Thinking Space

I've already said it... I guess I'm not a blogger.  I can't believe it's been over a year since my last entry... where has the time gone?

Last July I was told that my company was looking into the possibility of selling all the assets at our site here in Alaska.  There was a long list of requirements to be met for a deal to go through, and no immediate buyers, so no idea of when or if a sale might take place.  Six months later Honeywell sold the Datalynx assets to Universal Space Network (USN).  Since then, and for several more months we are continuing as normal here as the assets and operations are transitioned over to USN.  When everyone is satisfied with the transition, our employment with Honeywell will be terminated.

I started looking for another job here in Fairbanks in late October, and have been disappointed by both the scarcity of networking jobs in the area, and by the salary offered for those few jobs available.  I find that most companies are happy with someone with a great deal less experience than I have, who in turn is happy with a great deal less money!

Well after 5 months sending out resumes and doing interviews I had 2 companies that had conducted interviews, and had not said no thank you... along with another 6 or 7 positions applied for that had not contacted me yet.

At this point I was getting a little nervous about finding something before my current position disappeared... but one company finally pulled the trigger, and I feel they made a fair offer right from the start.  So I am relieved to say that I now know what I'm going to be doing after Honeywell pulls out.

My entire family is very happy living here in Fairbanks, and the last thing I wanted to do was leave the area just to find a job.  I recently had my 10 year anniversary with Honeywell, and I'm sorry to be starting over with a new company at this point.  But Honeywell decided they wanted out of a venture that was making money... go figure!  I'm glad to say in the end it will be Honeywell's loss, and not mine!

I get such a kick out of some of the commercials on TV that Apple has produced telling us all how much better their young, hip, Macintosh systems are than our stodgy, middle aged, PCs.  Having worked in the computer industry for a number of years now, I've worked on stuff that most computer geeks today have never even heard of... how many of you replaced PDP-11 systems with VAXes?

Here's a little history if you're interested.

Anyway... my first hands on experience with computers was with the early Apple computers, and I enjoyed them immensely.  My first PC experience was very frustrating, primarily because there wasn't anybody around to ask for help when I got stuck.  But as I figured things out I discovered I could do a whole lot more on that PC then I ever could on the Apples I had played with.  Of course the PC was several years further along.

In 1996 I started up my ISP, and of course supported all sorts of systems.  I found in most cases the folks that had MACs were not nearly as capable when it came time to setup their system to access the internet.  I believe this was about OS 7.6 at this time, and as with Windows, it has gotten easier!

I took a job in 1998 at a facility that had about 50 MAC systems for their administrative purposes, another 20-30 Unix systems for software development, a couple dozen VAX VMS systems for actual data processing, and 3 or 4 PCs sitting around for special purposes that couldn't be achieved on any of the other systems.  While all these systems were connected to the same physical network, none of them talked to each other, or shared resources... each platform had it's own server!  The printer room had a laser printer and color ink jet for each platform, as well as 2 large format printers.

All of this drove me crazy since it was such a waste!  If a document was prepared by one of the software developers on a Sun, then they couldn't send a copy to the program manager since he had a MAC.  So I setup a Windows NT 4 server with services for MAC and Unix installed on it just as a proof of concept.  I wanted to show these folks what they could accomplish if all the platforms could share the same resources and exchange information.

It's funny really that the results of my proof of concept led to the complete replacement of all MAC computers (save a few in a room by themselves) with PCs.  The Unix, VMS systems, and PCs all shared the same 3 printers.  1 laser, 1 color ink jet, and 1 large format... all served by that NT server.  Not only that, but I could write a document on my PC, then drop it in a shared folder on the server... and Joe in software could then open that document to read or edit it on his Sun!  Amazing!

The most entertaining part of this for me was watching the frustration of our "MAC Expert" as more and more of the 250 or so users we supported started coming to me to get things done on the PC that they weren't able to do on their MAC!

Here's an entertaining video about how easy MACs can be to use.

By now everybody has heard about John Kerry's joke about getting stuck in Iraq if you don't have a good education.  According to John Kerry, it was just a poorly delivered joke intended to be a poke at the president.  I'm a little confused by this... according to the information I've been able to find, John Kerry graduated from Yale in 1966.  One would assume that he himself is a reasonably well educated individual.  At least I would assume that's what his parents were hoping for while paying the tuition at Yale!  So now I'm trying to figure out how his comment was a poke at the president... who himself graduated from Yale in 1968.

If we're to believe what John Kerry is telling us now, we as a nation are "stuck in Iraq" because of George W Bush's lack of education.  But I have to wonder, if this is true, then wouldn't John Kerry be an ignorant bafoon as well?  Seeing as they both graduated from Yale, and only two years apart, one would assume they both received a comparable education.

