The Things we do

I liked the title Steve-O and am not above thievery.

I've officially moved my Sport plane flight training back by one month. There are now 3 hospital projects scheduled for March and I figured that I shouldn't miss out on the learning experiences.

Airlines are such robbing, stealing, POS (except Southwest. I <3 Southwest). My round trip ticket was $230. Delta charged me a $150 penalty for cancelling. POS. They gave me airline credit, but I have since come to my senses and have decided to drive the 12 hours from Clarksville to Sarasota Fl. I'll save money and the hassle of leaving 3 hours before my flights and renting a vehicle. Anybodies interested in spliting the driving and hotel from April 11th until April 25th?

Change is a-comin'

Over the weekend, the divisional manager scheduled a conference call with all Engineers nation-wide for today. I wasn't at all nervous until I talked with my backup engineer this morning. I asked if this was an annual call and he responded that no, this is something new and probably not good.

Actually, the more I think about the change, the awesomer it seems... Which really defies the logic of the situation.

My backup told me that the rumors were either an entire area of management was being cut or field employees were going hourly. He says that field service technicians had already gone hourly and they love it. Some FSTs make 100k a year with overtime. Still, I was expecting to hear the big "L" for freshman engineers.

It turned out to be that engineers are going non-exempt, hourly. At first, I was just happy to still be employed. After the national call, we split into our local teams to talk amongst ourselves...UPGRADE!

The facts so far:

Our salary is divided by 40 hours per week. As long as we work 40 hours, which we are required to under policy, our salary doesn't change. If we work more than 40, it's time and a half. This tempers the fact that I am 24/7/365. Working at home I always felt I should always be doing something related to my job. Even if it was 8 pm or a weekend. Now my hours have a soft limit of 40 hours, but adds the ability to recoup time over 40 hours.

Our benefits (vacation, health care, expenses, mileage) don't change.

Travel time is considered on-the-clock time. Taking online training is considered on-the-clock. Traveling to the post office to mail in timesheets is considered on-the-clock.

If I'm paged on a holiday..double-time!

Know what else. When I reach 40 hours, I'm obligated to stop work for the week without overtime approval. Sooo, if I work 7 am until 5 pm each day...I take a 1/2 day on Fridays! WooHoo! Some on the team are already planning for 4 day / 10 hour work weeks.

1 day, 115 Mile Okeechobee route

One of my co-workers rides a recumbent bike. He's been coaching me on technique and equipment. He has done several cross-country rides and his next is to circumvent Lake Okeechobee in mid-April. He says that he has done the circuit 3 times with his fastest run at 9 hours and his longest at 12. He says that 80 miles of it is on the river bank dike at 13 to 18 mph. He also said that the winds fight you the entire way around. I have been invited, and at first I didn't think the logistics would work out. I'd have to take off work on Friday for a 13 hour drive to South Florida, ride all day on Saturday and drive back all day on Sunday. Ugh. The reward was tempting, but the cost too great.

Then I thought...I should have a pilot's license by April.. Hmm, that still may not work out since I can only fly during the day... I'll have to think about it. And follow his training regimen just in case.

Feb 9-15: Wednesday 10 miles, Friday 15 miles, Sunday 46 miles
Feb 16-22: Monday 12 miles, Wednesday 15 miles, Friday 18 miles, Sunday 45 miles
Feb 23-Mar 1: Tuesday 10 miles, Wednesday 8 miles, Friday 15 miles, Sunday 63 miles
Mar 2-8: Tuesday 12 miles, Wednesday 10 miles, Friday 8 miles, Sunday 81 miles
Mar 9-15: Tuesday 14 miles, Wednesday 12 miles, Friday 10 miles, Sunday 86 miles
Mar 16-22: Tuesday 16 miles, Wednesday 15 miles, Friday 12 miles, Sunday 92 miles
Mar 23-29: Wednesday 16 miles, Friday 14 miles, Sunday 86 miles
Mar 30-Apr 5: Wednesday 10 miles, Thursday 15 miles, Sunday 90 miles
Apr 6-12: Wednesday 10 miles, Thursday 7 miles, Sunday 115 miles
Apr 18/19: Lake Okeechobee!

View Larger Map
Now, where to find the time...

Clarksville to Dover by Bicycle, Attempt #1

Steve, Jen and I started out on a quick bike ride Saturday morning. We only attempted 4 miles out and 4 miles back. At the end of the 4 mile out leg, Jen and I decided to continue on for 5 more miles to visit an Outfitter's store on Dover road. It turned out it was NOT the type of Outfitter we thought it was...

