December 4, 2008
The Ice,
part 3.
November 4, 2008
Well, well…
maybe there is a god after all.
October 2008
My
(Antarctic) boss unknowingly gave me today the greatest compliment I can ever hope
to receive. He said “Gonzo, I hope you never grow up”. Don’t worry boss, I
promise I will never make that mistake.
September 2008
Today I got
“The Call”. That can be extremely bad, or extremely good. Well, lucky me, it
was the good call. I’m going back to
Somewhat
ironically this comes the same week in which I finally purchased something that
I had wanted for a long time: a unicycle. I haven’t touched the thing and I
will continue to not touch it until the spring of next year in the interest of
keeping my physical integrity and not taking the risk of possibly ruining a
trip to the Ice.
August 2008
I saw “Into
the Wild”. What a great movie! I think it is in serious contention for my
“favourite movie of all times” title. Most likely because I identified myself
so much with the main character. I feel so jealous… he had the guts to do it. I
don’t. I’m a coward instead.
Many years
back I was very much in love with a girl that suddenly left me. Back then, and
for a very long time, I was hurt and didn’t understand that she was basically
doing the same thing that the guy in “Into the Wild” did. She had the guts. She was also vastly more intelligent than me.
Which in part may explain why for so long I failed to recognize what she was up
to. But then again, I was blinded by the pain of my loss. Now that I understand
it, I feel so happy for her. No harsh feelings sweetheart. Now I know why you
had to do it.
May 2008
Oh, the
happiness of diving in
April 2008
For a
variety of reasons, I haven’t been to Marfa in a couple of years. This year,
the annual wave camp that Dick Johnson puts together, was held there in
conjunction with the dedication of the 15th National Landmark of
Soaring. So I felt it was an appropriate year to return. See the pictures here.
March / April 2008
It seems I
have spent the last two months sanding fiberglass. Just thinking about it makes
me itchy! It has been, however, a very productive time. I made a very nice set
of winglet molds, finished the Duster’s tail dolly, made two wing walkers, and
am halfway through overhauling the LAK’s instrument panel. Most of the stuff
that doesn’t go in the airplane is done with polyester resin. Anything that
actually goes in the airplane is done with far more care and with good quality
epoxy resin. I will post photos of the results soon.
January / February 2008
A marvelous
month in
November 2007 (bis)
We went to
west
November 2007
Immediately
after the Region 10 contest I started flying the LAK. Well, that’s all it took.
I am not selling that thing, as
originally planned. In fact, I doubt I will even accept partners despite
numerous offers. It flies beautifully, and after a good clean, it is in such
great shape! I only wish it carried more water. Hmmm… let me think about that
for a moment… one could fit a custom-made tank in the fuselage…
Now it is
time to pimp it up! (Think carbon panel, new instruments, tip extensions and/or
winglets, and whatever else comes to mind.)
August 2007
Back to
racing. Ha! Apparently I haven’t forgotten how to do it, despite some
unsubstantiated rumor claiming that I fly like a “little old lady”. See some
pix here.
July 2007
For a
really long time I’ve always had my eye on those old Honda Scramblers. The ones
with the twin upswept pipes on the left and the dorky paintjobs. There are
plenty of them on Ebay, but no-where near here. Until now.
I expect
that this 36-year old little monster will keep me busy for a while. She’s in
very good shape considering the age, but is also very far from being
pristine. Witness the progress here.
February 28, 2007
An
important difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its
limits.
January 2007
Unexpectedly,
and to start the year off, a deal too good to pass crosses my path again. As a
consequence, we are now a 3-plane family as opposed to just a 2-plane family.
Hmmm…
Hey, what
are you gonna do? The guy was giving it away, the poor plane needed a loving
home.
>20m
wingspan, 50:1 measured glide ratio, nice cockpit, awesome trailer with the
works… SOLD! (see it here)
December 2006
It seems I
managed a couple of good flights this summer. I harvested 3 state records.
Woo-who!
