed on again heading for Franklin. The ride through Richmond and Cove was really scenic, but a little more hilly than the ride up to that point.

By the time we reached Franklin I was starting to get tired. I'm just not used to long rides, and I'd only had two or three rides that were even as long as the ride into Franklin. After our snack in Franklin, two (or was it three) of our team decided they wanted to go for the century loop and headed off into Idaho, while the rest of us turned back toward Utah. Now the pace really started picking up, and where I started to take a little punishment. I was always was the weakest rider in the team and it really started to show. I spent most of my time in the back of the pack just trying to keep up, and eventually I had to fall back because I couldn't keep up the pace.

Our lunch break was in either Newton or Trenton, I don't recall which. I was pretty tired by then, but I felt good about making it that far. I was happy to spend some time sitting on the grass rather than on the hatchet-like saddle. I grabbed a sandwich and a banana and settled in for a pleasant lunch. I also took off my glasses because they were getting uncomfortable while I wasn't riding. Unfortunately I completely forgot to pick them up again after I finished lunch and I never saw them again.

After lunch things got really bad for me. I was already tired and it was even harder for me to keep up. I made the mistake of pushing really hard to keep up with the pack on a hill, and totally wore myself out. I fell behind the team and tried to hook up with a few of the passing packs, but I wasn't able to keep up so I ended up going almost solo until Benson.

The team was waiting for me in Benson, but they'd been there a while and I was pooped. They were kind enough to wait a few minutes while I cooled off, but since it was so hot and getting later we all wanted to get back as soon as possible. We took off heading toward the airport road. I was able to keep up with their brisk pace until we were just getting to the airport, then I totally bonked. I felt as though I had completely run out of steam. It was all I could do to stay on my bike. I got to 10th west and actually stopped on the side of the road for a few minutes, drinking some Cytomax and trying to get enough energy to limp the last few miles back to the Fairgrounds.

I took the rest of the ride really slow, but to me it was anything but easy. Even the slightest grade felt like I was climbing a mountain. The last 2 miles felt more like 10 to me. It was such a relief to finally cross the finish line and collapse on the grass.

As I was laying on the grass I get a call from my wife wondering where I am. She and my parents had come to see me cross the finish line, but I completely spaced it out and forgot to call them when I was getting close. I blame my lack of blood sugar on that particular oversight and I'm sure my wife won't let me get away with that again.

I finally get rested enough to drive home without killing myself or someone else. I take a shower and crash.

So, that's how it happened, and now I'm doing it all over again! I'm excited! Hopefully I'll manage to do better this time.

If any of you are reading this and want to contribute, you can go to the official web site and donate there. I really do believe that this is a good cause. I'm glad I can help in some small way to make life better for all the people who struggle with MS. I hope a day will come when we won't have the MS 150 because a cure has been found. Until that time comes I will keep doing my small part to help.

Given the title of my blog, I thought it would be appropriate to take this chance to mention that I'm going to be moving... again. My wife and I have decided to go back to school, she to finish her bachelors degree, me for a masters degree. So, yeah. 3-5 years more school... Here we go again!

[EDIT: This never happened for a number of reasons... :) ]

A funny thing happened on my way to Hardware Ranch. I was riding toward Blacksmith Fork Canyon on Hollow Road when I startled a robin who was deeply engrossed in something I'm sure it thought was fascinating in the middle of the road. That by itself wasn't the funny part. Nor was it particularly funny when the robin leaped from the road in a rather startled fashion. The funny part came when it realized what exactly had caused it so much excitement. It was so upset that it started chittering wildly at me. I'm sure if I could understand the speech of birds I would have heard enough obscenities and references to my genealogy to make even me blush.

So, I startled a bird, that reacted in a not completely unexpected way, so far. Nothing really funny yet. The funny part came when the robin really got himself (I'm assuming here, I've no idea how to tell the difference) so worked up that he decided to dive bomb my helmet, three times in a row! The entire time he was screaming at me. After I ducked under his assault the third time he relented and settled for following me, flying from tree to tree to make sure I was really retreating. That was the funny part :)

Today was my first ride on my new bike. Yesterday I finally caved in and bought a "real" road bike. For the last couple of months I've been making due with my mountain bike equipped with slicks, along with some cycling shorts to help reduce the saddle soreness. Even with my new gear I was always left behind in group rides. Now I'm hoping I at least have a chance to keep up.

The bike I settled on is the '05 Raleigh Super Course. I got a good discount because it's last year's model, but it's fairly well equipped with Shimano shifters and derailuers. It's as much of a sweet ride as I could afford, well probably a bit more than I should have afforded.

Anyway, for my ride today I started from home, went about one mile to the rendevous point where there were supposed to be two other guys from work, but I was the only one who showed up. I finally gave up waiting and took off by myself. From there I rode 21 miles to Hardware Ranch, gaining roughly 1000 feet in elevation. For those of you familiar with the area you know that almost every morning has a stiff breeze flowing out of the canyon, then somewhere around 10:00 am, the wind switches directions and goes into the canyon. Sooo, yeah, I get headwinds both ways. I guess that's what I get for starting so early. :)

Anyway, 3 hours and 43 miles after starting I made it home, tired and hot. I'm hoping that these rides help get me in shape well enough so I can survive the MS 150 this year. I will only be doing the first 75 mile day, but that's still nearly twice as far as I've ever been in a single day. I hope it doesn't kill me!

There are a few unavoidable universal truths in this world. There are some that seem universal, but when looked at a little harder aren't. The one that is the topic of today's post is this: Every R/C helicopter owner who actually flies his heli will crash at some time. There just aren't any exceptions. It's not at all a matter of if, but when. The severity of the crash can vary quite a bit. The good news for me is that since my heli is so small and (relatively) inexpensive, the crashes don't really seem all that dramatic. The bad news is that my budget is too tight to allow for constant repairs. "Life... Don't talk to me about life."