So on this premise I would have to say we must conclude that John Kerry would not be able to perform any better than he seems to feel George W Bush has performed... which is not very well by the comments I've heard him say.  Which leads me to believe that by his own statements and recommendations, John Kerry would be the worst possible person you could ever vote for as president of the United States of America.

Whew, that really involved some deep cognitive exercise for this US Marine and Desert Storm veteran.  But I must have gained me an edumacation somewhere along the way as I have managed to be successful since returning to the private sector.

Here's a little picture that I sure enjoyed!

 

Well I would have to say that I'm not cut out to be a hard core blogger.  But it's still a fun way to share tidbits of information from time to time.  So while I may not post regularly, I think I'll leave the site up and post when the urge grabs me.

BIG NEWS!  I bought an airplane!  Yes, I'm still building an experimental aircraft, but that's years away from completion still... and besides, it was Bethe's idea.  No really!  I recently joined the Civil Air Patrol, and while at my first meeting met a couple who were trying to sell their airplane.  I told them that while I wasn't in the market, I'd certainly pass it on.  Later while telling Bethe about the meeting, I mentioned the airplane... she asked if it was a nice plane, and a good deal.  When I said that yes, it was a great deal, she hit me with 5 words I still have to repeat to myself just to be sure I heard them... "Why don't you buy it?".  Well, after I picked my jaw up off the floor I did just that.  So I am now the proud owner of N22563, a 1968 Cessna 150H.

 

I real quick went out and got my BFR so that I was legal again, and am looking forward to some great flying!  I took Bethe out for about an hour last Sunday, and it was a beautiful day, the wind was calm, and the sky was clear enough that we could see Denali well.  We flew west out to Minto Flats, and really enjoyed the fall colors in the hills.  I only had about 4 hours in a 150 before I bought this one, but I took the BFR in a 150, and am finding it a very easy airplane to fly... I guess that's why it's used primarily as a trainer!

My airplane has a few mods that make it real nice for flying in Alaska.  It has a climb prop, 7.00 mains and a 6.00 on the nose, and VGs on the wings and vertical stab.  Where a typical 150 will start dropping like a rock if you get it below 60 mph on approach, I fly final at 60 and cross the numbers at 55 in this one, and still have enough speed for a nice flare.  I give up a little cruise speed, but at 85-90 mph, I have plenty of time to enjoy the scenery... and that's a lot of what flying in Alaska is about.

A friend and I road our motorcycles to Anchorage last weekend to attend the annual Alaska Airman's aviation trade show.  Luckily even though the forecast for the weekend was scattered showers for almost the entire route we had mostly sunshine.  And the rain was limited to about 10 drops on the return trip.

One thing there is plenty of in Alaska in early May is fresh air... that's not necessarily the case on the Parks highway later in the year.  This highway which runs 360 miles from Anchorage to Fairbanks gets a tremendous amount of RV traffic from all the tourists.  It's mostly two lane, with the occasional passing lane on long climbing sections... and pretty twisty.  So driving it in the summer with all the motorhomes can get a bit frustrating.  But no motorhomes were out this early in the year, so the road was wide open.  How ever there was still a considerable amount of snow at the higher elevations, which covers about 250 miles of the trip... which means it was cold!  I had just recevied my new Belstaff riding suit the morning we left, so I was pretty comfortable... but my riding partner was way under dressed and suffered for it.

The drive along the parks highway is truely a breath taking trip.  You drive right through the Alaska range past the Denali National Park.  I've done it numerous times in a car, and several in small general aviation aircraft, but this was my first trip on a motorcycle.  The sheer exposure you experience while riding a motorcycle makes the scenery even more dramatic... there's nothing between you and the mountains.  What a terrific experience!

We had planned to tent camp once we got to Anchorage, but unfortunately all the parks and camp grounds were still closed until May 15th... so we ended up having to get a hotel room while we were there.  But it was nice to be warm and have a shower right there.

The aviation trade show was fun, just about everything you can imagine for an airplane was for sale there.  I managed to make it out however spending only $20 on a DVD about float plane flying in Alaska.

Here are a couple of pictures I took on the trip down... looks chilly doesn't it?  Sure was a beautiful ride.

  

 

Well spring is finally here for good and for certain.  Most of the snow is gone, except where it has been piled, or is in shadows.  And today it reached 60 degrees!

Last week I purchased a 2006 Kawasaki KLR 650 motorcycle, and I have started riding this to work.  Interestingly, the 6 gallon fuel tank on the motorcycle has roughly the same range as the 31 gallon fuel tank on my 1989 Chevy Blazer.  The difference I demonstrated this week, was a $15 fill up, versus a $75 fill up!  Even with only a 5 month riding season in Alaska, the bike will pay for itself pretty quickly.  Not to mention it's a whole lot of fun to ride.  This coming weekend a friend and I are going to ride our bikes down to Anchorage for the Alaska Airmen's airshow.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for weather like we had today... the mountains 100 miles away were crystal clear.  We will be tent camping, so I hope it doesn't turn out cold and rainy.

