Pasture Lands

It's really hard to *not* find a way to get my Mavic up in the air when the winds are calm and the sky is clear, so when a day starts shaping up this one did the other day I hit the road, visit some of my airports, and fly until sunset. Theese images are probably not the first ones that come to mind when someone mentions Hawaii; beaches, coconut trees, and mai tais come well ahead of ranch lands. But this is Hawaii too... here seen on the slopes of the Kohala Mountain on the Big Island.

Enjoy!

Happy Holidays!!!

And Merry Shipmas to you all! I didn't reach either of my 2017 WoWS goals this year; I didn't quite get an elite captain (19 skill pts), nor did I graduate to a Tier 10 ship. Both of those will be easily achieved in 2018 if I don't rage quit somewhere along the way. (For anyone who spends any time at all playing this game rage quitting is always a real possibility. :) With the help of supportive friends (of which we have many online) we may still be interested in it all come holiday season 12 months from now.

The short animation here is all about one of the most special achievement medals the game offers: the Kracken. I don't score a lot of Krackens (5 kills in a match) but I have had a few recently, and none of them came as easily for me as they do for our intrepid animated captain below. I do enjoy the same elation when I get mine as he does however.

So sit back, relax, and Enjoy! And may blessings be on you and yours for a healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year!!!

Kohala Mtn

A stunning day here simply demanded that I put my newly repaired Mavic up in the air. Must say that the camera on this bird is better than before it went in for repair. DJI didn't actually repair my drone, they swapped it for a different one. I noticed the serial number on the unit I got back was different than the original. So it not only works once again but I have a better camera as well! And I'd be remiss if I didn't send props out to the West Coast DJI Repair center. They did a great job and provided a very reasonable turn-around.

Enjoy a brief tour of the ranch land side of the Kohala Mtn and Mahukona harbor!

Hawaiian Pu'u

My Mavic has been out of service (OTS) since I got back from the mainland in mid-October. DJI eventually fixed it for free since the problems were within my warranty. I also had a DJI Care Refresh policy so it would have been free anyway. So it was great that a Friday afternoon coincided with a perfectly clear, wind free day to let me get up in my little bird again. Over time I hope to fly many more pu'u around the island. For now here's a short look at countryside I get to see on a regular basis.

Enjoy!

Maiden Flight

I had just enough time late this afternoon for a quick flight with the new DJI Inspire 1 v2 I bought for the State this past July. There's a lot to learn yet, and she flies a bit differently than my little Mavic Pro. One thing is certain: transport and setup is a LOT more tedious with this than with my little, backpack friendly Mavic. The case and sheer weight of all the gear required to run an Inspire is one factor. More things need to be attached and installed to get up in the air than the Mavic requires. But the Inspire X3 camera is better by far... tho' I still need to dial in settings just like I had to with the Mavic.

But it's a start. And I needed to make a start. Life and work really got in the way these past few months. Now that I've inched a little closer to being caught up I suppose I can afford to fly this thing more. And study for the Part 107 exam... aargh. Please. Don't remind me! :)

Enjoy! More to follow...

Wisco Harvest

I managed to catch a bit of fall harvesting with my DJI Mavic Pro drone this past trip to Wisconsin. Not as much as I would have liked, but being in the right place at the right time when every field is in a different condition can be tricky. And I was just a few weeks shy of seeing full fall color too... something I haven't been around for in many years. So much for the mea culpas...

Enjoy!

Flatlands

I'm so terrible at cross promotion that I completely forgot to post this here! But all is not lost, it's up for you now. Take a short tour thru a small portion of south central Wisconsin with me in early fall 2017 and Enjoy! my inspection of...







... water towers. :)

2017 KOA ARFF Triennial Exercise

Every three years the FAA requires Part 139 certificated airports to conduct an Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) simulation of an airfield mass casualty incident. In so doing the airport will typically invite as many potential local responders and interested players to participate as well. This often includes local fire, police, ambulance, hospital(s), Red Cross, military (if nearby), and a community emergency response team (CERT). In addition, live bodies and an aircraft mock-up or vehicle is included. This year Kona did not have an aircraft available, so they used a couple of school buses. "Casualties" (including their moulage, or simulated injury make-up) were played by a group of very enthusiastic local high school kids.

Things never go entirely as planned with these exercises, but that's why we practice. It's also why we try and do even more in the intervening 3 yrs. Enjoy!

Fishin' Holes

And now I should start to get caught up on some of the flying and filming I did while on the mainland this fall. We will begin with my childhood friend, the Crawfish River.

Enjoy!

Kona Courthouse

I just realized that in my rush out the door to the mainland last August I forgot to put this up here... as well as a few others. So I'll start to get caught up. I'm behind on everything really... sigh.

Naval Traditions, Ep 2

... especially the cup of seawater part.