We then thought, you know, it's only 6 more miles to the halfway point and if we make the halfway point, there's no reason to turn around and go 15 miles back to Clarksville when we were only 15 miles from Dover. Particular when the last 10 miles to Dover is down-hill! So we take a picture as our first milestone and off we go!



We did well for our first attempt; making it over 17 miles! We stopped because the road shoulder suddenly disappeared, the traffic picked up and we were not sure where the shoulder would reappear again. Luckily, our support staff (Go-Team-Steve!) had keys to my truck and came to pick us up.


View Larger Map

We loaded up the bikes and drove the rest of the way. The shoulder picks back up after a few miles and construction is on-going. I have no doubt we will easily make the rest of the route on the next nice and low traffic day!

Life is good.

That is all.

Approaching a major life milestone

I was thinking this morning about a hospital system upgrade that is being pushed by said hospital and how it could disrupt my plans. They want to go-live on March 10th. That's the week that I have scheduled flight training. Even though I'm still technically a padawan (the jedi academy corporate office doesn't know about and would frown upon the work that I am already doing without official force corporate training), and the project's jedi master has said that I should not reschedule my flight training, I think I will anyhow. This is a critical time for me to learn new skills and I need to take every opportunity presented. And with the economy in its current state, I have to make sure that I am visible and valuable.

So, I'll probably delay my flight training/vacation one week. Don't worry, I've put down a large deposit; there is no danger of me procrastinating this to its death!

While considering all of this, it occured to me that this is one of those major life milestones. I feel about flight training the way others feel about marriage, graduation or tasting their first deep-fried twinkie (two out of three ain't bad!). You know what happens after these events right? PAR-TAY!!! Assuming I pass, I'm going to host a flight-themed reception after I return from flight training. Anyone have ideas for flight-themed activities? I know I want to have my home simulator available for games/demonstrations. Top Gun will be on infinite repeat in the DVD player. Ooo, I wonder if I can rent out a conference room at Outlaw field. Ooo! I wonder if I can find a cheap Afterburner arcade console!

Fatal Flaw in the Master Plan

NOOOOO!!!! *sigh*

There's a fatal flaw to working at home. Ice and Snow days mean nothing. Unless you forgot to remove your phone from your last jobs automated alert system and receive a 6 am alert that your work is closed. Then it means someone needs a /junkpunch. For about 2 seconds I was real happy...

Hmm, wait, it's not just snowdays...do I get sick days? Cable-man-is-scheduled-for-1/2-day days? Bomb threat days? Chuck Norris is waiting with round-house kick under my desk days? Crap.

Say What?!?

As heard on NPR this morning!

"Conscious Eating"

WTF

Surprisingly, I got this wrong (it wasn't an x). What is that? Pi? How do you type "happy dancing stick figure" as a key-stroke?

Sport Pilot in a Week blog

Fascinating! Well, to me anyhow. This Popular Mechanics researcher blogged each day about his experience earning a Sport Pilot License in 1 week. My plan is to earn one in 2 weeks of vacation time.

Sport Pilot in a Week?

Plans are becoming clear

March 2009, complete sport pilot training. 2012, pay off truck and other debts as quick as possible. 2013, sell current house, buy lake front property in or around Davidson County. 2015, finance seawolf (IconAircraft). Six years and I can have a plane and a lake to launch trips from.

I'm really looking into purchasing a plane. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) finances aircraft through Bank of America. Their terms are 3 to 20 years.

*giggle*

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Above the flight yoke in picture #2 is a bank of switches for L-R magnetos, main/alt power, avionics power, fuel pump, de-ice, pitot heat, engine cowl, panel/beacon/navigation/strobe/taxi/landing lights and the big knob is for landing gear... I must have two flanking monitors now...

Big Day, Big News

Making good progress on my resolutions.

#1 - I haven't purchased any "additional" meats during my grocery store trips! "Additional" because I have some left over stuff in the freezer that I eat once a week. It hasn't been difficult at all to not eat meat. And there is an added benefit of getting to savor lots of fruit. I thought it would be difficult to maintain on a trip to O'Charley's with my mom and sisters. Turned out to be an easy test...although EVERY SINGLE ITEM ON THE MENU HAD MEAT. No kidding, every one of them. I had to special order spaghetti.

