Chazd's (Charles Dowdell's) News Burps

I solo'd! Finally. All three landings were pretty decent. After I shut the plane down my instructor said I had to do one more because he couldn't find anything wrong with the first three landings. What a great experience! It makes you feel so alive. This is the stuff life is made of.

Well there has been some significant progress on DJs store. She still doesn't have a grand opening date. So far lots of vacuuming and many trips to the dump and the scrap yard. I am amazed at how much stuff I have laying around here that can be used for this project. My goal is to have less stuff around here as part of this project not more. I put a toilet in. Of course the new toilet is at the other end of the building from the sewer line. The basement is a scary thing. I remember doing this kind of work before in my rental property years ago crawling around oil tanks and up in the joists. It is downright unpleasant. If you don't like dampness and spiders it would make it that much worse. I can't say I like it. I like it best when it is over. I have a bit more drain work to do once we move a couple of walls. The outside is being painted local historic colors per the local historical society.

A lot is going on as normal. My FAA medical was approved. I am now good to solo and finish my license. I am really looking forward to flying between Sidney and Greene by myself. It took six months to get that mess straightened out. I could write a nice article on how to approach an FAA medical renew. I was starting to think I was sick based on the reluctance and run around. What a waste of federal tax paper money and general bureaucracy. One of the conditions they provided me is that if I feel a kidney stone coming on I am not supposed to fly. Jeepers! I wish they could tell me what to do on everything else in my life and what I am supposed to do and not do. Duh!! Well anyway, I am now legal to fly for the next two years. G. Mills and family were down. We went hunting. We did not get anything. We both need to get our first deer ever. Douglas on the other hand got his first deer ever on opening day. This picture reminds me that I need to paint the silo. DJ Signed the lease on t...

Yahoo has/had this piece that Irondequoit NY is one of the best places to raise kids in the whole country. That is where I grew up. Hummpt. http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/americas-best-place-to-raise-your-kids.html

I remember when the Mandelbrot Set first hit the scene years ago. Check out the "Mandelbulb", a 3D version. http://www.skytopia.com/project/fractal/mandelbulb.html

Went for a hike on the Fingerlakes Trail in Hoxie Gorge this weekend. It was great. I really must make more time for that activity. The weather has been so nice. I skidded up some trees and brought firewood forward. You never know when the snow is going to come and getting the wood down to the house becomes and issue. Once it is down by the house I can cut and split. I stopped at a bench to rest a minute during the hike and I looked up and there was a coyote just about 10 feet from me! I remember levitating up and away; it startled me so much. It was clear the coyote was not in good shape (I suspect few are). He/she was limping and sort of meandered away. It was a large one , at least as big as a German Shepard. I got the pic after I calmed down a little bit as he/she walked away. I am not sure what the fungus was.

I went to calling hours for Debby and Alan Howell this past week. Their 6 week old baby passed away from a heart defect. The baby was a beautiful baby. The weather is great. I heard from a meteorologist that we are going to have a month of unseasonably warm and mild weather. My mentor watched me do a couple of landings the other day and he seemed truly impressed. I call on my medical at least once a week. Man, I hope it comes through so I can get my licence. I want to be flying around New York state. Here is a pic of the potential bakery/brewery.

What a great weekend weatherwise. It was in the 60s today and calm. I regret not going flying today. Hopefully, this week I get my medical back. DJ is accumulating capital equipment for a small artisan bakery; she now has a large bloggett double oven, a bread slicer (shown), water heater, a butcher block table, a stainless table, a dry curved glass display case, a commercial standing three basin sink and a Hobart 30 quart mixer as well as a bunch of smaller stuff. I am sure there will be a lot more news on this as it unfolds. There is a pic of the smashed up Husquarna tractor. I bought the mower new in 1996. Someone smashed into it pushing it into Bonnie's porch destroying both. It is difficult to find any good parts left on it. Amazing. Of course, the insurance company only gives you pennies on the damage. Why bother with insurance most the time?

My mom is doing better. She is still in the hospital, but somewhat better. This week has yielded several insprirational elements. Let's focus on a few. Look for inspiration. Look! It is all around you all the time. We forget to do that. It is easy to be distracted by the everyday events and moments. Every element of nature is inspirational. They are all miracles. Everything is internal. Choose your character. Choose. Changes aren't easy. Choose, and move towards the target. "If you haven't ever have been at least a little embarassed by your past you don't understand growth and development. For goodness is made of that stuff." ---Charles Dowdell My friend and co-worker Clark Wallin passed away very suddenly Saturday Night-Sunday Morning. He was in good shape Friday. We didn't have a lot of discussion or contact Friday, but we talked. He seemed a little pre-occupied, but nothing much out of the ordinary. Clark and his wife were fellow llama/alpaca...

This time of year is always busy getting ready for Winter. I spent most of the weekend working on the solar system. I had some successes as well as a set back. The heat exchanger is broken! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I charged/filled the the domestic side of brand new unit (although waiting for me to install for almost a year) and water started coming out the loop. I plugged the loop and I am planning on some interesting conversations with the Rheem people. It was a good thing that I didn't have the loop connections tight. I wouldn't have noticed the defect and the cross contamination would have put antifreeze in my hot water supply and regular water in the loop possibly breaking my collector. I have just a couple more fittings and some control wiring. This was a bigger project (still not done) than expected (usual). I look forward to the next project at this point. The basement partially flooded this week (drainage issue). What a drag. I mean my advice is to e...