HOW DOES THIS TASTE SO GOOD?!

It's been a week since I went grocery shopping, and this morning was running a little low on food.  I had a couple of strips of leftover pepper smoked bacon, a couple of eggs, and some Sriracha.   So I cooked the bacon, and then the eggs in the bacon grease and then dipped it in the Sriracha sauce.  And it was delicious. Abso-freakin'-lutely delicious.  Like, I would go to a restaurant, pay good money, and be extremely impressed if this was served to me.  Sriracha is kinda spicey, but it just tastes so good.  I think I read somewhere that fat helps cut the spice or something... but it doesn't really matter.  It was just so darn tasty.

Friday in Seattle

This afternoon there was a REACH (basically Boeing new hires and intern group) happy hour in Belltown.  I headed down around 5, and promptly got stuck in traffic for a little over an hour.  I also almost ran out of gas in traffic!  Apparently my car doesn't alert me, and mid random though I realized I hadn't bought gas since I got the car...  I looked down at the gas gauge and yep... almost on empty.  Got off at the next exit and filled up.  Tried to get back on the freeway, but was of course thwarted by construction.

I met up with a bunch of people, and we went to a Nepalese restaurant.  It was pretty good.  Afterwards we went to a gelato place, and everyone looked at us pretty weird when we talked in.  Turns out we definitely still smelled quite strongly of Nepal, as my apartment currently smells like Nepal 3 hours later.

No Way Its A Mirror

So my last post was about an all nighter on Tuesday, well I did it again on Wednesday. Worth my time though as I now have 10 Messier objects photographed. By photographed I mean over 50 photos of each, and each with one to two minutes of exposure time since Nebulas are dim. The pictures are taken with the 32" Austin-Fellows which I only recently got trained on how to use since it is such a touchy telescope. Less of a precision instrument and more of a well trained dog. I've been using this observatory for three years now and they made sure I had their phone numbers before letting Tony and I (different Tony) solo the Austin-Fellows the past two nights.

Well then you take those 50 photos, 10 in each color being filtered, red, green, blue, clear and H Alpha. Then you put 'em together with 30 photos that are taken to correct the images. Thats 10 bias frames (pictures taken with 0 second exposure times, used to subtract white noise), 10 dark frames (long exposure with the lens cap on, used to subtract dark noise I guess) and 10 flat frames (images taken of the twilight sky in each color filter that reveal dust grains on the filter). All in all the following image is worth 80 photos or 80,000 words.

By my calculations, this is a god damned novel.

That is the Eagle Nebula, complete with the pillars of creation as made famous by Hubble. I will post the other nine as I finish them and more. I don't know if our professor knows what he was getting himself into when he gave us permission to pursue a pretty pictures project over science. Actually the technique used above has never been done here and I'm actually writing a step by step guide on it. Usually you would do RGB, LRGB or Halpha RGB, but I used all 5 options above and it worked marvelously.

Then tonight we had an open house where probably 50 people came up to look at the incredibly impressive clouds everywhere (<\sarcasm> what were these people thinking). During this time I heard one of the most terrifying sentences I have ever heard at an observatory. I heard a young boy shout "Woah! Look its a mirror!" to which his friend replied "Let me touch it!". 

Heres why that sentence is terrifying. We were in the dome of the Metzger, a 20 inch reflector telescope. I was 10 feet away. And the mirror in question the boy wanted to touch is worth 30,000 god damned dollars. I nearly shat myself. I ran over and against my WalMart don't get us sued job training I grabbed his arm and told him not to touch it. He had already touched it. Nothing broken but I just cleaned the damn thing. Cleaning it is a laborious operation with latex gloves and several bags of cottonballs. Oh well, gonna go get some cotton balls.

Making Up For Lost Time

Apologies for missing a few days of blog posts.  However, I now have the benefit of the webernets from a real laptop and keyboard that does not suck to type on.  So let the epic retelling of my Journey (yeah.  it's that important) from Owls Head to Seattle begin!

