Honshu and Okinawa

-
Image
I am back. I spent 10 days in Japan, 5 days for work on the main island of Honshu and 5 days of solo adventure in Okinawa. Travel is so invigorating dispite the uncomfortableness. Jetlag, anxiety, crowds, and other discomforts aside, it is mind-expanding and rewarding. Work went well. I flew a new airline (Skymark) from Tokyo to Naha. I am always wary of strange discount airlines and all the traps they set. However, I had a great expereince with "Sky". I was actually shocked. Super easy checkin at the airport, no extra fees even with extra luggage. The primary mission in Okinawa was to visit the Peace Park and the Suicide cliffs of Okinawa. At the end of WW2 the inhabitants were encouraged to commit suicide rather than surrender to the Americans and get tortured and eaten. They jumped off the cliffs at the souther end of the main island. If you have seen theoriginal color footage taken at the time. I am sure you were moved with mothers holding their babies jumping to th...
Post a Comment
-

Things have been a blur lately.

I had a flight lesson the other night. I am gaining confidence. I remeber some of the things that I struggled with before I am now comfortable and confident. I have a ways to go still for sure.

The big thing was though, I called a missed approach (go around) because I was too high and didn't feel comfortbale with the rate of decent. I gave it the gas and went through the process of a go-around and the engine skipped a few beats on the climb-out! I let my instructor have the plane and to be safe we did a 300 degree turn and landed downwind. That is the second time the plane has hiccupped on me during climb out at low altitude. We agreed this time it was a bit different than the loss of power we had last time with a scored cylinder. This seemed electrical. The plane is being looked at. My instructor says I have bad luck with the plane. We had an extended debrief and talked about options. We both agreed that the golf course was the best place to go if the power quit entirely. More experience. Turning back to teh airport with a power-out condition is a common mistake. Concentrating on landing the plane is a priority.

I went to a student music recital in Greene on Sunday. That was different and simple.

I mowed the hay-field-to-be Saturday. It took me about 6 hours to mow 17 acres. That was a speed record for me. I still managed to hand carry a bunch of rocks I found with the mower to the hedge row. I plan on mowing that field 4 times this year. Some of my other mowing plans are under review.

I am getting some expert advice on my silo of whether it is safe and/or usable.

I am working on one of my Evinrude outboard motors. I don't remember where I got it. Possibly I got it from the trash years ago. It turns out it is a 1948-1951 1.5 HP model. It looks like it is all there. It will go well on the canvas canoe since it has an internal gas tank and it will look period.

The garden is going in with a different setup this year.

I am behind on my firewood. I need to get going.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
I am still connected getting the lunch menu from the ice. It is tough to decide. mactown food versus home. Hmmm... Mactown menu Thursday - February 1 | LUNCH 11am-1pm Roast Pork Loin w/Gravy Beef Chili Vegetable Ragout DINNER 5pm - 7:30pm Thai Beef Stir Fry Teriyaki Grilled Chicken w/Pineapple Vegetarian Buddha's Delite
Read more

California, Berkshire NY, Baltimore Maryland and Washington DC

-
Image
I am back from a speaking engagement at a familiar conference (CIDM) in San Jose California. Afterwards, I met Angie at the ATL airport and headed to the farm and to see my cousins, Aunt and Sister (and my newest relative) in Baltimore and Washington DC. It was a densely scheduled trip, but nothing compared to our typical overseas vacation trips. I have been having educational fun with my recent birthday gift. It is a Radiacode 103. It is a very sensitive scintillation radiation detector. Loads of fun. The 1k µS/hr spike shown is what the carry on baggage x-ray machine doses out. I am glad I wasn't inside the x-ray equipment. Stopping at some antique stores along the way, I found a number of uranium glass pieces. Yes, they are radioactive. Yes, the dose is comparable to that you get from riding in a commercial airplane. I took a couple of pics of property in Upstate NY. Unbelievable. It will beat out images of the best trailer trash anywhere. And yes, the vehicles are systemica...
Read more

Maine Coastal Islands

-
Image
As part of my recent Maine trip we decided to explore a little out on Vinalhaven (Vinyl Haven) Island. There is a ferry that runs out there. I was pleasantly surprised that it isn't totally about tourism out there. I daydreamed about buying a waterfront property and doing fishing and lobstering. The properties I found were somewhat affordable and essentially turn-key fishing bases. I also had to stop and take a couple fan-boy pics of some antique rolling stock. They must get snow up in Maine. I didn't see any in September.
Read more

Honshu and Okinawa

-
Image
I am back. I spent 10 days in Japan, 5 days for work on the main island of Honshu and 5 days of solo adventure in Okinawa. Travel is so invigorating dispite the uncomfortableness. Jetlag, anxiety, crowds, and other discomforts aside, it is mind-expanding and rewarding. Work went well. I flew a new airline (Skymark) from Tokyo to Naha. I am always wary of strange discount airlines and all the traps they set. However, I had a great expereince with "Sky". I was actually shocked. Super easy checkin at the airport, no extra fees even with extra luggage. The primary mission in Okinawa was to visit the Peace Park and the Suicide cliffs of Okinawa. At the end of WW2 the inhabitants were encouraged to commit suicide rather than surrender to the Americans and get tortured and eaten. They jumped off the cliffs at the souther end of the main island. If you have seen theoriginal color footage taken at the time. I am sure you were moved with mothers holding their babies jumping to th...
Read more

Mostly in Georgia

-
Image
Gracie decided to give us a presentation regarding current world shipping issues. She thinks she is so smart. But she is wrong about port congestion. If we allow anyone to drive commercial trucks there will be no backup of containers moving inland. Gracie, a tip for public speaking, Never turn your back to the audience. We had "Demo Days" at work again this past week. I was busy on most of the days, but I went up to the demo site after the event was over on Friday and took a look at machines we have on site.
Read more