#2 - I got my job certification score and I passed the practical with a 96%! I sent feedback that it should have been a 99% due to missing a few vague questions, but am happy that I passed the first engineer certification. Next trip is back to San Diego from February 1st through February 6th. If I pass that, I go to Baltimore from February 22nd through February 27th for my final training class.

And most exciting...I'm going to flight school in March 2009!! I found a place that immerses you in training for 2-3 weeks. It costs $4,500 for hotel, plane rental, instructor, materials, your FAA checkride and written test fees. I will only earn a Sport Pilot license, but that allows me to do most of the flying I'm interested in. I can only fly during the day, in 3 mile visibility, no adverse weather and with only 1 passenger. The Sport Pilot license can later be upgraded to the Private Pilot license through bridge training. Sport Planes Florida

FIRST!

Welcome to 2009! (Yes. Yes I did back-date this post)

How I spent my New Year's Eve:

New Year Brings New Resolutions

I don't usually make yearly resolutions. Probably because I'm not one for traditions that seem baseless IMHO. I have a difficult time accepting that I have to do something just because everyone else is doing it and I thereby rebel against it. Like taking off your hat in 28 degree weather at an NFL game during the national anthem. Say what? How about we excercise some common sense here and show our love of country with caps on, eh? Whoa, tangential discussion.

NE-way, as the central theme of this blog is self-improvement, I think I will mark the start of 2009 with some resolutions. Here goes:

1. Put actual effort into finding a long-term companion. A lady and/or a dog. Online dating and the Humane Society here I come.
   Speaking of such, there is a beautiful, 1 year old, stray golden retriever at the city pound that might fill the second role. Either that or I may look into becoming a foster home for the Humane Society. (btw, I totally refrained from using the venacular for "female dog" in my and/or statement above. Although phunny (read again, insert venacular), it would have had an adverse effect on my finding the first of my list.)
2. Put actual effort into my career. I can not coast through a private industry career.
   What we believed, is true. Working in the private industry is much more difficult than working for the public good. It was easy for me to excel at the university with little effort. My perception of my performance out here in the private industry was shattered last week when I failed 1/2 of my job certification test by 1, single, solitary point. What happened? I thought that I knew it all. I thought that I would coast through certification. I didn't check my answers before blazing through to the next. Luckily, the first 1/2 (knowledge) and second 1/2 (practical) are averaged together. I am confident that I corrected this behavior on the second 1/2 of the test, but won't know until the instructor grades it.
3. Put actual effort into eating healthy.
   As I noted in an earlier post, I'm going to try to eat, mostly, sustainably. Can I block my predatory instincts and only...hmm, scratch that, "mostly" eat food that does not necessitate the death of the provider? "Mostly", because this resolution only applies when I eat at home. I will not be able to resist well seasoned meats when at a restaurant or at one of Steve's spring-time bbq's...damn you fatty, bloody, seasoned goodness. Hopefully, I won't be caught in a pasture munching on cow shoulder. What? It's still walkin'!
4. Put actual effort into flight training.
   I'm restless and need exhileration. I need to expand my horizons and see the country. I need to fly across Alaska and island hop in the bahamas. I'm starting flight training this spring. I have to budget $250-$500 a week for this though. Oishaboi. I'm going to start with setting up a flight station at home. I talked to the school in Nashville that I want to attend and the instructor says he definitely sees a difference between those that practice at home on a simulator and those that do not. One pilot friend of mine says that Microsoft Flight Simulator is so aerodynamically realistic that he would trust someone trained exclusively on it to take off and fly...but not to land. I have the rudder pedals. I'm going to buy Flight Simulator X, a flight yoke (with fuel/air/flaps levers) and an instrument switch panel.

Let's see, I'm sound financially, I'm content socially, spiritually I'm good, health I expect #1 will have an impact on. Hmm, just a few resolutions for now. There may be more as I encounter life's hurdles.

Truck Mod

The one thing I have always hated about my truck is the interior. There is hard grey plastic everywhere. It is just so *blah*. Here, take a look.


Sure, it's great if you need to pull in a hose and spray it down once a week, but i'm an "every-other-quarter type-of weekend-warrior". I need something softer, something to commute in luxury within. Here, take a look!


I'm wrapping this up at 1:30 am and I'm tired. Hopefully, it won't look as cheeky as I think it does right now. Some parts I really like, the center console, steering wheel, overhead bin and window/lock facings for instance. Other parts, not so much. Like the air vent surrounds. Still, it looks much better than the *blah* of before. Besides, the glue is soo strong that you are more likely to break the original interior before you would get the dash kit back off!