I woke up fairly early 6AM (?) and had an iced coffee and had french toast.  Please see the look on Kiwi's face and judge for yourself how good that french toast was.  Got to the airport around 9:30, did the goodbyes and got on the airplane.  Since it is a fairly ""small"" plane by most people's standards (10 seater with the pilot), this guy got to sit in the copilot's seat.  There isn't really a good picture to show this, but trust me -- it happened.

It was a decidedly picturesque takeoff.  They didn't want us to have our cellular devices out, but it we took most of RKD's runway 13.  Conveniently, this takes off directly over my house.  So I got a picture perfect flyover of my house at 500 feet (low for you non-airplane people) and then were where in a cloud bank and Maine was gone...

Taxiing around at Boston was pretty neat, got to see lots of 737NGs and A320s.  Getting off the plane, I had a short chat with our pilot.  Apparently he was soon jumping ship for Cathay Pacific to fly the 777, which seats 30 times more people!  Talk about a step up.

I had a 3 hour layover in Boston.  I stopped at one of the vendors to get a sandwich, but some chick in front of me mistook my order for hers and walked off with my sandwich.  Turned out quite well though, as the vendor gave me her sandwich AND remade mine! #winning  I sat down in the terminal and shortly thereafter a guy sat down, noticed my backpack with it's RPI logo and asked me if I went there.  Turned out he was a Goodrich HR VP and an RPI alumni.  Asked me if I had a job, we chatted about Boeing and then he gave me his card and told me to give him a call if I wanted a change in pace in a few years.

My flight to Charlotte was fairly uneventful.  I read a couple of airport books en route.  One was about startups and business, it was a bunch of case studies of the most successful American businesses in the last 10 years and not that great.  I also read an adventure book by Clive Cussler... and it was pretty lame.  It kept my interest while reading it, but basically every plot line came straight out of an Indian Jones movie... and honestly I would've enjoyed watching Indy more.

I had another layover in Charlotte and switched planes for Seattle.  A typical flight, below is a picture of Ranier descending into Seattle.  Unfortunately United had sent my luggage to San Francisco (wrong left coast S!)

I booked a hotel room at the La Quinta for the night, ready to get up the next day and head up to Mill Creek.  I went to Denny's that nice... it was a poor choice.  It did actually taste pretty good though.  My waiter was a huge African-American guy who said "copacetic" more than Davy Dougan and "BAM!" more than Emeril.

The next morning I went to pick up my rental car... but I could not find my license.  &#%$!  After tearing my luggage apart and calling every lost and found I had made my way through (apparently airports think it is a good idea to have like 5 lost and found's apiece), no luck.  I was pretty sure I must have somehow left it in Boston when I had to switch terminals and go through security again.  Ah well.  I took a cab ($100...) up to Mill Creek and my decidedly empty apartment.  While contemplating how the heck I was going to make due until my car showed up, it turned out that it was actually in my backpack.  It had worked its way into the bottom of my pack between layers in the fabric through a small tear.  My friend Ryan offered to give me a ride back to SeaTac where I finally picked up my rental car.  The rental people even remembered me!

You Know... THE Coke and Mentos Guys!

So I spent much of my day today programming which was a little rough for me. About half way through the day I was basically dragging like mad. However, I was looking forward to a performance by eepybird today in Portland. Apparently the best way to kick off a performing arts festival is by shooting a butt load of coke into the air while standing next to a monument. Nice.

This makes it seem like I was really really far away.... It wasn't that bad.

I've always wanted to see these guys perform, many people know them from their famous Viral Video. They basically did a very similar routine and it was pretty cool, the last part is by far the coolest. They had a nice crowd for it and excellent weather.

I have not been accomplishing nearly as much as I thought I might this week but I've been having a damn good time.

Surprise Shindig

So, I came home all gung-ho and ready to remove the bumper from the bus. I borrowed a sweet sawzall from a guy at work which was awesome. Came home, and zipped through the bolt in no time. Next thing I know this guy rolls in and is asking me about the bus and then my neighbor comes out and then all these people just start rolling in. Apparently it was "guy's night", a weekly thing these dudes do that takes place at each other's houses. The women cook and aren't allowed to loiter around the guys who drink beer and be generally obnoxious. It was actually pretty awesome and they gave me beer and suggestions for what to do on my bus which was sweet.

