Uploading Big Files w/ MediaFire

I recently discovered MediaFire for uploading big files. The need arose because I want to transfer some .WAV files of narration. The .WAV files use "lossless" compression... which, as the name implies, isn't much compression at all.

MediaFire lets me upload large files and then it gives me a specific URL for each file. I can then send the URL to the file recipient(s). I could even post the URL in a blog or Website, so I have long term storage of referential material.

Oh yes, best of all is that it is free!

New GPS in 2019 -- From Lockheed Martin

This is from the Wired Magazine Danger Room -- See the full story and comments HERE I certainly hope that Boeing gets its act together! They are a national asset, but right now it looks like they are begging to be broken into pieces and sold off. -- Derf

Lockheed Trumps Boeing for New GPS
By Sharon Weinberger May 16, 2008 10:51:00 AMCategories: Space
The U.S. Air Force has selected Lockheed Martin over Boeing to build the next generation of navigation satellites. "The loss of the contract, known as Global Positioning System IIIA, was Boeing's third high-profile defeat in as many months," the LA Times notes. "The company lost a $35-billion contest to build aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force in February and a $3.74-billion award to build unmanned spy planes for the Navy in April."

The new generation of satellites will be able to locate objects with 9 inch accuracy, a substantial improvement over the current satellite constellation. That improved accuracy is scheduled to come online in 2019. In the meantime, Boeing appears to be struggling to fulfill its current GPS contract. "Boeing has yet to launch a single satellite under its most recent GPS contract from April 1996, and in 2006 the company forfeited $21.4 million and replaced the program's managers after delays and cost overruns," Bloomberg reports.

Pulsed Detonation Engine

Great Engine Technology Experiment... Wasn't there a version of this that used nuclear explosions... in the novel "Footfall" I believe. Pulsed detonation engine

See the Whole USAF Story here


by Larine Barr 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs5/16/2008 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) -- The engine that naysayers thought could never propel an aircraft across the sky is now at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, where it will be displayed this summer and remembered for its 2008 history-making flight. The pulsed detonation engine, developed by a team from the Air Force Research Laboratory here, flew its record-breaking manned flight Jan. 31 at Mohave, Calif. The pulsed detonation engine, or PDE, was flown on a modified Scaled Composites Long-EZ aircraft by test pilot Pete Siebold. He achieved a speed of over 120 mph and 60 to 100 feet altitude, which produced greater than 200 pounds of thrust. A jet assist takeoff was used to minimize takeoff roll and provide more runway margin, but was subsequently shut down when the PDE provided plenty of thrust for flight.

Ethanol: Is it Worth it?

A reporter from a middle-size Florida newspaper with no axe to grind ... "culled through mounds of (sometimes conflicting) news accounts and scientific reports to get the answers."

The answer to the question, "I Ethanol worth it?" is "No! Ethanol sucks!.. it sucks money, water, mileage, and common sense.

See This Link for the full story

"New studies, like one published in "Science" magazine in February, ...conclude that whatever gains are made by burning cleaner biofuels are overwhelmed by the negative effects of deforestation. It's not even close."

..."about one-fourth of U.S. corn will be used in ethanol plants this year. That drives up the price, whether you're grilling a burger, making an omelet or drinking a soda that uses corn syrup. With an estimated 3 billion people living on the equivalent of less than $2 a day, even slight increases to staples like corn can be devastating -- "

"If the United States hits its new goals of producing 36 billion gallons of ethanol by 2022, that would replace 1.5 million barrels of oil a day -- or less than 8 percent of America's daily oil consumption in 2006."

My platform: 4Fs: Fence, Food, Fuel, Finance

If I was in a political race, I'd try to save my party with a platform based on the 4Fs.

1. Fence: Fence the damn border already!

2. Food.. this whole ethanol thing is a terrible fraud.. (See for example, this article from a respected local daily paper. If this local reporter can nail the truth, then why is it so difficult for the New York Times.... never mind.. I know..)

3. Fuel.. coal to liquid is a damn good idea. Cut the red tape. Although, I personally am hoping for a breakthru in solar-to-electric cell technology.

4. Finance.. let the speculators hang.. they gambled, they lost.. not the job of government to bail them out!

(My fifth "F" would be firearms, of course. But.. four is enough to argue at one time.)
Now, that's a platform that says something. -- FJD

Military Recruiting is doing fine!

