Friday, July 29, 2005
EAA AirVenture 2005 update- Windows Tablet PCs are very big here at this private pilot conference. Motion Computing seems to own the market for small aircraft; I have seen the fastest and smartest software companies using Motion Computing's Tablet PC products exclusively (especially the LS800). Pilots use Tablet PCs as an aide in electronic flight planning, from simulated visualization in bad weather to planning a runway approach.
 

These celebrity auction things are neat. I mingled with people who have lot of social capital last night at the cocktail party beforehand.

Harrison Ford just sold his Pilatus PC-12 and got a Citation CJ3. He's very passionate about EAA's Young Aviators program and helped raise over $650,000 last night. Looks a little silly with a hoop earing and I didn't have anything to say when we shook hands.

His wife, Calista Flockhart, really was the smartest woman in the room. Very hot. I asked her where she wishes she was from; she said Africa.

Richard Branson was smaller and less garrulous than I had imagined. I asked him about comparisons between the Segway and SpaceShipOne, making sure to point out that SpaceShipOne was the real deal. He didn't know what the Segway was. First flights to space on Virgin Galactic will be $200,000 and the price should really drop once they can produce more aircraft.

My father, who I'm just tagging along with on this trip, also met the toast of everybody this year- Burt Rutan.

 
Thursday, July 28, 2005

I just shook hands with Harrison Ford! He is an avid private pilot.

 

Among supersonic jet fly-bys, hundreds of WWII bomber formations and even seeing Richard Branson, the coolest thing here at Oshkosh has been the Police Dog attack training demos. These canines (German Shepherds, I think) have an amazing grasp (no pun intended) on police commands.

 
Wednesday, July 27, 2005

SpaceShipOne


SpaceShipOne, originally uploaded by nickgraywfu.

With the White Knight on top.

 
Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Citation Excel


Citation Excel, originally uploaded by nickgraywfu.

 

Hello from the lobby of Wilson Air Center, the #1 North American FBO for six years straight. (FBO stands for Fixed Base Operator; it's essentially a private airport.) I am flying on business to Oshkosh, Wisconsin today for the annual EAA AirVenture fly-in.

Oshkosh, as it is more commonly called, is the Mecca of aviation. Nowhere on planet Earth will you find a larger collection of private aircraft in one place at one time. We'll be flying up in a friend's Citation Excel.

I'm antsy and about to board a private jet for only the second time in my life. This airplane has some of our in-flight entertainment equipment on-board so it should be neat to see.

 
Monday, July 25, 2005
American Culture.
There is a distinct difference in Mountain Dew flavor coming from different containers. I promise you that I can tell the difference between glass bottle, aluminum can, plastic bottle and fountain pours.
(While I prefer a good fountain beverage, it is also the most difficult to perfect. Too much syrup or too much CO2 is a common disgrace to fine sugar water everywhere. For solid consistency, I would pick plastic bottle.)
 
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Is there an descriptive word for, "Loves a particular fabric"? Not a fabric type, like cotton, but a fabric item- like dress shirts.
 
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Yesterday we hired a car to visit a Monkey Cave. What was initially a one half-dozen primate welcoming crowd quickly multiplied at the sight of our peace-offering banana bushels. Climbing down the cliffs and running through the trees, our little petting zoo was about to turn into a pack of pocket pickers. We ditched the fruit and peanuts and hoofed it a few hundred meters uphill to the cave. The space was nice, if damp and dark.

(Did I tell you about my new Surefire flashlight? It rocks.)

Then we drove a little more north to the town of Mae Sae. It is an official border crossing with Myanmar (Burma) at the northernmost point of Thailand. Lots of gimmicky tourist retail shops and more Burmese beggar chilren than you could shake a stick at. I bought some authentic gross-weight snack food that looks like brown lima bean popcorn and tastes like peanuts.

Back to our hotel to swim and dry off before a dinner cooking class from the mahouts. In the middle of a jungle clearing, under a bamboo thatch hut we learned how to cook sticky rice in bamboo log containers and fry fresh fish from the Mekong River. These men have been partners to their elephants for a long time - 10, 20 and even 30 years. It is a lifelong commitment and I should feel a little silly thinking that I could tame an elephant in two long days.

The extent of my real mahout skills is getting on and off of the elephant (no small task). Turning left, right and backing up is at the animal's own will. We would be making a good slalom course around the camp when La-Wan (my elephant) would lumber off to snap some fresh bamboo or steal a few dozen bananas. But it was quite fulfilling to sit on her head by myself and go along for the ride.

We are driving to Chiang Mai today- a very big city only four hours south.
 
