Yesterday morning / early afternoon was devoted to errands. We started off the day driving to Yulee to rent a U-Haul trailer so we could move Jeanie's "big chair" and some other stuff to the storage unit (which is now stuffed to the gills). While we were in the moving mood, we also took Jeanie's old computer desk to the CAP trailer. After dropping off the desk, we returned home, and I dropped Jeanie off and then drove back to Yulee to return the trailer.

Jeanie had a hair and nails appointment, so I dropped Jeanie off at the salon, and then ran a few more errands.

I went by the UPS Store to ship the defective Electronic Suspension Control Module from the Stealth to ECM To-Go in Texas for repair. I decided to ship it rather than attempting the repair myself for two reasons: 1. The main guy (Glen) at ECM To-Go was really nice last week talking to me about the ECM and TCM failures and what to look for, etc. 2. I could see at least one electrolytic capacitor that was blown, and it was stuck to a ceramic disc capacitor, so I questioned if it might also be damaged, and I just don't have the time right now to be hassling with repairs which may not work. Unfortunately, ECM To-Go did not have a TCM in stock, so I had to order it from another company - ECU Direct. I am hoping that the new TCM arrives some time next week so that we can get the Stealth back on the road.

I also went by the Radio Shack and picked up a new wireless keyboard and mouse. The set was on sale for $19.99, and had a $10.00 mail in rebate. I just so happened to have a $10 off a $20 purchase coupon I had received when I purchased the stuff from the Radio Shack in Jacksonville which was closing, so, I purchased the cheapest thing I could find in the store - a $0.47 set of lighted tire valve caps - so, the mouse and keyboard will only end up costing me a couple of bucks total (caps, postage for the rebate, sales tax). The mouse doesn't quite have the range that the old one did, but fortunately, I had a set of extension cables, so I was able to move the receiver closer to the desk. The mouse and keyboard are not quite as comfy as the old ones, but, you can't beat the price, and the keys on the keyboard don't stick, and the mouse doesn't exhibit the quirks that the old one did.

In the evening, Jeanie and I went to a Newcomer's Club cocktail party. Jeanie was her usual social butterfly, and fortunately, one of the other newer members of the CAP was there so I spent the majority of the evening talking with him about the CAP and flying.

This morning, Jeanie and I flew over to Jekyll Island (in the McGill Archer) along with two couples from the Atlantic Flying Club (in the club 172) and the owner of the local FBO (in his Tiger). The flight over was quick and uneventful. It was the first time I had ever flown anywhere with other aircraft, and even though we didn't fly over in formation (which would have been a no-no) we stayed in radio contact and it was kinda cool. As usual, there was a cross wind, and 18 was the favored runway which means I had to fly a right hand pattern. At least this time I was a little better mentally prepared for the wind and pattern. I still was a little long on base (because of the tail wind on base), but nothing that I couldn't easily correct. I was the first to land, and I was grateful that my landing while less than perfect, wasn't totally embarrassing. Since the last time we were over there, a company has started renting cool little electric cars right at the airport, so we rented a couple. We drove over to the Jekyll Island Club and feasted on their delicious brunch, then took a lap around the island. The food, sightseeing, and company were all fantastic. The weather had called for afternoon thunderstorms, so we decided to head back around 2:00 PM, which turned out really well, as shortly after Jeanie and I got home, a fairly intense storm hit. The ride back was a little bumpy, but not too bad, and a nice day of fun and flying was capped by a fairly decent landing.

What, you might be wondering, does this have to do with the title?

Oh, no, it doesn't mean you LOST your phone, does it?

No, I still have it.

What it has to do with the title is that one of the features I regularly use on the phone is the Avantgo application, which allows me to view selected content from "the web" on the PDA. Avantgo organizes its content by channels.

So, did I lose my Avantgo somehow?

No, it is working fine.

One of the Avantgo channels I enjoy is the SciFi channel, and in particular, the SciFi Wire News.

So, by now you're probably lost reading this...

Hang on... almost there...

The SciFi channel is liberal in its definition of what is valid material for inclusion in the SciFi Wire News - and one of the things it often includes is material on the TV show "Lost."

Aha!

While reading an item today, I was reminded that Lost has a number of interesting alternative media tie-ins including the alternate reality game "The Lost Experience." For some really good background information on Lost and various links, check out the Lost Wikipedia article.

