Okay fine, you win.

In the past I have blasted both iTunes and Podcasting for various reasons, but I have finally come around to their respective awesomeness. Let's address each individually.

iTunes

iTunes still completely rots if you wish to copy your files from your iPod to multiple computers. It just can't be done (out of the box). If you can get over this limitation, a new world will open up for you. It took me a while to accept this, mostly on principle. But I've decided to embrace it and just go with the flow. Now I realize what I've been missing.

I still don't buy music from iTunes, but I now use it exclusively for iPod library/playlist management and podcasts. I never realized how deeply iTunes supports podcasting! They have thousands of FREE, high quality podcasts available, and iTunes makes it extremely easy to subscribe, obtain, and upload them to your iPod.

You can see that I've gone podcast crazy:

I freakin' love it. NPR, BBC, science stuff, funny stuff, niche stuff, kid stuff. It's all there for the taking. Which leads me to my next issue.

Podcasts

My main argument against podcasting has revolved around the single-threaded linearity of the medium. To understand what I mean, consider this example:

You have some information that you want to publish. There are two ways (in our example) to accomplish this.

1. Type it out and publish it on a web page
2. Speak it and record it digitally

Which medium more quickly and easily gets the information into the mind of the user? Which method is more portable? Which method is more enduring? It should be obvious. Web page content is automatically indexed and made available via search engines. The user can scan a web page of text in mere seconds and focus instantly on the desired information. The user can skip to any word on the page instantly. The page can be printed and carried.

Podcasts may have some of these features, but they are pale expressions of the true objective. They are like cassette tapes. You can fast forward and rewind within them, but you have no way of knowing where your target information resides. Pure pain.

And early podcasts mostly sucked. They were packed with non-essentials such as lengthy introductions, music, "in" jokes, etc. It was just like going to an early flash web site with a non-skip-able intro. Everybody hated that. Remember how awesome it was when you first started using Compact Discs and you could instantly skip to your desired track? Podcasts are a step backwards!

But I digress... because modern podcasts are awesome. I don't know what "gen" they are, but it's obvious that people have learned how to control the medium. Most of the high profile podcasts I listen to are devoid of the problems that plagued the early adopters. You still can't access targeted information directly, but that's just something I have learned to live with. I can live with it because I have come to appreciate podcasts as entertainment that is slightly better than radio drivel. Radio is so incredibly bad that the slight enhancement is enough for me to call podcasting "awesome".

Understandably, the car (or mundane travel in general) is the proper venue for podcasts. They shine in this realm... enhancing the experience beyond recognition.

Well Logan and I had our first GA flight experience out of Westchester and it was fantastic.

Meetup - Trinidad Discovery Flight

We met John at Panorama Flight Services at Westchester County Airport at 11:30 this morning. We went out to prepare his Socata TB-20 Trinidad GT for flight, but there wasn't much to do as it had already been up that morning. A quick safety orientation was all that was needed before we were on our way. It was pretty cool departing Westchester because there are 737s, Dash-8s, and a bunch of ERJs that fly out of there... JetBlue, USAir, etc.

While taxiing to the runway we came face to face with another GA aircraft on our taxiway. This awkward situation was alleviated when we moved over to the skirt to let the other plane pass. This was the first of a few unexpected things to happen on this flight. One of my first "lessons" was that one should always be prepared to make changes to the plan! John completed his checklist and professionally took the Trinidad through its departure, calling out each step as we traveled down the runway. The Trinidad rotates at 60 knots and gets airborne at about 70, and then climbs at 85.

I quickly discovered that being in a small plane is a lot like being on a pleasure boat. Lots and lots of movement, slipping, bumping, etc. I had no problem with it after the first 5 minutes, but I was constantly afraid of how Logan might be feeling. Turns out we were all okay throughout the trip, but Logan was "iffy" for a few moments later on. This was technically my 3rd experience in a small aircraft... having ridden in a open-cockpit bi-plane at Old Rheinbeck and an aerobatic glider flight in Arizona.

We turned west and headed straight out over the Tappan Zee bridge at 2000 feet. It was about this time that we discovered that the GPS was not getting fix. John even completely rebooted the system and it still didn't seem to solve the problem. He was about to resort to finding the tiny Greenwood Lake, NJ airport manually when the system started to respond.

Even after obtaining updated GPS information, we still couldn't visually spot the small airport until we were just about over it. John reported our position again and again to general traffic and there wasn't a single active response, so approach and landing was free of any interference.

As we pulled up to the main building, I was surprised to find an old Constellation attached to the building. Apparently they are attempting to use it as a sort of lounge or cafe. I could just barely see the shadow of an old TWA logo on the the fuselage. Too bad there weren't any tail numbers visible, otherwise one could learn the history of that aircraft.