I also made it out to our R/C club flying field on Sunday.  It was an absolutely beautiful day, only spoiled by the fact that vandals had dumped our trash barrels all over the field, then shot them full of holes.  So I spent a couple of hours cleaning up trash, and a couple of hours flying.  It was still a terrific day.  This is the first opportunity I've had to fly my Fomojo (previously commented on) in an open space.  After the careful flying in my driveway and school gym, it was a blast to cut loose with it... what a great little airplane.  I can see a lot of fun flying in my Fomojo's future.

I find myself energized by the spring weather, spending more time out and about accomplishing things I've been putting off... what a wonderful feeling.  I think if anything this feeling is amplified by the long winters we have in interior Alaska.  With the long day light hours, and warmer weather it just calls to you to get out and enjoy it.

Well it's been a busy month, Bethe has been working long hours 6 days a week... and todays a big day, the end of tax season.  So starting Monday she will start getting some time off and much better hours.  I have just started a new schedule at work too, so I'm still getting adjusted.  My new schedule is midnight to 10 am 4 days a week.  I like it better than my old 12 hour shift, but working till 10 means I don't get to bed until about 11:30, and I have to be up everyday at 3:00 to go get Elora off the school bus.  Then I get to try and go back to sleep to get a little more than 3 1/2 hours!  That's a little rough, but otherwise I think I'm going to like this schedule.

Things had warmed up nicely here and a lot of the snow had melted, but then we got another 6" of snow and it got cold again.  It's only about +10 this morning, but it's been getting up around 40 most days, so the late snow is melting off nicely.  I'm usually able to go fly my R/C airplanes the 2nd or 3rd week of April, but I'm not sure the field will be clear even by the end of the 3rd week this year.

Speaking of R/C airplanes, I applied for my Contest Director (CD) license with AMA... and assuming I passed the test I will be the CD of the 2nd annual Ron Desrochers Memorial Pattern Event this Memorial Day weekend.  I've helped with a number of events in the past, but this will be my first experience as the CD of a sactioned event.  I'm working hard doing my homework... hopefully it will be a good event and everybody will enjoy it.

Other than that we've all been so busy there nothing much else to tell.

One of my favorite past times is playing with airplanes... big or small, I love'em all!  I just finished working on a new one that is definately on the small end of the scale.  The ready to fly weight of this airplane is 10.9 ounces!  This type of airplane is known as a foamie, because they are primarily made out of... you guessed it, foam.  This particular airplane is made from 6mm depron foam, the wings are re-enforced with carbon fiber front and back to make them stiff.  Power is provided by a small electric motor running on a Lithium Polymer battery.

Developments in batteries and flight electronics over the last couple of years have made a tremendous impact to this type of flying.  The performace of this type of aircraft is absolutely phenominal!  It's a little windy today, so I'm going to wait for a calmer day before making that first flight... but I'm sure looking forward to it.

If you're interested in seeing just how well these little airplanes fly, here is a link to a video on the manufacturers web site.  http://www.billyhellrc.com/fomojo.html

Well after the 3rd coldest recorded January, and February trying to make up for the lack of snow fall the rest of this winter, March is off to a good start.  The first several days have been in the 20's with lots of beautiful sun shine.  We're back to that part of the year where you can actually feel the warmth on your face when the sun is out... that's a wonderful feeling after several months without it.

I got out my little electric airplane and flew it around the front yard a couple of times over my last break... motivated me enough to start framing up an airplane for the coming flying season (it's only been sitting on the bench since August).

I've done a lot of work on our tropical fish tank the last couple of months.  I was getting bored with it and decided to try live plants.  The first attempt was a disaster, the gravel I had was way to big, and I wasn't using any substrate at all, so we had to use fertilizer.  In about a months time, the tank was so over run with algae it was scary!  I stripped the tank all the way down, put in a good bed of substrate with a thin layer of small gravel over the top.  I don't have problems with the fish uprooting the plants anymore, and the plants are growing well, without the algae problem we saw before.  There is still some algae growth in the tank, but no more than we saw before we put in live plants.  It's interesting that while live plants aren't nearly as perfect as the plastic ones, they are somehow much more attractive in their imperfection.

In 1998 I owned an ISP in the Washington DC area, and the business had grown to the point that I needed to expand my network to support all the users.  I bought a Cisco 2524 router for the T1 data connection, and attended an Introduction to Cisco Router Configuration class.  Until December 1999 when we moved to Alaska, I continued to work with Cisco routers at work.  But from 12/99 until now, I haven't even touched one.