I have a friend, a New York denizen, who tells me how terrible he feels about the war in Iraq and the people serving there. My arguments that:
1. They are all volunteers (he sent me a book written by one person with an other-than-honorable discharge complaining how he was fooled by his recruiter)
2. The casualty rate is very low ... perhaps even lower than if they were engaged only in training operations
3. It's the time of their lives

My friend is an avowed capitalist who believes in supply-demand and other economic theories. I do not know how he explains that there has been and is a very good supply of people willing to serve. You would think, some how, that if it was all so bad that the supply would be self-limiting, no?

The Marine Corps far surpassed its recruiting goal last month and could eventually be more than a year ahead of schedule in its plan to grow the force to 202,000 members.

All military services met or exceeded their monthly recruiting goals in April, with the Marine Corps signing 142 percent of the number it was looking for, the Pentagon said.

See the entire story with some great comments from readers at TigerHawk

Air Force Ducks Drones

The Air Force is being dragged into the future kicking, screaming, and crying. "Being a drone pilot is bad for your career".. "We don't have enough resources to train and fly missions at the same time." "Our poor drone pilots are working too hard!"

Um, did you ever think that maybe a drone pilot doesn't have to be a graduate of USAF flight school? Maybe (shudder) not even an officer?

Actually, my 14 year old grandson could do a damn fine job of it today. ... with about 24 hours of training..

Oh yes, I know, only officers can fire weapons. Ummm... well, actually, that's not true, is it?

In essence, this situation is worse than when the AIr Force screwed the pooch on Close Air Support in the 50s and 60s.

Gee, if the F-22 Raptor didn't have a human being in it, could the payload be used in other ways? Could it pull more Gs? Would we ever have POWs or hostages? Who dies in a drone crash?

But, who would get to wear the cool flight suits?
If you are interested in this topic.... here are a few links for your reading pleasure:
Drone Future: No Dog Fights (Yet)
Drone Crash = Cash Crunch
USAF General: Miniature Fighter Drones Suck
Drones to Replace Human Squadron in Afghanistan?


-- FJD

The 3F Crisis: Food, Fuel, & Finance

The 3F Crisis: Food, Fuel, & Finance :

Yes, I know that the "3Fs" is part of the punch line of an old joke with some excellent advice (that I have managed to violate in every way!).

But, 3Fs also describes the crisis in fuel, food, and finance.

The "3F" Crisis is a useful shorthand. I would like to take a view of the impact on individuals in the US with some support from anecdotes.

Here in South Florida, our stone crab season runs until May 15. But, many stone crab fishermen have stopped pulling traps. It's not because of a lack of crabs or because of high fuel costs... it's a lack of buyers. Usually, the supply/demand curve is tilted the other way. Usually, in Miami, people are waiting in line to GET stone crabs in the limited season. Not now. Demand for this premium non-essential product is soft.

Disney reported better attendance at theme parks than last year. "We're definitely benefiting from the dollar exchange rate" Iger said.... and added there wasn't yet any evidence that higher gasoline prices had hit attendance at the parks."

I have a link to a FL Dept of Health article saying that ~20.9 % of adults smoke US-wide and 17.4% smoke in Florida. (2006 numbers) More recent figures (no link) are higher in Florida. It's easy to find statments and statistics (see tobaccofreekids.org for example) showing that higher cigarette costs reduce cigarette use. Yet, the high percentage of tobacco use among adults continues despite the years of "education" on smoking, the very high out-of-pocket cost of tobacco, and the recent general loss of disposable income.

The US Military, led by the Air Force, is trying to go to coal-to-liquid fuel plants in places where they make sense.. such as Montana. The area south of Malmstrom AFB is rich in coal that is easy to mine. The USAF has been trying to build a coal-to-liquid plant there for years. "Concerned Citizens" complain about the use of water and the creation of CO2. While trying to move away from carbon-based fuels is laudable, why not use our abundant sources of carbon (e.g. coal) to meet necessary demands like the military?

These anecdotes and others say to me that the "3F" crisis will have the consequence of pulling all of us away from the fringes. The fringes of spending, consumption, and dogmatic causes. Those who make a living on the fringes will suffer the most.

This is no great news. It is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs applied to economic life. Most people will quietly pull back to the core needs.

--Local non-essential businesses (e.g. local restaurants) powered by US dollars will suffer most.
-- Anything that can be powered by Euros or other non-dollar-pegged currencies (like Disney) will do well.
-- WallMart is in for a sales boom in the basics.
-- There will be an "alternative energy" bubble, burst, and glide.
-- Carbon-based fuels are here to stay for a long time. The battle between the oil industry, which wants to keep its oil assets priced high, and the coal industry will take place in Congress and it will be awful to watch. Oil will join with its unlikely friends, "concerned citizens", to try to keep the coal buried.
-- Common sense (i.e. consensus) may become more common as we pull back from the edges. - Political fallout will further reduce the faith in Congress and the presidency.