So that was pretty sweet. Also, I got a call today from Black Diamond (place I used to work) and I was supposed to put together this camera tester rig for them like...... a long time ago. Anyways, I have it partially done but I gotta get it together and show it to them relatively soon. I'm gonna get paid for it but  motivation has been pretty low to do it... hence why it isn't done.

Also! Found out that Eepybird (the coke and mentos guys) are performing tomorrow in Portland at this arts festival thing.... fo' free. So, I'm probably gonna go to that which will be awesome.

Oh and I got to use my Mainer skills today to backup a trailer because our finance guy (from Boston College) couldn't do it himself. Felt like a boss.

Bumper Burrito

One day late....

Had a craving for a Chipotle burrito yesterday so I got in touch with some folks to try and go there for dinner. Ended up going to Chipotle with Brenna and having a fun time. Brenna is going abroad somewhere in Europe (Rome?) in like a week and a half. Burritos are fucking delicious. 

Another reason for going to Chipotle was the weather. It had been cloudy and raining on and off all day and I suspected by the time I got home it would just be raining and I wouldn't want to work on the bus. When I got back from Chipotle I was so anxious to get my bumper off that I just went for it at like 8PM. I got half of it off but the other half is bolted into a piece that has rusted off but is relatively inaccessible. In other words I can turn the bolt but it doesn't thread out of the hole..... It even less words... fuck. 

So, today one mission is to acquire a sawzall and cut the bolt off. Eventually I will be able to access the other side of the hole while I'm repairing the body panels so I should be able to get in there and hopefully fix it. Tried to take a picture of this whole mess but it was actually getting dark and you couldn't see jack in the photo, it also started to rain just as I packed it up. 

Also, finished watching the episodes I have of the IT Crowd.... I need more! Suggestions on where to get it....cheaply or maybe another show?

ALL NIGHTER

So I just finished a sundown to sunset observation marathon. Something I've wanted to do since I got here. We got pictures of the Eagle Nebula, the Trifid Nebula, the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, the Dumbbell Nebula and started work on the labor intensive Andromeda Galaxy Mosaic (I will explain in a later post the difficulty of this and why it will take me the whole damn summer). Pictures will come as I process them.

Now I need bed. It looks clear again tomorrow night... 

Dark blue means no sleep for me.

Monday

Not a lot happened today except a balling Google Hangout. Well I also got the Planetarium programmed to have our observatory as the landscape which took plenty of photo shopping. But it came out nice.

Tomorrow night I'll probably be up all night  to take pretty pictures for the observatory website. Lots of pretty pictures.

Bus .... A Little

Tried to work on the bus today but it was threatening rain on and off. Made a stop at VIP on the way back from work and picked up some PB blaster (weasel piss), primer and masking tape. Made a brief attempt at fighting rust on the bus before the rain rolled in.

I have a pretty sweet grinder but the only plugs in the outside of the garage look like this....

So, after a couple of minutes of debating if I should buy one of those fancy plugs that takes a two prong and makes it into three.... I said "Fuck that shit! I am an electrical engineer and I do not need that shit!" So, I cut it off the extension cord and wham bam. 

Grinned some stuff off..... Still looks rusty under there.... not sure if I can do anything about that. I sprayed some primer on it but then it started to rain so I dunno if it will dry. We shall see!

Many more hours of grinding, sanding, painting, etc to go. Let's do this shit!

IAN does Seattle

Today me and DW went on a grand tour of the Seattle area.  Seattle is most definitely a happening place.  Started in Ballard and visited basically every neighborhood.  We hit up the Museum of Flight and I droned on about airplanes for quite some time.  We also visited the Center for Wooden Boats which really appealed to me but I will write more on that when I don't have to write it on my phone.  Below is a B29 in plastic wrap (why?  Who knows?), the Center for Wooden boats, and Kenmore aviation, one of the largest if not the largest seaplane base.  Also on the tour was a salmon ladder... very cool to see them swimming against the current.

