The Parental Units Visit

Mom and Dad came to visit us for the first time since we moved to Florida. It's their second time on an airplane, and they had a great time. We toured the area - from New Smyrna Beach to St. Augustine. It was great to have them visit.


Mom and Dad inside the Daytona International Speedway


Mom and Dad at our neighborhood boat ramp


Motorcycle Momma

Republic Seaplane

This Republic RC3 Amphibious Airplane is sitting at the New Smyrna Beach Airport. This type of airplane (made in 1944) is on my list of things I want to eventually own.

Key West (Again)

My buddy Doug got his first motorcycle last October. After he got it, I told him he needed to bring it with him when he came to the hang gliding meet this month and that we would ride it down to Key West for a couple of days. Well, after Jan and I rode all the way down and back, we I modified the plan based on the fact that the ride between West Palm Beach and South Miami is just not a lot of fun on a motorcycle. So instead, Doug borrowed a motorcycle trailer from a friend a work and we trailered down to Miami and then rode to the keys.

We had a great time. Thanks to Bill and Michelle letting us stay in their house in Key West. It was a fun ride. We went down on Thursday and came back on Saturday.

Rooster hanging out on Duval Steet



Doug riding with Jan and I on "The Loop" through Tomoka State Park.

Hang Gliding Comp comes to Florida

The core group of people whom I've hung around with for years and who've defined my life came into the state for the anual hang gliding competition. I've driven to this competition from N.C. every year since 1997 - in fact - I started the modern FL hg competition. It's always something I've really looked forward to doing.

I guess I must be losing my interest a bit. I drove over to the flying site (Quest Air in Groveland) 2 of the days. It was great to see my buddies again, but I really had very little drive to fly. I even have a brand new glider - in the bag sitting over at Quest Air for me to fly. Maybe I'll head back over sometime in the next couple of weeks and shake off the cobwebs.

My interest really seems to be on the water. I've found a 'captains course' in Daytona which will take place in May - but unfortunately - it conflicts with the Hang Gliding Spectacular on the OBX, so I'll miss that one. Instead, I've signed up for one in July that is in Titusville. It will be a 40 minute drive each way for 9 days, but otherwise, I'll have to travel to another city and stay for 9 days while I take the course.

Photo is of gliders circling over the take off point.

I take a REAL Job (sorta)

I have 3 good friends that work for a company called Sportvision. This company make many of the sports you watch on TV - more enjoyable to view. For example, they invented the yellow 'first down' line in football, the virtual ad behind the batter in baseball, many of the cool graphics in Nascar, the Olympics and other sports. Well, because of my friends: JB, Charles and Rick - I now work for Sportvision. I was going to wait until footbal season to begin, but the guy who the 'operators' report to offered me a summer schedule of one job every 2 or 3 weeks, so I took it.

I'm currently learning to install a new system called Pitch Effects (PFX). PFX will give the viewer a new bit of info when it comes to the pitch. One thing it will do is make the ball look like a comet on the replay (when the director decides to use the effect). It also will give a graphic showing how fast the ball was traveling and how much it 'broke' from l-r or r-l and how much it dropped. My current job is to set up the stadiums with the cameras and computers that are required to make all of this happen.

This week I'm in Arlington Texas - setting up the stadium for the Texas Rangers

Here's a view of where the camera is located near first base line


Here's a view of where the "high home plate" camera is located. IT looks straight down on the ball from the pitcher to the plate.

Vacation in Jamaica

Jan and I decided to take a trip to Jamaica for our 17th wedding anniversary. It's normally not our style to stay at a resort - we pretty much rather rent a house in the country of choice and immerse ourselves in the local culture. This time, since we had won the trip, we went with the flow. It was great. It was an "all inclusive" resort which meant that from the time you get off the airplane until you get back to the airplane - you don't need to spend a penny. All food, all drinks - of all kinds and all tips are included. The resort was beautiful and the weather was perfect.