There is a 50/50 chance that the political result ("consequences") will be benign or catastrophic for the current form of government. This is an important time.

One possible out ... IF the technology of sun-to-electricity really does benefit from Moore's Law (see previous post) then... it could be happy days are here again!

Links:
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200805061812DOWJONESDJO...
http://www.doh.state.fl.us/tobacco/PDF_Files/2006_FLATS_Cigarette_Use.pdf
http://www.meic.org/energy/coals-to-liquid-fuels/malmstrom-c2l-background

Boat slips: $10,000 a linear foot

In this time of high gas prices and tight money, a developer in Key West is asking... and getting.. $10,000 per linear foot for holes in the water. These are big boat slips in a nice marina, but they are still just a place to park a boat.

Key West Yacht Club

The Key West Yacht Club is the Southernmost Private Club in America with 68 wet slips in various sizes, 3 transient rental slips, dock restroom facilities with showers, boat ramp, full service dining room and bar, ships store and gift Shop.

Alternative Energy Thoughts

I ran across This Website where the author references Ray Kurzweil's PROGNOSIS that Moore's Law will make electricity-from-solar cheap and easy in pretty quick time. I have met Ray Kurzweil, had lunch with him years ago when he was doing the speech synth thing, and I like him. So, maybe he's right.

A commentor on the Speculist site points out that storage of power is the big problem. Battery design has NOT followed Moore's Law. A prototype car I saw coming from India made me think more about compressed air. The technology of compression is easy and new materials make construction of lighter/stronger storage tanks easier. Modern SCUBA tanks are good for 3500 psi.

So, maybe we can get away from petrofuels. Just pondering it all. -- FJD

My Video review of Books by John Burdett

Michael Yon's Book "Moment of Truth in Iraq"

The New York Post review of Michael Yon's latest book "Moment of Truth in Iraq" SHOULD make you want to buy the book.. if only to support Michael's continued work. Please read the review and buy the book! See this link for the New York Post review and follow THIS LINK to order the book from Amazon.

Ooops -- update --- the book is out of stock at Amazon! You missed it. However, there are some "used" from other sources on the page.

For Those of You Who BELIEVE in Global Warming

"Snowfall breaks record" See this link from the Juneau Blogger.com

Or THIS LINK from the Great Falls Montana Tribune..

Yeah man, we're really sweating it out.

Go get some other bogus cause, will you ?

A Fascinating Bit of History

This link takes you to a story about Rolex watches from the time of WWII. It's a fascinating bit of history that will make you marvel and take your focus away from today's elections, stock market, real estate, etc. A pleasant distraction and lesson in history.

Maintaining an Airplane in Salty Air

After flying for a few months in salt air, you have corroded cooling fins, engine mounts, and other parts. The cure is two part. First, you have to clean it all up. A product called Salt Away ( see http://www.saltawayproducts.com/ ) can be mixed in a spray bottle. It's available from boat places and online. A little bit lasts forever because you dilute it so much.

I have used dental picks, ScotchBrite pads, and a stainless steel brush to clean up the cooling fins, the front of the fuel pump, parts of the engine mounts, etc..

The second step is protection. The product to use is called Zep Restore. It's a spray resin that withstands high temps and does not weaken insulation, hoses, etc. See http://www.rpi.co.th/psr/Restore.PDF

The major problem is that Zep only sells the stuff in a case of cans. I can't find anyplace to buy it by-the-can. One can will probably last a few years. I'm not a dealer. I do not sell the stuff. But, I do have some cans sitting in a box in the garage.

After the cleaning and protection, use Salt Away whenever you can.

My 601 lives outside. We took the cowl off today .. about 3 months and 20 flight hours after the "treatment" and it looks pristine.

Oh, also watch the nose wheel support. It seems to get eaten up fast in the front. I scraped it, masked it off, primed it with galvanized paint, and sprayed it with Rustoleum from a rattle can. Then, after that dried I sprayed it with Zep for good measure. That support takes constant watching.

The "problem" I have not solved is how to "shine" the aluminum nose wheel. I cleaned it well with ScotchBrite pads and then sprayed it with Zep and it looks okay, but .... dull.

Ditching a Plane

I fly out of Marathon in the Florida Keys. Probably 95% of my flying is over water. Fortunately, the water is usually warm and shallow. But, I know several people who fly out of here who have ditched, we talk about it at EAA safety meetings, and I think about it a lot.

