Author: matthew

Due to a fault in an underlying code library used by Drupal, the XML-RPC mechanism for barnson.org has been temporarily disabled.

This probably doesn’t mean anything to regular users, except that you can’t log on using a Drupal, Blogger, Yahoo, or other non-Barnson.org ID. Which is only Paul, and he knows what’s up 🙂 Also, the site feed on the left hand side from Jen Gagne, Jay Barnson, and others won’t update until I fix it.

For the time being, I’m just leaving it disabled until I can fix it tonight. I work nights now, so I have to get some rest. Glad there’s a minimally-impacting workaround so I don’t have to spend the next 2 hours upgrading my software…

I know that Slashdot already covered it, but this is a development which affects two of my hobbies:

singing wing reduces airplane stall speeds. Sweet. I think I want my plane to play Evanescence. Good landing music.

Burmester Model Airfield

(Grantsville #1)

8000 Burmester Rd

Grantsville, UT 84029

The Burmester Model Airfield is a dry lake bed located a mile from Burmester Road on an unpaved road, with a landable area of roughly 4000′ (N/S) x 2000′ (E/W). The field is state-owned free-range land. Watch for livestock.

The channel board is readable and well-maintained, with colored clips to hang your tags. It even has pegs for 27MHz transmitters. The windsock is a length of crepe paper attached to the channel board pole. Large carpet scraps indicate a pit and/or camping area, with a fire pit toward the south. Although the hard-packed sand should generate nice thermals for soaring, there are no convenient slopes nearby for sloping.

The major disadvantage of the field is power lines immediately east of the lake bed. There is no shade, water, power, or toilet facility, so come prepared. The site can become very muddy after rain or a snowmelt; please avoid flying this field at these times, since driving on the mud exacerbates ruts.

The main benefit of Burmester is its accessibility and the large landing area. It’s a 20-minute drive from downtown Tooele and the Salt Lake Airport.

Directions to Burmester Field from RC Evolution in Tooele:

1. Head south on UT-36 (Tooele Main Street); go 1.2 mi

2. Turn right (west) on Utah Avenue, which becomes UT-138; go 8.5 mi

3. Turn right (north) on Kearl St. Signs indicate this is the way to I-80; go 0.3 mi

4. Turn left (west) on E North St; go half a block

5. Turn right (north) on Burmester Rd; go 4.5 mi

6. Proceed straight on the dirt road where the road veers sharply right. Go slowly, and watch out for deep ruts.

7. Open the cattle gate to allow your car through. Be sure to close it securely behind you, as this is free-range land for cattle, and if you cause someone to lose their herd, you endanger the future of the flying field.

8. Go 0.8 mi further to the flying field.

From I-80:

1. Take Exit 88 toward Grantsville; go 0.3 mi

2. Continue on Burmester Rd under the overpass; go 1.5 mi

3. As you approach the sharp turn to the left, get on the dirt road heading North.

4. Follow steps 6-8 above.

This field is flown regularly by the Ute R/C club (http://www.uterc.org/), and is located on Utah state land. If you can, please bring a pick and shovel; fill a road rut when you fly!

This document written by Matthew P. Barnson <matthew@barnson.org> http://barnson.org/ .

Mistway Model Airfield (Grantsville #2) Mistway Rd Grantsville, UT 84029

Located half a mile off abandoned Highway 40, the Mistway Model Airfield offers a rudimentary but wide-open flying experience for sailplanes and powered model aircraft. The airfield is a 4000′ (N/S) x 2000′ (E/W) dry lake bed in the midst of marshlands at the northern tip of the Stansbury Range, and is part of the Timpe Springs State Wildlife Management area.

The flying facilities are two large electrical spools used as the pit, a rusting channel board, and a faded windsock. The facilities have obviously been used for target practice by shooters from time to time. The closest food, restroom, and potable water supply is ten minutes away in Grantsville. Come prepared.

Be aware that the land south of Ellerbeck Rd is privately-owned until you reach the federal parkland marker a mile west of the field. The trailheads for the good sloping cliffs are just beyond, and require a 4×4 to climb them. If you’re sloping, be sure to put a fresh marker on the channel board at Mistway Field along the way so you don’t get shot down.

The airfield is a thirty minute drive from RC Evolution in downtown Tooele.

1.Head South on UT-36 (Main Street, Tooele); go 1.2 mi 2.Turn Right (West) on UT-112 (Utah Avenue); go 8.5 mi 3.Turn Left (West) on UT-138 (Main Street, Grantsville); go 9.3 mi 4.Turn left (West) on Ellerbeck Rd (referred to as “Misty Way Rd

Thanks to Deb for sending this:

The Ten Worst Album Covers of All Time (warning: some strong language).

For those wondering where I’ve been lately, I picked up a new hobby which has been consuming what little free time I’ve usually used for blogging…

Remote-control model aircraft.

Yeah, I know, it sounds dumb. And it may be, for you! But I’ve wanted a remote control model aircraft — a real one, with a rudder, elevator, and throttle — since I was 14. I never really had the combination of money and interest to do it before, though. There was always something more worthwhile to do.

Well, I finally did it. I bought a Ready-To-Fly kit, which includes radio, batteries, charger, and everything you need to get off the ground. I charged the batteries, took my plane out, and promptly did a full-throttle nose-dive into the dirt from thirty feet in the air.

I tried to fly the plane a few more times, but I’d broken the fuselage, so I had to replace that.

Eventually, I got better at it. These days, I can routinely get the plane off the ground and into the air without crashing, and land on pavement without doing a nose-over!

