December 29, 2011, it's my brother's birthday, I think I'll call him . . . . .   And we've passed the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and now the days will be getting longer, good. This is the gloomiest time of year, I mean the darkest as far as sunlight. That's why they put Christmas at this time, to cheer us up. And now I'll try to up load one of my favorite paintings, this is by Vincent Van Gogh. It's titled "the potato eaters".  These people in the painting lived in the Netherlands, and it got dark early, there wasn't much sunlight in the winter, just like what we got now. And they didn't have electric lights, that's why it looks so dark in the picture. I think this was around 1880 approximately + or - 5 years. And they didn't have computers or tv or even radio, duh. I wonder what they did on those long dark cold gloomie nights.
        I really like this picture, when I look . . . I almost feel like I am going to that place and time, almost like I'm there visiting.

Machine Life

                                                         Machine Life
         Many millions of years ago, two basic life forms were created, plant life and animal life. Some  would say that it all started more recently . . . in any case, those 2 have been around for a long time. And no others. And what was there before these two forms? Can I guess there was nothing? Nothing but big barren rocks we call planets and moons and a ball of fire called sun. Nothing you would be comfortable with.
        Aren't we happy to have these two forms of life on earth? Happy to be part of the animal half of this dynamic duo?
         Can I talk about nature for a minute? I like nature. I imagine America before it was over run by woman. A pure wilderness where nature ruled. The grass and trees were free to grow and spread without being destroyed or pushed back by woman. The animals were free to run and play and kill each other, unmolested*. No cities or urban sprawl to destroy their habitat, it must have been a wonderful place. I wish I could have seen it. Nature is-   all plant and animal life untouched by woman.   Uncontrolled, unplanned, left on its own. That's nature.    Woman is not part of nature. By definition she is anti-nature.
         So, as a nature lover I imagined the perfect world where there were no skyscrapers or factories or subdivisions, in other words, a world without woman. Nature in perfect balance and harmony.
         But wait! Where would that leave us? Should we all kill ourselves to make room for the perfect world?! Let's rethink this.         A new line of thought- The factories and manufacturers and the women that create them and run them are starting a new life form, a third basic life form. It's machine life. A third basic life form. We now have plant life, animal life, and machine life. It's true that machine life is only at it's very begining. It's as if we were there to see the first amoeba crawl out of the muck, but it is happening. Machines are begining to show signs of life. They are reproducing, the machines in the facories are busy making parts for other machines. That's reproduction. And they can think. They are CNC (computer numeric control).
     Yes, this is it, right before our eyes it is happeninig,     a new basic life form is being created, "Machine Life!"  This is only the begining.

                            Labor Day, Sept 5, 2011   5:03 P.M.
      I'm pretty confident that no one is reading my blog, so I guess I can feel comfortable and write what ever I want. It's cool out, and seems like a typical Fall day, that's terrible, I guess Summer is really over.
       Where do all the people go on a day like this? The streets are empty and my friends have gone away, back to school I guess. Miserable Fall. Pardon the pessemism. Maybe I'll just go outside and see if I can find anything interesting.

Flew it

So I flew my new Funjet Ultra. I never went faster than about half speed though. I flew it a few times. It flew great, I don't expect anyone to be thrilled by this. I was suprised to see it fly so perfect the first time. Planes often have trouble on the first flight but not this one.

Airplane Done

      I finished my new airplane (see picture). I haven't flown it yet. Here is a link to a similar plane on it's first flight.  This one in the video is not mine, just a random Funjet first flight---------    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAC_-SbTlpY   

My Funjet Ultra

It is supposed to go 134 M.P.H. . . I might fly it slower than that, if it flies at all.

Friend Drew wants to see the first flight. He loves plane crashes.

Started my new plane

I started working on my new RC plane yesterday. All I did was read the first instruction in the directions. It said           "1. Punch holes in the sides of the fuselage for the electrical wires to go through."   I read it but I didn't do it. At least it's a start. I think I can get finish it pretty quick if I just do one thing per day, no matter how small, like reading the first instruction. My plane last year could go 84 M.P.H.       This new one is supposed to go 134 M.P.H.          Here is a hyperlink to a video of last year's plane flying, don't look at any of my other videos, okay?               http://youtu.be/DdA2jZD_AZ0           
       

Photo Failure

   I think this picture of "China 1 Restaurant" could have been good, but the tree got in the way  (see photo).  Does anybody know if it's possible to remove the tree with PhotoShop? Maybe there's still hope.

         It looks like a nice restaurant, but did you notice the rice dumped on the ground? I guess somebody changed their mind and decided they weren't really hungry.   I like this picture but the tree ruined it.