Initially, my thought was that if I had to ditch I would open the canopy before ditching and hope that it flew forward and departed the airplane during deceleration. Then, inadvertently, I flew twice with the passenger side latch not securely closed to the second "click." (Always happens with new passengers who don't understand the need for "two clicks" on their side. Usually big guys who I can't see or reach behind to check the latch myself. That one small opening increases wind noise and tries to suck their shirts outside.

So, I put myself in the scenario of a dead engine, going through the restart drill, looking for "thin water", dialing 7700, saying something on 121.5, and trimming for best angle of glide. Now, as I'm trying to stall with the wheels a few inches over the water I'm going to add noise, wind, a nose down attitude, and tons of drag by popping the canopy? Something I've never practiced? Duh! Popping the canopy is something that initially sounds good, but after thinking about it my position is that it adds too many unpracticed variables, (drag, changed attitude, noise, strange wind) to an already stressful operation. It goes from smart to dumb.

A valuable lesson that EVERYONE who has ditched repeats over and over is that you only take with you what you have on you. Yes, it gives you a sense of well being to have those $11.95 orange life vests in the back. It makes you feel good to have the crash axe "secured" (a heavy object "secured"against the G-force of a ditching? Ha!) someplace. But, what the folks who have been there and done that say is that if you don't have it on your body, then you don't have it.

My passenger and I always wear the "suspender" type life preserver. (No, they ain't heap!) I have a SPOT satellite personal tracker (yes, it is waterproof) attached to it. On my belt I have a dive knife with a strong heavily serrated blade. Other folks around here fly with a "belly bag" holding a personal EPIRB, a big Leatherman, and whatever else makes them comfy.

We have video of a news helicopter circling over a ditched airplane here. The two pilots are in life preservers floating near the semi-submerged low wing airplane. Even with orange life preservers, they looked awfully tiny from the chopper. Many of us also include a visual strobe on the life preserver.

One other thing we hear from the folks who have ditched is that anything in the airplane will be on top of you. So, look at that nice storage space behind the seats. See the spare engine oil, the tools, the cans of paint and polish, the old plugs you can't throw away? They are all going to hit you on the head and then sit in your lap.

I STILL have not come up with a good baggage compartment net for the 601XL. HINT: If you want a little lucrative sideline, put together a 601XL baggage net kit for retrofit. (It's too late to put it in during construction!)

Having said all that, I will also say that flying over the waters of the Florida Keys is a thrill you should all have! Smooth and beautiful!

High School in Minnesota FOLDS Under Pink Pressure

Shameful behavior on the part of the administrators running a public high school in Minnesota. But, great behavior on the part of heroic americans. It's a great movie to watch.

The Death of Arthur C. Clarke

I grew up on a literary diet of Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Robert Heinlein. My John D. MacDonald phase (which I am now living out!) didn't come until later.

Arthur C. Clarke passed away at the age of 90.

This and a lot more from the Website "And Still I Persist" See this link.. for a great essay.

"We grew up wanting to live in their future, wanting to bring that future to pass, to be the technological heroes that they wrote about. So we went into science and engineering, or into related fields. Grab any scientist or engineer over the age of 40 and ask her or him about favorite childhood authors — and you’re likely to hear one or all of the Big Three named. Ask her or him why s/he became a scientist/engineer — and, again, you’re likely to hear the Big Three named."

Thanks to these men for their gift of inspiration!

A Black Woman for President!

I would .. immediately and without hesitation.. vote for this black woman to be President of the United States. And, I think she should bring her Beretta to the Oval Office. Let's just say that I'd rather have Ms. Okoreeh-Baah as President than any of the present candidates. (.. oooo.. probably not old enough yet.. She was probably age 21-22 in 2000.. ummm.. damn, she won't even be 35 in 2012.... damn.. ) Does the age limitation apply to write-in candidates?

See THIS LINK

Also, read this story and see if you aren't ... proud... amazed... dumbfounded... oh, and she won the Silver Star
--

The Supremes Hear DC Gun Law

This week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the District of Columbia's ban on almost all firearms. The best analysis of the arguments I've read is presented by the Heritage Foundation AT THIS LINK. If you are really lazy and don't want to read all of it, then read just pages 4 forward. You will be smarter and more able to defend your position if you read this! It is very well done.

The Great A10 Van

Some day, the line Air Force will succeed in retiring the A-10. The Warthog is one hell of an airplane. Ask an infantry officer which he would rather have over his head, a single A-10 or a flight of four F-16s.