South Kona Sunday Sunrise

It may be true that age will never cure me of burning the candle at all ends. After being up all day and working all night I still found energy to take off for a sunrise shoot with the DJI Mavic Pro this past Sunday. For my sacrifice I was rewarded with some stunning light, calm air, and beautiful scenery. There is still a lot to learn about flying, cinematography, and editing for sure, but I'm making progress I hope. In any event I'm posting my journey as a record for myself. You're more than welcome to ride along if you like. Enjoy!

Point of Interest (POI)

The "Point of Interest" mode is an automated flight mode setting within the DJI Go 4 remote control (RC) software. It allows a drone operator to define a specific target on the ground, an elevation to fly, and a radius to orbit about that object. It effectively takes all the complications of flying and aiming (think: pat your head and rub circles on your stomach while riding a unicycle blindfolded) out of the equation and leaves composition up the operator. You still have the ability to vary orbital speed, elevation of the aircraft, radii of the orbit, and direction of travel so all you really have to think about is camera tilt and framing. With only a few minutes of practice just about anyone can master it.

Today I took my DJI Mavic Pro out again to the Kona Judiciary construction project (it's rapidly becoming my Mavic training ground) and tried out POI for the first time. I think it will become very useful. Granted, here I've used it entirely too much, but that's what training is for: repetition.

Enjoy!

Inside Story

Ferris Bueller's Day Off is one of those movies that you see while flipping channels that make you put the remote down. Here's a look at some of the things you may *not* have known about it.

Saturday from Above

A morning out with the DJI Mavic Pro in and around Kona. Enjoy!

Jane Zhang

Wow!!! Just, Wow!!!

The Fallen of World War II

This is a fascinating animated data-driven documentary about war and peace that looks at the human cost of the second World War and compares the numbers to other wars in history. It's an extremely well done piece, meticulously researched, and now creatively and artfully presented. The numbers are nothing short of sobering.

Naval Traditions

I didn't know even half of this before watching! :) Enjoy!

The Great Piano Scam

For most of us this would have to go into the category of "unknown stories"... which is a new keyword I'm going to create for this blog. Have you ever heard of Joyce Hato? Probably not. This is an amazing short documentary that unravels one of the greatest frauds ever in the music industry, and a story you have probably never heard. Enjoy!

Paint it Black

I'd have to agree...

Kohala Friday

Nowadays whenever I can I collect video clips on my GoPro to use as training material in Adobe Premier Pro CC.  Build one skill at a time on a regular basis in anything and after a while you almost know what you're doing.



Enjoy this short trip around a portion of the northern part of the Big Island.  It was a really nice spring day.

Ohio

This date... 47 yrs ago today... the details of what happened at Kent State and how we reacted to it for the next 10 days on the Univ of Wisconsin campus will forever be a part of who I am. This song is an anthem for those lost and for the conflict that raged in the country while politics in Washington were as corrupt as they may likely become again.

Thank you, Neil for writing "Ohio", and thank you Crosby, Stills and Nash for rushing into the studio and laying it down with him. May all those lost then forever rest in peace. This song is yours.

Reboot

Muppets... lolz.

WoWS & MST3K

My reference to "Nikki" in the narration is to the administrative assistant at work whose husband is also a friend of mine and another rabid MST3K fanboy. MST3K, for the uninitiated, is/was/and is again Mystery Science Theater 3000, a great Saturday morning television show of the late 1980's and 90's. A recent KickStarter campaign has brought more MST3K episodes, new episodes, back on Netflix. What you're watching here is a World of Warships (WoWS) mate of mine, "theLaaLaa", live streaming his gameplay on Twitch today, and doing so uniquely in that his webcam is showing archived episodes of MST3K instead of him. It's lazy and free Sunday entertainment that I enjoy because it's simply Brilliant!

Enjoy!

Naval Legends - Arctic Convoy part 2

Naval Legends - Arctic Convoys Part 1

Trump vs Truth

If you're one of those who finds editorials like these unproven, fake, made up, and/or simply lefty liberal nonsense then may God have mercy on your soul because you fall into a category of conservative supporters who will soon be hurt very badly. Unless you're a billionaire Trump could care less about you. As this current genre of presidential fiction continues to unfold we will gather even more reasons to question the mental stability of the man. Normal people simply don't pathologically lie like this. Regardless, no one with a personality disorder as severe as his belongs in the most powerful office on the planet.

Spicy Speaks

Sean Spicer... he's an angry dude. Melissa McCarthy channels him perfectly. lol. Enjoy!

Sweet Melissa

This sketch already ranks up with the greatest moments SNL has ever produced. Enjoy!

Inauguration Day - Behind the Scenes

Nailed it!

Frederick Douglas Really *Is* Dead

... and still is as you read this.

An Apology

We are better than this. We are.

Wintergatan - Marble Music Machine

Creative genius. Nuf said. Enjoy!

Naval Legends: Midway (CV-41)

A history lesson today... Enjoy!

2016 - In the Mirror