November 2006 (bis)
Rich and I
are leaving on Tuesday for a one-month trip. We will travel on our street
motorcycles from
November 2006 (bis)
I think I
have discovered a good reason as to why time exists: so that you can go home
between adventures and fix whatever broke.
November 2006
I spent
last month in South America and the
Unfortunately
I lost my dive light on the second day, before we started doing night dives and
wreck dives, and I had to dive with my puny auxiliary marker light. Ugh!
July 2006
Finally the
Duster flies. I was rather worried at first. Wooden airplane, hadn’t flown in
16 years or so, and frankly I wasn’t sure if it was just the termites holding
hands what was keeping it together. Alas, it flew. Then, and for good measure,
I flew it again with the open canopy I made for it. This was incredible fun!
See the pix in the flying section
of the webpage.
June 2006
Total
pandemonium erupted today in the garage. Somehow, a squirrel managed to get in
there (it may have been related to me leaving the door wide open), and I found
it inside the 40lb. bag of birdseed that I keep there. It probably thought it
had died and gone to heaven… that is, until I entered the garage. Then it
jumped out of the bag and realized it was cornered. It started barking and
jumping against the window and around the workbench. I thought about capturing
it to teach it a lesson, but it was growling and seemed so angry that I decided
against it. Finally it ran around me and outside through the door. Very
amusing!
May 2006
I bought
new tires for my car (the expensive, high performance ones). On the way home, I
found a 3-inch nail with one of them. Yippee!! I didn’t even have the chance to
break them in. I am beyond pissed.
May 2006
Rich and I
assembled Sharon’s Duster in the yard today. It is the first time this plane
has been put together in many years. The wings are so light that even though we
were improvising, it was quite easy. I hope to have it ready to fly soon.
March 2006
Today we
saw a very good movie by the same guy who did “Amores Perros”. It is called “21
grams” and is probably available on DVD at your local movie-rental place. Perhaps you should see it too.
February 2006
So by the
sheerest coincidence I discovered the music of Swedish guitar virtuoso Jose Gonzalez. I purchased his CD,
“Veneer”. Excellent, particularly the song entitled “Lovestain”.
February 2006
I find it
interesting how nowadays anything and everything can be, and usually is,
considered “extreme”. We now have extreme sports, extreme makeovers, extreme science,
extreme pizza, extreme toothpaste, but it all adds up to mostly extreme
stupidity. Well, I guess if you go out and eat an extreme pizza, you may need
extreme toothpaste to brush the extreme toppings off your teeth.
Seriously,
I understand how surfing a monster 30-foot wave may be considered extreme. And
clearly, diving at 230 feet with some tri-mix you bottled in your own garage
would be extreme diving. But we’re now in a society where any activity that separates you from a house plant is labeled extreme,
and its pissing me off. The reason for this trend, I believe, is that 99.9% of
the complacent population has collapsed, semi-comatose, on the couch and is too
lazy to even pick up the remote control! Thus perfectly normal activities and
things seem extreme. Oh, and leave it to marketing to extend the concept to
toothpaste. Fuck it; I’m gonna go take an extreme nap.
February 2006
Today, a
girl at work told me that I was the most “low-tech” person she knew. What a
flattering compliment! I am happy!
November 2005
I recently
finished reading Shadow Divers. What an excellent book. I strongly suggest you
read it now. It ranks right there with Krakauer’s “Into Thin Air”, except that
I can relate to it more since I’m a diver while not a mountain climber.
March 2005
After 4
months in Antarctica and one month in New Zealand it is time to return “home”.
Hmmm….
Back to the
bible belt.
Back to a
place where vehicles that do 9 miles per gallon are not only socially
acceptable, but even encouraged by a consume society that is long out of
control. These monstrosities are used ubiquitously as single-occupant-vehicles,
and to make matters worse, the occupant is usually talking on the phone or
eating something, but very rarely actually driving.
Back to a
place where 90 degrees F is not considered a hot day. What am I thinking? Why
am I going back there? Well, frankly because at the moment I don’t have a
choice. I must remedy that situation.