This movie is just for fun..



this one is great. I want to fly one!

Flight Simulator in Google Earth

The folks at Google Earth are not asleep. They have added a free flight simulator program to the latest free download version of Google Earth. You have to be clicked on the main map (not in the default destination entry box) and hit Ctrl-Alt-A. You can use a keyboard or a joystick and you can choose from an F-16 or a Cirrus SR-22.

I found it very very sensitive to the keyboard controls. The ailerons were almost impossibly quick and the elevator wasn't much better. Even the trim is too quick on my machine. (Of course, I thought the trim was too fast on my real-life Zodiac too!) Haven't tried it with a joystick.

The neat thing is that you are flying with Google Earth quality graphics from a limited number of airports. The other neat thing is that it's free!

It's fun for a little while... until you crash too often. I have to look for a sensitivity control.

MORE PROOF that Murtha is Evil

I don't care if you believe in a supreme being or not, but you must believe that there is evil. And, one embodiment of evil in our time is "Congressman" John Murtha. Why? Read it HERE.

Pacific Clipper Circles the World

I've written before about Pan-Am Clipper that was trapped in Australia at the beginning of WWII and flew "around the backside" of the world... across the Indian Ocean to Africa and on across the Atlantic... without charts, Nav Aids, or other guidance, to return to New York. It's agreat story of aviation. Steel Jaw Scribe has re-printed the story by John A. Marshall with great illustrations. It is a wonderful piece of history. Read it HERE

Good Videocam Audio.. PLEASE!

I started out writing the phrase "All I want..." Well, I backspaced over it because I know it's not ALL I want. So, let's start over.

WHAT I want is decent camcorder audio. I have an $800 (full retail) Sony Camcorder, but when I'm shooting on the dock or on the flightline, the built in microphone sucks wind (literally!). Silly me, now I see that I should have paid $900 (full retail) to get a Sony with an Active Hot Shoe or $1100 retail to get one with a mike jack.

I had all of the power of the Internet at my fingertips, but I still screwed up a hi-tech purchase. (Yeah, like it never happened to you!) They told me that the HC32 I bought a few years ago has "audio-in" and it does, but that's only if I'm using the camera on its fixed stand to record a full audio/video stream from some fixed source through something called Sony iWire. Not really my idea of an "mike in" jack.

So, now I'm back to the search for an affordable camcorder with mike audio in. I posted the question on LinkedIn and got a nice response suggesting a new Sony camcorder with a hot shoe and the Sony ECM-HW1 Bluetooth mike.






This rig has a bluetooth receiver that screws onto the hot shoe and a microphone / transmitter combo that you are supposed to wear in a strep (like an iPOD) on your arm. I went to the Sony store and looked at it. The microphone is omnidirectional and the whole thing doesn't scream Dependable High Quality to my RF-oriented brain. It's not the close talking I need for flightline or on the water.

So, then I found a Sony VMC-K100 Hot Shoes (sic) Microphone Adapter. Hey! Just what the doctor ordered. I'd still have to get a new hot shoe Videocam, but I could spend $250 less than one with a pin jack and just slap on this adapter with its mike jack and plug in my own wired mike!








Way cool, right? Well, no. You had to read along a little further to see



Important Notice!
This item has been discontinued and is no longer available. Please call for more information.

Now I know why THIS GUY did a great DIY mod on a Sony "boom microphone" that is worthy of the old Popular Electronics articles. He tore its guts out, backward engineered the interface, and put in a pin jack. My hero.

The bottom line is that we are captive inside the decision-loop running between the design-sales-marketing departments at Sony, Canon, etc. "Oh, you want high quality AUDIO, eh? Then, be prepared to pay!"

A mike-in jack in a low to mid range camcorder is "all" I want. Don't need no HD. Don't need no 1080i. Sigh!

I have convinced myself that it is best to give up on the Hot Shoe stuff and just plunk down $800 online for the Sony HC9.



That's the LEAST expensive Handycam with an audio jack. It's more bells, whistles, and capabilities than I need, but maybe I'll grow into it. Yes, I know that the new Canon FS11 is a fine camera available for $599 and that it has a mike input jack. But, I can get a Sony HC9 for $800 online and get the damn jack I want. Of course, the guys in the Sony store say they expect a "replacement" for the HC9 "before the end of March"... but that's the same marketing department that brought me the jack-less thing I'm using now!

Let's see, if I can just cut back on driving 10 miles a month, I'll "save" enough in gas to pay for it in no time! Here I am, just doing my part for consumer spending.-- FJD