God Damn It Ian

For the record as this is quickly becoming my record of life events for future reference:

Today was June 24, 2012. I woke up and stubbed my toe several times. Now I'm thinking about going to bed.

Also I had this gem of a conversation with Ton Ton Nuzzles. And it is about you Ian. As your friend, we're concerned:

absolutely

strange that Ian like

is probably not going to be around except for christmas now

like

shit Ian.

what the fuck man?!

shit Ian

Guess we have to move to Washington

fuck me, I did not plan on that

god damned Ian

stubborn plane building asshole

yeah

what a dick

gawd

GAWD

I mean, I got fucking family here

they're gonna be all sad about that

Hell, he got family here

I got a fucking windmill tower I gotta take down

fuck me

Shits straight inconsiderate

Ian. you're fucking this up for everyone.

Well there we go, I have a blog post

Ctrl+C 

Ian, you're on notice!

Strawberries.

It was a beautiful day today, loads of sun but not ridiculously hot. I went strawberry picking with my folks at this place in Litchfield, it has been open since forever and it's pretty awesome. The berries weren't the best I'd ever seen and the picking was slim in some places but we managed to pick 12 quarts between the three of us. 

While out at the berry field I noticed it is nearly impossible to use my phone in direct sunlight. It really blows.... someone should get on that problem. I also checked out a nice Thai place with James and his associated compadres (Dwight and Grandma).... Momma Havu was getting back from some national Demolay thing. That women is just plain involved.... 

Pleased to see the bus in the driveway, looking forward to going at it this week. 

What The Fuck Did I Just Drink

Sorry I'm posting at like 5 AM (2 AM Pacific) but I will remind you I bought Forza 4 and that should answer any and all questions.

Anywho, as you know I am an energy drink fiend and when I found Monster in a glass bottle covered in German and golden dragons, I feel you understand the necessity of the purchase. For something claiming to be bio-activated malt flavored Ubermonster, it really tasted exactly like green Monster. Still the bottle looks cool on my shelf.

Die ubermonster ist meh.

Also it's summer time so today I decided to act like it. I did this two ways.

I present Way 1 and Way 2.

I love my Jeep. Top down and doors off. Boo yeah.

Day Off

Since East Coast time is ahead of West Coast time I got up stupid early this morning.  So I went to the Grocery store.  They put coffee shops in all the grocery stores here, which while laughably stereotypical is awesome.  Also Safeway has rotating shelves at the cashiers stand instead of the linear belts we have on the East Coast.  Not sure why.  I also feel kind of silly ordering coffee here.  Whenever I ask for a medium latte I get this look like "okay... with what?", and since I don't know what the other options are I just stick with the plain and they look at me like I'm from another planet.  Meanwhile everyone else rattles off an order so long I'm always surprised that it is for a single cup of coffee.

I wandered around mill creek's town center, bought a book, drank more coffee, and assembled a dresser.  Also ordered internet, and that should be ready to go in 3-5 business days.  UPS is going to drop off a router.

All of my furniture... (except a camping chair)

Gosh that bus is heavy

Came back to litchfield for a prime shindig with mr. Cheney Larock and friends. After a drunken night of throwing stuff at eachother in the pool... My dad and I finally got the bus down to Hollis. We tried last weekend but discovered someone had done some creative wiring on the plug for the trailer lights. Anyways, the bus loaded with relative ease and the parking brake even worked!

It's new temporary home is in hollis in front of james' garage. Lots of stuff to do on it and i plan on breaking in my new grinder. Also spke with my machinist guy on the phone and he says the case will be ready in rouhly two weeks. Then i can really spend some money.

P.S. This was written on my phone so forgive any grammar and spelling mistakes.

Apologies

I know the world wants to know about my adventure to get here... but I need webernets first.