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
If you have ever wondered what riding a brontosaurus would be like, you could try looking at an elephant. We have spent the last two days in a small town near Chiang Rai, Thailand. Our hotel is on a hill near the Mekong River, and from our balcony you can easily see three countries - Thailand, Myanmar (Burma) and Laos. My sister and I have been learning how to ride elephants each morning and afternoon; the elephants eat a lot of bananas and are very docile. We take hour-long jungle rides and all is well.
 
Saturday, July 16, 2005
We've been here in Bangkok for three days and are heading to Chiang Rai tomorrow morning (another 6:00am flight!). This is my third time in Thailand. The best part of my Saturday was a fitting of some new shirts at the tailor's and a nice vegetarian Indian thali lunch afterwards. I helped my sister buy - literally - a garbage bag full of some really nice clothes at the weekend market this morning. She and I are hanging out on Khao San Road tonight, eating pad thai and drinking Red Bulls while watching the scene and enjoying the humidity. I don't mean to brag, but it's awesome. E-mail me if you want a postcard.
 
In Thailand through 24th
 
Friday, July 08, 2005

There's Canada...


There's Canada..., originally uploaded by nickgraywfu.

across the Niagara river.

 

India has its pickel, Japan has wasabi... and America has our horseradish. Yikes! This stuff has bite.

 
Thursday, July 07, 2005

Regarding airport bathrooms,<br> <b>Likes:</b> Stalls with coat hangars and shelves, Fluffy foam hand soap.<br> <b>Dislikes:</b> Automatic paper towel dispensers!!

 

Big ups to my friend Casey from MIT! He accepted an offer from JP Morgan's Fixed Income team today.

 

Special Security Screening at the Atlanta Airport

More often than not, I get selected for special security screening at the airport. It is a small price to pay for the benefits of an emergency exit row seat (only available by request on the day of flight).

The special security screening process is embarrassing. As a huge black man asks me to unbuckle my belt and outstretch my arms (thankfully not at the same time), I can't help but feel like a prisoner for a few minutes.

The cleanup process afterwards is equally awkward. I am a one man show putting my travel arsenal back together, cleaning up buckets of my Humpty Dumpty metal objects. The security escort assigned to me drums her fingers nearby. I put my belt back through the loops, slip my shoes on and rearrange my backpack and carry-on. My wallet and cell phone sit on the table; where else do I usually empty my pockets? Not in the company of strangers.

 

Kudos to Wake Forest roommate Pete, who got a comment published in the most recent issue of MIT's Technology Review magazine!

Blog reader Pete Sulick comments: "Are we taking the first steps toward digitizing our lives, or is this just an inevitably more efficient way to share information, like e-mail, TV, the telephone, radio, the pony express?"

Also, Zach-Jake-Kunal-et al redesigned CollegeHumor.com. Look Ma, no tables!

I uploaded some bug pictures from my QX5 digital microscope over on my Flickr page, and I'm leaving tonight to spend the weekend in upstate New York (near Niagara Falls) for a family reunion.

 
Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Atlantanonian

Plug- WFU freshman hall buddy and Atlanta-area friend Mark Ellison is keeping a smart blog over at Atlantanonian.
 
Monday, July 04, 2005

I have been blessed to successfully fly on very many airplane trips during the past few years. For all of my independent passenger flights that go like clockwork, I have mixed up some small logistics on three notable occasions.


My Top Air Travel Blunders

If there is a lesson to be learned here, it is... No matter your travel kits, mind the flight details!

 


MY BLOG ARCHIVES
February 2003 / March 2003 / April 2003 / May 2003 / June 2003 / July 2003 / August 2003 / September 2003 / October 2003 / November 2003 / December 2003 / January 2004 / February 2004 / March 2004 / April 2004 / May 2004 / June 2004 / July 2004 / August 2004 / September 2004 / October 2004 / November 2004 / December 2004 / January 2005 / February 2005 / March 2005 / April 2005 / May 2005 / June 2005 / July 2005 / August 2005 / September 2005 / October 2005 / November 2005 / December 2005 / January 2006 / February 2006 / March 2006 / April 2006 / May 2006 / June 2006 / July 2006 / August 2006 / September 2006 / October 2006 / November 2006 / December 2006 / January 2007 / February 2007 / March 2007 / April 2007 / May 2007 / June 2007 / July 2007 / August 2007 / September 2007 / October 2007 / November 2007 / December 2007 / February 2008 / March 2008 / April 2008 / May 2008 / June 2008 / July 2008 / August 2008 / September 2008 / October 2008 / November 2008 / February 2009 / March 2009 / April 2009 / May 2009 / June 2009 / November 2009 /




MY PICTURES and MY VIDEOS



E-MAIL, Facebook, Twitter


Cabin Management Systems