Well about a week ago just out of curiosity I did a search on Ebay for Cisco 2524 routers... WOW!  I paid about $1700 for the router I bought for the ISP, and today you can pick up an identical router for about $25.  Well, $25 is what I paid for the first one... the second one I got for $15!  And finally I picked up a 2514 that has been fully upgraded, and it was still under $100.

So, what could I possibly need with 3 Cisco routers?  Well, I had started studying for my CCNA certification before we moved to Alaska, and since I would like to get back into a real IT job versus having all the IT responsibilies as a collateral duty, I thought I'd start studying again.  Cisco certifications are a real plus if you're looking for a job as a network engineer, and while I've had training, and have quite a bit of experience with them... I am out of date.  So this will catch me up with the changes made to their software in the last 6 years, and I'll have some fun playing with my routers in the process.

The 2514 router can even be used on my home network for connecting my DSL to the local LAN.  Currently I have a D-Link DI-604 broadband router, and while it does the job very handily, it has some real annoying limitations.  With all of the different services I run on our server I have to configure the router to let outside connections in to the server, but the 604 only allows about 20 of these configurations.  So I've had to get creative with which ports are open, and delete a number of them that aren't strictly necessary.  The Cisco routers would not have this limitation, so would allow me much more flexibility.

Well that's about all for now, I've received the first router already and begun playing with it... it was shipped with all the passwords still in place, so right from the start I was tested to see if I could still complete a password recovery.  With that out of the way it is installed on my network and I'm having fun poking around under the hood again.

I got home yesterday and checked our voice messages and received a very pleasant surprise... there was a message from the president of the University of Alaska.  This message was in response to a letter I had written on January 31st regarding Bethe's graduation with honors (see letter here).  After receiving my letter the University reviewed Bethe's case and decided to graduate her summa cum laude instead of magna cum laude.

I never had any doubts that Bethe deserved summa cum laude myself, but I did have some doubts whether the University would agree or not.  The established criteria at the Univerisy of Alaska for graduation with summa cum laude honors is to have received an A in all college level courses attempted, no matter where taken.  Unfortunately Bethe took a career aptitude course in the early 90's at a community college in southern California, and because she openly disagreed with the results of her aptitude tests, the instructor gave her a B in the course.  Honestly, I feel that a course of this nature should have been a pass/fail grade... there was no reason or basis for granting a letter grade.  But because of this class, Bethe was initially given magna cum laude honors.

I sent essentially the same letter to the UA president, the UAF chancellor, and the chair of the UA board or regents.  I received an e-mail within a couple of days from the chancellor's office telling me that they were going to review Bethe's case, but I had not heard anything else regarding the issue until I received the voice message from General Hamilton.  He told me in the voice message that after review, they had decided to change Bethes graduation honors to summa cum laude, and he stated that he "was proud of the University for doing the right thing".

In the end this all works out very tidily... while Bethe actually graduated in December, UAF only holds one graduation ceremony a year, in May.  So when Bethe walks in May, the announcement made will be summa cum laude.  Bethe worked incredibly hard over the last five years, and deserves every bit of recognition she receives.

Bethe, the kids and I are so very proud of you!  We love you.

What a mess this whole situation is... I don't know which is more rediculous, the violent reaction of Muslims around the world, or the fact that web sites and news papers continue to publish these cartoons, "in the interest of free speech".  Hey, I'm all for free speech, but just because you can say something doesn't mean you should.  I would think that after seeing the negative reaction (major understatement) from the Muslim world, most descent people would refrain from further insulting these people.  I honestly can't understand the outrage over a simple cartoon, but then I'm not Muslim.

Now this brings to question how people who have repeated defaced effigies of the western world, both political and religious, can react so vehemently to a caricature of one of their own.  I wonder how many times I've seen footage on TV of Muslims burning American flags, or carrying crosses with Jesus crucified upside down.  Muslims around the world would have us believe that Islam is a religion of peace loving, forgiving people, but I'm afraid I just don't see that in the current global temperament.  I certainly haven't seen any Christians beheading Muslim peace activists!

Regardless of the true temperament of the followers of Islam, I honestly don't think that people of conscience... no matter their religious affiliations... should continue to antagonize Muslims around the world by repeatedly publishing these cartoons.  Just because a BB gun would not cause any lasting damage to a full grown lion, I wouldn't recommend that anyone stand out on the savanna and repeatedly shoot at the passing lions... they just might become annoyed enough to do something about it.

Every where you look now it seems you see references to blogs & bloggers, I couldn't help but wonder what it was all about.  So here I am installing blog software on my server so I can try it out.  Right now I'm just testing and configuring the software, once I get everything working to my satisfaction, I'll be back to make more posts and decide if this is something I really want to do.