Anyways, today I went to work.  I'll probably do that for like 40 years.  Driving to work was pretty good... coming home traffic was so clogged I would not have had a problem in a Model A.

Also I built this IKEA chair.  I'm actually sitting in it right now.  It is mad comfy.  So impressed with how idiot proof and well thought out the packaging was I'm including a few pictures of that too.

Holy Shit I Bought Forza 4

Smart decision.

Also today I learned that the head of Alfred's board of trustee's is the CEO of Marvel Comics/Films. I know because my job tonight was showing his niece around the observatory. Lucky for them there was a -8 Iridium Flare. Really really bright. Also I can confirm that Saturn remains as sexy as ever.

What else happened today? I don't know, I ate some tacos. Yeah...

Thursdays are Open House Nights

Sorry for posting so late, but thanks to Ian I can say the official time of this blog is Pacific, so it is still fucking Thursday, hell yes.

So Thursday nights are when I run observatory open houses. Basically we get to show the public Saturn and enjoy the classic "postage stamp" reactions. Also got to point at Mars, Ring Nebula and M5 globular cluster. Great friggin' night with probably 30 people filtering through. Very clear too.

Whats that?
You want some blurry cell phone Saturn?
Well I guess I can oblige...

But that isn't the highlight of the day, nay sirs. Today I found out how to make Hot Chocolate out of Nutella and I am smart enough to know that is the crowning achievement of the day. Here it is, very complicated. Heat up milk. Add a spoon full of Nutella. Stir.

Holy Fuck.

So there you go, made your day better. Make yourself some Nutella hot chocolate and enjoy it with some fine Ikea furniture, fuck yeah.

Also, 99% sure I'm buying Forza 4 tomorrow. That is all.

If There Is A Heaven It Might be IKEA

Today Allie and I went to IKEA.  And it was awesome.  Seriously... wow.  What a great idea.  Relatively quality furniture that's cheap and easy to move.  Unfortunately its hard to fit stuff in a Fiesta... so for furniture right now I still have an air mattress, one camping chair, one real IKEA chair, and a dresser.  Can't wait to get a real bed, a couch, and internet for my laptop!  Also a 360 for Forza.

Here's a bug stacked with IKEA furniture!

Keep It Real With James

James and I went to Woody's tonight. It was pretty lulz. We then drove around at approximately twice the speed limit as he showed me a bunch of random roads and places.


I also learned that my boss is thinking about installing a zip line at work..... I am very excited about this.

A Today Post About Yesterday

So, yesterday was statewide bust out your box fan day. Tuesday saw temperatures of a scorching 65 Degrees F, while Wednesday was around 90 for most of the day. Everyone was sweating/shitting bricks. It was nice though to have some sun. I took advantage of it and rode my motorcycle to work, nearly ran out of gas on the way home (thank god for the reserve valve). 

A coworker of mine has been turning this sweet bowl on the wood lathe at work. It's a bunch of hardwood scraps that he glued together but I think it looks sweet. 

I don't know what he's going to put in it... but it is cool. 

Made a trip into Portland after work to catch up with Chris Hamlin. He made some sweet hipster pizza which was quite badass. Another highlight of the visit was Chris' new license plate which I noticed immediately when I pulled into the driveway.

You Know You Like It.

Looks like today is going to be another warm day. I really should do some motorcycle maintenance, like tightening the chain and greasing some stuff up. Onward!

New Apartment!

Note: I am going to leave "This is just a placeholder until I have an internet connection for my laptop to write it out on as writing on my phone sucks.  Trust me, the story is worth the wait.

However new apartment!  Whooooo!  Highlights include an ice maker (first class living if I do say so myself), a garage barely big enough to shove a compact car into (like I'd actually park in it though), washer/dryer/dishwasher (I hate washing dishes), and a mirror for a wall (honestly pretty disconcerting.  See pics below.

Today is Wednesday

Breakthrough, my dumb brain figured out what day it is.

I just recently tripped over a dust bin in my room and bashed my face off the bed on the way down. My soul regret is that no one was there to see it, it was fucking hilarious.

