Bill Schell's "BeachWeb" for May 2011
Well - we're SORRRRRRRRY (but you
all knew that, huh) - that this web-site hasn't been updated until now
(16th of May) - so shoot me!
another week another week of activities... we may be slowly approaching boredom, here...
In the past week, though, I / we have managed to:
1.) YARD WORK (yes it looks better but)- well - it looked pretty bad before...
2.)
compressor-work - the 'new (actually antique) compressor' - is
running, now, (compressing air out to the atmosphere, since I don't
have an un-loader, a piccolo, switch-gear, overload protection, etc.
etc. etc. etc. etc.
- - Nevertheless I'm making progress on
all fronts. AND - for those of ¥ou that CARE (most don't)
here's a couple of pictures of Mr. Bill's new toy... here's a 'small' picture, and here's a 'larger' picture
3.)
we're 'decided' to take a bit of 'time-off' and DRIVE to Vancouver
(yeah - a LONG DRIVE and a longer financial hit) to visit the in-laws,
and such - but - well - an OPPORTUNITY to SEE THINGS we have never seen
before (like, probably, places like North Dakota and Minnesota - and
so-forth...
We'll go north, first (to get into some cooler
weather), and then west. Maybe spend some time on the Trans
Canadian Highway one way or the other - and - perhaps - see some of
Canada too. We are also seriously considering some tricycling
here, there, everywhere... ???
- I've spent HOURS and HOURS
and HOURS working-out the issue(s) of 'Rails to Trails' - where they
are - when they might be open, which have 'asphalt' surfaces, which are
near our intended 'track', which are NOT near, which have this, that,
and the other 'features'?
In any case it is looking like it will
be a great trip - now if we can just figure out all the routes,
finances, and how to cram more stuff than is realistic into our
mini-van we'll be o.k.?
4.) cleaning-up the shop and other such places - made-up some shelves for Ms. May (the design-file is here, or the larger-file)
5.) and a sunrise picture one morning as I took-off to go get the car maintained....
AND _ some other things - here, there, everywhere - in no particular order...???
Ms. May made me a new coffee cup - very nice - very BIG, too, so I can get more coffee in the morning(s)...
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Here's a "Sunday-Morning (09 May, 2011) -activity" summary:
We
went Kayaking this morning before breakfast, a bit of exercise makes
the pancakes (with apples & cinnamon) taste a LOT BETTER...
Sometimes we cycle before breakfast on Sunday Mornings - sometimes it's
raining or too hot (or too COLD!), but - in general - we get out and
about around 8 out of 10 Sunday mornings and do SOMETHING to get the
blood-flowing...
Here's the track-log (in yellow) overlain on top of a Google-Earth photo... - small-file (above) and/or Medium-file, and/or HUGE!!! - about 5.5 miles in about 2 hours - just FYI
I was doing "Launch Director" duties at a Hang Gliding event... (Thursday, 28 April through Friday 6 May)
So - now - lets chat about "Team Management" - here for a moment - since that's EXACTLY what "Launch Director" is.....
I did this for the "Rob Kells Memorial (2011) Hang Gliding Event"......
This
is a situation in which I seem to find myself - at least once a year -
and it certainly brings back 'the memories of life in the corporate
world"...
1.) you're given a 'team' - the make-up of which you had very little input to...
2.) you're given a 'responsibility' but almost no 'authority'
3.)
frequently 'Upper-Management' (means those who have a higher 'pay
grade' than you (which in this case is everyone (since my pay for this
was zero cash-dollars, (but all the cold water I could drink))))
frequently changes things but does not tell you...
4.) your
'goal' / 'objective' is necessarily vague and un-focused (put 50-100
hang gliders in the air SAFELY, and do it with minimum resources and
QUICKLY (like less than 60 minutes (at least one glider every 60
seconds))
5.) upper-management frequently steals key-resources
(people) to put onto other tasks without consulting you... (where did
my team go?)
(I only had 11 people and 4 of them didn't show up... (and didn't tell me they were not going to show up?)
6.)
part of 'my team' never shows up the next-day but has a key item
required by both the team and the customer (the hang-glider-pilots)...