About Saturday

       My brothers and sisters came from near and far, they planned a get together at my house on Saturday at 5 o'clock sharp, be there. They bring the food and drink.
      Saturday morning I got up late, I felt very tired. I went to the YMCA and did a little walking and running, a (very) little weight lifting, a few push ups, pull ups, sit ups, not much at all. I felt very tired and a little dizzy. I went shopping for new pants. My mood was going from bad to worse as the day went on. I told the customer service lady at Kohls that I wanted 30% off, see this coupon? And I want to pay with my wife's charge card, Okay? And I don't have the charge card with me, that's okay, right? Her answer didn't seem friendly.  And I wasn't in the mood for shopping.
     I tried on one pair of pants, they didn't fit, I looked terrible in them. And I thinks, screw this, I hate shopping, I'm done.
     I went home and helped my wife set up the table and chairs and make brownies. I stirred the brownie mix exactly 50 stirs then went to rest. I was thinking about every bad thing that ever happened to me. And not remembering the good things.
     Angie wife had called our son to tell him to come, but he wouldn't answer his phone. Then daughter Amy called him, still no answer. hmm, must be in a bad mood.
       Angie didn't want to serve any alcohol because our son drinks too much. Maybe he'll come and get drunk and ruin the party.
     So I'm thinking about everybody coming over soon. I imagine them all sitting there and not having anything to say. An Awkward silence.         
        I'm laying on my bed, tired, not wanting to talk to anyone. Maybe I'll just stay up here, would that be okay? I'm not in the mood for social chit chat.
      I look at the clock, 5:04. Where are they? I go downstairs and wait with Angie. Then they came, half an hour late.
           It was a great party. There was so much to talk about, everyone seemed to be talking at once, even me. Talking about things of the past and present. The food was good, salad, steak, potato salad, dessert. Everyone was in a great mood. Everyone had fun.   I love parties.

Dirty tail light

     I put a LED tail light on my bike about a year ago, very bright. And water used to splash up from the tire and hit it. It was constantly being drenched in watery muddy slushy salty muck. It was a mess.
     So, today I glued a small piece of wood to protect it from the stuff. And I painted it orange, see picture. Now it'll stay clean and beautiful.

Sunday in Pictures

It is Sunday night, here is what I did today->     I took a picture of myself in the mirror before I left in the morning. I went to the laudromat to wash my work clothes. I went to church. And I got my hair cut.
        I took the first picture myself . . .  I don't know who took the rest.

My microcomputer

I've been practicing programming my microcomputer (see the little black square in the picture). That square, smaller than the dime, that's my microcomputer. It can do anything you want, but you have to know how to program it.     I'm practicing.

Snow

  I think I'll go down to the lake front this summer and get a sun tan. Here, I'll up load a picture of the ship "Sullivan" that I took at the lake front last year. That ship was built in Milwaukee, at the shore, south of the Art center but north of the summerfest grounds. It was built by volunteers, my father was one of those volunteers. He was retired, so he would go down there and work on the ship, it was just like having a job. The Sullivan goes down to the Carribian in the fall and comes back to Milwaukee for the summer.

      And here's a picture of my front yard Feb. 2, 2011, before sunrise.

Making bread

   It's Sunday afternoon and I'm making whole wheat bread with my bread machine in the basement.  I have a little cabinet with most of the ingredients (see picture). And alot of wheat (not shown).

My neglected helicopter

    This is my small electric radio controlled helicopter. I've had it for more than a year. I haven't flown it much because I fly my UAV instead. What's a UAV, you ask? I won't tell unless some one asks.

     So I fly this around the house in winter when I get bored. I took it to work once and flew it in the factory, like 50 feet in the air, real scary! That was about a year ago, maybe I'll take it there again soon. Jan. 21, 2011.  end of blog for today.

Grandma

I will attempt to up load a picture of my grandmother and her friends from long ago, like 1912 or there abouts. Wait while I try. . . .  Okay, The girl in the middle of the back row is my grandmother, Ruth Roberts, she seems to be having a good time. They are apparently having some kind of party or get together. It would have been on the lower east side of Milwaukee, not too far from Astor and Knapp Streets because that is the area they lived in. It was a fairly new area back then and I don't think there was an upper east side at that time, or it was probably being built.
         In the front row on the right is Elizabeth Morgan, she has her arm behind that guy, and where is his left arm, and hand? It seems the girl on the left (Elizabeth's sister) isn't very happy about this situation. And his smile, that's no ordinary smile, that's the smile a guy whose wildest dreams are finally coming true. Is Elizabeth tickling him? So much going on in this picture, it's one of my favorites.
      But it was just a passing moment, over in a minute, a situation that was over in a minute and eventually forgotten. Except that it was caught on film, and will now live on forever in digital form.

Nothing new

Jan. 3, 2011, Tuesday. Nothing new. Going to work today, for half a day. I took half a day of vacation today so I'll start at half time.     Bill S.

Getting started . . . my first blog.

   This is my first ever blog. What's this all about? Can I write about whatever I want? . . . I rode my bicycle today, it was cold and I got tired. I am trying to ride my bike through out the winter. I rode it last week in the rain and through the snow and slush and dirt and mud. I finally got around to cleaning the bike, but first I took a picture, I'll try to put the picture on my blog. Wait here while I try to up load it.
      The point is, look at how messy it is, but it looks better now, after I cleaned it.
                        - - end of blog for today - -