It takes a while to find all of the Easter Eggs, but the Oceanic Airlines site is pretty cool too.

One that I don't think is mentioned on Wikipedia is the DriveShaft site.

There are loads more, a few Googles and you'll be up to your ears.

Be careful... once you start down this trail, one site will lead to the next, which will lead to the next, and before you know it, you're lost...

I started this journey in November of last year, and it has been a bit of a challenge getting to this point.

The main challenge has been overcoming various conflicts with A/C availability, scheduling of an instructor, weather, and my availability due to my work. There have been a couple of times when I was just about ready to take the check ride, only to be blocked by one of the above.

Fortunately, over the last few weeks, the planets have seemed to aligned. I was able to schedule some time with the instructor, the airplane stayed working, the weather cooperated, and I was able to get time from the check pilot.

I spent most of the weekend studying... CAPR 60-1, SE and FLWG supplements to 60-1, FARs, the C172S POH, the FAA Private Pilot PTS, any anything else I could think of. Jeanie helped drill me with the flash cards I had made for the emergency procedure memory items.

Sunday night (the night before the check ride), I couldn't get to sleep and then when I finally did (around 2:00 am) I didn't sleep well. I was especially nervous about the verbal portion, and about steep turns, hood work, and the simulated engine failure to land portions of the flying. Monday morning, I awoke before the alarm went off, and did some last minute preparations, checked DUAT, and headed out the the airport.

The check pilot was really good - he was really nice and put me at ease, and he was demanding without being unreasonable.

The verbal portion went fine. There was only one question that absolutely stumped me - a question about currency requirements that turned out to be something contained in the SE supplement.

The flying portion started out a bit rough. The first task was a soft field takeoff. I had been warned that the 172 with only two people and fuel only to the tabs had a tendency to jump off the ground when configured for soft field (10 degrees flap and the elevator held well back). The key, I was told, was to make sure that I kept the plane within 3 feet of the ground until I attained 56 KIAS - the trick being to push the nose back down as soon as I broke ground. Well, let's just say I was a little too firm with my nose down control input and ended up having one of the mains touch back down. The good news was that I did keep the nose wheel off the ground, and did maintain control of the airplane. Just not a pretty way to start a check out.

The rest of the ride went much better. Highlights included: unusual attitude recovery - it really helped that I had practiced on Microsoft Flight Simulator and had done some studying on the web; steep turns - I only had to do 45 degrees rather than 60 - which was like a walk in the park; and slow flight, which I enjoy anyway. Even though it had been quite a while since I had actually flown under the hood, I did pretty well - at least well enough to keep myself out of trouble were I to suddenly find myself "in the soup." I did fall into one "gotcha" while under the hood - while configuring to fly to the nearest VOR, I neglected to switch the nav head from GPS to VOR - it was a good lesson learned. Also, even though I had studied the manual on the auto-pilot, I had missed the difference between the HDG and NAV settings. My use would it worked - manually adjusting the heading bug to the proper radial, but I learned that having it set to NAV made life much easier, as the auto-pilot would slave to the VOR needle, without the need for my manual intervention. My final task was a simulated engine out landing, which, ended up being my best landing of the day. I might have started out "rough," but it was nice to end "smooth."

One other little bonus was that I figured out that fuel "to the tabs" on the C172S is 35 gallons total, 32 gallons usable. Logic is: sticker on wing says 28 gal capacity, 17.5 to the tab. POH says capacity is 56 gal, with 53 usable, so 3 gal (1.5 gal / tank) is unusable, and since the wing sticker for full fuel shows total, it is logical that the sticker for "to the tab" would also be total, thus meaning one would have to deduct the unusable amount to calculate usable to the tabs.

Jeanie and I enjoyed it.

The plot kept us guessing all the way to the end - and beyond. While I usually prefer "clear cut," we were both intrigued with the ambiguity of "who (really) done it."

We also both agreed that Sharon Stone is a great villainess, and still hot.

We also liked the alternate ending, just because it so clearly showed how just a few changed/added words in a scene can so alter a story.

There have been three primary shopping focuses...