Flying a plane is much more challenging than I ever thought. You have to be keeping track of so may things in order to avoid losing control: wind speed, air speed, ground speed, yaw, pitch, roll, stall characteristics of your aircraft, maximum throw of your control surfaces, fuel/battery remaining, and more. It’s overwhelming at first, but after a while it becomes more and more natural. I’m sure that by next summer it will be natural to me, and I’ll be ready to move up to faster, less-stable aircraft. For now, though, I’m enjoying my little high-wing, high-dihedral trainer.

It’s a far cry from my visions of perfect takeoffs and amazing aerobatics, though. I thought I’d flown enough flight simulators that flying a model aircraft would be a breeze! That’s so far from the truth, it’s laughable. Perspective is probably the toughest issue for the newbie: figuring out that when the plane is flying straight at you, pushing your stick right turns the plane left. Trying to make sure you always have enough airspeed and altitude to make it back to the runway even if your engine stops suddenly is also a challenge. You don’t get much warning in a model aircraft; nobody has a fuel gauge. So you have to guess what your rate of usage is, whether electric or fuel, and figure out about how long you can fly before bringing your bird in to recharge/refuel.

I had a bit of an emergency landing flying the day before yesterday, and the children at the playground where I was flying were very excited to see a little electric plane make a controlled-crash landing not twenty feet from their playset. I’m learning that a “Park Flyer” may not be easily flown at every park; some are much better than others. Big, with few trees or light fixtures and lots of lawn seems to be the best ticket.

Anyway, so that’s where I’ve been. Most of my spare time has been spent fixing my plane or reading about how to work better with it. I have enough left in savings to afford a second plane if I get tired of my first one this season, but for now, it will suffice.

Come winter, though, I’ll be grounded more often than not, and you’ll see more of me. Rest assured that I check everything daily! Thanks to Sam and everyone for keeping things lively over the last week!

Keep smiling!

–Matt

I’ve been enjoying listening to XM Radio’s comedy station at work for the last couple of weeks. I have a serious question:

Why are fart jokes so funny?

Seriously. I mean, there are a ton of really funny comedians on the station, and they can get laughs on all kinds of topics. But the loudest, longest laughs seem to center around funny-sounding body noises, particularly farts. I lose it on a lot of them.

What is it about flatulence that’s so funny?

I was struck by a thought today, as I lay in a dentist chair, staring up at the hygenist polishing my teeth:

A visit to the dentist is like a visit to the confessional where the Father already knows everything about you.

Seriously, think about it!

Me: Forgive me, Father Dentist, for I have sinned. It has been two years since my last cleaning.

Father Dentist: What is the reason for your visit?

Me: I have been guilty of eating impure foods, Father.

Father Dentist: What kind of impure foods, my child?

Me: Beef Jerky and Oreos.

Father Dentist: What you have done is grievous in the sight of the X-ray machine, as shown by this obscure and indecipherable dark spot in this tiny little picture, but forgiveable. As penance, do two fillings and a root canal, two “brush dailies”, and a “Hail Mary” flossing.

Sister Dental Hygienist climbs into the confessional, leaning over my face with floss in hand, and begins to pry quarter pounders, old pieces of gum, and sub-compact vehicles from the gaps between my teeth.

Sister Dental Hygienist: Tell me, child, do you floss?

Me: Of course I floss!

Sister Dental Hygienist: How often?

Me: Well, let me think … when was my last cleaning?

I feel rather silly when visiting the dentist, actually. Before visiting the dentist, I brush. Twice in a row. And floss, even if I haven’t flossed in a few days.

Think about that for a second, though. Isn’t that a bit like changing your oil before visiting the Jiffy Lube? I heard a comedian on the radio the other day suggesting that maybe, rather than brushing our teeth before visiting the dentist, we should make those hygienists earn their keep.

Next time, I’ll eat Oreos in the waiting room. Without any milk. And chase it down with some beef jerky.

Feeling the financial squeeze from competition and burgeoning interest rates, credit card companies are now looking for ways to squeeze you even more.

Christy and I received this attention first-hand from one of our credit card companies. Bank One was recently purchased by Chase Manhattan Bank, which sports far more draconian policies on accounts, including a penalty rate which scales up depending on your balance. If you have more than $1200 on your credit card balance with Chase, you’re facing a minimum $35.00 late fee with any late payment (plus additional penalties per $1000 in credit), and an immediate rate hike to twenty-five percent interest.

We recently went on vacation, and were late on a payment. We saw the new 25% rate reflected on our next statement from our “new” credit-card company.

Christy called to complain, informing them that if they didn’t lower theinterest rate, we’d switch banks.

They refused to budge. Looking at our high balance, and our minimum-payment activity on that account (we have other bills we’ve been paying down on), they wouldn’t deal. At all.

We opened a new credit line with a new bank from one of the many offers we receive every week, and will be closing our Chase account on Monday.

Caveat Emptor applies to your credit, as with anything else. I’d rather deal with a slightly-diminished credit score for a few months due to opening a new charge account than deal with the pain of a 25% interest rate on our credit balance.

Buyer, beware. Watch your own bills to make sure they don’t sock it to you!

Just found a new site today: it compares the number of web hits for any two topics. I decided to figure out who is more popular: Harry Potter or the Bible?

The results:

Googlefight: Bible vs. “Harry Potter”

As of today, the Bible edges out Harry Potter, with 22.6 million vs. 18.6 million pages mentioning the word or phrase. With Potter approaching Lord of the Rings numbers of sales (227 million copies sold worldwide now, 11 million of number 6 sold in just the first 3 days of release, vs. Tolkien’s 300 million individual copies (100 million copies of the complete trilogy, roughly)), I wonder who’ll win in the long-term?

Though if you do the math, it means Rowling has averaged some 40-million-ish sales per book. So she’s got a long way to go to 100 million, but by now, she has way more fortune than Tolkien ever amassed in his lifetime… most of his sales were posthumous.

Rowling… You go, girl!