Whatever

Cub In

Cub In

The last post’s photo came as we were leaving the Aiken Radio Control Society‘s 3rd Annual Cub-In on Saturday. It’s called a Cub-In because if you are flying a Piper Cub replica you get extra point credits, but you can fly anything you want. There were Piper Cubs there with wing spans ranging from 2′ to 6’ and there were also a lot of other types of aircraft on the “tarmac.” It seems like most of the folks in attendance had one Cub and then some other flying thing.

The wind did seem to die down a bit as the morning progressed, but it would still gust at times causing some of the planes to end up in the weeds or upside down even while doing the Ground Pylon Event. It may have not been the fun event the participants had hoped for, but Donna and I did enjoy watching the planes fly when they could. By lunchtime though, we had had enough sunshine, and headed back home.

Nothing But Net!

Smart Ass

I went to Delgado College for 7 semesters, 3 spring, 2 falls and 2 summers. I took at least one drafting class each semester and took two in 3 of them, for a total of 10. Aced every one of them. In those seven semesters I took a total of 28 classes and got A’s in all but one, that one I probably would have gotten an A, but I had a side drafting job one semester and couldn’t do that and take 5 full classes at the same time. I know, what a slacker.

To say I was a bit more mature at 28 than I was at 17 in high school is an understatement. Go back and look at yesterday’s high school transcript and squint a bit, I bet you can made out the two F’s and several D’s in there. I started out pretty decent in 10th grade, but that was my peak, it was all downhill from there. I still managed to be in the top 40 of my high school class.

The top 40% that is, I was graduated 238th of 624. Thirteen years later I graduated college Manga Cum Laude, 1 of only 3, out of a class of 670.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1480

I Lettered In Drafting…

Drafting Alphabet

..in both high school and college.

I stunk at both Wood Shop and Metal Working in high school, but did manage to get a industrial course that I was not only good at, but liked as well when I got to Drafting. So I kept at it, taking couple more classes in it during my time at good ol’ NBHS. After getting out of the Navy I took a Blueprint Reading in my first semester in college and realized that being a Draftsman was what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Every drawing has something called a Revision Letter that is used to keep track of any changes made to a drawing. Some places start with an A, some start with no letter before going to A, but the Valve Store(tm) starts with a – and then the first change is an A. In the beginning of my training as a draftsman I was taught that there are 5 letters that are are never used as a Rev Ltr because they might be confused as a number, I, O, Q, S & Z.

With out using those five you still get 21 revisions before you have to start over again at AA. Because ASCO has been in business for 126 years now, a few of our older drawings have the honor of dual letters. Even though there is now a prefix, those five letters are skipped again the next time around. One of the sets of drawings I was working on the other day had a B as the first letter, meaning it has had over 40 revisions. This particular drawing’s previous Rev Ltr was BH, so naturally the BI letter combo was skipped and next pair in line was used – BJ.

Now, maybe because I was in the Navy or maybe because I’m a guy or maybe I have a dirty mind, but I think there are a few 2 letter combos that don’t include the fab five that should not be used as Rev Ltrs, that’s one of them. The next one is less likely because a drawing would have to be on its 122nd revision for it to occur, but FU probably should get a pass. The next one my dirty mind comes up with is at 177and that is HJ.

Got any more?

The Back Porch Is Open For Business

The Back Porch Is Open

Finally got around to washing off the screened porch last night. It goes like this: 1) remove all the knick-knacks from horizontal wood pieces, 2) cart out the 13 pieces of furniture and place them on the deck, 3) vacuum off the area rugs, 4) roll up rugs and carry them out onto the deck. Fifth is to drag a hundred foot of hose from the spigot on the left side of the house all the way around through the door on the right side of the porch, 6) spray through all the sections of screen and 7) thoroughly spray down the floor from the back left corner to the door on the right washing all the pine pollen and moth carcases out onto the deck and 8) turn the two ceiling fans on high and go inside to eat dinner.

After eating, go back outside to 9) bring back in and unroll the 2 area rugs. Next 10) individually spray and wipe off the baker’s dozen pieces of furniture, 11) shake off the excess water and place them back where they belong on the porch and then 11) repeat with the similar amount of fru-fru decorations.

Today I took all the cushions that I removed last fall back out and velcro’d and or tied on the furniture.

As a reward for reading all the way through that boring recitation, High Diving Giraffes:

httpvh://vimeo.com/76684408

Six Foot Tall

My height was listed as 5′-11″ on my very first driver’s license when I was sixteen. 6-00 is what it reads now on my current South Carolina driver’s license. I grew an inch in Navy boot camp and this height is what has been listed on every subsequent driver’s license, in whatever form required by any of the several states I’ve lived in since. In the intervening *cough* *cough* years I’m thinking that if measured it stocking feet today, I’d be back at the five foot eleven inch mark. In shoes though, still six foot even.

Back in May 2011 we bought a metal awning to park the Purple Whale under. The bottom edge of the powder coated mild steel side edge is 6′ 3″ from the surface of the driveway which allows for me to walk right under it. Normally. Sometimes I forget, like I did the day before yesterday, and step on the 3″ square tubing that serves as its base.

This caused me to bop the very tippy-top of my slightly pointed head. Fortunately I was wearing a hat so that instead of scraping off a dime sized layer of skin, I only ended up with a 1/4 inch long cut. Still it’s a head wound, so stopping the slight bit of bleeding took a while and a band aid.

In the past four years this happened with some regularity and you would think that I would avoid doing this and you’re right. I remember to step over the base or duck slightly when stepping on it for about two months, just about the time the previous wound heals.

Safety Poster

Forest Gump Safety PosterThis morning I was cleaning out some of my old files at work. Tossing out stuff from the previous century that were one-time things, stuff for people who have since retired and others that I can’t image I would be using as a template in the future.

About three year’s ago the Valve Store’s(tm) Ocupational Nurse held a little contest for employee suggestions for a new safety poster. So I worked up this cute little idea based on the movie poster for Forrest Gump and submitted it. I don’t remember what won, it wasn’t mine, so I’m sure it was fairly lame. 🙂

The only thing I can think of is they were afraid of a law suit from the legal department of Paramount Pictures. Or maybe the then nurse was smarter than she looked and saw through my sarcastic twist on the Forrest quote of, “Stupid is as stupid does.”

Started down, went up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1466