Furniture - this has been the easiest so far. Jeanie decided she is ready for a new couch. Fortunately, she knew exactly where she wanted to go - Bassett Furniture in Jacksonville, and had a pretty good idea of what she wanted. The best part? They had free coffee and cookies, so I sat and enjoyed the food while Jeanie made her selections. As with our previous couch, Jeanie elected to order one, so she could customize it. Bassett offers quite a few options and has a pretty cool link on their site which allows you to design your couch online. Delivery should be in about six weeks.

We still have some more furniture shopping to do - matching comfy chairs or a love seat for the living room, and a new mattress for the second guest room - but those will have to wait for a bit.

Electronics - on the way home from the furniture store, we noticed a sign on a Radio Shack indicating that the store was closing in nine days, and they were offering discounts of 70% - 90%. Of course, I had to go in and see what was available. Much of the inventory was already gone, but there were a number of interesting items. I ended up picking up a replacement 12v power supply for the one that died for the Scanner for $2.00. I also picked up replacement light bulbs for a lighted magnifier which had just died a few days before - 2 for $0.16! They also had quite a few cordless phone batteries for $2.00 each, but I didn't know exactly which ones we needed. The power supply for the scanner ended up being a good purchase - I had broken down and purchased the replacement capacitor and fuse for the old power supply and had replaced them, but as soon as I plugged the "repaired" power supply in, the fuse blew. Since I have a new unit, I decided not to pursue trying to fix the old one.

When we returned home, I went around and wrote down the details of each phone's battery. I recorded the volts, (milli)amps, number of cells, and battery dimensions.

The following day, we drove back to the radio shack and purchased five batteries for $2.00 each, a universal AC/DC power adapter for $2.00, another set of magnifier lamps, and a six pack of Jabra ear gel replacements for the headset I use with my cell phone. I didn't need the ear gels (at least I didn't know I did), but they were only $0.79 so I figured "what the heck." Strangely enough, the very next day, when I went to use my headset, I noticed that the ear gel had fallen off - what great luck!

The one thing I forgot to record with the cordless phone batteries was the specifics of the connector. I didn't even realize I needed to do this until I started trying to install the new batteries. Some were fine, but others weren't. I solved the problem for the "weren'ts" by cutting the connectors off the old batteries, cutting the connectors off the new batteries, and soldering the old connectors to the new batteries. Fortunately, I remembered to slide the heat-shrink tubing on the wires before I soldered the connections on!

The one other great "deal" we got at Radio Shack were a handful of "$10 off a $20 purchase" coupons. I want to purchase a different de-soldering tool at Radio Shack which just so happens to cost just over $10, so I need to decide what $10 worth of "free" stuff I'll be picking up with one of the coupons.

Automobile - The bulk of the time was spent doing online research and then trudging from dealership to dealership to test drive cars. We decided that it was time to get a new vehicle. The selection criteria include: gets good gas mileage, is easy to get in/out of (as opposed to the Durango which requires a big step up or the Stealth which requires sitting down low), can easily carry a reasonable amount of "stuff" without too much hassle, and can accommodate both of the dog's crates. This pretty much focused us into the "crossover" or compact SUV category. So far, we have looked at the Dodge Caliber, Pontiac Vibe, Saturn Vue, Hyundai Tuscon, Mitsubishi Outlander, Toyota RAV4, Mazda 3 and Mazda 5. We also looked at Suzuki, but weren't impressed enough to even remember the model name of what we drove; KIA, but the dealership in Jacksonville didn't have a RIO5 on the lot and informed us that their compact SUV didn't have the options we wanted in the 4 cylinder model (the 6 got mediocre mileage); Subaru, but the dealership was closed and the prices seemed relatively high and the mileage relatively low; and Honda which seemed about the same as Subaru.

After all the test drives, the cars tend to blur together a bit, but I think our top three contenders are the Vue, Tuscon and RAV4. Saturn is supposed to release a new hybrid Vue within a few months, so that is a factor we are considering as well. Next step will be to put together a spreadsheet so I can more easily compare the various models, then go drive to contenders each one more time. Then we'll figure out what we "should" pay for the desired vehicle using various Internet resources, and then let the pricing games begin...