Other than that, absolutely nothing happened today and I eagerly await Ian's nonplaceholder post.

This is just a placeholder.

This has been a day for the history books.  When I get my laptop tomorrow I will do it proper justice.

Not Wednesday Either

It will be soon, soon it will Thursd... GOD DAMNED WEDNESDAY.

So today was uneventful for the most part. I run into the most interesting dryer fuck up yet in my dorm living career. My shirt was apparently caught on the hinge to the door and got all twisted up like a Fritos Twist and opened the dryer. Pics and it happened.

Helen Hunt, nowhere to be found.

Also I almost commented on your posts yesterday and then realized I have to write a post today anyway, seems like the best place to respond to your stuff. I just wanted to say of course an electricity company is called Pika, but the power doesn't come from the wind (Hint: It's the power that's inside).

And with Ian in the sky today posting photos of his trip to Facebook he wrote the following:

In pressurized tin can somewhere over 'murica. Ran out of books, phone battery dangerously low, surrounded by pack of crying babies.

-The Ian Curtis

I don't know how much you guys watch Louis CK, but I instantly thought of this bit. Cracks me up every time. Now I know for a fact that the Curtis has massive respect for human flight. He would not be flying to a place to build flying machines if he did not. So from New York State I would just like to say Maine misses you... I assume.

As far as books are concerned I'm mostly reading about the US National Debt (Not as boring as you... yeah it is. Who the fuck am I kidding?) I'm doing my honors thesis on the Astrophysics of the National Debt. I remember we did it out on the whiteboard at MSSM, the gravitational pull of the debt if it were pennies and moon distance away. Well I'm expanding that a royal fuckload. Rate of growth, damage in cataclysmic impact situations, tidal forces, surface area (repaving the US Highway system, it can be done!) all that stuff. Should be a load of fun. Will keep you posted.

Reading and Listening to Badass Music

So, I've been on a roll (for me) this summer with reading. I actually have read two books so far... that's right two WHOLE books. I read Breakfast of Champions by Vonnegut and The Toaster Project by some dip. Not a huge achievement really but I am trying to keep up my momentum and power through a few more books this summer.

Currently I am reading The Lean Startup By Eric Ries. It is essentially about running a startup company that operates on a feedback loop where you push a minimum viable product out to market, get customer response, learn from it and change your product(s) accordingly. So far it has been kind of simple but we'll see how it shakes out.

The Toaster project was pretty cool but I'm not certain that his efforts were deserving of a Ted Talk. The book is short and includes some fun pictures, it could be read in an afternoon. I have some gripes with the way his project is carried out, but it was done for a college art project so it did basically dominate all of the requirements for that.

Breakfast of Champions missed the mark for me. Maybe I am too disconnected from fiction and literature but I didn't really pickup on everything that was going on. I have read Player Piano before and I really enjoyed that but this Vonnegut book was definitely much different.

I scored a few awesome books from our good friend Ian, who was going to donate them to the library instead of taking them to Seattle. Instead, they found their way to my shelf. The books are iWoz and Bill Bryson's a Short History of Nearly Everything. Looking forward to checking them out.

What about you chaps?

I bowled three strikes in a row and I have no idea how that happened...

So, I didn't take any pictures today but I did go bowling. I actually won bowling, both strings. I don't know how or why that happened but tonight it did. I also drank beer. Free beer. Awesome.

Rummaging through the pictures I've taken recently on my phone, I came across this awesome picture of a rope bridge the folks at my work built. This is out behind Pika Energy (shameless plug... pronounced "Pike-Uh")...

Not going to lie, this bridge is straight up Indian Jones style. It is mind-blowingly awesome and makes you think you are in an action movie from the instant you see it. Ian saw it, he will back me up on this.

Anyways, this week will surely be busy. I was going to bring the bus down last weekend but when we got to the Uhaul place, we found out that the wiring for the trailer lights was somehow messed up on our truck. They couldn't legally let us go without the trailer lights working properly. Lame. So, next weekend we'll see what we can do I guess.