So - it is EXACTLY like life in the corporate world, - BUT - no pay - but
Hey - Let me say that this is a HUGE CHALLENGE, and for the second year in a row we pulled-it-off and amazingly enough did it:
a.) without hurting ANYONE at all
b.) ONLY ONE (very small) damaged hang-glider (one broken down-tube)
c.) QUICKLY (in some cases in less than an hour)
d.) without 'upsetting' too many folk (team, spectators, customers (Hang Glider pilots)), etc. etc. etc.
e.) with varying weather conditions
f.) with varying 'demands' from 'upper-management'
g.)
for five days in a row (flying was cancelled on the sixth day and on
the seventh day (instead of resting (Like God did)) I turned over the
'management' of the team to one of my most capable 'partners in crime'
and she did a tremendous job...
so - yes - it is a no-pay "job"
- but it is, like many things in life, something worth doing - it's
worth doing WELL, and we managed that again...
Some people, all
of whom shall remain nameless - but they definitely know who they are,
were STELLAR in their help and support of me as a 'leader' of this
'motely (and varying) crew'.
My kudos and BIG THANKS to
the many who made ME LOOK GOOD, you guys and gals certainly helped!!!!!
I enjoyed working with ya'll and hope we have a chance to work together
again...
During this 'event' - one of my partners in crime realized that my shoulder bones 'sweat' ??? (small / large) not my whole shoulder, you understand, but just the boney-protrusion - a very weird thing...???
To see a TINY VIDEO of me 'working' try-this: - go to this Blog-Site:
Click on the (right-pointing-arrow) to start the digital video under the red-text that says: Florida Ridge Day 5
(there is also a white-text-link in that same space that says: Florida Ridge Day 6...)
in either case I'm the guy in the white-long-sleeved-shirt and the grey shorts that is right at the beginning of the video...
Other pictures will follow as soon as the people who have them forward them to me...
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There's a short (11 minute) movie of the Rob Kells 2011 Memorial Hang Gliding event, at this link:
http://thefloridaridge.com/pages/RobKellsComp2011.php
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AND - after the Rob Kells Memorial Hang Gliding event (which I 'helped-out-at' - there was another event.
This
one is called the "Flytec Race and Rally" - and it is a bit unusal, as
it is the only event in the world where the pilots fly to a different
city each day, land, then get up the next morning and launch (mostly)
from the city they landed in.
This year they went farther than ever before, starting in the middle of Florida and ending-up in South Carolina... - 
The
organizer of this event is a 42 year old lady-lawyer who is also a
hang-glider-pilot... She finished quite respectably in the Rob
Kells competition that I helped-out-at - documented above.
Other early May-2011 (Hang-Gliding event) things:
Most morning(s) before the (Hang Gliding) event I was able to ride my (ICE)
trike - some mornings longer distances (more time) than other mornings.
I'm now closing in on 12,000 miles in the 30 months or so since I
bought my trike...
I slept in the mini-van most nights and that was comfy - not as good as the bed at home, but comfy nevertheless...
I learned a LOT MORE about LaBelle, Moorehaven and Clewiston, where to eat, (where NOT to eat) where to buy ice, gas, etc...
I did NOT drive retrievals this year - and that probably had something to do with keeping my sanity...
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However
I HAVE been able to get the above (green) air-tank installed (that's my
Ingersoll Rand air-compressor (black-thing) in the lower-right).
It looks even more impressive, now, that I've properly piped /
hosed it all up, and that there is a 'belt-guard' around the
compressor...
-
And for those that care (most will not) this now means I have two 80
gallon tanks hooked-up-to the Ingersoll Rand compressor, and I'm still
working on re-building the Saylor-Beall compressor. My 'goal' is
to eventually have one compressor attached to one tank the other
compressor attached to the other tank - in essence - two completely
separate systems...
BUT - somewhere along the way I will
need more AC-220 volt POWER to run these things... (over and above the
existing power that powers the Ingersoll Rand compressor and Ms. May's
kiln... Anyone want to contribute a couple hundred more
kilowatts?!
Well, considering
today is the 7th, and this event occupied me from 1-6 May - there's not
much else going-on in my life, right now - but the future holds some
good things - later this month - more as they develop!!!!
YUP! - that's ME and Mr. Pool Bear (by: Tom Otterness) on the cruise-ship "Infinity" ( Celebrity CruiseLines ) on a VERY CHILLY MORNING
- more about the cruise in the February 2011 web-page...
You can access the February web-page (which has more about our 'cruise' and access to those places...) here
Archived BeachWeb monthly (and other) site(s): Click here for a list of the archived months
updated: 16:05 p.m. on Monday, 16 May, 2011; by: Mr._Bill on the Apple Macintosh
'G5' - revID: 1b