Even though the Stealth is still dead at the dealer, based on some information they provided about what appeared to be the problem, I was able to find some really good sites (overview, removal, capacitor replacement) with information about what the likely cause is, and how I can fix it for much less than the $700 the dealer wants for a new Main Powertrain Control Module (PCM) (also known as an ECM (engine control module) or ECU (engine control unit) - otherwise known as the "engine computer"). The dealership (Rick Keffer Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep) agreed to remove the module and give it to me to let me repair it - I expect I'll have it in my hot little hands this evening. I'll still end up having the pay them ~$400 for the diagnositics and removal/installation, but that's better than the original $2200 estimate using a new PCM, or the revised $1100 estimate using a remanufactured PCM.

Our first Pizza stop was at Pizza Hut on the island. The place was fairly empty, seemed somewhat dirty, and the staff was totally inattentive. So, we left. Our next stop was Big Daddy's, but it turns out that they only do delivery or take-out - there's no place to eat in the store. So, we wandered over to Moon River Pizza. We had to wait a while to place our order, and then had to wait a while to get our dinner, but the wait was worth it. Jeanie had a slice of their special "garbage" pizza, and I had a cheese calzone. The calzone had just the right blend of mozzarella, ricotta, parmigiana, garlic and spices.

All of a sudden, in the middle of reading email, my PC rebooted itself. Upon restart, it would just get finished displaying the initial Windows screen, then reboot again. By reconfiguring the BIOS to have the system perform a full memory test at boot, and rotating the DIMMs, I was able to determine that either one of the modules or one of the memory slots was bad. By removing one of the two modules I was able to get the system to boot, although the performance was horrid. I had just finished searching for cheap memory and placing a couple of new 512MB PC2100 DIMMs in the cart at NewEgg, when I remembered that I had two PC2100 DIMMs in my old dead Soyo MB. I put the two Crucial DIMMs from the Soyo MB into my system, but still had problems. After more trouble shooting, I discovered that one of the two Crucial DIMMs was also bad. I was able to get the system back up using one of the "old" 256MB DIMMs, and one of the Crucial 256MB DIMMs. In the process, I discovered a few BIOS settings to tweak, so I now am enjoying slightly better performance than before the problems.

so I was quite tickled when I noticed that there are now 401 of them.

I don't get as many as I used to, but every now and then, a new one shows up. Most are for old postings - the majority for the ever popular "Neck Bumps." But, every now and then, I still get one for a relatively new post, which leads me to believe that there are still a few die hards who come to visit here with intent, rather than just landing here via a search.

If you are one of the former, thanks. If you are one of the latter, welcome!

Some movies don't hold up well to the passage of time - after only a few years, they seem dated and stale. Even though this movie is twelve years old, this was not the case.

The film starred Marisa Tomei, Bonnie Hunt and Robert Downey and was directed by Norman Jewison.

It had some humorous moments, and had some fun plot twists. It was just the sort of sweet, romantic comedy that Jeanie and I favor for a date movie.

We both thoroughly enjoyed this romantic comedy starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew McConaughey.

We found it refreshing and cute, with some laugh out loud moments. We had just this weekend discussed how it seems like so many movies are just retreads of previous movies - it was nice to see a movie with a new story line.

The supporting cast was every bit as good as the stars, with interesting sub-plots of their own.

As an aside, I'm beginning to fear that Rotten Tomatoes is starting to take itself a bit too seriously. A few years ago, it seemed that the ratings was based on how enjoyable a movie was. Now, they seem to have slipped into the rut of rating movies on how "deep" or "important" they are. Too bad.

We slept in an relaxed in the morning.

Around noon, we got up, dressed, and headed out to the beach for the 29th Annual Amelia Island Plantation Air Show and 4th of July Celebration.

Jeanie packed a couple of coolers with drinks, dinner, our cool backpack folding beach chairs, our cool beach tent, and a "just in case" beach umbrella.

We drove to the American Beach beach access, and then drove as far south on the beach as we could. That left about a one mile walk to the Plantation. For the afternoon show, we only took our chairs and a bottle (each) of water. The chairs are really cool. They are light weight, and have padded backpack straps for carrying the chairs. In addition, they have a large pouch for carrying "stuff," and even have a built-in drink holder.

The air show was quite good. The show was opened by a sky diver carrying the world's largest American Flag flown under canopy (5000 square feet). There were a couple of L39 jets, a P51, an SIAI Marchetti flown by Debbie Gary, and my favorite performer, Greg Koontzflying his Super Decathalon.

Weather was wonderful. It wasn't too hot, there was a nice breeze, and just a scattering of puffy white cumulous clouds.