Also, I am trying to work out a little bit. I'm finding it is a good stress reliever and just makes me feel better. It just doesn't make sense that exerting yourself actually makes you feel better after... Of course eating lots of delicious things does too.

Showed people at work this video today:

Sometimes I forget just how fucking awesome that was.

Moving!

Last night in Owls Head.  All of my stuff chilling in the garage.  By mass probably 75% books.  By value 75% airplanes.

Today Is Not Tuesday

That is what I have to keep telling my dumb ass brain which keeps thinking it is Tuesday. It is not Tuesday, it is not Tuesday, it is NOT TUESDAY!! (dumb brain)

So I went to work today and nobody was there. Then I went to lunch and came back and no one was there. Than the professor showed up, got a phone call, his sister had broken her back and he was off to Merry Old London (I dearly hope the two are connected events).

So I worked real hard today. Best part of observatory work is the boxes and boxes of free hot chocolate in the classroom. I'm just waiting for payday right now as I blew all my money on going to Michigan. Soon I will move up from the ranks of the poor to the ranks of the upper lower class. This chart should help.

I hope this helps....

I intend to post everyday and I don't care how mundane those days are. You have been warned...

The first day of the rest of your life.

Is everyday.  But that's kind of dumb.  Honestly the only reason I like that phrase so much is it was the final mission of the Spiderman 2 video game, and everyone I've talked to agrees that that video game was freakin' awesome.

But anyways, real life is kind of bearing down on me right now.  I *should* be doing things like setting up the electricity for my apartment, or sleeping but instead I am writing this.  On 6/19 I am leaving Maine to move to Seattle full time to be awesome over there designing planes and stuff.  It is kind of fitting that I am flying out of RKD where I first acquired my love of airplanes -- particularly old and probably somewhat dangerous ones.  Also somewhat amusingly, Boeing paid for my ticket and I am flying on a Cessna and an Airbus.

I have a slew of material from my time at Owls Head to talk about but to hold you over for now, here is a video of Tony looking like a moron.

BTW if each one of us posts once a day for a year we'll have like 1000 posts.  Dayum.

This is the life

So to start things off I should run down what I'm doing this summer. Living in the Alfred, running them telescopes pointing 'em at stars and asteroids and stuff. I currently living in a dorm suite with no oven and hence eating a lot of microwave food. Also I have a double as a single so I have two beds. The spare has quickly become a shelf which I just realized is not nearly as organized as my solitary confinement had led me to believe.

Mmmm, microwavable chimichangas. Horrible to look at
but fuck you my room smells awesome.

But when I'm not sitting alone in my room watching Netflix and writing a novel about two dudes at a Taco Bell (more of a challenge to see how long you can keep up a compelling narrative in a Taco Bell than anything else) I'm at work running four telescopes at once tracking asteroids with two and showing people Saturn and M104 with the other two.

I took that shit. I literally pointed a telescope at that
and took a picture. Shit yeah.

Now if you'll excuse me its Sunday and I am almost done the third season of parks and rec.

Hello? Is this thing ON?

Special thanks to Tyler for essentially just kicking internet ass early and often.

Anyways, this weekend Ian and I made it to the Owl's Head Transportation Museum to satisfy our need for rotary engines and other loud noises. There were interesting vehicles including a Stanley Steamer mountain wagon, essentially a really sweet steam car with four rows of seats. There it is now!

 One of the coolest things at the show was the air mail pickup. Essentially they strung up a rope between two poles and a plane flew by and grabbed the rope with a small hook. The rope was attached to a bag of "mail"and the off it went. Apparently this technique was tried in the 1930s in areas where planes couldn't land easily.

The Sopwith pup at the museum has a rotary engine which was run for the crowd but not flown because it was a little windy. It makes a great noise which was not captured very well by my camera so I will spare you the video and show you this awesome picture. 

Is the prop supposed to do that?!

Long story short, a good time was had by all. I wish we had taken picture or video of us trying to ride the kinetic sculpture bike things. Maybe Ian has a picture of me making a fool of myself?