I just searched airliners.net and found out that the tail numbers were N9412H. A little more searching turned up a wonderful history of this aircraft Indeed, at one point in its history it was TWA's "Star of the Azores".

At Greenwood Lake, we picked up John's cousin Ken so I moved to the back seat with Logan. We made a nice departure climbing up into a right hand turn North to Orange County. On the way, John gave us a demonstration of the Trinidad's turning ability. Very cool stuff.

It was a very hazy day and as we approached Orange County we started to pick up a lot of traffic, at least 5 other aircraft around the airport. I learned then how difficult it is to see other aircraft in the sky. Here I was listening to the other planes report their position and I still couldn't see them! John decided to skip Orange County, head out to the Hudson River, and then back to Greenwood Lake. As we passed near Orange County, I was able to spot only two of the aircraft in the pattern.

We landed again at Greenwood Lake to drop off Ken and have a little lunch. Re-taking the front seat, we took off and headed back towards Westchester. As John was alerting ATC as to our airspace transition we were traveling straight back approaching the Tappan Zee bridge at 2,500 feet. Suddenly a black dot appeared ahead of us. It was alarming for second until we noticed it was a mylar balloon! It passed to our left at perhaps 200 feet. We just sort of looked at each other for a second.

Approach and landing at Westchester was very cool as they have a full control tower and traffic control. We asked for landing clearance and were told to cut in tight in front of a Bonanza that was a few miles straight out from our runway of choice. At the same time, a JetBlue Embraer was holding at the end of an intersecting runway. Just as we were passing over JetBlue and turning hard to swing around for final, the tower gave JetBlue clearance to take-off. I was a bit alarmed by this as we were about to land in front of that aircraft. About 5 seconds later the tower realized the problem and told JetBlue to cancel their directions and hold for the Trinidad. I wonder if the JetBlue had started to spool up their engines.

We landed and taxied back to Panorama. It was a very cool experience and taught me a lot about what it's really like to fly private aircraft. I was actually surprised to discover that MS Flight Simulator is extremely accurate with regard to the aircraft controls. I didn't realize that you really could simply dial in Nearest Airport, and I also didn't realize that planes that small have autopilot. I thought those were always just "simulator shortcuts".

Thanks very much John! I've got to figure out a way to make that commitment.

Cool, Logan and I will be flying this Saturday! We are going to be flying from Westchester County Airport to Columbia County, NY. It's just a short lunch hop, but I'm sure it will be a very cool experience. This is the plane we will be flying in.

I was just searching Usenet and found a 9 year-old post of mine about Disney memories. I figured I'd drop it here so that I can save a copy of it.

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Growing up in Florida, my grandfather was a security guard at WDW for many years. We frequented the park perhaps 2-3 times a year for many years. Learning about changes in the park always makes me feel a little anxious... it's tough to hear that the experiences that shaped some of your most sacred childhood memories have been changed to something "new and improved".

I've gone through many times when such-and-such was the "new thing" at WDW. There was a feeling of shock when BTMRR was being built. You mean, they are *adding* something to Disney World? I remember getting a booklet in the mail that described in detail everything that Epcot was to be. It was filled with "artist renditions". And then, even at Epcot, there was a time when Horizons was the new attraction.... it was still being constructed while the rest of the park was open. I've only been on it once, and now it's closed. Also, I believe that The Living Seas wasn't open at that time either.

Let's see, then Splash Mountain came on the scene... and MGM Studios. Body Wars was the new thing at one time... as was Captain EO. I still haven't been to the park since Tower of Terror was opened. Now there's Test Track.

Some of our family favorites are gone. Mr. Toads Wild Ride, Take Flight. Where did 20,000 Leagues go??? Wasn't Space Mountain always sponsored by RCA? I remember Take Flight was an Eastern presentation... incredibly hokey, but I loved it as a kid. Oh, and is it common to refer to the Tomorrowland Transit Authority as the People-Mover? In my family, it will never be anything but "The People-Mover". I remember waving to my grandfather (while he was working) from the People-Mover.

Probably the best feeling I've ever encountered at WDW was in the line for Space Mountain. There's really not much that can take me back so vividly. All of that space stuff really looked futuristic to a kid in the 70s. Then there were the after-ride exhibits that showed what life would be like. This was also during the time when the Apollo missions were ending... so the feeling that living in space was right around the corner. I also remember walking through a train that visited Florida during the bicentennial. It had numerous space-related exhibits that reminded me of Space Mountain.