The absolute highlight of the air show came at 2:38 PM.

What better event could one ask for at an air show than to see a shuttle launch!

I say 2:38 because I figure it took less than a minute before Discovery was high enough and down-range enough for us to see. It was absolutely amazing. From our vantage point on the beach, we could not only see the exhaust trail all the way down to the horizon, but could actually see the yellow-red glow of the solid fuel boosters. Talk about your July 4th "rocket's red glare!"

After the show, we walked back to the truck, and got out the beach tent and set it up. Set up this time was much easier than the first time. We enjoyed the afternoon swimming and sitting in the tent. Around 5:00 PM, we ate our dinner of bar-b-que chicken, potato salad, cheese and grapes.

After dinner, we decided to change into dry clothes. Even though the rest room / showers were relatively close, we decided to drive, which turned out to be a fortunate decision, as a rain shower blew in from the ocean just moments after we had finished packing everything up into the truck.

Timing worked out just great. The rain shower blew over just as we finished showering / changing, and by the time we drove back to our spot on the beach, the sky was once again blue.

We walked back to the plantation, which was now pretty empty. The evening show was pretty much a repeat of the afternoon's, with the addition of Bob Murphy flying his YAK-7 (and the omission of the shuttle ascent). The show was quite pretty, set against the backdrop of the evening sky. Rather than start the show with the parachute / flag jump, the show ended with it - which by the time it occurred, was after dark. This was apparently planned, as the Plantation had a huge search light which they used to illuminate the flag on its way down, which was pretty cool. Jeanie remarked that she doubted that many people in the crowd were truly able to appreciate how challenging that jump must have been.

The evening was capped with a nice fireworks display. As with last year, Jeanie and I were amazed at just how many other fireworks displays we were able to see up and down the beach.

All in all, we couldn't have asked for a nicer day.

Yes, yes, I know that it was/is critically acclaimed. Yes, I know that George Clooney won an acadamy award.

I guess it was just too high concept, and too much work to follow. Any movie which requires a 16 page explanation on Rotten Tomatoes is more than my idea of two hours worth of mindless entertainment.

On the other hand, I did find reading that explanation to be quite interesting, as it does give great insight into the level of effort and attention to detail given in the making of the film. And I guess it did achieve one of its major stated goals - I've been thinking about it for a few days since seeing it, and talking about it around the only water cooler I have available - this blog.

I did also find myself agreeing with most of the movie's main themes... big oil is behind lots of bad stuff, poverty and limited opportunities can drive people to radical behavior, the lack of the existence of a large middle class is something which can be changed were the few with massive power and wealth willing to do so - which would ultimately encourage peace and stability, elements of the US government do not always act with the moral conviction that we hold ourselves to have, sometimes the US seems to take action to protect the short term interests of the US at the expense of long term interests (ours and/or the world's), all too often people with fantastic power and wealth are most concerned with increasing/maintaining that power and wealth - at any cost without regard to the greater good.

I guess it all boils down to one of my basic tenants... the world would be a really great place... were it not for people.

I still think that we are blessed to live in the United States, and that it is a great country. I also recognize that we can not fix all the problems of the world. Granted, some problems are caused by forces beyond our control - storms, fires, earthquakes, etc. - but ultimately, the majority of the problems on this planet are a consequence of man's inhumanity. I find myself becoming increasingly cynical of our system of government which seems to have strayed far from the vision of the founding fathers. I don't think the problem is the system, I think the problem is the people in power who have corrupted it for their own self interests. I find myself increasingly cynical of big business, yet I continue to suck from its teat, and to want more. I don't think the problem is capitalism, I think the problem is what we are willing to do, and to sacrifice, in pursuit of the almighty dollar. Every form of government and every economic system has its problems - and ours seems to have fewer than any other that I am aware of. It's just... if only we could all just act a little better, how much greater a country, and world we could have.

My first boss told me early in my career that my biggest problem was that I was too idealistic. He told me that it would prevent me from climbing to the top and inhibit my happiness. There are a very few people who end up achieving the great American dream because they are truly exceptional, sadly, many more achieve it by selling their soul to the devil. I may have (and still do?) rent my soul to the devil, but I don't think I ever have, or hopefully ever will, sell it - and thus, I'll never find myself at (or even near) the top of the heap.