Landscaping In Progress

Due to having a sewer pipe crack within my basement cinder block, I had the opportunity to trim some bushes so that the excavator could get to it. I've been wanting to trim my spherical bushes into canopies for awhile now. Here is how it turned out! My next steps are to add mulch, some shade tolerant hostas, tall ornamental grasses, bulbs/perrinials/annuals and perhaps a japanese maple on the right.

The tricks of the mind

I got an amazing night's sleep and in my clarity of mind woke this morning contemplating life's mysteries. I've come up with some great conclusions.

Does the soul have fingertips? How might the spirit touch in absence of body?
Does the soul have vision? How might the spirit see without eyes?
Does the soul have voice? How might the spirit communicate without tongue?
Does the soul have ears? How might the spirit feel sound waves in absence of a tympanic membrane?
Does the soul have mind? How might the spirit process these senses?

Our perception of spirit is an after-image of the body, yet if a soul exists, the traditional form of flesh would serve very little functional purpose. Really any shape (such as spherical) would serve little purpose. Which is why I find it hilarious when ghost hunters claim they felt the touch, slap or punch of a hand.

What is the soul? Is it the self-awareness of touch, taste, sight, sound, smell? Why am I self-aware of only one body? What if self-awareness is a trick of the mind to preserve the body? One physical brain, one self-aware body.

Will another brain fool me into being self-aware again? I believe so. I'll be aware as me, as she, perhaps even as it. I'll be self-aware of here, of over there and perhaps even out there. I'll be self-aware of now, of later and perhaps...

Hating on Rollercoasters

I hate rollercoasters. Especially those giant wheel ones where you sit in a basket and it slowly rotates you to the top and then down the other side. I once told a friend that adrenaline is a benefit for most, but it just makes me nauseous. I feel the same about hot/spicy foods. For many people hot/spicy foods release endorphines. Not I. It just hurts.

Well rejoice! Today I noticed that I'm not totally impervious to endorphine releases/adrenaline rushes! While talking with another engineer about a corporate server issue, I surprised myself by verbalizing and realizing that my sub-concious has known and enjoyed them for more than 10 years. Tricksy sub-conscious, always hiding things from me.

I get my euphoric feeling when I am resolving computer issues. Everything else fades into the background and the issue becomes more focused. I get the warm blood rush over the skin, the increased heart rate, a lucid and logical thought process, the acute senses and fast reflexes. I can visualize the code flow floating just off my nose. I've done this several times in my current job and discovered software bugs with very little experience and no formal training. I now know what my super power is and what I must do. Now, what is my kryptonite (rollercoasters?) and who is my Lex Luther (Sam L. Jackson?)...

Postscript: Why Sam L.? Because I would look totally awesome sword fighting him in black leather on my rooftop during a stormy night.

As long as he doesn't strap me to a ferris wheel, I think I can win.

Must. Stop. Drinking. Lucas. Kool-aid.

WHY DOES LUCAS FEEL THAT HE MUST WHORE OUT MY FAITH IN HIM TO PRODUCE A GOOD MOVIE?!?! *pant* *pant*

I used charter on-demand to watch "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" today.

Flaw #1, no yellow, opening text scroll and the film starts on terra firma. wait. what. Strike one. How could you possibly get into the mood for star wars without reading scrolling text about the current state of the universe followed by red/blue lasers on a black backdrop?!? Fine. Hmm, it takes place between Episodes 2 and 3. I came into this thinking that it was the bridge between 3 and 4. Nope. The Emperor is still in charge of the galactic senate. Count Dooku is still the second Sith Lord. Skywalker is still a good jedi...and in the first 10 minutes he is given a Padawan. wait. what. Ok. Maybe the padawan that we haven't heard mention of in episode 3, 4, 5, and 6 is killed by the end. Nope. They are good friends throughout and the friendship and trust only grows until the credits roll. Fine. So what's their adventure in this flick going to be. Let's see, Jabba the Hutt's baby, Punky Muffin, has been kidnapped and the jedi agree to rescue it. wait. what. How does he let this stuff through? This is a plot a 15 year old role-player could have thought up. I can't go on.

My recommendation. Pirate this movie. Pirate it hard.

I'm going to go rinse with some Peter Jackson.