And what is Downtown Disney? Is this Lake Buena Vista? My family would always go to Buena Vista and let us play in the "Salt and Pepper Shaker"... that big climb-on-able slide thing in the middle. As a kid, I never knew the connection between Buena Vista and WDW... but they were somehow connected. We would get on the buses with the colored flags from Buena Vista.

On the other hand, it's great to see old favorites remain basically untouched. Pirates of the Caribbean... the day they mess with this ride will be a sad day indeed. The Haunted Mansion, those ghosts riding in the buggys with you at the end were just magical.

Didn't Mickey's Toontown Fair used to be Mickey's Birthdayland? Regardless, I've never visited that part of the park. Is there a list available of what used to be what, and what has disappeared?

I'm heading back to WDW in two weeks, and I'm prepared to take a tape recorder for the first time to capture many of the attraction sounds. This had never occurred to me before hearing WDW wavs on the net.

Anyway... just some thoughts!

When my dad first learned to fly a tail dragger at Beverly Airport in Massachusetts in the 50s, it was possible for a kid to ride his bike over to the airport and find a way to do odd jobs in exchange for airplane rides. When I began to exhibit my desire to fly in the late 80s and early 90s, my dad would tell me that "those days are over". Getting your pilot's license isn't cheap as you need an instructor and a plane, and that's going to cost over $100/hour.

Even so, I freakin' love planes and I've always wanted to be a pilot. So I was pleasantly amazed to find (just in the past 2 hours) that "those days" are not over. The spirit of local aviation lives on... it's just the mechanism that has changed.

On my PC here, I just discovered a group of local pilots who enjoy flying to local gatherings and teaching new people about flying and getting their license. Within an hour of joining the group I received two invitations to go flying!

I have to admit that I am intimidated by this, as I don't feel that I have the resources to commit to becoming a private pilot. But then again, I think not learning how to fly is a terrible thing to regret as I grow older. I just don't want to be seen as a mooch if I take up these offers and fail to pursue my license. But what an opportunity!

I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.

I elfed my entire family. Have you elfed yours?

This morning I checked out Slimey's container and found what looks to be a shriveled up worm at the bottom. I can't find evidence of the other worm or the slug anywhere... though I didn't go rifling through all the leaves to find them.

Question. Did the earthworm I introduced to the container simply shrivel up and die in 24 hours? Or did Slimey ingest the thing and then excrete (nice word) the carcass? I have no idea.

What I need is a control. Tonight I will find two worms, stick one in with Slimey and one in a separate container. Checking both in 24 hours should tell me what's going on.

The other day I was helping an elderly neighbor rake and mow his lawn when I came upon a little snake hiding amongst the leaves. Recognizing the opportunity, I picked up the little guy and took him home. A few minutes of searching in the basement turned up a small plastic aquiarium type of container that would make a nice little home.

The container was left over from a previous attempt to grow dinosaurs with my son. Another trip outside to grab some dried leaves, and the little snake was suddenly living on our dining room window sill. I went back to work across the street.

I was just finishing up my raking when my son, having returned home from church, stuck his head out the door and yelled at me across the street. "Daddy! There's a snake in here!" "Really?" I said, "How the heck did it get in there?" "I have no idea", he says.

It didn't take him long to name the snake "Slimey". Sierra, his little sister, agreed on the name. In reality, Slimey is not slimey at all. After a bit of research, it turns out that he is a [Dekay's] Brown Snake.

(artist's rendition of Slimey)

The good news is that Brown Snakes apparently eat earthworms and slugs... which are quite easy to obtain in the back yard. The few leaves I had gathered were apparently appreciated by Slimey as he naturally curled up among them and stuck his head up to monitor his surroundings. As the past 48 hours have taught us, this is apparently his natural posture.

As I understand it, snakes don't have to eat that often, but being humans we were starting to worry if Slimey was getting hungry. So before work this morning I ventured into the back yard to dig for worms. A few minutes work produced 2 small earthworms, a slug, and a few more leaves for comfort.

Back inside the house, I dumped the lot into his container. To our great surprise, he immediately started testing the air with his tongue. He cruised all around in search of these new scents, which he quickly found. Though he didn't eat anything (maybe he only eats at night or something) but it feels like we did the right thing.

I remember generating the formula as a kid that a person's love of snakes is inversely proportional to their love of spiders. You either don't mind one or the other, but not both. Me, I like snakes and can't stand spiders. Apparently my family feels the same way. Some people can't stand snakes, but will let a spider crawl up their arm. Yikes. Snakes though... no problem at all. Cute little guys.

Here's my son's bones captured on film this morning at Tully Health Center in Stamford, CT. Neat. We thought perhaps his ring finger was broken, but it doesn't appear to be.

If this doesn't get you laughing, you must be dead.

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